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Chapter Text

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…”

As Voldemort sat in his study, pondering about these words his faithful follower had brought him, he came to a conclusion. 

This prophecy could only apply to either the Potters or the Longbottoms, both of whom fit the criteria. Of course he was angry that Severus had not heard the rest of the prophecy, as that could very well have helped him identify which of the two families will bear his supposed vanquisher, but alas, he hadn’t and Voldemort had to deal with what he got.

The Dark Lord knew that he didn’t fully have Snape under his thumb, so him hearing this specific part of the prophecy could very well be intentional. Perhaps Dumbledore wanted him to impulsively act on it and kill either of the newborns and their family. 

He wouldn’t, of course, since he knew prophecies were to be taken seriously and if this one was true, than it would not be as simple as to merely kill a child.

“Power the Dark Lord knows not”, whatever could that mean? Voldemort had always been a studious person, striving to find answers to questions not yet asked, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to revive this forgotten trait of his. 

In his head formed a plan, so very different to what one would expect that it surely had to work. He would take the child with him and raise it as his own. He would find out about the proclaimed power and use it to his own advantage.

So now, only one question remained: Which of the two would he take?

One was a pure blood, born to two blood traitors, the other a halfblood of the idiotic Potter heir. On one hand, a pureblood would surely be more powerful having inherited magic from both  parents, while the others blood would be stained by his mother. But, he must remember that he, himself was a halfblood aswell and since he was supposed to mark him as his equal, the Potter boy seemed more fitting.

It was then that he remembered something important about the Potters. They were rumored to be direct descendants of the Peverells, who in turn were rumored to possess the three hallows. His goal of immortality not forgotten, he knew that if he got his hands on all three of them, he could finally master and escape death, without having to face consequences like he had to with the Horcruxes.

So it was decided. On the 31st of October, he would find the Potters, kill them, and take their son in as his own.

Chapter Text

06.08.1980

Of course it wasn’t that easy. Dumbledore wasn’t so dumb as to let the Potters stay without any protection.
Sitting at his Desk, the Dark Lord thought about how to move forward. He thought about what went wrong the days before.

First, he had gone to where he thought the Potters lived, but there was nothing. No magical trace anywhere in the whole village that was Godric’s Hollow. He had searched for it in every house he passed, but nothing. 
So - frustrated, but not willing to give up - he had apparated back to his hideout and questioned every one of his inner circle members for information. Well, questioned was a loose term, since he had crucio’d them all, even when he had known there were more effective methods, just to see the fear and pain in their eyes, before giving in and using mind magic instead. 

But even his most trusted magic could not give him the answers he desired, so he had ventured further out. Anyone that knew the Potters and wasn’t blinded by their loyalty to Dumbledore was captured and questioned the same way his loyal servants were, though some of them had been so weak, they couldn’t even stand a mere minute under the Cruciatus Curse.

The only people who stood out among all those were the Longbottoms. The Dark Lord could see why their son might have become his enemy, as both of them lasted over half an hour under the curse, before inevitably turning… well insane was probably the best description. 
One could have considered this a mistake on his part, as afterwards they were incapable of producing even one logical thought, but their screams had just been so delightful that he couldn’t stop.

In the end, their minds wouldn’t have given him anything useful anyways, as his dear Bella captured Peter Pettigrew, or as he liked to call himself Wormtail. He was one of Potters closest friends, so Voldemort had not thought he would give him up so easily, but who was he to complain?

Wormtail spilled within seconds of the Torturing Curse, explaining how the Potters house was under a Fidelius Charm, and luckily, he was the secret keeper. Voldemort decided then to give him the Dark Mark, as even though he was more of a pathetic creature than man, he realized that a) he could be a useful servant and b) he couldn’t let him go, as there was a chance he would run right to Dumbledore, and Voldemort couldn’t have that obviously.

Even though he now held the crucial information of the Potters’ location, his previous mistakes made him realize something. Or more like remember one of his own ancestor’s traits: resourcefulness. How could he have been driven so far by his goal to forget his roots? Of course he couldn’t dive head first in and expect it to go well. He had been successful enough with his method of making people fear him and taking everything with force, that he forgot the simple and most rewarding method of manipulation.

