Marauder's Last Adventure

Chapter Two: James Potter to the Rescue

She could feel their touch. A feeling of soft hands pushing against her bare shoulders, and a sudden cool breath tickling her ear, whispering words she didn't care to understand or indulge to listen too. She rolled away instantly from that touch and cool breeze. She even dragged the covers tighter over her head and burrowed herself within the mountain of pillows. It was not until she felt the covers that she clutched so lightly suddenly rip from her grasp, did she give a frustrated groan and prop one eye open, clearly annoyed. The room was dark, even for a late summer night with no moon to smile through her windows, the room seemed unnaturally dark. There was an outline of a woman she could clearly see standing beside her bed, of which made the sleepy teenager instantly awake to her surroundings. Cautiously reaching under her pillow she scrambled to find the familiar sturdy piece of wood and gripped it tightly.

"Lumus!" She whispered, raising her wand in that moment to the outlined figure standing beside her bed. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Thank heavens you're awake!" The woman said, stepping quickly into the light of her niece's wand.

"Aunt Selena?!" The woman continued to come closer to the bed. "No, stop!" The teenager shouted suddenly, holding a hand up to the woman. "Don't come any closer."

"Arianna, what's this all about? For Merlin's sakes I'm your aunt!" The raven haired woman cried out annoyed.

"You're not anything to me until you answer this: My nickname, what is it?" Arianna Potter, age fifteen sat up in her bed with grey eyes that narrowed into cautious slits. Her pajamas consisting of a pair of shamrock boxers that seemed too big for her small frame, and a tank top that were mused from her sleep but remained unnoticed as Arianna concentrated on the intruder in her room. From the beginning years of Voldemort's uprising, the Potter family, among many others, had taken the precaution of questioning even their own family members upon unnatural settings and behaviors. For Arianna, who had been spending the entire summer with her cousin's family, knew both her Uncle James and Aunt Selena would not be home for several more days due to an assignment they were on as Aurors in Spain. An early arrival home was unthought-of for Aurors.

The raven haired woman gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head and lowering her own wand as to give into her niece's wishes. "Honestly Arianna, I came in here to wake you up not endure a ministry exam."

"If you've forgotten, there is man named Voldemort running amuck and I'm not too fond of his followers. Answer the question." Arianna growled to her aunt and brought her wand closer.

Selena slapped the wand away quickly, muttering under her breath. "Of all things, and don't you be fresh! Your nickname is 'Melody or Mel' but we never use it unless you're upset and only seldom even in those times. There, does that explanation suffice?" Selena Potter stood tall with her back straight and her arms crossed over her chest as she looked down pointedly and annoyed at her niece. Arianna took a moment to lower her wand but in a moment's hesitation, she quickly dropped her arm and reached over to her nightstand and switched on the light.

"What are you doing home? James said you were in Spain for another week." Arianna smiled, climbing out of her bed and giving her aunt a tight hug. "By the way, next time you and Uncle James go on some secret mission, take me or the boys with you. Please! It's been horrible trying to control them and their insane ideas." Selena laughed a light sound Arianna admitted to missing very much. Selena hugged her niece tightly again and pulled at away slowly, resting well calloused hands on Arianna's bare shoulders.

"I'm sorry for the scare dear," Selena whispered. "I need you to get dressed, quickly."

Arianna looked at her Aunt curiously. "Why? Something wrong Auntie?"

Selena's face fell. A contrast to bright amber eyes, fair, pale skin, and long raven hair that was always happy and smiling. Arianna knew that when her Aunt was upset with something, it was never a little matter. "You and James need to come with your uncle and me, quickly. I can't explain it yet but I need you to do as I say." Arianna nodded slowly. "Alright then, get dressed, mind in something appropriate for a cool night, and be quick about it. We don't have much time."

