A/N: Thank you canis lupis familiaris, Viktor's, Beloved Daughter, anon, alondra m perez, Ice Demon Ranger, and xxxLeanniexxx for reviewing! I really appreciate them.

What had been a quiet, happy night abruptly turned to panic and terror as the front door blew open, a vaguely familiar feeling of horrible magic tingling along Lily's skin on her way up the stairs to put her son to bed. Even as she bolted, the contentment in her breast switched to consuming fear, James shouted after her, brave, stupid James, who had left his wand on the sofa and was weaponless against the monster stepping over their threshold.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

There was a laugh, cold and high, then the words – Avada Kedavra! – and James, no, no, not James. The scream escaped her before she could bite it back, and some part of her thought maybe it was good, yes, scream, maybe the neighbors would hear, someone who could help, she just needed to buy time!

She shoved a chair in front of the door with one hand, Harry held tight to her in the other, throwing boxes after it, a sob in her throat – the Fidelus Charm, it had not worked, no, oh Peter, what had happened to their friend, poor Peter – as she tried, tried to do something to protect herself, protect her son. Stupid, stupid, stupid – she did not have her wand, she had left in on the dresser in the bedroom she shared with James, how stupid that was, was she, how utterly foolish not to have her wand, when she knew she was being hunted…

The door opened, her mundane barrier dissolved with a lazy wave of this man's – this monster, who looked so little like the boy she had nearly killed, his face and eyes and body transformed by magic, that he was nearly unrecognizable as the same person – wand, and she did the only thing she could do, no magic to protect her or her son, she turned and set him in his crib and faced the mad-man again, arms spread to block her son.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

She was babbling, she knew she was babbling, but her mind was shattered with fear, with despair, with the need to protect her son, the last piece of her and James and Bucky, she had to protect Harry, even at the cost of her own life.

"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now." He was ordering her away? Not just killing her, like he had killed James? Why? Why?

But that was not important, no, no, just Harry, Harry was the only important thing.

"Not Harry, please, no, take me, kill me instead –"

"This is my last warning –" What? Why was he warning her, why give her the chance, why, why, why. The confusion beat at the back of her mind, but there was little room for it in the forefront of her thoughts, she had to protect her son, this child of hers and the two men she had given her heart to, he was the thing that mattered.

"Not Harry! Please… have mercy… have mercy… Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything –" Just don't take my son! her heart, her mind, her entire body pleaded, but it would not make a difference.

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!" It was hard to read what emotion might have been in that cold voice – it was just so strange – but some part of her thought wildly, with some hysterical sense of manic amusement, that he sounded mildly irritated, impatient, and she knew, knew that no one was coming, no one would get there in time – he had his wand pointed at her, his mouth already open to shape the words – and that in the next few seconds, she would be –

A/N: Italic dialogue taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I felt like it was necessary to write Lily's death scene. It barely mentions Bucky, but it fits as a short intermission sort of chapter.

Reviews are nice. Very nice.