Harry Potter and the Marauder's Secret

A Re-Write of the Harry Potter Series

By: marauderette-47

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not claim to own the series, characters, or any lines quoted directly from the books. I am making no money from this creation. It is purely for the enjoyment of myself and other fans. Please don't sue!:)

Author's Note: Okay, so this is basically a re-written version of the Harry Potter series. If the two people who died in Godric's Hollow that night were not Harry's parents, and Harry had been raised in secret by the real Lily and James while the world thought that the Boy Who Lived was an orphan being raised by his Aunt and Uncle. That's the basic plot outline. The chapters will hopefully be long - this first chapter is really more of a prologue. It was only 5 pages. But I've finished the actual chapter 1, and it's twelve and a half pages. So yeah:) Enjoy and PLEASE review!

The Boy Who Lived

The man seemed to appear from nowhere as he made his way down the long, dark corridors of the old castle that he was in. His long, black robes billowed behind him, moving in synchronization with each crisp, sharp step that he took. But he wasn't walking – no, Severus Snape knew that he did not have patience for walking on the evening that our story begins. Severus had just heard – but no. Surely Lucius was misinformed. The Dark Lord could not have been dead, any more than Harry Potter could have stopped him. But those details were small, irrelevant little facts. In all seriousness, Severus could have cared less what had happened to the Dark Lord and who had done it to him. Severus needed to hear only one thing from his former Headmaster, whom he was currently running to see. He had to know that Lily was alive.

Severus made his way through the maze of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry quickly, and before he knew it, he was facing a large, stone statue of a gargoyle. Yet he had no patience to sit at the mouth of Albus Dumbledore's office for the next decade while he tried to guess the password. Without thinking, he smashed his hand into the side of the gargoyle as if it was nothing more than a door, and shouted, "Albus!"

Severus knew that the password was not 'Albus', yet the gargoyle still moved aside, allowing Severus passage. Without breaking his fast pace, Severus ran up the marble staircase, where he finally was met with the large, wooden door to the Headmaster's office. Severus threw all courteousness aside and, without knocking, threw the door open to reveal the heartbroken face of Dumbledore.

"Albus," panted Severus out of breath. "Albus, please, tell me-"

"Severus," sighed Dumbledore, meeting Severus's cold eyes. "I'm afraid-"

"Don't say it," moaned Severus, sinking into a chair as the tears spilled from his eyes. "Don't."

"Severus-" But whatever Dumbledore had been about to say was suddenly drowned out by Severus's manic sobbing. The horrible sounds wrenched themselves from his throat, and anyone who saw the man would have sworn that they had never before seen him display so much emotion. In between his tortured cries, Severus managed to say, "I thought…you were going…to keep her…safe…"

"She and James put their faith in the wrong person," sighed Dumbledore, sadly shaking his bearded face. The old man had never felt more horrible about anything in his life than when he was telling Severus what had 'happened'. "Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?"

Too distraught to even flinch at the use of his master's true name, Severus just shook his head, and continued to sob. Dumbledore – sensing that Severus wasn't ready to say anything – took it upon himself to continue the conversation on his own. "Her boy survives." Said he.

At this, Severus's head snapped up. He continued to remain silent, but Dumbledore knew that he had obtained the undivided attention of his former student. Trying himself not to cry, Dumbledore continued, "Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans's eyes, I am sure?"

"DON'T!" bellowed Severus, using every ounce of self-control within him not to get up and attack Dumbledore. "Gone…dead…"

"Is this…remorse, Severus?" asked Dumbledore curiously, resisting the urge to put a withered hand on Severus's shoulder. He knew that if he did, he would only face a rather nasty bruise.

"I wish…I wish I were dead…" cried Severus. And it was true. Severus Snape's life had been anything but easy thus far – he had grown up in a home with parents who reminded him daily that he was not only an accident, but a mistake. His only friend had gone off and married the very being who had been sure to make his existence at school a living hell. And that same friend – the girl he had been in love with for so many years – had just been cruelly murdered by the only person in the world who had ever made Severus feel important after Lily Evans never spoke to him again.

"And what use would that be to anyone?" asked Dumbledore. He sighed, and tried his hardest to say something, anything to stop Severus's sobs. He never had been good at consoling people, but he knew that he had to try since it was he who had begun all of this. "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear."

Severus stared into Dumbledore's for a few moments, before he finally managed to choke out, "What – what do you mean?"

"You know how and why she died," said Dumbledore, cringing as the lie left his lips. For in reality, Severus knew nothing. "Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son."

