Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Yeah. I don't own it.
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Then everything goes wrong.

There's a bang, and then a yell, and the air is filled with curses and hexes and shouts and I hear someone yell "Death Eaters!"
Then James yells something, and then I'm knocked backwards, and the air is full of smoke, and I call for James, but he's not there.
I hear James yell, and then someone else shouts, and there's a high-pitched laugh. I stand up unsteadily, narrowly missing a curse that comes flying at me, and all I can hear are the screams. Coughing, I reach for my wand and I can't believe it because it's not there.

I'm lost in the middle of a battle and the screams are deafening and I can't see anything and I can't find James.

"James!" I yell, and I'm looking around desperately, but there's no sign of anyone I know, and I'm unarmed. A figure in black robes shoots something at me, and I duck, still searching for someone, anyone I know. There's a wand on the floor near me, so I snatch it up and try not to think about the fact that the owner of it is nowhere to be found. A spell flies past me, grazing my head, and I shudder at it's closeness before turning and firing spells at every masked figure I can see.

Firing every jinx I can think of, I work my way towards the path leading back to the castle, Stunning a Death Eater who's about to hex a fourth-year. "Hey," I kneel down next to her, my hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Uh-huh. A bit scared."
I smile, despite my fear. "I'd be worried if you weren't. So...Marianne, isn't it? So, Marianne, I need you to run back up to the castle. Don't stop until you're inside, and tell whatever Professor you come across first. Keep going, okay? Don't stop, no matter what."
She nods, and gets up, before turning and sprinting up towards the castle.

The battle's moving, changing course towards the station, and I start running, hoping that I'll bump into someone. As I reach the main street, I run into the owner of Honeydukes, who's gone into a blind panic.
"What are you doing here, girl? Get back to the castle!"
I try to placate him, but he keeps yelling at me, so I dodge around him and keep running, until I'm outside Shrieking Shack.

Stopping to catch my breath, I look up to see someone I recognise, a Death Eater poised to attack behind him.
Sirius.
"Sirius! Behind you!" I yell, and he whirls around with a shout, effectively Stunning the Death Eater.

Then something freezing cold hits my back.
I'm frozen in shock, and there's a furious yell, and then there's a loud thud behind me as the Death Eater falls to the floor.

Sirius limps hurriedly towards me, and he's shouting something, but I can't hear, and he's going in and out of focus and I'm so cold.
Blood trickles down his leg as he grabs my shoulders, shaking me slightly, and suddenly I can hear him.
"Lily! Where did he hit you? Where? Where!?"
My teeth are chattering.
"My...my...back...Sirius...my back..."

Still holding my arm, he lifts my jumper up slightly, and swears. The world gives an alarming tilt, and my back is numb.
"Hey, Lily, hey, stay with me."
"I'm so cold, Sirius."
"I know, I know, but I need to get you to the castle. Can you walk?"
I nod, but as I take a step, my side erupts in pain, and I grab at it, gasping.
"Lily! Lily, can you hear me?"
"James..." I mutter, head swimming, and he frowns at me worriedly.
"He was right behind me. He got caught up helping the third-years. He'll be fine, Lily."

I breathe a sigh of relief, he's alright, and my body relaxes, crumpling. Sirius catches me, holding me firmly upright, and picks me up, walking quickly with me towards...somewhere. I go to protest, but my body won't obey, and I lie there limp and then there's a buzzing in my ears, and he's talking to me, asking me something and then-

"JAMES!" I'm yelling, standing once again in the middle of Hogsmeade, but it's empty. No Death Eaters. No students. Nothing. I'm alone. Then I'm falling, and I'm stuck in the passage again, but this time it's getting smaller, and I'm stuck and I'm screaming and I need help! Suddenly, I can move again, and I'm in a cottage that I don't recognise, standing in front of a cot with a baby that looks painfully similar to James, and then there's a man, but he's not a man, not really, and he laughs, and I'm begging him, pleading him, and then he fires something from his wand and then I'm gone.

