HARRY POTTER
TIME TRAVELER
Summary – Harry opens a book in the Restricted Section and it transports him 21 years into the future, where he meets up with the future Ron and Hermione and their son, Eddie. Harry also meets Lily Potter, Harry's very spunky and caring future teenage daughter with a hot temper and a bit of an attitude. Harry wants to know about his future, but he feels that Ron, Hermione, Lily, and Eddie are keeping something from him; some very deep, dark secrets.
Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter, the characters, or the Harry Potter world. They all belong to the fabulous J.K. Rowling. However, while I do not own their names, the characters and the personality traits of Lily Potter, Eddie Weasley, Daris Malfoy, Christof Nott, as well as Asher Lazard and Robyn Andrews all belong to me.
Chapter 33 – Battle:
Harry, Eddie, Voldemort, and the Death Eaters…everyone just stared at wide-eyed; completely in awe at Lily.
She had chosen Harry; she wanted Voldemort to kill Harry, her future father. Harry's eyes widened and he felt his eyes sting with hot tears. Lily could hear his breath hitch in his throat in confusion and pain. Harry took shaking breaths and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable. He simply did not understand. Why did Lily want him to die?
'What a stupid question,' Harry thought bitterly to himself. 'Why would she ever choose you over Eddie? After all, you did disown her.' He felt as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest and then stomped on several times and he knew that he had no one to blame but himself for it.
Eddie, on the other hand, could not help but feel completely relieved and thrilled over the fact that Lily had chosen him over Harry to live. It was him who had been completely jealous over the fact that Lily had preferred Harry over him in the past couple of months. Now, Lily was choosing him to die, instead of Eddie. At the same time, Eddie could not help but feel terrified and he inwardly panicked at the thought of Voldemort killing Harry because if Harry was killed now, then Lily will never be born. The thought of Lily not existing in his life made him feel numb and cold all over; as though someone had dropped in a frozen lake. His heart was pounding so hard that his ears became numb. 'What was Lily thinking?' he thought inwardly. 'Is she crazy or is she just stupid?' Before he could contemplate anymore, he heard Voldemort's icy cold voice.
"Fine," cackled Voldemort, without thinking and twirling his wand between his long, white, bony fingers. The Death Eaters all chuckled amongst themselves, clearly knowing what Voldemort was going to do and what he was up to. They took the Silent Charm off of Eddie and shoved him towards Lily, who was caught by surprise and Eddie stumbled on top of her. They both fell to the ground, with Eddie on top and his arms still tied around his back.
"Lily?" he gasped in a choked, hoarse whisper. "What were you thinking? Are you bloody crazy? If Voldemort kills Harry, you won't ever be born! You should have chosen me!"
"You need to learn to trust me, Ed," said Lily with a sly grin. She quickly shoved Eddie off of her and skillfully untied him. Their legs shaking, they both stumbled to their feet, standing side by side, desperately clutching on to one another. Lily did not have her wand, but she stood at the ready, looking as though she was ready to fight. As she stood around and looked at Harry, her heart broke at the sight of him. Harry was pale and tears were leaking from his eyes and were streaming down his face. The Death Eaters shoved Harry towards Voldemort. He stood in front of Voldemort's wand with an impassive face, though the tears continued to fall. At the sight of his enemy so crestfallen and weak, Voldemort turned to sneer and taunt Lily and was surprised to see that she was grinning at him.
"What are you smirking at, Potter?" snapped Voldemort. Lily's grin simply widened.
"You can't kill Harry," she said, in an amused whisper; almost in a singsong voice. There was a deadly silence as Voldemort stared at the tiny, blonde girl before him who was looking up at him without a trace of fear in her eyes.
"Say again, Flower, if you dare…"
"Oh, I do dare. You can't kill Harry," said Lily, her voice louder and firmer than before. Everyone's eyes were now on her. "You know, for the darkest wizard of all time, you're quite stupid." Lily was now half laughing, trying to get the words out through her astonishment. Harry looked at her wide-eyed; the tears had ceased. Eddie just stared at her, his jaw almost on the floor. Had she really just called Voldemort stupid?
"What did you say to me?" Voldemort hissed in a mere whisper, so low and so deadly that it sent shivers down Harry and Eddie's spine. Lily was not fazed by it. She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow.
"You can't kill Harry and you were stupid to ever make me choose," explained Lily, grinning like an insane maniac. "If you kill him now, you will never become the powerful wizard that you are today; you need Harry to become as powerful as you are now. Without him…without his future, you can and will be defeated by any witch or wizard. So, it won't matter whether I'm born or not." Everyone continued to stare at Lily as she continued her speech.
