That Fateful Halloween
Godric's Hollow was a quiet little village, peaceful and subdued. Even tonight, Halloween night, the place seemed almost asleep despite couple of determined trick-or-treaters marching across the square. A soft pop announced the arrival of a hooded and cloaked figure which glided forward, smoothly and purposefully. Unnaturally red eyes glanced briefly at the children as they passed. Long white fingers fingered the slender wand briefly before the wizard continued onward.
This accomplished young Dark Lord was named Tom. Oddly enough, he preferred the title "Lord Voldemort." Of course, "Lord Tommy" does not have quite the same ring, so perhaps his preferences were not so strange after all.
Voldemort entered the gate, and calmly opened the door to a quiet home. The occupants already knew he was there; he could hear their frantic calls. As he entered the front door, he saw the silvery glow of a bright Patronus racing for help. It was no matter; by the time help arrived the child would be dead and he would be gone.
Voldemort easily dispatched James with a flick of his wand and continued upstairs. Stupid Gryffindors. They were far too reckless to realize that they would be safe if they stayed out of his way. They could not protect their son, and trying was a pointless endeavor that would merely get them killed.
Lily was waiting for him, standing between him and her son. She hadn't even drawn her wand.
She was no threat, so Voldemort decided to give her a chance. "Stand aside."
"Not Harry, please, not Harry." Clearly, she wasn't planning to take advantage of his mercy. He very generously repeated his offer.
"Stand aside, you silly girl." She was a talented witch. A mudblood, true, but she'd somehow produced a son 'with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.' So her bloodline clearly had some merit. Besides, a young and still rather impressionable servant of his had requested that he spare her. And Voldemort made a point of rewarding his faithful servants. There was really no need for her to die tonight.
Unsurprisingly enough, she was a Gryffindor after all, she did not accept his generous offer.
Arguing with a determined Gryffindor was a complete waste of time, Voldemort knew. And she still hadn't even raised her wand. She collapsed without even attempting to defend herself from his wordless spell. He slowly stepped forward, eyed riveted by the baby.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord…" Voldemort dealt with idiots every day. No one could hope to match his tremendous talent or his great intellect. But this tiny child, this baby boy, would possess the power to defeat him. The toddler could grow to be his equal.
That could not be allowed to happen.
Carefully, Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it directly between the boy's eyes. The brilliant green, clearly inherited from the mother, stared into his scarlet with a strange sort of calmness. If the toddler recognized Voldemort as the source of his impending death, he didn't show it. This complete lack of fear was…disquieting.
It would only take two words to end the threat posed by this child.
Voldemort said the words.
Lucius Malfoy blinked with confusion. For a few seconds, he'd thought he'd been summoned, but then it had stopped. He glanced across the room to Rodolphus Lestrange, who also looked rather puzzled. Lestrange's wife was frozen in place, staring at her forearm. In fact, all the Death Eaters attending the Malfoy Halloween gala seemed confused.
One hundred and sixty kilometers away from Godric's Hollow, Peter Pettigrew gasped as pain shot through his left arm, only to fade a moment later. Twenty paces for him, Severus Snape reflexively reached for his forearm in mid stride before dismissing the summons as unimportant. He apparated away before the pain had time to fade.
Disclaimer I own all of the above. Except the characters. And a lot of the plot. And the locations, for the most part. And the spells. And every idea I've borrowed from JKR. I probably missed something. I don't own that thing either.
A/N Reviews will always be treasured here. If you don't review, that's perfectly fine, BUT you are missing an opportunity to make my world a better place.