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In another world, the prophecy speaks of a boy born at the end of July. It is a prophecy that has two options, that offers a choice, and the Dark Lord chooses the half-blood to mark as his equal.
In another world, Severus Snape seeks out the aid of Albus Dumbledore. He is no longer friends with Lily Evans, now Potter, and has no lost love for James Potter, so would not dare to warn them directly, knowing he wouldn’t be believed if he tried. Instead, he pleads for their protection from Dumbledore, then from Voldemort, though in the end, his efforts do not spare her life.
In this world, the prophecy is slightly different. It tells of a boy born at the start of June, and for this, there is only boy that the Dark Lord knows of, and it is a boy born of two of his followers.
In this world, Severus Snape still seeks out the aid of Albus Dumbledore, but it is for a different matter, and he is not alone when he does so - but that is for later.
In this world, Severus Snape is friends with Lucius Malfoy, and has been acquainted with Narcissa Malfoy since she was still a Black. He had been named the godfather of Draco Malfoy, and had no compulsions against telling the Malfoys directly of the danger they were in. So he does - he tells Lucius and Narcissa what he has heard, what the Dark Lord now knows. He looks at them with desperation and tells them please hide, you must stay safe, you must, please.
Narcissa looks back at him with an even expression, her stance as poised and proper as ever, and says, he plans to harm my son?
Severus nods. Narcissa smiles, and asks again, he plans to harm my son?
Her expression is something deadly and Severus stands, unmoving, frozen in place by the gaze of a predator. He is viscerally reminded that the Blacks are not to be trifled with. She turns to Lucius, and a promise passes between them. (For all that their marriage had been arranged, there is genuine love between them, and they are partners - in love and life, for love and life.)
Well, she says, that just won’t do.
In every world, for all their faults, Lucius and Narcissa love their son. Family has always been the most important value - above their beliefs of superiority, above any devotion to the Dark Lord, above any threats made towards them - and the Blacks have always been a vicious sort. Not to mention, Narcissa is not the only Black who was sympathetic to the Dark Lord and changed their mind.
There was another who did so much earlier.
In another world, Severus Snape knows of Regulus Black. They are acquainted, but not close - Regulus has always looked too much like his brother for Severus to ever consider him a friend. It’s not any fault on Regulus’s part, in fact, they are cordial at the start. But after Sixth Year, Severus can’t look at Regulus without seeing Sirius, gray eyes gleeful and vindictive, and his mind is overrun with the same thoughts of, you set me up to die, oh god, you tried to murder me, you monster.
In this world, Severus Snape is friends with Regulus Black. Despite his misgivings towards Regulus’s older brother, and Regulus’s misgivings about his status as a half-blood, there is just enough trust between them for Severus to share - in the private, dark corners of the Manor - that he is having doubts. Regulus looks at him for a long moment, silent and considering, and does not provide any form of agreement. (Nor does he tell the Dark Lord of Severus’s admission.)
In another world, Regulus learns of Voldemort’s horcruxes, and whispers into the darkness of the night, something must be done about this. Regulus tells only his house elf, Kreacher, of his plans. Regulus is unable to destroy the horcrux on his own, so settles for hiding it, hoping that another will accomplish the deed where he could not. He leaves a fake in the cave he was meant to hide the real one, along with a note, but does not manage to leave the cave himself.
In this world, when Regulus learns of Voldemort’s horcruxes and whispers something must be done about this, Severus is there to hear his assertion, and says back, just as quietly, yes, it must.
Severus would research ways to destroy a horcrux, courtesy of the Black library, and would learn exactly how vile soul magic is. Regulus would transfigure a fake locket, and place the real horcrux in a magical lockbox, keeping it disillusioned where the Dark Lord would not find it.
Their attempts at destruction would be unsuccessful, but they are determined to succeed given time. Regulus would complete the transfiguration of the fake and the two of them would set off for the cave to hide it there. If the Dark Lord decides to check his hiding spot, the fake will prevent them from being discovered, it will buy them time.
In another world, Regulus would order Kreacher to go back to Grimmauld Place, taking the real horcrux and leaving the fake. He would consume the Draught of Despair himself to prevent Kreacher from suffering again. He would fight the inferi in the lake for as long as he was able, though would ultimately succumb to the cave’s defenses, and be dragged to his death.
