The End

Lily knew it was the end when James yelled at her to take Harry and run. She wanted nothing more than to freeze time because this couldn't be happening. She wanted to fight beside James, not flee. He didn't even have a wand with him. But she had to protect Harry… she had to. She locked eyes with her husband and at that moment she realised they both had only one thing in their minds: protecting Harry. So she bolted upstairs, wandless but determined.

She heard the door blasting open and a sickening thud. Lily gave a dry sob, James was gone. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew it was true. He would never give her that crooked smile again. He would never make jokes to make her laugh whenever she felt scared. She would never feel his comforting arms around her again. She wanted to curl up in a corner and cry but a small wail brought her back to her senses. Harry blinked sleepily at her through wide, innocent green eyes, so like hers, filled with unshed tears. He looked so much like James it made her heart break all over again. She suddenly felt a surge of love and anger coursing through her body. How dare this feeble excuse of a man threaten her family? How dare he take away the people she loved? How dare he try to touch her baby?

She cuddled Harry close, determined to feel his warm and heavy body for the last time. "Harry…" she whispered as if savouring the word as it rolled off her tongue, "I'm so sorry," she choked on her tears that were rolling down her cheeks, her heart thumping wildly as if it knew it only had minutes utmost to beat. At the corner of her mind she was worried about her friends. Was Peter, sweet and small Peter, dead? How did Voldemort get the information out of him? Sirius… she gave another sob, he was her brother in all but blood, she hoped he was alright. Remus… poor Remus was out there too. Then there were the Longbottoms, who were in a similar situation as them; she hoped they and their little boy, Neville, were safe.

She knew she couldn't hide from Voldemort forever but fought down the temptation to run at him, to make him feel at least a little bit of her pain, not beg for mercy. Harry, she reminded herself, this is for Harry. Harry will live, she repeated her mantra, he will.

The door to the nursery blasted open and Lily put her son in his crib to face red eyes that glittered dangerously. She spread her arms wide, shielding her only son from the Dark Lord's view. Many history books would later depict her as a brave warrior who gave up her life for her son. A martyr, they'd call her. A tragedy, they'd say. They wouldn't mention how she had felt insignificant and alone without a wand. How she selfishly claimed death and let her sweet, brave boy tackle the hardships his life would offer. How she desperately wanted to unite with her husband rather than face the grief that she knew would hit her. How she begged and pleaded for mercy, anything for Harry to have the life she and James had always wanted.

"Not Harry… Please take me instead! Have mercy… have mercy!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl." Voldemort warned, his eyes glinting, "Stand aside now."

But Lily wouldn't budge. Suddenly, she remembered all the times she had felt truly happy even in the midst of a war. When she and James had had a snowball fight at Christmas in their last year at Hogwarts, when they first became a couple after years of playing cat and mouse. When they had married. How overjoyed they were when they found out they were expecting, how she had felt like she finally belonged somewhere as she held her baby in her arms. How Harry would zoom off on his toy broomstick that Sirius had bought him for his first birthday, while James laughed, claiming proudly that he'd be the best seeker in Hogwarts. How the three of them would snuggle close to each other feeling warm, safe and loved. Just as the green light hit her, she realised she was home.

Lily Potter fell down, her arms still wide, her dark red hair spread around her like a pool of blood, her glassy green orbs wide and unaware that in a few moments a man would sob at the sight of her body, how he'd vow to kill the rat who betrayed them, how he'd be framed and chucked to prison without a trial. She was unaware that a werewolf far away would stare blankly and longingly at old school pictures, wishing he could go back to simpler times now that he'd lost all the people that had cared for him despite his condition. She was unaware that her best friend would be tortured to insanity in a few hours, unaware that people would be toasting for the young family that was ripped apart, unaware that the end was just the beginning. Most of all, she was unaware of a baby, his cries filling the night as he screamed for his mother.

Author's note: Lily Potter gave life to her son not once but twice. My goal was to make you cry, I hope I did. That sounds terrible lol :) So on that note, Unhappy Birthday to Harry! May we always remember those who helped him succeed. The next story will be more light-hearted, I promise. Please review, it means the world to me! I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story.