xXx Rise of Arcane - The Rewrite xXx
xXx Arc 1: Prologue - Chapter 1: Fall and Abandonment xXx
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
AN (Angeldoctor): Everyone should note that I'm changing certain dates and times for the births of certain Marvel and Harry Potter characters. This is because there is no definite timeline for Marvel beyond "after this" and "before this". Therefore, I am creating my own timeline.
AN (DalkonCledwin): I am going to note at the very outset of this project that I have Angeldoctor's permission to be reposting this story's first 17 chapters in anticipation of my beginning to write the remainder of the story under my own pen (or keyboard as the case may be). I will not be changing anything in the first 17 chapters with the exception of fixing spelling and grammar errors as well fixing the occasional continuity blunder. Once that project is all finished, then I will begin writing the remainder of the story. It is my hope that by adopting a story I might actually stand a better chance of finishing it this time.
xXx October 31st, 1981 xXx
xXx Godric's Hollow xXx
"James! Hurry up or we'll be late for the meeting!" yelled Lily Potter.
"Coming!" was the answering yell. Lily sighed in exasperation as she smiled down at her twin children who were playing in their room.
Lily and James had never been so happy as when their twin boys had been born. Twins were rare among wizards and the fact that they were both magically powerful despite Lily being Muggleborn was a big slap in the face for those "I'm better than you" Purebloods. Lily couldn't help but be smug about the fact that she had given birth to twins while the so-called Purebloods could barely have one due to inbreeding. To top it off, both were powerful for their age. That just goes to show that blood had nothing to do with magical power.
Harry was the eldest and had black hair that was a shade darker than both James and Nathan's but had her bright emerald eyes. He also had his father's face shape and a gleam of intelligence in his eyes. Sometimes, Lily could almost swear he actually understood what was happening around him and suspected he had an eidetic memory. From what little she had read about it, babies with an eidetic memory learned faster since they never forgot anything and so learned from their mistakes faster than other children. That certainly fit with Harry's rapid growth.
Nathan on the other hand looked like a clone of his father with both his black hair and hazel eyes. He had her face shape which was a little bit rounder than Harry's. Nathan was the more adventurous of the two and was eternally getting into trouble as he tried to touch everything. Harry wasn't much better since he was eternally trying to push the boundaries of where he could go. They promised to cause so many headaches in the future.
The sound of a baby's protests brought Lily back to reality and she saw a sight that made her almost squeal with the cuteness of it.
Harry was currently trying to build a tower of some sort out of some children's Legos and Nathan was helping. Nathan seemed to be making the base of the tower while Harry just kept adding more blocks to the top to make it go higher and higher. Harry was protesting because he was no longer tall enough to make it go any higher and so had to abandon his hopes of making it high enough to reach the ceiling.
Lily chuckled at Harry's cute face of annoyance. Out of the twins, it was obvious that Harry was the smarter one despite Lily not wanting to take sides. Harry had already spoken his first word at 4 months. The fact that his first word was "Mommy" had nothing to do with her favoritism at all. To add humor to the situation, Nathan spoke his first word 2 months before their first birthday and his first word was "Fly". That had convinced James that Nathan was born to be a Quidditch player and had promptly taken every chance to let him fly on his toy broomstick, much to Lily's terror.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed to be born to be a Ravenclaw. He always seemed to analyze everything he looked at and his green eyes looked at you as if looking into your soul. Sirius had called how he looked at you "Creepy" but Lily simply laughed and said it was because Harry knew he was lying when he said he was late for his birthday because he was stopping a Death Eater raid. In reality, he had been trying to crawl his way out of bed from a particularly clingy one-night-stand.
Lily turned to look down the hallway toward the master bedroom and therefore missed Harry levitating a Lego block onto the top of the tower to Nathan's cheers of delight. Harry giggled at his success and Nathan smiled sleepily.
James walked out of their room and entered the twins' room with a smile as he took in the sight of his children playing. It was sights like these that reminded him of why he fought against Voldemort so fiercely. It was so his two sons wouldn't have to grow up afraid to leave the house because some madman would kill them due to some stupid prophecy.
The day their children were born had been the happiest of their lives. However, the day after was currently ranked as the worst. Dumbledore had come to them and explained that their children were possible subjects for a prophecy about one of them being destined to defeat Voldemort. They had fought, screamed and pleaded but nothing they could do would make Dumbledore take it back. Thankfully, Dumbledore had given them a chance to protect their children in the form of the Fidelius Charm.
The Fidelius is a complex bit of magic created by Merlin himself. It literally imbues a secret within a person's soul and unless that person willingly and under no duress reveals that secret, no one can discover or even attack the location or secret being kept. The magic was so powerful that even if Voldemort knew the general area where the house was located and unleashed Fiendfyre on the village, the house would be untouched.
