Last time: Dumbledore scanned Harry and looked confused. He scanned again to confirm. Shock was evident on his face. In his 150 years of life, he had never seen anything like it before. He turned to the room and said...
"I'm afraid young Harry is a squib. I can't even sense a magical core. Though it may be because he is young and the core will develop later, Harry can never be a full-fledged wizard like Daniel or Rose. It seems all the magic has gone to them," he said with a pensive and disappointed look. The Potters were devastated. They understood the implications. The heir of the Potter family couldn't be a squib. Thoughts raced through James and Lily's minds faster than the Hogwarts Express. While James tried to think of ways to save the family from embarrassment, Lily wondered why this had happened. She had taken all the potions, including magic-enhancing ones, to ensure that all her children would have enough magic. She was now devastated. The silence was broken by Harry's giggle as he pulled Rose's hair and she pulled his. The hearts of the Potters were momentarily lifted as Dumbledore commented that although Harry was a squib, he appeared to be more intelligent. So they left the topic of the headship of the house for the time being. Little did Dumbledore know that if he had consulted the experts at St. Mungo's or referred to the texts that described the method he used to find the magical core, he would have known that it was a subtle art of Legilimency, which would fail in the case of a natural Occlumens. If he had taken Harry into his arms, he would have felt the strange vibes of magic emanating from him, calming anyone who held him and giving them peace of mind. Young Harry was subconsciously using his magic, and he could even read surface thoughts, although his young mind couldn't fully process them. If Lily or James had checked the family tapestry at Potter Manor, they would have seen Harry's name in gold rather than the normal red, indicating that he was the next true Lord and proper heir of Godric Gryffindor.
Before Dumbledore left, Peter was named the godfather of young Harry, Sirius was named the godfather of Daniel, and Frank was named the godfather of Rose. Remus was named the godfather of Neville, and James was named the godfather of Glory. Lily was made the godmother of the young Longbottoms, and Alice was made the godmother of the Potters. Albus Dumbledore reluctantly agreed to be the honorary grandfather of all five children.
Days quickly passed, and everyone found Harry to be very interesting. The child hardly cried and displayed intelligence beyond his age. He took his naps, ate, and drank milk without fuss, unlike other children, and loved picture books. Everyone soon realized that he would be very intelligent, but this didn't diminish their disappointment that he was a squib. However, he was equally cared for. That was until one day when Daniel was crying loudly because he was hungry, and Harry summoned the milk bottle from his crib and handed it to him. No one was in close proximity at the time, and when Lily entered upon hearing her son's cries and saw him drinking from his milk bottle, she was stunned. Magic, even accidental at such a young age, was uncommon.
She called everyone in and shared what she saw (or assumed). "Daniel has summoned his milk bottle from the crib," she said with a huge smile on her face. The room filled with awe and admiration, and no one considered the possibility of Harry, or at least Rose, summoning the bottle. Similar situations soon repeated with the other children, and everyone was left dumbfounded. What they failed to notice was that the accidental magic only occurred when Harry was in close proximity or when no adults were in the room to take care of his needs. Soon, their attention began to shift more towards the other children and less towards Harry, and Harry's intelligence only fueled this dynamic. Unlike the others, he started speaking at the age of 6 months and began walking at 8 months while his siblings were still struggling to stand. Harry only pestered his mother to read to him, which she found amusing as he asked many advanced questions for his age, but she answered them patiently. It was the only area where he caused her trouble, and she wanted him to give her trouble. Magic or not, he was her son, and she loved him, perhaps a little less, but she loved him nonetheless. She was also amazed by his eidetic memory. He remembered all the stories she read to him after hearing them only once, down to the last word. This brought her great relief, knowing that if not in the magical world, her son would excel in the Muggle world.
The first birthday of the children arrived, and despite having no guests except for Albus Dumbledore, it was celebrated grandly. That was the first time Harry felt angry. Dumbledore brought gifts for the chosen four, as he liked to call them, but forgot about Harry. Although he didn't show it, Harry felt left out but maintained a perfect facade for the outside world. That night, he overheard his parents discussing his feelings as he went downstairs to get some water.
"James, Harry must have felt awful about what Dumbledore did. He might be the most powerful wizard, but he has no right to hurt our son's feelings," Lily said in an irate voice.
"He was okay with it, Lily. You saw for yourself," James replied.
"No, James, you don't understand," she replied, leaving him and heading to Harry's room when she found him on the stairs, coming down.
"What are you doing up so late, Harry?" she asked in a silky, motherly voice.
Harry sleepily replied, "Thirsty... water." She pickedhim up, took him to the kitchen for water, and then put him back to bed. Harry was happy that his mother was with him. But that happiness was about to change.
6 months later, on Halloween:
While muggle London was celebrating, the Wizarding world was bathed in fear. Voldemort was causing chaos and murdering all infants below the age of two and their families. The Potters and Longbottoms had even more reason to worry. Remus was on a mission and hadn't reported back, and Wormtail hadn't come to Godric's Hollow for a week. All the adults were gathered in the living room when suddenly alarms sounded, indicating that their wards and the Fidelius Charm had been breached. A quick scan revealed strong magical signatures, including one weak one that James recognized as their friend Peter. They had been dreading this moment, and immediately James and Frank sprang into action, their Auror instincts kicking in.
