As time goes on

by Amour-Lily

This is Lily and James in their sixth year. James discovers a secret about himself and gets thrown into a war against his will. Now, to keep his friends safe, he has to keep them in the dark. It seems like a great plan, so why are they falling one by one?

32. The Horrors We Face Part 4

I had so much fun writing this chapter! However, so I don't keep you guys waiting, (me too actually, I'm really exciting about it, that even I read it over about two times) I posted the Authors note at the very bottom.

Even the best fall down sometime...

-Howy Day's 'Collide'

Chapter 32 The Horrors We Face Part 4

James shook slightly out of fear. Voldemort smirked and pointed his wand toward his parents.

"So, Potter,'" Voldemort taunted quietly, "Who will you choose to go? Your mother, who gave birth to you? Your father maybe, who was foolish enough to risk his life for your mudblood girlfriend? Or maybe..." Voldemort grinned and pointed his wand toward an unconscious John, "This man, who tried so hard to protect you?"

James clenched his fists. He was terrfied and angry. His mind was quickly working on a different sorts of plans, each one more harder than the next.He suddenly felt a small bit of courage. He was aMaruader. His three best friends were the only thing going through his mind at that moment. With Sirius Black, putting their pranks into action, Remus Lupin, creater of all the idea for their pranks, Peter Pettigrew, right behind them if any sort of prank went wrong, and himself, they made the Marauders. They were the most cleverest group of boys in the school. They were loyal, brave, daring. How would his friends react if they saw him now, shaking and crying at the hands of someone who had made his life miserable? James Potter always got revenge when someone did wrong to him. He decided at that moment, if he were going to die, he would do it in a way to make the rest of the Mauraders proud. If there was one things James Potter could do, it was to escape. He grinned at the man before him. He was scared stiff, but refused to show it. "You won't be killing anyone tonight."

Voldemort laughed coldly. "Ah, trying to be brave now, are we, Gryffindor?"

James straightened himself up. "I am brave."

Voldemort considered the boy in front of him. "You are daring, boy. Foolish, but daring."

'Calm down, James. This is no different than any other situation. This is just another Professor. You can get out of this.'James thought.

"Boy, choose," Voldemort's voice held a tone of warning. "Or I will."

"You can't perform the sacrifice if you don't have the pendant," James said smoothly.

Voldemort raised his wand. " I want that power. Accio-"

In one swift movement, James threw a tiny red ball resembling a snitch into the air. He had noidea what it was, all he knew was that he had it in his pocket since the night of the full moon. The red ball froze in midair. Everyone in the room stared, confused. The explosion was immediate. The force of it threw James back and into a Death Eater. Yelling could be hard all around him. Smoke made it difficult for James to see anything.

"JAMES!" he could hear his mother screaming.

He wanted to yell out that he was fine, but he knew he couldn't give away his position. 'I''ll be back, mum,' he thought. Trying to wipe away the moisture that began to fill his eyes, James burst through a door on his left. He slammed it behind him. Quickly noting his surroundings, the Gryffindor realized he was in a dark corridor. He quickly and quietly made his way down it.

'They won't kill them,' James thought, thinking of his parents and John, 'I know they won't. They need the pendant or the sacririce to work.'

His plan was simple: make them think he had the pendant. He hoped the confusion he just caused would have them looking all around the mansion for him. He then planned to double back to his parents and escape. Simple, really. Just then, a loud voice bellowed, "FIND HIM! BLOCK ALL THE EXITS! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

The door in which he had come through burst open. Someone shouted, "There he is!", but James didn't even bother to turn around. He spritned down the corridor as spells and curses flew past him. He dodged jets of orange, purple, red, and green spells as they flew past him. James heart was pounding, his ears were throbiing. He wasinsane for doing this. He could just see Sirius running beside him, looking as if he was having the time of his life, egging him on and saying it was an adventure they would never forget.

'Right,' James thought, 'Just another adventure.'