In this world, Regulus and Severus would leave the fake locket in the basin, and when the inferi attacked them, Regulus would call for Kreacher in desperation, though would not expect a response due to the wards around the cave. One thing to note: elf magic is different to wizard magic, and while Regulus and Severus could not apparate in or out of the cave, Kreacher did not have the same issue.
Kreacher would not need any further prompting to rescue them. Master Regulus had called upon him, and Kreacher had arrived to see his Master in danger. That wouldn’t do, Kreacher decided, and he would make the proactive decision to apparate them out of the cave, away from the inferi, away from danger, back to Regulus’s bedroom.
Severus would try to stand and fail, injured and exhausted, bracing himself on the bedpost beside him. Regulus would take a breath to still his shaking hands before asking, what now?
Severus would not have a response, but Kreacher would.
Dark Lord Voldemort tried to kill Master Regulus, Kreacher would say, shaking his head disapprovingly. The answer was simple in his mind. Dark Lord Voldemort is no good. Kreacher makes sure Master Regulus is safe. Master Regulus not safe while the Dark Lord lives.
And no further words need to be spoken.
In this world, Regulus lives beyond the age of eighteen. The knowledge of the secret to the Dark Lord’s immortality did not die with him, as he did not die at all. Regulus goes to his mother and says, the Dark Lord Voldemort tried to kill me. It is technically true, he had nearly died in that cave, and Kreacher can attest to it. Walburga is not happy to learn about that.
The Black Family opinion on Voldemort changes from this man is our path to cleansing our world of filth to this man needed to be dead yesterday.
Narcissa accepts this rather quickly, and Lucius is the only one to realize that she’s actually relieved at this turn of events, though Regulus has his suspicions. Bellatrix, on the other hand, is somewhat disappointed. She was quite fond of the Dark Lord, but when push comes to shove, she’s always been loyal to her family. (Her loyalty can be considered fanatic, and in another life, one where she was less ruthless, the Sorting Hat may have put her in Hufflepuff.)
Regulus approaches Narcissa in secret with the whisper of: I know the secret to the Dark Lord’s immortality, will you help me?
Tell me everything, Narcissa replies, and Regulus does.
In a secret room of Malfoy Manor, one that has been warded heavily for privacy, five people plot the death of Voldemort. It is not the most civil of meetings - Bellatrix’s love for Narcissa and Regulus does not quite overshadow her hatred of Severus - but they make it work.
Regulus tells them what he and Severus have learned of the horcruxes and the locket he was given.
Lucius is silent for a moment, then clears his throat and says, the Dark Lord gave me a diary, it may also be a horcrux.
Bellatrix smirks triumphantly and says, that makes three of us.
Severus raises an eyebrow and says, it seems there’s a pattern.
Narcissa sits up straighter, smiles at Severus, and says, he hasn’t given you one, yet.
Regulus knows her plotting face when he sees it and says, let’s get started then.
In this world, the next part of the story plays out similar to how it did in another world, if not a bit earlier. Severus would overhear a prophecy - though this one spoke of a child born as the sixth month flourishes rather than as the seventh month dies - and the information would be shared with Voldemort to gain his favor.
In this world, this was a deliberate plan to get Voldemort to trust him fully - Regulus was trusted with the locket, Lucius was trusted with the diary, Bellatrix was trusted with the cup - that is three horcruxes in their possession already and if Voldemort trusts another to Severus, that makes four. Regulus has no idea how many Voldemort has made or plans to make, but based on Severus’s research and his arithmancy, he does not think it is possible to create more than seven.
Unfortunately, it is not until after the prophecy is delivered that Severus realizes the subject of the prophecy is Draco Malfoy, and so he goes to Lucius and Narcissa with his pleas of: you need to hide, please, stay safe, please, I’m sorry for putting you in danger.
Narcissa looks at him with the words he plans to harm my son and we’re already standing against him written along her dangerous smile, and turns to Lucius. Severus decides, in that moment, that it would be futile to argue against her, and their rebellion group of five meets once again to update their plan.
Lucius had lived in Malfoy Manor since he was a child, and Narcissa had made it a home for herself long before the Dark Lord decided it would also serve as his base of operations.
Lucius would be told of the target that had been placed on his son. He would look at Severus - the godfather of his child, yet also the one who had set the Dark Lord upon them - then, he would look at his wife, he would bury his anger (at least, for the moment), and he would make a decision.
Severus goes before the Dark Lord and gives nothing away as he bows - sharing a piece of information he had “overheard” and stressing its importance - telling him, it could win you the war, my Lord, it is worth looking into. And Voldemort would be occupied by a false lead, trusting the words of what he believed to be a faithful servant.
