I love all the characters dearly ^_ ^ even though they belong to J.K. Rowling.
Aurora, THANK YOU again for your help and inspiration * wink * in this chapter!
A special thumb-up to Electronicquillster, thanks for your precious “pointers”. I hope you’ll like this chapter as much as I enjoyed “trimming” it ;-) ;-)
“James,” Lily woke up in a start.
“I’m here, Lily,” a familiar voice answered softly and a hand cradled her face.
Thank Merlin, he is alright, Lily sighed with relief, raising a hand to cover his. Her tired eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness around. She must have passed out after her fall, for she had no recollection of landing up in the bottom of the gap.
“Where are we?” Lily asked, then winced as she tried to stir her body.
“In one of those famous ‘nature traps’ Mad-Eye had warned us about,” James said. He gently pillowed her head on his lap. “Take it easy, love! Your left shoulder is badly hurt. I’ve tried to secure it with the Ferula Charm, but you’ll definitely need to see a Healer…”
Lily touched her painful shoulder and felt the bandage James had conjured.
“It should feel better soon,” James assured, before adding in a hushed voice. “We can stay down here for a moment. The Death Eaters must think we’re dead. They set the Dark Mark above the gap a while ago and have been silent since.”
Lily turned her head slightly to stare at the sky. All she could see was a blurry, greenish constellation above the gap. Suddenly, the unhappy thought of their young teammate made her shiver.
“What happened to Anderson?” James asked.
“Stunned from behind, and crashed, head first, on a tree.” Lily told him. “I do hope he had found his way out of the battle, while the Death Eaters were running after us…”
“So do I,” James chimed in. “He is a brave kid. I just wish I had not sent him back to Headquarters alone. After all, he only did what he thought was right.”
Lily smiled to herself. James kept stroking her hair, ignoring that his words just triggered one of her fondest memory. She closed her eyes, and let her mind wander back in time. Warmth slowly spread over her aching body as she remembered how her life had changed at her seventh year at Hogwarts.
It all started aboard the Hogwarts Express. Lily’s joy of becoming Head Girl was cut short, when a pale Remus Lupin took her aside to announce that he had declined his Head Boy nomination. Hogwarts students deserved someone capable and reliable; he explained, not a cursed boy who could be a danger to himself and to other people. Lily had become Remus’s friend since they were appointed Prefects at fifth year, even though she knew he was a werewolf. However, at that moment, she would much prefer dealing with his unstable conditions, than teaming up with the ‘conceited bully’ Remus had heartedly supported to fill his place.
“I know James well …” Remus said, smiling at Lily’s wry face. “Believe me, he is very … different … from what you think. Give him a chance, Lily.”
So Lily was set to patrol the Hogwarts corridors with James Potter. Fortunately, James’s head seemed to have deflated a bit after the summer. He had finally ceased to ask her out every time they talked to each other, so she no longer had to say no. Incidentally, now that they could have pleasant conversations without shouting at each other, Lily realized they shared a lot in common. For example, they both put Defense Against The Dark Arts on top of their favorite classes; they also agreed that the best way to celebrate Halloween was a piece of treacle tart by the fireside. Without admitting it, Lily now looked forward to their daily patrol around the school. She was actually impressed by the way he handled the rule breakers. In fact, and she had to give it to him, no one seemed to outsmart James Potter in the field of mischief making!
Then on one autumn evening, their growing friendship took a sudden turn.
Vividly, Lily remembered entering the Gryffindor common room, right in the middle of a blazing row between James and Sirius. The cause of their fight became clearer as she listened, in spite of herself, to the harsh words they were firing at each other. She distinctively heard them mention “Remus”, “Snape”, then “the Whomping Willow”, and “the Shrieking Shack”.
“Come on, Snape was dying to get a bit of excitement in his boring life!” Sirius said loudly. “And a brush with a real werewolf would teach him to stay away from other people’s business!”
“Still, you have NO RIGHT to risk his life,” James retorted furiously. “Everything is not a game, Sirius. We’ll have to pull him out before it’s too late!”
“We? Why risk OUR neck for HIM? But if YOU want to play the stupid hero, be my guest! Besides, I doubt Snivellus needs your help. He is so greasy he would simply slip through Moony’s claws. So why bother?”
Then James stormed out. He spotted Lily standing near the Portrait door, and immediately remembered his Head Boy’s duty. He came towards her and took her hands in his, a gesture he had never done before.
“You have to cover me, Lily,” he said gravely. “There is … something I must do before it’s too late.”
“Is Remus … in trouble?” she queried.
“Not, if I can help it!” James promised, “I’ll explain later, OK?”
Something in his hazel eyes convinced her to trust him. Lily nodded, and James hurried out of the room.
So, for the first time that year, Lily performed her Head Girl duty alone. She walked around absentmindedly, giving detention to any student foolish enough to question her orders. After three unnecessary patrols in the corridors, Lily decided to go wait for James near the Main Entrance. It turned out to be the longest, the most unbearable hour of her life. She started pacing relentlessly, biting her fingernails until they hurt. Peeves the Poltergeist came cackling over her head, and succeeded in distracting her for a while. But Lily finally cursed him away, when he started playing with the door, making her jump every time it swung open.
