James knew he had to do something and fast if nothing else he had to bye them some time so for first
time he spoke up

"Brave isn't he?" he demanded sardonically, catching on Sirius put in

"Don't blame him James, Lily expressed an opposing view to that of his-ugliness over there I mean
what did you expect?" they were apparently oblivious to Voldimort's presence

"True" James admitted, everyone knows he can't stand not to have every one in his presence
groveling to him" Sirius shrugged

"Well it is only explanation for him surrounding him self with mindless goons isn't it?" here he sent a
disparaging glance at the three death eaters watching the show

"I mean" the boy continued picking up steam

"He offered Lily the chance to become one of THEM" the word was expelled with utmost distain as
he jerked his head for a second time towards the black clad figures in the corner of the room

"Indeed" James agreed

"I cant UNDERSTAND why she wouldn't jump at such a chance "

"Probably because I have some self respect! I mean - "

but Lily's next remark was cut of by Voldimort's enraged shrieks at the impudence of the three but he
seemed to have forgotten about killing Lily.

Deciding to add to their captors anger, as the angrier he became the less careful he became as well.
She made sure she could speak without her voice trembling and said

"So come on VOLDY want to tell the world why you decided to make yourself disfiguredly ugly and
start up a brainless gang of thugs in a futile attempt to gain power - is this just another plea for attention
stemming from a dysfunctional childhood?"
she sounded just like some cheesy chat show host like Trisha or a TV. physiologist like Dr Ruth.

Just as she had expected Voldimort became livid with anger and just as her last words were out of her
mouth he viciously backhanded her across the side of the face causing her head to whip round and
bang against the wall behind her.
She now had a cut bleeding down the side of her face and a red mark that would soon be a burse
forming on her cheekbone and a VERY bad headache.
She bit her lip refusing to cry out for his benefit and managed to break the skin but even with all her
injuries she glared defiantly up at him and prepared to begin her taunts once again, she was pretty sure
she was going to die now but she sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight!

Just then another death eater ran in and began speaking urgently to Voldimort in the corner of the room.

Grabbing at the opportunity the three began to think of a plan of escape:

"That was close" Sirius shuddered and the other two nodded

"Are you ok?" asked James of Lily and she shrugged there conversation was brought to an abrupt halt
as Voldimort said

"I am leaving I have important matters to attend to" and he made to leave

"uh…master?" asked one of the death eaters

"What?" snapped Voldimort and the death eater answered with a vague wave of the hand towards the
captives. Voldimort looked surprised like he had forgotten them but then said blandly

"Kill them" and swepped out of the room.

"Follow my lead," muttered James through almost closed lips before leaning back at an odd angle; the
others didn't understand what was happening until they heard a quite crack like the fracturing of wood

"Crack your wands" he instructed in a whisper "but only a crack, ok?" still not understanding the
others obeyed then James said in a loud stage whisper just as the other death eaters were approaching

"That was lucky I felt sure he'd find our wands!" catching on Lily said

"Yeah it's a good job we his them under a piece of your invisibility cloak on the inside of our robes
then Sirius put in

"Yeah coz that would be embarrassing…killed with our own wands" the death eaters apparently
believed this to be a private conversation they had over heard and laughed evilly before one of them
each ran up to each of the captive children and searched them until they found the hidden wands

"Not so cocky now are you," demanded one smirking

"Yeah prepare to be embarrassed" put in another and silently the children thanked any gods listening
for their captors' stupidity.
As expected none noticed the crack in each wand and the children held there breath as all three death
eaters walked forward then in unison they all cried

AVADA CADAVRA!

