Disclaimer: I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes.

— PROLOGUE —

Ten Years Earlier

A small boy of fifteen months sat in his crib, his eyes sparkling and looking around, attempting to discern where all the sounds around him were coming from and murmuring happily to himself. There were birds cheerfully tweeting and leaves rustling as the wind battered the large, old, oak tree outside the open window close to the boy's head. A cold breeze came in through the window and ruffled his thick, almost jet-black hair, causing him to laugh, though it was more like a small squeak. The room around him was, despite the coming darkness of the night, painted a light blue, but there were many differently coloured objects littered about the place. His eyes were drawn to something on the floor that was coloured an emerald green.

"Mumma!" he shouted gleefully when he saw the colour. He was happy as it was the same colour as his mother's wonderfully green eyes. It was at that very moment that his mother walked into the room with a very pleasant look on her face. The boy looked up at her, smiled and giggled. He watched her long, flaming red hair blow around slightly as a result of the breeze. Her green eyes sparkled.

"My, my," his mother said to him with a fake annoyed look on her face that failed to conceal her obvious smile. "Look who's awake."

She picked him up and twirled him around a bit and he giggled knowing that he would be getting kisses from her afterwards. He was correct. He giggled again as his mother laughed and looked at the open window. "That's why it's so chilly in here. I'll need to talk to James about that," she said seriously before suddenly turning cheerful again. "Did Daddy leave the window open again?" she asked her son with a throaty laugh as he gave her a somewhat cheeky smile.

"Birdy!" the little boy cried, remembering why the window was open in the first place. His father had been letting some birds land on the windowsill and helped his son to feed them from his hand.

"Oh, so that's why it was open, was it? You were feeding the birds?" his mother asked playfully before tickling him and making him laugh loudly. While she did this, the door burst open quickly, but quietly. The toddler's mother grasped him tightly for just a second.

"Dadda!" the toddler cried happily, squirming in his mother's arms at the sight of his father. His father was a tall man and had very untidy, black hair which his son had clearly inherited from him. His father's eyes, however, were hazel and encased by round rimmed glasses. His father walked into the room and picked the boy up out of his mothers' arms and kissed his cheek.

"Damn it, James," the toddler's mother said in annoyance. "I've told you not to do that. Not with ... him around."

"I'm sorry, Lily," James replied, tickling his son slightly. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"No, no you weren't," Lily replied, her annoyance only slightly abated. "And next time, close the window. I don't want Harry getting a cold and quite frankly, I don't feel comfortable with Harry being alone in a room with a window open at all."

"I know I should have closed the window, but Harry just fell asleep in my arms, so I put him to bed and forgot about it completely. Honey, everything's fine. No one suspects Peter," James replied calmly, setting Harry down in the crib with a red ball. "We're as safe as we can possibly be." Lily scoffed.

"Do you really believe that?" she asked angrily. "I mean, come on James. I know Peter is your friend, but can we really trust him?"

"Yes, of course we can," James replied. "We've had this conversation before. Multiple times. What do you have against Peter?"

"Nothing, but this is our lives, James," Lily replied with a sigh. "Harry's life. Can we really trust Peter with that? You know what people say about Animagi, don't you James? The animal supposedly represents your personality. Peter's form is a rat. We rushed into this. We should have chosen Sirius."

"Peter's Animagus form is a rat because he likes to know things that he has no right to," James replied exasperatedly. "And we chose right. No one suspects Peter. He will be looking straight to Sirius, if Snape has anything to say about it."

"Despite what you may think, James," Lily said, her anger slightly going away, "Severus has quite a tactical mind and knows both of us too well to think we would actually choose Sirius. Plus he knows about Remus' problem. Who does that leave?"

"Lily, everything will be fine," James said, leaning over the crib just in time to see Harry abandon the red ball for a smaller, golden one. Lily chuckled a little.

"Really, James?" Lily asked. "The Quaffle again? You know how he likes the Snitch. Are you really trying to get him to follow in your footsteps when he's only fifteen months old?"

