Hey everybody! I know I'm a little late. I said two weeks max, and here I am two weeks and two days later. I'm sorry. My editor took his time, but it was not his fault for they, infact, did finish by the deadline I set, but I on the other hand... was too lazy to post it. So once again, I'm sorry.

This is the first chapter of my new story, since I bailed on my other one. The chapters in this story will be shorter, and hopefully faster. I have nearly forty pages written already, so I shouldn't have to worry about deadlines so much... just my laziness. Which happens to be great some days, so if you would please be patient, but encourage me, it would be greatly appreciated.

So I hope you like it. I would love to hear what you think of it. Although i prefer good thoughts and constructive critizism, I do allow flames. Your opinion is yours, and i accept that and appreciate your thoughts. I also won't berate you if you just read and don't review. I'm not gonna be a review nazi anymore.

Lol, that was rather long winded. I'm sorry. So here it is, and I hope you enjoy it!

Beginnings and Ends

"Lily, are you going to leave us again?" a sweet child's voice asked sadly.

A sixteen year-old loped gracefully over, scooped up the small five-year-old girl, and sat the girl on her knee as the child's twin sister stood next to them, looking up intently at the redheaded young woman.

Lily Evans, a muggle-born witch, had been informed five years previously that she had magical powers. Ever since, she had attended a special school, Hogwarts. She had, of course, been told of her abilities nearly a year prior to receiving her letter by a boy who became one of her best friends. However, she at first hadn't believe him.

Two years later, her next door neighbor gave birth to two beautiful twin girls, Sheila and Delilah Hopkins. Their mother, who had watched Lily for Mrs. Evans when she was little, employed Lily to watch over the twins while she and her husband were at work. Every summer, when Lily would return from Hogwarts, although everyone believed her to be off at a prestigious boarding school which was partially true, she would baby-sit the girls.

The Hopkins were the only ones in the neighborhood that approved of Lily besides her parents and the boy, Severus Snape. They all believed she was much too odd to be accepted in normal society, even though they didn't know her secret. Even her own sister, who used to be her best friend, despised her, but for other reasons besides the obvious.

Lily looked down at the two and chuckled. They were so alike, but so different. Both had cute curly blonde hair, pale skin, and striking blue eyes. They were the same height and shared features like their mother's button nose and their father's large feet. But Sheila was loud and obedient while Delilah was quiet and mischievous.

Sighing, Lily replied, "Yes, Sheila. The day after tomorrow, I shall be heading off to boarding school again," The girls looked downtrodden, "But don't worry. I'll come back soon for Christmas. I always do, don't I?" The twins seemed to brighten at this.

"I'm going to miss you!" Sheila cried.

"You'll write to us, won't you?" the other insisted.

"Of course I will!" the redhead promised, knowing she would have to send them via her mother. It had been the process last year, since the girls had learned to read.

"Hooray! Your school sounds so fun!" Sheila exclaimed.

"I hope we can go there someday," the other added dreamily.

Lily laughed, but had a wary expression on her face, and her voice was reserved when she responded, "Perhaps one day," Although she knew that day would most likely never come unless a miracle happened. Presently, in the midst of the girls' joy, the front door swung open to admit a weary looking creature inside.

"Hello, Mrs. Hopkins," Lily greeted kindly as the twins rushed over to hug their mother.

"Hello, girls! Hello, Lily! Would you like some pizza? I called it in," the woman offered, setting down her things and plopping down onto the fluffy couch.

"Oh, no thank you. I think my sister is having Vernon over tonight, and I'm being forced to attend,"

"That whale?! Honestly Lily, I don't know what your sister sees in that boy,"

"He's fat!" Sheila cried, disgusted.

"And ugly," Delilah added.

"And mean!" they finished together. Lily laughed and Mrs. Hopkins couldn't help but grin a little.

"Now, now, girls, it's not polite to say things like that," she scolded, then muttered to herself, "No matter how true they are,"

"You look tuckered out, Mrs. Hopkins. How about I take the girls over to the playground for a bit?" Lily offered as the woman yawned.

