Chapter 1

He watched the activity along the drive, twisting his long fingers together, eyes peering from the hedge where he was concealed. It seemed like a nice, quiet street, but he couldn't be sure. There was always so much that went on behind closed doors that nobody knew about. He'd seen too much hidden behind the facades of perfect families to believe anything anymore.

After hours of waiting, the lights along Privet Drive went out one by one as a tall wizard walked down the street. In the distance, a dull roar began to grow.

His heart began to pound in his chest, making it hard to hear as the sound traveled to the very tips of his ears. He licked his lips and shuffled his feet, fingers twisting impossibly tighter until they ached.

He could just make out the shape of something looming and large as the roar echoed along the darkened street, until a large man astride a massive motorcycle came to a stop in front of No. 4.

He could hear the conversation, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the bundle of blankets wrapped in the giant's arms. It was him. The boy.

The anticipation grew and he peered at the exchange, just waiting for his chance. Next to him, in a basket he'd brought with him earlier, it was still and silent.

Once the boy was in place, left on the doorstep to No. 4, he waited as the lights went on one by one, and the elderly wizard gave one last fond glance before disappearing.

It was time. He shifted his own basket into place and stuck to the shadows, careful not to startle any house cats or suspicious neighbors. Finally, painstakingly, he arrived on the same doorstep he'd been watching and looked down at the sleeping child inside. Harry Potter.

He blinked at the child, taking in all of the features-the pale face, dark hair, and lightning shaped cut on the forehead. His own basket was placed next to the Potter boy and opened, revealing another sleeping child. This was was the opposite in appearance to Potter in every way. With some concentration, the two blended until the child he'd brought was the mirror image of little Harry. Carefully, so as not to disturb either baby, he switched their baskets, leaving his child on the doorstep and readying to take Harry with him.

He melted back into the shadows, taking one child, leaving another. Saving both of them, he believed.