"Lily." He choked out, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Lily!" he tried again, but with no reaction. He was terrified. She was bloody, and unconscious, and someone had just blown up the Three Broomsticks. James had to go get help.

Staggering

James grinned as he walked out of the castle. Why shouldn't he be happy? It was early March, the weather was fabulous, the Gryffindor team had just crushed Ravenclaw, 390-40, and it was a Hogsmede weekend. James couldn't ask for anything more.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. What James really wanted was to be taking Lily Evans to Hogsmede, but she had, like always, refused his offer. It was driving James barmy.

Padfoot wasn't going to Hogsmede today, because he was stuck in detention with McGonagall. James grinned at the memory. McGonagall was the Marauders' favourite teacher. She didn't put up with their crap, which made her class all the more fun. Sirius especially loved to get on her nerves. What had earned him this detention was calling her 'Minnie', and proclaiming his undying love for her in the middle of an exam.

The best part of this was that Professor McGonagall didn't even bat an eyelash, or look up from her papers. All she said was "Mr. Black, detention this Saturday, 9 in the morning." And continue with her work. Sirius' face was priceless.

Remus was staying at Hogwarts instead of going down to the village because the full moon was two nights previously, and he was a little bit snappy, and exhausted. James was going to stay behind with his werewolf friend, but Moony had flatly refused, and told him to "Go and enjoy your teenage years before we all have to go out into the real world and take care of our own arses."

Peter was going to the village, but he was vague about his plans. He said he was just going to wander around alone, but James didn't believe him. James secretly thought Wormtail was going to meet a girl, and therefore wasn't going to bother his friend.

So James, for the first time in his entire Hogwarts career, was going down to Hogsmede by himself. It was an odd occurrence, and James got many strange looks on his way down. It wasn't as if he cared what people said about him. One good side effect of being extremely cocky was that stares and whispers did nothing to him.

James took his time getting down to the village. Most of the other students had left an hour previously, not wanting to waste any of their privilege time. James, because he was making this trip solo, didn't really mind less time to wander. He had promised Sirius that he would buy him things from Honeydukes and Zonkos, or else he might not have gone down for another few hours.

James was taking the time to really appreciate the scenery of his walk. And then he started walking much quicker, because he realized he was beginning to sound like a girl.

He got to the village at around lunch time, so he decided to grab a quick bite at the Three Broomsticks before getting Sirius' things and leaving. And as he walked into the somewhat deserted pub, he began to think how smart his decision was.

For there, sitting at a table by herself by the counter, reading and drinking a Butterbeer, was Lily Evans, in all her red-headed glory.

James grinned at the opportunity. It was such a rare event that Lily wasn't with her friends, and James wasn't surrounded by his. Sure, Lily may hate him, but maybe if he tried being more himself, instead of the prat that was always trying to impress her, maybe she'd actually talk to him.

James looked around and realized that almost all the students had already left. As he slipped in between drunken wizards, he took a few seconds to admire Lily, ego be damned. She really was quite a sight. Her hair was a vibrant red, with just enough gold in it to make it shimmer in the sunlight. Her eyes, which were currently trained on her book, James knew to be the most startling shade of emerald green he had ever seen. James could get lost in those eyes, and he had on previous occasions, losing all train of thought as soon as her gaze locked with his.

And her figure was not something to sneeze at, either. In fact, James would probably refer to her as a goddess, if he wasn't worried about Sirius taking the mickey out of him.

Lily's body was perfect, though she seemed not to know it. Merlin, that girl even made the Hogwarts uniform sexy. James was convinced it had been specifically designed to be as unflattering as possible, because in a school where students could do magic, the teachers needed all the hormone-protection they could get.

Lily was tall, almost as tall as his 6 feet, and she had legs that seemed to go on for miles. She was thin, but not skin and bones. She had curves that made James' knees go weak. She was also muscular. James didn't know how she did it, because she didn't play Quidditch, but somehow Lily had managed to get a healthy amount of muscle, leaving her toned, but not freakishly buff.

Yes, Lily was perfect, and being in her presence made James' palms sweat, though he would never admit such a thing.

He ran a hand nervously through his hair as he approached her table, making his already unkempt black hair look even messier.