"Yes, that sounds good, Lily. Thank you,"

"I'll be sure to have them back before the pizzas arrive!" she called as the twins dragged her out the door.

Being at the playground brought back many fond and some not-so-fond memories. This was where she and Petunia used to laugh and play on days like these. It was where she first did magic without knowing it. It was where she met the boy who explained to her what she was, although she didn't really believe him until she got her letter. She had lost her best friend here, and gained another. Lily sometimes felt guilty about what she was. Her sister hated her for it, and there were people in the magical world who didn't exactly love her for being muggle-born.

Up until this summer, Lily and Severus would come here during the summer to talk and finish up their summer homework. She wondered where he was now, and what he was doing. Lily hoped he wasn't stuck at home with his arguing parents, but some part of her knew that he probably wasn't. He was probably off somewhere with his Death Eater pals. A fact that made Lily feel sick and wish that he really was home.

She sat there on her favorite swing, filled with so many memories, watching the girls run and play. Suddenly she was pulled from her reverie by a soft tap on her shoulder. Lily spun around, nearly toppling off her swing, to come face-to-face with none other that Severus Snape himself; seeing him there caused Lily to scream and fall backwards to the ground. As the greasy-haired boy went to help her up, Sheila called, "Hey Lily! Are you alright?"

Lily smiled reassuringly at them as she took the boy's hand, "I'm fine, just lost my balance, that's all," the girls shrugged and went back their play, and Lily stood up to look Severus in the eye menacingly, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk… to apologize,"

"I thought we went over this already, Sev. I can't keep making excuses for you, and we should go our separate ways. Remember?"

"Yeah, but, Lily, I'm not happy that way, and don't you pretend for one second that you are because I know you're not. I can see it in your eyes,"

Lily sighed, "Of course I'm not happy with it, Sev, but it's the way things have to be,"

"No, Lily, we can… agree to disagree!"

"Severus… I'm sorry, but I just can't ignore the things you and your so-called friends are doing!"

"Lily," he pleaded.

"No, Sev… I'm sorry," she replied sadly, "Come on girls, time to go home now," the boy watched sadly as the three girls stalked off down the lane.

"What was that all about, Lily?" Delilah asked.

"Nothing, D'," Lily assured, using her pet name for the girl, "Just a reunion between two old friends,"

"He looked really upset," Sheila commented.

"I think he likes you," Delilah said frankly.

"Girls!" the redhead laughed, "You two are so nosy! Not to mention your incredibly wild imaginations," The three talked and laughed all the way home.

Later that evening, Lily was setting the table in preparation for dinner with Vernon, and listening to her sister drone on and on about how perfect he was with the occasional snipe at her to not mess things up for her or she would never speak to her again.

'Yeah, 'cause you do a whole lot of that anyway,' the redhead thought resolutely, sighing to herself.

"What are you over there huffing about?" Petunia snapped.

"Nothing, Tuney,"

Lily's mother sent her an understanding smile. Petunia's monologue was cut short by the loud ringing of the doorbell. As the dark- haired girl ran over to allow her boyfriend entrance, the redhead muttered exasperatedly to her mother, "I swear, we need to have that doorbell disconnected whenever he comes over… I'm going deaf!"

Marigold smiled, but pointed out, "Then he'd have to knock, and I'm not sure we can afford a new door right now,"

Lily sighed dejectedly as Vernon entered with her father and sister trailing behind. There wasn't enough room in the doorway for anyone to pass the whale. She had to stifle a laugh as everyone took their seats (she was sure she heard Vernon's chair whine under the stress).

Dinner dragged by with the conversation centering mainly on Vernon and purposely leaving out Lily. She didn't mind much, though. She was afraid that if she did speak she would say something rude. Lily and Vernon had met before, and, though neither had said it, the two greatly disliked each other. The girl had tried to be kind for her sister's sake, but her attempts went unnoticed, so Lily contentedly gave up. The silence suited her because, apart from being able to inwardly laugh at Vernon's piety unnoticed, she was able to fantasize about Hogwarts and the magical world. So naturally, Lily was extremely shocked when the whale addressed her.

