Lily huffed angrily as she stared down James who had his stubborn look firmly in place.

"We've gone over this time and time again, James," Lily hissed as her patience was close to snapping from their arguing the past hour. "We cannot leave the cottage. Dumbledore said that You Know Who is after us."

"He's after everyone!" James retorted, throwing his hands into the air. "Leaving for an hour is not going to be the end of the world."

"It would be if he finds us!" her voice began to rise as she felt that wire thin control dangerously weakening. "A Halloween party is not worth dying for."

"We've been hiding here for a year and a half! You really think he is still determined to get us?"

"YES!" she snarled, her voice finally breaking into a shout.

"Oh, come on, Lily!"

"If Dumbledore knew that it was safe, then he would tell us," she snapped back. "It's not safe, so here we are."

James looked at her disbelievingly, "What and just continue to let everyone else fight the battle without us?"

"We are a liability. Our presence would increase attention and demand protection that the Order cannot afford right now!"

"We could help them!" James pleaded.

"No. We would hinder them," Lily growled, tired of having the same argument over and over again.

"Lily-" he began, but Lily had had enough.

Turning sharply, she left the front living room, stomping up the stairs. She swiftly entered Harry's nursery, immediately exchanging firm, loud stomps for soft, gentle steps. Lily peeked over the edge of the crib to find Harry chewing happily on one of the legs of his plush turtle toy, which was about the size of his head. She had made the toy with Molly Weasley's help when she had found out she was pregnant. Before they had moved into their cottage and instated the Fidelius Charm with Dumbledore's help.

"Hello, darling," Lily cooed softly, looking down at wide green eyes that mirrored her own. A wide smile spread across little Harry's face around his mouthful of turtle. He raised the hand not holding the toy to grasp at her. She scooped up her babe and cuddled him to her chest. Keeping a firm grip on his toy, he happily settled against her. She slowly rocked back and forth.

James wants to leave so badly. If only he knew that she has only stayed with him because they're stuck here together. Lily's parents both died shortly after she had graduated Hogwarts, leaving her and Petunia to survive on their own. Petunia had quickly married her boyfriend, Vernon, making sure to let Lily know that she and her freak friends were not welcome at the wedding. Left without her parents or her sister and freshly shoved into the adult world full of war, Lily had floundered. She panicked. She wasn't used to being alone and had never been so before.

It had been bad enough when she had had to cut her friendship with Severus. Her best friend. Turning her back on him had ripped her heart into two. But she couldn't continue to be friends with someone who longed to follow the wizard that wanted to kill herself and her family. Calling her mudblood was forgivable, she knew Severus hadn't meant it. Not only could she see it in his eyes, but she knew him too well. No. The reason she had used it as the breaking point in their friendship was because it was a sign of how close he was becoming to the Death Eater wannabes in Slytherin. Severus didn't think of her as a mudblood. But they certainly did. And Lily couldn't continue to act like that was okay.

So without her family or her best friend, Lily felt lost. Sure, she had her friends from Hogwarts – Mary, Alice, and Frank to name a few – but they all had their own lives and problems to deal with. She couldn't push her own onto them. Add the fact that James was rather obsessed with her and would soon come into the Potter wealth, it was rather hard to say no when he proposed. He was nice, if arrogant, and believed himself in love with her. Lily didn't know how that was possible when he hardly knew anything about her, but it was a security blanket that she needed quite badly.

With the war going on, the wedding had been very small. Little to no planning had been done. They simply dressed more extravagantly than usual for one of the Order meetings. Afterwards, they moved their group from the kitchen to the backyard. With a short, rapid ceremony and firewhisky aplenty, it was done.

She only realized how big of a mistake it was when she became pregnant. It had tied a connection between them that had given her a panic attack. There was no easy out anymore. The option of simply divorcing or leaving him – if it came to that – disappeared. To make matters worse, James was horrible through the entire thing.

In the beginning, he was rather excited, but as soon as the morning sickness – truly meaning all day sickness – had set it, the excitement had worn off for him. By the time they had moved into their cottage for hiding, she felt all alone once again. Things were better for a short while after Harry was born, but she didn't even have the option of sharing her joy with anyone. Sirius and Peter were the only ones who were able to get in; Peter being their Secret Keeper and Sirius being let in on the secret. And they were both too busy with the Order and fighting Death Eaters to drop by and have tea.

These tantrums from James had slowly increased from every other week to once a week to now three or four times a week. They were both sick of being unable to leave and anxious to know what was going on. The only times they got news from the outside world, it was always filled with death. The relief of getting news instantly being replaced with the wish for ignorance.