Due to Sirius's persuasion, they had made Peter into their Secret Keeper. They agreed that it would be the ultimate "made-you-look" deception due to no one even suspecting Peter of being the Secret Keeper. Everyone would automatically assume it was Sirius, therefore it would leave Peter in the clear.
James looked at his wife and gave her his famous Potter grin, "Well, Mrs. Potter, don't you look simply ravishing today?"
Lily rolled her eyes but was inwardly happy at his compliment, "Please, these bulky wizard robes are so unflattering. Years wearing them and I still miss good old Muggle pants."
James smirked, "Maybe but you totally manage to make wearing robes look hot."
Lily chuckled and gave James a gently kiss, "Such a charmer. I hope our sons don't take after you when it comes to your history with women."
James just grinned, "Hey, I got the best woman in the end so that has to mean something. Plus, Potters always fall for red-heads."
Lily smirked, "Then we should probably set up a contract for one of the boys to marry Molly's daughter, don't you think? First female Weasley in generations and a redhead to boot."
James grimaced, "I don't think I could stomach the idea of being related to Molly. Don't get me wrong, she's a good person but she's sometimes a bit… overbearing."
Lily huffed, "Tell me about it. One more 'helpful tip' about how to raise my children and I'll strangle her."
James chuckled, "Plus I would never force either of them to marry someone they don't love. No matter what, I'll let them choose who to love and marry. After all... isn't the right to choose and live our lives the way we want the reason we're fighting?"
Lily smiled softly as she looked down at her children, "That's true."
James smiled as he turned to the twins who were now in the fun process of tearing down their tower. Nathan was tossing the blocks all over the place while Harry was carefully separating them into individual blocks. Just then, the sound of people apparating was heard and James looked out the window to see his three oldest friends standing outside. James grinned and walked out of the twins' room and into the foyer. He opened the door with a grin.
"Padfoot!... Did you pee before coming over? I don't want a repeat of your last visit."
Remus almost fell down laughing at the memory, while Peter just chuckled nervously. On their last visit a week ago, Sirius had needed to go to the bathroom very badly, but it had been occupied by Lily at the time. So thinking that Lily would never know he had transformed into a dog and gone outside to pee in a bush. Unfortunately, Harry and Nathan had seen him and sold him out the moment Lily appeared by saying "Doggie pee!" in unison. Needless to say, Lily had not been happy. Especially since that bush had been her favorite rose bush.
Sirius scowled as James and the others laughed and gave them a mock glare, "It's not my fault! I was close to exploding and your wife wouldn't get out of the bathroom! Plus, it was your kids who sold me out!"
That just caused them to laugh harder as they entered and walked into the twins' room where Lily was watching the twins continue to play. Harry and Nathan saw them enter and Harry giggled before pointing at Sirius, "Doggie pee!"
At that, James fell down on the floor laughing and Remus was only holding himself up by holding onto Peter while Sirius turned red from embarrassment. Even Lily was chuckling at his humiliation. No one noticed Peter looking around nervously and chuckling rather weakly.
Eventually, Peter cleared his throat and spoke quietly, "Shouldn't you guys get going? The Order meeting's in five minutes."
James and the others slowly stopped laughing while Lily started to fuss over the twins. James smiled lovingly at the sight of his children before nodding his agreement with Peter's statement, "You're right, we should get going," He walked up to the twins and kissed each on the top of the head before sighing, "It's not fair. It's Halloween and they should be out there trick-or-treating with the other children. Not only can they not due to Voldemort, but now we have to attend an emergency Order meeting."
Peter shuffled before forcing a smile, "Don't worry, I'll watch over them. Nothing will happen to them on my watch."
James smiled at his friend, "I know. Thanks, Peter."
Lily said her goodbyes to the twins before the group moved out of the room and into the living room where everyone, except for Peter, flooed to Hogwarts where the meeting was going to take place.
Peter watched them go with nervousness, only to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the fire returned back to its normal orange color. He quickly placed a ward to keep anyone from flooing in so that they wouldn't appear at an inopportune moment. Peter then turned and walked up the stairs to the twins room to make sure they were still there before calling his Master. The moment he entered the room, Peter gaped as he took in the sight before him.
Nathan was clapping his hands and giggling as Harry had blocks floating around them. They seemed to be creating several shapes, such as a pyramid, a giant block and a few others. Nothing too complicated but the fact that he was doing it using nothing but pure magic was incredible.
Peter almost fainted when Nathan tried to copy his brother levitating a single block up only to lose his concentration, causing it to fall to the floor. Harry giggled and then allowed all the blocks to drop on the floor which caused Nathan to cheer in babyish joy.
