October, 31, 1981

It was a windy Halloween at Godric's Hollow. The kids asking for trick-or-treats had long went back home. The living room at the Potter's small house got suddenly quiet. James Potter's eyes widened as he glared to his wife, Lily. Her face was as pale as sheet, her small hands were clutching their one year old son, Harry. The kid was looking at his parents, confused.

They heard the sound of cracking branches. James stretched his neck to see by the window. A dark-cloaked man was approaching their front door. His hood turned impossible to see his face, but, unfortunetly, James knew who it was. He spoke the first thought that crossed his mind. "Bloody hell, Peter!"

Since third year, Lily knew she hadn't the "pulsing aura" needed to Divination classes. She couldn't "broaden her mind" or "open the Inner Eye to see the future. She gave up on the class by fourth year because she couldn't think of anymore tragical happenings to fill her school paper. But she didn't have to be a seer to understand why James cursed Peter. She got up and hugged her husband with an arm, the other still clutching Harry tightly.

The feeling of his wife's arms around him brought James back to reality. He turned his gaze at Lily's eyes. Her beautiful, almond-shaped, emerald-green eyes... James thought. He couldn't think that it was probably the last time he was seeing that eyes. Words started spilling out of his mouth, urgently. So urgently he couldn't believe that it was him speaking.

"Lily, take Harry and run. It's him. You'll be alright. Take Harry and run. I love you." James' sentence ended almost like a whisper. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. It couldn't have been more clear the pain that she was over. It was written all over her face. She knew what would happen. Everybody knew. When Voldemort decided to kill, all her Gryffindor courage was enough.

"I love you too." Lily replied, her voice shaking. Harry was playing with her hair, not even noticing the change in the room's atmosphere. James released her hand, but she felt like they were still somehow connected. Not being able to see the pain in her husband's eyes, Lily clutched Harry with both arms and ran upstairs.

"Daddy!" Harry cried in his baby voice. James gaze drawed to his little son. The toddler was eyeing him confused. Harry wasn't used to see his dad like that.

"I love you too, my big boy." James' voice sounded almost like a whisper, his heart on his throat, feeling like his insides were cracking up. No. He couldn't break. He needed to stay whole to spare his family.

Just when Lily's feet reached the second floor, the front door burst open. James saw the snakelike face and the red eyes that were once hidden under his hood. James' grip on his wand tightened. He was not going to die without fighting. After all, he was an Auror, a Gryffindor and James Potter. He wouldn't give up just before the action.

"Oh, Potter," Voldemort spoke. "We met again. But don't get too happy. I'm not here for you, or your silly wife. How's the boy? Enjoying what's left for him? The litthe Ha..."

"STUPEFY!" James yelled.

With a wave of his wand, Voldemort swiftly blocked the spell.

"Oh, you're in hurry to die, aren't you? I was thinking of having a little fun before going to your son..."

"DON'T YOU DARE TO TALK ABOUT MY FAMILY!"

James and Voldemort started a rough battle, spells flying in every direction. Red jets passed across green ones, both wizards dueling with extraordinary ability. Cold sweat runned down James' forehead, for Voldemort's amusement.

"YOU - WON'T TOUCH - MY - FAMI-" James was interrupted bu a jet of green light hitting him square on the chest. He fell on his back, in the middle of he living room, dropping his wand. His hazel eyes, usually full of life, were glassy dead spheres. Voldemort's cold laugh filled the room.

Meanwhile upstairs, Lily was on the nursery, whispering to her little son on the crib.

"Harry, be safe. Mommy and daddy love you so much. Please, be safe. You are so much loved. Be safe. You-" Lily stopped suddenly at the sound of a soft thump, followed by a high and cold laugh. A single large tear escaped her closed eyelid, streaming down her face. Her husband... gone. Little Harry seemed aware of the seriousness of the moment, staring silently at his mother. None of them were aware of the golden aura surrounding them.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Lily's eyes opened suddenly when the doorknob exploded. The door opened swiftly, revealing Lord Voldemort, his hood unable to hide his wide, cruel grin. She quickly wrapped Harry in her arms, in a protective position.

"Oh, look at what we have here," Voldemort spoke with such loathing, he almost spit the words. "Mudblood and offspring."

Lily's face was covered in cold sweat. Her face bloomed in rage. Momentarily forgetting that she was a witch, the sudden urge to punch that pale face right in the nose... well, at least where the nose was supposed to be. But she took a deep breath. She was wandless, and her physical strenght was nothing compared with that repulsing, terrible spell. Avada Kedavra.

Lily's mental battle earned Voldemort an amused grin. He started playing with his wand, as if it was such an ordinary moment. Three deaths today, a couple more tomorrow...

Lily needed to speak something. All the self-control needed to stay still was building a pressure in her throat, so strong that she needed to say something. If she couldn't kick his arse, the only option left was...

"Please, spare Harry. Leave him alone. He's just a baby boy. Have mercy. Kill me instead..."

"Stand aside, silly girl. I want only the boy."

"No way," she said before she could stop herself. "Please, I'm asking you. Kill me instead, leave Harry alone. Have mercy, please..."

"Stand aside, girl."

"...Spare him. Have mercy. Kill me instead..."

"If you insist, let's make it easier, shall we?" Voldemort flicked his wand in circular patterns. From the tip of it, a small bubble of electric green light started growing. Lily didn't recognize that magic, but from a couple of years of training, she had learned that green light rarely is a good sign. Especially coming from the wand of the darkest wizard of all times!

The green ball of light kept growing until it was about the size of a beach ball. The evil energy in the room was pulsing, so thick it was almost tangible. The ball concentrated between his hands. Predicting what was about to happen, Lily closed her tearful eyes, clutching Harry tightly.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort yelled, an evil glint in his red eyes. The ball shot straight to Lily and all kind of thoughts flooded her head, like a very quick movie. She caught a glimpse of her mom, dad, she and Tuney laughing around a campfire, a pillow fight with Tuney, an afternoon by the lake with Severus, a huge gray owl flying towards her house, with a thick letter made of parchment tied on it's feet, a cozy afternoon reading a book in front of the fireplace at the Common Room, James smiling like a child, with small tears in his eyes on their wedding, the first time she held Harry... This is it, thought Lily. We are all dead. But she could still feel the pressure of her feet on the ground, Harry's breath against her throat. She could still feel her hands, one holding Harry's body, other holding his head. She could feel his raven black hair, so much like his dad's, against her fingers.

Lily tried to open her eyes. They opened at her command immediately, just like always, though her vision was blurry with tears. She blinked and the nursery came into focus. Her eyes widened at the sight. She and Harry were ingulfed in the green light ball, now the size of a refrigerator. The green energy was slowly changing it's color to a bright gold, with red sparkles dancing around. It was all she could see before the golden sphere moved, hitting square on Voldemort's puzzled face. She heared his scream, vanishing into fog, just lie his body. Then she felt an excruciating pain on her wrist, and all went black.