When the night came for Voldemort to target one of the possible children of prophecy he chose Neville Longbottom instead of Harry Potter. So it was that on that fateful night he found himself fighting against the boy's parents and his grandmother. They were fierce but no match for Lord Voldemort. He lifted his wand, pointing it at the infant and said, "Avada Kedavra!"

His body would not be found, only his robes and his wand which were taken and given to Dumbledore by the Order of the Phoenix members who came too late. Their only comfort in the death of their comrades would be that their sacrifice was not in vain. The war was over and their child was safe, nary a scratch except for the lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

Dumbledore pondered what to do with this child, as the boy would surely grow up famous and he had no intention of letting him grow up in such a spoiled manner. However, it would be impossible to have the child put outside the wizarding world as he had no relatives there and Dumbledore would not entertain the notion of putting him in an orphanage. So Dumbledore pulled a few strings and Neville Longbottom ended up in the care of Amelia Bones, a kind, caring, and most importantly, a strict woman, whom Dumbledore was sure would raise Neville well.

Unfortunately, there was no time to relax as he soon got word that the Potters were under attack. In the Potter home, spellfire razed the halls and splinters flew. James ducked behind a wall and transfigured a wall opposite to him into a mirror hoping to catch a glimpse of the intruders. He knew who they were of course. After all, the maniacal laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange was hard to misplace. If Bellatrix Lestrange was here then the two men with her must have been her husband and his brother. Then there was the surprise of Barty Crouch Jr. who was dueling with Sirius somewhere else in the house.

Trying to control his breath and ignore the pain of his wounds as he had been taught he stared at the mirror tensely, waiting. There! A blur of a dark robe! He stepped out and shot out a flurry of curses. The figure only had time to shield against one before the rest of them slammed into him and Rabastan Lestrange crumpled to the floor. His breath caught in his throat as he heard a scream. Lily. Harry. He spared no attention for the dead and ran through the house transfiguring objects as he went. By the time he burst onto the scene he had a small squad of animated furniture and transfigured animals.

He saw his wife screaming under the torture curse and a war cry burst out of his chest. He let loose a wave of spells that Bellatrix dodged as she spun out of the way. At the same time the lion that was the dining room table pounced on Rodolphus and a flock of birds swooped after Bellatrix. Behind them, animated chairs charged forward, only to be obliterated by a blasting curse that flung James Potter back just as he let loose a cutting curse that tore open Rodolphus's arm.

The Death Eater screamed in pain and clutched his bleeding arm which prompted the tiger to pounce again, seeing an opening. Successfully this time the lion claimed its hapless prey. James's head rang and he struggled to get his bearings. Get up. Get up! Lily needs you! Harry needs you! With a tremendous amount of effort he pushed himself off the floor and with hand holding him steady against the wall he stood slowly. Dimly in the background he could hear Bellatrix's shrill voice, screaming and destroying his flock of birds and his lion.

He could hear her laughing at him, no doubt assured of her victory. He must have been a pathetic sight. Normally he would have been enraged but now he was desperate enough to not care. He only had one chance to do this right. He took a deep breath and then started to tilt, pretending to pass out. At the last moment he spun around and shouted "Expelliarmus!"He heard a short gasp of surprise that cut off her laughter before snatching her wand out of the air.

He groaned in pain, he wasn't sure what hurt but he knew it must've been bad. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a mouse but disregarded it as one of his transfigurations that lasted. He kept his eyes and wand focused on Bellatrix instead, more than a few had fallen victim to her when they let their guards down and he would not be one of them. He could not afford to die. Not here. Not when his son needed a father.

Lily pushed herself up as well, fighting the aftereffects of the torture. "James," she gasped. "Harry - is he alright?"

"Avada Kedavra!" Lily stiffened under the green light then fell.

James Potter watched as his wife died in shock he turned around, how was it possible? He was sure he killed Rabastan! How could it be?! For a moment he just stared, unblinking, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

"...Peter?"

Peter Pettigrew trained his wand on James Potter, the friend whom he had spent his adolescent years with. His friend who trusted in him. The friend who was unable to see what he truly was.

"Avada Kedavra." The green light flashed. James numbly stood still and just before he died he spotted Sirius, the mask of rage running towards them. He must've finished his fight with Crouch Jr. Sirius - I'm sorry - take care of Harry.

"NO!" James Potter fell. "TRAITOR!" Sirius Black screamed and unleashed hell. Unlike James Potter, Sirius had access to far more destructive spells as Peter quickly found out. His meager defenses crumpled under his rage. The curses bombarded him, crushing his shields and his bones, slicing his skin. Peter Pettigrew was reduced to a quivering bloody mess within seconds.

"S - Sirius please." Peter pleaded. "You have to understand I didn't have a choice."

Sirius just snarled down at him, raising his wand for the final blow and out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. It was only his auror training and his own instincts that pushed him to dodge the curse from behind. Bellatrix stood over his best friend's cold body with her wand and a mad smile.

"Come on Sirius let's play! Like old times!" She cackled. So the duel started. However, Bellatrix found herself outmatched. Perhaps it was the rage that fueled him to fling the deadliest curses he could manage. Perhaps it was the injuries Bellatrix had already sustained. Whatever the reason, Bellatrix was the loser of their duel and it was with a face of surprise that she met death.

Sirius was fighting his exhaustion and injuries when a spell hit him in the back. He started to giggle uncontrollably and turning to see a ragged mouse try to escape he started firing the most destructive curses he knew at it. That was how the aurors found him. A seemingly insane man surrounded by the corpses of his betrayed friends destroying what remained of their home. Seemingly all that remained of Peter Pettigrew was a large bloodstain which experts verified to belong to Peter. Sirius was promptly stunned and arrested. He would spend the better part of the next decade in Azkaban.

Harry Potter was recovered from the ruins and sent to live with his closest living relatives whom no one checked up on as there were far more important things to worry about. Such things included the various trials of arrested Death Eaters, the many people who claimed to have been freed from the imperious curse and were coming forward with testimonies, and the celebrations for the end of the war.

For the first time in years, people weren't afraid of coming out of their houses, they could see their families and feel the sun on their face. Indeed it was as if a new life was breathed into the Wizarding World. It was a long celebration that leaked over into the non-magical world, where people in cloaks and owls could be seen in broad daylight and parties and feasts ended with the same toast, "To Neville Longbottom! The-Boy-Who-Lived!"