Even in the dim light Arianna's small lamp gave off, she could still see the frown on her aunt's lips and the worry creases across her brow. As she watched the door close behind her aunt, Arianna began to race around her room to find something that fell within her aunt's outfit description. She ran to an antique armoire and threw open its twin doors and blindly reaching in to find what she needed. In a matter for two minutes, the fifteen year old witch was dressed in a pair of dark, tight fitting blue jeans, and a plain t-shirt and light jacket. She brushed out her long red brown hair and then suddenly tied it up into a ponytail that touched the small of her back. In seconds, she was flying out of her room and racing down several tall flights of stairs until her long strides brought her to a large kitchen. Arianna stopped seconds after entering the kitchen to observe her family standing beside the long dining table they all ate at throughout the day. Her cousin James Potter, seventeen and nearly identical to his father James Sr. and co-leader of Hogwart's famous Marauders, was seated sideways at the long table, his head bowed and his hands continuously running through the unruly jet black hair.

"Someone die?" Arianna questioned lightly, hoping that the sad looks on her cousin, aunt and uncle's faces was nothing to really be concerned about. She didn't anticipate her cousin's answer when he had suddenly gotten up from his seat and walked over to her. He engulfed her with his strong arms into a tight hug, something he never did, and whispered the words that would ruin the rest of their summer.

"Lily's parents."

It took a few minutes, but James had talked his cousin through the same speech his parents had given him only moments before. As he led Arianna over to a chair, he whispered in chronological order what had happened and what they would be doing. It was only until her aunt came to stand beside her, one hand rested gently on her shoulder, did Arianna look up from her dazed expression.

"There is a more serious problem at hand," Selena stated sadly.

"What problem?" James jumped up from his spot kneeling beside his cousin. The words seem to leave his lips faster than hers. Selena and James Sr. Potter stared uncertainly at the two children. "And why can't Sirius and Remus know about this?!" James growled, glaring at his parents. "Lily might not like us, but we can help-"

"James!" His father interrupted. A man in his early forties with the same jet black hair that stuck up all over the place and hazel eyes that always had a spark of humor lingering in them stared at his only son with understanding. "We are entrusting you two with this assignment to find Lily. She hasn't been found yet but we know she is in that house and right now, bringing all of you with us would just cause more need to worry. I cannot look after four teenagers and then try and find Lily too! Right now, you're priority is to worry about bringing her back alive, not if your friends can come with you." James Sr. rationed. "Think James," His father urged. "She just lost her parents, what would bringing more people do but scare her?"

James stood quietly in front of his parents hanging his head. Arianna watched her cousin carefully, noticing that his hands were balled into tight fists and his body was absolutely rigid. "Fine then," Arianna stood suddenly with her wand in hand. "We'll do as we're told." Quickly before her aunt and uncle could say another word, Arianna ran to her cousin and latched onto his right arm. Within another second there was a light 'pop' sounding in the kitchen and James Sr. and Selena were staring at an empty spot.

James turned his wife and sighed. "This is your side of the family."

And with that, they followed after the children.

They landed in the middle of a small village. Wobbling while their feet slammed to the hard pavement, Arianna clutched at James' arm as she tried to focus her surroundings.

"Are you out of you mind?!" James choked out as he steadied himself. "You're not even old enough to apparate yet!"

"Oh shut up will you? You want to find Lily as much as I do and Aunt Selena wasn't going to let us do anything anyway once we got here." Arianna snapped, looking around. "I don't remember which one's her house..."

"Great, now you've gotten us lost too?!" James threw up his hands.

"C'mon," Arianna snapped. She began to run towards the nearest street. Looking up, she saw a skyline of smoke and the air around them seemed to suddenly smell heavy and dirty, unlike the usual humid summer air. Ten minutes later, the pair arrived at the ruined remains of what Arianna recognized to be Lily's house. Having been the only Potter allowed anywhere near Lily, Arianna instantly recognized the burned remains of what had been a large patch of Lilies off to the side of the driveway. "This is it..." She whispered. She pulled James with her closer towards the burning house. A large crowd of Aurors stood to one side of the road while a local muggle fire department attempted to put out the fire.

