Illumination
Summary: Forced into hiding, Lily and James trust a friend with their lives and the life of their son but are ultimately betrayed. Helpless and cut off from the rest of the world, their last few days together are the most trying of all.
Disclaimer: The characters and plot and everything else belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter One
Lily awoke with a start.
Harry was crying. She could hear him from down the hall. Then suddenly, he stopped. Lily frowned and waited for him to start crying again as he hardly ever fell back to sleep on his own, but he didn't make another sound.
Curious, she got out of bed and headed down the hall to check on the baby just in case. As she was nearing the nursery, she could see a light underneath the door. That was odd. She knew she remembered turning the light off after putting Harry to bed, and she never closed his door.
When she was right outside the door with her hand almost to the doorknob, she paused and listened. Someone inside the nursery was speaking, and it definitely was not Harry.
Lily's heart began to pound. No one should have been in Harry's room except Harry. It couldn't be James. He had been asleep when Lily had left their room only seconds before to check on the baby, and they were the only three people who lived in the house. Maybe it was Sirius. He did tend to drop in on them at odd hours and, being Harry's godfather, he took a liking to the boy and would not be beyond waking him just to play at this ungodly hour.
Forcing herself to believe that it was Sirius, Lily took a deep breath and turned the doorknob. As soon as the door opened, the whispering inside stopped. She looked around the room, but her attention was immediately caught by the hooded figure hovering over Harry's crib.
"Why, look who it is," the figure said softly. "Mummy's here, Harry. Let's teach her to knock before entering." He raised his wand at Lily, who was fighting to keep her breathing steady. "Avada Kadavra!" he cried.
There was a flash of green, and Lily sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and breathing heavily. She threw the covers off and ran down the hall to Harry's room. He was sleeping peacefully. It had all been a dream. A terrible dream. A nightmare.
She pulled the blankets up over Harry to ensure that he stayed warm and brushed the hair out of his eyes. Suddenly not wanting to leave her only child alone, she continued to stroke his hair and watch him sleep.
Even though it had only been a dream, it had seemed so real. Lily had had similar dreams before where Voldemort had somehow found his way into their house to kill them. It was by far her worst fear that one of her dreams would come true. Dumbledore was helping them with their situation, though, and hopefully the Potters would stay safe until after this war was over, although there was no end in sight.
Voldemort had been after them for what seemed like a lifetime. Lily still found it hard to believe that she and her husband and their one-year-old son were targets of the most powerful Dark Wizard in the Wizarding world. It was like something out of a Muggle horror movie.
She looked at the clock on the wall and noted that it was almost half past ten. Normally, Lily and James would still be awake, but tonight was important. They would be meeting Dumbledore at midnight, and she needed sleep. After placing a light kiss on Harry's forehead, she went back to her bedroom.
She tried to slip silently into bed, thinking James was still sleeping, but he was awake and immediately started talking.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Did you have another dream?"
Lily nodded and rested her head on his chest.
"He was in the nursery with Harry," she explained in a whisper. "And I walked in and-" She broke off with a quiet sob. "It was so real, James."
"Shh," he said soothingly, putting his arms around her. "It was only a dream. Dumbledore won't let anything happen to us."
Lily looked up at him. "But what if something does happen to us? Who will take care of Harry? He's only a baby. He doesn't deserve to be alone for his whole life. He needs a family!"
"You're only upsetting yourself more," James replied. "Don't worry. We'll be okay. You'll see. But in the event that something does happen to us, I'm sure Harry will be in good hands. We have plenty of friends who would take excellent care of him. That's why we chose Sirius as his godfather."
Lily began to sob even harder.
James sighed. "I know this isn't the time for jokes," he said softly. "But I know that Sirius would take good care of Harry given the situation. He can be responsible when he wants to, but he won't need to because we aren't going anywhere. At least I'm not planning on going anywhere. Are you going someplace?"
"I hope not," she replied with a sniff.
"Then we'd best be off to sleep. Tomorrow's a big day." He placed a kiss on the top of her head and settled back into his pillow. "Goodnight, Lily."
"Goodnight," she whispered and drifted into an uneasy sleep.
- - - -
"Lily, get up. It's time to go."
She opened her eyes groggily to see James hovering over her with a serious expression on his face. Yawning, she reached for her wand in the darkness.
"Lumos!" she muttered, and the tip of her wand lit up.