He had to keep himself calm right now, and if denying the actual situation would do it, then he didn't care. James spotted a door next to him. He ran through it, slamming the door behind him. He put his back against it as he heard footsteps run past him. When he heard no more, he let outa breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in. Panting slightly, James took a look around the room. It was like a library. Shelves full of books were all around the room, making it looked like a maze. He ran a hand through his hair. Now what? He had to find a way to get back to his parents. Chances were all the Death Eaters were searching the house for him, leaving his parents wide open for an escape. James glanced at the table next to him. It was full of Potions. Not even thinking twice, he picked up a handfull of them and stuffed them in his pockets when-

"ARGH!"

The door burst open, hitting James on the back of the head. He stumbled forward.

"WE GOT HIM!" a Death Eater yelled triumphantly.

James reached in pocket for his wand, but realized it wasn't there. "Damn," he muttered. Where had it gone?

He didn't waste another thought on it. In an instant he was back on his feet and running through the maze of bookshelves, trying desperately to lose them. Three men dressed in dark cloaks were right on his tail. One man reached out, grabbing his shoulder roughly.

"You're done," the man growled.

James didn't reply. He quickly grabbed a book off of the shelves and struck the man with a corner of it, hard. The man fell back, holding his nose. Being a Chaser of the Quidditch team obviously had its advantages. Two of their men raised their wands.

"Stupefy!"

They both shouted the same spell. Red light bliding his vision, James fell back against a shelf. He reached out for anything to support him and ended up pulling a book out. It seemed as if a secret passage was hidden there. The shelf open up, causing James to fall back with a shout of surprise.Once he was through, the passage instantly shut, leaving two Death Eaters using every spell they knew to try to get in. James sat there on his back for a moment, dazed.

'That was pure luck,' he thought in awe, 'Someone has to be watching out for me.'

Incredulous, but not complaining, at his little stunt, he picked himself upand forced himself to face the passage way. It seemed that he was once again in a dark corridor. Sighing, James quickly ran down it, keeping his ears open for any sort of noise. After a few minutes of twists and turns, it seemed as it the passageway stopped. James stood in front of a small door. It was only small enough for him to crawl through. He was debating whether or not to go through it when he could hear a loud explosion shake the passageway. The impact sent James flying into the opposite wall.

"He's down here!" a man yelled.

"Company," James muttered to himself. He fell to his knees and opened the door slightly, to check if the coast was clear. What he found surprised him. He was right back into the room he was in before. He could see the torches that formed a small circle, he could see his mother sobbing onto his father's chest. It seemed as if his plan had worked. There wasn't a single person in the room. James heard voices behind him. He quickly crawled out and shut the small door behind him. Spotting a box next to him, he put it in font of the door, ruining the chances of any Death Eater getting through it.

His parents obviously haven't spotted him yet as he hard him mum sobbing, "He got away...oh Justin..he got away..." Oddly enough, she sounded relieved and happy.

Justin Potter held his wife close whispering, "Yes, he'll be okay. James will be okay..."

A large throat formed in James throat again. "Mum!" he shouted, running toward her.

Both adults looked up in shock. Justin Potter instantly looked scared, while his wife looked at her son in shock and disbelief. She began getting hysterical again. "NO!"she sobbed. "James, turn back! Run! Please, we don't want you to get involved!"

James now stood right outside of the circle. He tried hard to ignore his mother's pleas. He hadn't ever seen her so hysterical.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said firmly, "We need to-"

"Banshula!"

James moved his hand in shock, and in a moment, was happy he did. A streak of purple light shot past him and hit the shield surrouding his parents. This sent out a force with such impact, it send James flying backward and onto the floor.

"James!" his mum cried."Leave him alone! Please..leave him alone!"

A cold laugh could be heard throughout the room. Slowly, James got to his feet, once again shaking. All his courage had left him. It was suddenly very cold. Voldemort stepped out of the shadows, wand held high, not looking very amused.

"That wasn't a good trick to pull, Potter. It will only make your death slower," Voldemort hissed.

James shot up and sprinted toward his parents, not caring if he was torn back or not. He let all his frustration and anger go.

"LET-" he kicked at the shield surrounding him parents, "THEM-" now he was punching it, "GO!" At this point, he was desperate. He kicked and punched and threw his entire body at it, but whatever was blocking him, he just couldn't break through it.

His mum watched with tears in her eyes. "The pendant," she whispered, so that only he could hear, "Use it."

