"The Dream"

 

 

"Look, Lily...the sun is making everything pink."

 

"I know...I love it."

 

James and Lily Potter didn't often go outside to look at the sunset...after all, they had a child...but this was a special night. Things just seemed to be going their way. They had a beautiful son, their marriage was strong, and had survived that always uncertain first year, and they felt safe and protected, in their secret place, here in Godric's Hollow.

 

Despite what was going on around them, despite what people were saying about the growing power of Voldemort, they felt as if things just might be all right, after all. All they had to do was look at baby Harry and things seemed better...happier already.

 

James put his arm around Lily's waist, and they watched as the dying sun bathed everything in a deep, dark pink.

 

It was the color Lily loved most, and their house had touches of it everywhere.

 

It was in the vase of flowers sitting by the window, in the curtains of their bedroom, in the stained glass rose she had made and hung in the kitchen window, to catch the light.

 

James grinned as he remembered Harry, sitting on the floor of the kitchen, reaching towards that pink light with a look of wonder in his eyes. James had laughed then, and picked up his son, swirling him around until Lily had walked in and admonished him.

 

James tightened his hold on Lily, and she sighed contentedly as the sun threw out its last colors before sinking behind a golden hill. In the fading light they turned to each other, James pulling his wife in for a light kiss, before they turned and walked into their house, where they knew their baby son lay sleeping.

 

A few hours later Lily turned to James, as they were getting ready for bed.

 

"Did you know it was Halloween, James?"

 

"Why...no...I must have forgotten. It must be all this new responsibility, making me forget a holiday." He laughed, in true Maurader fashion, and a lock of hair fell over his eyes, obscuring one of them completely. Lily laughed with him, and reached up to brush it back, as she had done countless times before.

 

That was when they heard the noise...a sort of scraping sound, like a door being opened.

 

"James...what was that?"

 

Instantly James was on guard, all of his newfound fatherly instincts telling him that this wasn't just some random noise. Something was terribly wrong. He looked at Lily.

 

"I'll go look downstairs...you go and see about Harry. The noise might have awoken him."

 

Lily looked at James with deep affection. Somehow she knew...she had always known that Voldemort would find them, eventually. She tried to communicate all of her affection, all of her love...all of her strength in that last glance at James. She knew he would need it. He returned the look, and headed downstairs.

 

Lily tried to get to her son as quickly as possible, but everything seemed to be going in slow motion. When she finally reached him, he was standing in his crib, looking at her out of huge eyes. He was quiet, though, and she gathered him to her, waiting fearfully...

 

When she heard the awful scream from downstairs a part of her mobilized. She put Harry down in his crib and covered him with his blanket. She kissed his forehead, sobbing, and went out into the hallway to stop Voldemort, in any way she could. She would not let him get to Harry, if she had to die, so be it, but she would take Voldemort down with her. She didn't know what she could do that James couldn't, but she pulled out her wand and readied herself, all the same.

 

He stepped into the hallway, wand out, and whispered, "It doesn't have to end like this, Lily."

 

Lily looked at him with a hatred she never even knew she could feel, and said, "You killed my husband."

 

"He was only in the way, Lily. He, with his paltry spells, thought he could stop me. I had to show him." He looked at Lily appraisingly for a moment. "You might make a useful ally, Lily...you could be great. You could have all the power you ever dreamed of, and more."

 

She shivered. She had to keep him talking, then maybe he would forget Harry was in the house. Maybe he didn't know...maybe she could save her son, by distracting him, but she lost all hope when she saw his eyes narrow. It was as if he could read her mind.

 

"I will have your son, Lily. I know he is in the house. You will not stop me, whatever you choose to do. Whether you join me or not will only be of minor consequence, in my plan. It's the boy I want...and I will have him."

 

He let loose an unholy laugh and raised his wand. "Move aside, Lily...I can see there is no persuading you. You are only making it worse, my dear... I'm going for the boy, you see...and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

 

Lily looked at him coldly. "We'll see about that."

 

She raised her wand to do the Killing Curse, but he was too fast for her. She screamed, and the last thing she saw was the dreadful green light enveloping her, as she spiraled down into darkness.

 

********

 

Young Harry woke up suddenly. What a dream!

 

He felt sweaty and warm, which wasn't normal...with him crammed into a cold, dark cupboard under the stairs. He sat up in his small bed, wondering at the utter realness of the dream he had just had. He could almost believe that that was the way it had really happened.

 

No...what was he thinking? Everyone knew his parents had died in a car accident, and there was no use imagining otherwise, but a small voice nagged at the back of his thoughts even while he was thinking this.

 

Did his parents perish in a car accident, after all?

 

No matter how he tried to shake the ludicrous thought, it kept coming back. Did they?

 

Maybe Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon weren't telling him the truth...he wouldn't put it past them to lie to him. He thought further. The dream had to be real, which left a lot of unanswered questions. Who was the man that killed his parents? He seemed so evil. Harry shivered from the memory. Tears began to roll down his face as he thought of the untimely death his parents faced.

 

It wasn't fair!

 

As he lay back on his bed, though,  he couldn't keep a small smile from forming...His parents loved him, and not only that...they loved each other. There was a time when he had been part of a happy, loving family. There, in that cold and horrible dream, he had learned that. The thought brought him immeasurable comfort.

 

He reached under his bed to grab a small bag of Halloween candy. He was surprised when he had been given Dudley's unwanted treats last night. Sure, they were only the things too revolting for even Dudley to eat, like a half-rotten apple and some dried up toffees, but he was thankful even for those.

 

He remembered the Dursleys the night before, off to the same Halloween party they went to every year. Uncle Vernon hadn't bothered to send him to Mrs. Figg's this year.  He had simply locked him in his cupboard, and they had all left, Dudley dressed as a ludicrously fat yellow chicken. They usually brought home nothing for Harry, always throwing Dudley's pick-throughs in the dustbin, but this Halloween they must have been in an unusually giving mood...

 

Harry slipped a dry toffee in his mouth and lay down again. The ten year old pictured the beautiful pink sunset from his dream as he drifted off to sleep once more. His last thought was that maybe he should write down his dream, so he would always remember it, but sleep overtook him, and the dream was left forgotten.