Choices

Summary: There's power in all the choices we make. So, if some of Lily's choices had been different, she and her husband would have lived. But what are the consequences?

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. The whole thing belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner.

Rating: 'T', not because I think there'll be anything that kids can't read, but I want to have some freedom that 'K' does not give you.

A.N.: Hey guys and ladies, I've been reading quite a few stories in which James and Lily survived, and I actually found some very good stuff. I love this kind of fic 'cuz it lightens up the world of HP, by taking out this "lose your parents" thing.

I know there are lots of stories with similar plot, but I promise I have some original ideas. Ah, and, as you can see in my profile, I'm from Brazil, so English is not my mother language. I haven't found a Beta yet, so I'm sorry for any mistakes/errors in the first chapters. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

Godric's Hollow – October 31st, 1981

One would say that the world would tell you when a tragedy was going to happen in your life. Actually, the common opinion is that tragic days just shouldn't be allowed to be normal at all. The universe should show people that something was, or something would be, wrong, that something foul was coming...

But this Halloween started as any other. A full summer day: The sun was shining, the day was warm and the birds tweeted happily. Everybody was happy. Well, everybody but James Potter, at that very specific moment.

Standing in front of the window of his bedroom with his arms crossed, he was looking outside. Staring at the kids playing at the park across from his house and the birds singing, he just couldn't overlook the fact that he was stuck in there. He couldn't go out because, according to Dumbledore, that would represent a danger for himself.

With a deep sigh, he turned and looked around his own bedroom. It was simple, as the whole house actually. They had been living there for a very short time, so Lily hadn't had time to redecorate everything, but she already had some plans, principally regarding their bedroom.

For her, it was unacceptable to have only a bed, a table, a chair and a nightstand with a lamp in a bedroom. By then, that was it, nothing more to fill that too small blue-wall, brown-carpeted room.

James was alone in the bedroom, but he could hear Lily preparing breakfast downstairs, so he got changed to his Muggle clothes – A blue T-shirt, jeans and no shoes - and decided to get Harry, who was fast asleep in the room next door. James dragged himself there and, with a large smile, watched his son sleeping in his blue crib, holding his plush stag.

Harry Potter was his happiness. He and his mother, as a matter of fact, but it was so difficult to separate the two that James thought about them as one whole thing: his treasure. Harry was a cute baby, but that didn't mean he was calm. On the contrary, he probably inherited the agitation that was purely James'. 1 year and 3 months and he had to be hold most of the time, otherwise he would start exploring the house and go Merlin knows where.

"James, are you coming?" his wife's voice came from downstairs. James was so absorbed that he didn't even notice that he had been staring at his baby for the last 30 minutes. Mind you, he didn't even notice that Harry had woken up and was staring back, with those sparkling emerald eyes that were Lily's gift to him. James couldn't hold his grin.

"Hey, kiddo..." he whispered. "Shall we go downstairs and see your mum?"

Harry was still a baby, and thus could not speak. But he surely could understand some words, and 'mum' was one of these. He stood up, holding the crib's bars, and said "mum!", in one of those baby voices that make you want to hug them for at least the rest of your life.

James giggled and got his son, checking his diaper. As it was empty, he went downstairs, to the kitchen-dining room in which Lily was setting the table. It was a small room, with a four place table, a refrigerator and a stove. There were cupboards not only on the foor, but also on the walls, above the other furniture. A large window over the sink showed them the back of the house, where Lily planted some vegetables and some plants she used to prepare potions.

"'Morning love" James said, with a small smile. He really wasn't a morning person, but Lily was, and starting the day with a foul humor would just sadden her. She was wearing a white flowered dress, and her red hair was tied in a ponytail. She gave him a big smile.

"Good morning, my precious boys." she got Harry and gave James a peck on the lips. "Jamsie, love, I made you some pancakes. Why don't you eat while I feed Harry?"

"Alright, babe. Have you had breakfast?" James asked, sitting down and pulling a plate with 6 or 7 pancakes. Lily giggled.

