Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Chapter Seven

Inevitable

He woke up with the worst headache he has ever known. He was so consumed by this pain that he didn't notice at first where he was. However, it didn't take him long after that to realize that he was in a dark room with his arms being held up by chains. He was caught, and he knew that he was soon going to be tortured, so he took this moment alone to build up all the strength he had. He wasn't going to make this easy on the Death Eaters and he wasn't going to betray his family, he keep telling himself.

"Ah Potter, Potter, how I'm going to love getting you to talk Potter," crackled a chilling woman's voice. "Though I really wished that it was my dear cousin that was caught."

"Sorry to disappoint you Bellatrix," James said in a cocky voice that he used throughout his years at Hogwarts.

"Let's see if we can wipe the smug smile off your face," Bellatrix smiled, her dark eyes boring into him and he could see the promise of pain and death in them, but he just looked back at her without showing his fear. "Crucio..."

James screamed, he didn't have a choice. Even if he wanted to be brave and suffer without screaming it was impossible with this curse. He know that even before she said the curse, he had been hit with this curse a few times in the past, but he still wasn't prepared at how much more painful it would be coming from her. She was no amateur with this curse, and she had no compassion at all, which was a deadly combination. The pain was so strong that he was begging for her to stop, before he knew what he was doing.

"Tell me where you live and it will all stop," Bellatrix said in a sickly sweet voice, leering at him. She wanted him to refuse... wanted to torture him to an inch of his sanity before she got the information she wanted.

"Go to hell?" James spat, glaring at her weakly.

"Crucio," Bellatrix smiled, her dark eyes alight with amusement now.

This process repeated for a half and hour and James still didn't say a thing and Bellatrix was just about to curse him again, but was stopped when another Death Eater entered the room.

"Can't you see I'm busy here," Bellatrix said annoyed by the intrusion.

"The Dark Lord wants you to come with me," said a weak trembling voice. Bellatrix let out an impatient noise but followed the Death Eater that James refused to recognize any more.

O

The Dark Lord had summon him a moment ago and told him what he needed to do. He always thought that he would take pleasure in having to torture this man that he had hated since he first met him ten years ago on his first train ride to Hogwarts. This man that had ruined the relationship with the one girl, one person, that he ever cared about, it should be easy to take pleasure in his pain. However, when he got to the room, looking at him chained to the wall, weak and yet still fighting to keep his strength up, he couldn't find any pleasure in this at all. This man was trying to protect the same person he was, and he was giving everything he had to do that.

"Hurry up and get on with it," Bellatrix said from behind him, she had insisted being there and the Dark Lord had allowed this.

"If you must be here, Bellatrix, it would be best if you remain silent," the man said.

"Snivellus!" James spat, he had no idea how long it was since the last time he was tortured, but it felt like hours had gone by in the dark room. Still none of that mattered right now, he had to get his point across to his worst rival and hope that his wife really was right about him.

"SHE TRUSTED YOU! SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE A GOOD MAN!" James shouted, giving the man in front of him the strongest glare he could muster, and hoping he would get the real meaning behind his words. "But she was wrong! You're nothing but a monster!"

Severus Snape was shocked by this outburst. Was this true? Did Lily trust him... think of him as a good man? It was impossible to believe, but he could see it his his rivals eyes that he was telling the truth. Then there were James's eyes that shocked him almost as much as what James had just shouted at him. Having loathed this man for so long, he had come to know the difference between his glares and the look that James was given him wasn't hatred. He's never seen this look on the other man's face before, but he had a feeling that James was telling him this so that he would know this.

Luckily for Severus, he was a master at hiding his feelings, because he didn't show any of his surprise at what James had just said. In fact all he did was sneer at the man, "Well, it doesn't really matter what a Mudblood thinks."

James eyes flashed with the real angry at that, but the change was subtle and he doubted that Bellatrix would be able to tell the difference. She was sniggering in the background anyways, seeming to have enjoyed the comment immensely.

"So what do you want Snivellus?" James asked coldly.

"To pay you back for a little of the torture that you put me through," Severus sneered.

"Honestly, I doubt you have the ability to really torture me," James scoffed. "I'll enjoy the break."

