A/N: Here's the last chapter for the L/J 'The Cruelty of Fate', the rest will be continued as a h/hr under the same name, as I said before. A few mysteries surrounding Harry's death are made clear here, I made it as realistic as possible, and I do believe this could be very similar to how it all turns out in cannon. It just made sense while I typed it, ya know what I mean?
*****
Chapter Four
James was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of Harry crying in the next room. He had been sleeping very lightly lately, even the smallest of things would wake him up.
James didn't know why he was so nervous about the Fidelius Charm that he would be having put on him later that day. It was just…an ominous feeling. He just had the most horrible feeling that what he was doing was a mistake, and that he and his wife would lose their lives for it.
He turned over and faced his sleeping beauty. Lily was resting peacefully, her head resting on one hand, while the other hand was entangled in James' hair. A strand of hair had fallen over her face, and with his left thumb, James pushed it away and kissed the tender skin underneath.
Slowly, so as not to awaken her, James crawled out of the bed, rubbing a hand over his bare chest as he did so. He reached his arms to the sky, like a death eater caught on the wrong end of Dumbledore's wand, trying to stretch out the kinks that sleep had dealt him.
He pulled a Hippogriff's Quidditch robe off the chair in the corner, and slipped it on, looking perfectly at home in the gold and red trimmed colors. He snuck out of the room in silence, wincing slightly when the door creaked on its hinges as it was opened, and into the black sea of his hallway.
James pulled his wand out of his pant leg pocket, which was magically enlarged so that it could fit the entire eleven inch mahogany wand in it without trouble, and whispered, "Lumos," So that he could see again.
He found Harry's room, silent now, as Harry had stopped crying, and turned on the light as he entered it. Harry twitched in his crib, and turned to his father. Once seeing him, Harry's pudgy little face began to form happy, large smile, showing off his gums, as he had yet to grow in any teeth.
James smiled and walked to his son, picking him up and cradling him in his arms. Slowly he made his way to the room's loan rocking chair, and sitting down gently, tried to rock his baby to sleep, singing his favorite song.
"From the south of Britain,
We have come to play,
Doesn't matter if the match lasts all night and day,
We will put the quaffle in again and again,"
"Us Hippogriffs are the symbol of love,
But you will think us from hell,
Because our team plays so well,
We are helped, from above,"
"Our team is so great it should be a sin,
No one can match us,
From the Arrows to the Cannons, to the Incubus,
Because in the end, we will WIN!"
"You did not just sing our baby to sleep with the Godric's Hollow Team song, James Potter," Lily ridiculed, smiling at him from the doorway. James shrugged and gave her an innocent look.
"What?"
Lily laughed and shook her head, walking over to James and Harry, who were still rocking in the chair made for Harry by his godfather Sirius. When she reached them, James held out the infant for Lily to hold, then patted his lap.
"Come on Lily, plenty of room for all of us."
She smiled, and cradling Harry in her arms, sat down on her husband's lap, leaning back against him as he ceremoniously wrapped his arm around her, pressing his face to her cheek for a soft kiss.
"I love you Lily," He whispered in her ear, taking in the scent of her hair as he did so.
She smiled sweetly, and, releasing one hand from Harry, she reached back and held James by the back of his head, turning her neck and pulling his face down to hers, kissing him chastely and caringly. "I love you too James. For all my life and the eternity afterwards."
No more words were spoken as Lily returned her hand to Harry, who was sleeping soundly, and laid her head back against James chest, closing her eyes. James tightened his hold on her and resolved that he would always protect her and Harry, as well as their child that was to be born in a few months.
If anyone was going to try and get them, they'd have to kill him first.
*****
James had been nervous the night before the Fidelius Charm Ceremony. He had been anxious for it only that morning. Now, a few minutes before Peter was going to arrive, he was trembling in anticipation.
Lily rolled her eyes at him from across the room. "Relax honey, Peter will be here in a few moments, then it'll take us an hour to perform the charm, after which we will be able to live in peace for the rest of the war." She eyed him seriously until his shoulders drooped and his breathing slowed, signaling that he was calming down. "Much better James, no why don't you go fetch me a cup of tea?"
