Previously:
She weakly raised herself to her feet. As soon as she got to her feet, she took a wary step back from him.
Voldemort looked absolutely livid. How dare a Mudblood destroy his plan and still live! Those images and memories inside that bowl were very useful to him, and she sabotaged it! He grasped his wand in his hand very tightly. Slowly, shaking with rage, he raised it up to eyelevel and said in a low, very dangerous voice, "I will most certainly enjoy killing you, Mudblood." He then shouted, "Adava Ked...
~*~*~*~20 Minutes Earlier*~*~*~*~
James was running along a rather long hall, frantically searching for his missing best friend/crush. Just as he was about to run a corner, he was ambushed twice. One from the front and one from his right. All three persons fell to the floor with a dull thud. James squinted through the darkness at the two others.
"Sirius, Remus." He spoke out loud, his booming voice echoing through the corridors.
"James, Remus," James heard Sirius say, "Any luck?"
They could see the outline of Remus' head moving back and forth, "None."
"Me neither." James put in.
Sirius sighed, "Same here. I don't know where she could have gone."
"Well, she isn't on the map, we know that." Remus said thoughtfully. Then, after a few moments, he asked, "So you think she could be in the Forbidden Forest?"
James considered that, "She very well 'could' be. Shall we look?"
They all three got up and Sirius said in an incredulous voice, as though it were obvious that they 'should' look, "Do pigs fly?" and he turned to walk down the hall to go out the doors.
Remus and James exchanged and followed him, "No." James answered confused.
Sirius stopped, "Huh?"
"Pigs don't fly, Sirius." Remus said, trying not to smile.
Sirius thought for a moment and said, "Oh never mind, let's just look." James and Remus exchanged another look and smirked at each other as they followed him.
They turned another corner after a few minutes and continued walking down another corridor. That is until James' hands shot out and stopped Sirius and Remus from walking.
"What is it, James?" Remus asked, not seeing the direction James was looking.
James pointed towards something and it was then that Sirius and Remus realized they were showered in a dim green glow. Looking the direction James was staring at in wonder, their jaws dropped simultaneously. They were standing near the door to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and to their astonishment, the door had a green glowing handprint on it.
James walked forward, determinedly, and inspected the door. "What do you suppose caused this?" he wondered out loud to Sirius and Remus. The other two stepped up to his side.
"I'm not sure, but I'm positive it has something to do with Voldemort." Remus supplied with a shrug.
"Well, then, lets check this out." Sirius said determinedly and stepped through the door, the other two not far behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I will most certainly enjoy killing you, Mudblood." He then shouted, "Adava Kedavera!"
"LILY!" someone shouted from behind her while someone else tackled her to the ground just as the burst of green light was about to strike her in the chest.
Voldemort cursed loudly when the spell missed. Lily was laying face down, unconscious due to the hard ground connecting harshly with her head. James was on top of her, shielding her from harm for the moment.
Remus and Sirius were right next to them, holding out their wands threateningly. James got up off of Lily and turned her over and leaving her safely on the ground. He too got up next to his fellow Marauders and pointed his wand at Voldemort.
Voldemort sneered and said in a cold voice, "You brats are becoming quite the nuisance to me."
"What's the matter, Voldemort?" Sirius taunted, unafraid, "Can't even beat three under trained wizards."
"All your plans that you've ever thought of had been ruined because of us four." James said matter-of-factly.
"Actually," Voldemort said, a twisted smile forming on his face, "You are helping me succeed in my plans right now." Before any of them could react, he aimed his wand at Sirius and shouted, "Stupefy!" Sirius was knocked backwards unconscious, his wand flying a few feet away from him.
"Stupefy!" James shouted, but Voldemort dodged it.
"Stupefy!" he shouted again to Remus. The same thing that happened to Sirius happened to Remus.
"So, that just leaves you and me, Potter." Voldemort spoke quietly.
James glared hatefully at him, "Petrificus Totalis!" he shouted.
Again, Voldemort dodged it, "Tut tut, Potter, didn't you even have properly dueling lessons? It'd have thought that by now, after Dumbledore learned about the prophesy, he would have had you four in his office daily for the training."
James looked confused and said hatefully, "What prophesy? What are you talking about?!"
Voldemort looked shocked for a moment, then returned to his usual sneer, "Maybe that won't be a problem then, eh? For now, I guess I'll just have fun torturing you. Crucio!"
James fell to his knees, urging himself not to scream out. A few gasps escaped and Voldemort smirked. Sirius had awoken during this and saw James on the floor in pain. He snarled at seeing his best friend in this state and jumped up furiously, walking over to his wand and picking it up subtly.
While Voldemort was busy looking at James with satisfaction, Sirius aimed his wand discreetly at him and then shouted, "Expellarimus!" This took Voldemort completely by surprise when he flew forcefully into a wall and his wand was in Sirius' hand.
James stopped twitching while Sirius walked casually over to the unconscious form of Voldemort. When he reached his destination, Sirius stood, towering over him, his face a look of disgust, and spat out, "Take that you son of a b***h." He then turned back around and surveyed the scene around him.
James was wrestling himself to his feet, panting harshly, while Remus was just waking up, shaking his head dizzily. He rushed over to his fellow Marauders and helped Remus up on his feet as James stumbled over.
"You two alright?" Sirius asked.
James and Remus nodded, "Yeah, just a little lightheaded." Remus answered.
James was about to say something, but stopped when all three heard a moan from a few feet away. They whipped their heads around to meet the sight of Lily sitting up, her eyes closed in pain. James noticed with a tug on his heart that she had a trickle of blood coming from her forehead and a cut lip.
They rushed over to her and Lily then noticed that there were other people with her. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at their faces, not missing a beat to tense up and pull herself to her feet hurriedly.
James narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Something wasn't right. There was something different with her. He noticed that the sparkle she was lacking before in her eyes was now back. But, despite the sparkle, they also held...what was it? Fear? Alarm?
