White Knight
Summary: This is a challenge of my own creation - details on my page. On Halloween 1981 - Albus declared told the world that Harry Potter was dead. The truth? He raises the boy himself, and trains him to be a force greater than anyone before him
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I can gladly say that the challenge was my own idea.
Prologue
- Godric's Hallow -
Severus Snape walked down the corridors of the Potter safe house, a harrowing feeling consuming his very being, his breathing quick and panicked, and his face paler than it would ever be in his life. As he saw the door to the nursery creak open, he saw a faint glint of a dark shroud upon the floor, could it be?
But as he walked in, only one line of thought registered to him. In front of him, laid upon the floor lifeless and numb, was the body of perhaps his only friend, his best friend and target of admiration. Lily Evans, the love of his life was dead before his feet, slain by the Dark Lord Voldemort like many others before her. Unadulterated grief filled his already torn heart, his body and mental functions broke in an instant at the very sight of her lifeless green eyes, and Severus Snape's soul was shredded in a way that even the Killing Curse would envy.
But his sobs and whimpers were not the only in the room. The wailing cry of an infant also accompanied him, and for a mere moment, Snape caught the eyes of another with her green eyes. Potter, he did not currently have the strength to snarl, but he wanted it there on his face. He looked away, and gazed longingly at the pale face of Lily Evans, begging for her to rise again. He begged to magic itself to bring her back but he knew it was in vain. Bitterly, he turned his dark eyes to the boy who had her eyes, and spoke.
"Harry..." He then spat out his surname, "Potter. You already look like you're going to be the carbon copy of your filthy father." He spoke in a low tone. "You must be brought to Albus immediately."
And he picked the boy up into his arms, the baby who stopped wailing as he caught sight of the man. It was as if he knew, he knew that this man shared the pain of losing her. "You loved Lily too." He muttered and then shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Enough of this."
He took one final look at Lily, his gaze longing but bitter, "Farewell, my love." And with that, he apparated away. Had he looked for a moment longer, he would have seen an apparition, the ghostly smile of Lily Evans looking to where he had disappeared. But in a mere moment, she left, leaving for the next great adventure.
Hogwarts
"You said..." Snape grounded out between his teeth, the white in his eyes now recently red, as if he had lived a thousand years of misery. "You would keep her safe!"
Albus Dumbledore looked every bit his age as he took in the sight of young man in front of him, the grief he saw in the man was overwhelming and powerful. "Lily and James put their faith in the wrong person, rather like you, Severus."
"ENOUGH!" He roared, "I...Lily...she's gone..."
"I know..." Albus sighed, "But the boy survives." His face pointed towards the self conjured crib, where a small baby lay asleep. "He has her eyes. He must be protected."
"He needs no protection," The dark haired man said incredulously, "The Dark Lord has fallen."
"The Dark Lord, Tom Riddle, will return and when he does, Harry Potter will be in terrible danger." Albus replied almost immediately. "I cannot do this alone, Severus."
The dark haired man narrowed his eyes, "What are you planning Albus?" He looked over to the crib, "What are you planning on doing?"
"At first, I contemplated upon sending him to Remus Lupin, but alas, he cannot do so with his condition." Snape growled at the name, but made no comment. "I also believed that it was a good idea to send the boy to his relatives, and expand upon the blood protection Lily gave him."
"The only living relatives the boy has at the moment are the Blacks, and Lily's sister, Petunia." He was almost amused at the very thought of a magic hating horse like her raising a magical child, "Petunia will hate him beyond belief."
"And that is why I have decided upon another route." His voice grew low, "I will raise him, and train him."
The Potion's master widened his eyes. "You will personally raise Harry Potter?" The idea was almost surreal, the great Albus Dumbledore raising a child, training him along the way.
"Yes, it is essential that he grows strong when he comes to Hogwarts. No matter the cost, he must stay on the Light side, even if I have to do it myself." The old man had a faint grin on his face, "I cannot do it myself. Of course, there will be house-elves around to help the boy, but there must be another. Severus, it must be you."
"ME?" He nearly screamed, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MIND, ALBUS?" His face was scrunched in an ugly scowl.
"Perhaps." He admitted, "The boy must be trained in the mind arts as soon as possible, and you are the best Occlumens I know Severus." If the situation were not so dire, Severus knew he would be laughing at the idea.
"I do not have the patience to teacher children, Albus." He would soon confirm that statement, "And you expect me to teach the noble art of Occlumency-"
"And Legilimency." Albus watched the man's eyes widen again, "And yes, I fully expect you to do this."
"He will be arrogant, just like his father." Snape replied, "He's going to be famous after this as well. Famous! Famous because his mother DIED FOR HIM!"
"No, he will not, fortunately." Albus replied coolly, "Because soon, I will announce to the world that Harry Potter is dead."
And for a while after that, Snape was silent, his face calculating. "Dead?"
"The best defense for Harry at the moment, is to proclaim him as deceased. The story will be told as so - The Potter family were slain and at the cost of Lily Potter's life, she was able to slay the Dark Lord Voldemort with ancient magic." It wasn't actually far from the truth, Albus thought. "Of course, we will leave enough for the public to figure out that perhaps, Voldemort is not gone for long."
Snape snorted, "Sheep aren't that smart." He muttered.
"I can only hope." Albus replied, "This is the best route, but I need your help Severus."
It was a crossroad at this point, Severus knew that. Two routes and two very different outcomes, one would be completely different from the other. It took him a moment to weigh the pros and cons before deciding.
"Very well." He replied coldly. "Very well, I will help. Lily wouldn't want me to send her son to Petunia."
The Headmaster sighed in relief, "Excellent, Severus. Thank you." The old man stood up and walked up to Harry Potter, and took out the famed Deathly Hallow, the Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny. Albus muttered in a low tone, a complex array of Latin words. At the end, the scar on the boy's head disappeared, and his hair turned from black to slick brown.
"A life long glamour." He was a bit worn by the spell, the power of the Elder Wand is truly great. He never told Severus, nor would he probably ever.
Severus was very impressed by the feat but said nothing of it. After all, Albus Dumbledore was bloody Albus Dumbledore. He wouldn't be surprised if the man had the power to vanish half of Mt. Everest.
"As of today, Harry Potter will be dead." He said softly, "You are now Allan Knight." He placed his hand upon the boy's head, and smiled.
Little did they know how great he would truly become.
END
I hope you enjoyed the prologue, I don't know how often I'll update this, seeing as how I have another story. This was mainly to advertise my challenge but I will do my best.