Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognizable belongs to J K Rowling. Also this story is inspired by ‘A Shattered Prophecy’ by Project Dark Overlord.

Chapter one

‘It really is creepy, how much he looks like James.’ thought Lily. Even at the age of one, Harry, her son, had such similarities to his father. His hair was just as unruly as James’. She had always told her husband to do something about his hair but James would always flash a dazzling smile at her and continue to run his hand through his hair, making it messier.

‘At least he has my eyes.’ Lily thought thankfully as she looked down at the playing child in her lap. The emerald green of Harry’s eyes made him look even more adorable. The raven haired child was currently sitting on his mother’s lap, happily chewing on his toys and every so often looking around as if hoping to find someone.

“Who are you looking for sweetie?” cooed Lily holding Harry close to her.

She knew perfectly well who Harry was looking for. It was the same every evening; around 7 p.m. Harry would eagerly anticipate his father’s return from work. Of course for an ordinary one year old it was not possible to be able to determine the time but Harry was no ordinary boy. For that matter neither were Harry’s parents. Harry and his parents were a wizard family. James was a pureblood while Lily came from a muggle family. Even so, she was one of the most talented witches of her generation.

As if on cue James arrived through the front door of the house looking a little dismayed, but at the sight of Harry and Lily, his hazel eyes lit up and a small smile graced his face.

“Hey, how’s my little man?” asked James as he strode over to Lily and picked up Harry who was gurgling frantically to get his father’s attention.

“James! How many times do I have to remind you? He is a boy not a man.” Lily reprimanded but only half heartedly.

James just shrugged and replied

“Boy is so… I don’t know. It just sounds weird, like I am telling him off. He’s my ‘little man’.”

Lily smiled at her husband. In her opinion James just didn’t want to sound too fatherly since he was only twenty three years old.

Lily was just about to get up to get dinner when a knock interrupted them. James was instantly on alert. He silently handed Harry over to Lily and drew out his wand. He went over to the door and motioned Lily to go to the other room with Harry. Lily nodded and proceeded to the room quickly. Usually Lily would not take an order from anyone, not even James but ever since that retched prophecy was made things had changed dramatically. They had moved to Godric’s Hollow and only a hand selected few knew where that was. Lily waited apprehensively, wand held in one hand while still carrying Harry. She would hex anyone that as much as cast a shadow over her only son.

She heard James mutter a spell that allowed him to see who was at the door. Suddenly the door was opened and Lily could hear laughing and a voice that she knew all too well. She let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. She came out of her room and made her way downstairs. Sure enough there were her husband’s old friends, Sirius and Peter. Sirius had annoyed Lily senseless in her years at Hogwarts, always goofing around with James and getting him into all sorts of trouble. Of course, James wasn’t exactly the innocent party, but since Lily was now his wife she preferred to blame Sirius. Peter was always so quiet that Lily sometimes wondered what he was doing being a Marauder. Remus was the only one Lily could have an intelligent conversation with. Unfortunately, he was not here tonight as he was having his little ‘furry’ problem as Sirius had so sensitively named his condition.

“You could let us know you’re dropping by Padfoot.” Lily remarked as she handed Harry over to his Godfather who enthusiastically reached over and cuddled him as close as he could.

“Where is the fun in that?” He enquired as he gave Harry one of his trademark bark like laugh.

Harry was already waving his arms around and giggling at Sirius and his antics. Lily looked on affectionately at her son; he really was fond of his Godfather. Peter was also looking on and Lily wasn’t sure if she was just imagining it or not but an emotion was overtaking Wormtail. An almost pained expression was evident in his eyes.

“Peter, are you okay?” she asked putting a hand on his shoulder.

Peter quickly looked away and shifted a little uncomfortably.

“Yeah um…I just...um, had a long day that’s all...” he looked positively sick.

“Don’t talk to me about having long days.” James joined in. “I have had the most supremely awful day.”

“Oh, what happened?” Sirius quickly asked while still letting Harry pull on his shoulder length, dark locks.

“Well, with the attacks coming in left, right and centre, I don’t know how much more we can take before it all goes pear shaped.” James had a sad look in his usual sparkly hazel eyes. James loved being an Auror even though he had admitted he had only become one since that was the career path Sirius had chosen but he quickly became very fond of his role as a fighter for the light side.

However, after the prophecy was made about Harry, James was increasingly becoming more and more paranoid. He didn’t like the idea of his child being faced with such a huge responsibility, ‘Saving the World.’ That was his job, not Harry’s. So James being James was working day and night to eliminate Voldemort’s forces. However, this was becoming more and more stressful. Voldemort always seemed to be one step ahead of the Aurors.

Sirius looked a little disheartened by the look on his best friend’s face. Sirius, Remus and James were Aurors, as was Peter but James was the only one who was seeing this war as a reason to live. He wanted it over and done with so that Harry could have a normal life.

Lily sighed and lifted the playing form of Harry from Sirius and gently rocking him, took him upstairs to his room. There she gently placed him in his cot and smoothed his hair down in another futile attempt to make his hair seem somewhat tidy.

