Lily was in shock.

Peter had betrayed them. Voldemort had found them. James was gone. And Severus Snape was lying beside her, dead.

He had saved her life. She had seen him in the shadows behind Voldemort. He had cast a spell that froze her body and made her appear to be dead, keeping Voldemort from actually killing her.

He had tried to get Voldemort to leave the house. He fought Voldemort for her and Harry. He had stood in front of her precious son's crib, and gave his life for him.

He said he loved Harry.

A morbid realization came to Lily. Severus was dead, so his spell on her was broken. She tested it by moving her head and found that she could.

She looked over to Severus. Why had he come to her home? After all this time? They hadn't been friends for years…

Harry started to cry. Lily hastily got up and walked to his crib. She picked him up and comforted him the best she could.

"Mama! Mama!" Harry cried.

"Mama's here, Harry. She's right here, I promise." Lily soothed. She kissed his head, which only made him cry harder. Lily examined his forehead, and to her dismay, she found a bleeding cut in the center. It resembled a bolt of lightning.

"Oh, Harry…" was all she could say. Her son now had a curse scar, and it would follow him for his whole life. A reminder of what he had lost tonight.

James…

A sob enveloped Lily, and once she started crying, she couldn't stop. She clutched Harry to her chest as if he would be taken away from her, too.

That was how Sirius found her.

"Lily?" He said softly.

"Sirius?"

His face flooded with relief when he confirmed she was alive. He rushed to where she was and sat beside her.

"Oh, Lily. I'm so glad you're alright! How's Harry?" he asked, looking at his godson.

"He's asleep now. Sirius…. James…" Lily could not finish her sentence. Sirius wrapped her in a hug.

"I know, Evans. I know." He too sobbed. James had not been his friend, he was his brother. They were family in every way, disregarding blood.

Sirius then noticed Severus's limp form. He hadn't seen him before, as he was too concerned for Lily and Harry.

"Snivellus." He said in surprise.

This only made Lily sob harder.

"He sacrificed himself for me. He saved Harry." she cried into Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius didn't understand but did not press for more information. He also had questions about Voldemort, but Lily had been through too much tonight to interrogate her.

Eventually, Hagrid came. He was beside himself with grief over James's death, and relief over Harry's and Lily's survival. He wanted to kill Sirius after what he thought Sirius had done, but Lily quickly remedied the situation. Hagrid said that Dumbledore would want to see them, and knowing that Hogwarts was the safest place in their world, Lily agreed to go.

Dumbledore welcomed them warmly, albeit quite cautiously when he saw Sirius. He, like everyone else, thought Sirius had betrayed them.

"It wasn't Sirius. We switched Secret-Keepers at the last minute. It was Peter." Lily explained, still holding Harry, She would not let him go, not after what had happened tonight.

"In that case, it is Peter we must be looking for. Voldemort will be most upset to find he is in Azkaban, will he not?" Dumbledore said.

"Wait, why are you talking about him like he's still alive? He's gone. Dead." Sirius asked.

Dumbledore looked as if he hated himself for the news he would be delivering.

"Voldemort is, unfortunately, not gone. He is merely in a nonsubstantial form of himself, lesser than even a ghost. But eventually, he shall return." He told them.

Lily was crestfallen. "No…" she said in disbelief. Had her husband and Severus died for nothing?

"I'm afraid so." Dumbledore clarified.

"No." Sirius said. His eyes were ablaze with fury.

"THAT BLOODY BASTARD WILL NOT KILL MY BROTHER AND LIVE TO TELL THE TALE! I WILL FIND HIM AND KILL HIM WITH MY BARE HANDS!" he roared with hatred.

He was seething, anger radiating off of him. His screaming had alerted Harry, waking him up. His lip quivered, and he started to cry, albeit quietly. He was afraid of making Sirius scream again. Lily rubbed his back comfortingly.

Sirius softened when he saw his godson afraid. He walked over to him and lifted up his little chin with his hand.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to make you cry. Uncle Padfoot is just hurting right now." he said. Harry looked relieved at the atmosphere change.

Sirius felt tears of his own rising up. Wiping them away, he turned to Dumbledore.

"If that beast is still somehow alive, send me after him." he told him.

"Sirius, no." Lily said firmly, shaking her head.

"I have to, Evans. I can't let James," his voice cracked at the name, "Go unavenged. I won't have it."

Dumbledore looked pensive. "If you go, Sirius, we cannot clear your name. People will think you are a criminal. Your life and soul will be in constant danger." he brought up.

This did not deter Sirius. If anything, it encouraged him.

"So? My life and soul have been in danger throughout this whole blasted war! My soul and life were in danger when I was in my childhood home, surrounded by people who wanted to break me and mold me to be like them! You think that I will give up just because my life's on the line?!" he cried.

Dumbledore looked saddened. "Sirius, the life you are condemning yourself to… are you sure this is what you want?" he asked.

Sirius nodded. Lily disagreed.

"Sirius, you can't! Do you really want to leave Harry and me after everything that's happened tonight?" she asked, feeling hurt that her dear friend would want to leave her behind on the heels of everything that had just occurred.