He suddenly stopped. This was it. This was where it ended. Not trusting himself to speak, he shook his head, knowing she would understand. He didn't have it. His mum's gaped at her son, looking shocked.

"Impedimenta."

Their conversation through their eyes was quickly interrupted when Voldemort lazily muttered a spell, sending James flying half way around the room. He skidded to a stop on his back, looking a bit winded. Painfully, the Marauder stood up, looking up at the imtimidating man defiantly.

"I'm not leaving without them," James said evenly.

If Voldemort was surprised, he didn't show it. Insteand, he fingered his wand, studying James. "You're persistence intrigues me..."

It was hard for James to keep his stare. He was becoming unnerved by the way Voldemort was looking at him. Finally, Voldemort stood up.

"Very well," Voldemort said. He threw a wand at him. James, thanks to his excellent Chaser skills, caught the wand with ease. In a moment he realized it was his. Confused, he looked up at the man standing on the other side of the room.

"Potter," Voldemort said, obviously amused, "You will duel me for your parents freedom. Shall you lose, the sacrifice will go through. That means no more running and no more of these childish games."

James held his wand high. "There's nothing childish about trying to save the ones I love," he spat.

"Love will destroy you," Voldemort hissed.

"It's the only good thing I have and I sure as hell won't let you take it away from me," James spat angrily.

Voldemort chuckled. "I admire your determination, Potter. But in the end you will see that I'm right."

"James!" his dad cried out suddenly, holding his sobbing wife.

James took one glance at his dad and gave him a reassuring smile. His father knew James well enough to know he was trying to reassure himself as well. Nonetheless, one second was all it took for Voldemort to yell out a spell. Catching him off guard, James was once again thrown into a wall. A sickening crack would be heard when James fell to the groung, groaning and holding his shoulder. Weakly, he stood up. His wand hand was shaking so horribly, he had trouble aiming.

"S-stupefy!"

James spell was cast clumsily. Voldemort deflected it easily.

"You don't want to fight me, Potter." Voldemort hissed.

James ignored this comment. He yelled out every spell, curse, and jinx he knew. Red, yellow, blue, and purple streaks of lights flew from James wands and toward the target, who easily deflected it and was yawning quite obviously. James stopped the stream of curses. Thanks to his sweaty hand he had nearly dropped his wand twice. James free hand was balled in a fist to stop it from shaking. Both opponents stood there. Voldemort was smirking coldly, as if mocking him. James stood, shaking, holding his shoulder and his other hand that held his wand was drenched in sweat. Why was Voldemort doing this? He knew James could never win. Why tormet him like this, giving him false hope that he might actually save his parents?

"You're losing hope," Voldemort said superiorly, as if James himself couldn't decipher his own feelings and emotions. "Good...you're finally coming to the realization that your never getting out of here. The moment you left Hogwarts, you made a mistake that not only cost you your life, but your parents and the Auror as well."

James gritted his teeth in pain and anger. The pain in his shoulder was really starting to hurt. He started to throw every spell that came to his mind. Voldemort was obviously getting bored with just deflecting and decided it would be more fun to actually shoot spellsat James. Thanks to his Quidditch skills, it was easy for James to dodge the first few spells that were thrown at him. But they were coming faster, he was starting to slow down. When a flash of silver light was right in front of him, James flung himself to the ground. Not being able to see, James blindly aimed a spell somewhere.

'I don't want to die..I dontt want to die..what about Sirius? Remus? Peter? I never got to tell them I'm sorry...' James thought. He quickly got to his feet, but those few moments he was lost in his thoughts cost him. Voldemort threw a jet of purple light at James, knocking him to the floor, and knocking all the wind out of him. James laid on his back, panting.

Voldemort laughed mockingly. "Potter, why do you continue to defy me? Give me the pendant...surrender and give me that power...and spare one life. I may even let you live..if you hand over the pendant now, you may join me Potter, in ridding the world of mudbloods and mudblood lovers!"

Lily, Remus, Sirius, and Peter all seemed to appear like a picture the moment James shut his eyes in exhaustion. 'Join him?' James thought. 'That might be the only way...'

He could see Sirius's face contorted in anger and disgust. "How could you!" he yelled angrily. "How could you join the same lot that I ran away from? The same lot that nearly killed your best friend!"

