There were few planets in the universe with more technological advancements than that of the planet Krypton. Technology wise, they were what other planets aspired to be. They were light years away from many of their fellow planets around the universe. In the twenty eight galaxies, many planets excelled but few were of a superior breed than that of Krypton. It was an amazing world that rose far and beyond that of many all across the galaxies, an advanced race that was before it is time.
It was an advanced race that only the past several generations showed signs of strain. And signs of weakness, both of which was not something that was acceptable to the long term health for a planet. The legacy of Krypton hinged in the balance.
Will they be remembered when they were dead?
Dru-Zod was a member of a very proud and old Kryptonian family with a huge background of successful military leaders. When a Zod lead an army, chances are that victory was increased a hundred fold and enemies shook before the might of this brilliant leader. Whilst this man was not the first person to hold the moniker of General Zod, he was the best person to hold the moniker, in his opinion. He led the Kryptonian army to many successful campaigns and rolled over his competition. Both from threats on the planet and from external forces, there was one thing they all had in common.
All would kneel before Zod.
Despite years of distinguished service, Zod lacked one thing and that was a son to carry on his legacy for years to come. Despite his superior nature the Kryptonian army leader understood that nothing would last forever. And his life would be one of those things, he was middle aged by this point and not getting any younger. Therefore, desperation was something that simmered in the eyes of Zod if he would have his heir.
His first try with a son happened during his early years and he was overjoyed when his son was born. It was the happiest day in his life.
However, complications occurred, that spun Zod's entire life upside down.
His first wife and his son died in the destruction of Kandor, which caused Zod's stomach to twist and turn at the thought of it. For the longest time, he dedicated himself to leading the Kandorian army and training new recruits. A smile crossed his face when he thought of the successful campaigns he waged and the enemies that he left in his wake. .
His second wife Ursa bared him a daughter, named Faora, named after his lover, who had been killed in a terrorist attack. It took him months, but Zod tracked down the killer of his wife and son. Zod made him suffer made him beg for mercy. Mercy was not given, not with Zod, thus the murderer was killed after a drawn out death.
Still one did always remember their first love and he named his daughter after her in honor. Faora was dedicated and loyal to his cause but her birth caused some damage to Ursa's reproductive organs and thus she was not able to conceive another.
Zod hatched a scheme to bring forth a son, using a perfect vessel, so his legacy would live on. It took him almost eight years to accomplish this, he had been working on it since the birth of his daughter and the news that Ursa damaged her organs in the birth was given by her physician. Kryptonian births given the natural way could have complications but the children would be powerful and strong. It was a slow process, he wanted it to be actually perfect.
The first prototype was a dud, the second prototype based on the first would be savage and feral, the perfect destroyer. Zod kept that around for future use, even though he hardly assumed that there would be such a use. One would never know when something like that would be useful.
Humans had a saying that the third time was the charm and Zod had it in his fingers, the glowing purple crystal. It contained his legacy, the legacy that would live on even after Krypton perished and withered, dying on a vine. The legacy of Zod would thrive on a new world.
Those reports that the core of Krypton was unstable, Zod paid a lot of attention to them. That's why he determined that his legacy could not live on this planet. Especially given a lot of people on this world were not worth saving. He did not even bother to try, figuring that they were being punished by their collective ignorance and weakness.
He only elected to save his bloodline, for better or for worse that was what would be saved. The crystal would be transported to Earth to be hidden at a strategic location. Once that strategic location was accessed by someone who had certain qualities worthy of a bearer of his DNA, then it would inject them with the material, also transforming their body into the perfect vessel.
Being a general, Zod did not have the exact science of it down but he studied enough of Jor-El's notes to make sure it worked. Ursa was busy raising his daughter, molding her into the perfect companion for their son for the time which they arrived on Earth. Zod heard of a prophecy that a new Krypton would rise from the ashes of the old one with two people leading the way.
Who better to lead the way than his bloodline?
Zod held the crystal carefully, this was years of hard work in the making and the crystal thumped a little bit.
"Is it ready?"
Zod turned around, a smile crossing his face. He looked far more dangerous than anyone could have realized. If Zod gave this look to someone on the battlefield, they would piss their pants and raise a white flag. "It's ready."