Bellatrix laughed cockily in the background, but Severus ignored her. "Oh, it's not that kind of torture, Potter. Do you know what a Legilimency is?"

James eyes went wide but he didn't say anything.

Severus, however, peered into James eyes and with a smirk announced, "it seems like you have. I hope that you put up more of a defense or it's not going to be much of challenge to get the information I need."

Severus was only half concentrating on probing James's mind as he tried to think of something to tell the Dark Lord when they came face to face. There was no way that he could tell the truth, a truth that would lead to Lily's death, but it was extremely dangerous to lie to Voldemort. The most he could hope for is that he would be able to make Voldemort believe that she was somewhere else as he escaped. Somehow, he didn't think he would be this lucky, and he was likely already a died man.

Those glum thoughts stopped him from realizing something that should have been obviously from the started. There was a huge chunk of James's memories that were missing. Severus probed closer, and realized with astonishment that James didn't have any memories of where he has been the last year and half. Anything that was connected to the place that he's been hiding in was gone, though it was clear that he remembered events that had taken place there, there was nothing there that would help anyone know where the place was.

"What did you do?" Severus questioned, looking at James with the astonishment that he felt. It was then that he noticed that James was breathing heavy, his arms looked like they were trying to move to his head and his face was scrunched up in pain. It was natural that someone that was having Legilimency being used against them would be in some pain. The invasion of the of the mind was a terrible assault, but James still shouldn't be in this much pain. Something was effecting him more than just what Severus was trying to do and he had a feeling that it was connected to the missing memories.

"What's the matter Snivellus, can't find anything useful," James smirked the best he could with the pain still evident on his face.

Severus glared at him, James's smirk in that moment reminded him of the millions times he seen that in the past right before he was cursed or embarrassed in front a group of people. Severus dove again into James's head, and the memory of this event flashed to him a lot easier than it should have. James wanted him to see this.

James was sitting on the couch looking rather bored as he looked through a book.

"What are you doing?" a voice said from behind him and James turned to smile at his wife, who had their son in her arms. A powerful sense of pride filled him as he looked at the two of them.

"I'm just looking through this book," James said holding up the book he was reading.

"I didn't think you were that into charms," Lily said.

"I'm not, but there isn't much else I could do here," James chuckled, but looked annoyed at the same time. "I thought it might be interesting looking through this book... you know how useful it was when we made Sirius your..."

"Yeah," Lily smiled at him. "Have you found anything else of value in there?"

"I don't know," James said. "I'm only on the fourth charm. Though I must say that I found most of this stuff pretty dry."

"Oh, come on James, it's really fascinating," Lily said, her eyes sparkled with excitement. James smiled at her, caught up in just taking in her expression, but soon the baby cried and Lily turned to leave. "I'll leave you to your reading James, hopefully you'll find something in there that would help you out."

James smiled as he watched her go and then turn his attention back to the book. It wasn't long after that that he found a spell that interested him. It read:

Abolesco Monumentum

This is a spell that would vanish a memory so completely from your mind that there is no way that you would ever be able to retrieve it. This spell was popular when it was first invented in 1614 when it was used in extreme cases when someone wished to keep something secret no matter what they might face. Due to the nature of the spell, which is to deprive the mind of being able to form the thought that the caster wishes to block, it makes it impossible for the memory to be revealed no matter how much someone tries to get at it. However, the side effects of this charm, if the memory was ever pursued the mind of the person that cast the smell will start to deteriorate. After discovering how dangerous this was to the mind of the person that cast the spell, it quickly fell out of popularity and by 1678 it was no longer used by anyone.

James looked was looking at the book thoughtfully at this. It was a dangerous spell, but in his situation, it might be useful to him. So he turned the page and read more about what this spell did. He skimmed through the description until he found something that interested him.

This spell can be cast in two different ways. First way is the most effective and would case the least amount of side effects. You prepare the potion listed above, concentrate on the memory you wish to vanish and say the incantation Abolesco Monumentum.

The second way of doing this charm, is more risky, and likely to leave some kind of side effects, ranging from mild discomfort to complete mental breakdown. You prepare the potion that is listed above, concentrate on the memory you wish to vanish and say the incantation Monumentum. This will single out the memory you have chosen but will keep the memory in tact. However, whenever you feel the the memory is no longer need you say the incantation Abolesco (no wand is needed) and all traces of the memory will be removed, usually in a painful manor.

