Things were not going well for the Order. Fabian and Gideon Prewett had been killed, and so had Marlene McKinnon and her family and Edgar Bones and his family. Caradoc Dearborn disappeared and was presumed to have been killed as well, but as no body was ever found, it couldn't be confirmed. Kurt narrowly escaped death in one battle, and that evening, his friends quite forcefully talked him into resigning from the Order and entering a seminary so that he could fulfill his calling to be a rabbi. They pointed out that he had already put his plans on hold for almost two years in order to help them fight Voldemort, and they didn't want him to die before achieving his calling/dream.
Charlus and Dorea Potter, who were getting rather advanced in years, unfortunately also died, but with them passing away peacefully in their sleep. James inherited the family estate and all the money they hadn't already given their son and daughter-in-law. The Phoenix Club mourned their passing, and Lily and James decided that if they had another child, they would name him or her Charlotte Dorea or Charlus Dorian.
Harry and Stella had their first birthday party, which was held together (though their birthdays were two days apart), and as many of their 'aunts' and 'uncles' that could attended. The two played with Draco, Arista, and June, or at least as much as a group of one-year olds could actually play. Harry and Stella got their first brooms, toy ones that Sirius and Fiona had given them (though as Sirius had Order business, only Fiona and Arista were present to give the gifts.) Petunia and Tau and the rest of the Phoenix Club gave (or sent, in the cases of the ones that couldn't attend the party) Harry and Stella various stuffed animals or picture books.
Meanwhile, Voldemort was figuring out what he had to do in regards to the prophecy. At the moment, he wasn't interested in Stella Black and Eileen Prince-Nightwind, since he didn't really think a witch would be able to take him down. While he valued Bellatrix Lestrange and Alecto Carrow, and in fact the former was one of his trusted Death Eaters and fanatically devoted to him, they were exceptions to his general views towards woman. After all, hadn't his own mother been weak, choosing to die after giving birth to her son, rather than using her magic to live?
To be on the safe side, Voldemort did plan on killing the two girls that could fit the prophecy and their parents later on (especially Eileen and her mother, since they were descendents of the founders of Nightwind School), but his main focus was currently on Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. After much deliberation, Voldemort decided that he would kill Harry Potter first. The Potter brat was a halfblood, after all, and also easier to get at than the Longbottom boy. Lucius Malfoy had told Voldemort that the Longbottoms had moved to Windmere and Frank Longbottom was planning to be a teacher at Nightwind School. As Voldemort had no idea where the school was, except that it was on a hidden and Unplottable island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Portkeys from the island were spelled to keep unauthorized people from using them, there was no way he was going to get there.
He paced around the room, wondering what he could do to be able to kill the Potter brat. From what Lucius Malfoy had told him, the Potters had gone into hiding under the Fidelius Charm, so he couldn't target them at their home, unless he got the information from their Secret-Keeper. The only problem with that was the Secret-Keeper was Regulus Black, father of Stella Black, and the Blacks were in hiding as well, with James Potter as their Secret-Keeper. So quite frankly, unless Voldemort managed to draw the Potters out of their home, there was no way he could kill Harry Potter.
"This is so frustrating!" Voldemort growled. By this point, all he wanted was to get his hands on the Potter brat and kill him so that the prophecy couldn't be fulfilled. He honestly couldn't care about the parents at the moment, since Harry Potter was the main focus. Besides, he could always kill Lily and James Potter at a later date, and it would be very amusing to see them mourn the loss of their child.
In October, Voldemort finally came up with a plan. He was able to ambush one of the Potters' friends, Dylan O'Hagan, and put the Imperius Curse on him. After that, an Imperiused Dylan suggested that it would be safer for the Potters to move to Windmere, where Voldemort wouldn't be able to get to them, and James could take on the post of Transfiguration teacher when Professor Wilmott retired in a few years. Lily and James thought it was a splendid idea, and Dylan said that he would meet them on Halloween, at nine o'clock in the evening, on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow, with a Portkey that would take them to Windmere.
On the appointed date, Voldemort called all the Death Eaters to him. "Today is the day that I will kill that blasted Potter brat and prevent him from ever growing up to kill me! Later on, we can kill the others if need be, but the one most likely to eventually defeat me will be out of picture!"
Lucius Malfoy paled when he heard this, but quickly assumed a neutral expression. He was grateful that they all had to wear masks at meetings, or no doubt someone would have seen him turn pale and wonder what was the matter with him. "My lord, that is good news," he said in a falsely bright tone. "But how do you plan on achieving this wondrous deed? The Potters are in hiding under the Fidelius Charm and you do not know the location."
"I do know that they are living somewhere in Godric's Hollow," Voldemort replied. "And I have implemented a plan to draw them out. Two weeks ago, I was able to ambush one of their friends, one Dylan O'Hagan. I put him under the Imperius Curse, and had him suggest to the Potters that they would be safer if they lived in the town of Windmere, which is associated with Nightwind School. The Potters thought it was a good idea, and they are supposed to meet with their friend on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow at nine o'clock, which is in a half hour from now, to use the Portkey. Instead, I will be there, and will kill Harry Potter! Lily and James Potter I shall let live for the time being, as it will be quite amusing to see them suffer over their son's death. As for Dylan O'Hagan, I shall kill him after I have disposed of the Potter brat, since I will have no more need of him."
"That is an excellent plan, my lord," said Bellatrix. "Do you not want me with you when you kill the Potter brat?"
"No, I shall do this alone," Voldemort snapped. "Now, if you will excuse me, I shall go leave to set up the ambush on the Potters. You are all dismissed."
