Chapter Text
November, 1899
The House of Falkenroth in Bavaria was a well known, well established, Ancient House. Similar to the House of Grindelwald, they could trace their roots back to the Holy Roman Empire, and were extremely proud of that fact.
They were Politicians, Healers, Seers, and Parselmouths, thanks to an ancestor marrying a member of a family of parselmouths that had, at that time, recently moved from India.
For 10 years, House of Falkenroth and House of Grindelwald had an alliance, and for the last three years, the alliance had been sealed with a betrothal.
Gellert Grindelwald, the heir, would marry Adelheid Falkenroth, the second child and first daughter of Lord Falkenroth.
Adelheid was a brilliant young woman, fierce with a wand, but even gentler with her hands, a prodigy healer, and the pride of her family.
However, after Gellert Grindelwald was expelled from Durmstrang, he paid one last secret visit to Adelheid before traveling to, as he told her, spend time with his Great Aunt Bathilda Bagshot, promising to be back after summer ended.
He never came back.
By October, her rounded belly was impossible to hide, and she refused to get rid of the child, despite the disgrace and trouble Gellert brought her family. She was disowned, and she fled from Germany for the safety of her child, heading to Britain in hopes of finding Gellert.
Instead of finding him, she found a home for herself and her child, leaving the magical world behind for a much simpler life in Muggle London, where she eventually gave birth to her daughter.
Isolde Marianne, giving her daughter neither her family name nor Gellert's, and instead giving her the surname that Adelheid gave herself after her disownment. The moment that Adelheid took Isolde home from the hospital, she immediately sealed her magic, fully believing that life in the muggle world would be safer for her.
Isolde grew up happy and loved in her single parent household, with Adelheid finding herself a career as a Governess, teaching a lovely muggle family's children languages, music, and literature. She sent her daughter to school alongside the muggle family's daughters, and would have stayed as that family's governess, had she not tragically passed in a carriage accident when Isolde was 17.
She stayed with the family until she was 18, and they were kind enough to aid her finding a place to live amidst her grief. She got a tiny little apartment and worked as a waitress at a nearby cafe, where she would eventually meet Septimus Prewett, a squib who would be her husband and the father of her only child.
Septimus and Isolde would meet when she was 19, and he would pursue her for two years before they would marry, and she gave birth to Rose Prewett in 1924.
Upon Rose's birth, Septimus had made himself a promise.
"If Rose displays childhood accidental magic, I will tell Isolde and, in the future, Rose, about the magical world. If not, I will take the secret to my grave."
The secret was kept to his grave, as Rose never displayed any accidental childhood magic, due to her following after her father and being a squib.
When Rose was 5, Isolde would fall pregnant with another child, however, both her and the child would die during childbirth, leaving Septimus a single father, and Rose without her mother or little brother. Septimus was never the same after that, barely managing to care for Rose for the next 3 years before he lost the battle with depression and ended his own life after dropping Rose off at an orphanage.
With nothing but the teddy bear her father gave her and the locket of the family of 3 when she was only 2, Rose Prewett would stay at the orphanage until she was 11 years old before being adopted by the Gallagher family, who allowed her to hyphenate her name instead of changing it.
1935, Rose Prewett-Gallagher was 11 years old and had just met the next door neighbors of her new home, the Evans. They were a family of four, with the two parents and two children.
Iris Evans, Richard Evans, and their two children Marcus Evans and Sydney Evans. Rose became fast friends with Sydney, who was her age, and even Marcus, who was 2 years older than her at 13. The three were inseperable, and she would begin dating Marcus when they were 16, get engaged to him at 19, and marry at 21.
However, Rose and Marcus had difficulties conceiving a child, and it wasn't until 12 years after their marriage that they finally had their oldest daughter, Petunia Evans, who was followed 3 years later by their last child, Lily Evans, in 1960, when Rose was 36 years old.
The happiest days of her life followed, discovering that Lily was a witch, that her Petunia was so intelligent and knew what she wanted out of life.
In 1971, Lily went to Hogwarts with her neighbor friend Severus, and just 7 short years later, Rose and Marcus would be murdered by Dark Wizards, of whom Lily was fighting against.
In 1979, Lily married her boyfriend, James Fleamont Potter, and fell pregnant not too long later, despite being in the middle of a war. They weren't told much about the prophecy that was deciding their entire life, and even their son's life, just that they had to go into hiding to protect not only themselves, but their unborn son.
Neither Lily nor James knew that they were never meant to survive the war, not if their leader wanted the chess board to go exactly as he wished. For the appropriate pawns to be placed just right, to act according to his wishes, to be molded and shaped as he desired.
No, for that to happen, James and Lily couldn't influence their son, the boy Albus knows is the one of Prophecy.
And on July 31st, 1980, Harry James Potter was born at 11:59 PM.
Born as the Seventh Month dies..
Albus had his prophecized child.
However, the Gods had woken, and they were done letting Albus move as he desired without consequence.
They were ready to set his chess board aflame.
