A/N: So, this is my first story in a long time. I've been working on and off on a pretty large HP Fan Fiction, and unfortunately, I haven't actually gotten as far as I have wanted to on it. Work takes up too much time. But I got the inspiration for this fic in my mind, and I honestly couldn't get it out, so I wanted to at least start writing it. I'm pretty motivated to write it, but went ahead and posted this start already (instead of doing what I learned is much smarter and getting well into the story before posting it up so that I can stay consistent with updates) to see what he response is to it. If no one seems interested, it'll probably just stay in my head :(

So, I want to go ahead and set the expectations for this story, so no one ends up disappointed. While James and Lily and Harry do all survive in this story, it isn't a story whose primary focus is James and Lily parenting Harry. This is first and foremost a James/Lily fic, with a lot of Marauder interaction, and yes, some parenting of Harry, obviously. But that is not the focus, so this isn't that type of fic. There are plenty of other incredible fan fics that focus on that if that's what you're looking for.

This first chapter, or rather prologue, is going to be the day from each character's perspective (James's, Lily's, Remus's, and Sirius's). And then, moving forward, it will be mainly from James's perspective, with Lily's perspective coming in quite often as well. Also, when I say from their perspective, I mean third person limited. I don't think I'm very good at first person. And one last thing, I'm American, not English. So I apologize if the characters sound too American. I'm not great at English slang, but I'll do my best. Anyway, without further ado, here is my brainworm! I hope it is enjoyable!

Description: What if James and Lily had their wands on them the night Voldemort came to kill them? Would James have stood a chance against Voldemort? Would James and Lily take him on together? Or would James even survive long enough for anything to change?

-*-James-*-

James made rainbow smoke come out of his wand in short little puffs. Every time he did so, Harry would reach and try to grab it, and when his tiny fist closed around the smoke and not be able to actually grab it, he would laugh. James joined in the laughter, his heart soaring as it did every time he made Harry smile.

He heard the door open and turned to see Lily. It was crazy how, even after a year of dating and three years of marriage, his heart still started beating faster every time he saw her.

"And how is my baby doing?" she said with a radiant smile on her face.

"He's enjoying his quality time with his son, of course," James replied jokingly, pocketing his wand and handing Harry over to Lily.

He yawned and stretched, tired as he always was. He found it impossible to believe that the inability to release all of his energy could exhaust him so much. Suddenly, his ears perked up as he thought he heard something outside. He glanced out the window, but saw nothing. However, it was less than a second before his ears were proven correct. An explosion sounded from the front door.

James's mind immediately changed gears, from lazy and happy to protection mode. In the blink of an eye, his wand was in his hand and he was at the front door, looking upon the embodiment of evil: Voldemort. James's blood ran cold as Voldemort stepped over the threshold into the Potter household. His household.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" he yelled out as loudly as possible, unable to keep the panic out of his voice.

But his mind was in protection mode, and his reflexes served him well. Voldemort laughed and a jet of green light left his wand, but James had already pointed his wand at the nearest vase and moved it in front of him just in time. It shattered into a million tiny pieces as the curse hit it. James could hear Lily screaming from the second floor of their home. What was she doing? Why hadn't she taken Harry and apparated yet?!

But James had no time to think about that. If he was going to hold off Voldemort long enough for her to escape, he had to focus. He cast a stunner at Voldemort, but he deflected it as easily as he breathed. In a flash, green light was flying towards James again, and he only had time to leap out of the way this time. As he hit the ground, he flicked his wand again at Voldemort, this time sending a blasting curse at him. Again, a simple flick of the wand was all Voldemort needed to deflect the spell. He sent a third killing curse towards James, and, on the floor, all James could do to avoid it was apparate. He apparated to Voldemort's left, but Voldemort was not surprised. With another simple flick of his wand, James was slammed into the wall. As he slid down, there was no mistaking the loud crack that sounded from above. Voldemort's face contorted into anger as he knew exactly what James knew.

"They're gone! And you'll never find them!" James taunted, ignoring the pain coursing through his back.

Voldemort let out a high shriek of anger and turned to James with fire in his cold eyes. He aimed his wand.