"What? I'm sorry; my head was in the clouds,"

"Vernon asked you where you planned on going to college, Lils," her father supplied with a meaningful gaze.

"Oh! Um… I haven't decided yet. I'm still sending in applications," she feigned, avoiding Petunia's glare. Vernon grunted and continued droning on about himself.

Lily was grateful when dinner was over. She quietly excused herself to her room after finishing the dishes. She had no desire to sit and listen to more of Vernon's self-righteous chatter over coffee. The girls hated coffee anyway. After making sure the front door had closed behind the large boy, Lily allowed herself to drift off to sleep, dreaming happily of Hogwarts and the trip to Diagon Alley she would set off on tomorrow morning to acquire her school supplies.

Lily woke up late for the last time that summer, and immediately got ready to go to London. She gave her parents a wave and a kiss on her way out to her car, which she was finally allowed to drive. The girl cheerfully drove herself into the city and parked in front of a general store. It was a mile or so away from the Leaky Cauldron, but it was also the closest free parking lot. So Lily walked the last ten minutes through the busy streets of London. She finally spotted the pub, invisible to muggles, and walked straight out the back door with a smile and a wave towards the barman, Tom.

Once in the back alley, she touched her wand to the bricks, watching the marketplace unfold magically in front of her. Even after five years, Lily was still in awe of the place. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she set off immediately to the farthest shops, planning to work her way back. Lily hadn't expected many wizards or witches to be there this early, but was proven otherwise. Magical folk clamored about the displays in small droves, but droves nonetheless.

Consulting her list, Lily purchased two new textbook, some potion ingredients, and a new set of robes because hers were becoming quite small and shabby. She had finished all of her necessary shopping just in time for lunch, so she stepped into the pub for a quick bite, planning to browse a bit more before heading home. However, the sight that met her eyes upon entering the pub was not quite what she had expected. Two pairs of eyes looked up from their mugs as Lily approached.

"Well, hello ladies," she greeted, smiling.

"Hey! Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful," a stormy- eyed, black-haired boy retorted, grinning.

"Lily! What a pleasant surprise!" a girl with russet skin, blue eyes, and silky jet black hair exclaimed joyfully, with a bit of a Scottish accent.

"So, what? Did you two come here together?" Lily inquired, puzzled.

"Nah, James is grabbing some gold from Gringotts, so I decided to wait in here, but imagine my surprise when I walk in to find this doll sitting here all alone. Well, you know me; I couldn't just let her sit there. Of course I had to come bug her a bit!" Sirius explained smirking.

Lily rolled her eyes, "So Potter's here, eh?"

"Yup, and if you're that desperate to see him, he should be waltzing in any minute now. In fact, for a moment there, we thought you were him,"

"I was actually just on my way home, thanks," she lied, preparing to leave.

"But Lily, you can't go yet! You only just got here!" the dark-haired girl cried.

"Actually, Alecia, I got here a while ago,"

"Well, yeah, but I haven't seen you all summer! You can come help me shop!"

"…Oh fine!" the redhead groaned, giving into her friend's puppy-dog face.

"Yay!" the two dark-haired children exclaimed together.

"What are you cheering about, Black?"

"I get to spend the day shopping with my two best girlfriends!" Sirius cried mocking a high- pitched girly voice.

"I said he could come shopping with me," Alecia explained sheepishly in response to Lily's questioning glare, "I wasn't expecting to see you,"

The redhead sighed, "As long as Potter stays away, I suppose," The other two exchanged a quick glance before resting their eyes on a figure standing just behind the girl.

