Chapter One

Some would say that it began on a cold September 1st, others on a damp day in June; some would even go as far as saying a sunny day in mid-November. Most, however, would tell you that it started on October 31st, otherwise known as James Potter and Lily Evan's fifth Halloween at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

James Potter was scurrying down the great marble staircase that emerged from the Great Hall, his Invisibility cloak thrown lazily over himself and a wand in his left hand. As he descended the stairs, he glanced repeatedly at his watch, a habit that he had developed on nights like this. It was just past 11:00, and no one else appeared to be roaming the castle, much to his liking.

He bounded silently across the entrance hall and skidded through the massive oak doors, which had been propped open thanks to his friend Peter Pettigrew. As he stepped into the chilly night air, he slid the cloak off of him and tucked it away behind a bush near the end of the steps. Almost soundlessly, he walked away from the entrance to the school and over to the Whomping Willow, currently swaying slowly in the breeze. He spotted Peter and his best friend, Sirius Black, sitting a little ways away from the tree, both of them already in their Animagus forms, clearly waiting for James.

Sirius, now a great black dog, gave him a howl of greeting as he approached them, and James couldn't help but grin. "Hey to you, too, Padfoot," he whispered into the night, taking his wand and sliding it under a hedge. He stretched out his arms and legs and took a deep breath. "Sorry I was late, I had to try and dodge-"

The oak doors gave a mighty lurch and instantly, Sirius and Peter had darted off and hidden in the dark, leaving James to stand by himself like an idiot. He cursed under his breath about leaving his cloak so close to the castle, and turned to face the school again.

"Potter!" The voice echoed throughout the grounds, hitting James like a slap in the face.

Lily Evans stopped on the stairs and glared at him, her green eyes shining. She had her hands placed haughtily on her hips, and one of her eyebrows was raised in a deeply interrogative way.

"Evans!" James whooped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He glanced behind him to make sure that neither of his friends were sticking about, then waved hello to her. "Fancy meeting you here, eh?"

"What – the – bloody – hell – are – you – doing!?" she demanded, hopping off of the staircase and stomping over to him. "Roaming around the grounds in the middle of the night? Do you want to get expelled?"

"Of course not. I was just…well, I couldn't sleep, and Longbottom's snoring was getting really annoying, so I decided to take a stroll." He held his hands up innocently. "Look, I know you're in prefect mode and everything, but just hear me out, okay? I wasn't doing anything illegal-"

"It's past nine. You're breaking the rules."

He stared at her, seemingly at a loss for words. "Lily, I will pay you ten Galleons to just go back up to the common room and pretend this never happened-"

"Oh, no." She pulled her wand out of her cloak pocket and pointed it threateningly at him. "You're coming back up to the castle with me, and McGongall will certainly hear about this. I might even decide to tell her that you and Black were sneaking firewhiskey up into your dormitories last weekend, but only if you cross me on the way up."

"But-"

"Shut it." She beckoned him forward and he had no choice but to obey. "Honestly, you and your little pack are so ignorant to the rules. Why can't you just behave like everyone else? Set a few good examples for the younger students? Do you understand that they look up to you? God knows why, as you're just an idiotic prat with about as many brains as a tree. Sometimes I really do wonder how you even made it this far in school; it still surprises me Dumbledore didn't expel you after you temporarily blinded that Slytherin sixth year in our third year…."

He let her ramble on, partly for the sake of hearing her talk, but mostly so he could cast a few glances backwards and catch Sirius snarling at him before slipping under the Whomping Willow after Peter. Guilt bubbling up inside him, he followed Lily back up to the common room, making a mental note to retrieve his cloak in the morning.

"Devil's Snare," Lily whispered to the Fat Lady, who was dozing off in her painting. When she didn't respond, Lily cleared her throat and said, in a slightly louder voice, "Devil's Snare."

"What is it with you students and prowling around at night?" the Fat Lady grumbled as she swung open to reveal the portrait hole. "No respect these days…."

Lily looked behind her to give James a dirty look, then proceeded to march over to one of the tables near the back of the room and grab a quill and piece of paper. "Just making a note to remind myself to report to McGonagall tomorrow. I'd do it now, but I wouldn't want to wake her. I, much unlike you, have respect towards teachers and rules."

He sighed, feeling rather gloomy now that he had missed getting to spend the evening with his friends. "Yeah, whatever."

She looked up at him as she scribbled, frowning. "What's up with you?"

"Me?" He pointed to himself, and she nodded with a roll of her eyes. "Nothing. Why?"

She folded the note up and placed it in her pocket. "You usually waste every second you have with me by asking me out," she said, eyeing him carefully. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course." He attempted to think up a clever joke to distract her with, or even a witty compliment, but he was too disappointed with how the night was going to actually go through with it. "Well, if you're all done with me, I think I'll head back up to bed."

"Right." She gave him one last searching look before starting off towards her dormitory.

"'Night, Evans!" James called half-heartedly after her, and made his way to his own four-poster. Frank Longbottom was indeed snoring rather loudly, and James let out a disgruntled sigh before throwing himself on his bed and closing the hangings.

The next morning, the entire castle would be gossiping about James Potter and Lily Evan's late night adventure, making up ridiculous and slightly inappropriate stories about what they had been doing before entering the Gryffindor common room at midnight.

I really hope you liked it! Please don't hesitate to leave me a review and give me some feedback; I'd love to hear what you have to say! I understand that this chapter was very short, but the next few will definitely be longer! Have a good day/night! xo