On Halloween of 1981, Lord Voldemort attacked Lily and James Potter in their home in Godric's Hollow. For many, the tale makes Lily and James out to be loving parents who sacrificed their lives to protect their only child, Harry James Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. Their love was enough to protect him from the killing curse, making it rebound on Lord Voldemort and effectively killing him instead. That night is remembered as a glorious one to many, as it marked the end of the war they'd been fighting.

Very few remember that Harry Potter was not the only Potter child. Very few remember that he was their youngest child, and that their first was born on the fifth of February, 1978. They named her Amelia Rhoswen Potter, and those who remember the girl have very different recollections of the kind of child she was. In my memory, she was very rarely a happy child. The loving parents people think Lily and James Potter were did not exist to their daughter. She was never treated with love by the Potters.

I've spent the better part of my fourth year trying desperately to uncover my memory of the night they were murdered. That was the night I was taken from the only home I'd ever known, and brought to a man who I would come to call my father. I was given a new name, as to hide my true identity, and Severus Snape chose to call me Vanessa Ivory Snape. Now, I know myself by no other name. Now, he may not have taken part in my creation, but he raised me better than the Potters ever would have. I love him. He is my father. Despite that, I would never want him to see the memory of what happened to me that night. Everything about that night is gut-wrenching.

By that point in my life, I had learned not to ask Lily and James for anything. They almost always said no, and when it involved my brother they grew angry. So I had to be sneaky whenever I wanted to spend time with my brother. At night, before they would tuck him in to bed but after they expected me to be in my room, I would creep into his and hide in the closet. It was no different that night. But at some point, I heard a loud bang and James shouting. Shortly after Lily ran into the room, shutting the door with a spell and placing Harry in his crib.

While she was hushing him reassuringly I came out of my hiding place, worried over the sound I'd heard. She made no sign of noticing, so I spoke softly "Mummy? What's happening?"

Lily glared at me, opening her mouth just as the door to the bedroom was forced open. A tall, scary man pointed his wand at her, hissing demandingly "Stand aside!"

I never would have seen it coming, even if I'd been as old as I am now. She glanced at me briefly before she set her eyes on him again, then grabbed my shoulder and shoved me toward him "Don't harm my son. Not my son!"

The force of her shove sent me tumbling into the man's shins, and little me could only cry out in fear. Instinctively, I knew that little Amelia's eyes were a stark red at this point. She looked up at the man, tears pouring down her face in resignation. The man didn't seem to like this "And who is this girl?" Lily only continued her mutterings about her son, so he turned to look the girl in the eye again "What is your name?"

Little Amelia swallowed her fear, but the tears kept coming "A-Amelia Potter, sir."

The man barked out a laugh, one that would sound amused to a child, but to someone old enough to understand it sounded more like outrage. He turned an astonished stare to Lily "You would throw your own daughter to her death?"

Lily's face set into hard stone "She's no daughter of mine. She's monstrous. Just look at her eyes."

The man shook his head in what I could only interpret as disappointment "The girl can be of use to me, at least." He turned back to Lily, holding his wand up again "Now stand aside." She refused, choosing to remain in front of Harry. He didn't wait much longer to kill her, a flash of green light blinding little Amelia briefly. The man stepped closer to the crib then, a sinister smile playing over his lips "At last, Harry Potter." His wand tipped down to point at Harry's forehead, and the words were spoken "Avada Kedavra!"

Another flash of green light, and suddenly little Amelia and Harry Potter were the only ones left in the room. Harry was a quiet baby in that moment, seemingly understanding what had just happened. Amelia sat in the place she'd been thrown, helpless and lost after having her mother prove that she was never loved. It was about an hour where they sat stranded and alone, until the old man Amelia had seen the day Harry had come home made his way through the door of Harry's bedroom.

He was soft spoken, calming Amelia into a sense of security. Harry still sat quietly in his crib when the man picked Amelia up, cradling her in a way she'd never experienced. She took comfort in his presence, he wasn't going to hurt her. That's what she thought, anyway. It took him a while of lulling her before he decided to put her down again, going to check on Harry briefly.

