Consequence of Folly
07:30 P.M.
A Street in Muggle London,
1st November, 1981.
A couple of people were listening animatedly to a guitarist who was performing an age old country tune. A young couple were slowly dancing to the tune while the onlookers were cheering and smiling at young love displaying their passion for each other to their heart's content. About a yard back, a police officer was slowly taking on the scene, no emotions visible in his face, although his feet were tapping to the rythm of the music. He was keeping a keen eye on the street so that no unruly riots break open in this merrymaking. Two Queen's guards were breathing in their cigars, talking about the affairs of the State.
The people were enjoying in the tranquil merrymaking in the street of London. The guitarist was playing his tune, his eyes closed, lost in the melody, when he faintly became aware of a series of sounds matching his rythm like drums. Glad that someone was taking his performance seriously, he opened his eyes only to find no one playing drums. Instead the drumming sound came from a dark alleyway on the left flank of the street.
Unnaturally he noticed that the grounds were giving off a slight tremor with the force of the drumming sounds. The people were gradually starting to notice as the young couple were frequently losing their coordination and balance in their dance steps. The police man's hands went to his pistol, while the guards slowly advanced their hands to their bayonets. All three were advancing towards the drumming when an explosion came off from the alley and two men came out of the alley, one being thrown off balance and spirallng down to the street while the other with a crazed look on his face, almost galloping after him.
"How could you, Peter?! How could you betray James and Lily?!! Did their kidness and friendship mean nothing to you that you sold them out without sparing a second glance?!! They trusted you! They trusted you and you...you shattered that like a fragile glass pane!!", shouted Sirius.
"But you don't understand Sirius, the Dark Lord, he...he was too powerful, I would have died, he would have tortured me to no ends, I had no choice but to speak!" squeaked Peter.
"Then you should have died! Died for your friends!! And don't give me any of that shit about having no choice! Your house had no signs...not even a shred of evidence that there had been a struggle! You willingly gave away their location! I won't forgive you! I will kill you! Bombarda!" shouted Sirius.
Peter hurriedly rolled off to avoid getting blasted in the face. The police officer shouted,"Knees down! Arms behind your back! You stop whatever you are doing! You are destroying public property!". Peter looked down in the conundrum that followed that there was a huge gas pipe left open in the explosion Sirius caused and it was steadily leaking gas. Turning away from Sirius, he pointed his wand at the gas pipe and shouted "Confringo!"
Sirius' eyes widened and hastened to cast a Protego Maxima, but the street wasn't so lucky. The combustible gas came in contact with the fire from Confringo and the whole street exploded inside out. In the dust, Peter quickly turned his wand to his left ring finger and muttered "Diffindo." His finger cut off, he transformed into a rat and scarpered off into the sewers.
Sirius was knocked off his feet and landed on his back with a thud. Stiffling down a groan, he stood up and took in the scene. What he saw would haunt him for years. Litters of bodies strewn hapazardly in the destroyed rubble of the street. He noticed shards of wood sticking out of a man, a man and a woman whose neck and ankle were bent in a disturbing angle, and chunks of bodies laying here and there. And in between all of these, Peter was nowhere to be seen. He felt hopeless and useless, he started laughing, laughing helplessly as his brain tried to process the massacre.
-Scene Shift to Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic, London-
The magic grid monitoring the use of magic in front of muggles went haywire. Bartemius Crouch Senior, head of DMLE, looked up to find a magical signature in a muggle street and the Statue of Secrecy being broken. He barked, "Aurors! Assemble quickly! A wizard has used magic in front of a muggle in a street of London! Dispatch immediately to the scene and intercept him quickly before he escapes!"
-Scene Shift to A Street in Muggle London-
He was aware that muggles were beginning to gather. They were murmuring among themselves. And then, aurors apparated to the street along with one Bartemius Crouch Sr, the head of the DMLE, in tow. The aurors pointed their wands at him and barked, "Wands down, Sirius Black! What is the meaning of this?!". Bartemius saw the deathfield around him and bile rose in his throat. He spoke with a deathly calm, "Is this your work, Black?"
Sirius was too absorbed in his grief to properly understand Bartemius' question. Instead he kept on chanting, "It's all my fault, it's my fault they are dead."
Bartemius heard it and thought he required no further explanation. He barked, "Snap his wand and throw him into Azkaban. I will have to report this. Auror Dawlish, count the casualties. Auror Shacklebolt, obliviate the witnesses."
Thus, Sirius Black was locked up in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit and Peter Pettigrew ran free. His last thoughts before falling asleep was in his haste, he forgot Harry, the one he should have looked after, rather than going after Peter.
08:00 P.M.
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts
1st November, 1981.
Albus Dumbledore was pacing in his office when there was a knock in his office. "Enter Severus."
