A/N: Sorry for not updating Goetic in a while, I will still update Goetic ofc, that is my main fic. This was a request by FeralG3 on ffn. Sorry if the first few paragraphs seem a bit forced.

Tw: death (yes I know it's chapter one) & minor battle (and war obviously)

"Now?" James Potter exclaimed as he read the letter in a mix of candlelight and moonlight.

"What is it?" Lily asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Dumbledore," James threw his dark blue coat on, "They're not doing good, we already lost over half of our men. I need to go help. No time to waste."

"You are making no sense whatsoever," Lily rolled her eyes and crossed her legs.

"Order stuff, gotta go fight yet another battle I won't get credit for. I know it's sudden but I have to go now," James looked over his shoulder, "Before I go, one more thing."

"Yeah?" Lily asked.

He gently cupped her face in his hand and kissed her on the lips. She stood up in an attempt to be as tall as him and he leaned over. It was sweet and passionate. Her features were illuminated in the candlelight. It was wonderful. He loved her with all his heart for as long he could remember and she was finally his. He would never let her go.

Lily let out a small laugh when they finally separated.

"You better get going, they'll be needing you," Lily took a small step back, falling back onto the large sofa.

"Of course," James laughed, "They'll be needing their brave and valiant hero."

He heard Lily let out a small laugh as he turned around. The door slammed shut behind him as he left. He double-checked that his wand was in his pocket as he walked along the front path guided by slightly overgrown grass, which he would have to mow when he got back.

He had to make it outside of their property to apparate and he did so. After he was about a block away he dipped into an alley. Once he was sure nobody was looking or even nearby, he disapparated.

He apparated into the middle of a road. No cars, people, or even a stray animal passed him. It was far too eerie and quiet. James didn't know if he was shivering from the cold or the creepiness of the ghost town.

He looked up at the houses, if you could even call them that. They looked abandoned, especially in the moonlight. One of them even caved in on itself.

What the hell happened here?

He gripped his wand even tighter as he walked along the road.

A sudden shout in the distance shocked him. It even made him freeze for a moment before he took off running. He ran along the streets in the direction of the battle cries and shouts which slowly got louder as he approached. He could hear the wind in his ears as he ran. His wand was ready for him to attack and kill anyone.

He stopped when he saw them. It was almost beautiful, the mix of green and red jets of light streaking across the sky. He remembered why he was there and aimed a curse at a death eater. Just his luck, they saw him coming and dodged the curse.

The death eater shot multiple curses at him, he managed to dodge most of them. He finally got hit with a Stupefy.

The masked man approached him.

Oh shit.

His wand was pointed right at James' face.

He tried to break free and run or prepare to duck but of course, he couldn't. He couldn't even shut his eyes and prepare himself for the blow.

"Avada-"

He was tackled by a man with long dark hair. James watched as the back of the masked man's head hit the pavement hard and was knocked unconscious. The man with long dark hair turned towards James.

"Prongs, was wondering when you would come out of hiding to help in the war!" Sirius was waiting for him to move or say something, "Hello?"

James didn't and couldn't move.

"Oh, I'll remember this moment forever, revenerate."

James fell face forward onto the pavement.

Sirius laughed as he started shooting curses at the masked figures that were approaching. James got up and jumped back into the battle with a grin on his face.

He missed this feeling so much.

xXxXxXx

"Shhh," Lily was holding a crying Harry, "He'll be home soon. You'll see papa soon."

The baby kept crying.

She gave up on trying to quiet the baby. Lily sat down on the large sofa while still holding Harry. She wasn't even sure if she meant what she had just said, James hadn't left hiding in months. Their side was losing and it meant James had to be called back into battle. This was war. She might never see James again. Lily felt her eyes well up and her vision blurred slightly as a few tears streamed down her face.

There was no telling who would or wouldn't survive in war, only that there would be bloodshed. Lots of bloodshed. There would be very little chance that James would come back from a battle that they were already losing.

Goddamn, the self-sacrificing Quidditch star.

She had to pull herself together. These tears were based on a possibility. Lily wiped her eyes and got up. She put Baby Harry down on the playmat, where he began to play with a plastic zebra toy and a lion toy.

She put a disk on the record player and listened to the music as she sat back down. Lily felt overly anxious as she waited for James to return. Harry was no longer crying. The only sounds that filled the living room were that of the music and Harry's toys clinking against one another.

Lily lost track of how long she was sitting there, just waiting for her husband to finally come home. She even occasionally glanced at the doorknob on the front door which stayed motionless.

xXxXxXx

Shortly after James got to the battle, more order members showed up, including Mad-Eye Moody. Both sides had a similar quantity of manpower after the order got backup. They would have to rely solely on the skill of the soldiers who didn't get killed or run away yet.

