AN: Thanks for clicking on my story. It will follow a similar storyline as canon but there will be several important differences of my own creation. Hopefully, this will create something akin to an alternate version of the books, where certain situations even if the outcome appears the same, will have transpired in a different way. It will be a very long story, so if that's what you prefer then this is definitely a story you might be interested in. I plan to write up until the end of Harry's time at Hogwarts and potentially further. It will feature a much stronger Harry than canon with a larger support network of friends and family. However, to counter that there will also be more villains, a potential betrayal or two, and a Voldemort that is stronger than Dumbledore.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K.R. I'm just having some fun with her wonderful creation.

Harry Potter and the Strength of Family

Chapter 1: The Attack

Lily and James Potter were enjoying yet another quiet evening in their little hideaway in Godric's Hollow with their young son Harry Potter. They had gone into hiding under Albus Dumbledore's orders over a year ago, shortly after Lily had given birth to Harry. They didn't fully understand why it was of such importance for them to do so, but they didn't question the leader of the light. With the looming threat of war, both Lily and James were willing to do anything they could to secure the safety of their son.

The solitude was definitely getting to the two young parents, as after spending countless lonely nights cooped up in the two bedroom cottage, it was quickly becoming their own personal prison.

Both James and Lily missed the times when they were able to peacefully enjoy the wonderful weather outside, partake in a regular weekend excursion with friends, or simply head into muggle London for an afternoon to indulge themselves like a regular family. Now, they weren't even allowed to leave the confines of the cottage. It was a hard way to live, and neither of the parents took too well to the solitude, but both would readily accept living like this for another dozen years if it meant that Harry would not be harmed.

Thankfully, their friends were there to make it a little easier on them. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were both frequent visitors to the cottage, taking every opportunity they had whenever they weren't away working for the Order to see their friends and dote upon Harry. Whenever they came they always remembered to bring him another new toy to add to his already large collection.

Life wasn't easy, but Harry was growing up quite nicely and both his parents couldn't be happier to see the constant smile on the young boys face. He had begun speaking just a few months ago, and his vocabulary was growing every week. His parents played and read to him every day, as they were eager to do whatever they could to keep the little tyke happy.

Not only did this serve to amuse the young child, but this also kept the parents busy and their minds off the war. Entertaining Harry was the only solace they had during this difficult time and always brought a smile to their faces.

His parents had been astounded when they learned that despite his young age, Harry could perform magic. However, if there was one thing that the young parents were constantly being reminded of it was that Harry Potter was an exceptional child. It was unheard of for a child to be able to control their magic before they could even speak, let alone walk, and yet Harry could do just that.

He had performed his first bout of magic at 7 months old when he had changed the colour of his toys to match his hair colour. The parents were at first worried that he wouldn't be able to control it, but when they discussed the matter with Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, he seemed exceptionally pleased. When they asked him if it would be best to consider binding Harry's magic until an older age when he could better control it, Dumbledore urged them not to, saying it would be better to let him practice his gifts now so that he could yield them later. Both parents could see some logic in what the old wizard's advice but also got the sense that there might be something else he wasn't telling them. However, aside from being a little frustrated that the old man never told them anything, they knew he had their best interests at heart. Dumbledore just preferred to operate by keeping his cards close to his chest. Both Lily and James understood that and were inclined to trust the man after everything he'd done for them over the years.

Besides, Harry's magical exploits were practically the only reprieve available to the two parents, so they were hesitant to put an end to it. Strangely enough, Harry never seemed to lose control of his magic as they expected. After the little tyke had learned how to levitate small objects the two adults began to wonder if perhaps these accomplishments weren't actually accidental.

Every time she saw her son perform some act of magic, Lily would always ask herself if it was possible that Harry could actually be knowingly performing magic. It was almost enough to drive the young mother crazy, especially when you combined that with all the other stress she was under. She was constantly worrying, be it for her family's safety or that of her friends. She hated having to constantly hear second-hand reports of the war effort from anyone who visited their cottage, but at the same time, hearing that people were safe brought her more joy than just about anything short of spending time with Harry.

