Chapter Text
Sometimes, she wondered about what James would think about her if he saw her now.
The Lily he had married, she was very innocent. Kind, pure, in a way.
Sometimes, she wondered whether he was seeing over their son too. What did he think of Harry? Was he outraged and disgusted by their baby's choice? Or was he proud of him, like she was?
Yes, Lily Peverell was very proud of her son. Maybe if she hadn't seen almost every aspect of his life, Lily would've had different thoughts. Instead, she had seen him grow into what he was.
The matron of St. Martin Orphanage had decided to name her son as Harry Jacob Potter. Lily had almost heard James snort at the name. The Gryffindor had grown up in the luxurious and sophisticated ways of the pureblood society. In spite of not exactly being a traditional pureblood, he would have never named his son something so muggle.
That thought had made her smile, but not for long.
Did the Muggles have some sort of magic detector in them? The matron, on her first glance at Harry, decided that she hated him.
She had said to one of the older children, "I can feel the devil's aura on him. I'm sure that he would be trouble."
A boy who was barely fifteen had asked then, "Why not just toss it somewhere then?"
The matron had given him a grim look and said, "We don't do such sins, Luke."
The way she treated Harry for the next ten years, if it wasn't sin, then what was it?
As a child, Harry was an angel.
Cute, sweet, always smiling. He never cried much. Started to talk early and was very intelligent. He did not ever create any mess. How could the matron hate such a child?
From the start, they ignored him. The matron had told every person in the orphanage to stay away from him. "If you go near him, not only I, but even God will punish you. He is evil. We don't love such people."
What kind of twisted logic was that?
Her little baby grew up unloved and neglected. He grew up to be hateful. They beat and insulted him. They punished him for things he had not done. Harry would go on days without food and barely any water. Merlin, they tortured her little boy so much.
Little by little, the kindness and sweetness that kept his eyes alight, dimmed. That light in his eyes disappeared, leaving only hate and indifference in them.
His accidental magic had started when he was three. Normal things, like floating things in the air, growing flowers, changing his hair and eye colors.
Harry's eyes always remained blue, whenever he was with someone. Lily thought that it was some sort of defense mechanism, because Harry's natural green eyes glowed whenever he was angry or happy, which became rarer with time. The matron did not need any more reason to punish her child.
Many times, after a particular harsh punishment, she would hear Harry curse the matron. At first, it were small, innocent things like- "She should hit her toe" or "I hope she smells bad for the entire week".
Somehow, Harry's accidental magic granted him his wish.
The matron smelled like garbage for nearly three weeks and stubbed her toe every day.
But slowly, the harmlessness of his wishes disappeared. Harry's wishes started to get more violent. "They should break their arm", "I hope they get hit by a car" and "I hope they die".
Maybe Harry had cursed Davis, the boy who bullied and beat him everyday. Or maybe he had not. But at that time, Lily thought that he deserved it. The boy died a week after Harry had said those words. He was hit by a car. Her baby was just seven.
It was then, Harry realized that the 'power' he had, could be controlled.
The first time he killed someone directly with his magic, Harry was eight.
An the man deserved it.
Harry was sitting on the snow covered road, shivering violently.
The matron had decided to punish him again for something he did not do. And this was her favorite punishment for Harry. To make him sleep the whole night outside the orphanage, especially during winters, without any food.
Harry knew that the woman hoped that he would freeze to death one day.
But Harry was more powerful than that. His powers helped him keep himself warm. Food? Harry had never eaten more than a cup of soup or some bread, everyday, so he did not need it.
He shivered once more and focused more on making his body warm. Slowly, the heat enveloped him, making him sigh. He looked around, hoping that Serene would come back fast.
She was the only friend he had. Harry did not remember when they actually met, though it wasn't important. He had Serene at his side, that's what mattered the most.
She had went out hunting in the evening. He hoped she would come back fast. He did not want to stay there alone for the whole night.
Some time later, he heard someone cry. Harry got up from his place and stumbled towards the sound.
A child, four or five perhaps, was standing in the middle of the road, and crying.
Harry sighed and turned back. He had seen many little children cry. It was not his problem.
Unfortunately, the child saw him, and ran towards him. "I want mommy!" The child cried.
Harry frowned at the girl and said, "Then go and find her yourself. Go away."
The girl looked at him with wide black eyes and sniffled, "Pwease.... want mommy... daddy...Charlie lost."
Harry stared down at the girl for a moment and said, "It's 'I am lost'."
The girl started bawling, which made Harry cover his ears. "Don't be so loud, stupid girl! And stop crying!"
Naturally, she started to cry louder.
"Okay! Fine! I'll help you! Now stop crying this in- instance!" He yelled.
Thankfully, her voice lowered, though she still continued whipering.
Harry started to walk, which made the girl cry more.
"Well, what's the problem now? Follow me if you want to find your mom and dad." He said sharply. (Lily was so proud of her baby)
They walked together for nearly an hour.
The two were just five minutes away from the police station, when a group of people stopped them.
"Hey kids! Where are you going so late at night? Where's mommy and daddy?" A man asked with a nasty smile, and walked towards them.
Harry immediately knew what kind of people these were. The older boys and girls talked a lot about them.
