"I've a date with Evans. I've a date with Evans".
"Prongs, will you shut up?" Remus said exasperatedly, putting a bookmark in the page he was reading, and putting the book down beside him on his bed.
"You've been saying that for an hour".
"Nonstop" Sirius added, looking up from the Marauders Map.
James looked offended.
"You don't understand" he said "its Evans. Lily Evans, I have a date with her this Saturday" James finished in awe.
Remus shook his head, picking up his book again, and continuing to read, as Sirius muttered "Pathetic".
But all the same, they were very happy that James had finally manged to get the girl he wanted so much.
Even if he was being an annoying git.
On the Saturday morning, James got up particularly early, which was unusual for him, as he prefered to sleep a little longer.
"Do you think I should do my hair?" he asked Sirius, as they sat down in the Great Hall for breakfast.
Sirius looked at him for a moment, then said "I think she likes that nest more".
"Really?" James asked, surprised. "But she always gets so annoyed when I mess it up".
"If she gets annoyed when you mess it up, so don't do it" Remus said, his face hidden behind the Daily Prophet.
"Where are going?" Peter asked eagerly.
James' smile faded a little but he quickly restored it.
"I haven't really thought of that" he admitted, tucking into his porridge.
"Wherever you go, avoid Madam Puddifoots'" Sirius told him.
"Why?"
"Because the only time I went there, I had to resist the urge to run away as far away from it as I could" Sirius said, half laughing. "You will feel awkward, and unless you want to take things fast..." he trailed off, knowingly. James, embarrassed, threw his spoon at his best friend. Sirius ducked.
James looked up the ceiling, and saw, to his relief, the sky was very bright and a clear blue today.
"Oh no..." Remus whispered, staring at the paper with wide eyes. "It's... horrible".
"What happened?" the other three asked at once. Remus flattened the newspaper and handed it to James. Sirius and Peter leaned in to read.
"The Dementors have joined Voldemort?" Sirius muttered, looking up.
Peter gave a whimper.
"But why have they joined him?" James asked.
"I don't know" said Remus fearfully "maybe because Voldemort can give them more victims than the Ministry can".
There was a silence.
"Bet the Minister can convince them in making them reform soon" James said, though he sounded a bit doubtful.
"Best they do" Remus said quietly, folding up the paper.
"You'd better hurry up Prongs, you don't want to be late on your first date" he said, looking at his friend, whose cheerful mood had been a bit deflated by the horrible news.
"What? Oh...yeah" James sighed and put his spoon down.
"We'll be hanging out in the Three Broomsticks, you can come up to us any time you two like" Sirius said, grinning a bit.
"Yeah, yeah, don't try to spoil it for us" James warned him. Sirius gasped, clutching his heart.
"Why should I spoil your first date with ginger?" he demanded, dramatically.
James narrowed his eyes, but decided to drop the subject.
Ten minutes later, James was making his way down the Entrance Hall on his own. He found Lily standing near the front door, wearing a light blue midi dress and sneakers, her long dark red hair tied in a braid, and looking very pretty.
James gulped as he reached her. He was wearing a jeans and a casual tee shirt.
"You look pretty" he blurted out. Lily flashed him a smile. James' mood lifted as he saw her shining face. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier.
"Thank you, you're also looking very nice" she remarked, looking him over. James felt his confidence grow.
"Lets go then?" she said.
"Yeah... c'mon" said James and both of them made their way out of the castle, talking all way about school and their head duties. James was very pleased that his nerves had cooled down and that he wasn't being rambly. He found out quite a lot stuff about her. Though they had stopped bickering all the time because of their Head duties at the beginning of the year, they haven't really talked with each other that much. He found out that she was a football fan, though he didn't know what football was, so she had to explain this game with a ball and two goalposts to him.
"...and then when one team scores, it secures a goal for them" she finished.
"Thats a bit like Quidditch" James said thoughtfully, as they entered Hogsmeade "with...with two hoops and eleven Chasers only?" he said excitedly "and on the ground rather in the air".
Lily laughed. "Quite right".
James immediately made up his mind to watch a game of football once.
"Where do we go?" Lily asked, turning to face him.
