Written for the As Much As You Can Competition on HPFC.
Enjoy!
It hurt to think, to process what was happening.
Despite wanting to curl into a ball and hope for the pain to end, Harry tried to stand. He almost immediately crumpled back to the floor.
"Go!" James Potter shouted to his wife. He stepped in front of her as she carried baby Harry up the stairs, running up the stairs as fast as she could.
Voldemort took a step forward, only to be blocked by Harry's father. The man stared defiantly at Voldemort, wand in hand.
Without a word, Voldemort raised his wand.
Harry's mind flashed back to an event – an event he hadn't remembered before – a jet of green light hitting his father, causing him to fall to the floor with what could only be described as a lifeless expression. The sight cleared his mind, if only for a moment, and he leaped up, lunging forward in front of his father.
Voldemort stepped back, aiming his wand at Harry instead. "So the boy wants to die first, does he?"
Harry could feel his heart racing, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. His mind came up with a crazy idea; but if it had worked before, why not now?
The pain had returned, intensifying at the close proximity to Voldemort, but Harry had already acted on his extremely dangerous, but possibly successful idea.
As Voldemort opened his mouth, no doubt to say a deadly spell, Harry leapt forward and slammed both of his hands on the man's face.
James Potter's jaw dropped in shock and horror as Voldemort froze in place and began to scream. His face peeled, burning and blistering until he crumpled. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.
Lily bounded down the stairs, wand in hand and a fiery passion burning in her eyes. She stopped dead at the sight before her.
James tried to explain what had just happened, but he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. He pointed weakly at the faintly twitching figure on the ground.
Suddenly, Voldemort's body stopped twitching, and a ghostly mist swirled up from his mouth.
A soul? No, a wraith of some sort? What…
The wraith hovered over the body. It opened its mouth and emitted a shrill, unearthly scream that made James and Lily clap their hands over their ears.
In a quick instant, the wraith dissolved, seemingly into thin air. James blinked at the now empty space, before he spotted the ghostly specter rematerialize just outside the nearby window, fleeing the scene.
It was then that James brought his attention back to the body of Voldemort.
Directly in front of the corpse, a form was flickering, taking the shape of a boy crouched next to the body, clutching his head. Then, as soon as it had happened, the flickering form disappeared.
James rushed forward, wand out and ready to confront the seemingly disillusioned boy. A hand stopped him.
"Lily, I just saw him – Voldemort – burn to death, and then this kid appears next to his dead body? That's no coincidence, and I sure as hell am not going to let him burn the rest of our family to death!"
"No, James," Lily said calmly.
He turned to stare at her. She was contemplating something, he could tell. She was staring at the spot where the boy had just been seen with a curious look on her face, the one she got when she was just about to figure something out.
After a moment of silence, Lily spoke.
"I have a feeling that this is more complicated than it seems."
Short, but I don't plan on writing long chapters. Short chapters are easier to dish out, and they keep my inspiration going. Stay tuned!
~Lumosify