The Art of War

'I told you that I loved you; that I'll always be here for you; that I will always stand behind you, ready to catch you if you fall. I lied.'

Chapter 1

Rain bounced high off the street, soaking everything it touched in seconds, as the crowd watched on to the scene in front of them enfold, transfixed in horror. The sky above was covered in a thick sheet of dark grey, almost black, clouds, covering the moon; the only light came from the faint orange glow of the streetlamps overhead.

So quickly that with a blink it would have been missed, the sky was lit up in poison green. Lightning, most would assume, but to those around had clearly seen the light come from the mans wand, along with the malicious smile that curled in the edges of his lips as he watched his victim fall like a puppet who's strings had been cut.

People began to scatter, running for their lives, away from the madman brandishing his killing stick. They could run all they wanted; if it was his wish he could kill them all in a heartbeat, but it wasn't his job tonight. He turned to the second victim, now pinned in the corner, a bakery on one side and the start of a long row of townhouses on her left.

'Lily, run!' she screamed, tears forming in her eyes as she stared her death in her face. 'Run!' she screamed one last time before the sky was once again lit up in that sickening green.

Not far away stood a lone spectator in the safety of the shadows, wishing that like most of the others around her she would forget what she saw soon, but knowing that she wouldn't. She winced as she heard a scream fill the air, and then continue to echo around the streets for minutes afterwards. She wanted to run; run away from it all, but where would she go. Her sister certainly wouldn't take her, especially if she had to tell her the bad news as well, but for the minute she would try not to think much about what she had just witnessed.

'Severus!' she whispered, before quickly rejecting the idea, deciding that her pride was more important that finding help at this moment in time.

Slowly, she began to walk forward, letting her feet carry her thought the rain, her clothes heavy, wet and sticking to her, her hair now drenched and hanging lifelessly around her face.

What would people think if they'd saw her? Would they think she was a run away for one reason or another who was looking for a roof under her head for the night, or that she simply enjoyed walking in the cold rain? Either way their guess would be anything but warm.

'Lily?'

At the familiar voice she turned her head around, telling her self over and over that if it wasn't for the situation she was in she would have just walked on.

'James?' she sighed.

'Are you . . . okay?' he took a few steps towards her until they were an arms length apart, but it was close enough for her to notice how the droplets of water in his usually messy hair seemed to light up in the artificial orange glow from the lamps, though she quickly shoved that thought to the back of her mind.

'Do I look that bad?' she replied, trying to both avoid the question and lighten the mood a little.

'You look like you're burdened with the worries of the world. Something up?' His voice showed his genuine care and she couldn't help but feel moved by how much he had noticed.

'I've had a tough day, I guess.'

'Do you want to talk about it?'

She couldn't help but feel shocked at how caring he was being, despite how cruelly she had treated him over the years. 'Maybe later,' she whispered, not trusting her voice as she tried forced the memories back into the box she locked them in, but at the rate they were coming out at she found herself fighting a losing battle and for the first time Lily Evans really broke down.

Tears came streaming slowly down her cheeks, and she let out a few stifled sobs. She can't remember how, but a few minutes later she found herself tucked in his arms, head pressed in his shoulder, staining the white material of his already soaking shirt with her salty tears. She felt safe.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered as soon as she had pulled her self together barely enough to focus and she tried to pull herself away from his, but found his arms–wrapped protectively around her–blocking her way. 'James . . .' she whispered again, trying once again to get away.

'Please, Lily, you at least owe me an explanation,' he said slowly, choosing his words carefully in an attempt to make her see things his way.

'Okay . . .'

xx

There was a log fire roaring in the fireplace; it reminded her of the Gryffindor Common Room. In fact, the whole room did, from the very comfortable looking crimson sofas placed around the fire to the luxurious ebony table sat in the back of the room with chair to match, a wizarding chess board on top of it, already set with two sets of soldiers, ready for battle. It had the same feeling of the Common Room she had called home for the part six years; it was warm to the point that you felt drowsy and had the homely feel to it that many tired hard to achieve and failed.

'Wow.' Lily couldn't help but sharply take a breath of the warm air in the room as she saw it; from the outside it looked like a simple townhouse, but inside it was so much bigger and grander. She should have expected as much, considering who lived there.

'I've lived in a world that magic exists in for six years, yet it never ceases to amaze me,' she said with a laugh.