Severus ran in front of him and shouted,"He's gone!"
"Who is gone?"
"The Dark Lord, Headmaster! He as of yesterday was boasting about ending the Potters and now, I can barely feel him through the Dark Mark! And the Mark! It has almost faded!" said Snape in one breath, holding out his right arm at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore stared at the almost non-existent mark, in shock. This means, Voldemort had gone to the Potter's residence and Hadrian has stopped him. He quickly trotted down to the Small Locked Tower, where the famous Book of Admittance and Quill of Acceptance was present, to see whether Hadrian's name had been scratched off or not. There, in glowing silver ink, where the names with the surname P's were present, the name written: Hadrian James Potter. The writing unblemished, meaning the boy is still alive.
He thought about the situation. Voldemort defeated, Hadrian still alive. It did fulfil parts of the prophecy. He could salvage the situation to mould the child into more pliable and obedient towards his orders. He thought that Hadrian must be brought up away from magical influence, so that he never tapers off into the Dark. He would have to think of ways to keep him off magic for eleven years. Also, he must not get involved in political affairs, since, the power might go into his head, given the high position the Potters stood in the Wizengamot. For the Light to succeed, Hadrian must be kept strictly in the Light. He thought where Hadrian must live to stay away from magic. Then he remembered. He walked to his desk, opened a drawer and took out a worn out letter. The name of the sender: Petunia Evans. He smiled inwardly, as long as he has Hadrian's blood, he can construct a blood magic ward to keep him safe. Petunia's aversion to magic will lead to Hadrian growing in a complete Muggle way, which would work quite well with his plans.
Thinking this through, he told Snape, "I shall go to Godric's Hollow. I need to put some measures before I return. After seeing the conditions, I shall send out word. Have a good night Severus. Sleep well in your new found freedom."
Snape scowled at the mention of freedom. The hypocrisy of it, to be free from one madman and oath-bound to another manipulator. Not exactly freedom is it? He scoffed at Dumbledore and turned, going away with his cloak billowing after him.
Dumbledore sighed at the retreating figure of Snape and nodded at Fawkes. Catching his tail feathers, they both flamed from the Headmaster's Office.
08:10 P.M.
Potter's Cottage, Godric's Hollow
1st November, 1981.
Albus Dumbledore looked at the dilapidated cottage, the place reeked of dark magic and the telltale signs of use of the Killing Curse. He entered through the huge hole at the entrance and brandished his wand. Drawing in his power, he casted "Appare Vestigium"
Golden mist started spreading out spirally from his wand and settled around the room. The events of last night started playing out. 'Hadrian was present in this room yesterday?! And he is no longer here now?!'. The more he saw the more his eyes widened. He had underestimated James and Lily, especially Lily. To use a silent gravity effect spell, the woman was dangerous. And what he saw next gave him a right shock. 'The Killing Curse rebounded?!! Impossible! What magic is this!' Then he saw from the dark ashes, two things came out. Eyebrows disappearing into the hairline, he saw a wraith come out of the dark lord's remains and a black mist hitting Hadrian. 'He is not dead?! What in the hell?!! This is ridiculous. First that magic with Hadrian and now Tom takes on a Killing Curse and still lives?' He saw the pale white wand of Voldemort blasted to smithereens in the magical backlash. Then he saw Sirius coming out and crying in front of James and Lily and talking about catching a rat. He could make no heads and tails of it. Sirius's animagus is a Grim, interesting. To be one to loathe his family, his animagus took on his family sigil. Then came a robed hooded man who stared at the scene and picked up Hadrian and left off. 'An Unspeakable? This will cause problems. For all my political prowess, that blasted Department was simply autonomous and was a tightly guarded group, far too much for my likes. I cannot barge into and demand an investigation.'
Dumbledore looked on morosely at his plan being ripped into shreds as Hadrian himself was not present. He felt a headache coming to him. He looked at the bodies of James and Lily. 'Hmm, I cannot salvage Hadrian, however I can create a hero complex for him. Let him see to live upto expectations of the Wizarding Public. I will see that tale of his heroism is published.' When the pressure of that will fall on an eleven year old, he will surely turn to him, since Albus himself was regarded as a hero for his contributions to the last Wizarding War. If only he could have put more pressure into James and Lily into trusting him when he talked to them about the fidelius ward, he could have had Hadrian in his grasp by now. He could have kept an alarm ward so that he would have been notified at the moment of the attack, or he could have kept a tracker on Harry's blood. No use lamenting now. He had made a mistake, he would have to consider all angles before doing something.
Proceeding to bury the bodies in the cemetry at Godric's Hollow, he flamed back to the Headmaster's Office to take some rest and prepare for the upcoming tasks.