"He does not need protection." spat Severus cruelly. "The Dark Lord has gone –"

"The Dark Lord will return," said Dumbledore. "-and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does."

Severus knew what Dumbledore wanted. Dumbledore wanted him to help make sure that no harm came to precious baby Potter. But deep down, Severus knew that he had to remind himself that the boy Dumbledore concerned himself with wasn't just Potter's…Harry Potter had Lily inside of him, too. And as hard as Lily might be to see inside the child, she was in there somewhere. Severus knew his hands were tied – if he didn't help Dumbledore, then Lily would hate him even from beyond. He had to protect the damn child – had to protect Lily's son.

"Very well." he finally said. "Very well. But never – never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear…especially Potter's son…I want your word!"

"My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?" asked Dumbledore sadly. "If you insist…but Severus, perhaps you should step out for a bit."

"And why would I do that?" asked Severus, still choked up but no longer crying.

"Get some fresh air…you know, to take your mind off of this terrible loss." said Dumbledore. And without another word, Severus strode out of the office just as quickly as he had stridden in. Dumbledore sat gingerly at the chair behind his desk, and pulled a fresh roll of parchment from one of the grand oak drawers. Withdrawing his quill from his ink, he carefully began to formulate a letter to the very woman who Severus had just been grieving.

Dear Mrs. Potter,

I'm afraid that our plan has failed. Or perhaps not yet, but things have most certainly changed. Recall that we planned to remove your son from Godric's Hollow on the first of November this year. I did not anticipate that Voldemort would go after him until after the New Year began, at least. It seems that I underestimated him. On this very night, your home and son were attacked by none other than Voldemort himself. I regret to inform you that he wasted no time in killing your duplicates – Marlene and Peter are dead. But Harry…Lily, your son is alive. And he did something, something which caused Voldemort's powers to be destroyed.

I have a theory, but I haven't researched the possibilities yet. I believe that Marlene's willingness to let herself die for your son protected him with a very old, very powerful magic. It shielded him, and when Voldemort went after Harry, the curse rebounded. Voldemort is gone…at least for now.

But I anticipate that not all has been won. I have a feeling that Voldemort will return. And so I have sent Hagrid to collect Harry and bring him to you and James at this very moment. There is one aspect of our plan that has not changed – Harry and yourselves must stay hidden. I do not know when Voldemort will return, but when he does, I have no doubt that you three are the first that he will seek to destroy. With your permission, I plan to tell the public that Harry has been sent to be housed with his Muggle relatives until that time when he himself shall come to Hogwarts. I will not give anyone an address, for obvious reasons, but there is no other location that I can think of that would be anonymous enough.

I have arranged for an owl to be sent to your current location once a week to drop off or pick up any letters you may have for me. I will send you food, clothes, whatever you may need, but I must urge you not to go out in public. Should you, your husband, or Harry be seen, it could ruin our entire plan. The Fidelius Charm on your home should be cast sometime next week, but until then, I believe the current wards will do. And please, do remind James that the wards cover only your house and the back yard. I believe he went into the woods a few days ago, and he must not do that. None of you must. Think of what could happen otherwise?

I am so sorry that this had to happen to your family of all people, Lily. You always were one of my favorite students, and I know that you do not deserve the secret and secluded life you are about to lead. But it is to protect the ones you love. Please keep that in mind when things get difficult. And I am always here should you need me for anything, Lily, remember that. I must go now. Hagrid should arrive at your house very soon.

Best of wishes,

Albus Percivel Wulfric Bryan Dumbledore

Just as Albus finished his signature, Rubeus Hagrid began the long journey to Lily and James Potter from Godric's Hollow. He was still shaken up…even though he knew that the bodies inside the home he had just removed little Harry Potter from were not those of Lily and James, it had been unsettling how real it had all seemed. And seeing Sirius so torn up was the hardest part of it all. Hagrid knew that with only a few simple words, he could have ended Sirius's pain. But he also knew how important it was to remain silent. The little bundle in his arms was more important than anything else – Hagrid could not risk Harry's safety.

As he approached the quaint little home that now belonged to the Potters, Hagrid slowed Sirius Black's motorcycle down. He still felt guilty about taking it, but knew that it was the fastest way to get Harry to safety. Hagrid landed the flying bike a safe mile away from Lily and James's home, but even so, Lily was running to meet him where he was.

"Hagrid!" screeched Lily as she began to sob. "Hagrid, oh Hagrid! Where is he? Is he alright?"

