Disclaimer: Harry Potter never has and never will belong to me. It always has and always will belong to J.K. Rowling. Please don't sue me; I'm kinda broke, considering it's about twenty dollars every time I fill up my gas tank… :sighs:

Chapter 35: Twice Defied

February turned to March, and the weather became warmer. Spring was in the air, and I found myself really enjoying the small garden in the front of the house. I had never really been one for gardening, and Herbology had never been my favorite course. But somehow, when the garden was my own and I could do what I pleased with it, it became much more enjoyable. It became a bright spot in my day whenever I chanced a look at it and saw tiny green shoots poking their way out of the almost-black earth.

"Isn't that the best?" I asked Tave one day when she and Remus were over for tea.

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "You need to get out more, Lils, if seeing little green stems poking out of the ground excites you that much." James and Remus joined her in a laugh.

"Oh ha ha," I said sarcastically. "You three have no appreciation for my hard work."

"We have appreciation for your hard work," she defended herself and the guys. "I just like giving you a hard time."

"Don't I know it," I said sarcastically.

I enjoyed engaging in banter such as that, because we were hurriedly summoned to the Order headquarters a few nights later, and it was then that we came to the sudden realization of just how precious life was. When we arrived, it was all business. We were very briefly clued in to what was happening.

"There has been an unexpected attack on a wizarding family not far from Brighton," Dumbledore said quickly. I had never seen the old man so serious. "We're not sure just how many Death Eaters are there, but it's quite a few. This is going to be an all-out battle. I'm going to the Ministry to round up the Aurors. The rest of you need to get there as soon as possible to prevent anything happening to the family."

There were of thirteen of us in total: James, me, Sirius, Remus, Tave, Drusa, Alice, Frank, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Benjy Fenwick, Dorcas Meadows, and Marlene McKinnon. We were given the address to the house and apparated there. We appeared outside a very large, old house, and I briefly wondered just how many people lived there.

"Are we all here?" Marlene asked quietly, counting heads. "Good. Be as quiet as you can; we don't need to alert them of our presence until we attack."

All thirteen of us filed into the house, and not one of us made a sound. We could hear the tortured screams from someone, and my stomach gave a great lurch. I had forgotten the terror of facing Voldemort's followers. I grabbed James' hand and held on tightly. He squeezed my hand reassuringly, and I felt a little better. We were in this together.

We continued down the hallway, following the sounds of the screams. The closer we got, the more adrenaline was running through my system. By the time we reached the door to the living room, I was ready to go. On the count of three, we burst the door open and poured in.

We found numerous Death Eaters in the living room, torturing the house's poor occupants. I was taken slightly aback at the number of Death Eaters in the room; there had to be at least twenty.

The apparent leader turned to us in surprise when we burst through the door, and instantly hexes were flying everywhere. Tave was right behind me when the explosion of spells began, and we both quickly ducked out of the way of one coming straight for us.

"Shit to Merlin!" she exclaimed from her spot on the floor next to me. "Is this what all battles are like?"

I had forgotten that it was the first time she had ever really faced a Death Eater. The first time, when I had been hit with the Cruciatus curse, it had been more Dumbledore and Voldemort fighting. "I don't know," I replied grimly. "I've only ever been in one other. Densaugeo!" I sent the first spell that came to mind at an approaching Death Eater, and we had a right laugh when his teeth began to lengthen beneath his mask.

"Nice," Tave laughed.

We separated ways and began dueling one-on-one with the Death Eaters. Well, in some cases it was more like three-on-one. I was lucky enough to not be in a situation such as that, as I had my hands full with just one. Whoever I was dueling was very good, and I only just barely hit him with a curse.

"Furnunculus!" I cried, and the spell hit his right shoulder. He howled in pain as boils began to break out over his entire body. I grinned, but I didn't get to enjoy my victory long as I found myself thrown off my feet and soaring backwards through the air. I hit a wall with a "thud" and the wind was knocked out of me. I let out a choking groan and took several breaths, trying to regain a rhythm, as a female Death Eater advanced on me. She threw a curse at me, which I was only barely able to dodge. I sent one right back, but she was just as agile as I.

"Nice try, Mudblood," she sneered, and I thought I vaguely recognized her voice. Who was she?

There was no time to deliberate the point as a hex came too close to my head for comfort. I sprang up from my spot on the wall and engaged in a fierce duel with her. Hexes, curses, and jinxes were thrown, and I used whichever came to mind first.

Out of nowhere a hex hit my attacker and she fell to the floor, some strange things with wings attacking her face. I found myself face to face with Gideon Prewett, who was laughing.

"What was that?" I yelled over the din.

"Bat Bogey Hex," he replied. "It's a specialty of mine."

So that's what the Bat Bogey Hex was. I grinned my thanks and we both moved on.

I continued fighting for what seemed like only a few minutes, but it must have been much longer. I began to notice that there seemed to be more and more Death Eaters. I quickly scanned the room, trying to find other Order members. There was Gideon and Fabian…Marlene was fighting someone…Tave was over there…where was James?

