A/N: Thank you fancy blood and Tessy11 for your reviews and thank you to everyone who's following the story. I'm really glad you guys liked the first chapter!

Anyway, I won't keep you from finding out what happens next. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own the storyline and nothing else. Unfortunately.

Chapter Two

'Oh, Jesus Christ…' Lily murmured to herself, leaning around the tree to see the Death Eaters were busy conferring with one another. She took the opportunity to dart across to the next tree.

She made it and pressed herself against the bark, closing her eyes briefly. Her Gryffindor bravery was more lacking than she had thought. From where she was hiding, she could see the other group, crouched similarly to her own a little further back. She could see Frank was among them. That meant they were the last group. He spotted her, his eyes widening, but she shook her head, imploring the Head boy to stay where he was.

Taking another deep breath, she checked to see the Death Eaters were still busy talking and then leapt over to the next tree.

'Two down, fifty to go.'

This continued for every single tree until she had covered her desired distance. If she stepped a little further to the right, a little out of the cover of her current tree, she had a straight aim to one of the Death Eaters. It was time for the truly horrendous part of her plan.

'Shit.' Flinging out her wand, Lily scrunched up her eyes and whispered, 'stupefy.'

One of the Death Eaters fell with a thud.

'What the –'

'There's someone here!' another screeched. A woman. 'Search the area.'

This was the moment Lily had been dreading. She stepped out completely from behind the tree and fired another Stunning Spell. This one missed, exploding a low hanging branch.

'Over there!' one of them shouted, pointing in Lily's direction. It was time to run.

Lily sprinted forwards, firing any jinx that came into her head, sometimes hitting her quarry, sometimes not. She didn't know where her energy was coming from, but she sped up somehow, hopping between trees like a hare or deer. A jet of green light streaked past her ear.

'Like that, little girlie?' her nearest pursuer sang; the woman. The volume of her voice told Lily she wasn't too far away. 'Plenty more where that came from.'

In the corner of her eye, she could see both groups of students making a beeline for the direction of the school. Seeing this, Lily changed direction, running diagonally forwards, drawing the Death Eaters away from them. The ground was becoming increasingly uneven, with many rabbit holes starting to appear as the trees all but stopped.

It was much harder to run as fast now. Avoiding the rabbit holes was a hard-enough task as it was but her oxygen debt was in definite need of being paid. She rasped onwards, sending an Impediment Jinx over her shoulder. It hit the woman; she cursed furiously before letting out a rather unsettling laugh.

Distracted, Lily stumbled and fell. Not being too far behind, the woman managed to catch up and dive on top of her before she could stand up. They struggled, Lily desperately wrestling her way out of the woman's grip as she made to squeeze her neck.

'Don't fight, babykins.' she crooned, smiling madly, her eyes popping. 'I'll be done soon.'

Already out of breath and now having her windpipe swiftly shut, Lily could barely do anything except gasp.

'R-Relashio.' she croaked, making the woman leap up in pain as she was blasted with red hot sparks. Scrambling to her feet, Lily darted past her, her chest aching as she tried to inhale any air she could. Her legs were beginning to feel like jelly, her vision was swaying slightly.

She skidded out of reach as another Death Eater lunged for her and Stunned him for good measure as he fell flat on his face. All she could content herself with was the thought that everyone else would almost have reached the school by now. Hopefully.

Thinking she might change direction and find Hagrid, who would likely still be in the woods somewhere, she hadn't seen him with the others, Lily hopped around the fallen Death Eater. Hurrying back towards the forest, she saw a small lump near where the trees ended. It looked almost like a –

'Fuck me!'

Lily changed course again, running in the direction of a fallen first year, who must have been left behind in the panic of leaving the forest. Wheezing, Lily reached them, seeing it was the little girl from the train. She seemed to be struggling to stand.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she spotted Lily. She must have been scared senseless.

'Climb on.' Lily said, crouching down. 'I'll give you a piggy back.'

The first year climbed onto her back and Lily set off again, much slower now she had a weight on her back. She had just reached the cover of the trees when a sharp pain hit her leg. A cackle told her she had been hit by a spell cast by the woman, but she couldn't afford to look, they had to keep going.

The pain was spreading thick and fast, the sensation in her leg redolent of her bone splintering. Soon it became unbearable and she knew that if she didn't stop moving, she would collapse. Lily hid the pair of them behind a tree, depositing the first year and resting her foot against the tree, examining her leg. She couldn't make out anything through her tights, there wasn't even a sign that a spell had hit them, but when she touched them, blood came off on her fingers.

