Disclaimer – I own none of the characters (sadly) I just like to play with them :)

Chapter Two

31st October 1981

Lord Voldemort was currently pacing up and down, waiting for Peter Pettigrew to arrive and confirm that the Potters had left their supposedly hidden cottage. Pettigrew, or Wormtail as he preferred to think of him, was a decidedly weak wizard and not the sort he would normally be proud to admit into his ranks. However, about a year ago he had determined he needed a spy in the younger generation of the old coot's Order members, and the self-titled Marauders were a group that though many of his Death Eaters of the same age spoke about hatefully, they also confessed to a reluctant respect for their magical prowess.

Judging by the uncouth responses he'd gained from overtures sent to both Potter and the then eldest Black son when they had first graduated, Lord Voldemort already knew there was no chance of either of them betraying the Light. And, despite finding out about the Lupin boy's lycanthropy from Greyback, unfortunately the young werewolf had also been steadfast in his refusal to be courted to the Dark Lords side.

Wormtail on the other hand, had been almost absurdly easy to corrupt. Without his friends to back him up he was incredibly cowardly and, at the time of Lord Voldemort reaching out, had been becoming increasingly aware of the fact he did not fit in with the other Order members. Appealing to his hitherto concealed cunning side and commending the man on the abilities he did have had quickly brought about a real change in the nervous mans peer encouraged beliefs. Soon the Dark Lord had found himself with a genuinely loyal spy in the old man's faction and even better, it was one that people had got into the habit of overlooking.

Being able to utilise his Animagus rat form to hang around and listen in on conversations he would otherwise not have been included in turned out to be a task that the young man had practised previously and one he was rather good at. Apparently it was similar to his role when still at Hogwarts. Scouting out areas and keeping lookout while his stronger friends performed the more challenging work for whatever they were planning. Highly praising the insecure man for the delivery of information he could easily obtain, with no risk to his health, ultimately earned the Dark Lord much more loyalty and devotion than the repeated exclusion from missions Wormtail was experiencing from his fellow Order members, for his 'protection'.

If the three Animagus friends hadn't insisted on keeping their forms secret from everyone, 'information gathering' would probably have been a task Dumbledore would have had Wormtail perform too. Lord Voldemort appreciated the naive boys' silence though and instead took great pleasure from the fact that the secret that had initially kept the four together was part of what he used to tear them apart. Had Wormtail felt more valuable to the Order, instead of feeling useless when he was repeatedly left behind while his friends went out to fight, he would likely have been far less open to turning traitor in the first place.

A slight tug on his magic informed the Dark Lord that someone permitted to cross the wards surrounding his current Headquarters had appeared, so he swiftly sat down, not wanting anyone to witness him doing anything so mundane as pacing. He called out an "Enter" to the timid knock and watched as Pettigrew finally shuffled into his office.

"My Lord, I can confirm that the P-Potters cottage is empty but for the children and Mary MacDonald." Peter said, not rising from the bow he had executed upon entering the room.

"Excellent. Your loyalty will not be forgotten this night Wormtail." He smirked as that boosted the man's courage enough to straighten up somewhat before adding, "Wait here for my return and, if all is as you have assured, your new life begins tonight. I'm sure there is no need to state however, that if you have let anything slip and I find myself greeted by Dumbledore and his rag-tag group of fighters you will find a new identity unneeded as, as far as I am aware, an Inferius is not normally arrested and tried for its crimes, rather simply destroyed by the company you once kept."

The short man paled and hastened to stutter out an "O-of c-course my Lord."

Wormtail appeared to want to say something further but did not possess the nerve so Lord Voldemort nodded and went to sweep from the room. It was not until he reached the door when he heard the man utter "H-Harry?" though it came out as more of a faltering exhale than an actual question.

"I believe I have already told you that your little brat will be fine Pettigrew, and I do not appreciate repeating myself." He stated in a cold tone. He did not bother turning around to see the effect of his words but left the room and headed to the point he could Disapparate from.

For once Lord Voldemort was being completely truthful in that the older Potter child had nothing to worry about. If the boy insisted on acting the Gryffindor he is no doubt already being groomed to become, a Stunning Charm would be sufficient enough to deal with the problem.