Then someone's shaking me, and I'm awake, coughing and choking, and they're turning me over, and I retch, but there's nothing in my stomach. "Lily!" Their voice is urgent, and I turn my head towards the sound, vision still blurred.
"Lily, dear, you need to stay awake. The potion will be ready in a minute. Stay awake. That's it."

I'm lying in a bed, in somewhere that looks vaguely like the Hospital Wing, and my suspicions are confirmed as my vision clears.
"Madam Pomfrey?"
"That's right dear, I need you to tell me where it hurts."
"My back..." The pain hits me then, so harsh that I start to cry. "Merlin, my back."
"Alright, here we go, this will help, I promise." She tips my head back, and I swallow the potion. It burns as it goes down, and the intense pain in my back lessens slightly.

I lie back on the bed, shivering, sweaty and cold and dizzy.
"You'll warm up in a minute, dear, and then I'll see if there are any other injuries."
She goes to walk away, but I call out to her.
"Sirius. He brought me here. Is...is he okay?"
"Yes, Mr Black is fine. I fixed the cut on his leg, and he will now be gathered in the Great Hall with the rest of the students who were in Hogsmeade."
"James. What about him?"
"Excuse me?"
"James. James Potter. Head Boy. What about him? Is he alright?"
"I believe so. I was told he was in the Headmaster's office. He was very...distressed, when he found out about your condition."
"What happened to me? What spell was that?"
She sighs and pulls her wand out to check for other injuries.
"We're not exactly sure, Miss Evans. You see, what your attacker hit you with was a curse, a homemade one, it seems. I have stopped it from spreading, and we'll have a Healer from St Mungo's come and check it out. Right now, you are in no immediate danger, and I'm sure you will be fine."

Just then, the door to the Hospital Wing opens, and Professor Dumbledore steps into the Hospital Wing, and approaches my bed.
"Evening, Miss Evans. I hope you are feeling somewhat better than earlier."
"Yes Professor. Still not great, though."
He chuckles, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
"Well, Poppy, I know you do not usually permit visitors so soon after an incident-"
"And you would be right! Miss Evans should not exert herself in any way, in case the curse continues to spread."
"Yes, I agree. However, I feel that Mr Potter will break down the door if he has to wait any longer to see Miss Evans."
I smile at that.

"Very well." Madam Pomfrey crosses her arms. "But three visitors only."
Professor Dumbledore turns to me. "One of them will be Mr Potter, I presume?"
"Yes please. And Alice...and Sirius. I'd like to thank him." I finish and Dumbledore's eyes twinkle.
"As you wish, Miss Evans. It just so happens that I took the liberty of bringing Mr Potter with me. He is probably listening at the keyhole at this very moment. I shall fetch Miss Prewett and Mr Black presently. Get well soon, Miss Evans."

He bows to me and Madam Pomfrey and then walks over to the door, opens it and steps out of the Hospital Wing.
My hands are shaking, but it's nothing to do with the curse.
There's a loud "It's about time!", and then James bursts into the Hospital Wing.

His hair is singed, and so are his clothes, and there are several large bruises up his arms. His glasses have a crack in them, and there's a cut on his forehead, and his eyes are dancing as he scans the wing.
"James..." I croak, and he comes running over, eyes searching me, talking at about a hundred miles an hour.

"Merlin Lily, are you okay? Ok, that's a stupid question, of course you're not, but I was so worried, and they wouldn't let me see you and Sirius came in and he was crying and he said you were cursed and Dumbledore wouldn't let me in and oh my Merlin, Lily..."
He summons a chair from the other side of the room and sits down, and takes my hand, squeezing it lightly. He then turns to Madam Pomfrey.

"What happened? Was she really...cursed?"
"Unfortunately so, Mr Potter. However, I assure you that she is stable, and will be fine."
Madam Pomfrey then asks me to sit up, so I can take some more potion, and tears fill my eyes as my back protests.
"Lily? What's wrong?"
"It's just...my back. It hurts. Merlin, it hurts, James."

After this, James has tears in his eyes, and won't leave my side for the entire night.

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She-who-loves-fanfiction xx