'Come out, little children!' the woman was shouting. 'I want to play. I promise I'll be nice.'

With a great effort, Lily knelt beside the first year. Somehow, she managed to smile at her.

'Show me your ankle.' she said quietly, and the little girl obliged. 'Episkey.'

Gingerly, the first year tested her newly healed ankle and then nodded.

'What's your name?'

'Daisy.' the girl whispered. Her eyes were still spilling tears and her hands trembled.

'Well, Daisy, I want you to do something for me.' Lily told her, smiling reassuringly. 'I know you're scared but I need you to be very very brave. I'm going to make you invisible and then I want you run where the others went. You'll reach a wall eventually and I want you to walk along it until you reach a gate. I want you to go through the gate and up to the castle. You'll be safe then. Can you do that for me?'

Daisy nodded.

'Good.' Gently, Lily placed the tip of her wand on the girl's head, murmuring the incantation. Slowly, she watched more and more of Daisy blend in with her background and once she was out of sight, Lily nodded. 'Go.'

Waiting a minute, Lily took a deep breath and shot up some green sparks. There was a shriek of victory from somewhere and then the sound of running.

'Good, little girlie!' the woman was singing. 'We're going to have so much fun together.'

Lily exhaled, standing up and leaning against the tree behind her. Despite her imminent death, a small chuckle escaped her lips. Professor Acranum might have been correct about her being doomed but she really oughtn't to have trusted his predicted cause of death. Maybe he wasn't as a good a medium as he thought he was.

She could hear the woman barely a metre away but for some odd reason she could also hear galloping. Perhaps, in her last few moments, she was going mad.

'What the –'

Lily started at the confusion in the woman's voice and a second later she knew why. A stag had appeared out of nowhere and in one swift movement it had picked her up in its antlers. In her own bewilderment, Lily managed to bring herself onto its back, so it was able to increase its speed and she wasn't in danger of falling off.

She had no idea what was going on, but she didn't have time to dwell on that. A jinx came whizzing past, barely missing her head. Lily twisted herself around and send a Stunning Spell behind her. It didn't hit anything, so she tried again. 'Levicorpus!'

A Death Eater was yanked into the air by their ankle. Lily and the stag got another spell sent in their direction because of that.

They were gaining distance between them and their pursuers; the stag's four legs and excellent stamina were the reason for this. Lily didn't know whether the stag knew where it was going or whether it had saved her by accident but currently it was her best chance at survival. As trees and fired curses rushed past her, Lily thought of Daisy, who was running out in these woods somewhere.

'Flipendo.' She sent out another jinx, spotting a Death Eater in her firing line. 'Accio Daisy.'

Lily had no idea whether her second spell had worked, Daisy was too far away to reach her instantly, so she clung tighter to the stag and sent another spell at their chasers.

They had reached the tall stone wall that surrounded the Hogwarts grounds and the stag changed direction so abruptly he almost threw Lily off. Then they were off again, charging along the wall, supposedly in the direction of the school gate.

Lily grunted as something heavy thudded into her. Realising what it was, Lily held on with her free arm, letting out a small sigh of relief.

'Daisy!' she exclaimed, helping the first-year climb into a more secure position. 'You're all right… That's good…'

The school gate was in sight and Lily's heart leapt in relief. Safety was in reach. She removed Daisy's Disillusionment Charm, smiling weakly as the pain in her leg reminded her of its existence. Magically, sensing their arrival, the gates began to creak open. Daisy clung tightly to Lily's robes as the stag sped up, seeing their goal was up ahead. Then she screamed.

The woman Death Eater sprung out from behind a tree, letting out her own bloodcurdling shriek. Daisy shrunk into Lily's back as the woman flew towards them.

'Stupefy.' Lily said, and the woman froze in mid-air, falling with a satisfying crunch to the ground.

The stag leapt skilfully through the open gates and they slammed shut after them. Both Daisy and Lily were flung onto the ground a few feet in front from the force of the jump.

'Aha…' Lily murmured, rolling onto her back and closing her eyes. The pain in her leg was getting worse. What had been numbed by adrenalin was now fighting back, beating against her sensory nerves for attention. 'We're safe…'

She pushed herself into a sitting position to see the stag morph into a teenage boy with abnormally messy hair and rectangular glasses. James Potter got to his feet and stormed over to her.

