Chapter Text
There was a part of Lily that had always been curious about where she’d go when she died, but she always thought it would be a discovery she’d make after seeing her great-grandchildren. Even with the war going on, even with the prophecy targeting Harry, Lily thought there would be more time.
She never thought she’d discover it at the age of twenty one.
Not as she held Harry close to her chest, her back to the door as the impact of Voldemort smashing the door open reverberated through the nursery. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily could see the nursery chair and half-packed boxes scattered across the floor; Lily having placed them in front of the door in a desperate attempt to stall.
Lily quickly put Harry in his crib and turned to face the door. It didn’t matter that she longed to keep her son in her arms, she was a Gryffindor. She was going to face this head on just like James had fought to give Lily time to run. Plus…if she did die, she couldn’t risk injuring Harry if he stayed in her arms.
She didn’t need Voldemort to say anything as he made his way into the nursery to know in her heart that James was gone.
“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry,” Lily begged, standing dead center in front of the crib; her arms outstretched as if the more of her body Voldemort saw, the more deterred he would be in his goal.
“Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now,” Voldemort said, his wand pointed dead center at Lily’s chest.
“Not Harry, please no,” Lily continued to beg. She felt no loss of dignity begging for her son to live, even if she knew this was giving Voldemort extreme pleasure. A lowly muggleborn witch reduced to her ‘natural’ place, begging for mercy.
If she’d remembered her wand, she could at least attempt a duel but she’d left it downstairs when she took Harry to get ready for bed.
“…Take me…” Lily said, as if the idea had just come to her. “Kill me instead.”
Merlin if Harry and I survive, Sirius and Remus are going to make sure I go to St. Mungos for an exam, Lily thought before her heart sank as she remembered that if she survived, the three of them would not only be mourning James, but mourning Peter as well.
Lily couldn’t imagine what Peter had gone though before Voldemort got what he wanted.
“This is my last warning,” Voldemort said, his voice getting low.
“Not Harry! Please…have mercy. Have mercy, not Harry! Please, I’ll do anything!” Lily begged, her green eyes wide as she continued to beg for Voldemort to spare the life of her fifteen-month-old son. Harry had remained silent the whole time. Maybe a small part of him knew this wasn’t the time to make a sound.
Or…Lily’s heart sank as she realized Harry must have thought this was a game. That it was James standing before her in a costume. They had seen so many muggle children walk past in costumes; it was Halloween.
…At least I was able to have one proper Halloween with Harry before Voldemort found out about the prophecy, Lily thought. James had insisted on putting their three-month-old son in a Snitch costume when they had gone over to Frank and Alice’s the year prior. Sirius had taken so many photographs of both Harry and Neville, Lily had thought he was getting paid to do so.
Then again, Neville did look adorable as a potted mandrake.
“Stand aside, girl!” Voldemort’s voice broke into her thoughts and forced Lily back to the present. A heavy realization washed over Lily, as she continued to look Voldemort right in his red, snake-like eyes. He could easily just force her from the crib, put her under the Imperius and make her move. Make her stand and watch him murder her son, unable to fight back.
He was toying with her.
The green light filled the room before Lily truly had a chance to comprehend what was happening and she felt her body crumple to the floor. As she felt the last bit of consciousness leave her, she could hear Harry begin to cry for the first time that night.
Don’t cry sweetheart, Lily thought. If there’s a positive in all this, it’s that we’ll be together again soon.
Lily didn’t know what she expected regarding the afterlife. She did not expect to be standing in a throne room of glittering black obsidian. A huge, black onyx throne stood before her…and Lily wasn’t going to lie, she could have done without the many skulls adorning it. However the numerous guards were impressive, Lily spotted what looked to be a Roman Legionnaire and even what looked like a British solider from the American War of Independence amid the sea of guards.
If Lily thought the throne was imposing, it was nothing compared to the man who sat on it. Adorned in dark, swirling black silk robes that stood out against his pale skin, the man’s intense black eyes normally might have intimidated Lily. But compared to begging for your son’s life while keeping eye contact with Voldemort’s red, snake-like eyes, this man’s eyes seemed almost comforting.
Next to the man stood a woman who honestly could have been the first woman who could have beaten a Veela in a beauty contest, with her long dark hair seemingly floating as if gravity didn’t apply to it. Her white dress had red, blue, and yellow flowers blooming in the fabric.
It was odd, but as Lily turned back to the man, there was something almost…familiar about him. Unless Lily was mistaken, his shoulder length hair was the same shade of black as Harry’s was.
Harry!
“Where’s Harry?” Lily asked, her voice trembling. “Where is my son? And James, what have you done with my husband?”
“Your husband appears to still be waiting to cross with Charon,” the man said and Lily froze. She had spent a couple of years in her time before Hogwarts curious about the Greek myths, not to the extent that she could recite them verbatim but enough to the point that she knew one very important thing.
Charon was the one responsible for transporting souls to Hades to be judged before their afterlife.
Meaning Lily was not just standing before a throne. She was standing before the Greek God of the Dead and his wife.
“What…what about Harry?” Lily asked. “Where is my son? He’s only a year old, he wouldn’t have a drachma to pay the crossing, what if he’s in a different spot of the queue than James?”
Lily didn’t even notice her use of the word drachma, it had been as natural as saying pound or galleon when talking about money.
Persephone seemed to grow still before walking toward Lily. As she reached her, Persephone rested a hand on top of Lily’s, which Lily now realized were trembling, and said “he’s still alive, your son is still alive.”
Lily’s knees nearly gave out in relief at the news. Even if she was devastated that she would be missing out on her son’s life, the fact that Harry was alive made all the sleepless nights since learning about the prophecy researching protection spells from every part of magical history—from Ancient Egypt to Ancient Greek—worth it.
Even the fact that her son would grow up without her wasn’t as painful as Lily thought it would as she remembered that Harry would grow up with Sirius. She may not be physically in her son’s life but at least her and James’ memory would be all around him. After all, there was no way Sirius Orion Black would ever let his godson grow up not knowing who his parents were and how much they loved him.
Hades seemed to ignore the conversation between his wife and Lily as he reached for the book by his throne and Lily froze as she realized she had not yet begun her afterlife.
“Lily Potter née Evans, born January 30th, 1960 to a Ms. Iris Evans?” Hades asked and, to Lily’s surprise, Persephone turned and stared at Hades.
“I recall you had enjoyed the company of a woman named Iris back around the same time, dear,” Persephone said, her voice growing slightly still and cold. “Around May 1959 ring any bells?”
Hades seemed to go still for a moment though Lily wasn’t sure why. Nor, if she was honest, did she seem to care. Now that she knew Harry was safe, her concern shifted to James.
“James…he wouldn’t have a drachma either…” Lily said, her voice almost soft as she tried to pull the limited knowledge she had on the Greek Myths from her memory. Souls without an offering for Charon were unable to cross and be judged before Hades. “He…he didn’t even have his wand when he died, he’s not going to have any money on him…”
Hades seemed to still for a moment before making a note in the book and then looked back at Lily.
“Your husband will arrive shortly. His crossing fare has been addressed,” Hades said and once again, Lily almost sank to the ground in relief. Knowing Harry was alive was one thing but spending an eternity without James all because he didn’t have a drachma would have been torture.
She could wait a few minutes if it meant an afterlife with her husband.
Lily didn’t even notice Persephone move so that she was next to Hades once more, didn’t even notice Persephone lean over and whisper “Since when do you move souls to the front of the line, husband? Or is it only when they’re married to your daughter?”