James looked down at the book, his hands were shaking with fear, but he know this was something he was going to have to do. "Lily," he called.

"Yeah," Lily said coming back in the room, this time without the baby. "I just put Harry down... I had to freeze the stuff snitch again, he never can go to sleep with that thing floating around."

James chuckled and smiled proudly at that. "Yeah, he likes to watch it like a hawk... Merlin that boy is going to make a good Seeker."

Lily rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, too. "What did you find?"

"This," James said in trepidation.

The scene went blank with Lily frowning sadly at him.

"You erased all memories of where you lived," Severus said taking a step back from James, who was smirking at him the best he could. Severus turned his back on James, unable to look at the smug face for another second, or he would lose his cool. "We need to see the Dark Lord now," he said to Bellatrix.

"There is no way to erase things completely, Sevy," she said mockingly. "You're much too soft for this..."

"Yeah, Sevy," James said in a boastful voice. "I knew that you would be useless here."

"Shut up," Severus turned around to face James again and yelled, "Crucio..."

James screamed as the pain came over and keeps screaming when he realized that it was no where near as painful as it should be. So, he knew in that moment that Lily was right about Severus; that this man wasn't his enemy.

"Not so smug anymore, now are you Potter," Severus sneered as James bowed his head, taking shallow breaths just like he did everything time that Bellatrix had cursed him, though he had no need for doing it this time. "Come Bellatrix, lets go."

Bellatrix smiled at James as she walked out of the room, seeming to be pleased by what had just occurred. Severus on the other hand was thoughtful. It had made his job a lot easier that James had did this, he would be able to tell Voldemort the truth. He probably owed James his life now, and no matter how much he hated that fact he couldn't help but be impressed at the sacrifice that James had made to keep his family safe.

O

Lily was a wreak the days that followed the news of her husband's capture, for there was no doubt in anyone's mind that James wouldn't have been killed so he had to be captured. Sirius and Remus both stayed at Godric Hallow with her, and were not much better than she was, but all of them taking comfort in being close together.

The next morning when Dumbledore had come, he was the only other person that could get though the now heavy protection on the house (and he wasn't about the tell anyone where they were now). When the Fidelius Charm was cast, the cabinets that they have been using to get from Remus and Sirius's flat to Gordic Hallow was unusable, so Dumbledore had Apparated in a spot not too far away from the house and walked to rest of the way there.

When he got there, he quickly told them about the lost of three other Order members, Marlene Mckinnon (who Lily had gotten quite close to over the two years before being trap in Godric Hallow), Edger Bones, and most devastating Fabian Prewett. It seemed that Gideon was now in critical condition and it wasn't clear if he was going to make it or not. And he wasn't the only one that was still fighting for their lives. It seem that nine other people were several injured, though they were all expected to make it. There had also been the death of one of the Aurors that Moody had brought in to help them in the fight. However, thirty Death Eaters had been captured, including some of the most dangerous people in Voldemort's army, and three more that were killed. Still, this was not the outcome that Dumbledore had hoped for, knowing that Voldemort wouldn't care much for his loses, and it wouldn't slow him down that much in the end.

After Dumbledore left, Sirius tried his hardest to lift everyone's spirits, but it was unless. The next week went by in a blur, filled with crying and screaming and constant pain. However, it seem that everyone had come to a silent agreement that after that week was over that they were all going to be strong from now on.

O

Voldemort was staring at him, the cold eyes were boring into his very soul he knew it, trying to read the truth in his mind. He had nothing to fear this time, for he was telling the truth, though he didn't relax a minute because he knew that would be his doom. He started as calmly as he could back into the terrible eyes and didn't portray anything that his master would find suspicious. It was exhausting work, but there was no room for failure in this so he do what he must.

"I was under the impression that you were a master Legilimist," Voldemort finally said, his voice was bored, and he looked a little annoyed. "I thought you would be able to handle this simple task."

"My Lord," Severus said, unable to hide all of his fear, though he knew this was a good thing; Voldemort liked to be feared. "He has cast a spell..."