Green light exploded from the broken wands seeping out of the cracks in each and enveloping the
holder, as the three dropped to the floor. Cautiously Sirius who was nearest inched forward as quietly
as possible in his chains and unhooked the keys that the lead death eater held as quickly and quietly as
they could all the children were untied and they stood looking at each other for a moment then James
said,

"Their robes, we'll put them on then shout that 'we've' escaped" it was a flimsy plan but the only one
they had so soon all three looked identical dwarfed by the large black robes then running for the door
Sirius began yelling franticly that the prisoners from Hogworts had escaped and that the Dark Lord had
ordered them to be killed.
James chimed in adding that the master would be furias if they were not found and killed. Pretty soon
the aria in front of the holding cell was filled with black clad figures

"Where did they go? some one asked

"That way" yelled James in a gruff degused voice

"Towards those trees" and the black mass began to run searching for the escapee's that weren't there.
As an after thought Lily doubled back to grab all three broken wands before tagging along at the back
of the running crowd, after a while the death eaters were slowing and the three needed another plan, and
fast, so as a distraction Sirius yelled

"There they are! On broom sticks!"

What he had actually pointed to was a cluster of birds far up in the sky but in a last ditch attempt to
please Lord Voldimort all the death eaters began to franticly summon broomsticks from their camp
shouts of

ACCIO BROOMSTIC

rang through out the group.
James grabbed a passing silver arrow out of the air and Sirius a clean sweep 6 they looked around for
Lily and to their horror saw her lag behind as she reached out to steal a broom (which unfortunately
turned out to belong to the person behind her) and get shoved out of the way so the brooms right full
owner, a particularly burly death eater, could reach his property; her small frame went down. Hard!

She stayed down too, unable to get up because of the jumble of feet and brooms around her and the
boys saw more than one person deliver some fairly painful looking kicks as they bustled about trying to
get onto there brooms and into the air. Quickly the boys made there way to the back of the crowed of
rapidly taking off broomsticks, astride their stolen brooms James and Sirius flew low to the ground in
the opposite direction to the others and when he drew level James scooped Lily up setting her in front
of him on the silver arrow.

All three set off in the opposite direction to the cloud of oblivious death eaters the escape's flew high
in an atempt to get above cloud cover, fast.
Luckily, no one saw them go and they began a round about rout back to Hogworts desperately trying
to figure out where they were.

Lily's ankle was clearly broken (A/N: yeah I know cliché but the old ones are the best) and she had
pain in her ribs where the crowd of people had accidentally trodden on her or kicked her in the rush to
grab brooms so they could follow the errant prisoners and avoid Voldimort's anger.
Also, luckily, no one had questioned exactly HOW the prisoners managed to get brooms any way
when they had started their 'escape' on foot.
Again thankful for the death eaters stupidity the exhausted three knew they had to stop for the night,
it was late evening and they didn't even know the day because they didn't know how long they had
been unconscious.

They found a little clearing within some dense trees and hiding themselves as best they could all fell
asleep curled up together for heat and comfort.

The next morning Lily tried to stand and had to bite her wrist to muffle the shriek of pain that tried to
escape as she put wait on her broken right ankle and badly hurt left ribs James was beside her in an
instant supporting her and lifting her surprisingly light form into his arms, he walked over to the
broomsticks where Sirius was waiting

"Time to get going"
he said, as they mounted the broomsticks for the second time, then Sirius said

"One day I am going to get a giant flying motorbike for occasions just such as this one,"
they all laughed at the idea

Eventually after another day of continuas flying and hiding they made it miraculously back to Hogworts
but more by luck than judgment it has to be said.

It was early evening so every one would just about be sitting down to eat in the grate hall, dismounting
from their brooms the three began to walk towards the grate oak doors James carrying Lily they
stumbled into the grate hall just as diner was nearly finished and a hush went over every one.

The next moment the entire school had their wands drawn even the first years who probably wouldn't
know what to do once they had got them out, all the teachers stood and along with the prefects an
head boy and girl (Minerva Mcgonigal and Arthur Weasly) began to approach the exhausted figures
standing in the door way.

