Why Didn't Lily Disapparate with Harry to Escape Voldemort? - Harry Potter Theory

Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we're discussing the Potter family, Lord Voldemort, and a question that I’m sure has struck the minds of Potterheads worldwide at some point or another. That question is: Why didn’t Lily Potter apparate away from Godric’s Hollow with Baby Harry during the attack from Voldemort? The attack on the Potter residence, which occurred on October 31st 1981- claimed the lives of both of Harry’s parents- James, who died protecting his family, and Lily- who sacrificed herself to save Harry.

The attack came after Sybil Trelawney, who was interviewing for a position at Hogwarts, had a vision of ‘the prophecy’ - the same prophecy that would uproot the wizarding world.

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…”

Snape, who was a death eater at the time, overheard Trelawney’s prediction and relayed the info to Voldemort. The prophecy threatened Voldemort’s position, and so he knew that he would need to take action.

Upon realizing that they were in danger, the Potters went in to hiding, hoping to put in place as many preventative measures as reasonably possible. They ended up finding sanctuary in the town of Godric’s Hollow- and they were protected by the Fidelius Charm. The Fidelius charm is an incredibly powerful piece of magic that conceals a secret inside of a chosen secret keeper’s soul, and in this instance the secret was the Potters location. The only hole in their plan was the man that they had chosen as secret keeper - Peter Pettigrew. A sniveling excuse for man, Pettigrew ended up changing sides and gave up the location of the Potters to Voldemort- leaving them wide open to his attack.

On one unassuming October day, Voldemort struck- and it was truly a day that would change the course of history. When he entered their home James Potter was the first to get in his way- the first line of defence protecting Lily & Harry. However- James had one very big problem: He didn’t have his wand on him. The Potters were caught completely off guard because they never suspected that their location would be revealed - and that they would be betrayed by their secret keeper. Because he didn’t have his wand, he was no match for Voldemort- though I suspect that even with it Voldemort would have made quick work of him. James was a talented wizard- but not even close to the level of the dark lord. From there Voldemort began making his way toward Lily and baby Harry- still dead set on his goal of killing the boy. At this point, as far as the real story line goes, Voldemort then advances towards the room containing both Lily and Baby Harry.

When he entered the room, Voldemort did something quite unexpected- offering Lily a chance to step aside. This was not a luxury that was offered to James, but at the end of the day it was only really Harry that he wanted. He explained that if she simply stepped away and let him have Harry, that he would spare her life. This was at the request of Severus Snape who loved LIly and likely deeply regretted relaying the prophecy to Voldemort. Unsurprisingly, however, Lily did not allow Voldemort to have her son- and refused- this lead to Voldemort murdering her with the killing curse.

Voldemort then turned his wand on Harry and let out one more ‘avada kedavra’- hoping to put an end to the Potter family once and for all. However, thanks to Lily’s loving sacrifice, the curse rebounded- killing Voldemort (for a time), and saving baby Harry.

So- that’s how things ACTUALLY transpired, but what I want to look at is WHY Lily didn’t just apparate with Harry- vacating the Potter residence entirely? When James told Lily to take Harry and run, there was undoubtedly a sort of unspoken understanding that he would die- so, why didn’t Lily take this opportunity to escape?

To begin to answer this question we can start by looking at the Deathly Hallows- when the trio travel from Shell Cottage to Gringotts:

..Watch the video for the rest!


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