A/N: Dun dun dun. The beginning of a short Multi-chap from me. Yes, I hear your cries, I do have another one that I have not updated recently, but OHAH is my baby, and I want to take my time to put my best into it. This is quite different in many ways.
What you need to know:
It is a Lily/James fic, after they've left Hogwarts; they're part of the Order of the Phoenix. They're not married here just yet.
You may find it a little odd that Lily's name is not mentioned once in this prologue, but it was for a challenge where I had to convey a chapter/story without using the person's name.
So please enjoy :)
Prologue
Winter: numb fingers and cold cheeks that sting, your clothes more water than cloth. Cold air that takes your breath away as you dodge past puddles which are stationed in attempt to freeze your toes. Gusts of wind which throw you back, your hair flying behind you like a sopping wet cape woven of fire.
But you remain focused on your target; your emerald eyes zoning in on the tall cloaked figure as he walks briskly some yards ahead of you, his feet crushing frost tinted leaves, remnants of an old autumn day.
Your heart beats wildly in your chest as he abruptly stops and slowly turns around. Your back collides with a stone wall as you instinctively fling yourself against it in concealment.
Seconds pass before you hear the confirming crunch that marks his departure. Slowly but steadily you peek out from behind your hiding place, determined not to lose focus on this wanted man, this Death Eater.
His hastened steps lead you to a forest; you scramble through cold frosted shrubbery, praying that your concealment charms haven't worn off. Sometime during this hour long chase-come-hike, you remind yourself that you were chosen to take on this mission. Dumbledore had selected you because you are capable.
But winter's charm is throwing you off; gale force winds forcing you to blink and your eyes feel stung by icicles. The cars you once passed, which repelled water in tidal waves, are long left behind on water woven, treacherous roads. Instead, they are replaced with trees which fly past your vision in a gloomy blur as you make your way up the even more treacherous path, the evil leading the determined.
It is a half hour later when he seems to have reached his destination, and if it was not frozen by both fear and cold, your body would have slumped in relief.
But there is no relief yet, this is the important part. You watch with well trained eyes as he points his wand at the stump of a tree and draws a pattern in the air; left, right, down. You store this in your mind, for it is vital information.
Your knees tremble in anticipation as the trees before him suddenly stop, still and motionless. It is a frenzied scene before you; at once everything is stationary, and then slowly the trees begin to move by magic, systematically clearing the path to reveal a small hatch of an entrance. The Death Eater slowly moves forward and his hood gets blown back whilst doing so. You are now close enough to see his hair, long and black; it sways through the wind much like yours, which is still blowing copiously, an untamed fire.
The Death Eater breathes, his exhalation emanating a harsh steam which engulfs his surroundings. Slowly he makes toward the hatch and lifts it up with a hand as pale as the frost which surrounds him.
And then he is gone. You dared not attack him, not here, the potential base of his fellow Death Eaters and possibly even Voldemort himself. But courage possesses you to come out from behind the trees and step forward, your hands reaching out before you.
Your assumptions are correct, as soon as your fingers reach out, they cross an invisible barrier, and your hand begins to sting with pain.
But you gather yourself and shut your eyes, apparating somewhere safe, leaving behind the freezing cold drizzle which pierces your skin like arrows.
You are satisfied with the information you have retrieved. With animated gestures, you recall the night's events to your boyfriend, James, as he stands above you, drying your sopping wet hair and smiling with amusement.
Tonight, you are encased in the warmth of your home and your lover, a shelter from the navy skies, glacial winds, and dark times which lay ahead.
A/N: Just so you know, the rest of this will not be in second person. Please review with any constructive critistism, questions, theories, etc! :D