Marauders in Time

The Boy Who Lived

Dark and empty.

Those were the two best words to describe Godric's Hollow. Despite the number of people living in the cottages either side of the narrow road, there was minimal noise to be heard in the streets. People kept to themselves mainly. Partly because they didn't have any reason to associate with their neighbours. There was a deep curiosity in one Bathilda Bagshot, a tiny woman where her eyes were thick of cataracts and face having some liver spots and broken veins. But if the street thought she was odd, they had no idea about the Potters, who lived down the end of the street in a cottage identical to the others. 

The Potters consisted of 3 individuals, James and Lily Potter along with their baby son, Harry. James was a fully qualified wizard while Lily being a qualified witch. Both have a goal in protecting their son, Harry, from the dangers outside. And being in their tiny cottage, they feel safe. Because their cottage was not visible to the normal population.

Their cottage is protected by the Fidelius Charm: A magical spell that is used to conceal a secret inside an individual's soul.  A dwelling whose location has been protected by this is then invisible, intangible, and soundproof. This is an extremely old spell, one of the most ancient of all. And this spell is said to be unbreakable. 

But why did the Potters need a charm to make their house invisible?

The answer was evident as an individual appeared at one end of the street, demented and mysterious. The hood over the individual's head made his entrance all the more horrifying. He appeared at the opposite end of the Potters' cottage. But as soon as he appeared, there was a sudden change in the whole mood of the Potters, who had just finished putting Harry to bed.

"Lily!" James called out hurriedly. "Its him! He's here!"

"How can he be?" Lily replied in an equally scared tone. "How does he know?"

"I don't know. Take Harry and run. Go!"

As the individual glided nearer to the house, he pulled something out of his sleeve: a wand. If anyone saw it at first glance, it would seem harmless and just an ordinary stick. But the Potters knew the danger that wand possesses. As the individual entered the perimeter of the cottage, Lily began to feel more frightened than she ever had been.

"Lily! Take Harry and go!" James cried out as they heard the evil hiss just outside the door.

James stood at the foot of the stairs where he held Harry, passing the little sleeping bundle to his wife. The look of agony on Lily's face as they realized their fate said it all. 

"Lily please! Take him and run!" James pleaded.

"I can't leave you James!" Lily persisted, now at the top of the landing.

For once, James breathed in heavily and looked calm as he stared into Lily's eyes, "We knew this would happen."

And the door opened. Slowly but menacingly. At the frame of it stood the most feared, most evil being to ever exist. Lord Voldemort. In the flesh. Here with one mission. At the sight of him, the face of James turned pale in an instant. His tight grip on his wand as his arm shook tremendously, trying to buy some time for his wife.

"Go!" James screamed again.

Lily ran off towards Harry's bedroom holding her only son in her arms. James knew his fate. As he stood in a face-off with the greatest dark wizard in history, he knew what was coming. What little courage he had left he used, in order to save his wife and son.

"You stay away!" he trembled as he raised his wand towards his enemy. "You stay away from my wife and son!"

The hiss from the twisted figure in front of him turned into an evil laugh. He raised his wand slowly as James fired a spark at him. The curse was deftly deflected by Voldemort, causing a portrait to fly and a couple of china to break. There was a crack of thunder from outside and a flash of green light as Lily had slammed the door shut. Just like that, James Potter was dead. Lily knew what little time she had left. She couldn't jump out of the window. The fall could kill both of them. Placing the now awake baby into the cot, she kneeled down to look directly into Harry's eyes.

"Harry, my son," she whispered. "Mummy loves you."

There was another hiss from outside the door, "Harry Potter..."

It was only a matter of seconds now...

"Harry," Lily whispered again, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Harry, mummy loves you. Always. Stay safe, stay strong. I love you Harry."

BANG!

Lily screamed as the door was blasted open. Harry started to wail and Lily turned to face the being she hated more than anything in the world. With tears still flowing down her face, she knew there was nothing else she could do. Her husband dead outside. She was defenceless.

"Please!" she begged. "Please not Harry! Not Harry!"

"Stand aside, silly girl," Voldemort threatened. "Stand aside!"

"No! Not Harry! Please not Harry!" Lily cried, standing between him and her baby.

Another flash of green light. Another crack of thunder outside. And Lily Potter dropped to the floor. Harry watched her mother, waiting for her to get back up. His baby screams were drowned out by the evil cackle of the being that caused the death of his parents. Slowly, he raised his wand towards the baby's face. There was no one else to stop him now. No one else to stand in the way. The most powerful person to walk the Earth with the power to kill one baby boy.

"Avada Kedavra!"

One more flash of green light, one more crack of thunder, screams all over the street. And the house was destroyed. All that was left was a crying one year-old baby in his little cot next to his dead mother. On that night, Lord Voldemort had been defeated by The Boy Who Lived.