PART FOUR
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE BOY WHO LIVED
The house in front of which they now stood was where he had encountered Voldemort for the very first time in his life. He had seen glimpses of it in dreams, over and over again, but never so clearly. Presently, there were lights inside, and movement. It was surreal.
"Do we have to see this again, Dumbledore?" asked James softly.
His wife was clinging to his arm. She looked so shaken that Harry thought that she was probably unable to speak. It pained him to see her like this, more than he could bear. He wished that Dumbledore had not brought his parents into this memory, but the Headmaster did not slow his pace, nor did he say anything as he opened the front door and ushered them all in.
The house reminded Harry of Number Four, Privet Drive, with the exception that it was decorated with a lot more taste and that it was a little bigger.
There were voices in the kitchen, just ahead of where they stood, and Harry recognised that it was his mother speaking.
"There, there, Petunia, dear," she was saying. "I'm sure it's not that serious."
Harry was ceased with sudden surprise. He had never imagined that his aunt would come to his parents' house. Yet, true enough, there she was, sitting at the Potter's kitchen table. She didn't look any different than Harry remembered. She wore a peach-coloured dress and her hair neatly tucked behind her ears. Presently, she was crying her eyes out and blowing her nose loudly every few seconds.
"Funny," said James unexpectedly, which caused the four others to look at him. "I remember exactly what I was wearing that evening."
The fourteen-year younger James had walked into the kitchen. He looked quite casual in a black shirt and worn out jeans. His hair was untidy, like Harry's, and he wore round-shaped glasses as well.
"Is Harry asleep?" asked the younger Lily, momentarily turning away from her crying sister.
"Yes," said the young James, folding his arms over his chest. "Say, are you ever going to stop this bailing?" he added in the direction of Lily's sister.
"Give her a break, James," said Harry's mother, pouring a cup of tea to Petunia. "It's hard enough as it is."
"So, what was it?" James asked, sitting opposite Harry's aunt and taking two cookies from the plate in front of him.
"He still doesn't want children?" Lily asked over to her sister, stroking her shoulder reassuringly.
Petunia nodded silently as more tears poured down her cheeks.
"Dursley. What a brute," the young Lily reacted, her hand still on her sister.
"Maybe I should have a talk with him," said James, pulling out his wand and laying it on the table, a malicious smile on his face.
Petunia raised her head and stared at him, a sudden look of dismay on her face.
"No!" she said, horror-struck. "It's not that bad. He… He's a good man. We'll sort it out."
"Well, you can stay as long as you'd like," said Lily with a warm smile.
Harry distinctively saw his younger father roll up his eyes.
"Fine, but I don't want to hear any comments about how abnormal we are," he said decisively and sounding a little aggravated.
Right at that moment, a loud screech was heard across the room. Harry turned around to see a dark owl sweep through the window and land on the kitchen table. Aunt Petunia gave out a little squeal, but refrained herself when James threw her a reproachful look.
James had already unfolded the small bit of parchment and was reading it. His face was now very serious.
"It's Frank," he said nervously to Lily. "He's bringing Neville here."
"Peter must have told him where we are," said Lily, raising from her seat and stepping close to her husband so that she could read the message herself.
"Some Secret Keeper," said James gently, staring up at her. "I would have preferred Sirius."
"Peter wouldn't betray us," said Lily irrefutably. "It must be serious. It sounds like Neville's in danger."
"Or Frank and Alice are just overreacting again," James retorted.
As he said this, the doorbell rang. Seconds later, Frank and Alice Longbottom were walking into the kitchen. Both of them were dressed in long, sweeping black robes. Mrs Longbottom was carrying the crying baby Neville in her arms.
"Who…?" asked Frank the moment he saw Petunia sitting at the table.
"My sister," said Lily at once. "She's a Muggle. She's no trouble."
"He was coming to our house," said Frank Longbottom quickly, turning to James. "Him," he added with emphasis. Mrs Longbottom let out a small cry. "We were lucky that Peter came to warn us."
"Where's Peter now?" asked Lily, sounding concerned.
"He was making sure we were not being followed," replied Neville's mother, still trying to calm the crying baby.
"James," Lily said pleadingly. "Peter is not that strong a wizard. We can't leave him alone out there."
"Right," said James quickly. Turning to Frank meaningfully, wand in hand, he added: "Let's go."
And the both of them walked out, leaving the three women and the baby in the kitchen. Neville's cries seemed to be steadily increasing.
"I have a bad feeling about this," said the young Lily quietly and to herself.
Harry turned to look at his present-day mother. Tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks, and she kept staring at her sister.
"I can't get him to stop crying," said Alice desperately.
