The Game of Seduction
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Chapter 6- The Hogsmeade Massacre
"Come on, James, you have to go with us! It's the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year!"
For the hundredth time, James shook his head, prompting Sirius to let out an angry howl. He would not be going to Hogsmeade today; with his friends, anyway. Later, he would set out alone (with the invisibility cloak), to the Hogs Head where who knew what would be waiting for him.
"This isn't like you, James," said Remus. "You never miss a Hogsmeade trip if you can help it!"
"Well, things have changed," he said moodily. Why couldn't they just accept the idea that he had enough screaming lollipops, dung bombs, and filibuster fireworks to last him until next year?
"Come on, guys. He obviously doesn't want to come!" squeaked Peter. That's one good thing about Peter, James thought. He knows how to take a hint! His three friends reluctantly left, shaking their heads and muttering, and once they were gone, James let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Once he was outside of the door, Sirius exploded. "What the hell is wrong with him? He's never missed a Hogsmeade trip before! He must have a stick up his bum, or something!"
Remus glared at him. "He *did* just lose his parents, Sirius. Give him a break!"
"Humph. I'll give him a break alright. Break both his arms and legs!" Sirius continued to glomp down the stairs until he reached the common room, where he was ambushed by Lily.
"Hey, Sirius! What's-", she paused as she saw the stormy look on his face. "What happened, Siri?"
His left eye started to twitch. "It's none of your business, Lily!" he yelled before storming out of the portrait hole, little Peter bringing up the rear. Lily was shocked. What had happened to make him *that* mad?
"You have to excuse him, Lily," Remus explained. "He's angry that James isn't coming with us to Hogsmeade."
"Oh, Is that all? Tupht. God forbid James doesn't go to Hogsmeade once!"
"You don't understand, Lily! It's practically tradition that we all go together! We're the Marauders!" Remus sighed as he saw Lily staring at him blankly. "Never mind," he muttered before waving, and following his friends, out of the portrait hole.
"Boys! I don't think I'll ever understand them!" She was about to go back up to her room, to get her winter cloak, when she caught sight of the boy's staircase. James was up there. Hmmm. Maybe she should just-*** She walked over to the staircase, and looked up into the dark stairwell.
James had just started down the stairs, in his invisibility cloak, when he spotted Lily standing at the bottom. Just his luck, he couldn't get around her without her knowing he was there! He crept down closer, until he was right in front of her face, and frowned at what he saw.
She was tragically beautiful, of course, as always, with her forest green eyes, so sad, and her full lips turned down slightly, in a frown. What worried him, however was that she had dark blue circles under her eyes, as if (like himself) she had not been getting any sleep for the past few weeks. He usually kept her so close to him; how could he have not noticed?
He was brought back to reality when Lily made a movement as if to start up the stairs. What was she doing? She wasn't allowed in the boy's dormitory! But then she stopped, and bit her lip, thinking. *Oh, God*, James thought, *If she climbs the stairs I won't have a chance! * But wait. Why would she be going to the boy's dormitory anyway? *Sirius*, the answer came almost immediately. *She wants to see Sirius. But (haha!) he's just left, sorry!* , he thought with some satisfaction. But she didn't move, just stood there, biting her lip. James was starting to get annoyed. If she wasn't going to do anything, he'd have to take matters into his own hands.***
James got very close to her face, and started to blow in her ear. Results were instantaneous. She jumped about a foot in the air, before swinging out wildly, her right hand coming into contact with an invisible face. "Ow!" Man! What the hell was wrong with her?! In the confusion, the invisibility cloak had come off his head. Lily stared at his floating head with something along the borders of shock and awe, before putting her hands in front of her eyes and groaning. This was about the weirdest James Potter dream she'd ever had!
James put the invisibility cloak back into place before escaping through the portrait hole. His only thought as he rubbed his sore cheek and disappeared behind the one-eyed witch was *Damn. Imagine if I'd tried to kiss her.*
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Hogsmeade was, as always, crowded. Lily walked down the high street towards Honeydukes, with her friends Ella, Tara, and Katherine in tow, recounting her 'dream' about James Potter.
