Summary - Harry develops his parseltongue ability at an early age. Raised by the snakes in Privet Drive, Harry grows up with without the help of people and trust in them. At the age of eight the snakes help him to escape his prison and take him to a safe place in the north. What will he learn, who will he meet, how will he change when he arrives at Hogwarts.
Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling.
A/N I planned this to be a three part series starting with Lord of the Serpents which will finish at the end of Fourth year. Part two will be King if the Dragons and will go through to Voldemorts death. Part three, Master of the Thestrals will tell of the rest of Harry's life. Hopefully I can get to the end of all three, read and review but most importantly, enjoy.
Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Man-Who-Conquered sat at his desk in deep thought. Just outside his study were his beautiful wife along with his four children. Today was the twenty fifth of December, his family's first christmas with their new born daughter.
Laughter floated through the slightly ajar door as his loving wife entertained their children. Harry drank in the happy, carefree sounds of his family. His family. It made him grin like a lunatic everytime he said it. For so many years Harry had prayed to any and all god, deity or supreme being to grant him his one wish. To know the love of a family.
Life has not always been so care free for Harry, he grew up in pain and sadness. His childhood was not to be envied and his teenage years even more so. Harry was forced to grow up faster than any should. He learned at the tender age of two what life was like. Life was not fair.
It had all begun on 31 October, 1981.
Lily and James Potter smiled lovingly at there son. Today was Halloween for some and Hallows eve for others. Lily was born to muggle parents and learned to celebrate halloween for what it is for most, a day to dress up and spend time with friends collecting lollies and candies. James was born to a witch and a wizard, he celebrated the magical holiday All Hallows Eve. It was a day to be in touch with one's soul, their magic, and remember those of passing.
Both traditions were mashed into one big day for the family of three. They had all drunk a traditional tea that helped one relax and fall into their inner selves after breakfast. They had carved pumpkins after lunch and decorated with cobwebs, spiders, skeletons and other spooky ornaments. They had visited the Potter ancestral home and its graveyard. Flowers were left at each headstone and all three family members touched the wands set in the tops. Reconnecting there magic to those of the past. They had dressed up and walked through the nearby muggle neighborhood trick or treating with longtime friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Alice and Frank Longbottom and their son Neville.
That is where they had recently returned from. Harry had been dressed in a crimson robe with little stars and a matching hat. He even carried a little, white, wooden staff with a fake, glass ruby on the end. James had even conjured a long white beard for Harry. He was so adorable and Lily even commented that he looked like a little Merlin.
Harry was presently chasing the kitten James had purchased for lily for her birthday in March. The kitten had ginger fur and a little squished nose. To their great surprise it became great friends with Sirius, the only cat to ever like him.
Harry was giggling like mad when he shot a little bolt of light at the cat from his staff causing him to float in the air up towards the ceiling.
"A little Merlin indeed Lily, I can't believe how much accidental magic he is doing lately. I wasn't doing any until at least three and even then it was a broken glass when I was angry. Our Harry's almost doing it consciously, it's amazing." James said to his wife as they watched on.
"Our Harry is just amazing isn't he." Lily giggled lightly in her happiness. Nothing could ruin such a perfect night. She was wrong.
BANG!
The front door was blasted inwards, the handle putting a hole in the wall. Through the dust came a horrific looking man, if one could call it that. He was tall, six foot three inches, completely bald with no nose or lips. His tongue flickered like a snake, his red eyes burned in his pale face. He appeared as a cross between a man and a snake.
"Lily it's him, take Harry and go, I'll hold him off." James yelled at his wife. Lily took Harry in her arms and ran up the stairs. Spell fire could be seen flashing down stairs and their effects heard as they destroyed the small house. A flash of green and a dull thud proved James Potter's life to be no more.
Lily found her way to the nursery up stairs and blasted the wall and roof off. Planning to escape. The door exploded, showering mother and son in pieces of wood. Lord Voldemort entered the room a cruel smile etched on his snake like face.
