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Okay guys, I've been having some real issues uploading chapters, so I wrote this one so that I can post two at one time for you all! I hope that makes up for it! I've been trying to post 25 for over a week now. I'm so sorry for the long wait!

Chapter 26: Twice Defied

"Alice, your hair looks fine! We have to get to the church!" Marlene calls down the hall to the temporary Bridezilla in the loo.

"I'm coming! Merlin, be patient, Marlene!"

Mary troops out of the bathroom with Alice's long white dress in its garment bag. She sighs in frustration. "She's redoing her make-up, again."

Alice has been flying around our flat all day in a frenzy. She stayed the night here last night, as is tradition for the eve of the wedding. Frank stayed with his best friend, Max. He's going to be the Best Man. Mary is Alice's Maid of Honor, and Marlene and I are bridesmaids. James and Sirius are in the bridal party as well, for Frank has grown closer to them during Auror training.

"Alice!" Marlene screeches again. "Do you want to be late for your own wedding?"

Alice rushes out of her bathroom, mascara in hand. Her eyes are bright with excitement and nerves as she suddenly halts and beams at the three of us.

"What is it?" I ask apprehensively, exchanging a look with Mary and Marlene.

Alice bobs up and down on the balls of her feet with barely-contained anticipation. "You guys!" she shouts. "I'm getting married today!"

Our faces break into happy smiles for our best friend. Marlene, being who she is, tries to contain hers as she insists once again, "Not if we don't leave now!"

Alice rolls her eyes, but the dreamy smile stays in place. "All right, let's go."

"Wow."

My head snaps to my left as soon as I catch my balance after Apparating to the church. "James," I greet, walking forward to give him a quick kiss.

He holds me back at arms' length after kissing me hello. His eyes rove over my body in an almost awestruck way. His gaze strays just a moment too long around my chest and my hips as he practically eats up the sight of me in my ice blue, short yet flowing, silk dress. "You look amazing," he breathes, a tiny smile playing at his lips.

I blush, but I also roll my eyes at his comment. "Oh, please, like you haven't seen me in something I know you liked better," I tease suggestively, trailing one hand over my hip slowly and giggling at his reaction.

"Evans, I didn't need to hear that."

Crap! Why didn't I check to see if anyone else was in the room before making suggestive and mocking comments like that to James? I turn to Sirius, glowing scarlet.

"Hi, Sirius, I didn't see you there," I growl through gritted teeth. I throw my hands on my hips and glare at him, trying to mask my chagrin.

Sirius flashes me a cheeky grin. "Oh, do go on, Lily. I hadn't quite finished building a mental image of what you look like in–"

"Oh, shut it, you," Marlene scolds, elbowing him playfully in the stomach. She arrived not five seconds ago, and not five seconds too soon. She's good at saving me from even further embarrassment when Sirius finds something to taunt me about.

Marlene turns to me. "Mary is getting ready to Apparate with Alice. Have you seen Frank?"

James cuts in before I can answer. "He's off talking with his mum. He said he'd meet us back in our room in ten minutes."

Marlene and I nod. Suddenly, a loud pair of pops split through the air, and Mary and Alice appear next to us. Alice's moment of euphoria seems to have evaporated. Now she's just as frantic and scary as she has been for the last week.

"Out! OUT!" she shrieks at James and Sirius. "You lot aren't supposed to be here!" Alice bustles over to them, smacking their arms with her toiletry bag.

"Hey–"

"Prewett–"

"Stop–"

"All right!" James yells. "We're going, we're going!"

James and Sirius exchange a wary glance before waving at Marlene and me with cheery grins. They disappear with loud cracks. Alice rounds on us.

"Come on, you two! We've got to finish getting ready! I've got to–"

"ALICE!" we all shout at the same time.

She falls silent, glaring at us reproachfully.

Mary steps forward, grabbing her best friend gently by the arms and looking her in the eye. "You've got nothing else to worry about. Everything's taken care of. You're going to march right into that church, take away the breath of everyone who sees you, and you're going to marry Frank. You're marrying Frank Longbottom," Mary emphasizes, shaking Alice very slightly with a smile on her face.

Alice looks at Mary for a long moment before her face breaks into another smile so wide it may split her face in half.

"I'm marrying Frank," she echoes softly.

The Wedding March sounds through the air. Alice squeals nervously. "This is it!" She takes hold of Fabian's and Gideon's arms. She's decided to have them both walk her down the aisle, as their father died when they were very young.

