A Twist of Fate

Chapter 1: A Fateful Beginnings

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, only a few stories that feature him.

A/N: This story was written by the request of FeralG3; I hope he, and all of you, enjoy.

In the height of the war with Voldemort, the old families of England were divided. More and more families joined the Dark Lord Voldemort, be it for fear of becoming targeted or wanting to join the winning side; which at the time was the Death Eaters and Voldemort. One of the families that fought the Death Eaters was the Potters. In the late months of 1979, Voldemort led his forces on Potter Manor to remove a Wizard of the Light, Charlus Potter.

Potter Manor was heavily fortified, having been improved upon for nearly a thousand years and the ward scheme redesigned by every head of house with the latest best. Charlus Potter, with the help of his wife Dorea Potter nee Black, had made the wards bulky and deadly. Voldemort had lost two raids against the wards already; they didn't make it near the Manor itself. They were mere cannon fodder to Voldemort though, he didn't care for them, he would prove his might.

After reaching the ward line, he couldn't help but be impressed. However, Voldemort managed to see the flaw, and only because he had been allowed to view the Black wards. With careful control and timing, he targeted the wards at their weak point, which the Blacks had left in their ward scheme in case anyone ever stole them. In minutes, the wards were down and his inner circle advanced on the Manor while he leisurely walked to the doors.

Though caught off guard, the Potters were resilient fighters and held off his elite while being pinned down. Once Voldemort entered the fray though, the battle quickly took a turn for the worse for the Potters. The elderly Potters, Charlus and Dorea, dueled him two on one while taking pot shots at his circling elite. The battle lasted for several minutes until to dodge an errant spell, Dorea Potter was separated from Charlus against a wall. With a long forgotten Greek spell, Dorea Potter was fused with the wall and formed a living Mosaic. While Charlus was distracted, Voldemort took a moment to gloat. "You fought well, for a blood-traitor whore, but now you can watch as I kill the head of the Potter family."

This got Charlus's temper flaring and he broke the reprieve with a volley of fast stunners and bone breakers. Voldemort easily swatted the spells away or stepped aside, one to one Voldemort physically and magically outmatched Charlus, who was twenty years his senior. When Charlus was forced to stop and catch his breath from his onslaught, Voldemort took the opportunity and cast his favorite curse, "Avada Kedavra!" With a silence that was almost deadening, Charlus Potter dropped to the floor while Voldemort grinned manically.

He turned to Dorea, silently screaming at him from the wall and said, "I'm going to leave you here like this, that curse will last as long as my soul still walks this earth. I, who treads farther down the path to immortality than any dare, shall walk this earth eternal while you hang in this house for as long as it lasts." Voldemort turns to leave, laughing at the look of misery on the mosaic's face, never seeing the light green glow from Charlus's chest. As he left the Manor he ordered his inner circle to destroy the house with blasting curses, but leave it standing, a useless shell for the fallen daughter of Black to hang in.

While Voldemort hadn't seen the glow on Charlus's chest, but Dorea had. And while she raged and wept for the fate that befell them, she couldn't help smirk at the hubris of Voldemort's statement and the glow from Charlus. While he might have performed Dark rituals to extend his life, or gods forbid his was insane enough to make a horcrux, none were harder to kill than the Peverell's. Their bond to Deaths own Cloak hid them from the specter until their rightful time comes; Charlus had explained it once after their marriage, one of the many family secrets, Peverell family magic.

While the house shook around her and her comatose husband, the Potter family Head Elf popped in, aggrieved and scared. While her words couldn't reach, she had long ago mastered talking without words; a needed survival tool more a child of the house of Black. She silently told the elf to calm, that his master was still alive but his heart was hidden. She motioned the elf to take Charlus to their hidden refuge, the Peverell Sanctum, and wait for him to wake. Once she was done, the elf bowed low to her, tears in his eyes, and popped away with Charlus. With her husband seen to, Dorea got as comfortable as she could and closed her eyes, knowing it would be a while before she would see another soul, living or not.

By the time the Death Eaters were done, the Manor was riddled with holes, though they did as their master bid and left it standing. With their deed done, one of the Inner Circle cast Morsmordre into the sky and apparated away with his comrades.

TF

The new head of the Potter family heard from the goblins about what happened to his father, though neither side mentioned the fate of Dorea Potter, presuming the worse. The house was all but destroyed and Voldemort's mark hung above, with the goblins reporting Charlus's death, it was presumed she died fighting by his side. His life stone was extinguished while the Peverell family magic hid him and she no longer had a body. James cried for his parents, but Lily helped him through his grief.

