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The candlelight flickered low as James and Lily huddled together in their hideout. It was their second Halloween with Harry, and they were grateful to still be alive with their baby. The two were singing and dancing around to some tunes on the record player.
Harry was clapping and laughing from where he sat in his playpen.
“Do you want to dance with us, Harry?” Lily offered as she walked over to the playpen. She gently lifted up her wonderful child and began to dance around with him on her hip.
James smiled warmly at his lovely family, and he was more than glad to whirl his wife and baby around in a gentle fashion. “Your dad has some good dance moves, huh?”
Lily snorted. “Ignore your father, Harry. Neither of us can dance well.”
James immediately made the sound of a wounded animal. “I know how to dance well! Just because I can't do all these modern moves doesn't mean I can't dance.”
“Oh, yes, forgive me. Your father can only waltz well,” Lily teased.
James rolled his eyes, but his lips stretched into a grin. “Oh, you're just jealous.”
“Me? Jealous?” Lily replied while raising an eyebrow. If she hadn't been holding Harry, her hands would have been placed on her hips so that she could look at her husband with her sass fully displayed. “As I happen to recall, you've got quite the jealous streak yourself. Need I remind you about all the other boys you've chased off?”
James sputtered before looking away. “W-well, I was just trying to protect you.”
“Even against Remus?” Lily challenged.
James slouched down just a bit. “I thought you were more than friends.”
“We studied Arithmancy together, James,” Lily said with a roll of her eyes. Then, she smiled and said, “Though, I really do appreciate the protection, especially at a time like this.”
James beamed as he looked back at Lily. His big, goofy smile directed at her truly made Lily feel loved.
The two continued dancing and singing well into the night, grateful for the time they had together.
When it was time to put Harry to bed, Lily gracefully ascended the stairs while James began to blow out the candles. As Lily reached the top of the staircase, the door to the safehouse suddenly blew off its hinges.
James gave a horrified gasp before yelling for Lily to run. He pulled out his wand and began to duel Voldemort to the best of his abilities. He had been an Auror before going into hiding with his wife and child, but he couldn't match up to all the Dark magic that was used by Voldemort. He was bested and killed quickly before his body was passed by.
Lily had run to the nursery and set Harry down in his crib. She began to mutter her declarations of love to her child as the door to the nursery was thrown open. The redheaded woman whirled around, and she tried desperately to plead with Voldemort to spare her child.
He wouldn't listen, too maddened by that point to hear anything she had said. When she didn't stand aside, he killed her just as he did her husband. Finally, he looked at Harry.
Harry was crying loudly as he looked around, a confused child scared by the shift in emotions around him.
Voldemort sneered in disgust as he raised his wand and pointed it at the child. He muttered the incantation of the Killing Curse, only for the curse to blow back at him and cause an explosion of magic that tore his soul from his body.
The safehouse began to collapse, and only Harry was left truly alive.
All that remained of such a warm and loving day was nothing more than a dilapidated house and a burned photo of times that had been.