Two lines. Two lines changed everything. If only the spy had arrived a moment earlier, or not been followed up the stairs he would know more. But he only had 2 lines to go by.
"Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not..."
And now he had a decision to make. What would he do with the knowledge of those two lines?
'Knock, knock, knock' the sound echoed through the moderate sized cottage almost as though it were magically amplified.
"Hey! I think he's finally here!" Said the bespectacled man who was lying on his back in the middle of the sitting room floor, his attention focused on something above him. "Pads go let him in, I'm a little busy here" and grinning he flicked his wrist and the focus of his attention did a somersault as the dark haired baby laughed in glee.
"Fine. But when I get back we're letting him ride the broom! I want to see it!" Said the man who answered to Pads as he brushed his long dark hair out of his eyes and got off the couch. "Patience Moony!! He yelled as another knock sounded, more insistent than the first.
"Come on you two! Let him in! It's pouring out there and I'm kind of busy with dinner here!" Called a woman's voice from the kitchen.
"On it Lil's!" Responded the long haired man as he walked down the hallway. The sound of locks clicking preceded the sound of a howling wind as the door opened.
"It's about time! What were you waiting on? Me to freeze to death?" Came an exasperated voice and the sound of the wind was suddenly cut off as the door closed.
"Sorry Moony. You know how these two are when Harry is around" said the woman as she came out of the kitchen and kissed the new arrival on the cheek.
"Hey! Why don't you ever kiss me?!" Asked Pads sounding hurt.
"I kiss him because I like him" she responded without missing a beat.
"Who's kissing who in there? Should I be concerned?" Asked the third man as he joined them in the hallway, a baby hovering over his head.
"Only if you don't grab my son before he hits that light James" snapped the woman but her smile showed she wasn't too serious.
Instantly the man lowered his wand and the baby glided to the ground where he used the robes of the new arrival to pull himself to his feet.
"Well look at you!! I think you've doubled in size since I saw you last!" Said the man with a smile as he reached down and scooped the baby up and the infant instantly grabbed a handful of his light brown hair and pulled sharply. "And you've definitely gotten stronger!" He said with a wince as the man called James unwound the tiny fingers from his hair.
"Sorry Moony! He's started the hair pulling stage" he said with a smile "How are you?" He asked as he worked the babies hand, his tone laced with concern.
Moony shrugged "Could be worse I suppose. It's getting ugly out there" and it was obvious he wasn't talking about the weather as he jerked his head towards the front door.
"Anything new with the order? With all of us officially in hiding now we're not hearing much" said Sirius as the group headed back towards the living room.
"Nothing we wouldn't expect. They're getting more brazen with the attacks and more families go underground every day. The Longbottom's are planning on going abroad with their son soon and Crouch is sending his wife and son away as well. Enrollment at Hogwarts is down by nearly 50% this year according to Dumbledore" Moony responded as they all settled back into couches. "Have you seen Wormy lately? He's been awfully distant the last week or so" he said as almost an afterthought and he thought he caught a meaningful look pass between the two dark haired men but it was Lily who responded.
"We saw him last weekend. He seemed stressed but I'm sure this is all just getting to him. We invited him here tonight but he declined. Remind me to guilt trip him endlessly for missing my birthday dinner" Pads said as an afterthought and the others laughed.
"Your birthday is still 4 days away Sirius. He could still make amends! Maybe he had other plans for his evening" said Remus.
"Peter? Have plans that don't involve us?" Scoffed Sirius and the others laughed just as a loud 'ding' sounded through the cottage.
"Oh! Dinners ready!" Lily said as she jumped to her feet.
"Lily I will never understand why you insist on cooking the muggle way" said James with a find smile.
"I've told you! Magical cooking just doesn't taste the same. It has a funny aftertaste!" She sighed and the men all laughed as they got to their feet and followed her back down the hall and into the kitchen, Remus with Harry in his arms.
They gathered around the table and settled the baby into his high chair and were all chatting happily as they pulled out dishes and poured drinks and Lily carried the platter of roasted chicken to the table. Just as they were about to take their seats another loud knock reverberated through the cottage and they all froze, hands instinctively going towards pocketed wands.
"Stay here" said James firmly, the previous lighthearted bantering forgotten as he drew his wand walked swiftly towards the front door.
Lily and Sirius unconsciously flanked the baby in the high chair and Remy's stood directly in front of them, all three with their wands gripped tightly in their hands.
They heard the door click open and all other sound was drowned out by the howling wind for a long moment until the door slammed shut and the sound of the locks latching was heard.