But as life passes, so too does it blossom. Not long after the attack on Potter Manor, Lily found that she was pregnant, much like her friend Alice Longbottom. Both James and Frank, Alice's husband, were ecstatic at the news. The mothers agreeing to become godmothers for the others child while the menfolk got to choose the godfathers. Sadly, their happiness was short lived as a Seer released a Prophecy.

In the town of Hogsmeade, in the Hog's Head tavern, Sybil Trelawney was interviewing for the position of Mistress of Divination for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Albus Dumbledore. The interview was going poorly, when suddenly she dropped into a trance, and in an ethereal voice said:

"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…"

Halfway through her Prophecy, there was a disturbance on the other side of the door. Dumbledore found out from his brother, the owner of the tavern, that he had chased a young man trying to eavesdrop off. Dumbledore's face paled as he realized he hadn't cast any anti-eavesdropping spells. Aberforth enjoyed giving his brother a bollocking for that blunder and said, "I hope the lad didn't hear anything important."

Albus quickly surmised that, given that the Prophecy was given to him, it was his responsibility to work it out. When he learned that two of his Order of the Pheonix members were pregnant and that they would be due to give birth at the end of July, he was certain the Prophecy meant it would be one of their children. As such, he told both families to go into hiding under Fidelius charms, which he would cast. The Longbottoms choose the Matriarch of the family, Agusta Longbottom nee Rosier. The Potters were going to choose Sirius, but he pushed for it to be Peter Pettigrew while everyone else believed it to be him.

Secret Keepers selected, Frank and Alice Longbottom had Longbottom Hall hidden with a Fidelius, along with Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow was hidden. On the 30th of July 1980, both Alice and Lily went into labor, with Alice giving birth to Neville Longbottom in the late hours of the day. Several hours later Lily gave birth to Harry Potter in the early hours of the 31st of July. Two boys, born as the seventh month closed, to two of his Order, Dumbledore was sure one of them would be the chosen one.

For over a year the boys grew while in hiding with their parents. Harry was an active boy, inheriting his father's energy while you could also see the keen eyes of his mother, ready to learn. Neville seemed to be the opposite, timid and calm yet eager to play when the two visited. The two families visited each other on seemingly random days so that anyone watching them couldn't abuse a pattern.

Then came a cold October night, while muggle children ran around in costumes asking for candy, a tall man in a dark cloak appeared as if from the void. As he walked the streets of Godric's Hollow, a look of determination and dare one say eagerness upon him, his eyes darted about looking for his quarry. As the man reached the residential town houses on the near the towns old church and graveyard, his eyes narrowed in on what he sought. A wicked grin crossed his face as he could feel the thrill of the murder he was here to carry out.

It had taken him nearly two years to find this accursed boy, after his servant brought a partial Prophecy to his attention. Over a year to see through the ruse the Potters had played with Black and Pettigrew. But once he had learned of it, he wasted no time apprehending the cowardly man, Pettigrew, and before he could even cast his first Cruciartus curse the pathetic man was on the floor, bawling and ready to sell out his 'friends'. The robed man had 'rewarded' him with a Cruciartus after finding out where the Potters hid.

The Prophecy said the boy would be his equal and destroy him. He would show his followers that he was the greatest to ever live. For he was Lord Voldemort, the worst Dark Lord since Grindlewald. No mere child could vanquish him, let alone be his equal. With a sneer, Voldemort crossed the Fidelius charm and raised his wand towards the door. The blasted secrecy charm was the only one on the house, the charm being too complex to overlay with others, leaving the Potters defenseless once it no longer protected them.

Voldemort decided he wanted to start the fun with a bang, literally, and shot a Bombarda Maxima towards the front door, blowing the door inward and off its hinges. He could hear the young Lord Potter call out to his wife. "It's him, he's found us. Lily, grab Harry and run! I'll hold him off." Voldemort grinned hearing this, he had already sealed their escape as he walked up the path to the house.

The quick duel with James Potter was nothing like the one he'd had with his father. While James was faster the Charlus, he lacked the experience that Charlus had earned through age and hard work. He also dueled him alone, trying to buy time for Lily and the child to escape. Less than a minute into the fight, it was over; Voldemort had struck James with an Avada Kedavra and ascended the stairs. He didn't notice the green glow on James's chest, only having eyes for his target. The hidden elf though saw the glow and knew what it meant, and quickly brought James to the Peverell Sanctum, as he was told to should this happen.

