Death and ashes
There was one boy for whom they all died.
Lily most directly, but then she had always been the most direct.
James first, but then he always had to be the first.
Severus much later, but then it had always taken him longer to catch on.
But for one word it might all have turned out very differently. Lily and Sev might have been together; if not forever, long enough to keep her from ending up with his mortal enemy. James Potter might have been the one alone or, more likely, made some other girl nearly as deliriously happy as he had made Lily. They might have lived to a ripe old age – Lily and James as the Dark Lord's daring enemies, fearless as they had been before they had someone to protect, and Severus as his honored servant. They might have all lived long, fought well, and died at forty or fifty in any case. They might have all fought and died alone, for no one.
There might have been no Harry Potter.
Where would the wizarding world be then?
The word Mudblood would certainly be spoken much more often.
