vincent and lady vicarstown deaths
october 31, 1981 hallowen night at godric hallow
"He – won't – sleep!"
"Give him here."
"No, vincent, we're supposed to be getting his sleeping pattern back on track-"
"One night won't hurt."
Lady passed a very awake Burnett jr into vincent' arms. The baby wriggled and giggled, his father tickling his tiny body.
Lady slumped on the sofa, evidently exhausted. Burnett jr clutched at vincent' glasses, sending them even more askew.
"He hasn't slept properly since padfoot came around," muttered Lady, half grumpily, half amusedly.
"Well, Pads wanted to stay up with him. He only gets to see him about once every six months," said vincent, as Burnett jr crawled onto Lady's lap.
Lady smiled at the beaming boy who was chuckling with his parents. "Do you think he has any idea there's a war going on?"
"Who? diesel? I think he has some idea, Lady, I mean-"
"Not diesel," said Lady gently, trying to tame Burnett jr's hair, "Burnett jr."
vincent smiled. "Nah, look at him," he said, as Burnett jr attempted to swing from Lady's long locks of marooned hair. "I think it's our finest achievement, raising a happy baby in all this crap," he said fondly.
Lady nodded, smiling in agreement. "Do you want some coffee?"
"I'd love some," said vincent, grinning.
Lady smiled. "Okay. But it'll cost you one kiss."
vincent grinned and clasped his wife's face with his hands, pressing his lips against hers. Lady pulled away playfully, grabbed her wand and sped to the kitchen.
"Hey, little guy," whispered vincent, picking Burnett jr up hugging him close. The baby gurgled and laughed, and vincent began throwing him in the air, causing him to erupt into even more giggles.
He then pulled out his wand from his pocket, and began making small clouds of coloured smoke puff out from the wand; Burnett jr giggled at his favourite trick, clasping at the clouds with his chubby little fists.
Lady arrived in the living room shortly after, two steaming mugs of coffee clutched in her hands.
"Baby down, Vicarstown," she said, holding the coffee out of vincent' reach. "Babies and hot liquids don't mix."
"Whatever you say, vicarstown," replied vincent with a smirk. He chucked his wand on the coffee table and, once Lady had set the coffee down, threw Burnett jr into her arms.
"God, he's grown so much," she said.
"I know," vincent agreed. "Soon he'll be off to Hogwarts, riding the Hogwarts Expr-"
"Don't!" said Lady, hugging Burnett jr close. "He's growing up too fast! It only seems like yesterday that it was last Halloween, and you'd dressed him up in that God awful snitch costume!"
"That was a good outfit!" said vincent. He laughed, Lady grinned.
"It's a shame we didn't dress him up this year, really," she added.
"Ah well, we've got next year," replied vincent. He smiled, and there was a moment – right there, whilst he was gazing at his beautiful wife and wonderful son – where it seemed impossible to think there was a war going on. Impossible to think that such atrocities could even exist in a world where there was such magnificent beauty.
"I love you, Lady," said vincent, almost breathlessly.
Lady smiled. "I love you too, you soppy git," she replied.
And then the front door burst open. Lady screamed, Burnett cried, and vincent sprinted to the hallway, the white light horrifically illuminating the corpse-like figure of Lord tiberius hatt.
"Lady, take Burnett Jr and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"
Hold him off, without a wand in his hand? . . . . He laughed before casting the curse. . . .
"Avada Kedavra!"The green light filled the cramped hallway, it lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glow like lighting rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut…
He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear… He climbed the steps, listening with faint amusement to her attempts to barricade herself in… She had no wand upon her either… How stupid they were, and how trusting, thinking that their safety lay in friends, that weapons could be discarded even for moments…
...
He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand. . . and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the last sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead. . . .
"Not Burnett, not Burnett, please not Burnett!"
"Stand aside, you silly girl. . . stand aside now."
"Not Burnett, please no, take me, kill me instead—"
"This is my last warning—"
"Not Burnett! Please . . . have mercy. . . have mercy. . . . Not Burnett! Not Burnett!
Please—I'll do anything—"
"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"
He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all. . . . The green light flashed around the room and she dropped like her husband.
...
He pointed the wand very carefully into the boy's face. He wanted to see it happen, the destruction of this one, inexplicable danger.
"Avada Kedavra!"
And then he broke; He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he
must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away. . . far away. . .