Chapter 24: Diagon Alley
The shop, Flourish and Blotts, where James bought his schoolbooks every summer was in utter disarray. One of the windows had a hole with spidery cracks extending from it. Most of the bookshelves had been knocked over, leaving a sea of tomes in the middle of the floor.
Further on up the road was Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor, where children and adults alike enjoyed mouth-watering scoops of ice cream. All of the tables were either knocked over or in pieces because of being hit with stray spells and curses. The “F” of Fortescue was hanging precariously from the roof of the parlor.
Quality Quidditch Supplies was usually surrounded by wizards and witches gawking at the newest broom edition. Now the Quidditch robes were in tatters and the mannequins lay naked on the floor. Bludgers were zooming around, causing havoc and danger to anyone and anything that crossed their paths.
A mixture of blood curdling screams and laughter filled the air as flashes of green, red, and purple light lit up the unforgiving darkness.
This was the scene that met James’ senses when he landed in the alleyway in Diagon Alley that was to be used as Evacuation Headquarters. Terror gripped him as he spotted things sprawled on the ground. They were people…. and they were dead.
“Let’s move!” yelled one of the Prewetts. James felt a small hand slip into his and looked down to find Lily standing beside him, the determination in her emerald eyes outshining her ghostly pallor.
The moment passed and they were in the streets, stepping over things - people - trying to stay out of the way of spells, jinxes, and curses. Lily jumped into a fight when she spotted a Death Eater who was cornering a mother and her screaming toddler into the entranceway of a shop. At the same time, James stepped over a dead Auror and took his place in a duel with a Death Eater on the steps of Gringotts.
“Reducto!” James shouted, and aimed his wand at the man’s face. He blocked the spell and a sickening smile slid onto his face below his mask.
“You’ll have to do better than that, boy!” he teased. “Crucio!”
White hot-knives stabbed at James’ flesh while a sledgehammer pounded repeatedly into his head. He felt his body move into horribly painful positions and his arms and legs extend to their breaking point. James had never felt such excruciating physical pain in his life and knew that he would certainly die if it didn’t stop soon.
And suddenly, the pain ceased. James found himself lying awkwardly on the steps of the enormous wizarding bank. He sat up and saw Lily standing over his torturer, who was now unconscious and bound with ropes.
“James!” she cried, and ran towards him as he stood and steadied himself. “Are you alright?” she asked, hugging him to her. A purple spell shot towards them and James pushed Lily behind him and cast a Shield Charm.
“I’m fine. Go!” he shouted, and she took off down the main street where numerous wizards and witches were dueling. James fired a Stunner at the man who had attacked him and Lily, which easily hit its mark. He sprinted down the street and saw Lily dueling with a woman in Death Eater attire. Just as he was about to Stun Lily’s opponent, thunder cracked and a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth appeared high in the night sky. The phosphorescent serpent snaked closer and closer to the ground until it reached the rooftops and a figure dropped down onto the cobblestone street, his black robes fanned out around his crouched body. He straightened and watched the chaos before him, his mouth curling into a horrible, satisfied smile. This man, James knew without a doubt, was Lord Voldemort.
Dozens of spells flew in his direction but he cast a Shield Charm around himself with a lazy wave of his hand. A portly Auror stepped in front of him, prepared to duel.
“Avada Kedavra!” snarled Voldemort, and the man crumpled to the ground. Rather than stepping over the man, Voldemort walked across the length of his back and continued on his way down the street to where Lily and the female Death Eater were still dueling.
Lily had just gotten the upper-hand, having successfully blasted the woman off her feat with Rictusempra! This seemed to irritate the Dark Lord and he pointed his wand towards the triumphant redhead.
“Impedimenta!” cried James, his spell just hitting Voldemort and slowing his actions down, giving James time enough to shove him to the ground, his Killing Curse shooting harmlessly towards the stars.
“Why you…Crucio!” he growled.
The pain he’d felt only minutes ago instantly revisited James. Voldemort’s curse was much stronger than his Death Eaters’. His bones were scraping against each other and his muscles were burning in a fire so hot James that thought he might black out. Then the pain was gone, replaced by an awful cackle that chilled James’ blood.
“Did you enjoy that, boy? Thought you’d be all noble and avenge your meddlesome parents?” Voldemort said in a maddeningly calm hiss. “Well, I’ll tell you something, boy, nobility is a trait that I neither respect nor value. Tell me, what would your parents say if they saw you now? You’re a pathetic-”
Voldemort was knocked off his feet by someone to James’ far left. Sitting up, James saw Lily, her face contorted with anger and red sparks spitting out of her wand. Upon seeing James watching her, she helped him stand on his swaying feet.
“We need to get out of here,” Lily said, noticing that Voldemort was regaining his wits and his followers were gathering behind him.
“Kill them!” Voldemort commanded, and at least fifteen Death Eaters started running towards James and Lily. Without hesitation, they turned and ran back towards the alley they had arrived in, where people were now being evacuated. Lily stumbled and fell, crying out in alarm and pain. James helped her up and she gasped.
“My ankle,” she cried. “I can’t walk!”
The Death Eaters were gaining on them. James knew he couldn’t carry Lily quickly enough to get them to the evacuation point and outrun their pursuers. At least not as a human.
Seconds later, in the place where James had been standing stood a magnificent stag. Lily stared at its hazel eyes in shock and James realized that if he didn’t act, she would keep staring and the Death Eaters would be upon them. He carefully scooped her up onto his back using his antlers and galloped forward. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lying flat on her stomach to avoid stray spells flying through the air.
They were almost there. James could see the alley, not twenty feet away. His energy was almost gone and he struggled to keep the blackness on the edges of his vision from conquering him. He could see people ahead, urging him on; they were just within his reach. Then the blackness won, and James knew no more.
A/N: Another cliffhanger! Being evil can be so much fun. An enormous amount of gratitude goes to my beta songbook99 for getting this back to me so fast. I was pleased with the reviews from the last chapter and I hope I get the same quality feedback for this chapter. I’ll have the next chapter up ASAP. There should only be around six more.
Miss Radcliffe~
Loathing or Love? by Miss Radcliffe
Chapter Notes: Yes, I should be studying for my Spanish final tomorrow. But no, I am here at 10:00 posting this chapter for all you delightful readers. Just remind me of how nice I am so I won’t feel too horrible when I get my Spanish grades back. Enjoy!
Miss Radcliffe~