So sorry for the wait for this chapter. I had such a hard time writing this, and you'll see why as you read it. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter twenty one- Karma's a Bitch.

Five days and about 25 letters later and James was still not responding to me. No matter what I said I couldn't get him to answer back. Lately all my letters only had one word on them.

Please.

I needed him to speak to me. Didn't he understand how much better my life was with him in it? Those long nights in the forest were nothing but long and the days in the flat with Remus and Regulus were nothing but stressful. Just one word from James would make it go away.

"Really Lily, that's what you're worried about?" Remus snaps breaking me from my thoughts.

"Well he's answering you!" I retort.

"Lily we have a death eater in Katarina's room!" He yells. "Not just any death eater but Sirius' brother! Shouldn't you be more worried about that?"

I sigh and rub a hand over my forehead.

"We have to tell someone we have him Lily. James said he wouldn't tell Sirius but-"

"No." I say finally.

"No what?"

"Sirius has to know." Remus looks appalled. "I won't lie to him anymore. Owl him, and Peter and James. Tell them to come over. Then we'll decide what to do."

XX

"Hello Lily." Regulus says pleasantly as I walk through the door.

I conjure a chair with a wave of my wand and sit directly in front of him.

"Regulus." I say with a nod.

"These are becoming a daily occurrence yes?"

I raise an eye brow at him. "What?"

"You coming in and sitting with me. You come in at night too when you think I'm sleeping. What is it that you're looking for?" He asks slowly.

"I don't know." I admit.

"Lie."

I shake my head. "You're Sirius' little brother. You're my best mate's, best friend. And you're a death eater. Why?"

"The dark lord-"

"Don't give me that crap about Voldemort, Regulus." I say with exasperation. "I don't believe you, not for one second. You're scared."

"Of who, you? Don't make me laugh."

"You should be scared of me." I tell him seriously. "I've owled Sirius, he's on his way."

"Lily-"

"Tell me where Katarina is." I demand. "Tell me and I'll let you go."

"I've only seen her once." He says quickly. "She told me what she was doing and I tried to stop her but she's disappeared. We get so many new followers that I can't tell which one she is. I keep looking out, trying to figure out which one is her but she a damn good liar, with a damn good disguise."

"So you don't know where she is?"

He shakes his head no. "But I do look out for the new recruits, hoping that I'm still protecting her somehow."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How can you be this person and be a death eater at the same time. How can you still want to protect her, you'd go even as far to answer me but we're on different sides." I slam my hands down on my legs. "You and Katarina are on different sides. And your brother-"

"I don't expect you to understand. I'm doing what I have to. Just as you are."

"Excuse me?"

He looks directly into my eyes. "You're lying to everyone you love, aren't you? Don't judge me Lily Evans. We're actually not all that different."

"I don't torture people, I don't kill-"

"You haven't killed yet." He corrects. "Give it sometime. Wait until you see someone like me with a black hood killing or torturing someone you love. You won't stand by idly. Sometimes you just kill and you don't think twice about it."

I stayed silent.

"How are we going to do this?"

"Do what?"

"How are we going to make it look like I escaped? I know that's why you're here now. I know you don't really want Sirius to see me like this." He didn't blink.

"Very observant." I tell him with a smirk. I wave my wand and the manacles fall away from his body.

He stretches his hand and ankles out and smiles. It reminded me so much of Sirius that it took my breath away.

"Do you have my wand?"

I pulled it out of my robes and tossed it at him. He caught it quickly.

"And now?" He asks.

"What do you know about wandless magic Regulus?"

"Nothing. I've seen Katarina do it, but I've never learned."

"Well this is what I'm going to say. We were talking. I was trying to dig information out of you and I was calling you names and I pissed you off, so much so that you performed wandless magic. It happens you know, when a witch or wizard get too angry or feel that they are in danger. And your manacles exploded and you tackled me to the ground. And stole your wand and disapparated."

"Okay."

"Okay."

He walks up to me and places his hands on my shoulders. "Find her Lily Evans." He whispers. And then his mouth is brushing my cheek. "Save her." He presses a kiss gently on my cheek. I didn't see what he did next but then the dresser was being over thrown and he was disapparting.

I quickly threw myself on the ground and grabbed a wand making a quick slash across my cheek.

Then suddenly four boys burst through the door.

"Lily!" Sirius yelled bending down and grabbing my shoulders in his large hands. "Are you okay? What happened? Where's my brother."

I look to the chair that I had spent days, watching Regulus in.

"He's gone." I say quietly and pull Sirius into a hug. "He's gone."

Sirius pulls back from me and stares me directly into the eyes just like his brother did only minutes before. "Are you hurt?" His hand swipes across my cheek, his fingers coming away with blood.

I push him away and stand up slowly, reminding myself I'm supposed to be hurt.

"No I'm okay."

I look around him and stare at James. He looks right back at me.

"James can you-"

He holds up a hand, cutting me off. He looks at me for a second longer before turning around and walking out.

"I'm sorry!" I shout after him. I push past the boys and try following him out.

"James, please!" I shout just as he turns on his heel and disapparates on the spot.

