Chapter 44-Bullet and a Target
But what you've done here
Is put yourself between a bullet and a target
And it won't be long before
You're pulling yourself away
Voldemort flicked his wand and instantly, a park bench unhinged itself from the ground and came lunging straight at the four of them.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lily cried, immobilizing the bench with her wand. She leveled it back onto the ground, keeping eye contact with Voldemort.
His Death Eaters all hissed at the prospect of a Mudblood.
The street in which they battled was clearly deserted. The sky was slowly shifting, the clouds blocking most of the crescent moonlight. Hogwarts castle could distantly be seen. It would be a good half and hour before Dumbledore received his message.
Sirius narrowed his eyes unpleasantly, feeling the contempt feeling of rage penetrate throughout his veins. James' wand was unleashed before him, willingly open to defend.
Remus was waiting, wand at the ready, casting his sharp eyes over the group. No one had any idea what Voldemort was doing in Hogsmeade, on James' eighteenth birthday no less.
Voldemort grinned, not even wearing his predictable mask. His face wasn't shielded, his eyes were scarlet and cruel. He was the man that everyone feared, the man who unearthed skeletons from the closet. His demons were the source of anxiety in the wizard world. He had killed James' parents. He had ordered the McKinnon's and Prewitt's to be killed, taking Maimee Hout in the process as well.
James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius had all been effected by this man, in one way or another. It was their time.
"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort hissed, sending a jet of green light straight at James' heart. James quickly lunged out of the way, watching a tree become scorched in the process.
Some force of dueling had unleashed itself as now, everyone was fighting. Not many words were spoken which was to be expected.
James had never felt such heat and blood. It was seemingly seeping throughout his veins, a bloodlust.
Sirius was now dueling with a Death Eater; the Death Eater to be exact.
"You loved her, did you Black?" the man asked, in a slick, cool voice.
Sirius had recognized that voice. The man had only been two years ahead of them.
"I killed her myself," the man confessed. "She was a pretty one. Allison was her name?"
"Addison," Sirius bitterly expressed through gritted teeth. Sirius couldn't place the name with the voice, even though the mystery was killing him.
"She wasn't a screamer," the man said. "No, she sat there and took it, as if she was expecting it. She couldn't do a thing when I had her wand."
The name hit him. The old Quidditch captain for Slytherin.
"Travers," Sirius whispered. "You'll rot in hell, you sick son of a bitch."
"Avada Kedavra!" Travers screamed.
"Fixato Merphalus!" Sirius pitched.
A jet of green light collided with a thin, dark flame. Each narrowly missed the spell.
"Dark magic?" Travers asked, clearly surprised.
"I am a Black," Sirius confessed. "One useful thing I learned in that twisted house."
.X.
Lily was battling, not able to keep track of the numerous hoods that had fell down. She just knew that time was barely passing, but she felt as though she'd been there for hours.
She didn't stop. She saw things happening, but still she didn't stop. This was her time, she could finally manage to defend herself. Not like last time, she was not the damsel.
She only paused when she heard a body clunk down beside her. James was clutching his chest and breathing fast. A cut was exposed through his torn shirt and his brow was scrunched in concentration. His wand was still lifted and he was attempting to stand back up. Lily ran to his side, Remus cursing the Death Eater she had left.
"Oh, James," Lily whispered. "What did he do to you?"
"They say you're my competition, Potter?" Voldemort mocked. He was standing about ten feet away, his wand at his side now, laughing at James' current position.
"What do you want with him?" Lily screamed. "Why him? Why not me? Why not Sirius? Why not anyone else? Why him?"
"You ask me why, Mudblood?" Voldemort sneered. He reached inside his cloak pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment.
"Official document from the Department of Mysteries," he explained, still burning a scarlet fire in his evil embers. "I have a reliable source located there. This parchment determined my biggest threat."
"James?" Lily asked, disbelieving. She knew James was strong, but out of all the wizards on the Earth, James was posing as the darkest wizard's threat?
"Yes," Voldemort answered. "He's not the only one, though. Threat two and three; Lily Evans and Sirius Black."
Lily shuddered at the use of her name. She was a threat? She didn't even know that Voldemort was aware of who she was. This was all too overwhelming.
"This is why you've been after him? This is why you've wanted to kill him so badly?" Lily asked, feeling her brain take in all this information.
No one around them was aware of the stop in battle. The few remaining Death Eaters, the ones that had originally shown up, were still trying to battle Sirius and Remus. Lily hadn't even been aware of when more had shown up. She had been in a fit of rage at the time. Now, she wasn't even sure what to feel.
She looked over at James. He was breathing, but barely. Voldemort had hit him with a horrible curse. If she didn't end this soon, he would most likely die.
So, clutching her fingers even more fiercely on her wand, she stood. Slowly, she pointed it at him; the Dark Lord.
He laughed.
"You're going to take me on, all by yourself?" Voldemort asked.
"I do believe I am posted as threat number two, Tom," Lily answered, coolly.
"That you are, Evans," Voldemort replied.
A sudden movement and his wand was swished and a jet of electric blue light came her way. She identified it as a form of dark magic that forced the victim to cough itself to death. It looked as if James had been hit mildly with it. She had swiftly jumped to the side.
"Incarcerous," he cast. Ropes flew out of his wand, attempting to bind Lily.
"Incendio!" she screamed, burning the ropes in their path. "Waddiwasi!"
A mug from the Three Broomsticks flew out of the pub and made to hit Voldemort on the head. He cracked it with the Reductor Curse.
A series of jinxes were muttered under his breath, emitting a golden glow from the tip of his wand.
"Protego," Lily muttered, casting the shield charm around her.
Yet, her charm wasn't strong enough and she felt a cut sting across her face. She raised her hand to her face and felt blood.
Before she could react, someone had yelled, "Expelliarmus!"
Dumbledore had appeared behind Voldemort, casting the Disarming Spell and catching Voldemort off-guard.
Voldemort muttered, "Accio Wand," and miraculously, the wand zipped into his hand.
Lily had never seen anyone cast magic without a wand and wondered if she, herself, could do so. Before she could give it a second thought, Voldemort and Dumbledore were dueling. The Death Eaters had all fled at the sight of Dumbledore, leaving Sirius and Remus.
Sirius wiped blood from his lip and Remus had a black eye. It seemed their fights had gotten physical.
Lily made to help James sit up, but his coughing just increased. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't Apparate into Hogwarts, and making an illegal Portkey right in front of Dumbledore was risky. With the assistance of Sirius and Remus, she made way to travel back into Honeydukes and down the tunnel. Before she entered the candy shop, she saw Voldemort disappear with a swish of his cloak, cursing Dumbledore under his breath.
Dumbledore saw them and raised a hand, requesting them to stop where they were. He conjured a stretcher, levitating James onto it, flicked his wand thus protruding a whistling noise. He appeared to be calling something.
Lily had an idea of what they might be. Sure enough, the horseless carriages came by. She had discovered this year in Care of Magical Creatures that thestrals carried those carriages.
Without so much as a word, Dumbledore helped everyone into the carriages, including James.
A/N: More will be explained in the next chapter. Please review