"Prongs?" Called Sirius softly but the sound of heavy footfalls was his only answer and an instant later James rounded the corner again leading a shorter cloaked figure and he had a smile on his face.
"Guess who decided to join us after all?" He asked as the other person lowered his hood and a chubby face with sandy hair and small watery eyes met the scene in front of him.
"Wormy!" Exclaimed Lily, her face breaking into a smile.
Immediately the tension in the room dissipated and was replaced by handshakes and hugs and another chair was magically conjured and set at the table.
"Sorry to come unannounced but I didn't want to miss the birthday party" he said with a half smile "I can't stay long but I thought Padfoot might want to break into this tonight" he added as he produced a large bottle of Ogden's Best Fire Whisky and set it on the table with a resounding thump.
"Oh you do know what I like Peter!" Said Sirius with a smile as he waved his wand and summoned 5 glasses.
"Oh I don't think I should" said Lily with a furrowed brow "Someone needs to keep an their wits about them to keep an eye on you four and Harry"
"Oh come on Lil's! It's Sirius's birthday! Just one drink" said Peter as he poured out the whiskey and with a small smile she accepted the offered glass along with the men.
"To Sirius! The best friend any of us could have!" Said James and they clicked glasses and each took a sip.
"To Sirius! The absolute worst influence any of us could have as well!" Said Remus and with a chuckle they clicked glasses and took another sip.
"To Sirius. Our son is blessed to have you as a godfather." Said Lily with a smile and they clicked glasses yet again and took a third sip before looking expectantly at Peter.
The heavy man sat silently for a few beats and looked around the table meeting each of their eyes, then his gaze was drawn to James's glass which had begun to shake. He cleared his throat and slowly raised his glass.
"To Sirius. The one who always trusts. Even when the trust is misplaced" he said and looked up to see four furrowed brows for a moment before Lily gasped and slipped sideways off her chair.
As she hit the ground he heard a thump from his other side and Remus's cup struck the table where it cracked and spilled the amber liquid over the wooden table "Peter" he gasped "What have you done?" He asked in disbelief as he fell forward himself, limp across the table.
"Li…Lily" said James weakly as he staggered to his feet, his cup falling from his hand and shattering before he too collapsed onto the floor, but he summoned the strength to pull himself to his wife and grasped her hand before going limp.
Sirius couldn't believe what was happening. His mind was extremely sluggish but he still had his wits about him enough to reach for his wand "Wormtail?" He managed to croak out before his mind caught up a bit "Harry!" He gasped, looking at the baby happily eating his crackers in his high chair.
"Don't worry Padfoot. You won't worry about him for long. In fact you won't even remember him" said Peter and Sirius's brow furrowed more severely as he tried to level his wand at Peter who just smiled as the arm instantly fell and the long haired man slumped sideways out of his chair.
Peter surveyed the four unconscious people around him for a minute before he slowly got to his feet and set the untouched glass of fire whiskey on the table. With a wave of his wand all the glasses, their spilled contents and the bottle vanished as the baby just watched and babbled on, not a concern in the world. He next vanished his own chair and place setting then focused on the people present.
He walked around the table and pointed his wand at each of his friends in turn and muttered "obliviate" before levitating James and Lily back into their chairs.
Next he walked around the cottage and waved his wand at various items making them vanish. Toys, the crib, children's clothing, pram, essentially any trace of the baby disappeared before he walked back into the kitchen and removed the child from his high chair and made it vanish as well.
With one more cursory glance around the room he settled the child on his hip, covered him with his heavy cloak and turned on his heel and walked from the room. Just as he closed the front door behind him he heard the sounds of the four in the dining room begin shifting.
"Sorry!! Blanked out there for a minute" said Sirius. "What were you saying James?" He heard as he walked down the garden path and out the gate, the wind whipping his cloak around his ankles. At the end of the lane he vanished with a small pop. The people left behind in the house continued their dinner, seeming not to even remember that their friend and the baby had ever been there.
Far away on the sweeping grounds of an old manor house another group was getting ready for an early evening when the front door creaked open and an unknown pair of visitors entered under the cover of invisibility cloaks. They started on the ground floor where a trio of house elves were cleaning up after dinner. "Obliviate" was muttered three times and each time one of the elves went glaze eyed for a moment and paused in their work before shaking their head and continuing their chores.
The masked individuals then went to the sitting room where an elderly witch and wizard were reading quietly. The two hidden figures muttered 'obliviate' at the same time and the couple both looked blank for a moment and then went back to their respective books.
