Snippet (The Black Tower)

Chapter 1.

October 31, 1981

The ground shook.

The black clouds came out of nowhere in the clear night sky. Thundering and rumbling. The disturbing noise akin to an empty stomach of some colossal monster. Who seemed to have woken up from a deep slumber, trying to find prey to satiate its belly.

Crack!

A fissure ran through the floor of the forbidden forest. Uprooting trees, stones, and grass alike. Destroying everything in its path like a tsunami wave.

The distressed sounds of the beasts reverberated throughout the woods, as they ran away from the epicentre of this chaos. Their instincts screaming at them to flee away and never return.

Spiders, squirrels, and snakes. Unicorns, centaurs and Thestrals. Everything and everyone escaped to save their lives.

The forest got enveloped in a black miasma. Blanketing the entire area in an unnatural fog that teetered back and forth. Pushing and pulling from the centre of this phenomena. Breathing in and out. Looking like some disgusting facsimile of life.

Suddenly, it stopped moving. Becoming still. The mist becoming heavy, lowering to the floor a little. As if someone pushed it down from above.

…

Then it roared.

The scream travelling to Hogwarts and as far as the Hogsmeade village. Prompting everyone to flinch and drop whatever they were holding.

The black fog began churning like a bubbling water. Hissing and frothing.

Fwoosh!

Until it got sucked right back into the centre of this black hole.

The lightning stopped falling. The clouds dissolved into nothing. And the sky cleared, allowing the full moon to shine upon the forest.

In the middle of the forest, a new clearing formed. And standing there, shining in the moonlight was the Black Tower.

With no birds and animals to provide the usual dean, the silence was deafening. Unnatural and out of place.

The huge double doors of the Black tower slammed open. And then hundreds of small creatures with blood-red skin and scaly wings rushed out. Chittering and chattering. Giggling and crying.

The horde took to the sky, flying towards the castle.

~xXxXx~

Potter Cottage

Lily stood before the crib with her wand aimed at the two men, her stance protective and threatening at the same time. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and her throat raw from screaming. Still, she cut an intimidating figure with her green eyes ablaze and her crimson hair swaying in the windless room.

She bared her teeth when the black-haired man stepped forward, “Don’t come near!”

James sighed and raised his arms placatingly. “Listen to me, Lils. We’re not your enemy.”

Scoffing, she surveyed their home, taking in the destruction that could have been avoided.

The walls were blown apart, and people were already gathering outside the cottage. The ceiling, too, didn’t look steady and seemed like it would fall any time now. She gulped down the bile when she saw the floor littered with furniture and family photos. Even little Harry’s toys hadn’t been spared, and were decimated beyond recognition.

Her home had become a battlefield. A ruin. And it was all James’ and Dumbledore’s fault. The old headmaster remained silent under her glare, not interrupting the married couple’s quarrel.

“And yet, you brought the enemy into our home,” She spat, shivering at the sight of the pale dead body lying between them.

Voldemort was dead.

They had missed their tragic fate by mere inches, and succeeded in killing the boogeyman. But it shouldn’t have come to that. The Dark Lord was never meant to find them. The Fidelius Charm was supposed to keep them hidden and safe.

“It was the right thing to do,” James answered, his hands clenched at his sides, not denying her accusation. And that just added more fuel to her anger. The bastard had the audacity to act all high and mighty when he didn’t even have the strength to save his family. If Lily hadn’t cast her special spell, then they all would have been dead.

“So, you already knew Pettigrew was the mole, didn’t you? Tell me how much of this was planned?” She roared, trembling, almost allowing herself to cast a lethal spell.

The cry of her son pushed her rage back, and she quickly leaned over the crib and pulled him into her arms.

She held him tight at her bosom and whirled around, glowering at the man that was supposed to be her husband. The thought of Harry dying here tonight because of their foolishness was enough to keep her from losing the mounting anger. She didn’t think she would ever let go of these negative feelings.

James’ facial expression was complex. There was guilt and then there was concern. There was fear and then there was conviction. He seemed to be cycling through half a dozen emotions.

“I knew Peter was a Death Eater even before we made him our secret keeper. The plan was to draw Voldemort in a trap where we can finally end him. We could never hope to fight him in the open. But with careful planning and having home field advantage, we could match him. And that risk paid off. Here’s the Dark Lord, dead and cold,” He explained, pride clear in her voice.

