Chapter 1: A-Mother-Who-Sacrificed
Lily Potter wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve… She was tired, extremely so. She took a deep breath before she resumed what she has been doing the past few hours without a break. She couldn't afford to take a break… It was simply not an option.
Lily groaned in frustration as she closed the book she was reading with a loud snap. Rage and anger flashed in her eyes as she tossed the book to the side with all of her might. After screaming in frustration, she plopped down in the chair with a tired look on her face.
Lily took some deep breaths to calm herself before she turned toward a rather impressive stack of books. She picked up the book at the top and cracked it open… She was tired and frustrated, but Lily knew she couldn't stop… She had to find a way. Magic can make miracles possible, so there must be something she could use.
"Wyaaa!" A child's wail was heard from the nearby crib. The tired and frustrated look disappeared from her face only to be replaced by a look of worry and desperation.
Lily closed the book after leaving a bookmark and stood up. Without wasting any time, she made her way toward the crib, and then she forced away the look of worry and desperation from her face. A sweet and caring smile appeared on her face as she finally arrived in front of the crib.
Lily looked down at the crib only to find her own emerald orbs staring back at her. Hadrian James Potter was the most beautiful baby in the world or at least that is what Lily believed and nobody could change her mind about that… Hadrian continued to wail and that is when the rancid smell reached her nose.
Lily whipped out her Wand… With a flick of her Wand, she removed Hadrian's diaper, and with another flick, she removed the mess too. After a couple of Cleaning and Air Freshening Charms, she finally nodded her head in satisfaction.
With a jab of her Wand, she silently summoned another diaper from the shelf. After putting new diaper, she scooped up her baby boy into her arms. Lily cradled Hadrian in her arms and then she started to rock him gently…
"Oh… Don't worry, Mama is here. Mama is here. Mama will take care of you" Lily cooed at Hadrian as she continued to rock him in her arms with a smitten look on her face.
After a few minutes, Hadrian finally started to calm down, but Lily continued to rock him gently. After a few minutes more, he finally fell asleep in her arms. Lily looked at the bundle of joy in her arms and slowly her smile disappeared and a determined look appeared on her face.
Hadrian was the most important thing in her life and he was in danger…
~~Reminiscing Starts~~
Lily felt she was over the moon as she held Hadrian in her arms for the first time… She was quite tired due to the labor, but she insisted on holding Hadrian in her arms. Lily looked down at the bundle in her arms with the brightest smile she could muster. Right now, she was the happiest woman in the world and nothing else mattered to her.
For the next few days, there was nothing that could remove the joyous smile from her face… She felt like there was nothing that could ruin her mood, but she was simply being naive. She naively believed that nothing could ruin her happiness, but she was proven wrong when Albus Dumbledore decided to pay them a visit.
After congratulating them, Albus Dumbledore asked if he could talk with the two of them in private as Sirius and Peter were there. So, after Sirius and Peter left the room, Albus finally saw it fit to reveal that a Prophecy had been made regarding Dark Lord's defeat and their newborn son might be the child the Prophecy was referring to.
That wasn't all, Albus also revealed the fact that one of the Dark Lord's servants overheard the first half of the Prophecy and made a run for it before Albus could stop him. Lily obviously wanted to know more… Like what did the Prophecy entail? She also wanted to know the name of the person who overheard the Prophecy, but the great Albus Dumbledore decided that revealing the Prophecy to them would put them in even more danger… Albus also refused to reveal the name of the person who overheard the Prophecy.
While James was happy to accept Albus Dumbledore's decisions, Lily wasn't satisfied. After all, if the Prophecy was about her son then she needed to know everything and she also needed to know the bastard's name who took the Prophecy to the Dark Lord. She needed to know the name of the person she was going to kill. Alas, it was clear that Albus wasn't to reveal anything else to them.
In the following weeks, Lily's relationship with James soured when they started to have arguments. She wanted to take Hadrian and run, while James wanted to stay and fight. Lily reluctantly agreed to stay as she didn't have any other choice. Since she couldn't hightail out of the country, she started to look for ways to keep her son safe, but much to her frustration she didn't find anything in the commonly used section of the Potter Library…
Lily knew that James didn't like anything Grey or anything with a hint of Dark and she didn't even want to imagine what kind of stink he would raise if he ever discovered that she was delving into Dark Magic… Even Lily was surprised by her own action.s She had been sorted into Gryffindor, and for the next seven years, she spent her time listening to how bad and horrible Dark Magic was.