She backed up a little way away from them, not meeting their eyes. She looked as though she were having an inward battle with herself. Finally, she spoke quietly, her voice quivering a little and eyes filling with tears, "W-what are you three d-doing h-here?"
"We came here to rescue you, of course." Sirius spoke as though it were obvious.
Lily snapped her head up, now meeting their eyes with bewilderment, "Y-you came...t-to rescue...me?" she asked, sounding almost unbelievable.
"Of course we did, Lils." Remus answered, frowning a little when he saw her flinch a little when he said 'Lils'.
"But..." Lily paused, confused, "But, why?"
The three exchanged confused looks and James asked, "Well, why not, Flower. We're your friends."
Lily paled, her bottom lip quivering, "W-what? I-I thought you hated me? I thought...everyone hated me."
"Why would you think that?" Remus asked gently.
James' eyes soften; he knew where this was going.
"Y-you guys 'told' me that." Lily said a tear falling, "Right-right after I came back from the library last week. James and Sirius accused me of...of telling Malfoy your secret. Then...the whole school kind of...despised me. Don't you three remember?"
Sirius and Remus paled, realizing what was going on. She had gotten her memory back, and she still believed the whole school hated her.
James sighed sadly, feeling like scum, "Lily," he began gently. She flinched again. "I-I'm sorry. About everything. We, Sirius and I, we had no right to accuse you like we did. We shouldn't have believed Malfoy over you."
"We should have believed you." Sirius put in, "Our friend. We should have realized you would never betray us."
Tears were now streaming down Lily's face. She couldn't believe it. What had caused this change? James stepped closer to her and she saw tears in his eyes as well. She was also startled to see...Compassion? Regret? In his eyes. Before she knew it, she was pulled into a hug. A warm, comforting hug that she had had the experience of for the passed 12 years.
She let out a sob, releasing all the emotions she had had bottled up for quite some time. She felt Remus and Sirius putting reassuring hands on her back. She was finally home where she belonged. After a couple of minutes of no one talking, Lily reluctantly pulled back, surprising herself by feeling incomplete without being in James' embrace.
"I-I just have one question." Lily said quietly, still feeling a little awkward. She looked up and met their eyes and asked with such sincerity that it almost pained the guys' hearts to hear it, "W-what brought this sudden change? I mean, yesterday...this morning...you three, well, detested me."
James blinked a couple of times in shock. This was getting real weird, "This morning? We didn't hate you this morning."
"Yes you did." Lily said a little more confidently, "I remember it. I went over to you, James, and told you about our prefects meeting. You just glared at me."
James exchanged another worried glance with the other two. "Lily? Did we, by any chance, happen to have a Quidditch game today?" Sirius asked, knowing the answer already.
Lily nodded; the boys noticed a pained look in her eyes for a half second, "Yeah. We did." She stole a glance at James.
"And you...saved me from that deadly bludger." James finished for her, recognizing the glance. He looked her squarely in the eye and said genuinely, "Thank you."
Lily blushed and looked down at her bare feet, "No problem. What are friends for?" she replied, smiling a little.
"But, Lily, there's something you gotta know." Sirius started, "You see, after that bludger hit you...you fell off the broom."
Lily nodded, "I know that."
"That's not all." Remus cut in, "Lily," he looked at her seriously, "You were in a coma for five months. We were afraid you wouldn't make it."
Lily paled, "Wha...what I mean...how...huh?" she stammered, confused.
James opened his mouth to explain, but never got a chance to.
"Petrificus Totalis!" a shout was heard from behind as the others watched James freeze up and fall to the ground. Voldemort was standing upright, his hands held out in front of him and a light shinning from them. He was doing wandless magic! The curse was shouted three more times before Lily, Sirius, or Remus could get their wands aimed and ready.
Voldemort loomed over them all with a sinister look upon his face, bending down to take his wand back from Sirius' stiff hand. "You little kiddies didn't really think I'd let you get away with that, did you?" his blood red eyes darkened and he shouted so loud that they would have flinched if it hadn't been for the fact that they were rigid, "I am NOT going to be made a fool of by some Mudblood, a POTTER, and two Mudblood-loving fools!!! Now, this had gone on long enough."
He levitated them all to one of the walls and chained them before he said the counter-curse. They all started to thrash around wildly, trying to get free.
"Pity you four are so 'loyal' to that Mudblood-loving fool, Albus Dumbledore. You could have been made great death eaters." He spoke tauntingly.
They just glared at him as he continued, "But, as pitiful as that is, I will finally be able to assure my reign over the magical world, without the muggle world. And it all starts with the deaths of you four."
Lily paled as the others just flayed around more violently. She was so confused. She didn't even know why she was here. One minute she was falling to the ground, most likely to her death, and the next, she was sitting 'on' the ground, watching as Voldemort was about to kill her.
"Now," Voldemort said in mock-thoughtfulness, "Who shall I kill first? Hmmm, tough decision." He looked over at Lily and said, "Now, I know how satisfying it will be to kill you, Mudblood, but I'd rather you see your friends die first." He looked at the other three, "Who to choose, who to choose. Ah," he looked right at Remus, "let's try the werewolf first then, shall we?"
"Go to Hell, Voldemort!" Remus shouted. Lily did a double-take; this was the first time she actually heard him cuss.
"Yeah, don't you own it?" Sirius spat out ragingly.
"Such wit, Mr. Black." Voldemort mocked. "You'll be next."
He turned back to Remus and without taking his eyes off of him, he said to the other three, "Say goodbye to your friend, children. You'll all be joining him soon enough."
Lily started to cry, her chest heaving. She just made up with her friends and now she would never speak to them again. These people were her family!
Remus shut his eyes firmly and turned his head, waiting for the killing curse.
"Adava Kedaver-,"
"Stupefy!" Remus snap opened his eyes along with the other three to see Voldemort going flying a few feet into the air and hit the wall. Standing about ten feet away with his wand raised threateningly was Albus Dumbledore.
Lily was never happier to see anyone in her life. They were all safe now. Every single one of them.