Granted, when he had first heard that both the Longbottom and Potter couples had birthed children near the end of July, he had initially decided to completely wipe out both families. He'd eventually settled on only the Potter's when he'd found out that their son had actually been born on the thirty-first unlike the Longbottom's boy who was born the day before. While still at the end of the 'seventh month' it seemed like an important distinction.

In the end it was a combination of things that had quelled the impulse to still remove all those with Potter blood from the earth. He'd received not one, but two appeals from separate Death Eaters, about sparing the lives of two different members of the Potter family. That was unusual enough as the Potters were a typical Light-sided family, one his followers were used to attacking and yet he'd never had such requests before. While it wouldn't normally give him pause, the fact that both of the Death Eaters were ones that had ties to Albus Dumbledore in some way did make him hesitate slightly. Wormtail being his spy in the Order and Severus Snape, a newly certified Potions Master who, as of last year, had taken the vacant position at Hogwarts at his Lord's behest, to work his way into the old man's confidences.

Why Snape wanted the Mudblood alive when she was clearly happily married to someone else, the Dark Lord couldn't fathom. She would hardly accept the man should her husband be murdered by his Master, and that's disregarding the fact that it was the Potions Master himself that had originally pointed him in their direction. Still, being a merciful Lord he had, at least outwardly, agreed to both pleas.

Nevertheless, in spite of what he may have said, he had yet to be fully convinced that murdering the whole family was not the most prudent course of action. That changed though, when he'd heard from Wormtail that the adult Potter's were to be leaving their safe house. Together. For the first time since the Fidelius Charm was cast. And this was going to be happening on Halloween, or Samhain to give it its proper name, an important day for all respectable wizards, especially those with a darker inclination.

Lord Voldemort had never been a believer in Fate, but having the way practically clear for him to both thwart that woman's blasted prophecy, while also fulfilling his servants wishes, all on the one day of the year most closely linked with Death and Darkness, when the Light was at its weakest point? Magic was obviously favouring him presently and he would be a fool not to make use of the opportunity gifted.

The Dark Lord Apparated into the small village of Godric's Hollow. His lip curled in disgust at the thought that even now many Wizarding families chose to live here, mingling with the Muggles that also called the place home. That was one thing that would certainly change in the coming years. Wizards should not have to live among such filth, and would eventually be prohibited from doing so.

He felt his anger igniting at the sight of so many of them still out, parading around in their ridiculous costumes in celebration of Halloween. He had to forcibly remind himself that he was here for a specific reason, lest he start cutting them down and risk alerting the Order to his presence before the grand finale. While he may know that one of the Potter's progeny will survive his visit, he couldn't pass up the opportunity of making the parents fear the worst when they arrive home to see the Dark Mark hanging above their so called safe house. It was hard to disregard the vermin though, knowing that only a few centuries ago they were executing Muggles and sometimes young, untrained Witches and Wizards alike on charges of witchcraft and now they had the audacity to defile this Sabbat by encouraging their children to gad about and beg for treats.

Ignoring the impudent little horror that commented on his supposed costume, Lord Voldemort approached the small cottage where his target lay. He could feel the thrill of anticipation starting to build from the knowledge that tonight would be one large step towards his final victory.

With this meddlesome prophecy taken care of, he was already planning to increase the number of raids his followers carried out. Dumbledore has clearly set quite a lot of hope on this child growing up to 'vanquish' him and, in the wake of the boy's death, will be left scrambling around. Losing that hope should be enough to push the old man into becoming personally involved in the upcoming battles. The Dark Lord was well aware that he is more powerful than the Headmaster now, certain rituals had enhanced his strength and endurance far passed what the old coot should be capable of at his age, finally giving him the chance to do away with the man once and for all. After that it would be easy pickings, the Ministry was almost fully in his grasp already and the Order would undoubtedly collapse without its leader.

Silently passing up the short garden path, he had enough time to muse that leaving the older Potter boy alive might actually be a shrewd idea after all. It would surely pacify the parents somewhat; they would still have their heir and could easily have another child later on. The boy, Harry, is still young enough where soon he won't remember growing up in a world not led by Lord Voldemort. After attending a Dark controlled Hogwarts he may eventually even make an acceptable Death Eater.