Due to the ongoing war, Lily was quite aware of how the Death Eaters were using Dark Magic to kill Muggleborns, and she wanted nothing to do with Dark Magic, but right now, she didn't care… If she needed to delve into Dark Magic to protect her son, then she would happily do so… Lily realized that there was nothing she wouldn't do to protect her son. The thought scared her, but she didn't care…
She would keep her baby safe… Whatever it takes…
Unfortunately for Lily, even after looking through some of the questionable knowledge kept at the Potter Library, she didn't find anything useful. At least, James had no idea what Lily was doing when he was gone… Lily loved James, but her love for him was only dwarfed by her love for her son, but sometimes he could be extremely stubborn and stupid.
Lily was angry and frustrated at her inability to find anything to protect her and then one day James returned home and told her about the Fidelius Charm. Apparently, Albus has suggested the Spell and that was enough to put Lily on guard. James wanted to cast the Fidelius Charm as quickly as possible, but Lily decided to put her foot down. She made it clear that they weren't going to use the Spell without knowing everything about the Spell. After all, the life of her son depended on it…
James reluctantly agreed with Lily… While he trusted Dumbledore, Lily had made a valid point. Both of his parents have ingrained the risks of using unknown Spells into his mind when he was still pretty young and he wasn't going to forget those lessons anytime soon. The next day, James decided to pay Albus another visit so that he could get everything on the Fidelius Charm from Dumbledore while Lily decided to look for the Fidelius Charm in the Potter Library.
The Potters were an old Pureblood Family, so they were bound to have something on the Fidelius Charm and Lily wasn't disappointed when she found a whole Tome dedicated to the Fidelius Charm. It took Lily only a couple of hours to find the Tome as this time she knew what she was looking for. By that time, James was already back with the notes on Fidelius Charm he was able to acquire from Albus Dumbledore.
After comparing the notes from Albus and the Potter Family Tome, Lily realized that she was right for not trusting Dumbledore… Either the man has deliberately left quite a few facts about the Spell out of his notes or the man didn't have complete knowledge about the Fidelius Charm. Lily didn't believe it was the latter case otherwise the man wouldn't have suggested using this particular Spell.
After having a huge row with James, Lily was finally able to convince James that she would be the one to cast the Fidelius Charm… Lily could have revealed the real reason why she wanted to cast the Spell herself, but she knew that James would never accept her explanation. He trusted the old man way too much… The old man had smartly left out some of the parts necessary to cast the Spell in his notes. It was pretty clear that the man didn't want anyone else casting the Spell…
James also wanted to keep Harry safe and if it was Lily who was casting the Spell, then he wouldn't have to involve an outsider… He trusted Albus a lot, but when Lily finally mentioned that it was about keeping their son safe, he conceded. Meanwhile, Lily scrunched her face in distaste. She hated that nickname… Harry was such a plain and simple name. Hadrian was much better. A perfect name for her perfect baby, but James insisted on calling their baby Harry.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of their problems, The Potter manor was simply way too large to place it under the Fidelius Charm. Even the great Albus Dumbledore would keel over if he tried to cast the Spell on Potter manor. So, they decided to buy a smaller property, but big enough for the Family of three. After a couple of months, James finally found a small and cozy cottage at Godric's Hollow and after getting Lily's approval, James bought the cottage.
Now, they might have acquired the perfect property to cast the Fidelius Charm, but they still had to tackle their biggest problem… They had to choose a Secret Keeper. Lily would have preferred if James could have been their Secret Keeper but the people residing on the property cannot be the Secret Keeper and Lily couldn't become the Secret Keeper since she was the one who was going to cast the Spell. Apparently, the caster cannot become the Secret Keeper.
