Harry Potter and The Winter Court

Prologue

James Potter woke up in a field of yellow flowers. He could remember a flash of light, followed by pain. The pain had been unbearable, crushing his sanity under the torrent of agony. He surveyed his body and found his slender legs covered in short brown fur and his feet replaced by hooves. He reached up to scratch his scalp and discovered an impressive rack of antlers protruding from his head. 'What in the name of Merlin happened to me?'

As he strained to recall the detail a body appeared a short distance away, curled on the flowers. He ran over to it and recognized his wife. Certain features were different. Her hair had become a vibrant crimson, seeming to shine in the sunlight, while her skin had paled to resemble alabaster.

Her face was contorted in pain, the same pain he felt getting here. James was relieved to see her breathing, even if in ragged gasps. After a moment her breathing slowed and her face relaxed. She woke up and looked at him, her eyes having changed slightly, with banded colors. Her original emerald green now occupied the central band bordered by ocean blue on the outside and aqua-marine in the inside. "James dear, what are we doing out here?"

"I'm not sure. I remember being in the house." He concentrated and certain things bits started falling back into place. "Tom was breaking through the door, and you were running up stairs. I tried to fight him, but he used his several curses on me. Then I woke up here."

Lilly was almost crying. "I remember seeing the flash under the door, then I heard something thump. That must have been you, because he started trying to open the door. We fought for a while, but he got the better of me."

She started sobbing, but continued. "Tom came in and I dueled him for a moment. He disarmed me, so I threw myself at him and pleaded for him to take me instead. When I wouldn't get out of his way he used the Killing Curse on me. Then I woke up to your face."

James wrapped his arms around his wife and let her cry onto his shoulder. Just as she was getting going there was a bright green flash nearby. They looked over in time to see a shadowy figure tear itself apart while issuing unearthly screams. The pieces went in different directions before vanishing, leaving a rolled blanket on the ground.

Lilly and James ran over and to find their son resting comfortably with a lightning bolt shaped cut on his forehead. Lilly bent down and gathered him into her arms gently. "Oh James, you realize what this means?"

"Yeah hun. We're in the Dream Lands. That bastard killed us all, but I think he bought it too, if that shadow was any indication." James was torn. He knew they were dead, but figured it could be worse. At least they were together.

"I thought the Lands of Dream were a myth, something to make Merlin seem larger than life."

James scratched his chin, "To be honest, so did I, but the family library was pretty extensive. When I was younger the stories of the Dream Lands were some of my favorites. I think that we ended up in one of the more sedate ones."

"But your son is not dead." A melodic voice said from behind them.

Lilly and James spun to see a tall woman standing before them. She had long hair the color of freshly tilled soil hanging in full waves half way down her back. Her eyes had the same banded configuration as Lily's but with a sunny yellow as the outer color, deep ocean blue in the middle, and grassy green in the center. Her skin had a healthy glow to it's even tan.

Lily instinctively went to a knee, knowing that she was in the presence of a great being. James bent down in concern. "What's wrong Lily? Who is she?"

Lily lifted her head to face her husband. "I'm not sure how I know this, but she is the Priestess of The Lady."

"The Lady. You mean the ancient Faye Goddess?"

"Yes. I am the Priestess of The Lady. She sent me to meet you here and explain what has happened, and what is still to come." Her voice was like a song, rising and falling elegantly from stress to stress.

James bowed politely to the supernatural creature of legend. "My Lady, pardon me. but I think we have a pretty good feel for what has happened." He gulped. "My whole family has been brutally murdered by the most feared dark wizard of our age, though he is nothing compared to those of the past. He was apparently killed as well if what I saw was correct. What more is there to know."

The Priestess smiled. "You are almost right. You and your wife are both dead, but your son is still alive. Because of certain hereditary traits he has only had his mind temporarily displaced. The enemy you speak of was not entirely alive, so death eluded him, he has been affected in a similar way to your son. But unfortunately he was drawn away by an even more dangerous enemy."

"What hereditary traits?" Lily asked.

"The old magical families, as you know them, have a trace of elvish blood from the ancient days when the two species intermingled. This gave many of the families unique and subtle abilities. In the case of the Potter line you posses a certain resistance to the spell known as 'The Killing Curse'."

"The ones that you consider non-magically born magic users are descended from Human/Faye pairings. Where the purebloods have been slowly breeding the magic out of their lines, the non-magical with Faye blood have been seeking each other out. When your two lines crossed it produced one of many such children with a much greater potential. It also amplified his immunity, allowing him to survive the spell that should have killed him and rebound it unto the caster. Due to the side effects of the curse he now has the ability to reach his true potential."

Lily clutched her bundled son to her chest. "He's just a baby. You can't plan out his life for him. He deserves to have as close to a normal life as he can."

"I understand your concern. I too have children and it took me much time to realize that their destinies were quiet different from the ones I may have hoped for them. But you have heard the part of the Prophecy that made it through to your reality. Your son has been marked, and now all that we can do is ensure that he is as ready as possible, or the entire multiverse will suffer."

"What do you mean?" James asked as he held his wife and comforted her.

"Thomas Riddle has been taken to the pole of order. There he will be taught how to summon the ancient evil into your reality. If that happens the dream lands will fall, with nothing to balance his influence it would only be a matter of time."

"Ancient Evil? Pole of Order? What are you talking about?" James looked confused. Despite his long hours of study as a young man he had never come across anything like this.

"The multiverse is polar, with your Earth at the pole of Chaos. In your universe there is freedom and choice. You can choose how to live and, especially in your case, how you die. You chose to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your son. At the other end is the Pole of Order, where nothing has a choice. It is ruled by a being of unimaginable power that watches everything. He has absolute control of every particle in that universe. He has spread his influence out to neighboring worlds in the dreamlands, if you have heard the tale of the King in Yellow it is a tale of his success. We have managed to keep him isolated within his kingdom, since that has occurred, if he should manage to gain a foothold in your reality it would be catastrophic. He would spread like a cancer through all of the multiverse."

"What does this have to do with the Prophecy and our son?" Lily asked with a shaky voice.

"You never heard the whole prophecy. Only a Fragment made it through to your reality." The Priestess waved her hand and a shadowy form appeared next to her.

The figure spoke in a detached voice. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the eighth moon dies, And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not, And either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives, The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the eighth moon dies, One a Warrior of Order, the other a Knight of Chaos, They will do battle many times before one must die, either preserving the universe, Or plunging all into darkness." After finishing it's monologue the form dissolved back into the nothingness from which it had come.

"Your son will be the Avatar of Free Will in this universe. Due to both your sacrifice and the Prophecy young Harry will be able to enter here freely from the waking world."

"Does this mean we'll still be able to see him?" Lily asked with her voice full of hope.

The Priestess smiled, "You will be able to raise him here. He only need spend a total of two moons each thirteen in the waking world."