Life After Graduation

The rain was coming down by the bucket full, it was so dense and thick you could not see a few feet in front of you. “See it?” James whispered into Lily’s ear as he wiped away raindrops from his lenses, though it was fruitless.

“Yes,” Lily said back before yanking his glasses off his face, muttering a spell she handed them back to James, and watched him shove them on his face, the water no longer sticking to them “I figured you would have known that spell after Quidditch.”

“Sirius always did it for me,” James said quietly as his soaking wet hand grabbed hers lightly. They were coming upon what looked like an old abandoned mansion. The doors were missing, windows were smashed out and vines were overtaking the house.

“Keep low,” Gideon Prewett called from their left before dashing behind another tree a couple of feet in front of them.

Lily stared at the looming building ahead, it was dark inside, and it looked like something from a muggle horror movie from when she was a child. The statues that were around the old pool were falling apart, a few missing limbs and even heads. The wind was blowing fiercely making the trees look as if they were going to fall over. It was hard to believe that the Death Eaters had made this place their headquarters.

“Don’t forget the plan,” James said into her ear as he looked at her. His face was illuminated when the lightening cut across the sky, and Lily could see the concern in his face. The Order had been planning this raid for about three weeks now, and tonight was the night to strike, even if the weather did not agree.

Lily nodded before kissing him hard, tonight was going to be the most dangerous thing they had ever done so far. When she pulled back he nodded at her before running behind a statue of a Greek goddess who had lost a head some years ago.

Holding her position behind a fallen tree Lily waited for the signal which was to come by a small purple spark. Then she saw the first one from close to the house and quickly the spark passed along from person to person as if in a wave. “Let’s go,” Lily heard from behind her to see one of the red haired twins who she figured out to be Fabian since Gideon had already ran ahead. Without a second thought Lily raised her wand above her head, it was hers, Fabians, and a few others job to draw the death eaters outside.

Suddenly from all behind her sparks were flying and statues were blowing up, what windows were left were breaking, and eventually one of the chimneys toppled over. A loud scream erupted from inside the mansion and people began to come pouring out of the place dressed in solid black brandishing wands. The battle had begun.

Fabian had jumped over the tree then offered his hand to Lily to help her out, biting her lip Lily recomposed herself because when she had landed she slipped on some wet leaves left from last fall which twisted her ankle slightly.

Dashing forward in the rain Lily stopped a few feet short of the mansion when a masked figured cut her off. Her mind going blank from everything else going on around her and in her life Lily concentrated on the duel that was commencing between her and this unmarked person.

When the chimney fell James began to run at the mansion, and caught up with Sirius who just nodded in his direction as they ran. Dumbledore had decided that he wanted Sirius, James, Remus, and Gideon to try and infiltrate the inside of the mansion to try to get any information that they could get. He hated to leave Lily alone outside, but James knew that she was strong enough to handle it.

Bursting through a side door that was barely hanging on its hinges James ducked behind an overturned table with Sirius to make sure the coast was clear and when it was he began to creep around. The inside of the house was spookier then the outside had been, cobwebs were draped all over the place, portraits were ripped and faded, furniture was broken, and dust coated everything. You would think if people were actually living here that they would clean it up a bit.

Finding the stairs James decided to go up there to look around, thinking since bedrooms would be up there the death eaters would leave more things laying about. Once at the top of the stairs James turned to Sirius.

“I’ll go right you go left,” James said quietly.

“Keep an eye out Prongs,” Sirius said before slipping down the long hallway, pushing open doors as he went.

Daring a glance out a large picture window at the top of the grand staircase James could only see spells flying in the air as rain fell like a giant curtain as if it was trying to hide what was happening.

Lily was being pushed backwards in battle towards the drained pool. Climbing down the large cement stairs she found herself in a very bad situation, she was on lower ground to the rest of the battle, but there was nothing she could do about it. Water had begun to pool on the bottom and her feet splashed lightly causing the remaining frogs that had made this place home to disappear.

As quietly as he could James pushed open a door to find a room with a few mattresses on the floor, clothes strewn about, and torn wallpaper. Falling to his knees he began to pull clothes out, flip over the beds and search for any little scrap of information. After searching for ten minutes it proved to be fruitless, the only thing he had located was a few dark arts potion instructions, a dirty magazine, and a few random scribblings that meant nothing. Getting up again he went to the next room and what he saw shocked him.

