Overprotected

Chapter 36: Malfoy Returns

It was Saturday morning in the middle of November, and the four Marauders were busily getting dressed and ready to go out. Normally, they would still be cozy and asleep under their scarlet bedspreads, but it was a Hogsmeade weekend – not to be missed.

Sirus went over to Lily's door and knocked cautiously. There was no reply, and he looked hesitantly back at the rest of the room.

"Lily-Flower? Are you in there?"

There was till no answer.

"Go in," James called over from where he was messing with his hair. "If she's trying to keep us out, she'll lock it."

"And what then?" Sirus questioned.

"We'll deal with that problem when we get to it."
Sirus reached for the handle and turned it. It gave easily.

"Lily-Flower?" he called once more before opening the door.

The room was empty. Sirus only had to make a quick sweep to verify that. Once that was complete, he exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"She's not in there."

James swore and ran his hand through his short hair, making his work of the past five minutes all in vain.

"Let's not start this running off business again," Remus muttered angrily under his breath.

"You're not taking someone with you, are you, James?" Sirus questioned, half jokingly but the other half dead seriously.

"Only you guys and Lily."

"She's down there, guys."

Peter was standing at the top of the stairs leading down to the Common Room, still holding the door to their dormitory open. "She looks like she's ready to go."

All three boys still in the dormitory let out a collective sigh of relief and followed Peter down into the Common Room. Lily was sitting on one of the scarlet armchairs, her arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees, staring into the already strong fire.

James came over and put his hands lightly on her shoulders. "You alright, Flower?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She looked up and smiled at him. "I was just waiting for the four of you."

"You are coming with us to Hogsmeade, right?" Sirus asked tentatively.

"Do I look like I'm going to hide?" Lily stood up, wrapped her scarf around her throat, and fastened her cloak around her shoulders.

"Was your cloak always that big, Flower?" James questioned.

"It's Luke's," Lily replied simply.

The four boys made no comment, just looked at each other before proceeding to follow Lily out of the Portrait Hole and down to the Great Hall.

It was a cool, crisp day and a bright wind was blowing when James, Sirus, Remus, Peter, and Lily arrived in Hogsmeade. However, the sun was shining down merrily, adding an air of excitement to the little village. Even the five Gryffindors, who had been countless times, were seeing the streets with new eyes.

They wandered around together until about noon when they stopped into the noisy, crowded Three Broomsticks to have lunch.

"Where to next?" Remus asked as they were paying and getting ready to leave.

"Why don't we split up for a little bit to do our holiday shopping?" Lily suggested, looking at Remus. She didn't dare to as so much as glance over at James, but Remus did. The other boy took a deep breath then shrugged and gave in.

"Where do you want to meet and when?" James asked grudgingly.

"Honeydukes in two hours," Lily replied, finally glancing over at James.

He sighed again. "Alright, just stay out of trouble."

"Trouble usually has a way of finding me, but I'll be careful." She hugged him. "Thanks, James."

With that, the five of them split up, each going in a different direction, Lily heading for the little odds and ends shop in which she had bought the rocks last year.

She just needed a fake flower. That was all she was looking for, but who had imagined that one could be so difficult to procure. After half an hour, she had everything she needed for the boys' presents, and she had even found something for her surrogate father. However, she could not find a decent looking flower anywhere that was not attached to a hat or a garden hose or some other miscellaneous item. In another instant thought, an idea struck Lily, and she headed off toward the Shrieking Shack.

Snow Lilies were extremely difficult to spot (being pure white and often buried in the snow), but eventually, Lily was able to find a whole one that hadn't been crushed by the weight of the snow. She cast a few spells on the flower before tucking it and placing it gently within the folds of her cloak.

As she was standing up, a voice came suddenly from behind her.

"So we meet again, Miss Evans."

Lily had to physically fight the urge to spin around and whip out her wand. Instead she remained still, not facing the voice, regaining control.

"Malfoy," she managed to spit out after a moment of silence.

"The mudblood's already being rude; and this early into the conversation, that's never a good sign. I haven't done anything…yet."

That was the point when Lily did turn around to find Lucius Malfoy standing less than five paces away from her. His arm was outstretched, and his wand was pointed directly level with her chest.

"What do you want?"

"Tut, tut. This is hardly the way to begin with someone who clearly has the upper hand. You might try being a little more polite. I could easily kill you."

"Then why don't you?" Her voice came out crystal clear, but under her brother's cloak, Lily was trembling.

"It is tempting, yes," Malfoy replied with a nasty grin. "But the Dark Lord would rather you suffer first at his merciless hand. So…" He left the comment open to her every inference.

Lily reached carefully into her robes feeling for her wand, but once more the older wizard anticipated her movement. Before she had even made the wand completely visible, he had blasted it out her hand. The stick of wood, her only protection, flew up into the air and landed in the snow ten feet away. She let out no exclamation, but he also took that moment to send her flying into the snow. As Lily pulled herself up, Malfoy shot another curse her way, repeating the process every time she got to her feet until her back hit the Shrieking Shack as she fell.

