Title: The Forsaken Twin
Author: Serafina Moon
Date: October 13, 2007-October 21, 2007; May 12-May 15, 2008
Summary: What if after that fateful Halloween night, the Potters thought young Harry was possessed by Voldemort to spy on Dumbledore's plans and the BWL? What if they sent him away and he became an assassin? It's his job to kill Dumbledore...Year 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.
Claimer: I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.
Chapter 1: The Boy-Who-Lived
The late afternoon sun painted the normally azure sky pink, red, and gold. A slight rustle through the multicolored leaves, caused some of them to drift to the ground, one of the characteristics of the fall season. A lovely house, at the end of a row of houses, was decorated with orange, black, and white streamers to symbolize the Halloween holiday. A pumpkin carved into a jack-o-lantern looked out across the lawn from its seat on the porch.
Shrieking laughter rang throughout the yard as two young boys raced around, two feet off the ground, on a pair of Brocklehurst's Best Baby Brooms. They were so close together, each riding side by side, that their father, who was chasing after them in a game of tag, was afraid one of them would knock the other off if either of them made even the slightest move the other was not expecting.
He needn't have worried, however; the twin boys almost seemed to share a single mind, they interpreted each others movements so accurately; it was almost as if one knew what the other were thinking. Unfortunately, whether he knew it or not, James Potter would not be able to stop worrying about his twin sons in any case. As any parent would, he calculated the risk to his children's safety; his thoughts circulating between negative and positive scenarios of what could possibly happen.
If one of them falls off, it can't be that bad. After all, they're only two feet off the ground! But what if they fall on something sharp, like a rock in the yard? What do I do then? Maybe I'll just tell them not to ride so close to each other. How do I do it and still be the fun parent. Blame it on Lily of course!
"Boys! Don't let your mother catch you riding so close to each other like that! She'll have a fit!"
That should do the trick.
"Okay, daddy!" one of the little boys called out to him.
James looked smug for a moment before he noticed the boys simply glance over at the window where their mother was working, and seeing that she was not paying any attention to them whatsoever, kept right on doing what James had just told them not to do.
Well, that worked, didn't it? James thought, resigned, releasing a sigh and shaking his head. He was smiling though, as he continued chasing after Harry and Evan, pretending as though he could not catch them on their toy brooms.
James noticed the dynamic duo conspiring together. They would whisper between themselves and surreptitiously glance back at their father who pretended not to see the way they were plotting. It was just too amusing to watch.
Harry looked over at James again, only this time he shouted, "Come get me, daddy!" while Evan called out in a sing-song voice, "Nana nana, you can't catch me!"
A mischievous glint gleamed in James hazel eyes, which were hidden behind black, round-rimmed glasses that shimmered in the sunlight. James took off after the two boys who were still riding too close together, and tackled them to the ground as soon as he was close enough, careful not to hurt them by being too rough with them.
The three of them were happily rolling around on the ground laughing and wrestling when Lily paused from fixing dinner to look out the window at her boys. She smiled a content little smile and amusedly thought: I seem to have an extra four-year old.
Now, If only we didn't have a maniac Dark Lord on the loose trying to kill our little boys, we'd be all set.
Lily's thoughts became morose as she considered the threat of the prophecy hanging over their family. It stated that one of her children would have power Voldemort had no knowledge of and it would be the task of this child to 'vanquish' the Dark Lord. Before that, Voldemort would come to mark his equal and in order for him to do that he would need to get close enough to her children to mark one of them.
Despite how much Lily was determined to keep this from happening; she knew that the prophecy foretold that it would, nonetheless, come to pass. There would come a point in time when she would not be able to protect her little boys from the threat that faced them. She could not bear the thought of it.
She remembered the day Albus had gathered her, James, and Alice and Frank Longbottom in his office right after her twins and Alice's baby were born at the end of July.
Lily and James each held one of the twins while Alice kept her baby boy Neville close to her chest. They had all been so small then, so delicate. Harry had sported his father's wild black hair in a small tuft on his soft head, while Evan seemed to have taken after his mother, his hair a rich amber color.