Remus was shaking his head sadly. "We thought you were better than that, Prongs."

Peter was looking at him with uncertaintly. "You gave up that easily?"

Lily, like Sirius, looked livid. "Potter!" she screamed. "You disgust me! I never thought that even someone like you would turn your back on your family and friends!"

"I did it for you...'" James said weakly.

Sirius looked at him, clearly upset. "You betrayed us James..."

"What am I suppoed to do?" James asked angrily.

Sirius seemed to give him a grin. "Get up," he replied, "Get up and fight. Marauders don't run away from fights. If your going to die, at least do it in a way that would make me say I was proud to be your best mate!"

James had the sudden urge to roll his eyes. "Thanks, Padfoot. when I die, I'll remember that," James replied, half sarcastic but half serious.

"Not when, Prongs," Peter said quietly, "IF. You decide when this fight is over."

"Potter, this is your last chance..." a cold voice interrupted James short slumber. He instantly opened his eyes, remembering what he saw. He grabbed his wand, stood up, and held his ground. He was shaking and still scared out of his wits, but he was determined.

"I'll never join you," James spat, "The only way you'll get the pendant is if you rip it from my neck."

Voldemirt grinned evilly. "I'll take that as an invitation. Accio-"

"Protego!"

James was pleased to hear that his voice sounded strong. He wanted Voldemort tohear the determination in his voice and to know that he wouldn't give in without a fight. Voldemort growled in frustration. He shot agreen spell toward James. The younger boy wasn't quick enough to dodge it. His legs seemed to freeze on the stop. Whatever messages his brain was sending to his lower body obviously wasn't getting through. Not even thinking about it, James raised his wand and boldly shouted, "Gryffithillegra!"

A huge jet of orange light burst from James wand. When the two spells connected, they didn't just burst, they two beams seemed to stay there in midday, each one fighting to get to its enemy. James held his ground, holding his wand in place, but he was confused. How did he do that? What was he doing? What spell had he shouted out? He didn't know the answer to any of these questions. All he knew was that something was telling him not to let go of his wand. He could feel himself slipping though. The green light seemed to slowly be overtaking the orange one.

"You can't win, Potter!" Voldemort hollered.

The light was blinding. Taking a risk, James looked over to his parents.

"Help me!" he mouthed desperately. "Please, help me!"

His mum looked at him in despair. She turned and hugged her husband, once again sobbing into his chest. His dad was holding his wife while looking on at his son sadly, but at the same time, with a hint of pride. This was all James needed. He knew he was doing the right thing. When James mother turned around to look at him, with tears running down her cheeks, she mouthed, "I'm sorry."

James could feel his own tears form in his eyes. He shook his head quickly to tell her it was fine, and gave both his parents a reassuring smile. A sudden jerk of his wand made him turn back to the duel at hand. James was losing. He screwed up his eyes in concentration, practically begging in his mind for this to be over.

'What do I do?' he thought frantically. 'I can't just stay here forever...'

James looked over at his parents. A thought instantly came to mind. Praying to whoever was listening that it would work, he broke the spell away from Voldemort. He knew there was a risk he would die. But all he wanted was for his parents was for them to be safe. He directed whatever spell he had let out (he was still confused as to which one he used) and aimed it at the invisible shield that surrounded his parents. In an instant, there was a crack and whatever spell and been holding the Potters in vanished. But at a price. Justin Potter looked on as James grinned, looking quite proud of himself, but oblivious to the spell Voldemort threw at him.

"JAMES!" his wife screamed. It was as if James knew what was happening He gave his parents one last reassuring smile before green light engulfedhis vision. It surrounded him and everyone in the room was momentarily blinded by the light. Justin's wife was screaming, and even he himself cried out his son's name, tears coursing down his face. His son didn't deserve this. He shouldn't of have to gone through this. When the light finally faded, they spotted James lieing on his back. His arm was stretched out and his wand lay only a few inches from his hand. One of his legs was stretched out at an odd angle and his whole sleeve was torn.His head was to the side, eyes closed, but you could still see the determined look on his face. The parents rushed over to the son and kneeled over him, screaming their son's name and trying desperately to wake him. Voldemort's Death Eaters had made their way into the room by now and surrounded the boy, grabbing the Potters roughly and holding them still. Voldemort stood above the unconscious James. Well...semi-conscious. James could still make out what was going on.