"-And his head was just *floating* there! But the weirdest thing of all was that it didn't seem like a dream since I never really *woke up*. Maybe I'm still dreaming, and you guys aren't really here, at all?"
Tara shrugged. "Well, you never know, do you? It would actually be kinda' cool if we were all just dream people that came out of Lily's head, wouldn't it?" Lily and Ella just stared at her as if she were insane while Katherine shook her head.
"No, Lily, I don't think you were dreaming", said Kat, seriously.
"Why?"
"Well, I don't mean to gossip-"
"Yes, you do!" Kat glared at Tara who grinned innocently.
"As I was saying, I don't mean to gossip, but *I* heard that James Potter has an invisibility cloak! That would definitely explain the floating head." The other girls gaped at her. "What?!"
"Wherever did you hear that?"
"I have my ways!" she said a little defensively.
"Sure."
Lily was thinking, hard. If James really did have an invisibility cloak, then that meant she hadn't been dreaming, after all. She blushed at the thought of him blowing in her ear, but quickly shook it off. Where had he been going that he needed an invisibility cloak? And what about his friends? Why had he ditched them? Her blood started to boil as she thought of the possibilities. *Could it be another girl? *
She hadn't been watching where she was going. Before she knew it, Lily was knocked right off her feet, landing on top of someone, hard. "Ow!" said a male voice from underneath her.
Lily stared in shock. It felt as though she was laying on something, yet there was nothing there. *Am I floating? * She wondered how this could be possible until the male voice came again.
"Gerroff, Lily! My gosh, you're heavy!" Lily blushed, quickly getting off, and all too soon, her blood was pumping angrily once more. She put her hand where she thought James' body should be, and yanked the silvery cloth off of him.
"What are you playing at, James?!"
James had the decency to look a bit sheepish. He shrugged. "I don't really know what you mean, Flower." A vein had started throbbing on 'Flower's' head, and she mashed a fist into her other hand, threateningly. "Oh!" James said, a look of realization coming over his face. "You mean me being invisible? Well, I don't think that's any of your business, Sweetie." By now Lily's whole face was red with anger. This was the second time today that she had been told to mind her own business, and she'd be damned if she let him get away with it! She bent down close over his face, and glared down at him.
"James, you had better tell me what you're doing right this second, or I'll smash you're face in! I don't care if I'm the Head Girl! If you're doing anything illegal, I'm going straight-!"
"Oh, come on, Honey, don't get your knickers in a twist! I'm not doing anything illegal, I assure you!" *Just having a friendly little chat with the Dark Lord is all.*
"Really? Then what are you doing?" *Gosh was she close*, James thought. *And she looks so cute when she's angry! Cute enough too kiss.* But from the look on Lily's face, James could tell that she would make good on the threat to murder him if he tried. His eyes darkened.
"What I'm doing is my own business. I can take care of myself. Stop nosing about in my life, and get a life of your own." Lily recoiled as if she had been struck.
"Fine," she said, a little hurt. "Don't expect my help when you screw yourself over. Let's go girls." And she marched off in the opposite direction, nose in the air, her three friends dashing after her.
James immediately felt guilty. That had been no way to win her heart, but he knew it was for her own protection. *Don't expect my help when you screw yourself over.* her words kept coming back to him. But was he really screwing himself over? Yes, he conceded, he was. Who else would go to meet Lord Voldemort in a pub with the ultimatum to join him or die? And what was he going to do, he asked himself. He knew that he could never be a Death Eater. He also knew that he didn't want to die. What *was* he going to do?!
James hurried on his way to the Hogs Head, realizing that his confrontation with Lily had lasted longer than he'd thought. He was already ten minutes late! He knew if he didn't get there soon Voldemort would be angry, and that was never a good thing.
As if on cue, a hot searing pain that started behind his eyes and spread all over his body, consumed James until he fell to his knees, and he couldn't help crying out. A horrible, cold voice filled his head, making it feel as if it would explode. *My patience is wearing thin, boy, * it said. *Two minutes. That's all I'm giving you. If you're not here by then, you will have to face the consequences. * There was one last sharp pain, that should have taken his head off, before, slowly, the pain faded until there was nothing but a dull ache. James picked himself up from the cobbled street. Two minutes. That wasn't a lot of time! James picked up the pace, weaving his way in and out of the crowd, trying to prevent his invisibility cloak from being trodden. He had almost reached his destination when he heard a shrill scream coming from the alleyway between Bellatrix Books and Rasper's Robes, and he couldn't help but think, *Why me?* He looked around to see if anyone else had heard the scream, and sighed as he realized that they hadn't. Once again it was up to James to save the day.
