James and I were walking home. It was, oh... 11 pm? We had been out, causing trouble. No, I'm kidding. Our wands were at home with Lily. She knew us and knew that if we were armed, we would likely have too much fun on some "poor, innocent muggle." I still don't think she has completely forgiven me for the whole Snivellus incident. Though, I am pretty sure James has been forgiven, considering that she was expectant.

Lily had us run to the grocery store for her. She wasn't feeling well. Yeah, I was living with James and Lily, even though I had enough money of my own to live by myself. James was a brother to me; now that Lily was his wife, she was like my sister. Living with them made me feel a part of an actual family. As sappy as that sounds, it's true.

I was leading us home, walking faster that James, only because I was carrying less groceries. Over my shoulder, I shouted, "Come on, mate! Hurry it up!" James said nothing, rolling his eyes at me no doubt. As we continued walking down the dark, misty street, I noticed a familiar alley on my right. I stopped. "What's the matter?" James asked, stopping beside me. It took me a moment, but I finally recognized the alley. I had used that same alley to sneak around as a kid when I was still leaving with my parents. Didn't I leave a box in there?

My curiosity immediately consumed my brain, and I proceeded into the alleyway. James did not say a word for a moment, watching to see what I would do. Then, he inquired, "Is that a shortcut?" Thinking for a moment, I supposed that if we took a different turn it could be a shortcut. I turned towards him, explaining, "I used to come down this alley when I would sneak out of the house. I think I left something here a long time ago. A box of sorts. Mind if I take a look?"

I could tell by the look on James' face he was going to say no. That was what we called his "Remus look." The look Remus always gave the two of us when we were about to do something that would earn us a detention. James gave me that look but only for a moment, then he smiled, knowing him his curiosity had bubbled too. "Alright, as long as you know where we are going." I smirked triumphantly and nodded. "Consider me your back alley tour-guide."

We proceeded into the alleyway. I really wished that I had my wand; lumos would be extremely handy right now. However, I found myself not needing any light source. I was bobbing and weaving past trash and turning down alleyways without any hesitation. I had been there a thousand times before... James, on the other hand, was having a bit of difficulty navigating the trash. I had to call out to him occasionally to make sure he caught up to me alright.

When we got closer to my house, I remembered where I had placed the box. It was just around the corner. "Hey, the thing I left is right over here. Stay there. I'll be right back. Don't step on Peter while I am gone." James laughed, only he would. Remus would have scolded me for considering those nasty sewer rats as Peter, which is probably one of the many reason he wasn't the one in the back alleys with me.

I went around the corner, finding my way with my feet. It only took me a matter of seconds to find the small, tin box I had left there when I was thirteen. As I reached down to grab it, I felt something snatch the back of my collar, throwing me to the ground. My first thought was that James was trying to scare me, which made me smile. Jerk. To my astonishment, I felt a cold, metal being pressed to my chest. A man, much larger than James, was sitting on top of me, pressing something to my chest. "Give me your money!" He shouted.

I laughed. "Stupid muggle. You can't use my money." A hard force knocked against my right cheek. "Don't be smart with me! I'll kill you." What was with this muggle? Did he have any idea who or what I was? No. He couldn't possibly, so I had to forgive him for that. "I'm sorry kiddo, but I was being serious." What happened next did not register in my brain.

I heard a loud boom that echoed all through the alley. After the boom, the man grabbed my wallet from my jeans' pocket and ran away. The next sound I heard was that of James screaming my name.