Peter could only stand there with his mouth agape at the sight and only came back to himself a full ten minutes later, 'There is no doubt. That one must truly be the child of prophecy. Who else could have the power to match the Dark Lord?' thought Peter fearfully.
The clock rang 10 o'clock and Peter took a deep breath before walking out of the room and into the hallway. Sure that neither of the children could see him, Peter rolled up his left sleeve, revealing his Dark Mark. After a moment's hesitation, Peter pressed it with his wand, causing it to burn black as he called his Master.
There was a moment of silence before a crack of apparition was heard outside of the house. Peter fearfully walked down the stairs and out of the house to where Voldemort stood waiting for Peter to come and tell him the secret. They couldn't risk Peter telling him beforehand in case Dumbledore sensed a change in the wards showing that they were broken. Peter whimpered at the sight of his Master but gathered what little courage he had left and stood before him.
Voldemort's eyes glowed red as he looked down in contempt at the wreck of a man before him, "Well? Tell me the secret, Wormtail!"
Peter a.k.a. Wormtail hesitated before speaking, "The Potters live at #8 Main Drive, Godric's Hollow."
Voldemort's eyes glowed in unholy glee as the Potter's home was revealed to him in all its soon to be destroyed glory. He stretched out his magical senses and felt the Potter twins on the second floor. His eyes widened momentarily as he felt their auras. One was quite powerful and promised to birth a wizard of Dumbledore's strength when he was fully grown. However, the other sent chills down even Voldemort's spine.
The other's magical aura was far stronger and if he continued to grow normally, this child would far surpass even Voldemort himself. Voldemort felt a wave of fury pass through him at the very thought. He was the Heir of Slytherin! How could some half-blood bastard son of a mudblood whore be able to surpass him?! There was no doubt now. The one of prophecy was one of the twins.
Peter was whimpering at the feel of his master's aura and could barely speak, "C-Can.. can I go now, master? Surely my job is done?"
Voldemort turned to Wormtail with a sneer but nodded, "Go then, Wormtail. You have no business here anymore."
Peter didn't think twice before apparating out of there. Voldemort sneered at the man's cowardice. The man was supposed to be a Gryffindor, the house of the brave and noble! Yet in one night he showed himself to be a coward and betrayed his closest friends. So much for the house of lions!
Voldemort made a mental note to kill Wormtail at the soonest opportunity. He had no use for a man like that no matter how useful his animagus form might be. A man like that would betray him the moment he thought he was losing and he couldn't risk it. The only reason he didn't kill him now was because doing so would instantly alert Dumbledore to what was going on and he was too close to screw it all up due to his eagerness to kill. No, patience was key for now and once the one of prophecy was dead, then he could kill to his leisure since his immortality was assured. Never would he enter Death's realm.
Voldemort couldn't help the shiver that went up his spine at the thought of Death as he walked up the stairs. In his youth, he had met Death herself once. Foolishly thinking he could best her as the Sorcerer Supreme had and assure his immortality. She had smacked him around as if he were nothing but a child. Worse still were the words she had imbued into his brain.
"You are not the one who will become my Master. You are nothing more than a child running from what is inevitable. In the end, everything and everyone enters my realm."
Since then, he had feverishly tried to prove her wrong by becoming immortal and therefore, never entering her realm. He had thought his horcruxes would work up until he heard the prophecy. Since then, he had stepped up the attacks on anyone connected to the Order of the Phoenix in the hopes of killing everyone who could possibly birth the prophecy child. However, he had failed and both the Longbottom boy and the Potter twins had been born. However, tonight he would correct that mistake personally.
Voldemort entered the room only to stand there in a bit of shock at the sight of the eldest child levitating a block onto the top of the 5 foot tower while the youngest was trying to stop it from falling. Both babies let out cries of frustration when it fell in Voldemort's direction. Both babies fell silent though, at the sight of the strange man that made them uneasy.
Voldemort used his magical senses and confirmed that the eldest child, the one with emerald eyes, was the more powerful of the two. It wasn't strange that Dumbledore hadn't noticed, despite all his knowledge, the ability to see a baby's true potential was not one he would use since it was considered dark magic. In order to see a baby's potential, one had to literally send one's magical aura into the child's core in order to measure the potential inside. However, there was a risk of influencing the baby's core with one's aura when one did this, and so it was considered dark magic due to that risk. There was also a chance of giving the baby a unique trait that you held, if you stayed inside the baby's core for too long. However, Voldemort neither cared nor worried about the future ramifications, since he planned to kill them both tonight.
Unknown to him, his aura had left a special trait within the youngest child's core.