As Voldemort reached the second floor, he could hear the distraught mother trying to comfort her child. That fool, Severus, begged him to spare the mudblood, and I will if she does what I know she won't do, step aside and let her son die. 'Of course, if she did, she'd wish I'd killed her instead,' Voldemort thought as he approached the door. 'I'm feeling dramatic tonight, let's go for an encore.' Voldemort thought as he aimed his wand at the door. "Bombarda." Voldemort said, and the door exploded.

As he walked into the nursery that was the child's room he quickly took in his surroundings, the child in his crib and the mother standing before it. The woman had a fearful yet defiant look in her eyes. "This need not be you end woman, stand aside and you may yet live through this night." Voldemort said, with a sneer.

"No, not my Harry. Take me, instead. Just please don't hurt him." The mother said.

"Stand aside, woman. I've come to kill him, and there's nothing you can do, just like your husband." Voldemort said.

"No, I won't, he's all I have left. Kill me instead, but don't kill my son." The woman said, tears running down her face.

"This is your last chance, woman. Stand aside or die." Voldemort yelled at her.

"No, not my Harry. You won't hurt my son." The women, Lily Potter, said one last time.

"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort cast, the force of the spell turning her aside. He Voldemort didn't take the time to notice the smirk on Lily's fear filled face. As Voldemort made his way to stand before Harry, he never noticed the glow of the runes on the floor, hidden by the rugs.

"The Prophecy says you will have the power to vanquish me, Lord Voldemort. You'll never live to find such power. Avada Kedavra." Voldemort cast again, his wand meters from the boy's forehead. With that, the trap Lily had sacrificed her life to trigger was sprung. The magic bounced of the force of magic that surrounded the crib and redirected the spell back at the caster. With a look of shock on his face, Voldemort was hit by his own curse; amplified by the defense the force destroyed his body, leaving only a wand, a robe, and a tattered soul ripped apart and filled with darkness.

The soul fled. The killing curse didn't mark the boy, but the shield had placed its mark, the rune of protection, sealing the protective force within him. As the boy began to cry for his mother to wake, another man walked into the damaged house, this one with shoulder length greasy hair. When he found Lily's lifeless body he held her and wept. The man was Severus Snape, a man who played both sides to get what he wanted, the woman he wanted, but ended up serving two masters and still the woman he wanted was dead; while the child his master wanted, the child his tormentor spawned, was still alive, crying in his crib.

Before his darker thoughts could form however, Severus could hear someone downstairs. After taking one last longing look at Lily, Severus apparated away, his masters wards around the house having fallen when he apparently died. Moments later, another man entered the room, a look of sorrow on his face. The man had shaggy black hair with a trimmed beard, an aristocratic face, and stormy grey eyes. The new man was Sirius Black, or as Harry knew his as, Padfoot.

After choking back a sob for his dead friends, he grabbed his godson and exited the damaged house. As he moved to leave on his motorcycle, he was stopped by a giant of a man by the name of Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid told him that Dumbledore had learned of the attack and had ordered him retrieve any survivors and bring them to him. Sirius tried to argue, but his grief and rage took hold and he gave Harry to Hagrid and told Hagrid to take his bike and get Harry to safety.

After handing Harry over to Hagrid, Sirius let his rage take over and went to hunt for that traitorous rat, Pettigrew. Hagrid got on the bike and made his way to Hogwarts to bring Harry to Dumbledore. Sirius would find his quarry, only for the rat to flip the script and accuse him of betrayal before cutting off a finger and blasting the street between them and escaping down the hole into the sewers. The blast caused the death of twelve muggles and the apparent death of a wizard, leading the Aurors that showed up to quickly presume Sirius's guilt and fast track him to prison without a trial.

Harry stayed at Hogwarts for a day being cared for by Madam Pomphrey before Dumbledore had Hagrid take him to his relatives, as apparating wasn't good for babies unless it was with their mothers. Albus met Hagrid and Professor McGonagall outside number 4, Privet Drive in Little Whinging. After Professor McGonagall tried to talk Dumbledore out of leaving Harry here, they left Harry on the porch with a letter and an enchanted blanket to keep him warm.

TF

Five years later, in a hidden room beneath Potter Manor. Two men rested on full sized beds while a fire burned in a brazier in the middle of the room, in the center of a crest. The crest was a triangle with a circle within, with a straight line down the middle. The room was ancient, with the history of the original owners of the room depicted on the walls. Everything was quite in the room, until suddenly one of the logs burning in the brazier shifted, just as the older of the two men's eyes burst open; a green glow flashed on his chest before he sat up and took in his surroundings.

How many changes will occur because of one bit of family magic played out twice? Only time will tell. Please read on when there is more, and I hope you all enjoy.