The lamp's light began to flicker on and off rapidly.

Lily sucked in a quick breath and didn't let it out. She could feel James's chest rise and fall very slowly while seeing a cloud of mist for his breath. Gooseflesh erupted over her arms and legs, she suddenly felt nauseas and dizzy.

James had reached around with one arm to grab at Lily's blouse, clutching a fist full of the material and pulling her closer to his back. The lamp flickered to a final black and only the moonlight illuminated the parlor. A blue haze and shadows encompassed everything; both James and Lily took out their wands.

A black figure drifted into the doorway from the left. The air was heavy and ice cold. Lily and James stood absolutely still, not breathing. The doorway filled with the silhouette of the shadowy figure. It seemed to stall and slow down to a deathly crawl across the threshold. Lily and James stood against a dementor.

The thing itself skimmed over the tiny room they remained hidden in and continued off to the right. It didn't walk, it floated. Lily felt her mouth hang open as she peered around James's shoulder, still clinging onto his arm in a vice-like grip. Her head felt light and vertigo took over her body. James steadied her with his arm and took a step forward. Lily clung to him desperately, begging him not to move with her eyes. The creature could hear him, hover over him and suck out his soul before she could blink an eyelash.

James leaned his torso forward to peek outside of their blackened sanctuary. The dementor had left the room. A large grandfather clock in the next room began to chime. One, two chimes. James leaned back into the room and whispered, "We need to floo out of here, now." The third chime.

At that moment, with a great rush of chilled air, another dementor flew from around the corner and attacked. Lily screamed in shock while James yelled, "Expecto Patronum!" The fourth chime.

A white deer erupted from the tip of his mahogany wand along with a blinding white light. The fifth chime. Next thing Lily knew, James had pulled her out of the room and yanked her by the arm upstairs. Sixth, seventh, eighth chime.

"Come on," he yelled as they stumbled up the steps, "we have to go! Come on!" The ninth chime.

They climbed to the top of the landing and rounded the corner into James's bedroom. They ran to the front of his fireplace, each grabbing a handful of floo powder. Before they could even think about where to go, a green fireball exploded from the hearth. The power from the heat and wind blew them both backwards onto the floor.

Lily heard James scramble to his feet and she looked up to see Lord Voldemort and two other Death Eaters standing in James's room.

"James Potter," said a harsh, yet sultry voice, "fancy meeting you here."

James bent over and grabbed at Lily who still lingered on the floor. Voldemort took a single step towards the younger couple, holding his hands together, and no wand in sight.

"And Miss Lily Evans." He laughed quietly, "I had a sense you would be here."

James had Lily to her feet; he felt her shaking slightly and breathing hastily. He brought up all the courage he had and tried to sound confident and strong, "What are you doing in my house?"

Voldemort tilted his head to one side, "I simply wanted to talk with you, James. Although, I do find this amusing: This is our third meeting and this time, I found you. I am quite proud of myself."

Lily's eyes moved from each man, one by one and back again. She noticed that the two hooded-wizards behind Voldemort had their wands out and held their heads slightly down, shielding their faces from view. She held her wand painfully tense and shook her bangs from her eyes.

"Get out." James's voice was just as harsh and bold in return. Lily took a quick glance and saw him standing tall and squared off with the Dark Lord.

"James, I am here to offer you a gift." One of the Death Eaters shifted his weight; Lily jumped and almost cursed him on the spot. "I observed your particular skills last night at the Mason home, and I couldn't help but think you would be better off under someone else's direction." Voldemort took another step towards them.

James and Lily stood their ground. Lily kept looking from the two Death Eaters; perhaps their mannerisms would pinpoint who they were. Crabbe had a specific golden colored wand, Lestrange was significantly shorter than the rest, and even Rookwood walked with a limp from recent events. These two were not like the other amateurs.

"Mister Potter, as you already know, your lifestyle is one that I do not agree with." Voldemort continued while James clenched his back teeth together. "Your allegiance with the Order of the Phoenix and fornicating with mudbloods—I just can't understand you." Neither Lily nor James moved an inch. "You are from an outstanding pure blood family and have true talents. I think," he said taking a deep breath, "you should take your proper place and side with my team."

Voldemort continued, speaking towards Lily, "In fact, Miss Evans, I took notice of you as well last night. You see, for a mudblood, you are terribly clever." James looked from Lily and then to Voldemort who had taken another step towards her; James hated the way the Dark Lord looked at her. "Miss Evans, typically, I would not waste my time with someone of your stature." He smirked down at her, "However, I am feeling somewhat generous this evening, and one of my Death Eaters has nothing but dazzling things to say about you."

One of the Death Eaters had taken advances on either side of Lily and James. One of the men was rather large and breathed heavily like a smoker. The man that inched his way towards Lily's side was around James's height with a slighter build.

"You see, Lily, now that I fully comprehend the relationship that you two share, I cannot simply walk away from it. The only absolution that I can give is to have you join me." Voldemort was now too close to Lily, in James's opinion. A mere few feet separated them; James was hesitant to advance farther.

"A wizard of pureblood pedigree having a relationship—and a physical relationship at that—with a mudblood cannot be allowed." Voldemort looked to James, who had pure hatred etched in his features. "So sorry, but I cannot let your bloodline run out or be tainted. You must understand, James, I am doing this for the future of our world." James saw Voldemort raise his hand and outstretch it in Lily's direction. James went to raise his wand but was hit in the back with a disarming spell, sending him falling to the floor.

He heard Lily call out his name in alarm. Seeing his wand lying on the other side of the room, James soon regained his footing and saw Voldemort had closed the gap between him and Lily, disarming her as well. He had a lock of her hair in his fingers and was whispering something in her ear. She closed her eyes and whimpered away from him.

"I can see, Mister Potter," Voldemort sighed, "that you don't quite see my point of view yet."

James was grabbed from behind by the brawny Death Eater and found a wand pointed at his ribcage. Voldemort took an even more firm hold on Lily, putting his arm around her shoulders and another hand around her neck. He must have squeezed her throat because Lily began to panic and grab at the man's arms. James struggled against the man holding him and was hit in the ribs with a cruciatus curse. James fell in agony to the floor, trying to hold in his screams. He felt his body twitching.

"Easy, Potter," said the Dark Lord, his voice echoing through the fog in James's head from the pain, "I just wanted to add a little more persuasion to the situation. I think I know what will get you going, James."

James was dragged up again. The two Death Eaters had removed their hoods and James recognized Aaron Travers behind him, a large Slytherin, six years his senior, and behind Lily and Voldemort stood Lucius Malfoy.

James was gasping for air; his lungs felt as if they were on fire. "You see, James, I can understand if you just want to fool around while you're young," said Voldemort running his hand along one of Lily's exposed collar bones, "but you should really consider your options."

James saw one of Voldemort's long white fingers caress Lily's skin and fall down her chest to her breasts. "Lucius, would you mind showing Potter how mudbloods, like Miss Evans here, will be treated by Death Eaters in the future?"

OOOooo

Ok, folks. Here's another chapter for ya! Again, I know, I have to leave you with an abrupt end to this one; however, there will be more fun ahead soon. Unfortunately, I am starting up with school for the summer and I won't have as much free time to write.

Hang in there! –Aksarben

P.S. lovefrog159, ., and Kacey O, I am SO sorry. I know you hate cliffs, but it's necessary for this one! I promise!