Harry's attention was dragged back to the scene. Both Lily and Petunia were staring at Mrs Longbottom. She seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Strangely, though, it was Petunia who spoke first.
"He can feel that you're worried," she said comprehensively. "I'll hold him, if you don't mind."
Petunia swept over to where Alice Longbottom stood and cradled the baby Neville in her long arms. The reaction was almost instantaneous. The crying stopped. The young Lily smiled at her sister. It was the first time ever that Harry distinctively saw a resemblance between the two sisters. Perhaps it was the maternal embrace, perhaps it was the smile, but the likeness was undeniable.
The silence only lasted a short moment. Then shouting was heard outside.
"It's just the neighbours," said Lily, yet Harry was sure that she did not believe it herself.
She rose from her seat and walked over to the living room window.
"I smell smoke," said Alice Longbottom, following Lily into the other room.
Without realising it, Harry had also crept over to the window. He was now witnessing the chaos on the street and sharing the shock of the young Lily and Alice. Several houses were on fire. People were running up and down the alley, screaming. Red and green sparks could be seen in the distance.
"Death Eaters," whispered Alice. "Here. They're attacking all those Muggles."
Harry saw his mother glance back at the kitchen where her sister was rocking Neville to sleep in her arms.
"It can't be a coincidence," she whispered.
"We've got to do something," said Alice, still staring at the window.
Harry could see in his mother's eyes the decision that she had just made. Resolutely, she walked back into the kitchen.
"Petunia, get upstairs. Stay in Harry's room. Keep Neville with you. Do not open the door to anyone. Stay out of sight."
Feeling the urgency in her sister's tone, Petunia Dursley obeyed without protest. She went straight to the stairs and was soon out of sight. Alice and Lily stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, then took out their wands and left the house.
Mist suddenly rose at Harry's feet. He was being pulled to another location.
"It's your mom's memory," said his father quietly. "We're only following her."
Sure enough, a moment later, they were standing besides the two young women again. A black robed and hooded Death Eater was lying flat on his back in the middle of the streets.
"Malfoy," said Lily Potter as she pulled off the Death Eater's mask and long, white hair fell out of it.
Harry's mom put her hand over her mouth and coughed. There was thick black smoke on the streets now. It was hard to see far ahead. Harry couldn't tell if there were other Death Eaters around, but he felt sure that Lucius Malfoy wouldn't have acted alone.
"Aqua Erupto!" yelled Alice.
A large strand of water was now sprouting out of her wand. She was trying to put out the fire on a house. The flames were very high, and as Harry followed the red jets into the sky with his glance, he saw that the sky was not red, but green. The Dark Mark was floating over their heads. Dumbledore, Sirius and his parents seemed to have noticed it too.
In the meantime, the young Lily Potter had joined Mrs Longbottom in her attempt to put out the fire, leaving the unconscious body of Lucius Malfoy sprawled like an eagle in the middle of the street. She and Alice tried hard together for several minutes, but it clearly wasn't working.
"Where is everybody?" enquired Alice, glancing around.
No sooner had she finished her question that a red blast caught her from behind. She immediately fell on her back, motionless.
"Alice!" yelled Lily.
Harry could see an undersized man hiding behind a car. He was small with mousy hair. His wand-hand was trembling.
"Peter?" said Lily, incredulous. "What did you just do?"
"It's too late now," cried Wormtail, his voice tremulous. "He is coming. No one can stop him. The Dark Lord has decided…"
"What has he decided?" said Lily in distress. Sudden realisation was creeping on her face.
Silence. The small man was well hidden in the smoke and shadows of the flames. He was hardly visible.
"Peter, what has he decided?" she yelled, pointing her wand in Pettigrew's direction but with no clear target.
"Maybe he won't kill you if you don't stand in his way," Wormtail let out in a murmur. "Maybe…"
Lily wheeled around and broke into a run towards the Potter's house. It was at least a few streets away. Harry and the others were following her like ghostly forms, floating behind her.
She had almost reached the house. Harry could see it now. Then suddenly, without warning, it exploded. Green light filled the space around them. Harry closed his eyes. He knew this light. It was the light of the Killing Curse. Voldemort was inside the house right now, and his curse had failed and backfired.
The house was coming down around them in shards of wood. The young Lily Potter had been knocked unto the ground by the force of the explosion and she was protecting her head from the falling debris with both her arms.
"The Dark Mark is gone," said Sirius who was standing besides Harry. "So that's how it happened."
"It's not over," said Harry's mother, stepping closer to them. She was now watching herself struggle unto her feet and run towards what was left of the house.
