The Road to Godric's Hollow

30 June 1980

1545 GMT

The orange rays of the late afternoon sun glinted when caught by the waters of the Irish Sea. People were strolling lazily along the boardwalk. Children could be seen running down the planks, eating ice cream cones with their friends, or building sand castles by the shore. Every now and then, a couple would stand by the pier to enjoy the view and each other. Joyous shrieks could be heard coming from the nearby amusement park.

A tall, pale man wearing long, black robes stood out amidst the tanned and brightly clad vacationers. He stood by the end of the pier, watching the waves crash against the shore. Two children, neither of whom looked much older than five, were gawking at him from behind. Suddenly he turned to face them, his face contorted into a mask of rage.

"What are you looking at?" the man's sinister voice inquired.

Paling considerably, the two children immediately scampered away.

Muggles, I hate muggles, especially snivelling muggle children, he chanted to himself.

Severus Snape also hated crowds. Thus, he hated muggle crowds with a vengeance. With a sneer fixed into his face, he turned back to look at the water. When certain that no one was watching him, he removed a marble cameo from his pocket. It featured Hermes, the messenger of the gods, who was wearing his winged helmet and was clutching a winged staff. Two snakes, both poised for attack, were coiled around the god's staff. Engraved around the borders of the cameo were seemingly nondescript runes. Severus ran his fingers across the runes, his mind on the task at hand.

"...I will honour Alice Longbottom and her son by killing them myself."

The Dark Lord gave them specific orders. Go in, take the woman, and get out. Kill anybody daft enough to get in the way, but no one is authorized to kill the woman. Harm her, but not enough as to make her lose her unborn child. The Dark Lord, and only the Dark Lord, was to have that pleasure. And that was why Severus was among those assigned to this mission. Unlike some of his more sadistic and irresponsible associates, he sparingly used the Killing Curse.

Seemingly from out of thin air, an imposing man with white blond hair appeared at his side. He was wearing a rich, dark cloak over his black robes that contrasted with his long mane. Severus surreptitiously pocketed the cameo, and gave a small nod by way of greeting to the newcomer.

"It is nearly time," drawled Lucius Malfoy.

Without waiting for a reply, Malfoy turned to walk down the boardwalk towards the residential area. Severus trailed behind the older man, careful to let the other keep the lead by at least a meter. Despite the late hour, or because of it, the boardwalk was still packed with Muggles. A number of them gave him odd looks, though fortunately everyone wisely kept out of his way.

A few minutes later, Severus found himself in a more secluded and silent section of the town. Instead of commercial establishments and vacationers, sleepy houses were dotted along the shore. Only a few people were milling about. He walked on a path, which led further down the beach. At one point the path branched out, one course leading down to the shore, the other leading away from the shore and towards the woods. A dozen black figures were standing at the edge of the latter path, all of them wearing white masks that obscured their faces. Upon reaching them, Severus pulled out his own mask and quickly donned it.

A tall figure moved towards the centre of the group, his cold grey eyes visible through the slits in his mask.

"The Longbottom house lies at the end of this path. It is the only residence in this area, the nearest house being about a mile east. We basically have free rein of this operation, aside from the fact that the woman is not to be unduly harmed," announced the voice behind the mask.

"What about the wards?" came from the figure next to Severus.

"Mulciber," Severus quietly identified the man.

"Rookwood went ahead, and is currently disabling the wards as we speak," answered Malfoy. "Our little rat from their puny Order managed to obtain a list of the wards that Dumbledore used. Quite a number of them, actually, a few even bordering on Dark Arts." A few laughed. "Though none of them is a match for us," Malfoy finished with a flourish. "And speaking of the devil, here comes Rookwood."

True enough, a figure was striding down the path from the woods towards their group.

"I have disabled the wards," Rookwood announced to them.

Lucius gave a small nod. "Good. Now, Avery, Crabbe and Jugson will be coming in from the north. Goyle, Karkaroff and Macnair, you three come in from the south. Rookwood, Rosier and Snape, you will enter via the backdoor. Mulciber and Nott, you two will be coming with me through the front door. Assign a person from each team to stay outside, in case the woman tries to escape. Everyone must wait for my signal before attacking. Now, let's go."