"This all seems a bit familiar," Lily managed to say, her vision swimming before her as she tried to stand once more. "Only this time it's wood and not brick."

"I'm sure we can remedy that," Lucius said coldly as Lily made it to her feet one last time.

All at once, Lily's whole body was in agony. She knew she was crumpled to the ground, but all feeling was blocked by the fire coursing through her veins.

So this must be an Unforgivable, she managed to think consciously before even her mind was consumed with pain.

Then suddenly, she could feel a difference. Through her blurred vision, Lily saw her torturer pause and look around.

"This isn't over, mudblood," Lucius sneered while turning on his heel. "You can't survive forever." With that, he disappeared.

It took another minute of attempting to hold on to consciousness for Lily to hear James' worried voice in the air around her. She tried to reach him, but her body just wouldn't move.

"James…" she called faintly. "I'm at the Shrieking Shack."

She didn't hear a reply; she didn't even know if he heard. Every word was agony, and finally, Lily succumbed to deep blackness.

* * * * *

It had started to snow as James, Sirus, Remus, and Peter hurried off to the Shrieking Shack. They didn't know what was going on, but Lily had sounded like she was in trouble, enough cause for them to drop everything.

James was the first of the boys to spot her, her crumpled form half buried in the snow.

"Lily!" he cried and ran the rest of the way to her side, the other three fast on his trail. "Lily!" He sunk down on his knees next to her unmoving body.

"James…" Her eyes flicked open for a brief second then closed as she began to shiver violently.

"James, we have to get her back to school," Remus said hurriedly, anxiety obvious in his voice. "She's been cursed."

Her too pale face contrasted sharply with James' black cloak as he lifted her gently into his arms, and he tried to hold her close to provide extra heat for her shaking body. He moved as fast as he could without causing her anymore harm, and somehow, they made it back to the castle. Somewhere along the journey, Peter had fallen behind and been left there.

James almost ran into Professor McGonagall as she was coming out of her office, and it was only Sirus' hasty cry that stopped him short. The witch looked ready to give reproach until she realized what – or who – was lying in James' arms.

"What in Merlin's name happened to her, Mr. Potter?"

"We don't know, Professor." James was trying to be polite, but he continued to edge down the corridor. The worry and strain was evident in his voice. "We have to get her to the Hospital Wing; we think she was cursed."

"Again!" Minerva almost swore. "Bring her to Poppy. Quickly. I have to find the Headmaster."

The three boys didn't need to be told twice. They immediately picked up their former pace and continued onto their destination. Lily was becoming paler with every passing minute, James noticed, and he could feel her body losing heat even as he drew her closer.

Madam Pomfrey was signing out a student when the three boys arrived with Lily. She immediately bid the young girl go and led James over to a bed in the corner where he laid down Lily.

"Wait in the front, by my desk," she instructed James, Sirus, and Remus. They moved reluctantly away from the girl's beside as Madam Pomfrey drew the curtains and disappeared behind them.

James took a seat on the edge of one of the chairs by the nurse's desk, right next to Sirus and Remus, but he was unable to stay seated for long. The other two shared a worried glace as James began to pace in front of them.

"I knew we shouldn't have split up!" James exclaimed angrily.

"You can't blame this on yourself, James." Remus was trying very hard to control his voice and not let show the fear he felt. He was pretty sure a Crucio Curse had been used on her and deeply hoped that James wasn't having the same thoughts.

"But we could have been there with her, to protect her."

"And then we all would have ended up buried in the snow with no one to find us."

"She'll live, mate," Sirus put in. "She's been through worse."

Yes, she'll live, Remus thought. It just depends on how severe the damage is as to how well she'll live.

The three boys waited there all afternoon, watching the sun sink lower and lower behind the trees of the Forbidden Forest. After their initial conversation, no one attempted any more talk. James even sat down eventually and stayed slumped against the back of his chair until Madam Pomfrey emerged from the back of the Wing.

"How is she?" The three immediately jumped up and surrounded the nurse.

"Miss Evans is suffering from hypothermia first and foremost, and that is the prime concern for her treatment right now. Her body's threatening to go into shock, but I'm doing everything I can to prevent that."

"She was being buried in the falling snow when we found her," Sirus offered.

Madam Pomfrey didn't respond, and James used the silence to ask what was on everyone's minds.

"Can we see her?"

"She needs rest, Mr. Potter. The best thing the three of you can do for her is to leave her alone. Go to dinner; there will be plenty of visiting opportunities in the future."

You're lying, Remus thought as he and Sirus led James back to the Common Room. Hypothermia is not the principle concern; she's been tortured by an Unforgivable, but you can't tell us that before you talk to Dumbledore.

Sirus, his brows knit, glanced over at Remus whose face was becoming increasingly darker. Remus saw the question but just shook his head. He couldn't say what he assumed, not now.