"A man can dream, I suppose," James replied with a sigh. "I guess he'll be in a good position as a Seeker."

"As long as he isn't a beater, I'm happy," Lily replied with a small smile. "Speaking of brain damage caused by a bludger, when is Sirius getting here? Halloween dinner is almost done. I need him to be here by eight so he and you can devour it like the animals you are."

"Hey!" James shouted in mock anger. "I love your cooking! And I know for a fact Sirius does as well. If we didn't, there would be no animalistic devouring of any kind. You are an amazing cook. And I need to remember to tell Sirius that one. He'd get a kick out of it."

"I love you, James Potter," Lily said with a laugh.

"I love you too, Lily," James said, leaning over and kissing her lightly.

At that moment, there was a sharp intake of breath from Harry in the crib as a look of astonishment spread across his young face. He was looking directly at a beautiful, silvery version of a large, shaggy dog that had just walked through the door of his bedroom. "Pa'foo'!" Harry said happily, standing in the crib to get a better look at the dog that was now illuminating the room. Lily and James looked at each other.

"Sirius doesn't usually use his Patronus to send messages," James said quietly, obviously concerned. "The last time was when the Prewett boys were in trouble." Lily started to say something, but was cut off by the Patronus.

"He knows where you are. He's coming," Sirius' voice said, emanating from the silver dog and sounding very angry and rushed. "That traitorous rat bastard told him! Hold the fort until I get there, James. Lils, you need to protect Harry. I have to tell Dumbledore before I go there. I'm sorry I can't do more."

"James ..." Lily started, her mouth gaping unusually. Both of their faces had drained of all colour. Without warning, Lily moved away from James and snatched Harry up from the crib, clinging to him tightly. She attempted to Apparate away, but found that she couldn't. She then moved to exit the room, but James stopped her.

"Move, James," she said angrily. "We need to get outside so we can Apparate away."

"Lily," James said hoarsely. "Look out the window." Lily looked at him like he was a crazy person, but did what he said. When she did, she saw a flash of green light that seemed to be from streets away.

"Oh, god, he's here already," she said quietly. "James, what do I do?"

"You know how to check the wards," he replied. "Check them and see what he got rid of. He may have been careless." Lily did as she was asked with her wand.

"Most are still in place, but they are the ones in his favour," Lily replied a few moments later, panicking slightly. "He added an Anti-Apparition ward as well, somehow. And the fire wards are down."

"He must have a Curse-breaker on his side," James said anxiously.

"James..." Lily said, clinging to Harry.

"Don't leave," James suddenly said. "I'm going to head him off. We can't just wait for him to find us. It'll take Sirius too long to contact Dumbledore. The feast will just have started, so that makes it even harder. I need to buy some time."

"What?" Lily asked, bewildered. "James, you can't. He'll kill you."

"I'm trained as an Auror, Lily," James replied. "I may not use those skills as often as I would like, but I should be able to hold him off for a while at least. And if Mad-Eye is to be believed, he likes to talk when it's one-on-one. That's more time there. Just stay with Harry. But if anything happens that seems ... final, just leave. Run away. Whatever you do, don't let that ... thing touch my son."

Lily looked into her husband's eyes and saw a glint she hadn't seen since he had pursued her at Hogwarts. She knew nothing would come between him and his decision so she simply nodded, clinging to Harry.

"I love you, Lily Potter," James said, his voice no louder than a whisper. He kissed Lily deeply and then kissed his son on the top of his head. "I love you too, Harry. I hope you know that."

"Oh, James!" Lily cried, flinging herself and Harry into James' arms. "Of course he knows. He loves you. I love you."

Lily found it difficult to say even that knowing what he was going to do for them. James kissed her and Harry once more before leaving the blue room with his wand clutched in one hand, closing the door behind him. He had never looked so focused.