XX

"I don't even want to go." I tell Remus, looking at his face in the mirror where he stands behind me zipping up my dress robes.

I hear the zipper stop, and he places a hand on my shoulder and leans closer to me.

"Lily." He sighs.

I spin around quickly and face him.

"I really don't! He's not even speaking to me. He could barely even look at me the last time he was here!"

"You're whining like a child." He tells me with a pat on the cheek, before turning around and walking out.

"Remus!" I yell after him.

He doesn't answer me.

"Remus John!"

"Something you needed, love?" Sirius asks, peeking his head into my doorway with a large grin on his face.

"Remus told me I was being a child."

He smiles wider. "You are being a child, love." He walks closer to me and tugs on one of my curls. "You should leave your hair down more often. It's beautiful."

I give a half smile. "Thanks, Sirius."

"I don't really know myself, why James won't speak to you." He admits. "But you mean a lot to him, Lily. Everyone can see it. He's not going to not speak to you forever."

"That's a lot of negatives." I point out.

"That's the truth." He counters with a smirk.

"Wasn't he not speaking to me a month ago?" I ask with a sigh.

He taps me on the nose and laughs out loud. "Only you can drive James that crazy, Lily Evans."

XX

The party was in full swing by the time I walked in with Remus and Sirius on either side of me, each of them escorting me with their elbow.

"Lily!"

I whip my head to the right only to be rushed at by two red haired boys.

"Gideon! Fabian!" I exclaim as they push the boys aside and spin me around in hug.

"You're looking-" Gideon starts,

"Ravishing tonight, Lily Evans." Fabian finished.

"Thank you, boys. So do you."

"Oh Evans, don't make me blush." Fabian says pretending to fan of his cheeks.

"Seriously, my cheeks are already turning red!" Gideon exclaims doing the same thing.

I shake my head and laugh.

"Save us a dance later, Evans!" Both boys call as they march off.

"They were sure something." Sirius mutters, shaking his head returning back to my side and sliding his arm through mine.

I spotted James over by the drinks, chatting with a tall blonde girl. My lips instantly tightened around my mouth. I didn't like the way she had a hand gently laid across his arm.

What was she playing at? I thought as she laughed loudly showing off a perfect row of white teeth.

"Stop it Lily." Sirius hissed from my right. Following my line of sight. "That's a distant cousin or something."

"Stop what?" I asked innocently rearranging my features. "I wasn't do anything."

Remus snorts loudly from my left.

"Oh stuff it. Both of you."

I knew exactly where their steps were leading me but I really wished they hadn't been. We reached them just as the girl looked at me and gave a knowing stare.

"I'll talk to you later, James." And with a quick kiss on the cheek she was gone.

James turned and looked at the three of us. And indifferent expression on his face.

"Don't act as though you thought I wasn't going to bring her, James." Remus says in cool tone.

For some reason unknown to myself, I slip my arms from Remus and Sirius.

"Don't act as though I'm stupid Evans." James says ignoring Remus and addressing me for the very first time.

I stared at him in shock.

"Well?" He demands. "Do you think of me as an idiot? Did you think I really wouldn't figure it out?" His face getting noticeably angrier by the minute.

I saw the boys slip away out of the corner or my eye. I saw Emily and Harry start towards us only to stop at the expression on my face. Harry put a hand on Emily's back and whispered something in her ear.

I took a step forward. "James, figure what out? I don't understand." I saw slowly. "I haven't done anything wr-"

"You haven't done anything wrong?" He explodes.

Other guests turn and look in our direction. I quickly grab his arm, he tries to pull it away but I hold on tighter.

"Not here James." I say quietly.

He looks at me for a moment and whatever was written on my face made him agree with me. He slid his arm away from my hold and into my hand, our fingers laced together.

I breathed out a deep sigh and let him lead me towards the doorway. We passed Sirius and Remus and Peter who all stood in a closed off circle, staring at us as we passed. Sirius threw a wink at me. We placed Alice and Frank, both of which offered me a small smile and then lastly we pasted Harry and Emily. James stopped for only a moment to allow them to kiss me on the cheek, yet he didn't release my hand.

"Take a deep breath sweetheart, you'll be fine." Emily had whispered in my ear.

And then we were walking again, towards and out the door.

He turned to me and releasing my hand, which had suddenly felt very cold.

I shivered.

"You look beautiful." He says quickly. "I should tell you that."

I looked down at my satin emerald green dress robes and blushed the color of my hair.

"And you James you look-" I didn't even have a word for how he looked.

His eyes were molten, burning a deep amber. His hair still a mess of black and his black dress robes fit him perfectly. My heart gave a tug.

"Lily." He said stepping closer to me. "I don't want to yell at you."

"So don't." I barely whisper.

"I know." He says quietly his eyes boring into mine. "I know what you do. You're a me-"

"LILY!" a voice shouted so loudly I whipped my head around to stare at the ballroom and screamed out in horror.

Black hooded figures were flooding the room, shooting out green lights from there wands at rapid pace.

"Death eaters." I hiss loudly, and slip my wand out from the opening of my dress robes on my thigh.

"James, you must stay here." I say quickly.

"Lily no, my parents are in there!"