"You need the power of Eyeluta to be at the point you are today and unfortunately for you, there have been only three people born with that power in the last five hundred years; Lily Evans Potter, Harry Potter, and me. Lily Evans Potter is dead and if you kill Harry now, I will never be born and the line of Gryffindor will end and the power of Eyeluta will disappear forever," Lily continued to explain, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at the Dark Lord. "You can't have Eyeluta disappearing now can you? You need it. Without it, you are weak…nothing but a common wizard."
Harry was inspired by Lily's speech, but he was also confused by it. In some ways, it did not make sense. If Voldemort was just 'another common wizard' according to Lily, without Eyeluta how come no one just threw a Killing Curse at him? Was it a result of fear? Or maybe Voldemort really was that powerful and Lily was just digging herself into a deeper situation and trying to damage Voldemort's ego.
'Yeah, that was it,' Harry thought to himself dryly. 'That's something Lily Julia Potter would do, insult the most powerful, darkest wizard of all time.' He could hear himself groan out loud at the thought. Harry's thoughts were broken when he heard several of the Death Eaters gasp and turn their heads anxiously at Voldemort.
Eddie's heart was beating to fast that he his breathing grew heavy, as though he were running some kind of marathon. He was staring at Lily completely astonished and impressed all at once. While both Harry and Eddie were feeling a certain kind of proud of Lily for taking the matters into her own hands and outsmarting Voldemort, they knew the Dark Lord would be furious and Lily will, undoubtedly, suffer the consequences. Lily, on the other hand, seemed calm and collected; in fact she looked blood proud of the fact that she had outsmarted and tricked the darkest wizard of all time.
"You're very clever Potter," snarled Voldemort, still twirling his wand in his long, pale fingers. Lily raised an eyebrow at him and grinned, her arms still folded.
"I appreciate the compliment, but honestly it wasn't that hard," she said casually, almost laughing. "Anyone can outsmart an old, stupid, idiotic fool."
The night became so quiet that they could hear the crickets singing in the night. Everyone was deathly silence, staring at Lily in complete surprise and bewilderment. There were even a few Death Eaters who looked as though they admired her. After all, no one ever dared to insult Lord Voldemort before; not even behind his back and this fifteen year old girl was insulting him, calling him a fool, right to his face.
"What did you call me?" asked Voldemort slowly, advancing on her threateningly. Lily hitched her breath in fear and stood her ground. She was about to say something to defend herself when she saw a tall body step protectively in front of her, placing himself between her and Voldemort. Lily's heart seemed to fail when she realized that it was Eddie.
"Don't you come near her," Eddie's voice snapped defensively. Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. She suddenly felt defenseless and she hated feeling like some guy had to protect her, even if it was her best friend. She knew she could take care of herself and she was not going to let Eddie place himself in any more danger than he already was.
"Move, Ed," snarled Lily as she shoved Eddie aside so she could face Voldemort herself. "This is my fight."
"You're fight, Potter?" snapped the Death Eater that was clutching painfully on to Harry. "Well, if that's the case…" he turned and looked directly at Voldemort, "my Master, since we can't exactly kill Harry Potter, why don't we just give him a little dose of pain; to teach our Flower some manners?"
"Brilliant, Draco," said Voldemort, almost gleefully. His snakelike face smirked at Lily, clearly enjoying the fury on Lily's face. Draco Malfoy stepped foward, grabbed Harry by the collar and pinned him against one of the taller headstones. Harry flinched and grunted in pain.
At the sight of pain that flashed across Harry's face, Lily literally saw red, all the rage she had ever felt was about to burst out of her. Eddie gasped, knowing what was going to happen as he could see the fire in her eyes; the power of Eyeluta. Voldemort must have seen it too because before Lily could do anything, Voldemort pointed his wand at her.
"Crucio!"
Lily gasped, and thanks to her fast Seeker and Quidditch reflexes, she was able to grab Eddie's arm and she pulled him to the ground as they ducked the curse. They hit the ground and the pair of them could actually hear the curse shoot over them, but thankfully, it did not touch either of them.
Lily looked up and around and saw that the Death Eaters started pulling out their own wands. Fear coursed through both of them at the thought of actually dueling and battling. Lily, Harry, and Eddie were highly outnumbered and not to mention only fifteen years old, while Death Eaters were fully trained wizards. Eddie, beginning to realize the intensity of the situation, pulled Lily to her feet as the Death Eaters started advancing on them.
"We need our wands!" gasped Lily. Eddie nodded in agreement.
"Pettigrew has them," he answered. With those words, without even thinking, Lily immediately identified the mousy looking man and charged at him, grabbing him around the waist and tackling him to the ground.