It didn't give off much light, but they couldn't afford to turn the lights on. It was too dangerous. If it meant the safety of their lives, they would be able to survive with what little light their wands provided.
"You take care of yourself and Harry," James instructed. "I'll take care of everything else."
Lily got dressed and put everything she absolutely needed in a pile by the bathroom sink. Then she went to get Harry.
He woke up and started to cry when she lifted him from his crib and began to dress him.
"Shh," she said soothingly, trying to calm him down. "We need to go somewhere, but we'll be back soon. Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright."
She knew she was actually trying to assure herself and not Harry that they would be safe, but she still wasn't so sure about it. He was so little, barely even a year old, and his life was already in danger. If Voldemort wasn't stopped soon, Harry could spend years in hiding, trying to keep from being killed. It was too much to think about. Lily could barely even remember a time when life was easy and carefree. Things had been bad for so long that the bad memories outnumbered the good.
In the past year alone, Voldemort had gained even more power and even more supporters than before. More people than Lily could count had been killed, and many were missing. People she had known for years were now dead because of him, and more would surely die before the war was over. Some thought that it wouldn't be long before Voldemort attacked the Ministry and gained control of it. Once that happened the Wizarding world would not stand a chance.
Lily's brain could not even fathom what was going on. She knew it was bad, but she also knew she would never quite understand the full extent of the war. It was impossible.
It was cold out, so she dressed Harry in his warmest clothes. If everything went as planned, they would not be outside for very long, but one could not assume anything these days.
Harry watched his mother in silence as she dressed him. His emerald green eyes transfixed on her face, only blinking when absolutely necessary. Of course he had no idea what was going on. He was a baby. There was no way he could possibly know what his parents were doing or why they were constantly worried. As he watched, a single tear rolled down Lily's cheek.
"Mum-my," he said quietly.
She smiled down at her son.
"Mummy's fine," she assured him. "This will all be over soon."
Harry stuck his thumb in his mouth and allowed himself to be lifted and carried to his parents' room.
"Harry and I are ready," Lily called. "Where are you?"
James removed the invisibility cloak and stepped away from the window.
"I was checking to see if the coast was clear," he explained. "I can't tell, but I'm pretty sure we're still being watched."
Dumbledore had warned them that Voldemort probably had spies set up around the house to watch for anything suspicious happening in the Potter home. Lily had been standing by the kitchen sink one day only to look up and see someone running across their yard. Normally, people did not run through their front yard, but it could have been a Muggle. Not wanting to risk anything, Lily had immediately retrieved Harry from upstairs and apparated to the Ministry where James was working. They went to see Dumbledore immediately after. That's when he had proposed the plan they were now going through with.
"We're ready," Lily repeated.
"Good," James replied. "So am I."
The sound of a clock striking midnight echoed through the house.
James took a deep breath. "Let's go."
James carried their luggage downstairs while Lily followed, carrying Harry. They had used suitcases instead of trunks so that they wouldn't draw attention to themselves. All three bundled up as well as they could, and, suitcases in hand, they left their house like a family of poverty-stricken emigrants gone to search for a better life.
"Hurry up," James whispered as they walked down the front path to the sidewalk. "I think I see Dumbledore."
Lily pressed Harry closer to her shoulder and hurried to where Dumbledore was standing, holding his lit wand aloft, like a beacon lighting the way to safety.
He was there to escort them to their place of hiding where Voldemort would not be able to find them. They were leaving in the dead of the night so that maybe they wouldn't be seen. Their chances of getting away that easily were slim to none. Voldemort's spies were probably still watching the house at night, even though they couldn't be seen. That's why Dumbledore was there. Not even Death Eaters were stupid enough to attack anyone when Dumbledore was around.
Even though the lighting was very poor, Lily noticed the twinkle missing from her old headmaster's eyes. A sudden realization that this was much more important than she had imagined struck her, and she momentarily had trouble breathing. She unconsciously rocked Harry back and forth and listened to Dumbledore through a daze.
"Is everything in order?" he asked with a great deal of seriousness. When James nodded, he continued. "Then we'd best be going. There is much to do. You both remember where to go?" They nodded again. "Then let's go."
Lily took a deep breath and held Harry close to her. Then she closed her eyes and focused on where she was going, hoping she wouldn't splinch herself.