Darkness surrounded him...but he could still hear and feel what was going on. He felt someone tear at the front of his shirts, ripping it, and many angry murmurs.

"Don't hurt him!" his mum was screaming.

"Where is the pendant?" a new voice demanded. But yet this one was so familiar...

"You traitor!" his mum was screaming. "How could you turn on us!"

Ah...it was Sam.

"He doesn't have it," another voice replied.

"Take him back to Hogwarts," he heard Voldemort demand.

"Why-"

"Take the boy back?"

"Don't question me!" Voldemort snapped. "Take the boy back to Hogwart. But not without a warning...the fool was simply stringing us along...trying to buy his parents time..well..his parents will be the only onesto pay for that."

He heard his dad yell out angrily and his mum cry out in pain. There as thud and all was quiet, except he could hear his dad struggling against something. Slowly, James opened his eyes a tiny bit just to see what was going on. His dad was struggle against the strong pair of arms that were keeping him from his wife. Slowly, James turned and saw that his mum was thrown next to him.

"Mum..." James muttered weakly.

Surprised, his mum gave a dry sob and clasped her hand with her son's. Tears were starting to well in her eyes. She knew what was coming next.

"James.." she whispered softly, "Don't ever give in..."

"Yes, Potter, open your eyes and look at your mother one last time," Voldemort hissed coldly.

'He's going to kill me,' James thought numbly.

"This wasn't your fault..." his mum whispered, voice shaking slightly. "It was never about you

As images of James childhood and teenage years flashed before his eyes, he felt tears well up in his eyes, but was careful not to let them fall. Sirius, Remus, Peter...he would never see them again. His life ended at age sixteen. If he could see his friends..just one more time...he would tell them not to let Snape split them up. They were stronger than that. Lily..he would never get to apologize to her. He hoped Sirius, Remus, or Peter would tell her he was serious every time he ever asked her out.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Voldemort raised his wand.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't able to save you from this pain," his mum whispered.

Fear and an undescribable sadness washed over him. 'Would anyone miss me?' he thought. James mind wandered back to the dream. 'Sorry, Womtail, I've decided. This fight is over.'

"I love you, son," his mum said softly, voice shaking slightly and tears coursing down her cheeks like a waterfall.

Nodding, James closed his eyes. This was the hardest moment of his life. He allowed one single tear to fall down his cheek.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light once again blinded him. His mother was screaming..his father was yelling...but James felt no pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Was death supposed to be this painless? The sight James was met with caused his so grow sick. The green light wasn't meant for him...it all came together. The Killing Curse was never meant for him...

"Yes, Potter, open your eyes and look at your mother one last time," Voldemort hissed coldly.

James remembered. It wasn't him Voldemort was going to kill...

James watched in shock as the green light passed through his mum's body, taking her life with it. He couldn't help it. The young Gryffindor passed out.The last thing he heard was someone whisper, "We'll meet again, Mr. Potter."

Inside, James shuddered at how Voldemort's voice sounded amused and excited.

A/N. WOW! Easily the most emotional chapter in this whole entire story..Wow. Did that make you sad, or was it just me? ANYWAYS! I know this wasn't the longest chapter, but the next one should be pretty long also. This one was supposed to be much, much longer, but I decided to leave it here. I figured that if I went on, it would sort of ruin the mood, you know? So, there you go. One more chapter left! Yes! Also..HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE COMES OUT IN...9 hours! I hope you all won't be too busy to read this though. I don't know why, but the last two chapters, I sort of lost my inspiration to write, and it became sort of a chore. I know the last two chapters weren't the best and I apologize. However, this chaper, I really got into it and I had fun wrting it. I'm pretty sad, actually, because of what happened at the end. Did you guys REALLY think i would kill off James:) So..I really spent alot of energy and thought into this chapter, so I hope it's good enough for you to review and tell me your thoughts! Spoilers for the next chapter and the status for the next chapter should be up by Wednesday, so check out my profile then.

Amour Lily