A/N: Hello, readers. This story is for the Time Travel Challenge on Final Prophecy. The challenge said: I have chosen to write the first chapter of a story about the marauders traveling to the trio time. It may or may not be continued, depending on whether or not I can think up a good enough plot for the rest of the story. But I'd say it's pretty good as a single chapter. Beware the cliff hanger, and enjoy!

Power of the Storm

Dark clouds tumbled across the early morning sky, charged with electricity. A bright flash of lightening lit the sky, striking the ground so forcefully that tremors were sent miles away, all the way to the ancient, towering castle invisible to the muggle eye. In the castle's Great Hall, early rising students gathered at their house tables. On this particular day, only four boys at the Gryffindor table were awake, as it was four o'clock A.M. One of the four had his head on the table, his round, thin, wire glasses in one hand while the fingers of the other ran through his wild, unruly hair. At his side, a boy with luscious, dark hair leaned his head on his fist, unnatural dark circles under his eyes as he stared into space unseeingly. The ladder of the two finally closed his eyes and drooped, his head slipping off his fist. The arm that had once supported his head went sprawling across the table, knocking over the solitary glass of pumpkin juice, in which the contents propelled outward. The cool liquid met face first with the two boys on the other side of the table, who sat in a half-awake stupor. In an instant, both boys were three feet in the air in their fright, sputtering and gasping.

"Alright, now, this is completely ridiculous!" said the brightest looking one of the bunch, snatching the disturbed glass and righting on the table with a reverberating clank!

The other half of the group woke with a start. The boys with glasses wrenched his head up from the table so quickly that he lost his balance, sending himself soaring off the bench backwards and to the ground none too softly. His friend snapped his head up, looking around wildly, his hands coming up in front of him in closed fists.

"Whoever you are, I know karate!" When he looked around and saw nothing suspicious except for his friend on the floor, he relaxed. "What are you doing down there, Prongs? I assure you, the floor is not quite as comfortable as the table." He reached down a hand to help his friend up.

The friend returned to the bench, rubbing the back of his head and ruffling his hair. James, or Prongs, as he was addressed by his friends, rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, examined his glasses, and then placed the frames on his face. "Thanks, Padfoot. What in Merlin's beard did you do that for, Remus?!"

The intelligent looking friend countered, "Why did you drag us down to the Great Hall at this indecent hour, James?!"

Sirius, previously addressed as Padfoot, quipped, "touché," before snuggling his head in his arms.

James looked up at the enchanted ceiling, wincing as though the raindrops were really falling upon him. "…Bloody storm…couldn't sleep…" he mumbled, looking away.

The smallest and quietest boy with mousey features piped up, "There have been plenty of storms since we've been at Hogwarts, and you've slept through all of those."

James looked suddenly serious. "I don't know what it is, Peter. This is different. I feel…I dunno."

Sirius turned his head over in his arms to look at James. "Feel what? Scared?" Sirius smirked. He grabbed his wand from his back pocket and conjured a white sheet. He dropped the sheet over his head, slowly got up from the bench, and popped up over James' other shoulder, whispering, "Boo!"

James elbowed Sirius in the face without even turning around and continued as Sirius fell flat on his arse, "Don't you guys feel it? It's weird…like something is going to happen." A streak of lightening shot across the enchanted ceiling, the thunder rattling the empty glass on the table. James looked to Remus, pleading him to understand with his eyes. "Do you know what I mean, Mooney?"

Remus stared at James hard, analyzing him. "No…but I believe if you think there's something…different about tonight. I don't really know what you could do about it, though…Maybe there's a spell…I'm not sure what kind of spell would help you, but if I could go to the library…"

James' face brightened at this suggestion. "That's a great idea! But who wants to wait around searching for a spell when we don't even know what to look for? Let's just write one."

At this point, James had risen to his feet and had his palms flat on the table for emphasis. The Hall was quiet except for the sounds of the storm. Remus scratched his head, considering James' proposition. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a question in his eyes, Sirius, wrapped in the sheet, appeared over his shoulder shouting, "BOO!"

A moment later, an irate Remus was snapping at Sirius. "And what exactly are you supposed to be?!"

Sirius froze, his arms suspended, then he ripped off the sheet, looking hurt. "I'm a ghost, Mooney, or a muggle version, at least. Apparently 'boo' is the scariest word a ghost can say, as well. I'm shocked you didn't know."

Remus shook his head and took a breath, turning back to James. "We have no idea how to write a spell. And we have no clue what the effects will be, since we're working off some sort of hunch…"

James pouted, his bottom lip quivering and his eyes wide and sad.

