Prologue
Voldemort cut through the streets of Godric's Hollow with nary a care in the world. It was quite late into the night, but there were still plenty of costumed children and accompanying adults scurrying about. Voldemort hadn't bothered using any concealing charms, but still none bothered him, assuming him to be wearing a costume as many others were.
Normally, Voldemort would have sneered at the muggle filth and probably tortured a few of the noisier ones into silence, but he was far too close to his goal to let himself be distracted now.
Over a year spent tracking his frustratingly elusive prey had then followed with a burst of good fortune when, after using the Fidelius charm to hide themselves, the Potters had decided to switch Secret Keepers from Sirius Black - another headache that had slipped through his fingers multiple times - to Peter Pettigrew.
Voldemort had nearly laughed when he had heard the news, almost disbelieving that the Potters had all but thrown themselves at him. Pettigrew - or Wormtail as Voldemort always thought of him - was a pathetic wizard, but he had surprising skill as a spy.
Still, Wormtail had almost failed him immediately when he had been caught taking the Potter children out of the home. It was only Pettigrew's quick thinking that spared Voldemort's sole spy in the Order of the Phoenix. Now, after months of careful planning - and after thoroughly expressing his displeasure to Wormtail via judicious use of the Cruciatus - Voldemort was about to preemptively end the prophecy regarding him.
It was unfortunate that Severus had been unable to hear the entirety of the prophecy, but even knowing of its existence had been a great boon. The idea that some sniveling infant might one day grow to rival himself - the greatest wizard to ever live - was infuriating, but Voldemort was a man of caution first and foremost. All threats to his life would be eliminated no matter how silly and harmless they appeared.
Voldemort approached the Potters' Cottage, the house only perceptible to him due to Wormtail sharing the secret with him. His enhanced vision easily made out the two adults inside the home. An elderly man and woman, the mudblood Evans' parents. Voldemort could only spot one child in the arms of the woman heading upstairs, and Voldemort assumed the other child was already there.
This was the culmination of his plan. Wormtail had, over the past few months, mentioned several times how the Potter children's grandparents wanted to see them. James Potter and his pet mudblood wife had eventually been convinced to bring her muggle parents to visit them for a few days. Voldemort then leaked certain information on his future plans - none of which were of high priority to him - to draw the Potters out while Wormtail offered to stay behind with the muggles.
And now the time had come. Wormtail stepped out of the house and was now making his way over to him.
"M-My Lord. The Evans' are inside with the Potter children upstairs. Lily and James won't be back for some time either."
Voldemort didn't bother acknowledging his words. "Leave me, Wormtail."
Pettigrew jerkily nodded his head before scurrying out of the range of the Anti-Apparition Jinx so he could disapparate away.
Voldemort wasted no more time, blasting the cottage's front door open. The muggle didn't even have a chance to process things before he dropped dead from a Killing Curse. Voldemort casually made his way to the stairs, going up them at a leisurely pace.
The muggle woman must have sensed that something was wrong because she quickly moved to shield the children in the cribs behind her. Voldemort didn't bother giving her a chance to irritate him, killing her with another Killing Curse before flinging her corpse away with a flick of his wand.
Having done away with all other distractions, Voldemort finally took in the children he'd been searching for, one of whom was apparently destined to kill him. Him. Lord Voldemort was immortal. He had done the impossible and forever secured himself from death's grip. No prophecy uttered by some fool would stand against Voldemort's greatness.
Still, the children were definitely curious. Despite watching their filthy grandmother die in front of them, neither cried as he had seen so many of his followers' children do for the slightest reasons. Both had inherited their father's black hair, but their eyes set them apart. The one on the left had his father's hazel eyes while the one on the right had his mother's startling green eyes.
Voldemort cursed as he felt the wards he had set up to alert him to the coming of others tremble. Likely James Potter and his wife returning to their dwelling. Had the Order meeting ended that early? Voldemort considered whether Wormtail had betrayed him but dismissed it. Pettigrew was a coward at heart, and he wouldn't risk doing anything to earn his Lord's ire.
Perhaps Dumbledore had set up some sort of failsafe that would detect when something went wrong in the house? That was more plausible but meant that the old wizard was likely making his way here himself.
With little time to do what he came for, Voldemort leveled his wand at the child with the hazel eyes and cast the Killing Curse.
To his utter bafflement, which quickly turned into fear, the Killing Curse struck the child only to be rebounded off his forehead. Faster than Voldemort could react, he was hit by the jet of bright green energy, his own Killing Curse.
Voldemort screamed in agony as he felt his soul be torn out of his body. He had to get away from here! There was no telling what state he was in, but Voldemort knew he stood no chance against Dumbledore at the moment. Before he was even aware of it his soul, what remained of it at least, disappeared to parts unknown.
For a few moments all was silent; the magical backlash of the rebounded Killing Curse had blown the house apart. The two children remained unharmed but were rendered unconscious.
