Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, at all, in any way. If I did, I would buy a horse ranch and be a hermit.
Synopisis: Everyone thought Lily was Muggleborn, but it wasn't true. On that fateful night, Lily gives the ultimate sacrifice, and the Power He Knows Not is bestowed to her son, the first of his kind.
"True Love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice."
~Sadhu Vaswani
"Lily! It's him! Take Harry and run!"
Lily Potter nee Evans clutched her son to her chest, her heart breaking even as she ran to the fireplace. Throwing in the gritty powder, she shouted out "Hogwarts!", but the fire remained orange, and her heart clenched. She and James would not survive this night.
But she could make sure, above all, that her son would live.
With a thought, she sent all but the bare minimum of her power to James, knowing that it wouldn't save him, but that it would help him to delay Voldemort from reaching Harry before she was ready.
She was going to miss her baby's life. Miss all of his first moments that she hadn't seen already. His first book, first bike ride. She wouldn't be able to see him fly in his first Quidditch game, as she knew already he carried his father's talent for flying.
Romance, kisses, exams, careers, hugs, arguements, temper tantrums...all the good and bad...he wouldn't have his mother and father there, knowing that no matter what, they would always love him.
The nursery door closed behind her, and Lily gently set Harry in his crib, sitting next to his tiger stuffed animal, Stripes.
"Harry...Harry my sweet boy. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Be safe, my Harry. I'll always watch over you," Lily whispered to her baby, kissing his forehead softly. She flinched as she heard shouts down below, but didn't let it stop her. With a quick chant in a language predating Latin, she sliced a conjured silver knife across her lifeline, and traced a rune on Harry's forehead where she had kissed him. The blood glowed and gleamed, sparkling with silver light, before it turned golden and the light sunk into his skin, leaving it unblemished and clean.
"Ancestors, Guardians of this world. Daughters of the One, I pray, I plead, hear my call. By the blood of my blood, from Mother to Daughter to Mother, give unto my son my All. Blood to blood, power to power, protect him from darkness in this hour. What fate has demanded, I will give, if only you ensure my son will live. From mine to thine, bind him to our fate, and the bloody price I shall sate. Please, Great Mother, hear my plea. By thy will, so mote it be."
A bloom of power surrounded her, warmed her heart, then turned ice cold as she felt her own snap back to her being, and more tears slid down her face. James was dead. And, Mother willing, she would join him soon.
All power comes at a price. You would have your son bear our burden?
The voice, if it could be called a voice, sounded in her heart of hearts, and she bowed her head.
"For the life of my son, to fulfill his destiny, I would give him my All to protect all." She could hear slow footsteps coming upstairs, and all she felt was a desperation that the Mother would allow her to die for her son.
For the love of your son...we grant this wish. You know what you must do.
"Thank you...thank you," Lily sobbed out in a harsh whisper.
Have courage, Daughter. We are with you.
Lily stood, and as the ritual ended, whirled to face the door as it was blasted open. Terror didn't describe how afraid she was at the first glimpse of that terrible face. Pale, pale skin, malovent red eyes, and a snake-like visage with a nearly sheared off nose, all shrouded in deepest black robes. Voldemort gave her what he thought was a gentle smile, but all Lily could see was the darkness that surrounded him. In that moment, she understood exactly what he had done to his soul, and it both disgusted and horrified her.
"Not Harry, Not Harry, please not Harry!" she pleaded, standing in front of her baby boy.
"Stand aside, you silly girl...stand aside, now..." Voldemort ordered in a calm voice, obviously not moved by her pleading.
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead!"
But he ignored her, instead stepping over the remains of the shattered door, bringing his wand up to point at her.
One more time, she had to plead. Three times, she had to ask, as she and James had dueled against him three times.
"Not Harry! Please...have mercy...have mercy..."
Voldemort laughed, a high-pitched sound that was cold and cruel, and Lily knew he would not. And despite her terror, despite her overwhelming grief to know that was passing her burden to her son, she felt a thrill of triumph as the tip of his wand glowed green. She screamed as that terrible light hit her, but it was a scream of victory, for rather than the instantaneous death that was the normal result of the curse, it took a half second longer to rip her soul from her body.
A half second in which all her power, passed down through her mother's blood, the same blood that had been hunted and hidden for millenia, left her body and went to her son directly behind her.
Her body crumpled, but her soul lingered, watching. Waiting.
The horrible man, if he could even be called a man, turned his wand towards the crib, and he raised a hairless brow as the boy looked up at him, green eyes the same as his fallen mother's.
"Sso...you are the one who can defeat me, hmm?" he said in a soft voice, then shrugged. "No longer a threat. Let it not be ssaid that Lord Voldemort iss foolissh enough to let hiss enemy live."
And so he said those awful words again. Those merciless eyes widened as the curse, aimed towards the boy's chest, was drawn to his forehead, and rebounded. A concussion force of energy whipped through the house, shattering all glass and cracking the walls and foundation of the house.
All that remained on the floor was a pile of smoking black robes, and a bone-white wand.
Lily lingered for a moment more, wishing she could sooth her now sobbing son as blood welled from the fresh wound. For a moment she was still in fear as a wisp of black mist, the representation of a piece of Voldemort's soul, lingered near her son, attempting to enter him for safety. A golden light shone from the wound, and the mist was shredded in an un-felt wind, before the light died, and her baby was left whole and safe.
"He will be cared for, in time," a voice said from her right, and Lily turned. Violet eyes, ebony hair, and a gentleness that calmed Lily even after such horror greeted her, and she knelt before the Mother.
"My Lady," she whispered, awed and a bit overwhelmed. For despite the gentleness she could feel even now, the power this One commanded was beyond her grasp of understanding, even now in Death.
"Rise my Daughter, for you have earned your place at my side." Lily looked up, and the Mother smiled gently. "Come, Lily, Daughter of my Daughters. I, too, am a Mother, and understand your need to protect. I know, too, what it means to sacrifice for your children. Be at peace, dear heart, for in time, I shall send his Sister to watch over him, and prepare him for his role."
"Must it wait, Great Mother? I see now where he would send Harry...she will not welcome him...I fear for my son," Lily said, tears in her eyes as she looked away to her crying boy.
A soft touch drew her gaze back to those amethyst eyes, loving and understanding, and shining with regret.
"It is the way of our kind, dear one. He must first be hidden from the Wizarding World before he can be hidden from the non-believer. Do not fret, my Daughter. He shall be of my Chosen, and protected."
The ethereal woman walked over to the crib, leaning down and staring into the young child's eyes. A glimmer of light passed over those emerald orbs, and She knew he could see her, further confirming that her Daughter's choice had taken hold.
"Be safe, my Son, and know that you are loved. Peace, young one, and heal. You are Mine, Harry Potter, as I am yours, by blood, by power, by love. The first of your Line, I give you My Blessing. I name you Harry Potter-Caliburn, of Clan Ancalimiir, blood of My blood. As I will, so mote it be."
Lily gasped as the wound healed, now a pinkish-red scar. Gazing at her son, she wished him love and safety, before turning to follow the Mother into the Light, past the Veil, and into the next world.
AN: The text in bold is that which I've taken directly from the books, and does not belong to me. Now, this is my first fanfiction, so please, no flames, though I will take constructed criticism where it is due. Please, let me know what you think. The more reviews I get, the more motivation I have to post the next chapter quickly. :D
I have no idea for pairs, so that won't be listed for a loooooong time. Until next time, my friends!