True Love's Heart

Prologue

"Come on, come on...I know its here somewhere..." Lilly mumbled to herself as she quickly flipped through the pages of the decrepit charms book she held in her lap. She didn't know how much time she had left, she just knew that if she was going to do something, she was going to have to do it fast.

After learning about the prophesy naming her one-year-old son as the person destined to defeat the Dark Lord, safety precautions were put in place to keep her new family safe. That worked for a bit, but word came from Severus Snape tonight that he overheard the Dark Lord telling another Death Eater that he now knew where the Potters were living and was planning on attacking soon. Albus Dumbledore was due to arrive any moment now to deliver them to their new safe house, but for now all the Potters could do was wait.

Despite the words of reassurance from her husband, Lilly had a bad feeling growing incessantly in her belly. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that her baby would be growing up without parents. Call it mother's intuition or general anxiety, but that thought wouldn't leave her mind. She just new that, whatever happened next, her son would survive but her and James wouldn't.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she continued searching the book for the spell she needed. She new her baby was going to be OK physically, but she was worried that, without his parents guidance, that baby Harry may struggle to find what mattered most in life: love, happiness, a family. Sure she knew Sirius would be there for him as a Godfather and he would help lead Harry through life, but as a Mum she wanted to help ensure that Harry would find his soul mate someday.

That's when she remembered an old spell she came across one night as she was shopping for books to fill her new study at the home her and James moved into when they first got married. She had been a bookworm as a student at Hogwarts and she particularly enjoyed learning about old and forgotten spells and charms. So when she came across this older-looking charms book at a bookstore in Diagon Alley, with its pealing spine barely holding onto its crinkled pages, she instantly knew she had to have it. She enjoyed looking at the forgotten chants and curses written among its pages. Though she could never imagine a reason to need to know these spells, it helped to know they were there if she would ever need them. She never needed one until now.

"There it is! Finally!" She rejoiced as she spotted the spell she had been searching for. Standing up from the crossed-legged sitting position she had held in the corner of her son's nursery, she quietly but quickly approached the crib holding the sleeping infant on the other side of the room. Holding the book in one hand, she reached down with the other and ghosted her fingers over her son's fluffy black hair. She smiled and reveled how much he looked like James, even at his young age.

"Its OK sweetheart." She whispered to Harry as she tried to sniffle her tears away, "You're going to be fine. You will grow to be a courageous young man who will stop at nothing to save the Wizarding World. Mummy just wants to help you find your mate even after she leaves this life."

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she moved her hand from Harry's head to hover over Harry's chest, or move specifically, over Harry's heart. Looking over to the book to make sure she had the right incantation, she touched Harry's chest and said the words "Verum est Caritas de Corde". She watched as a pink glow formed in her own chest, travelled down through her arm and crossed the bridge of her fingers and came to rest above her son's heart before disappearing into his chest.

"Wow, I can't believed it worked!" Lilly mused as she closed the book and planted a kiss onto the sleeping infants forehead. She suddenly heard commotion downstairs; the sound of the front door splintering off its hinges and the screams of her husband.

"Lilly! Save our son!" Was all she heard before a green light illuminated the dark hallway and a large thump could be heard from the front room. 'Oh no! James!' she silently screamed as she then heard footsteps outside the nursery door.

The end of her life seemed to play out in slow motion as Lilly spotted the shadowed figure enter the room and made its way towards her and her baby. Turning her back towards the crib and spreading her arms out in full wingspan, the last words that left her mouth was a threat towards the man to leave her son alone and a prayer for Harry: "Find your true love baby, she will help you survive." A green light, then darkness.