MAGIC'S WORTH

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners.

-MWMWMW-

Prologue

October 31st 1981

Potter Manor.

Lord Voldemort gracefully ascended the stair leading to the large doors at the entrance of Potter Manor. Attacking the ancient home had never crossed his mind as this was one of the few remaining houses that have stood the test of time and looked like it wasn't going anywhere.

While not as old as Hogwarts, Potter Manor was one of the infrastructure built at the same as the ministry. The Potter line despite its tendency to mix in mudbloods, they had survived all this time and also managed to produce some of the most powerful wizards and witches the wizarding world had seen. Through the bonds between the people and their ancestral home, the building and wards kept growing stronger and by this point, were some of the most powerful private wards, right up there with the Blacks.

At this point, it was impossible to destroy them. And if anyone tried to force their way inside, they would meet a long agonizing death. So he had found another way, glad once again that he had been smart enough to get as much information from Helena Ravenclaw as possible before she had started suspecting that he had some ill motives.

With a little bit of blood procured from James Potter thanks to Wormtail, he had managed to temporarily fool the wards to recognize him as a Potter until they were updated. It had taken some attempts to make it work and had cost him some followers as he had wanted to be sure before he could come himself. And here he was, with only few of his inner-circle aware of his plans to attack the Potter ancestral home.

It would have been much easier if those fools had made Wormtail their secret keeper. Then, he wouldn't have been forced to attack an ancient home let alone be forced to face the elder potters. James and Lilly Potter had been hidden behind the Fidelius for the better part of two years he had never gotten the opportunity to attack to get rid of the boy. As if one boy was not enough, the Potters somehow managed to get another son on the exact same day, making both their sons to be contenders for the prophecy. Not to mention the Longbottom kid.

With the rate at which the contenders were popping up, the urgency to get rid of them was increasing as the longer he took the higher the chance of being defeated, no matter how laughable it was for someone years younger to defeat him when even Albus Dumbledore couldn't. It was that urgency that had driven him to Potter Manor while he sent his most trusted and most powerful of his inner-circle to get rid of the Longbottom boy.

The doors creaked open to let him in when he had just reached them and he wondered what awaited him inside the house. He had it on good authority that the two boys were here. For some reason, the Order of the Phoenix had decided to meet today, inviting the Potters as well though he wasn't sure where they had decided to meet. James and Lily Potter had entrusted the care of their children to the elder Potters so they could go for the meeting unknowingly giving Voldemort the opening he had been waiting for ever since he had been told about the prophecy.

"My wife had been sure you would come." A voice said. "I honestly had my doubts."

"So you are expecting me." Voldemort replied as he tried to hide his surprise while studying Lord Potter. The man had aged quite a bit since he last saw him. At ninety, the man still looked strong though, his dark messy hair was tied in a ponytail, sharp facial features still looking strong and aristocratic despite the obvious signs of age. The hazel eyes that he had passed on to his son were peering at him in amusement.

"Not me, my wife." Fleamont Potter replied. "I thought you were too much of a coward to come here. But she insisted that your stupidity and recklessness would win out and clearly she was right. Just like always."

"You think me a coward?" Lord Voldemort asked in honest surprise. No one had dare called him a coward, maybe they were just afraid of what he can do. And with good reason too though apparently this fear didn't apply to the man standing across from him.

Fleamont Potter was a very powerful wizard. While not at the level of Dumbledore and obviously not Voldemort himself, he was very skilled and knew how to efficiently use what power he had. His dueling skill was prodigal even while still at Hogwarts as he had made sure no one mocked his name. He had gone ahead to establish himself over the years and even had gone toe-to-toe with Grindelwald himself a number of times. However, everyone knew that Fleamont Potter never started a fight even though he was quite efficient in ending them, well unless you did something he considered an attack to the name Potter.

"What would you call a half-blood who hides behind a fake name while running around calling himself a Lord?" Potter asked in amusement and Lord Voldemort stomped the anger that rose up in him. "It doesn't matter to me either way, you came, and you have made your last mistake Tom Riddle."

"You don't have to die Lord Potter." Lord Voldemort said even as his wand slid into his hand. "Give me the boys and I will walk right out of this place and no hair on you head will be harmed."

"We both know that I will not do that."

"A lot of magical blood has been spilled already and I wouldn't want to add you on that list."

"And who is to blame for that?" Potter laughed even as he straightened and got into a stance, wand already spitting sparks in preparation. "I know I will die today Tom Riddle but so are you."

Tom felt his temporary connection with the wards snap and his eyes widened.

"You thought I didn't know about that did you?" Potter was now glaring. "These are Ancient wards Thomas, you don't just waltz in without my permission. I let you in here for a reason and just like the stupid little boy with delusions of grandeur that you are, you stupidly walked to your death."

Lord Voldemort felt the wards go into lockdown and he knew that the only way he was going out of this place was with help from outside. But first, he was going to kill the fool who thought he could trap him.