Harry wanted to leave his mother's slightly smothering embrace, but even as young as he was, he could sense that something was wrong so he didn't budge as she held him close to her. His mother had her back to the window, so Harry was able to see over her shoulder and outside.

Lily was muttering things to her son, but Harry did not take very much notice, especially when he heard a high-pitched, cruel laugh come from the yard below. His mother, Harry noticed, was breathing very quickly and was starting to hold him even tighter, not relinquishing her hold at all. Outside the window, Harry began to see a lot of pretty lights.

"Dadda!" Harry cried happily when he saw the lights. He had only ever seen the lights from his father and Padfoot.

Lily, realising exactly what Harry could see, swiftly turned to an angle where neither she, nor Harry, could see the lights. She was well aware what was happening and didn't believe that she could stomach seeing even the slightest indication that her husband was fighting the madmen who wanted to destroy the world.

The change in angle didn't help shield either of them from the massive amount of green light that came just a few minutes later and filled the room completely. Lily wailed as she recognised what had happened, which caused Harry to jump. After a second she caught herself, and stopped, realising that the sound would draw him closer.

Harry couldn't see any lights, and looked up at his mother who had tears flowing down her face now. Harry didn't like seeing his mummy sad, especially so because he didn't fully understand why she was sad. What had happened? What was the pretty green light? Harry had never seen that one before. He looked into her now open green eyes. They weren't sparkling like they usually were, so he crept up slightly and gave her a kiss on the lips and looked again. They were sparkling again. He liked it when they sparkled.

Lily managed a weak smile before moving quickly to exit the room. Before she could leave she heard slow, deliberate footsteps creeping up the stairs leading to the hallway from which the room she and Harry were in stemmed. Lily realised, to her chagrin, that she had waited too long to get out of the house. Lily backed away from the door and reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. She pointed the wand at the door, her hand shaking quite a bit.

The footsteps stopped. Lily felt her heart rate quicken.

BANG!

His mother jumped at the loud sound and squeezed Harry very hard, but he knew enough to know not to cry out in pain.

It was not the door in front of her. Lily realised that it must have been hers and James' room. She stifled a cry as she realised that it was now clear that it had not been James who casted the Killing Curse. She did not lower her wand, however, and kept it aimed at the door, her hands still shaking.

BANG!

A second crash was heard and Lily jumped again, although she was not as startled as she was at the first. She still did not lower her wand even a centimetre. She, once more, heard footsteps approaching, though this time they were closer. Her heart sank into her stomach. Lily knew what was coming. She could do nothing to stop it. She was going to do whatever she could to protect her baby boy.

She glanced at her son once more and found him looking right into her eyes. She smiled at the thought of her beautiful young boy who she hoped would grow up to be an amazing man. She kissed Harry on the cheek, with tears standing in her eyes.

"I love you, Harry," she told her baby boy in the most confident voice she could muster.

"Wuv you mumma," Harry replied in a quiet voice. He smiled brightly at her and his eyes sparkled like stars. She liked it a lot when they sparkled. A few tears escaped Lily's eyes. She quickly glanced out the window at the oak tree. In the short time that she had lived here, Lily had loved living in Godric's Hollow. It was beautiful. More tears escaped. All the while, Lily had not lowered her wand. Her eyes turned to the door once more and she prepared for the inevitable.

BANG!

The door blew inwards and, as if through instinct alone, Lily turned to protect her son. She swiftly placed him in the crib and turned around in time to see him walk through the door. If he wants to touch Harry, he is going to have to kill me first. I will die before he touches Harry, she thought, anger rising in her throat. The man, if he could be so-called, walked slowly into the room, but to Lily's surprise, he moved to brush past her and headed straight towards Harry's crib.

"NO! You will not touch him!" Lily screamed at him. He turned to look at her with his red eyes, deformed such that they resembled the slits of a snake's eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when he looked at her. She was still shaking, but less so and held her wand firmly in her hand, not looking to let it go at any point. The shaking subsided surprisingly quickly as Lily realised that she was the only thing keeping Harry alive. No Dumbledore. No Alastor. No Remus. No Sirius. No James.

