The wind rustled sharply through the bare branches of ancient trees. The rattling noise was familiar, having occurred many times already throughout the night.
The small town of Godric's Hollow seemed to hold its breath as an unwanted visitor prowled slowly across cracked cobblestone.
The shadows, thrown from the bare trees, lay warped on rock and ground, providing the illusion of nearly curling towards the lone figure.
It halted suddenly. His darkened cloak, half shrouded from the night itself, stood still in the middle of a barren street towards the end of one court. A single manor glowed with the warm lights of habitation. The sidings were old fashioned and decorated with iron rod fences and elaborate metalwork. Despite the bold statements of wealth, the look was tarnished with the wet splashes of ageing rust and dents along with the bases of each rod. A metal griffin, standing posh and incredibly out of place had been painted gold and red from the harsh corrosion only time could produce.
The gates groaned in protest as invisible claws forced the metal to bend. The gears twisted and obliged to the brute force, rattling loudly as they collided against the frame once extended entirely upon their hinges.
The two adults who held ownership of this manor had left, celebrating a Halloween Party only after immense amounts of poking and prodding. The two had been resilient, only after false securities and half-hearted assurances were they finally convinced to leave.
The party, a small seemingly insignificant event suggested an opportunity that had otherwise been impossible. The situation had dramatically shifted to something bitterly sweet once more details had been cautiously uncovered.
Two infants were left inside the house, a squib witch hired as a temporary caretaker.
He understood the reasoning behind such an ignorant (or naive) action. A squib, integrated to the muggle society so thoroughly he hadn't even been aware of her blood relatives until only recently. Such an outlandish choice for a caretaker was unheard of- he wouldn't have suspected it for a moment. The decision although smart hadn't been made with proper precautions in place.
A twisted smile warped his face once a shrill alarm pierced the relative quiet. The heavily reinforced ward crumbled with the ghastly sound of something important cracking. The suddenness in which his movements shifted from almost entirely unheard, to loud chaos spoke some unnatural confidence in abilities normally shrouded.
The woman briefly appeared in the largest front-facing window, momentarily freezing before vanishing beyond the frame. The windows were of no matter. Having plotted so long and so tediously- he could spare a moment to indulge in his certain victory.
The windows and door exploded with a grotesque rain of wooden shrapnel and warped iron. The frames cracked, teetering and knocking several panels of the house's siding to the now ruined front garden. The carefully pruned lilacs and hydrangeas smashed into the ground and old mulch.
He strolled into the house, positively feeling giddier than he had in years. His only threat now was a useless waste of genetics, holding a kitchen knife with trembling arms.
He met her horrified eyes and knew that his own burned in excitement.
"Please! I-" she sobbed, arms shaking more before she ran. She bolted like a spooked horse, her feet pounding on the floor towards the stairs. It made no difference; he took his time following after. The stairs squeaked as he ascended and glanced absentmindedly at a moving photo of a mud blood witch and a pureblood fool.
He heard the squib screaming in one room. The door had been locked with a flimsy metal clasp.
She sobbed wildly, begging gibberish as she held her head and long hair between spastic fists. Hysterical, he felt a stirring of disgust for such an unseemly action. His lips twitched slightly, and the woman dropped dead, eyes glassy and mouth open in another wordless plea.
Two cribs, each on opposite walls of the room. They were separated by the squib's body and painted obnoxiously cheerful color's. Innocently they rested under little twinkling mobiles displaying special Quidditch equipment. The far crib held a chubby child with chocolate brown hair. He was curled in a tiny ball, clutching his pudgy fingers into the plush horns of an anatomically inaccurate dragon.
The other crib held a fairly opposite child. A possibly slim child, once accepting all infants had an unseeingly thick layer of baby fat. His hair was dark, nearly impossible to tell the specific colour with the lack of illumination. He slept on his side, one arm near its face while the other lay prone near its side.
He was silent. The names of both children were carved into each headboard respectively. The brown-haired boy has his name written with enchanted letters, glittering gold in bold font.
Skylar
The other was written in the same style and format, the letters a shimmering warm red.
Harry
Perfect.
The man let a small smile grace his normally unreadable face. Even the disgustingly muggle names wouldn't ruin the thrilling glee that pulsed through his blood. He lifted his wand but hesitated. His eyes shifted, glancing between both cribs pensively.
Which child was the imminent threat foretold? His resources had told him that both children were born the same day, almost identical to the specific requirements.
It didn't matter, overthinking it only ran the risk of the owners returning early and jeopardizing his spies.
"Harry Potter." The man mused, his voice caused Skylar Potter to frown in his sleep. Harry Potter shifted slightly, knocking a blanket to flutter between the railings. Harry's crib was on the right, flush against the wall directly across from Skylar.
It was sheer luck (or misfortune), that Lord Voldemort chose to start on the right side that night.
"The last piece needed," he mused, voice rising as he pulled the ivory-colored wand out from a concealed pocket. His eyes focused on the gentle exhalations of the infant and magic coursed through his limbs in excitement, "how fitting, for your death to assure my life."
The infant wriggled, meaty fist closing and opening in a grasping movement. It's pudgy cheeks puffed out in a small gulping snort. It was positively disgusting.
He grimaced, rolling the wand between his long fingers before arching his wrist in the proper stance. With almost lazy movements, the tip pointed directly between the closed eyes of the child.
"Avada Kedavra." He could almost feel the cold talons of death as the spell wracked through the tiny body. He could see its chest stutter, convulsing sharply as its heart jerked and struggled. The infant's eyes opened and a piercing wail exploded from the small lungs. Harry jerked, the waves of frigid energy cascaded and escalated to an excruciating crescendo.
Harry wailed, thick tears falling from his eyes as his face reddened in his screams. His pudgy arms waved and pounded limply against the railing of his crib and the dead weight of his chest.
The spell travelled with precision to find the anchor of the infant's soul to its body. Harry Potter's instinctive magic rose in a wave, attempting to deflect the darker power or negate the effects.
The chilling talons raked across the invisible heart of the infant, leaving gaping wounds and rips across its soul. Having missed, the spell did all that it had been known to ever do- kill.
It deflected, scratching and with a startling unanticipated wrench, tore apart the nearest target regardless of which soul it had lacerated.
The dark magic held within the child's body was too much. With a pain-filled screech, a powerful backlash lunged through the mortar and wood. The already weakened structure groaned and ached wearily as it staggered into a state of disarray. The ceiling collapsed, walls burst, and the metal hinges melted. Nails and wood flew, giving a deep cut over the heart of Skylar Potter, painfully waking him up from his dreams, and giving him anguish over the wound.
Harry Potter groaned, collapsing backwards in severe weakness. The last remnants of dark magic oozed in a numbing haze through a crack just below the infant's hairline. More chunks of wood fell, support beams crashed into the staircases and shingles collapsed through to the nursery. Both infants screamed even louder as the objects collided leaving broken bones and bruised skin.
Harry's eyes lolled, shifting slowly from deep emerald into something toxic as the last remnants of black magic left his skull.
Blood, ash, a single corpse, and a black recognizable cloak rested on the floor of the destroyed nursery.
That night cemented the future death of more than just a dark creature.
'What fun are prophecies if not to throw the unknown word of gods to simple swine and see what conclusions they misinterpret.'