It was almost as if the two boys had traded features between each other from her and James each. It was slightly eerie the way Harry had his father's hair and her eyes when Evan had her hair and his father's eyes. When they were first born, Lily had expected them to look exactly alike, but only the face and body structure were shared between them.
Little Neville, however, looked extraordinarily like his mother. She could tell he would have his father's strength though. While both Harry and Evan were sound asleep in their parent's arms, Neville was a bundle of energy, wiggling inside his blankets.
Lily vaguely noticed Albus enter the room as she was making these comparisons between their sons. She knew the news had to be dire with the way Albus' entire manner reminded her just how old he was and the lack of that marvelous twinkle in his brilliant blue eyes.
He told them then, about the prophecy that would connect one of their families to that evil menace; it would all depend on who Voldemort feared to be his biggest threat.
Morbidly, Lily was interested to know which he would choose; would it be the purebloods or the half bloods?
Lily shook her head slightly, noticing the dark track her thoughts had turned towards. She looked out the window in front of her again as she washed her hands absently. James was still rolling around on the ground, getting all of them dirty so I have to clean them up and wash their clothes, thought Lily with a slight smile playing around her lips, although she tried to suppress it so she could look stern when she called them all in for dinner.
There is still hope, Lily's thoughts encouraged her; both her family and the Longbottoms were under the Fidelius Charm, which accorded them a fair amount of protection. As long as everyone continued believing Sirius was the Secret Keeper instead of Peter. Lily was amazed and proud of her friends' courage and willingness to risk themselves to protect the Potter family.
Not wanting to dwell on the danger to the people she cared most for, Lily instead concentrated on the job at hand, getting the table set so everyone could eat.
When that chore was finished, she opened the door and called out, "Dinner is ready!" then stepped back to watch as all three males scrambled to their feet to rush towards the dinning room, leaving their toys discarded on the lawn.
Good thing the Fidelius keeps people from seeing inside the yard, otherwise we would have broken the ban on Magical-Muggle Secrecy years ago.
Lily gave a disdainful sniff at her boys' dusty appearance and noticed all three had bits of leaves in their wild, untamable hair. Her husband smiled at her sheepishly, leaning over for a kiss. She gave him a quick peck before stepping back to crinkle her nose and say, "Ugh! James! You taste like dirt!"
"Er," he muttered, abashed, "we did kinda roll around on the ground for a while."
"Well, just make sure you and the boys clean yourselves up and wash your hands especially before you touch any of that food on the table!"
"Yes, mother," James muttered, stalking past her with a long-suffering kind of expression.
"What was that, Potter?" Lily gave him a sharp look she did not mean, and James quickened his pace.
"Nothing, nothing, just said, 'okay,' is all."
"Hmph," said Lily, arms crossed over her chest, but she was smiling.
Once they were all sitting around the table, ready to eat, James ask, "Have you talked to Peter any? He's supposed to come over some time today. I think Sirius said he might come with him."
"No, I haven't heard from Peter at all today. And why wouldn't they all come over today? I thought Remus as well as Sirius and Peter were coming over to spend Halloween with the boys."
"I think Remus might be doing something for Dumbledore. Sirius is too, but he might finish early so he can come over."
"Oh."
All of a sudden, there was a whoosh as the salt shaker went careening through the air, flying straight towards the Potter's youngest son. Harry picked up the salt shaker and happily salted the juicy tomato he had picked up from his plate.
Harry grinned up at his parents after he had taken a bite, red tomato juice dripping down his chin and arm as he said, "Thanks for dinner, mum!"
"You're welcome, Harry," Lily said, her lips twitching as she tried to suppress her mirth. She could not help it; her little boys were just too cute. It had certainly been an adventure trying to raise two magical children. Each day, Lily developed a new appreciation for how her parents must have felt raising her. And they hadn't even known about magic beforehand!
She was amazed, however, at how proficient Harry had gotten with his magic. Both boys had shown an aptitude for magic since they were very young. Once they had recognized what their bottle and pacifier looked like and what it was for, if they ever wanted it, they would simply summon it to themselves even if they had a hard time picking the object up to put in their mouth.
