The Patronus Charm- A Lily and James Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Three: Battles and Memory Charms

"Here's a present for James," Dorea says with a smile as she passes out the presents from under the tree.
There's a small pile at my feet. I've never gotten this many presents before. My family is tiny and I've only ever had a couple of friends before this year. My parents work hard at their jobs, but there still isn't a ton of money left over. It doesn't help that they're paying for Petunia's wedding.
"What do you think Reg sent me?" Sirius asks, gesturing to a badly wrapped present. "I'm half afraid to open it."
"I don't think you should open it, mate." Remus admits.
"We'll open it together, so that we can hex it into obviation if needed." Charlus suggests.
"So why is Regulus sending you a present?" I ask Sirius.
"Honestly, Flower, I haven't got the slightest idea."
We all point our wands at the present. Charlus mutters a spell and the package starts unwrapping. Something shoots out at us. It's too fast to see what it is.
"Stupefy!" I shout.
The object falls to the floor with a heavy thud.
"What is that?" Dorea asks.
"I don't know," Charlus shakes his head. "I've ever seen one before. Nobody touch it! It could be cursed."
"James, get me a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them!" Dorea instructs.
"Erm, my copy is at Hogwarts."
"I've got one in my bag." I exclaim. "Accio Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them!"
The book flies into room. I pass it to James' mum.
"Thanks, dear." She opens the book and starts scanning the pages. "It almost looks like a Doxy, but it's not black and hairy. It's not a fairy or pixie either."
"It has a stinger like a Billywig, but those are from Australia. They'd be hard to get here, right?" I say, pointing to the stinger on the bottom.
"I think someone's been doing a bit of illegal cross-breeding." Charlus declares. "Sirius, how would your brother have gotten this?"
Sirius shakes his head and takes a deep breath. "Regulus is a Death Eater."
"Are you sure, Sirius? That's a serious allegation."
"Mother told me." Sirius says with a look of disgust.
"Are you sure? Walburga is known for trouble."
"Bellatrix mentioned it too. She wouldn't lie like that. She knows how to get under people's skin."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Sirius."
All the Christmas spirit is long gone. It seems this Christmas is hard on everyone. Remus, James and I, and Sirius.
"Let's open presents."
I unwrap the first one from Marlene. It's a book about the history of wizarding in North America. I've been wanting to read up on it for ages. Suddenly, I remember why Marlene isn't here. She's in the hospital instead, with a paralysed leg.
"Sirius, is there any news on Marlene?" I ask as I set her present to the side.
"Besides she bit my head off when I got to visit her?" Sirius scowls. "I don't know what she expects me to do!" He sighs, "they've decided on a long time treatment and she'll be in a brace for the rest of Hogwarts."
"Sirius, relax." James says.
"Let's open presents and forget about her for the moment." Sirius declares with so much anger that I don't dare try to contradict him.
Remus got me a bunch of books of charms. James' parents got me a photo album to fill with pictures from our final year at Hogwarts.
James hands me a box. "Open it."
I carefully open the box. Inside, there's a beautiful locket on a chain. I pick it up and study it. The engraving on the front is a doe and a stag. Our Patronuses.
"Open the locket," he whispers in my ear.
My fingers grasp the tiny clasp and I open the locket. There's a picture of James and I dancing on during the Christmas Ball. There are tiny words on the other side: I love you, Lils. -James.
I set the locket down and throw my arms around his neck. "Thank you, James!"
"You're welcome, Lils. Thanks for the broom servicing kit."
"I wasn't sure what to get you." I mumble.
"It's great, Lily. Honestly! My broom looks terrible after that last Quidditch match! We played through a blizzard."
There's another loud bang and someone comes stumbling out of the fireplace. The person straightens up and looks around for a moment. It's Alice.
"Alice?" James asks.
She nods. "I've got bad news. There's another attack. Frank sent me here." she pants. "My parents left too."
Charlus gets up. "Alice, where is the attack?"
"On my street!" she exclaims.
"Alice, I want you to stay here with everyone, do not go home or anywhere else until we return. Is anyone at the attack?"
"My cousins."
"Alright, stay here."
James' parents disappear with a handful of Floo Powder.
Alice looks pale and faint. She starts rocking from side to side. Suddenly, she starts falling. Remus manages to catch her just before she hits the ground.