"Ah...dunno, lets go to Zonko's for a bit. Only if its okay?" he added hastily.
"Of course its okay" Lily smiled. They went to Zonko's Joke shop, from where James bought quite a few things for their upcoming pranks.
"You are Head boy" Lily told him again and again.
"These are harmless. And one could do with a bit of laugh, can't they?" James grinned cheekily. Lily rolled her eyes.
They then went to the Owl Office because Lily had to send a letter to her sister.
"I don't know if she'll open it or not...but she's getting married this June and I wanted to offer her my congratulations..."
Seeing the sad look on her face, James felt his heart break. Not having any sibling himself, he didn't quite know what to say, though he had a little bit experience, having talked to Sirius about his brother.
"Don't let your sister spoil your mood Lils" James said gently "Are you thirsty? Lets have some coffee, c'mon".
"Yes, lets go" Lily said, sighing deeply, and making up her mind not to let Petunia spoil her mood.
"Oh lets go to Madam Puddifoots" Lily said, as James tried to go towards the Three Broomsticks.
"Eh?"
"Madam Puddifoots, I have never gone there, and Emmeline said that it is a really lovely place" Lily said cheerfully.
James thought of Sirius' warning about not going there, but he couldn't help feeling curious. Alas, his curiosity won and they progressed towards a small tea shop.
It was a cramped, steamy little place and everything seemed to have been decorated with frills or bows here.
"Ooh, it's lovely, isn't it?" Lily asked happily.
"Ah...yeah" James said awkwardly. He didn't find the place lovely at all. On the contrary, he found it quite hideous, but if Lily liked it, he will suffer in silence. They walked into the tea shop and sat down at a table beside the steamy window. James looked around him, and immediately understood what Sirius had meant by saying "you will feel awkward".
The place was full of couples either holding hands or kissing each other senseless.
Lily seemed a bit uncomfortable too.
"Shall we order coffee then?" she said.
"Yes".
"Excuse me, could you bring us two cups of coffee?" she called to Madam Puddifoot. She was a very stout woman with shiny black hair, tied into a bun on the back of her head.
"Of course, my dears" she said.
"So, what do you do during the summers?" James asked Lily as they waited for their coffee to arrive.
"Oh you know" Lily shrugged, twirling a strand of her hair round her finger tips "just basic stuff everyone does. Sometimes dad takes us for swimming though".
"Where, is there a lake in your backyard?"
"Oh no" Lily laughed "there's a club a little while away from Cokeworth which has a swimming pool in it".
"Oh" James said.
"I personally play Quidditch during the holidays, I haven't really got much to do during the summer. When the boys come over, then it gets less boring, though" he said.
There coffees arrived, and they drank it in a comfortable silence. They chatted a bit longer and James was too happy to think of anything else. His date so far was going brilliantly.
After a while, they set off for the Three Broomsticks, where James would be meeting his friends.
"It's cold, isn't it?" Lily whispered, as the sky turned into a pale-yellow colour.
"Hmm" James looked at her and saw that her pale cheeks were rather pink from the cold. He put his arms around her tentatively, as if to bloke the cold. Lily looked a little surprised at first, but after a while she leaned into his arms. They walked in silence, past the shops from where the sounds of laughter were coming out.
They reached the Three Broomsticks and at once James found his friends, sitting in their usual spot. James and Lily made their way towards them. They didn't seem to have noticed their arrival.
"Hey!" James said cheerfully, making them all jump.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius exclaimed.
James raised his eyebrows as he and Lily took a seat. "I was under the impression that I was going to get a warm welcome, not a surprised reaction".
Remus rolled his eyes. "We thought you two would rather spend time together".
"We did, and now we want to hang out with you lot" Lily interjected.
"What did you do?" Peter asked excitedly but Sirius gave a disbelieving snort and said "Do you really want to know what they did?"
Peter flushed. So did James and Lily, and they glared at Sirius.
"For your information, we didn't do anything... complicated to explain" James said scornfully.
"I'm taking your word for that" Sirius grinned, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes.
"How was your day?" Lily asked Remus, the only other Marauder than James who was her friend. Well, James was more than a friend, though...