"Cru-"

But James apparated before Voldemort could complete the curse. He no longer needed to occupy Voldemort. Lily and Harry had gotten away, so it was his turn to get away now. He apparated to Lupin's house, just outside the barrier. His feet hit the cold earth, and he dropped to his knees. His mind was working a mile a minute, and none of the thoughts were good. Lily and Harry had managed to get away, but Lily was smart. She knew that to keep Harry safe, she would have to go into hiding, even from him. He would not be seeing his wife and son any time soon, and his heart ached at the thought. But then, a whole other emotion took over him, fueling his entire body with fire. Peter had betrayed them, and put not only his life, but Lily's and Harry's lives, into Voldemort's hands. He hadn't thought it possible. None of his friends would ever betray him. But it was the only explanation. There was no other way Voldemort could have gotten through the Fidelius Charm. Peter was going to pay…

-*-Lily-*-

Lily walked into the sitting room to see her two favorite people playing together. James was making puffs of smoke appear out of his wand, and Harry was grasping at it and laughing like crazy. She couldn't suppress the massive smile taking over her face.

"And how is my baby doing?" she asked.

"He's enjoying his quality time with his son, of course," James joked.

Lily laughed as she took Harry into her arms. Almost instantly, she heard an explosion from the front door. James was out of the sitting room and into the hall so quickly, it was as if he had apparated. He was yelling, but only two of his words processed in Lily's mind.

"It's him!"

Lily held Harry tighter and sprinted up the stairs. She slammed the door behind her and locked it with a flick of her wand. She heard screaming, and she wasn't sure if it was coming from her or Harry. She heard blasts from downstairs. Would James be able to survive?! She was hysterical, sick with worry about her husband and her baby. She had to calm down if she were going to apparate without risking splinching herself or Harry. She sat Harry in his crib, clutching the sides of it and trying to breath. After taking in multiple deep breaths, her mind started to clear. She lightly brushed her hand on Harry's head to calm him down as well. As soon as she fully regained her cool, she took down the anti-apparition ward, she picked Harry back up, and spun, apparating away from her home and the love of her life.

She reappeared in her abandoned childhood home. Her parents had died about a year prior, and the house hadn't been put on the market. She was too busy being in hiding, and Petunia was too busy with goodness knows what. The house had clearly fallen into disarray, but it was the only place that she could think of. She quickly put up a number of defensive enchantments to prevent Voldemort from tracking her down. She walked into her childhood room, vanished the thick dust with a wave of her wand, and carefully sat Harry down on her old bed. Then, finally done protecting her child, she broke down. She dropped to her knees and tears started flowing as she realized that she couldn't return to James. And that's even if he managed to survive the night…

-*-Remus-*-

Remus heard a loud crack from outside, and alarms started blaring inside his house. He had anti-apparition wards set for a 100 foot radius from his house, and other enchantments set for an additional 150 feet past that to alert him any time anyone got close. His house was a very small house, with just a sitting room, a kitchen, a small bedroom, and a bathroom. He had been living with the Potters until James's parents passed and and James had married Lily and they moved into their own place. As a full time Order member (not that he would've been able to get a job even if that weren't the case), he had no money to afford a house, and he had refused to continue to mooch off of James. He had gone to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore had offered him this place, one of the many safe houses he had across the country.

Lupin grabbed his wand, holding it out defensively before him as he walked out of the front door and warily approached the intruder. The last quarter moon reflected off of the intruder's glasses, and briefly illuminated a mass of unruly raven hair.

"Prongs?" Lupin breathed as a grin broke across his face. It had been a while since he had seen his friend.

But he noticed something was wrong as he got closer to James. He could hear James's heavy breathing as he approached, and James wasn't moving. Lily and Harry were nowhere to be found. When James visited, Lily and Harry always tagged along as well, except for on the full moon. So why was he visiting now, in the middle of the night, unplanned, without his family? And why was he on the ground, not moving.

"James? What has happened?" Lupin asked cautiously once he arrived in front of James.

He grabbed James's shoulder, and James flinched, backing away from the touch as if he had been burned. It seemed he had just noticed Lupin was even there. Lupin saw a mixture of panic and utter loathing on James's face, and as the half moon illuminated his eyes, they were burning with fire. Something truly bad had happened.

"James? What's going on? Wait, first, what was the first nickname Sirius suggested you go by before we landed on Prongs?"