Without second thought, he nodded and fled to the kitchen, obeying his wife's command. Lily, on the other hand, was giggling as she watched him leave. She turned her head to Harry, who was gurgling cheerfully. She contemplated their future as she sat, wondering, in this cruel world of war, just how long she truly had to live.
She had lost nearly everyone close to her; her parents, dead at the hands of death eaters; her sister Petunia, who blamed her for their deaths; so many friends from their school days; Lupin, whom she was still not entirely convinced was a spy; and so many others.
Her and James were truly lucky to still be alive, after all, they had faced Voldemort three times. She could still remember that last encounter like it was yesterday, she had been so terrified…
Lily and James, along with Frank and Alice, were prowling the downtown streets of London, on a tip from an 'anonymous source', as Dumbledore had put it.
"Well if they're torturing muggles then they're doing a bloody good job at it," Frank commented, eyes scanning every open window and pawn shop door, ready to do battle.
"Yeah, well, maybe they've all gone off to mope after that pathetic showing Hollow had against the Cannons this morning. Three hundred and forty to twenty in only four hours. That'll take the mood right out of you."
"True," Frank responded, shaking his head. "But maybe if Warrington had opened his eyes and seen the snitch that was sitting right under his nose, then-"
"Stupefy!"
"Protego!"
A death eaters attempted ambush stunner was sent harmlessly into a stack of crates on the far side of the street. Suddenly, no less than thirty death eaters appeared out of the shadows, lead by Lord Voldemort himself.
"We've been betrayed," Lily whispered, stating the obvious.
They were surrounded on all sides, knowing full well that the place had most likely already been laden with anti-apparition charms, making escape impossible; they'd never have time to create a portkey.
"What? You only brought thirty or so of your little minions along Voldemort?" James said in a mocking tone that masked his fear. That had always been James mantra in life; when to scared to think straight - resort to arrogance. And arrogance was something James had years of practice at.
"I'm insulted that you would think so lowly of my wife and our friends abilities. In fact, Frank, Alice," He continued, catching Frank's eyes. "Why don't you go over to that bench and sit down while Lily and I take care of this. We'll tag-team you in when we get bored."
Frank grinned, nodding at James. "We go this way you go that way?" James returned the grin and nodded.
"Protego!" Four voices shouted simultaneously, just as the death eaters attacked. James and Lily charged forward while Voldemort looked on with a sort of sick interest. The spells and curses that the death eaters had sent towards the two couples bounced harmlessly off their strengthened shields.
Instantly ten or so death eaters converged on James and Lily. "Expecto Patronum!" James bellowed, sending a Gryffindor Lion out at his attackers. Now while the lion could not damage them, it did distract them well enough for Lily to get in a well timed stunner bolt and knock one death eater out of commission.
"Crucio!" Came four voices in unison. Had he not been in combat, Lily was sure that James would have rolled his eyes. They immediately ducked to the ground, letting the death eaters hit each other with their own pain curses, then easily stunning and binding the unfortunate ones.
What had once been ten death eaters was now three, but they were joined by another five. "Time to get nasty," James murmured, brandishing his wand, waiting for the right moment.
Why Voldemort brought along so many amateur death eaters, Lily had no idea, but they fell line and sinker for James trick. Then again, maybe they didn't know that he had been the best transfiguration student at Hogwarts since Minerva McGonogall. They probably also overlooked the fact that Lily had received a perfect score on her N.E.W.T. charms exam.
So imagine the death eaters surprise when all of a sudden the three harmless hubcaps that were laying on the side of the road were suddenly transformed into knight statues, and then were brought to life and into the fight by Lily's animation charm.
Now it was two wizards and three living statues against eight death eaters, Voldemort still not moving, but rather taking a sick pleasure in watching his troops get slaughtered. The knights made quick work of three of the death eaters, pinning them to the ground. One other death eater was screaming in agony on the ground, for James had transformed his cloak into a coat of nails. Lily had knocked another death eater out as well, charming his cloak to wrap around his head until he passed out from the lack of oxygen. The last death eater was easy work, two stunner bolts easily breaking through his shield charm.