October 31st, 1981
6:00 PM
"This is not how I imagined Harry's first real Halloween to go. I wanted to try out that muggle tradition you told us about, the bonfire night." James sighs as he drops down onto the couch, making Lily and Harry, who was in her arms, bounce.
Harry giggled at the movement, though he had his small head on Lily's chest, chewing on her hair and his fist tiredly.
"I know," Lily sighed, gently taking her hair from Harry's tiny but strong fist before running her fingers through his red curls. James had been so happy to see Harry have red hair.
Potter hair with my Lily flower's red? Best combination ever!
She kissed her son's forehead as he let out an adorable yawn and nuzzle into her chest.
"We might not have gotten to celebrate the way we wanted, but Dumbledore promised that the war is ending. Maybe this time, next year, Harry can celebrate Halloween with Neville and the Weasleys," She reaches over, gently squeezing James' hand, getting a small smile in return.
Neither of them had much hope. Dumbledore had been saying the war was ending ever since he told them of the prophecy and made them go into hiding.
"I'm going to go put Harry to bed." She told James, leaning over to peck his lips before she stood and went to the stairs that led to their bedroom, just as a knock sounded on the door.
"I'll get it. It's probably Wormtail, coming to give Harry a little Halloween present," James jokes, brightened up at the prospect of one of his friends visiting. But Lily had a bad feeling, and picked up the pace, reaching the top of the stairs as James got to the door.
"James, your wand!"
But James didn't listen, and she heard the door open as she got to Harry's nursery.
"It's him! Lily! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off!"
But he doesn't have his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Lily barely held back the scream bubbling in her chest, hearing James' body hit the stairs as she shut and locked the nursery door behind her. She put Harry down in the crib and kissed his head a few times.
"I love you so much, Harry. You are so deeply, and dearly loved, my baby. M-Mummy is here, so go to sleep," She whispered, tears dripping down her cheeks as she rubbed his belly, watching his brilliant green eyes close just as the door to the nursery explodes in.
She screams in fright before standing and turning, putting Harry behind her as she watched the Dark Lord stalk into the room, his features hidden by the cloak.
"Stand aside, girl, and your life will be spared."
"No! Don't you have a heart?! He's just a baby!"
"I won't tell you again, girl. Move!"
"Never! Don't touch my son, he is innocent!"
Voldemort's hold on his wand tightened and the air grew heavy with his magic, responding to his irritation.
"Last chance, girl. Move aside."
"No! Kill me instead, don't touch my son!"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Lily's life flashed before her eyes quickly, and even knowing that she had barely gotten to live out her life, she didn't regret her choice to sacrifice herself for her son.
The spell hit her, and she was weightless.
"Lily Potter, formerly Evans, descendant of Grindelwald. You have a choice ahead of you."
Who is speaking? What does that mean? She isn't the descendant of Grindelwald.
"Oh, but you are. I am Death, and you, have a choice."
A choice? But I am dead, how can I have a choice?
"Because we have been woken from our slumber by a pretender, and will take back the reigns of the world he believes he holds. Now, look."
(Below, Lily can see Voldemort approach her child and raise his wand, a green light forming at the tip.)
No!
"Your son will survive this. Now, your choice." (The scene below pauses as the spell fires from Voldemort's wand.)
"Let your son be raised by your abusive sister and made into a child soldier who would die before he could truly live, or send the boy back in time to grow up healthy, loved, and with his soulmate? Choose your son's fate, Lily Potter, and accompany him on his journey."
There is no choice at all. Any mother would want their child to be happy, healthy, and loved. To find the one- or more- destined for them. Send my son back in time to where his soulmate is, and let me stay with him to protect him.
"As you wish."
(The scene below resumes, with the spell backfiring, and when the scene calms, neither Voldemort, nor Harry Potter, are in the nursery.)
?????
????
"What in Merlin's name.." Unspeakable Emerald murmured quietly in shock as he entered the time room. The room was as large as always, with a giant golden time turner in the middle of the room, sitting on a mound of sand and the top of the time turner nearly reaches the ceiling, about halfway there.
There had been no magical explosions. No burn marks on the black walls or floors, nothing displaced, clocks still on the walls and ticking away in the annoying sound that can make or break new Time unspeakables.
No, the room was exactly the same as it always was.
Except, it wasn't.
Because there is a toddler asleep in the sand with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead above his right eye, with the end of it going down through his eye and to his cheek. It looked fresh, yet the babe slept as if nothing was hurting. Next to the babe was a large black cat, a Maine Coon if Unspeakable Emerald was correct, curled up next to the boy as if they were cuddling.
He quietly shuts the door to the time room and looks back at the other Unspeakables behind him, who were waiting to start their duties.
"Unspeakable Onyx, go get the Head Unspeakable. The rest of you, you will be starting your shifts 20 minutes later. Disperse." It paid to be a Head Unspeakable at times like this, watching them all turn and disperse without a word.
It took 10 minutes for Head Unspeakable Gold to arrive, and he opened the door to check on the cat and babe every 2 minutes while he waited.
When Head Unspeakable Gold appeared, he stood straight and gave her a slight bow.
"Explain."
