Chapter Text
On the night before all of Wizarding England celebrated, celebrated so hard that even Muggles noticed, two men met at a ruined house. One of them clutched a baby girl to his vast chest, wrapped tightly in a tartan blanket; the second man was the girl's godfather, and he insisted that the larger man surrender the child. But the larger man had orders, orders to take her to a third man, immensely powerful and wise. Irritated, the second man demanded to know where he waited, and disappeared into thin air as soon as he had an answer, though he left behind a large black motorbike for the first man. Bemused, but too distraught and too busy trying to hide it from the infant, the large man did his best to calm the child, settling her into his arms as he boarded the bike and puttered away. He didn't go far, only to another house in the village, to wait for a day and a night away from this scene of death...
The night after that, the wise old man was conversing with an old lady... "Hagrid is bringing her here," he said gently, staring at a darkened Muggle house.
"Is that wise, Albus?" she replied anxiously, looking over her square glasses at him. "Hagrid, well, he's..."
"I would trust him with my very life, Minerva," he countered firmly, unshaken in his belief.
"Well, yes, his heart's in the right place, but-" A faint crack cut her off, and both wizards turned, drawing wands. "Sirius? Sirius Black?" she gasped in surprise, though her wand did not waver.
"Professors." Black looked haunted, angry and grieving as he fixed his staring gaze on Dumbledore. "Sir, listen carefully. Lily and James... they were killed last night, You-Know-Who did it himself."
"Yes." Albus had lowered his wand and was gazing back, a kindly expression on his aged face. "You should hear the rumors, Sirius..."
"Rumors!" He waved them off. "Listen, they were betrayed! I was supposed to be their Secret Keeper but Lily convinced James to make Peter their Secret Keeper instead! And that dirty little rat betrayed them!"
"Pettigrew?!" She sounded shocked again. "But I... he would... he's your FRIEND!"
"WAS my friend," Black replied grimly. "Hagrid should be on his way if he hasn't been here already, he's got my bike. Neither of us wanted to risk little Hazel with a portkey, you understand..." He looked to Dumbledore, that angry stare hardening. "I'm going after Peter, of course, but if something goes wrong... if I can't come back... you need to know that he's an Animagus. His animal form is a rat." He laughed bitterly. "Fitting, is it not?"
The old wizard bowed his head. "I know I cannot stop you, Sirius. Be careful, and godspeed. Hazel will want to know her godfather in time, I'm sure."
Of all the things he could have said, this alone made Black pause. "...I'll be careful..." He bowed to them both and stepped away, but hesitated again. "Oh, one more thing. Tell Hagrid he can keep my bike, at least until I come back for it." IF I come back for it, he didn't add out loud. With that he disappeared into thin air once more.
"Albus..." The scope of the betrayal was too enormous to comprehend, even for her. "Do you think...?"
"...that Peter could have betrayed them? It is difficult to imagine, but... but if it had indeed been Sirius, would he have wasted time coming here? Would he have allowed Hagrid to take little Hazel? No. If Sirius was the traitor he would have finished the job, or done his best against our stout gamekeeper." He shook his head sadly. "We must indeed consider that Peter Pettigrew betrayed his friends to the Dark Lord, Minerva. Keep a close eye on the news, especially anything concerning Sirius. Voldemort will not be gone forever, this I promise you."
Minerva had flinched slightly at the mention of that dread name, but she nodded in agreement. "Even if he's not gone for good, we have this night, at least... we must not waste the time Lily and James have given us..."
In the distance, a motor rumbled, and soon the large black bike came into view. It landed with a screech of tire on asphalt and puttered to a stop before the two wizards. Hagrid left it idling quietly, and shifted his bulk off the bike, cradling the baby to him.
"Hagrid. At last." Dumbledore sounded relieved. "Were there troubles?"
"Nossir, no... nossir," the giant replied sadly, sniffling. "Got there 'afore th' Muggles could swarm th' place. Met Sirius Black, 'e tried a' take lil 'Azel 'ere but I wouldn' let 'im. Not when it's yer orders, sir." He held the bundle out for them. "Laid low at ol' Professor Bagshot's place 'n took off at sundown, lil' tyke fell asleep over Bristol, she did..."
They all stared at the sleeping baby in her tartan blankets, and Minerva's eyes went to the distinct lightning scar on her forehead, visible even through the thick black hair. "Merlin's beard, is that...?"
"Yes, that is where Voldemort’s curse hit and rebounded. She'll bear that scar forever."
"I don' see why yer gotta leave 'er with these blokes," and Hagrid waved a massive hand at the sleeping house (Minerva ducked out of reflex, though she was nowhere near). "She's already famous, yaknow! Oughter be brought up aroun' her own kind 'n all."
"It would not behoove anyone were Hazel Potter to be raised a child celebrity," Dumbledore replied gravely. "Think, Hagrid! Famous for her parents dying, for surviving such a horrible event! No, I've already discussed this with Professor McGonagall; unpleasant they may be, her Aunt and Uncle are the best people to raise her, the only family she has left."
Hagrid could not argue that, so after planting a whiskery kiss on the sleeping girl's forehead, he walked her up to the doorstep and carefully set her down. Dumbledore followed, placing an envelope within the blankets. For a second they stood there, hovering over the Girl Who Lived, then they walked back to the street.
"That's that," Dumbledore said simply. "We've no further business here, not for quite some time. Let us join the partying, yes?"
Hagrid made an unhappy sound; he didn't seem to want to celebrate very much at the moment. "'m gonna take Sirius 'is bike back," he mumbled, turning towards the hulking machine.
"Ah, that won't be necessary, Hagrid. Sirius himself was here some minutes ahead of you, and he wished for you to hang onto it for now," Dumbledore insisted with a smile. "If you'd rather not keep it near the castle, I'm sure Arthur Weasley would be overjoyed to care for it in the interim."
"Ahh, yeh, good thinkin', Professor... G'night..." The giant man mounted the bike and quickly took off, rumbling away into the sky. The two Professors walked to the middle of the street, Dumbledore murmuring good luck to the sleeping infant, and they too disappeared in a swirl of cloaks.
Hazel Potter remained asleep, the sole oddity on the aggressively normal Privet Drive. She turned about, one hand finding the letter and holding onto it. It would be years before she would learn she was special, that she was destined for more than this Muggle street, that she was famous for something she had no control over. Before the meaning of the lightning-shaped scar would be made clear to her…