"Lily, get the portkey. Alice, get the kids. Frank, contact Dumbledore..." James's sentence was cut short by a loud bang as the door flung open, revealing the snake-like face of Voldemort.
"There won't be any running away this time, James. It took me time, but the rat has finally cracked," Voldemort taunted, throwing the withered and distorted body of Peter, who was bleeding and near death, with a smirk on his face.
"I'm sorry, Lily, James, forgive me," Peter muttered before falling unconscious.
Luckily, the distraction was enough for Lily to contact Hogwarts. She went to the attic, where they had an emergency Floo connection, threw Floo powder into the fireplace, and quickly put her head in, contacting Dumbledore. "We are being attacked. Come quickly," she relayed the short message to the old man, who then sent patronuses to the teachers and Order members at Hogwarts, as well as Professor Flitwick, a dueling champion.
As the members gathered, they all Flooed to Godric's Hollow, except for Professor Slughorn, who stayed back to brew potions and aid the injured who would be sent to the Hogwarts hospital wing (yes, Snape is not the Potions Master, at least not yet). Meanwhile, in Godric's Hollow, the remaining three wizards were doing their best to subdue the attackers but were hilariously outnumbered. It was then that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin arrived in a jolly mood, which quickly turned to shock, anger, and fear as they joined the others. Their combined efforts held off the Death Eaters, but Voldemort had left the group and was heading towards the nursery, where all five children were present. Lily quickly intercepted him, knowing she was no match for him.
"You won't touch the babies while I'm here," she said confidently, though fear was evident in her voice.
"Oh, so the brave mudblood thinks she can stop me?" Voldemort sneered, unleashing a flurry of spells towards her, casting them silently. Lily dodged the Killing Curse, blocked the Bone-Breaker, transfigured nearby armor to block the remaining curses, and charmed a sword to attack him, which he quickly turned to dust. She transfigured the floor into quicksand, conjured knives, and blasted them towards him at full speed. Voldemort was impressed with her skills but was not the Dark Lord for nothing. He quickly conjured a powerful shield, blocking all the knives. However, Lily had anticipated this and left an opening in his shield. She quickly sent a powerful Reductor Curse, hitting the mark. Voldemort was back on his feet in no time, and although injured, he pressed on. He blasted Lily into the nursery, and she crashed into the living room.
Meanwhile, in the living room, James caught a glimpse of Lily struggling with Voldemort and realized that she needed immediate assistance. Heck, they all needed assistance, or no one would live to see tomorrow. They were outnumbered four to one and wouldn't be able to hold out for long. Just as he was about to reach Lily, a man in black robes intercepted her, flinging her to the ground. The remaining Death Eaters were shocked to see one of their own betraying them. He had betrayed the Dark Lord and would pay the price. As the man removed his mask, James was shocked to see the face of his all-time enemy, Severus Snape. But the battle continued, with James and Sirius fighting back-to-back, now with the added strength of Severus. They held their own, putting up a fairly equal fight. It was then that a scream was heard from the nursery, and all the adults froze.
The Order had arrived, and the Death Eaters were captured. Snape now sat with the Marauders. Everyone inspected the rubble and found all four children alive but crying, with cuts on their necks, cheeks, and foreheads. The old headmaster remembered the line, "For dark lord shall mark his fall..." They searched for Harry and found him lying a short distance away, relatively unharmed. Albus Dumbledore concluded that Voldemort had tried to attack the four children, and his Killing Curse had somehow backfired. The black ash had flung Harry away as he had no magic, and the rebounded curse had ripped Voldemort's spirit from his body. His wand and cloak lay on the ground. If Dumbledore had thoroughly examined Harry, he would have discovered a unique tattoo—a wheel of power with a small black dot inside one of its circles (the significance of the wheel will be explained in later chapters). Dumbledore pointed to the children and triumphantly declared, "I give you the CHILDREN WHO LIVED." The fate of the world had been sealed.
A few minutes earlier:
As Voldemort entered the nursery and blasted Lily, Harry watched with anger. "How dare he hurt my mommy," he thought.
When Voldemort turned his attention to him and the other children, they started crying. But Harry was observing the man, analyzing him. "He's powerful and blasted my mommy. Approach with caution," he concluded. So when Voldemort looked into young Harry's eyes, he saw anger and hate but no fear. Voldemort scanned the children and discovered the same result as Dumbledore. In that moment, he realized that if left alive, those children would bring about his downfall.
He decided to eliminate them first and turned to Harry, saying, "Boy, you have no magic and no right to stand in my presence," and blasted him against the wall. Voldemort then turned his attention to the remaining cribs and sent four powerful Killing Curses. He didn't notice Harry getting up and using his magic to shield his siblings and friends. All the curses rebounded, and Voldemort was shocked. He evaded one curse but was hit by the others, screaming in pain and agony as his spirit was torn from his body. Two curses struck the walls, causing rubble to fall on the children. Another curse had struck Harry, flinging him back into a pile.
At that moment, many things happened. Phoenixes everywhere started singing songs of happiness, signifying the birth of the Lord of Light. Dementors rejoiced at the awakening of Lord Shadow. Six ancient vaults in Gringotts bank flared to life before going dormant again. Magic reverberated throughout, and Harry Potter lay forgotten by his parents and the world.