So he did what he had to: he planned.

———

The first thing he realized after his change of plans was, that the Potters likely weren’t even back from St. Mungos the day of his visit, perhaps they weren’t even back now? They could have added certain protections or maybe they even got to know of Peter’s betrayal and chose a new secret keeper.

If that were the case, his plan was thoroughly fucked, but that was a problem for later. For now he had to make sure they didn’t hear of Pettigrew‘s betrayal, while also gathering as much information on the newborn as possible.

So he called Wormtail into his study and mere seconds later the cowering idiot arrived, looking as much a rat as his animagus form did, after only a few days in the cells.

“Wormtail,” he called out after a short suspense “do you know why I called you here?” He looked at Wormtail with disgust in his eyes, who didn’t even notice, since his eyes were looking at the floor like it was their saving grace. “N-no, my Lord, I do n-not,” he answered after a while still not daring to look up. 
“Well, you know what happened last week, don’t you? Little Potter came into this world, and you haven’t even graced your dear friends with your presence. Don’t you think they’re worried about you?”, the Dark Lord asked mockingly.

“I’m s-sorry my Lord, I’ll fix my mistake right away.”

“Oh, but you haven’t even heard what I want from you, or do you think you can decide that on your own?”

“Of course not, my Lord, I w-would never doubt you. Please tell m-me my task.”, came the answer from the still quivering Wormtail. “Ordering me around now are you? My my, maybe I’ll have to show you your place yet again. Perhaps the few days in the cellar weren’t enough for you?”

Wormtail nearly started crying at the voice of his master, while the Dark Lord merely sat there and enjoyed the power he had.

“Well, let’s not dwell on that any longer shall we. Severus will give you a Portkey to St. Mungo’s and once you return to the Potters you will tell them how you would’ve loved to be there for them, but sadly something came up. Then, you shall find out anything about the child you can and report back to me. Is that clear?” he said, mockingly drawing out the loved.

“Yes my Lord, of course my Lord”, Wormtail responded, after which he quickly ran out of the room.

———

Severus, who had been called into the Dark Lords study earlier to be informed of his task, waited outside said office to see Wormtail of. He never liked the pathetic boy and his even more pathetic little group, thinking they can go around bullying him without any consequences. 

Well, he mused, they sure got their consequences now, with dear little Potter soon being taken from them and Wormtail being miles beneath him in terms of their standing with the Dark Lord.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he remembered what he came here for originally and noticed how the panic seeped back into his bones.

Lily.

His dear Lily. Being killed and having her son taken away. All because of him. His own stupidity. His own choices.

When the guilt started to overwhelm him, he opened the door to his master’s study with one goal in mind. To save her. From the impossible wrath of Lord Voldemort. The most powerful Dark Lord to exist.

But oh, what he wouldn’t do for his love.

— — —

Not having heard the sound of footsteps leaving, Voldemort assumed Severus wanted something from him and he was fairly sure he knew what.

“You may enter, Severus”, he called out to the the still closed door. 

“My Lord, I must request that you do not kill Lily Potter once you decide to take the boy. I don’t care about the boy or his father, but please spare her. I’ll do anything.” Came the answer after Severus had entered.

“Oh, but why should I ever do something so foolish as to leave any witnesses? And even if I decide to honour your request, whatever would I get in return? Since you must surely know by now that I do not hand out favors as gifts.”

“Please. I’ll prove to you my undying loyalty, I-I’ll even make an unbreakable vow. Just don’t hurt her.” Severus’ voice started wavering and he just wanted to get this situation over with. An unbreakable vow would be bad, but nowhere near as bad as loosing Lily. And perhaps, if her husband was out of the picture, maybe she’d finally remember him.

“Oh? Well that sure does sound interesting…”

———

One thing he didn’t understand was how people could be so stupid. Making an unbreakable vow for love of all things? Pathetic. Especially if the girl doesn’t even like you back and is married to and with child of your childhood bully.

