Chapter 40: Taken

James groaned. His head felt absolutely awful. He didn't know how long it had been. All he remembered was being knocked out after the wall to their house blasted open. Lily! Where was she?! Was she ok?! She had to be!

James scrambled to his feet and looked around. It was dark. They were in some kind of cell. He could see a body lying on the floor. Quickly he moved over to it. Brown hair meant his eyes. James bent down next to Dorcas. He turned her over and checked her pulse. A thump under his thumb let him she was still alive. Glancing around the room, he saw no red hair. This worried him. What had they done with his Lily?

"Alright this way," a pleasant voice echoed through the dungeon.

James looked up and saw two shadows making their way towards them. What was going on? Where was Lily? Suddenly Lily appeared with. . . .Narcissa Black! What was going on?!

"Here we are," Narcissa smiled. "I'm sorry, but we can't really trust you. You'll have to stay here for the time being."

Lily stepped into the cell and Narcissa turned to leave. James immediately wrapped his arms around Lily. She buried her face in his chest never intending to come out. Her perfume reached his nose. Vanilla with a hint of cherry.

"James, I'm scared," Lily whispered.

"I'd be surprised if you weren't," James replied. His arms tightened around her.

"It's not being here that scares me," Lily told him. "It's what they did."

"What?" James cupped her face with his hands. "What did they do to you? Are you hurt?'

"No, they. . . .were being civil," Lily answered. "They didn't try to hurt me or anything. I don't understand. What are they playing at?"

"I don't know," James told her. "You're safe, that's all that matters. We're all safe."

Remus sighed. Dorcas was over at Lily's. He knew that much since she wasn't home. He didn't think James would be asleep at the moment so he decided to go and check on Doe. He turned on the spot and felt like he was being sucked into a tight tube. Lily and James' house appeared in front of him, but he wasn't expecting what he saw. Half of the house lay in ruins and the Dark Mark hung over the house.

Without thinking, Remus ran over to the house and went inside. They had to be ok. They had to be here. Looking around frantic, he saw nothing. Quickly he climbed the stairs. No one was there. They were gone some of Voldemort's followers had taken them. Spinning on the spot, he arrived at Sirius' flat. He didn't bother knocking. Karen was sitting on the couch reading a book. When she heard the door open, she looked up. Sirius came out of the bathroom.

"Moony?" Sirius asked. "When did you get back? Are you alright? You looked awful, mate."

"James. . . .Lily. . . .Doe," Remus stumbled with his words. "They're gone."

Narcissa appeared again. "Good morning," she greeted. "I hope you slept well."

"What do you want?" Dorcas spat. She had woken up soon after Lily had come back. Now that she was fully alert, she was thoroughly pissed.

"I just came to bring you breakfast," Narcissa replied pleasantly. "Here you are."

She handed them three plates then turned and walked away. Lily and James looked at each other. What did they want? Last time they had been captured they had been tortured. Now they were getting meals. Lily didn't understand what was going. If she could piece it together, she would rest a whole lot easier.

"What are they playing at?" Dorcas asked. Lily had told her as soon as she woke up what had happened to her. Dorcas was just as confused about it as Lily was.

"I don't know," Lily answered. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Sighing she opened them up. James was looking at her concerned.

"I'm fine," she answered the question before he could ask. She really couldn't stomach the idea of food, right now, so she pushed it away. They needed to get out of this place.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"I went to their house and the mark was over it," Remus repeated numbly. "Doe was supposed to be there."

Alice gasped. There was a moment of silence before she spoke, "They'll be ok. We'll find them. I promise. Listen, I'm going to alert Dumbledore. I'll be back in a second."

Alice turned and left the room. Remus sat there numbly. Dorcas was gone. He just got her back and now she was gone. Anger set in quickly. He picked the cup filled with coffee that Alice had given him and flung it across the room. She couldn't be gone. Not now. He fell to his knees sobbing. Why?

Arms wrapped around his shaking shoulders. "It's alright," Alice whispered. "We're going to find them I promise. We'll get them out alive and nothing will stand in the way of that."

Sirius slumped onto the couch. No, James and Lily weren't gone. It was all a big joke. James was going to burst threw the door and tell him it was a joke. They were alright. They were alive.

"Sirius?" Karen whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

Sirius pulled her to his side and let her cry into his shoulder. While she did this, Sirius let a lone tear slip out of the corner of his eye.

Lily heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She hoped it wasn't Narcissa with that false cheery attitude and the fake smiles. Unfortunately it was. She made her way quickly over to them.

"Hello, again," she smiled.

"What do you want?" James asked tiredly.

Narcissa's smile grew bigger. "Your time has finally come. The Dark Lord wants to see you."

She pulled out her wand and unlocked the door. It swung open. Lily, James, and Dorcas stepped forward.

They walked up the stairs, awaiting their deaths.

A/N: Hello all! Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was one of the hardest to write. Yes, it is crappy. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. Actually, I know it will be. Review!