James and Lily walked past the twenty-odd death eaters they had downed, James yawning as he did so. "Come on now Tom, you can do better than that!"
Voldemort's eyes flashed in anger at the name, but he said nothing as Frank and Alice came to James and Lily's side, leaving a trail of stunned death eaters in their wake. Four death eaters remained, situated two on each side of Voldemort, he motioned them forward, telling them to remove their masks.
On his far left stood Bellatrix Lestrange, her eyes burning into those of Lily's husband, living her hatred of her cousin Sirius through him.
Next to her was Lucius Malfoy, eyes burning into Lily's own, his hatred of mudbloods speaking volumes to her through his eyes.
Barty Crouch Jr. stood immediately to Voldemort's right, sinisterly glaring at Frank Longbottom.
Lastly was Rodolphus Lestrange, boring his gaze deep into Alice Longbottom's gentle eyes.
Lily didn't know who made the first move, or who fell first, all she could remember was the pain, and the fear that Voldemort could strike at any moment. The only thing she truly remembered was charming Malfoy's wand hand to snap its fingers repeatedly, distracting the pureblood wizard long enough for her to make her escape.
She had seen Bellatrix Lestrange screaming as she tried to extract a transformed niffler from clawing off her ears as it tried to get hold of the sparkling gems that dangled from each of her earlobes.
She also saw a badly beaten Alice levitating an unconscious Frank briskly through the alleyways of London. Lily still had no recollection of what happened while they were running, if they encountered Voldemort on the way, just that she was purely terrified.
Lily returned to the present time with a sigh. They had never told a soul about that night, not the marauder's or Dumbledore. They also made a pact to never bring it up again, a pact the kept.
James entered the room with a small smile and two glasses of tea, handing one to Lily as he sipped at the other one himself. "You know James, I need to get you nervous more often, you obey me better this way." She smirked at him at the end, earning a hearty laugh from James.
"Very funny," He said, turning his back and sitting in front of her. She smiled, then slowly put Harry on the floor so that he could walk or crawl around the room. Following this she sat on the floor behind her husband, wrapping her long, slender legs around his midsection from behind and began to dig her fingers into his shoulders slowly and caringly.
"Mm," James groaned, loving the massage. James had always loved being on the receiving end of a massage, but even more so when it was Lily.
"Relax," She whispered in his ear, lowering her hands and massaging his sides and his back, trying to alleviate his tension. They stayed like this for a full fifteen minutes before Peter arrived, just basking in the bliss of being in one another's company.
Peter was already sweating at the door, scared out of his mind of what he was about to do. Not only was he scared that he may mess up the process, but he was also afraid of betraying himself, of having James and Lily find out his secret. His heart ached at the idea that this could be the last time that he would ever see them, but he did not feel the ache, his fear of death overriding all other emotions.
"Well, let's not waste time with the small talk, why don't we just go ahead and get right down to it?" James was not up for any messing around, he wanted this thing done, and he wanted it done in haste. It seemed that Peter agreed, who was shaking his head vigorously. Lily, outnumbered, gave no argument and simply nodded her approval.
"Okay then," James said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them quickly, warming them up, for it was rather cold in the house. "Wands out then I suppose," Everyone nodded and drew their wands, touching their tips together. "Everyone remember the incantation?"
Lily and Peter nodded, and taking a deep breath, James started. "I, James Potter, with all my courage and faith do give, Peter Pettigrew my safety so that I may live."
Lily took a deep breath and repeated what James had said.. "I, Lily Evans Potter, with all my courage and faith do give, Peter Pettigrew my safety so that I may live."
Now it was Peter's turn. James took a deep breath, hoping that his friend would not forget his incantation. "Lily Evans Potter and James Potter your safety I do receive, because my courage and loyalty you do believe."
A bright flash emitted from all three wands, and a bluish-green light traveled it's way up Peter's arms and to his head, where the light dissolved into his skin and the brain below.
