Chapter 20

"James!" James looked around, and saw Lotte looking blankly at him, "Jess was asking you something!"

Jess was a giggly blonde girl in their year, in Gryffindor, who had a serious crush on James, "Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me for Valentines Day?"

James considered it, she was very pretty, and was quite fit… "Yeah, sure.. I suppose… That would be lovely Jess," he said coolly, grinning handsomely at her.

"Great… cool… amazing… I'll see you then!" she hurried off to talk to her friend Amanda.

Lotte huffed loudly, "Whats your problem?" asked James.

"Well, she's pretty, in an obvious way… I mean if you like that sort of thing!" replied Lotte.

"She's fit," stated Fred, "Lotte, you're just jealous."

"What," asked Lotte, "is that supposed to mean Weasley?"

"Well, James is fit," said Fred, and James elbowed him, "and, Ow James that hurt! Anyway, and you could never get him, so you're jealous!"

Lotte huffed loudly and ran up to her dorm. "Smooth mate," said James wryly, "Really smooth."

"Well, its true!" said Fred. James huffed, and walked slowly towards his own dorm.

Lotte was still annoyed with Fred when Valentines Day finally came around. This wasn't because she actually liked James, but because she thought Fred was a complete idiot. She had not got a date for the Hogsmeade trip, nor had Fred.

"Why don't you just go with him?" James asked her over breakfast, Fred was still in bed, "That was a week ago, seriously, he's not that bad!"

"I won't talk to him until he grows up!" said Lotte indignantly, and continued to munch on her toast. James shrugged.

"Hey look!" Lotte said a few minutes later, "James, there's an owl there for you!"

Sure enough, there was a large tawny owl sitting in James' cornflakes. James took the pink envelope attached to it's leg, and the owl flew off.

"Probably one of your fervent admirers," said Lotte wryly, James shrugged again, and opened it.

Inside was a pink card, with a heart on the front saying, Your Heart Keeps Mine Beating.

He opened it to find a poem.

Your heart keeps mine beating,

Without it I'd die.

I can't live without you,

I'm not going to lie.

I'm coming to find you,

Some time today,

Wait for me in Hogsmeade,

I'll find a way.

I'll meet your father,

Your brother, your friends,

I can't promise to like them,

They may meet their ends.

He showed it to Lotte, who read it over with a confused look on her face.

"Its probably from Jess," she scoffed, "she can't wait for your date."

"I don't think Jess is clever enough to come up with this poem," explained James, "Anyway, listen to the last line 'they may meet their ends', what on earth is that supposed to mean? It sounds like a threat!"

"Don't worry yourself James, she probably just couldn't figure out any other words to rhyme with 'friends'."

James looked dubious, but decided to drop it. Lotte was one to hold serious grudges.

"Oh, James!" giggled Jess excitedly, "I'm sooo happy we're finally going out!"

James grinned half-heartedly, still worrying about that poem. They were walking down the Hogsmeade main street, heading for Madame Puddifoot's teashop. It had been Jess' choice, not James'. Jess was without a doubt the most boring and mind-numbing person James had ever met. All she could do seemed to be giggle, and talk non-stop about how happy she was they were going out. James had decided they wouldn't be for much longer.

"You're been awfully quiet, Jamie-Poo," Jess said worriedly, "is there something wrong?"

"No," James lied, "I'm just a little tired from Quidditch practice, that's all."

"Oh!" exclaimed Jess, "No wonder, I've heard you're amazing at Quidditch, one of the best in the school! You made the team in 1st year didn't you? I've never been any good at Quidditch, I can't keep the broom straight! Hahaha, I'm so silly!"

James was going out of his mind, he was almost glad to see the pink lacy curtains of Madame Puddifoot's, just so he would have something else to do.

The two sat down in a booth in the corner, and Jess ordered two cups of tea, before James could protest and explain that he hated tea, the cups had arrived. The china was sickeningly pink, and there were little saucers with flowers around the edge.

"So," Jess said excitedly, "You want to make-out?"

This comment took James by surprise, and he spat tea down the front of his hoodie, "Sure," he said nervously, "I guess…"

Jess leaned in to him, looking so excited that she might wet herself. Her lips met his, and James was surprised that she was a good kisser.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang outside, and several screams. James pulled away from Jess, and ran out into the street, where there was a smoking pit where Dervish and Banges had once stood, there were several people coming out of the wreckage, but James couldn't see who they were for the smoke. He could see several cloaked figures, not unlike those in the dream he had had several months earlier. The dream in the graveyard. They were Death Eaters, and there were at least ten of them. There were Hogwarts students running in every direction, screaming, trying to get back to the castle, James suddenly noticed that Jess was among them. He really didn't care.