At first the new arrivals couldn't understand why every one seemed so hostile then it hit them: their
robes!
They were still wearing death eater robes! They were just about to revel their true identity before they
got hexed and cursed by every one within wands reach when a shriek from the Griffindor table made
everyone turn, and what they saw was Alanna streaking towards them faster than her legs could
normally carry her.
The girls' eyes were puffy and red as if she had been crying a lot but now the look on her face was one
of pure joy and relief to see her friend alive and at-least semi-well. At first people tried to block her
from reaching the trio obviously thinking they had bewitched her or something but Remus who was
right behind her having guessed who the three strangers must be pushed them away impatiently.
Alanna was chanting a mantra of

"Lily Lily Lily"
over and over again and when she finally reached her friend she threw herself at the form in James's
arms sobbing and saying

"Goddess Lily! I thought I'd lost my other half!"

"Yeah" Lily agreed weekly, as she was in danger of being strangled by her over zealous best-friend

"I mean what fun would being superior be if you didn't have some one to gloat with,"

Alanna gave a watery laugh through her tears. At the same time Remus was having an animated
conversation with James and Sirius

"You have to tell me everything. What happened to you? Why are you in death eater robes? Who took
you? Why is James carrying Lily?"

The barrage of questions on subsided as Dumbldore made it to the front of the crowd, he looked had
with piercing blue eyes at all three new comers searching for a trick or a change then he smiled and said

"I am sure all three of you will have quite a story to tell but before that it looks as though you could use
a trip to the hospital wing especially Miss Evens" here Dumbldore looked pointedly at the red head in
James's arms.

"And take off those robes." Dumbldore said with a twinkle in his laughing eyes,

"I dare say you have scared enough people for one day."

Smiling the three did so and leaving the discarded disguises in a pile where they stood James (still
holding Lily) and Sirius began to troop out towards the hospital wing, of course the gathered crowed
made to go with them but the teachers stopped them ordering every one back to their house tables.

Alanna and Remus not surprisingly did not comply and even as Minerva Mcgonical tried to heard them
back towards the Griffindor table before taking her seat at the Ravenclaw one, they dodged out of her
way, it was clear to anyone with eyes that the five of them were not going to be parted for a long time.

Defeated the head girl watched as the two ran to catch up with the retreating forms of their friends and
started to talk twenty-to-the-dozen as they did, as soon as the group were out of sight the grate hall
erupted into roomers and excited chattering.

In the hospital wing madam Pumfry instantly tried to lift Lily from James's hold and lay her on a bed,
but he wouldn't let her go insisting that he lay her down himself, so he did then took a seat beside her
and looked defiantly up at the matron. Sirius sat on her other side echoing James's look and Alanna
and Remus stood near-by and a glance at each of their faces told the nurse that they, too, were going
nowhere fast.

Having seen to Lily and dragged James and Sirius away for long enough to check them over too,
Madam Pumfry went into her office and left the five alone.

Instantly the other two began badgering them with questions again and before long they had heard the
entire story in detail.

Madam Pumfry insisted all three stay in over night and that Lily stay longer, so the other two were
forced to leave for their dormitories but did so only after many whispered promises of returning with a
midnight feast as soon as the bustling matron was out of the way.

They all lay looking at their own part of the stark white sealing above their respective beds and it was
Sirius who first broke the silence saying

"Well that was an adventure." Rolling her eyes and Sirius chipper tone Lily said dryly

"Indeed it was that." Gathering steam now Sirius said

"And did you see their faces when we all came in looking like death eaters! I don't know what they
thought we would do especially considering that James was carrying you!" he nodded towards Lily

"Yeah" agreed James tiredly

"But I will admit I was petrified when we were facing Voldimort." Strangely enough, after their
experience not one of them felt the need to call him you-know-who any more or to shiver when some
one said his name.

"I can't believe we insulted the most famed dark wizard in the last hundred years AND were in his
personal camp and STILL got out alive" the others nodded

"It was a near thing though" put in Sirius now completely serious (A/N: ha ha all laugh at the funny
Sirius/serious joke…sorry I couldn't write a MWPP/L fic without including that one, it's a classic!)