"They can take care of themselves just-"

Fire shot towards us, coming from an unknown wand. I slashed my wand through the air, and it bounced off of us.

"Lily you-"

I looked towards him and for some reason I didn't know, leaned forward and kissed him full on the mouth. I looked at him one more time before racing off and into the battle.

I passed Sirius who dueling with a large cloaked figure. I stunned him quickly and grabbed Sirius' arm.

"Lily?"

"Look at me Sirius. Look around you, please get James and Peter and get out of here."

"What about you and Remus?" He ask quickly as I block a jet of red light heading towards us.

"I don't have time to explain, I need you to-"

"Lily!" I recognized the voice this time.

Remus.

My eyes search the room and I see him dueling three death eaters, Peter laying unconscious on the floor."

"Sirius-"

He grabbed my arm. "I'm coming with you, now go!"

And then we were running, passing the twins who were dueling with speed and accuracy, passed Albus who took on five death eaters at time, and past Emily who smiled widely at the pain on her death eaters unmasked face.

I shot off a stunning spell so quickly the death eater didn't even have time to see the face of the person who took him down. Sirius threw himself next to me, distracting one of the death eaters from Remus, who was bleeding just about everywhere a person could bleed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a death eater. But what was familiar about this death eater I couldn't say. Maybe it was the size or the eyes behind the mask, or the way they only seemed to stun other death eaters when no one was looking for maybe it was the fact that I knew who it was.

Or should I say who it was.

Katarina.

I quickly finished off my death eater and started towards her. I tore my arm from James grasp and started running. I heard a scream. A scream I had only heard once in my life and it tore my heart to shred. I spun around and stared as Emily Potter was in midair, her body contorted into pain.

A death eater laughed below her.

The cruciatus curse.

I started towards them at the same time as Katarina.

"How does this make you feel Harry Potter?" The death eater yells, where Harry was on his knees his arms bound in front of him, his wand on the floor. I saw other order members trying to break free of their fight but, the death eaters fought hard. Fought hard to preserve this moment. I kicked a death eater running towards me, and stabbed at his eye with my wand as he went down on his knees.

"You will not save her." The death eater shouts.

"MUM!" James screamed so loudly, the sound tore at my heart.

I watched Katarina on the other side, fighting through bodies just as I did.

And then suddenly a green light shot from his wand and Emily Potter fell to the floor, dead.

And it was like the whole room just stopped and watched her fall. No one spoke a word. Rage boiled up inside me so deep that I did the only thing I could think to do.

"Avada Kedevra!"

And my voice wasn't the only voice to shout it. I looked to my left and saw Katarina, the mask on the floor. Her wand also raised.

I watched as if in slow motion both of green light collide into one large jet of light and hit the laughing death eater directly in the chest. He crumpled to the floor.

Death eaters all around the room started to disappear in thin air. I rushed towards Emily who was being covered by James, who was screaming at the top of his lungs. I saw Katarina in the corner of my eye grab Remus, who was now laying on the floor, blood pulled around him. She lifted him up and supported his weight. Sirius grabbed my arm and then we all met in the middle.

James never looked up.

Katarina reached for my hand and circled her fingers around mine. I squeezed back tightly.

"Emily!" Harry sobbed loudly, his hand coming undone from the robes. He crawled on the floor towards his son and his dead wife. Now everyone surrounded us, all watching with tears streaming down their face.

My own face was wet, with blood or tears I didn't know, nor did I really care. I released Katarina's hand and pushed her towards her brother and father.

She dropped to her knees and then finally James looked up.

His eyes caught sight of his sisters and he stared on as if in shock.

"James." She said softly.

She was the first one to speak since it happened.

Sirius grabbed my arm and Remus leaned weakly against my shoulder. My emerald dress completely covered in blood.

"Kitty Kat." He whispered, tears leaking from his eyes and then she was in his arms and he was squeezing her so tightly I thought she would break into two.

It was then in a room full of crowed people did hear his voice as though he was standing right next to me.

"You haven't killed yet. Give it sometime. Wait until you see someone like me with a black hood killing or torturing someone you love. You won't stand by idly. Sometimes you just kill and you don't think twice about it."

I hadn't thought. I just reacted. I saw one of the greatest and kindest woman I had ever known get murdered right before my very eyes and I just- I killed him.

I looked at the death eater on the floor by our feet. His mask was off, his wand lay at his side. It wasn't a face I had ever seen before. He was an older man, maybe in his late 50's. My eyes widen then.

It was a face I had seen before, maybe not the same face but I had seen this nose, and this mouth and most definitely the eyes. I had seen them as they stared me down, waiting for my death.

This man was unmistakengly, Evan Rosier Sr.

The man who had killed Katarina's real parents, and who had now killed the only Mother she had ever really known.

I looked hurriedly towards Katarina. Her eyes met mine over her brother's head. She had seen it too.

It's about time. Her eyes told me.

And even though I had killed someone, taken away the life of somones parent the way mine had been taken from me, and from Kat. I didn't really care. Maybe I would later on but for right now, I wouldn't have taken back what I did. Not for the world.

My green eyes stared back at her. And I know she would understand what they were saying.

Karma's a bitch.