"Ya, you know how I can't control myself..." James smiled with his mouth full. Lily was thin, as everybody in her family, but she ate about the same quantity as him. And she just couldn't cook without eating, so mostly half of what she prepared was eaten during the process of preparation.

At that specific moment, the fireplace, in the adjoining room, burnt green flames and an old man wearing long burgundy wizard robes stepped out. "Is anybody here?" said Albus Dumbledore, walking to the centre of the room.

"Professor, we're here, in the kitchen!" Lily said.

Not too long after, Albus walked in, with a small smile. Lily had prepared Harry's baby bottle with milk and James had his mouth full of pancakes.

"James!" Lily said, in an upset tone. "Go slow, they're not going to run away from you!"

He mumbled somethig with his mouth full, as Albus' smile grew larger and he sat in front of James, not waiting for an invitation. Lily rolled her eyes and blushed furiously, her face's color imitating her hair completely.

James swallowed and repeated "I said, you cook too well..." Lily let out her breath, staring at the floor and shaking her head. She would look upset, if the sides of her mouth weren't curved upside. "Good morning, Professor Dumbledore. Is everything ok with you, sir?" James said.

"Ah, indeed, my dear James. I came to see how you were..." Albus' smile widened a bit more "...and to propose something for you."

"We're all fine, sir. Of course, we would appreciate if we could go out, but..." James said, shaking his head a bit. Lily sat besides him, holding Harry and feeding him. She glared at James. They always argued because of this. James knew they couldn't go out, but his free spirit just could not stand staying inside that damn house 24/7.

"Well, that's exactly the proposal I have to offer you, James." James' face shone in a way it hadn't in a while. Lily's eyes widened, as she wasn't expecting this. If Albus noticed the surprise, he didn't show them, though, as he continued speaking. "All the other Order members are already on missions, and I still have something I would like to have done. It's rather simple, nothing more than getting an artifact at Longbottom Manor, and taking it to Hogwarts. I would do it myself, but its magic will only allow two complete pureblood people to move it with magic. As my mother was a Muggle born witch, I'm not considered 'pure' enough, so I just can't move it."

They were not only surprised, but now completely shocked. They knew Albus Dumbledore since they were 11 years old, but it was probably the first time he mentioned his family.

"So... you think... I-I can go, p-professor?" James asked, stuttering a bit, as he didn't dare believing his luck. Albus keep on smiling as he nodded.

"Yes, James, you wanted to get out, and I think that this is a great opportunity. It's not dangerous, and, today being Halloween, I guess even the Death Eater might stay home with their families. Or maybe I'm believing too much in their fondness to their family" Dumbledore looked at them over his glasses.

Lily was smiling forcefully. Of course she was afraid of letting James out. But he had been so unhappy stuck in that house that she understood it would be excellent for him to go out. "Who's going with him, Albus?" She asked.

"Well, I think that no one would be better than his best friend, Sirius Black." He said, turning his gaze to Lily.

James couldn't hold any longer and jumped off of the chair, shouting 'yeah' loudly and laughing. Harry moved a bit on his mother's arms so he could see the origin of that shout and watched his father. Lily and Albus joined James' laughter as he danced a bit, punching the air, in a clear sign of commemoration. He was going to go out, work a little bit, and the best, with his best friend!

"Are you ok with this?" Albus said. James turned to him to express his agreement when he saw that his former headmaster was looking at Lily. He then watched her, with expectancy.

If Lily had answered without thinking, she would have said no. Actually, she was tempted to say no, as if that was the answer she was supposed to give. But something, something she didn't know, she didn't recognize, made her think differently. She smiled a bit and said:

"Of course I am, I just want James to be happy." Jamed smile hard and jumped to give her a deep kiss. Harry stopped having his milk and shouted "DADDY!", a frown covering his little face. James and Lily laughed loudly, while he kissed his angry son's forehead.

"I'm happy to see you are so thrilled with this. But I want you to consider everything. Don't forget the importance of your... choices." Albus said, peering ever so slightly and standing up. The whole time, he was watching Lily, but the Potters where so deep in their own happiness, grinning and smiling at each other, that they didn't even see Albus Dumbledore walking to the living room, entering the fireplace and going back to Hogwarts.