Climbing the stairs on silent and invisible feet they then found another couple on the second floor. A young man was sitting beside a bathtub lovingly bathing a laughing chubby baby. "Alice! We're almost done here. Can you bring me some pajamas for him?"
"Be right there Frank! Let me finish changing his sheets" the silent individuals cast muttered "Stupify" and caught the woman as she slumped to the ground. Walking to the adjoining bathroom the man was hit by the same spell and left on the floor. Glancing distractedly at the baby the two cloaked figures then began walking around the floor vanishing anything and everything baby related before they levitated the unconscious couple to their bed and transfigured their robes into pajamas and pointing their wands at them as one they muttered 'obliviate'. And walked out of the room. The baby was picked up from the tub and with a wave of a wand he was dry and clothed and wrapped in a blanket. They then proceeded to a study on the third floor and threw a pinch of powder into the fire and stepping in, they and the baby vanished with no one left to miss him.
The unknown duo came spinning out of the grate in a kitchen fireplace in another manor house at the same time as Peter walked through the front door of the same house, his cloak covered in a heavy dusting of snow. They removed the invisibility cloaks and with silent nods to each other the trio and two babies made their way upstairs to a sitting room occupied by an extremely pale thin man sitting in an armchair before the fire.
"Master" all three murmured as they inclined their heads and waited to be acknowledged. After several moments of silence the man stood and walked up to them, his eyes drawn to the babies they were holding.
"So these are the children?" He said softly as he surveyed them critically "What is so special about them? They don't seem particularly special" he muttered as he looked first at the baby with light brown hair and blue eyes then at the black haired child with green eyes. "What are they called again?" He asked looking to his servants.
"Neville Longbottom" said the dark haired woman holding the brown haired boy.
"Harry Potter" said Peter of the child he held.
The pale man continued to survey the children who silently looked back at him in confusion.
"Now to decide what to do with them" he said softly as he began pacing back and forth in front of the three adults.
"Master. Perhaps it would be best to just dispose of them now" said the woman softly
"We've discussed this Bella. I can't simply kill them. The entire prophecy is unknown to me and I can not risk being hasty and causing my own downfall by attacking either one of these children" he spat out the last word as though the taste revolted him. "No, it won't do to just have them killed. They must be kept safe, but secret" he said quietly "One if them is destined to be powerful but there's no way to know which one." He continued to muse out loud "The only option is to keep them and educate them in my ways. If one begins to react against me I shall kill him, but if they are raised in the ways of the dark then I could have an heir. Someone who can act as lieutenant and shares my ideals. Yes. It's the only way" he concluded. "Take them to the cellar. Find a house elf to handle them. I will put the protections around them myself" he finished and the trio nodded their heads and turned to go downstairs, the witch showing her displeasure by the scowl on her face.
It was dark and nearly silent in the underground room. The only sounds were faint breathing and the only light was from the windows lining the ceiling letting in the faint rays of a dusky red sunrise. As the rays spread across the grey stone floor they crept up the ends of a pair of matching narrow metal framed beds that were spotted with rust. The light crept higher and revealed each of the beds to be occupied be a small figure covered with a thin brown blanket. The two were sleeping peacefully as the suns rays crept up their skinny bodies and cast their faces into the weak morning light. Both were thin and pale, one head topped with short cropped sandy hair and the other with equally short black hair. The black haired figure had a thin cut down his exposed right arm from his elbow to his wrist and the lighter haired one had the remnants of a thick bruise in the shape of hand around his skinny wrist. Above each headboard was a shelf with a small stack of clothing on it. Right between the beds was a heavy, solid metal door with no knob or handle.
The light crept silently throughout the room and revealed a pair of battered wooden school desks on one wall facing a chalkboard with diagrams of various wand movements drawn on it and incantations along with several potions recipes. There was a small stack of books in the corner along with a pair of brass cauldrons and a wrack of strange looking ingredients. The opposite wall contained a toilet and a small bathtub. The wall directly below the windows contained a shelf sparsely stocked with food, an oven, a stove, and a deep sink. In the middle of the room was a small folding table with 4 chairs around it. The room was small, only about 5 meters long and wide.