James ran towards the steaming building, to see who the injured were. He realised with a jolt, that his sister, Lily, was lying almost unconscious on the ground about 10 meters away. James sprinted towards her, she was crying out for her parents, there was a huge gash across her face, and it looked like her leg was broken.

"Lily!?" James shouted above the mêlée of the flaming street, "Lils!? Can You Hear Me!?"

"James," Lily gasped, her voice was weak because she had been inhaling smoke, "James! He's Dead!"

"Who Lily?" James asked frantically, "Who!?"

"Him!" Lily gasped, and then she passed out.

James didn't know what to do, someone was dead, and there was no way to tell who. There was no way to tell where this man was. James only hoped it wasn't someone he knew.

"Aww," James jumped at the sound out a silky, crooning voice from behind him, "Look, a little Potter family reunion! When's daddy getting here?"

"Shut Up!" James roared at the Death Eater who was standing behind him, "Look! Look what you've done! She's never done anything to you! You've practically killed her!"

"We're very sorry," said the Death Eater, very insincerely, "We didn't mean to hurt little Lily Potter! Ha! We were looking for your brother, James, do you know where he is?"

"What do you want with him!?" James shouted, "Why does everyone always want HIM!?"

He shot a disarming spell at the Death Eater, who laughed and pushed it away easily, "You need to learn from your father's mistakes Potter! You can't beat a Dark Wizard with Expelliarmus!"

"But Dad did!" James shot back, "He beat Voldemort with that exact spell years ago!"

"Ha!" the Death Eater laughed again, "You dare speak the Dark Lord's name? You need to learn some respect, Potter! Crucio!"

James felt as though a thousand white hot daggers were piercing every inch of his body, like he was on fire, and like he had just fallen off his broom, all at the same time. He was in the air, he could tell that much, writhing around like a rag doll, while his sister lay dying on the floor. James cried out in pain, but there was no way to stop it. He could hear a voice in the distance, crying, "Stupefy!", and the pain stopped. James fell slowly into the blissful peace of nothingness, his final sights of the flaming village of Hogsmeade.

"James?" a soft voice was calling his name, "James honey, can you hear me?"

James opened his eyes to thin slits, he was no longer lying in the street in Hogsmeade, but in a room which was entirely white. There was a woman standing over him, and she had long red hair. She smelled familiar to him, like home.

"Mum?" James asked weakly.

"Yes, sweetie, its me! Oh Jamie, I was so worried…" she started to cry, placing her warm face on James' chest.

"Mum?" James said, trying to sit up this time, "Where's Lily?"

"She's not here honey, she's gone," said his mother, and James' heart fell. Lily was dead?, "Not dead sweetie," Ginny said quickly, "no, she was let out yesterday."

James sighed with relief, and felt his chest ache with the strain of doing so.

"How long have I been in here?" he asked his mother carefully.

"Four days," Ginny replied, "Your father wouldn't leave your side until this morning, he had to go to work finally, lots of paperwork…"

"Was he the one who stopped that Death Eater?" James asked, feeling new-found love for his dad.

"No," said Ginny worriedly, "You were on the ground unconscious by the time the Aurors arrived. What happened to you? We assumed you were just in the wreckage with Lily."

"No mum," James started slowly, "I was in that stupid tea-shop, and I heard the fire, so I went outside. People were running everywhere, but then I saw Lily on the ground, she said someone was dead, mum! Who's dead?"

"Tell me the rest of the story and then I'll explain," Ginny said, stroking James' scruffy hair.

"Well, I went to help her, and then a Death Eater came up behind me, and was taunting me. Then he used the Crutiatus on me… and the someone stunned him."

Ginny gasped, "Oh! Oh, my poor baby! I wonder who stunned him? It must have been another Death Eater! Why would they do that?"

"Mum!" James shouted, and she jumped, "Who died?"

"No one you know dear," said Ginny distractedly, "Just the owner of the bookshop, he was a nice man."

James felt guilty for the relief he felt that it was not one of his family members who had been killed, but he didn't care.

"Apparently the Death Eaters gave warning of an attack," Ginny continued absently, "Whoever received the warning was very foolish not to report it… I mean, really! The nerve of some people!"

James' heart sank. His card. The pink Valentines card. It had been the warning.

Your heart keeps mine beating- that was about how James kept Voldemort alive.

I'm coming to find you, sometime today- that was warning of the attack!

They may meet their ends- that was telling of how they would try to kill his family.

Suddenly, James remembered what the Death Eater had asked him, Where's your brother?

"Mum!" James said frantically, "They were looking for Albus."

Ginny gasped, and ran from the hospital, looking for James' younger brother. He was always the least loved. Always second best to his good-for-nothing-but-being-hunted-by-Death-Eaters brother. James could almost feel his eyes glowing green from the jealousy brewing inside him.

Whats do y'all think? LOL! please review xxxxx i really am quite a fan of this story!!

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