Chapter Text
Clockwork stood there stroking his beard as he gazed at the image of a small cottage within the orb. It didn't look any different then the other homes lining the road that wound through Godric's Hollow.
But it was.
Parents walked by going door to door with their costumed children, whose bags were slowly becoming more and more heavy with candy, never even noticing that they were skipping a house. It seemed as though to everyone in the neighborhood that the cottage simply didn't exist.
And, in a way, it didn't.
He could see James Potter sitting on a couch playing with his sons, Harry and Daniel, casting spells with his wand for their amusement. Bright and colorful puffs of smoke drifting out and away from the tip of it.
For it was magic that hid the little family from the world, a charm so powerful that none but the secret keeper and those he trusts could see beyond. It was the perfect plan, not even the Dark Lord could break the spell.
If only they had trusted the right person.
Clockwork could only watch as the charm broke and the house was revealed for all to see. Very few people noticed the sudden appearance of the little cottage, but it didn't matter. The only people who did matter were cleaning up dishes in the kitchen or playing with their sons on the couch, blissfully ignorant of the danger that they were in.
And so it begins.
A dark-clothed figure was walking down the road. He radiated a power so twisted and stained with darkness it was nearly unrecognizable as magic. He stopped just outside of the hedge surrounding the cottage, observing the family carefully.
Lily Potter walked into the sitting room and said something to James, her husband. He scooped up both boys and handed them to her giving her a quick peck on the lips. She smiled, and said something else as she left the room. He then flung his wand onto the couch and stretched yawning.
The man seized the opportunity, glided pass the gate, across the path, and blasting through the door, disappeared into the house. James shouted for his wife to take the children and run. Mere seconds later a bright green light shone out of the front entrance. Lily screamed.
...
...
Lily screams as another explosion sounded from inside.
...
...
Then another green light flashed, this time from a room on the second floor.
...
An explosion of green light ripped through the roof and walls of the same room.
The nursery.
It is over, now I must do what needs to be done.
Clockwork could feel the absence of the protective spell as soon as he had arrived, the very air here felt dangerous, dark and stained. The door of the cottage hung off one hinge and whined as he walked through.
James Potter lay motionless at the foot of the stairs, eyes wide open and unseeing, his face permanently frozen with a look of fierce protectiveness. His last moments spent trying in vain to give his wife more time to get their children to safety.
Pointless, of course, there was nowhere for her to run.
The sound of crying drew his attention upstairs, so he passed over James and continued his journey towards the nursery. A stuffed rat lay abandoned at the top of the stairs. It was missing a foot.
How fitting.
Furniture and boxes were scattered inward and away from the nursery door, a failed attempt to barricade herself inside the room. Lily Potter was stretched across the floor in front of the crib furthest from the door, tear streaks running down her frightened face. Her last moments were not so nearly as hopeful as her husband's, there was no escape. Her only hope was to beg and plead for their lives, for him to take her instead.
And there, between her and the crib was the cause of all this death and destruction.
Tom Riddle.
Lord Voldemort.
He was struck down by his own hand. The force of his rebounding spell had not only destroyed his body and marked young Harry, but it had also ripped off the nursery ceiling and more than half of the walls; the edges of which were still smoldering.
"MAMA!"
Finally Clockwork turned his attention to the very reason he came to this small cottage, the Potter twins, Harry and Daniel. Harry was seated in the crib bleeding from the forehead and sobbing. Daniel was standing up clutching the rung with one hand and reaching out towards his mother with the other, calling out for her desperately.
"MAMA!"
"Hush now Daniel, everything will be all right." He placed his hand on Daniel's head in a reassuring pat and the small boy looked up at him with watery blue eyes.
"Mama?" His voice was barely above a whisper now.
"I'm sorry Daniel," He gently scooped up the infant into his arms, "This is how is needs to be. One day, in the future, you shall understand why this had to happen."
The boy reached back for his brother. "Hawwy?"
For the first time in what had to be centuries, Clockwork felt genuine sorrow for this small mortal, for him to have lost so much, so quickly. "Harry is not coming with us –" He reached back into the crib and grabbed three stuffed animals; a dog, a wolf, and a deer, and gave them to Daniel. "– but you may bring these with you."
The infant immediately latched tightly onto the toys and curled around them.
"Danny?" Harry had stopped his loud wailing and was watching them curiously.
Clockwork looked back at the crib, "I'm sorry Harry, this is where your path and your brother's diverge. Your future shall be a lonely and difficult one at first, but it won't be forever. You shall have friends, even family, and one day you shall see Daniel again."
"JAMES! LILY!"
Daniel's head popped up, "Pafoo?"
It was the godfather.
Time to leave.
Clockwork pulled on his power and left behind the little cottage, and everyone in it.
He reappeared in the middle of a street, the sun high in the sky, trick or treating hadn't even started here yet. Children were out and about in their costumes playing superheroes, and other such games. The busy and playful street was such a jarring difference from the small quiet and dark neighborhood of Godric's Hollow.
He passed by it all and came upon the corner house. The house stood out for the bright red brick exterior and the giant satellite on top.
Peering into the window, he saw a large man sitting on a couch with a small woman, both of which were watching a young girl playing on the floor. She was wearing a white lab coat that said 'Psychiatrist' in big and messy letters, scribbling furiously into a small notepad and talking to a stuffed bear lying on a miniature couch.
The corner of his lips twitched.
Finish the task.
Clockwork could feel time at his fingertips, buzzing with excitement, waiting for his command. So he commanded it, everything and everyone to halt. Then he walked into the Fenton's home and placed Daniel on the floor next to the frozen young Jasmine. The boy looked at her then back up at him in confusion.
"Sweeping?" Daniel asked.
"In a way. Now I'm afraid there is one last thing to do before I leave Daniel."
"Weave? No weave. Pwease?" The boy dropped his stuffed animals and reached for him.
He placed his hand on the distressed infant's head, "If anyone were to find out you were here, it could be catastrophic. I have to bind your magic and memories, as well as your new family's memories. It will be like you were always here."
Daniel stared up at him tears gathering for the second time that night. Clockwork pushed a portion of his power into the boy, sealing Daniel's magic and memories together and giving him new memories.
The sudden removal of his magic caused the infant's eyes to droop and his arms to drop as he slumped into Clockwork's outstretched hand. He lay Daniel down gently on the floor, placing his stuffed animals back into his arms.
Turning he altered Jasmine's memories, then the parents, Jack and Madeline's memories. Now as far as they were concerned Daniel had always been here.
It is done.
Clockwork strode out of the house, pausing just back outside of the window and commanded time to flow once again.
"Oh look Jack, Danny must have been so excited that he wore himself out." Madeline cooed at her son.
"That's my boy!" Jack boomed, rather enthusiastically, "He's a chip off the old block!"
Jasmine poked Daniel with the eraser of her pencil, "Does this mean we can't go trick or treating later?"
Her parents were quick to assure her that she would, one way or another, get to go trick or treating.
Everything's the way it's supposed to be.
And with Clockwork's task accomplished, he left behind the small town of Amity Park, not to step foot into it for another 14 years.