Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT!
Ok, hello. SilverMagick13 here and this is my first fanfiction piece, so please… be kind! Please Read & Review... all reviews welcome, but don't flame, b/c it is just a waste of your time and mine… so please be nice. If you don't like what I have written, critical reviews are fine. Other than that…I hope you enjoy my story.
Oh and SORRY ABOUT THE EXCLAIMATION MARKS..... sheesh. Really, I don't know why I did that! Had I realized it, it wouldn't have been left that way. Honestly... I shall refrain from the marks.... period.
So for all those who have already read this, and complained about the marks, I am re-loading it. This is just a revised version. May it be a better read.
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Prologue
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Many years ago, before the creation of the Four Great Kingdoms, a strong and powerful king controlled most of the wizarding world. He was a kind and just ruler, and his kingdom mirrored that with its abundant wealth and strength. But the king, and proud father of 4, was old and was nearing the end of his days. He pondered on which of his children were best to rule in his stead. Godric the brave? Rowena the wise? Helga the loyal? Or Salazar the cunning?
Thus he decided to split his grand kingdom. In equal shares, he gave each of his children a quarter. But, in the center, where the four kingdoms met laid an equal radius void of any ownership by the four kingdoms… here in this radius of free land stood the King's castle Hogwarts, and the small town of Hogsmeade. This land remained free of claim, the birthplace to each of the four royals, and none rightfully owned it but the king.
So the lands were divided on the night of Halloween, to Godric, Rowena, Helga, and Salazar. They each chose a name and a coat of arms to suit their kingdom, and their coronations were held at the Hogwarts Castle. Thus beginning the rule of the Four Great Kingdoms!
Gryffindor: The Court of the Chivalrous and Brave.
Ravenclaw: The Realm of the Wise.
Hufflepuff: The Land of the Loyal.
Slytherin: The Kingdom of the Cunning and Ambitious.
Over time, the kingdoms began to mimic the virtues of their respective rulers. Gryffindor had become one the strongest, and most daring kingdoms in the land. Ravenclaw boomed as the prominent intellectual center, and their wit endless. Hufflepuff was known to the most loyal to all kingdoms, hard working and "Unafraid of toil!" was their motto. And then came Slytherin, quit choosy when it came to those who were citizens of its lands, was the slickest and most conniving kingdom of the four.
The Four Kingdoms flourished under the rule of their monarchs, each strong and steadfast. But unfortunately, as all good things come to an end, so did the time of the grand High King of Hogwarts. This was a sad time for each of the kingdoms, and the streets of the kingdoms were mournful and desolate. But before his death, the king had asked his children to preserve the castle, to never let it die! And from this, the four rulers came together to found the wizarding world's first ever, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Thus, with the late High King's right hand advisor as the caretaker of the castle and the creation of the Sorting Hat as an equal medium for sorting students into their respective houses, the school began.
Everything was peaceful until Salazar, king of Slytherin, insisted it would be in the best interest of the school and kingdoms if only the purest of Purebloods be allowed to attend Hogwarts. Naturally, the Four Founders refused, saying that bloodlines have nothing to do with the success of the student and its powers. Argument after argument finally lead to the withdrawal of the fourth king and founder, but he didn't leave quietly, for he vowed that one day his heir and most loyal follower would some day set it all right, and no mudblood or any other half-ling would muddy the halls of the school or eventually the Four Kingdoms ever again.
Once Salazar left, he started his own school of it within his marshy country and denying admittance to any who wasn't born of magical purity. He called his school Durmstrang. Here in this school he taught the form of Dark Arts to all his students. This outraged the other rulers, but being out of their jurisdiction, they had no power against it.
Years after the Hogwarts dispute, Princess Relena, daughter of Queen Rowena of Ravenclaw, too decided to start her own school. With the blessings of her aunt Helga and uncle Godric, the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic was started. The three schools thrived, and a small healthy competition soon developed between the three schools.
Relations between the Four Kingdoms remained quite well, although with some strain from Slytherin, the Four Kingdoms blossomed. Lands expanded, strengths stabilized, and reputations grew.
For a thousand or so years, things remained the same. That was, until the Slytherin King, Voldemort, felt it was his duty to follow in the footsteps of Slytherin's finest king Salazar. His first mission, other than complete domination, was to rid the world of the unclean, unfit witches and wizards of muggle decent, and even the muggles themselves. In his quake, he obliterated anything and everything in his path. For 11 years this continued as he ransacked villages, destroyed fortresses, and terrorized everyone.
Little did he know that his downfall would be met within the walls of his greatest enemy.s castle, before the infant prince Harry Potter of Gryffindor!