"Yes... yes, I heard you the first time," Voldemort interrupted him. "But did you try to see if this spell really worked... did you try to extract the information from him anyways?"

"I..." Severus said, yes he should have done that, he should have been merciless in his attempt to get this vital piece of information. He thought quickly and said, "I did not think it wise to attempt that. If what I found out about the spell is true his mind would have been farther damaged if I tried to extract anything from him... I have confidence in my ability as a Legilimist, but know I'm not the best, My Lord."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, he was thoughtful, and when he spoke it was in a slightly modified voice, "You may go Severus."

O

He watched the young man leave his sights with a calculating look. It was rather smart of Severus to stop when he had, in retrospect, it likely will end up saving his life. If he had come to James Potter and found there was nothing left of him but a simpering broken man, useless to him, his reaction would likely have been to kill the incompetent fool who had ruin the best hopes for him to find the boy that he longed to kill. Now if the whereabouts stayed secret from him, he would have nothing to blame but whatever curse that Potter had used on himself, all to protect someone else. What a fool to allow himself to be weak because of someone else.

Still, Severus Snape was starting to really shape up to be a nice Death Eater. He had more brains the most of the followers that Voldemort had gain over the years. Though he lacked the killer instinct of his most powerful followers, it was undeniable that Snape's potion making ability had come in use and he could never forget the valuable information that was overheard, allowing Voldemort to know of the Prophecy that was so deadly to him. The only thing that bother him was Severus's fondest for the Muggle. He would have thought a man of Severus's shrewdness would have detach himself from pitiful relations, but he had begged him to let the wench go. He suppose Severus has proven himself enough and it was likely that he would be useful in the future, it would probably be beneficial to keep the girl alive.

He got up, not winching from the considerable pain he felt in his shoulder, he was not going to show any weakness here. He hated that the old man was able to hurt him like this, he really was becoming a nuisance that had to be dealt with. Still, after he got Potter to talk, and found out the whereabouts of the boy, killing the only threat there was to him, he will be able to concentrate on taking out the old fool and all of his stupid followers.

Voldemort entered the room that Potter was staying in and he saw the fear in the chained man's eyes, though he could always see the defiance that was in a lot of the younger Order members. They actually believed that they could stand up to Lord Voldemort, the fools. However, after hours of working on the younger man he still hadn't gotten anything. He could feel the mind collapsing every time he had came close to finding something of value and this was becoming really frustrating. When he left the room, the boy was laying limp against his chains, his color had drain and there was no defiance in his eyes, but Voldemort hadn't gotten any information from him.

The puzzle of what to do next stumped him for the next few days. He hated that he was so close to what he wanted and yet so far. He thought about drawing out the pathetic people by using Potter as a hostage. It seem like something this vermin would do, risk their lives for someone else. Bellatrix keeps telling him how close her cousin was with the blood traitor. But somehow he knew that the boy would be more important to them and that they would be expecting something like this. Still, he allowed Bella to keep Potter, she had been quite fond of using him as her dummy to practice her Cruciatus Curse on, as if she need any practices with that. The boy might be of use to him at some point in the future.

"You called for me my L-lord," a shaky voice said, and Voldemort turned from his musing to looking at the filthy Peter Pettigrew. The weak wizard had little value to him now, and it was tiresome to have to deal with him. But an idea hit him and he wanted to explore this.

"I believe you went to the Potter's house when they were in hiding," Voldemort started.

Peter swallowed hard, his eyes darted to all the escape possibilities, somehow a fitting thing for this rat to do. "Yes, my Lord," he finally answered, unable to look Voldemort in the eyes, but so few wizards were able to do that. "But... But I don't... they never told me where it was..."

"Yes, I recall that," Voldemort said and a flash of angry crossed his face. This rat was the one that had informed him about the false whereabouts of the Potters after all, did this piece of filth think that he would not remember that clearly.

"I-I..." Peter said taking a step back and flinching as Voldemort raised his wand.

Voldemort moved the wand slowly in his hand, watching as Peter trembled, fearing the curse that could come from the wand. Voldemort lips almost twisted into a smile, but he stopped himself before he actually cursed the rat, it would not help him at the moment. "Do you remember anything about the place? Did you take in your surrounding at all? Do you see any of the neighboring house near to where the Potter's were staying?"

