Prologue:

Harry watched silently from his crib as Lily and James were fighting. Again. It seemed as though that was all they ever did anymore.

"James, please! We need to protect Harry! I don't trust that Peter won't give away the secret. The Fidelius charm is only one layer of protection that will probably fail. We need more protection. I will do anything for Harry. Anything!" Lily cried, tears glistening in her green eyes. James felt a pang of heartache and sat on the little couch in the middle of the room. He took his glasses off and cleaned them, as he tended to do when he was nervous.

"If I knew a way other than that, I would take it. Lils, the charm is already cast, and I trust Peter with my life," James insisted, placing his glasses back on. Lily felt the tears stream down her face and took a seat next to her husband. She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes with the bottom of her shirt.

"Do you trust him with my life? With your son's life? I don't. He's been weird lately, and I'm scared. I just want Harry to have a good life. To live past the age of one!" Lily cried, shaking. James wrapped his arms around her, making circles on her shoulder with his thumb.

"Hey, Lils, it's ok. We'll survive this. We can figure something out-" James was cut off by a loud bang at the front door. He instantly stood up, knowing they weren't expecting visitors.

"Lily, take Harry and go! I'll hold him-" James fell silent and felt his heart plummet as a hooded figure stepped into the room. The figure lifted the hood to reveal startling red eyes that glared at the Potter family. James swore, if they survived this, Peter was going to pay for exposing their location. Lily moved in front of Harry to protect him.

"Please don't hurt him, don't hurt my boy. He's too young, please-" Lily's begging was cut off by a silencing spell from Voldemort, before he cast a spell to tie up James and Lily.

"As surprising as it is, I am not here to kill you or your son. I think it would be much more beneficial to all of us if we make a deal." Voldemort casually twirled his wand in his hand. James furrowed his eyebrows. Did this lunatic really think he would believe anything he said?

"A deal? You barge in here to hurt my family and you propose a deal?!" James shouted in rage.

"Yes, James. Your family has a tremendous amount of influence, money, and magical power. It would be a waste to kill you all and let that go to waste. That's why I have come up with a plan. I will spare you and your family, under one condition." Voldemort smirked. Lily thrashed against the ropes tying her up.

"We will never make a deal with you!" Lily screamed, breaking the silencing spell. Harry, who had been sitting quietly in his crib, started crying. He wasn't used to his mum screaming, and it scared him. Voldemort raised an eyebrow.

"I think you may reconsider, on behalf of the crying child. The condition is that you become Death Eaters-" Voldemort started, but James immediately protested.

"Yeah, and join your merry band of murderers? The group that fights to murder people like my wife and child? Thanks for the offer!" James said sarcastically. Voldemort put up a hand and James fell silent.

"Think of little Harry here. He could die here, tonight. Or, you could choose me, and he could grow up into a life of wealth, of happiness. I live in Slytherin's Manor, protected by the strongest wards possible, including the Fidelius charm, and I'm secret keeper. You won't find anywhere safer."

"Except that your Death Eaters will try to kill us the second we step foot in there!" James argued. Voldemort sighed. James could be quite infuriating at times.

"Despite what you may think, the Death Eaters are named quite poorly. We don't want to kill muggles or muggleborns. We would like for them to be taken from their families once they're identified as magical and raised in our world." Voldemort took a breath to continue his monologue, but was interrupted by Lily.

"Why should we believe you? I would do anything to protect my son, including joining your radical terrorist group. But how do I know you won't use us, then kill Harry? Haven't you already heard the prophecy?" Lily knew it was wrong. To sacrifice the lives of others, to join a group dedicated to exterminating those like her. But Harry was more important. Voldemort scoffed at her question.

"Yes, I've heard the prophecy. 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... 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 either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'" Voldemort sighed. "Apparently, Albus Dumbledore thinks I'm as big of a fool as you two. He wants the blasted prophecy to come true. He orchestrated the last two confrontations in which you "defied" me. Then, he put a subtle Compulsion charm on Pettigrew to make him want to join me. Albus will do anything to destroy me, including killing those in his precious Order." Voldemort knew they would have trouble believing that.

"James, do you really think your best friend would just give you up like that? You trust him. He never would've revealed it if Albus hadn't interfered. You're just pawns in his game of chess. You're objects that can be discarded for the Greater Good, as he says so often. The damn prophecy doesn't even make sense. Neither can live while the other survives? We're doing that right now." Voldemort could see the gears turning in the James and Lily's heads. Lily thought they weren't going to have a choice when Voldemort first entered. Now she had a chance to save her family. James and Lily exchanged glances and came to an agreement.

"Okay. We'll do it. But you must swear an Unbreakable Vow that you won't harm Harry." Lily doubted he would actually do it, and James sent Lily a panicked look. Voldemort grinned in triumph. He raised his wand and spoke.

"I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, swear that I will not harm James Potter, Lily Potter, or Harry Potter, unless one of them openly defies me. So mote it be." A glow surrounded the room, and the Potter family disappeared with Voldemort.

-oOoOo-

Miles away, in a castle in Scotland, a certain Headmaster was sucking on a lemon drop with a twinkle in his eyes. Minerva had just left, after a successful meeting. Suddenly, about half of the devices in his office went off. He smiled, and had anyone seen it, they would not assume he was happy. They would take him to a padded room at St. Mungos. His smile wasn't the smile of someone who had just celebrated something. It was one a deranged maniac would wear as he murdered his next victim. It fit Dumbledore perfectly. He whistled a merry tune as his Phoenix cried for the victim of another one of Dumbledore's schemes.

-oOoOo-

Sirius Black approached the Potter household for one of his weekly visits. He realized something was off the second he entered the house. His heart raced as he made his way to the living room. Usually, the house would be filled with Harry's giggles, James's loud stories, and Lily's gentle teasing. It was silent. Dead silent. Sirius entered the living room and was relieved to see that there were no bodies. He searched the whole house. Then, he searched it again. Finally, he had to admit that James and Lily had probably taken Harry somewhere. They had apparated away and not told him. That hurt. Hopefully, they would contact him soon. Sirius had no way of knowing that Lily and James were gone forever. Well, the old Lily and James were. The world would once again meet the Potters. They would rise from the ashes and take the world by storm. This version of the Potters wouldn't be weak. They wouldn't fall for the manipulations done by someone they trusted. This version of the Potters had power. Perhaps if someone had stopped them, the world as they knew it would've survived. However, because of the Potters, the world would soon crash and burn. And like the Potters, a new world would rise from the ashes.