Later that day, as the sun went down, the whole family was in Lily and James' bedroom. Harry was on the bed, playing with his plush stag, by far his favorite toy. James was getting dressed to go on his little adventure and Lily was sat beside Harry.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" James asked, for the third time this day. After the inicial happiness with the prospect of going out, he started to get worried of Lily feeling left out. She chuckled as she nodded.

"Of course I am, love. I haven't seen you this happy since the we went into hiding. I am having fun myself, just to see you so excited about it..."

"Maybe we should have asked Albus for you to come as well..." james said, still eyeing her.

"Oh, no, darling... I don't have this need to get out, I'm perfectly fine with staying here. You go and have fun with Sirius. I'll be waiting for you here."

James smiled and leaned so he could kiss her.

James left for the Longbottoms' house at 09:00 p.m.. He was supposed to meet Sirius outside the wards so they could go inside and retrieve the object and take it to Hogwarts. He looked around but saw nobody.

"Great, Sirius is late..." He said, in a low tone.

"Ouch, Prongs, this way you hurt my feelings!" a voice said, behind him. Sirius Black took out his Disillusionment charm as James had a mini heart attack and turned to look behind himself, his face as pale as milk. Sirius barked a laugh.

"Padfoot!" James said, laughing. "You dog, you almost killed me!" he said.

Sirius' grin widened "Ha! This is for saying that I was late. I'm never late to see my best friend." He said, looking deep into James' hazel eyes.

James closed the distance between them and hugged his friend tightly. They missed each other more than they could bear. Their life was together since they were 11, and living without one another made both of them sad and disturbed.

After a while, they separated. James felt a bit ashamed of having some tears in his eyes, but he was able to hold them there. Sirius laughed a bit more and patted his best friend's shoulder.

"How have you been, mate?" He asked.

"Ah, nothing happens in my life, being stuck in that house..." James said, with a half smile.

"At least you have Harry and Lily..."

"Actually, Padfoot, they're the only things that keep me alive." James said, putting his arm over Sirius' shoulders, as they started walking towards the big white house.

"How are they, Prongs?" Sirius asked, looking at James, as they walked. "How's my godson?"

"They are happier than me, this I can tell you for sure. They seem not to care about living like birds in a cage..." James said, a bit bitter.

"Ah, Prongs, stop being such a Drama Queen!" Sirius said, laughing.

James chuckled. He was so happy for seeing his best friend that he just didn't care about the insult, and he surely wouldn't keep thinking about being stuck at his house. "Harry is so big, mate! He's almost a boy now! He's starting to develop speech. He already asks for 'mummy' and 'daddy'. And he remembers you, mate. He sometimes says 'pafoo', and I've seen him staring at that picture of yours that we put in his bedroom."

Sirius gave him a sad smile. He understood perfectly the definition of bittersweet: he was happy because his godson remembered him, but he was beyond sad for not being able to see him. James realized this and said:

"Maybe, after leaving the artifact at Hogwarts, you could drop me at home. Then you could see him. He'll probably be asleep, but I think that, if we don't tell Lily, we can wake him up!" James said, as he pressed the button of the doorbell. Sirius seemed excited with the idea, the sadness gone for a while. "You're going to see, buddy, he's walking everywhere alone already!"

The door opened and Augusta Longbottom stared at them, her eyes sparkling as they always were. Her wand was in her hand, pointing between them.

"What did you and Frank discovered that you agreed the day before you went into hiding?" She said, looking at James.

"That if we could, we would change places with Harry and Neville, so that Voldemort would be looking for us and not them." James said calmly, looking back at her. Sirius didn't actually know this, but he tried to stay cool.

Augusta sternly asked them to go inside, and closed the door seconds after the entered the lobby, but not before looking outside suspiciously. She turned at them. She looked at James with a small smile on her lips. "James, darling, it's good to see you safe and sound..."

"Madam Longbottom, you look fantastic tonight!" Sirius said, as James opened his mouth to reply. Augusta turned to him with a frown.