Having been a muggle-born herself and James an only child, the two parents were hopeful that Harry might not be the only case of a baby learning how to perform magic. Lily figured they could always ask Professor McGonagall when they next saw her, but even though she had absolute faith in the woman, she didn't really want Harry's abilities to become public knowledge. Besides, she had the sneaking suspicion that Harry's abilities were likely part of the reason why they went into hiding in the first place. After all, Dumbledore never really did reveal the full truth behind the decision to hide them. If anything, her friend Alice would be her best option, as she had gone into hiding as well with her husband after she had given birth to her baby boy Neville.

She still remembered that day like it was yesterday. Albus had called James, herself, Alice and Frank into his office and pleaded with both families to go into hiding. He had warned them that Voldemort would be targeting them soon, so naturally, the two families had followed the great mentor's advice.

You might think the decision was silly, but when her friends started reporting that Voldemort had started hunting down infants, both parents were glad they'd listened to the old Headmaster's urging.

However, Lily still mentally berated herself for never finding out where Alice and Frank were hiding before they went under the Fidelius, as then they could have at least organized play dates for the two boys. She had tried getting one of the Potter elves to bring a message to her friends but wasn't surprised to find that not even the house-elf could locate them. After all, it would be rather silly to hide under a Fidelius charm but not have protections against unknown house elves.

She had hoped that maybe Remus, Sirius, or Peter might be able to find out where they were living, but apparently, Dumbledore was the only one who knew and he wasn't prepared to tell anyone.

The whole thing was rather frustrating. If she had to spend much longer locked up in this dingy old cottage, it wouldn't be long before she started developing grey hairs.

However as she was about to find out, grey hairs were the least of her worries.

While the three Potters were lounging in front of the fireplace, a lone figure was making his way up the garden path to the back door of the cottage. Within seconds Lord Voldemort had blown the back door of the cottage off its hinges.

James Potter, who had previously been snuggled up on the sofa with his son and wife, was now desperately trying to activate the defenses he had in place to buy Lily and Harry time to escape.

Despite being under 25 years of age, he was one of the top Aurors in the Ministry and had completed his mastery in Transfiguration, so he was well prepared to put up a good fight against almost any opponent.

Unfortunately, he knew that not even a swarm of transfigured battle animals would hold back the Dark Lord if he had been the one to break in their door, but he was willing to die before he let that monster harm his family.

The cold, manipulative voice that came from the back entrance was enough for him to know that there was a very good chance that this fight might just come to that.

The monster of a man was draped under his large black robes, meaning the only part of him James could see was his bony white hands and ferocious red eyes. The sight would have been enough to make just about any man cower in fear, but James was determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing him cringe. If he was going to die, he was going to go down fighting like a true Gryffindor!

"You've had your chances Potter, three times you've evaded me. It will not happen again. Tonight I will enjoy invoking the greatest suffering imaginable on you. Think of it as a little token of retribution for your behaviour at the Three Broomsticks a few years back."

James tried his best to appear as convincing as possible, but even he couldn't hide the slight stutter in his voice as he replied, "I'm not afraid of you... or your unforgivables."

Voldemort chuckled at this response and said, "No James, you may not be. But I have other plans for you. You see I don't plan to kill you. It would be a tragic waste to see such pureblood spilt. Your wife and son, on the other hand, are a different story. After I've killed your son, I will take the greatest pleasure in torturing and killing your wife in front of you, leaving you to live with your own sorrow of having failed both of them."

James paled dramatically at this threat but managed to get out a response before the argument erupted into a duel. "Stay away from my family. You can do whatever you want to me, but leave them be."

He tried sending as many spells as he could but in truth, he was no match for the Dark Lord in a duel. No matter how many hexes he sent in his direction, Voldemort simply conjured a shield that just absorbed the spell. James knew he was just toying with him. It was Voldemort's favourite thing to do with his victims, but James didn't care. He was more than willing to put up with such treatment if it bought the precious extra few moments for Lily and Harry to get to safety.

Unfortunately, Voldemort wasn't willing to give him that. After quickly dispelling the sofa-sized grizzly bear that was preparing to maul him, he finally started casting offensive curses towards him. When James was able to dive behind the kitchen counter and return fire with a few well-placed reducto curses, Voldemort lost his temper.

