He was alone. He had escaped from the constraints of him room and fled into the glistening woods. It was very dark, the moon obscured by a sudden damp fog that swirled around the thick trunks of the forest trees.
He broke into a run, heading deeper into the woods until he reached a small clearing with only a stump in the middle that he knew well. He reached the stump, brushed off the thick layer of snow that had accumulated on the top with a gloved hand and climbed atop it.
It was some time that he sat there, reminiscing over the past few days. The temperature steadily dropped and still the mist clung to the air. It was unusually cold.
He noticed, as he sat there, that the woods were inexplicably quiet. He studied the silence. No sounds of owls of other nocturnal animals. It was odd.
And suddenly there was a shattering breath, not his own. The next shuddering breath sent shivers down his spine, and he slid from his perch, drawing his wand.
It was as though they were made of the night itself as they materialized before him: dark smudges against the fog before the towering cloaked forms broke through it. They glided across the brilliant snow, dark as shadow and this fact made more ominous by the way they contrasted with everything around them. Three of them: Dementors.
He shot a quick look over his shoulder, making sure there were none behind him. There were.
The fierce cold threatened to overpower him. “I thought I made myself quite plain. I am going to hurt her, and you are going to watch.” There were screams, the ones that had been trapped inside, reverberating around his head.
“No!” he cried. He said an incantation, and a silver stag burst forth from his wand. But it just splashed off of the Dementors in a silver mist, and blended back into the fog.
She continued to scream.
“Lily!”
James lurched forward, snapping awake, sending his bedcovers flying. His chest was heaving and his heart was running rampant. He groaned and leaned foreword, rubbing his eyes with his right hand. With his other, he reached out and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table.
James slid out of bed and glanced at his watch. 6:30 am and it was still pitch dark outside. He stood by his fireplace to warm up, and then absently began to get dressed. This had been the third nightmare he had remembered having since the incident, and on the nights he didn’t remember having a nightmare, he woke up feeling foul the next morning. It was driving him crazy. He grabbed his wand and stuck it in the back pocket of his jeans, and headed to the kitchen.
He paused on his way, back tracking into the sitting room. There was a figure leaning comfortably on the hearth behind the candle-lit tree, absorbed in a book.
James watched Lily as she delicately turned to the next page, and then paused before she began reading to liven up the fire. James swelled with emotion at even the thought of her.
The look on everyone’s faces when they realize she’s my girlfriend is going to be priceless.
At this thought, James laughed. Lily cursed and slammed her book shut.
“James, you scared me!” she said, as he headed over toward her. He leaned down and gave her a kiss. “Whatever were laughing at?”
“I was imagining the looks on everyone’s faces when they realize that you agreed to be my girlfriend. Of course, the following thought of getting thrown into Azcaban because everyone thinks I’ve used Imperious on you is less appealing,” he said, lacing his arms around her.
A small frown crossed her face at the mention of being put under the Imperious Curse, and James cursed himself. He was relived when the next moment she smiled.
“That wouldn’t be too good, would it?”
She settled herself against him and opened her book again, flipping slowly to the proper page. James had thought that his admission to her two days ago would make things awkward, but she had thankfully taken them in stride. She hadn’t repeated the words back to him, of course, but just being with her was enough for James. He didn’t want the words until the feeling was there, 100%, as well.
James pointed his wand at the window across from them, drawing the curtains open. The snow swirled down about the courtyard, and there were no signs from his dream. Still, he shivered.
“Come on Lily, let’s get out of this house. We’ve been cramped here too long.”
She looked up at him. “What? Where would we go?”
He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Diagon Alley of course. Need to get the holiday shopping done.”
“James!” she scolded. “It’s nearly Christmas and you haven’t done your shopping yet?”
He raised his eyebrows at her, and she sighed. “You go wake Sirius, I’ll go get my cloak.”
“Sirius stayed over at his Uncle’s last night, so it’ll just be us two,” said James as he scribbled a note to his mum.
“Are you sure we’ll be safe?”
A pang crossed James’ heart, but his turned his wince into a smile. “Course you will “ you’ll be with me.”
Lily had to admit that it was a relief to get out of the house as they strolled arm in arm down Diagon Alley. James paraded Lily on his arm like she was some sort of queen, and she enjoyed the experience, even if she acted modest. Indeed, she had been on the receiving end of a few envious looks from other women who, no doubt, found James attractive.
Lily was primarily window shopping (as she had already completed her shopping, except for James of course, she still didn’t know what to get him), but did end up purchasing a scarf for her mum.
They were out all day and finally retired into the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. Tom, the barkeep in his early twenties, led them to a small booth in the back, out of most of the pipe smoke wafting from the bar, where they ate their meal while commenting on everyone that passed through. There were so many creatures there... Lily was sure that she had upset a cloaked patron (vampire, maybe?) by laughing too loudly, but she didn’t care.
James looked at her from across the booth as the patron chided them for being too loud. He rolled his eyes. “Right old hag.”
Tom chose that moment to appear with two glasses of Firewhiskey. James flipped him a few knuts before offering Lily the drink.
She looked at him doubtfully. “James...”
“Come now, Lily, it’s the holidays. And you’re of age.”
She reached out and took the glass. “I keep forgetting I’m allowed to drink this stuff,” she said after taking a sip and feeling the drink burn it’s way down her throat. She cocked her head to the side, considering the taste. Not too bad.
James snorted as he raised his glass to his lips. “You forgot one word in there: legally.”