"STUPEFY!" shouted Voldemort, shooting hexes at Lily, but missing because she had fallen to the ground with Pettigrew. "STOP HER! STOP HER!"
But it was too late, Lily had pulled a handful of wands out of Pettigrew's pocket and pointing them all at Pettigrew's face, she shouted, "Stupefy!" The power of getting hit with three wands in the face with a Stunning Spell caused the man to be completely knocked unconscious and fell limp. Lily took advantage of his state and jumped to her feet, tossing Eddie his wand and clutching Harry's wand in her other hand. They both pointed their wands at the group of Death Eaters.
"Stupefy!" Lily and Eddie shouted in unison. Some Death Eaters fell to the ground, making a giant hole big enough in their little circle so that Lily and Eddie could escape. They were quick enough so none of the Death Eaters were able to grab them and they sprinted through it. Eddie grabbed Lily's hand and they ran as fast as they could away from Voldemort and his supporters, jumping over tombstones and dodging curses, and out towards the woods on the outskirts of the town of Little Hangleton. To their dismay it was almost as deep and black as the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts but they continued to run deeper and faster until they no longer heard footsteps behind them. They stopped and Eddie had to lean against one of the trees as Lily put her hands on her knees, bending over, and both were gasping for much needed breaths. Lily could feel sweat coming down her forehead and she was not sure if it was from running or from her encounter with Voldemort.
"We have to go back!" Lily gasped, after several moments of trying to catch her breath. Eddie's eyes widened at her.
"Lily, I don't know what's going on in your mind tonight," shouted Eddie incredulously, "but are you bloody crazy?"
"We have to!" said Lily frantically. "What about Harry? I can't just leave him!"
"Lily, you need to calm down," said Eddie as he put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face. "Harry will be perfectly safe."
"But-"
"You said it yourself; Voldemort needs him to gain the power he has now. He won't hurt a hair on Harry's head realizing that information;, especially if there is something in it for him," Eddie said very firm and reassuring in his speech, but it did nothing to calm or console Lily.
"You think that information will stop Voldemort and any of those other Death Eaters from torturing him?" shouted Lily, brushing Eddie's hands off of her roughly. "You don't understand him, Ed. He has no soul…he will show Harry no mercy. Voldemort may not kill Harry, but that does not mean that they won't hurt him. I won't leave him behind to endure that on his own…"
"I'm surprised you're so anxious to get Harry back, especially when you left Sirius behind as well," said Eddie uncertainly. Lily blinked at his words and stared at Eddie with impassive eyes, as though not daring to believe what he said.
"What did you say?"
"Erm…Sirius is there too…in the dungeon," said Eddie slowly, as though afraid Lily might explain at any moment. "I was with him before they took me out and put the Silent Charm on me. Lily…didn't you know he was there?"
"Those slimy, revolting, disgusting, imbecilic, cowardly, stupid, moronic, idiotic Death Eaters have both Harry and Sirius hostage?" roared Lily, growing red with rage and her wand was clenched tightly in her fist; sparks were beginning to shoot out of it. Eddie was thankful that it was a rhetorical question because he was almost afraid to answer by looking at Lily's enraged face and the fire blazing in her emerald green eyes.
"Lily…"
"THAT'S IT!" bellowed Lily. With that, she began storming towards the cemetery. Panicked, Eddie grabbed a hold of her arm.
"Lily," he said pleadingly, "I know you want to blow Voldemort and his slimy followers into smithereens, but don't you think we should get help or reinforcements? I mean, we're really not equipped to deal with this situation ourselves." Lily stared at him for a minute. There was anger blazing in her eyes, but Eddie flinched when he also saw fear in them too; it was fear for Harry and Sirius.
"There's no time, Eddie," she said desperately. "Yes, Voldemort knows he can't kill Harry, but he could torture him. And that doesn't mean that he won't kill Sirius. Don't you see? Harry was the only way to lure me to Voldemort and now knowing he can't harm Harry, he's going to go straight for Sirius. I can't just let him die…especially after all Sirius did for me. Ed, he's practically my father!"
Eddie stared at her for a minute, sighed, and ran a hand through his bushy, red locks. He knew there was no turning back and it was a result of Lily's sprit. As much as he loved that spirit, he hated how she was so brave, always willing to risk her life to save those she loved.
'It must flow in the Potter bloodline,' he thought to himself bitterly. He sighed again and nodded hesitantly.
"You're right Lils," whispered Eddie. "I know you're right. I just bloody hate when you're right about this kind of thing." Lily gave a weak smile and she started towards the graveyard, but Eddie grabbed a hold of her arm again.
"I just want you to know that you're not going to do this alone."
"What do you mean?" asked Lily softly.
"I'm going with you," said Eddie firmly.
