Unbroken Promises
AN: This story is AU, what would have happened if Lily had asked Severus to take care of Harry if anything happened to her or James. I'm deviating from cannon in that Snape never went and asked Voldemort to spare Lily's life, instead he goes to Godric's Hollow on Halloween to try and save her. Sorry for people who wanted an update to Because of Draco Malfoy, my other story, I know it's been awhile since I updated.
Disclaimer: Anything recognizable doesn't belong to me, of course!
Without further ado. . .
The two figures sat at a wooden park bench in the unused corner of a park, huddled over in what seemed like quite an important discussion, although no sound could be heard. The difference between the two caused passersby to stare in confusion, but they quickly looked away and forgot about the two people, the silent conversation, and the odd-looking clothing worn by the pair, for it was a dark time and Lily Potter and Severus Snape could not risk being seen together.
Finally, after many tears and also heated debates, the two childhood friends embraced and said a tearful goodbye. After Lily gave a small cloth to Severus they both disappeared with two soft pops, leaving no evidence that they were ever there.
Night of October 31, 1981
Severus Snape knew that something was wrong from the instant he was summoned to the Dark Lord. Once all of the Inner Circle Death Eaters had assembled, Lord Voldemort spoke.
"Tonight, I will be eliminating a very real threat to our goals: The Potter family."
Everyone around the room was stunned to silence. The Potter family, because of the prophecy, was supposed to be hidden behind layers of wards, including a Fidelius charm.
"M-my Lord," he stammered, "How did you. . .What about the Fidelius?"
"Severus, a Slytherin does not reveal their secrets." With that, Voldemort apparated away.
He put on a mask of indifference, but he was absolutely panicked. No one that Voldemort tried to kill made it out alive, and he would not let his best friend from childhood be murdered by the Dark Lord. However, he knew that going after him and trying to stop him from killing Lily, Harry, and James would blow his cover as a spy forever. Before he could stop himself, he strode purposefully from the room, robes billowing behind him. He jogged to the edge of the grounds, pulled out a square of cloth that he carried with him at all times, whispered "Aconite," and disappeared from the Manor.
After he blinked, he stood in front of the Potter house in Godric's Hollow. He walked inside quickly, and ran to where he heard the identifiable laughter of the Dark Lord.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" yelled James.
As Severus ran into the room where Voldemort was, a flash of green light hit James in the chest, and he dropped like a marionette doll whos strings had been cut. Quickly, Voldemort turned and ran upstairs after Lily. They were in a locked room with furniture, but with a quick Confringo the door was torn to smithereens.
Severus ran into the room and threw himself between Lily, hunched over a crying Harry, and Voldemort. Lily's eyes were wide with shock at seeing her former best friend, and Voldemort's eyes shone with fury.
"My Lord, please don't kill her, she was my first and only friend growing up. It's not her you want, please."
"Well, Severus, I didn't know you had a liking for mudbloods. But as you wish. Potter, step aside, give me the child, and I won't hurt you."
Lily remained at Harry's crib, arms protecting Harry. Glancing at Severus, she whispered, "No. Remember the promise, Severus?"
In the one moment that they looked away from Voldemort, he fired two spells, one red and one bright green. Severus began to create a shield, but it was too late. The first spell hit him in the chest, and as he fell to the ground unconscious, he saw the second spell hit Lily in the chest and as she collapsed, the light went out of her eyes.
Later. . .
He opened his eyes to the sound of hushed voices, the sound of footsteps on stairs, and the sight of an unfamiliar half-destroyed nursery. Confused, he sat up, and at seeing Lily's body, he remembered everything and began to weep. Leaving an Inner Circle meeting, portkeying to Godric's Hollow, James' death – not that he cared about the man that had tormented him for seven years at Hogwarts, trying to protect Lily from the Dark Lord's wrath, watching her die as he fell into unconsciousness. But where was Harry, the potential child of the prophecy that had made the Potters a target of the Dark Lord? Had he survived?
Ignoring the throbbing in his head, he sat up, brushed the splinters from his robe, and ran to the crib. Inside was a sleeping Harry with a fresh curse scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. Remembering his promise to Lily that he made more than a year earlier, he awkwardly scooped up the sleeping child into his arms, kissed Lily on the forehead, and turned to walk out of the room, only to come face-to-face with Albus Dumbledore. His normally twinkling eyes had lost much of their usual shine as he surveyed the damage of the house.