On the night of Halloween, Lord Voldemort planed to destroy the Gryffindorian Court to establish himself at the top of the most powerful Kingdom in the land. Already wounding the other two Kingdoms, Voldemort wanted the Scarlet and Gold Kingdom of Gryffindor to fall, to burn! He wanted the royals to suffer, as he wanted the kingdom to suffer. At this, Voldemort paralyzed the newly crowned King, James. He stunned and killed any servant or figure that crossed his path, all the while dragging the King with him. King James struggled as best he could in his paralysis as Voldemort maliciously made his way up staircases and down corridors. Finally Voldemort stopped, he had reached his destination and King James' eyes widened in horror as he realized where Voldemort had gone to, the nursery.
Voldemort slammed King James against the opposite wall of the nursery door, making certain that James had a perfect seat to see what he had in store. Voldemort blasted the nursery double doors open and a loud shriek echoed from it - Queen Lily. In her arms she clutched her son of one year and three months, Harry. Voldemort sneered.
"Milady, how wonderful it is to see you." he drawled in his cold voice. "And who might this be? Young Prince Harry?" Queen Lily's eyes expanded as she watched Voldemort fix his eyes upon her son. Trying her best to conceal him from the monster before her, she quickly began to move away. As she did so, she noticed James limp body against the wall across the hall.
"What have you done to him!" she demanded. Without taking his eyes off of Harry, he sneered.
"Oh, him?" he said, nodding his head behind him, "Just a simple paralysis spell, nothing too harmful, don't worry." Then his evil smirk faded away. "Now, Give Me The Boy!" he demanded. But when Lily went to reach for her wand, Voldemort hit her directly in the chest with the Expelliarmus charm. She flew backward, her wand falling to her far right. Landing hard with a loud whimper, she had managed to protect young Harry from any harm, although he had started to cry quite loudly. Quickly, Lily tucked Harry behind her shielding him from Voldemort's view. Lily looked in horror as Voldemort began to advance on her.
"Accio wand!" she yelled, but before she could grasp it, Voldemort had caught it.
"Now, now, your Majesty. I had hoped we could have done this devoid of any struggle, but seeing that you are so adamant, perhaps pain would suit you best?" Voldemort looked down to her with his merciless red-blood eyes. "Crucio!"
Voldemort watched with content as her body racked with waves of intense pain. Her blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the halls, and silent tears fell from James' eyes as he watched helplessly as his beloved wife was tortured before him. He mentally struggled against his physical bonds, but the spell wouldn't give!
Finally, Voldemort lifted the attack, and Lily panted and shook weakly. As she got up off of the floor, she turned to Harry who sat beside her, still slightly crying.
"Now, give me the boy." He said softly but deadly. But Lily didn't, instead she placed one hand on Harry's stomach and another on the back of his head, and began to chant. At first it was inaudible, but she gradually got louder, calling out the incantation to her spell. Lily and Harry's bodies began to glow with a soft scarlet glow as she continued with her spell.
Voldemort, now quite vexed, yelled in fury. He pointed his wand at Lily, and hurled her across the room. With a sickening thud she hit the wall. She slid down to the floor weakly. At first both he and James thought she had been knocked out, but then she slowly lifted her head to look at Voldemort. She tried to move, but the pain from the impact of the wall and the Cruciatus curse combined left her body aching. But in truth, the spell she had done to Harry had left her void of any strength.
Voldemort then turned his attention to Harry once more. He heard a soft whimper float behind him, but know the Queen hadn't any more energy left in her body to move a muscle. He then raised his want to Harry. A sound of struggling came from the doorway and he realized that the paralysis charm must be wearing off of the King.
'No matter. This will only take a moment.' he thought as he uttered the most deadly of curses before the child, "Avada Kedavra!" he called.
James had just broken free of the spell, and had leapt to his feet to protect his son when he heard Voldemort call out that horrible curse. He froze.
'No.' he thought numbly. 'Harry.' He watched helplessly, as time seemed to slow down, torturing him, as a bolt of blinding green light shot from Voldemort's murderous wand straight at his son. But suddenly, miraculously, when he thought it was all over for his family, he watched as the green light unexpectedly rebounded off of his little boy and shot directly at its conjurer.
Voldemort's anguished screams boomed throughout the castle. A horrible hissing sound was heard and suddenly James watched as a grayish ghostlike wisp of smoke filtered out through the folds of Voldemort's fallen robes. As it emerged, a horrible wail of agony was heard. James stood in the doorway, stunned, and the wisp of smoke rammed mercilessly into James as it went to flee from the castle. James was throw across the hall by the impact, and watched as the ghostlike figure whirled away. Then quickly he rushed into the nursery.