James made a beeline toward the dark alleyway, and as he progressed toward the end, the pitiful whimpering sound got louder, and louder, until he reached a disturbing sight. A girl, about his age, stood between a wall and Severus Snape, the latter leering down at her unpleasantly. "Oi, Snivellus!" James called angrily. Snape turned quickly at the sound of his nickname, and, seeing nothing, turned back towards his prey. "Sni-ve-llus!" he said again tauntingly, and again Snape turned.
"Who-? Who's there?" Snape stuttered, whipping his head in all directions. This was priceless; he was so scared! James toyed with idea of having a little fun with the greasy git, but, remembering his prior engagement, decided it was better if he ended this quickly. He pointed his wand.
"*Petrificus Totallus! *"
Snape dropped like a stone, and the girl that stood next to him stared in amazement. She looked around the alley unseeingly. "Thank you!" she called, and, to her surprise, someone answered back.
"Anytime, Fair Damsel!"
James turned on his heel, and sprinted towards the Hogs Head, which was just in sight; his two minutes were up! However, before he could reach the door, there was a great BOOM, and he had to throw himself down on the ground to avoid the blast and the falling debris. The roof of the Hogs Head had just been blown away. He was too late.
Emerging from the smoke were two dozen or so figures, led by a tall, thin man, who's red eyes could be seen, gleaming, from afar. From his countenance, anyone could tell he was quite angry. "There will be a massacre!" the Dark Lord announced, crazed. Pandemonium ensued; people were running in every direction, screaming, tripping, being crushed in the mass. "More blood will be spilled here, today, than at any time during the reign of, the dark wizard, Grindelwald, do you hear? You may all thank Mr. Potter for that!" he turned toward his Death Eaters, and smiled. "Get to work."
And work they did.
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"Hey, Lily! Do you think this makes me look fat?" Tara asked, worried.
Ella rolled her eyes. "Come on, Tara. You're practically a stick! You don't look fat in anything you try on!"
"Do I take that as an insult or a compliment?"
"Take it like it is." Tara glared at Ella, before retreating back into the dressing room.
Currently, the four friends were shopping in Gladys and Gladrags Witch and Wizardwear. There was going to be a Spring Fling dance soon, and they all needed dress robes for the occasion. Lily was the only one done with her purchases. She didn't like shopping at all, and didn't see how it took her three friends so long to pick something out. She was just considering ditching her friends, for Zonko's Joke Shop (she needed more itching underwear), when there was a loud BOOM that shook the foundations of the old building.
"What was that?"
A chorus of screaming voices, and a series of small explosions answered her. Lily sprung up from her chair and raced towards the open door. What she saw disgusted her.
There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of witches and wizards running hither and thither, some trying to get to a fireplace, others running towards the train at Hogsmeade station. Some had bad burns all over their bodies as if from a Scalding spell, and many were trapped, drowning in a sea of moving bodies, and trampled. What could have caused this? Another small explosion came from the right, and Lily's eyes widened a she saw a large group of black hooded wizards coming up the street. Death Eaters! She rushed back into the store, grabbed her three scared friends, and pulled them towards the exit.
"We've got to get out of here!"
As they joined the mass of screaming people, they were pushed and pulled every which way, and Katherine narrowly escaped being pulled under. They had all linked hands so they could stay together, but soon they were torn apart, not by the crowd, but by a spell.
"*Dementia Oculus*!"
Lily screamed, and clapped her hands over her eyes. She was blind! "Oh, my God! Oh, my GOD!" she chanted over and over again. The crowd was pulling her under, she could feel it! How was she ever going to escape? Of all the ways she could have died, she'd never imagined this! Suddenly she was pulled out of the chaos, and was being held close to someone's chest. She batted wildly at her captor, struggling, until the most welcome voice reached her ears.
"Lily, stop! It's me!"
