James and Lily didn't announce their engagement to anyone, but close friends and family. But by the time they graduated Hogwarts the entire school had found out, as is the way of Hogwarts. Most people were happy for the couple and congratulated them. Only a few of their fellow students weren't happy, but those people didn't count. James and Lily were happy and nothing else mattered to them. True to their word, James' parents bought him an apartment in London, and Lily moved in with him a few weeks later, after a getting a job so that she could pay her own way. As James, Sirius and Remus began learning how to be an Auror, Lily worked at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley while trying to chose a career. Meanwhile, the war had intensified with Dumbledore creating the Order of the Phoenix, of which James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all members. The war was no longer about subtle attacks on Muggles and Muggle borns. Attacks were no being done out in the open in perfect view of Muggles. The Order was mostly about stopping these attacks before they happened bur often they were unable to do so because they didn't get the information in time. When attacks did occur the Order was always there, fighting back. So far the Order had lost several people, but the Death Eaters were losing many more and Voldemort, who was never present at these fights, was apparently very disappointed in his followers. And so he decided that he needed to be there in order to inflict more casualties on the 'enemy'…

Screams filled the square and the smell of blood and death hung in the air. The fight was bloodier than anyone had ever encountered because the Dark Lord himself was there. Not many people had seen him before and those who had didn't normally live to tell the horrifying tale. The fighting had been going on for almost six hours now and everyone, Death Eater and Order members alike, were exhausted. No one wanted to keep fighting but no one was giving up. And so the fight went on.

James was fighting alongside Sirius and Remus, and in the distance he could see Lily, Alice and Frank fighting. Lily had a cut on her cheek but it didn't seem to be bothering her. James had a gash on his left arm and the pain was beginning to distract him. James only just managed to deflect a curse as a blinding pain shot up his arm. James groaned in pain and closed his eyes for a split second. When he opened them again, Sirius was furiously shooting off spells while Remus was leaning over him. Apparently he'd fainted from the pain. Remus healed the wound and pulled James to his feet. Sirius sent off a curse and turned to James.

"What the hell was that? I thought you'd been killed."

"Sorry, my arm." James tubbed his arm. "Thanks, Moony."

"No problem."

"Says you." Sirius shot James a mildly dirty look and the three of them resumed fighting.

…

Lily saw James fall but was prevented by getting to him by several Death Eaters who appeared to have taken a certain creepy interest in the redhead. Lily was only just managing to keep them at bay when she was slightly distracted by the sight of Remus pulling James to his feet. Lily felt herself get hit with a curse but as she didn't feel any different she assumed that the spell had worked properly and tried to keep fighting. It was only then that she realised that she couldn't lift her wand arm. They'd paralysed her arm. Lily stared in horror at her arm and tried to think of a way to fix it. Fortunately, Alice came to the rescue while Frank managed to remove the curse. Lily managed to mutter a 'thanks' before a blood-curdling scream rent the air. The scream was enough to stop everyone fighting to look for the source. Lily saw it first.

Lord Voldemort stood over the motionless body of a woman. The woman was quite clearly still alive but she refused to move. Voldemort stared down at the woman coldly and then smiled, though it wasn't exactly warm. Voldemort lifted his wand and, before anyone could interfere, he slashed his wand down towards the woman and a bright green light exploded from his wand. The light hit the woman and she convulsed violently before falling still. Voldemort then raised his bare foot and pushed the woman's face away from him. Lily recognised the woman. She was an Auror, and a mother to three beautiful children. And now she was gone. Just like that.

The fighting resumed faster than Lily would have liked. Lily couldn't take her eyes away from the empty shell that lay at Voldemort's feet. Unfortunately, he seemed to sense her watching. His cold, hard eyes lifted from the form at his feet and found Lily's. The red eyes took some hold of Lily, putting her into some kind of trance. She couldn't look away, though she desperately wanted to. Voldemort sneered at her and stepped over the woman's body. Lily's eyes widened when she realised that he was coming for her. He was going to kill her.

