This is the third round of QL with some OTP action :) My position has to write about the OTP dealing with death :( Also, I wasn't sure what genre this fic would fit in... So I played it save; with the rating as well.

Prompts:

2. (word) accept

4. (word) bench

8. (word) inkling

Enjoy reading nonetheless :D

A War Is Coming

Biting her lip, Lily sat in the Evans' living room, anxiously awaiting James' arrival. It was two weeks into their summer holiday after their sixth year and they hadn't seen each other since that last moment on the Hogwarts Express, just before they had greeted their families.

Lily was nervous. The butterflies in her stomach went wild as she thought back to their last moment together. The train had pulled to a stop at King's Cross Station and the students had started to scurry out into the little hallway, dragging their heavy trunks after them. Owls had been hooting loudly, trying to drown the others and their owners out, toads had been croaking, cats meowing. It had been the usual chaos at the end of every year, but this year something was different.

Lily watched her new friends file out of the room, chatting loudly. Sirius was complaining about something Peter had said, Remus didn't seem to pay them much attention. He was nursing his rips from the latest punch from Sirius. Smiling, she turned her gaze towards her boyfriend, who was standing in their now empty compartment, a shy smile lightening up his handsome features.

Once the door to their compartment slit shut, he took hold of her hand and gently traced his thumb over her soft skin. Goosebumps rose up her arm, making their way all over her body.

"I'll miss you," he said, his voice was low, private. This was meant only for her ears. A slight pink tint coloured his cheeks as he gazed at her through his fringe, trying to fight the butterflies in his stomach.

"I'll miss you, too." Lily had to stop herself from giggling. She was almost delirious with happiness. Who would have thought that she, Lily Evans, Muggleborn and pretty ignorant when it came to all things magical, would get a boyfriend as charming and sweet as this Potter boy was. She bit her lip and smiled.

After a pleasant silence, James glanced out of the compartment door. Sirius could be seen as he talked to Mr. and Mrs. Potter just outside their window. "I wanted to ask you something before we have to leave," he said and turned back to the beautiful redhead in front of him.

Lily smiled and looked at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue.

"My parents would like to meet you in person." His free hand jerked upwards and ran through his dishevelled hair, a gesture that she had learned to love. "So I wanted to invite you for tea, say, come Monday?"

Lily felt her stomach drop to a lower region as her heart sped up. Tea with James' parents? She gulped and blinked rapidly. "I can't," she whispered and looked to the floor. "Tuney and her fiancé plan on coming over with his parents for dinner." She pulled a grimace at the thought of the lump of fat her sister had the nerve to wanting to marry.

James winced.

"Yeah…"

Silence followed, leaving them standing in the empty compartment, both with a rather high pulse and blushes on their cheeks.

"How about in two weeks then? I'll come around and pick you up."

A grin spread over her freckled face as she looked into his hazel eyes, which were glowing with affection. "Sounds great!"

Her eyes travelled through the living room to the old grandfather clock. It was an heirloom from her mother's part of the family and nobody really knew just how old it was. It was ten to three in the afternoon. James wanted to come over at three.

Her mother fidgeted nervously on the sofa in front of her, her father shot her a glance and went back to counting the seconds until the moment and the boyfriend of his youngest daughter would arrive, leaving him to having to admit that his little princess didn't need him anymore. He swallowed and glared at the long handle of the wooden clock in the corner, which was continuously moving towards the twelve.

Petunia was the only one in the room who had an aura of utmost loathing surrounding her. It was nothing like her mother's nervousness and excitement or her father's stubbornness, it was downright dark. She kept huffing and clicking her tongue every few seconds, driving Lily insane. Just as she was about to snap at her to shut the heck up already, a soft pop could be heard from just outside the front door and a few seconds later the doorbell rang. Lily's eyes travelled to the old grandfather clock. It was three pm.

Her mother jumped up from the couch and rushed into the hallway, trying to reach the door first. Lily snickered and rose as well. Her mother's excited voice could be heard as she ushered someone inside, fussing all over them. When Lily reached the hallway, she saw James with a shy smile on his face taking off his Muggle jacket, which was immediately rushed away by her overly excited mother.

"Hey," she said lovingly and went over to him.