"Five seconds more and Lily would have been dead, followed in quick secession by James and I.
As for the rest I guess we can only be thankful the death eaters guarding us were the
'all-muscle-no-brain' type and that the rest were too afraid of Voldimort's wrath to not at least attempt
to recapture us. A shiver passed through the group then in a small voice Lily said

"We did it together! Either one of us alone wouldn't have survived; together we got out alive! We were
there for each other and it saved our lives." After all of them had nodded and thought for a while each
privately mulling over the fact that their friendship had out done Voldimort himself when the other two
returned laden with anything and everything they could get from the kitchens and carry.

They all talked a lot and ate a lot more as Lily Sirius and James learned that what ever had knocked
them out had caused a loud bang and rather impressive light show, who ever it was, wasn't trying to
be subtle

"They wanted us to know they had taken you. Dumbldore knew it was a death eater and then we
realized you were gone, well…" Remus voice trailed off and

"We thought you were dead!" said Alanna flatly with tears in her hazel eyes and she went over to Lily
hugging her hard but being careful of her ankle and ribs as if to reassure herself that the other red head
was still alive,

"Well" put in James

"Like we said it was a near thing" and again they all shivered.

Time passed and the group continued to talk and eat and eventually they fell asleep with Alanna and
Lily side by side on Lily's bed (the rest knew it would be a long time before the two
best-friends-that-might-as-well-have-been-one-person would let each other out of their sight again) and
James and Sirius top-and-tailed on Sirius bed and Remus curled up on James's. James was the last to
drift into sleep as he lay just watching Lily's sleeping face with the moonlight streaming through the
window and glancing off her flaming hair, she looked peaceful angelic and very, very beautiful and with that last thought he drifted into sleep.

That was how madam Pumfry found them the next morning, but then what had she expected? And they
did look a picture all five of them on three beds. Privately she quite liked these children, though they
were frequent visitors to her hospital wing always cursing something or charming something else but
they were funny and devoted to one another and there was no real harm in them.

Smiling slightly she woke them up and told Alanna and Remus to go to the grate hall and get some
breakfast and they could comeback in a while then James and Sirius went behind their bed curtains to
dress and madam Pumfry helped Lily because of her cast and ribs made it hard for her to move.

Later Dumbldore came in to question them about their adventures and when they were done he told
them that he would award them with a bravery medal each and a plaque in the trophy room

"Make it a small one" Sirius begged and at a questioning glance from the headmaster explained

"We'll probably end up cleaning it in our next detention!" they all laughed and Dumbldore left.

The next day after dinner Dumbldore stood up and told the story of Lily James and Sirius's adventure
ending with the fact that they don't know weather those three just happened to be taken or if it was
them who were targeted specifically.
He warned all students to be on their guard and said there would be a magical self defense class
starting next week and it was advised students - especially from the lower years- to attend.
Then he had the three in question come up and collect their medals and FAIRLY small plaque for the
trophy room and every one cheered.

Two days after that Lily was let out of the hospital wing but she was still in a wheel chair because it
turned out one of her left ribs was cracked so it was hard for her to use crutches though she did try at
times.
Hogwarts wasn't exactly wheelchair-friendly but she never was short of people willing to carry her light
frame around the school (not surprisingly most of them were the steadily increasing number of boys
who were infatuated with her) a common sight in the Hogwarts hallways was a petit red headed fifth
year being carried to and from her class rooms by some one (often James.)

Equally Sirius and James were even more popular than before with girls cooing over them for their
bravery and cleverness.

Whilst there was always some one available to help her get around it was frustrating not being able to
move on her own or have much independence but at least she didn't need help dressing anymore.