The twelve men quietly made their way down the path. A few meters from the house, they separated and went towards their specified posts. Minutes after trudging through the woods, Severus saw the outline of a two-storey house. It seemed as if all the lights in the house were on. An outline of a pregnant woman could be seen from upstairs, presumably from the bedroom. A vague aroma of roast beef was wafting through the air.

"Rosier, you stay behind," Rookwood muttered.

The other man gave a small, imperceptible nod.

Severus moved closer to the house, his eyes straining to see whether there was anyone else in the area other than the Death Eaters.

"Dumbledore may have missed it," he thought. "He may not have noticed..."

A green light suddenly and briefly illuminated the woods. Severus quickly and stealthily moved towards the back of the house, his wand at the ready and all his senses heightened. Rookwood, a few steps ahead of him, reached the backdoor first. Rookwood blasted the door open, and Severus barely dodged the wood fragments. They entered into a kitchen, where a steaming pot was cooking over a low fire. Snape quickly opened all doors and closets, checking to see if anyone was hiding.

"All clear," he said to the other Death Eater.

Rookwood nodded. "I will stand guard here. You move on ahead."

Severus swiftly passed through the dining room, where another Death Eater was already positioned. He went on up the stairs, and was met at the top by a fellow Death Eater.

"There is no one here!" Malfoy's voice hissed.

"She has to be here! We could see her from outside!" Severus replied.

"You could see this from outside," retorted the other man, while pulling Severus into a room. It was the bedroom, and situated by the window was a dummy of a woman wearing a pouch around its torso to make it appear pregnant.

"We were set up," murmured the figure standing by the doorway.

"Avery, gather the others, we have to leave now," Malfoy ordered.

Shouts from outside could suddenly be heard in the still house. Severus strode towards the window, and he saw more than a dozen wizards duelling with the few Death Eaters left outside. Red and green flashes could be seen flying across the woods. He barely moved his head away from the window before a red light went through it, breaking the glass.

Malfoy and Avery were already halfway down the stairs, and Severus quickly followed suit. He fled through the back door, and nearly impaled himself upon the wand of another wizard. Alastor Moody was standing just outside the door, his wand inches away from Severus' head and pointed at the space between his eyes. He could see a red light coming out from the tip of the Auror's wand, and he immediately went for the wand, thus making the Auror lose his aim. The curse whizzed by his ear, giving Severus enough time to lose the Auror and make for the woods.

As he ran for the dark cover of the trees, he could hear a number of pops as his companions disapparated. Just as Moody was about to fling a curse at him, Severus promptly apparated away.

***

1730 GMT

The halls of Hogwarts were eerily quiet and empty. His quick footsteps are the only sounds that could be heard. James Potter strode towards the Headmaster's office, seemingly unaware of the blood that was flowing down his face.

"Lemon drops," he muttered to the stone gargoyle guarding the office.

He only felt his injuries once he was upon the moving staircase. The world suddenly seemed to move too fast for him, and it felt as if his afternoon snack was trying to make a comeback. Feeling more than slightly nauseated, he rapped on the Headmaster's door.

"Come in."

James opened the door, and slowly went inside the room. Three people were already inside. Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk; Alice Longbottom positioned herself on an armchair near the desk while her husband stood by the fireplace.

"James! Your head, it's bleeding!" Alice exclaimed.

"Sit down, please," Dumbledore told him.

James gratefully accepted the proffered chair. "This is nothing, Alice, don't worry," he reassured the woman.

"What happened?" Frank asked from his side of the room.

"They came as expected, though not as many as we assumed. Only around ten, not more than a dozen, Death Eaters," James replied. "They entered the house, but soon realized that they were set up. They all fled after that, though not without a fight," he finished.

"Was anyone hurt?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Only minor injuries on our side. I think Dorcas was able to beat one of them up pretty badly before he escaped. We weren't able to capture anyone, though," said James.

Dumbledore gave a small sigh. "I'm afraid we have to take more precautions, Frank, Alice."

Frank glanced at his wife, before turning to look at the older man. "I understand, Albus."

"The Fidelius, then?" asked Alice.

Dumbledore's answer was brief. "Yes."