When she reopened her eyes, she found herself standing in her living room by the fireplace. James and Dumbledore were already talking quietly on the other side of the room.
They would be hiding in Godric's Hollow, the house they lived in and had left only minutes before to meet Dumbledore. It was to throw off any of the spies who would be reporting the Potters' behavior to Voldemort. They had carried suitcases not only to make it seem like they were going somewhere far away but also in case something happened and they decided it was unsafe to return to Godric's Hollow right away.
"Now," Dumbledore said quickly and quietly. "I can't stay long, but as soon as I return to Hogwarts, I will send Sirius here. Once you've finished up with the Fidelius Charm, put an anti-Apparation charm on the house and stay put. Don't leave this house for anything. Understand?"
Lily nodded slowly.
James lifted a small parcel from the table and handed it to Dumbledore.
"Could you take this stuff and keep it safe for us?" he asked. "There's a note inside explaining what to do if anything happens." His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke so that the last two words were barely audible.
Dumbledore smiled sadly and accepted the package.
"Of course, James," he said softly. "I wish the three of you the best of luck. I'm only sorry I could not do more to help."
"We'll be fine," Lily replied. "You've done plenty already. I don't think we'll ever be able to repay you."
The headmaster only smiled and nodded to them before Disapparating, leaving the Potters alone. Not a minute later, a very somber Sirius Black appeared right where Dumbledore had been standing when he disappeared. He didn't look anyone in the eye and didn't offer any kind of greeting. Lily had never seen him so serious, and it unnerved her a bit. His normally happy eyes were empty, and he was not smiling.
"Sirius?" James said slowly.
Sirius looked up and met James's eyes, then quickly looked down at his feet.
"I want you to keep an open mind," he began. "I only want what's best for the three of you because I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you." He took a deep breath and looked James in the eye again. "I don't think I'm your best choice for a Secret-Keeper. It's too obvious that you would choose me."
"What are you talking about?" James began loudly. "I don't know anyone who could do better-"
"Peter."
There was silence in the room. James gaped at his best friend who looked back at him steadily. Lily watched both of them in a state of slight confusion, and Harry slept peacefully on her shoulder.
"You want to repeat that?" James said finally.
Sirius took a deep breath. "Peter."
"Peter?" James said incredulously. "Are you insane, Sirius? Our lives are in danger, and you want to let Peter Pettigrew be our Secret Keeper? He couldn't keep our Christmas presents a secret! Give me three reasons why he would do better than you would."
"Well, no one would think that you were stupid enough to trust him with your lives. They would definitely think of me right away, but when they tortured me to tell where you're hiding, they won't get any answers because I won't know."
"Then what?" James cried. "Then they'll find Peter and he'll give in as soon as Voldemort raises his wand hand to scratch his head. You at least would refuse to talk, and if your hiding place is good, you won't be found at all."
Lily put Harry down on an armchair and let him sleep there while she attempted to make peace between the two men in her living room.
She knew that James was afraid that Peter would let their hiding place slip to someone who would then run to Voldemort with the information. Peter may in fact accidentally tell someone, but if he were hidden well enough, he wouldn't be able to. Lily also knew that James was aware of this, but he didn't want to use anybody other than Sirius because James trusted him more than anyone else.
"James," Sirius groaned. "If you would only think about it. It makes perfect sense to use Peter. Just think."
"He's right, James," Lily said softly. "You know he is. Voldemort will be expecting us to use Sirius, not Peter. We'll be safer this way."
James sighed. "Yeah, but-"
She shook her head. "Think of Harry. You want him to grow up, don't you? And you want to be there when he does."
"Of course. And Peter has always been a very loyal friend." He paused. "Alright. We'll do it. Peter will be our Secret-Keeper."
Sirius smiled slightly, though he still looked extremely sad. He nodded in approval and heaved a great sigh.
"Of course, Dumbledore would probably be your best option," he said. "Because not even Voldemort will go near him, but I know you've already turned him down, and you aren't easily persuaded, so Peter is probably your next best bet."
James nodded but didn't say anything in reply, and Sirius hurried off to find Peter, leaving the Potters alone with their thoughts.
- - - - -
A/N: Hello. I hope you're all well. Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything, but I had some computer problems.
This story will be three chapters long when complete, and I should be able to update once a week. We'll have to see about that.
Believe it or not, I think that's all I have to say about this story. That's odd…
Please review!
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