Submitted for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Thunderbird

Subject: Arithmancy - #Task 1

Prompt: What if James Potter had his wand with him on the Halloween of 1981?

Bonus prompts: 8. [Event] Halloween; 15. [Emotion] Fear

Word count: 1,449
Warnings: Good!Peter

Deer to the rescue

James Potter never thought that one day, he would be hiding with his wife and son just because of some prophecy that some degenerate decided to believe in. This wasn't how he had imagined spending Harry's second Halloween: hiding away, terror coursing through his veins that something bad was going to happen to his little family that day.

He was trying to be brave for Lily and Harry's sake, but deep down, he had a feeling like something was wrong, and it wasn't just because it was Halloween, but something in the air was wrong, and James couldn't shake the feeling away. It wasn't until he felt the change in the wards that he knew what it was that he was feeling: fear in its purest state. He saw the exact moment the so-called Dark Lord appeared in their garden, and he knew what he needed to do.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" James screamed to his wife, praying to all the deities he knew that tonight wouldn't be the last time he saw his family. He could see the Dark figure advancing, but James would not let anything happen to them. Holding his wand tightly in his hand, he took a deep breath in and prepared himself for battle.

At that moment, James was very proud to be a Marauder because he decided not to hold himself back for anything. With the little time that he still had, he created a corporeal version of himself and prepared the lookalike to take the blows Voldemort would definitely send his way. He started warding the stairs — there was no chance in hell that James would let that demonic noseless man anywhere near his wife and son. Throwing some hexes on the door and bracing himself, James had a marvellous idea, and before he could change his mind, he turned into his Animagus form.

Later, James would say that it was the best idea that he had ever had, but right then, thinking was impossible for him because of how fast his heart thundered as the waves of fear coursed through his body. All he could think of was that no matter what he did, Lily and Harry would still die. Those thoughts quickly dissipated when he heard the door opening and someone screaming and cursing, and James was glad he had thought about the hexes on the door.

'This is for Lily and Harry, I would do anything to protect those I love,' James thought to himself as he charged straight at Voldemort, who saw the huge stag inside the house and accidentally lowered his wand arm.

James knew that he just had one opportunity to make things right and decided to go out with all his might. He directed his antlers at Voldemort's eyes and only heard the squishing sound it made when he blinded the Dark Lord. He didn't stop there, and when he saw the Dark Lord had dropped his wand in his haste to cover his bleeding eyes, James turned back and Accioed his wand. He Conjured some rope and Stupefied the other man, tying him up with it and sending a Patronus to Dumbledore about what had happened.

Hearing Lily call out for him, he turned and saw her trying to pass through his wards, but she wasn't successful. James couldn't help the little maniacal laugh that escaped him: he had survived Voldemort's attempt at killing him and his family, and they would live to see another day. He would see his son grow up. James continued to laugh even when he felt the first tear drip down his face. He couldn't help but sob with relief, feeling the tension leave his body along with the fear that seemed to accompany him all the time: he had done it. He had won. It was over.

"I can believe it! Godric, this is awful!" Lily was still ranting, holding Harry with all her might, afraid to let the baby go. James was amused to see his wife acting like this, even if he was feeling the rage boil inside him.

"Lils, I know how you're feeling… but we can only feel blessed that we are here today, alive and well," James said, trying to calm Lily down.

"I'm trying James, but I can't! How can my own sister do something so evil? I can't wrap my head around it," Lily said, coming near James, who hugged both her and Harry.

James couldn't believe it either; after Dumbledore had come and left with Voldemort, Lily and James were puzzled as to how he could have found them, since they were using the Fidelius Charm with Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper. At first they thought that maybe one of their friends may have said something, but this thought was quickly dismissed when both of the three Marauders appeared at their doorstep panting and crying.

Lily then discovered that it was her fault. She had met Petunia before she went into hiding, and she mentioned the location that they were going to be, thinking — minstankling — that since Petunia didn't know any wizards, she would never tell. Lily didn't count on the thought that Petunia's hatred for their kind would be so much, that she even told Lily's old friend… Severus Snape. Severus then didn't waste time, running to go tell his master all about it, and now, he would root in Azkaban for it.

"We need to be thankful that it's over and now, we can start our lives, and live it well," James said, kissing Lily's temple, hugging them both fiercely to him. It was a brand new day, and the Potter would celebrate that they're alive to see it.

One year later…

"Sirius! Stop it! You're going to make Harry sick!" Lily yelled at Sirius, who was tossing Harry up in the air, and James couldn't stop smiling at the image.

It was one year after that fateful night, and on another Halloween, he was still in Godric's Hollow, but at least now, he was surrounded by his friends — his family — and he couldn't be happier.

"Honestly, sometimes I don't know who's the child: Harry or Sirius," Lily said to her husband, who hugged her close to him. "Where's Remus and Peter?"

"Moony's out buying some sweets, saying that it was something we needed to do — even if we are just giving it to Harry, and I guess, Sirius," James said, chuckling a litte, and Lily joined him, shaking her head with amusement. "And Wormtail went with him saying — and I quote — Remus doesn't know how to choose sweets, just chocolate."

"I'm glad they're coming here to celebrate Halloween with us, since it's such an important date, right? The day when my husband defeated Voldemort," Lily said, kissing James' cheek and going to check on Harry.

James couldn't help but smile wider. He had thought he was never going to survive that Halloween, but here he was, not only celebrating Halloween but also celebrating a victory for the Wizarding World with his family by his side.

"Hey, Prongs! Can you tell your wife that I can take care of my godson? It's not like I'm going to do anything to harm him," Sirius complained to James, coming near him just as Remus and Peter walked through the door, large bags in their arms filled to the brim with sweets and chocolates.

"You can't be worse than Prongs when he put the Invisibility Cloak on Harry, remember?" Peter said, laughing at the face that James made at the memory.

"I thought we all agreed to just forget that incident! Lily already forgave me… I think," James mumbled to the utter delight of his friends. "Forget about me — what sweets did you bring?"

"If I hadn't stopped Peter, we would have bought the entire store, but we brought just what we needed to entertain ourselves and still go trick-or-treating with Harry," Remus said calmly, trying to pretend he hadn't tried to buy all the chocolates in Honeydukes for himself.

"And Harry's ready to start trick or treating with his uncles," Lily said, entering the living room with Harry dressed as a pumpkin, and all the Marauders cooed over how cute he looked.

James couldn't stop smiling all night, thinking how life could have been very different if he hadn't reacted quickly or if he hadn't had his wand on him that terrible night. Sighing in relief, he sent a silent prayer of thanks to all the deities who had helped him a year ago and went to celebrate Samhain with his family.