Tetrahedron

Chapter 1: Birth

The maternity ward of St. Mungo's was quite full on the night of the thirty-first. It had been a hot and muggy summer, moreso than most, and all but one of the labor and delivery rooms was occupied on that July night. Should another witch be rushed in, Alice Longbottom would have to vacate room one. She'd technically given birth on the thirtieth, but it had been a hard labor and she wasn't ready to move immediately. She'd spent most of the morning being more or less ignored by the ward's staff as they scrambled franticly with an influx of patients.

The first three couples to arrive were all fairly similar. None of them had other children, and all had graduated Hogwarts within a few years of each other. They were James and Lily Potter, Devon and Selune Lovegood, and Dan and Jane Granger. There were, of course, marked differences between the three families, but they were all drawn to the maternity ward within moments of each other.

The fourth new mother to arrive was actually the first to give birth. Molly Weasley already had five children at home, but was still actively adding to her family. Her son, Ronald Billius Weasley, was born at ten fifteen am. However, much to her surprise, her labor did not end. The doctors hadn't spotted it, but she was about to have her second set of twins.

At exactly ten twenty-seven am, four children other children were born. They were Harry James Potter, Luna Amelia Lovegood, Hermione Jane Granger, and Ginerva Molly Weasley. Rarely were the doctors stretched so thin, though the labors were all easy and the children in good health. No one would think about the coincidence that was inherent with four children being born at exactly the same to wizarding families.

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Lovegood was a true surname for Devon and Selune as they truly showered their daughter with affection. She was the blond-haired, grey eyed light of their life, and her father even put off chasing down rumors of fanciful creatures to make sure he had plenty of time for her. His magazine, the Quibbler, had shifted focus somewhat from tall tales to more mundane gossip about who was dating who in the rather incestuous magical world. Oddly enough, his sales went through the roof.

Her mother appreciated the additional help he could provide her as she struggled to launch her singing career after recovering from Luna's birth. Before becoming pregnant, she had been a magical researcher, but something about her pregnancy changed her and she wanted nothing more than to share the joy of her child's birth with the world through song.

Everything was beautiful until Halloween of 1981 when Luna, at barely more than a year old, simply vanished in the middle of the night.

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Dan and Jane Granger lived, almost, like muggles. They were both muggleborn graduates of Hogwarts, which meant that they were in a fairly limited company. They didn't belong fully to either the magical or muggle world, but they could enjoy the benefits of both. They both worked as medics at St. Mungo's, focusing on cosmetic alterations and hygienic magic. By combining ideas from the muggle world with magic, the pair of them had pioneered a number of treatments and techniques which were in wide use in the magical-medical community.

So it was that Hermione grew up with two brilliant parents who loved her very much. She spent much time among muggles, though she was too young to know the difference at the time. Her parents were glad to see her perform small feats of accidental magic before her first birthday, knowing that they would be able to guide her as she grew up and help her avoid the nasty culture shock of going from one world to the other when she was old enough.

Everything was wonderful until Halloween of 1981 when Hermione, at barely more than a year old, simply vanished in the middle of the night.

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Fred and George Weasely were as alike as two children could possibly be. They seemed all the more identical when compared to the other set of Weasley twins. Ron and Ginny were as alike as cats and dogs, fire and ice, or muggles and penguins, which is to say not very. Ron was quiet, reserved, and physically large whereas Ginny was the exact opposite of all of those things. She was small, feisty, and the biggest social butterfly her mother had ever seen. Their mother, however, lavished them equally with love, caring for them and their siblings with all the love her big heart could provide.

Their father was an efficient but unambitious worker at the Ministry of Magic, which left him plenty of time to bounce his babies on his knee. Their home was a thoroughly magical one, though poor. Even with that being the case, no Weasley ever went hungry, and their lives were happy.

Everything was brilliant until Halloween of 1981 when Ginny, at barely more than a year old, simply vanished in the middle of the night.

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Lily Potter had intended to finish her mastery in Ancient Runes under a professor at Oxford School of Wizardry while her husband finished Auror training, but she'd been forced to put those plans on hold when she found out she was pregnant. After that disruption had run its course, things only got worse as Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school where the two of them had met, revealed to them a prophecy which meant that Lord Voldemort, the most feared wizard in the world, would soon be looking for them. Interpreting the prophecy was obvious to them, though they hoped that the Dark Lord would not be able to understand who the "son of the stag" might be.

The two of them went into hiding immediately, relying on the significant Potter fortune to see them through until they could return to work. They loved their son, dearly, though he did grow up in a household filled with tension. Even with that, they were happy and everything was superb until Halloween of 1981 when the pair of them were called away to an emergency meeting of the order. They left Harry with James's good friend Peter, who was also their secret keeper, and attended the meeting. However, when they returned home, Peter was dead on the floor and their son was nowhere to be found.

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A/N: This is a pretty short chaptered fic. I'm toying with this thing while trying to overcome writer's block on my other fic To Cross the Bridge of Death. This fic idea was heavily influenced by a number of other great works of fan fiction, but I'm not going to give you the full list of credits just yet. Things would be a lot clearer if I posted the two prologues I have written, but I've decided to bring out that information through the tale rather than spoiling it all out front. This chapter hasn't been beta read, so I apologize if I have used gooder English than normal.