A/N: Hi there! This is my first fan fiction so I am asking you to please not leave any criticism as I just want to have fun writing my story. Naturally this fic won't be for everyone. While I do have what I feel to be some more unique ideas I also include plenty of common hp fanfic elements that may or may not be your cup of tea.

This is an AU where many things are different including the prophecy, many worldbuilding aspects, some characterizations and backstories, and other things. The first year at Hogwarts however will follow the events of Philosopher's Stone somewhat similarly.

Anyways without further ado I hope you give my fic a chance and that I can find people who enjoy it!

November 11th, 1980

"More tea, Sybill?" Albus Dumbledore offered with a polite smile.

"Oh yes, please," She accepted gratefully.

The Headmaster used his wand to levitate the teapot off of his desk and refilled the cup. So far the interview had been nothing but a disappointment to him. It seemed to him that Sybill was merely trying to take advantage of her great-great-grandfather Octavius Trelawney's reputation as a Seer. But it was becoming quite clear that she did not have the gift of sight as her ancestor did.

Perhaps it was time to lay the Divination position to rest anyway. Unless you were born with the natural affinity for it, it rarely if ever was useful for students to learn. He could easily fill the slot with another class and had even considered replacing Divination with a new class where students could learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, albeit under a different name. He certainly couldn't afford to keep losing a teacher to that curse every year and nothing he had tried so far had broken it. The only solution left would be to retire Defense Against the Dark Arts entirely.

"Well Sybill, I would first like to say that I greatly appreciate the time you've taken to come out here and see me about the position for Divination. However I'm afraid that—" His sentence was cut short as Sybill stood up suddenly, her eyes seeming to magnify even larger behind her glasses and then began to glow a strange green color. When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was harsh, deep, and had an inexplicably otherworldly sound to it, so unlike the one he'd been hearing the last half hour.

"He is coming. The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord, born of the silver stag. He will be his equal in might and magic but he has the power the dark lord knows not. A battle unlike any other must ensue and the one who triumphs is rewarded as the master of death itself. He will usher in a new era of his own design, be it for good or ill."

She repeated it three times in the same foreboding way. Albus could hardly speak as he took in just what was happening and then all at once it ended abruptly. Sybill's eyes and voice returned to normal. She looked disoriented briefly and then it was as if nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry my dear, I seem to have got a bit lost in thought for a moment," Sybill apologized. "Could you remind me what we were talking about?"

It was a real prophecy, of that he was certain. Albeit by one who had had little if any training on it, made obvious by her complete unawareness of it even happening. A properly trained Seer would better be able to sense when one was coming as well as recognize the signs after it had happened. But it was the prophecy itself that truly shook him. Could the answer they had been looking for for so long be finally handed to them like this? And in such a way too!

He was immediately pulled from his own thoughts by urgent knocking on his door. "Albus I'm sorry to interrupt but this is very urgent!" Came Minerva's frantic voice. She sounded as shaken as he was, if not more so.

He opened the door and ushered her in quickly, alarmed by her demeanor. His old friend and colleague rarely lost her head in situations. "What is it, Minerva?"

"It's Anita Cartwright, Albus. The most disturbing thing just occurred at dinner!"

"Did she recite a prophecy?" He asked gravely, fearing the worst.

"That's what it sounded like, yes."

He nodded at the confirmation. "Minerva, you've gone quite pale, do take a seat."

"Sybill I'm afraid a circumstance has arisen and we will have to continue our conversation another time. I'm sure you'll understand."

"Of course, of course," Sybill replied. "Thank you for having me."

A few seconds later when she was out the door, the Headmaster turned back to Minerva McGonagall only to be further interrupted as multiple owls began tapping at the windows and the fireplace turned green as someone attempted to floo call him. The fire quickly thereafter turned red to signify its urgency.

"Albus what on earth is happening?!" Minerva asked him in alarm.

"Something that hasn't occurred in almost two centuries," Albus began solemnly. "What one calls an earthshaker prophecy. We can only hope it's the answer we've been looking for all these years and not a much bigger problem that's come knocking at our door."

October 31st, 1985

"I'm worried," Lily said as she poured two cups of tea.

"It'll be fine," Her husband was quick to reassure.

"She's been gone longer than usual."

"Mitsi has done this a hundred times by now, she knows what she's doing."

"Then what's holding her up?"

"I'm sure she'll be back any minute now."

"But what if she's not? You know we can't do this forever, James!" She exclaimed, fighting back tears now.

"It won't be forever, just a little longer."