James and I take our positions behind Marlene and Sirius and in front of Mary and Max, who are both somewhat nervous about upholding their positions as Best Man and Maid of Honor. The double doors swing open of their own accord.

Marlene and Sirius move forward to the slow beat of the music. James and I follow exactly four beats later. I'm nervous that I'll trip in the dangerous heels Alice insisted upon, but I make it to the altar without any trouble. James squeezes my hand briefly before letting me go and walking to stand at his place next to Sirius. Mary and Max are about halfway up the aisle. I notice Remus ogling Mary, and I flash him a quick grin.

A collective sigh signals Alice's entrance. Instead of watching Alice try not to move too quickly up the aisle in her hurry to reach her groom, I scrutinize Frank's expression. His face splits into the most glorious smile I've ever seen on a man's face – well, that's not entirely true. James's face when I told him I loved him was similar. Frank never pulls his eyes away from his blushing bride as she kisses her brothers on the cheek and steps up to take Frank's hand with a beaming smile of her own.

I stop watching the happy couple as the minister begins to speak. Instead, I look to James. I'm not surprised to see him gazing back at me. All I can think about is how much I wish this were my wedding and that James was waiting for me at the altar with the euphoric smile of triumph and deep, pure joy. How much I wish that I could be the one fretting over her hair when in reality there wasn't a single strand out of place. I wish that I could be put through the stress of arranging the catering, choosing a date, finding dresses, and fussing over flower arrangements and color schemes because it would all be worth it to see that expression on James's face. As I watch his face, I can tell his thoughts mirror my own. After all, he loves me just as much as I love him.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

"Oh, what a night!" I exclaim as James and I appear in my dark living room. I throw him a girlishly excited smile. "Can you believe they're finally married?"

James grins, reaching out to steady me as my tired feet stumble in the death traps Alice calls shoes. "I know. They've been together for years now!" he teases me amicably. James pulls me close, pushing a loose strand of my auburn hair away from my eyes. He falls silent for a moment with a pensive look on his face.

I let my head fall to one side with a little pinch between my eyebrows. "What is it, James?"

A tiny smile graces his face, and he closes the distance between us quickly to press his lips to mine. James's hands slide slowly down my back until they reach my waist, where one rests as the other roves over the back of my dress and weaves itself through my hair. I grip onto his strong arm with my right hand and move my left hand to the collar of his shirt, grinning at the chuckle he lets out at my impatience. I move through the first few buttons easily, pausing here and there to press my lips to the skin at the base of his throat.

I feel James's fingers trail up my back agonizingly slowly before they finally reach the zipper on my dress. He begins to pull the little clasp at the top apart when suddenly, a floorboard creaks.

I pull away from James sharply, craning my neck to look down the short hallway towards my bedroom.

I lean in close to James and whisper, "Did you hear that?"

James nods, frowning. "Yeah, I did," he breathes back.

I reach carefully under my dress to pull my wand out of the band wrapped around my leg that I use to store it when I don't have pockets. James draws his wand from inside of his jacket and stares at my cracked door. Pressing a finger to his lips, James signals for me to follow behind him.

Tiptoeing cautiously toward the door, James pokes his wand through first. He pushes the door open slowly, scanning the room for anything unusual. Though his stance doesn't relax, he whispers, "I don't think anyone's here."

I creep into the room, scrutinizing everything from the moving pictures on my nightstand to the innocently fluttering curtains on the window behind my bed. James and I move silently over to the window and look outside.

His breath fogs up a small patch of the window as he breathes, "We must've been imagining things." James lets out a quiet, airy chuckle.

"Imagining things, were you, Potty?"

James and I whip around, wands raised. James snarls, "Bellatrix."

My eyes widen, both in fear and hatred. I point my wand carefully at a point just over her heart. "You," I growl, my disgust radiating out from my eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Bellatrix cackles, tilting her wild mane of black curls back as she laughs cruelly. "I wouldn't do that, Mudblood."

I tighten my grip on my wand. "Give me five good reasons why I shouldn't hex you into oblivion right now."

A wicked sneer spreads across her face. "Oh, I've got five good reasons."

As if on cue, five hooded figures step into the room behind her. How did we miss them? They must've been in Marlene and Mary's rooms.

Bellatrix waves her wand and the men take their hoods down. "Malfoy," she indicates, pointing to the arrogant man with a pale blonde ponytail. He smirks as she calls off the next name. "Mulciber," she hisses. Mulciber raises a taunting eyebrow at me, and I bite back an insult. "Dolohov," Bellatrix holds up three fingers. "Avery," she holds up a fourth finger. "And Snape," she breathes, watching me as she holds up her fifth finger.

