Into the Fire
James crouched low as he snuck into the room. All was quiet. Everything was still. There didn't seem to be anyone there. Not anyone at all.
His suspicions raised, he reached a hand behind him and beckoned Sirius and Lily forward. He felt rather than heard their approach. The two split, Sirius taking the left and Lily the right.
Each crept forward, wands raised.
James breathed in.
Breathed out.
All was silent.
Breathed in.
Breathed out.
And then—
Screams. The pounding of many feet. Death Eaters filed into the room, curses and hexes flying everywhere.
Sirius shouted something, James couldn't make out what.
He thought he heard Bellatrix laugh in response.
His mind went into automatic. Spell after spell. Target after target. Training taking over, as he quickly calculated how many Death Eaters were present, where they came from, where different exits were.
He saw a jet of light speed to his right out of the corner of his eye. Kept moving forward.
Lily suddenly screamed.
To his right.
To his right
What color was the spell?
WHAT COLOR WAS THE SPELL?
He couldn't think. He knew not to look. Didn't have time to look. Couldn't afford to look. But he looked.
A figure lay on the ground, a splash of red covering its face.
Lily.
No.
NO.
No.
A curse missed him by mere millimeters. It shook him out of his trance.
Suddenly a whirlwind, James shouted and ran forward, shooting spell after spell. Hitting target after target.
And then—
Silence.
The battle was over.
Sirius urging him to move his arse.
Without knowing how he found her, James was kneeling by her side. Turning her over, murmuring under his breath.
Please, please, please, please, please.
Lily's eyes were closed, her face calm, and her chest heaved.
She was alive.
"Lily."
So this was an attempt at dark. Did it work?