Then, just like every time when she felt anxious, Lily started to make promises. “When James is back”, she pledged silently, “I will apologize for calling him an ‘insensitive fat head’; I will be nicer to him; and I will tell him I ‘don’t hate him at all’!”
At long last, a silhouette emerged from the night. Lily rushed outside. It was only Snape who was going up the stairs, looking as if he had just struggled with a pack of wolves. With the bewilderment of a child uncovering some unexpected present, he watched her running towards him.
“What happened?” Lily asked him. “Where is James?”
Snape glared at her. The glimmer that had lit up in his eyes the moment before instantly died at her question. He knocked her aside with his shoulder, and slammed the main door shut behind him without a word.
A few agonizing minutes later, Lily finally saw James coming towards the castle. He certainly looked worse than Snape, she thought, noticing the red marks on his cheeks and the mud on his robes. His black hair had never looked messier, but Lily could swear she had never been so happy to see someone in her life.
Wise men said, “Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”. In Lily’s case, her heart actually started beating at the sight of an exhausted, yet straight-backed James. She ran to meet him at the marble steps. Then, throwing her arms around his neck, she took his breath away in their first, mind-blowing kiss. Although they had not talked much that night, James realized he had wasted all those years showing off around her. For Lily had never wanted the famous troublemaker, or the Quidditch champion. She had fallen in love with the young man who had done what he thought was right.
They walked back to the Gryffindor aisle together, hand in hand, oblivious to the widened eyes and whisperings of the other students along their way. The common room was almost deserted as they passed through the Portrait hole. Lily was not surprised to find Sirius pacing anxiously in front of the fireplace. He stopped in mid stride to stare grimly at James, who stared defiantly back. Sirius’s sharp eyes noticed his best friend’s awful look; but when his gaze fell on James and Lily’s joined hands, his frowning face immediately cracked in a wide smile.
“Well, it turned out to be a fairly ‘interesting’ evening for you, I’d say!” he exclaimed mischievously. “All things considered, I think you both owe me one for sending Snivellus out there tonight.”
The memory of James and Sirius bursting out laughing, all grudge forgotten, never failed to make Lily smile. Most importantly, Lily knew after that night that no matter what happened, she could always count on James to stand by her, always ready to do what was right.
Silently, she watched James staring intently at the slope of the gap. He was thinking aloud a plan to escape, and she listened to him with attention.
“So, what do you say, Lily?” James asked.
“I’d say it might work,” she agreed. “As you said, we can’t Apparate if we don’t know where we are.”
“Right, I will come up first and make sure it is safe. And while we’re up there, we should take a look around and try to find Anderson.”
“We definitely should!” Lily knew James would never leave a teammate behind.
“How is your shoulder?” he asked again with concern. “Can you pull yourself up a rope?”
“I’m OK, let’s do it!” she said confidently.
James helped her up to her feet, careful not to hurt her injured shoulder. Then, he pointed his wand at the brink of the gap to conjure a long, solid rope that sprang down to their reach. He made it look so easy, Lily thought fondly, as though falling into holes and managing their way out had always been routine business to the Marauders. She smiled to herself, as the image of a stag, a dog and a werewolf struggling and treading on each other inside a deep gap came across her mind. Then Lily could not repress a giggle, wondering what might occur to the rat in such circumstances.
“What’s so funny?” James asked, looking relieved to see her laugh again.
“Nothing,” Lily answered cheerfully. “What you just did was quite brilliant, I must say. Just remind me to always stick close to you in case of trouble!”
“Hey, I’m a Marauder, purveyor of aids to magical mischief-makers!” he said with the cocky smile she had come to love. “How can I be of service to you, Miss Evans?”
“Well … what about marry me?” Lily asked in the most casual voice she could muster.
An astounded silence greeted her question. Lily’s heart skipped a beat when James’s hand briefly jumped to his messy hair. A puzzled look softened his features, as if he was debating whether to reply, “Are you serious?” or “It’s supposed to be my line”. Of course, in Lily’s most romantic dreams, it wasn’t either the right place, or the ideal moment to propose. However, every fiber of her body was cheering approvingly, telling her she was doing the right thing. So that was what being in love meant! It felt much more like a country walk in springtime than a wild ride in the Forbidden Forest, she would say. But Lily knew one thing for sure, whether it was nice or wild; she wanted to take this walk with no one else than James.
“I am not a Marauder, James,” she added, looking bravely into his eyes. “But if I have to live any adventure from now on, I wish it will be with you.”
“I’ll be honored, Lily!” James said, and Lily heard nothing but love in his words. “You are the most wonderful adventure I can wish for! And I’ll do what it takes to prove it to you!”
“Then the first step will be a walk down the aisle. Do you think you’ll be up to the task?”