Oh shit.

I spotted him lying on the floor, apparently bound with invisible ropes, along with Sirius, Remus, Alice, Drusa, Frank, Dorcas, and Benjy. And Dorcas was writhing on the floor in pain…

Before I knew what I was doing, I began sprinting across the room, throwing whatever spell came to mind at the Death Eaters surrounding the group. I took several by surprise, including the one torturing Dorcas.

"Tarantallegra! Silencio! Impedimentia! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!" I bellowed.

"Stupefy! Rictusempra! Diffindo!"

I grinned when Tave came running up beside me. Together we continued our assault, occasionally dodging spells sent back at us. Suddenly I realized the distance between the Death Eaters and us was quickly dwindling. I hadn't exactly thought so far into the future to decide what to do when I arrived, but the same thought struck Tave and I.

We recklessly entered the circle of Death Eaters and began punching and kicking whoever was within reach. Being Muggleborn definitely had its advantages, and for once I was thankful Petunia and I didn't get along very well. I was well versed in the areas of the body that hurt the most when hit, and my aim was true.

Very soon, however, Tave and I realized that our assault really hadn't been that bright of an idea. There were about six Death Eaters to the two of us, and it took one spell to trap our arms and legs to our bodies.

"Damn!" Tave exclaimed as we were added to the group of Order members on the floor. "Now what?"

"Nice try," Alice said sympathetically. Leave it to her to stay completely cool in a situation such as this.

"Get the others!" a Death Eater barked out. "No one here can do anything. Round up the others and we'll have some fun!"

Cold fear gripped my heart at those words. Their definition of fun most certainly did not match up with any of ours.

Marlene was hit with a spell from behind and came soaring towards our group. The only two left fighting were the Prewett brothers. I was impressed with their fighting skills; they could dodge spells like no one I had ever seen. This didn't sit well with the Death Eaters, however, and soon five of them were fighting Gideon and Fabian. Spells were fired rapidly back and forth for several minutes, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the brothers were captured. They were getting tired, and there were fifteen more Death Eaters that could jump in at any time.

"Get them, Dolohov!" howled the lead Death Eater impatiently. "There's bleeding two of them! Kill them if you must!"

My eyes grew wide as I heard his words. They wouldn't kill them…

"Avada Kedavra!" A jet of green light erupted from on of the Death Eater's wands, heading straight for Gideon. He saw it, but he couldn't move out of the way fast enough. It hit him straight on in the chest and he crumpled to the floor.

"No!" I let out a strangled scream, unable to believe it. Gideon Prewett had just been murdered, and I had witnessed the whole thing.

"Avada Kedavra!" A second jet of green light erupted from the Death Eater's wand, this time hitting Fabian. He instantly fell to the floor next to his brother.

To say I was shocked would be a huge understatement. I was completely horrified at what had just taken place. These people were ruthless. I knew they killed people, but reading about it in the newspaper and actually seeing it occur right in front of you are two very different things. I felt sick and began struggling to hold the contents of my stomach down.

I looked over at the Order members around me, and each one looked just as horrified as I was. They had killed Gideon and Fabian…

The Death Eaters turned their attention to the rest of us, and I began to wonder where Dumbledore was. He had said he was going to round up some Aurors. How long was that supposed to take?

"That was unfortunate," said the lead Death Eater, feigning sympathy. His comrades snickered at his words. "Unfortunate, yet necessary. Let's take a moment to remember their courageous fight." He bowed his head, then a second later lifted it. "Moment over. Now who shall we torture first?"

I glared at him, my blood beginning to boil at his mockery of the Prewetts. Anger coursed through me as I stared up at the Death Eaters.

"The Mudblood!" answered a female voice. I recognized it as the one I had dueled earlier. She was the one Gideon had hit with a Bat Bogey Hex…

"No," the leader negated. "We'll start with this one and work our way down the line." He indicated Benjy Fenwick, who was dragged forward with a flick of the leader's wand. Benjy gave him a defiant stare, and I shut my eyes. I knew what was coming next.

Sure enough, screams filled the air as the Cruciatus Curse was thrown at poor Benjy. I screwed my eyes up tight, willing myself not to cry. I knew exactly what he was feeling, and I prayed Dumbledore would arrive soon.

"Did you like that?" the Death Eater asked with a sadistic laugh after he had lifted the curse. Benjy panted as he lay there, trying desperately to regain his breath. He shook his head slightly, and a pained expression crossed his face as he did. He immediately was sent soaring back to the rest of us and landed hard on the ground. Simultaneously, the next person in line was brought forward. My stomach lurched when I saw that it was Tave.

"NO!" Remus exclaimed, beginning to fight against his invisible bonds.

"Remus, don't," James said, sounding incredibly calm. Had I not known him so well, I would have thought he wasn't perturbed in the least by recent events. "You'll only make it worse."