Now it was time for the last incantation, to be said all together. "In each other we trust, till our corpses have turned to ash and dust, may we share this bond together, and trust in one another's loyalty forever."
At this a red light consumed them all, illuminating the room in an eerie glow, until it all faded away to nothingness. After a moment of shocked silence, James shook his head to clear his doubts and picked up one of the goblets of liquid on the table. Chuckling a little as the others picked up their own goblets, he raised his to the middle and muttered a half-hearted, "Cheers,"
Lily and Wormtail smiled wearily, returning the gesture, and then, together, they all drank the final product that would seal their fate. To James it tasted like that of raw sewage maybe mixed in with a little bit of dragon droppings and heated until it became a liquid, but he managed to digest it all, but not without a sickening grimace.
Peter choked a little but managed to keep his down. "Ugh, good thing I put that anti-vomit charm on myself before I came over," Peter chided, hoping to lighten the mood. This got chuckles from his two friends, and with a sad smile, he turned to the door.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I have something I have to do. So good-bye."
Wormtail walked to the door and opened it, walking out of the house and apparating without ever looking back.
He never saw James and Lily alive again.
*****
"Excellent Wormtail, excellent," Voldemort hissed, for once in his life actually please with the little rat. "I will attack tomorrow night, on the Hollow's Eve…" He laughed, his high-pitched, cruel, evil laugh. "How fitting, to die in Godric's Hollow, on Hollow's Eve. While all the little mud blood muggle children are out celebrating their holiday, the wizarding community will be holding one as well," Once again he grinned. "With me as the topic of conversation."
Peter nodded, terrified but elated, happy but remorseful, for this whole façade was about to come crumbling down, and when all was said and done, he would be rewarded with the riches and glories that Voldemort had promised him.
Yes, things were looking up for Wormtail indeed.
*****
It was late at night on a dark and dreary Halloween. The Potters did not join in the festivities of Halloween, as their house was isolated from the rest. That and the fact that there was nobody in the town aside from Frank and Alice that would even be able to see them if they looked straight through the kitchen during their evening meal.
James was sitting in his favorite chair, reading the Quidditch pages. Lily was currently cooing Harry to sleep, or trying valiantly anyways, back in the nursery.
The night was quiet, and still, almost so still that it unnerved James. He pushed this thought away as paranoia, and vowed to stop spending so much time around Mad-Eye. Everything was going perfectly well, until…
CREEAAK
James was out of his chair faster than a cat jumping out of water. No one knew the location of their flat, not unless Peter told them. Sirius was supposed to be with Wormtail, making sure he was safe. Frank and Alice were out on Order business. No one else had been granted access yet, unless Peter told them. Which meant he had.
Without their permission.
He felt Voldemort before he saw him, the tall, pale man in dark robes entered the living room a moment later, sneering at James, who already had his wand drawn.
"LILY! TAKE HARRY AND RUN! IT WAS PETER ALL ALONG! HE'S HERE! TAKE HARRY AND RUN!"
"Tonight is the night that you meet your end, James Potter." Voldemort sneered, drawing his own wand.
"Maybe," James retorted. "But you'll never get Harry. Not over my dead body."
"That's the general idea," The dark lord hissed. "Crucio!"
James dodged to the left, and the curse instead shattered the glass of the picture behind him. But Voldemort was quick, and fired another curse before James could get his wand aimed, exploding the tea cups next to his face, littering James' face with glass.
"ARRGGHH!" James screamed, before flipping his wand around a few times and transfiguring the carpet under Voldemort's feet into a sheet of ice. The dark lord gave James a nod of respect, but was able to pivot and dodge the next attack without slipping, then easily dispatched of the ice.
It was then that James realized his predicament. He was cornered, against the wall, with nothing around to transfigure. He knew what was coming next, it was inevitable. "I love you Lily," He whispered, before the dark lord fired one last curse, a jet of green light that caught James square in the chest, and the man slumped to the ground.
James Potter was dead.
*****
"LILY! TAKE HARRY AND RUN! IT WAS PETER ALL ALONG! HE'S HERE! TAKE HARRY AND RUN!"