"Albus, how. . .?"
"If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear. You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son."
At this, Severus hung his head. "It's my fault, I could have saved them if only I had known. She wouldn't step aside for the Dark Lord to kill Harry."
"No, my dear boy. There was nothing you could do. As to young Harry's survival, the fact that he survived is what matters. I will be taking him now, I must give him to his aunt and uncle so he can live with his family."
"You can't mean Petunia, she absolutely hates magic. When Lily got her Hogwarts letter and she didn't she became so jealous. I remember she even wrote a letter to Hogwarts asking if she could attend."
"Severus, family is family."
"No, Dumbledore, please. I promised. . ."
Dumbledore cut him off. "If the boy is raised in the Wizarding world, he will be famous from now on, for something he won't even be able to remember. Now, I will take Harry and go to his family on Four Privet Drive. Excuse me."
Grabbing Harry, Dumbledore apparated out, leaving a speechless Snape. He could not, would not, break his promise to Lily.
*Flashback*
Severus Snape was shocked, to say the least, on the frigid day that he received an owl in his private Hogwarts quarters from someone who he thought would never talk to him again after he called her a mudblood. For a reason she did not state in the letter for fear of interception, she asked to meet him in a muggle park, so it was on a cold winter morning that he apparated into an alley near a place he once knew well: his childhood home of Spinner's End. He strode quickly to their meeting place and looked at the time. Lily would be arriving any second.
After several minutes, she came running over. They regarded each other coolly.
"Evans – no it's Potter now – Would you care to inform me of why I am here?"
Lily sighed. "Always to-the-point as ever, Severus. Let me put up some silencing charms, and if you wouldn't mind putting up a Notice-Me-Not?"
When they were finished the two sat at a now heavily warded table in a quiet section of a muggle park.
"Now, you realize that were I a loyal Death Eater, I would have turned you in by now?" asked Severus.
"After You-Know-Who learned of the prophecy, the Order knew that it had been overheard, and Aberforth told Dumbledore that he had thrown someone out of the Hog's Head that night, and the person he began to describe was unmistakably you. I know this because after you began to show up at Order meetings, I became suspicious, because I knew you were a Death Eater. I asked Dumbledore, and he said that he had no doubts of your loyalty to the Light. So, my request for you is simple. If you hear Voldemort plans to attack us because of the prophecy, or if James and I are killed, please protect Harry, he's so young and should not have to be a part of this war."
"I promise on my life and magic that I will try my best to protect Lily Potter nee Evans, James Potter, and Harry Potter. So mote it be."
With that, for an instant he was surrounding by a blinding white light.
Lily's eyes widened at the oath. "But that means if you don't, you lose your magic."
Anything for you, he thought.
A little while later, after some reminiscing about the time before the war, they both had to leave as to not arouse suspicion as to where they had gone. Lily had told James she was going shopping for some presents in Diagon Alley, and she couldn't take too long without him becoming suspicious that she went somewhere else.
"This will probably be our last meeting before the war's end. Goodbye Lily."
"Severus, I will always remember you."
As he turned to leave, Lily said "Wait. I need to give this to you. It's keyed into the wards at Godric's Hollow, we are going under the Fidelius to protect ourselves from You-Know-Who. The password is Aconite, but it can only be used once. Be careful, Severus, and I will never be able to thank you enough for telling me that I was a witch."
Snape whispered, "Goodbye Lily. Thank you for being my first and best friend. I am so, so sorry for all of the times I hurt you. Please stay safe."
The two hugged and then quietly disapparated.
*End Flashback*
Now, as Severus stood in the ruins of the Potter's home, he wept for his friend, his first love, the person he would never see again, and all of the memories they shared. He knew that he could not let Harry live with the Dursleys, so he apparated to the house of one person he never wanted to see again.
Privet Drive was a row of very ordinary-looking houses, and Severus thought it most definitely fit the people living in the house. Looking around, he saw Dumbledore and McGonagall standing in a discussion. Inching closer, he began to hear their conversation.
". . .but how on earth did Harry survive?" asked McGonagall.
"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."
"Dumbledore, why are you here in this muggle town, especially at Number Four?"
"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."
McGonagall gasped. "You can't mean the people who live here. They. . ."
She was cut off by Dumbledore. "It's the best place for him. His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything when he gets older, I've written them a letter."