"So it is true," Sirius muttered inaudibly, "Speak of the devil, and he doth appear,"

"Ouch! That hurts, Evans," said a tall, messy-haired boy, causing Lily to spin around, flinging her purchases in surprise, and almost falling over. The boy graciously caught her by the arm and steadied her as he continued, "But, fortunately, I'm willing to let you make it up to me. Say, over dinner perhaps?"

Lily yanked her arm out of the smirking boy's grip and spat, "Keep dreaming, Potter,"

"That, I shall,"

"Evans, Wiggins, and I were just about to head off to do some shopping. Care to join, James, old buddy, old pal? Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh? Do ya, do ya, do ya?" Sirius questioned, playfully punching James in the arm a few times as Lily paled considerably.

"Sure, thanks mate. I'm just the reason you're here right now. Why wouldn't I need an invitation to join you?" James said sardonically, still grinning.

The black-haired boy stood smiling, and led the group outside. Lily grabbed Alecia and slowed her pace to let the boys get a ways ahead before whispering, "Since when are you friends with the Marauders?"

"Lils, I've never hated them like you and Vivi,"

"I know, but you didn't exactly love them either,"

I don't know, Lils. He just walked up and started talking. I wasn't going to be rude,"

"Hey!" called Sirius from up ahead. Lily hadn't noticed that they had stopped walking altogether.

"Are you two, coming or what?" James asked.

"Sorry, guys! We were just pausing to-," Alecia began explaining as the two jogged to catch up, but was cut off by the boy.

"No need to explain, ladies. I know how fabulous my arse is, but if you could keep the staring to a minimum, please. We wouldn't want poor Jamsie here getting jealous, now would we?" Lily scoffed, Alecia giggled, and James shoved a smirking Sirius, going a bit pink around the ears.

A few hours later, after the others had bought all of their necessities, the boys decided to head over to Quality Quidditch Supplies, but Lily had insisted that she and Alecia wait for them at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. She hadn't sat down in almost six hours. Her feet and arms were threatening to fall off.

"So how's your summer been, Lily?" Alecia questioned, scooping a bit of her sundae onto her spoon.

"It's been alright. As well as can be expected, I suppose,"

"Ah… Snape and Petunia?"

"Yeah, but I've got my parents and the Hopkins,"

"Mm, your muggle friends, right?" Lily nodded.

"What happened between you and Snape, anyway?" the girl asked idly.

"We just… fell apart," the redhead said to her ice cream bowl, "So, on a lighter subject, where's Mack? Doesn't he usually come with you?"

Alecia smiled at the mention of her older brother, who was one of her best friends. He was entering his 7th year at Hogwarts, only a year older than the girls. Both Alecia and Mack were very quiet and contemplative. The only difference was that Alecia was probably a bit immature at times, while Mack was, if anything, too mature. The two siblings didn't look much alike, though. Where Alecia had a delicate figure, copper skin, long, silky black hair, bottomless blue eyes, and was a bit more on the short side of tall, Macawlee was incredibly tall and muscular with an inky hide, coarse, closely- shaven hair, and warm, chocolate brown eyes.

The reason for the visible contrast between the two was their parents, who were nothing alike. Their mother, Sherry Ayden Dunbar (a loving, pureblood, black, Scotswoman) married Myran Tyler Wiggins (a selfish, white, muggle, Englishman). When their father found out about their magical abilities, 7 years ago, he promptly packed his things and left without a backwards glance, and they hadn't heard from him since.

It had stung the family for a while, but they seemed have moved on for the most part. Mack, however, had always felt guilty about his father's disappearance; no matter how many times his mother and sister insisted that he was not at fault. Since Myran's departure, Mack had stepped up to become the man of the house; feeling that he needed to make up for the absence that he believed was his fault.

"Oh, he already finished all of his shopping last week. He offered to bring me along then, but I was feeling downright lazy. I wouldn't have come today if he and Mam hadn't literally shoved me in the floo!" Alecia giggled sheepishly.

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by an all too familiar voice calling them excitedly.

"Ladies! Look who we picked up admiring the store's supply of Keeper's gloves!"

