"Finite Apparecium!" one of them shouted. James was hit square in the chest.
They'd disabled him. He couldn't Apparate.
"James Potter," shouted Lucius Malfoy from the front of the broom formation, "you are the prime suspect in two recent murders. Please remain seated."
James watched them coming toward him, in a state of utter bewilderment, complete shock. Then he turned, saw Ellen's carcass covered in frozen blood, looked at his own robes covered with the same substance.
Panic.
He got up and ran.
~*
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit --
His legs pumped, wind stung his face, his heart raced -- James glanced over his shoulder, to see them gaining on him -- he ran as fast as he could, at the same time, thinking frantically:
Why am I running? -- Because they're chasing me. -- But why are they chasing me? --
Did I --
No. No time to think, no energy to think -- he looked over his shoulder again to see all six officials right behind him, close enough to grab his cloak, Lucius grinning --
He threw himself on the ground, and they all went zooming ahead of him -- James leapt up and ran the opposite way -- towards the woods --
"BACK!" Lucius Malfoy commanded, and they turned around in the blink of an eye to the woods on the edge of the park. "HE'S IN THE WOODS -- FLY!"
"I don't see him, Mr. Malfoy!" another official shouted as he scanned the trees.
"He can't have gone far, he's on foot. Let's go!"
And they flew off through the trees -- with amazing skill and speed, James had to admit as he watched them zoom past him. A couple wizards glanced at him, and, for good measure, he lowered his head and ate some bushes.
He watched them until they were out of sight and Malfoy's now frenzied orders could no longer be heard, then galloped back out into the moonlit playground across the snow.
LILY'S HOUSE
Lily was extremely tired, but she lay in bed for over an hour trying to go to sleep. Petunia was playing Christmas tapes downstairs in the den and she and her boyfriend Vernon were talking and laughing louder and louder as they drank more and more wine. Family value my ass, she thought to herself bitterly, pummeling her pillow.
Finally she decided this had to stop. She threw back her covers, shivered in the cold air, and was making her way downstairs when the doorbell rang.
Petunia and Vernon were suddenly silent, and Lily stopped too. It's nearly midnight. Who --
When nobody moved to answer the door, the bell rang three times in a row.
Unaware of Lily on the stairs, Petunia staggered to the door, peeked out of it, and screamed.
"Good God, what is the matter?" Vernon demanded as Petunia fluttered around him, shouting, "There's -- there's a thing!"
"A thing?" Lily said, running down the stairs. Her sister was drunk and scared. She was senseless. "What thing; Petunia, tell me what's out there!"
"A deer! An animal on our doorstep!"
Vernon, most likely imagining a deer ringing a doorbell, started laughing. It was too much for him. He fell over and when he hit the floor, he was asleep.
Lily sighed, calmed. A deer? For Heaven's sake. She'd thought for a moment that they were being attacked, judging by the sheer horror on her sister's face. Gee, it's good to know I've got a sister I can count on in a crisis situation, she thought as she went to the door and opened it.
James Potter was standing there in the dark on the porch. "Evans --" he started.
"He's not a deer," Lily snapped at her sister over her shoulder. Petunia stared at James, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "There -- was --"
Lily looked at James. He blurted quickly, "A deer came -- but -- then he left -- Evans, I've got to talk to you!"
Lily was surprised by the panic in his voice, and immediately invited him into the house, and when he stepped into the light, she gasped.
"What --"
He glanced down at the blood covering his robes and shook his head swifltly. "It's not mine -- not that that makes it any better -- Lily, you've got to help me, I'm in so much trouble!"
"Of course I'll help you," Lily assured him, doing her best to sound calm and composed. "Come into the kitchen, and tell me what's going on." They both stepped over Vernon Dursley and left Petunia staring wide-eyed after them. "Take off your shirt."
James put all his clothing that was caked with dried blood on the island countertop, and Lily handed him a washrag to wash his hands and arms. "Potter . . . whose blood is it?" she asked evenly.
James set the washrag in the sink and looked down. "Ellen Bones'."
Silence. He couldn't meet her eyes. Then, Lily replied in a strangled voice, "It can't be -- I just talked to her!"
James looked up. "When?"
"About -- about three hours ago . . ."
"Well, I saw her three minutes ago," James said quickly. "In the playground down the street. The Ministry officials will have picked her up by now."
Lily's hand fluttered down on the table, and she collapsed in a chair. So much for calm.
James watched her, her green eyes bright with tears, and suddenly all he wanted was to hug her silken body, take her in his arms and hold her against his heart . . . but of course he didn't, and it took great strength for him to say slowly, "Lily, they think I killed her."
Lily looked up at him.
"Did you?"
James recoiled slightly. His instinct was to defend himself confidently, and he had been ready to do so, had thought himself completely innocent until she'd asked that question.
The truth, James thought. ". . . I don't know."
Lily hadn't expected that. She stood up swiftly. "What do you mean, you don't know?" she demanded.
"I don't remember, Evans!" he shouted. "I was at the party, I got bored, I went into the kitchen, and then next thing I know I'm lying in the snow next to Ellen's body and there are six Ministry officials chasing me! I don't know!"
"All right . . . all right . . ." Lily breathed, putting her face in her hands. James had never yelled at her before.
James touched her shoulder, feeling the silk. "Do you believe me?" he asked softly.
She looked into his eyes. "Oh -- of course I do. . . . I can't believe I asked that, I'm so sorry. I know you'd never . . ." She trailed off. Oh, Ellen . . .
Gratefulness, sadness, and helplessness diffused across James face. ". . .What am I going to do?" he whispered.
"I don't know," Lily whispered back. She took his hand from her shoulder and held it. "But I'll help you, I promise . . ."
And this time James knew he wasn't imagining the tender expression in her eyes.
A faint pop interrupted them. James and Lily took their hands away from each other and looked around to see Albus Dumbledore, who'd just Apparated into the kitchen.
"Dumbledore!" James exclaimed.
"He didn't do it!" Lily exclaimed immediately after.
"Of course he didn't," Dumbledore said, folding his long hands together. "It doesn't matter. The Ministry is still trying to locate him. They are getting tips from Lucius Malfoy."
"So you know what's going on?" James said with a relieved sigh.
"And more," Dumbledore said, bowing his head. "You must come to Godric's Hollow immediately, James."