Sirius sat down next to Remus with a thump, "Come on, Mooney, no person in the world besides Lily Evans can refuse that look. You're the smartest kid in the school, you'll think of something."

Remus rolled his eyes and looked to Peter for support. The small boy shrugged and said simply, "Why not? It'll be a shame to have woken up this early for nothing."

Remus sighed. "Fine."

#

James led the way through the portrait hole of the slightly overweight lady. He smiled apologetically at her tired, outraged protests at the time of day they were disturbing her.

When the four had made themselves comfortable in the best chairs by the fire—what remained of the fire, anyway—Sirius mumbled, "Crazy wench. At the rate she's going at, we're going to have to call her the fat lady soon."

Peter nodded his agreement, and Remus shot them both a sharp look, being the prefect he was.

"Alright, so does anyone know how to write a spell?" James asked eagerly. The quicker this strange feeling of his went away, the better.

"I do," said a new voice. On the girls' dormitory steps stood Lily Evans, her red hair flowing over her shoulders and nightgown. She walked over to where the boys were seated and sat on her knees on the floor in the center of them.

James smiled wistfully. "I've always dreamt of you saying those words."

Lily rolled her eyes, but the hint of a smile played on her lips. "Don't push your luck. Just because we've been dating for six months doesn't mean I can't change my mind."

"Yes it does," James replied, swooping down and picking Lily up. He carried her back to his chair and sat her on his lap. She fought, but James held her tightly in place until she gave up. "So you know how to write a spell, you say?"

"No, actually. It just seemed like the right thing to say at the moment," Lily shrugged. "But I can guess. What do you need to write a spell for?"

"James has a feeling." Sirius said, trying to act dramatic and serious. "Something is going to HAPPEN!"

The castle trembled again, immediately following a flash of lightening. Peter curled up in his armchair, his eyes darting all around fearfully.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly do you expect a spell to do for you?" she asked, putting her arms around James' neck and looking at him incredulously.

James squirmed under her gaze and averted his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe show me what's going to happen."

Lightening briefly illuminated the room, and the crash of thunder made the hair on the back of their necks stand on end.

Sirius looked around suspiciously. "Has anyone else noticed that every time someone says that, lightenin—"

"How do we even know where to begin" Remus interrupted, not hearing Sirius' comment as he tried to be the logic and reason of the group. "We barely know what the spell if for."

Sirius jumped in, forgetting his previous point. "So we'll make the spell vague enough for anything to happen." He sat up in his chair and shrugged, giving Remus a look that said, 'It could work.'

Remus returned the look with one that clearly said, 'Or is could fail.' Seeing that his side of the argument didn't stand a chance, he retrieved parchment, a quill, and ink from a side table and sat down heavily.

Sirius cheered, "Yay, Mooney caved! Now we can get rid of Prong's spooks!"

James beamed. "About bloody time, too." He shifted Lily on his lap. "Well, darling, how should we write this spell?"

Lily bit her bottom lip as she thought. "Well, darling…we need to have a goal, and that's to find out what's 'going to happen,' I suppose…"

The rain and wind roared as a new strike of lightening hit, sending a resounding 'boom!' echoing through the common room.

Sirius' eyes widened. "See? It did it again! When she said 'what's goin—"

"Yeah, that sounds right." James continued, disregarding Sirius' comment entirely. Sirius slouched in his armchair and crossed his arms moodily. "Do we need to make it like a rhyme? I don't know how to make a spell in Latin…"

"Neither do I, thought I've always wanted to learn…I guess we could try making it rhyme, though I'm pretty sure that's just a stereotypical muggle way to write a spell…It's very unlikely that it'll work…"

"Okay, Mooney, pass me the parchment," James said, reaching over to take the equipment. He scribbled a bit, held the quill up to look at his progress, then continued vehemently. When he finished, he looked up at Lily. "What do you think?"

Lily took the parchment and read over it carefully. Partway through, she snatched the quill from James' hand and added to it. As soon as Lily put down the quill, the parchment was seized from her hands by and overeager Sirius, who swiped the quill from her a moment later to make his own adjustments. When he completed his portion, he looked quite satisfied and held it up to admire. Sirius stood and walked the spell to where Peter and Remus sat. Peter looked up excitedly, reaching out to take his turn fixing the spell. But Sirius walked right past Peter's outstretched hand without a glance, and handed the spell to Remus. Peter shrunk into himself and looked down.

Remus looked over what was written, nodding at some places, scratching out others with a furrowed brow. James hugged Lily closer to himself. Which she responded to by placing her hands gently on his arms. He had a feeling there was something horrible in store for them, but he couldn't stand not knowing.

