The Cruelty of Fate

SoraSummers

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Drama
Relationships: Lily & James
Book: Lily & James, Books 1 - 5
Published: 01/06/2004
Last Updated: 04/06/2004
Status: completed

The final days of Lily and James Potter chronicalling just how of their three best friends, one was lost, one betrayed them, and one was blamed for it all. First part of a much larger fic. WARNING: CHAPTER FOUR CONTAINS THE POTTER'S DEATHS! DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SEE THEM DIE!!!

Chapters

1. Chapter One

2. Chapter Two

3. Chapter Three

4. Chapter Four

1. Chapter One

A/N: Okay, here’s the rub on this story. This is only the beginning of a much larger story, but I wanted to get it on portkey, and this was the closest I could get it to. The full story deals with the fall of the marauders, from when James and Lily (along with Frank and Alice Longbottom) are told of the prophecy, to the time when the final marauder dies. So basically, this will only be like the first three chapters of the story, IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ ABOUT JAMES AND LILY’S DEATHS, THEN DO NOT READ THIS STORY, THAT IS HOW IT WILL END!

I am probably going to ask for permission to write the rest of the fic here at portkey under the harry/hermione ship, b/c it will be there, it just won’t be hugely prevalent, and will only be seen through the eyes of Sirius, Lupin, and to a lesser extent (a much lesser extent, if any) Wormtail.

We’ll see how that goes later, and I’ll inform you all on it with the next update. For now, read and enjoy!

*****

Chapter One

A loud knock came from the entry doorway at the residence of Number 12, Godric’s Hollow. A young man, not a day over twenty-one, looked quizzically at his beautiful wife, who was cradling their young son in her arms.

“Who could that be? Sirius didn’t say anything about coming over, did he?”

“Maybe it’s Alice,” The young woman, her hair the color of a burning firelight, responded, nose scrunched in thought. “Perhaps she’s come to see her godson now that her and Frank are back from their honeymoon?”

Her lover stood from his chair by the fire, peering at his lovely wife through his black-rimmed glasses, tussling his untidy hair. “Possibly, it is true that she has not seen Harry in quite some time. Not since the wedding, in fact.”

“And a wonderful wedding it was,” The woman replied, standing herself and rocking the young Harry in her arms. She continued to talk as the door sounded again, while she and the love of her life walked to the source. “Maybe she has brought little Neville as well, he and Harry are going to be quite the friends growing up, aren’t they love?”

“They will if we have anything to do about it.” He responded with a warm smile, and was rewarded when the petite women gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

By the third knock the newlyweds finally reached the door, pulling it open, to reveal a somber man of many years, a man who had seen more than any man should be forced to see, but rather than back away from the harsh truths that had been placed upon him, he welcomed them and was the greatest of all men for it.

“Albus!” The lady exclaimed in surprise, a smile forming across her face, from one rosy cheek to another. “What an unexpected surprise!”

But the old man did not return this enthusiasm, something that deeply startled the young, raven-haired man of twenty years and his beautiful wife.

“Lily, James,” He said in greeting, giving them both a small nod, the twinkle that was so prevalent in his eye nonexistent.

Lily’s face immediately went from that of elation to one of great worry. “What is the problem Professor? Please, do come in. Would you like a cup of tea?”

Albus nodded and Lily stepped aside, still cradling young Harry in her arms. The old man accepted the gesture and stepped into the house, a grim look plastered to his usually passive and jovial face.

“James, while Lily prepares the tea, please contact the Longbottom’s and have them come over here immediately. This is something that you all need to hear.” Without a second thought, James nodded and walked across the living room that they had now arrived in, stopping at the fireplace and pulling a jug off the mantle, filled with a bluish powder.

He spoke loudly into the booming fire, “Number Nine, Godric’s Hollow!”

The fire roared and James stuck his head into the fireplace, eyes scanning the house situated on the other side of the small wizarding town of Godric’s Hollow.

Although there were muggles living in the area, Godric’s Hollow was always thought of as a wizarding town, as the muggles there knew of the wizarding world, some even being employed in it, but all the while not being able to use magic like the wizards and witches around them.

James and Lily Potter, along with their newborn son Harry, were some of the most recent occupants of the town, as were Frank and Alice Longbottom, and their son Neville, who was but just a day older than Harry.

The early days of October were some of the most wonderful in the year for Godric’s Hollow, the weather always being pleasantly cool but never to the point where it was uncomfortable.

The children to young to be in school were always out and about, while it being throwing gnomes from their gardens or playing pick-up games of quidditch at Hollow’s Park, they kept themselves busy and blissful while their parents all spoke in hushed tones about the outside world.

While they believed that they were safe in the confines of Godric’s Hollow, that was not to be said for England at large. An evil, dark wizard, possibly the worst wizard and the greatest threat since Salazar Slytherin himself, had been making a living hell out of the world for the past ten years.

This wizard had christened himself Lord Voldemort, but was never spoken of by this name, but rather by the alias’ of You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Wizards and witches worldwide feared to speak his name, but these two new families in Godric’s Hollow; the Potter’s and the Longbottom’s, did not abide by this unspoken rule, and spoke the abomination’s name freely.

“James?” A sweet voice came from just out of his line of sight, soon to be followed by a small woman with a round face, a baby boy with similar characteristics tucked under one of her arms.

“No time to talk. Get Frank and floo over here immediately. Albus is here and has something to tell us all. I think it may have something to do with Voldemort.”

Alice asked no questions as she nodded and hurriedly left the room, seeking out her husband of less than a year. Neville had been a surprise to them both, resulting in their quick marriage. They had been engaged before Neville was discovered, but they had decided to rush the wedding so that Neville would be born into an official family.

James and Lily had married directly after Hogwarts, and Harry came some time later. This couple now sat in their living room in complete and absolute silence, sipping gently on the tea that Lily had prepared with Albus in a lone loveseat across from them, the two lovers sharing one of their own.

A few tense moments later there was a tumbling noise at the fireplace, and the jolly figure of Frank Longbottom tumbled out of the fireplace, followed quickly by his wife Alice. Even in dire circumstances, which this coming conversation promised to be, the Longbottoms could not be anything other than joyful, it was just the way they were.

“Sorry it took a moment, Neville spewed all over my new jumper just before I pulled out the floo powder, so I had to go back and change,” Alice commented, taking a glass of tea from the tray situated in the middle of all the loveseats and taking a seat next to her husband, smiling lovingly at the baby in her arms.

“I am sorry to interrupt the formalities,” Dumbledore spoke gravely. “But tonight I come here on a sad note.” He bowed his head slightly. “It is best that I start from the beginning.”

The two couples settled in, ready for a long story.

“As you know, with the retirement of Professor Kensington, we are in need of a new Divination Professor at Hogwarts,”

“About time to,” James grumbled, remembering back to his Hogwarts days, when the old hag Kensington had predicted thousands of things that never came true.

Dumbledore nodded slightly. “Please, James, do not interrupt me. This will be a hard story to tell, and one to hear as well,”

James nodded slightly, surprised at the headmaster’s words. Whatever this was, it must be of the utmost importance.

Dumbledore continued. “As I was saying, we are in need of a new professor for the class of Divination. One of these candidates is Sibyll Trelawney,” He held up a hand to stop any questions. “Yes, this is in fact a descendent of the Trelawney who predicted my own defeat of the dark lord Grindelwald.”

The room fell into the second of many uncomfortable silences that night. They all knew the basics of Seer work, and that one family of Seers usually predicted the same type of prophecies, in the Trelawney’s case, this was war and death.

