Keep Holding On

“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him. Go! Run! I’ll hold him off –� *

Lily Potter scooped up her infant son from the floor and ran as fast as she could up the stairs. She heard the front door blast open just as she reached the top of the stairs and ran faster down the hallway as far as she could go. She hurtled into the nursery, locked the door behind her, and stood clutching her son tightly to her chest. Tears fell fast down her cheeks as she buried her face into Harry’s soft, dark hair. He was everything to her and she would not let him be murdered without a fight. She looked down at her son and smiled as he cooed at her. Terrified as she was, he was still too cute to resist. She hugged him closer.

You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side,
You know I'll take your hand

“I’ll always be here for you, Harry,� Lily breathed. “No matter what happens tonight, I will always be your mother and I will always love you. Even if I die, I will still be there by your side, watching you and protecting you. Never forget that.� She knew it was ridiculous to be talking to Harry. He couldn’t understand what she was saying, but she said it anyway. She felt like she had to say it.

When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
I know you won't give in
No you won't give in

Harry gurgled up at her and smiled his crooked little smile. The tears that had been falling down her cheeks picked up speed as she watched her precious baby, knowing that this could be the last moment she ever got to spend with him.

“I love you, Harry,� she whispered tearfully. “You’re the best son a mother could ask for. Even if I die tonight, I know you’ll go on and do great things. You are an amazing child, Harry, and you’re going to be an even more amazing man. Don’t ever give up, Harry. Fight with everything you have, until there is nothing left.�

Keep holding on
'Cause I know you'll make it through, you'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you


Lily stood clutching Harry to her chest and was still whispering to him when the door to the nursery suddenly exploded inward. Lily put Harry down in his cot, stepped in front of him, and turned to face the intruder.

He came into the room and Lily felt like the air grew noticeably colder. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. He was emaciated and skull-like, with gleaming red eyes and snakelike slits for nostrils. He smiled a horrible smile and spoke in a cold, high voice.

“Ah, Lily Potter,� Voldemort sneered icily. “How brave of you to stand before me and attempt to protect your mangy, half-blood progeny…and yet, how foolish. My business here tonight does not concern you. I have come only for that foul, wretch you call your son and you need not die protecting his filthy little head.�

Lily stood her ground and said nothing. The panic coursing through her blood was threatening to overcome her, but she knew she had to be strong and protect her son, no matter the cost. She swallowed hard and stared at Voldemort more bravely than she felt. Voldemort’s horrible smile vanished and was replaced by a look of cold fury.

“I grow weary of this,� he said angrily. “Stand aside, silly girl!�

Her resolve to say nothing broke and she started to plead for her son’s life. There was nothing else she could do. She had left her wand on the table downstairs. She couldn’t let Voldemort murder her son without trying to save him. She wouldn’t let him kill her precious baby without a fight.

There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause I know you'll make it through, you'll make it through

“I won’t let you do this!� Lily screamed. “No! Not Harry!�

Voldemort attempted to go around Lily to get to Harry, but she put herself between Voldemort and her son.

“Stand aside. Stand aside, now!�

“No! Not Harry!� Lily sobbed. “Have mercy! Please! Have mercy!�

“Stand aside, foolish girl! Do not make me kill you! Stand aside!�

Voldemort pulled out his wand as Lily continued to beg and plead for mercy. He pointed it at her chest.

“No! Have mercy!�

“Avada Kedavra!�

A jet of green light shot out the end of his wand and struck Lily square in the chest. She fell to the ground, limp and unmoving. Voldemort didn’t even spare her a second glance. He approached the dark haired baby that was sitting in his cot crying. Voldemort gave him one disgusted look before turning his wand and pointing it directly at the child’s head.

“Avada Kedavra!�

The green light sped toward the weeping child and touched his forehead. Voldemort let out a shout of triumph that quickly turned to a scream of agony. The jet of green light had rebounded off the infant’s forehead and came back at Voldemort. Voldemort screamed in agony and his body exploded into a thousand wisps of smoke. Harry pulled himself into a standing position and started wailing. Blood poured down his face where the curse had touched him. He reached toward his mother, lying dead on the floor and whimpered. That was how Hagrid found him hours later…

~*~

Harry Potter was fighting for his life. He had finally destroyed all of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and now it was down to the final battle, just him and Voldemort. They had been fighting for the better part of an hour and neither had managed to hit the other with so much as a single spell. Harry was starting to tire from dodging curses and he knew he was going to have to find a way to end the battle soon.