"Oh, James!" She had never been so relieved in her life! She hugged him so tightly, he was sputtering slightly when she let go.
"Maybe I should rescue you more often?"
"Oh, stop it! I wish I could see your face, but I can't! James, I'm blind!" she cried. It was James' turn to hug her.
"Don't worry, Flower. Everything's going to be alright, I promise!" Soon she felt him pull away, and toss something silky over their heads.
"What-?"
"My invisibility cloak."
"Oh." She felt him grab her hand, before leading her out into the street; she could still hear the people screaming. The gift of Sight was truly a blessing, she decided. Imagine if she had to spend her whole life in total darkness!
James had planned to escape into the forest by Honeydukes, but his plan was a tad defective; Voldemort, along with two other Death Eaters blocked his way. There was nothing else for it, he realized; he'd have to risk it. His grip on Lily's hand tightened as he crept right in front of the Dark Lord's nose; Voldemort seemed to look right through them. He almost jumped out of his skin when he spoke.
"You can run, Potter, but you can't hide." Voldemort was looking right at him. It was enough to send James up and running, he threw himself into the forest, Lily keeping pace with him the whole time. They kept running for at least another ten minutes until they could no longer hear the sounds of destruction. Lily plopped down on the ground next to her savior, clutching a stitch in her side.
When she regained her breath she asked, "Where are we?"
"We're in the forest by Hogsmeade." He saw her eyes widen, and quite unexpectedly, she pulled her fist back and hit his arm, hard.
"Ow! Why'd you do that?!"
"You idiot!" she raged. "Hogsmeade is on the other side of Hogwarts! We're in the Forbidden Forest!"
"Oops."
A/N: Coming soon! Chapter Seven -Through the Forbidden Forest. Thanks to all my reviewers: Marie, Ms. X. Lefty9, LadyLily316, Dazzle, Nami, SummrMagic, Ce'line, Ohepelss Oramtnci, Addy, sour-peach, icemint, and slytherindork00! Sorry, if I forgot anyone, and remember- reviewing is still STRONGLY SUGGESTED!
P.S.- Anyone for lemon, or should I just stick with apples and bananas?
Chapter 6- The Hogsmeade Massacre
"Come on, James, you have to go with us! It's the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year!"
For the hundredth time, James shook his head, prompting Sirius to let out an angry howl. He would not be going to Hogsmeade today; with his friends, anyway. Later, he would set out alone (with the invisibility cloak), to the Hogs Head where who knew what would be waiting for him.
"This isn't like you, James," said Remus. "You never miss a Hogsmeade trip if you can help it!"
"Well, things have changed," he said moodily. Why couldn't they just accept the idea that he had enough screaming lollipops, dung bombs, and filibuster fireworks to last him until next year?
"Come on, guys. He obviously doesn't want to come!" squeaked Peter. That's one good thing about Peter, James thought. He knows how to take a hint! His three friends reluctantly left, shaking their heads and muttering, and once they were gone, James let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Once he was outside of the door, Sirius exploded. "What the hell is wrong with him? He's never missed a Hogsmeade trip before! He must have a stick up his bum, or something!"
Remus glared at him. "He *did* just lose his parents, Sirius. Give him a break!"
"Humph. I'll give him a break alright. Break both his arms and legs!" Sirius continued to glomp down the stairs until he reached the common room, where he was ambushed by Lily.
"Hey, Sirius! What's-", she paused as she saw the stormy look on his face. "What happened, Siri?"
His left eye started to twitch. "It's none of your business, Lily!" he yelled before storming out of the portrait hole, little Peter bringing up the rear. Lily was shocked. What had happened to make him *that* mad?
"You have to excuse him, Lily," Remus explained. "He's angry that James isn't coming with us to Hogsmeade."
"Oh, Is that all? Tupht. God forbid James doesn't go to Hogsmeade once!"
"You don't understand, Lily! It's practically tradition that we all go together! We're the Marauders!" Remus sighed as he saw Lily staring at him blankly. "Never mind," he muttered before waving, and following his friends, out of the portrait hole.
"Boys! I don't think I'll ever understand them!" She was about to go back up to her room, to get her winter cloak, when she caught sight of the boy's staircase. James was up there. Hmmm. Maybe she should just-*** She walked over to the staircase, and looked up into the dark stairwell.