"Lily! Harry! Are you alright!" he called as he entered. His wife was lying helplessly in a heap of dress folds against the wall. Harry's wails of fear and pain resonated throughout the room.
"Harry." Lily called weakly. James quickly ran over to his son, and held him tightly to him, then ran over to his wife's side. When he pulled Harry away from his chest, he noticed a small trickle of blood run from his forehead and down the side of his small head. James quickly applied pressure to the wound.
"It's ok son," he said soothingly. "It's alright." He then turned his attention to Lily. Her face was pale and her eyes dull and brimmed with tears. A small weak smile formed as she looked into her husband's eyes.
"James," she spoke softly. "Where's Harry?"
"He is right here," he replied, handing over his son. She hugged him close and silent tears began to stream rapidly down her young face. "Lily…"
"Take care of him James!" she interjected. "Take care of him for me, tell him I loved him!" James, not liking the direction of the conversation, cupped her face in her hands and tried to soothe her.
"What are you talking about?" he asked shakily.
"James, I'm not going to make…" she started
"Stop it! You're going to be fine, everything is going to be alright Lily." he told her as tears began to run down his own cheeks now. Harry had calmed down and was lying against her chest. James looked to Harry and stroked his ebony hair. His son. Lily's son. Lily…
He looked back up to Lily. He loved her so much. He caressed her face lovingly. She and Harry meant the world to him!
"James," she whispered as she touched his cheek. She looked despairingly into his eyes. "I love you."
And with that, her small, delicate hand slowly drifted toward the floor. James watched in horror as her emerald eyes closed and her head lolled over, as she drifted out of consciousness. Just then Sirius and Remus flew into the room.
"James is everything alright?" yelled Sirius, a long bloody gash on his right cheek. "All the Death Eaters fled and …" but he never finished his sentence, for he had seen the unconscious Lily.
"Lily…" whispered Remus, in shock. He too sported a gash on his face, starting above his right eye, over the bridge of his nose, and ending below his left eye on his cheekbone. Thankfully his wasn't serious.
Quickly, without listening to either of then, James took hold of Harry and handed him over to Sirius.
"Take Harry, and follow me." He told Sirius. He then slipped a hand around Lily's waist and another under her knees, and lifted her, resting her head upon his chest. They raced up to the hospital wing as fast as they could, Sirius still applying pressure to Harry's small forehead.
Hours later, after the arrival of James' most trusted adviser, and Hogwarts Headmaster, Dumbledore and his trusted mediwitch, Madame Pomfrey, Lily began to show signs of consciousness. James had not once left her side and was now sitting in a chair beside her, rocking a sleepy, bandaged, Harry in his arms. The cut on his forehead was fairly deep and would permanently scar, but thankfully it wasn't too deep for stitchings.
"James," came a weak voice beside him.
"Lily!" he called as he moved closer to Lily. She began to stir a little and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled a frail little smile, but it lit up her face all the same. "Thank Merlin, you're alright." he said as he sat gently beside her, Harry still in his arms. She struggled to sit up but her weak arms couldn't support her weight. That was when she realized where she was. The hospital wing.
"James, what happened?" she asked as James magically made the head of the bed bend forward, making it easy for her to sit up. He looked to her strangely.
"Don't you remember?" Suddenly all the memories came flooding back to her. James watched as realization dawned on her.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, her hand clasped against her mouth. "Harry! Is he alright?"
"Yes dear, he is right here." and James handed Harry over to his mother. Lily hugged him tightly and kissed his head softly.
"But ... how?" she managed to get out. "I mean... the curse? How did he survive it?"
"Because of you." came a voice from behind the King. Dumbledore. "It was because of the spell you had preformed on little Harry that saved him."
"But it was a simple shielding charm, it wasn't strong enough to block a curse such as that!" countered Lily.
"Ah, but what you don't understand is the power behind the actual spell, the intention, the bond between a mother and her child and the desperation behind the spell. That was what protected him." Dumbledore replied in his deep soothing voice. "Magic is an unpredictable, complicated force. It has yet to be understood, even by the greatest of wizards. And you and your son are proof of that."
"But, Professor, what of Voldemort?" asked James. "Is he dead? What happened?" Dumbledore just sighed.
"I am afraid I cannot answer that question, your highness. And for that I am sorry." James sighed as well, and looked to Lily and Harry.
There and then he vowed never to allow such a thing to ever plague his family again. He would rebuild his kingdom to be the strongest, most heavily feared kingdom of the Four Kingdoms, no matter what it took, and that he would destroy any who posed a threat against his family or kingdom ever again!
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Fhew! That was long. This is just the prologue, only written as a base. Hope you like the next chapter. Thanx for reading.