Disclaimer: If Harry Potter were mine, I'd be freaking rich. Key word—if. I can dream can't I?
Ok, to Capelthwaite and anyone else confused, Jodie and Remus had a date set up for the Monday when school started again (remembering the New Year's Kiss). Since then, they began dating, although I never went into detail about how that had happened. I understand how it got a little confusing though, so I'll mention it in this chapter.
If you guys would rather me do a part about them on their dates or something, I could do that too, but it might be a while until things settle down a bit. Or I can edit a previous chapter.
Note: Review review review again!
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Striding purposefully under the wooden stands placed high in the sky were six boys and one girl—determination in each of their eyes.
James led the group from the front, occasionally catching glimpses of the muddy ground through the holes between the supporting beams of the stands.
As he reached the wooden steps, he looked back at his team, each ready for the battle to come. He climbed the steps rapidly, his maroon robe trailing behind.
He took the position directly behind the closed wooden doors, listening to the footsteps of the others. In his hand was his broomstick, gripped tightly in anticipation.
"Ready guys?" he asked, staring straight ahead.
"Ready!" the returned enthusiastically.
"It's only Hufflepuff today, it should be no problem," James reassured, quickly glancing at his team. He gave a nod to Sirius, standing in a similar position at the back of the group.
Suddenly, the doors were thrown open and James whipped his head around. He quickly mounted his broom and took of, basking in the cheers all around.
The cold air tingled his skin, replenishing his anxiety and refreshing his body. The swish of air zipping past his ears made his blood course that much stronger throughout his body. He flew around the pitch once with his team before they parted.
James ascended into the air, watching as the players became smaller and smaller in the distance.
The quaffle was thrown in the air. The game had begun.
James released his hands from the broom and cracked his knuckles. Then he dived down, circling the pitch meters above the rest of his team.
"James!" called Angela Graham as she sped past him, the other team's chaser on her tail. "Watch out!"
James swiveled around just in time to see the bludger aimed for Angela head his way. He instinctively ducked, narrowly missing the ball. The crowd cheered.
He wanted to look for Lily, but he knew that would be completely foolish. For one, he could miss catching the snitch. Two, there were hundreds of people out here today. And lastly, she would probably yell at him if he had been distracted because of her.
He scanned the pitch for any signs of the snitch while circling the stadium once again.
"50-20 Hufflepuff!" shouted the announcer.
James shook his head. "Come on guys!" he yelled.
Sirius looked up and nodded his head before taking a swing at the black ball with his bat. It headed straight for the unaware Hufflepuff chaser about to receive the quaffle.
"Hewitt!" shouted James, but nobody had heard him. It didn't matter though because said person had already headed to intercept the ball while the Hufflepuff regained his position. James smiled in relief.
He gently tilted his broom upward, casting a glance to the other seeker. She was sitting idly in the air like him. Good, he thought. Then he felt a familiar fluttering noise near his ears followed by a distinct flash of gold.
He sprung into action, turning his broom around to the right with such force he almost fell off. James sped forward, aware now that many eyes were on him. There was no doubt the other seeker would be coming from the opposite direction. James and her would fly straight into each other if one didn't give way.
There was no need though, as the snitch decided to make a 90 degree turn to the left. The seekers turned, barely scraping each other, now traveling side by side across the middle of the court.
"Left!" called Sirius' familiar voice.
James immediately pushed his broom higher while the other seeker flew lower. A bludger flew right between them.
Then they resumed there positions, still traveling at high speed.
James reached out with his hand.
Seeing as only one of his hands was on the broom, the Hufflepuff seeker ran into him from the side, nearly causing James to fall over.
His broom turned sideways, but he managed to grab the handle and swivel upright. Deciding that it would be a waste of valuable time to continue the struggle with the seeker, he simply sped up.
He was almost within reach of the flying object. He flew higher and higher.
Nearby, the Hufflepuff beater's wayward bludger flew harmlessly by him.
Almost.
Nearly there.
Suddenly, an ear piercing scream ripped through the air. Shouts followed, soon to be covered by the uproar of the crowd. James looked back.