"Then our legacy will be complete."
Zod did not respond but his eyes told the story, cold and pure fury, he worked on this little project. It all started when Jor-El arrogantly refused to use the cloning process to resurrect his dead son. Granted, the more Zod thought of it, the more merit he suspected it had. It could have side effects that were quite dangerous.
The Kandorians who gave their blood, including Zod's younger self, Alura, Lara, and Jor-El, all of those years ago as a failsafe would have their genetic material secured in the orb. All of them were extremely young, early to mid-twenties when this was given. The orb was currently in the possession of Jor-El and he seemed unwilling to release the exact location of the orb, otherwise Zod would also send that along with his daughter when it was time.
He stepped towards the portal, and opened it up. A journey which would take three years by ship to Earth would only take a matter of minutes through the portal. Zod stepped on through, a twisted grin appearing on his face when he continued to walk forward to a set of caves that were underground.
He placed the crystal carefully in a slot in the cave. The right person who came across it, they would know and they would grab onto it.
His work was done and now it was time to return to Krypton.
He had no idea how long the crystal would linger, years, decades, centuries, but it did not matter. Once Krypton met its final end, Faora would be sent along and would wait for her brother to be ready. Then his training would begin.
The House of Zod would never die.
Lily Potter found her work to be extremely interesting. As an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries, she accessed so many different and interesting forms of magic, many of which were not even taught at Hogwarts or indeed any other magical schools in the world. Charms, Potions, Transfiguration; magic was interesting and far beyond one little corner, secluded in the shadows in Britain.
She felt that she had much more to offer to the world that that to be shoehorned into a little hidden corner of the globe, a culture that was two hundred years behind development with the rest of the world. It still had facets about its culture that fascinated but also parts that frustrated her.
Her superior in the Department of Mysteries picked up a reading of a strange source of energy in a set of caves in the middle of Kansas. She stepped forward, feeling the cool winds whipping against her face. The red haired girl stepped forward, nineteen years of age, and ready to explore the unknown when she walked forward. Her green eyes blazed with intensity before she popped into the caves.
Currently she stayed in Smallville, Kansas, with her cousin Martha and her new husband, and after she explored the caves, it would be back home to then. It was surprising that Martha married a farmer with the ambitions and the potential that she had. Then again, Lily was not one to talk about taste in men, given who she married. James did have his great parts but there was something about him that was underwhelming.
Lily lit her wand when she moved forward and the light glowed to see everything around, soaking in the sounds of nature all around her. The paintings around the wall were interesting, depicting a legend that she could barely be able to understand. The cave paintings on the wall contained symbols that were etched on them, and they were interesting to try and translate. She tried a few translation spells but she realized that there was no written language that they could be translated into.
'Interesting,' Lily thought to herself, green eyes flashing, she loved puzzling together a mystery.
Lily stood there, dressed in a green jacket that matched her eyes, a black blouse that stretched over her ample bosom, D-Cup breasts, and a pair of blue jeans that wrapped snugly around her legs. She wore a black pair of high heeled boots and held her wand, when she continued to keep the lightning spells. The red hair whipped around her face when she saw a glowing purple light.
A smile crossed her face, now Lily was intrigued and a bit suspicious. The young witch took a step forward.
The light continued to beckon her, it was almost like it called for her.
Lily hesitated for a moment; she knew enough about magic that anything that beckoned a person forward was most likely not good. Hesitation flooded in her face and her eyes. She stood, on the edge of a discovery that might be a breakthrough, although she had no clue at this point what that discovery was going to be. She tapped her foot on the edge of the ground and puzzled the situation over in her mind.
'Well, I won't know unless I take the plunge,' Lily thought and she edged forward, feeling reckless, although she would deny feeling such a thing. Daring would be the more accurate term.
She saw it, clear as day, a crystal poking out of the wall. There were two schools of thought that went through Lily's head.
