Lily and James sat in the living room of Godric’s Hollow playing with Harry. As always, he was smiling and giggling and thoroughly enjoying himself. James grasped him by both hands and lifted him up.
“OK matey, let’s see if you can walk to Mummy!” Awkwardly, Harry put one faltering foot in front of the other his hands raised in the air and clenched in his fathers strong grip. Lily held out her hands out and threw them around Harry as he came close enough and James let go. Laughing, Harry clung to her.
“Good boy!” she laughed lifting him onto her knee.
James smiled and moved to the window. Lily began bouncing Harry on her knee laughing as every time he bounced up, Harry gave little giggles of joy. Suddenly James froze. Lily looked up sharply.
“James? What is it?”
“It’s him.”
“What?”
“Voldemort.”
Lily froze too.
“Are you sure?”
She stood and carried Harry to the window. A dark cloaked and hooded figure was approaching the house. It neared the gate and blasted it open with its wand. James sprang into action, grabbing his wand from the window sill.
“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off!” he yelled.
“I’ll help you!”
“No!” he yelled, “Take Harry, save Harry. If I don’t manage to hold him off … just run. And tell Harry I love him.” And with that he dragged Lily out of the room. She stumbled and grabbed her wand as she went. Harry was crying, the noise frightened him. She turned to James he squeezed her shoulders and kissed her and then Harry.
“Go!”
Lily ran into the kitchen and opened the back door. She ducked just in time as a jet of green light flew towards her. A group of Death Eaters were guarding the back. She turned and ran back into the hall just as the front door burst open and a high pitched laugh rang from outside.
Quickly she ran upstairs, heard voices downstairs, spells shooting, stumbles, bangs, cries of anger and pain. Hurtling into her bedroom she set Harry gently on the bed and pulled out her wand. She hesitated. What should she do? Her first instinct was to help James, but she was worried about Harry. If she left him alone, the Death Eaters might find a way in -- they might try to kill him! Maybe she should escape while Voldemort is distracted. There might just be time to escape out of the window; their bedroom faced the front not the back. But Death Eaters might be encircling the house. If that was true they wouldn’t get far. She could hear distant shouts from downstairs, James shouting with fury, the high cold laugh of Voldemort. Lily was undecided. She bent down and kissed Harry trying to console him. Suddenly, there was an almighty crash downstairs and James’ voice crying out in pain. That decided it, James need her help. She couldn’t leave him to face Voldemort alone. She sprang up, and ran down the stairs, hoping upon hope that Harry would be alright.
Just as she reached the bottom a jet of green light shot into the hall and something heavy hit the foot of the stairs. It was James, bleeding, motionless.
Dead.
“James, NO!” she cried and ran to him. There was no mistake, he was dead. Tears streamed down her face as she cradled his head in her arms and kissed his cheek. He was dead. Harry had no father. Her body shook with grief.
“Oh, what a touching sight.” Lily looked up. Stepping out of the living room was a tall, white-faced figure with red, snake-like eyes and unnaturally long fingers, an evil sneer stretched across his face. Lord Voldemort!
“That is what happens when you stand in Lord Voldemort’s way. I trust you will not be foolish enough to do the same. Now stand aside and tell me where you have hidden your brat,” he hissed in his cold, high pitched voice. A sudden wave of furious determination seized Lily, she glared at Voldemort, and then, suddenly, like a rabbit that has spotted a fox, she darted up stairs.
A jet of green light narrowly missed her. Footsteps! He was following her. She hurtled into the room where Harry lay, still crying, locked the door and swept him into her arms. Where should she go? She had to escape. There was no fire place in this room, they didn’t have a broom she couldn’t Apparate, not without leaving Harry behind. Maybe she should risk jumping out of the window. Yes, it was the only way. She had to get Harry out! She ran to the window and pointed her wand at it.
“Alohomora!” she cried. The window immediately burst open just as the door behind her was thrown open. Voldemort stepped inside and pointed his wand at the window, it flew shut with a bang.
“Alohomora! Alohomora!” she screamed desperately. But it was no use -- the window wouldn’t budge. Her only chance now was to try to get past Voldemort … Floo Powder -- maybe she could use that if she could get downstairs in time. Voldemort was advancing on her.