"Professor!" James shouted, relieved.
"Dumbledore." Voldemort spat, shaking his head dizzily.
"It takes a great coward to have to tie children up so you can kill them, Tom. Let them go." He ordered, eyes uncharacteristically flashing.
Sirius looked at the other three chained up and mouthed, 'Tom?' to them. They shrugged, confused as well.
"You see, Albus, I would." Voldemort began as he stood up and brushed himself off, "But, I believe I have plans for them already."
"Surrender now, Tom, or I will not be responsible for my actions!" Dumbledore's voice echoed loudly in the cave. Lily jumped when she heard his outburst. She had never heard him shout at anyone. Things were just 'so' confusing!
Voldemort glared, "You cannot order me around anymore, Dumbledore! I am 'not' a student anymore!"
"That was your one and only warning," Dumbledore said, almost regretfully, "Now, I will do what I must." He started to chant words that neither Lily nor the others had ever heard before. A white glow formed around him and sucked itself into his aimed wand. The tip of the wand was glowing brighter and brighter. To the other's astonishment, Voldemort's eyes widened in fear.
"You will be sorry, Dumbledore! Mark me words, I 'will' be back!" Voldemort shouted, right before he started to float off the ground, faster and faster going closer to the top of the cave. Right before his head hit the top, he pointed his wand upwards and shouted a destruction curse. There was a loud 'bang' and a large chunk of rock came out, leaving a hole big enough for Voldemort to fly out of.
Dumbledore cried out a curse to try and stop him, but he missed and Voldemort flew successfully out the hole.
All was quiet for a few seconds as Lily and the Marauders took in all of what had happened. Dumbledore turned to look at them, and they stared wordlessly back at him.
This was too much to handle for Lily. After Dumbledore muttered an incantation to release them all from the chains, Lily's head started to spin and her eyes started to blur. The last thing she remembered before everything went black was someone shouting her name and a pair of strong arms catching her before she hit the ground.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So the locket I bought for her?"
"Yes, that was a set-up as well."
"I just don't understand! 'Why' does Voldemort want us all dead? Me and Lily especially?"
"That, I daresay, I cannot tell you, for I do not know."
Lily opened her eyes to the sound of voices. "Lily?" someone called. Everything was blurry and her head was pounding painfully. Mumbling incoherently, she blinked a few times before things came into focus.
James was standing right over her head, worry and concern etched in his eyes. He was holding her hand tightly in his, fearful that she would pass out again.
"James?" she whispered confused. "What happened?"
"Miss Evans, good, you're awake." Dumbledore spoke.
Lily looked around. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were gathered around her bed, as was Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
"Oh Lily!" Mrs. Potter rushed forward; almost knocking James to the ground as she pushed passed him. She embraced her in a motherly hug. "We were so worried about you!"
Lily's face was turning red from the cut off of oxygen Mrs. Potter was causing. James noticed and said loudly, "Mum! Layoff, she can't breathe." Mrs. Potter backed up and Lily noticed tears in her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked again.
"It is a long story, Miss Evans." Dumbledore began. "I daresay that many things this year were due to Voldemort.
"Most of this started at the beginning of the year, with Mr. Malfoy telling your friends that you had told him about Mr. Lupin's condition." Lily averted her eyes when he said this, but a hand taking her hand lead Lily's gaze into the chocolate brown eyes of James, who smiled reassuringly to her.
"As I had told James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, the school was under the spell of the Agresivio Anguera potion." Lily's eyes widened in shock. 'So, nobody really hated me!' "It seems that Voldemort was planning on secluding you from the safety of your friends so he could capture you, then kill you.
"The day of that Quidditch match, he had Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Avery slip some dangerous poison in yours and Mr. Potter's goblets. I assume you already knew about Mr. Potter's goblet." Lily nodded, looking down at her hand in James'. He gave hers a tight squeeze.
"Yes, but I am sure that you didn't know about yours being poisoned, so, as they had planned, you drank from yours. Can I assume you had a terrible headache and stomachache during the match?" she nodded again, "Yes, I thought so. Well, since the poison didn't work on Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Avery took it upon themselves to curse that bludger and jinxed Sirius', Remus', and James' brooms from moving on their own. Their plan backfired yet again when you realized what was going on and decided to act courageously and sacrifice yourself instead of having James be knocked off his broom.
"I'm sure Voldemort was happy to hear that you were injured and only a thread from dying. That is why it had quieted down for quite some time. But, when he realized that there was a chance of you waking up and getting better, he went to another plan. I believe that while you were in the coma, you had a strange dream. Am I correct?"
Lily nodded again, "Yes that's right."
"Could you possibly tell us about this dream you had, Lily?" he asked.
"Um, ok, well, I think I was in a forest with-" she broke off, blushing as her eyes quickly darted to her hand in James', "someone. We had just jumped into a lake and were playing and splashing around. Then, suddenly the scene changed, and I was all alone in some kind of open field. The day was now night and the sky was stormy and cloudy. I looked around and realized I was no longer alone, but with Voldemort. He was standing there, his wand pointed at me. I asked him what he wanted from me and he replied he wanted me dead. Then, he said some sort of spell that hit me in the chest. Then, I remember feeling very weird and looking up at the stormy clouds. There were images up there, images of my life. But, when one image disappeared, I couldn't remember something anymore. It was very weird."
"Yes, that was really no dream, Lily." Dumbledore explained, "That was actually happening. Voldemort took your memories from you. Now, I will return to my story. You had been unconscious for about five months, not once showing signs of waking up. Then, one day, you had mysteriously turned to the worst. Madame Pomfrey tried everything she could think of on you, but it didn't work. You were officially dead for a few minutes." Lily paled. "But, then, you inexplicably woke. The thing was, you woke up without any recollection of your life, or anyone apart of it.
"So, when James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter showed up to see you, they introduced themselves, and you all became friends all over again. Due to your lack of class time and studying and having any memory of even being a witch, the teachers, your friends, and myself tutored you. You were doing quite well. The problem was, Voldemort knew about all this, and he decided it was time to take action.