It was the same way for their toys. Once the boys were old enough to start playing with blocks and their stuffed animals, they would summon them.
It had been rather difficult to wean the boys of their pacifiers because every time Lily had hid their pacifiers they would summon them back. She had needed to charm them with an anti-summoning charm to keep the boys from getting to them. Unfortunately, once they realized they were not getting their pacifiers back, they started sucking on their thumbs.
Lily had at first wondered how on earth she was going to get them to stop that habit when Alice Longbottom had shown her a nifty little spell that could be applied to the toddler's thumbs. It would make their fingers taste horrible each time the child put them in their mouth, which should break them of the habit eventually.
Lily was so grateful that she and Alice had given birth to their boys around the same time. Lily did not have a clue of what she was doing half the time, but it always seemed as if Alice knew exactly what to do in every situation that related to children. Lily was in awe of her skills and repeatedly went to her childhood friend for help.
If it were not for Alice, Lily would not have had a clue what to do when the boys vanished all the water from the tub when they did not want to take a bath, or what spell was best to keep the children from falling down the stairs. Some of the things Alice taught Lily were so simple, but so very important for the child's safety. Lily had wanted a family ever since she had attended Hogwarts, but now that she had one, she doubted herself, wondering if she was doing the right thing as a mother.
Alice helped her get past her insecurities and showed her that while it was hard work to raise a child, mostly they just needed lots of love and care, which Lily thought she did rather a good job of, for the most part anyway.
Lily did wonder about her boys sometimes. Evan still used magic when he wanted something, but for the most part he did not seem as fascinated by the magic as Harry did. Harry would use his magic constantly, almost like Lily had when she had turned seventeen. Even though she had been able to do magic before at Hogwarts, it was nice once she had come of age to do magic for everything, just because she was free to use her magic at anytime.
That was how Harry was. Magic was a toy to him; he used accidental magic when he felt strongly about something, but he would also use magic just to play with it. It was mesmerizing to watch as he conjured shapes and created lights in midair to float around him. Sometimes he would even chase his creations when Evan was absorbed in coloring a picture or some other independent activity and Harry was left by himself to play.
His favorite, however, was flying. Both boys loved to fly; they got it from James, surely. But ever since Sirius had sent them their toy brooms, they would go out everyday to skim the grass with their toes, hover in midair, and play tag. Lily always laughed at their antics and knew that one day they would both love to play Quidditch.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the Floo in the sitting room chimed to let them know a call was coming through. James went to answer it and came back a few seconds later with Peter in tow.
"Hey, Pete," Lily said, a friendly smile gracing her lips. "Did Sirius not finish whatever he was doing in time to come with you?"
"Actually, Lily, there's an emergency. The Order is needed over at the Longbottoms. Death Eaters are attacking their wards as we speak. If the Order gets there in time, we might be able to stop them from even getting in. Dumbledore needs the both of you over there right away."
Lily was up in a flash, wand in hand, ready to go, but she hesitated and said, "What about the boys. Someone needs to look after them."
"That's why I'm here. I'll keep an eye on them while you to go to the Longbottoms'. After all, you helped construct some of those wards; it's best you help, since you know how to exploit their strengths and defend their weaknesses."
"Are you sure, Wormtail? You're looking a bit peaky," Lily said, concern lacing her voice as she studied his drawn, pale appearance.
"Yeah, I've just been real busy lately. Not getting enough sleep; no need to worry about me."
"Well, if you're sure."
"I am."
"All right, we'll catch you later; thanks, mate. Look after the boys," James echoed, then turned sternly to his children and said, "Mind your Uncle Peter, boys."
With that, he swiftly disappeared in a pillar of green flames.
Pettigrew sighed in relief, and relaxed a bit now that both adults had left the premises.
"What's wrong, Uncle Peter?" Evan asked.
"Nothing, Evan, nothing at all."
The twins looked at each other in confusion as their Uncle Peter began displaying more signs of his nervousness instead of less. Something was wrong; they both knew it, but neither Evan nor Harry could figure out what could make Wormtail look so scared.
In fact, only a moment passed before he blanched, turning as white as a sheet, almost as if he had seen a ghost.
