Chapter 24

The dreaded Hogsmeade trip had finally arrived, and it couldn't have been picked on a day of worse weather. The wind was whipping the trees like knives, blowing dust and sand into everyone's eyes. The sky rumbled often, threatening to drench them with a downpour any moment. Dark clouds lurked above, and the fog was so dense you couldn't even see a foot in front of you.

James had reluctantly pulled himself out of bed and somehow, managed to shower, dress and make his way down the stairs, although he had no clue how he'd managed it. He'd wisely pulled a beanie over his head and wrapped a scarf around his neck. As he scanned the room, he smiled behind the warmth of his scarf as he watched so many girls chattering their teeth from the cold in their mini-skirts and skimpy shirts.

"Ready?" Sirius had sneaked up behind him and James bit back a shout of surprise at his outburst. James knew exactly what Sirius meant. He was extremely worried as to whether he could fulfill the responsibility of protecting Lily. Since they'd 'worked out' that it was best if they were on dates, the heavy responsibility of protecting Eva, Lily and Brittany lay heavy on the three Marauders' shoulders.

Sirius and James found the girls and Remus looking sulkily at their untouched breakfast and staring outside at the gloomy weather. Just looking at their down turned smiles made James feel more depressed. Confusedly, they noticed that Peter's usual seat was empty, as it usually was these days. In fact, they barely even got to see the back of Peter these days. It was as if he'd mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth.

Pushing the confusing thoughts to the back of his mind, James forced a meek smile and strolled over to them, Sirius following closely behind, also a frown on his face as he glanced over at Peter's seat. As he approached, James noticed that Lily shuffled around uncomfortably and refused to meet his gaze.

There was a moment of brief silence when they all exchanged their silent expressions and the grim acknowledgements. James, being his usual witty self decided that that certainly wouldn't do. Hogsmeade was supposed to be a vacation, a time where they could relax and let go of the stress all of them were facing.

"So, we all ready to confront old Voldy? I polished my wand yesterday." James said, with a somewhat forced chuckle. "Awww…lighten up! We're on dates, all of us!"

His words were met with silence, and Brittany shot him a pointed glare, which he returned with a smirk.

"And is Davies all prepared for her little date with Sirius here?" James made himself comfortable by squishing in between Lily and Eva, who reluctantly moved over.

Brittany caught Sirius' eye, and looked as if she was going to explode, but then promptly closed her open mouth and stared determinedly at her food. Sirius had also shoved himself next to Brittany and was attempting to place his arm around her, to which she annoyingly swatted away.

The two hungrily tucked into their food and piled their plates high. James' heart was constricting tightly and he snuck a glance at Lily occasionally, and just seeing her gentle smile as she talked to her friends made a warm spot in his heart. They were in this together; they needed to confront everything, all the difficulties together.

Mysteriously, everything passed in a blur and soon James, Sirius, Remus, Brittany, Lily and Eva found themselves in front of the Three Broomsticks and each gazing at another unsurely. James had a firm grip on his wand and was personally expecting an attack any moment.

"Well, this is it boys and girls. We'd better head off in our separate directions." Remus managed a grin and he and Eva walked off, hand in hand to begin their little date.

Sirius shrugged and took a firm grip on Brittany's shoulders before they also walked off, in the opposite direction. He glanced back at James and Lily, then winked. As Lily and James watched them leave, awkwardness formed between them.

"So…where to, my Lilkins?" James also tried to take her hand, but Lily only scowled at swatted it away. It was clear that she was going to make some rude remark, but then thought better and started again. She forced a small smile as she looked him in the eye.

"Let's go to the Hogs Head…a lot of suspicious activity occurs there." As the two walked side by side against the sharp wind that threatened to tear apart buildings, James felt that it was a sign that nothing too good was going to happen at Hogsmeade.

The Hogs Head was pretty much deserted except for the shifty bar tender that was always lurking behind his high table, and the usual dodgy customers that were present. However, what caught James' eye was a group of unmistakable Slytherins were huddled in the corner, whispering feverishly as they noticed him and Lily enter the store. Did these Slytherins have anything to do with the Death Eaters?

Their unofficial date had already begun, but neither was in the mood of bickering or having any fun. The weather was steadily growing worse, and although there was no rain, the gale they were experiencing at the moment was already whipping up small tornadoes of dust and leaves.

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On the other side of The Hogs Head, near the Slytherins, scamming and conspiracy was occurring. The few Seventh Years that James had spotted were huddled together, in deep conversation about the Head Boy and Girl who had just walked in.

"There's been a change of plan. Evans trusts Potter too much; our previous plan about the Love Potion won't be effective. Potter will be suspicious." Snape bared his teeth as he whispered in a rasp.

Instead of the furious reactions Severus Snape was expecting, many of his fellow Slytherins were looking frightened and others, the more cunning ones, bemused. A particularly shrimp like Seventh Year whose name he didn't know squeaked out uninvited.

"B-but you know our instructions! Our Master said to leave Potter and Evans for him to personally sort out! He hates it when we take the meat he wants!" said the boy defiantly, raising a hand to wipe away the sweat that had formed on his forehead.

Snape only sniggered loudly, causing many of the nearby customers to turn their heads and make rude gestures.

"Oh do shut up Pyre. I believe Severus is right. We need a new plan. A better plan." Missy Redding spoke up, her voice a hiss that clearly conveyed pure hatred for James, and more so, Lily.

"Anything in mind?" Bellatrix Black was leaning seductively over the table while sipping her drink ever so timidly. There were a few curious glances directed at her, and the bartender even dropped a glass he was wiping when she winked at him.

