The Luckiest One of All

The atmosphere around the gathering was one of merriment and absolute joy. The students were happy with their day off, and laughter could be heard everywhere. Even the harshest of professors were found smiling. Earlier, the Great Hall had been full of hundreds of glittering silver lights. The four long house tables were gone, and the Hall looked much like it had when the Yule Ball had taken place. This evening, everyone was dancing, smiling, laughing, and talking, all for the same reason: they were all celebrating the 170th anniversary of Voldemort’s demise.

It was now late into the night and the time for dancing was over. The sound of laughter had died down just a bit but it was still there. The students sat in a great circle around a roaring fire with mugs of butterbeer in hand. The silver lights had vanished and instead, the ceiling was again showing the beautiful, clear night sky. On this particular night, the stars seemed to shine brighter than usual.

Everyone was talking, laughing, and having a great time with their Headmaster, Neville, who was sitting at the head of the circle. Neville had seen so much in the time since the Final Battle; he was the last remaining person from his class at Hogwarts. Harry, Hermione, Ron, they were all gone.

It was a huge responsibility for him to be Headmaster of Hogwarts. When he accepted the job after twenty years teaching Herbology, he hadn’t expected it to be this hard. There were so many problems that people came to him to solve; he certainly didn’t remember that many things happening back when he was at Hogwarts. But he was happy. He loved being Headmaster, and as he sat there surveying his students, he couldn’t help but smile.

Right now, he watched as his students remembered the stories that were passed down to them. Each and every one of them knew the stories of every legend who died in the Final Battle nut they loved Harry’s the best and that’s what they were talking about now. They were talking about how in the end, Harry Potter was lucky everything had worked out for him so perfectly.

“Honestly,� one student said, “how lucky was he that he ended up with both wands?�

The students around her nodded in approval. They all considered Harry’s story a miracle.

Neville thought it was time for a little speech. With a little cough from him, all talking ceased and all heads turned his way.

“While we all celebrate, we sometimes tend to forget the reason why. Yes, Harry Potter was one of the greatest men alive. He did a lot to make sure Voldemort was defeated but we must not forget everyone else that helped. On this particular night, we must not forget all those who sacrificed so much to ensure that we would have a safe and happy life. So many lost their lives for yours, for ours. We must not forget the reason of our celebration, and those fought and died for our sake.�

“To Dumbledore!� one student called, and cheers were heard all around.

“To Snape!�

“To Sirius!�

“To Remus!�

“And to Harry Potter! The luckiest of all!� This received the loudest of cheers.

“No,� Neville said. “There is someone luckier than Harry Potter.� This statement was followed by many puzzled looks. Who could be luckier than Harry Potter, the greatest man of all?

“Lily,� he continued, answering the question on everyone’s mind. “Lily Potter.�

It was a strange thing, having to hide your family from the world. It was hard to understand the enormity of what was necessary to give up. Lily was now unable to see her friends, forbidden to go to Diagon Alley, and barred from taking even a step into the village. She knew it was worth it – of course it was worth it, she was saving her son – but still, the secrecy grew nearly unbearable at times. Lily had known it would be difficult, but to be honest, she had never imagined how boring it would be. She was so sick of reading or practicing simple spell work – she wanted to go for a walk with James or take Harry to Hogsmeade. It had been two weeks since Lily and James had made Peter their Secret Keeper. It had been fourteen days of doing the same thing every day and every night.

There was no one to see and no place to go. Lily was a prisoner in her own home, and if it hadn’t been for Harry and James, she was sure she’d have gone crazy by now. Tonight, like every night after Harry went to sleep, she and James were sitting on their couch. James was sprawled across the cushions, his feet resting gently on Lily’s lap. Earlier, they had whittled away the time by reminiscing about their time at Hogwarts. Lily had told James about the first time she considered dating him, and James told Lily about the first time he had transformed into a stag. Now, however, they were both reading, another familiar habit from the past two weeks. James had a book open in front of him, but he hadn’t turned the page in ten minutes, leading Lily to believe his mind was far away tonight.