All along the walls of this room were pictures, news papers clippings, and writings. Getting closer he used his wand as light to see, and then he realized they were clippings from newspaper articles about every crime they had ever committed. A long list of family names was half rolled up on the wall and when James pulled it down he realized all the names had been crossed off, all of them were people that were killed, and people who were thought to be a threat. Ripping it from the wall he shoved it into his pocket before moving along the wall some more.

“Yes!” Lily said to herself once she had been able to successfully overpower her enemy, they had become distracted when a statue crumbled into the pool and when they moved to avoid it Lily stunned and bound them before running out of the pool. From what she could see the Order had most of it under control and Dumbledore had said if anyone felt they could help they should try to get inside to find evidence and destroy the hideout.

Pausing at a dresser James pulled open the drawers and began to poke around with his wand. What he found was women’s clothing, lingerie, and a few nasty looking items that were unfamiliar. The rest of the drawers were empty, quickly he looked out the window again but saw nothing before h went to the next wall. “What the hell is this?” James said anger sprouting inside of him. There on the wall was a picture of the Order, somehow someone had obtained this, he attempted to rip it of the wall to no avail, and then tried charming it, but nothing seemed to work. Finally he just obliterated the picture so all that was left was the outer most borders.

Lily slipped into a side door and almost jumped out of her skin when a wand was shoved painfully into her throat, her wand instantly flew up but lowered when she saw it was Remus, he had been keeping guard it seemed. Without saying a word they nodded to one another and Lily began to check rooms. Walking by a dining room she saw Gideon digging around in a fireplace in the dining room, but still no James. Figuring he was upstairs that was where she went next, but as she climbed the stairs something did not feel right, she felt an unusual chill that seemed to reach her bones, and made her hair stand on end. She needed to find James now.

James was staring at the large wall, it was bigger than the first one with a small hidden door, but this one troubled him more. All over was information about every Order member, and parchment with notes about their life and their family. Finally he found a picture of him and Lily on their wedding day with a large red x. He pulled it off the wall, along with the notes about his family, and the rest of the Orders. “How in the world did they get all this?” James asked as he looked at the paper down in his hands.

James Potter –Pureblood, Gryffindor, Matilda & Jackson Potter, Friends with a half breed, and Black, married mudblood Lily Evans
Lily Potter (Evans) ---Mudblood, Gryffindor, parents muggles unknown, Married to James Potter, sister Petunia Evans married to Vernon Dursley
“It’s easy when you are dealing with imbeciles,” a low harsh voice answered.

James’ hair seemed to stand on the back of his neck as he slowly turned around, dropping the stack of papers and raising his wand. There in front of him stood the ring leader, the reason for this whole war, Voldemort. James blood seemed to run cold, and he knew he had paled at least three colors. He had only seen pictures of this man, or beast whatever he was considered now, but in person he was even more horrid. Swallowing hard James awaited a duel or his death.

Lily was wandering around the upstairs before walking into a room that did not have a door. It was cluttered with boxes and old furniture covered in sheets. As she picked around she heard James’ voice through the thing wall, then she heard another voice and froze, it was hard to hear exactly what was being said but she knew it was not good. Pressing her head up against the wall she listened, then spotted a small door in the wall, and could see the light from the other room. As quietly as she could Lily moved to the door and waited for the opportune time to open it to help James. “I’m right here James,” Lily said quietly hoping she could hear him.

James looked at the door as a few other Death Eaters wandered in as well, though he could not see their faces since they were behind white masks. There was no way he was going to get out of this, he could apparated but he seemed to be frozen in place.

“Such a shame to spill pureblood,” Voldemort said menacingly as he twirled his wand between his fingers. “I would have loved to kill your filth of a wife first.” With that he ran his finger over their wedding picture then another picture that James did not see of just Lily out and about on the streets shopping.

James’ eyes flashed at the comment, his grip on his wand tightening as his knuckles turned white. He could have sworn her heard something from the small door in the corner but he did not shift. “Don’t you ever say that again,” he seethed. Even though he was staring death in the face, he would never let someone insult Lily.

“Don’t you dare speak to him like that!” One of the Death Eaters cried. Without another word James fell to the ground feeling as if his body were being torn apart, his yells echoing around the room.

