For the Sake of Revenge

Rating: T

Main Characters: Lily Potter, Severus Snape, and Lord Voldemort

Pairing: Lily Potter/Severus Snape

Summary: What if Lily actually survived that night by being put unconscious instead, thus not fulfilling the requirements to protect her son like it was planned? A story about a vengeful mother who would do anything in order to kill the one responsible for taking her son's life.

A/N: The plot and the original idea belong to J. F. C. who always has some brilliant story ideas. Also, I dedicate this story to him because he is one wonderful guy and an amazing friend. Reviews are appreciated. I hope you will like it.


The Last Threat

Run away, Lily, run away… These words echoed inside her fear-seized mind as her feet desperately tried to reach the upper floor. Her world was shattered to pieces as her mind slowly processed the painful, unwanted information. James was dead. The only man she ever loved, one of the persons she cared about the most, the one who always managed to make her smile, was dead.

The danger and the darkness constantly hovered over her like the guillotine's blade which just waited to fall swiftly every moment, severing her head from the body. It was always there, but it never felt so real, so painful. Until now, it had been just like the shape in the mist, unclear and seemingly far away. Now it was like an iron hand that tried to take away her breath, rendering her helpless.

Her panicked mind wanted her to stop, surrender, and leave her destiny in the hands of a monster, but her heart knew she had the most important thing in the world to do. Harry. She needed to save Harry. Her eyes were almost blinded by fear, but her instincts managed to guide her and she finally reached the upper floor, mindlessly rushing towards the child's room.

Slamming the door shut behind her, her trembling fingers located the wand inside her pocket and she managed to take it out, almost dropping it in the process. She frantically aimed at almost every piece of furniture she had seen, watching them as they glided towards the door. She was trying to build a small, improvised fortress despite a part of her mind knew it was useless against the merciless, powerful wizard.

She turned away from her poorly designated defensive wall, rushing towards Harry. His green eyes watched her curiously, like he was wondering just exactly why there were tears streaming down her face. Her mind began working fervently as she tried to think about the possible escape routes. Maybe she would manage to take Harry and jump out of the window? It wasn't too high, and she would be able to apparate if she would manage to reach the street.

As she wasted her time thinking, the door opened and a loud explosion pierced the air, destroying her rampart. She turned around to face her doom, the sharp splinters covering her fiery red hair.

A pair of haunting blood red eyes watched her, freezing the blood in her veins. Her knees trembled and threatened to betray her as the cloaked, tall figure began approaching her. Her heart began drawing towards the base of her throat as he walked slowly towards her, almost gliding like a ghost.

Her cracked lips managed to form a silent, helpless 'no' as he halted in front of her, his spiderlike fingers twisting the long wand. She wouldn't allow him to kill Harry, no matter what. He was the one who had to survive, not her. She had nothing to live for anymore, she had nowhere to escape. Her mind stopped thinking rationally and she raised her wand only to be disarmed just one second later. Wandless and cornered, she backed towards Harry's bed.

"Stand aside woman," a cold, high-pitched voice greeted her ears.

She shook her head ardently. "No, please… Just spare Harry… I'll…" she managed to blurt out before the bedazzling red beam left his wand, colliding with her chest. She plummeted down, her body hitting the floor with a loud thud.

Voldemort continued walking towards the child, ignoring Lily's inanimate and unconscious body thrown across the floor. The child smiled at him, his hands spread widely like he wanted to greet the funny looking stranger. Voldemort raised his wand, determined to eliminate the last threat. As the child noticed the wand pointed at his head, he began crying loudly like he was able to foresee his own end. Voldemort frowned, hating his cries more than anything in the world.

"Avada Kedavra!" the ruthless voice bellowed and the malicious beam burst out of his wand, coloring the entire room with a vivid shade of green and blinding the spellcaster briefly.

The green light dissolved faster than it appeared, revealing the desired sight to Voldemort's eyes. Harry cried no more, spread lifelessly across the blue sheets, his tiny body resembling a carelessly thrown bundle.

For Harry, everything was over. For Voldemort, everything had just begun. His cold laughter pierced the room, as he ecstatically beheld the dead child, admiring the power of death… his creation, his tool, his servant… but never his master. 'Death itself is powerless against me,' he thought and laughed one last time before disappearing in a swirl of sickly gray smoke.


The stench of death lingered in the air, every fiber of Severus' being managed to feel it and smell it as he approached the small home, shrouded in darkness. He forced himself to continue moving, ignoring the nagging voice in his head. What if Voldemort didn't fulfill his promise? What if he forgot about everything and killed Lily?

No, he refused to think about that now. It was in vain wasting even a single moment. Trying to block out his fears, he opened the entrance doors, stepping inside calmly like nothing happened. James' body was the obstacle he encountered upon entering. He calmly stepped over it, glancing at the man briefly. His heart felt nothing as his mind acknowledged James' death. According to Severus, that man deserved it.

His heart clenched painfully as he continued to examine the house, trying to prepare himself for the sights he would encounter. After discovering that Lily wasn't there, he began climbing up, concluding that she was surely somewhere on the upper floor. Climbing up, he spotted the blasted away door and sped up. Bursting into the room, his dark eyes began searching around. He quickly noticed the female body sprawled across the floor like a broken marionette, and one curled up small body in the baby bed. He averted his gaze from the child, unable to behold such sight.

He lazily moved towards the woman, his heart fluttering with hope mixed with fear. He knelt down beside her, his shaking hand trying to check her pulse. For a moment he couldn't feel anything and his heart almost exploded with rage and sorrow. Unable to accept her death, he tried checking her pulse one more time. This time, he felt the faint beats beneath his fingers, gentle and slow like the flutter of the butterfly's wings.

She was alive. Voldemort spared her. That was the only thing his brain registered as he fervently grabbed his wand, pointing it at Lily's pale face.

A gleam of whiteness illuminated her skin, and her chest began moving up and down faster. Her eyelashes began to flutter and she slowly opened her eyes, glaring dazedly at Severus.

Severus' lips curled into a relieved smile as the confused frown formed upon her face. Freeing herself quickly from his grasp, she backed away on her hands, her frightened eyes staring at him.

"Harry! What happened with Harry?" she demanded to know as every inch of her body began trembling without control.

"Lily," Severus said, his dry voice giving her no hope.

"Severus, please Severus… what happened?" she asked again, her mind failing to register the truth.

Severus bowed his head, his hair covering his eyes. "Harry's dead," he exclaimed in a monotone, his voice gloomily echoing through the silent room.

Lily's eyes watched with disbelief and no answer reached Severus' ears as he kept looking at the floorboards. Suddenly, a terrifying, heartbreaking scream pierced the silence, sending jolts of pain through the cold air. A couple of crows flew away from the roof in fear before the silence engulfed everything again.