"How?! How much longer?! It's been five years in hiding! They've killed everyone else, even my own sister—a bloody muggle who hasn't even spoken to me in nearly a decade! I don't know how he even learned about her and her family."

"I know it's hard—"

"It's not just hard, it's not possible! Sooner or later he's going to find us too. You know that, don't you?" She told him angrily.

James let out a weary sigh in response. "What else can we do?" He asked her tiredly.

"I don't know," Lily admitted in defeat.

They'd had this conversation many times over the last few months. The result was always the same.

"All I want is for Harry to have a normal childhood. One where he can be safe, happy, and healthy," She said as the tears finally began to fall. James wrapped her up in a hug.

"I do too. The war has been hard on everyone but this—always running, always hiding, always fighting. Will it ever end?"

Suddenly there was a loud familiar pop! "There now you see, Mitsi is back!" He turned toward the sound to find their house-elf standing in the kitchen.

"Mitsi, where are the supplies?" Lily asked, noticing right away the absence of it.

"Did something happen at the meetup, is Peter all right?"

"Everything is fine," The house elf said. Her voice was strained and her pupils looked strange. And then they felt it, a feeling they'd been fortunate enough to only have experienced three times before now.

It was a cold, paralyzing feeling of complete and utter terror that made most who felt it rooted to the spot, unable to move even an inch. A fear that was powerful, caused by magic as opposed to a natural biological reaction. There was only one wizard who could magically project such an abject terror that made you want to tremble from head to toe, if you weren't frozen in place. Voldemort never did come quietly. He would make his presence known.

Fortunately James and Lily were not most people. They were each a powerful, accomplished witch and wizard in their own right. They were one of the few who could resist magic powerful enough to make your body and mind shut down like that.

Their wands were out and at the ready in an instance. "Get Harry and run for it!" James told his wife.

"I'm not leaving you!" Lily insisted fiercely.

"You know the plan for when all else fails, you agreed to it!" He reminded her. "I'll hold him off as long as I can. You and Harry have to survive!"

"I know but—"

"Please!"

"I love you," She said, voice full of anguish. She knew it would be the last time she ever saw him.

"Go!"

Not a second later there was a resounding boom and the whole house shook, dishes falling off the table and shattering. Cracks began to form and then in the blink of an eye half of the kitchen was blasted into smithereens. A large piece of it slammed into poor Mitsi, likely killing her, but he couldn't afford to think about that right now.

"Protego!" James flung the spell in front of him in an instant. He had no time to look back, but he knew Lily was making a run for it.

"Foolish," Came the cold lifeless voice of the darkest of dark lords. "Potters," Was said with derision. "I see every last one of your pathetic family are determined to die the same way. So be it."

"I'd rather go down fighting for the people I love than surrender and be killed as a coward!" James spat.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Mummy!" Came the frightened wail of a child.

"I'm coming, sweetie!" Lily said, racing to where her son stood in the doorway of his bedroom.

"I'm scared, I think there's a monster!" Harry cried.

"I know but it's okay, mummy is here," She scooped him up in her arms and ran back into the bedroom.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe," She told him, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice as she aimed her wand at a drawer on the dresser. "Alohomora!"

Then Lily began to feel her son tense up and freeze in her arms, as the paralyzing magical fear washed over her once again. She set him down and stepped in front of her son, shielding him with her body. "Harry, listen to me," She said, hoping some part of her voice could reach into his mind that was probably as frozen in fear as his body was.

"That drawer I just opened has a book inside. Please," She begged with a kind of desperation she had never known. "Touch the book. That's all you have to do, touch the book, sweetie. Fight with everything you have in you to reach over and touch the book!"

Touch the book, the words took hold inside out him. The little boy mustered all his strength. His muscles were taut but he kept pushing inside of him. Touch the book. It was the only thought in his mind, the only thing his body would respond to. He took one step. Then another. And another. He was almost there.

"Avada Kedavra!"

With a blinding green flash, Lily fell to the floor, her lifeless body barely missing her own son.

"Mummy!" Harry's scream rang out. The terror that had taken hold of him loosened completely in that moment and he threw his arms around his mother's body. He didn't understand what was happening but his heart ached deep inside of him. Then the cold dark voice repeated the spell one final time.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry's world went black.

"He's alive," Albus said softly and in awe. The old wizard stared down at the unconscious child.

"He is?! But how?!" Minerva asked in shock.

"I couldn't begin to tell you. Pure speculation is the most I have for this situation. But one thing is clear, he is the last of the Potter family line and Legacy. You must know what that means."

"The prophecy…"

"I don't know how it will play out, only that it will. He is the only one with the power to defeat Voldemort."