"I..." Peter said looking like he was trying to think hard, but his mind was coming up with a blank.

Voldemort grimaced, it really was infuriating work with such a worthless excuse for a wizard, but he need him right now. "Bellatrix," he called and the witch appeared at his side almost immediately. "Help Peter to remember his visit to the Potters."

"NO...!" Peter said, paling.

Bellatrix smiled and lead him out of the room, Voldemort smiled at the thought of the cruel witch allowing the rat believe he was going to be tortured up until the point that she simple extracts the memory.

The process of extracting the memory was easy, and luckily (for the rat) he had taken a look around and seen the house that surrounded the house everyone was now looking for. However, there was still a lot to do before they could get what he wanted. He knew that Dumbledore would come up with some kind of protection of the house, and he had a feeling what that would be. The strongest charm of keeping him out of the house would be the Fidelius Charm, no one would be able to find the house that he was looking for. However, the house that were surrounding it was a different story. He sent his Death Eaters out to scoured the nation until they found the matching village (having been shown the pensieve image of it). Now when he got there he would just have to burn the hole between the two building down and that would be it.

It took his Death Eater a long time to find what he was looking for, but finally, on October 31, he was ready to make his move. Halloween seemed like an almost fitting time for him to secure his throne by not only killing the one person that might stop him, but also by allowing him take the final step in his rode to immortality. He will make himself completely invulnerable and push magic to an extreme that no one else even dared to dream of, let alone had hopes to accomplish. Yes, today was a day that was going to go down in history.

O

"Pafo... reff," Harry shouted, he was riding on the back of his uncle like he was a horse instead of the massive dog that he was at the moment. They were play hind and seek, all the adults need to embrace themselves in this innocent game with Harry in order to keep their minds off their terrible grief.

Sirius turned to his left and start walking in that direction.

"No," Harry complained. "Ight..."

Sirius turn back to were he was originally facing.

"Ere," Harry said impatiently, hitting the dog on the head, which cause Remus to chuckle when Sirius whined. Sirius then let out a bark and rushed over to his friend as fast as he could while keeping Harry on his back.

"Moey," Harry cheered. "Ond ou."

"That you did cub," Remus chuckled rubbing the already messy hair of the boy, feeling forlorn by this, as his thoughts went to his missing friend.

"Mommy," Harry insisted, wiggle away form Remus's hand. It only took Harry a few more minutes before he found his mum, who was hiding behind a curtain. "Mommy," Harry repeated when he found her reaching for him.

"How's my little man," Lily said taking him off Sirius back, and holding him close to her. "Now, Harry James Potter, I know you know that it's not right to hit people," she said sternly.

"No pople," Harry pointed at Sirius. "Doggy."

Lily had trouble holding in her smile, and was not help at all by the fact that Remus started chuckling again. "Harry, you know very well that's Sirius."

"He's certainly going to be a handful when he grows up," Sirius said after he turned back into a man. "He's already coming up with good excuse for getting out of trouble."

"Sirius!" Lily groaned.

"What?" Sirius said. "You have no one to blame but yourself. You're the clever one after all... Though I suppose you could blame Moony too... though you are the one that allowed him to be around the kid so much..."

"I think I'm going to blame you," Lily glared at him and then looked at Harry. "What do you think little man. Should we punish Padfoot for being rude to Mommy."

Harry nodded his head, smiling.

"See what I mean... how is the kid suppose to learn when you react like that," Sirius said raising his hands in a defensive posture.

Lily smirked faded, and Remus laughter just became louder. "You know, he actually has a point there."

"Shut up!" Lily glared at the werewolf, but she decided to leave Sirius alone this time, so she sat on the couch instead.

Harry looked at her sadly, pouting that nothing happened. He leaned into her and his mum wrapped her arms around him securely. He started to fidget in her arms, the house had been quiet for a long time and he didn't like the quite. Everyone has been acting differently and worst of all, someone was missing. Someone that Harry wanted to see very badly.

"Mommy," Harry said and Lily looked at him. "W'ere Daddy?"

Lily's eyes tighten as she looked at her son, she wanted to cry for what felt like the millionth time, but she didn't. "I don't know love," she said in a shaky voice.

