A/N: Okay, it has been an extremely long time, and for that, I am sorry. I have been incredibly busy, and I had to put this story on the back-burner for a while. But now I'm back! And I realize that you all will probably have to re-read the last chapter to remember what is going on… I had to, too. I'm really sorry about the wait, and I fully accept getting no reviews for this…though I will be sad. Anyway! On with the story!
Disclaimer- I do not own this masterpiece that is Harry Potter.
Chapter 26: Broken Popcorn Machine
Previously: Before a can react, Lord Voldemort raises his wand, and a flash of sizzling light streams towards my face.
"Lily!" James yells, shoving me to the ground. Even though my face digs into the sand, I can feel the sizzling energy zoom right over my head. I allow myself to realize that James could have been a second too late, and my life would've been over.
Shivers erupt down my spine. It's so close to being over. Before I can react any more, James pulls me into a roll, and we get to our feet. James, Kirsten, and I form a line with our backs to my house. I try to keep my wand hand from shaking too much. I'm unsuccessful as my fear manifests.
"Well, it's Moldy-shorts in the flesh," Kirsten says, trying to hide a nervous glance at the Death Eaters surrounding us. "I'm sorry, but we're in no way fit to entertain today. Perhaps you could come by another time? We'll have a tea party!"
He laughs, his red eyes sparkling like rubies. "Sorry," Voldemort sneers, "but I don't think you'll be free anytime in the future. Being dead really puts an end to one's social calendar."
I instinctively shy closer to James as the other eight-or-so Death Eaters close in around us. I sneak a glace at his face, but he's staring straight at our enemy with no trace of fear in his eyes. That gives me courage. I square my shoulders and look ahead, too.
In response to Voldy's comment, Kirsten spits towards him. Without a word, Voldemort grins evilly, and she is sent crashing into my house. I shout for her, but battle explodes around me and my voice is lost. Colorful flashes dance around me again. I try to run to her dark, motionless form, but I have to defend myself. Three Death Eaters come at me, wands raised.
I am really sick of these guys.
A loud pop startles me. I groan in despair, thinking that more enemies have arrived. I turn my head and jump when I see James's dad fending off my attackers. "Stupefy!" I scream, getting back in the action. Mr. Potter winks at me.
We eventually beat all of our Death Eaters, but more are arriving by the second. I take advantage in a lag in their attack by sprinting to where Kirsten fell. I dive to her side and shake her frantically.
"Kirsten! Come on! Get up!" My breath comes out in wild spurts as panic bubbles in my chest. She doesn't move at all. It's too dark for me to tell if she's breathing. "Kirsten!" I shout, my voice breaking, tears starting to leak out. "Come on! Don't leave me!"
Her eyes flicker open. "Don't be such a cry baby," she scoffs softly, sitting up. "Now, where's the son of a bitch who did this to me?"
Without another word, she goes running back into battle. I have no choice but to follow her, struggling to banish the thoughts of my loved ones getting hurt. I wouldn't survive if this is my last night with the Potters.
I race to defend my friends from the ever mounting attacks. Stuck in my morbid thoughts, I trip over an unconscious Death Eater. I log roll to the right to avoid a red ball of energy sent after me. James sees me on the ground and runs to help me.
As he reaches me, I see blood coming from a cut on his forehead. My heart stops. "James! You're bleeding! Are you okay?" I screech, unable to contain myself.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine," he assures me, yanking me to my feet and dodging a curse. "Cover me for a sec," he commands. As soon as he says this, two more Death Eaters come at me.
As my heart starts pounding, I send counter-attacks and notice that James takes a small mirror out of his pocket. This is hardly the time to fix his hair! Why are boys always bonkers about their bloody hair?
But then he starts talking to the mirror, and I feel really stupid. "Padfoot!" he yells into the reflection. "Get help! Voldemort and his clan of fairy princesses are attacking us! Get Dumbledore! Hurry!"
"Uh, James?" I call desperately as four more "fairy princesses" come towards me.
"Just a second," he replies, battling a few Death Eaters himself.
"James?" I say louder as they start sending curses at me. They're coming from all sides.
I can only hear the sound of battle behind me. The Death Eaters have me cornered now. There are too many!
"JAMES!" I yelp as electric zaps start to trickle from their wands.
"Levicorpus!" James yells, and suddenly my feet aren't on the ground. I look down to see the Death Eaters' curses zoom past where I was, hitting the Death Eaters on the opposite sides.
As the same time, James gets knocked forward, sending me flying when his concentration breaks. I crash land on my face, earning a mouthful of sand. Standing up and brushing myself off, I notice a pair of red eyes about 50 feet in front of me. I'm out in the open with nothing blocking me from a terrible fate.
An evil and exultant grin flashes on Voldemort's face. I don't have to be a mind reader to know that pain is coming.
