Voldemort stood upon a hill, his black cloak rustling in the autumn wind as his Death Eaters were behind him, their gray cloaks shielding them from the rather cold wind. His eyes showed no mercy; he was ruthless, the ultimate Dark Lord. His single name brought fear to the eyes of the wizards whom which he fought against. Through certain ways had he obtained the information that even some of his own Death Eaters fear him.
His wand was in his robe, ready to use at any moment. This was the day before he shall kill the Potters and their little child; the day he shall become the Darkest anyone had ever seen before. He was at the pinnacle of his reign, or so he would be by this time the next day. His blood red eyes were staring straight into the wind, neither flinching nor blinking as he stared, straight at Hogwarts.
Albus Dumbledore could be seen in the field, looking into the Forbidden Forest, searching for Voldemort. However, Voldemort had concealed his army; they were behind the forest upon the tall hill, camouflaged within the trees and all around them. A twig broke in the distance; Peter Pettigrew came bustling up, tripping awkwardly as he stumbled at his Lord's feet. Voldemort looked down at him, his eyes showing humor and a merciless stare.
"Pettigrew, my spy, what have you come to tell me?" Voldemort's voice was deep and even, the syllables flowing out of his mouth like a leaf on the breeze. The little man cowered at his presence, trying to speak, yet stuttering uncontrollably.
"M-my Lord, I h-have brought you in-information! The P-potters have made m-me their s-s-secret-keeper! A l-last minute choice, I s-suppose," The man sighed heavily, getting all the words out without being kicked once. The Lord breathed in a large amount of cold air, exhaling it as a small grin appeared on his face. A malevolent grin plastered stayed on his countenance as he turned around to look at his men, his cape swaying in the wind.
"You see, my men, did I not say we would make it past this year? The Potters will be dead; they will no longer be able to search for us nor find us. We will prevail!" Cheers from the crowd erupted as they shouted their cries for their lord, evil smiles on their faces, eyes narrowed in underhandedness of even their fellow men.
The Lord turned around with a swift motion, his eyes blazing as he stared at his men. Some were cowering under his glare, yet only a few were standing straight, staring into his eyes. One of these wizards was Lucius Malfoy, a rather tall man whose eyes were dark and deep. Lord Voldemort went over and stood next to him, amazed that the man did not flinch. Suddenly, the Lord disapparated and was standing in front of Azkaban.
He was alone, yet again, standing in front of a bunch of passersby, yet invisible. When they passed, they flinched and one screamed. Smiling at his work, he walked up and literally into the fortress, past Dementors who did not see him, yet felt his presence. Their horrid heads turned to each other as they mumbled inaudible words, looking to see if he was there. Not looking for him . . . Feeling for him. Silently he walked past cells filled with criminals and Death Eaters which had been captured.
The men in the cells stood up, looking around, feeling Voldemort's presence. Most of them cheered, making the Dementors go crazy and walk around, trying to make the men feel as horrible as they were before the invisible aura had entered the fortress. However, by the time the Dementors had gotten to everyone, many men's jail doors were open and the men had escaped, along with Voldemort.
Voldemort reappeared on the hill with his new Death Eaters who had been given back their old robes and cloaks. They all stood, the entire crew of the Death Eaters, in front of their leader as he addressed them.
"Tomorrow, we go to Godric's Hollow and find the Potters. Because of my new information from my spy, Peter Pettigrew, also their Secret-Keeper, I know their location. Now, all of you have been up for around three days straight, correct? Well, all except the Azkban escapees. Go to sleep and I will wake you at midnight tomorrow night, before we go to them. No longer will the Potters track me down! And I will kill their son, also!" Voldemort bowed in front of his Death Eaters amidst quiet cheers, for fear that Dumbledore may hear them, although he had already went back into Hogwarts. The Death Eaters settled down on the soft, moist ground for a good night's sleep before going to Godric's Hollow the next night.
