Work Text:
Lily knew she was signing up to a world of pain when she joined the Order. Granted, she went to Hogwarts shortly after the start of the first wizarding war, something she knew absolutely nothing about. But she joined to fight the bad guys. She joined the Order of the Pheonix alongside Albus Dumbledore, Alastair Moody, Benjy Fenwick, Edgar Bones, Frank and Alice Longbottom, the Prewett brothers and her close friends, Sirius, Lupin and her James. Peter was there, too, but after watching him betray everyone, Lily considered him dead.
The Order was successful for a time in holding back Voldemort. They didn't stop him, but they kept him at bay. However, Lily and James' priorities changed once they discovered she was pregnant. Lily began to fight with renewed vigour, determined to stop this war so her child could grow up like she had: loved and safe. Yet, she received a warning patronus from her former best friend, Severus Snape, about six months after Harry was born, stating that she needed to go into hiding, as Voldemort was hunting her son down, determined to kill him. Apparently, Voldemort had caught wind of a prophecy that a child born at the end of July would be the key to his defeat. Initially, selfish and cruel as it was, Lily wished it was Alice and Frank's baby, but then she remembered that Neville was born only five hours before Harry - but on July 30th... which made Harry July 31st.
So they went into hiding. It was for nothing because when Halloween came in 1981, Voldemort arrived. Lily knew he'd kill her beloved husband immediately, stupid, brave, James spelled Harry's bedroom shut and attempted to face Voldemort head-on. When she saw the green light infect the carpet through the crack in the door, Lily placed Harry in his cot and began singing quietly, knowing there was nothing she could do. Voldemort came in and sneered at her baby. "I have been requested to spare your life by a very loyal follower of mine," He hissed. Lily raised her wand, standing closer to the crib. "Take mine, and leave my son, please," She begged. "Step aside and allow me to remove the threat. You will live if you obey," He hissed again. "No. I won't let you kill my child, please, kill me and spare him. I'm the bearer of the prophecy, please! I am July 31st! I was born at 6 in the evening! He was born at 5 in the morning! I am the child as July sets away!" She lied.
Voldemort sighed quietly. "Pity my follower talks about you nonstop. You, Lily Potter, were born as January set. This is your final warning, step aside, or you die,"
And so, Lily Potter died.
She spent the next seventeen years, watching as her son grew up, cut straight from James' cloth. Minus his eyes, she knew Harry had her eyes. She watched as her own sister neglected him, and her brother-in-law beat him weekly. She watched as Fabian and Gideon's elder sister, Molly Weasley, took Harry in as if he were her own, feeding him and caring for him when Lily's own sister did not. She watched as Harry defeated Voldemort at 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17, more times than anyone should ever have to do. Then, she watched him die. She cradled him as he lay on that dirty ground, dead, only four years younger than she herself. When Harry awoke and defied death for the second time in his life, Lily stepped back and watched, confident that he could defeat Voldemort on his own.
Shortly after Harry was carried out of the forest, Lily stayed on the ground, still shaking from the scare. James, Sirius and Lupin crowded around her. James glanced up to his friends. "Go and watch Harry. I'll stay here with Lils," Sirius and Lupin scampered off, and James held her as she shook. "I never want to see a dead body again," She whispered. James hushed into her hair. "Then we best stay here until victory is won... you and I both know that our boy has a long fight ahead of him yet,"
Lily stayed on the ground for god knows how long before her eyes caught sight of a redhead lurking in the trees. "Is that Fabian Prewitt?" She whispered. James glanced up. His brow furrowed. "Fabian?" He called. The redhead clambered through the trees. "Who the bloody hell is Fabian?" Lily rose to her knees. "You look like our friend, Fabian... though he died many years ago," Not-Fabian moved around nervously. "You must be Harry's parents," Lily blinked a few times. "Yes. I'm-"
"James, I know. Harry talks about you both lots," Not-Fabian interrupted, then paused. "Talked I guess," He stepped closer. "Yes. Well, you looked like Fabian Prewitt. He was our friend before he died," Lily stood, approaching the boy. "Oh! Prewitt! He must've been my mum's brother," It was then, that Lily realised this was Fabian's nephew - or one of them, at least. When they were in the order, Fabian and Gideon already had six nephews, and their sister was pregnant with their seventh. Lily approached the redhead. "You must be Fred, then?" Fred startled. "How did you know?" Lily rubbed his arm, slightly relishing in the contact. This was the closest she'd gotten to physically touching her son in over seventeen years - he'd been hugged by Fred, who was currently the closest connection to her boy that she had.
"We've been watching Harry since we died, and we know that you and your family took him in without a question when my own family failed to," She began to walk away, gently tugging Fred along. "I know that your twin tends to be the instigator of your schemes, whereas you tend to be the wordier one, the one who speaks first and thinks later," Fred chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like us," He began to fall in step with Lily and James. They were quiet for a moment, slowly walking to the castle, which had grown quiet. "I am I really, truly, dead?" Fred asked quietly. Lily hummed. "Technically, yes and no. You're in a limbo form right now, a ghost form. Yes, you have died, but you've not passed on into the afterlife yet," Fred's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
James cleared his throat. "When you die, you get a choice. You can either get on the train and pass through to the afterlife, or you can remain as a ghost. But once you chose to pass through, you can't return, and you can't visit your family at will, only on certain nights. However, if you chose to be a ghost, once you're content and ready, you can chose to pass through," Fred nodded slowly. "We stayed as ghosts to watch our boy. We wanted to know he would be ok, and what he would do as he grew, the friends he made, the life he lived. We will pass on when we would've died a normal death. Possibly when Harry is in his fifties or sixties," Fred nodded again. "And once you pass through, that's it. You can only come back on nights like Halloween?"
"Or when they specifically summon you, yes," Lily rubbed his shoulder. "But don't you worry, we'll look after you. We might not've been parents for very long, Fred, but we know how to look after someone... and we'll look after you, just like Molly did for us,"
As they approached the castle, Fred stood near his family, hugging, but not touching them. James and Lily watched as their boy sat on the bridge, simply existing. They sat on his sides, holding hands. The Weasley family joined them shortly, with Molly's daughter standing behind and pulling Harry into an embrace from the back. Lily glanced up at Molly, who watched with fond eyes.
Deep down, she knew Fadbia and Gideon's sister couldn't see her, but for a moment, she and Molly locked eyes. Molly whispered thank you. Lily whispered it back.