One of the shortcomings of the Fidelius Charm…
So, they decided that Sirius was going to be their Secret Keeper. Sirius proudly agreed at first, but later he backed out saying that he was going to be an obvious choice. So, Sirius asked them to make Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper while he would make everyone think that he was their Secret Keeper. Lily had to admit it was a good plan, but she never liked Peter. He was too much of a sniveling coward for Lily's liking…
His Animagus form was a Rat… That should have been a clear indication of how much of a Gryffindor he was. After all, a person's Animagus form represents their true nature… While James immediately agreed as it would be a wicked prank, Lily disagreed and that is why they were still living at the Potter manor. James wasn't happy with her objection, but she wasn't planning to budge.
That is why Lily was still looking for other means to protect her son, but she was yet to find anything. Voldemort is an extremely strong and gifted Wizard and he would stop at nothing until he found her son… After all, her son was Prophesied to defeat the man. There was no way Voldemort would let anyone become a threat to him let alone a small baby who was destined to become his equal if allowed to grow.
Voldemort and the Death Eaters were winning… The Ministry will fall even with their newer policies, there was no doubt in her mind. The Ministry was simply way too late, they should have started to fight fire with fire a long time ago. That is why Lily wanted to run away from Britain… It would have been much easier if she ran away, but due to several factors outside her control, she couldn't…
First of all, Albus would never allow something like that. The aged Wizard had made it clear that he believed in the Prophecy and that her son might be the Chosen One. Oh… How much Lily hated that title. Albus would leave no stone unturned to find them if she ran away with Hadrian…
Secondly, James could easily use their marriage bond to locate her if she decided to run away with Hadrian and he won't come alone looking for her. She was sure that he would bring Albus bloody Dumbledore and the blasted Ministry along with him. After all, she was just an uppity Mudblood and she would be seen as the woman who kidnapped the Heir of an old Pureblood Family. The Ministry would completely ignore the fact that she was the mother of the said Heir.
Lily was quite aware of the laws… Her rights in Magical Britain were close to none and even her closest friends wouldn't take her side… Not that she had any friends who weren't related to the Purebloods, so they were bound to take James' side in this matter. So, she would be either tossed in Azkaban and if James was feeling lenient, then she would simply end with a house arrest with the harshest restrictions. So, she would end up worse than she currently was…
And finally, Voldemort also believed in the Prophecy, so he wouldn't stop until he made sure her son was no longer a threat to his rule. Lily couldn't live with looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life and neither could Hadrian and if Voldemort successfully took over Britain, (which he probably would) then he would use everything at his disposal to find them…
~~Reminiscing Ends~~
Lily was brought out of her musings when she heard soft snores… She looked down at her son and her features softened when she saw her son snoring softly in her arms. "Don't worry, Mama will protect you from the bad man no matter what" Lily said in a determined tone before placing Hadrian back into the crib.
After that, she placed a Silencing Charm around the crib so that her son could sleep peacefully. With her son tucked in, she returned to her desk so that she could resume her reading… With Albus onboard with the idea of using the Fidelius Charm and with him willing to cast the Spell, it was only a matter of time before James asked Albus to cast the Spell.
Lily took a deep breath and started to read the book where she left. After an hour, she finished the book, and once again, she didn't find anything she could use to protect her son. Yes, the Fidelius was foolproof, but she didn't have much trust in Peter. That is why she needed something else as a backup to protect her son in case Peter turned out to be a traitor.
While Lily was only faced with failures, she was far from giving up. She vowed that she would protect her son even if it meant that she needed to sacrifice her own life for her son's survival. "Whatever it takes…" Lily muttered to herself in a determined tone…
~~Several Months Later~~
Lily's hands trembled in excitement as she finally found something after months of research. Lily slowly placed the book on the table and decided to reread the Ritual. The Ritual was almost perfect, even though there was a huge drawback. To complete the Ritual, Lily needed to sacrifice her life, but the Ritual would give her son enough protection to survive anything Voldemort could throw at him.
"Whatever it takes…" Lily said to herself as she glanced toward the crib where her son was placed. Lily smiled longingly, her son was already fifteen months old… She couldn't believe that it had been more than a year since she gave birth to him.