Being so emotional and intense should be punished. Actually, he might just do that. And while an unbreakable vow is hard to avoid, it certainly is not impossible, even if the majority of the wizarding world believes so. Even a slightly skilled Auror could perform such a task, and he was a dark lord so it surely would pose no threat. After all, it wasn’t his first time using loopholes to punish one of his followers.

The wording is often the most important part when it comes to magic, an unbreakable vow no exception. He swore he would protect the girl at all costs in return for the undying loyalty of Severus. But protection doesn’t always mean life. Killing her could, in a certain situation, protect her from a worse fate, like insanity.
So if he just ordered an attack to happen slightly after he was there, he could kill her without the vow becoming active, since he would protect her from his own death eaters.

Oh, how he loved playing people.

Now he just needed to make Severus do something in return, since he would oh so honourly protect his dear girl. He had to make good use of Severus’ position on the light side so anything to obvious was out of the question.

He would have to keep an eye out on Snape’s abilitys before being able to make a proper decision, which would be no problem of course since he had all the time in the world, at least before the potter boy would come into his life.

———

Just one day of planning and thinking, and Voldemort realized why it was so exhausting to be a Slytherin. He was completely drained, not to mention that he still hadn’t fully recovered from making his last horcrux. 

He understood that it would take more planning, resting and regenerating to successfully kidnap the boy and make him his own. A blood adoption would have to be made, the ritual prepared before he even left for the Potters’ and not to mention all the planning it would take in case the worst scenario actually played out. Of course he wouldn’t die, but that doesn’t mean that it would be easy to get himself a full corporeal body again.

Just in case that actually happened, it would be much preferred if he had all his Horcruxes with him, which he will have to gather aswell. 

So even through all his excitement, he knew that it would take quite some time before his little heir could come home with him.
 
And if he seriously looked at his mansion, he realized that it would also need to be prepared. A room for the boy, dark, possibly killing, artifacts being put away and so much more. What did one even need to raise a child? Voldemort had no idea.

That’s where Narcissa came into play.

He had already wondered what to do with the child should he be on a raid, so this was the perfect solution as she just had a son of her own a few months ago.

He apparated into Malfoy Manor in a whim, not caring if it was already late and i’d they were asleep. He was their master, so he could do as he pleased.

Surprisingly, when he reached the Manor, instead of silence gracing him, it was the screams of a small child and his mother trying to calm him down that welcomed him in.
The scene before him was definitely disturbing to someone who had never felt his mothers love.

Little Draco was being cradled in his mothers arms while Lucius paced anxiously next to them. The fireplace was still burning brightly and neither Lucius nor Narcissa looked very good. Both had heavy bags under their eyes, Narcissa’s hair was disshelved, while Lucius’ didn’t hold the same glow as usual.

As the sound of apparation reached their ears, their eyes widened and their footsteps quieted. They looked at their master with a look of apprehension in their eyes. “M-my lord, what are you doing here at this hour?”, asked Lucius after a quiet while.

“Well, as I’ve already informed you, I will be taking the Potter boy as my own heir and I am in need of assistance. Considering your situation you shall help me, should I be unavailable or unable to properly care for the boy. Since my unfortunate condition does not allow me to feel anything for him except for his future use, that will be your job.”

“My lord, t-that’s an honour, but you know that we have our own to care for, right? He’s only a few months old, and i-if you give us the other boy as well, it would be quite difficult to care for them both?” Narcissa had a scared look on her face as she started pacing again, trying not to let her emotions show. She knew it was a risk to disobey him like this, but nothing was stronger than a mother’s love. She would do anything for her dear Draco and if she had another little boy around, who would probably require all her attention, he might feel left out and she wouldn’t let that happen. Not to mention what he would do to her should she fail to do the task given. There’s a high chance he would take Draco as punishment and if that happened…

“I. Don’t. Care! What I say, goes and I say take care of him. How you manage that is not my problem, but my heir will be healthy and not missing a mother’s love. Even if he has to steal it from somebody else.” His eyes closed menacingly and Draco started crying again due to the loud noise.

“Of course, my lord. My wife is just a bit overwhelmed right now, but everything will be fine once the boy arrives. P-please excuse her.”