Narcissa would hold the words he plans to harm my son and he tried to kill my cousin close to her heart. Bellatrix would be conflicted, but Narcissa was always her favorite sister, and Regulus was her favorite baby cousin (though there wouldn’t be much competition on that front, considering her other baby cousin was Sirius), so the Dark Lord really couldn’t compare.
Lucius would call a meeting for all the Death Eaters to gather in the dining hall, for he had the authority to do so, as Voldemort’s right hand, and he would say, you are no longer welcome here, leave now, or be vacated.
There would be a moment of confusion - a scattering of disbelieving laughter - before they would catch on and realize that Lucius was not joking. Shouts of anger would be quick to erupt, and despite it all, Narcissa would look as prim and proper as a pureblood woman should be, standing behind her husband, as a Death Eater yelled, traitors, all of you!
Which Death Eater said it would be irrelevant, because Narcissa would smile at them all the same, raising her wand quicker than they could blink, and say Avada Kedavra.
Chaos would break out fully then - everyone in that room would possess the willingness and the motivation to kill - and Dark wizards from the House of Black and Malfoy are feared for a reason.
In another world, Severus Snape sought out the aid of Albus Dumbledore, and Dumbledore met him at a windy hilltop, allowing him to make his pleas. Later, he would trust Severus to spy for him - for the Order - although those circumstances would contain a different prophecy and a different child in danger.
In this world, Severus Snape still seeks out the aid of Albus Dumbledore, though he is accompanied by Regulus Black, and instead of making pleas, they present the locket. Dumbledore looks at the two of them with wary eyes, but scans the locket all the same, recognizing it as a founder’s artifact and the taint of Dark magic on it. He already had suspicions of the types of magic Tom Riddle had dabbled in since his Hogwarts years.
Dumbledore sighs and says, this is not the only one he has made, I gather?
Severus tells him no, and that they were unsuccessful in their attempts to destroy the locket. Regulus adds that they have found two others like it, but does not tell him how they came across those horcruxes. Dumbledore gives them a long look and tells them that he would like to share this information with the Order. Regulus and Severus share a look, but ultimately agree, and they are bound “as a precaution” before Dumbledore takes them to a building they don’t recognize.
Regulus suppresses his grumbling, and knows that Severus is less-than-pleased beside him, but both of them believe in the necessity of this; and besides, both he and Severus are wearing rings that double as portkeys - Narcissa’s insistence - that would take them to the private room at Malfoy Manor, so they have an escape route if the Order doesn’t listen.
Dumbledore calls a meeting and the Order is confused to be called to a location that is not their main headquarters, though confusion is quickly overridden by the shock at the presence of two suspected Death Eaters. Dumbledore quells their arguing and explains that Regulus and Severus have vital information, and have already risked much coming to him.
Dumbledore presents the locket, placing it on the table as he explains what it is. Sirius scoffs, and glares at Regulus, claiming that of course he has Dark artifacts, the snake, and casts a reducto on the locket. The table underneath it is splintered to pieces, but the locket remains undamaged.
The Order stands in disbelief. Dumbledore repairs the table with a wordless wave of his wand and continues explaining, calm as ever, that Regulus and Severus have agreed to take veritaserum to prove their claims. Lily looks at Severus with a frown, trying to meet his eyes and understand. Sirius’s expression twists unpleasantly but stays silent.
Once they have both taken a drop of veritaserum, Sirius would sneer and say, so Reg, was sucking Voldemort’s dick not as fun as you thought it would be?
Being dosed with veritaserum would not stop Regulus from saying, oh, fuck you, Sirius, but it would compel him to add, I hate that I still love you.
And Sirius would be struck silent.
The rest of the interrogation would cover Severus and Regulus leaving a fake locket in the cave, Regulus telling Walburga that Voldemort tried to kill him, the Black Family turning against the Dark Lord - though the Order was resistant to believing it, despite the veritaserum - and their plans to cause Voldemort’s demise.
At the end of it, Sirius would look at Severus and say, what was your reason for switching sides, Snivvy?
Severus would sneer, but would be compelled to respond all the same: Regulus, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco - and the Dark Lord is insane.
Lily would ask, then why did you join in the first place?
Lucius, Narcissa, Regulus, Severus would say again, and I wasn’t keen on joining any group Black was part of - there would be scoffs of his pettiness before Severus would add - not after he tried to murder me.
