Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. This is my first time writing a fanfic, so your reviews have been very encouraging!
I own copies of the Harry Potter series, but, alas, I don't own the originals.
Peter betrayed us. Over and over, the thought swirled in James' mind. As much as he hated to believe that any of his friends could betray them, there was now no denying that Peter had done just that. That was the only way that Voldemort could know where they were.
The three remaining Marauders cursed and turned from the window simultaneously.
"What do we do, Prongs?" Sirius asked. James noticed the glare that Remus was directing at Sirius, and something suddenly occurred to him.
"Moony," James said, grabbing onto the other man's arm, "we switched Secret Keepers. Peter is our Secret Keeper. Not Sirius. Peter betrayed us. Not Sirius."
A range of emotions flashed across Remus' face. Surprise. Shock. Betrayal. Hurt. But he soon buried those emotions and nodded. "All right. So what do we do now?"
James was always surprised at Remus' level head, but he knew that now was not the time to marvel over it. "We have to protect Lily and Harry."
Under any other circumstances, James would have grabbed his wife and his son and fled. Forget Gryffindor bravery. If given the option, James would have run as fast and as far as possible. But the Floo Network to his house had been disconnected, and there were Anti-Apparition wards in place. They couldn't flee. There was nowhere for them to go. They would have to fight.
Sirius and Remus nodded, and the three of them moved to the front hallway. The front door was blasted open and they jumped to the side, Remus into the doorway of the kitchen and James and Sirius into the doorway to the sitting room. Silence followed, except for the rustling of robes. For a moment, James noticed the irony of his comment to Lily at dinner. No, Voldemort didn't come knocking at their door. Instead, he blew it apart.
"Come out now, surrender, and I will spare you," the voice echoed throughout the house, and fear struck James.
He looked at his two best friends, and the looks on their faces strengthened him. "Never." He had not shouted, was unsure really if he had spoken loud enough. But when a curse blasted its way past him, he knew that he had.
The three Marauders sprung into action, all of them shooting spells around the corner at the adversary that they could not see but could almost feel. James and Sirius were in sync, just like always. James would lean around the corner long enough to fire a spell off, then he would pull back and Sirius would lean over him to do the same. Across the hall, Remus was holding his own. Until a red light connected with his arm.
James froze as he watched Remus grimace in pain. But instead of giving up, the injury seemed to make the werewolf even more determined. Remus lifted himself off the floor, and with a look unlike anything James had ever seen on his usually docile face, leaned around the corner and shot off a green curse.
The Killing Curse. James was surprised for a moment that Remus had used an Unforgivable. But then he noticed that green beams of light were being sent in their direction too. That is when the seriousness of the situation hit him.
Voldemort had discovered their location. Had come here personally. Alone. Despite what he had said when first entering the home, there would be no mercy. He was not here to collect prisoners. He was here to kill James. And Lily and Harry.
Someone had told him once that Unforgivable Curses would only work if the caster really and truly meant them. As anger filled him, James shot a Killing Curse around the corner. Because he had never wanted somebody dead as much as he did Voldemort. Because he would protect his family if it cost him his life.
Now every curse that was being cast was a Killing Curse. Fortunately and unfortunately at the same time, none of the curses had hit its mark. But James knew that eventually someone would slip up. They had to end this. Now.
He and Sirius shared a look, and James could tell that his best friend had been thinking the same thing. Looking across the hallway, his eyes connected with Remus' and they both nodded. They were all on the same page then.
As he heard Voldemort move down the hall, closer to them, James counted down. Three. Two. One. As one, the Marauders stepped into the hallway and shot Killing Curses at their target. From behind James, on the staircase, another jet of green light shot out. Voldemort had been in the middle of the Killing Curse incantation when the first curse hit him. James wasn't sure whose wand that first curse had come from, but joy filled him as it hit its target.
But Voldemort didn't fall, like every other person James had seen who had been hit with the fatal curse. Instead, a bright light seemed to shoot out from within him. James saw the light a second before a blast knocked him off his feet and into the stairs. He told himself to stay awake. To check on Sirius and Remus. Lily and Harry. But the darkness was creeping in on him, and he was powerless against it.
James was disoriented for the first few seconds after waking up. Every part of him hurt, especially his head. And he was lying in the most uncomfortable position against the stairs.
But then it came back to him. Voldemort had found them. James, Sirius, and Remus had fought against him. And won? As James lifted his head, he saw a wand lying in the middle of the hallway. There was no body, but surely Voldemort had been vanquished.
Lily. The thought of his wife caused James to lift himself onto his feet. Looking behind him, he saw his wife on the stairs, passed out. She must've come downstairs in the middle of the fight. She must've been the one to cast the fourth Killing Curse. James rushed up to her and put his hand on her cheek.
"Lily, love, are you all right? Lily?" He held his breath until her eyes fluttered open.
"James?"
"It's okay, love. We're okay." James scooped her up into a hug. He held on to her tightly, never wanting to let her go.
"Harry…" Lily whispered, and he immediately helped her stand. They clung to each other as they made their way upstairs to their son's room.
The young boy was sitting in his crib, bawling his eyes out. He was scared, but he appeared to be unharmed. Lily raced over and picked him up, cradling him against her.
"It's all right, sweetheart. Mummy's here. And I love you. I love you so much, Harry." Lily's voice cracked as tears slid down her cheeks. James stepped forward and encircled them both with his arms. Lily cried into his shoulder as Harry's cries quieted to hiccups.
"Is he all right?" Sirius asked, standing in the doorway. James felt momentary guilt for not checking to see if his friends were all right before racing upstairs, but he supposed that they would understand.
"Yeah, he is. Are you?" he asked as Sirius stepped closer to Harry and pulled a face at the boy, trying to make him laugh.
"A bit shaken, to be honest. But I'll live." The two friends shared a small smile.
"And Remus?" Lily asked quietly.
"He's fine. Dumbledore and Moody are here. Moony is talking to them." Sirius paused and took a deep breath. "I can't believe I thought he was the traitor. I trusted Wormtail when I should've been trusting Moony, and I-"
"Stop, Sirius," Lily said, placing a hand on his arm. "You can't worry about the 'should haves.' The important thing right now is that we are all safe. Although, I do think that you owe Remus an apology."
Sirius hung his head. "Of course, I do."
James put his hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I owe him one too. We'll apologize together. You know the poor man can't hold up for very long while under pressure from both of us." Sirius' face broke into a smile.
James was glad that he had been able to lighten the situation, but he wasn't entirely sure about the truthfulness of what he said. It was true that Remus had usually caved to James and Sirius in the past. But they had never experienced anything like this before. They had thought the worst of him, and James wasn't so sure that Remus would forgive them as easily as in the past.