“As I suspected when I arrived there, Sybill was quite the fraud, without what seemed even a fraction of talent in the ways of predicting the future.”

He paused and drew in a deep breath. “But then she said something, something in a voice not her own, in a trance, in a state that a Seer is in when predicting the future.” He let out the breath he had been holding. “She told a true prophecy.”

He allowed a moment for the others to get over their initial shock, and took that moment to bring out a small pool of silvery liquid, a pensieve. Without a word, he pulled out his wand and spun it around thrice times in the pool of silver - very reminiscent of Unicorn blood - and a scene began to play out.

There was Sybill Trelawney, standing behind Dumbledore, seemingly normal, until her eyes drooped and her voice became scratchy.

“THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES…BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE THE POWER THAT THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT…AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHERFOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES…THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…

Silence reigned supreme once again, as the occupants of the household contemplated the meaning of Trelawney’s words…

It was less than a week after they had left Hogwarts forever, James and Lily Potter were enjoying their honeymoon at the wizarding beach in Atlantis, an aptly named island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, christened by the muggle myth, and invisible to all those who did not know of it’s existence.

But the honeymoon was cut short, one fateful night under the stars.

“Mm, have I told you how much I love you today Lily?” James asked her, nuzzling her neck. They were sitting on a towel facing the ocean, peace reigning over them as they listened to the sounds of the sea…

“Hmm, yes, I believe you have, but you could say it again,” His wife responded, a hint of elation in her voice.

“Lily Evans Potter, I lo-”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Lily and James spun around and were immediately on their feet, James subconsciously moving in front of Lily with his wand held high.

“It’s time to die James,” A cold voice hissed from the center of the three.

On the left there was a beautiful woman, with an exception of her eyes. They burned with such a maniacal hatred that it made one wonder whether she was truly sane.

On the right stood an intimidating man, a malicious sneer crossing his otherwise handsome features.

And in the middle was a tall, pale, man, with the eyes of a snake, glinting red, but not like the firelight, rather innocent blood.

“I don’t think so Tom,” James replied suavely, attempting to cover up the fear he was harboring inside. Lily grasped his hand from behind, showing him his support.

The Dark Lord laughed. “Barty, Bellatrix, make quick work of them, we have other business to attend to.”

Without hesitation or warning, Barty Crouch and Bellatrix Lestrange split apart and came at the Potter’s from the sides, while Voldemort walked straight towards them. James made to attack Bellatrix, whom he believed the weakest of the three, but a squeeze from his wife kept him in place.

Knowing better than to not trust his wife in a situation like this, James abandoned his initial instincts and rummaged through his brain for what his wife must be thinking.

‘The only way out is the portkey in out cabin, but that’s a hundred meters away and we’d have to go straight through Voldemort to get there, what we need is to surprise them, and then outrun them, but how?’

Then it clicked. He grasped his wife’s hand, signaling that he thought he knew what she wanted. She responded vocally and confirmed his suspicions. “Let’s get out of here Prongs.”

Before Voldemort and the others knew what had happened, James and Lily Potter were gone, and a stag had rammed Voldemort to the ground, while a phoenix flew a beeline for the cabin. The couple were within twenty meters of the house before Voldemort and his death eaters could react, and by then, it was too late.

All three of the dark magic users succeeded in getting off a killing curse; Crouch shot a few meters high of Lily, while James felt the whoosh from Bellatrix’s killing curse as it passed his ear. Voldemort, knowing that he had been beaten, aimed his beam at the cottage instead, screaming in anguish as he watched the Potter’s vacation spot explode a mere second after James and Lily had portkeyed away.

That had been the first of three times James and Lily had escaped the Dark Lord, and they knew that sooner or later, their luck would run out.

Albus watched the couples in silence. While he did not know the details, he knew that both sets of parents had escaped Tom Marvolo Riddle three times, and that both of their children were born in the dying days of July. There was no doubt in his mind that the boy that the prophecy spoke of referred to either Harry James Potter or Frank Neville Longbottom.

Albus cleared his throat. “There is a charm, a powerful charm that Fidelius Flitwick has recently created, christened ‘The Fidelius Charm’. It will ensure the safety of you and your children. There is a complicated ceremony we must put you all through, and you must select a ‘secret keeper’. This will be the person who performs the charm, and only that person will be able to tell the whereabouts of those under the charm.

“One could peer into your kitchen window while you were having evening tea, and they would be unable to see you, do to this charm. I strongly recommend that you allow yourselves to be put under this charm, it will save you lives, or in the least, prolong them.”

Lily asked the question that had been on the tip of James tongue. “But why? If the prophecy was told to you, how will Voldemort ever know?”

The other three in the room nodded, all thinking the same thing. Dumbledore sighed. “This meeting took place in the Hog’s Head, and a death eater was there to hear the story, though he was thrown out halfway through and did not hear the entire story.”

“Who?” James asked interestedly.

Dumbledore looked him dead in the eye, and said with solidarity, “Severus Snape.”

“SNIVELLUS!” James roared, the power and magic behind his voice causing the tea to jump and spill out of the glasses, burning a few hands. “I knew that pathetic excuse for a wizard was going to-”

“SILENCE!” Dumbledore stated strongly, raising to his feet, and looking directly at James. “I confronted Severus after the prophecy, and I have deemed him trustworthy.”

James jaw dropped, along with his wife’s and the Longbottom’s.

Dumbledore continued. “Severus is going back to Voldemort, knowing that he has only half of the prophecy, and no James, he was not told whole thing. Severus knows nothing of ‘marking one as his equal’ and therefore will not know that in attacking the one to which this prophecy refers, he could risk turning one of these boys into his equal in terms of power. Severus has gone to Voldemort and will tell him this prophecy, and this will no doubt get Voldemort to act. This is where we can put a stop to this war, this is our opening. We cannot kill the man, but we can cripple him until the one chosen by the prophecy, be it Neville or Harry, is strong enough to destroy him. I will have no questions to Severus’ loyalty, I trust him and you will respect that.”

He waited a moment for his words to sink in before continuing. “I volunteer myself to be your secret keepers, if you wish it.”

“No,” Alice said quietly, surprising everyone. “You have enough to deal with as it is, Albus. We will have Frank’s mother as ours.” Frank smiled weakly at his wife, before she turned to James and Lily. “And yours will be…” She trailed off, obviously wanting an answer.

“Sirius.” James said, without hesitation or remorse. Lily nodded in silent agreement. Sirius Black, James’ best friend since their first year at Hogwarts, and loyal to a fault. No one in the wizarding world doubted Sirius’ dedication and loyalty to Lily and James Potter.

James thought of his friends, the always adventurous Sirius, the man who could hardly hold his wand straight, Peter Pettigrew, and…the traitor…Remus Lupin.

They had known for some time now that one of the Marauder’s - what James, Sirius, Peter, and Lupin called themselves - was a traitor, and passing information along to Voldemort. James obviously knew that he was not the traitor, and he trusted Sirius with his life. Peter was frankly to much of a moron to be able to pull it off, and that left…Lupin. Moony, the werewolf. The man they had sacrificed so much for, had betrayed them all. It broke James’ heart when he realized that this must be the truth - it was the only logical solution.

But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t see how Lupin could be a traitor. As he thought of it now, he allowed himself to think what if it was Peter, was it possible?

VROOM!

