Write a Lily Lives!AU where the first and last word are exactly the same. Keeper prompt from the QLFC
"There's a bit of magic in everything, and some loss to even things out." - Lou Reed Quidditch Pitch

Word Count: 1,410


James Potter kissed his wife on the cheek as they sat on the couch. Harry, their son, lay on the floor, his arms wrapped around a small stuffed werewolf as he slept soundly. Lily grinned and turned to kiss him on his mouth, her arms coming up to wrap around him.

"Love, you know that I'm always down for kissing you, but Harry is two feet away from us." Lily murmured and James kissed her again. The messy-haired Potter pulled back and laughed, his arms pulling the love of his life closer until she was in his lap.

"Lily, I love you and your morals." A smack followed that statement and James let another laugh leave his lips. The two sat in silence, their gazes switching between their son and the flames that danced in the fireplace. A knock on the door woke Harry up and both of the parents jumped to their feet. Lily went to pick Harry up while James went to the door.

"Remus!" Both men grinned tiredly at each other and exchanged hugs before heading inside the house.

"MooMoo!" A small voice cried out.

Remus smiled softly and accepted the small child into his arms, cuddling the boy under his chin. The boy let out a giggle at the strange man's scruff rubbing against his cheeks. Pudgy little hands reached up and grasped onto a nose and ear before bright green eyes stared up in awe.

"Hello little Har-"

The werewolf was cut off by a large silver bear bursting through the wall. All three of the adults in the room froze and had their wands drawn.

"James, we're being attacked. You-Know-Who! Peter is here trying to get in!"

And with the message delivered the misty figure disappeared. A flurry of movements followed it. Lily flew to Remus, taking her son from his arms and dashing up the stairs to pack a bag for all three of them. They knew that if something happened, they had to find a way to disappear from the world completely. Remus and James both fled through the front door, activating the Protection Wards before turning on the spot and vanishing from view.

-XxXxXxX-

It was hours before someone showed up at the safe-house they had created. Lily had put Harry down to bed and then paced in front of the door with worry. There was this pain in her chest and for some reason she couldn't get it to go away. The door creaked as it opened on old hinges and Lily threw herself forward, into the arms of whoever had just entered her house. She knew that it was one of two people–Remus or James–because only they knew how to get to the warded land. Sirius had insisted that they use Peter for the Secret Keeper instead of him because he was an obvious choice. Lily had given it a day and then she had given the secret to Remus. She knew that his mind was always safe, one of the only perks of being a werewolf, and he had told no one.

"Lily." A deep voice whispered and her legs fell from under her. Tears filled her eyes and she let her head fall into the small space between Remus' shoulder and neck. Her mouth opened into a wail and she poured her heart into her grief.

-XxXxXxX-

"Please, Remus, tell me everything that happened. I need to know." It was the next day and Harry was eating a bowl of cut up bananas as the two sat at the table. The werewolf looked at the broken woman, golden eyes filled with pain and sorrow.

"When we got there I rushed inside in order to help Augusta to the Floo with Neville and James stayed behind to build up the wards and defenses with Frank. Alice was staying between Augusta and Neville with me, trying to act as another line of defense. We had made it to the library when the wall behind us was blown inward. When Alice and I turned to see who it was," Remus spoke in a whisper, his eyes never straying from the redhead. "It was Peter. Lily he was floating James with him and he was accompanied by Bellatrix and her husband. Augusta and Alice threw me into the fireplace and I was taken to Hogwarts."

Blazing green eyes flew up to lock on his and he nodded grimly. A small porcelain teacup was thrown at the wall and Lily picked her giggling son up.

"That's all I needed to hear." And then Lily walked out of the room, the baby in her arms waving goodbye to him sadly.

Remus sniffed, the scent of James filling his senses as he buried his face in his arms. Images of the aftermath filled his head; Frank laying dismembered in front of the house, Augusta hanging limply from the chandelier, Alice missing a leg and lying over a crying baby Neville who didn't realize what was happening or that the mother he was screaming for was dead. The dirty blond had no idea how long he laid there, but he didn't raise his head until a hand laid itself on top of his hadn't heard Lily reenter the room.

"We'll stay here until it's time for Harry to go to Hogwarts. Then I will become a Professor, hell an Assistant if I have too! We will protect Harry, and we will protect each other."

Remus nodded and lifted his head, turning in the chair to hug Lily around the waist.

"I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to protect him."

Lily smiled sadly down at her second best was blaming himself for things that they had no control over; typical Remus. She lifted a hand to wipe the tears from her face and then she rested it on the quivering back below her.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything differently Remus."

-XxXxXxX-

Years passed and eventually the group found themselves stepping into a packed train station in London. A woman with long red hair a soft green eyes was smiling softly at the boy that clung to her waist. He had messy black hair and eyes that matched his mother's. Perched on his nose was a pair of thin wire glasses. On the other side of the woman was a man with shaggy, dirty blond hair. His arm was also wrapped around the waist of the redhead, and on his face was a set of scars that slashed violently across his nose. The trio quickly strode through the throng of people and made their way to platform 10, stopping at the large column that stood between their destination and the platform behind it. Lily smiled at her son and grasped his hand tightly.

"You ready, Harry?"

The boy nodded and with smiles exchanged all around, the group stepped through a wall of stone. After they were through to the other side, Lily took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Remus, and then began to walk towards the large red train ahead of them.

"Mom, why's she crying? I thought you said that pretty girls don't cry?" Harry tugged on the sleeve of her blouse and pointed at a small girl by the entrance. She was sitting on her trunk and her shoulders were trembling slightly. Her hair was a large bush and when she brushed it out of her eyes Lily felt a smile tug at her lips. The girl wasn't crying, in fact, she looked angry.

"She's not crying, Harry," Remus answered the boy, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Maybe she's lonely? Why don't you go talk to her?"

Determination sparked in the young man's green eyes and he drew his shoulders up before strutting over to the girl. Lily and Remus watched quietly as their son introduced himself to the girl before shaking her hand and grabbing her trunk. The two kids started towards the train, both of them grinning wildly at whatever they were talking about. Lily sighed leaning back into the werewolf. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned forward to press a kiss to the side of her head.

"It's like looking into the past, Remus. It hurts sometimes how similar he looks to James."