The silence was broken when three individuals dashed into the small cottage, their wands drawn in anticipation of a fight after seeing the condition the house was in from afar.
They entered together; a conjured shield stood ready to intercept any spells aimed at them. Lily Potter let out a strangled cry when she saw her father's corpse, his eyes devoid of life. She dashed over to him while her husband, James Potter, followed her with a shield.
Albus Dumbledore, who had been the one to realize something was amiss when the enchantment he had cast on the cottage to detect Dark Magic alerted him, cast the Human Revealing charm. The charm revealed two living beings upstairs, and Dumbledore decided to check on it himself, not wanting Lily and James to witness the state of their children in case the unthinkable had happened. Still, the fact that Dumbledore had felt two living beings made him hopeful that they had gotten here in time and Voldemort had fled before accomplishing his goal.
To his great relief, both children appeared to be alive and unharmed. Unfortunately, Lily's mother had not survived. Her lifeless body flung a short distance away from the epicenter of the explosion that destroyed most of the house.
"Lily! James! Your children are alive!" Dumbledore called out.
It didn't take long for his two companions to join him, and Lily broke down into sobs at the sight of her mother. She clung to James, who did his best to hold and console his distraught wife. Dumbledore, meanwhile, was doing his best to discern what exactly occurred before their arrival. Lily's parents were dead, and the house was severely damaged in an explosion whose epicenter appeared to be the two cribs in which lay the two children. The same two children who had apparently survived an encounter with Voldemort.
Lily only took a few moments to gather herself before she moved over to her children. She wasted no time pulling them into her arms and holding them close, whether she did so to comfort them or to comfort herself, Dumbledore didn't know, but the sight was still uplifting.
"Dumbledore, look here," James called out from behind him.
The elderly wizard gave the grieving mother one last look before turning to her husband, who was now looking at an odd pile of ash and a black robe not too far off.
With a flick of his wand, James levitated the object he'd found so Dumbledore could get a better look at it.
"Is this…" James asked hopefully.
"It is," Dumbledore whispered back. Floating in front of him was a 13 ½ inch wand of yew with a bone white handle. "There's no mistaking it. This is Voldemort's wand."
"What does this mean, Albus?" James questioned, but there was a glimmer in his eyes and the excitement in his voice was palpable.
"He's dead… isn't he?" Lily interjected, her children held in her arms. "He tried to kill my babies but failed somehow."
"Indeed, I can't help but concur, Lily," Dumbledore agreed, even as his mind raced to put the pieces together as fast as he could.
He could sense the Dark magic in the air, and the unmistakable presence of the Killing Curse having been used. Lily's mother had clearly died to it, yet the children - Voldemort's targets - were alive. Instead, Voldemort was the one who perished. And Dumbledore had no doubts that he had perished, for he could not imagine any situation where Voldemort would leave behind his wand.
It was then that Dumbledore spotted the odd scar on one of the children. A lightning-shaped cut near the center of his forehead.
"Lily, do you mind if I look the children over?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course. Though I will be taking them to St. Mungo's afterwards," Lily replied firmly.
"It will only take a moment." And with permission given, he waved his wand in odd motions around the children, muttering under his breath.
Lily and James both waited with bated breath, as neither could stand the uncomfortable silence their home had descended into.
"This is incredible," Dumbledore's soft voice finally broke the silence.
"What is?"
"The scar upon young Charles' forehead, it is a Curse Scar, a piece of a curse that remains behind either because the curse was cast incorrectly or it was blocked imperfectly. Curse scars are tricky to get rid of, which is why they are always well documented. This curse scar, however, is something I have never seen before."
"So You-Know-Who used some unknown curse then? Is it reversible? Will my baby be alright?" Lily questioned, her eyes watering at the thought of her hope and happiness being ripped away.
"I have cast every spell I know of to detect traces of magic in this room, Lily. The only curse cast within this room was the Killing Curse. In other words," Dumbledore gave them both a significant look, "Charles survived the Killing Curse."
Both James and Lily gasped, and looked down to gaze upon the tiny little scar whose existence shook the foundations of the Wizarding World.
"Is that even possible?" James asked his former Headmaster. The night had been full of surprises and emotional moments. James really didn't have it in him to get overly excited by what had to be one of the biggest magical revelations in centuries.
"Anything is possible with magic, James. In this case, I believe Charles somehow blocked the Killing Curse, the backlash of which appears to have reduced Voldemort's body to ash."
"So where does that leave us?" Lily asked the two men.
Before anything of meaning could be discussed, all three were distracted by a sharp sound, like a crack, followed by the distressed voice of one Sirius Black.
"James! Lily!"
"Up here, Padfoot!" James called down, preempting his best friend.
Sirius wasted no time making his way upstairs, the tension in his body leaving him only after he saw that James, Lily, and their children were safe with Dumbledore there as well.