"A LETTER? You think you can explain all this in a letter? He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future – there will be books written about him, every child in the world will know his name!"
"And that's exactly why he needs to live with his muggle relatives," replied Dumbledore. "Can't you see how much better he will be growing up without all of the hero worship he is sure to encounter in the Wizarding world?"
She opened up her mouth to respond, was about to comment, and closed her mouth again. Severus knew that there was something Dumbledore was hiding, surely there could be a family that would love him as more than the Boy-Who-Lived. He still chose not to reveal himself and remained in the shadows while Hagrid descended on a flying motorbike.
The three began briskly walking down the street, and the thundering of Hagrid's footsteps stopped him from hearing any more of their conversation. After a few minutes, they put Harry down and walked down the street. Dumbledore stopped almost where Severus was standing and whispered, "Good luck, Harry," and then disappeared into the night.
He waited a little while longer until he removed himself from his hiding place, gave one last glare to Number Four, and disappeared, resolving to return in the morning.
Morning of November 1, 1981. . .
Petunia Dursley was expecting a perfectly normal day with her perfectly normal son and husband. After all of the weird occurrences the day before, with owls flying during the day and shooting stars and all of the things that reminded her of them – her sister's kind. She opened the front door to pick up the milk and screamed as she saw a child on the porch. Not wanting her neighbors to notice anything odd, she grabbed the baby, resolving to call the police as soon as she could. Taking the child out of the basket, she thought it looked a lot like – no it could not be – Lily and James's (was that her husband's name?) child. They had sent a picture which she had quickly discarded, after all the picture moved! Looking in the basket, maybe she would keep the basket but not the child, she noticed a letter. Ripping it open, she read about the death of Lily and James and how they were supposed to take care of Harry now.
She yelled up the stairs, "Vernon, you need to come down now. We have a problem with them."
Vernon came waddling down the stairs as quickly as he could, for any mention of Petunia's sister's kind was forbidden. Petunia quietly handed him the letter and his hands shook with fury as he began to read.
"No, I will not have one of them in my house, absolutely not." As he continued to read, he saw the money that would be given to them for the safekeeping of the child and his eyes widened. "Well, Petunia, we can keep him, but we have to beat it out of him. I don't want my Dudley growing up with one of the You-Know-Whats. Most certainly not."
Vernon turned around and walked upstairs with a huff. Immediately after he had gone back into the bedroom to get ready for work, there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door and saw one person she hadn't seen for many years, another one of them, but one she had grown up with and who she was never on good terms with.
"Snape, what are you doing here?" she asked. "Well, get into the house. I certainly wouldn't want any of your type to be seen around here. Imagine the gossip it would cause!"
"I take it you are enjoying your very normal life," he sneered. His gaze settled on Dudley. "I take it you have a normal husband and normal child as well."
Petunia fought back tears as she remembered her childhood desire to be a witch like Lily, every time she asked she was turned down.
"Well, what are you doing in my house? If it's just to mock me, then get out! I love Vernon and Dudley and wouldn't give them up for the world of yours."
"No, in fact, I'm here for the boy. Before you say anything, I want everything that was brought over with him. I understand there was a letter? And don't try any funny business," he said as he pulled out his wand.
Petunia nodded quickly, too scared to say anything. She handed over Dumbledore's letter and Severus read it.
"Okay, I will pay you twice the amount that this letter says under several conditions. You do not tell anyone of the boy's existence, do not tell them that you ever had a child left on your doorstep. You will continue with your life as it used to be. In fact, OBLIVIATE."
She turned from the room with a dazed expression on her face, walked into the kitchen, and began making a snack for Dudley.
Severus turned to Dudley, saying "Obliviate." The toddler looked around and fell asleep. Finally, he had to find Petunia's husband. Vernon, he thought she said?
However, he didn't need to do any looking, for the overweight man walked down the stairs in a crisp suit. Vernon's eyes widened as he realized that one of them was in his house, and he was about to yell when Snape said "Obliviate," one last time.
With that, he took Harry in his arms, shrinking the letter, the blanket, and the basket it all came in and putting it in his pocket, and he disappeared.
AN: So, I'm unsure whether to keep this as a oneshot or to make it a full story. What do you think? Reviews are always appreciated, they make my day! Thanks, and I appreciate any feedback you have!