The green light of the killing curse was already streaming from his wand before he even thought of it. A flurry of spells all meant to kill their target with a single hit followed even as he switched from his right hand to his left. He suddenly spun around as a shimmering shield appeared before him blocking three exploding curses. The shield shattered on the third curse even as it continued and slammed into his shoulder. The enchantments on his robes took the brunt of the attack but the force of the curse sent him flying across the entrance hall into the position where his earlier curses had just landed.

"You see what happens when you think of yourself as a Lord but have no idea what it entails to be one." Potter lectured.

Lord Voldemort flared his magic and a wave of pure whit magic erupted from him heading straight for Potter. Potter slashed his wand and a bright blue shield appeared in front of him. The wave of magic however simply moved around the shield and slammed into the older man who disintegrated into a pile of stones. Voldemort had already been moving, slashing his wand and a round ring of fire erupted into all directions splashing harmlessly into the stone walls.

"Where are you hiding you little coward?"

"Well look at that." Potter said appearing across him. "The pot calling the kettle black now?"

"You seem so intent on hiding yet you call me a coward."

"Well I'm an old man, you don't expect me to face you head-on do you?" Potter asked with a grin which faded into a grim look. "However, if you insist I will give you the fight you want."

Potter let his magic loose and Voldemort prepared himself. It had been some time since he had had a fight worth his time as Dumbledore preferred to avoid him at all costs.

Potter started casting, even as he started moving. The method of fighting was not easy as one needed to keep coordination between his casting and movements as well as keeping track of what your enemy was doing. Not many people were capable of pulling off but Fleamont Potter was one of the known few who could and quite efficiently at that. Not even Voldemort himself could do it and had been itching all his time to face one who could.

Voldemort deflected curse after curse while at the same time sending back a flurry of dark spells but none of them hit his opponent. He was starting to wonder how long this dance would take before Potter got tired when something slammed into his back. He stumbled in surprise and a bone breaker slammed into his wand hand shattering it. His wand fell from his hands and even as he wandlessly summoned it to his right hand, arrows embedded themselves into his kneecaps and he fell on his knees barely escaping a Reducto aimed at his head.

The floor shifted under him as he tried to get back to his feet just as a jet of water slammed into him sending him flying into a wall. Disoriented, he landed onto the water-covered floor and screamed as a bolt of lightning slammed into the water giving him a thorough electric shock. Blisters appeared on his skin and he grunted as he tried to regain control of the fight but Potter seemed not willing to lose control of the advantage he had gotten and Voldemort barely managed to avoid a killing curse. Knowing how close he had been to dying, Lord Voldemort decided to end the fight lest the older man got another change to finish him.

From where he was still lying in the puddle of water, he cast a dome shaped shield that absorbed all the spells Potter was sending. Surprised at the effect of the shield, Potter paused slightly and that was all the opening the Dark Lord need as he leaped on his feet, gritting his teeth at the pain on his skin as well as his nerves from the shock he had just been given. In the same movement, he dispelled the shield the cast three killing curses almost simultaneously, one right after another. Potter clearly surprised at the apparent recovery tried to dodge the curses and succeeded in dodging two but ran right into the third one.

The Dark Lord slumped as Potters lifeless body collapsed onto the ground. He would have never let anyone see him like this but he would be damned if he didn't take a moment to appreciate what a fighter the dead man had been. It had been some time since he had been pushed to this extent. Not even Dumbledore had ever pushed him to the blink of death as the old fool was never willing to push that far. As he felt his body start to heal from the damage, he wondered if more of the same was waiting for him upstairs where he knew Dorea Potter waited with the boys.

The witch leaned more towards healing but that didn't mean she didn't know how to kill. She was a Black after all and she had access to magic that not even Voldemort was capable of, one of the reasons why Bella was one of his valuable Death Eaters. While not as powerful as her husband, Dorea Potter- nee Black was a formidable witch on her own, and not many wizards or witches dared to cross her as when she decided to destroy you, you would end up less than a house-elf in the eyes of others. Retaliation was out of the question as she had no trouble making an example of those who tried while making sure that you lived to regret it.

He reached room where he could sense three life forms. On the door was a plague with HARRY POTTER written shakily. The door opened to let him in and the moment he stepped in, the door slammed shut behind him.

"You are here." Dorea Potter stated from where she was seated on the floor. "I see my husband did a number on you."

"He needn't have died." The Dark Lord replied. "And neither should you."

Voldemort could feel some kind of magic throughout the room though it was nothing he had experienced before.

"We all die, Tom." The Lady Potter replied. "What matters is how, and what we leave behind."

She looked behind her at the 3year-old standing in front of the crib where he knew the other bay was sleeping. "My legacy will live on after tonight, but what about you. How will they remember you, and what will be there for people to remember you about."

"I am not going anywhere, Lady Potter." Voldemort replied. "You and your legacy however will not go beyond this night."

"That is where you are wrong." The woman opened her right hand that was covered in blood and placed it on the stone floor right in front of her.