Smirking to himself at the thought, he withdrew his wand.

Oblivious to the danger lurking just outside, Mary MacDonald was upstairs in the Potter household, trying to convince a still hyperactive Eddie that it really was time to sleep. His Quidditch mobile had been turning since he was settled into his cot twenty minutes ago; the rails of which has been raised and locked on both sides for once to stop the sugar-high child from repeatedly pushing them down and climbing out to play with his brother. Harry was sitting on the floor attempting to build a Hogwarts Castle out of blocks that changed colour depending on how they were placed and as far as the toddler was concerned that looked like much more fun.

"It's sleep time now Eddie, Mummy and Daddy will be home soon and you don't want me to have to tell them that you were a naughty boy for Auntie Mary, do you? You can play more tomorrow. Harry is going to bed now too, so he's going to leave the toys alone, isn't that right Harry?"

"Huh? Oh, yes Auntie Mary."

"Good boy. Why don't you come over and say goodnight to your brother and then I'll read a story to you in your room."

The little boy deliberately knocked down his latest effort, causing all the blocks to flash back to brown and stack themselves out of the way. Instead of standing up he used his feet to shoot himself across the floor on his bottom, something that made his brother giggle and try to copy in his cot. Picking Harry up, Mary leaned him over the edge of the rail so he could kiss Eddie on the head. A sudden crash that sounded like the front door had been opened with enough force to break it off its hinges reverberated through the house but only caused her to roll her eyes as it made Eddie squeal and clap his hands in delight.

"Sirius Black! I'm trying to put your godsons to bed up here, would you mind not exciting them please!"

Hearing no reply, and none of the boisterous chattering that usually came with the arrival of the Potters and company she felt a slight prickle of foreboding.

"Lily? James?" When there was still no answer she added "If this is your idea of a Halloween joke, it's in really poor taste at the moment."

An eerie silence was all that followed. Mary held Harry tight enough to cause him to wriggle while her eyes frantically searched the cluttered nursery for where she had placed her wand. Seeing it on Eddie's changing table, she unceremoniously dropped the child she was holding into the cot with his brother and told him to stay put. Before she had even fully straightened up, let alone got anywhere near her only form of protection the door to the nursery flew open. Who could only be He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - though unlike her friends she had yet to see him in person - glided into the room, red eyes gleaming from under the hood of his cloak.

Instinctively she spread her arms out, as though hoping her body would be enough to fool the monster into forgetting about the boys behind her, while muttering "no, no, no," under her breath.

"Yes, I'm afraid." Came the mocking reply, he seemed to relish her obvious fear. "Now, Lord Voldemort will give you one chance to save yourself by moving out of the way. One of your lineage has nothing to fear from me. The oldest child will be spared too. I'm only here for young Edward tonight."

"No! I won't let you harm either of them!" Mary found herself saying.

She had no way to defend herself and knew exactly what was to come when she saw the man's wand aiming right at her chest. She mentally apologised to Lily before a blaze of green light overtook her vision and she knew no more.

Harry didn't understand what was going on. The hooded man that had come into his brother's bedroom had said something that made Auntie Mary fall down. He didn't like it. Eddie was pulling himself up to look at the strange man and Harry was trying to pull him back but he was holding onto the bars too tight and there wasn't enough room in the cramped cot to move properly.

He could see the white wand pointing again and heard the man say "Goodbye Edward Potter."

The same words that made Mary fall were uttered once more just as Eddie let go of the bars and thudded face down into Harry's lap. The green spell came straight towards Harry's face and it was so hot and bright, his eyes were squeezed shut, his ears were ringing, his head was burning and Eddie was screaming. Harry thought he might have been screaming too but didn't know as everything hurt so much.

A terrifying wailing noise unlike any he'd heard before tore through the room, worse than when his Mummy had magically shaved Padfoot, and Harry's eyes unconsciously snapped open. The man that had been in front of him was hidden in a cloud of smoke, ash and fire, with strands of that same green light streaking through it.