"Last night, Peter up to my office and informed me of what was happening. He told me that you had strangely gone rigid and started to walk out of your common room. Remus followed, but was knocked out. I believe that Voldemort had controlled you and given you some of his powers."
"But, why would he do that?" Remus asked.
"Voldemort is a parseltongue, he can speak to snakes. That is the only way you can enter the Chamber of Secrets."
"The Chamber of What?" Sirius asked.
"The Chamber of Secrets, Sirius." Dumbledore explained, "Back in the time of the four founders, Salazar Slytherian had created his own chamber, where he could do his own bidding and whatnot. Being an heir of Salazar himself, Voldemort used the chambers so he could go through with his own plan.
"So, when Lily reached the entrance, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, she walked through it all, under the influence of Voldemort. When she got to the cave part successfully, Voldemort took the spell off her and she realized where she was.
"I happened to see a bowl down there that was knocked over. It was the Occisio Bowl."
Mr. and Mrs. Potter both gasped. The kids all looked confused, "What's that?" Peter asked.
"The Occisio Bowl was created long ago, a destruction weapon made by Salazar Slytherian. The bowl itself needs the full memory of a Muggle-born witch, and the key to start it. Since Voldemort had Lily's memory in it, he only needed the key. Once it had all that stuff needed, with the key, it could create enough energy to destroy anything it was targeted to. Voldemort chose the target of muggle England. If that key was put in the bowl, it would have all been destroyed, along with all the people."
"But, what was the key?" Lily asked.
"You're wearing it." He said simply. Lily looked down and saw her two necklaces around her neck. Madame Pomfrey had found them in her pocket and put them back on.
She looked up confused, waiting for an explanation, "Sirius, what did you get Lily for her twelfth birthday?" Dumbledore asked.
"That locket." Sirius answered.
"And where did you get it?"
"A small shop in France when my family visited there that summer. The man who sold it to me was a little odd. He said that this locket was an old one, worth quite a bit. I told him I didn't have that much extra money, and he told me not to worry about it, it was on sale anyway." He answered.
"Do you remember his name?" Dumbledore asked.
"He never told me. I don't even think that the shop had a name." Sirius stated, looking thoughtful.
Dumbledore smiled softly, "That is because it really wasn't a shop. That man there was Voldemort in disguise. He wanted you to buy that locket for her. Because it was the key to the Occisio Bowl."
Sirius widened his eyes in shock. "No way!" he exclaimed.
Dumbledore nodded, "I'm afraid so."
"So, if he needed the key to complete it, why did he want 'me' to have it?" Lily asked.
"The key can only be useful if the person whose memories are stolen to use puts the key in herself. He needed you to place the locket in the bowl willingly for it to work. If you did it against your will, it would not have worked."
"Professor," James spoke, looking thoughtful, "You told us earlier that Voldemort thought of a different plan when he realized that the Quidditch incident didn't work. It sounds like this conspiracy had been planned a few years ago, not just a couple months ago."
"You're right James. But, you see, this plan was a backup plan. If the poison and the bludger incident didn't work, he would do this one. The thing about Voldemort is," he told them all, "he always has backups."
Everyone just sat there, digesting everything they had just learned.
"I suggest we let Miss Evans get some sleep. I daresay she has had a long couple of months." Dumbledore said. The others nodded and went to kiss her cheek and hug her. After everyone had left, with James being the last one out of the door (he had to be dragged out by Mrs. Potter), Madame Pomfrey came out with a steaming goblet of potion and told her to drink up. After Lily practically gagged, she fell into a peaceful sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N- hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Preparing for school. Mine starts up on the 25th. Blah! Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I really don't like the way I wrote it. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review! (25 updates from my last one, you guys are the BEST!) Also, I'm sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I just wanted to get this update out there as soon as I could.
*"Really Madame Pomfrey, I'm feeling so much better!"
*"What day is it?"
*"Let's get some breakfast quick. I don't want to miss out on the first class."
*"We have the whole week off."
*"I would like everyone to join me in a round of applause to say 'Welcome Back, Lily'."
*"Hey Lily! Wanna go out with me!?"
*"What am I doing just sitting here? The OWLs are 3 months away and I've missed 5 months of studying!"
*"This, like, doesn't mean we're, like, friends or anything." "Wouldn't have it any other way."
*"One more Quidditch game of the year and we've got our star chaser back for it."
*"Hi Lily. Want to go out with-," "What do you think this is, 'Charity Day'? When have we every let her date?"
*"Y-You see Lily, the thing is, well, I've always liked-,"
*"Impeccable timing, Sirius."
*"Tomorrow's the OWLs!"
~~~***I'm cutting the previews in half, now I'll reply to reviewers***~~~
JerseyGirl03- Sorry about the cliffhanger! I hope you liked this update.
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pere falc- Yep yep, she got her memory back! I hope you like this one!
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She weakly raised herself to her feet. As soon as she got to her feet, she took a wary step back from him.
Voldemort looked absolutely livid. How dare a Mudblood destroy his plan and still live! Those images and memories inside that bowl were very useful to him, and she sabotaged it! He grasped his wand in his hand very tightly. Slowly, shaking with rage, he raised it up to eyelevel and said in a low, very dangerous voice, "I will most certainly enjoy killing you, Mudblood." He then shouted, "Adava Ked...
~*~*~*~20 Minutes Earlier*~*~*~*~
James was running along a rather long hall, frantically searching for his missing best friend/crush. Just as he was about to run a corner, he was ambushed twice. One from the front and one from his right. All three persons fell to the floor with a dull thud. James squinted through the darkness at the two others.
"Sirius, Remus." He spoke out loud, his booming voice echoing through the corridors.
"James, Remus," James heard Sirius say, "Any luck?"
They could see the outline of Remus' head moving back and forth, "None."
"Me neither." James put in.
Sirius sighed, "Same here. I don't know where she could have gone."
