Chapter Text
It was Halloween night in 2004. The Potters had been hiding among Muggles for about a month because their influential role in the wizarding war and a prophecy had put their family in danger. Their twin sons, only a year old, were already being hunted.
James Potter was preparing a candy bowl to hand out to the children in Godric’s Hollow. He wanted their house to be known for giving out the best candy, so he filled the bowl with full-size Hershey, Reese’s, M&Ms, and Snickers bars. He also dressed up as a vampire. While it was a popular costume, James made it extravagant by using hair gel to turn his brown hair black and putting red contacts over his hazel eyes. As James placed the candy bowl on the table next to the door, he heard the doorbell ring. He had made it a habit to check the peephole before opening the door—he needed to be sure his twins were safe, prophecy or not. So, even on Halloween, he checked before unlocking the door.
When he looked through the peephole, he saw Peter Pettigrew. Peter had been one of James's closest friends throughout school and was also the secret keeper for the protective charm over the Potters' home. The charm was meant to keep the family hidden from those who wished them harm. Peter’s choice to wear a Death Eater costume was probably insensitive, but Peter had always been a little unaware of social cues. James stepped away from the peephole, and just as he opened the door to let his friend in, Peter was suddenly kicked in the side. Peter fell face-first into a decorative pumpkin outside, having been kicked by… a lamb?
Before James can even begin to question the presence of a lamb in suburban Europe, the lamb shoves past him and into the house. James blinks away the shock as he leans down to grab Peter's arm to help him up. As he pulls him up, though, James' eyes wander to the sky…
When he sees the dark mark. He looks down at his friend's arm and sees the same mark on his wrist. Which is when he realizes it wasn't a costume. It's then that he notices what he thought was Peter pulling himself up was instead him pulling out his wand and aiming it directly at James.
As Peter yells out the killing curse, James has seconds to react. He has just enough time to avoid the spell. James then shoves the door closed, with the door hitting Peter in the head as it shuts, locking it even though he knew it wouldn't do much. He rushes to grab his wand, reaching it just as he hears the door slam open. He prays that Lily heard it too and is prepared to protect the twins. He uses his wand to fight off the approaching Death Eaters to the best of his ability, despite there only being one of him and many more of them.
Just as his wand is shot out of his hand, almost as if some gods heard James’ prayers, his best friend Sirius black rushes in to assist. Blocking multiple spells before they are able to reach James. Giving the potter enough time to grab his wand.
As the two men fight off the opposing forces, neither of them manage to notice the dark figure slithering its way up the steps.
Lily was sitting upstairs, in the nursery she and James had decorated for the twins. They had painted it in shades of purple and green, because they had done that step before they’d known the gender. But you can barely see the paint through all the posters, like ones of color labeling or the alphabet. As well as more interesting choices like the Nirvana poster, Sirius insisted they put up. As well as a couple of scholarly posters, Remus had purchased them. Lily was sitting on an ottoman James had bought for her during the pregnancy, so she had somewhere comfortable to sit while in the room. They also had a couple of toys, though a lot of them wouldn't actually be used until the twins were at least a couple of months older, such as walking guides and jumping seats.
Lily was dressed up in a long black dress with red undertones in certain parts of the fabric. She had her hair as its natural ginger, though there is a wig sitting on her bed, waiting for her to put it on. She had had white face paint on, an hour ago; however, the twins had been a little too interested in it and wound up wiping most of it off her face.
Lily was holding one of her twins in each arm. She had begun singing them a lullaby that Petunia had sung to her when she was young. She had wished her sister hadn't distanced herself from magic entirely after being declared a squib. She hopes that whatever happens, her children will always be able to lean on each other, unlike Lily and her own sister. Lily had named Petunia the godmother of her children, despite the fact that they would most definitely be magical, and Petunia seemed to despise the magical world. She had made the decision in post-partum stress, and now she only hoped that if the twins were left in her care, Petunia would be able to see past her anger and care for the twins as if they were her own.
