A/N: I am really, really, really, really, sorry that it took me so long to update! I started school about three weeks ago and I have been unrealistically busy. So anyway, I am going to try my hardest to update every other week. Hope you enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review.

Once Defied

As soon as Lily and James stepped into the Order's headquarters, Dumbledore's childhood home, they knew something terrible had just happened. As they walked into the meeting room, they saw that their fellow Order members all had looks of slight fear on their faces and spoke in hurried whispers. They immediately found Sirius and Remus and sat next to them. Lily noticed that only about half of the Order was present.

But once Dumbledore stood, everyone fell silent. "There has been a massive Death Eater attack in a small, mainly Muggle community just outside of Bristol. We believe that Lord Voldemort is there as well. Many Aurors are fighting as we speak, but their have already been many deaths, which is why I have called you here. Alastor Moody and I will lead you into the town."

Moody stood next to Dumbledore in front of the assembled Order members, broke them up into groups (not surprisingly, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus were put together), and gave them the address to which they could apparate. Half of the Order, which included Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus, went to the north part of the town, while Moody's team took the south end.

Once they arrived, Lily gasped. Most of the homes around them had been reduced to rubble. As she looked around, she saw that a tent stood next to them, which had the St. Mungo's emblem (a wand and bone, crossed). Lily knew this must be where both wizard and Muggle victims, she tried not to think bodies, were being taken. And while the tent appeared to be able to hold two people at the most, Lily would not have been surprised if it could hold at least fifty people.

After the Order had broken into their respective groups, Lily, James, Sirius and Remus made their way to a house that Dumbledore had talked about back at headquarters, trying not to make a sound. If the Death Eaters or Voldemort heard them, they wouldn't hesitate to kill all of them. The thought sent chills down Lily's spine. As they approached the door, half hanging on its hinges, Lily heard what sounded like a child screaming and a mother's sobs.

Once inside, James and Lily split up from Sirius and Remus to search the first floor, while more cries pain and terror came from upstairs. Every room bore the unmistakable signs of a one-sided fight in the Muggle home. Tables, chairs, a couch, even the back door, were blown to pieces. Just as James and Lily met up with Sirius and Remus, they heard the younger of the two voice stop screaming, but the mother's screams nearly doubled.

Wordlessly, wands drawn, the foursome slowly made their way up the stairs, towards the screaming mother. Suddenly, a masked Death Eater came out of the farthest room down the hall as the screaming became slightly subdued. He stared, apparently shocked that they were there. Sirius quickly and silently stunned and bound him.

Lily quickly moved into the room where the Death Eater had emerged. What she saw nearly made nearly made her cry: the woman was sitting on the floor, crying as she held her daughter, who looked as though she had passed out, or possibly died from being tortured.

Lily walked quickly over to the woman, who nearly screaming, "Please, wake up" to her daughter. When she saw Lily, she instinctively tried to back away.

"No, no, I'm here to help you and your daughter," said Lily kindly as she knelt down to look more closely at the little girl, who couldn't have been older than six or seven. Lily found the girl's faint pulse and breathed a sigh of relief; at least she was alive.

"We need to get you two out of here quick," said Lily, just as James, Sirius and Remus entered the room. Remus immediately knelt down to pick up the little girl. Sirius helped the mother to her feet.

"We need to take them to the Healers. The girl as a pulse, but it's very faint." James nodded and led the way out of the house, followed by Remus with the little girl, Sirius, the mother, and Lily bringing up the rear.

Once out of the house, they quickly made their way to the Healers' tent. Lily explained to a Healer that she thought the Lily girl had been tortured until she had passed out.

James, Lily, Remus and Sirius all stepped into the night, hoping to find their fellow Order members. What they found made Lily's eyes widen with fear. There, some mere twenty feet ahead of Lily, her fiancé, and two of her closest friends, was Lord Voldemort, flanked by two masked Death Eaters. It looked as though they were headed towards the Healers' tent to finish off their victims.

Everything that Lily had ever heard about Voldemort was true. Voldemort was tall, thin, and terrifying intimidating. His hands and fingers were unnaturally long and white, just as white as his face, as white as a skull; a nose that was as flat as a snake's; and those livid scarlet eyes that seemed to burn into Lily's soul and made her breath catch in her chest.

"Well, well, well," said Voldemort slowly as an almost amused expression crept onto that already terrifying face. "Two blood traitors, a half-breed, and a Mudblood are going to stop me from finishing what I have started. How charming."

Voldemort lazily flicked his hand before the two Death Eaters drew their wands and threw curses at two of the Order members, which happen to be Sirius and Remus. And while they engaged in an intense battle, James did what was both the bravest and stupidest thing he had ever done in his life: he sent a curse straight at Voldemort, who easily deflected it.

But instead of retaliating on James, Voldemort pointed his wand at Lily and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"

Luckily, Lily was ready (well, as ready as she could have been) and dodged the Killing Curse. And without any possible way out of it, James and Lily began dueling with the most feared wizard of all time.

But Lily soon learned that Voldemort not only dueled with his wand, which was bad enough, but also with his words. He was venomously hissing how the Mudblood would die painfully, and how Potter would watch. Lily knew that he was doing it to throw them off, and as much as Lily hated to admit it, it was working. With every comment, Lily could feel her mind slip into panic mode, and before long, she was running on pure adrenaline. But for whatever reason, Voldemort seemed to just be playing with them, as a cat would play with a mouse. And before long, Lily feared he would grow tired of the duel and finish them off...

Apparently, that time had come...Voldemort threw a curse at James and sent him flying into a brick wall. Lily began to run towards James, completely forgetting about Voldemort for that split second, when she heard that snake-like voice say, "I don't think so Mudblood,"

Lily felt as though white-hot knives were stabbing ever inch of her body. The pain more intense than anything she had ever imagined. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer, knew she would die form the pain...

But it suddenly stopped. Lily laid on the ground trying to catch her breath. She lifted her head slightly and, with an immense feeling of relief, saw Albus Dumbledore dueling with Voldemort.

Lily set her head back on the cold, hard ground feeling slight assured as the darkness over took her...