"Wh-what?" James sounded utterly confused. Finally, he seemed to settle down a little. "Oh, Moony. What did you say?"

"I asked what was the first nickname Sirius suggested for you before we decided to go with Prongs?"

"The Horny One," James responded, and the complete and total lack of emotion and lack of humor behind the answer made Lupin worry even more. "What was the first name I suggested for the Marauder's Map?"

"The Map We Can Use to Spy on All the Fittest Birds in Hogwarts," Lupin answered with a ghost of a grin and nostalgia in spite of his concern. "James. Tell me what has happened. You're really scaring me."

Lupin extended his hand, and James, seeming lucid for the first time since he had arrived, accepted his proffered hand and finally stood. Lupin led the way back to the house, and James sat on the sitting room couch, and buried his head in his hands. Lupin started making tea, waiting as patiently as he could (not very) for James to finally explain what was going on.

"He showed up at the house," James finally said.

"He? Who? No! Not…"

"Yup. Voldemort," James replied.

"No! But, how?! Sirius?! No way! He wouldn't ever give you up! Wait, where are Lily and Harry?! Don't tell me…"

"No, he didn't get to them. They got away," James said quickly. Lupin breathed a large sigh of relief. "And you're as flabbergasted as I was, Moony. But it wasn't Padfoot."

"What do you mean?" Lupin asked in confusion. "He was the secret keeper."

"He...he wasn't. I'm sorry, Moony. I wanted to tell you, I really did. I trust you completely. But Padfoot...it wasn't that he didn't trust you. It really wasn't. It's just that he didn't know who to trust."

"Prongs, what are you talking about?" Lupin asked, getting more and more confused by the second.

"Padfoot...he...he came up with a plan. A bluff. Everyone would think he would be the secret keeper. Even Voldemort. So we told everyone he was the secret keeper. We made everyone believe he was, even you and Dumbledore. But it was really Pettigrew." Lupin was shocked at the venom in James's voice as he spat out their other friend's name. James hadn't referred to Peter by his last name only since their early school days. "We made him our secret keeper to throw everyone off. But it seems the plan was flawed. Voldemort showed up at our house. The only way that's possible...Pettigrew betrayed us. Betrayed all of us. Betrayed Lily and Harry," he finished, and Lupin was actually frightened at the pure hatred that was permeating James's words. He hadn't heard James use that tone, ever.

Lupin wasn't sure what to say, but he was spared having to say anything, as alarms started blaring again. Before he even had a chance to turn off the alarms or go outside to see who it was, Sirius's panicked voice was shouting louder than any of the alarms as his voice got louder and louder. He was sprinting towards the house.

"REMUUUSSSS!"

-*-Sirius-*-

Something already didn't feel right. He wasn't sure what had happened or was happening, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. It had been bothering him all day, and the feeling was intensifying. He had to go to Peter's, just to make sure nothing had happened to him. If Voldemort had somehow found out they had tricked him and attacked Peter, he would never forgive himself. He finally made it past his own anti-apparition wards, and quickly turned. A quick moment of rough, uncomfortable squeezing, and he was 100 feet away from Peter's house. None of the windows showed any light. But the door seemed perfectly intact. He didn't see any signs of damage.

He approached the door warily, drawing his wand. He carefully grasped the door handle, turning it slowly. It wasn't locked. That wasn't a good sign. Sirius lit his wand and proceeded into the dark house. He strained his ears, but heard nothing. Maybe Peter was just asleep. It wasn't very late, but maybe he was just stressed and went to sleep early. So Sirius proceeded up the stairs and towards Peter's bedroom. Again, the door wasn't locked. He slipped inside and held his wand high to cast a light through the whole room. It was completely empty. Peter wasn't in his bed or in his rocking chair.

Sirius was really starting to get worried now. What could possibly be going on. Where was Peter? He started searching the house thoroughly, but there was no sign of a struggle, and Peter was nowhere to be found. This wasn't right. Peter should be here. If he was going to go somewhere, he would've told them. Sirius's heart was racing. He was seriously worried now. He had to check on the Potters. Make sure nothing had happened. He spun, and a moment later, he was 100 feet away from the Potters' house.