"I'm not bought by cheap flattery, Black. But it's good to see you too." Indeed, Augusta couldn't care less about appreciation for the long silk green dress she was wearing. But the boys knew very well what would buy her: Courage. Bravery. Loyalty. For Augusta Longbottom to like you, you'd have to prove yourself a real Gryffindor. James won her by helping Frank, her son, from the attack of a Kappa, back when they were studying at Hogwarts. Sirius, on the other hand, with his laid back, 'laissez faire, laissez aller, laissez passer' nature, got nothing from her.

"We're here to get the artifact, Mrs. Longbottom." James said, holding back his laughter because of Sirius' face.

"Of course you are, darling." She said, looking back to him, a smile on her face. "It's over there, in the living room..." She put a hand on his shoulder as she guided him to the living room. Sirius muttered something that sounded like 'cow', but thankfully, nobody heard it.

Not long after, they were leaving the house, wands levitating the heavy box. It took a while for them to recognize how to make the box accept their magic, but then, it was easy to move it around. As they entered the lobby, Augusta said, in a low whisper:

"James, honey, how are Lily and little Harry?"

James looked at her and said: "They're fine, madam. They're at home..."

Augusta looked to the floor. "I wish this whole thing ended soon. I don't know how long I can hold living without my family around..."

James looked at her, sympathetically. It wasn't hard to see the heavy toll that Lord Voldemort was causing in everybody's live.

"So do I. I'm sure he will be defeated soon, Augusta. I can feel it to my bones."

James didn't know how right his bones were.

Lily had a nice night, brewing some potions. She loved brewing potions, much because it made her calm, but James was not so fond of it. This was a subject he actually had to study to maintain his average grade, which, of course, was Outstanding. So he wasn't a great fan of it.

As James didn't like it, Lily seldom did something related to potions. A night without James was her biggest opportunity to brew some household potions, like Dreamless Sleeping potions, Sleeping draughts, Wiggenweld potions and Pepper-up potions.

After finishing all the ones she thought that were necessary, she cleaned everything, putting the objects in the correct places with a wave of her wand. She used the stairs to get back to the kitchen, as they had their basement transformed into a potion lab.

Harry was silently holding his stag, which he called 'puwongs', as Sirius had tried to teach him to say 'Prongs', when he gave him the plush toy. Lily soon got to Harry's nursery. She checked his diaper, even though she knew it was clean, and started rocking Harry for him to sleep.

Then she felt it.

A cold, unnatural chill went down her spine, as if freezing everything it touched. And then it happened once again. But she felt the difference between the two. The first one was the alarm. The alarm that informed her that somebody unwanted walked into their hiding. The second... well, the second was absolute fear.

Sirius and James soon arrived at Hogwarts. As they checked their watches, they saw it was little over 10:30 p.m., so everybody should be asleep already.

"Ha! It feels just like all those nights up after curfew!" Sirius whispered, making James chuckle.

"I sort of expect Macgonagall to show up and give us detention." he said

They moved silently to the headmaster's office and put the heavy box in the room besides it, as it had been previously agreed. They closed the door silently and James locked it with a soundless 'colloportus'.

Then, they went upstairs to inform Dumbledore that everything had worked to perfection. They used the password Albus had given them, Brigadeiro, and went up the stairs. As they got to the door, they heard two people talking. They knocked on the door and heard the conversation stop.

"Enter" Albus said. As they opened the door, they saw Dumbledore talking to Snape.

"SNIVELLUS!" Sirius shouted, getting his wand ready. James did the same soon after. As Sirius got ready to fire his first jinx, two red rays came to their direction. Sirius was not paying attention, focused only on Snape, so his wand simply jumped out of his hand, to the other side of the room. James, on the other hand, was fully aware of the situation and, as he was behind his friend, could see what Dumbledore was about to do and extinguished the spell with a silent 'finite incantatem'. Albus smiled at this.

"Ah, James, I see you've been practicing..." he said, as he stood up. When he got to the boys, he gave Sirius' wand back to him.

Sirius, however, didn't even pay attention to his former headmaster, as he was staring with hatred at Snape. James had been in hiding for a while, but even he had seen some of Snape's early works as a Death Eater. Sirius, on the other hand, had seen much more of the nasty thing the other man had done. They had met many times, but had yet to have a chance to duel. "What is this DEATH EATER doing here, Dumbledore?" he said, still glaring at Snape's direction.