Placing Harry in his crib with a kiss to his head, Lily turned to face her foe. Her wand was gone from her hand before she had fully faced the monster that stood before her.
"Step aside you silly little mudblood." Voldemort sneered.
"No!" Lilly yelled, tears ran down her face. "You can kill me but you won't get Harry. Please don't hurt him, he's just a boy." Lily begged.
"Move aside and you shall live, remain and you will die." Voldemort stated.
"Please, you can kill me but don't hurt Harry." Lilly pleaded for the life of her son.
"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort replied. A flash of green, Lily's screams, thud, her lifeless body slumped to the ground. To her left, her wand tip glowed a brief blue, just as Voldemort's did though he did not notice it.
Voldemort laughed wickedly at his accomplishment. He had killed two of the people who had down a lit of damage to his cause in one night and now he would kill the one who could possibly defeat him.
"Avada Kedavra." The green light raced towards baby Harry who stared longingly at his mother's body. The curse struck Harry in the head, his body pulsed with golden light. Voldemort's throat was torn as he screamed out in intense pain. His body was disintegrating as he stood in the room. Within seconds all that remained of the most feared dark lord to attack the british aisles in a century was no more.
A black shade burst from the pile of ash and cloak and quickly flew away. Moments later a second, smaller shade broke free from the once body and flew in a different direction, straight at Harry. The young boy only just one year old screamed in pain before the darkness of unconsciousness claimed him.
~
Sirius Black rode calmly on his flying motorcycle to Godric's Hollow. He had been trailing a death eater for the past week and had finally caught his target. Antonio Dolahov was now in Azkaban awaiting his trail. After being away for so long, his first thought was to check on James and Lily.
As he got closer to the house he could see a large hole through the roof. He twisted the throttle and speed as fast as the bike would take him. He skidded to a halt outside the house and ran through the door. The sight brought him to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes.
James Potter, his friend, brother in all but blood, was dead on the floor. With a heavy heart, he straightened his brothers body and laid his hands on his chest. Slowly, Sirius stood up again and moved through the house.
Up stairs he lost himself again to the depths of sorrow and sadness. Lily was dead too. Again he righted her body and placed her hands on her chest peacefully. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, pooling on the ground by his knees.
Reluctantly, he looked around for his godson. Harry was sprawled out in his bed, blood flowed down his face. Sirius sobbed loudly in his grief. For the third time that night, he righted the body of his family, placing their hands peacefully on their chest.
A pressure on his hands however gave him pause, there it is again, and again. Harry's chest was slowly rising and falling. Sirius placed his finger to Harry's neck and sighed in relief. Harry was alive and well.
He conjured a cloth and wiped the baby's face clean of the blood. Taking a change of clothes from the drawers he changed Harry out of his costume and into a onesie. Scooping the child in his arms he left the room. Harry took first priority, his safety was most important.
"Sirius, Is 'at you." The voice of Hagrid boomed from the garden.
"Hagrid, James and Lily are dead and I think Voldemort is too. But Harry's alive, I don't know how but he's okay." Sirius sobbed out to his half giant friend.
"Dumbledore sent me a message, he told me the wards 'ad fallen and I was to take Harry to em." Hagrid said.
"Can I trust you to get Harry to Dumbledore safely Hagrid." Sorius asked, his voice even.
"Of course, I'd never let anything happen to Harry." Hagrid replied.
"Take Harry to Dumbledore, you can use my bike. Make sure he is safe, do you understand me, protect him with your life. I need to go find Peter." Sirius said. He gently handed Harry to Hagrid with a soft kiss to his godsons head. Hagrid swung a leg iver the bike and raced off into the night sky.
Sirius apparated to the apartment James had given to Peter in central York. He entered the flat expecting a mess and potentially another body. What he found was even worse.