The logical one was to turn around and leave it alone, because she had no idea what the crystal was and no idea what it would do it her should she touched. It looked like nothing that she ever saw in her studies and her experiences. Being one of the youngest Unspeakables in history, she experienced a lot and her parents also collected a lot of oddities over the years, what they assumed to be those artifacts left behind from alien visitors. Her eyes narrowed a little bit, considering the thought for a moment and retracted her hand but then put it back. Her hand extended out slightly.
The other thought that pulsed through her mind was that she never knew what truly rested on the other side until she took the plunge. Lily's fingers brushed against the crystal. It was a tentative touch at first, almost as if she expected some kind of trap to go off. It was highly plausible from where she was standing and she waited for the bomb to go off.
By some miracle nothing came, so Lily grabbed her fingers onto the crystal and tugged it from the wall.
The crystal was an interesting design, purple, glowing, pulsing in her hand. Lily craned an ear to hear the harmonic vibrations coming from the crystal and she instinctively held it up to her. Her eyes widened when she looked at it, she may have stumbled upon some technology or magic that was unknown to any human eyes.
The crystal heated up in her hand and caused Lily to yelp in pain when it burned into her hand. Despite the searing sensation, she was not able to remove the crystal from her hand.
Had Lily been able to see herself and had not been distracted by the pain that coursed through her body, she would have seen a purple light envelope her body. Her heart thumped a little bit against her chest, beating strongly against her rib cage. She rocked back and forth on her feet when she felt it glow in her.
The crystal crumbled in her hands like it was nothing.
Lily saw the dust particles blow away and felt something different about her. She felt stronger for some reason, like she could take on anything. She floated a few inches off of the ground, unknowingly for a moment until she smiled.
Flight was not something that was strange for her; she propelled herself with flight when she was a child. It drove Petunia nuts and Lily thought about the memories with a bittersweet sadness. She did not think about Petunia that much after the two had the big blow up after their parents were killed by Voldemort's Death Eaters.
That was in the past.
Lily stared at her hand.
'Curious,' Lily thought to herself, biting down on her lip as she analyzed it.
A small "Z" burned into her hand, it was a mark that one would not recognize without having a real eye for detail. Lily had that eye for detail, almost to the point of being obsessive compulsive; it was scary how many details she noticed that people took for granted. The red haired woman took a step forward from the caves and searched around.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, at least nothing she could see.
The full ramifications of her visit were not going realized until the events of nine months later.
Lily returned to her relations in Kansas, before she would be heading home. Well it was mostly Martha; her husband had gone into town to pick some things up.
"So how are things between you and James?" Martha asked in a conversational voice. She stood, around Lily's age, a year older than her, with the same shade of red hair although her eyes were blue as opposed to Lily's vibrant green orbs.
"Things are going fine between me and James," Lily responded, although she did hope to curb some of her husband's more immature behavior. He tended to act like he was still in Hogwarts and that was not the type of life she wanted to be with for long. "How about you and Jonathan?"
Martha paused and pondered before she responded to her. "We're doing as well as one could expect given the circumstances. They say the first year of marriage is always the hardest."
Lily could tell that Martha was not telling her the full extent of her issues.
As it turned out, Martha did not have any problems with her husband, a man ten years her senior, although there were many things about the life she married into that was challenging. Her father did not approve that much of the marriage and given that him and Jonathan had some very hostile words, that was not surprising at all.
There were the money issues, the bad year of crops, and the fact that they were behind on bills, all of them presented certain challenges but Martha hoped to weather the storm. She breathed in.
"So, is your husband around?" Lily asked as she watched Martha.
"No, he's not," Martha responded, trying to keep herself optimistic. Jonathan always did many farm chores late into the night when most people were in bed and got up to begin when he got out of bed. There was nothing to worry about, at least not yet.
Martha looked in the mirror, hoping this farm life was not going to age her. Although if she or Lily were anything like their grandmother, they would look fairly attractive and young, half their age for a very long time, even if Lily would always have that help.
"The war is getting bad over there, I take it," Martha responded as she watched Lily.
"Bad, a new disappearance every other day," Lily responded in a fretful voice, closing her eyes to really think about the situation. "It's almost enough to make you….I don't know."
She would have liked to get away from there.
"You could have gotten away from there if you wanted to," Martha responded but she shook her head.