Order members tortured, Aurors bribed, muggles decimated like insects.

One bright spot in the horror is the knowledge that Severus has finally turned his back on the Death Eaters and their master. Lily isn't sure what finally changed his mind, but around the time she went into hiding, Severus became a spy for the Order. He began to gather knowledge of targets and strategy from the dark side and deliver it to the Order. Lily had barely believed it when Dumbledore had told everyone that Severus was joining the Order. Her heart had filled with hope of reconciling with her best friend, but the idea had swiftly become impossible once she had gone into hiding.

Lily understands where James is coming from wanting to leave, but she can't risk Harry. If he died because they decided to get a little fresh air, her world would be crushed. She very much doubts how much of a fight she would be able to put up if that happened.

With these thoughts fresh in her mind, she holds back the tears brimming her eyes and holds her baby just a smidge tighter. Harry gurgles happily into her embrace, clueless to her internal struggles. Lily breathes in the soft, floral scent of his baby shampoo, soothed by the weight and warmth of Harry in her arms.

Her peace and quiet became interrupted at the sounds of the front door slamming open. Lily frowned as she placed Harry back into his crib. She didn't remember a visit being scheduled with Sirius or Peter. There must be an emergency of some sort. Her heart beat picked up slightly at the thought. Lily's wand slipped into her grip with ease as she cast a protective shield around Harry and closed the door to the nursery. She rushed down the hall with light and quick steps as a shout echoed from downstairs.

"LILY, RUN! IT'S VOLD-" James' shout was cut short as a green light filled the hallway.

Fear and adrenaline poured through her as she desperately ran for the stairs. Voldemort. Voldemort is here. How is that possible?

Oh gods. Voldemort is here.

She reached the top of the stairs to meet a horrid sight. James' body was crumpled to the ground at the Dark Lord's feet. The tall, dark wizard stared down at him like he was a disappointing gift. His body was relaxed and his wand held loosely in his hand like he had all the time in the world.

As Voldemort stood there sneering at James' corpse, the small cottage once again filled with green light as Lily Evans Potter killed Lord Voldemort.

Her ragged breaths are the only thing she can hear as she watches his body drop in slow motion. Skin cold and sweaty as she stares in disbelief, not even remembering the Killing Curse passing her lips. But there was the proof.

Lily stood there for a while, staring at Voldemort's still body. Eventually the sight of him so close to James broke through her haze. She moved down the stairs and grabbed James by the arms and was able to pull him to the other side of the room before she collapsed. Heaving sobs wracked her body as she desperately hugged him to her.

"No, no, no. James? James!" she held his still warm body as her tears dripped down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Carding her fingers through his wild hair, she cried over Voldemort's last kill.

Once Lily's sobs had come down from heaving sobs to quiet whimpers, she carefully laid his body down. She weakly cast a cleaning charm to remove the tears and snot from her face. Harry. She has to check on Harry. He's alright. He is perfectly fine. She knows he is. Afterall, she just killed the man trying to murder them. But with James' death and her emotions in an uproar, she needs to hold or at least look at him. With a brisk if unsteady pace, she peeks into the nursery to see Harry sleeping soundly where she left him. She can't help a breath of relief as the sight soothes her.

James. Poor James. He died to protect her and Harry. But he shouldn't have died. Voldemort should never had been able to find them. The only person who-

Lily gnashes her teeth to stop the cry of rage from coming forth and waking Harry. She closes the door to the nursery, leaving her shield on Harry for now. Lily casts her doe Patronus.

"Peter has betrayed us. He gave away our location to Voldemort. James is dead," she said, a sob bursting from her chest. She took a deep breath to steady herself, "But so is Voldemort."

With that, Lily sent the Patronus off to Dumbledore, hoping he would soon catch the slimy traitor. Lily dearly hoped, for his sake, that the rat was already dead. If he wasn't, he will quickly wish he was. Unable to go back downstairs and with a growing urge to watch over Harry, Lily moves back into the nursery. She grabs the rocking chair from the corner of the room and slides it over to the side of his crib. Settling in, Lily stared at her sleeping son and gained peace as she disabled the shield. She saved him. She did. All those pureblood witches and wizards who had spit on her and treated her like dirt at Hogwarts for being a muggleborn. She killed Voldemort.

Lily smiled even as tears rolled down her face.

Lily jerked awake, her neck aching from the awkward angle in the rocking chair, as she felt the Fidelius Charm break. What? How? She didn't even know that was possible.