The loud noise of a motorcycle engine revving up tore James away from his thoughts, thoughts that he would never dwell on again. No doubt Sirius had arrived, but hopefully he didn’t do anything stupid, as they had guests over-

“Pongs? Ish zat you Shames?” Slurred a drunken Sirius as he practically fell into the living room, smelling of liquor. “I’s gots a bottle of fire whishky wish your name ons it Shames!”

James rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands. Lily chuckled softly next to him while Frank tried to keep in his laughter on the next loveseat over. Alice let out a sigh of exasperation and stood, pointing her wand at Sirius. James wondered what in the devil she thought she was doing when she said, “Sobrietus!”

A soft yellow beam of light hit Sirius in the chest, causing him to stumble a little and shake his head. When he looked up, his eyes were no longer foggy and he managed to wipe some of the hair that had been plastered to his head. He looked around in a daze.

“Huh? When’d I get here? I had just got shot down by that tease Nicole when I went for a drink and…”

His gaze shifted over to James, who was gaping at Alice. “You have got to teach me that one some time Alice!”

Lily groaned and elbowed him in the ribs. James recoiled and gave her an innocent expression. “What?”

“Now that we are married, James, I do believe that you will no longer be needing the sobriety spell, seeing as you aren’t drinking any more.”

This statement caused Sirius to double over in laughter. “Ha! Yeah right! James give up drinking? Why, just the other night-”

He cut off at a glare from James, who was being glared at by his wife. James visibly cringed. He had promised Lily he would give up the alcohol, but then Sirius accused him of being whipped, and James couldn’t let him get away with that, so…

Sirius broke the tension when he noticed his old Headmaster. “Bloody hell! Hi there headmaster Dumbledore sir. Um, well, you see, we don’t really drink, because we’re still underage, I know, you see, I meant that in the metaphorical sense, and-”

“It is quite alright, Sirius. My memory has temporarily eluded me, and I have no recollection of the past ninety seconds.”

James and Sirius grinned at each other. They knew they liked that guy for a reason.

Sirius found a seat and sat down, his free-spirited personality shining through. “So what calls for the celebration, eh?” He asked, eyeing the tea glasses.

After the initial break from reality Sirius’ visit had allowed, everyone was now snapped back to the harsh truths they were facing. James eyed his best friend wearily. “I’ll fill you in…”

“…and I want that secret keeper to be you.” James finished, about twenty minutes later, to a stunned Sirius.

“I’m floored James, I really am, but-” James saw a flash pass through his best friend’s eyes, a glimmer that only James knew the meaning of - Sirius had a plan. “-why don’t we go to another room to discuss this? In private.”

James nodded without hesitation, knowing full well that Sirius had a plan. He followed his best mate into the bedroom, and sat on the bed. He patted the place next to him, but Sirius scrunched his nose and asked, “When was the last time you and Lily washed the sheets?”

James, confused, answered, “I dunno, a few weeks?”

Sirius chuckled and planted his feet firmly into the ground. “No thanks, I’ll stand.” James rolled his eyes with a small chuckle, finally getting what Sirius was insinuating.

“Okay, be my guest, what is it? What’s the plan?” James prodded, anxious to get this out of the way.

A wicked grin crossed Sirius’ face. “Oh no!” James interrupted, suddenly alarmed. “I know that smirk. Last time you gave me that one I ended up in the hospital wing after I fell off your ‘magnificent’ broom that you oh so conveniently forgot to tell me didn’t fly, and I fell fifteen feet from the porch and landed on my back in the mud.”

Sirius smiled broadly. “Ah…good times, good times…”

James snorted. “Maybe for you! I about broke my assbone!”

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. “There’s no such thing as an assbone, my dear friend, but anyways, let me get to the point.” His face became very serious, and James knew that what he said next would be ’the plan’.

“I think you should make Peter your secret keeper.”

“What!?” James exclaimed, leaping up from the bed and contemplating whether or not the sobriety spell had a side-effect that made people go temporarily insane. “No way, you’re my best friend! You’re a great wizard! I want you as my secret keeper! Pettigrew means well, but frankly, he’s a dunce!”

Sirius shook his head sadly. “Look James, this secret keeper thing will break sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time. When Voldemort finds out about this whole ‘secret keeper’ business, who’s the first damn person he’s gonna go after?”

James, realizing the logic, sat down hard and whispered, “You.”

“You’re damn right he’ll come after me. And all this time, while he’s chasing me, the real secret keeper - Peter - will be safe at home munching on some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. When Voldemort finally does catch up with me,” He gulped. “I-I won’t have anything to tell, because I won’t be able to give the information away, no matter how much he tortures me for it. Come on James, it’s infallible, you know it.”

James sat for a minute and considered his friend. It covered all the possibilities. Lupin wouldn’t have a clue. It all fit. He smiled at the best mate that he would ever have, and that any could ever wish for.

“Let’s do it.”

*****

A/N: Now obviously, a lot of this story will be depressing. James and Sirius believed Remus to be the traitor, so that’s how he will be portrayed in their eyes in this fic, until the very end. (of this portion, not the entire fic, obviously)

p.s. - Should I add ‘angst’ as a genre? I’ve never really understood the meaning of the word, and I’m not sure if it describes this story well or not. Please let me know!

Cheers!

2. Chapter Two

A/N: Here’s the second chapter of my fic! It looks like I’m going to be putting four chapters of this under J/L, and then switching it to h/hr after their deaths. This chapter has one major plot device in it that you may not agree with, and also a cruel torture scene, so beware.

*****

Chapter Two

A short, balding, fat gentleman was trembling visibly as he was lead down a long, darkened corridor. The stench of death was in the air, and the man wondered just how many people had died in this very hall. Probably more than he cared to think about.

As he turned a corner, flanked on either side by the married death eaters, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, he let out a whimper of terror as he saw the solitary door at the end of the hallway, a feint light protruding from its edges.

A hard jab to the back of his neck caused him to fall to the ground. “Get up you pathetic piece of trash,” Bellatrix spat at him, while her husband spit on the man’s robes. “The dark lord does not reward your cowardness, it is a wonder that you are in his favor at all.”

“Y-yes, the dark lord is-is most generous to allow myself life - ooh!” The man was broken off when he was hit yet again in the back of the head from Bellatrix.

“Do not speak unless you are addressed you insolent fool! Now on your feet, the dark lord awaits.”

Without another word the man shakily rose to his feet and scurried the rest of the way to the door, where he was left by the Lestranges to meet with the dark lord in private.

Or so he thought.

When he entered the dimly lit room, the warmth of the fire crackling in the corner prickling his skin, he was astonished to see yet another man there, a slick, black-haired man with a long, pointed nose, a man that he had hated all of his school life, mostly by association.

“Wormtail,” Hissed a voice from the corner of the room, where a green armchair sat, Severus Snape on the left, a large, menacing python curled up on the right. And in the middle sat the most feared man in the world, the one who was slowly taking control, whom no one, with the exception of Albus Dumbledore, dared to oppose.

Lord Voldemort was intimidating in every sense of the word. He was tall, but while fragile looking, one could easily tell the raw power that he possessed. From the pale, white skin to the blood red eyes, a simple glance of the man struck a stake of fear into any wizard or witch’s heart.

Wormtail was no exception, he trembled in front of the man. “M-my lord,” He stuttered, unable to look at the Dark Lord Voldemort.

“Are you too pathetic to even look at me, Wormtail? Or do you feel that you are to good to be disgraced by the presence of myself?”