Harry sensed a curious tingling sensation almost as if it were raining through the ceiling onto Harry's head. Suddenly, he felt as if a chilly wind had blown through the room, making everything seem cold and unsafe.
"What was that, Uncle Peter?" Harry asked curiously.
"What was what, Harry?" Wormtail asked, his voice barely a whisper and extremely hoarse.
Harry explained what he had felt and Wormtail replied, "Oh, nothing. Just the wards coming down; I'm expecting a guest."
"Who?"
"You will see in a minute, I expect."
Uncle Peter was right; time advanced only a few seconds before the door was blasted open causing both boys to jump back in fright. Evan and Harry both noticed that Uncle Peter started as well, as they ran to hide behind him.
A man walked in through the blasted doorway; his robes billowed ominously around him as he hissed in a high, cruel voice, "So, one of these is the child fated to be my downfall. In that case, I will have to dispose of them both. Unless you know which boy the prophecy speaks of, Wormtail?"
"N-n-no, m-m-my Lord," Wormtail said, his chubby frame convulsing with miniature trembles of fear. "Al-although, this one, H-harry is the youngest, so he'd be th-the one born c-c-closest to the end of the m-month.
Harry thought the man looked like one of the monsters he always imagined that hid under his bed. He wanted to scream for his mummy and daddy so one of them could pick him up and protect him, but his parents were gone. He only had his Uncle Peter to protect him, but his uncle was shaking so much that Harry thought Uncle Peter looked like he needed Harry's daddy to defend him too.
"Nonetheless, I can not take the chance that either may be my downfall. Already my loyal followers are making sure the Longbottom boy will pose no threat to me. Now, Wormtail, stand aside so I may deal with these brats."
"Y-yes, M-master," Uncle Peter said before he crossed over to where the snake-like man was standing, leaving the boys to face the monster on their own.
Harry and Evan clung to each other desperately as the one thing standing between them and the monster disappeared. Both boys were extremely scared and Harry could feel his magic building within him, ready to protect him.
Harry was not quite sure yet what the monster was going to do to him, so he forced his magic to wait until the evil man did something.
When Voldemort pointed his yew wand at the oldest twin and said funny words like Harry's mummy and daddy did when they used magic, Harry made his magic get ready to do something.
When a jet of green light came shooting out of the end of the monster's stick and head straight for the two boys, Harry made his magic wrap around him and his brother, and he closed his eyes tightly, wishing the light would not hurt them.
He could almost feel it as the cold stream of magic was engulfed by Harry's own aura and then reflected back after just making contact with Evan's forehead, cutting the skin in a jagged pattern.
There was a high-pitched scream and Harry opened his eyes in surprise to see the monster writhing in agony as his own green light struck him in the chest as his body collapsed. An explosion rocked the house as the Dark Lord's spirit was whisked away from his falling body and the ceiling started to crack. Pieces began falling down into the dinning room and the twins screamed.
They looked around for a place to hide, but the table smashed as a large bit of ceiling tile fell on it and the door and hallways were blocked off since they were closest to where the explosion had taken place. Evan dragged Harry over to the cabinets under the sink, and they clambered inside, huddling together, Harry's magic still shielding them from portions of the house falling on their hiding place.
Harry's concentration on his magic had broken as he tried to firmly wedge both Evan and himself inside the cabinet, so both boys jumped and screamed as a large chunk of ceiling landed on the open cabinet door, ripping it from its hinges as the rubble barely missed Harry's foot, which he hastened to pull inside their hidey-hole. He also hurried to restore the magical shield he had anchored around him and his twin.
Harry looked around noticed that Uncle Peter was gone; he and Evan were by themselves. Tears came to his eyes He did not want to be alone; not with the house caving in around him and certainly not with the monster hiding somewhere nearby.
Evan hugged him, sparkling moisture filling his eyes as well. They both began to cry, yelling for their mummy and daddy over and over, and receiving no answer.
Their cries became more desperate and piercing as they shrieked in fear. Harry's magic, which still surrounded them, swirled around the two boys like an angry snake, leaping out and striking everything it could reach. It tore blocks of ceiling and roof apart whenever it came near the boys so that the debris landed near them instead of on top of them.