"Oh bloody hell, Eddie, no," groaned Lily, burying her face in her hands. "You can't help me. You need to go back to Hogwarts and get help, and-"
"And leave you all alone with Voldemort and a bunch of Death Eaters…" said Eddie slowly, frowning. "Lily, there's no chance of that happening."
"But Ed-"
"There's no 'but,' Lily. What about our oath? 'I promise to protect her when she is in danger?' I'm not breaking that oath! We're both in danger so therefore, we both need to protect each other." Eddie's tone told Lily that there was no use arguing with him. "Besides, I can't get back to Hogwarts without Apparating anyway and I don't know how to Apparate or make a Portkey, so you're stuck with me no matter what." Lily could not help but chuckle and nod. Eddie sighed and put his hands in the pocket of his robes, looking embarrassed.
"You know, Lils, you scared me," said Eddie.
"I scared you? How?"
"When you chose Harry…you know…when you told Voldemort to kill Harry. I realized that if Harry died right now, then you'd have been born…and it would have happened if you hadn't reminded him of Eyeluta," said Eddie and in the lack of light, Lily thought he was almost blushing.
"Honestly, Ed, would it matter if I was born or not?" asked Lily bitterly. "If Voldemort had killed Harry tonight, then maybe he would never have to go through the pain that he does go through in his future, and I wouldn't have to feel the pain of being abandoned by my mother and disowned by my father…it honestly wouldn't matter…"
"It would matter to me," whispered Eddie, his voice hoarse as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're the most important person in the world to me, Lily." Lily smiled at him and Eddie felt like he wanted to fly, despite their bleak situation. He returned her smile and with a casual shrug, suggested that they return to the graveyard and he started in the direction but Lily stopped him.
"Eddie?"
"What?"
"I…thanks…"
"For what?"
"Just for being you," said Lily smiling. With that, they both nodded and dashed towards the cemetery.
"Take Potter to the dungeons, Draco" snarled Voldemort, red fiery sparks eliminating from his wand. "I'll find those two Gryffindor brats! They couldn't have gone far…"
"Yes, my Master," said Draco as he grabbed Harry by the scruff of the neck and roughly dragged him to the basement of the old Riddle House. When they reached one of the cell doors, Malfoy opened the door, grabbed Harry by his hair and threw him in, causing him to roughly hit against the wall, banging his head and stumbling to the ground. Draco laughed evilly as he closed the cell door. Harry let out another grunt of pain as he hit the floor and the room began to spin. He was in so much pain that he almost did not hear Draco's cold laugh stop abruptly. Harry looked up wide-eyed and saw a tall figure, also within the cell, holding Draco by his collar through the bars.
"Don't you ever touch him like that again," the tall figure snarled; it was the voice of a man that sounded remarkably familiar to Harry. But, all he could make out was Draco's whimpering. Harry saw him give weak nod and the man let go of him and Draco dashed off in a hurry.
"Are you okay, Harry?" asked the man. Harry looked up into the eyes of his godfather.
"Sirius?"
"Yeah, Harry," he whispered, kneeling down beside Harry and stroking his hair. "Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay," whispered Harry as he felt his eyes begin to well up in tears. "Sirius, V-Voldemort just told me everything that happened…"
"Everything?" asked Sirius as he suddenly stopped stroking his hair in a comforting manner. Harry nodded, tears now streaming down his face.
"You were right, Sirius," cried Harry, almost angrily, as though angry and frustrated with himself. "I am a traitor! I turn out to be nothing but a bloody traitor! I betrayed all of you! I'm so sorry, Sirius, I'm so sorry!"
Harry stood up on to his feet and felt his legs begin to shake. But, he had to get away from Sirius and the shame that he had brought everyone, especially Sirius, Lily, Ron, and Hermione. In order to support his wobbling and shaking form, Harry leaned against the wall and sobbed angrily to himself.
Sirius looked at his best friend's son; his godson and his heart went out to him. Despite everything, Sirius knew that he loved Harry and always would. So, without even thinking, he strode towards the sobbing boy and pulled him into a tight and fierce embrace. Harry leaned into the embrace and sobbed into Sirius's robes as his godfather hugged him and rocked him as though he were a baby.
"I'm sorry, Sirius," Harry choked through his sobs. "I hate myself. How could I…?"
"Harry, don't you dare say something like that," whispered Sirius fiercely, pulling his godson out of the embrace and holding him by his shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. "And don't you dare apologize. You're still fifteen years old and you didn't do any of…that yet. In fact, if anyone should be apologizing, it's me."
"Why…?"
"I shouldn't have called you a traitor in the hospital wing, because you aren't one. You haven't made any of those decisions yet and I should never have blamed you for something that you had not done," whispered Sirius whispered reassuringly.