'I know; I've lived in it my whole life and sometimes it's still rather overwhelming,' James replied from behind her, laughing quietly as he spoke. 'Make yourself at home. We're about to have supper, if you'd like to join my family and myself.'

'Oh, I'll come back another time the suits better, if you want,' she said quickly, looking down at her watch to see that it was already nine o'clock; with the recent events she hadn't noticed the time pass.

'No!' he answered quickly and quite harshly, before softening his voice again. 'If you leave you'll never come back and I won't get my explanation. Anyway, you look hungry, so I insist that you join us.'

'But I couldn't intrude like that,' Lily protested, thought not for the reason she had stated, she simply wanted to be alone with her thoughts to process the long day.

'Don't worry about it; we always have more than enough food, and mother and father have been eager to meet you for years.'

She didn't even have a chance to object before she was being dragged by the wrist back out of the living room, down the finely decorated hall and then thought another door into a dining room that followed the same colour scheme of the rest of the house. At the table sat three people; two middle age people, that she suspected were Mr and Mrs Potter, who were talking animatedly to none other that Sirius Black, resident class clown at Hogwarts.

'Look who will be joining us,' James announced as they entered, leading Lily to the only empty seat on the right of Mr Potter. 'I'll be back in a minute,' he said as soon as she had seated and turned to leave, but not before he caught the look from her that told him that she would give him hell for leaving her later.

'I wouldn't have it any other way,' he whispered, before hurrying out.

'So, Lily, what brings you to this end of London?' Sirius asked as if he were sitting in the Great Hall, talking to his friends over breakfast about their latest brush with Filch.

'I'd rather not talk about it,' she mumbled, casting her eyes downwards at the empty plate on the table.

'Lily, James has told us an awful lot about you,' Mrs Potter said with an encouraging smile to try and ease her obvious discomfort.

'He has?' Lily asked, not hiding the shock in her voice very well.

'Of course,' Mr Potter answered, miming his wife and giving her a fatherly smile. 'He's quite taken with you, my dear, and I must say that I can see why now.'

She cursed her tendency to blush as she cheeks turned from a faint pink thanks to the cold to a nice shade of cherry red because of Mr Potters comment. She could hear Sirius' sniggering at her embarrassment and sent a well-aimed kick to his shins that stopped the sniggers very effectively.

'That wasn't very nice.' His warm breath tickled her neck as he whispered in her ear, causing her blush to deepen to a blazing scarlet. 'Juliet will be here in a moment with supper,' James announced to his parents, before taking a seat in the chair Lily had missed him bring in, as well as another place setting for himself.

'Juliet?' Lily asked him quietly.

'Our maid; my parents are against house elves, and personally I don't blame them. She's worked here for as long as I can remember.'

xx

'Now, are you going to tell me about it?'

They were seated in a sofa away from the fire, while Mr Potter and Sirius placed chess and Mrs Potter sat on an armchair beside the fire, reading a thick hardback novel while a pair of knitting needles knitted what looked like the beginning of a black jumper in front of her.

'Do I have to?' she asked quietly.

'Well, the way I see it you have three options. One, I can drag it out of you. Two, you can tell me the bare minimum; enough to keep me happy. And three, you can trust me.'

'I trust you . . .'

'Then you can tell me anything.'

'It's my parents . . .'

'Are they okay?'

'They're . . . dead.' Her voice was barely audible, but the silence that suddenly enveloped the room told her that everyone had heard and she could feel them getting ready to pity her.

For the second time that night she found herself in the arms of James Potter, her head this time buried into his chest, but she ignored the discomfort in the angle that her neck was bent and enjoyed the feeling that there was still someone in the world that cared.

She didn't cry this time; she wouldn't allow herself. Her parents wouldn't want her to cry, and she had already shed enough tears over them for the night. She wanted to be strong, to keep living her life despite everything that had happened.

'What happened?' James asked in a soothing voice, loosing his grip a little so that she could move a little to answer without getting a mouthful of his shirt.

'Death Eaters.'

Disclaimer: If its not mine, i dont own it

Okay, so do you like it? Should I post more? Reviews are much welcomed. Good news if that, if you like it, I have up to chapter fourish written!

a word to all those suuuuffering from that dreaded writters blcok; a trip to Paris works wonders [: those sights & sounds, they're just amazing. heck, even if you don't have it, go!!!

& ill stop rambling now

review? 3?