AN - This would have been longer if I did decide to combine the first and second chapters, but seening I did not do so, viola! You get this. Please enjoy. And this is rated M for the future. Possible death and some slash. Though you're safe in this chapter.

Disclaimer - I, no way in hell, own Harry Potter & Co. I give that credit to the one and only J.K. Rowling. I only own the plot.

This chapter has been beta'd by the generous Haunted Emerald Depths. So, I say thank you to her.

Now, please enjoy...

Dying Emerald Flame

Chapter 1 - Not So Silent Night

Tick, tick, tick...

"Ugh!" Harry grunted, shifting lazily onto his side to better catch at least five minutes of sleep. He had hardly slept a wink all night thanks to the vexatious owls and raven outside his window. Even though the crackling of the fulgent fireplace dispersed soft cadence around the room, to Harry, it was very aggitating. His restless mind just wouldn't give him any relief which fueled the unforgotten dreams...

It was a dark December evening. The fluffy silver snow that drowned the landscape for miles lavishly winked at any passerby that happened to trudge through it; unlikely to suppress the secret of a known traveler's odyssey on its white earth. A large oak blew helplessly in the piercing cold winter wind, sending the little bewildered families of owl, cardinal, raven, and bluejay in search of another temporary home. Soon, the gray sky was dotted with the desperate birds, many of which, heading toward the little house that sat concealed behind a thick grove of redwood trees. (Surprisingly, the birds just kept going, not even acknowledging the existence of the redwoods.) The house showed signs of inhabitants by the glowing porchlamp, the slightly ajar door, and very faint music and laughing coming from the inside.

Harry trudged up to the house, pulling his black coat tighter around himself and wrapping his arms around his body to better conserve body heat. The laughing and the music became more audible as he reached the front steps leading up to the porch. Carefully stepping up to the slightly open door, Harry peeked into one of the snow-frosted windows and gasped at the small gathering before him. "Sirius..." Harry knew right away it was his godfather just by looking at him. He had a few nicely done tattoos and the man was tall, and rather good-looking with messy, long dark hair which almost resembled his father's. Harry averted his gaze over to the other side of the room. There was a tall scruffy-haired man with glasses, dancing around a laughing redhead who, ( which was clearly obvious to Harry), was tempted to pour her glass of lemoncrush over the dancing dolt.

"Mum... Dad..." Harry was beaming with excitement and pushed away from the window to meet with his parents. He made it to the door and pushed it open further to slide inside...

...Tick, tick, tick...

"No... no... five more minutes... Fall. Back. Asleep. The door... Mum... Dad... Siri-" before Harry could finish, he was back at Godrick's Hollow ready to open the door and be reaquainted with his family again after a long fifteen years...

"Go on, James!" Sirius said, laughing loudly while pushing him up infront of what looked like to be a red ball made of paper suspended about eight feet in the air with gold Latin words scattered about it. "Now you need to põt this on around your eyes..." Sirius handed him a long black piece of cloth, "and I'll spin you around four ti-" he was interrupted by the scruffy-haired man with an incredulous look.

"Wait, wait, Padfoot, you want me..." he examined the black cloth curiously, "to put this... thing around my eyes and then be spun around?" He eyed him suspiciously. "Hm... so... what's the catch?" It was pretty obvious to James that this was another one of his best friend's practical jokes; to make him look red-faced around the one girl who tingled the inside of his body: Lily Evans. Though most of the time it was James' own actions around her that caused him to make his face turn the same color as her hair.

Sirius kept a rather bland expression, even under the extreme tension of bursting out laughing. "Nah! No catch, mate! What'd make you think that? It's this little game that Muggles play all the time at parties and big gatherings. Pin the tail on--... no... uh Twis--... Can't think of the name, but it's fun! Trust me!" he smiled brightly. "I just thought that it would be interesting... something new, ya know?" he gave James the hurry-up-time's-a-wastin' smile while stepping up to the pinata, tightening the slim rope that held the red ball up. "C'mon, Prongs! I read it in Witch Weekly a few days ago. There was nothing else better to do and I thought it would liven up this little shindig!" He slumped his shoulders when his friend didn't manage to make a single movement.

"Ok. I'll explain the rules to you a simpler way: First, you put the blindfold over your eyes, or you could just take your glasses off. That would probably give better results and less infliction to the pinata." he chuckled some, immediately making a small cough to cover up his last statement after seening an unhealthy glare in the spectacled man's eyes, and replacing it with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, mate. Then, I'll spin you around a few times before you take this redwood stick and try to hit the red sphere. Easy enough?"