"Quite nice" Remus said, shrugging. "We went to Zonko's to buy some stuff and then we've been hanging out in here since".
"We also went to Zonko's, didn't we Lily?" James said, looking at her.
"Yes, and you bought an awful lot of pranking products" Lily said, shaking her head.
"Head boy not behaving like one" Sirius remarked dryly.
James grinned. "I'm-".
But at that precise moment, a scream came from outside the shop, catching everybody's attention.
"What is it?" "What's happened?"
A man came running into the shop and wrenched the door open.
"What?" asked Madam Rosmerta urgently.
"Death Eaters" the man panted. "Attacked in the Hogs Head".
There was instant uproar.
Everyone in the pub got to their feet and the Prefects hurried to make sure that the third and fourth years were taken back up to the castle.
"Take them to Honeydukes" shouted James over all the noise. "Remus, show them through the passageway".
Remus nodded and escorted the third years with another prefect.
James wrenched the door to the pub open and set off at a run to help the others.
"Watch out!" yelled Sirius, who had followed him, Lily at his heel.
James looked round, and ducked. A jet of red light missed him narrowly.
"Expelliarmus!"
James shouted, pointing his wand at the Death Eater who had thrown the hex at him, and disarmed him
"Petrificus Totalus!" cried Sirius, and the Death Eater bend over, rigid as a board.
The three of them had taken down a few more Death Eaters when Remus came running to them, out of breath.
"The third years are going to alert Dumbledore-" he began.
"Stupefy!" shouted Lily, pointing her wand at a Death Eater who was trying to Stun Remus from the back.
They took down several more Death Eaters until there was a scream from the other side, and Lily ran towards it's source; the Three Broomsticks.
Mary was crouching behind an upturned table, panting. A man stood over her, his wand raised.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Lily screamed, wand pointed at the man. The man's arms and legs snapped together and he fell face-flat on his front. Lily hurried towards Mary.
"Are you okay?" she asked urgently.
"Yes!" gasped Mary, staring at her. "I was trying to get the kids out and hadn't noticed he had followed me in. He...he did the Cruciatus Curse on me" she finished in a terrified whisper.
"C'mon, let's get out of here" Lily said, pulling her back to her feet "where are the other girls?"
"Marlene was fighting some of the Death Eaters earlier and Alice was trying to escort the children. I haven't seen them since".
"C'mon" Lily repeated but at that moment there was a blast like a bomb from outside the pub, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the shops around.
They dashed out of the pub and to help the others. They saw a Death Eater aiming at Marlene from behind her.
"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Lily and Mary together, and the man kneeled backwards, rigid as a board. Marlene wheeled round.
"Oh Lily, you're OK?" she sounded highly relieved. "I didn't see you at the entrance, I was so worried..."
"Look out!"
Somebody yelled and Lily turned just in time to avoid a jet of green light herself. In all the action and fight, the three of them got separated from each other. Lily was looking for James as she didn't yet know where he was or what had happened to him.
She ducked as she saw a flash of green light coming her way, and turned round towards it's caster. She felt all the breath leave her lungs.
Tall, thin, and black-hooded, white-skinned with his face like a snake's...Lord Voldemort was staring at Lily with his pitiless red eyes, his wand pointed directly at her heart.
"So a Mudblood. Trying to win over pure-bloods" he hissed at Lily, who was frozen to the spot. "You've managed to get your own way this far, not anymore..."
Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Lily, who suddenly jerked out of her shock. She raised her own wand at him, and before Voldemort could open his mouth, cried "Expelliarmus!"
But nothing happened. Voldemort's lipless mouth curled into a terrible smile.
"Ah... brave girl, yes, I value bravery" he narrowed his eyes "but not if it is shown against me, then you shall pay".
"Stupefy!" Lily shouted but, again nothing happened. Voldemort laughed. A high, cold, merciless laugh that made the hair on her neck stand still.
"Crucio!"
Lily screamed as she fell to her knees; it was pain beyond anything she'd ever experienced before, her very bones were on fire...
The curse was suddenly lifted, and raising her head, she saw someone standing over her protectively, but the person had his back to her, so she couldn't see his face...