When he turned to face Amelia again, he spoke calmly "Now, my dear, I'm going to perform a spell to help you feel better. You've suffered quite the ordeal tonight." Amelia seemed to trust him inherently, nodding as he waved his wand in an intricate pattern and spoke an incantation "Detractam amet."

A purple light sprung from his wand, spiraling towards a trusting Amelia. She felt no change, cocking her head at the man in front of her "What did that do, sir?"

The man frowned deeply, muttering quietly and beginning to pace with his hands behind his back "That should have worked. There can't be another one in the world, she should at least be feeling pain already." He continued in that pattern for a while longer, stopping only once Amelia started to look nauseous. His eyes looked hopeful "Is something wrong, Amelia?"

She hunched over, gripping her stomach "I don't feel good. It feels like my tummy is eating itself." He waited patiently, watching as her discomfort grew until it turned to pained groans and then wailing "Please make it stop! It hurts!"

He didn't make a move to help, clasping his hands behind his back "This is what must be done. We can not have something like you walking through the wizarding world."

Amelia's eyes turned from pain to betrayal in a heartbeat "Just like mummy and daddy."

He waited another hour before growing frustrated, the pain Amelia was feeling had started to decrease. Whatever his plan had been, the disappointment on his face made it obvious he hadn't expected Amelia to go anywhere but six feet under. He seemed to ponder on what to do for a moment, moving towards her to pick her up. She flinched back from him, knowing that whatever spell he used had been what caused her so much pain. This didn't deter him, and a panicked shriek escaped her when he grabbed her by the arm roughly.

She continued to struggle to break free of his grip as a giant man walked into the room, sobbing loudly at the state of the house. The man blew his nose into a handkerchief that was comically small in his hands, blubbering out a few words "It just ain' righ', leavin' Lily and James Potter's son wi' those muggles." It took him another moment to notice the shrieking girl in the gray-haired man's grip, and once he did his eyes grew wide "And who's this little one?"

The old man wrangled her in again as she almost slipped free of his hands, speaking calmly despite the clear storm brewing in his eyes "She's suffered a terrible ordeal tonight, but no matter. She'll be taken care of soon. Now, I trust you can take Harry where he needs to go?" The giant man nodded, moving to delicately scoop Harry into his arms. Once he was tucked into the man's arms Amelia started screaming even more, staring at her little brother in fear of what they would do to him. The old man pulled her closer, nodding to the giant "Keep him safe, Hagrid."

The giant man nodded, turning to leave the wrecked house without another word. Amelia cried out for her brother, turning to glare at the hand that continued to hold her. Her eyes were a blazing red, and slowly her hands began to morph, claws growing sharp from her fingers. The old man didn't like this one bit, it was all over his face. He took his wand from his robe, pointing it at her and using a nonverbal spell. The memory blinked to a stop there.

I was left in my mindscape, watching as the memory folded in on itself, floating away to drift throughout the islands. The one I stood on was left crumbling, the rocks and dirt floating of towards different islands to take vestige in them. Everything felt numb in my head, the shock of everything from that night being a bit much for me. I knew Dumbledore had done something to me, I knew Lily and James Potter hadn't loved me. I knew they weren't the best of parents to me. But I never would have suspected them of throwing me at the feet of the man who wanted to kill Harry.

That was a lot to process. More than I wanted to at the moment. So I chose instead to drift through the islands, calling up some of my happiest memories. The look on my father's face the first time I called him dad, the time I accidentally created a potion that changed the color of my skin. My father couldn't stop laughing at my green skin for days, and he refused to fix it for me. The first time Adrian called me his friend, the times I spent lounging in the common room with my head on Graham's lap. The time last term when Myra threw me into the Black Lake, and I took her tumbling with me. Every time my father has told me that he's proud of me.

It was enough to calm me and leave me stable enough to face the damage that last memory might have caused me. My island of anger had grown, and bubbling magma seemed to war with a frozen tundra. The island of my resolve now had a small stone fortress on it, and the island that held my contempt for Dumbledore now held a lake in the center of it. On closer inspection of the lake, it appeared to be bottomless. That was going to be a dangerous island to touch. One last look around had me resigned. There was no more work to be done in my head, it was time to face the world again.