The boys continued screaming as the house settled around them, and still their mummy and daddy did not come. The boys knew their parents had left, but they were in a scary situation and they wanted their mummy and daddy to come; because of this, they continued crying until they were exhausted.
Evan collapsed before Harry did, his magic still swept over them, giving him a rush of adrenaline that kept him going just long enough for Harry to pull his magic back inside of himself.
When he did, however, Harry felt something foreign about a part of his magic. Almost as if some different entity were clinging to his magic. Harry pulled it closer so he could examine it and when he reached out to touch it, it seemed to latch onto him painfully.
It almost seemed to jump at him and began merging with his magical core. It was agony; Harry screamed in pain with what little voice he had left until he blacked out from the pain.
"James, look out!" Sirius yelled.
James dropped, barely missing the jet of sickly purple light, which indicated a dark arts spell, soaring over his head. James grinned at Sirius, thanking him and continued fighting.
Despite the cocky confidence he had displayed all throughout the battle, he had a terrible feeling something was wrong. Everyone considered Alice and Frank wonderful Aurors; they had captured many of Voldemort's followers over the past few years, somewhat crippling the Dark Lord's support system. It was for this reason that most of the Order, and probably some of the Death Eaters, believed Voldemort was working so hard to eliminate the Longbottoms. Only those directly involved knew the full contents of the prophecy and the real reason Voldemort was working so hard to eradicate the threat of his rule: Dumbledore, James, Lily, Sirius and Remus (as godfathers to the twins), and Alice and Frank Longbottom.
James felt uneasy with the lack of Voldemort's presence. Most, if not all, of his top Death Eaters were here so it was obvious that he meant to kill the Longbottom's tonight, but unless the Dark Lord was already inside the house—which James considered unlikely as there would be a commotion—or hiding invisibly somewhere outside—also unlikely since he would have come to help when the Order started overpowering his Death Eaters—it meant that the Dark Lord was not present.
That meant that he was somewhere else, which did not make any sense; he would want to be there when one of the candidates of the prophecy died. James wondered if it was all a diversion and the real threat was not as evident.
James frowned, but knew there was no way Voldemort could be at Godric's Hollow; the children were under the protection of the Fidelius Charm and only the Secret Keeper could tell that monster how to get inside. Furthermore, that same Secret Keeper was inside the house babysitting at that very moment; besides, there was no way Peter would betray his friends in such a manner. James felt certain each of the Marauders considered their brotherhood important enough that any one of them would die for another.
James knew there was no reason for his paranoia, but he could not help but worry over how wrong everything seemed. However, he needed to concentrate on the battle before him, so he pushed all his doubts and fears to the back of his mind. Indecision would only get him killed.
James dodged out of the way of another oncoming spell and found himself back to back with his best friend and brother, in everything except blood, Sirius Black.
"You having fun yet, Padfoot, ol' boy?" James shouted over the din of screams, curses, and yelled incantations.
"Course! I love parties; especially when I crash 'em!" Sirius replied exuberantly, barking out a laugh as he traded spells with three Death Eaters in front of him.
James wondered how he did it; apparently the Death Eaters did too judging from their bewildered looks as Sirius kept a shield up while simultaneously casting spells. That was when James remembered Sirius' spare wand that he only used on 'special occasions.'
He was forced to focus again as a few of the Death Eaters in front of him decided to take a leaf out of their comrades' book and barrage James with curses, hexes, and jinxes. Not having a spare wand handy like Sirius, James conjured a golden shield to physically block the curses coming his way. Since he was so good at Transfiguration and feeling exceptionally confident this evening, James had even added a red lion to symbolize Gryffindor on the front of his shield.
He tried not to worry about Lily, who was battling on the other side of the field; they had purposely separated from each other because James knew even a moment's hesitation could be fatal; if he was too worried about defending her, he would be unable to take care of himself.
James was able to transfigure a few of the Death Eaters into inanimate objects to keep them stationary. Unfortunately, the others were starting to realize that they were no match for the more outgoing pair of the Marauders and were seeking to overcome their disadvantage by using physical force instead of spells. Those that remained began drawing their circle in tighter, leaving the duo nowhere to dodge and forcing them to fight in close quarters.
