There were many things that lurked in shadows on Halloween night. Children hoping for candy usually avoided the darkest places, preferring treats and holding on to their mum's comforting hand. On this particular Halloween, something sinister appeared in the village of Godric's Hollow, intent on murder and armed with knowledge given to him through deceit and treachery.
The Dark Lord approached a modest house and was surprised to see it well guarded outside of the secrecy charm his servant had already helped him bypass. The wards were strong, indicating that a powerful witch and wizard lived here. Still, Voldemort was more powerful than any witch or wizard in a thousand years. He twisted his wand and pulled at the wards until they collapsed.
There was a crash from inside and several muffled words. The Potters were aware of his presence.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off."
Voldemort blasted the gate open and then the door, coming face to face with the source of the voice.
He didn't waste words with the brat's father, who took some time to kill. He was a powerful wizard, but a flash of sickly green light ended the duel. Up the stairs and to the right he saw the brat and his Mudblood mother. What Severus saw in her, he didn't understand, but knew it was all irrelevant to his goal. The brat must die so the world would know that nothing stood between him and his quest to take over the magical world.
"Move aside, silly girl," said the Dark Lord with rising impatience.
"Not Harry," she pled, using her body to shield the boy. "Please no, take me, kill me instead."
"Stand aside and you shall live," he replied.
"Not Harry!" she repeated, clearly unwilling to comply with his command. "Please… have mercy… have mercy…"
His patience at an end, he pointed the Yew wand at Lily Potter and uttered the most powerful words in the world, "Avada Kedavra."
The green light rushed at her like a freight train, but when it made contact with her chest, the most peculiar thing happened; Voldemort was ripped from his body. It was pain like he'd never experienced and the shock of it sent his spirit reeling back down the stairs and out into the night.
A huge weight pressed down on Lily's chest as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. Rubble littered Harry's nursery. Pieces of broken wood, shattered plaster and glass were strewn amongst the ruined toys and bedclothes that had been in Harry's crib. The boy in question was quietly crying but had crawled over to his mother and was picking glass out of her hair.
"Harry," she said painfully, her chest aching with every breath. "You're alive."
Slowly and with great effort, she righted herself and gathered her baby into a tight embrace. She checked him over and noticed a thin, red scar across his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. Other than that, it appeared that Harry was untouched. Then she became aware of the other body that was half in, half out of the room. Voldemort was dead.
She didn't have time to contemplate what had happened. She knew that she'd performed the blood protection charm just three days ago when they'd moved to Godric's Hollow and that it would have activated when she died for Harry. However, she hadn't died, which made her wonder if James had done something she didn't know about, something reckless and stupid.
Again, with great care Lily stood, balancing Harry on her hip. She distractedly pulled some clothes from the ruined chest of drawers and put them into a bag, intent on finding her husband, but fearing the worst. Voldemort wouldn't merely incapacitate a foe who'd defied him three times in as many years. Steeling her resolve, she descended the stairs to face the thing she feared most. James lay motionless next to the bottom step, having put his body in the path of Voldemort before he was murdered.
Lily bent low, breathing through the pain and touched James' face. "What did you do?" she whispered haltingly. "My brave, wonderful husband." A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she considered the consequences of tonight's events. James was gone. Her throat seemed to close off and she gasped for breath.
She had to be strong for Harry. He was still alive and he needed her to keep him safe. A single tear escaped her eyelid as she placed a final kiss on James' still warm lips.
There was a great roaring noise and Lily sat beside James, transitioning Harry to her lap. She took a breath to focus, took out her wand and pointed it at the door. No one was going to threaten her family again while she was alive.
A shadow blocked the doorway, a curse on the tip of her tongue when to her immense surprise a familiar face appeared from behind the half-destroyed door.
"Sirius?" she asked in wonder, lowering her wand, relief flooding through her. "It's James." She looked down at her husband's body and began to sob, the weight of what occurred overwhelming her.
Squeezing through the doorway, Sirius rushed to Lily's side. He looked at his best friend in anguish, his face twisted by grief. "How?" was all he was able to choke out.
"Voldemort," said Lily numbly. "His body is upstairs." Sirius gazed over Lily's head and must have seen the broken body left there.
Sirius tried to speak, probably to ask how Voldemort's death was possible, but he was interrupted by a loud crunching from the gravel driveway. Another, more unexpected face appeared.
"Hagrid?" said Sirius. "What are you doing here?"
Hagrid ducked under the doorway and stepped inside. He looked around at Sirius and appeared to want to throttle him where he stood. Instead, Hagrid's eyes settled on Harry's sleeping form. "Lily" Yer alive? Blimey! Dumbeldore said you'd likely be dead. Told me to come around and check on you and Harry."
It was all hitting Lily in a rush. James dead, Voldemort gone. They were betrayed!
"Hagrid," she said as the adrenaline left her and she began to succumb to the shock. "Peter was the Secret Keeper," she said. "Sirius is innocent."
"Right," Hagrid said with a sideways glance at the man next to him. "I'll go get Dumbledore, then. He'll know what to do."
Hagrid left, pulling the door as closed as he could, while Harry snuggled into her shoulder. "Sirius," she said, promising herself then and there that she wouldn't let anything keep her from raising her baby boy. "Take us somewhere safe. An Order member's home. Somewhere we can rest."
Sirius nodded and stooped to pick her up. She felt her head spin and her grip loosen on Harry before Sirius was able to take him from her arms. "Sirius," she whispered, fighting to stay conscious. "We never told you or anyone else… There just wasn't time." She placed her hands gingerly on her middle. "I'm... I'm pregnant." Then she slumped against him and the blackness consumed her.