The soft drip, drip, drip echoed through the darkness from the stalactites above. One of very few sounds echoing through the absolute darkness of the underground. It is into this dark realm where a small group of soldiers marched. Their steps were heavy with fatigue as the were guided by the dim farie lights. War was raging above their heads but all hoped that their recent actions turned the tide further in their favor. Humans have invaded their lands, consumed by their greed for more. More resources, more gold, more everything. The Queen had humored the humans at first but when they had stripped the southern region bare of everything, she began to rage and mercy had been lost in the war. The fae had yet to drive the humans out, but neither had they advanced any further. With the raid having destroyed much of their supplies, Queen Maleficia's forces, lead by her daughter were to strike at the first light of dawn and drive the humans from their land once and for all.
The one at the head of this small but deadly force called for everyone to stop and rest. At first glance, he was considered unthreatening with a boyish face and short stature. Many lost their lives due to this assumption as he was the Phantom General of the fae armies, Lila Vanrouge. He, outside of the Draconia family, was considered the most dangerous fae alive.
After looking after his men and ensuring that the few injuries were taken care of, he wandered the nearby caverns just off the main tunnel. Lila was a creature of the dark, of caves, so he had no worries of losing his way. It was one of the many reasons he was chosen to lead the raid and not take part of the main attacking force with the crown princess. He reveled in this small moment of peace even though the rest of him felt empty. Raverne, a very close friend of his, was recently killed in the war. He left behind his wife Malenora and their unhatched egg. He left behind his friends. Raverne left him behind.
Lila had so few he could call his in this world, and the war had taken one of them. This raid had allowed him to rage and slaughter, but Lila had only felt hollow since. Killing the humans would't bring his best friend back.
Sliding to the ground against a stalagmite, Lila let his tiny farie flame fade and darkness engulfed him. Lila blinked slowly and was puzzled at the faint glow, so dim that a human would not see it in complete darkness but was noticeable enough to a nocturnal fae. Curiosity clawed at Lila and demanded he investigate. What he saw at first confused him greatly. A long and thin stalactite reached down from the ceiling to a stalagmite that came not to a point, but to a bowl shape. A single drop clung to the tip of the stalactite above the bowl. Upon closer inspection, Lila was amazed that the pearl like drop he was looking at was pure condensed magic. As his gaze wandered from the rare treasure to the bowl below, he was left frozen at the sight. The bowl held roughly a liter of pure magic but it was what lay at the bottom that held his complete attention. Roughly the size of a duck egg with the appearance of a fire opal was an extremely rare artifact. It was a Siol Fola, a Blood Seed. A siol fola allowed one to have a child born of their blood and magic. And Lila's greatest desire was to have a child of his own blood, but he was never interested in taking a mate so thought that his wish would never come true. With a siol fola though, it was within reach. Nobody knows how they naturally come to be as the few that were found were all in different circumstances. Some have been artificially created in the past with a now forgotten method, but there was only a small chance of success with those.
With extreme care, Lila manipulated the magic to form a sturdy crystalline shell around the siol fola. Once it was completely encased, Lila removed his bloody gloves and gently lifted the artifact out. Once in his hands and before his very eyes, Lila felt warmth for the first time since Raverne's death.
Hearing his name called through the tunnels broke him from his trance. Delicately stowing it away, Lila returned to his men and continued leading them back to camp. If anyone noticed a little more lightness to his step, none mentioned it. They were just relieved that their general was starting to heal.
The war was won with that final strike and the humans had been driven out of their lands. The southern region had been restored to its former glory and in a blink of an eye to the fae, nearly a decade had passed. Crown Princess Melenora spent majority of her time outside of court matters caring for her egg. Her child was the only thing keeping her from fading once she achieved her revenge. From time to time, Lila would watch the egg and wrap his magic protectively around the child.
Then the humans returned, and revenge for their loss of the last war was on their mind. It was more brutal than the last. More lives were lost on both sides, including Melanora's. With her death, the fury of the Fae rose to new heights and a slaughter who's brutality never seen before or since was unleashed. A useless war with too high a cost was the opinion of the Fae as they watched the humans sail back to their lands.
With the death of her daughter and the war now over, Queen Maleficina gave guardianship of her grandchild to Lila and after nearly 200 years, Prince Malleus hatched. Watching the birth of his ward, Lila's mind drifted back to the siol fola. He had never told anyone of what he had found that day, for he was a greedy creature and would not share. Even now, he was barely willing to share Malleus with his own grandmother. Yet this choice of his was taken from him one night. He had just lay Malleus to sleep and sat next to the fire in his favorite chair with the siol fola in his hands when Maleficina walked in unannounced.
She recognized what he held in his hands and asked only a single question.
"Is that what you desire?"