The stands were full of moving people, screaming and shouting.
He pulled his broom to the stop. Obviously something was wrong.
The Hufflepuff seeker did the same. It was only the two of them that high up.
"What do you reckon's wrong?" she asked, leaning down so her chest pressed against the handle of her broom to get a closer view.
James flew lower.
"They all seem to be moving," he said, squinting. "But nobody's really going anywhere."
The other seeker pulled up beside him.
James lowered a little further, beginning now to see some faces. "Oh my god," he whispered.
"What is it?" she called from above. Upon hearing a soft curse, she tried again.
"What is it?!" she said anxiously, nervousness in her voice.
"We're being attacked," he said in a low whisper. "Move!" he yelled suddenly, using the tail of his broom to knock the girl away.
She narrowly escaped the spell aimed for her head. Her broom briefly span in a circle, losing control.
"Let's go!" he shouted, watching as two masked men ascend quickly into the air on their brooms. "Go!"
The girl couldn't seem to force herself to move.
"Are they—?" she began.
"Death Eaters? Yes and they're going to kill us if you don't go," he bellowed, his instinct kicking in.
He made sure she began to move before speeding in the opposite direction of the men with her.
Through the loud whirling wind surrounding them, he asked, "Do you have a wand?" His heart plummeted as she shook her head wildly, her hair in her ponytail flying straight behind her like a stick.
"Alright," he said soothingly, "stick with me. Don't go any lower than we were before. I'm guessing there are death eaters down there too." He paused, thinking of his friends endangered below.
But they'll be able to handle themselves, he reassured himself, quickly looking behind him. And the teachers are down there. And Lily. Lily will hex those death eaters until they wished they had never come in the first place. He almost smiled, but didn't as he realized he had bigger problems to deal with.
It was two against one, and he was thousands of feet off the ground. He couldn't let…Marissa?...stay near him if he chose to deal with the death eaters as she couldn't protect herself. Yet he couldn't let her fly away—there could be others in the air.
That made him nervous, but he wiped those thoughts away.
He looked at the quivering girl beside him. The air was now freezing his face, harshly numbing his skin. It hurt to speak. "Don't worry," he reassured, sounding fake even to his own ears.
"I'm going to die!" she screamed. "I don't want to die. I don't want to die!"
James wanted to be anywhere but here.
"You are not going to die," he said firmly.
"Those bastards killed my mother. And now they're going to kill me too!" she yelled, tears in her eyes.
James stayed silent and looked behind.
They couldn't keep running. There would soon be nowhere to go and the men were slowly gaining on them. The two seekers were tired because of the game, while the death eaters were refreshed and ready to attack.
There was also no way James could keep the hysterical girl by his side. She would panic. He would have to save her. They would both end up dead in seconds.
No, he would have to take the risk.
"Hey…um…Hufflepuff seeker!" he shouted.
"Hey! Listen to me!" he screamed, urgency evident in his voice.
"Marissa," she shouted back against the wind whipping around them. So he had been right.
"Marissa, do you see anybody in front of you at all? Anything flying?" he asked. He prayed and prayed the answer would be no. His head was still turned around at the Death Eaters. His eyes tearing as they became dry in the high velocity they were traveling at.
"Focus Marissa!" he shouted.
His prayers were answered.
"No…No! I don't see anybody," she yelled back after a while.
"Okay, you go ahead. Go far ahead. Don't come back. Don't go down. Just stay there!" he demanded.
Apparently, he had been pretty intimidating because she obeyed without hesitation. That or the fact that the two hooded figures were looming closer and closer.
James turned his broom around and reached into his robe, pulling out his wand.
"Protego!" he yelled as he saw a beam of yellow light head in his direction.
The two death eaters pulled up across from him, merely 5 meters away.
The three of them hovered in the air, each with their respective wands held ready.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Potter's boy," spat the first one, obviously the stronger and the leader of the two.
He looked back to his friend. "This should be fun."