After a moments silence, Sirius looked around and remembered that Lily and Eddie had also been captured but he had yet to see them and he could not help but wonder of where they were.
"Where are Lily and Eddie?" Sirius asked, suddenly feeling a sense of urgency. Harry sighed and looked at him.
"Oh Sirius…Lily's bloody insane," mumbled Harry, which surprisingly made Sirius laugh. "Voldemort made Lily choose between me and Eddie and…" Harry explained all about how Lily had outsmarted Voldemort and how she and Eddie managed to escape and run off.
"Lily Flower outsmarted Voldemort," said Sirius in an amused tone. "That's my girl!" Harry took a shaking breath and looked down at the floor. Sirius noticed Harry's disappointment in himself; how Sirius had so much pride for Lily and such an inner hatred for him. Sirius reached over and comforted Harry by patting his back gently.
"You were famous for the same thing, Harry," whispered Sirius. "She must have gotten her brains from her father."
"No, she didn't get them from me" snapped Harry bitterly. Sirius knew that Harry's guilt was kicking in and his infamous temper was beginning to rise. He knew it would be best to allow the boy to vent rather than to try to calm him. "If I had brains, I would have found ways to protect my friends and daughter without having to hurt everyone and bring the man who killed my parents to his ultimate power."
Sirius did not say anything; he could not say anything because deep down he knew, in a strange way, that Harry was right. Harry could have taken the right way instead of the easy way out, but that was all in the past (or rather, Harry's future). It truly did not matter because, right now, his godson needed support at the moment, not a lecture about his future life choices. There was an extremely long pause as they two just sat there in a pregnant silence.
"Lily deserves a better father than me," Harry suddenly whispered fiercely. But before Sirius could say anything and offer Harry some small words of comfort, the cell door was opened and a Death Eater had his wand pointed at both Harry and Sirius. Sirius slowly stood up, bringing Harry with him and supporting his balance before placing himself protectively in front of his godson. Sirius knew that he was not going to let Voldemort or anyone in his inner circle touch him. He was not going to lose Harry and Lily in the same night.
The Death Eater put Sirius in a full body bind when he noticed his fierce protection of Harry and before anything could be said or done, Sirius fell to the floor like a plank of wood. Startled, Harry stared at Sirius and then back at the Death Eater. They were slowly reaching for him as another Death Eater kept his wand on Harry, to make sure that he did not interfere with them grabbing hold of Sirius and dragging him out of the dungeon.
Harry felt himself begin to inwardly panic. It was rising rapidly in his chest and he knew that Sirius could possibly be killed. He knew that since Voldemort could not toh him, that he was going to use Sirius as bait to try and capture Lily. These thoughts began to boil inside of him and he was sure they were bubbling. He had not felt this way in a very long time; not since he was a boy…long before he knew he was a wizard.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a giant explosion and the two Death Eaters were knocked off of their feet and they flew against the opposite wall of the cell with a sickening crunch that caused Harry to flinch and landed on the stone floor with a heavy thud. The Body Bind Curse was taken off of Sirius, due to the fact that the owner of the wand, who had placed that curse on him, was knocked unconscious.
"What the bloody hell happened?" asked Harry, looking around the dungeon for their savior who had caused the explosion.
"You must have panicked and used accidental magic," explained Sirius as he got to his feet. "Many grown wizards and witches use it when their placed under pressure and do not know how to use wandless magic." At that moment both of them could hear the footsteps of a great number of Death Eaters rushing into the dungeon; they, no doubt heard the explosion that Harry caused and were coming to check on the source of the noise. Harry turned and looked at Sirius anxiously.
"Harry, get out of here," whispered Sirius, taking the wand of one of the unconscious Death Eaters.
"But, what about you?" asked Harry, following Sirius's actions by also taking the other Death Eater's wand, ready to fight beside his godfather.
"Just run and find Lily and Eddie! I'll hold them off!" Sirius said more loudly and more urgently. The footsteps of the Death Eaters were getting louder and their voices could now be heard.
"But, Sirius-"
"Go!" hissed Sirius as he roughly grabbed a hold of his godson's forearm and shoved him out of the cell. "Lily and Eddie are going to need you. NOW GO!" A the sound of Lily's name, Harry dashed out of the cell and quickly hid in a dark corner of the dungeons as the Death Eaters came storming down, passing him and advancing on Sirius. Harry, against all of his instinct and better judgment, took one more look at Sirius before slipping away up the stairs, unnoticed. This may have been because Sirius and Lucius were now shouting; Lucius was determined to know where Harry had gone. Their voices were echoing so it was almost impossible for Harry to decipher what was being said. As he came towards the door of the dungeon, he heard Sirius scream loudly. Gasping, Harry whipped around to see a burst of green light die down deep within the dungeons, where their cell had been.
