Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

It was the night of Halloween and the scene in the Potter's living room was one you would expect of a wizarding family on such a night. Enchanted Pumpkins were glowing in the corner of the room; the shadows of the magical flames from within them were casting eerie shadows across the carpet. Lily had made some iced pumpkin juice and bat shaped biscuits and the little house was still warm from the heat of the fireplace that had been going earlier in the evening. A candle was burning steadily on the mantelpiece and glistening black bat garlands were hanging from the ceiling and flapping their tiny plastic wings. James was balancing baby Harry on his knee and making purple puffs of smoke with his wand. Harry clapped his chubby little hands in delight, his green eyes that were so like his Mother's alight with the flames from the pumpkins.

James heard a rustle from outside but blamed it on the wind that was toying with the hem of the curtains. He continued playing with Harry until he heard the noise again, much louder this time. Unable to ignore it any longer, and with thoughts of pumpkin juice and warm fires still on his mind, he rose from his chair and set Harry down in his crib.

"Where are you going?" Lily looked up at her husband from The Daily Prophet that she had spread across her lap.

"I just-ah...something downstairs…a noise…probably the cat…"

He left the room and made his way swiftly down the stairs. As he was on the last step he heard a scratch against the door. James relaxed. It was probably just Sirius or one of the other order members. Laughing at how paranoid he had become, he swung the door open.

But it was not a friendly face from the order that greeted him. No, it was possibly the furthest thing away from an order member. Instead, James found himself face to face with a man whose long, spiderlike fingers were wrapped tightly around a wand that was pointing directly in to this face. He was staring into the glowing snakelike eyes of Lord Voldemort.

Without even taking a moment to catch his breath he turned and called to Lily, a definite note of fear in his usually confident voice, "It's him! Take Harry and run, I'll hold him off!" He heard a thud followed by a bang from upstairs where the two people he loved most in the world were trapped and could only hope that the noises were an indication of their escape. Wildly patting his pockets, feeling for the long wooden object that was his wand, he realised with a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had left it upstairs. Without knowing what else to do, he curled his hands into two tight fists even though he knew that it was hopeless; there was no way he would win this fight without magic.

James heard a high, cold laugh as though from far away. A flash of green, a scream of rage, and before he knew what was happening, he felt his body freeze as if turning to stone. He was left lying there like a fool, and he wanted nothing more than to jump up and chase after Voldemort who was now disappearing up the staircase. And then, a piercing scream, a baby began to wail, and he heard Lily sobbing so that her desperate pleas were indistinguishable. "Step aside, you silly girl...Step aside!" James's heart felt like it was ripping, like it was quite literally being torn in two. He attempted to struggle against the charm but knew that there was no point, the thought of movement was in his mind but his body could not carry them out for as long as he was under this spell.

And suddenly there was a deafening crash followed by a long, drawn out scream. All James could see where clouds and clouds of white, swirling and churning before gradually thinning out. Debris was falling all around him and he felt a sharp blow to his head. Temporarily disorientated, he felt himself swimming in and out of consciousness. After a few confusing seconds, James realised that he could move again and immediately leapt to his feet. Coughing as he breathed in the chalky white dust that he was now forced to accept was the remains of his house, his only thoughts were of his wife and son and the unsettling silence coming from above him. Why weren't there screams and cries for help? Were they...dead? And how had Voldemort found them? The only way the fidelius charm could be broken was if the secret keeper betrayed them...but Pettigrew was his best friend and he would not believe that it was he who had compromised their safety. James began to bound up the somewhat collapsed stairs three at a time, he barely knew what he was doing, only that he had to know for sure that his family were safe. Slamming into the door and wrenching the handle, he stumbled into the room that he had vacated only minutes before (although it felt like several lifetimes to James)and his eyes hungrily surveyed the scene of complete and utter devastation that lay before him.


