The house was dark and quiet. The sounds of the wind blowing and three people sleeping were the only ones to be heard. James Potter was snoring softly. His wife, Lily, lay next to him, her unconscious face showing the fear she felt, but hid whilst awake. The sighs of their son, Harry, came from the magical baby monitor on the bedside table. Outside, a man that was no longer human appeared out of thin air, and Lily Potter woke with a start.
Her eyes flew open, as if she was expecting to see a monster or something leaning over her, but all she saw was the ceiling. She took a few deep breaths and sat up. She looked over her shoulder, expecting to see her sleeping husband. Instead, she saw wrinkled sheets and the thrown back comforter.
Calm down, Lily thought. He’s probably just gone to get a drink of water or something. Nothing’s wrong. And yet, she was too worried to lie back down and wait for James to come back upstairs. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, trying to be as quiet as possible, though she had no idea why her instincts told her that silence was imperative.
Tiptoeing carefully, Lily made her way to and through the half-open door. She crept down the hallway and had made it down three stairs before a dark shadow peered around the corner and saw her. Lily’s hands flew to her mouth before she realized that it was just James. She relaxed and smiled. ‘’You startled me,’’ she whispered, mentally telling herself that it was just because she didn’t want to wake the baby, not because of some imagined danger.
But James didn’t smile in return. The look of urgency on his face was enough to make Lily’s heart start thumping nervously. ‘’What?’’ Lily whispered, hoping that it wasn’t something too terrible. Maybe he had bad news, or maybe there was another death, but they were perfectly safe. She hoped with all her heart that she had no reason to be as frightened as she was.
‘’Go back upstairs. Get Harry and get out of here,’’ James whispered back fiercely. ‘’I’ll follow as soon as I can, just get somewhere safe.’’
‘’N-no...’’ Lily mouthed silently. A sudden BANG and a flash like lightning came from the living room. ‘’No!’’ Lily’s attempt at a yell came out as a small, high-pitched sound. She couldn’t believe this was happening. It couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t.
James looked over his shoulder, then turned back to his wife. ‘’Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him!’’ Lily just stood there, staring at her husband, terror in her eyes. What if this was the last time she saw James? What if this night was the last? What if her son never got the chance to grow up and live his life? What if- ‘’Go! Run!’’ Lily realized that she was standing on the stairs, frozen, and that that was really quite a stupid thing to be doing at the moment. ‘’I’ll hold him off-‘’
Lily turned and stumbled towards Harry’s room, still in shock. She heard the door from the living room slam open, and the air was filled with an awful sound that made Lily’s blood run cold. Voldemort was laughing, and Lily could only imagine why. Her tortured thoughts chased each other around her mind as she opened the door to her only son’s room. Shouts came from downstairs, and Lily shuddered as she crossed the room. She was leaning over the crib when she heard the door open again. She turned, thinking that it was James.
It wasn’t.
Voldemort stood at the opposite end of the room. His eyes glistened with excitement as he stared at the crib. Lily moved in front of her son, shielding him from Voldemort’s gaze. Red eyes moved to her face, anger flashing in them now.
‘’Hand over the child.’’ The inhuman voice gave Lily goose-bumps.
‘’N-no!’’ Lily was buying time. She listened intently for any noises downstairs. There was nothing but silence. Hatred filled her heart as she stared at the man who had killed her husband. ‘’Never!’’
‘’Just move, you idiot girl. That,’’ Voldemort pointed an eerily long, pale finger at Harry, ‘’Is the only one who must die tonight. Your brainless husband was just in the way.’’
‘’N-no... No! NO!’’ Lily screamed, her resolve broken. James was dead. Dead. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be. James couldn’t be dead.
Voldemort laughed heartlessly and moved from the doorway. His robes had previously been blocking the view of the hallway, but as he walked to the side, Lily saw her husband’s crumpled form lying at the top of the stairs. She screamed, and Voldemort laughed harder.
A burning wave of fury came over Lily. She reached for her wand- she was going to kill the bastard who murdered her husband. But it wasn’t there. Her wand was beside the baby monitor on her beside table.
Voldemort grinned evilly. ‘’You are defenseless. You can do nothing. Now move so I can kill that baby.’’
His harsh words scared Lily more than she knew was possible. He wanted to kill her baby. He had killed her husband, and now he wanted to kill her child. Grief joined the fear that Lily already felt, and, forgetting her anger, she became desperate to not lose the last of her family. ‘’Not Harry! Not Harry! Please- I’ll do anything-‘’
‘’Stand aside! Stand aside, girl!’’ Voldemort walked toward Lily and the crib she stood in front of.
Lily no longer cared about her own life- the possibility of her son never getting to truly live had driven out every other thought and concern from her mind. Harry had to live- even if she couldn’t.
Voldemort was barely five feet away. Lily turned her back on him and leaned over the wooden bars of the crib. She kissed her still-sleeping child and whispered to him, ‘’I love you, Harry. Don’t ever forget that I loved you.’’ A single tear dripped from her cheek to Harry’s before she straightened up and turned to face her murderer.
‘’AVADA KEDAVRA!’’
The house was dark and quiet. The sounds of the wind blowing and three people sleeping were the only ones to be heard. James Potter was snoring softly. His wife, Lily, lay next to him, her unconscious face showing the fear she felt, but hid whilst awake. The sighs of their son, Harry, came from the magical baby monitor on the bedside table. Outside, a man that was no longer human appeared out of thin air, and Lily Potter woke with a start.
Just a Dream by spilledpotion
Chapter Notes: Please review- I would love to hear what you think!
(Disclaimer- None of the Harry Potter characters (or the plot) belong to me. Also, some of the things that Lily, James, and Voldemort say were not written by me. They're from Harry's lessons with Professor Lupin (with the boggart and the chocolate(!!) and all).)