Faces in the Mirror
Disclaimer: All these characters belong to JK Rowling, I just 'borrowed' them to play about with.
It was a beautiful day as Tom Riddle sauntered down Diagon Alley, giving cheery smiles to everyone he passed. The youthful wizard was well known and well liked in wizarding circles, and he received many winks in return, and one elderly wizard with a flowing, curly white beard doffed his hat to the smiling young wizard. Tom chuckled, and his blue eyes twinkled. He continued on his way through the bustling crowds, a pleasant grin fixed firmly on his handsome face.
Lily stared sadly through the glass at her son Harry. He looked so grown up, standing there in his Hogwarts robes. She could feel James, standing beside her, swelling with pride. She wanted to keep this moment, to preserve it in her memory forever. Little Harry, at Hogwarts! She felt so proud of him. He looked just as she'd always imagined he would as a Hogwarts student. Their little baby boy...
But why did she feel this immense sadness? Why couldn't she be there with Harry, why was she watching from a distance? She longed to sweep her little boy up in a huge embrace, why was she restricted to being merely a spectator? Harry could see her, he was waving at them. But then he began to disappear...
"No!" she called aloud, "Harry, wait!" She tossed and turned in her sleep, and then woke up to the familiar sound of James snoring comfortably next to her. Baby Harry, in the next room, was cooing contentedly in his sleep. The house was silent. Artemis shuffled on his perch in the corner, ruffling his feathers slightly. Everything was as it should be, why did she feel uneasy? It was probably due to that dream, Lily decided, turning over onto her front. It was remarkable, how Harry had looked just like his father, James, when he was the same age. Still, it was only a dream, and one that had probably been composed partially of her old Hogwarts memories. She yawned. Hardly surprising, really....
James rustled The Daily Prophet. He looked up from the newspaper, his sleepy green eyes bearing a serious expression. He cleared his throat.
"It says here that Lyall Davis and his family were found dead last night. The whole house looked scorched, as if it had caught fire. But not a mark on any of them. Looked like the work of You-know-who - the Dark Mark was floating above the house when the bodies were found. The Ministry of Magic have issued an official statement that everything is under control. I'd be worried if I was them." Lily had stopped trying to feed Harry his breakfast, and was listening to James' account of the macabre story. Her blue eyes looked worried.
"James, do you think he'll gain power?" she queried, blinking anxiously. Her husband stared into her concerned eyes. He wanted to reassure her, but...
"I don't know, Lily. I just don't know." He said simply.
The Potters were right to be apprehensive. They lived in troubled times, when one wizard had gone as bad as wizards go, and was slowly accumulating supporters for his evil cause. The Ministry of Magic had been watching his slow ascent to power with growing uneasiness, and seemed at a loss for what to do. The death toll was slowly but steadily rising, as wizards found themselves confronted by this Lord Voldemort. He gave his victims no option or chance of survival, killing wizards off brutally using the Avada Kedavra curse. He had an army of loyal supporters, the Death Eaters. The very mention of this name struck fear into the hearts of even the most accomplished wizard or witch. Times were very dangerous indeed, with the prospect of a bleak future looming on the horizon.
As James left the house that morning to go to his work as an Auror, Lily felt uneasy as she kissed his cheek. If the rumours were true, and Voldemort was gaining supporters, there were serious consequences for the whole wizarding population. As she and Harry stood by the window waving, she wondered whether Harry would grow up in a safe environment, or during a period of watching your back, of hiding and of secrecy. As Lily reflected, she sincerely hoped that she was simply being pessimistic.
Sirius was worried. He knew that Voldemort was growing steadily more powerful. He feared for the future, for himself and for his friends; Remus, Peter, James, and, of course, Lily with baby Harry. It had been many years since Padfoot, Prongs, Moony and Wormtail had walked the corridors of Hogwarts, and it had been a long while since the friends had last met. During these dark times, he knew that friendship and unity were especially important. He decided to send an owl to all of them to re-extend the hand of friendship.
A hand with long, slender fingers picked up the newspaper lying on the nearby table. The front cover of The Daily Prophet bore the headline 'Mysterious Mass Murders', and the picture showed a scene of destruction; a house, looking near to collapse, bearing the trade-marks of combustion. A shimmering skull-like apparition hovered above the destroyed home, with a snake slithering out of the skull's gaping jaw. The caption below the moving image read 'Total eradication at the hands of the Dark Lord'. The figure licked it's finger, then turned the page to read the article concerning the catastrophe inside the paper. It spoke to itself in a thin, hissing voice.
