That fateful Halloween night had started out normally. James and Lily were preparing for trick or treating children, and Lily had just put Harry down for a nap before all the excitement. Sirius and Remus would be coming over later in the night to help celebrate, but Peter was busy at the Ministry tonight. After all, it was war time, and the world didn't stop turning for a holiday.
As Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange crucioed the Longbottoms into insanity, Peter, Lucius Malfoy, and Antonin Dolohov made their way to the Potter home. After brutally incapacitating James and Lily, Lucius went to check on Harry while Peter and Antonin remained in the kitchen. Voldemort had ordered that Harry be brought to his headquarters. He believed Neville to be the child of the prophecy, but he would raise Harry as his heir. The Prince of Darkness⦠he shivered at the name. Harry would be the one to carry on his legacy, the one to slaughter muggle lovers and those with filthy blood. And let's not forget Dumbledore⦠The Dark Lord had a special plan set aside for him.
As the sun set, Remus and Sirius made their way to James and Lily's home, never expecting to encounter what lay in wait. Peter and Antonin tied them to chairs in the kitchen as Lucius made his way back downstairs. He pulled a small vial from an inner pocket of his robes that Severus had given him earlier, full of a highly experimental potion. As he force fed it to Remus and Sirius, he couldn't help but smile as their eyes misted over, and their jaws grew slack. He crouched down in front of them and spoke very slowly. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. Lily and James are dead. Someone broke into their home, and stole from them. The robbers were muggles. There is absolutely no use in trying to find the muggles responsible. You will convince Dumbledore of this. In the chaos, Dumbledore will forget about Harry. You will not question him, because Harry does not exist. There never was a Harry. James and Lily never had a child; Lily delivered a stillborn. Harry does not exist. Do you understand?" Remus and Sirius nodded vacantly. Lucius waved his hand dramatically, and all pictures of Harry were removed from the house. The baby furniture and toys were incinerated as the deatheaters climbed the stairs to retrieve Harry.
When the potion wore off, Remus and Sirius were still tied to the chairs in the kitchen. Sirius had a large cut on his head the was bleeding sluggishly and Remus looked around groggily. The kitchen was ransacked. The room slowly spun into focus as the men connected what had happened. Remus freed himself first and quickly untied Sirius. They ran into the living room and found James first. Remus burst into tears as Sirius firecalled Dumbledore to tell him what had happened.
After Lucius learned of Voldemort's destruction, he carried Harry to the nearest muggle orphanage as quickly as possible. Now that the Dark Lord was gone, he had to sever all ties to the dark arts as quickly as possible before the aurors started asking questions after the celebrations. If he were to keep Harry, he'd be in Azkaban faster than you could say 'magic'. By the time the sun rose, 2 families had been irrevocably changed. Neville Longbottom had been hailed as the Boy Who Lived, and Harry Potter would soon be placed with his last remaining relatives by muggle Social Services. After all, his future depended on the senility of a very old wizard, or the most corrupt of Voldemort's inner circle.
His prospects were not looking very good.