James fired a curse at a death eater who immediately fell unconscious.

He realized an order member wasn't among the fighting or dead and immediately felt uneasy.

"Hey, Sirius?" James asked over his shoulder to the man behind him who was firing curses in the opposite direction.

"Yeah?" Sirius barely managed to dodge a curse.

"Where's Pete?" James asked.

"Dunno, he's usually at battles. You should've seen him when we were outnumbered three-to-one. He's been improving like crazy. He's probably just a bit tired, not cowering."

"Alright," James still didn't feel satisfied. Something still felt wrong.

Peter didn't have kids, why would he need to leave on Halloween?

Suddenly he saw a man who lost his mask running at him with a bloody dagger.

"Holy shit," James was about to duck when someone hit the maniac with a jinx.

"Thanks," James said.

"Anytime," They responded.

xXxXxXx

"How's Rachel?" Lily asked into the telephone.

"Oh she's growing great, she's almost two," Mary responded.

"Still hoping for a squib, then?"

"Yeah," Mary sighed, "Don't want her to go through this shit. Anyways, how's Harry?"

"He's definitely a wizard. I caught him levitating alphabet blocks," Lily laughed.

Out of the corner of her eye and through the window, Lily could see a figure walking along the path. Due to the darkness, she couldn't tell who it was. There was only one person it could be.

"Sorry, Mary, I have to go. James is home."

"No, no, it's fine."

Lily put the telephone down and back.

"James!" She exclaimed, even though he was outside and couldn't hear her.

She rushed to open the door. They didn't bother to lock it due to the simple fact that Peter was the secret keeper. Anyways, anyone who knew about the Potter's house could unlock it with magic.

Lily threw open the door. Her smile quickly vanished when she saw it wasn't James.

"No," She whispered.

She turned around and ran to get Harry. She scooped him up and darted up the stairs to retrieve her wand. Lily cursed under her breath. She was the one who said they wouldn't need a back door.

Lily slammed the nursery door behind her, knowing that she was nearing the end. She carefully set Harry down in the crib and gripped the bars.

"Be a brave boy Harry," Lily felt her eyes well up and her vision blur, "James will raise an amazing boy."

She couldn't bring herself to say the words, "And I won't be here to see it."

"I love you, Harry."

Lily stood up and turned around, facing the door. She gripped her wand tight. Her eyes were fixed on the doorknob. She watched as it turned and raised her wand.

"You need not die, Lily," Voldemort said with his wand outstretched.

"Rethink that. If you want to kill Harry you'll have to go through me first."

"Perhaps you misunderstood," Anger crept through his voice, "Hand over the baby and no harm will come to you."

"No," Lily didn't move, "Perhaps you misunderstood. I will not hand over my child so you can kill him. What the hell made you think I was going to give up and hand him over. Harry is my son. If you want him you'll have to go through me you insolent, arrogant, discriminatory, terrorist."

He was beyond fury.

"Fine."

He pointed his wand at her and a jet of green light erupted from it. Lily turned around in her last seconds. The last face she would ever see would be Harry's. Not Voldemort's.

For a moment, there was pure pain and agony but after, there was nothing.

xXxXxXx

They cornered the last death eater that didn't run or get killed.

"Give up," Moody growled, "You're surrounded. We are, however, willing to make a trade. Information on the dark lord, for your life."

Moody outstretched his hand, as though to shake the remaining death eater's hand.

"No," The masked man said with a grin on his face, "Long live the dark lord!"

He pointed his own wand at his chest and a jet of green light erupted from it. The masked man fell onto the pavement, a permanent grin resting upon his face.

"Goddamn it!" Sirius kicked his boot against the pavement.

"Hey," James put a hand on Sirius's shoulder, "Calm down."

"No! Over two years and nothing," He stormed off.

James had to admit, he was also frustrated. Their last chance that battle to collect information committed suicide. James groaned and looked around, everyone else was disapparating or walking away.

He followed the suit and disapparated into the alley near his house. He walked home slowly and with his head down. His hands were in his coat pocket. They won the battle but didn't obtain the knowledge they needed from it.

He finally arrived home and undid the latch on the gate. As he walked along the path, he looked up, part of the roof was caved in and the front door was wide open. He heard Harry crying from the nursery.

"No," He whispered and broke into a run.

James stopped at the door frame. The nursery was buried in rubble that patches of starlight shined upon. Over half the roof fell in. He desperately dug through the rubble. He found the crib and scooped a crying Harry up out of it.

"Lily!" He shouted and continued to look through the rubble with one hand.

He finally found her. He placed his ear against her chest. Lily wasn't breathing. Lily was dead.

"No!" He screamed and broke into tears.

Harry cried harder.

"No," He repeated as a whisper.