“JAMES!” Sirius bellowed as he burst out of the room running down the hall to try and help his friend, though he was cut off by a short, and rather chubby man. “Get out of the way!” Sirius said but the man still did not move.

Peter was panicking, he was told to hold anyone off that tried to come and save James, but now he was staring down one of the people he feared most, Sirius. He raised his wand up high, and began to duel.

The cruciatus curse was lifted, and James lay on the ground holding his wand tightly in his hand. His body felt as if it were still on fire, but at least the terrible stretching feeling had lifted for now. Unable to do anything else, James did not want to go down without a fight, he attempted to cast a spell but only meager sparks flew out of the end.

“Still trying to fight? It’s a shame, so brave compared to some of my fighters,” Voldemort said raising his wand, “avada kedavra” he yelled his wand pointed at the man before him,

James waited for his death, as things began to flash before his eyes but they were soon halted. In a split second he saw a flash of green, then a flash of yellow as the small door flew off its hinges. Lily came bursting through the room just in time and tackled James. Before he hit the ground they were gone, but something did not feel right. Turning his head he could see they apparated but someone else had joined them another death eater.

Sirius had finally overpowered the man, and left him bound and gagged on the floor. He ran into the room just in time to see James disappear, then ducked as Death Eaters began to apparated out of the room as well. The last person that was left caused Sirius to catch his breath, he could not see the man’s face, though he knew it was Voldemort. The man let out a loud noise that did not sound human before he disappeared with a crack as well. James had obviously found what they were looking for, so Sirius bent down and grabbed the rather large stack of papers before apparating back out to the grounds to round up the Order.

Lily shrieked in pain as something stabbed her in the lower back and she felt warmth beginning to spread on her lower back. They landed only quickly in the first place she could think of, her parents but knew that was a big mistake. She had just taken a death eater to her parent’s house. Landing once again they were in the middle of the woods outside of London, there she was able to shake him, then finally they landed at the Orders hideout.

Panting James stumbled backwards grabbing onto the dining room table, but something else gave a sickening thud. His heart stopped in his chest as he looked around to see Lily on the floor sprawled out, with blood on her back, well what was there. Half of her shirt was missing, and part of her back was as well, she splinched herself in the middle of the apparation trying to get both of them out of there and to shake the other person.

“Lils,” James said instantly dropping to his knees next to her, ripping his cloak off, then his shirt to try and mop off the blood. His heart was still pounding from the adrenaline, but he also felt weak, it was taking everything he had to stay awake. “Wake up Lily come on,” he pleaded as he applied pressure with his shirt, though the blood was already visible through his whole shirt.

Other Order members were beginning to appear now, battered and bruised but all still alive. “What’s the matter Prongs?” Remus asked when he landed on the other side of the table, since all he could see was James hunched over on the ground acting frantic, and very pale.

“Lily,” James said quickly, fighting the urge not to get sick from the sight of blood, before tossing the blood soaked shirt to the side, he needed to get her help. Soon members were swarming them, and he was instantly shoved aside when Minerva came running around. With a flick of her wand Lily’s shirt was completely ripped off her, and she began working on cleaning up the blood, and tired to make the wound stop bleeding.

“What happened?” Sirius asked James as he pulled him back from Lily so McGonagall had more room to work.

“Everything,” James said quickly before stumbling backwards, landing hard on his arse on the floor. He told Sirius everything that happened without taking his eyes off of Lily.

“She took them to her parent’s house?” Dumbledore interjected quickly.

“Yes,” James said looking at him, then realized what Dumbledore was getting at. “I have to go help them,” he said pulling out his wand but Dumbledore beat him to it.

“I will go, you stay with your wife, and get to St. Mungos” Dumbledore said before apparating to the Evan’s residence.

“She needs to go to St. Mungos I can’t get this under control,” Minerva said a bit frantic as blood still flowed out of the remains of Lily’s back. The girl before her was very pale now, and her breathing was beginning to shallow.

“I’ll take her,” Sirius said quickly leaning down to pick up Lily, it was obvious that James did not have the strength to move. It took everything he had not to pass out from the sight of all the blood, and the gaping hole in Lily’s side. Once at St. Mungos the healers swarmed them, but did not push Sirius away like they used to since the workers were used to the Order members always being there for something.

