A/N: Chapter Two (yay!) That's all I really have to say. I assume that if you've gotten this far, you don't hate this. So, I feel perfectly justified in saying, "Enjoy!" And, as always, review!
Disclaimer: I still don't own them. Seriously, I'm not that good on the stock market.
"Mummy!" Harry Potter exclaimed triumphantly as he handed Lily Potter a very battered stuffed dog named Woofie. It blinked up at her and emitted a feeble whimper.
"Must renew the charm on that dog," Lily muttered in a distracted way. "Yes, Harry, Mummy's here. What's that? Is that Woofie you've got there? Yes, darling, there he is. For me? Why, thank you for the lovely present, Harry." Lily absently took the dog from her son, who immediately began to whine."Woofie! Woofie! Gimme!" Harry wailed, reaching for his toy. Suddenly, the door slammed open and James Potter came striding in."I'm home!" he said happily, though quite unnecessarily. Lily, who had looked up with terror at the noise, relaxed. She dropped her worried, preoccupied air, and in fact the whole room seemed to stop holding its breath. At the sight of his father, Harry stopped crying abruptly, leftover tears still swimming in his green eyes. James reached for his son, and tossed him in the air. Harry screamed with laughter. James gave him a quick hug, and set him back down on the floor. Harry sat there contentedly, watching his parents as though he could look at them all day.
"You're late!" Lily accused, though the enormous smile on her face contradicted her angry tone.
"Sorry, Lily. Dumbledore just wanted to talk to me for a bit--no, nothing new," James added quickly as he saw her face tighten. "He just wanted to ask after the Fidelius Charm, and tell me that he thought the Death Eaters were still on our trail. That bit of information came as quite a surprise to me, of course. I was certain that if we just ignored them, they'd go away. The nasty little buggers don't give up that easily, it seems. Nothing we can't handle, of course." James finished airily, giving Lily the same cocky grin she remembered so well from their days at school. She knew better now than to take it seriously.
"Yes, that's true" she added evenly, her face straight. "There's nothing that James Potter, Hogwarts genius and 'Defense against the Dark Arts' prodigy can't handle."
"Exactly," James agreed, grinning. "Though, you aren't absolute rubbish, either. No match for me (obviously), but still not bad. Er...I'll make us a cup of tea, shall I?" James added hastily as he noticed Lily attempting to glare at him while trying not to laugh. James was prepared to beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen if things got nasty. In the silence, James's grin faded as he paid proper attention to the noises that his subconscious told him had been going on for some time. Crashing...screaming. Lily glanced up fearfully. James sprang up and ran to the window, wand in hand.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off--" Lily grabbed Harry up off the floor. He'd started wailing again, confused by the noise and the people panicking around him. Lily stood, teetering indecisively at the edge of the hall, looking back at James. He motioned wildly at her, but she shook her head. She wouldn't leave him alone.
The door crashed open, and to Lily it was as if someone had just turned the sound back on in her head, but they'd turned the volume up much too high. The sight of Lord Voldemort standing in the wreckage of her front hall, and the weight of the baby in her arms decided her. She would have to trust James to take care of himself. Lily ran.