~ ~ ~
The evening was cloudy and signs of rain showed as Lily and James Potter surveyed their house, standing in front of it. It was actually a muggle house which they had hurriedly paid for in muggle money and moved into it. Lily's green eyes were darting back and forth between James and their little boy, only a year old, Harry. James saw her eyes and took her in his arms.
"Lily, I know you're worried about Harry. Please, don't fret! I know he'll be okay; he's tough and strong, like his mother! And just because we've been hiding in this dreary house for a little while doesn't mean we'll have to be hiding forever. Dumbledore and the Ministry have protection over us. We have the Fidelius Charm on us! He can't find us now, Lily," James said, his eyes looking straight into hers as they embraced.
"But James, who is your . . . Secret-Keeper?" Lily asked, her voice but a whisper. James looked down and sighed, shuffling his feet in the dirt as he watched Harry run up and bang his toys on the ground.
"I gave the job to Peter. I . . don't know why I didn't pick Sirius. I have this horrid feeling about all of this. We should have went to the Department of Catastrophes, that looked much more fun . . back then,"
"Peter? Oh but James, Peter is worthless and he can't do anything-- Oh, I see what you did. He wouldn't dare go to Voldemort, but perhaps Sirius would? Oh, I don't know, James! Sirius has been your friend for 10 years! I think we could trust him, James!" Lily said, her voice still a hoarse whisper, just as James's was. Little Harry stumbled up to Lily, pulling on her shirt and holding up a miniature broomstick. Lily picked him up and brushed his messy, black hair out of his emerald eyes.
"He has your hair, you know."
"He has your eyes." The tiny family hugged, Harry in the center, looking up at his parents with a wide smile on his face.
"Qu-Quidch! Quidch! Mam, lookit! Quidch! Daddi! " Harry giggled and threw the tiny broomstick up in the air as it hung, suspended. Lily sighed, swallowing and forcing the tears to stay back within her heart and not to come streaming out onto her cheeks. Silently, they trudged inside their house and prepared dinner, for it was nearing seven o'clock.
The inside of their muggle house was regular, showing no signs of wizarding things. Except Harry's toys, which were snitches and broomsticks and wands, and James and Lily's piles of paperwork upon the table.
"Lily, I'm sorry I didn't tell you Peter was my Secret-Keeper when the Charm was cast on us a week ago. I should have told you, right away," James said, shaking his jet-black hair as he ate dinner, which wasn't really delicious, for nobody had an appetite.
"James, don't think about it. We'll be fine and so will Harry, like you said. Now, we must sign this paper.." And on it went for the rest of the night; Lily and James working at their table, keeping eyes on Harry as he traipsed through their house, giggling madly.
Finally, at about eleven forty-five, the family sat down on the floor of the living room and played with the toy snitch as it flew above Harry's head just out of reach until he caught it. James suddenly sighed.
"Isn't it garbage night? Honestly, why the muggles don't just make it disappear is beyond me!"
"Oh James, they don't know how. I'll sit here with Harry as you go out back, shall I?" The couple agreed as James stood up and walked out to the back of his house.
~ ~ ~
Five minutes prior to that time, Voldemort was waking his supporters and getting ready to leave for Godric's Hollow. They were polishing their wands and making sure they worked right, especially Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort himself. They sat next to each other on a log, Peter's nerve back within him. He no longer shivered at Lord Voldemort's presence, yet he was rather tense.
"Peter, my friend. Tonight is the night! In fifteen minutes we're going to kill James and Lily Potter, and their little baby Harry. No longer will the name Potter make my duties as a Dark Lord more complex and harder to solve!" Voldemort cackled evilly as Peter looked up at him and smiled.
"Yes, my Dark Lord! Clever plan, I would never have thought of it. James and Lily will get their time for never trusting me in the years I've know them!" Peter, too, cackled, yet stopped and coughed as Voldemort's eyes turned onto him.
"Yes, it is a clever plan, isn't it? That's why I thought it up and nobody else did! But they trusted you enough to be their Secret-Keeper, didn't they? And you betrayed them; an ultimate Dark Wizard sign!" The two friends, or co-workers they could be called, stood up and stretched. By a nod from his head, the Death Eaters, Peter Pettigrew, and Voldemort disapparated from their hideout behind the Forbidden Forest, heading for Godric's Hollow.
