It was a cold night, in Godric's Hallow, on October 31, 1981.
Families around the neighborhood had turned in for the evening, satisfied with their nights of laughter and candy and dressing up as monsters of the dark. Parents got their children ready for bed, tucking them in, and reading stories to calm them down. It had been a very long night, indeed. Some felt almost as though the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for....something. The air seemed to vibrate with continuously building energy.
In one particular home, though not visible to the people of Godric's Hollow, a family was preparing for the real event of the night to begin. Lily hummed little Harry's lullaby as she rocked him on her hip. With her one free hand, small objects floated onto the counter from inside the cupboard. Hadrian giggled, a soft hissing sound escaping his mouth as he watched them move through the air. Lily nuzzled his small nose with hers, and pressed his head gently against her chest. She hissed, responding quietly, and smiled into his curly dark brown hair.
Soft footsteps come from behind her, and she looked to see James entering the room. A bright smile spread across his face as he saw them. Floating jars of herbs floated steadily behind him, and set down on the table. He walked over, and wrapped the two into a tight hug. When he loosened the hug, he pressed a kiss to Hadrian's forehead. James kissed Lily on the lips, and held their son between them. Hadrian started squirming, James stepped back with a laugh playing on his lip. Little Harry switched between babbling and hissing, not quite able to tell the difference. The child reached out towards his dada. James scooped Harry into his arms, and Lily sighed in relief.
James looked at her over Hadrian's head, and said, "Sorry it took so long. It was difficult to decipher your fancy handwriting on those jars."
Lily huffed a laugh, and said, "It's okay. I didn't mind holding him for a bit. It's just that I wasn't able to set up the alter for the ritual. I will forgive you, though...For now, at least."
James smiled, amused as Lily started setting up the alter. He carry Harry over to the couch, and sat down with the kid on his lap. James pulled out his wand, and produced bubbles from the end of it. Hadrian giggled as he tried catching the bubbles, hissed quietly each time they popped.
A thought occurred in James' head, and he called out, "Lily…"
She responded, "Yeah?"
James continued, "Are you father and him gonna be here?"
Lily hummed as she walked into view, and said, "They both said that they would. Why?"
"Just wondering," James said, before asking, "Do you wanna draw the 'Sowelo' on him before the ritual? Just in case something goes wrong."
"Nothing will go wrong, James," Lily reassured him, "but it never hurts to be prepared."
Lily pulled a long needle out of her braid, and gently rubbed the skin on the left side of Hadrian's forehead. She whispered a numbing spell as she pushed her magic into the area. Once it was numb enough for her liking, she pressed the needle to his soft skin, and put a little pressure on the needle. The needle broke through the skin, and James made sure to hold the toddler in place as Lily carefully starved the 'Sowelo' into his forehead with a steady hand. As she carved the rune, she whispered the incantation to activate the rune of protection. She wiped away the blood dripping down Hadrian face, and cleaned the needle with a flick of her wrist. James rubbed circles on Hadrian's arms, where his hands rested, and whispered words of praise at the child for being so good. Lily pricked her finger with needle, making sure it coated in blood, and gently pried open Hadrian's mouth. She spelled the blood off the needle, and had the child swallow the blood of his mother to complete the protection spell.
The whispering wind was the only sound left after the deafening explosion rang out. Harsh geen light flashed throughout the place the Potter Family had been hiding in. A baby could be faintly heard crying out into the night; though the sound was muffled by the wind. The house, no longer under the Fidelius Charm, appeared on the street out of seemingly thin air. To this very day, ask anyone who was in Godric's Hallow that night and you will get the same answer. There had never been a house in that spot before. It's almost as if it appeared there by magic.
A man appeared up the street, and ran towards that Potter house; heaving by the time he reach the front door. He looked to be about twenty; he had short, fluffy black hair that sat in small curls and eyes as silver as the full moon. He took a few deep breaths before opening the clearly damaged door. The first thing he saw was the cold and lifeless body of James Potter. He choked down a sob, he could mourn the man later, and kept moving.
The sound of crying echoed through the empty house. Lily never let Hadrian cry for very long before checking on him, and from the sound of it, he had been crying for awhile. The man followed the sounds of crying until he came upon the open door of the nursery. Lily's body was splayed out on the floor in front of Hadrian's crib.
At the sight of a living person, Hadrian stopped sobbing. The man stepped carefully around Lily's body, and approached the crib. He nearly gasped in surprise. Hadrian had a lightning shaped scar that went from his hairline to the bottom of his cheek. The scar went straight through the middle of his left eye; that eye was a very pale green, almost white, instead of a vibrant green his other eye was. It almost looked like electricity moving across the left side of his face; all bright red from only being newly formed. He schooled his expression, and with a smile, he knelt down on a knee and whispered to Hadrian," Hey little Hades, I'm your Papa Reggie. Do you remember me?"