Lily would frown again and ask, murder?
Severus’s eyes would flicker to Remus Lupin for a moment - and Remus would stiffen - before he would reply, sixth year, and I can’t say more, the Headmaster forbade it.
There would be mutterings of what is he talking about but Dumbledore would administer the antidote to the veritaserum and start to usher them out. The Order would disperse, to talk among themselves in smaller groups, and it would just be Dumbledore, Regulus, and Severus left in the room.
Wait, Regulus would say, we plan on killing him today.
And that would give Dumbledore pause.
Oh? Dumbledore would say. Do you now?
Severus would wave a hand, a vague gesture that was meant as a yes, and they would set off to meet Lucius, Narcissa, and Bellatrix at Malfoy Manor. The wards of Malfoy Manor would have been altered beforehand, just slightly, allowing Severus Snape and Regulus Black to lead Albus Dumbledore inside.
He would be led to the dining hall, and Regulus would push the door open to reveal a room filled with the dead. Dumbledore would look upon the scene of blood and corpses and his gaze would first flicker to Bellatrix Black Lestrange, then to Lucius Malfoy, standing tall next to his wife, then to Narcissa Black Malfoy.
Narcissa would be breathing slightly harder than what would be considered proper - her makeup smudged and hair mussed - but she would still smile politely at the headmaster and say, they threatened my son, surely you understand?
And Dumbledore would not drop his calm facade, but he would incline his head in her direction, and say, love is a powerful magic indeed.
Bellatrix would roll her eyes at their back and forth exchange, push up her sleeve to press a finger to her Mark, and say, let’s get on with this already.
Her Mark would burn as she called the Dark Lord, and he would apparate in, face morphing into fury the moment he processed the scene - his supposed closest followers summoning him into the middle of a room where the rest of his inner council lies dead and Albus Dumbledore is standing at the doorway. He doesn’t have time to react however, because Narcissa is casting a cutting curse at him, putting enough power behind it to take his head off.
Severus looks at Narcissa with an expression that’s something between impressed and amused. Narcissa looks back at him and smirks. She may have cast it wordlessly, but he knows what spell she used (because he’s the one who showed it to her first).
Voldemort’s body falls to the floor, his head rolling under the table, and the room is filled with a piercing scream that has all the living inhabitants in the room casting a silencing charm or a shield charm (or both). A wraith rises from the corpse - with angry red eyes and screeching mouth - rushing towards Dumbledore and out the door.
Well then, Narcissa says.
Bellatrix’s sleeve is still rolled up, and her Mark had faded from a lurid black to a muted gray. Severus, Lucius, and Regulus don’t check theirs at the moment, not with Dumbledore standing there, but their Marks have faded as well.
He’s not dead, Bellatrix says, pointing out the obvious.
It’s not like he’s in any position to get a new body any time soon, Regulus says. We have time.
I agree, Mr Black, Dumbledore says. On that note…
Events go pretty quickly from there on out. Lucius takes care of the clean up - or rather, Lucius orders the elves to clean up the dining hall - and they talk out a plan to find and destroy the rest of the horcruxes. A majority of the most involved Death Eaters are already dead, but between Lucius and Bellatrix, they come up with a list of any other allies that might attempt to seek out Voldemort’s resurrection.
Dumbledore brings the list to the Order to handle arrests and takes up the public announcements that Voldemort has been vanquished. There is no use in worrying the Wizarding World at large about Voldemort’s potential return. He is sure that any traces of Tom Riddle can be fully destroyed before that ever becomes an issue.
The public has mixed opinions of the events told - that Narcissa Black Malfoy was the one to defeat him despite Albus Dumbledore being present does not sit well with many - though the inclusion of prophecy was never mentioned in any iteration of the story, only that Voldemort had threatened her son. There are trials as well: Bellatrix and Lucius receive house arrest, wands monitored but not snapped; Regulus, Severus, and Narcissa get off lightly for being mostly uninvolved in the violence, as well as being supported by Dumbledore’s claims of their assistance in Voldemort’s demise.
In another world, the boy who lived would be stashed away with his muggle relatives, far from the magical world. The threat of Voldemort would not be his concern, not until he turned eleven and was thrust into a world of magic and fame.
In this world, the threat of Voldemort would not fall to school children, but to five people that had defected from the Dark Lord’s side. Between dodging interviews from nosy reporters who want to know the “real story” of their decision to turn against Voldemort, they would continue their search for horcruxes.
