Victory, at a cost. Or is it?

Albus Dumbledore stared up at the burning remains of the cottage of Godric's Hollow, unable to believe the war had ended, and at such a cost; the elderly Headmaster had never liked the thought of sacrificing children, especially at such a young age as children were vital to the future of the wizarding world.

And of his Grand Plan.

However, Voldemort had nearly ruined his plans and his visions for the future, where wizards and witches would, at last, triumph and rule over the muggles. It was just a tragic shame Harry Potter should have needed to die when he had the potential to be one of his greatest followers. Unfortunately, Riddle's rampage and the ridiculous and stupid prophecy forced Dumbledore and the Potters to make a terrible choice.

Lily and James hadn't wanted to sacrifice their child, especially to Voldemort. The stupid boy, Dumbledore grimaced with a snorting sneer, had Voldemort shown any common sense, he too would have become a great ally, maybe even a protege of himself and Gellert, but unfortunately, Voldemort's mindless savagery and his resultant insanity had put paid to those plans.

But while Lily and James had needed to be talked into sacrificing their first and currently only child (he was hopeful they would have many more children shortly, as he would have more followers with powerful blood if they were going to defeat the muggles; the Potters had always a radical family, not caring about their blood status even if it went from pure to half, and then back to half as they cared more for love, even if once or twice they had the sense to use marriage contracts in the past, but that was a rare occurrence. James' marriage to Lily resulted in a union where the Potter family's bloodline was made even stronger).

Dumbledore sighed, taking out his wand. He cast several spells over himself and on the remains of the building so he could see the final remains of Lord Voldemort.

He had to make sure the idiot boy was finally dead. Dumbledore had long suspected Voldemort had resorted to splitting his soul, but despite subtly making it clear to Horace that he could be trusted with such information, and that he would be protected, the stubborn fool just refused to get the hint.

But suspicions were not enough. He needed to examine the remains and make sure the plan had worked out the way he'd hoped, that way he could spend the next decade or so masterminding his various schemes, and make sure the wizarding world turned out the way he wanted, without foolish idiots who killed, killed, and killed as many people as they wanted like Voldemort had.

Finding Voldemort's remains was not difficult, but as Dumbledore walked into the remains of the nursery, he was shocked. The whole house had been destroyed in a burst of magical energy, which turned into a fire, but the room had lost the ceiling, the roof, and the far wall. Dumbledore had seen the results of the German bombs during World War 1 and World War 2, but this was far from what he had expected.

Voldemort's robes were in an unceremonious pile on the ground, but Dumbledore's shock was turned towards the remains of the cot.

Harry was alive, and he was bawling. The baby had received a cut to the head, in the shape of a lightning bolt, but there were splinters of wood in the skin.

But the sight that amazed the old manipulative wizard the most was the flickering bubble surrounding the baby boy, and since Dumbledore himself was forced to conjure an umbrella charm to stop any more loose debris from falling on himself, he had to admit, he was impressed by the boy's ability to create one like this.

But Dumbledore was at a loss, as he looked down on the baby. Dumbledore had originally planned to sacrifice Lily and James, leaving Harry completely alone, so then Dumbledore could shape him into a disposable weapon to use against Voldemort. But he hadn't. While he had found the right sacrifice-based blood spells that would be enough to shield the boy from the worst of the killing curse and leave him alive long enough to grow and be brainwashed enough to serve as the weapon he needed, time was just not on his side.

And then again, there had been several instances where Voldemort had been killed, and yet he had returned time and again. Dumbledore had been so sure Voldemort had been using Horcruxes, and yet the Dark Lord had returned time and time. On top of that, there were instances where Voldemort seemed to be striking from one, two, or even twenty places at the same time; some people had declared the Dark Wizard was a gang using potions to disguise themselves as the same person, and others claimed he had an unregistered Time Turner.

The problem was nobody knew.

In the end, Dumbledore had desperately sought out a brand new way to end Voldemort, and he found it in a spell which would act like a muggle neutron bomb but would kill all forms of magic within a three-mile radius.

He had presented his case and argument to Lily and James, but like all young parents, the Potters were understandably horrified they would have to go that far, but they had eventually come around after a lot of argument. It helped matters the death toll was rising every moment, that Lily and James, particularly Lily, as she was the more stubborn of the parents, and they'd worked quickly. The spell would need runic arrays and clusters, and two golems disguised as Lily and James, while he used spells to make sure all of the innocent witches and wizards escaped and were likewise replaced with golems, to fool Voldemort.

It had been hard to release the whereabouts of the 'Potters', but in the end, they had managed it. But Dumbledore was confused about how the baby had survived. Was it because he was somehow aware of what was happening, and he'd shielded himself from it? Or was it because he was a squib? The moment the thought came to mind, he dismissed it; the boy was a wizard, but how in hell had he survived?

But what should he do now?

He could give the boy back to his parents, and they could go on with their lives, perhaps even brainwash him from the very beginning, and motivate the Potters into believing it was safe to have more children. But as the thought settled into his head, Dumbledore decided on a better plan for the boy. Tom Marvolo Riddle had grown up in an orphanage. Dumbledore had wondered all these years if the boy was born evil, or if he'd turned out that way. What if he could finally prove the hypothesis, by using Harry? Originally he had planned to just give the baby to his muggle aunt and uncle, knowing Petunia's petty jealousy towards her sister would make her lash out at him; if Dumbledore could play his cards right if he returned to the boy later in the future, he could have a boy worshipping him for getting out of the hell hole...

Yes, an even better plan. It would tragically mean separating Lily and James from their child, but the Greater Good took precedence.

-8-

Petunia Dursley was humming abstractedly as she went about her daily chores. She was just opening the door to put the spent and washed milk bottles out for the milkman when she caught sight of a large bundle on the doorstep. When she realised what it was, she screamed.