'So, you wanna play it that way, do ya?' James thought right before he began slinging his shield around in every direction, hitting all the Death Eaters he could with the hard, metallic object in his hands. Despite the unorthodox method, it was pretty effective.
James heard Sirius's Death Eaters yelling in surprise and wondered what kind of creativity his friend had cooked up this time. He did not dare look behind him, as he faced down several of his own challengers crowded around him. However, he knew it had to be humiliating, because that was the way the Marauders fought—playfully. James and Sirius always ended up in situations just like this one when they did field work as Aurors. Every single time, the pair would not only outmaneuver and outfight their opponents, but they also seemed to find a way to prank their victims in the middle of it all as well. It was a measure of how skilled and creative they could be, but it was also extremely risky to play around in such a fashion in the middle of a fight.
Lily constantly berated him for doing it, not wanting him to get overconfident and thus end up hurt in some way. It had taken several years of her constant nagging, "Better safe than sorry," for him to finally tone down the pranks while he fought, but he also knew that if you could make your enemy angry enough, they were likely to make mistakes.
James dodged to the right as a spell went soaring past, and he felt Sirius follow him. They both knew that, since they were back to back, if one dodged out of the way, the other would get hit if he didn't. The two had perfected the back to back fighting style a long time ago as students when they fought against Slytherins.
Spells and curses zipped all around the battlefield, faster than the eye could follow, leaving trails of colored light in their wake. James' wand hand was a blur of motion as he cast a barrage of spells at the adversaries around him, but as soon as he took one down, another Death Eater quickly filled in the gap.
He was so focused on the fight in front of him that he failed to register Sirius dodging something behind him, which meant he needed to move too. He tried to get out of the way, but was too slow and the curse seared his side as it soared by.
"You okay, Prongs?" Sirius asked, his voice concerned, as James hissed in pain, clutching his side with his free hand, and continuing use his wand to duel with the other.
"Yeah, just peachy," James said through gritted teeth.
While Sirius probably knew that James was lying, he was smart enough to assume that the injury was not worrisome enough to try and Apparate his friend to safety.
James used a lull in the fight after taking down several Death Eaters to mutter the counter curse to the spell that hit him, and tap the wound with his wand. Almost immediately the pain leaked out of his side and he was able to breathe easier.
Looking back up to deal with whatever foe now awaited him, James was shocked to realize that all the Death Eaters were gone, including those who had already been taken down. All the Death Eaters they had captured were gone.
Remus came up to them, followed by several other members of the Order, and asked, "Did we get any of them? I don't sense any more Death Eaters, do you?"
"No," said James, panting a bit.
"You're getting old, Prongs!" Sirius crowed, a smirk plastered to his face, covering the concern he was trying to hide from the others. Sirius knew James would get mad at him if he were the one to make Lily aware of his friend's injury.
James smiled back at them, holding out a hand to take Lily into his arms, "It's because Lily's fattening me up so much with her marvelous cooking."
She grinned at him, but looked away again, back towards what looked like three slightly indistinguishable figures heading for the group of Order members. Frank and Alice Longbottom came into view, Dumbledore leading the couple towards the group with little Neville perched on Alice's hip.
Lily examined them critically. Alice and Frank both seemed calm, but they were Aurors and knew how to keep their head in a crisis, but little Neville was shaking and clinging to his mother. Lily imagined the poor boy had never heard so much screaming and seen so many flashing lights before.
"Oh, poor thing," Lily cooed. "He must have been terrified."
"He did all right," Frank said; his deep, rumbling voice was full of pride as he looked down at his son and wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "He was quiet and watchful, but didn't cry any. He's definitely going into Gryffindor, I think."
Alice smiled and shook her head; her voice was sweet and melodious as she spoke, "That's because he had his mummy and daddy with him the whole time. I can't imagine how this might have affected him if we weren't there with him. I know I've heard that children who face such serious trauma at such a young age will often find themselves haunted by it for many years afterward."
