Protecting Love
By: Marrianna
Disclaimer: All of this is J.K. Rowling’s. I don’t own Harry Potter or any of the other characters. The quotes come from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on pages 179, 239, and 240.
“Lily! Come here, quick! I think Harry just said his first word!” James called from the living room.
Lily Potter dried her hands off on a yellow dish towel and walked into the living room, where her husband and son were wrestling on the floor.
“And what did he say?” she asked skeptically, knowing Harry was still too young to be talking, despite James’ insistence.
“Well, it sounded like goobooie, but I think he meant to say, Dada,” said James proudly.
“Uh, huh,” Lily nodded, raising her eyebrows, but unable to keep the grin off her face. She made her way back into the kitchen and began to finish washing the dishes.
Tonight was the first night the Potters actually felt safe, well, as safe as one could feel when they knew Lord Voldemort, the most feared wizard in the world, was after them. They had finally preformed the Fidelius charm, and their secret location was safe in the hands of a close friend. Sure, they were still a little nervous for Peter’s sake, Lily and James could finally get some sleep knowing their little family was out of harm’s way.
Lily sighed and looked out the window. She knew she should feel safe, but for some unexplained reason, she had a feeling of unease. She didn’t want to say anything to James because she knew she was being stupid, they were out of harm's way.
James came up around her and grabbed her in a hug. “What’s wrong, Lil?” he asked, his face full of concern.
Lily hitched on a smile and turned around to face her husband. “I’m fine, but we need to get Harry to bed,” and she left the kitchen with James staring after her, hoping he couldn’t tell she was lying.
A storm was brewing outside. The trees were blowing hard in the howling wind and leaves were flying everywhere. A soft patter of rain began and steadily grew into pounding rain. A crash of thunder sounded and Lily shivered, although she wasn’t cold.
She scooped up her son and pressed a kiss to his head. “I love you, my darling. Mommy won’t let anything happen to you,” Lily murmured as she walked up the stairs of the small house. She stepped into the nursery and laid Harry down in the pale yellow crib. He looked up at her, plainly telling his mother he wasn’t ready to go to sleep yet. She cooed to him, encouraging him to rest his eyes and covered Harry with a warm, fuzzy blanket. She kissed him again and began to sing a soft lullaby, in her sweet soprano, to quiet his whimpering.
“Hush, my love,
Please don’t cry.
I will always be here by your side.
You needn’t fear,
My love is here,
My love that will protect you.”
When she looked at Harry again, he was sleeping peacefully, sucking on one little thumb. Lily smiled and saw James watching her in the doorway. He walked over and kissed her softly.
“I have something for you,” he whispered and grabbed Lily’s hand. When they got down the stairs James pulled a black, velvet box out of his pocket and handed it to Lily.
“Oh, James,” she breathed. Inside was a gorgeous silver bracelet with inlaid sapphires. “Thank you,” she said, and kissed James softly on the lips.
“Well, if this is the reaction I’ll get every time, then I ought to do this more often,” James teased.
Lily grinned and kissed him again, but this time, she didn’t pull away. She loved this man more than anything else in the world, well, except maybe Harry.
The lights suddenly flickered, then died. Lily and James pulled apart suddenly.
James spoke first, “It’s probably just a power outage from the storm,” saying what they both wanted to believe, but knew it wasn’t true.
There was a crash at the front door and Lily jumped. James pulled out his wand and looked at Lily, telling her with his eyes to be quiet. He made his way cautiously to the front door. But he had barely taken two steps before a flash of lightning illuminated Lord Voldemort, standing in the doorway, grinning maliciously.
Lily froze. No, no, it can’t be, she thought. He’s not here; it’s just a dream. Please don’t let him be here her mind begged.
“Lily, get Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off-”
Suddenly Lily came rushing back to the present. Run, her mind told her; but what about James? She couldn’t just leave him there in the face of death. Harry. Lily jerked and began to grope desperately in the darkness, trying to find the stairs to get to her son. The panic inside threatened to overcome her senses. She must get to Harry. Finally her hand found the bottom step and she hauled herself up. She dashed up the stairs, running away from the shouts of curses and spells from James and Voldemort.
Lily stubbed her toe in the dark and swore softly. She sprinted up the last of the stairs and ran into the nursery. Harry was still asleep, lying on his stomach with spit drooling out of his mouth. Lily ran over to him and grabbed him up. A loud clap of thunder sounded and woke Harry with a jerk. He began to whimper from all the crashes of thunder and the loud noises going on downstairs.
“Shhh, love,” Lily murmured distractedly, trying to figure out a way to escape from the house. The windows upstairs were too high off the ground; they would have to go back downstairs.
She grabbed a warm, wool blanket and wrapped Harry in it, trying to keep him warm on the cool October night. Clutching her precious bundle, she made her way stealthy down the hallway. She paused at the top of the stairs, trying to determine where James and Voldemort were.
She watched with terror as the dual unfolded before her. James flipped over the table and lay still as Voldemort bore down on him.
Lily knew what was going to happen, a split second before it happened. And she had no way to prepare for it.
“Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort shouted, his red eyes bright with viciousness.
Lily screamed as she saw a flash of green light, and watched the love of her life slump to the ground, his hazel eyes wiped of life.
She began to shake uncontrollably. She couldn’t take her eyes off of her beloved husband’s dead body. She was brought back to her senses as Harry began to wail. Lily looked up and saw Lord Voldemort staring at the fitful bundle in her arms, from the bottom of the stairs.
“No!” she shrieked, and turned and began tore back up the stairs, into Harry’s nursery. She slammed the door, drew out her wand, and locked it. She hurried to the crib and placed Harry in it. She kissed him once on the forehead and turned around and stood in front of it, blocking Harry from view; waiting for the inevitable.
She saw the door crash down and drew in her breath as she saw Voldemort walk calmly into the room.
“You thought you could hide from Lord Voldemort?” he laughed, mirthlessly.
“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!” Lily screamed, shielding her son from this murderer.
“Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…” Voldemort mocked.
“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead. Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…”
“Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!” Voldemort yelled.
“Not Harry! Not Harry! Please I’ll do anything-” Lily cried, forcing herself to stare into those cold, red eyes. She tried to regain a normal pattern of breathing, but it just came in small, short gasps.
“Stand aside!” Voldemort barked, trying to shove her out of the way.
Lily stood her ground, grieving for all she had lost, and all she was going to lose. She knew what she had to do in order to save her son, and was ready to give Harry a chance to live.
She refused to move and knew she was trying the most feared wizard in the world’s patience. It was only a matter of time before it was all over.
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Lily’s heart. “Avada Kedavra!” he cried.
Lily saw a blast of green light and felt death rushing toward her. Suddenly it hit and her dead body crumpled onto the ground.
Harry Potter stared up from his tear stained face into the pale snake-like face before him.
“You are the one prophesied to defeat me?! Ha! I will show the world that no one can kill Lord Voldemort!” he cried and raised his wand over the small child. “Avada Kedavra!”
The third blast of green light that night, shot out of his wand. Voldemort watched with satisfaction as the green light went into the small boy’s body. But Harry didn’t die, instead a cut in the shape of a lightning body appeared on his forehead and the light shot out of the child and hit Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort screamed and writhed in pain and agony. He fled Godric Hollow, into the pouring rain, leaving The Boy Who Lived, crying fitfully over the pain in his head.