Voldemort took out his wand and aimed it at the eldest first, since he was the bigger threat. Voldemort momentarily wondered if he should start the ritual to create another Horcrux but dismissed the idea. He had nothing to place the Horcrux inside of, and he wouldn't give anything that belonged to the Potters the honor of housing an anchor for his soul.
Harry seemed to sense the danger, because he had crawled in front of his brother as if to protect him. Voldemort smiled malignly at the sight.
"You can't protect him boy. Especially since you can't even protect yourself! Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort yelled out in glee.
A thick beam of green energy leapt eagerly from his wand as it had done so many times before. It quickly transversed the distance between him and the eldest Potter child and struck the child.
Voldemort smiled, but the smile quickly fell when he noticed that the green energy of the Killing Curse hadn't killed the boy. In fact, it seemed as if some kind shield had formed in front of the boy. A thin streak of green energy wrapped around the shield and struck the youngest across his left cheek down to his neck, forming a shape similar to some flames.
The shield seemed to crack, allowing the Killing Curse to continue on to the child where it struck his forehead. Voldemort was ready call this a victory, until he saw the green energy seeming to sink into the child's body. There was a beat of silence before a literal wave of Killing Curse energy flew from the eldest child where it then hit Voldemort before he was able to react, this caused his body to disintegrate instantly, leaving behind nothing but ash and a yew wand in its wake. The wave continued on and blasted a hole through the far corner of the room where Voldemort had been standing, opening the room to the elements outside.
Voldemort's spirit screamed out in pain as it was blasted out of the house and far off into the distance. He cursed the Potter boy and swore to have his revenge. However, he was currently bodiless and could do nothing at the moment, so getting a body back was now his first priority. No doubt one of his faithful servants would come along and he would be back before the week was out.
Meanwhile, Harry had passed out from over-exertion, while Nathan had stopped crying from the pain of his scar so he could toddle over to his twin. He sat in front of Harry with his back to the hole and vainly tried to shake him awake. When he wouldn't wake, Nathan started crying for their parents, somehow knowing his brother was in pain.
Beneath the bangs of his hair, Harry had a thin almost invisible lightning bolt scar which glowed slightly before returning to normal.
xXx Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts xXx
xXx Same Time xXx
Lily sighed as she sat in the Order meeting that was happening in Dumbledore's office, while she listened to Mundungus Fletcher's report. The man was good at getting information about what was happening in the darker aspects of the world but sometimes she really wished the man would learn how to bathe. Some days, the smell was strong enough to turn even Hagrid's stomach.
She wasn't the only one who had these thoughts. Everyone else present had been thinking the same thing. With her in the room were Arthur and Molly Weasley, Moody, Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, McGonagall, recent addition Amelia Bones and a few others that Lily didn't recognize by sight.
Mundungus stopped explaining how the rise in black market dealings could be related to Voldemort's need for rarer ingredients when Severus Snape stood up.
Lily had mixed feelings about Severus. He had once been her best friend and part of her missed that friendship terribly. However, she could still feel the hurt from when he called her a mudblood as well as the pain when she discovered that he was a Death Eater. Part of her was relieved when she found out that he had turned spy for Dumbledore and hoped that this meant he had changed for the better. However, she wasn't going to delude herself into thinking he had done it simply because he suddenly grew a conscience. He had done it for her and that made her uncomfortable. Especially since she doubted his feelings were purely platonic and she was a married woman; she was willing to regain their friendship but nothing more.
Snape looked around the room and his eyes lingered a moment longer on Lily before he turned to the room at large, "It has been confirmed that the Dark Lord has plans for tonight. I'm not privy to the specifics of this, as he is tending to them personally. This is rare, as you all well know, and he has not allowed anyone, not even his closest followers to know where he is heading to tonight."
Dumbledore frowned in thought at this information, "Do you think it's a raid on an important location or something different?"
Snape frowned, "I think it's something else. There has been no hint of any of his people being ready for a raid or even the scouts being sent out on reconnaissance. This worries me more than if it were to be just a simple raid."
Sirius glared hatefully at Snape, "I bet you just love those raids, don't you?"
"Gentlemen," interrupted Dumbledore before the argument could start, "This is not the time. Severus, why does it worry you more?"
Snape glared at Sirius a moment longer before turning to Dumbledore, "Because the last time he did something similar to this was when he murdered the Prewetts. Him planning something alone is NOT good news for us since it gives us no warning."
James looked afraid for a second before he spoke, "Do you think it has anything to do with my sons?"
Snape wore a neutral look as he answered, "Perhaps, but it shouldn't matter. You are protected under the Fidelius, are you not?"
Sirius smirked before turning to James, "Yea, Voldemort will never find them at #8 Main Drive, Godric's Hollow."
There was total silence to his declaration. Not because of the sentence itself, but due to what it meant.