“N-no! My lord! N-Nothing o-of the sort! I-”

“Crucio!”

“Ahh!” Wormtail, also known as Peter Pettigrew, one of the four marauders, fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony under the power of the dark lord’s seemingly favorite curse.

While the dark lord watched the man convulse in pain with a sort of sick pleasure, Severus Snape kept an impassive look on his face, betraying nothing.

After a full ten minutes of torture, Wormtail was released, panting and clutching himself in pain, moaning of agony and distress on the hardened floor, his surroundings forgotten, only the pain mattered now.

“To your feet Wormtail, and this time, do not be afraid to look at me, or you shall fell a pain even greater than that of death, again, and again, until there is no more fun to be had.”

Wormtail rose to his feet, trembling still, but this could now be accounted to his pain, rather than his fear. He eyed his lord carefully, attempting desperately to not slip up, to not make a mistake. If he did, it would be the end of him, he had no doubt about that.

“Much better, Wormtail, much better,” Voldemort told him, grinning like the madman that he was. “Severus here has just come to me with some rather interesting news, some news that is in regard to your…friends.”

This made Wormtail quiver worse than ever, earning him another round of the Cruciatus Curse. Wormtail was the spy, he was the traitor, he was the one who brought them their information from the Order of the Phoenix, albeit in a different fashion than did Severus, but the same, nonetheless.

Voldemort reflected on how easy it had been to break the young Pettigrew, nearly a year earlier, and bend him to his will, forcing him to betray his friends. He had offered the man power, and life, after he had broken him, of course, two things that Wormtail could not refuse, and two things that the dark lord never planned on giving him.

When Peter had managed to pull himself up again, Voldemort gave him a serious glare. “There has been a prophecy Wormtail, a prophecy that could be my downfall-”

“But that is impossible, my lord! You are far to power-”

“Crucio!”

Once again Wormtail was on the ground, screaming.

“You DARE to interrupt the dark lord! I didn’t think that even a pathetic excuse for a wizard such as yourself could be that stupid! Do you think that you’re better than me? Is that what YOU THINK!?”

“No!” Wormtail gasped between screams. “N-ne-ne-arrg!”

For the entire following hour, nothing was heard from the dark lord’s chamber except for the screaming of the balding man on the floor.

Finally, it was over, and Peter was allowed to stand yet again. “Now Wormtail, you will listen, and you will not interrupt. Was your pathetic excuse for a brain able to contemplate that sentence, or shall I rephrase it with my wand?”

“No my lord! I mean yes! I understand! No! You don’t need to torture me again my lord, no.”

“TORTURE?!” Voldemort screamed in outrage. His eyes were flashing with an intense hatred. “You think this is torture? I am merely making you stronger, my humble servant! What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger! Do you WANT torture? Is that your wish? I will show you torture!”

“NO!” Wormtail screeched, all sense of dignity and self respect forgotten. He was broken, and Voldemort knew it. “I do not wish torture, my lord, I embrace pain, kind sir, not torture, pain makes me stronger sir, yes, I know, my lord. Only pain, not torture. I spoke without thought, my lord.”

Voldemort snorted. “Not an unusual practice for you, Wormtail, but I can let it slide. But if you show this side again, I do believe you remember your day as a rat in my owlery, do you not?”

Somehow, Peter was able to stifle his gasp of horror. He nodded furiously in agreement. “Yes my lord, I remember, I remember very well my lord, learned my lesson I have, my lord. It will never happen again, I am gracious, my lord. You are to kind to me, to show me sympathy, oh great lord of darkness.”

Peter would never forget that day, the day that he lost all sense of self, the day that Voldemort broke him and earned himself a spy…

“No!” Peter Pettigrew spat defiantly, looking the dark lord dead in the face. “You will never get me to betray my friends. Never!”

“I beg to differ,” Voldemort hissed, and with a wave of his wand, Wormtail was transformed into his animagus form, inheriting all of its qualities, including the fear of owls.

Suddenly Peter was flying, floating towards a darkened room, in fact, a pitch black room where he heard nothing, nothing but the flutter of wings. His instincts kicked in; his rat mind knew the sound of an owl when he heard it. He began to squirm in the air, he continued this action, as pointless as it was, until he was suddenly hurled against the wall of the room hard, let go of the curse and gravity once again took effect on him, and Peter fell to the ground in a heap.

“Welcome to my owlery Pettigrew,” Voldemort said, laughing maniacally. “Home to over two hundred owls, of over fifty different breeds. Let’s see how long you can live through them!”

Fear was coursing through Peter’s mind, and he did the only thing he could; he ran, as fast and hard as his inch long legs would allow. He was trapped in his form, he could not revert back to his human self, and before long, he was in the talons of an owl.

Claws dug into his flesh, and he let out a squeal of pain. He was lifted up, up, this was going to be the end…

FLASH!

A brilliant jet of green light flew across the room, making contact with the bird and killing it on impact, sending Peter falling back to the ground. He must have fallen fifty feet before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Suddenly he was a human again; he tried to stand, but found it impossible under the pain, his legs were broken. “Ready to join me now, Wormtail?” Voldemort asked, sneering at the broken and bloodied man.

“Never.”

“Very well…crucio!”

For hours the routine continued. Voldemort would transform Wormtail into a rat, an owl would pick him up, claw at him, even begin to nibble at him, then Voldemort would kill the bird, and Peter would fall, crashing to the ground and breaking so many bones that he could no longer move. Then he would be reverted back to human form and be put under the cruciatus curse.

Peter was scared, he was so scared. He had been so close to death, so close. He had not been afraid to die, not for his friends, but after the repeated brushes with death, believing every second to be his last, he began to fear it. Then he was horrified of it.

Finally, nearly a day into the torture, he cried, “Okay! I’ll do it! I’ll be a spy! Just please, please don’t kill me!”

Voldemort smiled. “Excellent.”

And that was how it had happened, that was how Wormtail had broken. He was not afraid to die for his friends, but Voldemort implemented the fear into him, obtaining himself a willing spy, who was afraid of death more than anything else.

“Now Wormtail, pathetic as you are, you will spy on your friends, you will discover how they will hide themselves from me, and then, you will deliver me James Potter.”

Peter Pettigrew, the broken man, had no choice but to agree.

*****

“James! Sirius! It’s great to see you! Where’s Peter?” A man asked, smiling at the two men on his front step. The man was paling, but not do to natural causes, rather due to the fact that this man was a werewolf, and the full moon was nigh.

James and Sirius smiled back at Remus Lupin, but he noticed that their smiles did not quite reach their eyes. This had been happening a lot lately, though Remus did not know why.

“He couldn’t make it, Order business.” Sirius replied shortly, leaving no room for interpretation. “Let’s get to this then, shall we?”

Remus nodded, somewhat taken aback at his friend’s words. Why would Sirius be so cold to him?

“Well, do come in. I’ve got some tea ready, for it’ll be about an hour or so before I…transform.” Remus grinned at Sirius’ disgusted face at the mention of the word ‘tea.’ He grinned at him. “Of course, I’ve got some fire whiskey in the basement for you, Sirius.”

Despite the fact that he believed the man to be a traitor, Sirius couldn’t help but give him a genuine grin. Remus smiled back. “I believe you know where it is.” Sirius’ grin broadened and he nodded, walking past Remus and into the house, down the stairs and to the left, where Remus kept his whiskey.

James laughed and shook his head, walking through the open door and finding a seat in Remus’ living room, all thoughts of him being a traitor long gone as they sat and reminisced just like old times when they were still carefree kids at Hogwarts.