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"Stupefy!" screamed Lily, directing her wand at the hooded figure advancing slowly towards her. It was no use, she was too afraid to steady her arm and aim properly.
She was standing with a group of terrified first and second years, shaking to the core of their very bones. She pushed them back, herself shaking as well. She put her other hand over the one on her wand, both sweating profusely. Lily tried to quell her trembling.
"You'll have to do better than that," the man snarled, watching the attack fly harmlessly by his side. He raised his wand, pointing it at a boy to her right.
"Cru—"
"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, willing herself not to miss. She didn't, as she caught his flying wand in her hand.
The man growled, and without a second thought, leaped at her.
"Duro!" she said, gaining confidence. The man was helpless to her spell. Lily heard yelps of relieved joy pass around her. She stared at the once man, now turned into stone, mid-motion.
Frantically, she searched the surrounding area with her eyes for other Death Eaters. There were none at the moment—but there was also no way out of here without running into one either.
She racked her brain, trying to think straight. It was difficult with the constant yelling surrounding her. There were just too many people.
Lily felt helpless as she noticed the anxious stares of the group around her. She was head girl; she should be able to do something.
How did the Death Eaters get into Hogwarts anyways? According to what she knew, the grounds blocked all apparation. They had to have flown here.
"Okay guys," she yelled, desperately trying to get their attention, "I need you to sneak under the stands and stay there. Crawl beneath the seats and hide."
Immediately, the defenseless children scattered.
"Don't leave, until we declare it's safe," she warned. "And do not get up!"
Upon seeing the empty area around her, she nodded. It wasn't the safest to leave them there, but at least they were out of sight. The problem with this attack was that a lot of the older students hadn't attended the game—and almost all of the younger ones had. They could barely cast a protection spell for themselves, as if it would do them any good anyways.
The older students, on the other hand, could defend themselves if they stayed calm and stuck together.
Lily looked to the teachers stands, comforted in the fact that they were fighting. It looked as if most of the Death Eaters had chosen to deal with the adults first, while the others stationed themselves around the exits. Nobody could get out.
She surveyed the scene. There weren't a lot of them. Forty at most—twenty at least.
She tilted her head up towards the sky, looking for any signs of their leader. Knowing Voldemort, Lily expected him to either be present watching the mayhem from above, or safely tucked miles and miles away.
She rather hoped it was the latter.
Finding no signs of him, she continued looking in the sky for James. She had last seen him as he and the other seeker flew up to catch the snitch. A scream had been heard a few boxes to her left, and she had turned to see what had happened.
Everything had occurred so fast. In one moment, everyone seemed to be lost, looking between each other, all wondering about the scream, and in the next, the Death Eaters had already descended into the stands and headed to their predetermined areas, hexing everyone in their way ruthlessly.
She had barely enough time to look into the empty pitch and notice James was missing. Then she had been tossed roughly out of the way by the statue, née Death Eater.
"Lily!" shouted Beth from below. Apparently, some of the men had left the adults to begin terrorizing and Beth was a victim.
"Beth!" cried Lily. She was too far away to do anything. Earlier in the game, Beth had decided she wanted to move to the front, and Lily was contented to stay at the back, where there was less of a crowd.
"Beth!" she cried again, as she saw her friend try and blast one of the Death Eaters away. The Death Eaters simply flicked his wand and the spell was deflected.
Beth stumbled back.
Beth looked between the two men, her heart thumping loudly. In both directions, there was no way out. In front of her was the quidditch pitch and behind her were the stands. If she tried climbing up them, one of the men would surely hit her with a spell first.
She was thoroughly trapped.
Then the men advanced towards her. One lifted his hand up, his thick scarred fingers grasped tightly around his wand. His fingers were grimy, nails filled with dirt—reminding Beth of a sewer rat. He put the wand under her chin, forcing her to look up.
Beth wasn't foolish and complied, although she sent a hard glare at the two men, now cackling madly before her. She shivered involuntarily. The cruel laughter was like the sound of nails on a chalkboard to her ear.
"Pre'y one ain't she?" one said roughly, in imperfect English. He took his wand of her chin and used the tip to push her bangs back.