At long last, Remus announced, "I think this is the best it's going to get. Shall I say the spell to finally ease your mind, Prongs?" Just as Remus readied himself and prepared his wand, he saw a downcast expression on Peter's face, and stopped. "What's wrong, Peter?"

Peter seemed startled to be addressed directly. He shrugged and rubbed his arm. "I dunno. It's just that…everyone contributed but me…"

Remus looked at Peter sympathetically, glanced at the parchment, and then held it out to Peter. "Then why don't you read the spell?"

A look of pure delight crossed Peter's face, and he took up the opportunity enthusiastically. He stood hurriedly and positioned himself in front of the fireplace. "What do I do with my wand, though?" A brief look of concern crossed his face.

Sirius waved away the question with his hand. "Anything you want. Who knows? None of us have done this before, so be creative."

Peter nodded, slightly nervous, and took out his wand. "Are you ready?"

James answered, hugging Lily. "Go for it, Wormy."

Peter straightened, began waving his wand in odd patterns, and read:

"What is to happen is on their minds

Show them by means of any kind."

After a brief pause, in which there was absolute silence, Peter looked up into the group's disappointed faces and said, "That's it? I know I'm not as good at magic as the rest of you, but that was pret—"

A blindingly bright bolt of lightening seemed to strike right in the center of the common room. Peter threw his arms over his eyes to block out the light, and fell to the floor as the room shook violently. The light grew so intense it seemed to swallow up the room, and the next moment it disappeared instantly. A few seconds later, the ground steadied as well.

"—pretty lame…" Peter finished when he'd stood up again, staring wide eyed at the now vacant room. All that was left of James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus were slight scorch marks on the armchairs where they had sat.

#

In a flash (in every sense of the word), Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius were falling to the floor in a heap from seemingly nowhere. The group groaned as they untangled themselves from each other and made sure they were all okay.

"OW," Lily said emphatically, holding the arm she had landed on.

"What she said," Sirius said from where he was jammed in a corner in a terribly awkward position.

James jumped up, holding out his hand for Lily, who accepted it gratefully. Seeing this, Sirius smirked and mimicked James' movements, offering his hand to Remus instead. Remus glared at him and slapped his hand away.

"Now is not the time to kid around, Padfoot," Remus said, looking worried. "Where the Merlin are we?"

James looked around, confused. They seemed to be in the hallway of a house, at the base of the stairs. There was a door on either end of the hallway; one door led to a room of the house, he could only assume, as it was a swinging door, and the other was the front entrance to the house. Outside the window on the upper half of the door, James could see that the sky was just as dark and disgusting as it had been before. The only difference was that this looked as though they were in some sort of suburb that didn't seem to be anywhere near Hogwarts. Sirius' voice permeated James' thoughts.

"Hey…Where's Peter?" Sirius asked, trying to get up. He'd made it into a crouching position when he knocked his head painfully on the handle of the front door and slid down to the floor again.

Lily helped Sirius up and observed the house from where she stood. "It's dreadfully clean, isn't it?"

The boys nodded, frightened slightly by the tidiness of the area.

"Is this supposed to be what's 'going to happen?" James asked to nobody in particular. "It just looks like we've gone somewhere else, but on the same day. Why would we come here?"

Remus shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm now so sure this is the same day…"

Sirius brushed passes Remus and started towards the door on the other end of the hall. He turned around. "There's only one way to find out. Let's snoop around!"

Sirius didn't wait for the others, and pushed open the swinging door. James was after him instantly. Lily and Remus shared a look, but followed them in, anyway.

The door led them into a kitchen that was sickeningly clean. There was also a living room to their left, which James was already inspecting.

"They're definitely muggles," James said. He was sitting on a couch examining a long, thin, boxlike structure with different colored squares covering it. When he pushed on one of the top bottoms, a large box across the room from him lit up and pictures began moving across it. James sat transfixed until Lily came over and pushed the same square to return the black screen to the box.

"Yeah, they have to be, or at least muggle born. There aren't too many wizards with televisions. But I've never seen one so large, and with such great quality…" Lily said, staring at the T.V. with her hands on her hips.

"Hey, guys! Check out this conveniently placed calendar!" Sirius called. He stood in front of the sliding glass door leading to the backyard. On the wall between the door and the kitchen counter was a pin up calendar with pictures of happy fruits and vegetables above the dates. Remus, Lily, and James crowded around Sirius to see for themselves. Directly above the boxes with the days of the month, the calendar read: July 1994.

The group took an almost collective step backward at this revelation.

"…I think we were a little too vague when we said 'what's going to happen'…" Lily said softly.

