Chapter One - James

It started without warning: one moment we were approaching a dodgy old wizarding pub on the north side of Liverpool, hoping to intercept an important message between two suspected Death Eaters, and the next we were fighting for our lives.

"It's a trap!" I shouted, raising my wand against the masked men who had unexpectedly surrounded us. We were quickly forced backwards into a dark alley, six Death Eaters pressing us hard. "Get behind me!" I could imagine them leering at us behind their masks. Was Avery one of them? Mulciber? Snape?

"I'm fine!" Lily shouted back as the battle began. She blocked the first curse easily, then cast her own at the largest of the brutes, grinning when he toppled over, legs locked stiff as a board. Even better: he hit his head on the ground with a resounding crack and would likely be down for a while.

"I'm fine, too, thanks for asking," called Sirius from my right. He took down another Death Eater and grinned, grey eyes flashing. It was still a dangerous situation, and I knew I shouldn't be enjoying it, but I couldn't help it: I grinned back.

Until I heard Lily's cry of pain, and the ring of Dante Avery's infuriating laughter.

Lily doubled over, clutching a bloody gash on her hip, and I felt my heart stop as I turned toward her. Sirius jumped in front of me to shield us both. "Are you all right?" I demanded, suddenly worried that this would be the fight we couldn't win, the battle we couldn't escape: the first and last time we failed.

She stood up slowly, back straight and green eyes filled with both pain and determination. "No, but I will be. We need to finish this first."

Merlin, she was strong. I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward me, careful of her injury and ignoring the jet of red light that snaked around Sirius and just missed us. "You're amazing," I told her, kissing her hard even as another spell crashed to the pavement behind us. "Marry me."

"What?" she asked. She pulled away, eyes wide in shock.

"What?" echoed Sirius, glancing over his shoulder in surprise.

"Not you," I snapped at him. "Sod off, Padfoot, I'm trying to propose."

Lily doubled over again, only this time she was apparently laughing. Sirius snorted as he turned back to the Death Eaters closing in on us, then swore as a Stinging Hex caught him on the forearm. He sent back a furious Impediment Jinx at the Death Eater who had hit him, sending him flying backward into a collection of rubbish bins.

I knew I should feel insulted by both of their reactions, but the intensity of the moment and the sheer impulsiveness of the words that had just popped out of my mouth suddenly hit me, and I grinned as well. I didn't laugh, though, because I meant it.

"I'm serious," I said when she stood up straight again. I cast a quick spell to relieve the pain of her injury. Sirius continued to shield us from the three remaining Death Eaters moving toward us. "And not because we're in the middle of another fight for our lives. I love you and I always want to be by your side."

"He's not bad in a pinch, Evans!" offered Sirius. He was concentrating on the nearest attacker, but still turned to wink at her. "And the rest of us approve." The distraction cost him: a brutal Cutting Curse caught him in the leg, and he stumbled badly. I barely caught him as Avery laughed once again.

Lily narrowed her eyes, raised her wand, and Stunned Dante Avery before I even had a chance to step forward.

"Then again, maybe he needs you more," Sirius remarked through gritted teeth. I had one arm around him to keep him upright. "Nice one, Lily."

"Thank you," she replied. She kissed me before turning back to the remaining two fighters. We took them quickly, leaving behind a street filled with unconscious enemies.

"Now, about that question," she said, turning to where I was still supporting Sirius. He glanced back and forth between us.

"Am I in the middle of something?" he murmured, trying to sound light, though his eyes were pinched with pain.

She laughed. "Don't worry, Sirius. I'm used to it. And at least you'll be the first to know."

"Is that a yes?" he asked. I held my breath for her answer.

She kissed me again, throwing her arms around my neck. "It is indeed. We're getting married."

"Brilliant," he replied. "I'll be there. Best man, right?"

"Of course," I replied, still a bit amazed at what had just happened. I had never intended to propose that way, but then again, it did seem that our relationship was full of those impulsive moments: sneaking out to Hogsmeade sixth year, our first kiss in the prefects' lounge seventh year. Even our first official date had been a spur-of-the moment picnic in the Come and Go room.

"Let's go," I said. "You both need St. Mungo's, and Dumbledore needs a report."

"And I need to congratulate the happy couple," said a voice behind us. We whirled, and to my everlasting horror he was there: Lord Voldemort, flanked by three more Death Eaters.

Sirius immediately raised his wand, but Voldemort flicked his wrist, and Sirius was ripped from my arms, crashing into the wall of the building ten feet behind us. I brought my wand up as Lily took a step toward Sirius, but we were both frozen in our places as Voldemort advanced toward us, batting our wands away like toys.

His face was hideous: his eyes were blood-shot and red, his skin pale and waxy. His nose was flat and misshapen, black hair shot through with white, and his thin lips were pulled back in a sneer. He felt unmistakably evil, and I couldn't help but shudder in spite of the Freezing Charm he'd placed on us. I glanced sideways at Lily, and found her returning my gaze, eyes wide.