Or at least what was left of it. His heart stopped. His breath caught in his throat and his lungs constricted. He couldn't breathe. What was a perfectly normal house less than 24 hours previously, when Sirius had visited, was no a smoking pile of rubble. He slowly looked up, and saw the green skull and snake. Sirius dropped to his knees. His best friend. Lily. His godson. They...they were gone. Peter had betrayed them, but he couldn't even process that. Not with what lay before him. 3 of the most important people in his life. Two of the only people who truly loved him. The first person to ever ignore his family, ignore his past, and accept him for who he was. The one who he had countless memories with that would last forever. His best friend in the world. No, James was more than that. He wasn't related by blood, but James was his brother. And now he was gone. Reduced to ashes in a pile of rubble. Erased from the world like he had never existed. Sirius didn't know that he had started crying, but he now felt how wet his face was. He still was in shock. What about Remus? Did Remus know. Was he safe. Recklessly, Sirius turned and apparated again. It was risky with his emotional state, but he had to check on the only person left that mattered.

His feet met the ground and he was instantly running as fast as he could towards the small house, screaming his lungs out.

"REMUUUSSSS! REMUS! ARE YOU THERE?!"

Lupin came darting out of the house with his wand raised. Instantly Sirius drew his wand and pointed it straight at him.

"Who was my first kiss?!" Sirius demanded of him.

"Marlene McKinnon. And you liked it a lot more than she did," Lupin answered calmly. "What was the first thing you ordered from the house elves when we found the kitchens in second year?"

"The biggest chocolate cake they could possibly make. It took the four of us a month to finally finish it," Sirius replied.

He sprinted at Lupin and wrapped him in a tight hug. At least one person that he cared about was still left. And now he felt ashamed for thinking Lupin could've been the traitor. It was Peter all along. Sirius should've seen it. He should've trusted Lupin.

"Come on inside, Padfoot. Prongs is already here. I've already verified him," Lupin said.

The words washed over Sirius like ice, and in less than a second, he was in front of the James impersonator, his left hand gripping his collar and his right sticking his wand against his throat.

"You son of-" he started before James yelled back.

"Padfoot?! What the h-"

"Shut up! How did you get by Remus's verification?! Who are you?!"

"It's me, James, you prat!" James responded irritably. "Will you get your wand off of my thr-"

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! What were the first nicknames I suggested for us?! If you're my best friend, ANSWER THAT!" Sirius yelled deliriously.

"I was The Horny One, you were Oh Great Shaggy Awesomeness, Pettigrew the slimeball was The Tiny Squeaky Pet, and Remus was He Who Howls," James answered, trying to calm Sirius down while still eying the wand that was started to leave a mark on his neck.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT, IMPOSTER?!" Sirius roared.

"PADFOOT! IT'S ME! The first night at Hogwarts, you and I stayed up until 3 in the morning talking about how we would prank the first teacher we met. When that turned out to be McGonagall, we decided we'd better hold off for a while. So we ended up pranking Dumbledore instead. When he called us into his office, we were both terrified. And then he ended up laughing and telling us what an awesome prank it was. How could anyone but me know that?!"

Sirius couldn't believe it. It really was James. He was alive.

"Oh thank God!" he said, throwing his arms around James as relief washed over him. But it was short-lived.

"Wait. But he left the mark over your house. Don't tell me, Harry and Lily are…"

"No, they got away. He must've just cast it in frustration. He was livid when Lily apparated away. He was about to torture me, but I managed to get away as well," James explained.

Sirius fell back to the floor, wiping away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. "Thank God. I don't know what I would've done if any of you were dead. I thought the worst had happened when I saw the wreckage and the mark."

"Calm down Padfoot. They're all alright. We all are," Lupin, who had finally re-entered the house, said. He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with three cups of tea. They all drank.

"Well, you know what we do now, don't you?" Lupin asked.

"Of course," James said, rage and pure unadulterated hatred filling his voice once again. "We find out where that piece of trash is, and show him what happens to people who betray their friends and give up my wife and son to Voldemort."

A/N: So there you have it, the prologue to my most persistent brainworm. I hope everyone enjoyed it and is interested to see where it goes. I know I am! Please review! Tell me what you liked. Tell me what you hated. Tell me what you expect to happen. Tell me about your day. What's your favorite color? Whatever you want to say, just please review! Did everyone seem in character? I hope so!