"What makes you think you can stop me?" the man with many names asked her with a sneer that pulled his already ugly face grotesquely. It was a strange thing to notice, but Lily found herself thinking that he had an odd voice. It seemed that this man would have a very intimidating voice, but in reality it was not intimidating at all. It didn't really need to be in the end. His presence alone was intimidating enough. "You are a Muggle. No Muggle yet has put up even the slightest fight."

"I am a witch!" Lily tried to shout, but her voice broke halfway through the sentence and she couldn't manage it.

"Really?" the man asked with a sneer. "What makes you believe that you are deserving of that title? Your parents were Muggles, were they not? Your grandparents, also Muggles? And their parents as well? I thought as much. So I'm afraid you don't deserve to be called a witch! You are a Muggle! Nothing more. Muggles are less than dirt, and should be treated as such. I despise them." The last sentence was said with such ferocity and hatred that Lily knew that he truly believed what he was saying. It was the whole point of his existence. Lily felt her anger rise in her throat again.

"Why?" she asked in an angry tone. She felt as if she was looking death right in the eye as she spoke. She hoped that if she stalled for long enough that someone would show up. Sirius. Remus. Frank. Alice. Albus. Anyone. It was a long shot, but it was all she could do. Anything to protect Harry.

"Why? My father was a Muggle! He left my mother when it got toorough for him. Of course I found him and killed him," he said in a creepily off-handed tone. "Now, if you will step aside you foolish girl, I will do what I came to do. If your husband wasn't so utterly stupid he might have lived as well. This is your first warning. Step aside and you shall be spared."

It finally dawned on Lily why he was here. It wasn't for her or James. It was for Harry. The Prophecy, she thought angrily. She felt herself beginning to panic as she remembered just how important it was for Harry to survive.

"Not Harry, please no, don't kill him, take me, kill me instead!" she pleaded longingly with the man staring at her with his red slits.

"This is my final warning," the man informed her calmly but with a sneer as if he wasn't even considering leaving her alive. Lily started to cry.

"Not Harry! Please ... have mercy ... Not Harry! Please. I'll do anything." At this point she knew that she was sounding weak, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She raised her wand and started to do something she had hoped she would never have to, "Avada ..."

"Expelliarmus!" the red-eyed man cried. Lily's wand flew out of her hand and landed on the carpeted floor behind her. She turned straight to Harry and looked into his eyes. He didn't look the least bit frightened or scared. He just looked at her with his same angelic face, smiling at her.

"I love you Harry," Lily said quietly, silently brushing her hands on his cheeks.

"Avada Kedavra!" screamed the evil man and Harry's mother slumped to the floor. There was a high, shrill laugh as she hit the floor. Harry looked on not aware of what was happening.

"Now, child. You will cause me no grief. I, Lord Voldemort, have defeated a prophecy, something which no man has ever done. I am the strongest wizard ever to have lived. Goodbye, Harry Potter," he looked at the child who smiled at the mention of his name. This angered Lord Voldemort immensely. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" he shouted as his wand pointed directly at the child's head. As Voldemort finished the words, he felt a shiver go down his spine. Normally this feeling was reserved for the pleasure of killing, but there was something wrong this time.

Voldemort noticed, as the Killing Curse left his wand, that there was what appeared to be a emerald coloured shield forming around the body of the little boy in the crib. It was too late to stop himself. The curse had already left his wand and rebounded back at him upon contact with the emerald shield.

Voldemort didn't slump to the ground like those he had killed with the Killing Curse before. His body simply turned to dust.

The child remained in his crib, no longer smiling but crying loudly. He felt something sharp and painful on his forehead. The green shield suddenly burst outwards violently. The window behind the boy shattered and, unbeknownst to him, the rest of the house began to crumble and fall.

A drop of blood fell into Harry Potter's emerald green eyes just as he fell backwards, unconscious.