My eyes widen in horror. "S-Severus?" I stutter, taking a small step backwards.

James's face is a mask of revulsion. "I always knew you'd do great things with your life, Snivellus," James spits sarcastically.

Snape ignores James, staring intently at me. "Lily," he says curtly.

Hearing him say my name only enforces the idea that he's really here and this isn't all one of my elaborate nightmares. I walk up to him, very aware of the five wands pointed at my back that hold their fire.

Severus looks at me with an unreadable expression. I peer up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Sure, he was with the younger Death Eaters in Hogsmeade, but his being here with the real ones like Bellatrix and Malfoy makes this whole situation so real.

"Sev?" I question incredulously. "Y-you–"

"S-sevewous?" Bellatrix mocks in a baby voice.

Snape doesn't speak, doesn't look away.

Suddenly, an overwhelming hate for the man who used to be my best friend bubbles in my stomach. My face contorts from horrified shock to revolted anger. Levicorpus, I think, flicking my wand upward by the tiniest bit.

Snape yells as he is hoisted up into the air by an invisible string attached to his ankle. Chaos roars around the room; the first shot has been fired. Bellatrix cackles again as she begins send curse after curse around the room.

James battles Dolohov and Malfoy, while I take on Avery and Bellatrix with a renewed hatred for the two. Mulciber tries to pull Snape down as he casts Shield Charm after Shield Charm.

"Impedimenta! Tarantallegra! Petrificus Totalus!" I cry, shooting my jinxes at my opponents, who dodge them far too easily. I weave around red jets of light mixed with odd silver and black jets of light as I try my best to bring one of them down.

"Stupefy!" I shout, pointing my wand straight at Avery's chest. He falls. Finally! I got him! Take that, Avery! Who says blood status matters?

I hear James yell, "Silencio!" and Dolohov's stream of never-ending curses falls silent, though his mouth and wand still move.

I duck around the bed to avoid the curses flying at me from Bellatrix's wand, and I glance over at James just in time to see him reach into his pocket. He pulls out a small object and shouts, "Sirius Black!"

Confused, I tilt my head to one side and scrunch my eyebrows.

James continues to shout at the shiny object. "Death Eaters – at Lily's!" he yells between dodging hexes. He shoves the object back into his pocket and quickly scans the room for me. "Lily, look out!"

The now-familiar fire of the Cruciatus Curse hits me from behind. My bones snap apart and splinter into the rest of my body painfully. My heart beats so fast I fear it will stop as my screams take over the room. I fall to the floor, writhing in agony, until a new voice enters the fray.

"BELLATRIX!"

She looks up, ending the curse with her lack of focus. Bellatrix growls upon seeing her younger cousin barge into the room, wand aloft. Sirius, Marlene, and Remus join the battle in the claustrophobic room. Remus, being the Healer, rushes over to me.

"Lily! Are you okay?" he asks worriedly.

I sit up, nodding. "Yeah . . . yeah, I'm fine," I reply. I gasp, "Watch out!"

Remus turns quickly, casting the fastest Shield Charm I've ever seen anyone cast. The jinx bounces off of it and hits Mulciber, who backs into a corner and sits down, having an argument with himself.

Avery is down. Marlene is dueling Malfoy. Snape is just standing in the corner, having been let down, and watching with the strangest expression on his face. James is still fighting the silent Dolohov, but Sirius has taken over Bellatrix. They're furiously throwing spell after jinx after curse after hex at each other, some verbally, some nonverbally. Sirius hits Bellatrix with Rictusempra, and she starts laughing uncontrollably before she fights off the spell.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix shrieks, aiming at Sirius's chest.

Sirius's knees buckle as his breath rushes out of him in a sharp exhale of pain. He falls to the floor, squirming as he tries desperately to throw off the curse. Bellatrix moves to stand over him, laughing maniacally at his pain.

"Look at you! What's the matter, cousin? Can't handle the pain?" she mocks, aiming her wand at different parts of his body to direct the curse where she wants it to go.

Marlene screeches, "Petrificus Totalus!" Malfoy's arms snap to his side and he falls backwards, rigid as a board. Marlene runs at Bellatrix, catching the unsuspecting witch around the waist. The two fall to the ground.

"MARLY!" I cry, lunging forward, but Remus stops me. "Remus, let me help her!"

"No!" he protests. "You're too weak from being placed under the Cruciatus Curse for so long!"

I attempt to fight him off. "I don't care!" I shout. "She's my best friend, Remus!"

