Three Broomsticks and a Wand
"James, you should have told me to bring a cloak!" Lily shouted above the roaring wind as she walked down the empty streets of Hogsmeade. She clutched her thin school robes tightly around her.
"I didn't think about it," James said sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders as his teeth chattered loudly from the bitter wind and cold.
"Dolt," Lily said, speeding up her step as she saw the Three Broomsticks loom into sight. "Finally!" she exclaimed moments later, standing outside the doors of the tavern. The warm lights winked and twinkled at them invitingly from within.
"What are you waiting for?" James said impatiently, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to keep them warm. "Let's go in!" He pulled open the wooden doors and walked inside, with Lily following close behind him.
"Two butterbeers, please," Lily said to Madame Rosmerta at the bar counter, as James put down two gold Galleons. "And don't give this one any firewhiskey," she added as an afterthought, jabbing her thumb at James and laughing. She picked up the butterbeers and walked away to find a place to sit.
James gave Rosmerta a wink. "Special permission from the Headmaster," he said slyly, placing another Galleon on the table when he was sure that Lily wasn't watching.
"Of course," Rosmerta said, trying not to laugh. "I see you finally got to Lily…I read about what happened in the Daily Prophet. I must say, you're probably the only ones who've escaped from Voldemort without so much as a scratch!"
"Rosmerta, I'd rather not talk about it," James said curtly. "I'm here because Lily needs to have a normal day for once, outside of Hogwarts. Oh, and thanks for the drinks." He smiled at her and walked over to where Lily sat, waiting.
"She asked why we're here?" Lily asked, her eyebrows raised.
"No, she asked me why you're with me. Last time she saw me, you hated me, remember?"
Lily giggled and took a sip of butterbeer. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"No," James said, looking at her and smiling gently, "don't be sorry. If you would've said yes before, we probably wouldn't be here…together…right now."
"Yeah, I never thought about that. I mean, everything in this world is…it's almost like…like…like everything is on a string, and if one thing happens it makes something else happen and—" her words were drowned out by a deafening crash. Shards of broken glass from the window behind them sprayed everywhere.
"Get down!" James yelled, pulling Lily under the table with him.
"Come out from under the table, Potter, and bring your mudblood girlfriend with you," a cold voice said from above them. "It's her that we want."
James leapt up from under the table; an anger such as he had never felt before seared up from inside him. "Lucius," he spat. His fist rose, and before Lucius could do anything, it sprang forward and collided with his nose. James ducked back under the table and grabbed his forgotten wand.
"What did you do?" Lily whispered anxiously, holding onto his arm so tightly that her nails were digging into his skin.
"Punched him…Listen, Lily, go to Dumbledore," he whispered urgently. "Tell him to come. Tell him there isn't any time to explain. Take him here. I'll try and hold Malfoy off. Just go, now! I'll distract him."
Lily bit her lip. "I love you, James," she said fearfully, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I love you too," James said, pushing his lips against hers, worrying that it might be the last time he might ever do so. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. Just go get Dumbledore." He jumped back up, and threw a well-placed spell at Malfoy, who was clutching his nose in pain.
Lily ran as fast as she could up to Hogwarts, not pausing for breath. She ran through the many corridors leading to Dumbledore's office. However, she didn't have to run all the way.
"Professor!" Lily gasped on the staircase of the fifth floor corridor. "Professor, it's James, there's Death Eaters, come!"
Dumbledore ran down the staircase so quickly that Lily gaped at him for a moment before running after him. "Show me the way," he said urgently.
Lily ran in front of him and led him all the way to the Three Broomsticks. There were shrieks and banging and shattering noises coming forth from the tavern, and rain was now falling gently from the sky. Lily pushed open the doors roughly and ran inside.
James and Lucius were standing in the middle of the tavern, each on tables. They held their wands in front of them like swords, surveying one another to find a weak point. "JAMES!" Lily screamed, but it was too late. Lucius had swiped his wand in a brutal motion, hitting James with what looked like purple flame. James collapsed, falling from the table to the floor with a crash. Everything was silent.
Dumbledore rushed forward, but Lucius was already gone with a whip-like crack. "We must get him up to the hospital wing, and quickly," Dumbledore said, conjuring a stretcher and levitating it. He walked out of the tavern and grabbed onto James's wrist. "There's still a pulse," he said to Lily. "However, it's very faint." With that, he took a hold of James's forearm, and used Side-Along Apparation to bring him to the school's iron gates. He opened the gates easily and rushed in, Lily running and sniffling behind him. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the infirmary.
"He will live," Madame Pomfrey said calmly, while tipping his head back to give him a potion. "He will, but he'll have to stay in the hospital wing for at least two days, and he will be unconscious."
Lily sighed a breath of relief and hugged Professor Dumbledore. Once she came back to her senses, she jumped back as though burned. "Sorry, Professor," she mumbled, her cheeks bright red.
"I've forgotten all about it," Dumbledore said, smiling, and he walked out of the hospital wing.
Lily turned and looked wistfully at James, who was lying in the hospital bed with bandages around his torso. "Oh, James," she whispered morosely, looking at his pale face sadly. "This is all my fault."
A/N: yes, I know, I'm pretty depressing. However, this is very important to the plot. Plus, the next chapters are pretty much sadder. But then they get happy again for a while! Oh, by the way, since you're almost done reading this you can check out the one-shot I wrote with Silverwings, it's called When Worlds Collide: Marauders&POTC. It's just some random silliness, but we think it's pretty good. Review this one and the other one!