Voldemort stopped in front of us, his Death Eaters deferentially hovering behind him. He waved his wand, releasing the spell he'd cast, then bound us instead with white ropes that immediately felt warm right through my clothing. His intent was clear: he was going to torture us before killing us. My only thought was how to get Lily out of there. Suddenly getting married did not seem nearly as important as surviving.

Another twist of the dark wizard's hand and I found that I could talk, as if he wanted to hear me beg. "Leave her alone," I spat, but he merely raised his pale eyebrows, a dangerous smile pulling at his lips. "Let her go."

"Oh, I have no intention of hurting you," he replied, and his voice was oddly hypnotic, so that I almost felt compelled to listen. "At least, not until we've had a chance to talk."

"Then why the ropes?" Lily demanded.

He didn't even look at her. The ropes glowed red in response, causing her to gasp in pain as the heat burned through her clothing. "Stop it!" I cried.

"I merely wanted to be certain you would listen," Voldemort replied, leaning close. "I have an offer for you, one you would be wise to consider."

"We don't want anything from you," I said, staring at him defiantly. "And there is nothing you can do to make us."

"So certain of that, are we?" Voldemort murmured. He walked away and said something to one of the Death Eaters who had accompanied him. The robed figure strode up to Lily and took her arm, dragging her away as I shouted at him to stop. He was not rough, however, and for some reason I had my suspicions. He stopped a few feet in front of me, his wand held to her side. She glared at him in return.

"What do you want?" I ground out, understanding the implication. Lily shook her head, but I would not see her harmed, not if I could stop it. Nothing mattered except for her.

Voldemort returned to stand before me; I could feel his rotten breath on my face and tried not to recoil. I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes so he would know I was not afraid.

"I want you, James Potter." He paused, perhaps to let me answer, but I didn't understand, and could only shake my head in confusion. He leaned closer, whispering in my ear.

"Join me, James," he said, and I immediately felt the bile rise in my throat at the very thought. "You are a pure-blood, and you are strong. We could use you in our fight to restore the wizarding world to what it once was."

I couldn't help my reaction: I looked at him and laughed, and it was probably the worst thing I could have done, because his face began to morph into something even uglier than before: disgusted and angry, perhaps even shocked that I would refuse. I was in trouble, but I would have my say first.

"You must be mad," I said, catching my breath. "I would never, to my last dying breath, join you. I don't believe in you or anything you stand for. You're insane to even think I'd consider it," I repeated.

Voldemort simply inclined his head, raised his wand, and cried, "Crucio!"

Lily fell to the ground, screaming in agony. I struggled toward her, but the ropes that bound me burned through my clothing and into my skin with every move. "Leave her alone!" I shouted, unable to bear the sound and sight of her torment, but willing myself not to look away like a coward. "If it's me you want, then take me."

Voldemort released the spell, and Lily lay in a heap, breathing heavily. The Death Eater guarding her glanced down as if surprised at the suddenness of the attack, then at Voldemort, who shook his head slightly. The man stepped back reluctantly.

"No James, I know you. I know your type." Voldemort began to circle me, like a dragon circling its prey. "You're getting married! You don't want to see her suffer." He paused to let his words sink in. "You would do anything for her."

"I would," I breathed, watching her with tears in my eyes. "Anything."

"Join me." Two simple words. Direct. Undeniable.

"No."

"You won't regret it." Voldemort stepped back and opened his arms, as if inviting me to into his sick, twisted vision. "We will forge a world better than any before us, where wizards rule with power, not cower in silence. Where pure-bloods are acknowledged as the rightful heirs to magic and Mudbloods know their place as baseborn inferiors."

"That's my fiancée you're talking about," I snapped. "A Muggle-born and the strongest, smartest witch in our year."

Voldemort turned back toward Lily and nodded at the Death Eater standing beside her. The masked man tried to pull her up, but she threw off his arm and rose on her own. Her lip was bleeding where she had likely bitten it, and she was holding her injured hip with a grimace, but her eyes blazed as she stared at Voldemort with fierce defiance.

Now he circled her, stopping to take her chin in his hands, studying her face, her eyes, her hair. "Powerful, but her blood is still impure," Voldemort finally said. "Leave her. You should mate with a woman who is worthy, who will bear you pure-blood heirs. Who will continue the Potter line with honor."

Lily twisted her head away, but he forced her eyes back to him. She looked terrified, and I struggled again against the ropes, ignoring the heat cutting through my clothes into my skin.

"Don't touch her!" I shouted. "Leave her alone."

"You are worthless, Lily Evans," he murmured, and her face slowly crumpled. "A Mudblood. You would bring shame upon any wizard who would have you. You should have never thought otherwise." A tear fell down her cheek, and I was more scared than I had been yet. How could she believe him? He was nothing, and she was everything.

Voldemort gave a low laugh and finally walked away from her. "I will not ask again. Join me," he said, his voice short and to the point. "Or you will both die."

"Then we die," I answered without hesitation

"You fight a losing battle," he said, almost sounding curious now. "With a woman who is not your equal. Why do you resist?"

