Wow, cliffhangers are fun! I get all these threatening reviews, saying that if I don't update ASAP, people are going to kill them selves… but people never keep that kind of promise… -sigh-. J/k!

Anyway… thanks for your last few reviews, and I'm super happy to see new readers! Yay! Time to answer some of their questions, wouldn't you say?

Lady Friday, I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story! And reading it so fast!

AlForce Zero, thank you so much! That was such a sweet thing to say, and I'm so glad that you like what you're reading! But just to clarify some things: I'm not writing all this as I post. I wrote this story at least a year (or maybe even two) ago… before the fifth book came out. It would be cool to make Belle turn into a Squib, but since I had no idea she was a Squib, I made her a witch. Everything that you read in here was my guess at what might happen later (as you'll see in the prologue, when Lily and James visit the Order of the Phoenix.)

Kira, I LOVE YOU! YAY BIG SISTER!!

So, thanks to all of you, and don't forget to R&R!

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Chapter 36

Through the Flames

"Let's see here…" Voldemort said, pacing nonchalantly around the prisoners. Lily had never been so angry in all her life… this man was insane. "How shall I get through that magic fire?" He almost seemed to be enjoying this…

He looked at James again with a jagged grin on his face. Lily made a silent prayer that Voldemort wouldn't send James through.

"You know," Voldemort said to James. His voice was smooth and almost kind. "I remember the night your father died."

"You mean to say the night you murdered him?" James corrected irritably.

"Well, however you want to put it." Voldemort waved this aside. "But I don't think I'll ever forget his last few moments."

"Why is that?" Sirius snapped. James had grown silent, and was looking at the floor.

"He gave me quite a laugh actually. He was sobbing and begging me not to hurt his sweet wife and precious James!" Voldemort snickered, walking over and holding James's face in his cold hands. James wrenched himself out of Voldemort's grip.

"Don't talk about my dad that way." He said, his body shaking in the Death Eater's grasp. He tried to move forward—probably to clobber Voldemort until he was dead--but the Death Eater's clasp was too strong. He gave up his fight. "I hate you." He said through clenched teeth.

"What a surprise." Voldemort rolled his eyes as the Death Eaters broke out into a chorus of laughter. He reached into his robes, and Lily drastically thought that he was going to shoot them, or something. But instead, he pulled out a small red bag. He pulled the drawstrings, and took out a handful of plum colored powder.

"We'll see how well this works." He murmured to himself. He threw the powder into the flames. There was the loud sound of a gunshot that made Lily jump. The flames let off a great deal of smoke, making everyone cough. But then, the flames reappeared, glowing purple.

"Toss James in." Voldemort said thoughtlessly.

"What?!" The Marauders shouted. But the Death Eater holding James started to move toward the fire slowly.

"I won't bring you the crystal!" James declared. "I'll smash it, and then kill myself!"

"You won't." Voldemort said, smiling. "And if you do, it's hardly a loss for me. I'll just kill your friends and go on my merry way."

"That crystal means everything to you, and you know it." Lily snarled, without even realizing that she had opened her mouth.

"Would you like to go with him?" Voldemort said to her. "Be my guest; put her in, too." Lily looked desperately from Belle to James.

"No--Leave Lily out of this." James protested, struggling to step towards Voldemort and away from the purple fire.

"She practically volunteered." Voldemort answered. "If it's not safe, we'll find another way." He told the Death Eaters that weren't holding Lily's friends back.

Lily's heart was threatening to fly out of her chest as the man clutching to her arms steered her toward the fire. She tried to fight back, but the heat was overwhelming. Closer… closer…

"Oh, and if you come back without my crystal," Voldemort called to them when they were inches from the fire. He grabbed Belle, who was closest. "I will execute each one of your little pals one by one so you can hear their screams from wherever you are. And believe you me, you both will be next in line."

"Three… two… one!" The man holding James counted tauntingly, and Lily was suddenly flung into the flames.