“You may think this is funny now, Harry, but trust me when you’re older you won’t find settling your hair amusing at all.” Lily told the small raven haired boy as he giggled and tried to grab his mother’s fingers as she gently stroked his hair. Lily turned and left her boy playing happily in his cot.

She was just making her way downstairs when she suddenly realised with a sickening feeling that something was wrong. It wasn’t something she heard but in fact the lack of sound at all. The three men in the living room were deathly quiet. That in itself was odd since Sirius happened to be present. Lily quickly took out her wand and took a deep breath. What she saw as she entered the room would haunt her for the rest of her days. There on the floor was the body of her James with a growing pool of blood near his head. A broken bottle of firewhiskey was lying not too far away. Sirius was also lying on his back completely unconscious.

“Oh...God...James...oh, James!...Sirius!.. Oh Merlin!”

Lily rushed towards James, completely forgetting the third person who was in the room. If Lily had seen him standing just behind the door she might have been able to stop the tragedy that was looming near. As Lily came towards James, Peter who was pointing his wand towards Lily came up behind her and attacked before she could even reach her husband.

“Stupefy” he whispered.

Lily fell and was engulfed in blackness even before she hit the ground. Peter looked upon his former friends, all of them lying on the ground of their own home, hurt and betrayed by their own friend. He took a shaky breath and tried to calm his beating heart. He was certain that if he hadn’t cast the silencing charm on the door then Lily would have been able to hear his heart thumping in his chest more loudly than the bottle breaking or the attack that James and Sirius has so unrepentantly received.

He cast another glance at his friends and then left the room clumsily and made his way to Harry’s room; all the time repeating under his breath “Forgive me, Harry…Sorry James…Sirius, so sorry.”

He had not thought he would get this far, he had hoped that James or Sirius or even Lily would have been able to stop him from doing this, but since they didn’t expect him of any sort of betrayal, let alone an attack and kidnapping of Harry, he had managed this far. He didn’t really want this but there was no other way. The Dark Lord was very clear in his instructions. Harry was going to meet his fate at the hands of Voldemort himself.

He slowly opened the door and found Harry sleeping soundly clutching his stuffed toy of a hippogriff. Peter looked down at the sleeping child and felt the horrible sensation of guilt wash over him. He was leading this child to his death. Harry was only one year old and hadn’t even said his first proper word yet. Peter had felt just as happy at the birth of Harry as the rest of the Marauders but once the prophecy had come to light, things had changed. This boy was prophesized to bring down the Dark Lord, no, this was not a possibility. The Dark Lord had to win this war. Peter would have power beyond anything he could imagine. The boy had to go. Convincing himself that he was only ensuring his own success he gently lifted Harry and carried him out of the room, downstairs and without another glance at the three bodies lying on the floor, Peter opened the door and left Godric’s Hollow forever.

xxx

Peter ran to the edge of the wards placed around the cottage and apparated to his Lord’s lair. With shaky hands he placed Harry on the stone floor at Lord Voldemort’s feet. Harry was surprisingly still fast asleep and didn’t even stir. Peter quickly dropped to his knees and crawled to Voldemort and kissed the hem of his robes while speaking in a shaky and quiet voice:

“Master, I have done what you asked of me. Master, this is Harry.”

Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes to the sleeping child and let his face break into a satisfied smile. He was an attractive man with long dark hair and features that had gotten him a lot of interest in his younger years. The only thing that showed the true monster within was his pair of devilishly red eyes which seem to burn into whoever dared to look at him. He tore his eyes away from Harry and looked at the cowering form of his spy Death Eater.

“Rise Wormtail, You have done well. For once you have not messed up and have actually completed a task.”

He watched the wretched, rat-like man rise shakily, utter his thanks and listen to him rant on about what a gracious Lord he was.

“Enough!”

Instantly Peter quieted down.

“Bella, lift the boy and let me have a closer look at the brat!”

Bella came almost instantly to lift Harry off the cold floor and hold him up to the Dark Lord for him to see.

Voldemort took in all the detail of the child. He was disgusted with children in the whole. He had not quite forgotten how children had taunted and ridiculed him in that horrible orphanage that had been his past. However, this child had such a powerful magical aura that seemed to hover all around the boy. He was powerful, there was no doubt about that and if Voldemort had let the child live then the Potter brat would most likely be his downfall. ‘Such a waste of power’ thought Voldemort. He drew his wand and heard the breaths sucked in by the few trusted Death Eaters present. He smiled to himself, this was going to be sweet and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

He pointed the wand at Harry’s head just as he opened his emerald jeweled eyes and stared innocently at Voldemort. There was a muttered incantation and a sudden blinding green light filled everyone’s sight. Peter closed his eyes just before the spell was uttered, but could still see the green penetrate his closed eyelids. ‘Sorry Harry’ was all he could think of as the blinding light faded and threw everyone into darkness once more.

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