Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Godric’s Hollow—The End of the Beginning
The cottage was too small, groaning under the weight of dark magic as the storm outside matched the one inside. Upstairs, Lily Potter clutched her children tightly—Harry, a year old, was wrapped up in her arms, crying his heart out, while little Marlene, only six months, whimpered in her other.
“Mummy loves you,” Lily whispered, her voice breaking as she kissed Harry’s messy black hair. Her eyes flicked to Marlene, and in those wide, innocent green eyes, she saw everything she was fighting for. “I love you both more than anything.”
Her heart pounded in her chest, but there was no time left. From below came James’s booming shout. “Lily, RUN!”
Her mind spun as she felt the suffocating weight of the choice between flight and fight. She could leave. She could take them and disappear—just like James had asked, just like they had planned. But how could she leave him?
Another crash, this time from below, and Lily didn’t need to hear the words. She already knew what had happened.
Downstairs, James stood at the center of the room, wand drawn, defiant. Voldemort’s dark figure filled the doorway like a shadow, casting a coldness into every corner.
“Potter,” Voldemort sneered, “You can’t hope to win. Step aside. I only want the boy.”
“No,” James said, voice firm despite the tremor in his chest. “I’ll never let you have him.”
Voldemort’s eyes flickered, amusement in the cruelty of the moment. “Then you will die.” His voice was a whisper, and then, in the blink of an eye, the Killing Curse erupted in green light.
James didn’t flinch, but his shield charm shattered, and the curse struck him down with an unearthly force.
His body crumpled to the floor with an eerie finality.
Upstairs, Lily heard the sickening thud of James’s fall. Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from her children, clutching them with trembling arms. She pulled the Portkey from the drawer beside the bed. It was a simple brass ring, enchanted for emergencies, a last desperate hope.
She kissed Harry’s forehead, her tears falling freely now, and whispered, “Mummy loves you. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” She did the same for Marlene, and then, with shaking hands, she activated the Portkey.
Voldemort stood amidst the ruin, alone in the Potters’ empty house. His eyes flickered in thought, but it was not the victory he had anticipated. His heart pulsed with confusion as he stared at the remains of the nursery. There was something else—the prophecy. The one that spoke of the boy. Harry Potter. The one who could bring him down.
The boy… and the girl.
A chill slithered up Voldemort’s spine. Marlene Potter. Another bloodline to extinguish.
The war was far from over.
Lily stumbled as the Portkey dropped them into a snow-covered forest. The chill of the air stung her cheeks, but it couldn’t freeze the searing grief in her chest. She pulled Harry and Marlene closer, clutching them to her as the wind howled around them.
“James…” she whispered, the word tasting like ash. But there was no answer. Only the wind, and the weight of a world that had just shattered.
As Harry cried and Marlene slept fitfully, Lily vowed to keep them safe, no matter the cost. James had died for them. She wouldn’t let his sacrifice be in vain.