Remus sets her down and checks her pulse. "She's okay, but I think she just fainted."
"I can revive her or do you think we should just let her rest?" I ask.
"Rest. Her boyfriend and family are fighting. She'll be a nervous wreck if she wakes up right now." James advises.
"We should be fighting," Sirius declares.
I shake my head. "No, as much as I agree. We should stay out of it. We have no actual field training. We'd only be in the way. Besides, someone has to stay with Alice."
"Si, she's got a point. Plus, how would Marlene feel if she found out that you went into a fight and could have gotten killed. It wouldn't help your relationship." Remus adds.
Sirius looks annoyed for a moment, then sighs. "Fine."
"Sirius, I want to fight too." James declares.
I shake my head. "Fine, go get blown up. I'm gonna stay here and make sure Alice wakes up."
"Lils, you want to fight too." James points out.
"Yes, I do, but I can't walk into a fight and just start shooting spells. Maybe you don't remember this, but I do. I am a mudblood. I've been under Crucio before. I've been attacked at Hogwarts. Do you think in a real fight it would be any different?" I demand.
"Then why do you want to be an Auror?"
"Because, then I can make a difference! We aren't even out of school yet, we'd make great targets, but if you want to go, go, cuz I can't stop you!" I turn and walk towards Alice. I point my wand at Alice.
Alice sits up slowly. "I fainted, didn't I?"
"Yes," I say. "Now, would you mind talking sense into them?" I quickly explain the situation to Alice.
"I think we should go!" Alice announces.
"WHAT?"
"I think we should go." Alice repeats. "I'm sure we could make a difference."
"Let's go then." James says.
Remus looks hesitant, but grabs his wand and gets up.
I bite my lip and look at them for a moment. They're my best friends. I'm in love with James. Letting them go without me doesn't seem right. As much as I think this is unwise, I know that they'll need my help. I grab my wand and stand up. I point it at them and start muttering spells. "We're gonna need this." I say to them.
"You're coming?" James asks.
I nod. "You'll need me to watch your back."
We finish placing as many charms as possible on ourselves and stand in front of the fire.
"Where should we Floo to?" Remus asks.
"My house," Alice says.
We each grab a handful of Floo Powder. "Alice's house." I say determinedly as I step into the flames.
I step out of the fireplace, coughing up soot. My clothing is covered in black soot and ashes. I look out the window. Outside, there's a battle raging on. Curses are flying. I see the green streaks that can only mean one thing. The killing curse. Death.
"How bad is it out there?" Sirius asks.
"I can see killing curses. There's a lot of Death Eaters out there."
"Let's go." James says.
"We could turn back," Remus says softly. "It's not too late."
"No, we're here now, so let's go."
"If we survive this and get in trouble, I'm blaming Sirius." I state firmly.
We carefully make our way out of the house. Curses fly around us and adrenaline is pumping through my veins.
Suddenly, a Death Eater stumbles forward. "Children." he laughs. "They send children to fight us?"
James shouts, "stupefy!"
The man falls to the ground, stunned.
I look at him for a moment, before pointing my wand at his head. "Obliviate." I whisper.
"Did you?" James gasps.
"I performed a memory charm," I hiss. "It will save lives."
"It's not allowed at school." Alice mutters.
"We're not at school, Alice. We're in the real world, fighting for our lives."
Alice nods.
"Where is the best place to be?"
"Where the action is." Sirius states with a crazy grin that can only be considered the mental Marauder grin.
"Alright." I nod.
We crouch against the fence and move quickly around the side of Alice's large house. I watch for curses and mutter a few spells under my breath.
Once we make it to the edge of the fence, just around the corner, where the battle is happening, we stop. I shake slightly. James leans over and takes my hand and kisses me for a moment. "Stay close to me," he says as he pulls away from the kiss and touches his forehead to mine.
"Always," I breathlessly promise.
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Hi again! I know this chapter wasn't what most of you expected, but I realized that since James and Lily managed to defy Voldemort three times before their deaths, that it would have to begin at some point. So, that being said, I'd love a few ideas about the battle. Any good spells that I can use? That sort of stuff. Will something bad happen? Give me some ideas :)
After the next chapter, I promise we'll get back to the plan I mentioned earlier.
Thanks guys. Love to hear from u!