Sirius looked pained at the sight of an annoyed and hurt Lily. Even Harry had his lip stuck out in discontentment.

"I'm doing this for you and him, Lily. I am going to track that monster down and bring him back here so that Dumbledore can undo whatever precautions he has on himself so I can kill him, and he'll be gone for good. Harry deserves to live in a world where he is safe, and there is no more Voldemort. It's what James would want." He said, with full sincerity in his voice. This was rare and told Lily that he meant every word.

She drew in a deep breath. "I don't like this at all, but I know you have a point. It is what my husband would want. And, if anyone can do it, it's you, Padfoot." she said with as much acceptance as she could muster.

Sirius smiled. "Thanks, Lily."

Dumbledore had surveyed the whole scene. As soon as it was agreed that Sirius would be on the run looking for Voldemort, he was formulating a plan.

"Sirius, if you are to do this, there are some things you must consider. If you do indeed find Voldemort, you will need to convince him to come back with you. He won't do that if he thinks you support the Order." he said wisely.

Sirius took this in. "So, I would need to act like a Death Eater? Pretend I'm on his side?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is not too late to change your mind." He reminded.

Sirius shook his head. "No. I'm doing this. And, I'll take you one step further. If I don't manage to capture him, and he comes back, I'll be a spy. I'll spy on Voldemort and tell you everything I find. If we never clear my name, the public will believe it. And with my family name, it could work." he proposed.

This worried Lily. "Sirius, are you sure this is what you want?" she asked.

"Yes." he said in a heartbeat. "I'll do anything to bring him down."

Dumbledore nodded, agreeing to the deal. But he too worried that Sirius was getting himself into something he could not get himself out of.

Sirius volunteered to take Harry to bed, as Dumbledore offered them a place to stay for the night. Lily would have gone with him but had a burning question for her former headmaster. It couldn't wait.

"Professor?" She asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Potter?" he responded, gesturing for her to take a seat in front of his desk. Lily obliged.

"The only reason I survived tonight was that Severus Snape cast a spell on me just before Voldemort did. He made him believe I was dead and dueled him. He protected Harry and stood in front of him right before he was killed. Do you know why?" she asked him. She was barely able to keep her voice steady and could feel her throat thickening at the mention of her fallen ex-friend.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. He then asked Lily if he could view her memory. She agreed, and once he was finished, he explained what had motivated Severus.

"He was the one to overhear the prophecy spoken about your son and deliver it to Voldemort. However, once he realized that it could pertain to you and your family, he came to me for help."

"He did? Why?" Lily inquired.

"Because, Mrs. Potter, he would not be able to live with himself if he was the reason you were killed. He came to me, begging to keep you and your family safe, and in return, he would do anything. He turned against Voldemort and became a spy for us, telling me everything he learned. All so that you would survive. So, when he heard that Voldemort was targeting you tonight, he rushed to your home to save you." Dumbledore said.

"But why would he do that? We stopped being friends six years ago. He made his feelings about people like me very clear. He was on the darkest path known to our world." Lily insisted.

Dumbledore looked upon her thoughtfully. "Because, Lily, ever since he was nine years old, he has felt the strongest feeling a person could feel for you."

The answer dawned on Lily.

"Severus loved me."

Dumbledore nodded.

"That was why he saved me. He still loved me, even after I broke off our friendship… Oh! He must have been so hurt when I didn't accept his apology! He must have meant it! And I didn't listen!" Lily cried into her hands, regret upon regret washing over her. She had been so unknowingly cruel to Severus, her dear childhood friend. How could she be so terrible to him? How did he find it in himself to die for her, even though she had hated him for so long after their fight?

Dumbledore handed her a tissue, which she accepted.

'Lily, it is not your fault. You could not have known he was going to do this. If anything, the blame belongs to the one who rendered you and James vulnerable." he comforted.

Lily slowly collected herself.

"The spell he hit me with, what was it?" she asked.

"I do not know. Severus was very gifted at making up his own enchantments, as you know. Perhaps he was preparing for something like this to happen." Dumbledore theorized.

Lily nodded. She had been there when he finished creating Muffliato. She was so proud of him, they were only three weeks into their fifth year, after all.

"And, Voldemort said he killed James and I. Why?" Lily asked. That had not made sense to her, as she thought Severus's plan was to make him think he had killed her in order to save her.

"I believe Voldemort took the credit for both deaths because he thought it was him who brought Severus to cast the spell on you. He could have thought that Severus would rather kill you himself than have him kill you, and since he was the reason Severus had come at all. In a way, he is correct. But here you are, defying him by being alive."

Lily felt a rush of gratitude for her old friend. He was forgiven for everything since all his intentions and motivations were made clear. Without her there to keep him afloat, he went down that dark path. She knew what his family was like, and his friends were no good either. Once, he had said she was the bright spot in his life. So when she went away, so did the light.

She left him alone, with only darkness for company.

But Voldemort was wrong. Love was not his undoing. If he had not loved her, would he never change back to good? Would he remain on his dark path? Had his love for her saved him?

She hoped it was true. She hoped it would balance what she had done to him by leaving him alone.