…

James had turned away from the sight while Lily had stood transfixed. He didn't want to see that, didn't need to. He was the first one to continue fighting and he would never regret that decision. James didn't relish in the fight like some. Next to him, Sirius was actually smiling. Probably because he'd realised who he was fighting. It was one of his many cousins and this one was particularly stupid. Remus wasn't enjoying the fight either. But that was due more to the fact that the full moon had been the previous night and he was still in pain. Technically, he shouldn't have been there but he didn't want to sit around while his friends fought. James was concentrating so hard that at first he didn't hear the anguished cry. But as it increased in volume he couldn't ignore it any longer. Not everyone could hear it though, and so none had gone to the aid of the victim. That was really the only reason James turned. To see if there was any chance that he would be able to help. What he saw took his breath away.

Voldemort stood, with a sneer on his face, watching the woman convulse horribly. Her red hair seemed to float around her head and she was emitting a cry that not many people seemed to be able to hear. Although some people were trying to help her, they were largely being held at bay by several Death Eaters who were greatly enjoying the spectacle. Alice and Frank were amongst those trying to help. James didn't see any of that. All he saw was Voldemort torturing the woman he loved. And that was all the incentive he needed.

James broke away from the Death Eaters he was fighting and began sprinting towards Lily. He didn't even think to Aparate. Sirius and Remus were hot on his heels. They reached the Death Eaters that were keeping everyone at bay and James loosed a powerful curse on them. Every single Death Eater that stood in his way was rendered entirely unconscious, but only long enough for him to get past them. As soon as he was, all of them rose to their feet and continued on as though nothing had happened. Thankfully, James hadn't used a Dark curse. On the flip side, he was alone. Sirius and Remus hadn't been fast enough and they had never managed to do that curse properly. Then again, James had never been able to either.

…

Fire. She was on fire. That was the only explanation she could think of. Through the burning haze, Lily could see Voldemort's face and nothing else. She was blinded by the pain coursing through her veins. She had never felt anything like this before and she truly believed that it would be the end of her. There was no way, in her mind, that she could ever survive this pain.

"Lily!"

It came to her as a dream. A voice shouting her name. Willing her to come back. There was fear in that voice. So much fear. But why would someone fear what had happened? She was already dead. How could they fear?

"Lily!"

There it was again. And this time she recognised the voice. James. It was James. Maybe she wasn't dead after all. Maybe she was just hoping she was so that she wouldn't have to feel the pain anymore. Who knew?

"You want to save her? This filthy Mudblood?"

A high, cold voice interrupted her musings. A voice Lily had never heard and yet she knew the owner. Who else could have such a voice? Voldemort. James wanted to save her. She wasn't dead.

The pain in her body reached an all new high and the scream that erupted from her lips hurt more than anything else. Whether it was the actual scream or the sound that did it, she wasn't sure, but it woke her up. She could see the somehow blue sky. She could see Voldemort standing over her, though he was looking at something else. Lily managed to turn her head slightly. It hurt like hell but it was worth it. She could see him. James. He was standing perhaps five feet away from her but he wasn't looking down. James was staring right into the monster's eyes. Lily wanted to scream at him Don't look at his eyes! But she couldn't find her voice. There was a single tear rolling down his cheek. James thought she was dead.

…

She's dead. He killed her.

James had nothing to live for now. Lily was gone. Everyone would understand his stupidity. There was no point in living without her and so he would fight Lord Voldemort. No one ever survived a fight with him. So how could Lily? How could he? There was no chance. And so, they fought. Curse after curse was thrown and deflected. The two combatants didn't notice the people around them, they didn't notice the people watching, they didn't notice the sky or the birds or the sounds. Nothing. There was nothing but each other and their desire to fight. There was nothing and no one around them.

Voldemort mercilessly aimed a curse at James which threw him to the ground and opened a large gash on his forehead. Blood spilled down over his eye and James gave up all together. He turned his face towards Lily's body and froze. She wasn't there. Or at least not in the same way. Lily was standing up and walking towards him. She knelt down next to him and smiled.

"I'm still here."