"James wouldn't think of it, it wouldn't be the Gryffindor thing to do," Lily told her cousin and Martha turned around.
'Perhaps not, but it might be the smart thing to do,' Martha thought but she sat around, drinking coffee with Lily, as the night grew on.
Lily thought about the cave and what happened but decided not to bring it up to Martha. If there were any ramifications, she could deal with it.
"So no luck on the children front?" Lily asked as she watched Martha.
"No, not for any lack of trying," Martha responded, although her options with Jonathan tended to be rather limited due to the fact that he came from a traditional family. Bless the man but his sexual imagination tended to be one that was very narrow. "You?"
"The curse had more damaging side effects than I thought," Lily responded, sighing.
"Well it's not like the answer to my problem is going to drop from the sky," Martha responded in a half joking manner, although it would be nice.
The night grew long with them.
This would be the last time Lily would see Martha, at least for the foreseeable future, as a new Ministry regulation prevented travel for magicals outside the country. All that did was box them in with Voldemort where he could have his way with them.
Harry was born and Lily noticed several interesting, perhaps peculiar things about her son. And given that magical children tended to have some peculiar behaviors when compared to their Muggle compartments, what Harry was going through was quite noticeable.
The first one was that he started to crawl at three months old, which was an amazing development. Then he started to walk at six months old, which was also amazing. Lily read some books and knew that magical children progressed at an accelerated rate during their younger years but this was amazing.
Now Harry was eleven months old, nearly twelve months old, but one could mistake him for preschool age if they did not know him. Lily actually smiled; potty training was actually a breeze, which was a relief. That was one of the things that she dreaded more than anything but it was not too bad.
"Mum, why is Dad always gone?" Harry asked to her, looking at her with inquiring eyes.
He was dressed in Gryffindor colors, with his already messy black hair and green eyes looking up at her.
That was another thing Lily noticed when she looked at Harry, his vocabulary seemed to be unusually strong for someone his age. Funnily enough, he never showed this level of developmental around James when he was around. It almost made Lily question if she was imagining things, so she stopped bringing up to James after the third time she was made a fool.
"Harry, I don't know, your father will be back soon," Lily responded when she looked at Harry.
Harry shrugged before he got back to his book. He never really played like other children, at least not all that much. He seemed to be more interesting in reading and drawing, although he did like to build with blocks. Lily cherished that activity with her son, as she feared that these days with him could eventually come to an end.
The Daily Prophet got more depressing to reach every single day, there were more deaths and more carnage. Lily's hands shook when she read about it, it was people that she knew more and it terrified her.
Then these strange dreams she had been having, the ones she refused to admit that she had with anyone. They haunted her dreams and she saw this woman when she was awake. Whispers that Harry was a gift and Lily was only the vessel to bring him into this world. These statements were cryptic and stated that Harry would be strong, powerful, beyond all measure.
That was a point that Lily did not disagree with at all. Her son was special and that was not something that she was saying as a mother. He would be capable of great things; she would do her best to make sure of that.
James turned up at this point to break Lily out of her musings. His voice sounded frantic and more serious than Lily ever heard him.
"Lily….I just got back from speaking with Dumbledore, he's got some news."
"A prophecy?"
Lily stated these words to Dumbledore, they rolled off her tongue with a certain amount of disdain. Harry was in the other room taking a nap, which Lily was glad for. She could not hope for better luck with Harry being out of the way when this bombshell dropped.
Sitting next to Lily and Dumbledore was of course James Potter. Then there was Sirius Black, James's best friend and Harry's godfather. Then there was Rose Evans, Lily's younger sister, currently in her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rose appeared equally skeptical with this statement and Sirius had his doubts.
"Yes, it can refer to one of two boys," Dumbledore answered when he looked at Lily with a twinkle of his eye.
"Wording is important, Albus," Lily stated warningly, she studied the matter in the Department of Mysteries after all. "It does not refer to which dark lord or which seventh month, the prophecy is vague and there's no chance that it refers to Voldemort. It might refer to a dark lord not yet born or not even of this planet."
"Lily does have a point," Sirius stated as he offered Dumbledore a questioning gaze.