"Because we can," I replied.

Voldemort studied me, red eyes narrowed to a slit, as if reading my mind. A part of me wanted to force him out, but another part wanted him to see that there was nothing inside me that would join him. Ever. He seemed to sense that, for he began to nod.

"James Potter, you are a fool…but fools can be broken."

He raised his arm, and I knew another curse was coming, but without warning Voldemort's wand flew from his hand, and he spun around with a growl. Sirius was on his knees, wand weakly raised in front of him. With an exhausted grin he sent another spell at me, releasing the burning ropes around my upper body, and I looked wildly for my wand as the furthest Death Eater cast a Severing Charm spell at me. It just barely caught my shoulder as I ducked and rolled toward my wand.

I grabbed it and cast a spell at Lily from where I lay, undoing the ropes that bound her as well. But she just stood there, gazing at me with a look on her face I couldn't read, didn't understand, but knew was wrong, all wrong. "Lily!" I shouted as I stood once more, blocking another curse. "Get your wand!"

Voldemort had Summoned his wand, and Sirius lay still and silent once more. There was no way I could hope to defeat Voldemort by myself, especially not with Lily standing as if in a trance. Yet for some reason he stood back and allowed the three Death Eaters who had accompanied him to approach me on their own, as if he merely wished to watch them weaken me before moving in for the final kill. I parried curses as fast as I could, finally hitting one of my opponents with a Full-Body Bind Curse. He collapsed, and it distracted the man next to him enough that I caught him with an Impediment Jinx right to the chest.

The third man finally moved forward and slashed the air with his wand; blood spouted from my upper thigh and I staggered. The sight of it seemed to bring Lily to her senses, and she finally stepped forward and caught the last Death Eater in the back with a Stunning Spell. He fell face first to the ground, and I could see long, black hair trailing down his neck. Lily frowned at the body, her defenses down, and Voldemort cast a spell, pulling her toward him as if with an invisible rope.

"I am impressed. I will have you, James Potter-one way or another!" He laughed cruelly as Lily watched me with dead eyes, his wand at her throat. "If she is that important to you, then you must find her-see if she is worth it."

I was injured, tired, and weak, but I shouted my defiance as I leapt toward him and grabbed onto his cloak before he Apparated away. I was certain to be Splinched, if not killed instantly, but I could not let him take her.

We were supposed to get married, after all-and nothing would stop us, not even him.

Voldemort stumbled as we reappeared. I went rolling to the ground, grinding my teeth in pain as I scrambled away. My right foot was Splinched, and it was bad. I'd known it would happen, but I had to chance it. He couldn't have her.

I forced myself to stand and face him once more, though I could feel my leg wanting to give way beneath me. Voldemort nodded. "Interesting," he murmured. "You've made your choice then-let's see how long you can live with it." He held his wand to Lily's throat, and a jet of pale blue light seeped into her skin. She shuddered, falling unconscious in his arms. He let her fall to the ground.

"No!" I cried. I began casting curses at him, but he blocked them easily and fired in return, forcing me backwards spell by spell. We were on a windy cliff somewhere, anywhere, and the edge was quickly growing nearer and nearer. His spells were strong; how I managed to block any of them I had no idea. I was quickly growing exhausted.

"Lily!" I shouted, hoping she could hear me over the sound of our furious duel. She had regained consciousness and was sitting on the ground, head between her knees as if she were sick, but when I called her name, she glanced up and frowned, a terrified look on her face.

"Get out of here!" I yelled. "Get to St. Mungo's, I'll meet you there!" I knew perfectly well I was in no shape to Apparate, but I had to tell her something, make her leave. I was going to die on that cliff and I did not want her to be there. I glanced behind me: ten feet to the edge. I was determined to end it on my own terms; perhaps I might even survive the fall.

"You cannot win, Potter," Voldemort said, his voice infuriatingly calm. "Surrender or you will die, one way or another."

"I would rather die," I grated out, gasping for breath.

"Then I have already helped you achieve your goal," he replied enigmatically. I raised my wand. This was it. I was going to die.

I stepped to the brink of the cliff as Lily stood up. Her eyes widened when she saw me on the edge of the precipice; she knew what I meant to do. I desperately wanted to give her one last smile, but I did not let my face betray my plan. I only hoped she would understand.

Yet I should have known she would not let me: Lily finally stepped forward and cried, "Expulso!"

The ground in front of Voldemort violently exploded, showering him with debris. He whirled on Lily, but she ran past him and crashed into me. We hurled over the side of the cliff, a jet of red light disappearing over the waters stretched out beneath us. We plunged toward the rocky surf below, but Lily shut her eyes, twisted with all her might, and we Disapparated, clinging fiercely to one another but alive.

End Notes:

Thank you to Lea for reading this over and my flist for answering questions as I wrote. This is a bit different than most of the Hogwarts-era James/Lily stories I've written (and I still have quite a few more to share), so I hope you are not frightened away. Reviews are so, so appreciated when an author tries something different!