Lily

Chapter Fifty Seven:

"Go! You have to get out of here!" He gasped.

"I'm not leaving you!" She sobbed.

"No, Lil! I won't! I can't! I can't loose you too!"

She just shook her head stubbornly. There was no way she was leaving his side. The fight seemed to pause for a moment, drawing the Potter twin's attention. Voldemort had seemingly vanished. Dumbledore whirled around to see the Potters and realization struck him. With a flick of his wand, Lily was pushed away from Harry's side, her wand knocked out of her hand, and she found herself being held down by another one of Dumbledore's shields. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free.

Lily just had to watch as Harry withered on the ground, gripping his head and shouting. Lily had felt the Cruciatus curse before, but this was a different sort of pain. Her heart ached fiercely. She thought she might be dying.

"Harry, you can fight this." Dumbledore said firmly.

Voldemort was trying to possess him. Harry. No. No. No.

Lily still tried to claw at Dumbledore's shield. She wouldn't give up. Surrender was not an option. Harry let out another yelp of pain and his eyes suddenly looked less like his own. They were not their mother's eyes. They looked evil. Those evil eyes and Harry's flickered back and forth, battling for dominance. Some words came out of Harry's mouth, but they weren't his own.

Lily stopped struggling against Dumbledore's spell and stared intensely at Harry, as if her eyes could bore into his head and help fight his battle against Voldemort by the force of her pure iron will alone.

You are not alone.

I'm with you.

Until the very end.

Harry started speaking again, but this time, the words he panted out were his own, not Voldemort's.

"You're wrong... you're the one who's weak... you will never know love... or... friendship... and I feel sorry for you."

Harry made eye contact with Lily as he finished those last words. She didn't blink. He gasped as Voldemort fled from his body and formed a body of his own, sneering down at Harry. Harry didn't break his eye contact with his sister.

"You're a fool, Harry Potter." Voldemort said, sending a quick glance at Lily, "And you will lose everything."

There was a noise down the hall, and the absolutely befuddled Minister of Magic was now here, followed by an army of Aurors. Voldemort looked up at them, before disappearing into the fireplace.

As last Dumbledore's spell on Lily broke, and she was up and running to Harry, who despite feeling incredibly weak, was doing the same. They met halfway and she hugged him with all her might.

"Ow, Lil." Harry mumbled, as she squeezed too tightly.

"Sorry, sorry!" She apologized.

They looked at each other, and for a split second everyone and everything else in the room faded away. It was just the two of them.

"I thought you were going to die." Lily whispered.

"Me too." Harry admitted grimly, "But then I remembered. I remember you, Ron, and Hermione, and all our friends. I remembered that there were so many, many reasons I couldn't give up. I couldn't give in. I couldn't loose. I couldn't loose you, Lil."

"And I can't loose you, Harry."

The rest of the world faded back into focus. There were camera flashes and a bombardment of voices, asking question after question. They were so loud, they almost overwhelmed Lily, despite all she'd been through. But Harry was there, at her side. Holding her hand just as tightly as she held his. They were together.

Dumbledore managed to block the Potters from the waves of reporters struggling to get their words in. He summoned a port key, and offered it to them, which they took together.

Even when they were out of the Ministry and standing in Dumbledore's office, they didn't let go. Exhausted, they collapsed into two chairs next to each other, hands still connected as if that was their lifeline. Maybe it was.

Sleep overtook Lily, and when she eventually woke up, there were voices talking around the office, and Harry was sitting beside her, awake, but with his hand touching her shoulder. He glanced down at her as she shifted awake.

There were a million things they both wanted to say to each other, but none could come out.

"I'm here." Lily eventually managed, in a whisper.

"I'm here." Harry echoed.

And for now, that was enough.