Dumbledore could not refute this point but he had his reasons. "Lord Voldemort has heard the Prophecy from a spy; he was able to escape before he was properly detained. Whilst the prophecy might not refer to Voldemort as intended, now that he knows, he will stop at nothing to make sure this prophecy from happening."
'And he will do something to make it apply to him,' Lily thought to herself and she resisted the urge to throw her hands into the air. 'Great, wonderful.'
"Who is the other boy?" Sirius asked, getting straight to a certain point.
Dumbledore paused for a moment, before he stated the answer. "The son of Frank and Alice Longbottom, young Neville, could be the other boy to fit the terms of the prophecy."
Lily felt guilty for even thinking about this, but she hoped that Voldemort would go after the Longbottoms and leave her family alone.
Another voice whispered that someone this powerful, it could only refer to Harry. Harry was different than the rest of them and would go on for greater things, things that they could not even understand.
"You need to go into hiding."
"Yeah, but if Voldemort wants to find us, I doubt that there's any amount of hiding that we can do," James stated while offered Dumbledore a bit of skepticism but the aged wizard smiled.
"The Fidelius Charm is the most logical way to protect you and your family."
Lily chimed in when James seemed confused. "It's a powerful charm to hide a place from prying eyes, with the secret being locked into that of the secret keeper. They are the only ones to divulge the location. They could be standing across the road from us right now and they wouldn't see the house, even if they press nose first into it. It gives off a perception as well that the dwelling does not exist even if the person lands head on with it."
"Correct, in an essence, I believe that this charm will allow you to hide, at least until we are able to bring Lord Voldemort to justice," Dumbledore answered as he gave Lily a nod.
Lily was not fooled by this demeanor, they were no closer to defeating Voldemort then they were from elimination corruption in the government whether if bit magical or Muggle. The red haired Charms and Potions prodigy thought the matter over, James looked as if he bought what Dumbledore was selling and Lily hoped that she could trust him to protect him from harm.
'If he leads my son to harm, he won't live much longer.'
Again, that voice was a bit harsh, Lily had to admit but it had plenty of merit.
"I believe that the Secret Keeper should be someone who you would trust without any hesitation with your secret," Dumbledore responded with a twinkle in his eye.
Rose was the one that piped up at the next moment. "I'll do it...I mean, I'll be at school for most of the year and Hogwarts is supposed to be the safest place on Earth."
Dumbledore shook his head at that statement. "As much as I appreciate your willingness to help out, Miss Evans, I'm afraid that is not possible. You see the Secret Keeper spell is strongest when one is of the age of consent. While none of us would argue against you being a prodigal witch in your own right, there are certain matters that would keep you from being the right person for the job."
Rose scowled, which brought Lily some amusement or would have, had the situation not been so serious. She cleared her throat and focused on Rose for a brief moment, and offered a look that indicated that it was okay. Rose appeared like she would beg to differ but that was beside the point. The point was that Lily knew that Dumbledore was not pulling random charm information out of his wrinkly old arse. The Fidelius Charm worked best when the person who held the Secret was a fully qualified witch or wizard.
"I believe it may be prudent if...if I'm the Secret Keeper," Dumbledore answered whilst he looked at the Potters. "Of course, it may work out well for a short time but I shall warn you that being that our connection does not go strong, it may not lead to that level of trust. With all charms there is a chance that they could be broken by a skilled hand, with or without the help of the Secret Keeper."
Again, this was something that Lily was not in denial about. The red haired witch took a moment to determine everything that was being said, mulling it over in her mind. She bit down on her lip and threw her head back. This was not going to be the easiest thing in the world to do.
"Okay, if not you Headmaster, how about Sirius?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
Lily had to roll her eyes. "Of course, do you know any other people named Sirius?"
"I don't know," Sirius offered, to be honest, he was stalling for time. Putting the lives of his friends in the palm of his hand, that was a tall order. There was no greater responsibility.
"You would be the best man for the job, Padfoot," James offered when he looked at him. "I trust you with my life, the life of Lily, and the life of Harry."
'His trust better not be misplaced.'
Dumbledore saw the cringing that Lily underwent and frowned. "Are you quite alright, Lily?"