James and Lily went pale white as they stared at Sirius, who once he realized what he said turned white as well. Everyone else noticed their reactions and looked confused.
"James, Lily... what's wrong?" asked Dumbledore in confusion.
It was James that spoke, "He stated the location of our home... he shouldn't be able to."
Snape sneered, "Why not? Isn't he your Secret Keeper and a rather poor one at that. He just blurted it out like it was nothing."
James shook his head frantically, "No! Our Secret Keeper is Peter! The only way Sirius could say it is if Peter is dead or…"
Lily brokenly finished the sentence, "... or... if he betrayed us, therefore breaking the ward."
There was total silence for a moment before James and Lily jumped up and began running toward the fireplace, grabbing a fistful of Floo powder on the way. James yelled out his home's address and stepped into the flames only to be forcefully pushed out.
James was paler than ever, "The Floo is blocked. But that can only mean…"
"NOOO!" Lily screamed in anguish. Without another word, Lily literally flew out the office door and toward the gates in order to apparate, James was hot on her heels. Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore weren't very far behind them, with the rest of the Order members trailing behind since it took a bit longer for them to realize what must have happened.
Lily was the first to leave the gates and apparate home with James only a second behind her. Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus were only a few seconds behind James as they all appeared in time to hear Lily's anguished cry.
"HARRY! NATHAN! My babies, no!" Lily yelled out as she took in the sight of the massive hole in the wall leading toward the twins' room. James was so pale he looked whiter than a Hogwarts ghost but quickly ran after Lily as she rushed into the house and up the stairs. Dumbledore quickly took out his wand in order to use spells so that he could see if there was anything nefarious around. He quickly received the results and it made him both hopeful and ill.
There were no wizards with dark auras around meaning that Voldemort was not present. Another good thing was that his results showed four magical presences inside the house at this moment. Since two were James and Lily that could only mean the other two were the twins so that meant they were fine. However, the very area was saturated with so much dark magic that the Fidelius Charm had a cascading failure, and it would be impossible to create another in this spot. The sheer depth of this betrayal, as well as the dark magic that was used here made it impossible to set up another. There was also a 'stench' of death in the area similar to when the Killing Curse is cast.
Sirius and Remus were setting up wards against muggles as the other order members began arriving and started to take in the sight of the state of the house in shock.
Meanwhile, Lily had rushed into the twins' room only to see Nathan crying and shaking his brother who was lying still on the floor. Thinking the worst, that her beautiful eldest child was dead, Lily broke down crying as she rushed to what she thought was her child's dead body. However, the moment she touched him she felt the warmth in his body and realized he was still alive and sobbed in relief as she gathered Harry into her arms. James had entered and gathered Nathan up in his arms before he turned to Lily with fear in his eyes.
"Harry, is he..."
Lily shook her head but fear grew in her heart as Harry still wouldn't wake, "No, he's fine but he's so weak… Dumbledore! We need you!"
Dumbledore appeared so quickly that for a moment they thought he had apparated. He looked around the room only for his eyes to land on a familiar looking wand lying next to a pile of ash. Having his suspicions confirmed, he looked from one child to the other and spoke, "Let me see them."
Lily allowed Dumbledore to wave his wand over Harry's form first as he checked his health. Dumbledore muttered as he received the results, "His core is extremely weak, probably due to what happened here. There is residual dark magic on his body, but it is only due to being near an extremely dark spell when it was cast. The results say that he wasn't touched by one. Here," Dumbledore took out a blue potion from his robes and siphoned a teaspoon amount from it using his wand before gently making the unconscious Harry drink it, "There we go. He should be right as rain after a good night's rest. Now, let me check over Nathan."
James let Dumbledore repeat the procedure on Nathan and watched as Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up and a twinkle appeared in his eyes. James couldn't help but ask, "What is it, Professor?"
Dumbledore smiled happily, "Nathan's fine, just tired. However, the results say he was touched by a weakened version of an extremely dark spell. If you'd let me check, I can confirm my suspicions."
James reluctantly let Dumbledore take Nathan and watched as Dumbledore looked him over before his eyes landed on Nathan's left cheek. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brighter than ever when he next spoke.
"Lily, James… Nathan has defeated Voldemort!"
James and Lily looked gobsmacked at his declaration. Hesitantly Lily spoke, "Are you sure, Professor?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, my scans show that Voldemort was here and cast the Killing curse, yet he is nowhere to be found now, and the twins are fine. This shows the curse must have backfired on him. The proof is in the fact that his wand was left behind. He would never have left it here otherwise."
James and Lily took a step back as they notice the wand on the ground for the first time.