"They are in the corner right there." He said, pointing at the way they had walked from, "Dad told us to see whether his friend is here or not."
"Oh? Did he, pretty boy? We know your daddy." The same man said, standing in front of them.
The rest of his gang, five men and two women, made a circle around them.
'Shit. I should have never agreed to help this girl.' Harry thought. The girl was clutching his shirt, staring fearfully at the people.
"Oh. You are? Lemme tell dad about you." He said cheerfully, moving away from the man, dragging the girl with him.
The people laughed, and one of the women said, "Do you think we're stupid, pretty boy?"
He froze. Time for plan B.
Slowly, using his power, he whispered to the girl, "Listen. I'll do something. The two men there, they'll move away. Run straight ahead and shout for the cops. And bring them here."
He used his power to emphasize the words.
When the girl nodded, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his power.
"Don't pray, pretty boy. It's not of any use." The people laughed once again.
The next second, every one of them was blasted away from their place.
Harry fell on the ground, breathing heavily. Using the powers made him weak.
"Run!" He shouted at the girl.
She ran forward, shouting for help. Harry got up and ran in the opposite direction.
The men and women got up, and ran towards him, shouting and yelling threats.
Unfortunately, Harry was just eight. He couldn't outrun people over thrice his age.
A meaty hand grabbed his shoulder and threw him on the ground. Harry winced at the pain as the man yelled in his face. "You little shit! What did you do!? Thought you could hurt us? Let me show you what hurt really is, pretty boy." The man removed a knife from his pocket and walked towards the eight-year old.
Harry paled and tried to get up, but his ankle hurt a lot. 'Not now.'
The man had his hand around his neck when the police sirens were heard.
"Boss, we need to go." One of the men said.
"You all go. I'll take care of this brat first."
Hesitantly, the people left, leaving only the man, Harry and the police sirens behind.
The man smiled at him and said, "Well, pretty boy, what can I do to make you look more pretty?" The man put the side of the knife on his face and continued, "Oh look, you already have a mark here." He traced the lightning bolt mark on his forehead as Harry struggled. His breath was becoming shallow, as the man tightened the grip on his neck. Slowly, the man pressed the knife on the mark, tracing the scar. Harry screamed and felt the blood come out.
No. He won't die like this. Not because of some street thug.
He felt his power sizzle in his hands. It was different though. It felt colder than his usual power. But he had no time to think.
Pushing his hands forward, he blasted the man off.
As he fell down, Harry took some deep breaths. The sound of the sirens was becoming louder.
Wincing at the pain, he got up and walked towards the man, who laid still on the ground. As he went closer, he realized why.
The knife, with which the man was using on Harry had pierced through the centre of the man's forehead.
The man was almost dead.
"This is what real hurt feels like." Harry whispered, pushing the knife deeper.
The next second, he ran away from the place.
The whole time, Lily's non-existent heart was beating erratically. She was so scared.
So scared.
She cried, when the man pushed Harry down. When he tortured him. When her baby killed the man.
No parent wanted their child to be a murderer. Not even Lily. But still, she could not blame him. As much as it scared her, worried her, somehow, she knew that this won't be the last time. She had seen the gleam in his eyes as he had pushed the knife deeper.
But there was nothing she could do.
Lily had left her child, even if it wasn't her choice. Her child grew up in a hateful environment. She wasn't there for him. No one who loved Harry was there for him. So she had to accept the way her child was.
Over the years, she got over the sadness that Harry was a killer. That he was a Dark wizard. A Dark Lord.
In fact, in some twisted way, she was proud of him.
She had seen, with her own phantom eyes, an orphan nobody grow up to be the most powerful man in centuries.
She was proud to be his mother. Grateful even, that in spite of not even remembering them, Harry still respected them.
The first time they had met Harry, it was a month after he had united the Hallows.
It was sad, and a bit adorable, seeing his worry about meeting them. He was a bit apprehensive that they would be disgusted and disappointed by him. Not that Lily thought he would've changed himself. Harry had his priorities set.
When he had called them, using the resurrection stone, Lily felt like she was being side-apparated. It was a horrible experience. But it was worth it.
After nearly twenty years, she was seeing her baby in person, instead of the movie-like view.
And her son was so handsome and beautiful and so very real. Lily cried when she had laid her eyes upon him.
Before saying anything, there was another choking sound beside her, and she saw James. He looked exactly like he did twenty years back.
Though she was happy to see him again, Lily feared that he would hate Harry and her for his choices.
But the moment their eyes met, it felt like they had never been separated. She immediately knew that James was proud of Harry, like her. He too, had seen Harry grow up. He too, was worried that Lily would not like the choices Harry made in his life.
She saw the man she had fell in love with. Not the auror or the unstoppable wizard who defeated Grindelwald, but the man who had changed and accepted. The man whose first choice was his family and who would fight against the world for them.
They both had changed a lot, but one thing remained constant.
Love.
Lily and James smiled at each other and turned towards Harry.
He was looking at them hopefully and cautiously. His eyes were filled with wonder, longing, curiosity and wary.
"We're so proud of you, sweetheart." She said, smiling at him, with tears of happiness in her eyes.
James was in a similar state. "And we love you so much, Harry."