"Just...the stress of the war and the worry that the worst is going to happen," Lily offered, hoping that Dumbledore would buy this line from her. Granted, it was based on the truth, she was worried about a lot of what happened. The red haired witch shook her head a little bit, when she pulled herself back out of her thoughts. "I'll be fine."
"Don't despair, it happens to the best of us," Dumbledore answered before he turned to Sirius. "So how about it..."
"I'll do it," Sirius responded when he looked at James and Lily with smiles on his face.
"I can't think of anyone better for the job," Rose chimed in but she was not happy that she did not get the job.
"I believe it will be prudent for myself and young Miss Evans to leave, for it is unwise for more people to be inside the dwelling them the home residents and the Secret Keeper when the Fidelius Charm is being performed. Unless, you feel like you need help with performing the charm Lily, and are unable to handle it."
Lily's face twisted into a grimace before she stated the following response in an overly polite and calm voice. "I'll be fine Headmaster."
Lily tossed and turned one night when she felt sweat roll down her face.
'Our family's legacy flows strongly through him.'
'He will bring force a great change.'
'Our race will be preserved.'
Lily wondered what was happening to her and her mind kept flashing back to the cave and the crystal. She saw it flashing through her mind, the "Z" that burned in her hand and she saw it flashing on the walls. A humming and chanting echoed through her mind, she tried to block it out of her mind, when a figure with short brown hair arrived.
"You have done well in bringing him to this world. Once I figure out how to become the dominant part of this vessel, I will take over from here. No son of mine is going to be some tool for a prophecy to save a doomed race."
"Harry is my son, I carried him," Lily answered with fierce determination.
"You'd have no son."
"You would be weak without my help."
"His birth would have destroyed you."
"Har-Zod will bring order to the chaos."
Lily tossed and turned on this night, but there was no James for he snuck out for the night because he was going stir crazy. She loved her husband but there was times where he annoyed her like nothing else. This was one of those times.
The more Lily thought about it, the more she realized that there was a chance that her son might not live to see another day. Little did Dumbledore know that she and James also had twin daughters but they were born premature. The good news is that they would become healthy thanks to the magic of magic. The bad news was that Lily would be separated from her baby girls until the Christmas holidays and that was if she was lucky. Her green eyes burned with distress and she wanted to live long enough to see them.
There was a change in the secret keeper, to throw Voldemort off the trail.
She trusted Wormtail.
What she did not trust was the ability for him to show strength in the face of sudden pain. The young witch grabbed her face, before she threw her head back. There was clarity that came with what was happening.
'You do the right thing.'
The echo in the back of her head was one of those things that Lily vowed to live with and it was strange how infrequently it occurred. There were some days where the echo was present and clear and there were other days where the echo left her, never one peeping up. The young witch felt the pressure pouring on her with the echo reminding her that the crystal was the reason for Harry's being. It was true, Lily almost gave up the hope of having children after a Slytherin hit her with a curse during her seventh year. It nearly damaged her reproductive organs.
Lily never found out who did it, he or she was a coward, they struck her from behind. James did have his share of fans being an heir for an old pureblood family. There were many money hungry witches that would be after his money and other parts of him. Her green eyes flashed with remembrance when she thought about that. She turned around and knew that it was likely one of those jealous parties that struck her from behind.
The crystal healed her.
And this ritual would ensure that even her death would not be something that would stop her from protecting her son. It would give him the strength that he needed to be powerful, no matter where he was. Although, Lily felt confidence swell that her son would be strong despite her intervention or lack there of. He was born to be strong and bred to be great, he was built for greatness and that greatness would swell to a certain amount of strength.
A smile flickered on her face when she thought about the things that her son would accomplish through his strength. The ritual would carefully add to his natural strength and prove that he would be protected no matter where he would live. And if those inside the dwelling harmed him any conceivable way, the consequences would be there's to suffer. Whilst the protection would wear off when he reached his age of his majority, his natural strength and powers would pick up the strength. Although what those natural strength and powers was, Lily had no idea but she had an inkling they were amazing.
She just did what the voices in her head told her to.
