A/N: A bit of a darker chapter than I had originally intended, but don't worry, it will soon lighten up! It isn't under romance/humor for nothing :)
Lily's heart stopped, her stomach dropping unpleasantly as she realised just who those eyes belonged to: Lucius Malfoy, a Slytherin two years above her at school and most certainly belonging to the 'dark' side. Malfoy was clad in long black robes with his white-blonde hair slicked back into a immaculate pony-tail. He was grasping a staff with a silver snake head adorning the top, but Lily was not fooled: she knew his wand was hidden inside. Malfoy sneered at her and took a step towards her menacingly, and Lily hastily stepped back, hoping against hope that she didn't stumble upon anything in her hurry to put distance between herself and Malfoy. Suddenly, a mad cackle of laughter rang out, and Lily looked on helplessly, heart thudding in fear as a woman stepped out of the trees to stand beside Malfoy. Lily recognised her immediately- with her long unruly hair and eyes as black as death, Bellatrix Lestrange was nothing if not recognisable. And formidable.
"Come now, you aren't scared, are you, Mudblood?" she drawled, fingering her wand casually as she leered at Lily, "We're not here to hurt you- we were just watching you playing your games and thought we'd play a little game with you ourselves.." Bellatrix laughed again, throwing her head back before advancing towards Lily, Malfoy flanking her side.
Lily was paralyzed with fear- she wasn't a coward, anyone who knew her knew that, but when she was being approached by two mad 'death eaters' while she was wand-less she couldn't help but view her chances of getting out of there unharmed as very slim. She could either try to run, or scream for help, both options without very optimistic results, as surely everyone who had been playing hide-and-go-seek was on their way back to Marlene's, assuming Lily had headed off already. It would be a while before they realised that she was missing. And by the time they did, Lily could be dead, or worse.
Deciding that she'd go for the second option of yelling for help, Lily opened her mouth, but before she could get a sound out, Malfoy had whipped his wand out and silenced her.
"I don't think so, Mudblood," he said. "Nobody's going to be helping you tonight. You're all alone." But putting emphasis on the word 'alone' did not scare Lily as he had wished, instead it filled her with fury and courage as she struggled against the silencing charm- she wasn't going to die this way, not if she had anything to say about it! Her stomach was filled with a heat burning her insides as she thought of everyone she would be letting down if she died tonight; her parents, the girls, Marlene- hell, even Petunia. But mostly her mind lingered on a certain James Potter. She'd never get the chance to even apologise to him for being a arse. Sure, he was an arse too, but Lily didn't mind that so much anymore. Over the holidays he had been…Different. And Lily would be damned if she didn't get to know this new Potter. With that mind, she tore herself out of the silencing charm, and before the formidable pair in front of her realised, she let out a shout for help which caused Bellatrix to start in surprise, but she was not put off for long, as, seething with fury, she slashed her wand through the air towards Lily, crying "Crucio!"
Lily had no time to react before she felt the spell hit her stomach, causing her to collapse onto the ground, consumed with pain like nothing she had ever felt before. Writhing in agony, she let out scream after piercing scream and Bellatrix cackled like a lunatic over her, drunk on the power of pain.
Less than half a mile away, James Potter's head snapped up as he heard a shout followed by several desperate screams that seemed to clench at his heart like an iron fist. He stood immersed by the trees for a moment, sick to his stomach. He knew that voice. He'd recognise it anywhere, even if it was screaming in pain. Lily.
Lily was in trouble. James jolted out of his stupor and thrust his hand into his robes for his wand before remembering he wasn't wearing robes, and he didn't have his wand with him. James swore loudly, causing a few birds that were huddling under a tree for shelter to squawk loudly and fly off. Birds, James thought. Animals. It was as if a light had turned on inside his head, illuminating his brain back to life, and shining upon his only hope for getting to Lily. He knew what to do.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix had stopped crucio-ing Lily and was currently looking down at her in disgust, curled into a ball on the ground. Bellatrix stood over her and aimed her wand at Lily's arm before dealing with her the way she dealt with all scum with heritage like Lily Evans's. She inscribed the word 'Mudblood' into the fair pale skin, of Lily's forearm, watching as the blood started to seep put. Bellatrix spat on her before turning to face Malfoy.
Against her will, tears leaked down Lily's face, mingling with the rain that still pattered down, before sliding past her cheek bone and off the side of her face, splashing onto the words freshly carved into her arm then trickling into the mud she was lying in. Ironic really, Lily thought as her blood mixed in with the mud below. She could hear Bellatrix and Malfoy talking about her but their voices seemed dull and distant to her as she gave into the pain and sadness that washed over her. If they were going to kill her, Lily hoped they'd do it soon. She didn't know how much longer she could bear to have this sadness inside her. Lily didn't notice the voices about her stop abruptly, nor did she hear the thud of something extremely solid colliding with Malfoy and the grunt of pain that followed. She didn't hear anything, couldn't hear anything, not even the crack of the pair disapparating. She didn't feel anything either, just lay there in the mud staring at the word on her arm until her eyes were blurred with tears. She'd then blink and feel the sting of salt against her cuts before it was washed away by the rain.
But she did feel when a rough calloused hand cradle her cheek and brush those salty tears away, and she did hear the gentle voice of James Potter asking her if she was okay. Lily let out a shaky laugh at that, considering the situation he had found her in, before letting herself be bought to her feet and cradled into James's strong arms, lifted off her feet, and carried away.
Review, review review!
-Sophia