"Well, she isn't on the map, we know that." Remus said thoughtfully. Then, after a few moments, he asked, "So you think she could be in the Forbidden Forest?"
James considered that, "She very well 'could' be. Shall we look?"
They all three got up and Sirius said in an incredulous voice, as though it were obvious that they 'should' look, "Do pigs fly?" and he turned to walk down the hall to go out the doors.
Remus and James exchanged and followed him, "No." James answered confused.
Sirius stopped, "Huh?"
"Pigs don't fly, Sirius." Remus said, trying not to smile.
Sirius thought for a moment and said, "Oh never mind, let's just look." James and Remus exchanged another look and smirked at each other as they followed him.
They turned another corner after a few minutes and continued walking down another corridor. That is until James' hands shot out and stopped Sirius and Remus from walking.
"What is it, James?" Remus asked, not seeing the direction James was looking.
James pointed towards something and it was then that Sirius and Remus realized they were showered in a dim green glow. Looking the direction James was staring at in wonder, their jaws dropped simultaneously. They were standing near the door to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and to their astonishment, the door had a green glowing handprint on it.
James walked forward, determinedly, and inspected the door. "What do you suppose caused this?" he wondered out loud to Sirius and Remus. The other two stepped up to his side.
"I'm not sure, but I'm positive it has something to do with Voldemort." Remus supplied with a shrug.
"Well, then, lets check this out." Sirius said determinedly and stepped through the door, the other two not far behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I will most certainly enjoy killing you, Mudblood." He then shouted, "Adava Kedavera!"
"LILY!" someone shouted from behind her while someone else tackled her to the ground just as the burst of green light was about to strike her in the chest.
Voldemort cursed loudly when the spell missed. Lily was laying face down, unconscious due to the hard ground connecting harshly with her head. James was on top of her, shielding her from harm for the moment.
Remus and Sirius were right next to them, holding out their wands threateningly. James got up off of Lily and turned her over and leaving her safely on the ground. He too got up next to his fellow Marauders and pointed his wand at Voldemort.
Voldemort sneered and said in a cold voice, "You brats are becoming quite the nuisance to me."
"What's the matter, Voldemort?" Sirius taunted, unafraid, "Can't even beat three under trained wizards."
"All your plans that you've ever thought of had been ruined because of us four." James said matter-of-factly.
"Actually," Voldemort said, a twisted smile forming on his face, "You are helping me succeed in my plans right now." Before any of them could react, he aimed his wand at Sirius and shouted, "Stupefy!" Sirius was knocked backwards unconscious, his wand flying a few feet away from him.
"Stupefy!" James shouted, but Voldemort dodged it.
"Stupefy!" he shouted again to Remus. The same thing that happened to Sirius happened to Remus.
"So, that just leaves you and me, Potter." Voldemort spoke quietly.
James glared hatefully at him, "Petrificus Totalis!" he shouted.
Again, Voldemort dodged it, "Tut tut, Potter, didn't you even have properly dueling lessons? It'd have thought that by now, after Dumbledore learned about the prophesy, he would have had you four in his office daily for the training."
James looked confused and said hatefully, "What prophesy? What are you talking about?!"
Voldemort looked shocked for a moment, then returned to his usual sneer, "Maybe that won't be a problem then, eh? For now, I guess I'll just have fun torturing you. Crucio!"
James fell to his knees, urging himself not to scream out. A few gasps escaped and Voldemort smirked. Sirius had awoken during this and saw James on the floor in pain. He snarled at seeing his best friend in this state and jumped up furiously, walking over to his wand and picking it up subtly.
While Voldemort was busy looking at James with satisfaction, Sirius aimed his wand discreetly at him and then shouted, "Expellarimus!" This took Voldemort completely by surprise when he flew forcefully into a wall and his wand was in Sirius' hand.
James stopped twitching while Sirius walked casually over to the unconscious form of Voldemort. When he reached his destination, Sirius stood, towering over him, his face a look of disgust, and spat out, "Take that you son of a b***h." He then turned back around and surveyed the scene around him.
James was wrestling himself to his feet, panting harshly, while Remus was just waking up, shaking his head dizzily. He rushed over to his fellow Marauders and helped Remus up on his feet as James stumbled over.
"You two alright?" Sirius asked.
James and Remus nodded, "Yeah, just a little lightheaded." Remus answered.
James was about to say something, but stopped when all three heard a moan from a few feet away. They whipped their heads around to meet the sight of Lily sitting up, her eyes closed in pain. James noticed with a tug on his heart that she had a trickle of blood coming from her forehead and a cut lip.
They rushed over to her and Lily then noticed that there were other people with her. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at their faces, not missing a beat to tense up and pull herself to her feet hurriedly.
James narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Something wasn't right. There was something different with her. He noticed that the sparkle she was lacking before in her eyes was now back. But, despite the sparkle, they also held...what was it? Fear? Alarm?
She backed up a little way away from them, not meeting their eyes. She looked as though she were having an inward battle with herself. Finally, she spoke quietly, her voice quivering a little and eyes filling with tears, "W-what are you three d-doing h-here?"
"We came here to rescue you, of course." Sirius spoke as though it were obvious.
Lily snapped her head up, now meeting their eyes with bewilderment, "Y-you came...t-to rescue...me?" she asked, sounding almost unbelievable.
"Of course we did, Lils." Remus answered, frowning a little when he saw her flinch a little when he said 'Lils'.
"But..." Lily paused, confused, "But, why?"
The three exchanged confused looks and James asked, "Well, why not, Flower. We're your friends."
Lily paled, her bottom lip quivering, "W-what? I-I thought you hated me? I thought...everyone hated me."
"Why would you think that?" Remus asked gently.
James' eyes soften; he knew where this was going.
"Y-you guys 'told' me that." Lily said a tear falling, "Right-right after I came back from the library last week. James and Sirius accused me of...of telling Malfoy your secret. Then...the whole school kind of...despised me. Don't you three remember?"