Lily was sitting in the library catching up on some missed transfiguration (the rest she didn't mind but
transfiguration was her worst subject) where Bret Fletcher had carried her about half an hour ago and
there were already about six boys in varying years waiting to be chosen to carry her to where she next
wanted to go.

She growled in frustration as she threw her quill down on her half done essay causing violate ink to
splatter across the page making her even more frustrated, she would have liked to gather her things up
and stalk out of the library, maybe go for a walk by the lake and get some fresh air, it was early evening
so she could watch the sunset and think, but she couldn't could she?
She would have to ask some one to carry her out there and wait with her to carry her back!
With a third frustrated sound she dropped her head onto the desk earning herself a reproving glare
from madam Pince. Suddenly someone slipped into the seat opposite and she looked up into a pair of
chocolate brown eyes and messy black hair that could only belong to James Potter, and her heart
melted.

He smiled sweetly at her, not the flirtatious charming grin he used around the other girls that swarmed
around him, this was his real smile and he used it only for her. Without saying anything he finished off
packing her things into her book bag for her and throwing the bag over his shoulder he swept her up in
his arms and walked out of the library, receiving murderous stairs from the rest of the boys waiting to
do just that.

She nestled her head against his built chest and simply waited to see where he was taking them.

Pretty soon they were striding across the grounds, it was a warm summer evening just getting dusky
they sat by the lake James's arm supporting Lily and her head on his shoulder, a cool breeze blew
across the lake ruffling their hair and they watched the sunset together.

Lily's sighed saying

"I'll be glad when I can walk again" smiling James said

"I'm not so sure I will be" then in answer to her questioning almost hurt look he said

"I'd miss having you in my arms." Then mustering all his courage James turned to Lily and said

"Lily?"

"Hmm?" she replied smiling contentedly in his embrace and turning to look at him

"I - I want to tell you something, or ask you something, well both actually" he was getting flustered and
she smiled at him

"Ok, go on" she said encouragingly

"Ok, but promise not to freak on me or anything?" she nodded and he continued taking a deep breath

"Lily…I love you! Will you be my girl friend?" there! He'd said it. Now he could only wait for her
response.

Chancing a look at her face he saw shock register and amazement then a glowing smile, as she turned
to look in full in the eye her face radiated love and happiness which seemed to only intensify her beauty
as she said

"James Potter I love you too, and I'd be honored to be your girl friend" James was stunned, this was
more than he could have hoped for.

He leaped up and lifted her into his arms spinning them round and round both laughing with joy, then
they both settled to the grass lying curled up together watching the last of the sun set Lily was snuggled
into James's strong chest with his arms protectively around her before she said

"I still cant wait till I can walk again, then I can be in ONLY your arms…forever" the last part was
added in a whisper and he laughed softly before echoing her

"Forever!" he agreed also in a whisper, before leaning in and kissing her tenderly on the lips.

Just then Sirius came storming over a look of pure outrage on his face, the couple broke apart stunned;

"I do NOT believe this! I just DON'T BELEAVE this!!! He raged,

"What?" cried Lily quite alarmed as James tried to sooth his irate best friend,

"I've been thinking" he snapped, the other two groaned, Sirius and thinking usually equaled some half cocked scheme that usually almost got them killed and landed them with about a year of detention. Lily mumbled something like

"First time for everything" but Sirius ignored her and continued

"Do you realize, we out witted and escaped from the greatest dark wizard of our time AND a whole
gaggle of death eaters and we didn't even get ONE SINGLE house point?!!?!??!?!?!!?"

Lily and James laughed! They laughed so hard tears came into their eyes and Lily couldn't help it even
though laughing that hard really hurt her ribs, and Sirius just sat there looking putout. Then when they'd
finally calmed down James leaned over and kissed his girlfriend, who was still clutching her ribs, and
swepped her up into his arms. She wound her arms around his neck snuggling against his firm chest
and all three made there way back towards the castle where Dumbldore waited to award the trio fifty
house points each!

THE END