Dumbledore continued, "The final proof is this," Dumbledore showed them the flame-like scar that went from Nathan's left cheek near his mouth all the way to his neck behind his left ear. "The prophecy says Voldemort will mark him as his equal, and Nathan has a scar that my scans say was touched by a dark spell. Harry also has a scar, but it has no traces of dark magic inside of it. Therefore, I can only conclude that it was Nathan who took the spell head-on and that Harry's scar is simply the result of being nearby at the time."
During his explanation, the other Order members had entered the room and were surprised at his declarations. Suddenly, a voice near the back exclaimed, "The Dark Lord is dead! Nathan is the Boy-Who-Lived!"
As the Order members cheered, James took Nathan back, while Lily continued to fuss over Harry who slept on unaware. Lily laid a kiss on Harry's head and smiled down at him.
"Don't worry, honey. Everything's okay now. I love you and I promise you'll never have to go through pain like this again."
Baby Harry just yawned and cuddled closer to his mother's bosom.
xXx January 5th 1982 xXx
xXx Godric's Hollow xXx
"Is there no other way?" asked a distraught James as he watched Lily hugging a confused and sleepy Nathan closer to her. Beside her, James was carrying a sleeping Harry and looked equally distraught.
Dumbledore looked grave as he shook his head, "I'm sorry, James, but no. The Fidelius cannot be cast again due to what happened that night. Only the Bonds of Blood ward can work."
After what happened Halloween night, James and Lily had thought that the bad times were over. Peter had been quickly captured by Sirius and Remus before being quickly tried and sent to Azkaban. It was lucky Remus had been there, because Sirius had been itching to kill him personally but Remus stopped him.
James had quickly and easily repaired the hole in the twins' room, while Lily and Dumbledore had set about trying to cleanse the dark magic in the air. However, it proved impossible to dispel without simply sending it to another person's house. Unwilling to let another innocent person be affected by the dark magic in the air they had instead caused the dark magic to transfer itself into the ground where the natural magic of the Earth would purify it over ten years. However, this had the unintended side effect of completely destroying the Fidelius around the property and preventing another from being set up.
At first, this seemed like a reasonable consequence considering Voldemort was gone. However, they were soon bombarded by letters from all across Britain thanking Nathan for destroying the Dark Lord. They had been forced to set up a ward that diverted the mail to a room set up for it. It was a good thing they had done so, because soon after they started receiving mail from former Death Eaters filled with curses that were intended to kill little Nathan.
However, the worst news was when they had heard that the Longbottoms had been attacked by the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr. That destroyed any semblance of safety they had and since then Lily started on a downward spiral in regards to her sanity. The combination of being betrayed by Peter, plus the almost daily attempts on Nathan's life by supposedly 'Imperiused' Death Eaters had slowly begun to eat away at her mind. James had been helpless as he watched his once brilliant wife fall into madness and paranoia up and to the point that she no longer slept; instead keeping herself awake with pepper-up potions and coffee. She would constantly be watching over Nathan, afraid that if she left him for even a second, he would be taken from her. It didn't help that her paranoia actually managed to stop a few of the more clever attempts on Nathan's life.
However, when she noticed how she seemed to be favoring Nathan over Harry, she fell further into depression, thinking herself a horrible mother and had become even worse. The fact that Harry had also become more withdrawn in these three months made her think it was because he thought she loved him less than she did Nathan. The thought that her eldest thought that of her made her better for a time, until the next attempt on Nathan's life caused the cycle to begin once more. This was slowly grating on her sanity to the point that she was now an almost gibbering wreck.
They also couldn't move to another house for various reasons. Despite being an Ancient and Noble House, the Potters had never been extremely wealthy unlike the Malfoys or the Blacks. They had a tendency to only have one child, plus the habit of joining the Aurors which, while noble, really didn't pay very much, and had a short life expectancy. It also didn't allow for much accumulation of money. In spite of this, the Potters had used most of what they had in the war against Voldemort. Until after the death of James' parents they basically only had what they made from their jobs.
Despite this fact, they hadn't regretted it until they heard the prophecy. By that time, the only house the Potters had to their name had been the summer home in Godric's Hollow, the other having been destroyed by Voldemort in his search for them. Voldemort had gone one step further by cursing the lands that they owned so as to further lower their income and to prevent them from using the lands as safe houses in the future. It would take decades for any of the lands to become habitable again.
Left with no alternative house and no money to buy another house, the Potters had no choice but to continue to use the one they were currently living in. The fact that they were living in a house that had already been broken into only made things worse on Lily's mind. Sirius couldn't help them because despite being a Black, he had been cast out of the House. While not being disowned meant that he was still heir, this also meant he was unable to access Black funds until his Grandfathers died and he became Lord Black. Considering Sirius's Grandfathers showed no signs of ill health, they couldn't exactly wait on the one in a million chance of them dying within the next few days.