James had just started down the stairs, in his invisibility cloak, when he spotted Lily standing at the bottom. Just his luck, he couldn't get around her without her knowing he was there! He crept down closer, until he was right in front of her face, and frowned at what he saw.
She was tragically beautiful, of course, as always, with her forest green eyes, so sad, and her full lips turned down slightly, in a frown. What worried him, however was that she had dark blue circles under her eyes, as if (like himself) she had not been getting any sleep for the past few weeks. He usually kept her so close to him; how could he have not noticed?
He was brought back to reality when Lily made a movement as if to start up the stairs. What was she doing? She wasn't allowed in the boy's dormitory! But then she stopped, and bit her lip, thinking. *Oh, God*, James thought, *If she climbs the stairs I won't have a chance! * But wait. Why would she be going to the boy's dormitory anyway? *Sirius*, the answer came almost immediately. *She wants to see Sirius. But (haha!) he's just left, sorry!* , he thought with some satisfaction. But she didn't move, just stood there, biting her lip. James was starting to get annoyed. If she wasn't going to do anything, he'd have to take matters into his own hands.***
James got very close to her face, and started to blow in her ear. Results were instantaneous. She jumped about a foot in the air, before swinging out wildly, her right hand coming into contact with an invisible face. "Ow!" Man! What the hell was wrong with her?! In the confusion, the invisibility cloak had come off his head. Lily stared at his floating head with something along the borders of shock and awe, before putting her hands in front of her eyes and groaning. This was about the weirdest James Potter dream she'd ever had!
James put the invisibility cloak back into place before escaping through the portrait hole. His only thought as he rubbed his sore cheek and disappeared behind the one-eyed witch was *Damn. Imagine if I'd tried to kiss her.*
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Hogsmeade was, as always, crowded. Lily walked down the high street towards Honeydukes, with her friends Ella, Tara, and Katherine in tow, recounting her 'dream' about James Potter.
"-And his head was just *floating* there! But the weirdest thing of all was that it didn't seem like a dream since I never really *woke up*. Maybe I'm still dreaming, and you guys aren't really here, at all?"
Tara shrugged. "Well, you never know, do you? It would actually be kinda' cool if we were all just dream people that came out of Lily's head, wouldn't it?" Lily and Ella just stared at her as if she were insane while Katherine shook her head.
"No, Lily, I don't think you were dreaming", said Kat, seriously.
"Why?"
"Well, I don't mean to gossip-"
"Yes, you do!" Kat glared at Tara who grinned innocently.
"As I was saying, I don't mean to gossip, but *I* heard that James Potter has an invisibility cloak! That would definitely explain the floating head." The other girls gaped at her. "What?!"
"Wherever did you hear that?"
"I have my ways!" she said a little defensively.
"Sure."
Lily was thinking, hard. If James really did have an invisibility cloak, then that meant she hadn't been dreaming, after all. She blushed at the thought of him blowing in her ear, but quickly shook it off. Where had he been going that he needed an invisibility cloak? And what about his friends? Why had he ditched them? Her blood started to boil as she thought of the possibilities. *Could it be another girl? *
She hadn't been watching where she was going. Before she knew it, Lily was knocked right off her feet, landing on top of someone, hard. "Ow!" said a male voice from underneath her.
Lily stared in shock. It felt as though she was laying on something, yet there was nothing there. *Am I floating? * She wondered how this could be possible until the male voice came again.
"Gerroff, Lily! My gosh, you're heavy!" Lily blushed, quickly getting off, and all too soon, her blood was pumping angrily once more. She put her hand where she thought James' body should be, and yanked the silvery cloth off of him.
"What are you playing at, James?!"
James had the decency to look a bit sheepish. He shrugged. "I don't really know what you mean, Flower." A vein had started throbbing on 'Flower's' head, and she mashed a fist into her other hand, threateningly. "Oh!" James said, a look of realization coming over his face. "You mean me being invisible? Well, I don't think that's any of your business, Sweetie." By now Lily's whole face was red with anger. This was the second time today that she had been told to mind her own business, and she'd be damned if she let him get away with it! She bent down close over his face, and glared down at him.