The dark-haired man raised a brow as if to signal his confusion. "Since when have you read Witch Weekly and said 'shindig'?" Snickering some, he casted a charming grin at Lily who was leaning against the couch arm shaking her head while taking tiny sips of her lemoncrush. "Ok, ok. If it really excites you so much... I s'pose I'll give it a swing." Laughing, he raised his hand infront of an already chuckling Sirius. "Though, if any 'surprises' pop out at me... I'm going to stuff you in it." He winked at Lily who had her mouth concealed by her hand, obviously trying to suppress her laughter.

Harry, who was too involved in the whole episode like his mother, didn't move an inch. He was still standing outside the door, intrigued by what was inside the pinata; ready to taste the moment of freedom from its captive quarters. His gaze averted to his father who was already done tieing the dark cloth over his eyes and handled the redwood stick threateningly in his hands ready to issue the first strike any moment.

"Here we go!" James swung the stick hitting the ball accurately in the middle, before pulling the blindfold off to see his prize inside. He smirked when he seen the look on Sirius's profile. "Ah, too bad, Siri. I was hoping something would 'pop' out. You disappointed me!"

Sirius crossed his arms over his chest and suspired. "Man! I thought that Putty charm was going to work! Never listening to anything Abagaile McTyaner says about her newly found charms again." Sirius gave a depressed face before innocently smiling at James who was ironically rolling on the ground, laughing. Lily was on the ground next to him trying to help him up.

"James! James, what's so funny?" Lily exhausted all her weight to pull his hysterical form off the floor. "Sirius, wha-" she killed her question by the look of Sirius's face. He looked like he was seeing You-Know-Who play a game of chess against a common Muggle and actually upholding a civilized conversation with him.

Harry continued to stand at the doorway. The bitter winter wind nipped at his face, dispersing small shivers that ran through his body. He, like his mother, had no fathom of what was going on. He didn't know why his godfather had made that face, though it wasn't one of his little jokes, was it? Maybe it was a back-up one to replace the first? Maybe he was trying to get his father with a joke; a prosperous one. Knowing Sirius, it would've been a party. Whatever it was, Harry was hoping it was some sort of frolic...

...Tick, tick, tick...

"Bloody clock!" Harry roared, awaking red-eyed and steaming mad. This was the third time this night the ticking pendulum woke him. Having only gotten a few hour's sleep, Harry wasn't in the mood to close his eyes again; no matter how inquisitive he was about what his godfather saw back at Godric's Hollow. There was a sinkiîg feeling in his stomach that told him it was better to not know what it was after all. Yeah, it'll just trigger more merciless dreams. I don't need anymore of those at the moment... Harry thought lethargicaìly while groping all around the bed trying to find his glasses.

"Damn it... where are they?" searching inbetween the sheets, under his pillow, on the nightstands, and even under the bed, they were no where to be found. He even checked inside his truck which was situated near the foot of the bed. "They surely couldn't have gone far. Man! First the damn clocks are messing with me, now my glasses!" Harry suspired angrily and threw his hands up in the air to show defeat. "I swear if one more effing thing happens tonight I will sh-" before he could finish his small foreshadow, Harry found himself staring at the cream coloured carpet, his forehead burning and pounding with pain. His feet somehow got entangled in the sheets causing his fall when trying to stand up on his bed.

Letting off another deep sigh, Harry closed his eyes in no mood to get up. Well, at least the carpet smells good... tangerines... His stomach replied to that thought eagerly, making Harry use his arms to hold his weight while quickly sliding his legs over the bed to collapse on the floor with a low thud. He rubbed his forehead, wincing when he felt his searing scar and knowing that there was a big red spot near it where his face met the floor.

"This just isn't my night..." Harry remained on the floor for another good five or so minutes, pondering on where his glasses where and still replaying parts of the dream in his head trying to figure it out. Though Harry, very slowly, made himself get up after his stomach made a few more thunderous noises.

Stumbling, Harry grabbed the bedposts and random pieces of furniture to better stable his walking. "Great! When I need my glasses the most, they're no where to be found!" He seized hold of a chair arm and inhaled sharply when his toe came into contact with the chair's leg.

"For Merlin's bloody sake!" he bit his tongue hard to prevent the outpour of curse words he found useful to fit his agony. "This sure as hell isn't my night..." emphazing most of the words through clenched teeth, Harry found a way to stand up rather balanced, a÷are of paying extra attention to his now swollen toe. Then managing to locate his wand from the nearby dresser, he recited the incantation, "Lumos", which illuminated the room giving Harry a safe atmosphere from future unwanted pain found in the darkness; pain that he needed no more of for the night.

"Harry?" an inquisitve male voice sounded from inside the darkened kitchen. "What is all this noise going on in there?" The voice was rather unique, though Harry knew exactly to whom it belonged to...

TBC

AN - Well, there you have it. It will continue. And sorry for that ol' cliffy. Thanks for reading and please leave a review. That will be the only way I will want to continue it. Thanks again. And feel free to visit my page to look at the other ones I have ideas for and what I'm currently working on.

-PS