They also couldn't go to live with Remus due to his situation. As cruel as it sounded, the idea of them living in the same home as a werewolf during the full moon would only make Lily more paranoid. The idea of Lily someday cracking and killing Remus in order to protect her children was not as far-fetched as it had been before. The other day she had almost flayed Molly alive because Lily was convinced that the food Molly had cooked for the twins was poisoned.
Dumbledore also couldn't help them. Despite his many titles, he had very little liquid or land assets. His family having sold most of it during his childhood in order to care for his sick younger sister. The Longbottoms had been the only other friends that they had who could have helped them, but Frank's mother needed to sell most of her properties in order to gain the capital to get them the best medical treatment she could, because she was simply too old to manage them. She was also almost as paranoid as Lily and would not allow them to live under the same roof as her last living relative.
All this led to a very tense environment that was bad for everyone, especially the children. Dumbledore had promised to look up a way to protect them from the threats so that Lily could relax and get healthy again, and they had finally found one the other day, however, there was a catch.
"But..." James looked conflicted as he rocked a sleeping Harry, while watching his almost deranged wife coo over Nathan with almost frightening devotion, "... what will happen to Harry? I refuse to abandon my child to the wolves. I'd rather live my life in fear than give him up for adoption or worse, leave him unprotected and away from us, thinking we didn't want him."
Dumbledore looked understanding as looked from the deranged form of Lily over to James, "Perhaps you could. But what about Lily?"
It was a low blow but no less truthful for being so. James felt like crying as he saw his once brilliant wife being reduced to this. He HAD to give her some peace of mind, but at the same time, he had to make sure Harry was going to be safe, "So we just sacrifice Harry then?! No! I won't let Harry be tossed aside!"
Dumbledore raised his hands in defense, "I know James, but there is no other choice. The Bonds of Blood ward only protects a maximum of three magical people related by blood at any one time. The only exception is if a child is conceived and born within the ward while it was already up. It is old enough that the cursed lands won't forbid it from being set up, but also powerful enough that no one could break it except for the original caster. But don't worry, we won't give Harry up for adoption, and he'll be safe. I'm going to set up another Bonds of Blood ward around your wife's sister's house and we can leave him there. The ward can cover either three magicals or one magical and four muggles so he will be safe there. It has to be Harry since his brother is the main focus of the attacks. If we were to try and put Nathan there Lily would only become worse. Nathan is the cause for her condition, the best Mind Healers have told me that with assurances of Nathan's safety combined with the fact that the ward won't allow any other persons to enter it will slowly bring her back to normal."
James looked slightly relieved at this information, but had to ask one more thing, "Will we be able to visit him? I mean, once Lily gets better."
Dumbledore shook his head sadly, "No, I'm sorry. The ward is constantly adapting so that it can cover all threats. If you visited, it would register you as his blood and try to cover you in its protection as well. The conflicting wards would cause both sets of wards to fail, making the entire point moot. It also keeps any magical beings other than those protected or related by blood to those protected from coming near the place of residence. Not even magical owls would be able to get to him as long as he was within a thousand yards of the house. This means NO wizard can visit either of you. You will be cut off and alone unless you were to visit others away from your home, and that would also be good for Lily."
James looked slightly unsettled, "But Petunia? Are you really sure? Lily always says that Petunia doesn't like her and I'm afraid she might try and take it out on Harry."
Dumbledore's response was cut off as Lily stopped cooing only to look up at James and Dumbledore with red eyes and an almost crazed expression, "Is Harry okay? He's being very quiet."
James went over to her and gave her a consoling hug, "He's fine. We're... gonna make sure he's safe and that no one is going to hurt him. But... that means we won't be able to see him for a while. Is that okay?"
Lily looked uncomprehendingly at James before speaking, "But Harry is fine. No one wants to hurt him... only my baby Nathan. Is Nathan going to be okay?"
It was a sign of how far gone she was that she barely worried over Harry's safety, where once he was her unofficial favorite, "Yes, Nathan will be safe. So... you're okay with sending him to Petunia... your sister?"
Lily just nodded and turned back to watch over Nathan with a crazed devotion.
Dumbledore forced a smile before turning to James, "I'm sure Lily's sister would not be so petty as to hurt Harry out of jealousy of Lily. She has a son his age as well, and I'm sure she'll treat him just like she treats her own son. Either way, I will research ways to expand the ward so that Harry can return to live with you."
James looked conflicted but eventually nodded.
Dumbledore nodded and stood up, "We should do this as soon as possible. We'll do it tonight. I'll take Harry to his aunt's and then come back to cast the ward here."
At that, James glared at Dumbledore, "Can't you wait a few days so that we can say goodbye to our son? Lily will never forgive me if I don't allow her to say goodbye to Harry."