"I opened the door to the time room at exactly 12:00 AM to begin my, and the other time Unspeakables, shifts. I found.. well." He opens the door to let her see exactly why he had called her, and she didn't hesitate to walk into the room and straight to the babe and the cat. He followed her in, shutting the door behind them.
"When will the other Unspeakables return?"
"9 minutes."
"Collect the cat, I'll get the babe. We'll apparate to my office and I'll call for Healer Wilson before we decide where to go from there." She orders, and he leans down to pick up the unconscious cat as she picks up the infant, then grabs his arm and apparates them to her office.
Perks of being Head Unspeakable.
She transfigures a chair into a cot and lays the babe down before going to kneel at her fireplace, calling for healer Wilson over at St. Mungo's. Unspeakable Emerald followed her lead and transfigured the other chair into a cage, setting the cat inside and locking it before he stood back against the wall, quietly observing.
It took less than a minute for Healer Wilson to come through, her aged face shocked at the sight of the babe and the cat. "I had thought you had finally gained a sense of humor, Gold." She mutters as she immediately starts casting diagnostic charms with a frown of concentration on her face.
Her expression didn't lighten as she finished and read over the reports.
"Other than his scar, he is completely healthy." She hands the diagnostic report over to Head Unspeakable Gold before starting on the cat, grumbling about how she isn't an animal doctor, only to have a look of surprise on her face as she reads the report.
"Well. This cat is a cat, and also completely healthy. Her name is Lily Potter, as the babe's name is Harry Potter. But I know the Potters, and neither of these two could possibly be from that family."
Head Unspeakable Gold simply obliviated Healer Wilson and sent her back to St. Mungo's before conducting a blood test on the babe, Harry.
She sits at her desk as she watches the boy's bloodline be revealed to her, though it stops at 3 generations back, as if something was blocking her from seeing further. She frowns, unsure of why it was being blocked, since as she understands it, nothing could block a Gringotts blood test.
The minutes pass by quietly while her mind works, before she sighs and stands.
"So far, these two are not a threat. But, to be sure, we'll keep them in the department to be watched for a week. Assuming nothing happens during that time, we'll find a family for them to go to. Speak nothing of this, Senior Unspeakable Emerald."
Unspeakable Emerald went home that night, shedding his Unspeakable robes and once more becoming Jean King, a man who is happily married and wondering how to breach the topic weighing down his mind with his wife.
Effie, their only house elf, appeared and took his work robes for him, and he gave her a quiet 'thank you' with a smile.
"Effie, where is Elaine?" He asks quietly before the elf can pop away, and she hugs his robes to her small body.
"In the master bedroom, master Jean, she be tired."
"Thank you, Effie." He thanks her again before he goes up the stairs to find his wife, opening the door and immediately finding her on the bed in her night gown, her long blonde hair braided for bed and reading her current book. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and gives him a beautiful smile, her green eyes sparkling and reminding him why he chose 'Emerald' as his Unspeakable name.
"Welcome home," She greets him as she closes her book and he walks over to sit on the edge of the bed by her blanket covered legs, resting his hand on her knee. A few years ago, they discovered that Jean was infertile, which meant they wouldn't be having any biological kids together, and had only recently warmed up to the idea of adoption.
"Jean?" He blinks a few times and looks up at her from where his gaze had drifted towards his hand on her knee, sighing and rubbing his face with his free hand.
"Sorry, I just.. You know how we said we were open to adopting?" He asks quietly, dropping his hand to his lap to meet her gaze again. She sits up a little bit more, leaning forward and putting her hand over his, waiting for him to continue as she gives a small nod, reluctant hope in her eyes.
"At work, today.. I can't tell you the details, not yet. But.. there is a baby, a boy- he can't be much younger than 2 years old, and, if things go well.. he's going to need a home."
Elaine grips his hand and takes a deep breath, containing the hope and excitement thats trying to fill her body right then. It would do no good to get excited over something that might not happen.
Slowly, she breathes out before looking back at her husband. "If that baby needs a home, ours will be open to him. It's.. certainly sounding like he arrived in an unconventional way," Merlin, he loves this woman. He hasn't even told her about how he arrived, yet she knows the seriousness of the situation.
"But babies need all the love and support they can get to grow up healthy and strong. Any baggage that baby has can be dealt with by his future parents, which is hopefully us. And I'm sure the goblins wouldn't mind helping," Sometimes, being a curse breaker with a great relationship with the Goblins of Gringotts came in handy.
Tension that Jean didn't even realize he was carrying bled from his shoulders as he breathed, lowering his head to rest his forehead on her shoulder. He had seen that baby boy, Harry, for less than an hour, and the boy hadn't even been awake, yet he was already attached. He had been worried Elaine would think it would be too soon after their decision to adopt a child, but something in him, in his heart, told him that Harry was meant to be theirs.
"I'll speak to my boss in the morning," Jean murmurs as he lifts his head, sharing a few soft kisses with Elaine before he got up to get ready for bed.
On November 7th, Jean and Elaine King walked out of Gringotts with their new son, Hadrian 'Hari' James King, and his black cat Lily walking at their sides.