But as she was about to get up, wand ready for battle, she heard cries and gasps from downstairs.

"JAMES!"

That was clearly Sirius' voice, sending a wave of relief through her. Dumbledore must have broken the charm so that the Order could come in. Footsteps pounded up the stairs. Her grip reflexively tightened on her wand. She could hear doors being opened as someone was obviously looking for her. Probably Alice or Remus. If Remus was back from visiting the werewolves. Finally, they opened the door to the nursery. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Lily," Severus sighed, his eyes wide and red.

Before she knew what was happening, he was at her side and pulling her out of the chair. Severus pulled her into a tight hug, his hands shaking as he grasped at her like she might disappear.

"Lily, Lily. Thank god. Thank god," he repeatedly muttered into her hair. Tears began slipping down her face again as she wrapped her own arms around him. She buried her face into his long black hair and breathed in the once familiar and always comforting scent of smoke, sandalwood, and paper.

"I'm okay, Sev," Lily whispered into his chest. His arms tightened further around her as a sob broke from his chest. He leaned back slightly to curl his slim, long fingers around her face. He gently moved her head so that his dark, emotion filled eyes could stare into hers. Tears filled his eyes as every now and then one would break free.

"You're alive," he whispered back. They were such simple words. But he said them as if they truly were a gift from the heavens. "I- Dumblebore said- but I didn't know- I had to see."

His sentences were broken fragments as he fought to get them out. Even so they were like a balm to her soul. It had been so long since she had seen Sev. Not Severus – though that had been a long time, too – but Sev. Her best friend. The one who introduced her to their world and everything they could do.

"I've missed you," Lily admitted, unable to keep the words locked inside for a moment longer. "I've missed you so much, Sev."

Another sob broke from his chest as he gently pulled her back into the hug like she was the most precious thing in the world. "Lily."

The moment was interrupted by a throat clearing in the doorway. Severus didn't let her go, but Lily did turn her head to look at who had joined them. Dumbledore stood there, face pale and disbelieving.

"Lily, I'm so sorry about James," he offered, allowing a nod from her as she continued to both comfort and get comfort from Severus. "How did Voldemort die?"

Severus flinched at the name and tightened his arms around her as if she would be snatched from him.

"I killed him."

These words finally caused Severus to pull back. He placed his hands on her upper arms as he backed up enough to look down at her.

"What?" he demanded as Dumbledore gaped at her.

"I killed him," Lily repeated, looking between the two of them. "With the Killing Curse."

Severus was now gaping with Dumbledore even as more footsteps came up the stairs.

"Lily! Is Lily alright?" Sirius' voice demanded even as it shook with sorrow.

"I'm fine," she called out, causing Sev to finally react.

"You killed the Dark Lord?" Sev's eyes were wide as they stared at her in disbelief. Lily nodded and was about to respond when Harry released an upset cry at all the ruckus. Lily pulled out from Severus' grip to pick Harry up.

"It's alright, honey," Lily soothed her baby. He wrapped his fists in her long, red hair, readily taking in the comfort she offered. "Mummy's here. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

MUGGLEBORN KILLS YOU KNOW WHO

Muggleborn Lily Evans Potter – age 21 – killed Lord Voldemort late last night in Godric's Hollow. He stormed through the cottage owned by Lily and her husband, James, in an attempt to murder their family as has been done to so many others these last few years. Pureblood James Potter – age 21 – valiantly fought the Dark Lord upon the invasion into their home but sadly did not survive. Enraged and heartbroken over the loss of her dearly beloved, Lily killed the dark wizard with the Killing Curse. A fitting end to the wizard who slaughtered countless others with the very same curse. Justice is sweet as the witch not only avenged her husband and protected their young son – Harry Potter, age 1 – but also represented the very lives that Voldemort continuously sought to end. Muggleborns everywhere can rejoice as last night proved how powerful they can be; contrary to the propaganda spewed by Lord Voldemort, who once claimed that muggleborns were diluting and reducing the power assumed to belong to only purebloods. That myth can now be debunked. If a muggleborn can defeat one of our world's most powerful wizards, then one can only deduce that muggleborns bring in more power, not less, into the families that they marry.

More on Lily Potter – page 2.

More on Lord Voldemort – page 5.

More on James Potter – page 12.

Author's Note: Hello! So this is my first venture into the HP world. This idea came to me, and I just had to write it! Please leave a review or follow the story to let me know if you're interested in this story. I would love to write more if it sounds good to you guys. Thanks for reading :)