Chapter 1: Sacrificial Rituals and Kidnappings

A woman furiously scribbled away at her notebook, her emerald-green eyes darting back and forth between the two thick tomes in front of her. She let out a groan of frustration as her pencil snapped under the pressure of her forceful hand. She then ripped the page out of her notebook and threw it across the room.

A dark-haired man looked at the scene with a small smirk on his face, enjoying his wife's antics. His hazel eyes on the other hand were somber, the looming threat over his family not letting him truly enjoy the moment.

The woman's state brought to his mind a similar memory, in which the woman was fretting over her notes for their NEWT exams. She was quite hyper then but had now blown into a full blown panic. Her blood-red hair were horribly disheveled and her eyes bloodshot. A frown marred the man's face as he took notice of these features. He walked forward with a determined stride, set to begin another futile attempt at trying to stop his wife from overworking herself.

He wished he could help her more, he really did. He had virtually taken over the responsibilities of taking care of their sons to ensure she would have more time on her hands but that was all he could do. He had never been too bright at Arithmancy to begin with and even if he was a Master at the subject, it would have still been pointless. He couldn't make heads or tails of the books his wife had taken out of their Family Library. The words looked like random scribbles to him, undecipherable no matter how much he tried.

He slowly wrapped his hands around the woman, who first stiffened and then melted into his touch. "Come on, its too late to stress over these dusty tomes, you can continue tomorrow" he whispered into her ears. "But -" began the woman, only to be interrupted. "No Lily, you need to get some sleep, you always try to work the whole night and then pass out on this table, but I won't accept it today. We are going to bed now" said the man, his eyes hardening.

Lily sighed and a glance at her husband's face confirmed that the matter was not up for discussion. She slowly packed up her things and silently walked out of the room, clinging to her husband's hand.

It was only due to exhaustion that she could sleep that night. Otherwise on the rare occasions when she would actually go to bed, she would lie in her bed restless, toiling over the uncertain future of her family.

-TKMM-

A silvery-blue stag danced around two cribs containing infants clearly entertained by its antics. The dark-haired man sat on a small couch, the only other piece of furniture in the small nursery. He watched contently as his Magical construct entertained his sons who were giggling and cooing at its every move. A small smile etched on his face as he relaxed and sunk into his seat.

"I did it James", a soft voice whispered. James turned his head to see his wife enter the room. He nodded his head in acknowledgement, his now somber eyes fixed upon hers.

He wrapped his hand around her as she settled next to him. They sat in silence as neither could find words to speak. The room had long lost its silvery-blue glow that had adorned it but thankfully some of its calming presence still remained.

The fragile silence would be broken sooner or later. But for now, the couple sat in silence, hoping the need to enact their desperate plan would never arise.

-TKMM-

The nursery had been stripped bare of all its furniture. Even the carpeted floor had been uncovered revealing the hard wooden floor. Many symbols had been carved into the floor in a set of three consecutive rings. A black inky mass had been used to to fill the crevices created by the carvings.

In three triangles carved in the centre of the rings sat Lily along with her two sleeping sons. The woman, just like the room was completely bare. Many symbols had been drawn upon her naked body in a liquid that was most certainly blood. Her children who were in a similar state of undress had similar yet different symbols drawn upon them.

Lily settled into a meditative pose and started chanting in an arcane language that sounded like hissing. The symbols on the floor started pulsing with a faint red glow, following the rhythm of her chants.

The symbols suddenly flashed in a bright white light and the symbols on the bodies of the participants faded away. The mother collapsed on the ground and fell unconscious. The twins however snapped back to the world of the living. Awake and screaming for their mother.

-TKMM-

James sat on a small coffee table as he looked outside his window. It was nearing midnight and the celebrations in the small village were only now starting to wane. He and his family had not participated in the Halloween celebrations of course, not daring to leave the protected boundaries of their house. These were the times that being disconnected from the rest of the world hurt James the most. He missed his friends and hoped that all of them were doing okay.

A sudden change in the Magic around him snapped James out his stupor. His throat got dry as he realized the protections around his house had fallen and were then replaced by ones that would cut off all means of their escape.

Hot tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he thought about the atrocities those bastards must have committed to force his family's location out of his friend's mouth. He hoped that Peter was still alive.

The man quickly reigned in his emotions, knowing they would only hinder him in the incoming confrontation. They had hoped that this situation would not come to pass but they had made a plan. He knew his wife would be rushing towards their children making any and all last minute preparations and it was his job to slow their attacker down.

He flicked his wrist and with wand in hand waited for the confrontation to begin. Then the front door of his home was blasted apart and James immediately started throwing spells of multiple colors. The intruder slowly walked in and effortlessly flicked away the spells as if swatting away flies.

