As Severus Snape arrived in Godric's Hollow, he knew that he would have only minutes until the Dark Lord arrived. A distant part of his mind noted that with the light snow coming down the town had a certain picturesque beauty. As he was about to run off he realized that, while he did have the address, he didn't actually know where that street was located. At that very moment, as the wave of frustration threatened to overtake him, the door to a nearby pub opened and disgorged a group of men that waved to each other and began to toddle off unsteadily in separate directions.
He hurriedly walked up to the elderly man that was coming his way and his nose wrinkled at the scent of sweat and spilled beer. With a force of will, he kept his voice calm and interjected a warm, friendly tone - for him, anyway - and said, "Excuse me, sir, I'm supposed to meet my cousin for dinner but I've run into a bit of a snag. She gave me her address, but," he shrugged helplessly while desperately pushing down the rising panic as a small voice in his mind helpfully informed him that time was passing rapidly, "I'm afraid I'm quite lost."
The man blinked at him several times before before breaking into a delayed grin. He spoke with a pronounced slur, "Of course, laddy. Where's it you're trying to go, hmm?"
Severus found that he couldn't actually say the address due to the constraints of the Fidelius so instead he gave one with a similar street number, and hoped it would get him close enough.
"Ahhhhh, you're clear on the wrong side of the square. No wonder you're lost! Here's what you do…" The man rattled off a series of directions. Severus had him repeat them twice before thanking him, turning on the spot and then leaving at a headlong sprint.
The slap of his boots hitting the pavement echoed around him as he weaved his way through the assorted muggles in Halloween garb. While Severus was incredibly determined, he was not in the habit of running as fast as he possibly could, and in short order found himself gasping for breath. The burning in his calves, what felt like a sharp stake in his sliding between his ribs, and a thunderous heartbeat in his ears were all discarded as unimportant in pursuit of his goal. He slid on a patch of black ice as he rounded the final corner to behold the darkened street and lost all traction, cursing violently as the impact tore up the skin of his hands and knees.
I do not have time for this!
He forced himself to his feet with a rough shove and, with slightly more care, resumed his headlong dash through the town.
With his heart pounding in his ears, Severus approached the door of the home that matched the address that Peter had given not even an hour before. For years he had imagined all manner of scenarios of how he and Lily would reunite, but not even his most dreadful nightmares could have conjured up this specific situation. The mark on his arm prickled; Voldemort wouldn't be long, now, as it always grew more active in his presence. He steeled himself and then reached out to knock firmly on the door.
There was a code phrase that Dumbledore had given him specifically for situations just like this where there would be no time for their regular meetings. In theory, it would guarantee the instant trust of any senior member of the Order of the Phoenix, something he would desperately need, since, as far as they were all concerned, he was just another Death Eater. In practice, well, he was about to find out.
The door swung inward and Lily Potter, gaze focused on the hardbound book in her hands, said, "James, I don't know how you manage to keep locking yourself out like this." She looked up at him and as their eyes met the blood drained from her face and the book fell to the ground as she raised one hand defensively while scrabbling to pull her wand from a pocket with the other. Seeing that look of fear on her face directed towards him caused a decidedly unpleasant twinge in his breast.
Severus raised both of his hands towards the sky, palms open, to show that he wasn't holding a wand. With a prayer - to what, he wasn't sure - that this wasn't another one of Dumbledore's sick jokes, he quickly said in a sing-song tone, "'I'm a little teapot, short and stout. Listen to me and don't freak out.'"
He didn't think it was possible, but Lily's face paled even further, but she kept her wand trained on him anyway. She didn't speak, but she also wasn't attacking, which was better than he'd expected.
"Lily, I am standing before you now, within the bounds of the Fidelius Charm; this is only possible if the secret keeper willingly gives up the information." Severus was speaking faster now, gesticulating wildly, and his voice had grown even more urgent. "If I truly had meant you and your family harm I could have simply burned the house down. Instead I stand before you, unarmed, pleading with you to stop being an idiot, go and get your husband and son, and leave this place before it's too late! Voldemort could be here at any minute!"
A man's voice came from within the house. "Lily, dearest, who could you possibly be talking to at the door? You aren't role playing with the cat again, are you?"
Severus could hear footsteps approaching and the bespectacled messy-haired visage of James Potter appeared behind his wife's shoulder. He watched as the face morphed from amusement, passing briefly through confusion and shock, before landing on horror.
Before James could do anything ill-advised, Lily turned her back on Severus and placed herself between them. "James, I know, but we don't have time. Severus used the code phrase; we have to trust him. Peter…" she made a wordless sound of rage and slammed her fist into the wall hard enough to make the picture frames shake.
From behind her, Severus said, "I heard it from Peter directly, free of any coercion; you've been betrayed. Voldemort is on his way at this very moment as we stand here and gossip. Grab your son and leave this place!"
At Lily's beckoning motion he took a step within their home, and the door closed automatically behind him.
James spoke again, "What if we fight?"
Lily and Severus turned their heads as one to fix James with incredulous looks and he held up his hands in supplication. "Obviously, get Harry to safety, but we should fight. The two of us" he winked at Lily, who mouthed 'be serious' in response "have held him off before."
Lily cut in, "James, barely staying alive is not the same thing as holding him off. However," she trailed off, and eyed Severus speculatively.
James said, "That's right! With your help, Snape, and if we can alert Dumbledore, we might be able to end this tonight." His voice was rising with excitement, and as Severus turned to Lily for some much needed logic and support he found, to his horror, that she was nodding in agreement.
Has the whole world gone mad?
"Lils, Harry?"
She nodded and said, "Be right back!" before whirling and dashing upstairs. Severus could hear the sound of her feet pounding on the ceiling above, a door opening, and shortly afterward the unmistakable sound of a toddler crying. In the same moment, the burning on his arm grew even stronger.
"Potter, he's getting closer. Is this really how you want to die?"
The man was grinning at him like a fool. "We aren't going to die; we're going to finish this thing, right here, tonight."
"You're both mad. This is suicide."
"Don't be so quick to judge; you're going to help us, after all."
"Is that so?"
The man took a step closer, and for a moment all hint of humor dropped away from his face, "I know what you're about, Snape; you won't let her die any more than I will."
Severus found himself lacking a quick retort.
"That's what I thought," James clapped him on the shoulder. "Looks like we're even."
The burning on his arm grew even more pronounced, and that could only mean one thing. James must have noticed his reaction to the pain, and his grip on Severus' shoulder grew tighter as he looked him directly in the eye, "He's here, isn't he?"
Lily called down from above, "James, I can't disapparate! I'm putting Harry in the bolthole!"
They both shuddered as the greasy feeling of the anti-disapparition Jinx came over them as they each tried to disapparate in turn, and judging by the way that the fireplace had suddenly gone out Floo travel would be blocked as well.
Severus said "He's here," and flexed his fingers in an attempt to loosen them up for what was to come. "You're about to get your fight, Potter."