Silence pressed around her, and she immediately felt sick. The fire was overpowering; the heat and smoke were nauseating, and there seemed to be no escape. Violet glowing flames jabbed her body with hot stabs, and she tried to turn back, but there she couldn't see anything…

A solid block of purple was all that existed before her eyes… everywhere she turned was thick, consuming, amethyst smoke… But you're not dead, a small voice in the very back of her mind murmured. Not yet, anyway. She answered.

She took in a piercing breath--smoke. She tried to breathe again but fumes were all that filled her lungs. Coughing, she tried to take a step forward. She stumbled, and blinked the flames out of her eyes.

There, up only a little ways, was a hand extended into the fire. Lily wasn't sure whether this was coming from behind her or ahead, but she reached out and grabbed it.

The solid and reassuring hand pulled her out of the hellhole, and she collapsed to the marble floor, her chest gasping for oxygen. The sound of crackling fire pulsed into her ears.

James knelt wordlessly next to her, still holding her hand, and rubbing her back while she coughed ceaselessly. It took her a moment to realize that they were alone and on the other side of the fire. She looked behind her, and saw a thick wall of purple conflagration.

"Oh my God…" She murmured. "We escaped…"

"Hardly." James said softly. "The others are still back there." He removed his hand from her clench, and sat on the floor, looking back through the flames.

"What are we going to do, James?" Lily asked him in a whisper. She too looked at the fiery barrier and wondered if Belle, Sirius, Remus and Peter could see that they'd made it through all right.

"Get the Crystal, I guess." He answered her softly.

"And destroy it?" She inquired. "Can we do that?"

"I don't know Lily. I honestly didn't think this through this far." James said. But he stood up determinedly. "But we can't sit by and do nothing." He put out a hand to help her up, and she accepted it.

"So, we're just going to go in there?" Lily said doubtfully. "There could be something in there, you know, guarding it."

"Yeah." James said, as though this didn't really matter. He moved to the door, and placed a hand on the doorknob. He looked back at her. "You don't have to come…"

"No--I want to. I've come this far…" Lily said, taking a few steps closer. "Open it." She replied, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay." He turned the knob, and pushed forward.

Even more hot air whooshed out to meet them. The room was carved of stone, and was very steamy. Vapor rose in curling spirals off of the floor… and in the center of the room was a circle of fire about an arms length wide. Peeking at it, Lily could see the Stone of Rialle sitting on a small podium, drenched in the warm depths.

"There it is." She murmured. It was even more beautiful than the picture they had seen ages ago. After sitting in the heat, and having time to grow, it was roughly the size of a soccer ball, and just as round. It was the color of the deep-sea water, and it twinkled in the flickering light of the fire that surrounded it.

"How should we get it?" James asked Lily.

"Those could be magic flames like the ones outside." Lily pondered aloud. "Maybe we should get some of that purple powder from Voldemort."

"He's not going to give us any of it." James said. "It's not like he'd care if we burnt our hands off."

"That's true." Lily said, almost smiling. She watched James's face intently as he stared past the fire, at the crystal. Suddenly, she wondered if these would be her last few moments with James before Voldemort killed him… or killed her. Would she even see her sister and her brother-in-law ever again? And what about Amos?

She pushed this aside, and tried to focus on the task at hand. "What was that spell Voldemort used to try and put out the fires? Exo… Exoinferno I think it was." She looked at James, but he didn't respond. "Do you want to try it?"

"I would." He said, "Only Voldemort took our wands."

James looked at the floor in defeat. "He's going to kill our friends." He whispered. "Then us." Lily didn't say anything at first, but just watched James.

"Don't talk like that, James. We'll escape, somehow." Lily said softly. Lily didn't think she sounded convincing. "I mean, the Ministry's probably looking for us right now."

"I guess so." James said quietly. "But what are we supposed to do? Maybe we should just give him the Crystal, so he'll leave us alone…"

"What are you saying?" Lily reprimanded. "We can't give him the Crystal! You'd better not be giving up on me, James Potter… You have to have hope."

"Lily, can't you see that there's no hope left?!" James shouted. Lily was taken aback. James was giving up.

