The Chosen Ones and the War of Many
October 31st 1994. Harry James Potter’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, despite having been missing since October 31st 1981. But the Triwizard Tournament’s Magical Contract means he must compete or risk losing his magic. Here enters Hal Leblanc, an unassuming Gryffindor student known only for his protectiveness of his adoptive sister Rosie Leblanc, and Harry Potter in disguise. Raised by a hidden Sirius Black and hidden from Dumbledore in plain sight in Hogwarts, Hal must navigate through a deadly tournament, new offers of alliances and an unexpected discovery of a secret society older than Hogwarts herself.
The year is 1981 and a very different war is being fought. There is Lord Voldemort and the Knights of Walpurgis, advocating the Blood Supremacy and the annihilation of Non-Magicals. Opposing him openly is the Order of the Phoenix, lead by the so-called Leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore. The Ministry of Magic is being being torn apart in the midst of Voldemort’s open warfare against Muggles and Dumbledore’s Guerrilla Tactics. But behind the scenes, another battle is being fought, by two opposing factions of an organization founded by Merlin himself, the Ouroboros Circle. Since the end of the Grindelwald War, the then younger Augusta Longbottom opposed the older Arcturus Black III. Augusta stood for the Origins, relying on the old ways, keeping power with those who knew what to do with it and keeping the New Bloods separate from the Old Bloods to keep both pure. Arcturus differed, having seen the ideals Augusta believed in used to fuel Grindelwald. He felt while knowledge and respect of the old ways was important, Wizardkind needed to innovate and create new paths, power needed to be spread out so one single person could not control the rest and the New Bloods needed to learn the old ways to remain pure. Caught up in their own struggle for control, they missed Voldemort’s decisive grab for power.
Because of the Circle’s turmoils, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter decided against inducting James and his friends into their lifelong commitment to keep Wizardkind safe from those without magic and vice versa. Sirius never learned of their mission because his parents’ radical opinions meant Arcturus never brought his son into the fold, and was too distracted to induct Sirius. When Albus sought new members for his organization, they were free to join and in doing so became enemies of Voldemort.
But James and Sirius know as purebloods of influential families that there is something influencing this war other than the obvious. When tensions rise in the Order due to rumours of a spy, they stage a break up to assess the reactions of others, drawing the other Marauders into their fallout without telling them anything. Their suspicions means Dumbledore’s suggestion of a Fidelius Charm falls on deaf ears. The prophecy is enough to worry all the Marauders, convincing Peter he was right to defect to the Dark Lord.
Regulus, more cautious than his brother and less radical than his parents was a little more discreet than he might have been in another world. His discovery of Voldemort‘s Locket Horcrux came at the same time he heard rumours of Voldemort‘s other ‘priceless treasures’ and he remained at the Dark Lord’s side to find out the truth.
Frank Longbottom had joined the Circle in his Hogwarts years, but before he even knows to warn her, Alice follows her Gryffindor roommates Lily Potter nee Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary MacDonald to Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix. As they were engaged to be married, Frank joins the Order with the intention to spy on them for the Circle and tell Alice the truth of his allegiance once he is certain of her occlumancy skills. Unfortunately, this never happens.
October 31st 1981. Voldemort decides to go after Neville Longbottom as only a pureblood could oppose him in his mind. He gets the secret of his location from Frank Longbottom, whom he killed leaving the ministry after planning to go into hiding after hearing the prophecy from Dumbledore. Voldemort found found Neville silently, casting the killing curse before Alice awoke, but the curse rebounded, killing Voldemort instead. A frantic Alice and Neville is found by Augusta, who shares enough Circle knowledge that remaining in the Wizarding World where Dumbledore’s influence will only grow after Voldemort’s defeat is dangerous for Neville and urges Alice to flee to the Muggle world.
Desperate for a sacrificial hero, Dumbledore goes to the Potters, only to find James and Lily unconscious from overexposure to the Crucio Curse and Harry gone. It is discovered that it was Sirius Black who took Harry and Albus assumes it was on the Dark Lord’s orders. But a Ministry search can not find either Sirius or Harry.
So Neville Longbottom is named the Boy-Who-Lived, lost to the Wizarding World and Harry Potter an unfortunate victim to the Dark Lord’s minions.
But the Members of the Nights of Walpurgis, known by the young as Death Eaters, know that Sirius Black was not on their side. However, they cannot prove so with their Master gone and they bribe their way out of Azkaban to watch and wait for an opportunity to strike next.