"That's odd." James stated quietly. Arianna looked at him. "Mum said the fire was reported around one thirty this morning but it's almost two thirty now. Why haven't they put it out yet?"

"Then it was magicked to continue to burn. But why aren't those guys doing anything about it?"

James shrugged his shoulders. "They can't do anything with muggles around."

"And we can't get in with them around. Honestly, maybe we should have waited for-"

It took a moment for Arianna to realize that as she had her back to her cousin, it was only her that stood in the middle of the street watching Lily's house. Arianna wheeled around to find her cousin no longer beside her but running towards the burning and collapsing house.

"JAMES!" It seemed no use, even though she knew he could hear her. It was as James rammed through the crowd of muggle firemen circled around the entrance to Lily's house did others begin to shout after him.

James continued to run. It hardly mattered to him as he approached the burning house or felt the heat radiate from the fire. It mattered little to him, all he wanted was Lily safe and away from harm. Maybe they should have waited for his parents, he thought, but the reminder of the aurors who simply sat around watching burned in his mind. The idea of them doing nothing, those who had the ability to put an end to the eternal fire, drove him mad. He promised himself he would bring that to his father's attention when they got back. Approaching the door, James was lucky to encounter it already falling off its hinges as he plowed through and throwing his arms in front of him to avoid the flames. It was easy enough to navigate once inside. Of what hadn't been slowly eaten away by the fire, James found he could move through those parts of the house quickly. It hadn't taken him long at all before he found what he was looking for. Amongst the remains of what had been the kitchen he assumed, curled in a ball had been the figure of a woman with hair as red as the fire around her.

"Lily..." James whispered, nearly sprinting to her huddled form. He knelt beside her, checking her delicate hands for some kind of pulse and thankfully he found one. He rolled her onto her back, pushing away a few stray strands of hair. "Lily!" He whispered a little louder. "Lily!" Nearly shouting. "Hey, Evans!" Worried hazel eyes were met with tired and swollen green eyes. He couldn't remember being happier in his life. "That wasn't ironic." He chuckled.

"Potter?" Her voice was weak and so low he had almost missed it. For once, he was happy to hear his last name uttered from her.

"Yeah, it's me unfortunately." He smiled. "Let's get you out of here, alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" When he had gotten no reply, James looked over at her face, covered in ash. He found her intently staring back at him. "What is it, Lily? Are you hurt?"

"You're here." Lily whispered. "Why?"

"I'm not going to let you die here, if that's what you mean. You can hate me again when this is all over, but right now I really need to get you out. We can't stay here any longer." He smiled at her again, this time one hand had been placed gently on her cheek, his thumb smoothing away a sudden stray tear. When she had nodded her agreement, James carefully slide his arms under her petite form and began to carry her out of the house.

"My parents..."

"They're not here. I already checked when I was trying to find you." James assured her. He didn't want to know why he couldn't find Lily's parents bodies. He hadn't the time to think about it at the moment.

"James... Why are you here?" The fact that she referred to him by his first name had completely bypassed him as he carried her out. They were nearly to the point of exit he had mapped out that hadn't been engulfed in flames. He didn't think it was a safe idea to leave through the front. James looked down at Lily curled in his arms.

"Despite contrary belief, I would be devastated if something actually happened to you. And besides, you're one Arianna's best friends. To her, losing you would be like me losing one of my mates. She wouldn't be able to bare it, and neither would I. We're not going to leave you alone. So deal with it Evans." He hadn't looked down at her, he didn't even smile. He didn't think he could anymore. He was focused and for some reason, determined to do nothing more than reassure her everything was going to be fine. As he carried Lily out of the house, James walked the farthest distance away from the fire and circled back around to the audience that had now filled the streets. When they could see Arianna and his parents in sight, he let out a breath of relief.

"LILY!" Arianna yelled as she ran towards them. James had barely set Lily firmly on the ground before he watched the redhead be engulfed by his cousin and his parents.

"I'm alright," Lily said quietly as she looked over Arianna's shoulder at James. "I'm alive." He could've sworn he saw a hint of a smile play on her lips.