The girls turned in their seats to see what the boys were so worked up about. They gasped audibly when they saw James and Sirius dragging a reluctant, disheveled looking girl behind them, kicking and screaming the whole way.

"VIVI!" they exclaimed together, running over to meet their friend. The two boys just watched silently, smirking as the scene unfurled in front of them in the middle of the alley, having let go of the now quiet girl.

"Oh, wow! I didn't expect to see you two here!" the mousy-haired girl said in surprise, "All I know is that one second I'm looking for a new pair of gloves, and the next I'm being dragged down the street by these buffoons!" She indicated the two boys, who bowed mockingly.

Once the girls quit jumping and squealing, courtesy of the Marauders, Alecia asked curiously, "Are you here alone?"

Vivi's face fell a little, "No, mum insisted on coming, and she dragged Meg along," The two girls adorned looks of sympathy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who's Meg?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"She's my sister…,"

"Not the Megrez Selwyn from Slytherin who graduated last year?"

The girl scoffed and muttered, "Dropped out is more like it,"

"She was hot…," the boy said reminiscently, "Good kisser, too. Much too vain, though."

"You kissed a Slytherin? I knew you were a bit of a whore, but seriously?" James questioned.

Vivi guffawed loudly, clutching her stomach. She recovered, wiping her eyes, as Sirius asked incredulously, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing at all,"

"Oh, do you have random laughing outbursts for no apparent reason often, then? You know I hear that's one of the signs that someone has vanishing sickness," James feigned concern.

She glared at James and opened her mouth to retort when a loud echoing voice blasted through the alley, causing everyone to cover their ears in desperation.

"VENDEMIATRIX DNOCES SELWYN! Come Here this Instant!"

Vivi groaned as Sirius took his turn guffawing, "V-Vendemiatrix? No wonder you stick to 'Vivi'!"

The girl socked him in the jaw before running off in the direction of the voice, calling over her shoulder, "I'll see you guys on the train!"

James chuckled at his friend's expression, earning him a punch in the arm.

Lily consulted her watch, "I think I need to move on home now, too. I'll see you guys tomorrow,"

"But it's only three- thirty," Sirius stated, clearly puzzled.

"You know, Black, I have more important things to do than stand here chatting with you, contrary to your belief,"

"Oooooh," James jeered, "Disssss,"

"Oh sod off, Prongs," James mocked offense.

"You know, boys, I think I'd better be off, too," Alecia resigned.

"Oh, I see how it is," the stormy-eyed boy said, crossing his arms, "Looks like it's just you and me, mate,"

"Actually, Sirius, We should probably get home, too. We still need to pack, and you know what a nightmare that is," James said, guiltily.

"Everyone's against me today. It's a conspiracy, isn't it?!" Sirius huffed dramatically. The three rolled their eyes.

"Well you can stay if you want to. No one is making you leave," Alecia pointed out.

"Actually, Jamsie- poo is. He's my new landlord, the sucker," James rolled his eyes at his friend and swatted away the hand that was ruffling his already messy hair.

"Devil charges a fortune, too. It's a wonder I don't starve," Sirius added, smirking.

"Oh stuff it, Padfoot," James retorted, punching the boy lightly in the arm, "We don't charge you, and my mum feeds you,"

"And what delicious food it is, too!"

"You're living with Potter? When did this happen?" Lily asked, shocked.

"Uh… about a month and a half ago, would you say, James?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right,"

"Wow… why?" Alecia inquired.

"Eh, just got tired of home, you know?"

"No, I don't. I couldn't ever imagine leaving my home… my family,"

Sirius scoffed and muttered inaudibly, "Ha, allow me to introduce you to my mum,"

Lily returned home and made sure that everything was ready for her to leave in the morning before hitting the hay early. She knew that she would hate herself in the morning if she didn't.

I promise it gets better! Please bear with me. I was never very good at beginnings, but I will have more posted soon and you opinion counts!

So until next time!

Hasta luego!