Thrice Defied

Chapter : Last Defiance

Even when it's dark outside, and all hope is believed lost, if you look up... you can still see the stars...

- Anonymous

Lily Evans-Potter smiled happily as she stared down at the sink into the soapy water. She scrubbed at a dark blue dish, separated into three different little sections. Drifting up with the steam from the scalding water was the smell of wildflowers and baby food. Laughing to herself, she rinsed the dish, pulled the stopper from the sink, and set the dish to dry. She wiped off her hands and walked briskly into the living room and up the stairs to the nursery.

It was a cloud of light blue, with little yellow moons and stars. To her left there was a changing table and a dresser, in front of her was a rocker with a blanket, and to her right, a crib. And in the crib, was a little boy, one year old, holding the oak bars on the side with his tiny little hands. He looked up at his mother with sleepy green eyes and blinked, looking impossibly cute. He held up his arms to her a made a little whimpering noise.

"Mummy..."He pouted, looking up at her. She smiled at him and strode over, stepping around some plastic blocks and a little cardboard book. He stared at her, transfixed, unblinking, in the adoring way that children often look upon their mother's when they're very small. When Lily put her arms down into the crib to pick him up, he grabbed onto the scarlet fabric of her robes. Lily rose him to her shoulder, breathing in the sweet smell that only babies possess. The baby sighed deeply and rested his head in the crook of his mother's neck.

"Harry, you're so adorable..." Lily murmured to the baby, and took him downstairs, glancing at the calendar as she passed. It was October the 31st, and James was due to arrive home at noon, which was about four hours from then.

Lily set him in the high chair and busied about getting his meal, giving him his tippy cup full of apple juice to placate him until his breakfast was finished. The task of feeding him took two hours in itself, for Harry was enthralled with the muggle television set, and often refused to turn his head for his food.

He was extremely messy, for Lily had terrible aim when trying to feed babies backwards, so she drew him a bath. After he was washed, Lily sat on the toilet seat, happily watching her son splash the water in his little bath tub. She took a bit of shampoo and lathered it up in her hands until it was all bubbles. Putting her hands flat, she blew the bubbles at him. He shrieked shrilly and giggled, smacking his hands on the water and trying to put the bubbles in his mouth.

Lily wrapped him in a fleecy white towel, and took him upstairs, laying him down on his changing table. He stared up at the mobile above his head while Lily put on his diaper and a soft, baby blue onesie. Closing his eyes, he yawned. Lily picked him up, and he lay still in his mother's arms. Lily sat with him in the rocker, watching his eyes flutter as he fell asleep. She continued to rock after he fell asleep, and soon slumbered herself.

"Lily?" James called, shutting the door to the house behind him, pulling off his robes. He hung them on a rack by the front door and walked through the house. The living room was decorated much like the Gryffindor Common Room; cozy, warm, and happy. Walking through the kitchen and dining room, the up the stairs and through their bedroom, he sat heavily on their bed, wondering. How could she have done it all? Everything was neat and tidy, dinner was fixed, the laundry was done, the fire was tended to, and the baby was fed, bathed and apparently happy, due to the fact that he couldn't be heard crying.

'She's so amazing...' James thought to himself, now opening the door to Harry's room, to check that she was there. And she was, sitting on the floor cross-legged in her housework robes, folding Harry's laundry. The only problem was that whenever Lily got more than five of his things folded neatly and stacked, Harry stood up, toddled over, unfolded everything, scattered them, and sat back down on the floor, cooing and smiling and his mom.

Lily threw her head back and laughed, a light, tinkling sound, like bells. Harry dropped his pacifier and began to clap, his smile widening, showing two pearly teeth on the top and two more on the bottom. Lily, still laughing, began to clap with him.

"Yay, Harry, yay!" She said cheerily, laughing. James began to clap, too, grinning.

"Da da da da da da da!" Harry shrieked repetitively, running to his father and snatching at his robes, gazing at him in the adoring way that small children often do, before they realize that their fathers are human like everyone else.

"Da da da da!" Harry cried, lifting his arms high. James scooped him up, swinging him playfully. Lily stood up and straightened her robes.

"Oh, my little boy!" James said, hugging him close. Lily smirked playfully at him.

"And what about me?" Lily said quietly, faking hurt, and she began to pout at him.

"No..." James moaned, and Harry took of his glasses, swinging his arms vigorously.

"Not the face! Don't tempt me!" James cried, flailing his free arm at her as she moved closer. Harry shrieked happily. James couldn' resist, though, and he pulled her in close for a kiss. Harry, in between, looked up and giggled, snuggling in close to his mother's chest.

After putting Harry to bed at around 8 o'clock, James and Lily went to bed themselves. They slept peacefully, until they were awaken by a loud cry from Harry at around eleven. The baby was shrieking, long and loudly, pausing only to draw breath.