No one spoke as the young Lily Potter stood in front of the remains of her house, yelling her sister's name. When there was no respond, she started to climb into the wreckage, pushing aside a door, lifting a bookcase, searching for a sign or a body.
It was Harry's mother who led them towards the place where the body of Petunia Dursley lay. She stood over her sister in silence. There were no longer tears in her eyes. Harry recognised that they were in his childhood's bedroom. The walls were blue around them. He had always known that the walls had been blue, without having had much proof of it. Now the walls were spread out in pieces.
The younger Lily Potter let out a scream as she saw the body of her sister. She pulled her onto her knees, revealing Petunia's now lifeless eyes. But there was something under her sister's body.
"Harry!" she said, holding up the form of the baby from the wreckage.
The small child was pale and motionless. Tiny drops of blood were rolling down his forehead unto his eyes.
"Please don't be dead," she said, cradling him, feeling his belly for a pulse.
Then suddenly, there was a tiny shift. The baby had moved. He was alive. Lily Potter was now rocking him back and forth, saying, "it's OK, Harry, it's OK," over and over again. Harry turned around to look at his parents and saw that they were hugging tenderly, crying unto each other's shoulders. Harry blushed and turned away. Somehow, it felt like a private moment for his parents. Instead, he started to look around for a sign of baby Neville. He only took a few steps before Neville's cries started to be heard. The young Lily Potter turned around, taken aback. The cries were coming from the crib. It was lying just besides where Petunia had been, and it was upside down. With baby Harry firmly in her grip, the young Lily Potter stepped towards the crib and flipped it over with a flick of her wand. There was Neville, unharmed, but crying his eyes out.
"Well, that certainly is a happy ending," said Sirius, wiping a tear with his sleeve.
"Wait," said Harry's mom, staring at the scene.
There was a loud CRACK and the sound of footsteps on broken wood. James Potter, the younger one, was running through the debris, having just Apparated. There were cuts on his face and he was holding his left arm against his torso. He hugged his wife as soon as he saw her, then he picked up Neville from the ground with his good arm.
"Both are saved," he said breathlessly. "It's a miracle."
Lily said nothing. She was trying to get out of the wreckage. James helped her, explaining as they were moving: "There's a rumour. I've heard that You-Know-Who has fled. Frank is rounding up the Death Eaters that we caught and so far everything seems to confirm that it's true. No one knows that there has been an attack here. I have to get in touch with…"
"James, wait," murmured Lily, gripping his shoulder.
She sat down on the sidewalk. James imitated her.
"You're right," he said slowly. "Let's breathe a little first."
"He's marked Harry," Lily said quietly, almost inaudibly.
"What?"
She pulled off the blanket from baby Harry's face and lifted his head into the pale street light. There it was, the lightening scar, fresh and bleeding slightly on Harry's head.
"You-Know-Who marked our son," she said, looking into her husband's eyes, pain in her voice. "It's the mark of a curse on our son, James!"
She looked panic-stricken. Harry's father seemed at a lost for words.
"They will haunt him," she continued. "You-Know-Who will want to finish what he's started."
"That's what I've been saying, Lily, he might… he might be gone," James tried to explicate.
"He'll never be gone," cried Harry's mother. "You know enough about the Dark Arts to realise this. They will try to bring him back, and they will need Harry to do it. Don't you see it? Harry's the reason he vanished, and he'll be the key to bring him back."
James seemed to absorb the idea. He looked terrified as well. Both of them just sat there, saying nothing, for a few minutes. Harry looked back at his present-day mother. She looked nervous and apprehensive.
Suddenly, James stood up and placed Neville on the sidewalk. Then, he took the baby Harry from his wife's arms and placed him besides Neville.
"What are you doing?" asked Lily, her voice full of distress.
James reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"I won't hurt them," he said.
He took out his wand and waved it in an elaborate fashion over both babies' heads. The red lightening scar seemed to grow brighter, even glow. Then, suddenly, it lifted away from baby Harry's forehead and moved across to where Neville lay, finally floating down unto Neville's forehead and returning to its original blood-red color but no longer bright.
"What about Neville?" Lily asked, looking from one baby to the other in shock.
"I care for Neville too," said James, "but we have a possibility of delaying You-Know-Who's return."
"With a decoy," Lily concluded.
"Exactly," said James.
"And Harry?"
"I only moved the scar unto Neville's forehead. I don't think anyone can remove the curse that's on Harry," said James. There was sadness in his tone.
Lily picked up her baby son from the ground, kissing his forehead.
"It will be our secret, then," she said.
Mist had risen around Harry's waist. The lights were swirling fast around him. He was being pulled upwards.
Moments later, his feet landed hard on the stone floor of Dumbledore's office.