"Hey, Evans," he said, as suavely as he could, given the fact that he could smell her strawberry shampoo, and it was driving his senses mad, "is this seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the seat directly in front of him.

Lily sighed deeply and didn't even look up from her book. "No it isn't Potter, but I would highly appreciate it if you would go bother someone else with your company."

James smiled and pulled out the chair, sitting down heavily. Lily shut her book and glared at him.

He grinned toothily at her, shooting her a very prominent wink. It was so much easier to tease her and act confident of himself, when really his stomach clenched as soon as he could see her eyes. Merlin, she was beautiful today.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts when he realized she had said something. "Sorry, Evans, could you repeat that? I was a little distracted by your eyes."

Lily looked at him suspiciously. James had never complimented any part of her, and therefore she was a little furtive. Sure, he asked her out, but he never made comments about her appearance.

"What do you want, Potter?"

He shrugged. "Oh nothing, just a Butterbeer, and besides, everywhere else is full." He said, gesturing around at the bar around them. He was completely wrong. There were at least seven open tables in their close vicinity. Lily scowled at him.

She then sighed deeply when she realized it was a lost cause, and Potter would stay there whether she like it or not. So Lily opened her book and tried to go back to reading.

James was just about to open his mouth to ask her what exactly she was immersed in, when Amos Diggory, Hufflepuff chaser, swaggered over to the table. James had never especially liked Diggory because they were Quidditch rivals, but Diggory also was a bit of a prat. And that was coming from James Potter, so you know it had to be true.

Diggory completely ignored James, instead turning his whole body towards Lily and leaning over the table, blocking James from view. James felt his blood boil.

"Hey, Flower." Diggory said, in what James assumed was supposed to be a sultry voice, and failed miserably.

Lily looked up from her book, slightly annoyed. Not only did she hate being interrupted when she was reading, she despised being called 'flower'.

When she saw it was Diggory, she tried to compose her face into a smile, because Amos was a generally nice bloke to her. She managed it fairly well, but for someone who knew her facial expressions and emotions, it was obvious that she was acting. James was just such a person, having spent a large part of his spare time studying the girl.

"Hello, Amos." She said politely. James did not like that she was being polite to him.

"You are looking absolutely ravishing today, Flower. I was wondering if someone as sizzling" James snorted at Diggory's word choice "as you would like to spend the rest of the day with a remarkable Quidditch player."

Merlin, he's worse than me. James thought.

"Uhh…" Lily looked about, panic in her eyes, trying to find a way out of the situation. James did not like it any more than she did, so he stood up to his full height (a good 2 inches above Diggory), and tapped him on the shoulder.

Diggory turned around quickly, smug smirk still on his face, but it slipped off when he saw James standing impassively in front of him.

"I believe the lady is here with someone, Diggory. It's very rude to come and interrupt our conversation. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to be rude?"

Diggory paled slightly. "Sorry Potter. I didn't know she was taken."

"Get lost, Diggory." James growled at him, and Amos scurried away.

James sat back down, his blood no longer boiling, but now down to a mere simmer. Lily looked torn between anger and gratitude.

"Thanks Potter, but I can stand up for myself."

James scoffed. "Of course you can. You're Lily Evans. You could hex my arse all the way to America. But admit it; it was fun to watch Diggory squirm."

Lily fought to suppress a smile, but it was futile. She let a smile grace her features, and James was thrilled. It was so rare that Lily smiled around him, and it made him exceedingly depressed. She had such a wonderful smile.

James smiled brightly at her, relaxing a little bit when she didn't immediately order him away from her table. He was once again about to ask her a question, when movement behind her left shoulder caused him to pause.

There was a figure, dressed all in black, standing in the doorway of the Three Broomsticks. James couldn't see his face, because there was a hood casting his whole visage in shadows. The mysterious figure raised its wand, and James' stomach clenched in foreboding. Something about this masked figure made him extremely nervous and… scared. James' eyes widened. He was not used to being scared.

The figure began to move its wand arm, and James knew that it was speaking an incantation. And suddenly, like a vision, James knew what was going to happen. His blood froze in terror.

When he saw a jet of light shoot out of the wand towards the shelves of liquor behind the counter, his vision seemed to move in slow motion.