Harry felt like someone hit him hard in the pit of his stomach; tears welled up in his eyes at the very thought as he heard deadly silence from within the dungeon. There was no questioning it; Sirius was dead. He sacrificed himself so that Harry could find Lily and Eddie and the three of them could escape. Sirius Black died strong backed and proud, just like James Potter, his best friend…just like he wanted to.
More screams could be heard from the graveyard and his concerns immediately went towards the other two fifteen year olds who were out there somewhere. Harry gave one last silent sob and on shaking legs, knees, and feet, he ran out of the dungeon to find Lily and Eddie and get the bloody hell out of there.
That is when Harry saw him. It was the exact person…the only person that he did not want to see at the precise moment. It was the same person who help caused to lose his parents at such a young age…one of the reasons why he never knew them. It was the person that betrayed everyone he loved, including Sirius. As a result of this man's actions, Sirius would spend a large portion of his life in the cells of Azkaban; a place he did not deserve to be. And to make the situation even worse and Harry even angrier, this man had Lily and Eddie cornered at wandpoint. They were defenseless.
This man was Peter 'Wormtail' Pettigrew.
Lily and Eddie were crouched down behind one of the larger tombstones, looking at Voldemort and a good number of Death Eaters. They were standing in the same place where Voldemort had resurrected many years before. They were silent and were looking as though they were waiting for something. This made Lily very curious and slightly concerned.
'Why would a group of Death Eaters and Voldemort be standing around doing nothing when the youngest heir of Gryffindor was running amok unprotected?' Lily thought smartly to herself. Then, it hit her. They were waiting for her to return when she found out they had Sirius captured too.
"Why are they just standing there?" whispered Eddie, voicing her concerns.
"They're waiting for me," answered Lily automatically, not taking her eyes off of the scene before her.
"Why?" asked Eddie, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't they be looking for us?"
"Well think about it Einstein," said Lily impatiently. "They know that I'm going to find out they have Sirius and they know that I'll come after him when I do find out. I mean," her voice softened immensely, "they were right, weren't they?"
"I suppose…"
"C'mon," whispered Lily fiercely, clutching both her wand and Harry's wand. "Let's get Sirius and Harry and get the hell out of here." Eddie was just about to nod in agreement when:
"That's not likely, Potter" came a squeaky-like voice from behind the two of them. Lily and Eddie both gasped and whipped around and saw a man standing behind them; his wand pointed directly at them. The man was short; shorter than Eddie by about a foot and he was bald and overweight with small watery eyes; he strongly resembled a mouse. There was no mistaking it; it was the coward who had betrayed Lily's grandparents, Peter Pettigrew.
"Well, hello little Lily," said Peter, grinning evilly. His wand was pointed at Lily's face and was trembling uncontrollably and she could not tell if the shaking was from excitement or fear.
"Weasley, hand me your wand or I'll kill her," Pettigrew said in a singsong voice, inching the wand closer to Lily's face. Eddie noticed that horrified look on her face, her eyes growing wide with fear. He gulped and reluctantly gave Pettigrew his wand.
"Good boy!" Pettigrew exclaimed proudly, taking it and pocketing it. He slowly moved the wand from Lily's face and pointed it at Eddie. "Now, give me both of those wands, Potter or I'll kill him." Lily knew this was coming and did not need to be told twice as she handed Wormtail the wands.
"Good girl! You two are such obedient children," he said condescendingly as he clutched Lily's wand in one hand and his own wand in the other. Both wands were pointing at one of the teenagers.
"Now, I think we'll take care of little Miss Potter first," Pettigrew sneered evilly. "My Master will be most pleased when he finds out that I brought him the one prophesized to destroy him. But first, let's have a little fun, yeah? Cruc-"
Lily panicked and had already moved her hands up to take off her glasses so she could perform Eyeluta in order to protect herself and Eddie, but;
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Wormtail soared into the air, screaming for help from Voldemort and his fellow Death Eaters. Lily in her confusion looked ahead and saw Harry standing in the distance with his wand pointed at Pettigrew. There was a fire blazing in his emerald eyes as he had his wand pointed at treacherous bastard. Harry, the fire still swarming in his eyes, pulled his wand away and Pettigrew fell to the floor with a sickening crack, making both Lily and Eddie flinch. He was unconscious and did not even groan or stir. Lily and Eddie stared at him for a moment before Harry spoke to them.