Missy laughed, and it was cold, malicious and unmerciful. It seemed to make the whole place darken and a few people even shivered. There was an inhumane side to her eyes, and suddenly, this Seventh Year Slytherin was almost as frightening as a Death Eater.

"I vowed that I would Potter pay. He rejected me! Nobody rejects Missy Redding and gets away with it. So, he loves Evans does he? We'll see about that. I want Evans to catch him and me…getting it on. We'll see how she thinks about that."

"Shhh…keep your voice down, Missy. They're right there."

Snape was sitting on the stool with one arm propped up against the table, and his eyes in deep thought. "You know Missy, that might be just what we need. We'll do it right after the Love Potion is tested. It'll be perfect. They'll probably kill each other off!"

The Slytherin Seventh Years had a great long laugh as they each imagined what it would be like watching the Head Boy and Girl hate each other…because they loved each other. But right now, they had more important issues, like the plans that were going to occur tonight…

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Unknowingly, night fell upon them, and still not one suspicious piece of activity had occurred and both James and Lily had been on full alert. In fact, it was most troubling watching all the other students walk happily back to Hogwarts, while they were stuck at Hogsmeade, their wands at the ready and preparing to face the biggest battle for their lives. They were now strolling side by side near the forest where they last encountered their battle with the Death Eaters.

"Look Potter, I want to co-operate with you and I believe I've learned certain things about you this year. I'll tell you why…well, why I don't like you very much." She took a deep breath. James had known this confession was going to come soon, and he wasn't sure he was ready for it.

Without warning, James distinctly felt himself being jerked hard by the arm and the world drop out from beneath him. He was quite sure he heart Lily's surprised squeal before everything went dark. Beside him, Lily also felt herself being pulled by the arm and noticed a dark shadow beside them. She shivered as she glimpsed beneath the shadowy hood and a pair of red slits for eyes glowered back at her.

Was it Voldemort?

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What met James and Lily when they groggily woke was quite unexpected. They found themselves on a cold, stone floor clearly in some sort of hut. It was apparent that the hut hadn't been lived in as there was dust and cobwebs in every corner. James and Lily exchanged glances when they found, quite surprised, that they still had possession of their wands. Was this some sort of trick Voldemort was pulling?

Shakily, they got to their feet and looked around the dimly lit area. There was not a soul in sight, hell; there was nothing besides the four walls, a door and a window. Attentively, they tiptoed around and crept up to the only window, which was actually too musty to see anything outside.

"I'm beginning to doubt whether Dumbledore's having us on. He's always been a strange man" said James, but nonetheless keeping a sharp eye in the shadows. Shadows seemed to shift in the night, and there was a strong gale. What did this all mean?

"So, what now?" Lily whispered, now inching closer to James. She had an indescribable feeling of dread boiling deep in her stomach. Although she didn't want to admit it, she realized that James brought a feeling of security and sedation over her.

"Let's see if we can get out of here. I have a nasty feeling we're not going to like what we see outside. I don't really understand why Voldemort is setting this up. Wouldn't it just be easier to kill us off?" James whispered, in the same anxious voice that Lily had.

They both made their way to the door. James walked ahead and inwardly counted to three before trying the door. To their surprise, the door swung open easily, even though it did give a hideous squeak. A couple of winged animals, James had no idea what, flew out the door. Still with a tight grip on their wands, Lily and James caught each other's glances before taking a deep breath and walking out the door, expecting an army of Death Eaters.

They weren't disappointed. An army of black hoods had their wands pointed at the pair. They seemed to be shivering with pleasure and delight. A particularly short, stumpy one came forward and James instinctively stepped in front of Lily. Even beneath his hood, James noticed the ugly snarl present on his features.

"Where's Voldemort?" He said in a voice that made him seem more confident than he really was. There was a shudder of bodies and a few gleeful, merciless chuckles amongst the Death Eaters. The short one replied.

"Now, now…where're our manners?" He tsked loudly. "We refer to the master as Lord. You should know better." A snicker rose in the crowd. James was beginning to feel particularly warm around the neck. It was clear this was going to turn into an outright battle. James glanced around and found no sign of any chance of escape. There were trees that fenced off the whole area. And if they did escape there, who knows how they would live. James bit his lip as he heard a werewolf howl that shook the trees.

"Oh nono dear boy, there will be no escaping with your girlfriend tonight. We won't let you get off that easily like you did last time." The man said, in a particularly scratchy voice. There was hatred and desperation in his voice.

"Yeah! Because of your last lucky escape, the Lord nearly killed us!" A high pitched voice shrieked from the back. It was particularly sour and James had to grunt with satisfaction. So…Voldemort had nearly killed the Death Eaters when he and Lily escaped last time? That was interesting…and it could prove to be very useful.

A plan was beginning to form in James' mind and he crept backwards to tell Lily. However, he didn't get a proper opportunity. The short one in the front bared his teeth and snarled.

"Get them!" He screeched.

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A/N: Alright…whimpers Kill me every1…I haven't updated so long! I was planning to…but then I just kind of wrote a paragraph a day, and then it just went on and on! Bahh…I'm so sorry!

I've been really pressured by exams and all this stuff at skool…I sincerely apologize to you all. And now…guess what, I'm on holidays! And I seem to have kind of lost the 'thing' for writing at the moment. I shall, however, try my best to please you all.

I know this chapter was kind of sucky…but I hope to receive feedback all the same.

Thanx to all my reviewers! I'm really happy that people are taking their time to read and analyze my work! Thank you thank you!

Love you all,

Purebliss90