Albus sighed with a hush sound. "Sirius, he's not a death eater. He was a death eater. He has, let's say, changed sides..."

"I'M NOT GOING TO BUY IT! I DON'T TRUST HIM!" Sirius shouted, his eyes filled with anger and disgust.

Behind him, James didn't look very content either. His eyes were wide and his face was pale. His nails were starting to hurt the palm of his hand, because of the strength he was using to keep his fists closed.

"You may not trust him, but you should trust me, and I say he's our ally now." Dumbledore said, gravely.

Sirius started inflating with anger. When he was about to explode the first word, James felt it.

A shower of cold water. Cold enough to freeze him entirely, hold all the actions he would have made to stop Sirius from shouting at Albus Dumbledore. And this sudden coldness was concentrated on his back. He knew what that meant. Hell, he had performed the spell that would create that sensation.

His house had been invaded.

And Lily and Harry were in danger.

With a simple wand movement, the front of the door of the Potters' house was blasted. Shards of wood flew everywhere, ending the cleanliness that Lily worked hard to maintain. Lord Voldemort entered the house with a cruel smile planted on his face. Actually, his whole face resembled a teethed very ugly white snake. His red eyes skimmed through the living room but saw nobody.

"Homenum Revelio" He said. Even his voice would remind a snake.

He smile widened as he went to the stairs and started to go up.

Lily didn't know what to do. She put Harry in his crib and started to think. Her wand was in the basement. She realized that Moody would give her quite a scolding for not having 'Constant Vigilance'. She looked around and decided to put the bookcase with Harry's books in front of the door. As she was pushing it, she heard the blast at the front door.

"Harry, love, everything will be okay, right, baby?" Lily said, too much to herself. Harry just looked at her, and then started struggling to get out of the crib.

"Mommy..." He called, stretching his little arms in her direction. Lily got to him and held him tight. She didn't even notice when she started to cry.

Suddently, the door of the nursery opened with an explosion. Lily turned to face the door, being careful not to put Harry in front of her.

There he was. Lord Voldemort, the reason of her nightmares, the reason James had suffered, the reason she couldn't see her friends. And now, probably, the reason why Harry wouldn't live longer. "Give me the baby, and I might not kill you, girl" He said.

"No, please... Not Harry, please... Have mercy... Not my baby, please... Not Harry..." She cried, sobbing.

"SILENCE!" He shouted. "Give me the baby this instant, and I will kill you without so much pain!"

Lily stared at him. And then she knew. That was the end, she was going to die.

Some people say that when you are about to die, you see your whole live pass in front of you like a film of some sort. But for Lily, that didn't happen. Instead of seeing the past, she started to see the future. Or better, the future Harry would have if he wouldn't die this night. She saw James holding an 11-year-old Harry, wearing the black robes from Hogwarts, the Gryffindor crest on it. They were playing and laughing, James spinning Harry, in some kind of commemoration.

This 'memory', or maybe, vision, created a bubble inside of Lily. A bubble of something warm, something big, something important. Lily's fear was still present, but this bubbled started to make her happy. Very happy. Too happy. And then, she smiled. A watery smile, because of her tears that insisted in keeping falling.

"Why are you smiling, you crazy mudblood? Are you happy to face Death?" Voldemort said, with his eyes widened. "Well, it's time, then. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Lily still had time to think: In Harry's favorite story, the youngest Peverell brother received Death as a friend. Lily was receiving Death. Not as a friend, of course, but much more as an ally, the end of all this suffering, all this fear. Lily was happy, after all. The bubble had filled her completely, and she would die happy. She saw the green curse, heard a loud blast, and everything became black.

A.N.2: Okay, there you have the beginning of my story. I know it seems the same as many others, but I didn't get to the point in which I separate my story from the others.

I hope you liked it, and all comments and review will be appreciated. I'll try to post the second chapter tomorrow, if I'm able to finish it. But I already started it, so there's a big chance of it happening.

Cheers!