They have already moved into the cottage James bought at Godric's Hollow a few months ago with Peter as their Secret Keeper. Just as planned, Sirius decided to act as the decoy Secret Keeper. Hadrian's first birthday was celebrated in the cottage and all of their friends were invited. Remus was also able to make some to attend the party… Remus had been busy with missions since he joined the Order of the Phoenix.
Remus has also become quite distant after some of the members of the Order including James and Sirius started to doubt Remus after the Order realized that they had a traitor among them. While Lily also believed there was a traitor in the Order, she did not believe that Remus was a traitor. Remus was mostly away on missions, so he couldn't attend all the Order meetings. Hence, there was no way he could have passed the information to the Death Eaters.
"I am home!!" Lily heard James' voice from the ground floor. Lily looked at the book in her hand and decided to hide it. James wouldn't be happy if he found what she had been reading. Both Sacrificial Magic and Rituals were considered Dark and James would hit the roof if he discovered Lily was delving into Dark Magic.
Lily couldn't care less if it was Dark Magic or Light Magic… As long as her son was safe, she was fine with it. With a quick flick of her Wand, Lily Charmed the book cover to look completely different. James was mostly average when it came to Charms, so there was no way James would notice the Charm she placed on the book.
"I am in the nursery!" Lily screamed back and after a few seconds, James finally arrived outside the nursery. The smile on James' face was replaced by a frown when he noticed the book in Lily's hand.
"Lily, you need to stop! It has been months since you left the cottage, you need to take a break" James sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Lily shook her head. "No, I can't. James, you know our son is in danger. How can you even ask me to stop looking for ways to protect our son?" Lily asked heatedly and James sighed tiredly as he entered the room.
"Lily, we are already safe here. There is no way You-Know-Who could find us here. Harry is safe" James said soothingly trying to placate Lily, but nostrils flared at her son's nickname. James took a deep breath and grabbed Lily's shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "Lily, I know you are worried, but everything is going to be fine… Peter has been like a brother since our first year. I trust him with him my life" James assured Lily as he pulled her into his arms.
Lily snuggled into his arms. "James, I am scared… I can't help but worry" Lily whispered with a hint of fear evident in her voice.
"I know Lily… It is the same with me, but we will be fine. We will win and then we would no longer need to hide" James spoke softly as he started to rub her back, and Lily simply nodded her head, but she still decided to perform the Ritual. If nothing happened then it won't matter and if Voldemort found them, then she would happily sacrifice herself so that her son could survive.
Yes, she would make sure her son survives… Whatever it takes…
~~Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow (October 31st, 1981)~~
"You know I miss the times when I used to spend Halloween with my sister and friends" Lily said with a longing look on her face.
"Have you talked with your sister lately?" James asked carefully as he continued to play with his son who was excitedly giggling in his arms. He knew Petunia was a sour topic and Lily had been sending her letters for quite some time, but she was yet to receive a reply.
James suggested that Petunia might be unable to reply since she was a Muggle and had no idea where to find a post owl. Lily agreed and decided to call Petunia through the telephone, but Petunia would always hang over as soon as Petunia recognized Lily's voice.
Lily grimaced after hearing James' question… She hasn't tried contacting her sister since her Hadrian was born. If her sister wanted to be bitchy, then the bitch could live her own life and Lily had been quite busy after her son was born to care about that sow. Even after looking through the rest of the books, she brought from the Potter manor she didn't find anything useful other than the Ritual. There was not much information on the Ritual, but it was the only option she had.
So, Lily decided to go ahead with the Ritual… She had finished all the preparations and hopefully, she wouldn't need to add the final ingredient necessary for the Ritual, but she wasn't going to balk when the time came. She had already made up her mind. "No… I have tried my best, but she still refuses to talk" Lily smoothly lied as she shook her head with a look of grief on her face.
"Listen, Lily, I am sorry for what happened… Maybe if I didn't punch her hus…"James started to apologize for the incident where he punched Vermon, Petunia's husband for calling them freaks.
"No, it's not your fault… Petunia always hated me for having Magic" Lily cut James off before he could finish his apology. James smiled at her brightly and moments later, the smile on his face disappeared only to be replaced by a look of horror.