Sirius and Remus paled, realizing what was going on. She had gotten her memory back, and she still believed the whole school hated her.
James sighed sadly, feeling like scum, "Lily," he began gently. She flinched again. "I-I'm sorry. About everything. We, Sirius and I, we had no right to accuse you like we did. We shouldn't have believed Malfoy over you."
"We should have believed you." Sirius put in, "Our friend. We should have realized you would never betray us."
Tears were now streaming down Lily's face. She couldn't believe it. What had caused this change? James stepped closer to her and she saw tears in his eyes as well. She was also startled to see...Compassion? Regret? In his eyes. Before she knew it, she was pulled into a hug. A warm, comforting hug that she had had the experience of for the passed 12 years.
She let out a sob, releasing all the emotions she had had bottled up for quite some time. She felt Remus and Sirius putting reassuring hands on her back. She was finally home where she belonged. After a couple of minutes of no one talking, Lily reluctantly pulled back, surprising herself by feeling incomplete without being in James' embrace.
"I-I just have one question." Lily said quietly, still feeling a little awkward. She looked up and met their eyes and asked with such sincerity that it almost pained the guys' hearts to hear it, "W-what brought this sudden change? I mean, yesterday...this morning...you three, well, detested me."
James blinked a couple of times in shock. This was getting real weird, "This morning? We didn't hate you this morning."
"Yes you did." Lily said a little more confidently, "I remember it. I went over to you, James, and told you about our prefects meeting. You just glared at me."
James exchanged another worried glance with the other two. "Lily? Did we, by any chance, happen to have a Quidditch game today?" Sirius asked, knowing the answer already.
Lily nodded; the boys noticed a pained look in her eyes for a half second, "Yeah. We did." She stole a glance at James.
"And you...saved me from that deadly bludger." James finished for her, recognizing the glance. He looked her squarely in the eye and said genuinely, "Thank you."
Lily blushed and looked down at her bare feet, "No problem. What are friends for?" she replied, smiling a little.
"But, Lily, there's something you gotta know." Sirius started, "You see, after that bludger hit you...you fell off the broom."
Lily nodded, "I know that."
"That's not all." Remus cut in, "Lily," he looked at her seriously, "You were in a coma for five months. We were afraid you wouldn't make it."
Lily paled, "Wha...what I mean...how...huh?" she stammered, confused.
James opened his mouth to explain, but never got a chance to.
"Petrificus Totalis!" a shout was heard from behind as the others watched James freeze up and fall to the ground. Voldemort was standing upright, his hands held out in front of him and a light shinning from them. He was doing wandless magic! The curse was shouted three more times before Lily, Sirius, or Remus could get their wands aimed and ready.
Voldemort loomed over them all with a sinister look upon his face, bending down to take his wand back from Sirius' stiff hand. "You little kiddies didn't really think I'd let you get away with that, did you?" his blood red eyes darkened and he shouted so loud that they would have flinched if it hadn't been for the fact that they were rigid, "I am NOT going to be made a fool of by some Mudblood, a POTTER, and two Mudblood-loving fools!!! Now, this had gone on long enough."
He levitated them all to one of the walls and chained them before he said the counter-curse. They all started to thrash around wildly, trying to get free.
"Pity you four are so 'loyal' to that Mudblood-loving fool, Albus Dumbledore. You could have been made great death eaters." He spoke tauntingly.
They just glared at him as he continued, "But, as pitiful as that is, I will finally be able to assure my reign over the magical world, without the muggle world. And it all starts with the deaths of you four."
Lily paled as the others just flayed around more violently. She was so confused. She didn't even know why she was here. One minute she was falling to the ground, most likely to her death, and the next, she was sitting 'on' the ground, watching as Voldemort was about to kill her.
"Now," Voldemort said in mock-thoughtfulness, "Who shall I kill first? Hmmm, tough decision." He looked over at Lily and said, "Now, I know how satisfying it will be to kill you, Mudblood, but I'd rather you see your friends die first." He looked at the other three, "Who to choose, who to choose. Ah," he looked right at Remus, "let's try the werewolf first then, shall we?"
"Go to Hell, Voldemort!" Remus shouted. Lily did a double-take; this was the first time she actually heard him cuss.
"Yeah, don't you own it?" Sirius spat out ragingly.
"Such wit, Mr. Black." Voldemort mocked. "You'll be next."
He turned back to Remus and without taking his eyes off of him, he said to the other three, "Say goodbye to your friend, children. You'll all be joining him soon enough."
Lily started to cry, her chest heaving. She just made up with her friends and now she would never speak to them again. These people were her family!
Remus shut his eyes firmly and turned his head, waiting for the killing curse.
"Adava Kedaver-,"
"Stupefy!" Remus snap opened his eyes along with the other three to see Voldemort going flying a few feet into the air and hit the wall. Standing about ten feet away with his wand raised threateningly was Albus Dumbledore.
Lily was never happier to see anyone in her life. They were all safe now. Every single one of them.
"Professor!" James shouted, relieved.
"Dumbledore." Voldemort spat, shaking his head dizzily.
"It takes a great coward to have to tie children up so you can kill them, Tom. Let them go." He ordered, eyes uncharacteristically flashing.
Sirius looked at the other three chained up and mouthed, 'Tom?' to them. They shrugged, confused as well.
"You see, Albus, I would." Voldemort began as he stood up and brushed himself off, "But, I believe I have plans for them already."
"Surrender now, Tom, or I will not be responsible for my actions!" Dumbledore's voice echoed loudly in the cave. Lily jumped when she heard his outburst. She had never heard him shout at anyone. Things were just 'so' confusing!
Voldemort glared, "You cannot order me around anymore, Dumbledore! I am 'not' a student anymore!"
"That was your one and only warning," Dumbledore said, almost regretfully, "Now, I will do what I must." He started to chant words that neither Lily nor the others had ever heard before. A white glow formed around him and sucked itself into his aimed wand. The tip of the wand was glowing brighter and brighter. To the other's astonishment, Voldemort's eyes widened in fear.