If she wasn’t holding Harry, she would have punched his face. “You pathetic man. We were done for. We’d have died if I hadn’t sacrificed half my life and magic to blast him with raw power. How does it feel being the reason for your wife’s early death and near squib state?”

James’ eyes widened and he closed the distance between them, trying to hug her. But she kicked him on the shin, making him fall on his knees. Towering over him, there was no love or affection in her face. Only intense hatred. His heart sank at the sacrifice she had made. The sacrifice he had made to vanquish Voldemort.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not. You’d do the same if given the chance to become a hero,” She said, her voice laced with regret and anguish. Once, this very trait of his had made her fall for him. But now, the word hero was the worst insult she could utter.

James remained silent as he got back on his feet, his gaze drawing to Harry who was watching them all with curious green eyes.

“We’ll do everything to restore you back to normal, Lily,” Dumbledore spoke once the violent anger had dissipated.

If he had known the questions that would follow this attempt at reassurance, then he would have kept mum. Alas, the arrow was fired and there was no taking back.

Suddenly, Lily stiffened and stepped back, away from James, tears spilling down her cheeks. “At least tell me the prophecy was real.”

When only silence greeted her query, she yelled, “Tell me!”

James lowered his gaze on the floor, shuffling from one foot to another. “It was fake. After Snape regretted joining the other side, we gave him the option to help us in killing the Dark Lord. He agreed, and acted his part, relaying the full prophecy. Putting the target on us, according to the plan.”

A manic laugh escaped her as she clutched her son to her chest, realising what a fool she was in trusting others. Her husband betrayed her. Her mentor betrayed her. Even her estranged best friend betrayed her. How was she ever to put her trust in someone else again?

“But everything’s fine now!” James whispered, seeing how his wife was drifting away from him.

She snapped her head at him and tried to kick him in the stomach.

He was barely able to dodge it. “Calm down, Lils. Just take a deep breath.”

“Take a deep breath? Fuck you! My son could have died tonight! All because of your hero complex. Tell me, who’d you save, a boat full of innocent children or just Harry?” Lily asked, stilling, adorning a small mirthless smile as Harry giggled at all the kicking and screaming. Only if the child knew what a sad day that was.

James grimaced at the lose-lose situation and answered even when he didn’t want to. “I’ll save the boat full of innocent children, of course. That’s the only logical option. However much I love Harry, ten lives are more precious than one life.”

Dumbledore, too, nodded. The world was a cruel place that forced them to make such choices. But to save the world, to become a hero, one must only think about the greater good. Society was always more important than an individual.

The two were surprised that she didn’t explode. Instead, she just nodded. “I see. It can’t be helped then. Our opinions are too different for us to make this marriage work. You’re no longer my husband, James Potter. From this day onwards, I’ll be Lily Evans and my son Harry Evans. If you can’t burn the world for your children then you’re not a true parent.”

Before James could beg her to reconsider, Professor McGonagall barged into the cottage. “Headmaster! Hogwarts and Hogsmeade are under attack by demons!”

Lily simply smiled and apparated away, not interested in risking her life against demons or whatever. All she wanted to do was take a long bath and sleep for two days.

“Mama!” Harry babbled as they appeared in muggle London, squirming in her arms.

She raised him to her eye level, and uttered in a quivering voice. “Just you and I, Harry. From now it’s just you and I.”

Chuckling that he tried to wipe her tears, she kissed his head to his delight and her way to the hotel. She had her life to plan. But first, she needed a clear head. And only sleep could do that.

Applying cleaning charms on themselves, she stepped into the modest hotel, almost falling on her face, waving away the concerned staff. She cursed her broken magic. How pitiful that even simple charms took so much out of her.

But she would have to get used to it. Booking a room, she made her way to the third floor.

~xXxXx~

A.N This is all that I've written for my next fic. Hopefully, now that I have declared about it, there will be urgency to write it and I won't procrastinate... much. Let's go, a new story that will be far better than anything I've written before!

Also, this won't be released for months until I finish OP Gamer. So, don't ask for updates anytime soon. It's just my way to give myself a deadline so I don't waste my time and instead work on the next one.