The Price of Mistakes
Chapter One
One May Never Know the Price of mistakes,
Until it is too late to rectify those mistakes,
And realize the price is too high…
October 31st. Godric's Hollow, 1981.
As the soft rays of dawn flitted through the long bay windows that littered the Potter Household, the owners of said house awoke with lazy smiles and several yawns in between. Emerald, slanted eyes met groggy, hazel orbs as Lily Potter nee Evans gazed into the eyes of the love of her life with a gentleness that did betrayed her true nature.
James Potter yawned once more over the dreadful sound that was being emitted by the electronic horror that currently lay at his bedside table. The neon green flashing numbers seemed to wink as they disappeared and reappeared indicating that it was 7:30am.
"Morning" was all that was uttered through the pale, slightly chapped lips that were owned by the sleep driven Auror. The greeting he received in response was much appreciated as his young, beautiful wife prevented further speech from the male Potter with her cherry, red lips.
The alarm clock, which was still attempting to leave everyone within hearing distance deaf, was quickly slammed to quietness by James as he purred under his wife's ministrations. The distant, yet distinct, cry put their actions to a stop as they both seemed to notice the current state of their children; which was, awake.
Most had been disapproving as the news of twins was spread among the general populace. The idea of the 20 some year old couple having twins so soon into the marriage was often frowned upon, yet no one had the face to mention anything to the giddy couple.
Their dreams of grandeur and living peacefully with Lily only having to worry about pranks played by the somewhat immature quartet of friends, was crushed by none other than the leader of the light. That day the sky had wept as the condemning words echoed across their minds.
The prophecy was spoken and fallen into the wrong ears. Death was sure to be approaching on the wings of Lord Voldemort, aka He-who-must-not-be-named.
As clothes were thrown over her barely clad body, Lily Potter thought about what awaited in her children's future. Her feet glided over the memorized path she had often had to take in the dead of the night. As she swept into the room, the typical scene met her eyes.
The disorganized, two-cribbed room that was currently occupied by the two youngest Potters was currently housing the personal orchestra that young Jessamine Potter seemed to want to accomplish with her high volume cries.
Wincing as she stepped closer, the mother of the two infants pulled the youngest of the twins into her warm embrace, hoping to satisfy the spoiled little mongrel. Her red-rimmed hazel eyes were staring into the red locks that she shared with her mother; a little smile spreading across her cheeks, creating little, endearing dimples.
Harry Potter, the scion of the Potter's most ancient and noble house, lay with emerald eyes wide open and staring at the scene that was caused by his younger sisters' need for attention. He on the other hand kept to himself and only cried on the direst situations. All in all, he was the role model for all other babies in the world. Not that they knew how to say it, much less know what it meant…
A small yawn stole from his thin red lips as he attempted to clear the cobwebs that seemed to gather inside his mind. The raven locks that grew among the crown of his head seemed to be the only dark color in the yellow and light blue themed nursery.
Some grunting in the distance alerted Lily about her husband's new found awareness, and realizing that his next shift was to start soon she placed Danielle back in her crib, much to the young girl's displeasure, and briskly walked into their shared room to find James in the action of pulling his black slacks.
"Are you not having breakfast?" she asked with a slight humorous tilt to her tone, which only served to rip a groan from her husband. Franticly shaking his head and pulling his shoes on, she got her answer.
"You serve as enough to fill me up" he said in a mock romantic pose, a hand over his heart and the other stretched towards her. Lily just laughed at his antics. The deep unease that she had awoken to lessened as she realized that James was still the same, not the grief driven man she had dreamt about.
And as she watched him gather his wand and race towards the door, she stopped him with a bone-breaking hug. Whispered words were exchanged and a few stray kisses were given.
"Promise that if something happens to me, you will take care of the children" she whispered, her voice seconds from cracking and letting the tears that pooled inside her emerald orbs drop. "Promise me!"
"I promise, but there is no need for that. You will be with me as long as possible, which will hopefully be when we are as old and wrinkled as Dumbledore himself" he responded with a slight chuckle and Lily could sense the smile in his voice.
"I love you" she whispered while tightening her grip over his neck. "I always will and always have"
"I love you, more than words can express my beautiful flower" he whispered back, his eyes softening with the truth of his words. "But I will be later than usual if I don't leave now" he added as he let her go and ran downstairs and disappeared from her view for the last time...
:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~
Night had fallen before Lily could process the change between light and utter darkness. The new moon seemed to absorb the light of the distant stars causing the night to be darker than it truly should have been.
Drawing the woolen blanket closer to her chilled body, she turned away from the scene of her front yard as made her way up the stairs and into the room that belonged to her two children. Both had just awoken from their afternoon naps and were currently laughing at something that couldn't be processed by anyone but themselves.
A small smile flitted through her face at the relationship that had bloomed between both children since such a young age. Dread seemed to crush the lightness in her eyes as the words spoken by the prophecy echoed across her mind once more.
She hoped, oh how she hoped that the words spoken by a madwoman would not destroy what she saw before her right now. Harry James Potter was stretching from his own crib and attempting to hand Jessamine Lily Potter a small toy that represented Padfoot. What shocked her most was that he had never parted from it willingly in his 15 months of life.