"Aye. It'd be a pity."
Beth narrowed her eyes and shook her head, roughly forcing the wand away. "Let go of me."
The man returned his wand to her throat, no longer laughing. "Her wand," he said coldly to the other man.
The other death eater snatched her wand away from her reluctant hand. And no matter how hard Beth struggled, he was far stronger than she was. Then he dropped it on the floor and kicked it away.
Beth felt her hope die as her wand was ripped from her hand, even more so as she heard it roll against the wooden floor.
It seemed as though all the noise save the wand rolling had been muffled—the panicking people, the agonizing screams, the insane wild laughter, Lily's screaming her name…all gone—leaving only the echo of the wand against the wood in her ear.
Beth was powerless without her wand.
She was done for.
"What do you want from me?" she said, refusing to let her defeat be acknowledged to the two attackers. She refused to be humiliated…she refused to cry. Beth knew she would rather kill herself then let these despicable, vile men torture her, laugh at her and mock her. No, she would not be humiliated.
The man with the wand at her throat used his other hand to grip her arm. She shuddered at the thought of his hand on her skin—the scarred abused hand, filthy and dirty. He roughly swiveled her around, pushing the wander deeper into her flesh. She closed her eyes in pain. The throbbing in her head increasing with everyone moment the wand stayed in contact with her neck.
The man was muttering a chant.
"Grimes. Ypes… I'll kill you." stated a low voice in front of Beth. She almost didn't recognize it. It was so cold, so murderous. It was almost as if it was another Death Eater, but Beth knew it wasn't. It was her savior.
She heard two feet plant on the ground, and she assumed he was landing from his broom.
The muttering stopped, as did the throbbing pain, but the man never loosened his grip on her arm.
"Just like Regulus said," he cackled behind her. "Just like Regulus said."
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"Jodie, oh thanks god," sighed Remus, pulling Jodie into a big bear hug. They had been steadily dating since their first date a while back.
She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Remus," she cried into his shoulder. She pulled back. "The others?"
His expression was grim.
"Nobody can get out," said Remus, looking around to ensure it was safe. They were surrounded with people, but no Death Eaters seemed to be advancing into the crowd. It would be suicide on their part. "We should be fine if we stay in groups," he said. "There's almost two hundred of us and thirty or so of them."
"Except most of us can't do anything," she cried.
"It's fine Jo," he said, no smile appearing on his face as would usually happen, "it'd be suicide for one of them to head into such a big crowd alone."
"And the teachers?"
"They're holding them off. I think Lily got one of them."
"ALONE?" yelped Jodie. She wished Remus would correct her, but he didn't. Lily really was alone.
"She's trapped higher up over there," he said, pointing. "If she tries to head down the steps, she'd be heading straight into one of the positioned Death Eaters."
"She can't be alone! Where's James?"
Remus pointed up.
"Two Death Eaters followed James and Marissa Stevens up."
"Then…wait…How about the rest of the Quidditch teams?" cried Jodie, reaching out to grab Remus' arm for balance as she was pushed by another girl. Remus took her into his arms, positioning his feet wider apart to brace himself from the struggling and restless crowd..
"Most landed onto the stands."
"Most?"
"Sirius flew somewhere. And Henry Massie was knocked off the broom."
"Is he—"
"Nobody knows."
"How many are hurt?"
"Nobody knows that either. There are too many people. It shouldn't be a lot though," he considered. "No, the teachers have it under control, but we can't stay here Jodie." He was pushed forward, knocking into another person. "We have to find a way out."
Jodie nodded, understandingly. "But they have all the exits blocked…"
"Then we'll just have to unblock them," he resolved, "Stay here."
"No!" she yelled. Looking around cautiously, she answered, "Are you joking me? I'm coming Remus. I'm not leaving you."
He nodded reluctantly and grabbed her hand, ducking under the stands and into the space below. He began walking.
Unfortunately, the Death Eater at the nearby entrance saw them.
"Going somewhere?" she asked, ducking under the stands as well with her wand pointed at their backs.