"James, you had better tell me what you're doing right this second, or I'll smash you're face in! I don't care if I'm the Head Girl! If you're doing anything illegal, I'm going straight-!"
"Oh, come on, Honey, don't get your knickers in a twist! I'm not doing anything illegal, I assure you!" *Just having a friendly little chat with the Dark Lord is all.*
"Really? Then what are you doing?" *Gosh was she close*, James thought. *And she looks so cute when she's angry! Cute enough too kiss.* But from the look on Lily's face, James could tell that she would make good on the threat to murder him if he tried. His eyes darkened.
"What I'm doing is my own business. I can take care of myself. Stop nosing about in my life, and get a life of your own." Lily recoiled as if she had been struck.
"Fine," she said, a little hurt. "Don't expect my help when you screw yourself over. Let's go girls." And she marched off in the opposite direction, nose in the air, her three friends dashing after her.
James immediately felt guilty. That had been no way to win her heart, but he knew it was for her own protection. *Don't expect my help when you screw yourself over.* her words kept coming back to him. But was he really screwing himself over? Yes, he conceded, he was. Who else would go to meet Lord Voldemort in a pub with the ultimatum to join him or die? And what was he going to do, he asked himself. He knew that he could never be a Death Eater. He also knew that he didn't want to die. What *was* he going to do?!
James hurried on his way to the Hogs Head, realizing that his confrontation with Lily had lasted longer than he'd thought. He was already ten minutes late! He knew if he didn't get there soon Voldemort would be angry, and that was never a good thing.
As if on cue, a hot searing pain that started behind his eyes and spread all over his body, consumed James until he fell to his knees, and he couldn't help crying out. A horrible, cold voice filled his head, making it feel as if it would explode. *My patience is wearing thin, boy, * it said. *Two minutes. That's all I'm giving you. If you're not here by then, you will have to face the consequences. * There was one last sharp pain, that should have taken his head off, before, slowly, the pain faded until there was nothing but a dull ache. James picked himself up from the cobbled street. Two minutes. That wasn't a lot of time! James picked up the pace, weaving his way in and out of the crowd, trying to prevent his invisibility cloak from being trodden. He had almost reached his destination when he heard a shrill scream coming from the alleyway between Bellatrix Books and Rasper's Robes, and he couldn't help but think, *Why me?* He looked around to see if anyone else had heard the scream, and sighed as he realized that they hadn't. Once again it was up to James to save the day.
James made a beeline toward the dark alleyway, and as he progressed toward the end, the pitiful whimpering sound got louder, and louder, until he reached a disturbing sight. A girl, about his age, stood between a wall and Severus Snape, the latter leering down at her unpleasantly. "Oi, Snivellus!" James called angrily. Snape turned quickly at the sound of his nickname, and, seeing nothing, turned back towards his prey. "Sni-ve-llus!" he said again tauntingly, and again Snape turned.
"Who-? Who's there?" Snape stuttered, whipping his head in all directions. This was priceless; he was so scared! James toyed with idea of having a little fun with the greasy git, but, remembering his prior engagement, decided it was better if he ended this quickly. He pointed his wand.
"*Petrificus Totallus! *"
Snape dropped like a stone, and the girl that stood next to him stared in amazement. She looked around the alley unseeingly. "Thank you!" she called, and, to her surprise, someone answered back.
"Anytime, Fair Damsel!"
James turned on his heel, and sprinted towards the Hogs Head, which was just in sight; his two minutes were up! However, before he could reach the door, there was a great BOOM, and he had to throw himself down on the ground to avoid the blast and the falling debris. The roof of the Hogs Head had just been blown away. He was too late.
Emerging from the smoke were two dozen or so figures, led by a tall, thin man, who's red eyes could be seen, gleaming, from afar. From his countenance, anyone could tell he was quite angry. "There will be a massacre!" the Dark Lord announced, crazed. Pandemonium ensued; people were running in every direction, screaming, tripping, being crushed in the mass. "More blood will be spilled here, today, than at any time during the reign of, the dark wizard, Grindelwald, do you hear? You may all thank Mr. Potter for that!" he turned toward his Death Eaters, and smiled. "Get to work."
And work they did.