"You will be sorry, Dumbledore! Mark me words, I 'will' be back!" Voldemort shouted, right before he started to float off the ground, faster and faster going closer to the top of the cave. Right before his head hit the top, he pointed his wand upwards and shouted a destruction curse. There was a loud 'bang' and a large chunk of rock came out, leaving a hole big enough for Voldemort to fly out of.
Dumbledore cried out a curse to try and stop him, but he missed and Voldemort flew successfully out the hole.
All was quiet for a few seconds as Lily and the Marauders took in all of what had happened. Dumbledore turned to look at them, and they stared wordlessly back at him.
This was too much to handle for Lily. After Dumbledore muttered an incantation to release them all from the chains, Lily's head started to spin and her eyes started to blur. The last thing she remembered before everything went black was someone shouting her name and a pair of strong arms catching her before she hit the ground.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So the locket I bought for her?"
"Yes, that was a set-up as well."
"I just don't understand! 'Why' does Voldemort want us all dead? Me and Lily especially?"
"That, I daresay, I cannot tell you, for I do not know."
Lily opened her eyes to the sound of voices. "Lily?" someone called. Everything was blurry and her head was pounding painfully. Mumbling incoherently, she blinked a few times before things came into focus.
James was standing right over her head, worry and concern etched in his eyes. He was holding her hand tightly in his, fearful that she would pass out again.
"James?" she whispered confused. "What happened?"
"Miss Evans, good, you're awake." Dumbledore spoke.
Lily looked around. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were gathered around her bed, as was Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
"Oh Lily!" Mrs. Potter rushed forward; almost knocking James to the ground as she pushed passed him. She embraced her in a motherly hug. "We were so worried about you!"
Lily's face was turning red from the cut off of oxygen Mrs. Potter was causing. James noticed and said loudly, "Mum! Layoff, she can't breathe." Mrs. Potter backed up and Lily noticed tears in her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked again.
"It is a long story, Miss Evans." Dumbledore began. "I daresay that many things this year were due to Voldemort.
"Most of this started at the beginning of the year, with Mr. Malfoy telling your friends that you had told him about Mr. Lupin's condition." Lily averted her eyes when he said this, but a hand taking her hand lead Lily's gaze into the chocolate brown eyes of James, who smiled reassuringly to her.
"As I had told James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, the school was under the spell of the Agresivio Anguera potion." Lily's eyes widened in shock. 'So, nobody really hated me!' "It seems that Voldemort was planning on secluding you from the safety of your friends so he could capture you, then kill you.
"The day of that Quidditch match, he had Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Avery slip some dangerous poison in yours and Mr. Potter's goblets. I assume you already knew about Mr. Potter's goblet." Lily nodded, looking down at her hand in James'. He gave hers a tight squeeze.
"Yes, but I am sure that you didn't know about yours being poisoned, so, as they had planned, you drank from yours. Can I assume you had a terrible headache and stomachache during the match?" she nodded again, "Yes, I thought so. Well, since the poison didn't work on Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Avery took it upon themselves to curse that bludger and jinxed Sirius', Remus', and James' brooms from moving on their own. Their plan backfired yet again when you realized what was going on and decided to act courageously and sacrifice yourself instead of having James be knocked off his broom.
"I'm sure Voldemort was happy to hear that you were injured and only a thread from dying. That is why it had quieted down for quite some time. But, when he realized that there was a chance of you waking up and getting better, he went to another plan. I believe that while you were in the coma, you had a strange dream. Am I correct?"
Lily nodded again, "Yes that's right."
"Could you possibly tell us about this dream you had, Lily?" he asked.
"Um, ok, well, I think I was in a forest with-" she broke off, blushing as her eyes quickly darted to her hand in James', "someone. We had just jumped into a lake and were playing and splashing around. Then, suddenly the scene changed, and I was all alone in some kind of open field. The day was now night and the sky was stormy and cloudy. I looked around and realized I was no longer alone, but with Voldemort. He was standing there, his wand pointed at me. I asked him what he wanted from me and he replied he wanted me dead. Then, he said some sort of spell that hit me in the chest. Then, I remember feeling very weird and looking up at the stormy clouds. There were images up there, images of my life. But, when one image disappeared, I couldn't remember something anymore. It was very weird."
"Yes, that was really no dream, Lily." Dumbledore explained, "That was actually happening. Voldemort took your memories from you. Now, I will return to my story. You had been unconscious for about five months, not once showing signs of waking up. Then, one day, you had mysteriously turned to the worst. Madame Pomfrey tried everything she could think of on you, but it didn't work. You were officially dead for a few minutes." Lily paled. "But, then, you inexplicably woke. The thing was, you woke up without any recollection of your life, or anyone apart of it.
"So, when James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter showed up to see you, they introduced themselves, and you all became friends all over again. Due to your lack of class time and studying and having any memory of even being a witch, the teachers, your friends, and myself tutored you. You were doing quite well. The problem was, Voldemort knew about all this, and he decided it was time to take action.
"Last night, Peter up to my office and informed me of what was happening. He told me that you had strangely gone rigid and started to walk out of your common room. Remus followed, but was knocked out. I believe that Voldemort had controlled you and given you some of his powers."
"But, why would he do that?" Remus asked.
"Voldemort is a parseltongue, he can speak to snakes. That is the only way you can enter the Chamber of Secrets."
"The Chamber of What?" Sirius asked.
"The Chamber of Secrets, Sirius." Dumbledore explained, "Back in the time of the four founders, Salazar Slytherian had created his own chamber, where he could do his own bidding and whatnot. Being an heir of Salazar himself, Voldemort used the chambers so he could go through with his own plan.
"So, when Lily reached the entrance, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, she walked through it all, under the influence of Voldemort. When she got to the cave part successfully, Voldemort took the spell off her and she realized where she was.
"I happened to see a bowl down there that was knocked over. It was the Occisio Bowl."