The intruder threw a sickly green spell towards James who summoned the coffee table between them to intercept it. The table was then blown apart to smithereens with a flick of the intruder's wrist and James threw up his arms to shield his face from the airborne fragments.

This minute window of time was enough for the intruder to take control of the conflict. He bombarded James with a multitude of hexes and curses who struggled to defend himself. The man now on the back-foot, dodged and weaved away from the incoming onslaught and conjured Magical shields or blocks of of solid stone when he could not.

James struggled desperately, trying his best to hold the fort but it was a losing battle. The sickly green curse was cast again and it hit its intended target. The young father fell to the floor never to see his children again. Another victim to the terrible Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort smirked as he looked upon the body of his newest victim and kicked it aside as he walked further into the house. He confidently walked up the stairs with a mad glint in his eyes and his wand in hand.

A flick of the madman's wand had the nursery's door clear off its hinges. In the room, he saw the young mother trying to shield her children from him. "Move out of the way mudblood", growled Voldemort. "No, I won't let you harm my children", said Lily Potter in a defiant tone.

Lord Voldemort smirked a little, he had kept his word by giving the mudblood a chance to live but he had been hoping she would refuse. After all, the Potters had been a pesky little hurdle in his path to greatness for far too long.

Lily was horribly afraid as the sickly green curse raced towards her. But not for herself, only for her children. She had been prepared to die for them since the day they were born and in her last thoughts she hoped that her plan would work.

As the redhead's body collapsed on the ground, the symbols still present below the carpet gave off a soft golden glow. Voldemort walked up to the two cribs in front of him and observed the two children. One was already bawling his eyes out, afraid of the stranger present in the room and confused by the sudden collapse of his mother. On the other hand, the other boy was mostly ignoring the Dark Lord, trying to reach out to his screaming brother.

Voldemort waved his wand over the twins and was shocked by the results. The boys were well above average in their magical strength. But the silent boy with heterochromatic eyes was truly impressive. He could now see why he could be considered his equal, if he were to survive that is.

A manic grin appeared on the madman's face as he cast the sickly green spell once again. After a bright flash of golden light the Dark Lord's senses eroded away till only pain and anger existed. A black wraith erupted from his now motionless body and shot out of the nursery's window but a small part still remained.

These remains tried to take over the first living thing it saw. The other Potter twin, who was still screaming at the top his lungs. But as soon as it made contact with the boy, it was thrown off with another golden flash. The weakened wraith then settled in the newly made scar on the stronger Potter twin's forehead which had become a breach in their mother's protective Magic.

-TKMM-

In a grand castle sat an old man, with long silver hair and an equally long beard he looked as ancient as time itself. Yet despite his age, their was an aura of power around him, a comforting authority.

He looked upon the two infants in front of him, stroking his magnificent beard. He had taken over the responsibilities of two boys as he believed they would play significant roles in the path towards the Greater Good. At least, one of them would. He found the difference between the two boys shocking, one was well above average in magical strength while the other was the opposite.

The stronger boy had a symbol etched on his chest which roughly translated to the protector or the protected. Both meanings seemed apt to the old man. He was sure he would be the one to end the the threat of the Voldemort which he was sure still lurked somewhere.

The other boy was the cause of his concern as the wand movement of the killing curse has been etched upon the poor boy's forehead. The presence of Dark Magic was also present there, and the old man suspected that it was the foulest construct of Magic to exist. He had found some information upon it in the deepest sections of the Great Library of Alexandria but it could still not be confirmed for now.

The first boy would have to be trained to ensure his destiny and in that the other boy would be a hindrance. If the twins were to be kept together, they would have to be treated equally which seemed like a waste of valuable time.

No, it was best if the other twin was sent away, he could have a proper childhood while being the sole child under his care would help the first child better understand his responsibilities. He was sure that Lily's sister was the boy's closest relative, so he shall send him there.

The old man was sure that the boy would lead a happy life under the care of his relatives. That was very important, especially if his suspicions turned out to be true because then the boy was fated to a very short one.

Thus the decision was made, the twins must be separated. After all, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore would always ensure that all necessary sacrifices for the sake of the Greater Good were always made.

-TKMM-

A small boy was left on the doorstep of house number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England. Only a small basket in which he was kept and a blanket to keep him company.

There was a sudden pop sound in the dark winter night and a weird creature walked towards the house. The creature was small, barely three feet tall. It had large floppy ears, tennis ball sized ears, and skinny limbs.

The creature now at the doorstep, took the small infant in its arms along with his basket. The creature then disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared with only a soft pop sound to be heard.

Author's Note:

There is that, the first chapter done. This was more of a prologue than anything but I hope you enjoyed it.

As mentioned before, the poly vs. mono vote is live for now, and will stay so till the release of the third chapter. To cast your vote, you just have to comment and criticisms are invited.