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Why didn't Lily apparate away with Harry?



When Voldemort came to kill the Potter family James and Lily realize he is there with a little bit of time to spare. James provides a momentary buffer and Lily is in the room with Harry. Why did she not grab Harry and apparate away from Voldemort?



Answer



Besides for the debatable reason of not having a wand as mentioned in the accepted answer, there is a more basic reason why she could not have Apparated. In Deathly Hallows when the trio went from Shell Cottage to Gringotts, we have the following description:



All three of them glanced back at Shell Cottage, lying dark and silent under the fading stars, then turned and began to walk toward the point, just beyond the boundary wall, where the Fidelius Charm stopped working and they would be able to Disapparate.



So we see that you cannot Disapparate from within the confines of a Fidelius Charm. As the Potters house in Godric's Hollow was similarly protected by the Fidelius Charm, it would have been impossible for Lilly to Disapparate out of it.


Furthermore, even without the Fidelius Charm it is likely that she would not have been able to Disapparate out of the house. In the beginning of Half-Blood Prince we have the following exchange between Harry and Dumbledore:



"Professor, why couldn’t we just Apparate directly into your old colleague’s house?"



"Because it would be quite as rude as kicking down the front door," said Dumbledore. "Courtesy dictates that we offer fellow wizards the opportunity of denying us entry. In any case, most Wizarding dwellings are magically protected from unwanted Apparators. At Hogwarts, for instance —"


"— you can't Apparate anywhere inside the buildings or grounds," said Harry quickly. "Hermione Granger told me."



Thus, it is quite possible, even likely, that the Potter's house had an anti-Apparition charm placed on it for protection. Therefore, the reason why Lilly couldn't Disapparate out is the same reason why Voldmeort couldn't Apparate in — it wasn't possible.


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