"Are you two alright?" asked Harry, his voice sounding incredibly shaky and croaky. Eddie just nodded as he went towards Pettigrew to retrieve their wands. But Lily knew something was wrong with Harry and she did not move; but just stared at him with inquisitive eyes. Harry's face was tear-streaked and his eyes were red and puffy, and he looked completely shaken from head to toe.
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Lily, not taking his eyes off her future father. It was more of a statement than a question. A lump had quickly grown in his throat and his eyes began to burn again.
"Sirius…" it was the only word Harry could manage without allowing the lump in his throat to take over and the tears to fall. Lily's eyes widened at the mention of Sirius's name but she kept her composure.
"What's wrong with him, Harry?" asked Lily, her own voice also shaking. "What happened?"
"He's dead…"
"What?" Lily squealed in a tight, hoarse voice. Her eyes glazed over and her face became sickly pale. She looked as though she was about to cry but no tears formed in her eyes; because she never cried. But Lily did not need tears to demonstrate the agony, anger, sadness, and that she was feeling. Her bright green eyes had absolutely no sparkle; they were so pale that they looked almost a grayish color. Even her body lost control; she lost her balance and fell to her knees, hugging herself and rocking back and forth. Neither Harry nor Eddie had ever seen her look so helpless; so defenseless. This was not the Lily Eddie or Harry knew. The normal Lily would lose her temper and hurt someone, but she did not do anything of the sort. She was like a little girl.
That is when it hit everyone. Lily was just a little girl. She was just a fifteen year old girl who has been through so much in her life that she needed the attitude and temper that she had in order to survive everything she has been through. But, despite the tough exterior she presented, inside she was just a scared little girl who needed comfort and a friend.
Eddie, seeing the state that she was in, was determined to be the friend that she needed and walked over, knelt down and embraced his best friend tightly. Lily was just so shocked and filled with grief she did not know what to do except lean into his embrace.
Harry's heart went out to Lily. He had never seen her like this and knew that this had truly broken her heart; had truly broken her down. In a way, he understood how she felt for Harry had just lost his godfather; the only male presence in his life…the closest person that he ever had as a father. Harry knew that felt the same way because of Harry's choices, Sirius had become her father. They both needed each other's presence.
Tears began to sting Harry's eyes again and just as he was about to take a step forward, to comfort his daughter, something caught him around the neck and threw him roughly against a tombstone, holding him by the neck. Harry flinched in pain and looked into the cold gray eyes of Draco Malfoy. Harry was desperately trying to gulp for air; his saliva caught in his mouth and he could only take small breaths for much needed air. Malfoy was literally choking him to death.
Lily jumped to her feet, bringing Eddie up with her. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Voldemort also came striding forward with his robes billowing behind him. He was snarling and hissing at Lily and wasted absolutely no time in pointing his wand straight at her. Lily gasped and took stumbled backwards, clutching on to Eddie's arm. She knew that Voldemort was to make her pay for making a fool out of him and insulting him.
"CRUCIO!" bellowed Voldemort, shooting the Unforgivable Curse at Lily.
"No!" shouted Eddie desperately as he stepped in front of Lily, taking the curse for himself.
Lily watched in horror as her best friend twitched and screamed in mortal agony, rolling on the floor, his hands gripping his hair tightly from the pain.
"Stop it!" pleaded Lily, "stop it!"
But Voldemort just threw his head back and laughed at Lily's plea as he continued to severely torture Eddie. Lily groaned with anger and, out of desperation, charged at Voldemort, tackling him to the floor so that the curse was taken off Eddie. Voldemort shouted and literally kicked Lily off of him. Lily rolled on the ground until she was a safe distance from the Dark Lord and she backed off, standing up slowly. In horror, she looked for Harry who was still being strangled by Malfoy and then her eyes landed on Eddie, who was unconscious from being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. To be honest, no one was sure he was even alive.
Lily's body was shaking with fury; trembling with rage. Her future father was being strangled before her eyes and it was a question whether Eddie was even alive. She slowly walked forward towards Voldemort with her fists clenched. It was obvious that she could not take it anymore; she lost so many people in her life; her mother, her father, her second-father, her future stepmother, and now if she did not do something now, she was going to lose her best friend. There was even a chance that Malfoy would ignore Voldemort's orders and strangle Harry to death. Lily was not going to let that happen if she could prevent it. There just had to be a way to save herself, Harry, and Eddie. She turned towards Malfoy and narrowed her eyes.
"You let Harry go," she snarled at Malfoy, almost deathly as she pointed her wand at him. Malfoy was not in the least bit intimidated by Lily's demand because his grip on Harry's throat only tightened.
"Make me, Potter!" Malfoy retorted. Harry glanced pleadingly at Lily, and to his immense surprise, she was grinning; Lily was grinning at Draco Malfoy and Harry's eyes could not help but widened at her. She looked so calm, even though she was facing Voldemort, Death Eaters, and their lives were on the line.