Lily had heard that Petunia had given birth to her own son around the same time the twins were born. She had never quite liked Petunia's husband, Vernon Dursley. But she had looked past that, because she feared that speaking on those thoughts would further push her sister away.
It was the twins’ second Halloween, and Lily had made them little costumes for the holiday. She had Harry in a brown outfit, with the label of “Peanut Butter” on his chest, and Ivory was in a purple outfit with the label of “Jam”. She had thought the costume was adorable, and couldn't wait to see their costumes evolve as they grew. Prophecy or not, she wouldn't let anything get between her and watching her babies grow.
Her singing was interrupted by the doorbell ringing; she figured it was probably just Peter or Sirius. James had told Lily that his friendswould be spending the holiday with them. Sadly, it was also a full moon, so Remus wouldn't be able to join them.
Lily and James had named Sirius and Remus as the godfathers of Harry and Ivory, with Petunia and Mary Macdonald as their godmothers. The couple had never been religious in any sense, but they had wanted to have some say in who their children went to if anything were to ever happen. Lily and James had also been named the godparents of the Longbottoms' son, Neville. They haven't heard from the Longbottom’s since they went into hiding, Lily hoped they were okay.
Lily heard the door slam closed downstairs, so she placed the twins in their crib and began walking down the hallway to check on her husband. Suddenly, a lamb came running past her into the nursery. As she looked back down the hallway towards the stairs, She hoped that James would be fine as she rushed after the lamb to make sure it didn't disturb her sons.
When she walked back into the room, she noticed the blinds were pulled up, and the window was open. Lily walked up to the window to close it, but before she could, she saw the worst possible thing in the sky.
The dark mark.
She immediately rushed to grab her wand, completely disregarding the open window.
Just as she grabbed her wand, she noticed the fluffy hair of a young girl sticking out from behind her mirror. Which had been taken off of the wall, and was now sitting on the ground, against the wall, seemingly being held up by two little hands. Though they were almost impossible to notice. Before she could think to question it, she watched as someone she had hoped to never meet walked into the room.
Voldemort.
Despite her persistent fighting against him and his followers, she had never actually met the man. But she still held her wand strong against him. Despite the stories. Despite knowing what he was capable of. Lily would fight till death for her sons.
She watched as he cast the killing curse at her. But before she could think to dodge or shoot her own spell back at him, she watched as the little girl threw the mirror, effectively blocking the curse from hitting Lily; however, it bounced off the mirror, against the wall, and hit her twins instead. She attempted to run up to them and do anything, try anything to save her children. But before she could, an aftereffect of the spell shocked her, effectively knocking her to the ground. In the seconds before she lost consciousness, she watched as the effect hit Voldemort, and he disintegrated under its power, effectively putting an end to his torment, and ending the war for good…
at least that's what she chose to believe, as she slipped into unconsciousness.
…November 1st 2007…
Mr and Mrs Dursley are well respected in their small community. Mr Dursley has a well paying job, and Mrs Dursley doesn't need to lift a finger outside of their own home; their son, having just recently been born, seems to take their full attention; they were proud to call themselves normal. Their names are Vernon and Petunia; Petunia is from a very well off family with seemingly an idyllic life for 1800s nobility, a far cry from the suburban modern era where they live. The sounds of cars gliding by mix with the calming yet haunting ambiance of rain on this faithful, dreary night. As unbeknownst to the Dursley family, things are about to get far more complicated than they've ever dreamed of in their suburban life.
That fateful night, a knock is heard at the door. As soon as Petunia opens the door, all she finds is a gray tabby cat strutting away and a cradled bundle of two boys, one with black curls like his father and a scar on his forehead.. While the other has a strange discoloration at his hands and feet, like all the melanin in his body went to that singular point, and a letter with an odd crest was placed in their laps. A crest that Petunia had hoped to never see again…