So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late,
This could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend

Harry was trying to think of a plan when Voldemort spoke to him.

“Today is the day it ends, Harry Potter,� he sneered. “Your life has been leading up to this point, the moment when I finally kill you.�

“That’s where you’re wrong,� Harry said more bravely than he felt.

“Ah, how the past does revisit us, Harry,� said Voldemort. “I remember another person who stood before me, as you stand now, and put on a brave face. But then, your dear Mudblood mother never stood a chance. She died begging for mercy, Harry Potter.� Voldemort laugh cruelly and Harry felt rage pounding in his ears.

“Don’t talk about my mother like that!� he screamed at Voldemort. Voldemort only laughed and shot another curse at Harry.

Anger coursed through Harry as he dodged the curse. He knew that what Voldemort said didn’t matter and that he was only taunting Harry, but he couldn’t stand to hear Voldemort insult his mother. She had given her life so Harry could live and he wasn’t about to let some slimy, wreck of a wizard like Voldemort insult her memory. Harry dipped into his last reserves of strength and raised his wand.

Harry attacked Voldemort with every ounce of strength he possessed, but Voldemort easily blocked his attack. Harry struck again and again, but Voldemort continued to parry his spells. Finally, Harry was too exhausted to carry on. As a last desperate maneuver, he shot an underhanded Disarming Charm at Voldemort and was rewarded when Voldemort’s wand sailed away. Harry wearily got to his feet and approached Voldemort with his wand outstretched. Voldemort laughed.

“You think you can defeat me simply because you have disarmed me?� he sneered. “You are a fool, Harry Potter. Prepare to die.� Harry blinked.

Keep holding on
'Cause I know you'll make it through, you'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause I know you'll make it through, you'll make it through

Then, all at once, Harry’s head split open. Harry felt the snake-like creature that was Voldemort inching it’s way into his heart, his very soul, tiny tendrils of hate and evil digging into him. It was pain beyond any pain he had ever felt before and in a burst of agonized understanding, he knew what was happening. Voldemort was joining his soul with Harry’s and every nerve in Harry’s body was screaming for release. He knew that he was going to die. His mother’s sacrifice was going to be for nothing because he was going to fall before Voldemort was destroyed.

Then, as Harry’s thoughts turned to the mother he had never known, but still loved, he felt the creature that was Voldemort cry out in pain. He felt the tendrils of evil and hate that were making it agony to live, recede a bit. Voldemort started to disentangle himself from Harry’s soul, but in a sudden burst of painful inspiration, Harry knew how to defeat him. He clamped down on Voldemort and drew his hateful, evil soul back into his own. Then he let love fill his heart.

Voldemort fought tooth and nail against Harry’s hold, but as Harry considered every single person he had ever loved and let the emotion fill his heart, Voldemort cried out in pain and became weaker. He fought harder against Harry, but as Voldemort grew weaker, Harry grew stronger. Harry’s mind flashed to Ron and Hermione and his love of them and everything they had done for him. He considered Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the role they had filled as surrogate parents. He thought of his love for Ginny and everything she meant to him. And then, finally, with a last thought of his love for Lily and her sacrifice, Harry felt the evil in his soul disappear and the pain in his body stop. He opened his eyes hesitantly. Voldemort’s body was lying spread eagle on the floor a few feet away. And that’s when Harry Potter became the hero of the wizarding world.

Years later, when Harry was an old man nearing the end of his life he thought back to the battle with Voldemort and how he had finally managed to defeat him. The love of his friends and family had saved him and, indeed, the rest of the world. He finally knew that Dumbledore had been right all those years before.

“In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.� **
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*(POA CH. 12 PG 240. US Paperback)
**(OOTP CH.37 PG.844. US Hardback)

A/N: The lyrics in this fic are by Avril Lavigne. I do not have any claim over them. ;)