Lily looked at him questioningly, but before she could say or ask anything, James passed Hadrian to her. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I will hold him off!!" James screamed before giving Lily a peck on her lips, who had a dumbfounded look on her face.
Moments later, the door exploded and Dark Lord Voldemort walked in… "So, much potential and talent… I will ask you only once to kneel before me and I will spare you" Voldemort declared glancing at James while he loosely held his Wand in front of him.
"I will never join you, monster!" James snarled as he cast the first Spell. He knew why Voldemort had offered to spare him. The Potter Family was quite an old Family so they had amassed quite a bit of fortune and knowledge throughout the years. Voldemort batted away his attacks like they were child's play.
"Hmph!" Voldemort snorted while shaking his head in disappointment. "Then die!" Voldemort snarled and jabbed his Wand toward James who flicked his Wand to erect a shield.
Meanwhile, Lily reached the nursery and cursed inside her mind… She shouldn't have expected anything less from Voldemort. The bastard had already placed Anti-Apparition Jinx and Anti-Portkey Wards around the house and all the brooms were kept near the backdoor, which was on the ground floor. Lily cursed herself for her stupidity… She had completely forgotten about the brooms as her mind was filled with other thoughts when James screamed at her to take Harry and run.
Since Lily couldn't run, she decided to go along with the Ritual as now, that was her only option. Lily frantically looked around the room before placing her son in the crib who was looking at her in anticipation and curiosity. Not that Lily noticed it as she had other things on her mind.
With a wave of her Wand, she moved a cupboard and shelf in front of the door. It won't stop Voldemort, but it will probably slow him down. Lily needed to get rid of her Wand or Voldemort might feel something was amiss. So, Lily tossed her Wand to the side before she scooped up Hadrian from the crib. Lily's heart broke when she looked at her son who was going to grow up without his parents.
"Don't worry, honey. Mama will take care of everything… Uncle Pafoo will take good care of you. Mama wouldn't let the bad man do anything to you" Lily cooed lovingly as she stared at her son. Hadrian simply looked at her and smiled, not understanding anything she was saying… (A/N: It is not a typo… Lily did say Pafoo as that was the best her son could muster).
For a moment, Lily almost forgot where she was, but then the door exploded and Voldemort walked in. Lily immediately placed Harry into the crib and turned around to face Voldemort. Lily decided to stand right in front of the crib in a protective manner so that Voldemort couldn't reach Harry before killing her.
"Stand aside girl and you will be spared!" Voldie almost hissed. Lily looked at the abomination standing in front of her… Voldemort was no longer a human, he mostly looked like a human-snake hybrid. For a moment, Lily wondered what Voldemort could have done to himself to end up in such a state.
"Please no, take me! Kill me! Spare my son, he is completely harmless!!" Lily begged, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Move aside, Mudblood!" Voldemort snarled in anger as he started to lose his patience. He was not someone who liked giving out chances and have them thrown back at him, but apparently, today was one of those days.
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead…" Lily began to beg, but Voldemort cut her off.
"This is my last warning…" Voldemort said with a calm look on her face, but he raised his Wand and his eyes started to glow maliciously.
"Not Harry! Please… have mercy… have mercy… Not Harry! Not Harry! Please… I will do anything…" Lily continued to beg while sobbing. 'Whatever it takes!' Lily screamed inside her mind as she continued to play her part so that Voldemort wouldn't suspect anything.
Voldemort finally lost his patience and decided to end the infernal Mudblood. "Then so be it… Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort snarled in anger and the green beam struck Lily straight on her chest as she dropped lifelessly on the floor. Then he sneered at the woman in disgust before walking up to the crib. "So, you are the one who is supposed to vanquish me?" Voldemort asked, already expecting not to receive an answer.
The toddler stared at Voldemort in curiosity. He was still thinking that his parents were playing, but after a few moments, Hadrian finally started to cry as he realized that his parents were no longer playing with him. The crying unnerved Voldemort and he decided to kill the last remaining Potter and be done with it…
"Pathetic…" Voldemort muttered as he leveled his Wand at the baby who was destined to vanquish him. "Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort bit out with a cruel grin on his face, but the next moment something happened which surprised Voldemort to his very core.