Lily blinked and smirked, she realized how insane that made her sound.
She was sad that the Fidelius Charm hid the house and she got to miss out on the Halloween holiday. It was one of her favorite holidays since she was young and she always enjoyed the costumes. Yet, she realized that her family's safety was far more important.
"Harry, everything's going to be okay," Lily whispered to her son, hugging him in closely, when she blinked a little bit. A smile crossed her face when she turned her head around a little bit and thought about everything.
Somehow, she thought that Harry understood.
James was asleep.
Lily thought that was for the best, given that he would not understand the necessity of what was going to be done. She would take every step to make sure that her son was going to be the best that he could be and there was going to be no way that he was going to be any less than his best. She turned around and hummed a little bit, before the glowing light engulfed her and Harry. That was only phase one of the ritual, there was much more to come.
James slept, ignorant to what Lily did.
Less than a week later, Halloween arrived and so far it seemed to be a nice night there was no reason to expect anything out of the ordinary that was going to happen. That was a statement that one would make but that statement would be a mistake. Time stood still for them almost, with Lily thinking that they would have an early night. After the stress, the weird dreams, and the fear that everything was going on around them would cause their lives to come crashing, she suspected that much would happen.
"LILY IT'S HIM, TAKE HARRY AND RUN!"
Lily stood up; she grabbed Harry, and ran up the stairs, when she found that the windows and the doors were blocked. Her heart thumped against her chest while her pace quickened, nearly falling but managed to keep her balance, practically flying up the stairs.
'Your trust was misplaced.'
Lily realized the echo in her head was right in her own way, not that she was going to admit it. She held her son in her arms, hearing the crash of broken wood, splintered wood. The crashing of glass could be heard from behind her just as she picked up steam. She continued to pick up the pace, her knees knocking together when she made her way up the stairs. The blood flowed through her heart and she blew the doors open in Harry's room.
There was a flash of green light from downstairs and Lily knew what happened.
Footsteps thumped up the stairs.
She knew he was coming.
Harry remained alert and quiet, almost like he knew he was coming. Although Lily suspected that because of his intelligence, there was no "almost" about it. He had a pretty good idea what was happening around him at all times. She looked around and saw the barriers Voldemort put up. There was going to be no way out, no Portkey, no Floo, they could not even jump out of the window and onto a broomstick if she so desired.
Lily sealed the door shut when her eyes closed and she breathed heavily. Sweat rolled down her cheeks when she heard his footsteps get closer. It was amazing how less than a minute turned into hours and hours of wait in the theater of the mind. The young witch took a moment to arch her neck to the side and wait for him to arrive.
The door creaked before it swung open and he stood there in all of his glory. Black robes hung around his body, with a hood pulled up over his chalk white face. Lily saw a pair of soulless, slit like red eyes, without a nose. His long fingers fingered, with yellow finger nails. He was pale and disgusting, with his slimy skin. He was more serpent than man and he walked forward, facing off against Lily Potter. He offered one booming declaration.
"Move."
Lily knew what was needed for the sacrifice to work.
"Take me, please don't take Harry, take me instead."
Annoyance crossed the face of Voldemort.
"Stand aside you silly girl."
No, I won't, I won't let you have my son!"
Voldemort refused to say anything more, in fact annoyance crossed his eyes. He only mildly entertained Snape's suggestion that he would spare Lily. Now that he was here and before Lily, he had no reason to spare the woman. In fact, it was another Mudblood, useless, and a worthless mother trying to protect her child. His mother never offered him the same courtesy; she gave up and died, allowing him to linger at the orphanage.
His sympathy was lacking.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The green light shot out of Voldemort's wand and connected with the chest of Lily. She flopped to the ground and the rune on Harry's head, shaped like a lightning bolt, lit up. Voldemort barely paid any attention to the child, seeing the mother descent to the ground. She was down and on the ground, apparently never to move again. At least Voldemort did not see any signs of life, but little did he know was that something happened.
Lily sacrificed the presence in her head to save her son but she retained the gifts and abilities that she got from it. It had the result of throwing her into a catatonic state that was a half of an inch between life and death. She would hover in that state indefinitely until she was revived.