*****

Sirius snorted his fire whiskey out his nose in laughter. “Yeah, and then there was the time when James ‘accidently’ set a filibuster off in Snivellus’ cauldron of shrinking solution, but he saw it coming and dodged it, and exploded all over Lily!” He howled in laughter again with James and Remus. “Her nose was the size of a pebble for like a week!”

Remus was laughing heartily with them, until he felt an itch behind his right ear, and he knew that it was time. He stood up, scratching his ear, and looked to the others. “Come on guys, it’s time.”

They nodded and left the house with him, into the woods in the back. Remus lived in an isolated forest, far, far away from any muggles or any other prying eyes. The house was surrounded by wood on all sides, and it was here that for over a year now, James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius met on every full moon, to transform and frolic the forest as animals.

Peter took on the animagus form of a rat, while Sirius was a large, black dog. James was a beautiful stag, and Remus, of course, was a werewolf.

Tonight they started by heading west, towards a large pond that they liked to frequent on the nights of a full moon. Remus’ animal carnage was reduced by the hysterical figures of James and Sirius, who constantly chased each other in circles, snapping at one another’s tails, occasionally wrestling one another to the ground.

Remus was the quiet one, as he was in life. He simply watched and enjoyed the others antics, content knowing that he had friends as loyal and wonderful as James, Sirius, and Peter.

But one of them wasn’t loyal, the thought that had plagued Remus for the longest time. And there was only one possibility - Sirius. It couldn’t have been James, the information leaked usually lead to threats on his life, including the one on his honeymoon.

Peter meant well, he really did, but frankly, he was a moron. He graduated at the bottom of their class at Hogwarts, and though he tried, he really did, he was just not smart enough and not a strong enough wizard to pull it off.

And that left Sirius, as Remus knew that obviously it wasn’t himself. Sirius, the man whom the whole world knew to be James Potter’s closest and greatest friend. The man whom everyone knew to be loyal to a fault. As hard as it was to believe, as much as he didn’t want to believe it, Remus knew that it was the only possible explanation.

What he didn’t know was how to solve this problem. He couldn’t tell James, it would crush him. It would make Remus look guilty, as if he were trying to force the blame off of himself.

But he had to do something, and he had to do it quick. In their short chat before they left for the woods, James and Sirius had told Remus all about the prophecy (but only the part that Snape knew, not the entire thing. Of course, Remus did not know this, he thought he had been told the entire prophecy.) and the need for James to go into hiding.

They also told him how James had chosen Sirius as his secret keeper. This forced Remus to put tongue in cheek, and do nothing but nod and apply in the affirmative for the rest of the conversation. It also made him realize that he had to do something, and it needed to be quick.

They were out in the woods until sun-up, when Remus finally reverted back to his human self. When this happened, they were miles from the cottage that Remus lived in, but as they always did, Remus jumped on James back and got a ride all the back to his place of residence.

*****

“…I still can’t believe it,”

Remus heard the whisper before he opened the door to the living room, a tray of morning tea in his hands. He pressed his ear to the door, feeling guilty for eavesdropping, but his curiosity won out.

“I know James…but it’s the only possibility,”

Remus scrunched his eyebrows together. What could they be talking about?

“Yes, but Remus…the spy…after all we’ve done for him…and he seems so sincere…”

Remus didn’t hear the end of the sentence, for he had dropped his tray of tea in shock, creating a loud clanging and crashing sound as the glasses and metal tray fell from his grasp and to the ground.

Remus fell back against the wall. James…he thought that he…Remus…was the spy…Sirius must have gotten to him first.

Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over, knowing full well that he could now never convince James of the truth, that he would think Remus a spy until the day he died; a day that would come much sooner under this pretense.

James and Sirius crashed through the door to find Remus sobbing on the floor, holding his head in his hands. James was at his side in a heartbeat.

“Remus! What’s wrong?” He gasped. “Or did you…did you hear what we just said?”

Remus couldn’t respond, his voice lost to him, his throat tightened with tears. He did the only thing that he could, and nodded.

James rose to his feet and stood, running a hand through his untidy hair and contemplating the situation. Remus finally found his voice to speak.

“H-how c-could you think me a spy James? I’ve never betrayed you! Never!” He screamed, not caring about the tears that were streaming from his eyes. “I’m not the spy! Look around you! There’s only one possibility!”

He cast a furtive glance at Sirius, who’s face immediately reddened with rage. “How dare you accuse me of betraying James! Trying to divert the blame from yourself and putting it on me!”

“WHO ELSE COULD IT BE?” Remus screamed, glaring at Sirius, who in his mind, had betrayed them all. “It’s not me! I know that for myself! It’s obviously not James! And Peter’s not intelligent enough to pull this off! I don’t want to believe it, but it’s the only solution!”

All three men were crying freely now, Sirius and Remus from rage, James in sadness. He stepped in front of Sirius to prevent him from physically attacking Remus, and Remus looked him in the eye.

And then he knew. James would never change his mind. He was stubborn like that, he would believe Remus a spy until there was solid proof otherwise, proof that Remus did not have.

No more words were spoken, James and Sirius left, James casting one last, long, sad look over his shoulder at Remus before closing the door. After this, Remus let out an anguished sob.

He never saw James Potter alive again.

*****

“James? James! What’s wrong!” Lily exclaimed as her husband walked in the door to their home, shoulders shaking with tears, the same tears that had stained his face. His untidy hair was sticking up all over from where he had grabbed it in frustration.

She dropped the book she had been reading to Harry, Hogwarts, A History, and ran to her husband, throwing her arms around him. She nearly had the wind knocked out of her after James returned the embrace, hugging her with all the strength that he could muster, crying freely into her hair, which felt like silk on his rugged face.

“I-I just came from Remus’. He accused Sirius of being the spy! He-he was crying when he overheard us talking about it. He - MERLIN! He seemed so sincere, he was so sad, I don’t think anyone could act like that, not without sincerity. But he’s the only possibility, it can’t be him. And he accused Sirius! How could he! I just - oh Merlin, Lily, just hold me, please, hold me and make it all go away.”

Lily had joined him in tears now, hugging him as if it was the last time they would ever see each other. “I love you James,” She whispered into his ear, sending chills down his spine. “I love you, and I promise, after we do this charm, after we’re put under it, everything will be okay.”

She stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, and taking his hand, lead him out of the room and past the nursery, where she had been reading to Harry, and to the end of the house, to their bedroom.

Slowly she got him out of his day clothes and into his sleepwear, then followed suit and got ready for sleep herself. Although it was mid-morning, she knew her husbands needs, and now he needed to be comforted more than anything.

She pulled the covers up slowly and snaked under them with James, intertwining her body with his at once, with him resting his head on her chest. She bit her lip nervously, wondering if this was the right time. After a moment of contemplating, she decided that it was, and kissed her husband on the head, ready to give him some good news.

“James dear, even though this has been a rough day so far, I have some wonderful news for you.”

He sniffed and rubbed his head up against her, snuggling closely, attempting to get comfortable. “P-please, tell me, t-tell me anything that will make this go away,”

She smiled at him, raising his chin from her chest and forcing his tear-stained eyes to look into her own. The look on his face broke her heart; it was filled with pain, sorrow, remorse, but she knew that she was the only one that could make all that go away.

“I had a visit with Healer Prewitt today,” She instantly realized that she had started her sentence in the absolute wrong way, as James face turned to one of horror.