Remus looked dumbfounded. "I didn't think time travel was possible without a time-turner…Nothing I've ever read—"

"Mooney, of course it's nothing you've ever read," James said, grabbing Remus by his upper arms and staring at him, elated. "This is new, we did this! And maybe it's something to do with this storm…I dunno…But this is absolutely incredible! We get to see the future!"

"James, we don't know if that's a good thing. Seeing our future could change everything. Terrible things have happened to wizards who have time traveled…Besides, what kind of future could we see in a muggle home?" Remus reasoned, taking James' hands off of him.

Footsteps could be heard descending the stairs down the hall. All of them stiffened and looked at each other. Lily was the fastest thinker.

"We can't let them see us, whoever they are," Lily whispered urgently, looking fearful. She took out her wand and tapped each of their heads in turn, and lastly her own. A strange sensation trickled over them until they were completely invisible, except to each other. Just as Lily's feet disappeared, the kitchen door opened and a teenage boy stepped inside. He was of average height, a little shorter than Remus, but unnaturally thin. He wore oversized clothes that, if they were any larger, would slip entirely off the boy's body. He was barefoot on the tile. Lily, James, Remus and Sirius seemed to notice something at the exact same time—the boy's face. Dark, unruly hair fell onto the boy's forehead and almost over his round, thin, wire glasses. He looked almost identical to James…except for the eyes. Those bright green eyes were Lily's eyes.

Lily covered her mouth and looked at James, her eyes as wide as saucers. James looked just as surprised, and grabbed Lily's hand.

The boy looked around, searching for something.

"Remus?" he whispered, turning his head in all directions. Remus jumped at the sound of his name, but the boy wasn't looking in his direction. He was looking in the kitchen. He turned and looked into the living room. "Sirius?" Sirius stepped back and ducked, though the boy still couldn't see him.

Lily watching as Sirius tried to hide himself, and she followed him to the ground, dragging James and Remus with her. When she had them all on the floor, she began to whisper. "How in the name of Merlin does he know Remus and Sirius? Does he know we're here?"

Remus looked thoughtful. "Maybe he's looking for our future selves. He could have heard our voices and thought it was the Remus and Sirius he knows. How he knows us, though, I'm not sure. I have no clue who this boy is…"

"I think we can trust him," James said suddenly. He looked very serious.

"How do you know, Prongs? This kid is a stranger to us. He probably hasn't even been born in our time. How can we trust him?"

"I dunno…You guys have to believe me. It was my gut feeling that got us here, and I think I need to follow it. This kid isn't a threat. I mean, look at him."

Just then, the boy turned and walked over to the calendar, right where Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily were sitting. The four scrambled to crawl out of the way, but the boy stopped before he came to where they were. He stared at the calendar somewhat sadly.

"I guess they're not here. I could have sworn…" he mumbled to himself. He glanced over at the clock on the kitchen wall that read, '5:00' A.M. "Well, Happy Birthday to me…"

Then the boy walked out of the kitchen, letting the door swing behind him.

James stood, and the others followed suit.

"We need to find out who this kid is. Then maybe we'll know why we're here…" James mused out loud. He ventured into the living room and began looking at the pictures on the wall, tables, and the fireplace mantel.

Lily followed him and glanced at the pictures, now knowing what to look for. Most of the pictures were of a fat, pink, pig-like child.

"That's weird…that kid isn't in any of these pictures…" James said, now checking drawers of end tables. Remus and Sirius were searching through the kitchen with the same kind of luck.

Lily was about to turn around and go to James when she came across a family picture. The fat pink child was front and center, looking so snooty that Lily wanted to slap him. But there was something familiar about him…She looked up at the large father, with his bristly mustache and a proud expression on his face. Next to him stood his slim wife, who had a long neck and neatly arranged hair. Her face was just as snooty as the child's, if not more so, and there was something about her…

Lily dropped the picture and gasped. James' head snapped in her direction, and he was there in a second. He grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in the eye.

"Lily, are you okay. What's wrong." He looked her up and down, and saw nothing out of the ordinary except for her petrified expression.

"James…this is my sister's house…" Lily whispered. James' eyes widened. She continued, placing a hand on her cheek. "But that boy…James, I think that's our son."

A/N: Bum, bum, buuuum!! I told you to beware the cliffy! And I apologize for the spell—I've been watching a lot of the T.V. show Charmed, so that's why I had to make the spell rhyme. Well, let me know what you think by reviewing, because I'd be happy to know your thoughts. And if you do not review…you will be haunted by the GRIM! Wouldn't want that, now would ya? No, no you would not. So review to save yourself!