He pulls me tight to his chest, making sure I can't break free. "I'm sorry, Lily!"

I struggle against his strong grasp, but he won't let me go.

Marlene sits up on top of Bellatrix to take a well-aimed swing at her face. The woman shrieks as an angry red patch appears next to her eye where Marlene's fist made contact with the skin. They seem to have forgotten that they're witches; they only care about causing the other physical pain.

Sirius, back on his feet after shaking off the curse, moves to pull Marlene off of Bellatrix. The two women stand up again and begin dueling with such speed and passion that I am amazed neither has fallen yet. Sirius joins Marlene, and the two throw all of their strength into the battle.

Suddenly, a heart-stopping cry of agony tears through the air. I would know that voice anywhere.

My head snaps to the left in time to see James hit the floor, unconscious. Dolohov, though still mute, stands over him, triumphant.

"JAMES!" I scream, finally breaking free of Remus's hold. I rush to his side and drop to my knees, cradling his head in my lap. With an angry scream, I jump up and I run at Dolohov, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Snape chuckle at James's limp form lying on the floor. I change my course, shouting, "Remus, take Dolohov!" I don't turn back to see if he does as I fire my first hex at Snape.

"Immobulus!"

He dodges my spell, looking at me with wide eyes. His expression causes me to falter briefly, as do his next words.

"You don't want to hurt me, Lily," he murmurs, his voice smooth and soft, almost transfixing. "I was your best friend. You won't hurt me."

I freeze with my wand poised to strike again. "What makes you think I won't?" I snarl, glaring into his black, unforgiving eyes.

Snape takes a step forward and makes to take my hand. I retract my arm swiftly, giving him a reproachful scowl. Snape pauses. Deliberately, he draws his wand out of his robes as my heart rate accelerates.

He raises it slowly. I take a wary step back. I know what Snape is capable of. "Severus . . ." I trail off cautiously.

Snape watches me closely. "I don't want to hex you, Lily," he murmurs in the same quiet tone, though he points his wand at my face.

I narrow my eyes. "Are you sure about that?" I question icily, nodding at his wand.

Snape's eyes narrow farther than mine as he looks pointedly at my wand, which is aimed at his chest. I smirk with a look that says, "Can you really blame me?"

Snape glares at me. A flash of some unknown emotion flits through his eyes, but it is quickly replaced by the hatred from before. He raises his wand before I can defend myself.

"Locomotor Mortis!"

My legs lock, and I can't move for a split second. Remus rushes to my aid and quickly mutters the counter-curse. I raise my wand and shout, "Expelliarmus!"

Snape's wand flies out of his hand and Remus catches it smoothly.

"Petrificus Totalus!" I cry, watching in satisfaction as Snape falls backwards. I step forward and frown down at him. His eyes glare back at me, as they are the only part of his body that he can move. I lean down to mutter in his ear, "You know, Sev, I always thought you might end up changing your mind. I never gave up hope that one day you might see sense. I thought that maybe I could change you." I throw a contemptuous look at the unconscious Malfoy and Avery, the mumbling Mulciber, the fallen Dolohov, and Sirius and Marlene still battling Bellatrix before my gaze stops at James. "I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry, Severus. I couldn't save you from him."

"What a moving speech, Miss Evans."

I freeze where I am. Chilling fear trickles down my spine at the sound of the familiar, high, cold voice. I close my eyes, willing all of this to go away. I stand up slowly and turn to face him, determined to keep all traces of fright from my expression.

I notice Bellatrix, Sirius, and Marlene stop dueling. Bellatrix gazes at Voldemort with a reverence that makes me want to throw up. Sirius is glaring unabashedly at the evil man's cruel smile. Marlene looks terrified, all thoughts of bravery forgotten. Remus has paled, but his face is an impassive mask.

Voldemort's eyes rove over James's limp body. His mouth turns up in that same cruel smile that has haunted my nightmares since the night James and I were taken from Hogwarts. He takes a step towards James and laughs softly, mirthlessly.

"Looks like your boyfriend wasn't so brave this time, was he, Lily?" Voldemort sneers, never taking his red eyes away from my green ones.

I glare right back at him. "He's far braver a man than someone who feels as though he should rid our world of people like me just to feel good about his magical abilities."

Marlene and Bellatrix gasp. Marlene gasps out of horror; Bellatrix gasps due to my disrespect and open hatred of her beloved master.

Voldemort's smile is gone. When he speaks again, his voice is very quiet, very calm. Almost deadly. "Miss Evans, you do not seem to know your place in this world. In my world," he emphasizes, his eyes widening with his emphasis.