“Lily! What’s wrong? Please tell me you’re okay! Please tell me you’re not sick! You can’t die, you just can’t. I’ve already lost Remus, I can’t lose you as well.” New tears started to form, but Lily hurriedly brushed them away.

“No James, not bad news, great news.”

His face brightened, compared to what it had been before, his face could now be likened to the rising sun. Lily smiled warmly at him, loving the fact that she could melt his sadness away to reveal the happiness and love that rested deep in his heart.

“I’m pregnant, James,” Her face broke out into a full grin. “We’re going to have another baby!”

James’ lips instantly curved up in a smile and he pulled his wife in for a loving, tender kiss. “That’s the greatest news I’ve heard since Harry was born!” He said, grinning ear to ear. “We’re gonna have another baby!”

James threw his arms around his wife, his thoughts of Remus not forgotten, but no longer held in the importance that they once had been. He was going to have another child, and he would spend his entire life making sure that Harry and his new sibling never had to face the same cruelties as he had.

*****

A/N: Now I feel that I have to explain myself on the Pettigrew situation. I do believe that something similar to this could have happened to turn Wormtail into the man he is today. i know from my AP psychology class that you can imprint a fear into a person when that fear did not exist before. that is what Voldemort did to Peter. Peter was willing to die for his friends, but riddle knew that and wouldn't let it happen. instead, he brought him to the brink of death over and over, in the rat form, where he could not control his fears as well, until the very thought of death scared him deeper than anything in the world, and then, voldemort had complete control over him. Peter will do anything for him b/c if he doesn't it means death, and Wormtail is afraid of that above all things, which is also shown in PoA, when he begs for azkaban rather than death.

I do find this a plausible explanation for Wormtail’s betrayal, so please do not flame it, though comment on it as you wish. I realize that this fic is becoming rather sad, but so was the time period, so it fits. I almost put myself to tears writing the ‘And he never saw James Potter alive again.’ line, but it was necessary.

So there’ll be two more chapters, and then this fic will be done, and the rest will be continued under the same name as a h/hr. Oh - and yes, I do have something planned for the baby, it helps to explain another plot pointing JKR’s story that we haven’t been told of yet.

Cheers!

3. Chapter Three

A/N: Well, I definitely haven’t received the response for this story that I had expected, but I suppose I’ll get a lot of people to read it when I start posting the rest of this story as Harry/Hermione.

As for now, this chapter reveals why Voldemort did not want to kill Lily Potter, and why Wormtail never turned his back on Voldemort.

R/R!!! I’m not gonna do one of those stupid things and say that I’m not posting again till I get so many reviews, but still, a little feedback would be nice!

*****

Chapter Three

Peter Pettigrew dropped, exhausted, into a loveseat in his London flat, putting his head in his hands. He was going to once again, betray his friend James Potter to the dark lord. He had done it first after he had been broken, he squealed every detail of the Potter’s vacation to the wizarding island of Atlantis, nearly resulting in the deaths of two of the most important people in the world to him.

But he had no choice. He couldn’t die, he was to afraid of what might happen afterwards - or worse - what might not happen. Peter knew that he had not always been fearful of death, but when he began to fear it, he did not know. Every time that he tried to figure it out, the information seemed to slip just beyond his grasp, vexing him to no end.

The second time, well, the second time he betrayed the Potters he had nearly lost his own life as well…

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all enjoying a night out on the town, away from the horrors that the wizarding world was swirling in, or so they thought.

Lily had come to meet James at the bar - The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, their favorite pub ever since their third year of Hogwarts - with news that Harry had fallen ill, and she needed him to come home and help her with their baby.

James sadly said good-bye to his friends and his alcohol, barely able to stand on his own on a count of the incredible amount of liquor he had consumed. Lily had rolled her eyes at him and told him that she already had a Sobrietus Potion brewing at home, as she had known that she would find him in this state.

They were going to take the Knight Bus home, as James was in no condition to apparate. But as they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, where the people no longer dwelled and the magical creatures reigned supreme, they were met with an unwelcome enemy.

“Ah, James and Lily Potter, we meet, yet again.” The voice hissed, the same, high pitched, evil hiss that could belong to only one person, and one person alone.

“Voldemort,” Lily spat, spinning on her heel to stare at the abomination of a man behind her, his black cape billowing in the gentle summer breeze.

“Huh?” James slurred, squinting his eyes at the evil wizard. “Volshermort you shay? How unforshunate.”

Both Lily and the dark lord were taken aback at the statement, both aware of the humor, though the situation was anything but funny.

“Yoush know, Peter shaid its wash a good ideas to gets plashtered tonight, but I reckon he wash wrong.”

Lily shook her head unbelievably, while Voldemort, no longer shocked by the slurring of the raven-haired man, laughed. He threw his head back and laughed like the madman that he was.

“If only Dumbledore could see him now, James Potter, Dumbledore’s protégé, of sorts, killed while in a drunken stupor, his dear mud blood wife helpless to defend herself.”

“If Dumbledore was here you wouldn’t be Voldemort,” Lily spat back. “You’re too afraid of him to even step in the same town as him, let alone face him in a duel. Or are you sure you aren’t just afraid of the death he would certainly hand you in battle?”

Voldemort considered her for a moment, never having been spoken to in that tone before. “Brave last words, Mrs. Potter, but I assure you, you are mistaken. No one can match the awesome powers of Lord Voldemort! Allow me to demonstrate, Crucio!”

Lily was ready, and, praying silently for forgiveness, she threw her husband into the line of fire, allowing him to take on the full brunt off the attack. The move had a multitude of consequences.

James screamed in agony, his drunkenness instantly vanished and replaced by incredible pain.

Voldemort was so taken aback by the unexpected move that Lily was able to play her hand. “Reducto!” She screamed, wand aimed at the ground two feet in front of the dark lord. With a loud explosion and an intense heat that could be felt from hundreds of meters away, the ground exploded and engulfed the dark lord in a cloud of dust.

His concentration broken, the curse he had fixed on James was broken, and the young Potter was able regain his senses, and surveying the situation, quickly grabbed a hold of his very shaken wife and signaled the Knight Bus, Voldemort still trapped in a cloud of dust, unable to tell where anyone or anything was, screaming in anguish.

By the time the dust had settled, the Potters were gone.

“POTTER!”

The dark lord had screamed the name into the night, Peter could still remember the chill that it had sent down his spine. He had followed James and Lily, wanted to watch what he had created by slipping the flue potion into the young Harry’s food that morning, ensuring that it would come into affect while he and the other marauder’s were in Hogsmeade.

He had not wanted to watch his friend die, by any means, but rather he felt that it was his punishment, he had to watch and see what he had done to his friend. But James escaped, and Peter couldn’t help but be elated, but the feeling caused him sickness, and he spent the rest of the night spewing all of the alcohol he had consumed. Remus and Sirius had assumed that he just couldn’t hold his liquor, but Peter knew the truth.

He couldn’t think positive thoughts about the failings of Voldemort, the dark mark on his arm assured that. This was also a night that he had wondered why he betrayed James at all, an answer eluded him, as if it didn’t exist. But Peter knew it was there, locked away in his mind, but he had no way of ever retrieving it.

He fell into an uneasy sleep that night, though it was not strange to him, Peter had not slept well in nearly a year, ever since he joined the death eaters ranks…

*****

“So how is my wonderful wife, on this beautiful morning of October the twelfth?” James asked with a smirk, as he rolled over on top of Lily as she awoke.