“Well then, I shall let this slide. But don’t think I will be so merciful again.” With those words, he disappeared from their manor, taking the tension with him. But still, something lingered in the air, both of them not being able to name it, yet knowing that it was a fierce protectiveness over their son.

———

As he came back to his home, Voldemort realised that he was way too tired to still have a talk with Wormtail, and since he had decided to recover and become stronger again, he chose to rest for the night and take on that annoying task the next day. It probably wouldn’t be very efficient if Wormtail’s previous accomplishments were anything to base off of but still better than nothing. He had to get as much info on Potter in the next few months as possible.

He realised that a new name was in order as well if he were to blood adopt the boy, as he certainly would not be keeping whatever muggle name his parents had given him. 

The last name would certainly be Slytherin, as so only a few select people could make the connection between the two and it was a very noble name with many opportunities. He could probably make the first name something similar to the boy’s current name, but still more sophisticated and appropriate for his heir. So, only the middle name was missing. 

He could either come up with something completely new or make it something with which their connections as father and son could be recognised. Perhaps Marvolo would work, even though he didn’t want anything to do with his late grandfather. But still he was the one that made it into a noble name and it would be remembered as such by the world.

Oh well, he had enough time to think about it.

———

September 1981

And so the time was finally near. Only a few more preparations and his plan would finally come to life. After over a year of planning and preparing, he had put many safe fails into place and perfected his plan to the finest.

Only a few more people had to slide into place and he could begin. His key to them: Severus Snape.

He would deliver a message to Dumbledore telling him of a false date where he would come to kill the boy. Not take him, no, Dumbledore would surely find a protection against that. But if he thought it was death that awaited the boy, he could and would not do anything. Certainly not if it wasn’t even the correct date he was told. The only thing he could possibly do was warn the Potters, which would only increase their fear.

Oh what a beautiful plan indeed.

———

 Hearing the sound of the gargoyle turning, Albus awaited the person to enter his office. People always asked him, or at least wondered, how he knew there was someone before his door. The solution was very simple really: It was an old castle so moving stones obviously weren’t very quiet. To make sure that no one found out about this though, he had put a simple silencing charm over the stairs, so that while on them you couldn’t hear them moving, but in his office the charm was cancelled so he could.

Severus entered a moment later, looking more distressed than he had seen him… well probably ever. He didn’t even bother knocking or saying anything before swooping down into one of the chairs.

“Albus, we have a huge problem. The Dark Lord just informed me how and when he is planning to act on the prophecy and it’s bad.” Ah, Albus had been expecting this for quite some time now. It has been a year since he was informed of the prophecy, or at least part of it, and he had been quiet ever since.

“Calm down Severus, and tell me what’s going on. What is he planning?”

“He wants to kill them. All three of them. He can’t do that! No-not to Lily.” His voice was not as collected as it usually was, quivering and shaking instead of stoic. He could not believe the Dark Lord would betray him like that. Or at least the vow, how can he kill her without breaking the vow?! It didn’t make sense, nothing did.

“Oh Severus… I’m sorry but there’s nothing we can do. We can inform Lily and James, but after that, we’ll just have to hope for the best. Protesting now wouldn’t change anything. There is a traitor among our midst and he could inform Tom of any plans we have, which would just strengthen him further. This is a war we’re living in, and casualties cannot be avoided in war.”

Hearing this, Severus completely lost it. He started pacing  around the office, his footsteps loud and heavy. “What do you mean there nothing we can do? There has to be something! I can’t just let her die! She’s way to young for that, she hasn’t even got a problem job yet.” The more he ranted, the quieter his voice became, until it was nothing but a mere whisper. 

Albus tried to further console him with his words, saying that their deaths would be quick and painless, and that death was nothing to fear. He himself would at some point die as well, and then he could see Lily again and talk to her for all eternity. Of course this did not help against Severus’ frustration and fear because he knew that once he was dead, Lily would be long over him and happy with Potter, having spend a lifetime with him already.

Realising he could not console Severus, Albus just watched him until he stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind him.
It really was tragic, as Lily and James were two bright minds, but alas war does not take it’s time to consider this.