“So, this is the brat who will bring about my downfall! What a pitifully weak creature he is,” he sneered. Harry had stopped crying, his eyes were red and he was staring at Voldemort defiantly as he clung to Lily’s shirt. Lily stroked his hair and whispered gently in his ear.
“We’ll be alright Harry. You’ll be alright. I won’t let them hurt you.” Voldemort advanced further and she saw shadows behind him, she held tightly to Harry as she realised there was no escape, the landing was swarming with Death Eaters.
They were trapped.
“Now hand over the child and I will not harm you.” Lily was afraid. She placed Harry on the bed behind her, whipped round and shot a spell at Voldemort. Taken aback he deflected it but only just in time. Lily ducked as the spell reverberated and another spell from Voldemort’s wand this time hit her directly in the chest and sent her flying into the wall, as she landed she heard a crack, her wand was broken, she had no protection. Dazed she looked up and saw Voldemort towering over Harry who stared back. He raised his wand and pointed it at the small defiant form.
“NO!” she screamed and threw herself at him. Voldemort fell. She grabbed Harry and placed him next to the wall, shielding him with her body.
“What are you doing?” he yelled.
“You’re not going to kill him!”
“Stand aside!”
“No!”
“Stand aside or I will have to kill you too.”
“Then kill me, you will not hurt my son!”
Voldemort stared at her. It was obvious he could not understand why she was doing this. It was beyond his comprehension. He was brimming with hatred and ruled by the blackest evil. He could not understand love.
He made a sharp gesture with his hand and two Death Eaters advanced from the pack on the landing, grabbed Lily and tried to pull her away.
“NOOOO!” she screamed now terrified, panic whirling around inside her. She fought the Death Eaters off her and threw herself again in front of her son blood pouring from a gash from her left temple where she had hit the wall.
“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!”
Voldemort reached out and tried to pull her aside.
“Stand aside, you silly girl … stand aside now!”
“No! Not Harry, please no! Take me! Kill me instead! I don’t care just don’t kill my son! Don’t kill Harry!” She was desperate. Again Voldemort tried to move her. She screamed.
“Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy!”
One of the Death Eaters who had tried to pull her away from Harry stepped forward and raised his wand.
“No Lucius! This is a task for Lord Voldemort alone,” Voldemort hissed. The cold grey eyes behind the mask looked gravely disappointed as he stepped back. Lily clung to Harry, Voldemort turned to her.
“Stand aside girl,” he yelled, furious.
“No please. Don’t kill Harry, I’ll do anything!”
“Anything?”
“Anything!”
“Then die!” he shrieked! And pointing his wand at her he yelled,
“AVADA KEDAVRA!”
A jet of green light flew from his wand. Lily couldn’t do anything, her wand was gone and if she moved the curse would hit Harry. She had no choice, no choice at all. Her son would grow up with no parents; the thing she feared the most had come true. As the deadly spell hit her tears poured unceasingly down her face and with her last breath she screamed:
“Harry!!!” There was a whooshing sound and she slumped to the floor. Motionless.
Harry clung to the lifeless body of his mother and stared up at the glaring red eyes of Voldemort. Amazingly he did not cry, his eyes were red, but he did not cry. Voldemort smirked and spoke his voice oozing with sarcasm.
“Harry Potter! What a chaos you’ve caused. What a shame you now have no parents. Still, you won’t have to worry about that for long.” He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry who remained motionless still holding on to handfuls of his mother’s shirt. Quietly this time and with obvious malicious pleasure Voldemort spoke the spell.
“Avada Kedavra!”
A flash of green light flew from his wand and hit Harry with such force that he was thrown backward, but instead of killing him, the spell reverberated back as sharply as though a mirror had been placed there. Voldemort barely had time to think. The spell hit him directly in the chest. With a yell he was flung against the wall, bright silver and emerald flashes emanated from Voldemort’s body as he screamed in pain.
The Death Eaters were blinded, they couldn’t see. Harry lay crying on the floor a great red slash cut into his forehead. Then with a deafening explosion Voldemort vanished as whisp of grey smoke flew unseen towards the window and disappeared into the night. The Death Eaters were shouting and yelling in confusion, Voldemort had gone, but where? How?
They heard footsteps downstairs, someone was coming. Feeling lost with out their master with them and confused about what had just happened, the Death Eaters panicked and apparated with loud resounding cracks.