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"Hey, Lily! Do you think this makes me look fat?" Tara asked, worried.
Ella rolled her eyes. "Come on, Tara. You're practically a stick! You don't look fat in anything you try on!"
"Do I take that as an insult or a compliment?"
"Take it like it is." Tara glared at Ella, before retreating back into the dressing room.
Currently, the four friends were shopping in Gladys and Gladrags Witch and Wizardwear. There was going to be a Spring Fling dance soon, and they all needed dress robes for the occasion. Lily was the only one done with her purchases. She didn't like shopping at all, and didn't see how it took her three friends so long to pick something out. She was just considering ditching her friends, for Zonko's Joke Shop (she needed more itching underwear), when there was a loud BOOM that shook the foundations of the old building.
"What was that?"
A chorus of screaming voices, and a series of small explosions answered her. Lily sprung up from her chair and raced towards the open door. What she saw disgusted her.
There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of witches and wizards running hither and thither, some trying to get to a fireplace, others running towards the train at Hogsmeade station. Some had bad burns all over their bodies as if from a Scalding spell, and many were trapped, drowning in a sea of moving bodies, and trampled. What could have caused this? Another small explosion came from the right, and Lily's eyes widened a she saw a large group of black hooded wizards coming up the street. Death Eaters! She rushed back into the store, grabbed her three scared friends, and pulled them towards the exit.
"We've got to get out of here!"
As they joined the mass of screaming people, they were pushed and pulled every which way, and Katherine narrowly escaped being pulled under. They had all linked hands so they could stay together, but soon they were torn apart, not by the crowd, but by a spell.
"*Dementia Oculus*!"
Lily screamed, and clapped her hands over her eyes. She was blind! "Oh, my God! Oh, my GOD!" she chanted over and over again. The crowd was pulling her under, she could feel it! How was she ever going to escape? Of all the ways she could have died, she'd never imagined this! Suddenly she was pulled out of the chaos, and was being held close to someone's chest. She batted wildly at her captor, struggling, until the most welcome voice reached her ears.
"Lily, stop! It's me!"
"Oh, James!" She had never been so relieved in her life! She hugged him so tightly, he was sputtering slightly when she let go.
"Maybe I should rescue you more often?"
"Oh, stop it! I wish I could see your face, but I can't! James, I'm blind!" she cried. It was James' turn to hug her.
"Don't worry, Flower. Everything's going to be alright, I promise!" Soon she felt him pull away, and toss something silky over their heads.
"What-?"
"My invisibility cloak."
"Oh." She felt him grab her hand, before leading her out into the street; she could still hear the people screaming. The gift of Sight was truly a blessing, she decided. Imagine if she had to spend her whole life in total darkness!
James had planned to escape into the forest by Honeydukes, but his plan was a tad defective; Voldemort, along with two other Death Eaters blocked his way. There was nothing else for it, he realized; he'd have to risk it. His grip on Lily's hand tightened as he crept right in front of the Dark Lord's nose; Voldemort seemed to look right through them. He almost jumped out of his skin when he spoke.
"You can run, Potter, but you can't hide." Voldemort was looking right at him. It was enough to send James up and running, he threw himself into the forest, Lily keeping pace with him the whole time. They kept running for at least another ten minutes until they could no longer hear the sounds of destruction. Lily plopped down on the ground next to her savior, clutching a stitch in her side.
When she regained her breath she asked, "Where are we?"
"We're in the forest by Hogsmeade." He saw her eyes widen, and quite unexpectedly, she pulled her fist back and hit his arm, hard.
"Ow! Why'd you do that?!"
"You idiot!" she raged. "Hogsmeade is on the other side of Hogwarts! We're in the Forbidden Forest!"
"Oops."
A/N: Coming soon! Chapter Seven -Through the Forbidden Forest. Thanks to all my reviewers: Marie, Ms. X. Lefty9, LadyLily316, Dazzle, Nami, SummrMagic, Ce'line, Ohepelss Oramtnci, Addy, sour-peach, icemint, and slytherindork00! Sorry, if I forgot anyone, and remember- reviewing is still STRONGLY SUGGESTED!
P.S.- Anyone for lemon, or should I just stick with apples and bananas?