Albus Dumbledore interrupted their light conversation with Order intelligence, saying, "There was only a little bit of damage done to the house, but until we get the house fixed up and the wards repaired, the Longbottoms will be staying at Hogwarts in some of the spare teacher's quarters."
"That's good. Why don't you come on over to our house for a little bit while you wait on the house elves to get your suite ready? Lily's been slaving away all day trying to prepare our Halloween feast. I'm afraid we had to run out on Harry and Evan once we heard what happened." James told the couple.
"That sounds lovely. Are you sure we won't be imposing?" Alice asked kindly.
"Not at all, and we have plenty of food. We were expecting Sirius and Peter to come over anyways, and you know how much they eat, so there is definitely enough for the three of you."
James winked at Sirius and Remus, one of whom appeared ready to hex the myopic Marauder and the other looking faintly amused.
"If you don't mind, we'd love to."
James smiled and turned back to Sirius and Remus. "You know, Moony, that offer's open for you too. We weren't expecting you back from your mission quite yet, but we'd be glad to have you."
"And I'd be glad to attend. Besides, we can't have the twins missing out on seeing their Uncle Moony, now can we?"
"Definitely not!"
Before they could leave, Sirius pulled James slightly away from everyone else and asked, "Don't you think you need to get that looked at, James?" as he indicated the gash in James' side.
"Don't worry, Padfoot; I'll get a bandage on it as soon as I get home. I don't want Lily to worry."
"You don't think she might notice something like that sooner or later? You might as well just tell her and get it over with."
"And what should I say? Hey, honey, I've got a boo-boo; could you kiss it for me and make it better? Would that satisfy you?"
Sirius suppressed a burst of laughter at the thought of James saying such a thing to his wife, and replied, "Actually, that would 'satisfy' me quite a bit. Just don't mind the maniacal laughter behind you if you do!"
"Very funny," James deadpanned, trying not to roll his eyes.
"Look, I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore. Can we leave now? Everyone's waiting for us."
"Okay, fine, whatever," Sirius said, throwing his hands into the air in defeat.
The two returned to the others and with that, the group split up, going their separate ways. Since everybody who was traveling to the Potter's house had already been clued in to the location of their house in Godric's Hollow, they all Apparated to the Potter home, only to be met with absolute chaos.
The six adults all gaped at the obvious destruction to the small cottage, and it did not take long to rouse Lily and James from their stupor. As soon as they saw the damage, they both ran towards the house, yelling their sons' names. The others took off after the couple, only a few steps behind.
They entered the building cautiously, picking their way through the debris to the dinning room where the Potters had left their two boys. Lily and James were devastated as they began frantically searching for their children, calling their names.
Frank told Alice to take Neville back outside and call the Order back. "The building doesn't look stable and I don't want anything to happen to you or Neville. Don't worry, I'll help James and the others look for their kids."
She nodded to him and began picking her way back around the rubble, circumspectly making her way back outside to summon the Order and Dumbledore. They arrived a few minutes later due to their already heightened alert from the Longbottoms. They all noticed the devastation and Dumbledore asked, "Who all was supposed to be in the house?"
"From what I understand, it was Peter and the twins."
Dumbledore nodded and waved his wand, casting a spell the others had not seen before. It lit up the area in a wide spectrum of colors while the Order looked bewildered; however, Dumbledore seemed to understand what he was seeing perfectly and took off into the house, some of the Order following and some staying with Alice and Neville to search the premises.
Once inside the demolished building, Dumbledore and a few of the Order members met up with James, Frank, and the others.
"Have you found anything yet?" Dumbledore asked them, still looking around at the different colors from his spell, analyzing them, determining where the most magical power sources were.
"No, not yet," Frank replied softly.
"What happened, Albus?" they asked him.
He replied, "I suspect that this is the reason Voldemort was not present at the Longbottom's residence. He came here to kill the Potters."
The crowd gasped, but James thought it made sense. He had wondered where Voldemort was during the battle, and now he had his answer.
Dumbledore drifted off towards an exceptionally bright, golden glow coming from the cabinets under the sink in the kitchen. They were blocked by wreckage, and it took the team several minutes to get through to the cabinet where they found two little boys, resting beside each other, still clinging to each others' clothes.