The cloud exploded outwards, the cot they were both trapped in flew back and hit the wall and Eddie was still screaming. Pieces of wood and plaster were whipping through the air, the room seemed to be too full of magic and pressure and Eddie was still screaming. Rails cracked under the force, the black robes on the floor were reduced to ashes and Eddie was still screaming until suddenly all went silent.

Harry didn't know how long he laid there. Everything hurt, throbbing out from his head, he couldn't move as Eddie was pressed up against him. A weird gurgling noise broke the stillness making Harry open his eyes again and look down. The bars from the cot had splintered in the backlash and one was pressing against his brother's throat. It had cut the left side already and blood was slowly dripping down onto Eddie's pyjamas. Harry forced himself to shift and pull it out, the cut lengthened the other way but Eddie finally took a deep breath and went still.

Harry's whole body was trembling; he crawled out from under his brother's dead weight, pushed himself out of the remains of the cot and fell towards his godmother. Dropping the wood he was still clutching, he pulled on her shirt but she wouldn't get up.

"Auntie Mary, Auntie Mary." He coughed and cried, the words burning his throat.

He shook her shoulders and tried to pull her up by her arm but she was too heavy. "Auntie Mary, you need to wake up now! The bad man has gone. Eddie's hurt. Auntie Mary!"

Even just holding her arm up was too much and Harry was so very tired. It felt like something he had never noticed was there had been sucked out of him all at once. The remains of Eddie's bedroom were blinking in and out of focus, something wet was running into his eyes and his head was spinning.

"Auntie Mary..." he whispered and collapsed next to her prone form, the arm he had been pulling coming to rest on top of him, as though she were cuddling her godson in death.

The small fires that had lit round the ruined room were automatically smothered as the wards that protected all Wizarding homes finally kicked in. All that moved was the slight rise and fall of two young boys' chests.

Both had survived, one with a bleeding cut on his forehead and the other on his throat. It was this second wound that would be the cause of an error that would ripple out to affect the whole of the Wizarding World. Then again, even if there had been no cut things would likely have carried on the same way, its existence simply confirmed Albus Dumbledore's erroneous beliefs. As the being known as Lord Voldemort had just found to his detriment though, Magic does not always work the way people believe it will.

Unknown to both sides of the current war, each of their leaders had made the same mistake. One born out of ignorance due to the shared habit of presuming they know best, thus rarely - if ever - asking for guidance from others. If either man had found it in themselves to share their knowledge with those who have studied such arcane braches of magic, they would have realised it was likely that the prophecy both had set so much stock in was not about a child born at the end of July at all. Oh, it may have referred to the 'seventh month' but why would that mean July?

If they had been consulted, any Unspeakable could have told them that a prophecy is the voice of Magic, the entity itself, spoken through someone else. Anyone can be a Seer and while it is true that some are more predisposed to becoming that voice than others, the main reason someone is chosen is that they are in the right place at the right time. Say for instance, two people, one from either side of a conflict being in the same location.

Magic likes to give warnings or advice. Throughout history it has always wanted to aid its chosen children. And while the world has evolved, and people are still discovering or creating new ways of using and abusing it, Magic itself hasn't changed since it first gained its limited awareness. Back when the world and its inhabitants were different, when everyday lives were governed by different rules and when, crucially, Samhain was celebrated as the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one.

In any situation where young Edward Potter was alone, Lord Voldemort would have indeed been able to kill the child and he would have continued on, thinking that he had thwarted a prophecy he knew so little about. The same thing would have occurred if he had chosen the Longbottom child to murder instead. It was only the close presence of Edward's brother that made all the difference.

Harry James Potter, born to the same two parents who had thrice defied the Dark Lord. Born on the thirty-first of May, as the seventh month after Samhain died.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited or followed the first chapter.

This one is a little shorter as I found it a bit trickier to try and write the Halloween attack in a way that didn't come across as too similar to the books or other stories. Not sure how well that worked out though.

It seems a bit choppy to me too, but I have read and re-read it a dozen times, editing pieces here and there and can't seem to make it read smoother. Any constructive critism would be welcome.

Anyway, thanks again, any feedback is, as always, very appreciated :)