James acted faster than he thought possible.

He stood up and toppled over the table that was separating him and Lily, sending her drink and book flying. She only had enough time to look up at him, outraged, before he grabbed her and held her close to his body, turning his back so that he was between her and the front of the bar.

At that exact second, the spell hit the bottles of alcohol, and they exploded. James was sent flying forward, with Lily still clutched in his arms. He felt his back get singed by the flames that shot out as a result of the burning drinks, and then he felt glass shatter all around him. He realized, midair, that he and Lily had been sent flying through the window, breaking it completely.

Shards of glass cut at his arms, legs, and face, as he was launched through the air. James had just enough strength to twist before he hit the ground, and land on his back, so that Lily wasn't hitting the rough rocks.

But he couldn't stop them rolling. They tumbled, over and under each other, for quite a few meters. James yelled out as a searing pain shot through his ankle, and he heard a sickening CRACK!

When they stopped rolling, Lily was lying under him. His ribs were in horrible pain, as were his ankle and back. He was sure he had a few broken bones.

He looked down to the girl lying under him, and his heart clenched. Her head was limp, and there was a huge gash right under her hairline, that was spilling shocking amounts of blood down her face. There was blood pooling on her shirt, right above her stomach, and her arm was an unnatural purple colour.

"Lily." He choked out, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Lily!" he tried again, but with no reaction. He was terrified. She was bloody, and unconscious, and someone had just blown up the Three Broomsticks. People were running and screaming everywhere. He could hear people shouting "AGUAMENTI!" and see a steady flood of students running back up to the castle.

James staggered to his feet, wincing and crying out in pain when he put weight on his ankle. James grit his teeth together to block out the sounds he was at risk of making. Lily was still unconscious on the ground, and James had to go get help.

He bent down, hobbling a little, and pulled Lily into his arms bridal-style. She was thin, so she was light, and James was very strong (though he rarely showed it). Carrying Lily wasn't too difficult for him.

He didn't, however, take into consideration his hurt ankle. He tried to take one step, and his leg gave out as soon as he put pressure on it. James fell to his knees heavily.

He bit his lip, and staggered to his feet once again. This time he managed to hobble forward, though it was slow progress. Lily was losing so much blood... James bit his lip harder, drawing blood, and pushed himself faster.

He was feeling faint. He was dizzy, he was sweating from exertion and pain, and his vision was going fuzzy. He was in an incredible amount of pain. He'd never been in this much pain before.

He didn't know how long he staggered with Lily in his arms. Eventually he looked up and saw that they were on the path back to the school. James rounded a corner at his slow pace, and he could see the castle looming in front of him. It was only a couple hundred meters away.

He was struck with a huge wave of pain as he knocked his bad ankle on a stray root, and James had to stop where he was to vomit from the pain. He lost all of his breakfast, and James knew that, had he eaten lunch, he would have lost much more. If it had been any other scenario, James would have been proud of not getting any vomit on Lily, but he didn't even register it, just sucked in a deep breath and kept walking.

He could feel wetness on his hands and felt sick again. It was her blood. It was staining his hands and clothes, but James couldn't stop to think about it.

Lily was getting heavier in his arms, and his steps were more wobbly, less sure. Only a hundred meters to go.

James could see people running around outside the castle, teachers and students alike, and they looked like they were panicking. James tried to call out, but all his strength was being used trying to keep himself upright.

When he was fifty meters away from the castle, he heard a voice call out his name.

"JAMES!"

James looked up and saw Sirius come running towards him, a very pale Remus right behind him.

"JAMES! JAMES!" They called, getting closer to him.

Remus called over his shoulder, "SOMEONE GET HELP! THEY'RE BLEEDING! HELP! HELP!" But his path was not deterred from his best friend. James fell to his knees as his best friends got closer.

He fell backwards; making sure Lily was cushioned against him, as Sirius came running to him, sliding the last few feet on his knees.

"James, James mate, come on James, hang in there, stay strong mate. Come on James." Sirius said, his face directly above James', looking more worried and strained than James had ever seen him.

"Make sure Lily gets help." He whispered, barely loud enough for himself to hear, but he saw Sirius nod.

He had just enough time to think 'She's going to get help' before the world went black.