January 12th, The Riddle House
Severus Snape waited on his knees in the ante-chamber in his Lord's house. The summons had been sudden and unexpected, yet he had resisted the urge to clasp the Dark Mark which had burned fiercely on his left arm for a minute. The Mark was a skull, with a snake protruding from its mouth in lieu of a tongue. Snape still remembered the fierce pride he had felt when Lord Voldemort had touched his wand tip to his forearm and whispered "Morsmodre".
He had been 17, fresh out of Hogwarts, and looking for an employer that would give him the respect he required as a potions expert.
He was well on his way to getting his Mastership of the subject, working on developing a potion of his own to combat the effects of the Crutiatus Curse. What the venerated members of the potions guild did not know was that Snape was merely developing an antidote to the poison he had created, which mimicked the curse's effect. For some inexplicable reason, the antidote worked on people who were poisoned or cursed with the same effect.
He stiffened, forced his mind out of its ramblings and pushed his newly developed Occlumency shields to the forefront as he heard footsteps in the corridor. The Dark Lord was known to be the greatest Legilimens the world had ever seen, and it was impossible to lie to him or hide your thoughts. Unless you could occlude your mind. It was not that Snape would ever lie to his Lord. He merely resented the lack of privacy in his thoughts. He pushed away his thoughts again, and cleared his mind.
Lord Voldemort stalked into the room, followed by Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange. They had both been way senior to Snape in school, and still made him shudder. Bellatrix was a beautiful raven-haired witch of immense power, a pure-blood who could trace her ancestry back at least a thousand years. Malfoy on the other hand was a suave, blond wizard known for his cunning, and his sly casting of the most insidious mind spells which affected everyone he had ever tried them on. His family was descended from a second son of one of the kings of France, and had moved to Britain half a millennium ago. They were still proud of their heritage and expected to be treated like royalty. Snape couldn't stand him.
"Severus" said the Dark Lord in dulcet tones that had Snape shiver slightly at their power. He was charismatic and debonair, with the power to sway people to his way of thinking, by one way or another. "My Lord," whispered Snape, pressing his forehead to the ground.
"Rise." He clicked his fingers. Snape stood slightly shakily, and kept his gaze focused on his Lord's knees. "Eyes to mine, Severus." Chided Voldemort in a gentle manner. People had died for believing there was anything gentle about the Dark Lord. Snape dutifully raised his eyes, and felt the mental spike of a Legilimency probe. There was silence in the room for about 3 minutes while the Dark Lord perused Snape's thoughts.
"Privacy, Severus?" said Voldemort in an amused tone. "Occlumency is a difficult art, only the most powerful wizards can practice it with any success." He sounded stern, and for a minute Snape thought he was about to be on the receiving end of one of his master's dreaded curses. "Nevertheless, I expect no less than the absolute best from my followers. You may continue your attempts at Occlumency with my blessing." Snape released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "However," continued Voldemort, causing him to stiffen again. "You must remember – Lord Voldemort always knows." Snape bowed his head, murmuring "Of course, My Lord".
"Always, My Lord!" added Lucius fervently, echoed by Bellatrix whispering "Always" in a slightly excited, yet awe filled voice.
The Dark Lord turned towards the window, where twilight was giving way to night. "This prophecy" he said suddenly. "Do you know who it speaks of?" he asked casually. "No, My Lord, I do not." replied Snape in surprise. He had only heard two lines of a so-called prophecy and had not given it much importance. He didn't think that the Dark Lord put any stock in divination; he had merely wanted to hear what Dumbledore was going to ask the divination witch, since he was hoping to apply for a position at Hogwarts himself, once he had his Mastership.
"Find out." Said Voldemort in a deceptively demure voice. It was a command none the less. "Your will, My Lord." said Severus with a bow, exiting the room at a flick of Malfoy's fingers towards the door.
"And Severus, speak of this to no one else."
He bowed and left.
February 15th 1980
James Potter jumped up from his desk with a howl of delight. After 2 years of research and painstaking labor, he had discovered a possible way to be a multiple animagus. Animagi were rare among wizards, and had to be registered with the ministry of magic. Nobody knew that James and his friends had conquered the transformation while still in school, mostly due to his brilliance, and had been unregistered Animagi for almost 5 years.