Lily rolled her eyes and held out her glass for him to toast. “To the holidays.”
“To our first date,” he said, chinking his glass against hers. She blushed and took another sip.
Once their drinks were finished, Lily and James headed to the back of the pub, preparing to apparate home. Lily found herself slightly more cheerful than usual, which was probably on account of the drink. But when two figures blocked their way out, she sobered up immediately.
“Oh look who it is, Luscius,” said one of the men in an unpleasant voice. “My brother’s friend, James Potter.”
Lily paled. She knew that voice from school. Regulus Black and Luscius Malfoy. They had been in Slytherin a few years above her, and had been terrible to her.
“Well, well, well... and who are you keeping company with these days Potter?” asked Malfoy with a sneer. “Mudbloods aren’t exactly safe to be associated with these days, are they?”
James stood rigidly in front of Lily, shielding her. “You move Malfoy, and you too Regulus, if you don’t want trouble.”
They pair laughed. “You? Cause us trouble?” asked Regulus. “You and who else?”
“Me!” Lily snarled, trying to get around James. She was sick of this, all of it. All this pure-blood mania, Voldemort and his followers, they made her sick. “And James it twice the man of both of you!”
James held her back with one hand, but his wand remained perfectly steady in his right hand.
“How sweet, a little protective of her are you Potter? The Dark Lord should hear of these developments,” hissed Luscius the same time that Regulus leaned forward into James’ face.
Even from this distance Lily could smell the alcohol there. No wonder they were speaking so much about their ‘affiliation’. The two idiots were drunk. No sober Death Eater would have the balls enough to admit they supported Voldemort in a publib pub.
“I’m going to tell you a little secret Potter,” said Regulus with a grin. “You haven’t seen nothing yet. That little encounter with the Dark Lord was just a tester. There are far worse things coming for the likes of you.”
Lily could feel James shaking with suppressed anger. “I’ve told you once, don’t make me ask again,” he said in a deadly whisper that even scared Lily. “Move your arse out of our way, or I’ll kill you.”
“Feisty, aren’t you?” asked Malfoy with a laugh as he raised his wand. By this point, the few patrons left in the pub (two old men and a hag) had gone completely silent as they watched the proceedings.
“If you gentlemen just want trouble,” called Tom from the bar, “I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Regulus gave Tom the finger. “Shove off mugglelover.”
He suddenly lunged forward, knocking James roughly to the ground and grabbed a hold of Lily. His grip on her arms was too strong for her to break free, and he shoved her toward Malfoy.
“Lily!” James called, rising from the ground. Malfoy caught her by the hair. Tears sprang to her eyes from the pain but she ignored it. Mafloy cuffed her on the head and threw her into the booth behind him, disarming her as he did so.
“So, the schoolboy thinks he can take on two grown men, does he?” sneered Regulus as James stood, swiping a bit of blood from a newly acquired split lip.
The look on James’ face was frightening. He completely forgot about his wand and slammed his fist into Regulus’ face, snapping his wand in the process. Regulus slammed James into a table, and they both fell in a tangle of body parts and table legs. The fight ensued on the ground, Regulus managing to get a good hook to James’ ribs, while the later lifted a broken table leg. Hefting it like a beater’s club, James brought the broken bit of furniture smashing down onto Regulus’ temple.
The older man stopped struggling, and in an instant Malfoy had his wand trained on James. “You stay where you are,” he called, not quite covering the fear in his voice. Apparently James had been a more formidable foe than he had expected, and this thought made Lily smile.
James paused and Lily could see him struggling to make a decision on what to do. He was wand-less against a Death Eater, who had his girlfriend trapped behind him.
“Let her go,” said James, standing tall.
“I have a proposition for you. We could use skills like yours...” Malfoy trailed off as James leaned over and spit on the unconscious form of Regulus. Lily would have laughed if she had been in any position too. “Very well, Potter. Be it on your head. You’re going to come to a very sticky end one day,” he, biting off the words in anger.
James ignored him. He looked like he was trying not to clutch his side. “Let her go.”
Malfoy shook his head. “Not on your life. I think I could be well rewarded for bringing this little mudblood into the Dark Lord. He finds her so interesting.”
James started forward and in a flash Malfoy had Lily trapped against him, his wand pressed into her throat.
“Or I could kill her,” said Malfoy, sounding bored. He grabbed her arm and wrenched it backward, pulling it so hard Lily was sure it was about to pop out of its socket. Lily cried out, which made James take another step forward. Malfoy jerked his wand into her throat threateningly. “It’s up to you really. I wouldn’t mind ridding the world of one more mudblood. Now, if you value her life, run back to your pathetic little Headmaster “ AH!”
Malfoy’s speech was cut short as Lily, doing the only thing she could think of doing, sank her teeth into his Adams apple and bit down hard. He flung her away from him, slashing at the air with his wand. The orange flame flew past Lily but didn’t quite make it past James, and it grazed him on the right side of his chest. James crumpled to the floor, but as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t run to him.
Malfoy was still slightly distracted as he pawed at his throat as though she were still biting him. He turned and fled from the pub. Lily scooped up her wand and ran to James’ side. He was unconscious, but still had a pulse. He moaned slightly in pain as she touched his face.
“Oh James, you’re lucky I want to be a Healer...” she whispered she straightened his broken glasses on his face. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on her.
“I’d rather have you patch me up any day...” He attempted a laugh but started coughing, chokeing on blood.
Tom appeared by her side and lifted James to his feet. “Come on Lily, we’re taking him to St. Mungos.”
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