I was looking for a story about what might have happened if James was just pushed aside that night, not killed. I couldn't find one, so I decided to write my own. Please R & R, but go easy on me! This is my first ever ff :)

Elle

James Potter watched the children from the window, running from door to door, clad in costume, with parents following behind. Of course, they skipped over his house. They couldn't see his house, not since the Fidelus charm. He heard his baby's squeal behind him; Lily must be done giving him his bath. He turned to laugh as Harry lunged to grab the cat's tail, and the cat bounded out of his reach. The game continued for several minutes, cat vs. baby, before Harry had enough of it and came to his father, arms in the air, reaching out. James lifted his son, tossing him in the air and earning himself a squeal of delight. Lily walked out of the bathroom, smiling.

"Don't rile him up, James! It's almost bed time," she scolded lightly, with a smile on her face.

She leaned up to kiss him, before kissing her son and heading off to take her shower, leaving her husband to have a few minutes alone with their son. James carried the tot off to the couch, and took out his wand to entertain Harry with his favorite game: poufs of smoke from the end of his wand. Harry squealed with delight every time. The game continued until Lily came out of the bathroom, towel around her wet hair. "Bedtime!" she exclaimed. James kissed his son and handed him to his mother, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. Sure, they were in hiding, and restless; but his family was safe in their cozy home. Peter Pettigrew was one of his best friends; he trusted him with the life of his family.

He heard something outside; turned to the door as it was being opened. A tall figure with snakelike eyes, in a black cloak was coming toward them. They had been found.

Without hesitating, he shouted to Lily, "It's him! Take Harry and run, I'll hold him off!" As Lily raced upstairs with their precious son, James heard an evil laugh, before being thrown to the side and seeing no more.

A short time later, James woke up in a pile of rubble. Disoriented, cut up and bruised, a large amount of blood seeping from his right arm, he looked around at what was his living room, blasted apart. He remembered quickly what happened, and raced upstairs and into the nursery, where the first thing he saw was his wife, lying on the ground. Eyes open. Unmoving. He fell to his knees, staring at her in disbelief. It couldn't be; she was simply knocked out, as he had been. He felt her wrist and imagined a nonexistent pulse. He held her tightly to his chest, not noticing anything else in the room, till he heard a loud "Dada!" He looked to the crib and saw his little boy standing in the crib, forehead cut and bloody, crying "dada" with his arms raised toward James.

James gently laid his wife on the ground, and closed her eyes and kissed her tenderly, before rising and rushing to the crib and lifting his son, holding him close and kissing his little face over and over, letting the tears fall down his face. How could he not have noticed his son right away? How could his wife be dead? Where had Voldemort gone, and how was Harry alive? He quickly left the nursery, hating to leave his wife but not wanting to let Harry see her. Not like that.

He heard a yell from downstairs. "James!" called the frightened voice he knew so well. He carried the baby down and saw relief fill Sirius' eyes. He let the man he loved like a brother embrace him; they both knew without words what had happened: Peter had betrayed them.

"Lily?" Sirius asked, looking James in the eye. James remained silent, knowing that answering the question would make it more real, but he answered it with his silence; and Sirius knew.

Sirius led a grief stricken James to the destroyed living room, unsure how to proceed. He didn't want to take them outside; there were sure to be spectators drawn to the now destroyed fidelus charmed house. He could get James and Harry out on his motorbike, true, but that would involve leaving Lily, and he knew James wouldn't do that. He decided on his only course of action, and sent a patronus to Albus Dumbledore. Sirius was still in shock as he took a good look around the room. From under the couch James was now sitting on, Sirius saw James' wand, and pulled it out, pocketing it. He took off his own shirt and wrapped it around the wound on James' arm, not trusting himself with a spell as complicated as a healing one in his present state of mind.

Only a few moments later, with a loud crack, Albus Dumbledore apparated into the living room, no twinkle in his eye, a grave look on his face. With one look around the room, he turned to Sirius.

"What did you do, Sirius," he asked his voice rigid with sadness, anger and confusion; his wand pointed at Sirius. Sirius was silent, unable to find the words to speak; for he knew that though he didn't directly betray his best friends, it was he who suggested Peter. How could he explain the horrible thing he had done?

At the younger man's silence, Dumbledore disarmed him, before shooting invisible ropes from the end of his wand, which bound themselves around Sirius. James seemed to come to his senses at this point.

"No," he quietly stated, "it wasn't him. Peter. Peter was our secret keeper; he betrayed us. Not Sirius."

Understanding crossed Dumbledore's wise eyes, "you changed without telling," he stated, obviously, before banishing the rope binding Sirius. "Is Lily…" he paused seeing the slight shake of Sirius' head. He decided not to question how James and Harry were alive, nor the whereabouts of Voldemort; not yet. First thing to do was remove them from the home. Of course, the ministry would want to question James and Sirius, as well, but Dumbledore wasn't well known for abiding by the ministry's wishes. The safest place for the Potters right now was Hogwarts, as they knew not where Voldemort was.

Dumbledore approached James cautiously, "we need to get you to Hogwarts," he told the man, in a low tone; seeing for the first time, the cut on baby Harry's forehead. "We can get Madame Pomfrey to check Harry out, and you," he said, putting his arm around James to help him stand.

James looked up, startled. "No," he stated adamantly, "I can't leave Lily."

"There is nothing you can do for her; Harry needs you. I'll take care of her;" Dumbledore promised, before lighting a fire in the fireplace—still intact—and handing James the floo powder. "Go directly to the hospital wing," he insisted, "you both need to be checked out."

James hesitated, trying to think clearly. He didn't want to leave Lily, but Albus was right; he had Harry to consider, and he had to get his boy out of here. He did as was bidden, grabbed the powder, jumped into the fire with his son and stated "Hogwarts hospital wing" before being whisked away.

Sirius headed toward the door, now that he knew James and Harry were safe; he had a murder to commit. Dumbledore stopped him.

"Not tonight, Sirius," he said, as he watched the man go from extreme sadness and comfort for his friend, to extreme rage in the time it took for James to floo away.

"I'm going to kill him!" Sirius said, ignoring Dumbledore.

"And leave your best friend and godson at the time they need you the most? James lost his wife to a person he considered a friend; don't make him lose you to Azkaban, follow him to Hogwarts Sirius. He needs you," Dumbledore advised gently.

Sirius struggled; wanting nothing more than to kill the man who betrayed his best friend. He would have died before betraying Peter, yet Peter betrayed his best friend.

"Let the ministry handle it, he won't be able to run for long," Dumbledore went on, quietly.

But Sirius knew different. Peter had a disguise, and a right good one, that Dumbledore knew nothing about. He could live as a rat, no one ever the wiser. But right now, he had to admit Dumbledore had a point. Sirius had no idea where Peter was, anyway. What good would chasing him do; and if he came across him he would kill them, and James would have lost yet another person on this awful night. Turning his back on the door, he marched past Dumbledore and followed his friend to the hospital wing.