As he raises his wand in an excruciatingly slow motion, drawing out my horror like a true villain, I see something streak towards me in my peripheral vision. Voldemort takes his time with the curse, truly enjoying this moment. He's such a wanker. As he finally mutters, "Crucio," just loud enough for me to hear, James dives in front of me. A second later, he's writhing in pain on the ground. He squeezes his eyes shut in a struggle to stay focused.
It hits me deep in the gut. Not a curse or anything. It's knowing what James is going through. Seeing him in so much pain makes me physically hurt.
"James," I say kneeling down, "hold on. It will be over soon."
I stand up and feel anger pulsing through my veins. I have never felt this mad in my entire life. I whip my head up to see Voldemort laughing cruelly at James's chivalry.
"You really should not have done that," I hiss. He doesn't even pay attention to me. I take advantage of that.
I run towards my mortal enemy, faster than I've ever gone before. It reminds me of flying… But as I run, I throw every attack I know at Voldemort, putting as much force as I have behind them. He stumbles back as he takes each one in the chest, completely caught off guard. As I run, I scream as loud as I can, increasing the power coming from my wand. I stop right in front of him, and without hesitation, I punch him square in the face.
That's right. I punched Voldemort in the face. How many people can say that?
"Don't. Ever. Curse. My. Boyfriend. Again," I spit out each word acidly. I can hear Kirsten whooping in the background. I have found that I like my new attack. I've gotten quite good at punching people.
I don't get much time to enjoy my moment of glory, though. Voldemort's minions notice him on the ground and come to help. I turn and race back towards James, only to find him running to me.
I take his face in my hands.
"Are you okay?" We both say at the same time. I notice his hands are shaking.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He smiles, and even in this situation, my heart melts. I'm a sucker for his smile.
"Hey, love birds!" Kirsten calls, skipping towards us, cursing the Death Eaters who are aiming at us. As she reaches us, we form a line again, facing Voldemort. The ground is littered with dark mounds, all that is visible of the unconscious Death Eaters. Serves 'em right, too!
More Death Eaters keep coming, despite our awesome attempts to stop them. It's like a broken popcorn machine just spitting out more and more popcorn, though nobody wants it. Bullocks, it sure is annoying.
As the three of us continue to fight, fatigue starting to set in, I'm struck with a thought. I haven't seen James's parents in a while, and most of the Death Eaters are fighting us. With a gasp, I see why that is.
James's father, unconscious and unmoving, floats towards us, being levitated by a Death Eater. He has a wound on his head, and blood, crimson and sparkling, spills from it. Mrs. Potter is being dragged by her hair, right behind her husband. She struggles and fights, but a Death Eater has his wand at her throat.
James explodes from my side. That's the only way I can explain it. One second he is standing beside me. The next, he is racing towards his parents, fire blazing behind his eyes. As he reaches the Death Eaters holding his parents captive, they smile. Almost immediately, I see Mrs. Potter drop to the ground in pain.
"Make one more move and she dies," the Death Eater murmurs, revealing a set of brown teeth.
James stops in his tracks. Of course he does. He's far too noble for his own good.
"If you surrender," the Death Eater starts, "the pain stops now. I'll even let your mother live. If you keep fighting, you'll all die slowly and painfully. I guarantee it."
I wonder how long it took this guy to memorize his little speech. Honestly, it sounds like something out of a mafia movie. And this Death Eater tries to put dramatic pauses behind every word. Really. They don't have anything better to do?
As he says this, though, I slowly work my way around behind the Death Eaters. Everyone seems to be focused on James and Brown Teeth. I suck in a breath when I see Kirsten, a ways behind me, fall to the ground as a curse catches her back. A lady Death Eater drags her to Brown Teeth, finally shoving her next to Mrs. Potter.
"You slimy—" Kirsten spits every conceivable swear word I know, throwing in a few that I've never even heard before. My ears ring as I make my way around the beach.
"You're stuck now," Brown Teeth sneers. "Surrender now or your loved ones die."
James deliberates, just as I knew he would. I can tell that he knows that we'll probably die anyway, whether he gives in or not. As he thinks, Brown Teeth talks. Again.
"In speaking of loved ones, where's your fiery red head? Has she left you already?" He laughs.
"I'm sure she's around here somewhere," James remarks, smiling in spite of himself.
"If she was as smart as I've heard, she would be long gone by now." He snickers even louder this time.
"Not a chance." I smile at the surprised looks on their faces as they turn to face me. Before a get I good look, however, I curse the Death Eaters holding Kirsten and Mrs. Potter. They spring into action with me, but we're still out numbered. I take on three, including Brown Teeth, Kirsten battles two, and James has four. Mrs. Potter races to rescue her husband.
I have completely lost track of time. It could be three in the morning, for all I know. It feels like I've been fighting forever. As I start to tire, I make more mistakes, reacting a second later than needed. As a result, curses clip me more often. And boy can I start to feel it. I feel worse than that time when Afhton and I tried to out-eat Sirius. We lasted a while out of sheer willpower. He beat us, naturally. The next day, though, neither of us could function. We were in intense physical pain. I actually wrote a will and owled it to my parents. I didn't die, but I scared them to death. Needless to say, I learned my lesson.