Because they were not caught during their attack on the Potters, Bellatrix, Rodolphous and Rebastan Lestrange escape Azkaban with Barry Crouch Jr. Bellatrix and Rodolphous have a son but are caught a few years later attacking the Weasleys for information on the Dark Lord. Rigel Raban Lestrange was left to his uncle Rebastan’s care. He would later be sorted into Slytherin to no one’s surprise.
Molly Weasley was killed in the attack, leaving a mourning Arthur and seven young children. The children’s Great Uncle and Aunt, Ignatius and Lucretia Prewett came to help with the younger children, leading to an improved Burrow and closer familiar ties. In a Light family, Percy surprised everyone and no one who knew him by being sorted into Slytherin, having clung to his Great Aunt after the attack and learning some of her Black Ways. It would surprise no one when Ron was sorted into Ravenclaw, and Ginny into Hufflepuff.
After Voldemort’s disappearance, Regulus knew it would not last and, lacking any other options, went to his Grandfather. Both Arcturus and Regulus were surprised by the resulting conversation, Arcturus because he would never have believed Voldemort’s insanity in splitting his soul and wondering how he had missed the signs and Regulus because of the secret organization his Grandfather was a part of, trying to prevent abominations like this from occurring. Having risen to a stable position in the Dark Lord’s inner circle, Regulus reluctantly agreed to remain close to the other former Death Eaters while trying to find out the exact number and locations of the Horcruxes. With Sirius missing, on the run and supposedly kicked out of the family by their parents, Regulus remained the Black Heir. He married a fellow Slytherin Lucinda Talkalot pureblood and they had three children, rare in the Wizarding World. Arista Melania Black, Alcyone Cassiopeia Black, and Leonis Orion Black were all Slytherin and would break tradition by allowing Arista the Black Heirship despite having a younger brother. Although he kept his wife in the dark about his true allegiance, Regulus would eventually tell his children after trying to prepare them growing up. Even so, Lucinda definitely knew he wasn’t as firm a believer in the Dark Lord’s ways as others would believe.
Peter Pettigrew on the other hand had the opposite problem as Regulus. Having followed the Dark Lord in secret, he didn’t have to hide when Voldemort vanished. His relationship with others in the Order of the Phoenix was strained however, because of all the secrets he kept in the war and he found himself surprisingly joined by Barry Crouch Jr. in looking for a way to bring the Dark Lord back. However, as suspicions arose about what he was up to, Peter married a weak-willed Hufflepuff Maria Boyle and the two had a son, Timothy. But Maria would eventually leave Peter, taking Timothy with her, because of their differences and his secret obsession with the dark arts. During the few visits he got with his son, Peter impressed the knowledge of something greater than the Light to him, leaving behind a dark seed. Timothy Peter Boyle would go on to be a Hufflepuff and a supporter of not only the pureblood ideals but Voldemort himself.
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. But their two children were not. Not saddled with an unwanted freak, Petunia and Vernon gave Dudley a younger sister named Peony, and when both ended up displaying signs of magic at a young age, Petunia realized she could live her childhood dream through her children. Luckily, their neighbour, Mrs. 7 Privet Drive also known as Mrs. Eleanore Martins had a sister ‘in-the-know’ Emmeline Vance. Emmeline helped keep the Dursley children’s magic manageable, taught the Dursley’s what they needed to know about the Wizarding World, and became a well known friend of the family. However Emmeline was also a spy, not once but twice over. Emmeline’s squib sister Eleanore had been placed at Privet Drive to give cover for Emmeline to watch over the Dursley family by Albus Dumbledore, having both feared the Dark Lord’s followers - namely Sirius Black - might come after them for the relation to Harry Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans. But Emmeline had another allegiance. A few years younger than the future Alice Longbottom, she was tutored by Alice and protected from other student who mocked her for having a squib sibling. When Alice disappeared with Neville after Voldemort’s downfall, she went to Emmeline for help on navigating the muggle world. In return, Emmeline learned about Augusta’s suspicions about Albus and agreed to help both Longbottoms in their quest to protect Neville. Knowing Alice meant Emmeline knew Lily and from Lily, knew of Petunia and agreed to help Augusta keep an eye on Lily’s extended family. After seeing her devotion and her increasing suspicions on Dumbledore herself, Augusta inducted Emmeline into the Origins Chapter of the Ouroboros Circle. Thus, Dudley and Peony learned of more than Albus may have wanted them to know about the politics of the Wizarding World. Dudley would go into Gryffindor and Peony in Hufflepuff.