The apartment was completely clean, not an overturned chair or a broken glass. Not a single sign of fight or struggle. Peter was under strict instructions not to leave the house for anything. He and Remus visited often to keep him company. If Peter wasn't attacked then he had betrayed James, Lily and Harry.
Sirius fell into Hit Wizard mode, there was a reason he was one of the top Hit Wizards in the department. He cast detection soell after detection spell, looking for any sign of a port key or apparition.
There, luckily Peter was a poor wizard. About two hours old, an apparition trail however faint it may be. Working quickly Sirius determined where the trail led to and followed. Trial after trial Sorius followed, after the third jump he was certain Peter was trying to cover his tracks, Peter definitely betrayed them.
Every apparition trail Sirius followed he needed to change into his grim form to sniff out Peters physical trail where he ran to another alley or dark corner.
Eleven hours of tracking and Sirius had him. He found Peter about to apparate again out of a small alley in Dove. Just in the nick of time as Peter was about to attempt to apparate to France.
"Stupify" The stunning spell got Peters attention and he was able to dodge it by a hair.
"Sirius, you don't understand, they were going to kill me. Plucked it from my mind, I tried to fight but he was too strong. I only just escaped with my life." Peter said.
"I went straight to your house, no sign of struggle, not a thing out of place. You betrayed us all and for that I will kill you." Sirius growled.
The alley exploded in a burst of flames, a gas main had exploded. Sirius shielded himself and the flames passed around him, burning many people in the streets.
When the flames cleared all that remained was a charred finger and a wand. Peter was gone. Sirius feel to his knees and cried out in anguish. What Sirius didn't know was that a wizard had witnessed the end of this confrontation. He didn't notice when a man petrified him where he sat. Not when group of aurors arrived on the scene or when they placed him in magical suppression cuffs. Nor was he fully aware when they carted him off to Azkaban to await a trial that would never come.
Cornelius Fudge was labeled a hero for catching the man who murdered James and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew and thirteen muggles. With his new found popularity he ran for Minister of Magic. He would have lost out to Bartimus Crouch if not for the incident of his son being a death eater. A fact that would have stayed unknown if Fudge had not offered freedom to Igor Karkaroff if he revealed it.
~
Minerva Mcgonagall and Albus Dumbledore appeared in front of number four Privet Drive in the early hours of November First 1981. A click of a small device held by Dumbledore and all the lights went out.
"I am telling you Albus, you can't leave the boy here. You don't know what these people are like, they are the worst kind of muggles imaginable. The boy will not be safe, surely any other wizarding family could take him. Anyone would be honoured to raise him." Mcgonagall argued.
"Which is exactly why any wizarding family cannot raise him Minerva. The boy would be hounded by everyone he sees for something he would not remember. Here he can grow like any other young boy and live a normal childhood. They are his family and will look after him, I am certain." Dumbledore replied.
The roar of an engine steadily grew louder and louder. To their left a light hovering several meters in the air became larger and larger. In the darkness only the light could be seen until it was right in front of them.
"Hello Hagrid, I trust your trip was safe." Dumbledore asked.
"Little tyke slept the whole way." Hagrid said, climbing off of the bike, pulling a small bundle from within his coat.
"Thank you Hagrid." Dumbledore said, taking the small child from the half giants arms. A sob could be heard as large tears fell from Hagrid's eyes.
"Goodbye Harry." The large man mumbled.
"There, there Hagrid." Dumbledore consoled the crying giant. "After all this is not goodbye, merely a see you later."
With a letter tucked into his blanket, Dumbledore rang the doorbell of Number four Privet Drive. It would keep ringing until the door was opened like Dumbledore had charmed it to do this once. The lights were restored to the street and the three disappeared with a crack. Dumbledore taking Hagrid and Minerva shrinking and taking the bike. Harry Potter remained on the doorstep to his new home.
As it turned out, the Dursleys were very deep sleepers and it would be many hours before little Harry was found.