Just as the light filled the room completely a 'crack' resounded through it and as though electrocuted both boys sat up straight and threw their legs out of their beds and jumped up. As one and without a word they turned and began to hastily make their beds and within seconds they were grabbing the stack of clothing above their beds and stripping out of the frayed pajamas they were wearing and pulling on equally frayed slacks, shirts, and robes. While they were changing the thinness and unnatural parlor of their young bodies was glaringly obvious and several more bruises, half healed cuts, and scars were visible on their arms, legs, backs, and torsos. Once clothed they folded their pajamas with practiced precision and set them on the shelves. The blonde headed towards to toilet to relieve himself and the black haired child headed towards the kitchen and pulled a loaf of bread off the shelf and a jar of peanut butter and another one of jelly and just as he had everything on the counter the other boy came up and they swapped places and he made two sandwiches as the first child used the restroom. When he returned the lighter haired child was taking the sandwiches to the table and the darker child retrieved two glasses from the shelf and filled them with water before joining him and as one they sat at the table in silence.
"You may eat" croaked a voice from near the door, and the source of the earlier crack was revealed to be a short creature with big eyes and bat like ears.
With no more prompting the two children are in silence and when they finished they washed the dishes, returned them to the shelf and took their seats at the two desks in total silence. The creature that had been watching them walked over and stood before them for a moment, quietly surveying them before he spoke in his croaky voice again "Mistress Bellatrix and Mister Rudolphus will be here today to make a report for My Lord. Do not disappoint him" he said simply, ignoring the stiffening of the boys figures and quick glance that passed between them. "Now. Neville I want you to write the names, incantations and diagram the wand movements of 10 level 5 offensive spells on the board, and Harry I want you to collect the ingredients needed for the polyjuice potion and write out the steps for brewing it" he concluded and both boys got to their feet and started on their appointed tasks.
They had been working for about 10 minutes when the door creaked open. The house elf clapped his hands together once and both boys stopped what they were doing and fell to their knees facing the new arrivals.
"Good Morning Mistress Bellatrix. Good Morning Mister Rudolphus" they chanted together, their heads bowed. The couple ignored them, instead looking at the elf "You can leave. We will handle their lessons today" the woman said and with a nod the elf disappeared with a crack leaving them alone with the boys.
The man and woman looked at them coldly. The woman had long black hair and heavily lidded eyes. Her companion was tall and thin with thick brown hair. They surveyed the boys in front of them critically before their eyes raked over the room. Suddenly the woman's eyes narrowed "What is that?" She hissed out and both boys reflexively looked up to see what she was referring to and as one noticed a drop of water on the floor beside the sink. They both paled and the black haired child made a slight move as though he wanted to stand and go towards the sink. The movement wasn't more than an involuntary twitch but the sandy haired boy flinched immediately and with a loud 'SLAP' the darker child was knocked sprawling to the floor. "Did I give you permission to move?!" Screeched the woman as she then kicked him sharply in his side.
"No Mam" he hissed out as he struggled back to his knees, trying desperately to wipe the blood from his split lip from his face with the back of his hand. Once he was back in position though he noticed with horror that there was a smear of blood on the stones beside him. She saw it at the same time.
"How dare you turn the home our lord so generously gave you into a disgusting hovel with this filth" she hissed out
"I'm sorry! I'll clean it!" He responded desperately as he reached a hand to wipe away the blood but as soon as his fingers touched the ground a heavy boot stomped them and he felt excruciating pain shoot up the length of his arm and he sobbed as he tried to free his hand which only caused the boot to apply more pressure.
"Stop!! You're hurting him!" Squeaked out the voice of the other boy as tears rolled down his face and the witch turned her attention on him and with an evil leer she leveled her eyes onto the boy.
"I'll make a deal with you little Neville. If you can banish this" and drawing her wand she levitated one of the chairs from the middle of the room until it was sitting on top of the table "then I will stop. But I will continue until the chair is gone" she said simply. And Neville reached in his pocket and withdrew his wand with shaking hands and seeing this she smirked "let's just make sure you stay put" and with a twitch of her wand his wrists were circled with heavy chains and he was magically pulled to his feet and the chains attached themselves to the wall behind him, his right arm having just enough slack to work his wand and his left stuck firmly to the wall. "Just banish the chair and we're done" she said silkily before turning back to the boy who's hand was still under her husbands heavy boot. "That's enough of that love. I think young Neville will need a bit more persuasion" she purred and the man released the bleeding hand and it was immediately cradled by the black haired boy who had tears running down his cheek.