Lily, who was still grinning, simply put her wand in her pocket and quietly pulled her glasses off of her face, placing them in her pocket along with her wand. The grin never really leaving her face, Lily raised her arms and closed her eyes as she looked up at the sky. Harry had no idea what was going on, but apparently, the Death Eaters did, because they started panicking.
"She isn't-"
"I think she is-"
"RUN!"
It was too late. Lily had now opened her eyes, still looking at the sky and Harry nearly hasped at the sight of her. A green light was shining in her eyes and she lowered her head. Harry almost screamed at the look in her eyes. Her eyes were brightly glowing, like a green fire, a fire of anger. She had a gentle wind blowing around her, whipping her hair and robes about as though she was some kind of ghost or angel. Lily looked directly at Draco Malfoy and muttered something under her breath. When she did, a bright green light busted out of her eyes and aimed straight at Malfoy. The light hit Malfoy directly in the chest, as though he were hit with some kind of club and he fell to the ground unconscious, letting go of Harry in the process.
Harry fell to the ground and gulped down much needed air, as he clutched his throat, which he knew was now swollen and red. When he looked up at Lily, he knew that she had performed the Gryffindor power of Eyeluta. Harry knew that it would be powerful, but he had not imagined it to be frightening, almost exotic. He could almost see the magic and the power soaring through her veins and skin. It was truly magical.
Harry looked at Lily in amazement and horror as she strode forward and stood in between Eddie's unconscious body and Voldemort, as though protecting him. Her eyes were still glowing with that green light…that fire. Harry got to his feet and wobbled over to Lily and stood beside her. He could feel the wind blowing around them and he found it to be warm and comforting.
"Impressive, Potter," said Voldemort, narrowing his eyes at her. Lily continued to stare at Voldemort and the fire just increased in her eyes. "I think you should continue your skills and finish this off with a duel…"
"A duel?"
"Yes, Lily Potter, a duel" snarled Voldemort, "If you kill me, my Death Eaters wil let everyone go. If kill you, but I send Harry back to the future, only under the influence of Voldemort and I will allow Weasley to live as long as he joins my ranks."
Harry was appalled at Voldemort's request, but looked nervously at Lily. Lily looked at the Dark Lord with narrowed eyes and thought for a minute before looking at Voldemort and shaking her head vigorously.
"Absolutely not…no!"
"No, Potter?"
"I would never put Eddie or Harry under the influence of a piece of scum like you!" snapped Lily, clenching her wand tightly in her fist. Harry put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from doing or saying anything stupid. But, it was too late because Lily had already raised her wand in defense.
"Stupefy!" she shouted. Voldemort lazily blocked her curse and then raised his own wand at Lily.
"Kilato!"
The spell hit Lily straight in the chest and was thrown backwards into a tombstone, her arm cracking loudly and obviously broken in more than one spot.
"Stupefy!" shouted Harry, pointing his wand at Voldemort. Voldemort also easily blocked his spell and put Harry under the Body Bind Curse before slowly walking towards Lily. For once, Lily did not have the energy to fight back; she was too busy moaning at the agonizing pains in her arm. Looking up into Voldemort's fierce, fiery blood red eyes, she knew that she was too weak to perform Eyeluta and her wand had gotten away from her when she was thrown into the tombstone. Suddenly, knowing that Harry was in a Body Bind Cure, Eddie was unconscious, and Sirius was dead, she felt totally defenseless and unprotected. Lily also knew that Voldemort would take advantage of that.
"In what world could someone like you destroy me?" Voldemort asked grinning evilly. "It is time to meet your end, Lily Potter."
"You will be defeated, Tom Riddle," whispered Lily, looking up at him defiantly in the eyes. "Maybe not by me, but good will always prevail over evil."
"That is where you're wrong, Flower. Good-bye, Lily Potter." Lily closed her eyes as though in pain, clutching on to her arm; waiting for the sirens of death to come soaring at her. "Avada Ked-"
But death never came. Lily opened her eyes and saw that one of the masked Death Eaters had grabbed Voldemort's arm and targeted the wand somewhere far from Lily; trying to get the wand from his clutches. The other Death Eaters just looked on at the scene astonished.
Lily did not know why nor did she understand, but that Death Eater had just saved her life.
A note from the Jitterbelle. In my opinion, this definitely was not one of my better chapters because I was suffering from writer's block when I wrote the first version and I could not do much to change it without drastically changing the plot, which is something I did not want to do. But it could have been worse I suppose. Please enjoy and please don't forget to review. I greatly appreciate it.
Coming in Chapter 34 – Harry encounters several confrontations…