Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or his world. Now that you've forced me to face the cruel reality for what it is. I'm going to curl up in a corner now.

A.N.: Thanks for clicking on this ficlet. Please review when finished. I will accept flames unless you're doing it to be an ass. Have a good day/night.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

By: Pissed Off Fairy (a.k.a. Flinchy)

"Harry, get your booty back here!" Yelled an irate Lilly Potter.

This phrase was heard nightly at the Potter house. It was the night before Halloween and a one year old Harry Potter was yet again hiding from his mother.

Why, you ask?

Little Harry didn't want to take a bath. That was why. He worked so hard to get dirty why would he want to clean himself? Grown ups were very weird sometimes.

James Potter leaned against the doorway laughing at the scene in front of him. He quickly stopped though when his wife threw a glare his way.

"That is your son James. You go find him," she said pushing past him and going into the nursery.

When Lilly was gone, a head with a tuft of black hair peeked from around the corner. Big green eyes were staring up at James.

"Mummy go? No bath!"

"Come, come Harry. You must take a bath. Mummy will be sad if you don't." James smirked.

"Mummy sad?" Harry asked.

"Yes mummy will be very sad." James said smirking. Ah! The power of a guilt trip. Lilly was exactly the same.

With a heaving sigh, Harry walked over to James and held up his mud covered hands. Picking up his son, James carried Harry into the bathroom. After stripping his son out of his dirty clothes, James plopped his son in the tub with a small splash. Harry giggled as some of the water got on his fathers robe. Unbeknownst to James, a sparkle of mischief found its way into the one-year-olds eyes.

Fifteen minutes later a very wet James and dry Harry wrapped in a towel walked out of the bathroom and into the nursery. Lilly looked up from where she was picking up toys and smirked at her wet husband.

"Mummy! Harry clean. No sad?"

After glancing at her husband, Lilly took Harry and carried him to his changing table.

"No Harry, mummy isn't sad," she said smiling down at him, "Lets get you into your pj's."

After getting him into his footy pajamas with the snitch on the front, Lilly laid her now drowsy son in his crib.

"Time for beddy bye my little one." Cooed Lilly.

Rolling his eyes at his wife's cooing baby voice, James leaned down and kissed his son on the head.

"Night little man. Tomorrow's Halloween, which means mummy makes candy."

Harry yawned and grabbed a stuffed cat. Snuggling up Harry fell asleep.

Turning away from the crib, he walked towards his wife and turned off the light. Walking from their son's room they went into their own to get ready for bed. When in bed Lilly turned to her husband with a worried look.

"Do you think we'll be okay? What if something happens to Peter?" asked Lilly anxiously.

"Nothing will happen, Lilly. We will live through this and raise our son. Everything will be fine," James whispered wrapping his wife in his arms.

Lilly nodded and nestled into James' arms. She didn't get much sleep that night as the sense of forbidding in her chest grew.

The three Potters were sitting in the living room on Halloween night. Lilly was sitting on the couch with Harry in her lap, reading to him. James was fiddling around with who knows what in a chair in the corner of the room. A huge explosion from outside made James jump up from where he was sitting. Looking out the window he saw a tall figure dressed in black walk towards the house.

"Lilly, it's him; take Harry and run!" James yelled as faced the front door, wand out.

"James no! Come with me and Harry." She yelled back.

Harry was silently crying. Big fat tears running down his face as his mother held him. Lilly was tugging on James sleeve, trying to get him to come with them.

"No Lilly, I'll be fine. We've gotten away before, we can do it again," he said determinedly. "Now go."

Lilly nodded and ran up the stairs. She made it to the nursery when she heard James yell out a spell. Choking back a sob Lilly tried to apperate. Tried was the key word.

She couldn't get out.

She had to save her son.

With a hard glint in her eye, Lilly put Harry in his crib. He wasn't making a sound. His crying had stopped and he just stared at the bedroom door. Lilly kissed him on the head. Whispering that she loved him and would make sure he was safe. Neither knowing it would be the last bit of affection he would get in a long while.

They both heard a thump down stairs.

Then laughter.

James was dead.

Facing the door Lilly pulled her wand out. Footsteps were heard outside the closed door. With a flash of yellow it opened. The intruder stood there, red eyes shining from underneath the hood of the cloak.

"Move." Hissed a voice from the hood.

"No. Not Harry. Please not Harry."

"Move aside you silly girl. You needn't die tonight."

"No you can't have him. Stupify!" Lilly yelled, flicking her wand.

The bolt of blue light hit the wall when the figure moved from its path.

"Avada Kedavra"

With one last look at Harry, Lilly died in a flash of green light.

Harry frowned as he watched his mother fall. Harry's green eyes, so like his mothers, hardened with anger no child should know.

The cloaked figure in front of him laughed. Another green light shot out towards Harry. The man continued laughing as he saw the light hit the little boy. He stopped suddenly though.

The green light was coming back.

Before he could move it hit him. With a scream of fury the cloaked man crumbled into ash.

In the crib Harry Potter was unconscious as a wound on his forehead bled.

When he woke it would be to a woman's scream. He would not know that he was a savior to his world.

Harry would soon forget the days with his parents as the memories would soon be overlapped with those of pain from his new home.

Every night though as he lay in his cupboard he could swear he could hear a woman's voice say that she loves him.

So did you like it? My beta Sticky corrected all the mistakes she found. Please review! I lurve them a lot.

Pissed Off Fairy

Oh yea! I know that's not the exact thing James, Lilly, and Voldi said but I don't have my book with me. So I improvised! Bye!