'What the fuck, Evans? What the fuck were you thinking?' he shouted at her, his hazel eyes filling with fire.

'Just wanted one minute of fame…' she replied faintly, the scene before her swimming.

'Evans, you fucking idiot!' James seethed, seemingly ignoring her attempt at humour.

'We'll have none of that language, Mr Potter.' Professor McGonagall scolded, striding over to the pair of them out of nowhere, her face white, Daisy clutching her hand as if it was a life support. 'Miss Evans, are you all right?'

'Yeah, yeah…' Lily assured her, an unfocused smile playing about her cheeks. Her leg really was making it difficult to keep her vision in focus. There seemed to be several Transfiguration teachers hovering over her. 'I'm fine…'

And then, for Lily at least, everything went dark.

…

She awoke what felt like years later in a wonderfully comfortably bed. Her surroundings were all white and for a moment she wondered if she was in heaven. It was only when she took in Madame Pomfrey muttering to herself by her bedside that she realised she wasn't. Lily had nothing personal against the Hogwarts matron, she had just never, when she thought of what heaven was like, specifically pictured Madame Pomfrey in it.

Propping herself on her elbows, Lily shifted herself slightly. She couldn't feel her right leg at all.

'Oh, you're awake.' Madame Pomfrey said, bustling over to table across the room and coming back with a laden breakfast tray.

'Thanks.' Lily said politely, accepting the tray. She glanced about her. 'How long have I been here?'

'Only a night.' The matron pursed her lips. 'And the Headmaster says you're to be allowed to go to your lessons today should you wish.'

'I probably should.' Lily mused, pouring herself some cereal. 'First day of NEWTs is important.'

'Hmph.' Madame Pomfrey's hands shook slightly as she poured Lily a glass of water on her bedside table. 'You'll need to see me every two days for a new bandage for your leg. And you'll need to take some prescribed potions once a day and a painkilling potion twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.'

'Is my leg all right?' Lily asked, biting her lip and putting down the milk she had been about to pour over her cereal. 'I know it was bleeding… Is it really that bad?'

'You'll be needing crutches for at least a month.' Madame Pomfrey told her primly. 'And you'll be limping for quite some time afterwards. The wound itself should take at least six months to heal.'

'Six – six months?' Lily spluttered, gaping at the school matron. 'But it can't be that bad. It was only a hex…'

'It was a very ancient curse.' Madame Pomfrey corrected, sniffing. She poured milk over Lily's cereal and gave her the spoon in a rather forceful manner. 'Now, eat.'

Lily did as she was told. The Hogwarts matron was quite terrifying when angry, and currently there were practically flames bursting from her lips. As Lily ate, she strode about the hospital wing, airing the other beds in the ward with such vigour she could have knocked out a small child with the duvet she was shaking. All the while she muttered furiously to herself, Lily catching a few words when she came to the bed next to hers.

'… absolute catastrophe… what were they thinking… where were the Aurors… completely incompetent fools…'

Once she was finished eating, Madame Pomfrey helped Lily to the ward bathroom where, with great difficulty, she washed and dressed in the school robes Marlene had apparently brought over last night. After that, Lily spent about ten minutes coming to terms with her new crutches, Madame Pomfrey helpfully casting a Cushioning Charm on the handles to make them more comfortable.

Reluctantly, Madame Pomfrey dismissed her, and Lily made her way, slowly, down to the Great Hall. She might have eaten breakfast, but she still needed her new timetable and then she would have to head up to Gryffindor Tower to get her school things, assuming her trunk had made it to her dormitory.

At least she wasn't going to lose her leg, Lily decided, that thought bringing a little comfort in its wake.

The stairs in the Entrance Hall took her quite some time to descend, her crutches making them appear far steeper than she ever remembered. Eventually, she reached the open doors into the Great Hall and made her way through the threshold.

Her arrival inspired a squeal from Alice, the Head girl. She charged up to her and engulfed her in a hug before apologising profusely as she almost knocked Lily over in the process.

'Lily, you are the bravest person I have ever met.' she declared, taking it upon herself to abandon her breakfast on the Ravenclaw table to guide Lily over to the Gryffindor table, where Marlene sat, watching her come over, her face neutral. 'And also the craziest. But you saved us all!'

'Ha.' Lily scoffed, glad the Gryffindor table was close.