He reached for her hand and gave her a quick peck on her lips. His eyes roamed the hallway and the bit he was able to see from the kitchen and living room. He hadn't been in a Muggle home before and it was all very confusing and fascinating for him. "How are you?" He mumbled and looked at her adoringly.

Blushing, Lily tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Good, just a bit nervous." She smiled hesitantly and tried to fight the rollercoaster feeling she was getting as James smiled at her, his hazel eyes sparkling with happiness and mischief.

"Don't worry, they're not as bad as I am," he winked at her, making her laugh. "They're really excited to meet you, though. Mum actually stood in the kitchen all day yesterday and baked what looked like three cakes and a ton of muffins and pastries. I wouldn't know for sure, though. Dad and I weren't allowed to enter the kitchen." With a carefree laugh, he ran his hand through his hair and smiled his lopsided smile.

"Will you stay for a bit and have some tea with us?" Lily's mother just entered the hallway, closely followed by her father who was having difficulties keeping the smile on his face. Petunia was nowhere to be seen.

"I can't, actually. I'm sorry, but my parents await us." He took his jacket from Mrs. Evans and smiled apologetically at her. "I really am sorry, Mrs. Evans. I would have loved to stay, but you see, my mum can get rather impatient when it comes to things like that," he laughed loudly, Kathy Evans joining right in. Even Robert Evans managed a soft chuckle.

"You will come over on Saturday then," Kathy said and looked at James fondly. "And no 'buts'!"

"I'd love to."

Lily grinned at her mother as James helped her in her light summer jacket. "See you tonight then," and with a kiss on each cheek of her parents and some whispered wishes of luck and caution, James took her hand and they apparated out of the hallway, leaving a giddy mother and a solemn father behind.

Her feet hit the ground and with a gasp she took a huge gulp of air. She didn't like apparating – at all.

James took her hands and leaned down. The kiss was soft and loving, making Lily's whole body tingle and her cheeks blush. "Don't worry," he mumbled, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke in a soft tone, only meant to be heard by her, "they'll love you."

Trying to calm her heartbeat down, she smiled shakily as James turned towards the house he grew up in. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head and blinked.

They were standing in front of a huge mansion, complete with columns that look like they were made out of marble. The three story high building was to be entered through a huge double swing door which reminded her of Hogwarts' entrance area. The path leading up towards the manor was made out of pebble, surrounded and decorated with flowers, little bushes and small ponds which could be seen every now and then, peeking through tree trunks and long blades of grass. Beautiful stone benches stood in between clusters of roses and daisies, near a big lake right next to the mansion and under a huge willow. All in all, it looked like a castle taken right out of one of her favourite fairy tales.

But she couldn't admire the view for much longer as she felt James tense next to her. Confused, she looked at her boyfriend, who was clutching her hand like a lifeline. His eyes were fixed at the beautiful manor in front of them, but his expression wasn't one of happiness. His hazel orbs glazed over slightly as something green and dark reflected in their depths.

Lily frowned, turned around… and was instantly thankful that James was holding onto her with a tight grip because she was sure she would have collapsed otherwise.

There, right in front of her, floating directly over the white, ancient looking house was the Dark Mark. Her brain went numb as she stared at the green skull and the snake that slithered through its mouth again and again.

She couldn't say what happened after that – everything was in fragments. She felt James moving, running towards his childhood home, dragging her with him. They sprinted over the property, up the stairs and threw themselves against the wooden swing doors. With a loud creak they flew open, admitting the most horrific scene she had ever had to witness in her entire life.

Blood sprinkles and stains covered everything; the marble floor, the wooden walls, even the furniture. Side tables were thrown over, chairs and cloaks lay beneath what looked like dark goo and an umbrella was trapped under a once beautiful and probably quite expensive long case clock. Lily's eyes caught the only thing that was left untouched – a bunch of blood-red flowers. She gulped. What happened here?

"Mum?" James' voice pulled her out of her shock. "Dad?" He hurried through the ruined hallway and pushed a door open. He gasped as he saw the kitchen's interior smashed completely. There were black spots on the walls and the cabinets which had originated from curses hitting the surroundings rather than the inhabitants. Lily followed James and her breath hitched at the sight of pieces of cake and pastries on the floor. A light brown puddle of liquid wetted the floor, a broken tea kettle right in the middle.

