Miss Moony would like to say that she doesn't own Harry Potter and that she had no help with this story from Miss Wormtail, Miss Padfoot or Miss Prongs.

In response to the Hell's Phoenix Betrayal Challenge.

------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------

Flashlight

The door shattered, and I turned in surprise, shoving Harry into Lily's arms and shouting at her to get them out. 'Go! I'll hold him off!'

She nodded mutely, and then ran, and I watched after just long enough to ensure that she was heading upstairs, and then I turned to face the door.

Voldemort was much, much creepier than the last time I'd faced him, and that was only emphasised by the gut feeling I had that I'd never see my wife and son again.

'Well well,' he said, his voice making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. 'James Potter. I should have known that you would try to save them. I'll give you one last chance: Stand aside, and you will live.'

'Never!'

Now that my wand was in my hand, adrenaline seared through my veins, burning away any semblance of fear that I might have felt.

He tutted. 'How very… Gryffindor… of you,' he said, choosing his words carefully. 'What a terrible pity that your friend Wormtail wasn't as brave as you.'

He spat out the word "brave", as if it were a curse, and I paled in realisation. Peter had betrayed us. Why, Wormtail?

'Stupefy!' I shouted, and he blocked it effortlessly.

'Do you pitiful Gryffindors have nothing more challenging to use against me?' he asked irritably.

'What?' I shot back bravely, 'Do you want us to stoop to your level? There's a reason they're called Unforgivables, my Lord.'

I knew that I'd done a very stupid thing in baiting him, but I had a small hope that if I made him angry, then he might make mistakes, and I might be able to escape. I didn't let myself think about Lily, or Harry, or the emergency Portkey we'd had hidden upstairs, which was probably long gone by now.

He shot a spell at me, though I didn't process which it was, and I shot backwards and crashed into the sitting room wall.

Breathlessly, my glasses shattered and a small amount of blood trickling out of the corner of my mouth, I sat up and glared at Voldemort.

He approached me, gloatingly. My wand had flown halfway across the room from the impact.

'Any last words, Potter?'

I spat at him.

'No? Well, enough is enough, then, I suppose. Avada kedavra.'

My life flashed briefly before my eyes, and then there was darkness.