“Don’t worry, I will be!” he answered, his eyes shining with a confidence only James Potter could show.
James pulled her close and kissed her tenderly. Oh yes, that was definitely the kiss she was dreaming of in her most romantic fantasies! Lily let out a sigh. For a brief moment, the entire world seemed to vanish around them. There was no more Dark Mark or Aurors, but only two people promising a lifetime of love to each other.
An icy rain started to fall, and once again called them back to reality. Still smiling, James’s hand softly wiped away the raindrops from Lily’s face.
“Let’s get out of this hole!” he said, taking out his wand. “Ready?”
“After you!” Lily nodded resolutely.
James seized firmly the rope he had conjured earlier, and started pulling himself up the rocky slope. The gap seemed roughly twenty feet deep, he realized. Yet, the Death Eaters had not spotted Lily and him in the bottom of the gap earlier, thanks to the cloudy night.
Soon, he could heave himself to the leaves-covered ground. The woods stood stoic and numb under the cold rain, and James found nothing suspicious around the area. Still lying flat on the ground, he pulled strongly at the rope twice.
Lily understood the way was clear. At her turn, she began climbing up the gap. Her left shoulder seared with pain, but luckily it still held on to her effort. Clenching her teeth, she tried to focus on the piece of sky she could see above her head. Each step she took drew her closer to the ground and to the Dark Mark, which snaky tongue kept dangling mockingly.
“Come on, Lily,” James urged her. “You’re almost there!”
The rain was falling more heavily now, blinding her, making her climbing even more difficult. Finally, Lily could feel James grasp her hand and pull her upward until she could reach the ground.
The heady scent of humid soil immediately filled her nostrils. In a flash, she remembered “Operation Clearing”. The odds were clearly against them completing tonight’s mission as planned. They had to inform Headquarters, she decided, getting back on her feet. But, before she could reach her wand, Lily saw a jet of light dash through the rain.
“PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!” someone yelled from behind a tree.
She uttered a gasp, as she took the full blast of the spell. The effect was immediate. Lily’s entire body went rigid, as if every muscle had turned to ice in a split second. She collapsed, but had no sensation of hitting the ground.
James whirled around. He hardly managed to avoid a Stunning Spell when another voice roared again.
“INCARCEROUS!”
Ropes sprang out from thin air to wrap around his body. In a matter of seconds, James found himself tightly bound and thrown to the ground beside an immobile Lily.
Slowly, a few shadows came out of the dark to narrow on them. Judging by the gleeful sounds they were making under their hoods, they were congratulating themselves for such a nice catch.
“I knew they would come up sooner or later,” one of them gloated, “it was worth the wait, wasn’t it?”
“We got them alive!” hissed a female voice. “The Dark Lord will be thrilled.”
“He’ll certainly reward us for such a good prey,” a third one chimed in. “But before bringing him to our Lord, we can teach them a few lessons first, can’t we, Irene?”
In spite his worrying situation, James mentally registered the name he just heard. Death Eaters usually gave themselves code names so they could communicate with each other during their operations, while preserving their true identity.
“Well, well!” the one who called himself ‘Irene’ came nearer to look at them. “Famous James Potter and his Mudblood enjoying a Halloween night stroll.”
Whether it was “Irene” or “Eileen”, James could swear it was a man who undoubtedly knew Lily and him well. He counted quickly: Four… eight …twelve Death Eaters were circling Lily and him, their wands pointing eagerly at their captives.
“CRUCIO!” a woman shouted, and the Cruciatus Curse hit James like a bolt of lightning.
A nerve-breaking pain took over him, making his body arch uncontrollably. His blood must have turned into liquid fire, coursing wildly through his veins into his bones. He clenched his teeth. The pain was acute and unmerciful. But in no way, he would give them the pleasure to hear him scream.
Then suddenly, the torture ceased. James felt himself lift upside-down in the air, hanging like a puppet in the pouring rain.
“So, Potter, how do you enjoy the view upside-down?” ‘Irene’ sneered again.
“Let him watch us kill the Mudblood first!” the woman cut in, her voice trembling with excitement.
“NO! Leave her to me. But, feel free to play with Mr. Potter here. I suggest you take his pants off to spice up the show.”
‘Irene’ turned reluctantly away from James and pointed his wand at Lily. “Mobilicorpus!” he said, moving her out of the circle of his cheering friends.
An icy shiver ran though James’s spine. Now, he recognized that low, silky voice filled with smugness. James watched Lily drift out of his sight, his mind racing to find a way to help her out. He struggled again, only to feel the ropes cut deeper into his flesh. An old hatred surged in his blood; he would fight to his last breath to keep the traitor from touching a hair of Lily’s head.
“DON’T YOU DARE HURT HER, LITTLE SLIMEBALL!” he yelled. “IF YOU REALLY WANT TO PLAY, TRY ME!”
Thanks for reading this “fluffy” chapter :). Please, take a minute to review and let me know what you think, OK???? You're the best!