"Want Daddy," Harry said longingly.

"Me too Harry," Lily said pulling her son into a hug again.

And that's when it happened. The house began to shake. Remus hopped out of his seat at the kitchen table (where he had been sitting with his head in his hand) and looked out the window. "No!" he exclaimed.

"What is it?" Sirius asked and then he too was at the window. "Damnit!"

"Three Death Eaters are out there," Remus said grimacing, he was griping his wand and he was looking at Lily as she cling to Harry. His thoughts were going over everything that he could think of but everything looked bad to him.

"There heading this way like they know where we are," Sirius said, his head was still looking out the window. "I don't understand, they shouldn't be able to see us."

"That's can't see us. Dumbledore is our secret keeper and there's no way that he would tell," Remus said, his mind briefly trying to figure out what was happening, but he pushed that aside, it didn't matter now why they were here, it just mattered that they had to get away.

"Then they don't really know where we are," Lily said, her voice was barely above a whisper and it shook as she spoke. "Maybe we can just stay..."

Her words were cut off as a spell hit the edge of the house, causing a crashing sound and shook the house.

"They might not be able to see our house, but they definitely know where it is," Sirius said as he watched the Death Eater fire multiple spells in the general direction of the house.

"Sirius put up your strongest shield charm," Remus instructed, it would give them a few minutes of protection, though it won't hold the Death Eater off for much longer. Sirius quickly muttered the spell, he's always been good at this but even he knew this wasn't going to be enough. It was five minutes later that Sirius shield was broken by a particularly nasty blasting charm that was so close to where they were standing that it caused them all the be knocked to the floor.

"We can't just stay here," Lily said miserably.

"I know," Remus and Sirius said together. They weren't going to die trapped in a house like rats, they were going to have to fight.

"Either we all go out together, I can see three of them, but you know that Voldemort has to be out there too," Remus said, shivering as he said Voldemort's name. "It would be dangerous and... I don't know what to do with Harry..."

Lily was shaking her head at this. "I can't... just fight them with Harry in my arms..."

"We could leave him in here," Sirius said. "I mean if we could stop..."

"No!" Lily shuddered. "If we... he would be in this house alone... Sirius all they would have..."

"Lily," Remus said putting his hand on her shoulder, calming her as much as he could in this situation. "You're going to have to take Harry and use the Invisibility Cloak and sneak out the back... Me and Sirius we'll go out there and draw the Death Eaters fire..."

"Remus," Lily said, shaking her head again. How could she sneak out of the house and let them face danger like that. It felt worst than anything she's ever felt before.

"Lily, Harry comes first!" Sirius said sharply. "You have to save him."

"This is our best option," Remus said. "For all of us... but don't think your out of danger... Voldemort is out there... he has to be..."

Lily nodded her head, more tears streaming down her face.

"Silencio," Remus said, pointing his wand at Harry. They baby had been remarkably quite, but he wasn't going to risk Harry crying at the wrong moment. "As soon as your out of the charm, Apparate to our flat... no wait, not there... to Hogsmeade... the Three Broomsticks. It should be safe enough there."

There was doubt in Remus's voice, but he couldn't think of anything else to say and they didn't have time. Lily nodded, held Harry close to her, he seemed to be fidgeting and he definitely didn't like how tense things had gotten. Sirius wrapped the Cloak over them making sure that nothing was showing and then nodded.

"Go when you think you have an opening," Sirius said, to the blank space that Lily was standing in a moment ago. "Well, here we go."

"Right behind you," Remus said. They two of them rushed out of the house just as another curse fell at the window they had been standing next to. They both looked back, and were lucky they were still under the protection of the charm because they would have been easy targets for the Death Eaters if they weren't. They looked at each other, both wanting to go back to check if Lily and Harry were okay, but they couldn't. They had to keep going because it would only be more dangerous if they hesitated.

Lily on the other hand, was now at the back door, not realizing how close she had been to being blasted by that curse. She could see a Death Eater to her left, he seemed to be looking around, sending curse at the corner of the house, it seem like they had surrounded they place. If she were visible to his eyes, he would have seen her as she crossed the line of charm, the line that was supposed to have protected them, but was now being used against them.