'And all by yourself too!' Alice gushed, beaming up at her. 'How on earth did you manage it?'

'Potter saved me.' Lily said, almost singing at the opportunity to sit down. 'I didn't do it alone.'

'Well, it should've been me and Frank doing all that.' Alice said guiltily. 'We're Head boy and girl after all. You shouldn't have had to do that.'

'Don't worry about it.' Lily reassured her, more concerned with sitting down than anything else. 'What's the point in being a Gryffindor if I don't get chased by Death Eaters once in a while? I'd be a fake if I didn't.'

Alice laughed a little.

'Well, if you can find something like that funny, I know you're all right.'

Lily smiled at her, taking a seat opposite Marlene.

'I'm fine, Alice.' she said bracingly. 'You go back to your breakfast.'

'Yeah, I probably should.' Alice relented. 'I don't think Sinistra likes students with rumbling stomachs.'

She left, and Lily let out a breath of air.

'Jesus Christ.' she mumbled, rubbing her temples. 'Crutches are hard work.' She glanced at Marlene, who was still watching her. 'Thanks for bringing my robes, Marlie. I appreciate that.'

Marlene shrugged and poured herself some more pumpkin juice. Lily grinned.

'Miss Evans, we need to discuss your timetable.' Professor McGonagall announced, appearing at her side so fast she almost had a heart attack.

'Of course, Professor.' she agreed, recovering. 'I'd like to drop Divination.'

…

The first day of school passed slowly even though Lily only actually had two lessons. Given her condition, Lily was allowed to leave lessons five minutes early and have a friend for company to carry some of her things and open doors. Marlene had accompanied her after their first NEWT Potions lesson; Professor Slughorn really had been quite sweet about Lily's injury, having all her ingredients already laid out on the desk for her so she wouldn't have to fetch them herself. However, for Transfiguration, McGonagall had ignored the raised hands of Lily's friends as they volunteered to accompany her and picked James.

Lily had had a free period after Transfiguration and so she wanted to go to the library. James had obliged her but been furious for the entire trip, not saying a single word to her, striding ahead until she told him to slow down.

'You could send me a postcard you're that far away,' she had said, a little irritably; her body was growing quite tired from pulling herself about on crutches. 'Is the weather nice?'

He hadn't replied but he had waited for her to catch up. When they reached the library, he dumped her things on the nearest free table and left.

Now, Lily was making her way back alone from the library to the Great Hall for dinner. She had discovered she could still hold her wand when using her crutches and used this to levitate her school bag in front of her as she slowly made her way forwards.

Her progress was impeded, however, by an unwelcomely familiar cough from behind her. She sighed.

'I thought I made it clear we weren't friends anymore.' Lily said calmly, turning herself around with a great effort to face her new company. The pallid face of Severus Snape was closer to her than she had anticipated.

'So, you still want to push me away, even after you've seen what my people can do?' he sneered, his black eyes flickering.

'Well, I'm sure if I'd run around with Severus' friend written on my back they would've left me alone.' Lily replied, a humourless laugh bubbling from her mouth. If she didn't need her crutches to stand, she would have folded her arms.

'You know what I mean.'

'No, Severus, I don't think I do.' she said, glaring at him.

'Like this,' he gestured at her crutches, 'you are vulnerable. If you were friends with me again, my friends would leave you alone.'

'Thanks for the advice, Severus.' Lily mocked, starting to turn back around to resume her journey to the Great Hall. 'I'll bear that in mind alongside all the other wonderful things you've said to me over the years. And for the record, none of your school friends have tried anything yet.'

'Don't jinx yourself, Lily.' he called after her as she began to move away.

'Oh, I think your older friends already did that.' she quipped, continuing to hobble along with her crutches.

'Lily –'

'That's Mudblood to you.' Lily said as she reached the end of the corridor. 'Just go away, Severus. I don't need your concern. We're not friends.'

'I'm only warning you!'

'And I'm only telling you to fuck off!'

With that, she rounded the corner, exhaling slowly, and then continued down to the Great Hall.

What did you think? Was that action scene 'actiony' enough? It's probably my first proper action scene and, although it wasn't that long, I've spent a long time re-reading and editing it. Hopefully it was decent.

I'm planning to upload every other Sunday - I would upload more frequently but alas my life doesn't give me bags of time to write. Sorry.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts so leave a review and let me know what you thought!