“Is something wrong?� she asked after a moment of watching him. He didn’t answer. “James? You look like you’re thinking about something important, and you’ve been reading the same page over and over again. So unless you’re just really confused, something has to be on your mind.’�

“Just thinking of the war, and about how much longer we’ll have to stay in hiding,� he replied, not looking at her. “I mean, after a while, think of everything that Harry will begin to miss.�

Lily nodded grimly. “I know, James, but it’s for the best. And we’ll just make up for the things we miss now once we’re done with this. Once the war is over.�

“If it’s ever over…� James said softly. “It seems like we’ve been fighting for ages. Have we only been out of Hogwarts for three years? I swear, it feels like so much longer.�

“I know,� Lily replied, her voice shaking just slightly. “We’ve had to grow up so fast, but there’s nothing we can do to change that.�

“You’re right. And it has to be over soon. We’re all fighting as hard as we can.�

Lily sighed, wondering if James was telling her all the complete truth. She left the subject alone, though, for a few minutes, and tried to focus on something else, anything else. When she saw that James was still keeping his eyes on the same page, she pressed the subject again.

“James, come on, I know you better than that,� she said smiling slightly. “Tell me what you’re actually thinking about, and don’t give me anything about being afraid we’re missing memories, or that you’re tired of growing up too fast. I’m sure Harry will be all right, no matter what happens while we’re hiding.�

He shut his book with a little more force than necessary and set it on the ground. He frowned briefly before he began to speak. “I just…� A pause, then, “Something doesn’t feel right.� Lily opened her mouth to reassure him, but he interrupted before she could get the words out. “No, I know what you’re going to say – that I can’t know that, Divination is a farce. But Lily, it’s hard to explain. I had the same feeling the night Sirius almost let Snive – let Snape see Remus. It may not be that an attack against us is coming – I just know it has something to do with Remus or Sirius… or Peter.�

Lily’s eyes widened, but she tried to keep calm. She heard the unspoken words; James was worried Peter had already been found. “I’m sure Peter’s fine,� she said shakily. “He’s been so brave about all this.�

James nodded but didn’t look reassured. Pain was evident on his face. “I know, but what if he’s tortured? What if he’s killed?�

“He knew what we were asking him; he could have easily let Sirius become our Secret Keeper,� Lily said. “Remember what he told us? He said he’d never betray his friends.�

“You’re probably right. But still, I just have this feel –�

James stopped abruptly; a shrill alarm had cut across the room. The wards they had put in place as a precaution were going off – someone had set them off. Lily immediately sought James’s eyes. The fear and worry she found there belied the calm façade of his face. He straightened on the couch and then stood up.

“I love you,� James said simply.

“I love you, too,� Lily replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Then, faster than she had expected, the wards failed. The alarms stopped and a ringing silence was all that could be heard.

And the door burst open.

James sprang into action, yelling at Lily to take Harry and leave, saying he would hold Voldemort off. Lily hesitated for a fraction of a second, unwilling to leave James alone. But thoughts of Harry sent her running towards his room, her heart threatening to explode out of her chest.

She had pulled Harry out of his crib and was trying to plan how she could get out of the house, but footsteps on the stairs made her freeze in place. Lily had shut and locked the door, useless though it had been, and with Harry firmly in her arms, she watched as it opened.

Voldemort was smiling – that was the first thing she noticed. And then it began, a blur of begging, high-pitched laughter, and feeling Harry squirm in her arms.

She pleaded, offered her life for his, but Voldemort didn’t seem to care. He told her she didn’t need to die, that it wasn’t necessary. This, even in the franticness of the situation, made Lily pause for a small moment. Didn’t he understand she would have nothing to live for if he killed Harry? James was dead – it was foolish to believe otherwise – and she wasn’t going to let him kill the small boy she loved most in the world.

And despite the desperateness of the situation, Lily felt a small twinge of pity for Voldemort. Here was a man who could murder without a thought, without hesitation, but he would never know what it was to love another so completely that to give your life for them would be nothing but an honor.

Then, Voldemort’s wand moved so it was pointing directly at Harry. Lily knew what was about to happen, and knew what she had to do.

“Avada Kedavra!� he said, his voice barely raised, routine as the spell was for him.

Lily was ready the moment before he opened his mouth to speak. With a sudden sense that everything would be all right, that Harry would be all right, she covered her son, letting the green light surge through her instead.

And then there was nothing.

Once again, Neville’s wise smile was answered with puzzled faces. How was Lily Potter luckier than her son? And so, Neville began his explanation.

“They say a great man’s greatest good luck is to die at the right time, and no one demonstrates that better than Lily. All she wished was for her son to survive. Harry did a great deal during his lifetime to defeat Voldemort. He went through seven very tough years, but he was somewhat forced into the situation because of the prophecy, but Lily? She chose her fate. She could have easily submitted into Voldemort but she did not. She chose to stand there and die and by choosing to sacrifice herself, she got what she wanted. She got her wish, saved her son, and saved the world.�

One student stood up and went to stand in the middle of the circle. She raised her glass and said, “To Lily. The luckiest one of all.