His notes, which covered sheets and sheets of parchment and were many feet in length; were detailed and exact, with the theory worked out completely. He was understandably excited at the possible breakthrough. Being a multiple animagus had been considered almost a myth, Merlin was the only wizard known to have accomplished it.
He decided to begin the attempts as soon as possible, but out of prudence, magically copied his notes and decided to place them in his vault at Gringotts, the wizarding bank.
A quick floo to Diagon Alley saw James Potter striding through the Leaky Cauldron, thoughts still bent on his pet project. He deposited his notes, and decided to pay a visit to Ollivander, the wand-maker. Ollivander was old; he had been old even when James had bought his first wand from him almost 9 years before. James often amused himself by wondering if he was the original Ollivander from 382 B.C.
Sudden bangs and screams echoed around the Alley as he made his way towards the wand shop. He quickly drew his wand and walked forward with measured paces. The war between Voldemort's Death Eaters and the rest of the magical world had been going on since before James was in school, and prudence was as deeply ingrained in him as any other value. Yet he did not baulk nor think of running when there were people who could be in danger from Death Eaters just slightly ahead of him. He turned the corner. It was absolute mayhem. There were curses flying left and right with people ducking into shops and trying to get out of the way.
A huge sense of rage enveloped James as he saw a young mother cowering with her child in a doorway while the robed and masked Death Eaters sent spells towards them with a harsh laugh.
He conjured the best shield he could to protect them, while sending a bone breaking hex towards the nearest DE. It was war. James still grimaced as his hex made contact with the man's ribcage and he fell over spouting gouts of blood. He would be dead in a few minutes without medical attention. James saved his sympathy for the innocent and defenseless. He began dueling with three of the other Death Eaters, astounded that nobody else was standing against them. He quickly placed his hand on the Phoenix amulet he wore under his shirt, to signal the members of Dumbledore's order. They would know where he was and could home in on his signal to bring the fight to the Death Eaters. More screams echoed as there were pops and cracks of apparition all around the Alley. A huge attack. He realized suddenly and with the first pangs of worry. This was not a simple terror attack there was bound to be a reason for Death Eaters to be out in broad daylight, attacking people in the streets. More pops. Members of the Order were answering his distress signal, and the fight began in earnest.
Mad-Eye Moody, the auror stepped forward and was almost immediately set upon by three Death Eaters. The flashing green of a killing curse flew inches past him as he fought all three at once in an astonishing display of power and control. Not for nothing were Dark wizards afraid of Alastor Moody. He was as fierce as a tiger, and seemed to know what they would do before they did it. He was backed up by Gideon and Fabian Prewitt. They were twins, who had been two years senior to James in school. Known for their amazing capacity to duel together as a team, they quickly incapacitated two DE's before turning to a third.
The battle – for it was a battle – soon spread out over the street, breaking into minor skirmishes with two or three people involved. Most of the Order members sought to incapacitate rather than kill, but James felt absolutely no mercy towards them that would robe and mask themselves to serve a madman. Death Eaters had killed his parents just a year past, and his righteous wrath was scary even to people fighting on his side. He was a formidable wizard when roused and an amazing fighter.
It seemed to take hours. James was tired and weary as he moved towards yet another DE. How many of them does Voldemort have? He found himself wondering as he sent a stunner followed by a quick mutilation hex at a tall DE who was standing just in front of Ollivanders.
His heart stopped for a moment as he saw a flash of green heading towards Lily. When had she joined the fray? She gracefully sidestepped it and sent a charm at the potted plant next to the DE which enveloped him in a fatal hug. Like James, she had no qualms about fighting to kill. She saw the DE's and their master as bigots and racists, who were trying to purge people of mixed blood from their world. People like her. She fought with wild abandon. James idly mused on how beautiful she looked as he deflected a curse and sent one back at a portly DE who was keeping far back from the fight. Coward. They fought tirelessly for about 2 minutes more before the DE's disappeared simultaneously, apparently in response to some hidden signal. James stared around at the carnage and destruction they had left behind, impotent outrage welling up in his chest. He blinked back his tears of grief and anger as he set about helping everyone he could. Another day in the war between good and evil.