Lila did not even need to utter a word, his expression told her all she needed to know. For the next ten years Lila bled every night upon the siol fola and it never left his person as he fed his magic to his child. Maleficina occasionally fed her magic to the child as well to repay Lila for all he had done for her and her family. During the final year, the siol fola grew until it matched the size of Malleus' egg. Lila shared the experience with his ward and the child was enthralled by the experience. Just before midnight of Lughnasadh, Lila's son was born.
He had a mop of dark black hair with deep red undertones, skin as pale as his own, and eyes just like his. Lila felt a fierce overpowering love consume him the moment he held his child for the first time. Lila fell asleep that night the happiest he had ever been with his ward at his side and child in his arms. As the child closed his eyes to sleep, Lila whispered the name he had chosen for the child for first time. Mazus Vanrouge.
For fifteen years, Lila felt pure joy. Every moment with his boys brought him happiness. The sleepless nights and every little moment. It wasn't to last.
Fifteen years after his birth, Lila laid the boys down for a nap and went to meet with the queen about final details for that nights Samhain. Midway through a guard burst into the Queen's office and destroyed Lila's world with a single sentence.
"Mazus is missing."
Queen Maleficina's sharp question of how pierced through the tension of the room.
"It is unknown how but the cries of Prince Malleus alerted a servant who found Mazus missing."
Lila tore through the palace to the nursery and his boys to only find a crying Malleus. The following years were dark times for all of Twisted Wonderland as Lila searched high and low for his son. Enemies were slaughtered, countries left in chaos. The child was never found. Malleus became Lila's only source of comfort in his dark years that followed. He told himself that he would never stop searching for his son, but he could not last forever. He would hold on until his ward and pseudo son no longer needed him, then he would fade. Lila knew that he would not have the strength of will to last much longer than that.
Albus Dumbledore descended deep into the lower levels of Hogwarts. Just a short while ago, Voldemort attacked and killed the Potter's, all three of them. The child of prophecy and his final key to destroy the Dark once and for all was dead. The Longbottom boy, while also a candidate, could not fulfill the role. The family was just too soft to raise a child who would do what was needed for the betterment of their world. They also continuously ignore his suggestions at nearly every turn. So no, he could not use Nevill.
He had a possible solution but he had to move fast, a Harry Potter was expected to be given to Petunia. She was a horrid woman but would serve his purpose well. She would treat the child harshly so when the child would come into the wizarding world, they would cling to him, Albus Dumbledore and the greatest wizard since Merlin himself.
Coming upon a sealed chamber, Albus bled on the wall to reveal a complex ritual room. Shapes were carved into the floors, walls, and ceiling to be filled in with runes distinctive to each individual ritual. With a wave of his wand, chalk flew out of the satchel filled with supplies he carried and a complex sequence of runes were being written everywhere. Power began leaking into the room with every rune written, but it was no surprise to Albus. It was in-fact expected as this room was situated directly above the ward stone of Hogwarts that rested within the nexus of seven ley-lines, bestowing upon the school the ability to claim Hogwarts as the safest place in Britain, possibly even the world.
Double checking the ritual circles for any errors, and finding none, Albus began. He had to summon a powerful child to face Voldemort and kill him, one that would follow his orders and be a good light wizard. The pressure of magic built up around him to an almost unbearable level but he had no choice except to succeed. With a final burst of magic, a child was left crying in the center if the ritual circle. He was pleased to see a male child of the right age before him. Yet that quickly turned to fury at seeing the child was not human. It was a dirty creature.
Acting quickly, he erased the previous ritual and had the chalk swiftly writing a new one around the child. Searching through his satchel, he brought out a few more components of the needed ritual, including two vials of blood. He went to great lengths to acquire the blood of James and Lily Potter, now he had to use this precious recourse in a way he never wanted. Sparing a glance to the child, he cast two quick cutting curses at the child's wrists and began to chant. The blood flowed from the vials and toward the child, pausing a moment, then entered the child through the cuts. A loud cry from the child pierced the air as it was forcibly changed from whatever it was into a human wizard that looked almost exactly like Harry Potter. This child still had red undertones in the hair.
He would not risk a geas or glamour on the child as the child's magic was too unstable to anchor to at the moment. But it did not matter greatly, Lily had red hair so it could be explained away as coming from her. He would check on the child throught the next decade and cast more glamours if they were needed. A few more moments of patience and Albus strode to the new Harry Potter. Green, tear filled eyes stared back at him and one more spell was cast to complete the new Potter child, and the sowilo rune was carved upon the child's brow. Perfect.
Later that night, Harry Potter was left upon the doorstep of one Petunia Dursley asleep and coated with enough spells to ensure the desired outcome. All going according to plan, for the greater good of the wizarding world, and the muggle world as well. Even if they don't currently know it.