	2. Chapter 2

James felt a sick feeling rising in his chest as his eyes skimmed over the room. Where was Lily? And Harry! He couldn't see either of them. But at last he spotted a ghostly white hand protruding from the rubble. He would recognise that hand anywhere. Lily! James felt a surge of relief. In all his haste he had been careless in his search, like an elderly person looking for their glasses only to find that they are wearing them. But his relief didn't last long. He might have found her, but was she still alive? Wading his way through the debris, he felt his foot slip over the edge and in to nothingness. He flung his arms out to the side and latched on to what might have previously been the coffee table. Grunting, James pulled himself out of the hole through which he had fallen and with his eyes locked on his wife's hand, he began to force his way through until he reached Lily's side. He scrabbled, his hands as numb as ungloved hands on a snow day, at the rubble covering his wife until he had freed her chest and face.

He rested his hand against the side of her neck and could not feel a pulse for several heart stopping seconds. "LILY!" He bellowed. I'm panicking, he thought. Forcing himself to calm down, he touched her neck once more and finally felt a tiny flutter. James shook her, very gently and slowly she opened her eyelids, blinking as though staring into a very bright light. "James...Harry...is he…?" it sounded as though every word was causing her unimaginable pain.

James seized his wand which he had just spotted under Lily's side and leapt to his feat. "Harry!" he called, knowing that even if Harry were alive he could not yet speak.

He heard a hearty chuckle from behind him and James spun wildly, searching for the son he was sure had just laughed. Did he dare to get his hopes up? Was his son still alive? Could his entire family have escaped the wrath of Lord Voldemort...unscathed?

And there Harry was, sitting cross legged in his crib like a prince on a throne. Catching sight of his Father, his lips curled into a wide, gummy smile as he clapped his hands as though this were all an elaborate game, invented purely for his entertainment.

"He's okay, Lily!" James called, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. And he was, aside from a small, jagged cut above his right eye. James had to think quickly. What could he do? For all they knew, they could still be in terrible danger. Suddenly very aware of the fact that Voldemort might still be lurking in some dark corner, he picked Harry up and slung him over his hip. One hand securing his son and the other holding his wand, he sprinted over to Lily.

"Lily...we have to get out of here...it's not safe. We don't know if he's still here, and lord knows how long the roof will hold up."

He gazed up at the sky, which he could now see through a gaping hole in the ceiling and shivered as a cold draft sent autumn leaves swirling into the living room.

Lily pulled herself up into a sitting position and took James's hand into hers.

"Dumbledore. We have to get Dumbledore. He'll know what to do."

Still holding their gaze, James stood up. He held out his hand for his wife and helped her up. Lily put her arm around his shoulders and James noticed that she was bleeding from the side of her head. He lead the way to the top of the stairs but came to an abrupt stop as he noticed that they were not there. It had completely collapsed while they were in the living room. There was only about a three meter gap between the floor they were standing on and the floor below them.

"We'll have to jump, Lily." he said apologetically.

He set her down so that her legs were dangling over the edge and then did the same, still holding Harry.

"On the count of three…"

They slid off and landed with a not so gentle thud, Lily stumbling on the remains of the staircase. Quickly, they made their way out of the house. As the door closed behind them, James spotted a tall, thin figure hurrying down the street.

"Dumbledore!" he cried.

"Good evening." Dumbledore replied gravely. "First of all, I am pleased to find you all alive. What happened tonight…well, none of us could have known that Peter would betray the secret, but we are now forced to come to terms with the situation and find a way to deal with it."

"But-" James opened his mouth to disagree, Pettigrew was one of his good friends and he would not believe that he would do such a thing.

Dumbledore held up his hand to silence James. "Now, I trust that both of you can apparate?"

He paused only long enough for James and Lily to nod in agreement before continuing. "A member of the order who I shall not name at the present moment has very kindly offered to have you stay with them. We've cast every kind of protection spell we can muster between us over the house and you have my word that it is completely safe. Now, I would like you both to read this," he handed them a folded piece of parchment with an address scrawled across the page in thin, slanting writing "and memorise."

Dumbledore gave them a few moments to do so, tapping his foot on the pavement. "Ready?" he asked with a nod towards the note. Dumbledore pocketed the parchment and without another word between them, the four of them (James with Harry still on his hip) walked purposefully towards a point a few feet ahead of them before spinning on their heels and disappearing.


End file.