The deputy headmistress shuddered at the name. "But you said he's gone, there's no trace of him left."

"Yes, but for how long? The prophecy has not been fulfilled. At some point, somehow, he is bound to return. And when he does we must be ready for him. Harry must be ready for him."

"He's a child, Albus! A mere boy of five!"

"He won't be forever. All we can do at this stage is hope that Voldemort does not return until then. I can tell that powerful magic, not only of dark but of light has been worked here tonight. I suspect what defeated Voldemort will keep him away for a while at least."

"What do we do now?"

"Now we must find a way to keep young Harry safe and cared for until he is ready to claim his destiny."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of light wizarding families ready and willing to take him in."

"No," Albus said firmly and decidedly. "That won't be enough. Even with their lord fallen, Voldemort's most devoted followers will stop at nothing until the last Potter is killed. If he is to be truly safe then regrettably there is only one action I can take to be absolutely sure of the boy's protection."

"What would that be?"

"I'm sorry Minerva but what happens next is a secret I alone must keep."

November 2nd, 1985

It was nearly 4:00 a.m. when the incessant knocking at their backdoor roused Ted and Andromeda Tonks from their sleep.

Ted stumbled into the kitchen first, his following drowsily after him. He was unsurprised to see who their visitor was upon opening the door. But what did come as a shock was the sleeping child in his arms.

"I apologize for the earliness of the hour," Albus Dumbledore said by way of greeting as he hurried into the kitchen with them.

"It's okay," Ted assured him, "Once we heard the news about Lily and James we had a feeling you'd be turning up sooner or later."

"You can set him down on the couch in the living room," Andromeda directed. Dumbledore nodded and did so before returning to the kitchen.

"Please have a seat," Ted offered and they all sat down at the table.

"Would you like some coffee? I can have a pot made for us," Andromeda said.

"Not for me thank you, but if you need some for yourself please do so. We have much to discuss," Albus replied.

"We'll be alright, we should get this done before the neighbors start waking up," Ted said.

"I assume the boy you brought in with you this morning is Harry?" Andromeda asked. "He looks so different, I can't recognize him at all."

"He is," Albus confirmed. "Fortunately I was able to complete the ritual without any trouble, though of course time can only tell how well it will work. If everything goes according to plan it should hide him in every way possible. His appearance as you saw has been altered beyond any recognition. But it goes deeper than that, his own magical signature will be different too.

What this means is that when he comes of age, the wand that chooses him will be one suited for the form he is currently in. When the day comes for us to lift the ritual and return Harry to his true self he will need a new wand that's suited for him.

I did run into a slight problem regarding his curse scar. I'm going to be frank with you, I've never seen anything like it before. It's incredibly dark and powerful. There's more to it than meets the eye, though I myself do not know exactly what. It is something I fully intend to look further into.

In the meantime do keep an eye on him. His scar was the last part of him to vanish when the ritual changed his form. I need to know immediately if for some reason it reappears at any point."

"We'll watch him closely and owl you right away if it happens," Ted told him.

"Is there anything else we should know?"

"All of the memories of his life before now should be carefully locked away. Not even a powerful Legilimens should be able to access them, no matter how deep into his mind they delve. Once again if there is any sign from the boy that his memories are returning, contact me immediately. He may be in a magical induced coma for a few days. Performing a ritual of that magnitude on someone so young is likely to be incredibly taxing on his body. It was a dangerous decision but I wouldn't have made it if I didn't think there was any other way to keep him safe."

"We understand," Andromeda replied.

"We've been preparing for months in case the worst happened and we would need to take him in," Ted added.

"We've told our daughter Nymphadora and our family and friends the cover story. That we are considering adopting a boy from a muggle orphanage."

"Nymphadora was excited about the possibility, she's always wanted a sibling."

"I'm happy to hear that," Albus looked at them both, his expression turning more serious. "Are you ready to take the Unbreakable Vow?"

Ted looked at his wife who gave him a nod. "We are," They said in unison.

With wands out and arms linked they then recited their vow together.

"Will you, Andromeda and Ted Tonks watch over Harry Potter and keep the knowledge of his identity a secret until the day he and the world at large are ready to know the truth?"

"We will," They promised as the tongue of flames looped around their arms like a chain, binding them magically to the vow they had just made.

"Thank you," Albus told them when it was finished.

"We loved them," Andromeda said with great emotion. "And we're more than happy to look after their son. To keep him safe and give him as normal a childhood as we are able. It's the least we could do."

"Have you decided on a name for him?"

Ted and his wife shared a special smile with each other before answering. "From this moment forward he will be known as Henry Tonks."