"Shh!" shushed Hagrid. "He's alrigh', he's alrigh'. Fell asleep on the way here. Be best not to wake him. He's had a difficult nigh'."

"I just…can't believe….my little baby!" sobbed Lily as she took her infant son from Hagrid's large hands. Lily rocked her baby close, and smelled his hair. It was as she was staring at his beautiful face that she noticed the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. "What is this?" she gasped. "What's happened to him? Is he alright?"

"He's fine," assured Hagrid. "Dumbledore warned me tha' there migh' be somethin' on his forehead. It's a curse scar."

"That's…that's where…?" but Lily trailed off as she seemingly realized for the first time how close to death her only child had just been. If possible, Lily held Harry even closer, and it was just then that James caught up with his little family.

"Lily!" he cried out. "Is he okay?"

"I see that he's in good han's," said Hagrid, wiping a single tear from his small, beetle like eyes. "I'll jus' be takin' Sirius back his bike."

James's head snapped up at the mention of his best mate's name, and he looked at Hagrid curiously. "When did you see Sirius?"

"Tonigh'," said Hagrid, trying not to let more tears fall down his bearded face. "At Godric's Hollow. White and shakin' he was. He wanted to take Harry with him, since he's Harry's godfather, bu' I told him, I said, Dumbledore gave me orders to take him to his Aunt and Uncle's. He didn' want me to take 'im there, but he saw that he wasn' gonna win, so he gave me his bike."

"You – you didn't tell him?" gasped James in disbelief. "Surely Dumbledore would've allowed-"

"No," said Hagrid. "Dumbledore said the only people who are s'pposed to know is me and him."

"But Sirius-" protested James. "I can't let my best mate think I'm dead, Hagrid!"

"I'm sorry James," croaked Hagrid. "I best be off. Goo' luck to the both of yahs."

Hagrid trudged through the damp grass back to Sirius's motorcycle, started it up, and flew into the night sky without another word. Lily and James, however, did not make any move to go back to their house nearly a mile away. They were frozen in place, staring at the little boy – their son – who had practically just saved the entire Wizard world.

"Do – do you think it's true?" asked James as he brushed back Harry's hair. "Do you think he's really gone?"

"That's what Dumbledore said," choked Lily softly. "But he doesn't think it's forever."

"I can't believe," mumbled James. "That – that our son – "

"I know," whispered Lily, looking away from her son to meet her husband's hazel eyes. "You know what this will mean, James. The whole world thinks we're dead. Unless we're in disguise, we mustn't leave our house. And until Voldemort is gone for good, we're going to have to remain a secret."

"But Lily…what if that takes a year? What if it takes two? Or ten? We're supposed to let our friends and family think we're dead for that long? And we're supposed to live alone and never leave our house?" said James nervously. Lily tried to comfort her husband, but he was obviously past the point of reason. "Dumbledore has lost his mind! That is truly and utterly impossible, Lily, and you know that!"

"All I know is that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep our son safe," sighed Lily. "Anything. Even if that means being…dead."

Lily and James both spent a quiet moment reflecting on the recent deaths of Peter and Marlene, who had been in their home that very evening. They had been there for just over a week, having been under the influence of Polyjuice Potion. The original plan was to slowly replace each member of the Potter family with a duplicate, and then send the actual Potters to a safer location, already under the Fidelius Charm. Once all three duplicates were in Godric's Hollow, several members of the Order of the Phoenix were going to patrol the perimeter of the house, and destroy any sign of trouble. Dumbledore had been hoping to have a member of his Advanced Guard simply kill Voldemort with the Killing Curse, but it was obvious that the plan had not worked. Dumbledore hadn't even imagined that Voldemort would be so hasty. But he had been. And now, the world thought the Potters were dead.

Under the light of the full moon, Lily and James carried their infant son to what was to be their home until Lord Voldemort was truly defeated.

And that's it for now! If you read this, please review! Even if you don't have an account on this site! Your input means a lot to me! But if you're going to flame or give any kind of criticism, please do it respectfully. I won't pay attention to it if it is rude or incorrect:) But just give me your thoughts! Thanks so much for reading!

~marauderette-47

PS: I know Marlene was already dead and Peter was a 'traitor'. But they never used the Fidelius Charm in this. So Peter was never secret-keeper, and died before he could actually betray anyone. And Marlene will be explained...later. Later in this story. And since there was no Fidelius, Sirius never went to Azkaban! Yays! But I really am trying to keep canon-facts here, so let me know if I got anything else wrong...thank you! Oh, and yes, that dialogue in the beginning WAS from DH :)