Fracas
Remus was lucky: he'd only been hit by a strong stunning spell. Maybe the hooded figure had been planning to finish him off after I'd been dealt with. That was a scary thought.
But Remus and Lily put up Anti-Apparition wards around my flat, and several other wards too, including one that told me who was trying to get in. And they gave me an emergency Portkey in case I was ever in the same position again. I attached it to my house-keys and carried it everywhere with me.
Remus and I saw more and more of each other as time went on. I kept inviting Remus round, since I hated the thought of him staying in his horrible little flat on his own, and anyway I missed him, and he met me in certain Muggle places.
But less than a week after the first visit from the Death Eaters, I came across them again.
Remus and I were in one of Muggle London's quieter cafes, enjoying a cup of tea together. I was telling him about one of my more annoying customers at the bookshop when the lights went out.
This was not as dramatic as it sounds, since it was two o'clock in the afternoon.
The cracks that followed the lack of lighting, however, were very dramatic, as was the appearance of four Death Eaters. Several Muggles screamed.
Remus and I didn't even look at each other: we acted. He had his wand out and I was out of my chair and grabbing the Death Eaters' wands before they even noticed. Maybe they were still disoriented from the Apparition or something.
I managed to get hold of three of the four wands, before a red light hit me and I felt the most excruciating pain. And then I think another light hit me, although it was hard to tell through the agony in every part of my body, and I heard a voice commanding me to give up the wands, and return them to their owners.
I was walking towards the Death Eaters with their wands when I heard Remus' voice, and realised that no, I didn't want to give the other Death Eaters their power back. Slowly, ever so slowly, I summoned enough of my wits to tell me to break the first wand. And then my muscles had to be persuaded that yes, they did want to break the wand, despite the pain and I had to break it…
And break it did.
Even I could feel the resultant explosion of magic. Little did I know that the breaking of a wand was a very dangerous process around the owner of the wand, especially when the person breaking it was under the influence of a spell or potion themselves.
But the explosion seemed to distract the person with red eyes who was casting the spells on me, and I was free – if you can call lying on the floor and wishing the aftereffects of the pain would go away 'free' – of the curse.
Remus had ducked desperately, but was already rising to cast freezing charms or stunners at the Death Eaters. Only, he was slightly too slow. Three of the Death Eaters had already gone, and the other was running for the door. He might have made it – if he had noticed the Aurors (including Sirius, as it happened) waiting for him.