"Terrible..."
James returned home at the end of a peaceful day's work. As he entered the house, he heard Harry gurgling contentedly to himself. He strode into the small kitchen to find Lily preparing their evening meal. Wrapping his arms around her slender waist, he murmured,
"Harry should be saying his first word, soon.. What do you reckon it's 'daddy'?" he asked laughingly.
"Of course not!" cried Lily in mock horror. "It'll be 'love mummy'!" James joined in her happy laughter.
"Aaah, the Potters." Hissed a nasal voice. "Yes, I think I shall visit the Potters tonight. They have been a thorn in my side for long enough. And besides," it added in cruel tones, "I haven't seen little Harry yet."
Later that evening Lily sat beside Harry's cot, gently singing the Hogwarts school song to the tune of a gentle lullaby. Harry gurgled, batting at the bewitched mobile hanging above his cot. Pictures of Lily and James on their broomsticks soared through the air, leaving trails of stars as they flew. Lily and James looked down fondly from a family photo mounted on the yellow wall above the cooing baby, whose likeness in the photo was playing with a Quidditch figurine. As Lily's song drew to a close, Harry closed his tiny green eyes in sleep. James came silently into the room, and husband and wife stood together gazing with love at their baby son.
A dark form slid up to the Potter's gate, sending it crashing back with a loud clang. The hooded figure stood at the front door for a moment in silent reflection before producing a wand and silently muttering a spell.
Lily was sitting reading a book when James suddenly sat up straight, listening for something.
"What is it?" she queried, as a feeling of unease stole over her. James' eyes flicked over to her.
"I don't know… just a feeling." He murmured. As Lily nodded, he froze, listening intently. Suddenly, they heard a small noise, so quiet it was as if they had imagined it. Someone clearing their throat.
An icy fear fell over Lily like a dark blanket. Baby Harry began screaming just as their front door imploded.
James stood facing the cloaked apparition, brandishing his wand.
"Lily, save Harry!" he called desperately. "Come no further!" he warned the steadily advancing figure, which was exuding an air of menace. A thin hand slowly the thick hood back revealing Tom Riddle, his sunny features contorted into a look of pure venom. James blinked in shock. As he took a moment to re-assess the situation, trying to find the words to communicate his utter contempt for the evil being in front of him, Tom raised his wand slowly, carefully. James felt utterly overwhelmed, yet he knew he had to protect his wife and son. He brought his wand up…
"Avada Kedavra!"
Lily screamed as she heard her husband's body crumple to the floor. Tears streamed down her face. Strangely, though, she felt no fear of this murderer, only anger. She became aware of soft footsteps coming towards her. She spun on her heel and saw Tom Riddle advancing towards her. She felt herself elevating into a state of utter disbelief. As the Dark lord Voldemort pointed his wand at the silent baby, adrenaline flooded through her veins.
"No, not Harry!" she screamed, throwing herself in front of her beloved son and shielding him with her body. "Not Harry!" A cruel smile stretched over Voldemort's twisted lips. His green eyes gleamed.
"Stand aside, girl." It was a thin, nasal voice. The words were hissed, rather than spoken. The thin lips parted, began to form the life-stealing words…
"Avada Kedavra! "
Voldemort sneered as he stepped over the body of Lily Potter. Now for the boy… Harry was sitting on his parent's bed, staring unflinchingly up at his parent's murderer. Voldemort was mildly infuriated. That the boy should show such insolence, when his parent's blood was newly spilt… Tom Riddle marvelled for a moment, then aimed his wand a third time.
" Avada Kedavra!"
Harry blinked. The house exploded.
Sirius was flying his motorbike over to old Arabella Figg when he heard the explosion. Cursing, he swiftlychanged direction and sped over to Lily and James' house.
When Hagrid arrived, Sirius was sitting on the doorstep cradling sleeping Harry in his shaking arms. As Hagrid strode up the remnants of the path, Sirius looked up. He was dry-eyed.
"He killed them, Hagrid. He killed Lily and James."
Lily stared sadly through the glass at her son Harry. He looked so grown up, standing there in his Hogwarts robes. She could feel James, standing beside her, swelling with pride. She wanted to keep this moment, to preserve it in her memory forever. Little Harry, at Hogwarts! She felt so proud of him. He looked just as she'd always imagined he would as a Hogwarts student. Their little baby boy...
Harry could see her, he was waving at them. She turned to James at her side, and said softly as the image of her son faded,
"May Dumbledore protect him."