James started to tremble as his eyes darted across his ruined home. His breathing sped up. He tried to calm himself down, but it seemed to be impossible. He tried to tell himself that his parents were okay, but it seemed nearly ridiculous. What he could see right in front of his eyes was more than obvious, but he refused to accept the possibility that his parents might not be…

He whirled around and dashed back into the hallway, closely followed by a horrified Lily. The parlour looked exactly the same; back through the hallway into the downstairs study… He was doing his best to stop himself from hyperventilating as he tore through the hallway and up the stairs onto the first floor, running into every single room, not even leaving out the multiple bathrooms or his room. He was gasping for air and wincing as his sides gave a painful twinge, but he refused to stop running and screaming for him parents. They had to be here somewhere!

Lily never left the young Potter alone. She ran after him, yelling his parents' names, trying to find the two people who had raised the amazing person that was close to losing his mind.

After what felt like hours, they were back in the hallway, gasping for air and clutching their sides. They had been in every single room of the house and had not found even the slightest sign that the two elder Potters had been there except broken furniture and curse marks. They weren't even sure anymore if there even had been a fight in every single room of the manor. It did seem unlikely for the Death Eaters and the two former Aurors to travel through the entire house during their fight. It looked more like a personal act, destroying everything that reminded the Potters of a happy and safe past. The only logical thing to do when being overrun by Voldemort's followers would be…

As if on cue, the two young magicians sprinted out of the house and into the back garden.

"NO!" James' scream ripped right through Lily's heart as she stared at the two people, lying in the grass next to each other. She had seen the Potters on Platform 9 ¾ a couple of times. Mr. Potter's glasses, as round and his son's, were half sitting on, half hanging off his nose, one glass broken. His blue eyes were half closed, staring into the blue sky above him, unseeing. His wife had her hand stretched out towards his, as if in a last attempt to keep them together, to stay by his side until the very end. Her dark brown hair was knotted and fanned out around her head like a pool of dead leaves lying around the trunk of a tree. James had inherited her eyes, which were now staring, unmoving, seeing nothing, still glistening with unshed tears.

Lily's hand snapped up towards her mouth as she tried to suppress a sob. James was breaking down next to her, his knees were shaking, his whole being trembled with horror, fear and hopelessness as he stumbled forward and fell to the ground right next to his mother.

"Mum?" The whispered words did the rest. Lily's breath hitched and tears flowed out of her eyes and over her pale cheeks. James was shaking his mother's shoulder gently, prodding it softly with his hand as if to tell her to wake up already.

He looked so lost, sitting there next to his motionless parents, his home in ruins, his whole life turned upside down. The eerie presence of the Dark Mark loomed over them as his sobs got louder and stronger. They ripped through his whole being, shook him from deep inside. He felt lost, desperate, afraid and lonely. What had happened? He had just been away for half an hour at most and when he came back…

All strength flowed out of his body as he collapsed next to his only family, wetting the green grass with his tears and sorrow.

He had had an inkling of what he would find when he had arrived at the manor a few minutes ago; there had been a dark feeling, a horrible sensation that felt as if he had been plunged in ice cold water. All feeling had left him, leaving only a shell behind that could feel nothing but foreboding fear.

In one single moment he had lost everything.

His throat hurt, his eyes burned and he was exhausted. He thought he had cried all the tears there were to cry, but when Lily stumbled over to him and pulled him towards her, holding him tightly, he started sobbing once again. Floods of salty tears ran over his skin as he clutched onto one of the only people he had left.

A shaky hand ran through his hair as he tried to get control over his emotions. The knowledge of his dead parents lying next to him made it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else.

The red-haired witch seemed to think along the same lines because she stood up slowly, shakily, helping her boyfriend onto his feet and started to guide him back towards the manor, through the hallway and out of the house.

Like a very wise wizard had once told them not so long ago, a war was coming and they needed to be prepared. On this very day, July 1977, they were sure they would have to fight. Voldemort didn't stop when it came to hurting or murdering old wizarding families and they knew they had to do all in their might to stop him.

Lord Voldemort was just another maniac, trying to take over the world, so they had thought. But today had shown them what exactly that meant; for them and everybody they loved. Today had shown them what he was really capable of.

I hope you liked it :D Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! I love reading and answering them :D

Until then,

See ya!

Word count: 2766