Disclaimer: I obviously own nothing. This story is fanfiction. This disclaimer applies to all chapters of this story.

Step Aside

"Take Harry, and run!" James shouted.

Lily ran up the stairs as fast as she could, in the process forgetting about her wand that sat on the sofa downstairs. It was when she was halfway up the stairs that she realized her wand wasn't on her, and she mentally cursed. She kept going, determined to reach her son and get them both to safety. She knew it was unlikely that James would survive the night if he even lasted a few minutes against Voldemort.

She managed to reach Harry just as the house grew silent. James had fought Voldemort but hadn't lasted long against him.

Lily debated on how she was going to get Harry and herself out of the house. Going downstairs wasn't an option, and she needed to figure out something quickly.

The window.

Lily headed towards it and looked down at the ground. It'd be a hard fall. Would it hurt Harry? Would she be able to run after jumping?

She headed back to Harry's crib and looked down at him. Perhaps she could grab James's invisibility cloak and hide them under it. But then Harry started crying. That idea was a no go.

Lily didn't manage to reach a decision before Voldemort entered the room.

She stood in front of the crib with the vain hope that Voldemort wouldn't notice Harry. But of course he did.

"Step aside," Voldemort ordered.

Lily was dumbfounded. He was giving her a choice instead of just killing her. Why?

"Step aside," Voldemort repeated.

"No. Not Harry. Take me. Kill me instead." She knew she was a thorn in his side in the war. Surely he'd want to kill her, even with the prophecy. The prophecy could apply to Frank and Alice's son too after all.

Voldemort looked at Lily as though she was saying the stupidest thing he could imagine. "This is my last warning. Step aside."

It occurred to Lily that Voldemort fully intended to let her live so long as she stepped aside. If she didn't step aside, Voldemort would kill her, and then he would kill Harry. No matter what, Voldemort was going to kill Harry this night. The only question was whether Lily intended to die before him or live to fight Voldemort another day.

She made her choice.

She took a deep breath and sighed with resignation.

She stepped aside and closed her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch.

"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort cast. Even with her eyes shut, Lily saw the brightness of the spell through her eyelids.

The room became silent, no sound to be heard from Harry's crib.