A Different Halloween
By: Accalia Silvermoon

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! If I did, Remus would have married Harry instead of Nymphadora Tonks!

Chapter One: October 31, 1981

James and Lily Potter sat on the couch in the living room of their cottage in Godric's Hollow.
Their fifteen-month-old son, Harry, sat on his father's knee, giggling as the man made brightly colored bubbles come out of his wand and float around the toddler.
Suddenly, the one-year-old began crying as a loud bang sounded outside.

Handing Harry to Lily, who immediately began singing to him in an effort to calm the child down, James crossed over to the window and pulled back the curtains.
Walking swiftly up the path toward the house was a tall cloaked figure with glowing red eyes.
James's heart stopped. How the hell had Voldemort found them?
Then it came to him. Peter. Peter had betrayed them. He was going to kill that traitorous rat.

Quickly moving away from the window, James turned toward his wife and son.
"Lily, take Harry and go!" he whispered quickly. "It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"
Lily nodded, her eyes filled with tears, and raced upstairs with Harry clutched tightly to her chest.

The door burst open and James ran into the hall.
Standing in the doorway was none other than Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort.
James instantly reached for his wand, but before his hand could make contact with his pocket, Voldemort had fired off a Stunning spell.

Stepping over the unconscious man, Voldemort started up the stairs.
Hearing the sound of heavy objects being moved in the second room on the right, he smirked and blasted open the door.

Lily immediately started pleading for her child's life to be spared.
"Not Harry! Not Harry!" she begged, tears streaming down her face.
"Stand aside!" Voldemort snarled. "Stand aside, girl!"
Lily shook her head defiantly. "Not Harry!" she sobbed. "Please, I'll do anything!"
The Dark Lord sighed and raised his wand again, pointing it at the desperate mother. "Stupefy!" he said, almost lazily, and watched as the redhead fell to the floor, unconscious like her husband.

Voldemort walked over to the crib and stared down at the frightened baby sitting there, screaming at the top of his lungs with his arms around a stuffed stag, dog, and wolf.
"Time to die, baby Potter!" he said, raising his wand a third time. "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of green light shot from his wand and hit the toddler in the forehead.
Baby Harry's terrified wails were instantly silenced as he fell lifelessly onto his back, his beautiful emerald eyes closing forever.

Voldemort sneered at the child who now lay dead in his crib.
Then, the Dark Lord crossed over to the open window and stuck his wand out, pointing it up at the clear night sky. "MORSMORDRE!" he shouted before disapparating.