“Hmm,” She yawned, arms outstretched in an effort to rid herself of the kinks sleeping had put in her muscles the night before. “I’d feel a lot better if my knight in shining armor came to me and gave me a kiss.”

James grinned and leaned in towards his wife’s lips slowly, but she held a hand up to his chest. “Where is Sirius anyways?” She said, smirking. James gaped at her, causing Lily to bust out in laughter.

“Oh come here and kiss me silly!” She ordered, entangling her fingers in his messy hair and pulling his head to her own. Their lips brushed, electricity coursing through every fiber of their beings, and the dove deeper into the kiss, until the need for oxygen forced them apart.

James lowered his head and crawled slowly to his wife’s belly, planting a soft kiss on her stomach. “And a good morning to you as well.” Lily smiled and pulled him back up to her lips.

Just as Lily and James had started in on their mini-snogging session, a high-pitched wail came from Harry’s room. James rolled off his wife and onto his back groaning loudly. “Bloody horrible timing.”

Lily smiled and sat up from bed, kissing her husband softly on the lips. “Look on the bright side, ten years from now, Harry’ll be in Hogwarts, this one,” She patted her belly. “Will be matured enough as to not give us any more morning problems, and hopefully whatever other little lads we have will be past that stage as well.”

James smiled as his wife pulled the curtains apart, basking the room in the warm morning sunshine. James savored in the warmth for a moment, closing his eyes and drowning out the sound of his son, he laid his hands under his head and relaxed, forgetting all thoughts of the insecurities of the wizarding world.

Knowing that he could not stay like this forever, he groaned and got up, moving over to the closet so that he could find something decent to wear for work. Well, it wasn’t work so much as it was fighting against Voldemort. James had inherited a large fortune from his father before he was killed by death eaters.

James had enough money to live five lifetimes over without earning a penny; but he vowed the day his father died that he would put forth as much money and effort to destroy the man who had killed his father, and he wouldn’t rest a day until after his deed was done.

This thought made James groan to himself, as he now realized that he, James, would never in fact be able to avenge his father’s death. In truth, he had known all along that it would never be him who cast the final curse on Voldemort, but that it would be Dumbledore, the wisest and most powerful wizard on the planet.

But not even that was true. The responsibility had fallen to either the shoulders of his son, or to the shoulders of the Longbottom’s son. James knew, somehow, deep in his heart, he knew that it was his son to which the prophecy referred. It really made no sense why, Neville was a pure-blood, son of two of the most feared and powerful auror’s in all the world, Frank and Alice.

While neither was an outstanding auror alone, when together, the Longbottom’s were infallible. They were perhaps second-best to only Mad-Eye Moody, but of course, no auror even came close to comparing with him. He also gave most schizophrenics a run for the money in the paranoid department, but all great men have their quirks.

After deciding on his old Gryffindor robes of red and gold, James left the room to prepare coffee for he and his wife, it was the least he could for his wife, who was currently probably throwing out a very dirty diaper.

The morning owl came through the open kitchen window only a moment after James had poured the coffee, it carried a few pieces of junk-mail, which James discarded accordingly, and in the end only the Daily Prophet remained.

He sighed, and flipping it open, made his way to the Quidditch section, hoping to see how his beloved Godric’s Hollow Hippogriffs fared against the Arrows the day before.

Brilliant Catch by Hudsworth Saves Day for the Hippogriffs, Final Score, Godrics Hollow 180, Appleby Arrows 150

The article went on to detail the same thing as it sis every week, how the Hippogriffs had no solid chasers, and that they were not going to have a chance at the Quidditch Cup until they went shopping for some real talent.

James knew that he very well could have played for the Hippogriffs, it had been a dream of his really, but like most things in his life, Voldemort had stripped that from him as well. There was no way James could ever play professional quidditch while Voldemort was on the loose, and by the way things were shaping up, that could still be quite some time.

He felt, rather than heard his wife enter the kitchen behind him, and though he couldn’t see her, knew she had rolled her eyes when she saw him reading the Hippogriffs report. “You boys and your quidditch,” She tutted, placing the newly cleaned Harry in his high-chair, where he was pouting and banging his hands on the table in front of him for food, his messy black hair sticking to his forehead, somehow brightening the already illuminating feature of his emerald-green eyes.

“Yes, well, Harry is going to grow up to become the star player for the Godric’s Hollow Hippogriffs, isn’t he?” James retorted, smiling at his son while nodding his head, trying to get Harry to agree with him. The toddler just stopped his banging and looked at his father oddly for a moment, before returning to his food.

“Huh?” James questioned, taking a second glance at the baby food now in front of Harry, whereas it had been on the table only seconds before. “Lily, did you…” He motioned at the food their son was eating, and she shook her head, a grin creeping across her face.

“You know what that means don’t you?” She asked, her grin now a full-blown smile.

“Magic?”

“That’s how I see it,” Lily responded, smiling at her baby, while James did the same. Although they were fairly certain, with James being a pureblood and Lily being the fantastic muggleborn witch that she was, they hadn’t had any confirmation until just now.

“Our son’s a wizard!” He exclaimed, running to his wife and claiming her in his arms, twirling her around as she squealed in laughter. “We’ve got to tell Sirius! And Peter! And Re-”

James’ elated gaze became clouded and dropped to the floor, his happiness forgotten. Lily, knowing instantly what was wrong, gave him a comforting hug, whispering soothing words in his ear.

They broke apart a few minutes later, the moment broken, and Lily smiled sadly before speaking again. “Well, it looks like we’ve got two great bits of news to tell Sirius and Peter once they come over today, huh?”

James smiled sadly at his wife. “Yeah, great news, great news for Sirius, and for Peter…”

*****

It was a few hours later when Sirius and Peter arrived, the latter with dark circles under his eyes, no doubt because of the Order business from the night before. The two could tell instantly that something was amiss, once they walked into the friendly confines of Number Twelve, Godric’s Hollow.

James, though only eighteen hours before had just walked out on one of his best friends life forever, was positively glowing, and kept sneaking glances at his wife, who Sirius had to admit, was looking absolutely stunning in her mesh white skirt and red tank top that stopped short of her belly button. Sirius, of course, told himself that he had had better, but he knew the truth, that Lily was about the most beautiful woman he had ever or would ever see.

“Alright, Sirius, Peter, we’ve got some great news for you, in fact, two great pieces of news.” Sirius yawned and leaned back against the loveseat he was sitting in, pretending to be uninterested while Peter squealed with delight.

“Well, first off,” James said, grinning at his son, who was cradled in his arms, “Harry used magic for the first time today!”

Peter squealed like a pig and gave rushed congratulations to Lily and James, flattering them with talk about how great a wizard their son would. Sirius gave James a grin, telling him that now that it was official, they needed to take Harry into Diagon Alley the moment he could talk and christen Zonko’s and Quality Quidditch Supplies for the young boy.

Lily rolled her eyes at this as James and Sirius started making plans for when they would take the youngest Potter into Hogsmeade. Lily allowed the conversation to continue for a few moments before she cleared her voice to get their attention yet again.

“James and I have another, more important, announcement to make,” Lily said, beaming at her husband, her face reminiscent of a glowing candlelight. She rubbed her stomach softly, smiling down at it.

“I’m pregnant!”

This time Sirius responded just as jovially as Peter did, furiously shaking James hand and giving Lily a crushing hug.

“That’s brilliant!” Peter yelped, completely sincere. “How far along are you?”