Mr. and Mrs. Potter both gasped. The kids all looked confused, "What's that?" Peter asked.
"The Occisio Bowl was created long ago, a destruction weapon made by Salazar Slytherian. The bowl itself needs the full memory of a Muggle-born witch, and the key to start it. Since Voldemort had Lily's memory in it, he only needed the key. Once it had all that stuff needed, with the key, it could create enough energy to destroy anything it was targeted to. Voldemort chose the target of muggle England. If that key was put in the bowl, it would have all been destroyed, along with all the people."
"But, what was the key?" Lily asked.
"You're wearing it." He said simply. Lily looked down and saw her two necklaces around her neck. Madame Pomfrey had found them in her pocket and put them back on.
She looked up confused, waiting for an explanation, "Sirius, what did you get Lily for her twelfth birthday?" Dumbledore asked.
"That locket." Sirius answered.
"And where did you get it?"
"A small shop in France when my family visited there that summer. The man who sold it to me was a little odd. He said that this locket was an old one, worth quite a bit. I told him I didn't have that much extra money, and he told me not to worry about it, it was on sale anyway." He answered.
"Do you remember his name?" Dumbledore asked.
"He never told me. I don't even think that the shop had a name." Sirius stated, looking thoughtful.
Dumbledore smiled softly, "That is because it really wasn't a shop. That man there was Voldemort in disguise. He wanted you to buy that locket for her. Because it was the key to the Occisio Bowl."
Sirius widened his eyes in shock. "No way!" he exclaimed.
Dumbledore nodded, "I'm afraid so."
"So, if he needed the key to complete it, why did he want 'me' to have it?" Lily asked.
"The key can only be useful if the person whose memories are stolen to use puts the key in herself. He needed you to place the locket in the bowl willingly for it to work. If you did it against your will, it would not have worked."
"Professor," James spoke, looking thoughtful, "You told us earlier that Voldemort thought of a different plan when he realized that the Quidditch incident didn't work. It sounds like this conspiracy had been planned a few years ago, not just a couple months ago."
"You're right James. But, you see, this plan was a backup plan. If the poison and the bludger incident didn't work, he would do this one. The thing about Voldemort is," he told them all, "he always has backups."
Everyone just sat there, digesting everything they had just learned.
"I suggest we let Miss Evans get some sleep. I daresay she has had a long couple of months." Dumbledore said. The others nodded and went to kiss her cheek and hug her. After everyone had left, with James being the last one out of the door (he had to be dragged out by Mrs. Potter), Madame Pomfrey came out with a steaming goblet of potion and told her to drink up. After Lily practically gagged, she fell into a peaceful sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N- hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Preparing for school. Mine starts up on the 25th. Blah! Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I really don't like the way I wrote it. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review! (25 updates from my last one, you guys are the BEST!) Also, I'm sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I just wanted to get this update out there as soon as I could.
*"Really Madame Pomfrey, I'm feeling so much better!"
*"What day is it?"
*"Let's get some breakfast quick. I don't want to miss out on the first class."
*"We have the whole week off."
*"I would like everyone to join me in a round of applause to say 'Welcome Back, Lily'."
*"Hey Lily! Wanna go out with me!?"
*"What am I doing just sitting here? The OWLs are 3 months away and I've missed 5 months of studying!"
*"This, like, doesn't mean we're, like, friends or anything." "Wouldn't have it any other way."
*"One more Quidditch game of the year and we've got our star chaser back for it."
*"Hi Lily. Want to go out with-," "What do you think this is, 'Charity Day'? When have we every let her date?"
*"Y-You see Lily, the thing is, well, I've always liked-,"
*"Impeccable timing, Sirius."
*"Tomorrow's the OWLs!"
~~~***I'm cutting the previews in half, now I'll reply to reviewers***~~~
JerseyGirl03- Sorry about the cliffhanger! I hope you liked this update.
Etilia- I know what you mean about liking the new Lily better. I really liked to write her that way. Thanks for reviewing!
Shinning Crystal- lol, thanks for the review! Sorry about the cliffy. I can't wait to see the update of your story!
vamperfly- I hope this update was quick enough. Thank you for reviewing!
The Dark Vella- thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter!
Shayley Rain- lol, thanks I loved your review!
Lady Ruth- THANK YOU SO MUCH! I hope you liked the update
bRiTiShCk02- I know, I really felt bad about TWO cliffhangers. I am SO sorry. I hope you liked this one and thank you SO MUCH for adding me to your favorites!!!
pere falc- Yep yep, she got her memory back! I hope you like this one!
Killer Angel- yep, she got her memory back, thanks for reviewing!
bebe-chrissy- I'm sorry it was so short. I hope you liked this one. And don't worry, there 'will' be more L/J action in the future chapters.
EbonyQuill- you're so sweet! You've got to be like one of my #1 reviewers! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i o u a name- lol, I hope you enjoyed this one!
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firehottie- hi there! I hope you liked it. Sorry it took so long!
JayGurlie15- lol, well I hope you 'didn't' die from the suspense. Sorry about the cliffhanger.
HiddenAngel2- Hey there! I hope you liked this one. I'm so glad you liked it even though it 'was' a bit too short. ;)
sydney-the-great-blonde- you have 'got' to be one of my other #1 reviewers. I could just hug you all! Thank you for reviewing and I'm so happy both my stories are one of your favorites!
Summerpony- Thanks for Reviewing!!! I hope you liked this chapter!
faries- Thank you for reviewing. Sorry I didn't post for a while.
wizardduel2- Isn't she brave? I understand about the camp thing. Thanks for reviewing anyway!!!
krazymelmo5385- I hope this was soon enough for ya. Thanks for reviewing.
h-ermione-g-ranger64- I agree, cliffhangers 'are' fun to write. But, I do feel guilty for all my readers. Thanks for reviewing!!!
shortnsassy- lol, sorry. Thanks for reviewing!
Luthien Vardamir- lol, I loved your review! Thank you for reviewing!!!