Draco Malfoy would grow up with not only other Death Eater children as playmates but pureblood cousins as well. Being the oldest of the Black cousins, he believed himself his younger cousins’ protector. With this experience, and with his Uncle Regulus’ teachings, Draco learns discretion and subtlety as well as how to evaluate his father’s words. The Draco who comes to Hogwarts is a quieter Slytherin, at the top of the food chain for his year, but second to his cousin Arista. When rumours of the Dark Lord’s expected return reach him, he is given the choice to spy on his peers or be granted protection, not by the Light, but by the Drake Chapter of the Ouroboros Circle by Uncle Regulus. He chooses the first, never having completely rid himself of his Gryffindor tendency to do reckless things.
Born before the Fall of the Dark Lord, Draco’s godfather was his father’s close friend in Voldemort’s inner circle, Severus Snape. But after realizing that by telling the Dark Lord the beginning of the prophecy had put Lily in danger, Severus regretted his actions. But the one he went to was not Dumbledore. He went to Lily herself, to beg forgiveness for everything he had done in the past and that he would like to help in any way he could. She of course forgave him, always having mourned their past relationship as siblings, especially with Petunia pushing her away. Without consulting James, she repeated the godfather ceremony, giving Harry a second godfather. With this bond, there was no way Severus would be able to cause harm to Harry without risking his own life. Forgiven, Severus went to Albus, seeking help but keeping his arrangement with Lily a secret. But Albus wanted Severus to continue to work with the Dark Lord, as a spy, claiming passing on information the best repentance there could be. When Voldemort asked his inner circle their opinions on which child could be the one in the prophecy, Severus could only say Neville, his bond to Harry preventing him from causing harm even in this indirect way, despite dooming another child. But the spy in the Order condemned him, as Severus didn’t know who the spy was but the spy had discovered Severus and told the Dark Lord. Severus was imprisoned and tortured by his former allies, including the father of his other godchild, Lucius Malfoy. It was luck for him that Voldemort disappeared that night, causing the wards around the manor to fall and Aurors resume him from death. Severus was revealed to have been Dumbledore’s spy in the ranks of the Dark Lord, and protected from legal prosecutions. He mourned for Lily because despite not being completely dead, her mind was unlikely to recover, same as with James. When Albus offered him a job at Hogwarts teaching potions, he nearly refused, but was convinced due to easier access to the potions ingredients he would need to search for a cure for Lily. Becoming Slytherin head of house was something no one wanted, not him, nor the other teachers, nor his students. The Slytherins felt he could betray them like he betrayed their parents, even those who didn’t believe in the Dark Lord’s ideology. But what Albus wanted, Albus got.
Which is why it was so frightening when Severus discovered Albus’ search for the Deathly Hallows, even more so when he realized only the stone was missing.
Two boys switched places that October night, not because of a whim but many many happenings.
Neville Longbottom grew up with his mother Alice in the middle of Muggle London. Along with Emmeline’s help, Alice found help from Remus Lupin, or rather, they helped each other. Remus knew more about the muggle world than Alice, and helped her settle down in a small bookshop and flat. He had become disillusioned with Albus when he realized Albus was doing nothing to keep the Marauders from tearing each other apart, as it appeared James and Sirius were doing. Others in the Order had feared Remus for the curse he bore and Albus had also done nothing to stop it. When his school year girlfriend turned mutual platonic friend Emmeline come to Remus looking for help for Alice and Neville with the need to keep it secret from Albus, Remus agreed. Alice herself had needed another person around, someone to help keep an eye on Neville and the shop while she was busy with the other. She had never minded Remus, a distant cousin of hers had had the same affliction as many a pureblood could trace in their lines, and his gentle nature reminded her of Frank. It was also a miracle she had gotten through those months without Remus, so distraught with the loss of her husband and the only life she had ever known. Over time they became closer, not romantically - for Alice felt she would never forget her love for Frank - but as close as a brother and sister. Soon, Alice claimed Lupin as her maiden name, both to protect her and Neville and as a lifeline of family. Augusta was not too far however, visiting during holidays when she could claim the loss of her family as reason enough not to host holiday parties and to remain secluded from society when not required to be present for Wizengomot sessions. She brought both Alice and Remus into the Circle, impressing them with the knowledge that there was more at stake than Light and Dark. Neville also got training, having been told about the prophecy and a meddling old fool. He would still tremble when he put the Sorting Hat on his head, but this time with the weight of more than just an old woman’s expectations that he follows in his father’s footsteps. He would be placed in a very different and exactly the same Gryffindor house. But this time, with a friendship already formed. Attending a muggle school, Neville recognized the signs of accidental magic. He was unsurprised to find bullies, who scattered upon seeing him. Only their victim was left, a young girl his own age. Hermione Granger. So clever and brave, she would leap into Gryffindor after her longtime friend Neville.