Lily smiled warmly at him. “About six weeks.”

While this got a nice response from Peter, it caused Sirius to scrunch up his nose in disgust. “Isn’t that right around the same time I had that party at my flat for the start of the new quidditch season?”

James and Lily glanced at each other and blushed furiously, guiltily looking anywhere but Sirius. Peter laughed like a hyena, and Sirius turned green. “Ugh, now I’ll have to have that god-forsaken house elf Kreacher clean my flat, top to bottom, and you know how much I hate that house elf,” He shook his head in disgust. “I swear that elf will be the death of me someday.”

“Oh don’t talk like that Sirius,” Lily said, through the blazing firelight that was her face. “You’ll jinx yourself.”

“Yeah, well at least I don’t shag in my best friend’s flat,” Sirius retorted, not angry, but rather enjoying the blushes that he got out of his two friends. “So tell me, so I can let Kreacher know exactly, where did you do it? My bedroom? The bathroom?”

Sirius could almost feel the heat coming from their faces. “Er, why don’t we just promise to name him after you and call it even,” James suggested, wanting the subject dropped.

“Okay,” He said smirking. “But if it’s a girl, you have to name her what my Aunt Andy named her last daughter…Nymphodora.”

James and Lily gasped in horror, while Peter watched the entire exchange in an elated amusement. “Why don’t we just tell him where we did it James?” Lily blurted out unsurely, but then her face took on a more confident look after she saw the reflection of horror on Sirius’ face.

James caught on and played along, “Well, which time then? I mean, we did it more than once!”

Sirius mock gagged, and held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, you win. Just name the kid whatever you want and promise never to bring up this subject ever again.”

Lily smiled and nodded. “Deal.”

Sirius sighed, then turned to Peter. “Okay, now that that’s over, let’s get down to business.”

Peter looked at him in confusion, though he knew from his debriefing from Voldemort that this would most likely be a discussion about the prophecy that would be the dark lord’s downfall.

And so the conversation ensued. Wormtail was told everything about the prophecy, and what it entailed. He was very surprised to hear that Voldemort did not know the entire prophecy, and that Snape was in fact a spy, just like he was, only it was the other way around.

Finally they got to the true meat of the matter, and James told Peter that he wanted him as the secret keeper. This floored Peter to no end. “W-what? James, y-you want me? As you’re secret keeper?”

James nodded at him, after sharing a smug glance with Sirius that Peter did not understand the meaning of. “Yeah Peter, it’s complicated, but we feel like you are the best choice. We’ll perform the charm on October Thirtieth, a couple weeks from now. Then Lily and I will be in hiding, as will Frank and Alice.”

Peter nodded, desperately hoping that no hint of Voldemort’s plans for the Longbottom’s crossed his features. Or, in actuality, the lack of plans. Voldemort may be arrogant, but he knows a threat when he sees one. Both sets of couples had defied him three times, and both had put of great fights against him personally. But the deciding factor, in the end, was one that Voldemort alone knew, and refused to tell his inferiors.

So the entire process was told to Peter. It was complicated, but with James, Sirius, and Lily’s help, he was sure that he would be able to manage it. But there was one thing that he did not understand. “Where’s Moony?”

His question was met with varying reactions, anger from Sirius, remorse from James, and, was it, pity, from Lily?

But their looks told him volumes. Everyone knew there was a spy, it was blatantly obvious after the first two attacks on James, and only five people had the information possible to give them away in those instances. The first two were James and Lily, who were obviously not the traitors, then there was Sirius, the ever loyal friend. The final two were Lupin, the intelligent werewolf, and Peter, the bumbling moron.

It was so simple, there was only one possibility in everyone’s mind. Sirius was loyal to a fault, he, Wormtail, was considered to stupid to pull this off, and that left Lupin as the only possibility.

Of course, no one took into effect that though Peter was not the sharpest quill in the bag, it did not mean that the ever cunning Lord Voldemort would be able to use this to his advantage.

Oversights are deadly.

*****

Wormtail was able to hold his head high as he walked the long, darkened corridor to the dark lord’s chamber. The only noises being made were those of the footsteps of the death eaters escorting him, and the hissing of snakes as they slithered all over the floor.

But Peter feared nothing today, as he had the information that would make the dark lord most happy, most happy indeed.

He felt not fear as he turned the final corner of the hallway, as he had in the past, but only happiness, jubilation, he would have been grinning madly if it weren’t for one emotion that was buried deep inside of his heart, unable to surface itself, but strong enough to keep Wormtail from being overly joyous.

Guilt.

The door creaked open, and his suitors left his side, allowing Wormtail entrance into the dark lord’s chamber, where he sat alone in his armchair, the only other presence in the room being that of his pet python.

“Wormtail,” He hissed, seeing Peter kneel in front of him. “What news do you have for me today? It better be good, or it will be your last…”

Peter nodded, willing himself to speak without a stutter. “Yes, my lord. Good news, great even.”

Voldemort considered him for a moment, then nodded. “Very well, tell me what it is you have to say…”

Peter stood and looked the man straight in the eye, ignoring the pale face and the surrounding atmosphere of hatred and fear. “I know of the spell that the Potter’s plan to use for their protection.”

Voldemort nodded and smiled, a smile that chilled the bones of even the most malicious of evil wizards. “Tell it to me…”

And he did. Peter told him every aspect of the spell, every angle, exactly what it did. “So all we need to do is find out who the secret keeper is, and force him to tell us the Potter’s location,” Voldemort said at long last, nearly five minutes after Wormtail had finished his spiel the minutes had scared Peter to no end, but looking back, he was sure that that was exactly what Voldemort had intended.

“I-I already know the identity of the secret keeper, my lord.”

Voldemort was instantly interested, but did not let it show. “Who?”

Wormtail smiled. “Me.”

Voldemort laughed, a cruel, sinister laugh that sounded worse to Peter than fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. “The Potter’s fatal mistake, entrusting their lives to a rat,”

“There is more,” Peter continued, once again sparking interest from the dark lord. “What is it?”

“Lily Potter, my lord. She is pregnant.”

This bit of news intrigued Voldemort to no end. “Interesting,” He murmured. “Very interesting. Perhaps we will spare the young spouse of Potter for now, and allow her to give birth to her child. A child I will raise to be my successor…”

He laughed again, and Peter, terrified so much of the sinister laugh that had haunted his dreams ever since that night in the owlery, that he saved the wizarding world.

Voldemort’s own device of fear worked against him, because in Wormtail’s moment of fright, and the subsequent torture for showing his fears, he forgot all about the second part to the prophecy, the part that Voldemort did not have.

*****

“Why do you wipe his memory, my lord?” Asked a curious Barty Crouch, as he watched a dazed Peter Pettigrew leave the premises.

“A skill my friend, a very useful skill,” Voldemort drawled. “You see, as I did the night I implemented him with the fear of death, I erased all memory he had of why he was afraid, else he could turn against me. In this way Wormtail will keep his fear, that cannot be erased, nor can the memory of that night. But what was erased is the fact that he put up any resistance at all, he believes that he broke after only minutes of torture, and that he is worthy of nothing. I have broken his will, I have broken his spirit, I have broken his mind.”

Voldemort gave a sinister smile to Crouch Jr. “And now, he belongs to me.”

*****

A/N: So there ya go, chapter three is done. This will only have one more chapter left as a James/Lily fic, then it will be marked as completed and continued under the ship of Harry/Hermione, with the same name.

Cheers!

4. Chapter Four

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!