CrystalKaouri: Thanks for the review! I'm so glad you're still enjoying this story! We'll have to wait and see who dies (evil laughter). Hopefully, you'll find the ending of Second Chances satisfying!
Three minutes later, they were all in the crowded great hall. James and Lily joined the teachers and Order members standing behind McGonagall, as she explained what was going on and how anyone underage must evacuate.
She was interrupted by a high, cold voice that seemed to rise from the very walls. "I know that you are preparing to fight."
There were screams. James tensed, his eyes flying to Lily. He could see the fear in her green eyes. The last time she had heard that voice, Voldemort was about to kill her. James, on the other hand, couldn't help remembering the last time he had seen Voldemort: when he had possessed Harry two years ago.
"Your efforts are futile," the Chief Death Eater continued. "You cannot fight me."
"Arrogant much?" James muttered to Remus, who huffed a laugh.
"I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not wish to spill magical blood."
"Joy," Lily murmured, dryly.
"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort, and hot fury flashed through James. Nearly seventeen years. He hadn't changed a bit. "And none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you shall be rewarded.
"You have until midnight."
Silence. Every eye was turned toward Harry.
"But he's there, Potter's there!" came a shrill voice from the Slytherin table. "Someone grab him!"
Before James or Lily could protest, the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws stood and placed themselves between Harry and the Slytherins, pulling out their wands. Harry's shocked gaze caught James' and James grinned at him, nodding.
"Thank you, Ms. Parkingson," said Professor McGonagall. "You will leave the hall first with Mr. Filch. If the rest of your house could follow."
While McGonagall arranged the evacuation of the students and made sure no one under seventeen stayed behind, the Order and the teachers devised a battle strategy. Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall would lead groups to the towers for spell work. Remus, Arthur, Kingsley, and James would lead groups into the grounds, where the fighting was bound to be thickest. Meanwhile, someone had to defend the secret passages, and James had a sneaking suspicion he knew who would organize that.
His hunch was proved right when the Weasley twins volunteered. Then people were splitting up into groups, students and teachers and Order members all standing together to fight evil. James caught sight of Harry running from the room. What had Lee called them on Potterwatch? The 'Golden Trio' had their own job to do.
The four groups that were heading into the grounds were sorted, and it was time to go. James marched his group out of the great hall to the entrance hall and out the big double doors. Here the groups were to split up, but James had one thing left to do.
He grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him just a little to the side. "Promise me you'll stay alive, Moony," he said seriously.
Remus nodded once in agreement, clasping his arm. "You too, Prongs," he said. "Our families need us."
James nodded at him, then grinned and clapped him on the back. Remus laughed, and for the briefest second, they were two boys again wandering the Hogwarts grounds after dark. James could almost hear Peter's wheezy chuckle and Sirius' laugh like a bark.
The moment ended. The two friends parted ways as the four groups spread across the grounds. James' team had barely taken up positions when flashes of light started popping in the air above them as spells struck the protective barrier the teachers had erected.
James gripped his wand tight and looked sideways at Lily. She smiled at him. "Stay near me," he said, seized by the wild desire that she had stayed at home like Tonks. Nevertheless, he couldn't think of anyone he would rather have by his side.
"Always," Lily replied.
The entire castle seemed to shake. The barrier came down.
"The battle's begun," James muttered.
"It'll be the last," Lily said with quiet confidence.