As soon as Voldemort had gone, Lucius Malfoy Apparated home. He had no idea as to the exact location of the Potter home, since as a spy in the Death Eater ranks, he'd rather not know anything that he wasn't asked by the Order to tell Voldemort. However, his wife knew, since she wasn't a spy, and after he quickly explained what had happened at the meeting, Narcissa immediately contacted the Potters. Unfortunately, they apparently had just set out for the meeting place, so she was unable to reach them. In desperation, Lucius Apparated to Dylan and Yuki's home so that Yuki could at least be told about her husband being under the Imperius Curse and keep Dylan from getting killed. Meanwhile, Narcissa spoke to Regulus and Katya, so they could at least summon as many Order members as they could to go to the meeting place.
However, things didn't quite go as planned. While Katya thought of sending a message via Patronus to Lily and James (a method that Professor Dumbledore and Headmistress Nakamura had come up with to send messages), by the time it reached the Potters, they had arrived at the meeting place. Once they heard it, the two attempted to Apparate away, but couldn't due to the Anti-Appariation wards that Voldemort had placed on the field.
"So, how did your friends know of this and tried to warn you?" Voldemort demanded as he walked up to the Potters.
"Dylan was able to throw off the Imperius Curse you put on him and told his wife everything," James lied, so that Lucius's status as spy wouldn't be uncovered. "She then tried to contact us, but as we'd already left the house, she couldn't warn us and instead told Regulus and Katya Black, who sent the warning."
"Pity," said Voldemort. "Well, the warning came too late, and I am going to kill your son! Hand him to me!"
"Never!" snarled James, moving to stand in front of Lily. "I'd rather die first."
"That can be arranged," sneered Voldemort, deciding that if that was what James wanted, he might as well get it. In any case, since the Order was no doubt alerted, it probably would be best to kill the Potter brat as soon as possible, before they arrived. "Avada Kedavra!" A bolt of green light shot out of Voldemort's wand and hit James squarely in the chest. He collapsed to the ground, dead.
"NO!" Lily screamed, while Harry, who was clutched in her arms, began crying.
Voldemort indulged in evil laughter for a few seconds, then snapped, "Hand over the boy, you stupid girl, or you'll die like your worthless husband!"
"My husband wasn't worthless, and I'm never giving you my son!" Lily snapped, a look of fierce protectiveness on her face.
"I am getting your son and killing him!" snarled Voldemort. "Give him to me, you foolish girl!"
"No! You are not getting Harry! Take me instead, if you must, but you are never getting him!"
In the distance, faint cracks could be heard, signifying that there were people Apparating into Godric's Hollow. Voldemort cursed, then shouted, "Stand aside and let me have the boy!"
"No!" shouted Lily defiantly, placing her son in the carrier behind her legs and standing protectively in front of him. She silently activated an ancient spell that Headmistress Nakamura had discovered, one that could potentially protect a person from death, but required the sacrifice of someone close to him or her.
Witches and wizards could be seen running towards the field. Voldemort gave up trying to get Lily to stand aside and instead hit her with the Killing Curse. He then removed the Anti-Appariation Ward, so that he could Disapparate out of there once he killed the Potter brat. As the witches and wizards got closer, he pointed his wand at the crying Harry Potter in his carrier, and said, "Avada Kedavra."
However, things didn't work out as planned. The jet of green light hit the toddler on his forehead, but incredibly, it somehow didn't kill him and instead rebounded on Voldemort. There was a blast, which hit a nearby tree and destroyed several branches and singed the trunk. Thanks to the steps that he had taken, Voldemort didn't die, but he found himself without a proper body. The spirit part of him managed to possess a nearby squirrel, who picked up his fallen wand and scampered away.
The members of the Order skid to a halt once they reached the field. They had seen the green light of the Killing Curse, so they knew that the Potters were dead. However, they got the shock of their lives to see that Harry was still alive and well in his carrier, except for a cut on his forehead that resembled a lightning bolt and crying for his parents.
Makena picked up the crying Harry and comforted him, while the rest of the Order present tried to make sense of what happened. Finally Dumbledore said, "It seems that when Lily and James sacrificed their lives for their son, it created some sort of protection. And I feel the residue of a spell that Lily seems to have activated before she died. In any case, that protection caused the Killing Curse to rebound on Voldemort when he tried to kill Harry."
"Oh lovely," said Yun, understanding the implications of this. "So in one night, Harry becomes an orphan and will be famous for surviving the Killing Curse and appearing to be the cause of Voldemort's death, even though it was more his parents' sacrifice than his doing."
Dumbledore nodded. "Since the deaths of Lily and James were instrumental in Harry's protection, I suggest that we send him to his aunt and uncle for the time being. There are certain wards we can set up to keep Harry safe, which will be tied in to the blood that he shares with his aunt."
"I suppose," said Nicole. "Let me tend to the cut on Harry's head and check him over. Tomorrow morning, Makena and I can go visit Petunia and Tau and explain everything to them. Professor Dumbledore, I suppose you'll tell the rest of the Wizarding world about Voldemort's defeat?"
"Yes, but after that, the wards will need to be set up."
"Actually, Headmaster Dumbledore, I can do that," said Marshall. "I learned Warding in school, and I recently attained my mastery in it and Defense. That will free you to meet with the Ministry and deal with the aftermath of all this. But you may double check my work later on, if you like."
"All right then, I leave it in your hands," said Professor Dumbledore. "You were all close friends with Lily and James and I trust you to handle this." He silently Apparated away, leaving what was left of the Phoenix Club to mourn the deaths of their friends and deal with Harry Potter.
Author's Note: I hope my method of how Voldemort decided to get his hands on Harry Potter and kill him was plausible.