I felt a glimmer of pride in my husband. He was staying levelheaded, and for once he was more levelheaded than Remus was. James never ceased to amaze me.

The Death Eaters ignored the exchange between the two men, and a wand was raised, ready to perform the Unforgivable on my best friend. But a loud "bang" from behind the group interrupted, and I felt my heart leap. Dumbledore had arrived!

Behind him came several Aurors. The only ones I recognized were Mad-Eye Moody and James' father. I briefly wondered if Mr. Potter was in the Order, but I was distracted once I felt my invisible bonds release their hold on me.

I, along with the other Order members, jumped up and joined the fight. All hell broke loose as the battle was renewed. I was certain we would be able to round up all the Death Eaters and throw them into Azkaban.

This was not to be, however, as an unexpected person showed up several minutes after the battle began the second time. I didn't realize it until the Death Eater I was fighting began retreating. It joined its comrades behind a foreboding figure…

Voldemort.

"Damn party pooper," I heard Sirius mutter as we followed suit regrouped behind Dumbledore. "Of course he has to show up."

"Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed when he saw the older wizard.

"Tom," Dumbledore replied cordially, inclining his head slightly. "It was foolish of you to come tonight."

"One might say the same to you," he said. Out of nowhere a jet of red light appeared, heading straight for Dumbledore. I watched in horrified fascination as, just in time, a large shield appeared in front of him. The jet of light was absorbed by the shield before it disappeared.

"I have every right to be here. Your followers did the unthinkable tonight." The suppressed rage in Dumbledore's voice was just barely there. I knew he was just as upset as the rest of us, but he was able to mask it wonderfully.

Voldemort shrugged. "They got in their way," he replied. "They were Muggle-loving bastards, anyway. It serves them right, and if you're not careful, you'll end up the same way. Foolish old codger…"

As a unit, the Order of the Phoenix tensed. To hear the Prewett brothers and Dumbledore talked about like that was downright insulting. All of us would have liked nothing better than to throw every Unforgivable at Voldemort in quick succession.

"That's where you're wrong, Tom," Dumbledore replied benignly. With a barely perceptible flick of his wrist, a jet of blue light was sent hurtling at Voldemort.

Voldemort also conjured a shield just in time, and it reacted to the spell just like the one Dumbledore had used. "Is that all you've got, old man?" he taunted. Dumbledore made no reply, maintaining his calm composure. Voldemort set a jet of fire at him, but just before it reached Dumbledore, it turned into droplets of water that fell to the floor with a small splash. A small, almost condescending smile tugged at the corners of Dumbledore's lips.

Pure anger flashed across Voldemort's face, but it was soon turned to surprise as Dumbledore vanished.

I grabbed James' hand. Dumbledore wouldn't have left us, would he? He couldn't just leave us alone with Voldemort!

Of course he didn't. A few moments later he appeared right in the middle of the group of Death Eaters, which was standing behind Voldemort. As Voldemort turned around, Dumbledore sent a spell, hitting him square on. He howled in anger and pain as the sheer force of the spell knocked him clear off his feet.

"This isn't over," he snarled just before he disapparated. His Death Eaters followed suit, leaving us alone in the now-destroyed living room.

No one spoke for a moment until a voice was heard faintly from the corner: "How can we ever thank you?"

We instantly turned to find the house's owner crouched in the corner along with his wife and two children. In the heat of the battle we had forgotten about them, and apparently so had the Death Eaters. They had been huddling in an out-of-the-way corner since we had arrived.

"There's no need," Frank said wearily. "We can perform memory charms on you and your children, if you would like. If not, we'll be leaving."

The man and his wife requested that memory charms be put on their children, as the children were rather young to have witnessed such horrors. They denied any medical attention (although the owner had been tortured with "Crucio"), and we returned to the Order headquarters.

James and I went home that night in silence. We were both upset by the death of two of the Order members; it was rather unexpected, to say the least. I think that while we all knew we were putting our safety and our lives on the line, we had never actually expected any of us to be killed.

James held me a little closer as we fell asleep, and I didn't mind at all. It was times like these that I realized we were flirting with death. For a good reason, yes, but we were flirting with it all the same. Yet I just couldn't see either of us being killed like the Prewetts had been. We were nineteen years old. We were too young to die.

Weren't we?

A/N: I am so sorry for the really really really long wait:grovels at the feet of the readers: Don't be mad, my life has been upside-down for the past month. I've had a beast of a time trying to find time to type. My computer's in my bedroom for the time being, but that means my family is going in and out of my room all the time (namely my brother…grrr). I will do my very best to update sooner next time. I feel terrible for leaving you guys hanging for so long. And, in an effort to get this up sooner, I'm going to forego the review responses this time. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you all make my day. Please keep reviewing, and I promise to respond next time! (And if you do want me to respond right away, just say so and make sure you put your email address where it says to and I'll email you.) I love you all!