Lily stopped dead in her actions when she heard the words screamed by her husband. Voldemort was here. He was here to kill Harry, and take her and James along the way. Biting her lip, she made the hardest decision of her life, and at the same time, the easiest.
She picked up Harry, and held him tight in her arms, sobbing softly as she held onto her son for what would be the last time. She knew what she had to do. She had read many books on dark curses while she was a student at Hogwarts, enough to know that love was a great counter-curse against dark magic, which was no doubt what her son would be facing.
The power he knows not, Lily thought to herself with a smile. Tom Riddle never knew the love of a mother, his had died in child birth. This was the power alone that could defeat him. While Harry would never know his mother (this thought sent another tear down Lily's cheek) he would know the power of her love.
Lily loved her son, and she would not let Voldemort take him without going through her first.
And then he was gone.
Lily felt her husband die, she heard a thump from the living room, and knew that their duel was over. Lily's heart broke, knowing the love of her life was gone forever from this world, as she soon would be as well.
I love you James… She thought, as the bedroom door was blown from its hinges. The flash of light caused her to look away for a brief second, and when she looked back, Voldemort was in the doorway.
"Move out of the way you silly girl." He said, startling her. Voldemort? Show mercy to a woman? What game was he playing?
None of this mattered to Lily though, she already knew what she had to do. "No! Don't take Harry! Take me! Please don't kill Harry!" She stubbornly planted her feet in front of the baby's cradle.
"Move now girl, save your own life!" Voldemort demanded, getting angry. Why couldn't she just cooperate?
Lily shook her head defiantly. "Never!"
Voldemort gave her a malicious stare. "Move woman, or these will be the last eyes you ever see."
Lily, mustering all of her Gryffindor courage, retorted, knowing it would push him over the edge. "I assure you Tom, these," She pointed to her own eyes. "Will be the last eyes that you ever see."
Voldemort laughed, a high-pitched, sinister laugh. "We'll see about that girl…Avada Kedavra!"
The jet of green light hit Lily square in the chest, and her body fell to the ground, while her spirit soared upward to join her true love.
"Stupid woman!" Voldemort spat, peering at the deceased Lily Potter. "She could have saved herself! Now I have lost my servant!" In a rage, he made his way to Harry, the reason he had come in the first place.
"Good-bye Harry," Voldemort sneered, brandishing his wand at the seemingly helpless child. "Avada Kedavra!"
But then something strange happened. The jet of light hit Harry Potter, encircling his body in a greenish glow. Slowly, the light all made its way to Harry's forehead, where it began to take shape, the shape of a lightning bolt.
Voldemort was confused. "What? How? Why isn't he-" He never had the chance to finish the sentence as all the light that had been building on Harry's forehead shot out like a cannon at Voldemort, with such a ferocity that the curse singed and parted his skin, leaving the shape of a lightning bolt on his head, a scar he would have forever.
The killing curse struck Riddle in the face, and he screamed in agony as his body began to deteriorate. It did not deteriorate immediately though, but rather from the inside out. Voldemort could feel his power fading away.
"NOOO!" He screamed, turning tail and fleeing from the house, his body becoming weaker and weaker, until it could no longer travel. By this point Voldemort was far away from Godric's Hollow, he had with all his remaining power apparated to Albania, where he knew there was a dark forest where he could possess creatures and live as a parasite.
Finally his body gave away, and Voldemort left it, his spirit entering that of a snake. Voldemort watched helplessly until what had been his body dissolved into dust and was blown away in the wind, all that remained being a black cloak and an eleven inch holly wand, a phoenix feather residing within…
*****
A/N: So there ya have it, the end of this section of the story. To clarify;
1) the power the dark lord knew not was the love of a mother
2) the reason behind voldemort not wanting to kill lily potter was that she was bearing a child, a child he wished to raise as his successor.
When the h/hr starts, it'll be with Sirius finding the bodies, then tracking down peter and apparently killing him, while remus believes he was right all along. It'll take a while before h/hr actually happens in the other story, probably not till five or six chapters in.
Hope you liked this fic and hopefully you'll like it's continuation even more!
Cheers!