"I was under the impression that Sirius was your Secret Keeper. Is that not so?" Dumbledore asked. He had been ready to pull his wand and apprehend the only person who could have revealed to Voldemort the Potters' location, but James and Lily's reaction threw him off.
"He was, but we switched to Peter after Sirius was nearly captured several times. We thought it was best since no one would suspect him," Lily replied curtly. Her children were still unconscious and needed medical attention.
The men sensed her urgency and wisely decided to continue their discussion later.
James and Lily sat waiting on a bench outside the examination room while the Healers looked over their children. Both sat with pensive expressions on their faces, waiting for news of the twins.
They were jolted out of their thoughts by Dumbledore's entrance. "James, Lily, I'm afraid I have good news and bad news.
"The good news is that Voldemort's demise has thrown his forces into disarray. Barty has already made a lot of headway in capturing and convicting the worst of the Death Eaters and I expect the trend to continue. I believe the end of this war is well in sight."
Both Lily and James sighed in relief at the news. Honestly, coming to St Mungos alone put them all at risk, but it was unavoidable. That the Death Eaters were too pre-occupied to try and attack the hospital assuaged a lot of their immediate concerns.
"The bad news," Dumbledore continued "is that Peter has yet to be found. I have informed the Ministry of his Animagus form, but finding one rat in all the Isles is a tall task. I fear he may escape to the continent and disappear."
That drew mixed responses from the Potters. That Peter - one of their closest friends - had betrayed them had been hard enough to accept. That they may never catch him and gain some measure of closure was perhaps just as bad.
"Do you know what happened tonight, Albus?" Lily asked. "Was it the prophecy? Is he dead?"
"That, my dear, is complicated," Dumbledore started. "I believe the prophecy has merely been confirmed tonight. I'm not entirely sure on the details, but I believe Voldemort used the Killing Curse on Charles, which was somehow reflected back at him, protecting Charles and destroying Voldemort's body, leaving only his robes behind. The Curse Mark would then be the 'mark' the prophecy talks about."
He waited as the two processed this. Eventually, Lily verbalized what Dumbledore was implying. "So he's not dead. Just… gone. And he'll be back. And Charles is the one in the prophecy?"
"I believe so, my dear." Dumbledore nodded.
They would've continued their conversation but it was interrupted when 2 Healers finally exited the examination room carrying a baby each. The two Healers quietly communicated between themselves before the elder of the two turned to address them.
Lily preempted whatever he was going to say. "Are my babies going to be alright?" She all but demanded him.
The Healer looked slightly uncomfortable. He sighed before he spoke.
"Physically, they're both fine. But there's a problem with Charles. Typically, accidental magic in infants is very small scale - summoning objects, levitating, etc. Their bodies grow used to the magic over time and this process continues into adulthood. Whatever Charles did, he used too much magic, more than he could really handle."
"So what does that mean? Can you fix it?" James asked.
"It's difficult to say in matters like this. He might recover on his own as his body adapts, but… If we leave it alone, there is a real chance that his body will simply fail. Unfortunately, any procedure I can think of has a high risk of death in someone as young as Charles."
Lily sobbed into her hands as James tried his best to comfort her while holding back tears of his own.
The Healer looked uncomfortable at being the bearer of bad news.
Dumbledore, on the other hand, stroked his beard in thought. Charles was the child of prophecy, of that he was certain. But did that mean he should simply leave things be and hope for the best? The prophecy said the Chosen One and the Dark Lord will be equal, so if Charles died would that mean Voldemort would die as well?
"I believe I have a potential solution," he offered.
Once he had the attention of the Potters and the Healer he continued. "There is a ritual I know of. It has very specific conditions, but I believe it can save Charles."
At Lily's hopeful look he elaborated. "It's a ritual of transference. It requires that the subject of the ritual have a twin or a sibling close in age and blood. Twins would work best. The magic of one twin is used to heal the ailment of the other. I am confident that Charles' health will be secured by this ritual," he finished.
James and Lily sat thinking heavily while the Healer asked Dumbledore a question. "How safe is it? What are the risks?"
"Seeing as Harry and Charles are twins there should be no issue with compatibility. Even in the worst case, there should be no threat to Harry's life, but there is a small chance that Harry might lose his magic."
James and Lily were torn. Save one child but damn the other? What kind of choices were those!
The group stayed in silence for a few minutes, letting the parents decide what they would do. "Do you think we should do the ritual, Albus?" Lily asked.
Dumbledore sighed. He hated it when such decisions fell to him. It reminded him far too much of his youth and the choices he made in regards to Arianna and Gellert. He believed all children were born equal and didn't believe in favoritism. But his and Gellert's old maxim came to him, "For the Greater Good."
Charles had destroyed Voldemort and bought them all time. But he would eventually have to face him once more and vanquish him for good. In that light, it was quite easy for Dumbledore to make a decision.
"I believe you should do the ritual," he finally said.
The Healer nodded and turned back to the room to make preparations after getting the details on the ritual from Dumbledore.