She ran as fast as she could through her back yard, not noticing the water on the ground until it was too late. The moment that she had taken a step outside of the Fidelius Charm the puddle on the ground moved, marking in her location like a beckon. If she had only Apparated at that moment, things might have been different, but she didn't know. She took another step and paused so to concentrate and as she was about to spin she was hit my a curse that sent her flying. She tried not to cry out, she tried to hold onto the cloak that was now floating off of her, but she couldn't.

She had hit the ground with such force that it knocked the breath out of her and she was sure she had broken her leg, but she couldn't brace herself and keep Harry safe at the same time. She heard the crackle of a madman as he walked slowly towards them, and her heart stopped. She wanted to sob, as she face what she knew to be her death, her body shielding her baby from the threat, though she knew it wasn't enough.

"You were quite hard to find," Voldemort gloated, his eyes on Harry, and Lily shifted more to hide her son from him. "But in the end, it was useless. I must say that it was rather lucky for me it had rained today... you very nearly got away." He laughed then, a cold laugh that was shrill and inhuman. "There is no saving the boy... He is destine to die by my hands," his lip curled into a cruel smile at that and his eyes also became longing. "But you need not die..."

"What?" Lily said.

"Stand aside, and I'll let you go," Voldemort said looking almost amused.

She couldn't believe she was hearing him correctly. Voldemort was offering to let her, a Muggle-born, someone that he's trying to eradicate, go. Still, that wasn't the most appalling thing about this. How could he believe for one second that she would actually just let him kill her son. She had lost her wand when she had fallen, and she had no way of defending herself, but even with that, it was impossible to think of not standing in between this monster and her son.

"Not Harry!" Lily's voice was shrill and it came out in barely a whisper at first but as he advanced on her it became louder and shriller. In the back of her mind she was hoping that Remus or Sirius would hear and can somehow save Harry. Tears rolled down her face as she screamed at Voldemort to leave her son allow... to kill her, but leave him alone. She didn't hear the curse but she saw it coming and it was all she could do to make sure it didn't touch Harry.

"Silly girl," Voldemort said as he looked down at he woman that had become rather annoying with her screams that he leave her son alone. She must have known that he was here for the boy and it was ridiculous that he would leave without killing him. He grimaced for a second, he really had meant to allow this worthless piece of filth live for Severus, but she was rather annoying and in the end he was better off now. It mattered little and he was now that much closer to killing the boy, and after that he would be able to make his sixth and final Horcrux, setting him apart from any other man, and make him indestructible.

He looked at the boy, it appeared that he was crying, from the shock of being on the cold wet floor or because his mother now laying motionless next to him, it mattered little. Voldemort was mildly amused that he could not hear the boy's cries, they had obviously attempted to keep him quiet as they tried to sneak out of this house, such a useless attempt. He had caught his prey and it was over for them all now.

He pulled out his wand, aimed it at the boy that had struggled free from his mothers arms and was looking at him. He could see fear in the bright green eyes that stared back up at him and he smiled more. It was nice to see the familiar look. "Avada Kedavra."

It was a curse he had used many times before. It was a curse that had killed many of the best wizards and witches of the day. It was a curse that was supposed to be unblock-able. It was a curse that had failed him completely that night. He watched as the spell bounced off the boy and ricochet back to him. In that one second, so close to victory that he could taste it, he lost everything.

A/N: I know some of you are going to hate me for this but I had to do this fic this way. I know my limitation as a writer and I know that there is too much of the story that is tied up in this particular death. I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of the fic, but from the beginning I knew that it was going to have Sirius and Remus raise Harry and how things go from there on out.

The truth is for the beginning I made the decision that this was going to remind a story about Harry being the main hero of this story... meaning that he was the one that was going to face Voldemort. From that point of view, the only way that I can see that happening is to have for this particular death happen, for Voldemort has to disappear for a time so Harry is allow to grow up. If this didn't happen Voldemort would be around in the world killing people and trying to get his hands on Harry for the ten/thirteen years that he was gone and that world would end up a much darker place. The only way that I could see to avoid this issue was to have the marauders defeat Voldemort but that's just not the story that I set out to make. I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone, that's just the way that I had decided to write this.