Instead of hitting the baby, the Killing Curse rebounded… Voldemort's crimson eyes grew wide in shock and surprise, and since he was really close to Hadrian, he wasn't fast enough to create a physical barrier to protect himself or dodge. The Killing Curse struck Voldemort on his chest and his whole body was obliterated causing a huge explosion. Voldemort screamed in pain as his corporeal form was destroyed.
The explosion made the roof of the cottage cave in and a small piece of the roof struck Harry on his forehead resulting in a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Voldemort's Wand was also blasted away due to the explosion and it landed near his robes which were the only things left behind after Voldemort's corporeal form was destroyed.
A wraith-like form came into existence as Voldemort's body was destroyed… Voldemort was in so much pain that he didn't even notice a small part of him lodge itself into the lightning bolt shaped scar on Hadrian's forehead. The wraith of Voldemort did not know what happened, but he knew that he needed to escape before the old fool arrived. While mentally vowing vengeance against the last Potter, Voldemort who was in his wraith form fled from the Potter Cottage…
Meanwhile, the only living person in the house stared at the unmoving woman lying on the floor and started to wail. Hadrian was simply way too small to know what was happening, but he instinctively knew that something really bad has happened…
Lily found herself standing in a completely white space… Well, it was more of a room since there was a floor and a roof, only the walls were missing. She looked around to see where she was, but she only found the white floor and white roof stretching as far as she could see. Lily scrunched her face in disgust as found a disgusting baby-like thing lying on the floor.
Lily decided to check out the abomination, whatever it was. The mangled up baby-like thing looked almost like Voldemort… The thing was wrapped around in white chains… The thing whimpered but continued to glare at Lily with its crimson eyes and then all of a sudden, she started to feel a tug toward the ugly baby thing. A type of invisible force was trying to bring the two of them together. Since the force wasn't anything beyond Lily, she was able to escape its influence.
She had no idea what was happening but decided to stay away from the Voldemort look-alike baby thing for the time being. She didn't wanted to be anywhere near the abomination, whatever it was. So, Lily started to walk away from the spot… She looked at herself as she walked away.
She was wearing the same clothes she was wearing before Voldemort killed her and she did not have her Wand in her possession. If this was the afterlife, then she could understand why her Wand was not in her possession. Lily kept walking and walking as she wanted to see if she could reach an end or not.
She decided to use the ugly baby thing as a marker as it was the only thing besides her inside the room or whatever this place was. She did not know for how long she has been walking, but it was somewhere around an hour, probably. She could no longer see the ugly baby thing, which was a good thing since the thing unnerved her. Lily pulled out her handkerchief from her pocket and placed it on the ground after making it look like a pointer.
She pointed the handkerchief in the direction of the ugly baby thing… Wherever this place was, there was no sense of direction. There was no way, Lily could find the ugly baby thing if she needed to find it for whatever reason. Now, she simply needed to walk in the direction where her handkerchief was pointing and she would find the baby. Without anything else to do, she decided to sit down.
A few hours passed away just like that, and by that time, Lily grew so bored that she started to play with her own hair. After another hour, she finally decided to lie down and close her eyes, but no matter how much she tried, sleep never came to her. She was way too worried about Hadrian… She had no idea what happened to her son. If he was even alive or not. Something of Voldemort was here along with her, but it did not mean Voldemort was dead.
Lily did not know how much time has passed since she arrived here, but she believed it to be a lot… After all, she started to hear voices. Lily shook her head, hoping the voices would go away, but instead, the voices started to become louder and clearer… Lily frowned and opened her eyes, the voices sounded extremely familiar to her. As soon as she opened her eyes, she found a cloudy screen forming in front of her eyes.
"...about this, Albus… I have a bad feeling about leaving the boy here…" A feminine voice spoke in worry and Lily easily recognized the voice. It was Minerva McGonagall's voice, the woman had taught her for seven years and the woman was also the Head of her House. Lily would recognize the voice anywhere.
'Minerva and Albus… What are they talking about? How can I hear them?' Lily questioned inside her mind. Images started to appear on the cloudly screen they were extremely blurry and Lily couldn't see anything clearly, but they were becoming denser and clearer with each passing moment.