"ENOUGH!" screamed the monster, finally annoyed at playing with the desperate man, and with a swift movement of his wand, sent a sickly yellowish beam that connected with James' chest, and sent him careening into the back wall in a heap.

As he stepped over James' limp body, Voldemort chuckled to himself at what must have been Dumbledore's idea to set up anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards across the property. With the Floo-Network connection cut off, there was no way for the mother and son to escape.

Slowly he made his way to the stairs heading for the second floor where he had seen the mother and child run to.

As he rounded on the nursery he heard the sobs coming from the room.

"Harry, mummy and daddy aren't going to be around anymore… Harry, mummy loves you… Daddy loves you… We love you so much Harry…"

Voldemort couldn't help but sneer as he approached the young mother. "And look where that love has gotten you. At the mercy of one who pursued something nobler. Perhaps if you weren't so foolish and had taken a greater interest in gaining power and less time wasted on pursuing love, you would have stood a chance… But alas your time has come, as you knew it always would… Now stand aside like a good little mud-blood and I'll shorten your torture."

"No not Harry! Take me, take me, please, just leave Harry" sobbed Lily.

"Stand aside girl!" growled Voldemort, quickly losing his patience.

Lily could hardly choke back her tears, which were flowing freely as she looked up into the cold eyes of the Dark Lord. Standing defiantly in front of her baby she practically screamed "NO!" at him before attempting to throw any loose item she could at the intruder in hopes that it would somehow either change his mind or hurt him. In truth, it was a very feeble attempt - especially when you consider that she still had her wand in her hand - but Lily had worked herself into such a state of hysteria she wasn't even aware of what she was doing, all she knew was that she had to protect her baby from this monster.

"Very well, if you won't move then I guess I'll just have to make you."

And with that another sickly yellow beam sprang forth from his wand, colliding with Lily and sending her sprawling across the floor, coming to a stop against the closet door at the far end of the room.

As he approached the crib, he noticed a pair of green eyes look from his injured mother to the man in the hooded cloak.

Voldemort let out a little chuckle at the thought that this defenceless little boy could possibly hold the power to defeat such a powerful sorcerer as himself. He could actually feel his wand practically begging to cast the killing curse on the young babe as he approached the boys' crib. After all, it wasn't the norm for the Dark Lord to cast two curses in succession that weren't unforgivables.

Tears started to fill the little boy's eyes as he thought of what this man had done to his mother.

"You bad man" cried the child.

"Quiet brat, I'd rather do this without you crying. I've always hated the sounds of infants."

And with that, he pointed his wand at the boy's forehead and said the incantation to end his life: "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Another beam shot from the yew and phoenix feather wand, only this time it wasn't yellow. It was green. The same colour green as Harry's eyes.

Voldemort threw his head back and let out a maniacal laugh at the thought that the only being that could stop him from invincibility was dying before he ever had the chance to oppose him.

However, his cruel high-pitched laughter was cut off as the boy in question once more exclaimed, "You bad man".

His eyes widened in fear, as he looked down at the young boy who was now glowing white.

Suddenly, a green shockwave exploded from little Harry connecting with Voldemort and throwing his now lifeless body against the door, as the roof exploded from the force of the spell.

The 2nd floor of the cottage was completely obliterated, burying the 4 bodies underneath the wreckage, with only the foundation of the south side of the house withstanding.

The explosion was enough to destroy both the Fidelius charm and the muggle repelling wards that guarded the cottage.

About a dozen muggles froze in the street to see a destroyed house appear out of thin air, and a small plump bald man that was standing by the picket fence transform into a rat and jump into the sewer.

It was easily the strangest sight they had ever seen, and yet, none of them would ever remember it. Members of the Ministry of Magic would arrive on the scene in the span of a couple hours and obliviate each one of the witnesses, without bothering to learn what information they had on the man that had run from the property.

There it is. The first chapter I've ever written of fan fiction. Drop me a review and let me know what you think. I'll do my best to answer any question you may have, but I don't want to give away too much of the story.

Cheers, KD