A/N: Here it is, the end. I've had a rough draft of part of this chapter written ever since the beginning. Of course, it's going to change a bit. Please don't flame me for this ending! The *only* part of this story that is AU, is the Dreamworld. I know that it's sad, but that's life. (Or death…) Anyway, the theme song is "Angel", by Sarah MacLachlan.
Disclaimer: All of you know what I claim and what I don't. If you wish you wish to use any of *my* characters (Violet Potter, Dru Lupin, Serpentin Snape, Emrys Malfoy-Weasley… I think that's all…), or to archive this story, please ask me first. Everything that you recognize from the books is JKR's.
Angel, by Sarah MacLachlan
Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always some reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh a beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty
Oh and weightless and maybe
They'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of
the angel
Fly away from here
From this cold dark hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
So tired of the
straight line
That everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
Storm keeps on twistin'
Keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference
Escape one last time
It's easier to believe
And this sweet madness
Oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees.
In the arms of
the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
And in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
"James?"
James looked up after hearing his wife's voice, to see her coming down the stairs with tears in her eyes.
"What is it, honey?" he asked, worriedly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she answered, crying, as she ran to her husband's arms.
James couldn't hold the tears in any longer, and let them spill into Lily's hair as he held her in his arms.
"I'm sorry too, Lily. I should have let you make that potion… I should have let you give Harry the chance to live…"
Lily looked up at him and smiled weakly.
"I guess we'll just have to let fate take its course," she said, and softly kissed him
"Yes, of course. You're right honey."
The day was a normal day, or as normal as it could get, given that they were in hiding. It was also a good day, as he and Lily were no longer fighting. But good things rarely last. As Murphy put it… "If anything can go wrong, it will."
The night came quickly, and James sat there, gun in hand, waiting for the wards' alarms to go off.
As the hour hand on the clock moved to the number nine, James heard the alarms sound. Someone was walking straight through the wards, as if he were invincible.
James knew it was he, and waited in front of the door, with the semi-automatic aimed.
The door opened and he fired the gun as soon as the face of the Dark Lord was clear before his eyes.
The bullet, however, disintegrated as soon as it had reached two feet from the cloaked man.
He laughed a high, icy cold laugh, and said, "Stupid boy. Did you really think that you could fight *me* with things such as simple wards, charms, and guns? Pity… I expected more from a former Head Boy and his Head Girl wife."
James turned to Lily and said, "Go upstairs with Harry, and *stay there*."
"I won't leave you!" she cried.
"DO AS I SAY!" he yelled back.
Lily jumped and James took her hands in his, as he implored, "I love you, Lily. *Please* go upstairs and let me handle this. For Harry's sake."
Lily nodded with tears streaming down her cheeks, and ran as fast as she could toward the stairs.
"Aren't you going to invite me in? Can't stay in the foyer all night, now can we?" came a cold, inhuman voice from directly in front of the door.
"Even if I didn't, I have a slight feeling that you would come in anyway. You came to the house uninvited, so why hesitate to come in? Obviously, ethics mean nothing to you," James replied, glaring at his soon-to-be murderer.
"Oh, come now, boy. I do love socializing, even if I don't always adhere to the proper rules of etiquette," he said as a slow sinister smile crept across his lips. "You still have a chance, you know. Join me, and you and your family shall be spared. Think of the young boy."
"Never," James spat.
"Never, you say? Is that fear I sense in you?" Voldemort asked, circling his victim like a cat waiting to pounce on its prey.
"I don't fear you," James replied.
"No, that you don't. You fear for your wife and son. Don't worry; their deaths will be as quick and painless as your own. Although, I do quite enjoy seeing an innocent soul suffer at my hands… CRUCIO!" said the Dark Lord, smiling as he watched the man scream and writhe in agony.
When he released the curse, he sent James flying through the hallway and into the brick wall of the den, and left him pinned there.
"Do you want to know how I found out where you are? Of course, you must have figured it out by now. But, I will tell it to you anyway, as it is quite an enticing story. You see, your dear little rat friend, Peter Pettigrew is one of my spies. A loyal Death Eater… He's a weak little Gryffindor, but he has that thirst for power, all the same. He joined my forces in your seventh year, I believe. He came to me a few weeks ago, telling me that you had made *him* your Secret Keeper, instead of Sirius Black. Stupid move, Potter… stupid move.
"And do you know what he is going to do after you're dead? He's going to frame Mr. Black for your murder, his own murder, and if at all possible, the murder of a few innocent bystanders. No one will ever know that Pettigrew was really your Secret Keeper. They'll all assume it was Black. Of course, they'll send him to Azkaban for the rest of his days. Why… they may even give him a little *kiss*," the Dark Lord said, advancing on James.
James stared at the evil wizard in horror. The twilight was gone; it had only existed in his head. He was about to die along with his wife, son, and unborn daughter. One of his closest and most trusted friends had betrayed him to his death, and would soon frame his best friend for multiple murders. And there was nothing he could do about any of it.
//I should have just stayed asleep this morning,// he thought. //I should have never left the twilight.//
The last thing James Potter saw was a bright flash of green light. He never found out whether or not Lily had made it to Harry's room, possibly buying some time for herself and Harry.
The twilight was gone forever, but so was the harsh brightness of the day.
A/N: *sniffle* That was so hard for me to write. I had grown kind of attached to James, and really didn't want to kill him. As all of you know, Lily did die, and Harry did survive, causing Voldie to leave his body in the process. I would have just written it in the story, but it was in third person limited, and I didn't want to deviate from that. Oh and guess what! I'm going to be using a few of my OC's from the dreamworld in a new AU fic, that will be my take on a sequel to Turning Time Around, by AriaStar. (With her permission, of course.) I will be using Violet Potter (though her name will be changed to Orchid, and she will have an almost identical twin sister named Skye), Serpentin Snape (he will be in Harry's year), and Dru Lupin (she will still be Remus' daughter, but her mother will be female, and she will be Orchid and Skye's best friend, along with Ginny Weasley). I'm including my Fic Recommendation list in the updates email this time around, but if I don't have your email, and you want this list, just let me know. I hope that you will come back and read my other stories as well… I'd hate for this to be the end of our author/reader relationship… Awww look at me… getting all sentimental! And now for Cookie Time!
Lady Prongs: I'm glad you liked it, and Desperado is one of my favorites as well. I hope this chapter explained what I meant by him knowing that he was waking up for the last time. If it didn't, I was basically saying that he knew he was going to die that night.
SycoCallie: I'm glad you want to read all my stories. *grin* It's the coolest thing to have the authors of stories I like tell me they like mine!
Alriadne: Awww… I'm sorry I made you cry… Well here's the ending. I hope you enjoyed it. ^_^