"It will be fine, Minerva, this is the only way to ensure he grows up without the corruptions of fame and fortune" once again Lily easily recognized the voice. It was Headmaster Dumbledore, but what were they talking about? Questions rang inside Lily's mind, but she couldn't make heads or tails of the conversation.
"But will he be safe? Will he be cared for?" Minerva asked and the images finally started to become clear enough for Lily to understand anything.
"I am sure he will. Lily Evans was one of the kindest individuals I have ever met in my lifetime" Albus said as he looked straight into the screen. For a moment, Lily thought Albus could see and she almost freaked out when Minerva and Hagrid (who was lurking behind Albus and Minerva) also stared straight into the screen, but Lily was proven wrong when she noticed the look on their faces.
'Albus is talking about me in the past tense, which means I am dead… So, how can I still see and hear them?' Right now, that was the biggest question inside Lily's mind.
Lily was brought out of her musings when Albus continued to speak. "I cannot imagine anyone sharing her blood and upbringing could be anything less than a remarkable person" Albus said and Lily scoffed at his words.
'If he is talking about Petunia, then he is sorely mistaken. She is an extremely vindictive bitch who can hold on to a grudge for the longest time' Lily thought bitterly.
"There will be Wards placed around the house, Minerva. His mother's sacrifice is connected to her blood and he will be safe here… Harry will be safe and taken care of" Albus said solemnly and everything finally clicked into Lily's mind. Now, she understood why she thought the surroundings were somewhat familiar. She finally realized what was happening and dread welled up in her stomach…
"No, no, no, no, no, no!! Don't do this, Albus! You can't do this!! You have no idea what Petunia is capable of and don't you dare mess with my protection!!" Lily screamed, but it was clear Albus didn't hear her.
Lily realized that she was somehow stuck inside her son… Yes, while it sounded extremely wrong and disturbing, it was the best possible theory Lily could come up with at this moment. She could see through her son's eyes and she could hear everything through her son's ears.
"What about Sirius? He was supposed to take care of Hadrian!! He is my son's Godfather!!" Lily screamed, but once again nobody heard her. "Please Albus, don't leave him here!! Petunia and her husband would make my son's life a living hell!!" Lily screamed and begged as tears continued to roll down her eyes.
"Alright, Albus… Let's get this over with!" Minerva said and Albus finally placed Hadrian on the doorstep of Number 4 Privet Drive. Albus pulled out a letter and placed it inside the basket.
"You old bastard!! Don't you dare leave him here!! Albus… Please… Please, Albus…" Lily continued to scream and beg, but nobody heard her. Lily broke down and started to sob when she saw Albus, Minerva, and Hagrid disappear from her vision…
For the first time, Lily was starting to regret her decision of sacrificing her life… She saved her son, but now her son was sentenced to a horrible childhood. A part of Lily wanted her to trust Petunia… After all, Petunia might hate her but surely she would take good care of her son, but the rest of Lily knew that it was only wishful thinking. Petunia was going to make her son's life as miserable as possible to get back at her…
'Albus didn't even bother to explain anything to her… He left my son on the bloody doorstop with a simple letter in the winter like a bottle of milk!!' Lily wailed bitterly inside her mind. That is when Lily heard the sound of that infernal machine Sirius used to call a bike.
'That's Sirius' deathtrap… How did it get here? Is Sirius finally here to take away my son from this horrible place?' Lily became excited as she started to wipe away tears with her sleeves.
Unfortunately for Lily, the sound of the bike continued to become distant as time passed until it finally disappeared. Lily broke down for a second time as she realized nobody was coming to take away Hadrian from this horrible place. She sat down and pulled her knees into her chest as she continued to sob. Lily had been expecting her son to be taken care of by Sirius or Alice or anyone else they mentioned in their Wills, but here he was!!
Her son was placed in the care of only people Lily and James disapproved of.
"Don't worry, honey…" Lily said softly as she stared at the white ceiling with tears in her eyes. "Mama will be here with you… Mama will keep you safe, whatever it takes… Whatever it takes…" Lily vowed loudly as she clenched her fists in determination…