Before Lily had time to do anything else, she blacked out.
James was looking frantically for Lily. They had been separated during some part of the fight, but try as he might, he couldn't find her. He suddenly noticed Marlene crouching on the floor, clutching her ankle. James hurried towards her.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Marlene looked up at him with a pained expression.
"I think I have got my ankle broken" she muttered, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Blimey, can't you stand?" James asked hurriedly.
"I guess not" she groaned. "Mary and I were taking on some Death Eaters and I didn't notice one behind me and he hit me with a spell that sent me flying and I landed here, with a broken ankle to boot".
"Marlene" James said, stuck by a sudden thought "have you seen Lily?"
"We were together" she admitted "but then we got separated. I think she went this way, though" she pointed at the nearest alleyway.
"What's going on?"
A familiar voice said from behind. James had never been more pleased to see his best friend.
"Marlene's broken an ankle" he told Sirius, who's lip was bleeding "can you carry her back up to the castle? I've to go look for Evans".
"How did you-?" Sirius began but a blust of light cut him across.
"There's no time to explain" said James impatiently. "You take her, okay?"
"Alright" Sirius said, bending down to grab Marlene's waist. She moved away from him.
"I don't need help-" she began.
"Don't act like a baby" Sirius scolded her, carrying her bridal style "you know you can't walk properly". Marlene scowled as Sirius turned towards his best friend.
"Where is Evans?" he demanded.
But James had already set off at a run towards the alleyway, ducking curses and hexes flying over his head.
"Lily!" he shouted as he rounded a corner. There was no one around.
A scream raided the air, and heart beating rather madly, James wheeled around and ran towards the source. He turned another corner and felt his heart stop.
Voldemort was standing over Lily, his wand pointed at her, as she twitched and screamed in agony.
James saw red. Gone was his fear for Voldemort, at this moment, he felt nothing but outrageous anger towards the black hooded man in front of him.
He raised his wand and pointed it at Voldemort.
"Stupefy!" he cried, and Voldemort lifted the curse at once. He turned around slowly to face him.
James strode over to where Lily lay, gasping for breath, strands of hair attached to her forehead. He stood in front of her protectively.
"You won't hurt her" he said fiercely to the Dark Lord.
"James Potter" Voldemort hissed, in a high, cold voice, "pure-blood, and you come from a very well-known family too. You can join me and be awarded beyond your wildest dreams. Will you join me?"
James couldn't believe his ears.
"Are you out of your mind?" he said incredulously. "Of course not".
Voldemort's red eyes glinted.
"Very well then, those who refuse Lord Voldemort have to pay" he raised his wand again "Cruc-"
"Expelliarmus" shouted James, but nothing happened.
"That doesn't work against me, Potter" said Voldemort, smiling in an evilly triumphant manner.
"Stupefy!" James shouted, but again, nothing happened just than Voldemort staggering backwards.
"Crucio" hissed Voldemort.
But James was too fast for him. The spell had barely left Voldemort's lips when he casted the Shield Charm over himself and Lily.
He managed to hold Voldemort off until the cry of "Dumbledore!" raided the air. Voldemort lifted the curse at once, and turned back.
Professor Dumbledore was marching towards him, wand held at ready, giving a powerful aura as he walked further.
"You shouldn't have caused all this trouble here Tom" he said quietly.
"I don't need a Muggle-loving fool telling me what I ought to do" Voldemort hissed, and then he shouted "Retreat Death Eaters". And before anyone could do anything, he was gone.
Dumbledore stared at the place where Voldemort had been merely seconds before, then at James and Lily, who was still unconscious.
"I advise you to take Miss Evans to the hospital wing at once, Mr. Potter" he said gently.
James nodded and carried Lily in his arms. As he got to feet, Dumbledore walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You both have been incredibly brave, James" he said "I am proud of you".
A/N: Hey everyone, how're you all? This chapter has been rather an awfully big one, but after not updating for such a long time, think of this as my way for making it up.So did you like the chapter? The first time Lily and James defied the Dark Lord?If you did, please drop in a comment, and constructive criticism is always welcome, so are reviews.Meet you in the next chapter, then!~Nat