Regulus is the one who works out the Gaunt Ring; the Dark Lord often claimed to be descended from Slytherin himself, and Regulus had the family tree of every pureblood memorized, so it wasn’t too difficult to narrow down family heirlooms from there. Severus works out the diadem because, really, there’s Slytherin’s locket and Hufflepuff’s cup, and he’s pretty sure that the Dark Lord would have destroyed Gryffindor’s artifact, so that left Ravenclaw. A talk with Helena Ravenclaw’s ghost and a tedious search through the Room of Requirement later, and they had obtained their fifth horcrux.
That’s five, Regulus would say, so there’s potentially two more out there.
Severus would ask, how are we meant to track down the last ones?
Narcissa would point out that just because seven is likely the maximum he could create does not mean he had the opportunity to do so, and besides, how were they meant to know if there even were more horcruxes than they had already found?
Bellatrix would scoff and say, didn’t anyone look into magic that could do the searching for you?
And that would give Regulus an idea. He would remember that he and Severus weren’t able to apparate out of the cave, but Kreacher was able to. Elf magic is different to wizard magic, and he thinks that could be the key.
Regulus would call for Kreacher, and Kreacher would apparate in, ready to serve. He would explain their dilemma and Kreacher would nod and say, the magic of the locket and diary and cup and diadem and ring all feel the same - dark and heavy and dirty.
Narcissa would ask if he had ever come across any other items that felt like that. Kreacher would say no, and they would ask the other elves of Grimmauld the same question. The answer would also be no. Lucius would call in the elves of Malfoy Manor, since Voldemort had been using his home as a headquarters, just to be sure. They would be uncomfortable with the feel of the magic coming from the horcruxes, but they would all claim that they had not felt anything like that other than the diary.
So it’s just these five, Regulus would say with a note of relief.
Bellatrix would offer a sardonic smile and say, I think you’re forgetting something - finding them is useless if you can’t destroy them.
Narcissa and Bellatrix would share a look, and Narcissa would make a careless gesture, and point at their pile of collected horcruxes with her wand before suggesting, just use fiendfyre.
Severus would startle at the assertion and protest, fiendfyre is dangerous - if it gets out of control, none of us would be able to stop it.
Regulus would roll his eyes and turn to Kreacher again to ask, can you put out fiendfyre?
Of course, Master Regulus, Kreacher would reply. House elf magic can contain fiendfyre if it is not too big.
Well, Lucius would say, leaning back in his chair, that solves that.
And Narcissa would ask, what are we waiting for?
Bellatrix would not wait. She would set the pile of horcruxes ablaze, and the cacophony of screams - from both the dying soul pieces and the startled people in the room with her - would only fuel her laughter. Regulus would shout for Kreacher to put out the flames, and he would. Narcissa would cast a spell to clear the smoke from the room, but she would share a smile with Bellatrix - though her expression was more muted compared to the manic grin on her sister’s face.
So, Regulus would say, staring at the pile of ash on the floor.
So, Severus would echo, with nothing else to say.
Narcissa would wrinkle her nose at the mess and ask, what do we do with this?
Toss it through the veil of death, Regulus would suggest, and Kreacher would obey, interpreting the lighthearted joke as an order. No one would notice the stone from the Gaunt ring had survived the fiendfyre, though, in all honesty, it was probably for the best. It would be tossed through the veil all the same.
In another world, Voldemort would have made two more horcruxes - Nagini and Harry. He would return thirteen years after being vanquished by the sacrifice Lily Potter made to protect her child and would be defeated, for good, several years after his resurrection, though not without taking numerous lives in the second war.
In this world, Voldemort would be defeated several months after he was vanquished by Narcissa Black Malfoy. His wraith had made its way to Albania where he sought out suitable people to possess, but lacked the power to do so in his current state. The destruction of his five horcruxes would mean the destruction to his only tethers to the living realm, and weak as he was, his wraith was easily banished by a wizard who was scared of ghosts and sent a charm to dispel spirits at him.
In this world, Voldemort would be defeated, just like he would in so many other worlds, and this would not be where the story would end. The story would continue with two brothers and three sisters working through the mess of their family. It would continue with the reconciliation of old friendships and the development of new ones. It would continue with children growing up with their parents - parents who were alive and well to raise them.
And the story would continue on until they were all able to make a life for themselves and write their own happy endings.