Voldemort ignored this and he turned around to face the child that was supposed to defeat him.
'Weak, this thing is supposed to defeat me.'
Harry turned when he looked at this man, his mother was on the ground not moving. This man was the cause of it, and his eyes narrowed, when he crossed his hands. The fifteen month year old looked up at him, anger filling his young body.
"You hurt her," Harry stated in a firm voice.
Voldemort stopped and stared. "Do not despair, child, for you will join her next. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The moment Voldemort sent the killing curse at Harry, a jet of red light erupted from Harry's eyes. It was like fire when it struck Voldemort. The impact of the two lights connecting caused an explosion and a piece of Voldemort's soul to detach, hooking onto the still settling rune store.
Lily remained unharmed on the floor.
Sirius Black arrived moments after it happened; it was too late, much too late for him to do anything.
He never felt a stronger combination of pain and guilt in his life, coupled with anger. This was one of the worst days of his life. He passed James on the floor and he laid motionless. Struck down by the Killing Curse, there was no way he could have blocked it. Although Sirius was confident that James put up a great fight. He was a survivor, the type of person who did not lay down for anyone ever and that's what the Black heir thought.
With trepidation, Sirius made his way up the stairs, his knees knocking together when he walked up. He feared the worst, with Lily and Harry. They were dead; there was no question about it. The dark mark was not over the house but still perhaps Voldemort had other places to be. That was the most obvious answer to that question. The eyes of Sirius Black strained when he pulled himself up the stairs.
One step at a time he walked.
He opened the door and he saw a pile of robes on the floor. It smelled like something was burning and there were ashes on the floor where he stood. A smoldering wand was at his feet.
Sirius's heart stopped; there was Lily on the floor.
He stopped and stared, not believing his eyes.
Lily was not completely dead; in fact, she was lying on the floor in a stasis. Sirius realized what Lily did immediately; she borrowed one of the books on blood magic that he borrowed from his mother and never got around to returning. After all, because Sirius was not a huge fan of dark magic, it did not mean that he was not going to be well informed of it. Dark magic was interesting as it was a broad spectrum.
Sirius waited, he needed to get Lily out of there, if her body was found in that state, who knows what might happen. He looked at Lily, his eyes drifting towards the door. He was surprised that Dumbledore's people were not around him.
He transfigured an old pile of clothes into a mangled body that resembled Lily. It was nothing fancy, Sirius admitted that but he had the job done. He knew that Lily would be safe in Castle Peverell, where Harry could return and do what he needed to do to revive her upon his fourteenth birthday. The type of blood magic was imprecise.
He heard the unmistakable footsteps of Hagrid and knew that he had to take care of Wormtail in the morning, after he wrote a letter.
Dear Rose,
This is charmed so only your eyes could read. There is a chance that I might be dead or worse after you receive this letter.
Voldemort has attacked Lily and James. Harry has survived, James is dead, and Lily's body is in a safe place, until Harry can revive her.
Wormtail betrayed us, after all what happened, I can't believe he betrayed us. We switched, after you and Dumbledore left. Here's my memory attached but I doubt that will convince anyone of anything in the Ministry. It's just to give you peace of mind.
I'm going after him.
Do what you have to do regarding your education but by the time you read this, Harry will be at his aunt and uncle's. I'm sorry.
Sirius.
The handwriting was shaky and the prose was scatterbrained. Rose Evans read the letter, her hand shaking. She would be seventeen years old in fifteen months and would be unable to take custody of Harry until that time.
He would be at Vernon and Petunia's by that point and Rose shuddered to think what would happen to him until then.
Little did she know that Harry was sent to the Dursleys and kept there, cut off from the rest of the world .While Dumbledore had what he perceived to be the best intentions in the world by keeping Harry there with the ancient blood magic invoked, it was not without a price. Those who wished to keep Harry Potter ignorant and in the dark used Ministry law to enforce him staying there much to the chagrin of both his aunt and his godmother, along with his distant cousins in Kansas, both on his mother's side and his father's, both who petitioned for custody but were shut down.
Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban prison and never given a trial.
However, Harry Potter might be at the Dursleys but he was far from helpless.