"Now what to do with you little Harry? What would make little Neville banish that chair?" She mused as she walked around the boy. "What about a little bit of this? Crucio!" And the black haired boy fell to the floor screaming in agony. Neville watched in horror, his task temporarily forgotten until she turned and smiled at him. Then all his energy went towards the chair. The curse was repeated 4 more times, Harry's screams tearing through him but the chair remained stubbornly present, despite the force of Neville's concentration. "Maybe we should try something a bit more 'visceral'. Maybe that will make you more willing to help him" And Bellatrix waved her wand lazily and Harry was flipped onto his stomach, his arms and legs spread eagle and chains snaked out from the floor and wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles and Harry sobbed as his broken hand was further abused. Another wave of her wand bared Harry's back to the cool air and from nowhere she produced a heavy leather whip. Without hesitation she drew her arm backwards and the leather hit him and split the delicate skin in a gash that was over 6 inches long. Blood pooled immediately and ran in rivers down Harry's pale skin and he choked out a pain laced sob.
"Harry! I'm sorry!! I'm trying!" He croaked out as he watched the blood run freely.
Again and again the whip split his back. It took 12 lashes before the chair finally flew off the table and into the far wall where it shattered into a thousand splinters with a crack.
"Ah ha!! I knew you could do it! Alas our fun must end this time. A deal is a deal! She said as the whip vanished from her hand and she carelessly landed a sharp kick to Harry's side as they walked towards the door. Just as it closed the chains binding the boys vanished and Neville slumped to the floor sobbing. Harry didn't move. Terrified he crawled to the other boy and ignoring the blood soaking his knees he rolled him over and saw that he was unconscious, his eyes rolled back in his head and mouth parted.
"I'm so sorry Harry!" He cried as he held the other boy. He then held out his hand his wand pointed at Harry and he gently sat the other boy back face down and began to wave it over the wounds, slowing the bleeding and closing them up as much as he could, leaving raised thick red scars before he turned it towards the mutilated hand and with a couple taps of the wand the bones aligned, the swelling was still obvious and the dark bruising turned his pale skin almost black all the way to his elbow. He then got shakily to his feet and staggered to the school desks where he placed both of the cauldrons and lit a fire under each before adding different ingredients to each one in a particular order and stirring each in a very specific way. 30 minutes later he poured all the contents of one into a glass and poured about a third of the contents of the other into another glass and he took both glasses to Harry and gently poured them down his unresisting throat. He then sighed heavily and with tears still stinging his eyes he sat back on his heels and waited. It took nearly an hour but finally there was movement from the other figure and a soft groan. Neville scrambled over and helped Harry sit up carefully.
"Harry! I'm so sorry!" He said as soon as the green eyes looked at him. "I just couldn't make the chair move! I'm rubbish at banishing spells and she knows it! She knows that you have always been better at it than me. And she hurt you because of it!" He said, his words coming out fast and his throat closing up.
"Neville it's ok" said Harry weakly as he struggled to tuck his legs under him while cradling his injured arm "She's evil. We both know that. It's not your fault" he said softly as he gripped his friends hand "But thank you for healing my back. It hardly hurts at all"
"Oh good! I had hoped I brewed the nerve blocking potion properly. I'd never tried it before but thought it would work better than a regular pain killer"
"It's perfect. Thank you" said Harry with a smile but then he caught sight of Nevilles wrists "Neville! Why haven't you healed yourself?" He exclaimed as he took his friends hands and confused Neville looked down.
"What are you…oh. I hadn't noticed" he said grimacing at the sight of his wrists. Both were covered in blood that was still oozing and on the side of his right one he could see the telltale white of his bone showing through the flesh that the chains had cut.
"How did this happen? Hold still" said Harry as he took his wand from his pocket and with his left hand tapped the other boys wrists and the skin knitted back together leaving just another scar behind.
"I guess it happened while she was whipping you. I kept trying to get out of the chains but didn't realize I was bleeding" he muttered as Harry finished his other wrist with a silent shake of his head.
The boys sat silently on the floor for several more minutes before Harry sighed heavily looking around. "We'd better clean up before someone else comes for a visit and he pushed himself to his feet, Neville standing behind him. The moved to the middle of the room and standing back to back they both lifted their wands and spinning in a slow circle they twitched their wands at anything out of place and in a matter of seconds the room appeared as it had this morning. The blood was gone and the chair was back thanks to Harry's spell-work and the school supplies and potions ingredients were back in their places. The left over nerve blocking potion sealed into two flasks on the kitchen counter for Harry to take later. They then faced each other and waved their wands at the other and the clothes were stripped of blood, and Harry's were stitched back together.
Looking around critically they could see nothing out of place and they gave each other a small smile. Harry walked to the kitchen shelf and filled two glasses with water and grabbed a package of crackers as Neville sat in the newly appeared chair.
"Lunch?" Asked Harry, offering him a cup and opening the crackers.
"Thanks. I'm famished" said Neville and the two boys started to munch quietly as though the mornings events were a regular occurrence. They were 7 years old.