"James…" Lily stuttered. He was always the one with his head up; the leader of the pack. He was always two steps ahead of the teachers, and never even thought about danger. And yet here he was… giving up?

"Honestly, Lily. I don't know what to do." James muttered. "He killed my father."

"James, that doesn't mean he's going to kill you too." She replied, moving over to his side. "We'll be okay."

"How can you expect me to believe that? We've reached a dead-end." James said to her. He was looking at her with those piercing blue eyes again. Only now they looked sad and depressed.

She gulped, and said, "Don't you see that this isn't about just our lives anymore? That Crystal holds the fate of the whole Wizarding community."

"Yeah, but…"

"No! James, if Voldemort gets that Stone, there won't be a life worth living." Lily said, quoting Professor Moody.

"I guess, but still…"

"Let's just focus on getting that Stone out of here." She said. A new surge of determination was pulsing through her. They could handle this… She could handle this…

"Lily?"

"Yeah?" She said, turning to face him again.

"Thanks." James said, as a small smile crept over his face. "You're right. We have to do this. And if we die, it's for a good cause."

"Right." She said, smiling too. She walked back towards the fire. "We should figure this out soon, though."

"Okay." James replied, resolve gathering in his voice. "You want me to just try to grab it really fast?"

"Maybe that's not such a good idea…" Lily said uncertainly.

"Do you have a better plan?" He paused, and Lily didn't say anything. "That's what I thought." Cautiously, he kneeled as close to the fire as he could.

"Careful, Potter…" Lily whispered, and James quickly swished his arm through the fire.

"There's nothing there…" James muttered.

"You didn't burn, did you?" Lily asked him, kneeling next to him, and grabbing his arm.

"No--but Lily!" He said, taking his arm out of her grasp. "There's nothing there…"

"No burn?"

"Can you forget about the stupid burn?" James said irritably. "Listen to me, there's nothing there--there is no fire."

"James, are you delirious?" Lily asked, putting her hand to his forehead.

"Damn it, Lily." James muttered. He abruptly stood up, and took Lily's shoulders, pulling her to her feet. "Put your hand in the fire and leave it there."

"What?! You are delirious!"                

But James seized her hand, and jammed it into the hopping flames. At first, Lily winced with fear, recalling the burning Duncan sizzling into yellow nothingness. But then, she didn't feel anything but hot air.

"I can't feel anything…"

"I told you. It's an illusion, or something." James said. "God, we were stupid."

"It's a magical illusion, James. It was meant to make you feel stupid." Lily said. She stepped into the 'fire', and bent to pick up the Crystal. Its surface was smooth and warm. Lily lifted it with some difficulty and took a few steps when she decided it was a little too heavy for her.

"Help me." She told James, and he followed her into the 'flames'. With the two of them together, they could lift the heavy object easily. They stepped out of the 'fire' without trouble.

"Now what?" James asked, setting it on the stone floor.

"We bring it out." Lily answered him. "We can't just leave our friends with that monster."

"Right." James nodded in agreement. "We'll lift it on the count of three. One… two… three."

"Wait." Said Lily. "Let's hide it or something. We'll tell Voldemort it's too heavy to carry by ourselves." She and James placed the Crystal on the floor.

"You think we should try to trick him?"

"Yeah. Then we can get our friends free to help us, and we'll find a way out." Lily said, startled by her own logic.

"What if he sends in Death Eaters to get it?"

"I don't know, James! I hadn't thought that--"

"Wait!" James interrupted. "Were there flames near the door?"

"Yes, I think so." Lily said with a grin. "You think we could bring the Crystal out near the door and make a run for it?"

"Maybe--but I was thinking that we could hide them in the flames." James said. "One of us will have to keep the Death Eaters distracted, while the other hides the Crystal, and then runs to get help; the Crystal is too heavy, really, to carry alone that far, you see?"

"As long as those Death Eaters don't turn around or anything." Lily responded, her heart beating faster with excitement.

"Right… right…" James nodded. "This might actually work, Lily." He smiled mischievously. "Can you carry the Crystal by yourself?"

"I… uh, I think so." Lily said.

"Okay then." James replied. "Let's do it."