Once she was in a room he apparated back to the Order headquarters to get James. Grabbing his best mate under the shoulders he apparated him to St. Mungos as well. They treated him for minor injuries, and told him he needed plenty of rest after what had happened, then he was allowed to go see Lily.

James nodded gratefully to Sirius when he set him down in a chair then turned to Lily. “Hey love,” he said quietly grabbing her hand.

“My parents?” Lily asked him a bit nervously, the thought had been on her mind since she awoke.

“Dumbledore took care of them, don’t worry,” James replied. Her whole lower body was wrapped in bandages, and he could see the sunken hole where her side and back used to be.

The healers allowed them to leave about two hours later, and James went right home with her, since she was ordered to stay in bed for at least a week, and the healing process would be a very uncomfortable and painful one at that.

When they arrived home, James almost jumped out of his skin when he saw two other people sitting there waiting for them. “Hey…” James said looking at Remus and Sirius noticing the grave look on their faces.

“We need to talk,” Remus said before dropping a pile of papers on the coffee table infront of him.

“Can’t it wait?” James asked leading a very weak Lily over to the couch.

“No,” Sirius said quickly before shuffling through the pages pulling out a very long list with James and Lily’s name at the top of it. “Read it.”

Lily groaned as she laid down on the couch, and thanked Remus when he brought over a pillow for her head. “What is going on?”

“You can read it next,” Sirius said. He was extremely angry, as well as scared for his best mate and his wife, along with the rest of the Order.

James began to read the paper, his head pounding, and his eye threatening to shut. After a while though he found himself more awake, he had not been able to read through these notes while he had been in the mansion, but they were making him angrier by the minute. “How the hell…” he said handing the paper to Lily before looking at Moony and Padfoot.

“We don’t know,” Sirius said. “We think there is a spy among us.”

Lily did not finish reading the paper as she looked at Sirius when he mentioned a spy. “But why?”

“We have no idea,” Remus said quietly looking at the red head. “It is the only way they could have obtained this information though.”

“Who would do it?” James asked suddenly looking at Remus and Sirius, his stomach knotting. He knew he could not suspect them, but he still could not shake that feeling, after all they could be under a spell.

“It’s not any of us,” Sirius said quickly looking at James. “Why would we come tell you if it was?”

“True,” Lily said before wincing at the pain in her side.

They all sat in silence for a while passing the papers along trying to put everything together. “Have you told the Order about these yet?” James asked quietly.

“No, we wanted to tell you first, since it seems they have a lot of information on us four over the rest of them,” Remus said looking over the notes about himself. “As well as Peter.”

James paused realizing the last quarter of their group was missing, “where is Wormtail?”

“Probably hiding under his bed,” Sirius said smartly. He was getting tired of Peter running out on battle at the last minute. Sirius felt that Peter should just stay at headquarters and take care of Order members when they returned hurt, he seemed to be able to handle that alright.

“We need to tell him,” James said tossing a piece of paper onto the empty loveseat before rising up from the couch stumbling a bit.

“James they can go, you stay here,” Lily said being able to read the pain and fatigue on his face.

“I will be fine, they can help me out, but I have to make sure he is okay, I haven’t seen him in a while,” James said with a forced smile since he was in pain, before leaning down to kiss her. “Let’s get you into bed eh?”

“That sounds great,” Lily said before sitting up with help from Remus and Sirius. They helped her into bed before leaving to get the television since she would probably be bored.

James stayed in the room, picking up Figaro and placing him in Lily’s lap, “I will be fine don’t worry,” he said quietly before kissing her. Once the television was in the room, he told his friends he would meet them in the living room.

Lily leaned back against the headboard running her hand gently over her bandaged lower half, and cringed a bit when she felt her hand sink a bit where her back was missing. “Gently,” she said as James came back over with her pajamas to help her change.

James made sure she was comfortable in bed and gave her the remote, “I should not be too late, you get some sleep.”

Nodding Lily grabbed the remote and petted the purring cat as she looked for something on TV, though she was already growing drowsy.

He could feel himself inches from passing out, but James managed to get back out the living room to greet his friends. “Let’s go,” he said before throwing his arms over Remus and Sirius’ shoulders.