The Headmaster carefully levitated the two boys out from under the sink so that they hovered before their parents, who each clutched their children to themselves with worried intensity.
"Oh thank Merlin!" Lily cried, holding onto her amber-haired son Evan.
"But where's Peter?" James asked stupidly.
Sirius stepped in at this question, understanding the implications almost immediately, and said, "Don't you get it, James? Peter's the traitor! It's been him all along!"
"W-what?" James spluttered.
"You do remember that I switched being Secret Keepers with him, right?"
James nodded tentatively, but the other Order members burst out with exclamations of "What?" "When?" and "Why didn't you tell us?"
Sirius ignored them and said fiercely, "So, if Peter was the Secret Keeper and somehow Voldemort managed to discover the location of your house in Godric's Hollow, how do you think he did it?"
"But Peter would never tell!"
"Wouldn't he? Whoever Voldemort is getting his information from, they're obviously close to you and in the Order. Peter has always followed those who will protect him. That used to be us, but now it looks like he's found someone else."
"It can't be! Peter would never do that! Voldemort must have tortured it out of him!"
Lily shook her head, coming to the logical conclusion as well, "I'm sorry, James, but I think Sirius is right. He looked perfectly fine when he came over to tell us about the attack on the Longbottoms. If he had that information tortured out of him, why didn't he warn us before we left? Why hasn't he said anything?"
"He was probably memory charmed afterwards!"
"No, James. Think about it, he was nervous and pale when he arrived. I thought he looked sick before, but it makes sense now. He was expecting Voldemort to come. Besides, we knew there was a spy in the Order; after all, they've been passing information to Voldemort for almost a year now."
"They're right," said Remus slowly, putting together the pieces. "Voldemort knows how much we trust each other; he must have thought we'd never suspect Peter, and he was correct. Peter's the one who never seemed to think he fit in very well with us; a 'tag along,' he used to say."
"When did he say that?"
"When we were still in school. It was during one of our study sessions when I was trying to help him with homework. You two berks had finished hours before, and were off somewhere planning a prank."
"But...how could he?" said James softly, looking down at the little boy he held in his arms. Harry did not stir, just continued to clutch at his father's shirt with a vice-like grip. James brushed Harry's fringe off his forehead before giving him a tiny butterfly kiss.
"Are they okay, Albus?" Lily asked looking at Harry's still form as well.
Dumbledore examined Harry for a moment, prodding him softly with his wand and said, "He's magically exhausted. From what my earlier scans of the house showed me, the boys were originally in the dinning room where the explosion seemed to originate. From what I noticed of the way the debris fell, it appears to have been Harry's magic that kept the ceiling from falling on the boys. They apparently ran to hide in the kitchen cabinets where Harry continued to use magic to protect them until he passed out. That's why all this debris seemed to land around these cabinents instead of on top of them, and why we had such a hard time digging them out."
When Dumbledore went over to inspect Evan, however, they all noticed the thin, lightening-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Lily gasped and asked, "I thought you said none of the debris hit them!"
Dumbledore barely seemed to listen as he muttered and hmmed to himself. Finally, he looked up at them and said, "You are correct, he was not cut by wreckage. This scar was made by Dark Magic."
"What does that mean, Albus?" Lily asked fearfully, the implication of the mark upon her child's forehead slamming into her like a ton of bricks.
Dumbledore looked into Lily's emerald eyes solemnly, his blue eyes seeming to pierce her very soul as he replied, "I think you know exactly what it means, my dear."
Evan Potter had been marked by the Dark Lord, just as the prophecy said.
"What's going on? What are you talking about, Headmaster?" someone asked.
"It appears that this boy has managed to deflect the Unforgivable Killing Curse upon its castor."
Some of the other Order members who were not privy to the contents of the prophecy, gasped, exclaiming, "You mean the boy blocked the Killing Curse? How? There is no possible way! No one has ever survived it before!"
"Are you saying that Voldemort is dead?"
"The war is finally over?"
"That's brilliant!"
"That kid's going to be famous!"
"Evan Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived!"