They appeared all around the house, encircling the house in the dark shadows of the trees and the house itself. Nodding to Peter, who went around to the left of the house, Voldemort went to the front, yet stopped when he heard a noise. Looking up, he realized it was James Potter.
The man was grabbing something that looked like a bag and heaving it into some ugly canister for some odd reason. The Death Eaters, their attire all black, slowly and silently snuck around and hid in shadows, unseen by James Potter. Voldemort had his wand at ready, pointed at James until the man yelled something inside.
"Lily, it's chilly out here. I'm coming back in!" The man went back in the house, and Voldemort cursed to himself. Nodding his head to his supporters, he went back around to the front of the house. Pettigrew was waiting on the left side of the house, shaking violently. Voldemort noticed his fear and cursed, yet again, to himself. He motioned for Peter to back off, which he did happily.
"I can do this by myself..." Voldemort took a deep breath and apparated into the house, hiding in shadows, for the house was completely dark. Apparently, Voldemort had apparated into what seemed to be their kitchen. James Potter suddenly entered the kitchen. The two rivals stared at each other; James's heart was beating uncontrollably. Voldemort's face slowly formed a malevolent grin as James reached gripped his wand, which he was already holding, tighter.
They stood, staring at each other in silence, each one trying to read the other's mind. Suddenly, James broke the silence.
"Lily! Grab Harry, hurry! Voldemort is here-he's attacking!" James's voice was calm, yet Voldemort knew he was worried and frightened. And then, they dueled. Flashes of light emanated from the kitchen and screams of anguish and triumph erupted as Lily gathered Harry up in her arms and fled from the house. Outside, she saw Peter, cowering by the other side of the house. Total hatred flooded across her as she stared at the pathetic man, who stared right back. She ran back inside the house, looking to the kitchen, still holding Harry.
With a scream, Voldemort charged at them, breaking down the kitchen doorframe in the process, ignoring how James still followed him, screaming. She quickly shielded Harry, standing in front of him and grabbing his hand tightly. Voldemort held up his wand and gestured for her to move.
"Step aside!" His voice echoed through the near-empty house as Death Eaters began appearing out of what seemed to be nowhere. Lily and James were outnumbered, yet they didn't give up. Lily grabbed her wand and held it out against the encircling Death Eaters.
"No! Don't hurt him-- Kill me! You don't need to hurt him! He's nothing but a baby!" Lily screamed, her voice shaking as her mind constantly bounced from James to Harry, the two loves she had known. Voldemort held up his wand and pointed it straight at Harry.
"Crucio!" His voice echoed throughout the house, the screams of Lily and James blinding his ears and yet, he felt pain. Looking down at Harry, the Dark Lord screamed as the curse rebounded on him. Harry Potter began to cry, his forehead having a large lightning-bolt shaped scar upon it. The little one year old gripped his head, screaming. Lily and James screamed in horror as some very odd thing happened to Voldemort. The Death Eaters shrunk in horror as their leader fled, having only strength to disapparate, leaving James, Lily, their little boy, and many Death Eaters.
Lily huddled around him, crying in agony as James stood next to them, his wand at the ready. Yet his hand was shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly, Voldemort's wand, which was lying on the ground, was picked up by someone. A familiar voice screamed out curses, first aimed at Lily. With a scream, the beautiful lady hugged Harry's frail body as James's horrid screams rang out above the baby's.
"Lily! Look out!, James stared in horror at the person holding the wand. Two words issued from his mouth as the wand stayed, pointing at James.
"No! Don't hurt my boy! No!" Lily screamed between tears.
"Avada Kedavra!" A green flash filled the night and the Potters were lying on the ground. The Death Eaters disapparated quickly, including the man holding the wand. Little Harry Potter sat on the ground, crying, still holding his mother's and father's hands.