In his seventh year of Hogwarts, Sirius Black found himself growing up just a little. He had flirted with the girls of Hogwarts almost since he had arrived in first year, had chased girls and been chased, but this time, he felt something different. He, Sirius Black, has a crush on a girl. It may have been because of James and Lily’s recent relationship but all of the Marauders found themselves spending more time with the Gryffindor girls. And now, Sirius was developing an attraction to one of Lily’s best friends, Marlene McKinnon. For months they danced around each other, oblivious to the obviousness of their attraction to each other to everyone except themselves. But when they were going to graduate and the war was suddenly real for them, they disagreed on what should be done. Sirius wanted to take Marlene and run off, keep her safe and out of the war but she would have none of it. She would not be helpless and protected while her friends were in danger and she joined them in the Order of the Phoenix. Their on-again-off-again relationship was off as they both did what they could and tried to forget each other. Finally, they got caught up in the war and stopped the longing touches in the private moments of Order meetings. Sirius and James were staging their fight, hurting Lily because she didn’t understand what could have come between them. After Harry was born, she finally got them to sit still in the same room and got a garbled telling of their plan to rat out the spy, and that was why even though they were still going to pretend to be fighting, they wanted Sirius as Harry’s godfather. Lily was silent, she had met with Severus the day before and maybe this would work out for them all? She agreed, Sirius was bonded to Harry as his godfather and he left, feeling elated and suddenly missing the company of the woman he loved. He met with Marlene and they took the night for each other before she revealed she was going back to her family home to help out for a while. It was all Sirius could do to watch her leave and all he could do to comfort Lily as news of the attack on the McKinnon’s family home was reported with no survivors. They cried together into the night. When Sirius got wind of Voldemort’s attack on Frank Longbottom, he feared for Harry. He had just calmed James and Lily down and gone up to check on his sleeping godson when the Lestrange’s attacked. He heard James cry for Sirius to take Harry and run and the need to protect Harry won over his desire to help his brother in all but blood. He ran.
Only later did he find out that Voldemort was gone and he himself was declared an enemy for kidnapping and possibly killing Harry Potter and his parents. Without options, he hid from the Wizarding World before coming to the realization only one person had the political power to help him. Reluctantly, Sirius returned to Black Manor to find help from his grandfather, only to be stunned by what he found inside.
Marlene McKinnon had discovered she was pregnant four weeks after her night with Sirius. Fearing her unborn child and remembering what he wanted to do when they were about to graduate, she secretly left her family home, planning to make arrangements before springing the news on Sirius. But when her family was attacked and killed, she suddenly found herself at a loss. When Sirius was declared a follower of the Dark Lord a short time later, Marlene did the only thing she could think of, seek refuge from the great grandfather of her unborn child. Arcturus had been surprisingly welcome when she arrived on his doorstep, listening to her story before granting her request. She could stay in the Black Manor until they came up with a plan of what to do with Sirius’ child. When Sirius himself turned up with Harry Potter in tow, Arcturus once again had to rethink his plans. Hearing for the first time about the prophecy and connecting it with the knowledge Regulus had just recently shared about Voldemort’s immortality, Arcturus knew Harry needed to be protected. Neville Longbottom has disappeared and someone was going to have to defeat the Dark Lord. So the three adults made a plan.
Members of the Drake chapter of the Ouroboros Circle, Marlene and Sirius adopted the surname of a Black branch family in France and moved their with Harry and their newborn, Rosemary Aelia. They gave Harry a nickname based off his full name Harold Jame Potter, for they knew he would one day attend Hogwarts and didn’t want to give up the game too quick. When a chance meeting between Regulus and Severus revealed Severus’ secret status as Harry’s other godfather, Severus was granted knowledge of their location so he could also aid them on their quest. This was how Arcturus learned of Albus’ obsession with the Hallows. Knowing this was part of why the Circle was founded in the first place, they tried to find a way to keep the Stone away from Albus and protect Harry. He grew up loved with his father Sirius, mother Marlene and sister Rosie, despite knowing he was adopted he loved them like a real family. He learned of the politics in the United Kingdom and what role he might one day play in the not yet over war. When given the choice though on whether or not to attend Hogwarts, he knew he would go, for it was o my a matter of time before they found him anyways. But they wouldn’t make it easy for their enemies. So, in 1991, a famous newly emerged Neville Longbottom the Boy-Who-Lived was joined in Gryffindor by one unassuming Hal Leblanc.