Now, though, all I want to do is close my eyes and wake up. This seems like a never-ending nightmare. Every second, I could face my own death, or worse, the death of my friends.
I fight off Death Eater after Death Eater, each time growing more and more exhausted. I don't even know where Voldemort went, but I hear him command, "Search in the house for the Muggles."
"No!" I scream, sprinting back to my house. In my haste, I don't even see the leg come out and kick me right in the chest. I feel it, though. Breathing becomes impossible. I lie gasping on the sand. Each movement sends a stabbing pain in my side.
James, of course, sprints to my side. I watch in mute horror as a curse hits him square in the back. He crash lands right next to me. We lie next to each other in pain.
"Hey there, beautiful," he mutters, breathing heavy.
"Hi," I whisper, meeting his eyes. Our hands meet and entwine as several Death Eaters tower over us. "I guess this is it."
He smiles bleakly and squeezes my hand.
A loud commotion erupts on the other side of the beach. Loud pops fill the air, followed by shouts and ruckus. It almost sounds like an American Fourth of July celebration. The Death Eaters around us are distracted, and one by one, they hit the ground.
James and I help each other up into a sitting position. Then I hear a familiar laugh.
"Need some help, Prongsie?"
I have never been happier to hear Sirius Black's voice in my life. That fact is odd and slightly scary. I'm never happy to see Sirius.
His head pops into my view, and he takes in the sight of James and me on the ground. "Fooling around with your lady, are you? And at a time like this!" He pretends to be ashamed. I can imagine that he's fooled around at weirder situations.
He doesn't wait for a comment. Helping us to our feet, I see the reason for all the commotion.
"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun," Sirius explains. "I invited some Aurors to the party. I hope you don't mind. They agreed to bring the keg." He laughs.
"Black!" Kirsten yells, running over to join us. "What are you doing here? We had everything under control!" She punches him on the shoulder, seeming to be really angry. Then she stuns us all by pulling Sirius into a bone crushing hug.
"Thanks for coming," she mumbles in his hair. Sirius wears a slightly surprised look on his face.
A lady in what appears to be her mid-thirties runs towards us. An Auror, I assume. "You four, stay here. We have everything under control. Don't do anything stupid."
She runs away to join the battle without another word. Then I see why they say everything is under control. I spot a blur of gray and white moving swiftly among the Death Eaters, reeking havoc.
"You brought Dumbledore?" I ask Sirius, overcome with relief.
"Hell yeah! Do you know how hard it is to track down a Hogwarts Headmaster during the summer?" he asks, faking a fruity-serious tone. "I'll tell you about it lat—" He stops and stars at the battle. James, Kirsten, and I turn our gazes.
Dumbledore and Voldemort are locked into a heated duel. I freeze as I watch the two most powerful wizards in the world fight each other. Not a word is spoken between them, but energy is flowing at an alarming rate.
Voldemort throws a lightning bolt at Dumbledore, who reflects it back with a flick of his wand. I can't imagine turning aside something as powerful as that without a sweat. The Dark Lord then levitates shards of wood from the remains of the Potter's house. He propels them towards Dumbledore at the speed of bullets. My headmaster throws up his arms, creating a shield that turns the wood into dust. As he does that, Voldemort releases a huge amount of energy that sends everyone within the battle flying backwards.
Nobody moves.
"Oh, bullocks," I mutter, standing up and running back into the war zone. My friends are right behind me.
It's kinda surreal, running at full speed towards Voldemort. Other than before, of course. Then all I knew was that I wanted to hurt him for hurting James. Now, that anger has dissipated in my exhaustion.
Every other Death Eater or Auror is on the ground, struggling to get up, including Dumbledore. James and Sirius run to be in front of Kirsten and me, trying to protect us like the idiots they are.
"We don't need protecting," I grunt, but before I can do anything, Voldemort sends them flying to the side instantly. Kirsten and I force ourselves to keep going.
"We're gonna be okay," I tell myself, reaching the human form of pure evil.
Before I can even say a curse, my wand flies out of my hand. Kirsten's does, too. With no distractions this time, my enemy easily takes me. Anger at my helplessness bubbles in my chest.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Voldemort says through his grin. All around me, I see Aurors and Death Eaters strewn across the sand. I try to find James, to see his face one last time, but all of the mounds look the same. I think I see someone start to get up, but I'm slightly distracted.
The Dark Lord says, loud and clear, two words that send shivers down my spine. "Avada Kedavra."
As the bright green light streams towards me, I grab Kirsten's hand. Before I can blink, I'm thrown backwards, the world turning black.
A/N: Well, what is going to happen?? sigh I can't believe it's been this long. Writing this chapter was really hard, and I hope it's not too bad. I would really appreciate reviews, if anyone still remembers this story. Thanks, and sorry again.