The room was plunged into darkness, the torches flickering out just as whatever light was coming from outside was cut off. Well except the area around Dorea's hand which was glowing an ethereal emerald light. The light formed into a straight line that shot along the floor towards where the Dark Lord was standing and before he could react, it formed an emerald ring around him. He suddenly found himself unable to move a single muscle, not even to draw breath.

"Goodbye my little prince. Please make me proud." Dorea's soft voice seemed to come from everyone.

"I will."

The ring surrounding Voldemort suddenly shrunk and the Dark Lord screamed. It felt like his very soul was on fire and the more the ring reduced in size the stronger the pain was. His whole being was on fire even as his magic fought to release him, his body slowly disintegrated. He very the very essence of his broken soul break even further but he could do nothing about it as his entire world was consumed in pain. The battle between the foreign destructive magic seemed to reach a crescendo and the combination of magic imploded, tearing whatever connection the wraith that had once recognized itself as Voldemort used to have with what remained of its body.

With the wraith free, there was only one instinct driving it, get as far away as possible and that is what it did. It fled as fast as it could until it was too weak to do anything but exist.

Back in Potter Manor, the Sowilo rune curved on Jimmy's forehead stopped glowing even as a small portion of the destroyed Dark Lord's soul lodged itself in the wound stopping it from healing completely. The one that had been curved on Harry Potter's chest just above his heart closed almost completely leaving a very light scar directly over his barely formed magical core.

Deep emerald orbs seemed to glow in the quiet darkness as the three-year-old made a promise to himself.

The legacy will indeed live on.

-MWMWMW-

4TH JUNE 1985

GREENGRASS MANOR

Daphne was bored. How she hated these stupid birthday parties where Lords and Ladies only came to show off. And that was not mentioning how unbearable her age mates were. All kids seemed to be stupid, none of those that had come to the party seemed to have anything to say for themselves except parroting what their parents told them. Was it too much to hope for anyone her age that she could have a meaningful conversation?

"Absolutely not!"

Daphne jumped slightly at the voice thinking for a second that the person had been addressing her.

"Oh come on Harry…" a girl whined. "It is only a dance."

"I said I am not having another dance with you if what you do could even be called dancing."

"Fine, I will find someone else." The girl huffed and Daphne heard footsteps retreating.

"Oh thank Merlin." The boy sighed. "You would think after what she just did to me she would at least be sympathetic."

There was a pause before Daphne slowly turned to find the boy looking at her expectantly.

"Are you… talking to me?"

"Well it's not like I would be talking to myself now would I?"

"You wouldn't exactly be the first." Daphne replied. "Who are you supposed to be anyway?"

"No one of importance I'm afraid." The boy sighed though something about him looked familiar. "You on the other hand are very much important, especially tonight."

The boy put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a wrapped box. It a bit medium sized and she could only guess what was inside.

"I wasn't sure what to bring you as I barely know you and my grandmother would have crucified me if I went on a party without a gift." The boy smiled, green eyes boring into her. "Happy Birthday Heiress Greengrass."

"What is it?"

"I can't spoil the surprise now, though I am convinced you will like." The boy smiled at her. He was pretty tall, and Daphne hazard a guess he was probably a year or two older than her. "Like I said, I wasn't sure what to get you and I had Nympha_ oh no."

Daphne followed the boy's sight and barely managed to stifle a gasp. There at the wall just at the edge of the dancing floor was an older girl, probably about eleven who was holding the Malfoy geir by the ear while. The five-year-old blonde was obviously whimpering in pain but the girl didn't seem to mind as she kept whispering something in the boy's ear.

"If you would excuse me Heiress Greengrass, I think me and my cousin have outlived our welcome." The boy gave her a bow and turned around before she could reply.

He almost effortlessly navigated his way across the ballroom to reach the other pair. When he reached, the girl saw him and paled drastically as he grabbed her ear as well and pulled her out of the room. With Malfoy in tow as the girl hadnt released his ear.

Daphne was left watching the pair disappear through the doors in bewilderment and even after they had left, she just continued watching the door.

"What are you staring at?"

"I am not staring, Tracey." Daphne turned to her friend. "Where have you been?"

"We were looking for the boy-who-lived with Astoria but I don't think he came." Tracey replied and Daphne just shook her head. "What is that anyway?"

"What... Oh this, some boy just gave it to me." She replied as she looked at the box she had forgotten was still in her hand. "He refused to give me his name though, said that it wasn't important."

"Huh, intruiging." Tracy struck a pause, rubbing her chin.

Shaking her head, Daphne unwrapped the package and barely stopped herself from dropping it.

"Is that...?"

"I think it is." Tracey replied breathlessly. "Look, there is a note."

Daphne picked the note and saw a neat handwriting with two very familiar seals at the bottom.

Happiest Birthday Daphne Greengrass.

Heir Potter-Black.

"Yep, definitely intruiging." Tracey stated and Daphne couldn't disagree with that.