"Harry?" Lily ran down the hall, closely followed by James. Her long white nightgown swept the floor and billowed out around her as she swept into Harry's room and to the crib. The baby was laying on his back, thrashing about, sobbing and crying and screaming. She scooped him up and James stood behind her, his arm about her shoulders.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Lily cooed, holding the child close. He stopped thrashing about but continued sobbing violently. He clutched at his mother's bare shoulders and tried to pull her even closer. They went downstairs, both taking turns walking the baby for an hour, but he wouldn't stop crying.

"James, he hasn't cried like this before," Lily said, her voice quavering. "If he doesn't stop soon, I'm taking him to Dumbledore." Lily took the baby back for her turn of walking him, clutching him close, tears filling her eyes but refusing to spill.

"Lily..." James whispered, touching her bare arm, "You know we can't leave."

"I don't care." Lily murmured, stopping across from him, staring him in the eye. "Our baby is sick... Oh, James, I'm scared." James moved towards her to hug her, but a loud bang came from where the front door stood situated. It was followed by another and Lily spun around, fear in her eyes, squeezing the baby closer as he began to thrash about. Then he began to talk, his eyes staring into his mother's beautiful face.

"Bad man, mumma. Bad man." He said through tears, tensing. Lily spun to face her husband.

"I know you're in there, Mr. and Mrs. Potter!" Said a mocking voice from behind the door. "Open up!"

The door was blown off it's hinges with an earsplitting crack, and a tall man stepped in, pure white, robed in black, his red eyes gleaming with malice. He eyed the family, bemused. Lily and James both pulled out their wands, staring at Voldemort, eyes full of hate.

"You think you can defeat me? No one can. I am all knowing... and all powerful." Voldemort said, laughing. Lily raised her head defiantly. James followed suit, and even Harry stared at the intruder. Before any of them could react, Voldemort shot a spell at them, and Lily began to bleed from a large cut on her face. There was one on her arm, and one across her chest. James was hit also, right by the eye and twice across his chest.

"Go, Lily! Go, run! I'll hold him off!" James whispered to her, facing her, so Voldemort couldn't hear. He pulled her close, staring into her eyes.

"James... I love you..." She whispered, her eyes threatening to spill over with tears.

"I'll see you in a minute..." James kissed her fiercely and pushed her away, towards the stairs.

"Run!" He cried, and Lily did run, up the stairs and into Harry's nursery, shutting the door behind her. She fell to her knees on the floor, listening. All she heard was talking, and then...

"I'll never let you get to them," James shot angrily as he and Voldemort circled the living room. The fire crackled angrily, and Voldemort eyed James maliciously.

"We'll see about that!" Voldemort said, raising his wand, but James was faster. A jet of something silver grazed Voldemort's white face, and a two inch long cut that looked to be an inch deep began to spill blood immediately. He put his hand to his face, looked at it, and stared at James.

"Over my dead body." James said quietly.

"That can be arranged!" Voldemort cried, and James' glasses exploded into his very eyes. He screamed and fell to the floor, and heard the heavy footsteps of Voldemort come closer and closer.

"You fought bravely..." Voldemort muttered. James took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort cried. James felt a rushing around him, and fell into nothing.

"James!" Lily screamed. He'd just been... he was... he couldn't....

"James..."Lily collapsed to the floor, sobbing. The door burst open, and Lily looked straight into Voldemort's eyes, on her knees, clutching her baby.

"Now you'll die... just like your husband...yes, he fought bravely, you silly little girl..." Voldemort cackled and raised his wand. Lily stood up in yet another sign of defiance.

'Please...' Lily thought sadly, 'What strength and love I have have in me, let it pass to my baby. Let him live, let him be spared...' A rush of green light filled Lily's thoughts and ears and the air swirled around her.

"I love you, Harry..." Lily whispered, and fell to the floor. Harry sat up, staring at his mother's empty face.

"Mummy?" He cried. "Mummy!" Looking at Voldemort, Harry saw a green light coming towards him, too. He felt a sharp pain on his forehead and began to cry. The house collapsed from underneath them, and Harry fell on his back in a pile of wood.

"Mumma! Da da da da!" He cried, seeing his dad, crawling over the rubble to him. He saw his mother right next to him, and when the house had collapsed, Lily had fallen about a half a foot from her husband, on her front, her arm draped over his chest and her face towards James', who was frozen towards the night sky. Harry grabbed a lock of his mother's beautiful auburn hair. His other hand snaked around and tugged at his father's hair.

"Mumma, da da!" Harry wailed. He crawled over his mother's arm and laid between his mom and dad. The little baby boy fell asleep between his parent's bodies, just as it began to rain.

Thus begins the story of the boy who lived.

THE END