Dumbledore sighed and looked his age, "I'm sorry but no. We cannot risk someone getting wind of our plans and stopping us before it can be implemented. The ward also has to be put up tonight so that it can draw on the power of the New Year before it disappears entirely. It is still early in January so some of the residual power will still be around to make it stronger."
James looked defeated at this news and turned to Lily, "Lily-flower? Don't you want to say goodbye to Harry?"
Lily looked up and her eyes cleared for a brief few seconds as she placed a kiss on Harry's sleeping head, "Goodbye, Harry. Mommy's going to be a good mommy and protect Nathan. I'll see you later."
James realized that was probably the best that he could hope for and gave Harry over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore said his goodbyes and walked out of the house before apparating.
As soon as the old man had left though, James felt as if his own heart had shattered into a million pieces. He looked to Lily and could only hoped that this had been a good decision.
xXx Privet Drive, Surrey xXx
Dumbledore appeared with a silent pop! in front of Number 4. He took a moment to look around and make sure there weren't any witnesses before walking over to the porch of Number 4.
Dumbledore then conjured another blanket and a wicker basket which he placed the still sleeping Harry inside of. Dumbledore hesitated for a moment before he started casting spells over Harry.
The first was a basic warming charm to keep Harry warm in this cold January night. The second was an advanced protection spell that would protect Harry from any harm by automatically transporting him to Hogwarts, specifically to his office, if anyone with ill intent approached the boy. Both would only last until morning, but by then Petunia would have found him.
Dumbledore hesitated once more before steeling his heart for the second part. He cast a very rare and almost unknown spell that would disintegrate the twin bond between Harry and Nathan over time. By the time morning came, it would have completely disappeared. Dumbledore did this for two reasons, one was to save both any heartache from being able to feel each other's presence while also being unable to communicate or even understand what they were feeling. The second reason was far colder. He could not risk Nathan using the twin bond in order to draw power from Harry. Nathan was powerful enough as it was already; if he called upon Harry's power as well, even unconsciously, he may be too powerful to control if he were to go down Tom's path. The prophecy did say that he would have to kill; something that Dumbledore was completely against. It wouldn't take much to say Nathan could rise to take Voldemort's place. It was a chance Dumbledore wasn't willing to take.
The last spell Dumbledore cast was a memory suppression charm. It didn't erase the memories but rather made them fuzzy and hard to remember. It only worked for the last 24 hours but it was enough for Dumbledore's plans. Harry would think that his parents had abandoned him and that would make it much harder to reconnect with his parents when he finally returned. Then Dumbledore would come in as the understanding grandfather and he would be able to make sure Harry took his place watching over the wizarding world. He'd mold him into a copy of himself; one that would forgive.
Dumbledore nodded his head at a job well done. Dumbledore then cast a mail redirection ward before starting to cast the Bonds of Blood ward.
Despite what he had said, owls would still be able to find Harry if they tried hard enough. The mail-redirection ward made sure Harry wasn't influenced by any other magical until it came time for him to go to Hogwarts. It wouldn't do for someone else to put ideas into Harry's head and possible turn him down a path Dumbledore hadn't chosen. This was for the Greater Good, after all.
Dumbledore then took a pre-written letter explaining the circumstances to the Dursleys and left it in Harry's blanket; putting a Sticking Charm on it so it wouldn't fly off. It would be undone the moment a muggle touched it.
His job done, Dumbledore gave Harry a sad smile before disappearing with a pop!
Harry slept on, completely unaware of what the future had in store for the true Chosen One.
xXxXxXx
AN (DalkonCledwin): Okay folks, so here is the finished and remastered chapter 1 of this story. Please read and review to tell me what you all think.
For those who are interested, the finalized (at least for now) list of girls in the harem will be as follows: Jean Grey, Wanda Maximoff, Emma Frost, Elizabeth Braddock (Psylocke), Selene Gallio, Illyana Rasputina, Doreen Green, and Fleur Delacour. I am not really planning on adding anyone else to this list, so please don't ask me to.
For those of you who remember the original story, you may be confused as to why Ayesha was cut from the list of girls in the harem? Well that was because Angeldoctor and I decided that we really didn't want both Ayesha AND the Phoenix Entity in the Harem as they both kind of fulfill the same niche within the Harem. While Illyana and Selene semi-overlap, they also each have enough unique features that I can get away with including them. Meanwhile with Ayesha and the Phoenix Entity, we are basically dealing with two Cosmic Entities, and at that point things just get absurdly easy to deal with instead of actually presenting a challenge… and I am actually going to have trouble presenting these people with a challenge since Doreen Green is in the harem, so adding TWO Cosmic Entities just won't work.