Time passed quickly as she gazed lovingly at her children from the doorway. Her gaze suddenly drifted from them and towards the window as the first drops of rain kissed the glass surface. Her reflection stared back at her with wide eyes that seemed to drown in fear and desperation. For in the ground below a man stood, as if contemplating a scene he wished to paint.
His black hood covered all notable characteristics, but his height and pale hands. She knew those pale long fingers, that thin yet strong frame, that 6 foot poise of elegance. She knew the man that stood a couple of yards from the small gate that had more than once stole her breath.
As if sensing her stare the man looked up to meet her emerald eyes with ruby red orbs; amusement seemed to surface under his mask of indifference. Lily felt her heart beat faster and her breath pick up for a few seconds before it all seemed to fit.
Closing her eyes to those that gazed at her from below, she took a deep breath and accepted the following events with an air of resignation, after all she had dreamt of what was to come. She knew that she wouldn't be there to see her children off to Hogwarts; she wouldn't see the joy that would fill her son as he flew for the first time.
When her eyes opened once more he was not by the gate, but by the door. Taking her eyes off the macabre scene of her killer, she stared at into the eyes of her son. Knowing that he would die with her filled her with more pain that was imaginable, but she knew deep inside that there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
His emerald orbs seemed to understand her resignation as they filled with tears at what he knew instinctively was to come. Breaking eye contact and struggling to reach his sister for the last time, brought the first tears to Lily as she ran to aid him in his desperate attempt.
With gentle hands, she picked her oldest son from the crib and took him towards his confused sister. As soon as she placed him next to her the door creaked open from its half closed state. Knowing what was to come; she raised her head and stared into the black haired male that stood at the doorway.
"Just let us say goodbye" she whispered, hoping that he would give her this last wish. His head just leaned slightly to the side, as if he were a curios child gazing into the oddity that was a family, but he said nothing.
She leaned towards her children once more and gathered them both in a tight hug that was the last she would give. Harry gripped her shoulder tightly as if attempting to keep her with him. Danielle just stayed quiet through the whole ordeal, her eyes gazing into the ruby ones behind her mother.
As she stood once more and let go of her children, Harry stretched and placed a soft hand to her cheek, as if wiping away the tears that trailed over it. Then he turned as hugged his sister to him and didn't let go.
A silent promise inside his eyes told Lily that he would take care of his sister. Daring to look at them no more she turned to the man that was the most feared in England, yet she felt no fear. She did not have her wand, which was lying soundly next to her bedside, yet she knew she was going to die.
Her emerald orbs met his once more and the air of acceptance that radiated from her intrigued the man. He was expecting any second for her to start brawling, cursing, hitting or begging for her life and those of her children. When they did not come a reluctant respect swelled within his long ago frozen heart.
Raising his wand and leveling unto her, he gazed into her expressive emerald eyes. His velvet smooth voice echoed across the room as he spoke the words that would never be heard from his mouth ever again.
"You do not have to die." He said, with no arrogance or sadist amusement in his voice. "I could spare you and you could live the rest of your life teaching at Hogwarts, raising other children that you are sure to have, to have a life to call you own"
In response to his words she smiled. She smiled at the most feared wizard in many decades. "Where would, being out of my mind in grief and guilt, would I be? What kind of life could I lead knowing I had chosen to live while I watched my children die? How could I teach children everyday knowing that my own would never be able to learn how to hold a wand, how to fly, how to love?" She whispered. "Where would that leave me, Voldemort?"
"Tom" he said before his mind caught up with his tongue. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Where would that leave me, Tom?" she repeated, her tongue rolling around the name. "No, right now you would be more compassionate if you were to kill me."
And so he raised his wand unwillingly, complying with the hidden pleads in her voice. For the first time since taking the name of Lord Voldemort did he hesitate in saying the two words that had shaped his future.
"Avada Kadavra"
As he watched the green spell fly towards the woman that had somehow managed to rouse some feeling inside him, he felt guilt. Her eyes, he realized, were the same color as the spell that he loved so much. A frown seized his beautiful face as her eyes grew dim and her body fell to the ground.
Moving without conscious thought he grabbed her limp body from mid air and stopped her fall. Staring into her lifeless eyes and blissful smile spiked a lance of pain across him. He laid her gently in the floor and closed her eyes.
Rising and staring into the crib that held the two individuals that caused all this to happen, he made his choice, but as he rose his wand towards the two toddlers pain gripped him. Unimaginable pain, that seemed to destroy him from inside out and made him pant in effort to continue breathing.
Understanding flooded him as he realized what had just happened, he felt fear. Guilt for killing had gripped him. The pain striking task of fragmenting his soul, the difficult job of choosing the items in which to store them, his whole effort of being immortal shattered before him as the six pieces of soul that he had hidden over England and united inside him.
The excruciating pain combined by the fear and magical prowess he had always had caused pure, undiluted power to leak out of his body. And as Voldemort lifted his eyes he met pure emerald ones, the color of Avada Kadavra. He reached toward the boy and as his finger touched his forehead all the power, abilities and memories flooded into the mind of the frightened 1 year old.
As the ruby eyes closed and his body was disintegrated, Harry James Potter was lost to darkness as him vision blurred and his consciousness was lost.
Running down his forehead was a lightning shaped scar, and next to him his sister had a V pooling with blood in the left side of her neck.