"Mission accomplished," whispered Jodie. "That was fast."
And indeed, the Death Eater had left an entrance open for student to escape. Remus wrapped his fingers around his wand.
The Death Eater saw the movement in his robes though and immediately disarmed him.
"Expelliarmus!" she shouted.
Jodie, predicting the Death Eater's reaction, cast her own spell at the same time. She whipped around. "Confundo!"
The Death Eater stumbled forward, knocking her head against the low wooden roof over them. Then she wobbled unsteadily and fell to the ground, unconcious.
Remus quickly walked over to his wand. He picked it up. "Incarcerous," he said, watching as ropes magically wind around the knocked out woman. He knelt down beside her and kicked away her forgotten wand.
"Better safe than sorry," agreed Jodie walking up as well.
"Let's get going. We have nine more to go."
"What's the next plan?"
"I thought you'd have one," he said.
"And I had thought you were the mastermind behind the Marauders," she said, trying to crack a joke to lighten the atmosphere. It was no use. The noise above hung heavily over them. "Ok, so here's how we can do it."
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"Confringo!" Lily shouted, blasting the ground before the two advancing Death Eaters. They had found she was alone, and had decided that she would be an easier target than a crowd of other kids. Two against one—Death Eaters never played fair.
She looked down at Beth quickly, only to see the back of two men now. But she didn't have time to contemplate that as a curse narrowly flew by her.
They threw hex after hex at her, closing the distance between them slowly.
"You can't dodge them forever," cried the man, "Crucio—crucio!"
The last curse brushed against Lily's hair. It was too close for comfort. She felt the power radiate past her.
She ignored it, and dodged yet another one, the pain in her muscles screaming their reluctance. She ignored that too, waiting for the perfect moment while dodging.
"Impedimenta!" she screamed, as one man paused to catch his breath. The man went flying backwards, slamming harshly against the stairs as he rolled down it, his body binded by the spell Lily cast. He slumped, unconscious, in a pile at the bottom. The floor under the weight squeaked in protest.
A sixth year quickly disarmed the man, throwing the wand triumphantly over the edge into the depth below. Cheering nearby ensued, and Lily felt momentarily brightened.
Lily tried to turn her head back to the other man, but found her body fully immobilized. In her distraction, she had mistakenly forgotten about the other Death Eater. Now, he had cast a freezing charm over her.
She blinked and attempted to move her hand. It was futile.
The Death Eater smiled, allowing his crooked yellow teeth to show through. Some were missing.
He began walking towards Lily, laughing.
"That was good," he admitted, "but this—this—will be better."
And then, in all of a sudden, he lurched forward. Not in attack though…in pain. He collapsed in a heap at her feet, the charm wearing off as the caster lost power. Lily instinctively took his wand and snapped it in half, whether he was capable of using it or not. Then, she peered over the man's wound. It was a visible wound. A deep gash, seemingly caused by a sword.
She had never seen this spell cast before. She had never even heard of the spell.
She looked around, searching the district for the person who had saved her. Nobody seemed to stand out, and just as she was about to give up, she caught a flash of familiar black greasy hair disappearing into the crowd.
"Snape?" she wondered allowed.
"It couldn't be."
But then again, Hogwarts had been the safest place she had ever known. It had been thought that an attack here would be impossible.
Impossible was nothing.
She regarded the scene in front of her. Yes, impossible is truly nothing. Panic had decreased now, and the older students all around had begun to restore order. Slytherins banded with Ravenclaws. Ravenclaws banded with Gryffindors. Gryffindors banded with Hufflepuffs and so on.
She watched as another Death Eater fell victim to a gang of students.
Another down, many more to go.
James, she begged, please be okay. He was still no where to be seen.
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WOW. That was long. If I was evil, I would have split that chapter into two. But no:) since it's already a cliffy.
I hoped you guys liked it. I'm not very good at writing the whole…attack and fear and panic type of scenes, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Oh, and I know that James may not be thousands of feet of the ground, I'm not really sure how high they fly, so please excuse that.