The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part One

Interrupting Voldemort's Dastardly Plans

At the flat in East London, Lily Evans let out a scream.

Remus and Sirius looked up.

Sirius had been mid-way through explaining what he'd learned from Frank Longbottom at the pub that afternoon, and Remus was asking questions, and Sirius was in the midst of defending himself from having not asked those particular questions, when suddenly, out of absolutely no where, Lily had screamed and doubled over on the couch, clutching at her chest.

"Evans?"

"Lily!"

"LILITH!"

"Lily, what's the matter?" Remus's voice was commanding and calm, good in the situation.

"LILITH ANSWER US DARLING!!!" Sirius's was the opposite.

"I -" Lily was shaking, "Oh gods. I don't know what's happening!" she was sobbing, "Oh gods, I don't know what's happening." She was on her knees, grabbing onto Remus, her eyes wild with concern and fear. "Help him."

"Help who?" Remus asked.

But Lily couldn't put words to what she was feeling... It didn't make sense... None of it made sense. She felt dizzy and sick, as though she could feel her heart beating in her head, and she clutched Remus for stability as he held her.

He looked up at Sirius in fear.

James had no plan. He had no idea what he was going to do, how he would do it, what he would accomplish, or how he would get out of the theater once he'd done whatever it was. He knew only one thing. Jasper Odair had been through enough - and he wasn't going to stand in the shadows of some manky old theater and watch Voldemort, the old wanker, put him through another moment of it.

He was on the stage before he'd fully processed any of what he was doing at all, tearing away the invisibility cloak.

He heard the gasp of the people in the audience because with the cloak off, they could see him as he came up behind Voldemort, who had not noticed his arrival yet, whose back was turned.

If only his back hadn't been turned, perhaps James could've finished him off that very night.

"Expelliarmus!" James waved his wand and the stick flew from the young death eater's hand, flying across the floor and skidding off under the seats.

Jasper swung over the stage, a living pendulum, and Voldemort turned about, whirling to face James with a look of surprise on his face. "Hullo again," James said, then raised his wand again. A force like a shove pushed Voldemort backward, making him stumble, but not actually fall. From the floor, Bellatrix let out a shriek of indignation and shot a spell at James that he neatly deflected with a swipe of his hand as he advanced again toward Voldemort.

People were screaming, spells flying from upraised wands that dotted the dark crowd, but somehow they all missed, the sparks screaming 'round him as James walked straight up, straight up to Voldemort himself and, looking him in those red horrible eyes, he slashed the air with his wand and the bindings 'round Jasper Odair and Benjy Fenwick released. Neither had far to fall to the floor.

Voldemort hissed.

Some spell hit James in the back and he was pushed forward, crashing into Voldemort, and the pair of them fell to the stage floor, James quickly rolling away before Voldemort had even really pieced together the fall.

Fabian Prewett pulled James up. "What the bloody hell are you doing here, Potter?" he asked.

"Besides interrupting Voldemort's dastardly plans, that is?" Gideon, who was right behind his brother asked. They were back-to-back, tag-teaming, defensive spells flying from their wands. In the audience, there was a great disturbance halfway back through the seats where more spells were shooting from the midst - a path being cleared as Edgar Bones made his way through the throngs of death eaters, casting shields and stunners left and right.