James thanked any god that would listen and allowed Lily to pull him up. James was incredibly unsteady on his feet but at least now the two of them would die together. Lily held onto James's arm tightly for fear that he would fall. They turned to face Lord Voldemort with no fear of him

"How sweet. The Mudblood and the Blood traitor. Potter and Evans. Standing together in defiance. It will do you no good. You are both going to die." Voldemort sneered.

"Doesn't matter." Lily managed. "At least we won't die as murderers."

"Doesn't matter? My dear, stupid Mudblood, it does matter. You are going to die. And I will make sure that you both die the most painful death that I can imagine. You, Evans, will die first. How do you feel, Potter, knowing that you will see her die?"

"Do what you like to us." James said. "But you won't get the chance to kill us painfully. Didn't you ever learn that you shouldn't play with your food? Kill us now if you want."

"James?" Lily whispered afraid. James glanced down at her and winked. He winked!

"You won't fight?" Voldemort didn't understand how they could both be so calm.

"Nope. And you aren't going to kill us." Quick as a flash, James raised his wand and blinded Voldemort. "Aparate, Lils. But not far." Lily concentrated on a spot near Sirius and Remus and Aparated. Sirius and Remus quickly helped Lily to support the barely conscious James, while they watched Dumbledore step in front of Voldemort. James was the only one who had noticed the Headmaster's arrival and had used it to save them all.

Voldemort and Dumbledore fought for a long time before Voldemort gave in and beat a hasty retreat, his Death Eaters following shortly afterwards. As soon as they were all gone, James was gently lowered to the ground and checked. The gash on his head was still bleeding quite badly and Remus set about healing it. Lily walked away from the boys but Sirius was the only one who saw.

"Professor?" Dumbledore turned at the sound of Lily's voice.

"Ah, Miss Evans. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Thank you, Albus." Lily didn't feel strange about using the Professor's first name and he didn't seem to mind.

"You are more than welcome, Lily. You were incredibly brave. Not many people would be able to withstand that."
"Yes, I suppose. Thank you again." Dumbledore nodded and Lily walked away, only to be confronted by a certain Sirius Black. "Sirius?"

"Lily." Sirius smiled warmly at her. "You okay?"

"He wanted to die, Sirius." Both of them looked over at James, who was still being tended to by Remus.

"I know. He thought that he'd lost you." Sirius turned back to find that Lily was staring at him. "Lils?"
"Will you promise me something, Siri?"

"Anything."

"Promise me that if something does happen to me you'll make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid. Promise me you won't let him get himself killed because of that."

With a heavy heart, Sirius said "I promise, Lils. But nothing will happen to you."

"I know." Lily smiled but there were tears in her eyes.

Sirius pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear. "I promise you, Lils, that nothing will happen to you. And if something does, God forbid, I'll look after him for you."

"Thank you, Siri." Lily breathed.

…

"I almost let him kill me, Moony. I would have if she hadn't walked over to me."

Remus glanced into James' hazel eyes and saw that James wasn't actually there. His mind was somewhere else. Remus returned to his ministrations without saying anything. He doubted if James would hear him at all.

"I wanted to die. I can't live without her. Not really, anyway. It wouldn't be living, it would be existing and I don't want to just exist. But I don't want to live without her. I don't know what I'd do if she left me."

"She isn't going to leave you, Prongs. She loves you, finally, and she isn't going anywhere."

"You don't know that for sure, though. You're just guessing. Maybe she's just playing with me, you know, leading me on."

"By agreeing to marry you? I highly doubt it, James, my friend." Remus flicked his wand the last drops of blood disappeared from James' face. "There, all better. Now stop worrying. And besides, we wouldn't let you die if Lily did. You'd have to go first, or not at all." James shot Remus a dirty look but didn't have the chance to reply, as Lily embraced him.

"You scared me, Lil." Both of them knew he wasn't talking about the surprise hug.

"I know. I didn't mean too. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You have nothing to apologise for. I'm just sorry I didn't get there sooner."

"Me too." Lily finally let go of James. "Can we go home now, please?"