I shake my head with a sardonic smile on my face. "No," I declare, "It is you that is confused as to where you stand. You hold yourself far higher than the rest of us, don't you? I wonder why that is? Perhaps because you were that kid everyone bullied on the playground, and now you suddenly have the power to get revenge? Perhaps it's just because your overconfidence in your abilities has gotten to your head? Perhaps–"

"Lily!" Sirius warns. I turn my glare to him, but soften momentarily when I meet his pleading stare. He's asking me not to get hurt for James. For him. For Marlene, Remus, Mary, Alice, Frank, and Peter.

Voldemort glowers at me, his eyes bright with anger. "I am through with you, Lily Evans. You have incensed me for the last time."

My eyes widen almost imperceptibly. Voldemort raises his wand faster than I can blink and shoots a red jet of light at me. I duck around it and send a Knockback Jinx at him as a green light whizzes past my head.

"LILY!" Sirius, Marlene, and Remus shriek together, horrified to see me so close to Death's grasp. They step forward to help me, but Bellatrix begins trying to hex them again, fully occupying Sirius's attention as she casts Crucio on Marlene.

"Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Incarcerous! Impedimenta! Furnunculus!" I throw every jinx that comes to mind, but Voldemort manages to dodge every one. I can tell I'm becoming weaker from casting spells so furiously, but I persevere through my waning energy.

Red and green jets of light, along with deadly-looking black jets of light, fly around me, some nearly hitting me. I twist and bend to avoid the curses that could all potentially be the death of me. Voldemort becomes angry at my luck and casts his curses in a more rapid succession. One finally hits me.

I try scream in agony as my chest tightens painfully, restricting my airways. It feels as though knives are dragging themselves around my torso, letting my blood seep through my clothes to the ground. Black spots begin to block my vision as the lack of oxygen makes me dizzy.

The door bursts open once more, and the curse I'm under is lifted. I look to the door to see Voldemort's distraction, my savior, and I see Albus Dumbledore. The usual twinkling light behind his half-moon spectacles is gone, replaced by a fire I've never seen in him. Moody clunks in behind Dumbledore, followed by Gideon, Fabian, and Kingsley.

"Dumbledore," Voldemort snarls, turning his wand on the aging wizard with a flicker of fear finding its way into his eyes.

Professor Dumbledore says in a clear, commanding voice, "Tom, leave this place. It was very unwise of you to come here tonight."

Voldemort's eyes widen. "Unwise? It was unwise of you to think you could stop me killing these pathetic excuses for wizards and witches." His eyes flit to me briefly.

"That's right, Tom," Dumbledore answers an unspoken thought knowingly. "She is Muggle-born. And she is far greater a witch than you could ever hope to be able to match."

Voldemort glares at Dumbledore in incredulous anger. "Far greater than I? Oh no, Dumbledore, that is where you are mistaken. I have risen to power. I have built up an army that will destroy your great Order and reconstruct the Wizarding world the way it was meant to be."

Dumbledore surprises us all by smiling at Voldemort. "Power is not everything. There are greater supremacies than power."

Voldemort spits, "Lies, Dumbledore!" He raises his wand, preparing to strike. Voldemort shoots a long blast of fire at Dumbledore, who turns the fire into a rope that ties itself around Voldemort before becoming a long black snake that slithers its way toward Dumbledore. Dumbledore vanishes the snake with a loud crack and a wisp of smoke and aims his wand back at Voldemort.

Meanwhile, Bellatrix revives Avery and Malfoy, and the two grab Snape, Mulciber, and Dolohov and Disapparate. Bellatrix gives one last longing look to her master before Disapparating as well.

Dumbledore, though occupied by his duel, shout over to Remus, Sirius, Marlene, and me. "Take James and go! Get out of here! We will find you soon!"

Terrified, I grab James and turn on the spot, engulfed by darkness before reappearing in the middle of James, Sirius, and Remus's flat.

AN: Wow, guys, all I have to say is I'm sorry. I've been trying to post for over a week now, and I finally got it to work tonight. I wrote two chapters for you, though, so I hope that helps! I'm not sure that I'm fully satisfied with this chapter, but as soon as I found out I could post again, I finished it up and uploaded it. Alice and Frank are married! If anyone's wondering where Mary was during the Death Eater skirmish, she was still at the wedding with Alice and Frank. Alright, well I won't take up your time with Author Notes, I'll just ask for your opinions!

REVIEW, my loves!

- Paris