This is a story about what happened before Voldemort's disappearance when he attacked the Potter family. How the Marauders became friends and how the Order of the Phoenix was established the first time. Who supports him, who's an enemy, who's an ally? Questions you find the answers to usually too late in a war. The first rise of the dark lord accrues 1970-1981.
A Wizards War
Chapter 1
The Hogwarts Express
November 9,2016
The year is 1971. In a small sleepy market town situated in the gap passing through the Chiltern Hills 30 miles north-west of London is Tring, Hartfordshire, sat a large old style house kind of off to itself up on a hill. A young girl sat in her room looking out at the sky imagining how the next day was to play out. It's not often a young woman turns 11 and is able to go to proper schooling. The young girl has sandy brown hair and brown eye's.
"Marie dear I told you to go to bed hours ago. You'll be asleep on the train if you don't sleep tonight." a lovely older lady said with strawberry blond hair and brown eyes said to her daughter.
"Yes mum I know but I'm too excited to go to bed." Marie said as she smiled over to her mother.
"Now just lay down and you'll be ready for sleep in no time at all dear." her mother told her as she ushered her away from the window back to bed.
"Platform 9 ¾ this way my dear." Marie's mother said as she ushered her and her little brother through Kings Cross Station.
"'Scuse me?" a middle aged woman asked as she tried to get Marie's mother attention. "Please can I ask you a question?" the woman said kind of shyly.
"Why yes dear." Marie's mother said and smiled as she glanced over at a clock.
"You said 9 ¾ can that mean your going to Hogwarts then? How..." the woman asked and trailed off feeling silly.
"Not to worry." Marie's mother said and smiled then shook hands with the family. "Muggle born are you my dear, not to worry this way." she said and smiled leading them all through the station.
"My first year too. My name is Marie, that's Jacob, and my mum is Shelly. And you are..." Marie said and smiled as she dropped back beside the young girl with red hair and green eyes.
"Lilly Evens nice to meet you. We got separated from my friend. He knows all about Hogwarts and how to get there said he'd show us how to get onto the platform but..." She trailed off slightly embarrassed.
"Not to worry like my mum said. We'll get there." Marie said and smiled.
"Right Marie dear you know how, show her how it's done." Shelly said and waved her daughter forward.
"Not hard see you on the other side of the barrier." Marie said and waved over at Lilly. Then making sure no one was looking she sprinted for the barrier between platform 9 and 10.
"Oh my... does she need to know magic to get through and can I see her off?" Lilly's mother asked kind of concerned.
"Oh no the barrier will let her through then you and I can go through together." Shelly said and smiled. "Alright missy your turn. The barrier will let you through not to worry."
Lilly took a deep breath then started to run at the barrier once she was through she was stunned to see the scarlet train setting there plain as day with Hogwarts Express written across the front and side of the engine. She stepped out of the way just in time for the mothers and Marie's brother Jacob to come through.
"Lilly has a friend who's magical and he agreed to show us how to get here but I don't think his parents approved cause they seemed to loose us very quickly in the hustle and bustle of the train station. I wonder if you know of his family, Snape." Lilly's mother was saying as they made their way towards the train with their children.
"Oh I know them alright Prince family Pure Blood they are. Well they were until the youngest married a muggle named Tobias Snape that is. They've went down hill since that marriage." Shelly said with a slight frown on her face as she caught a glimpse of the Snape family across the crowd.
"Pure Blood?" Lilly asked curiously.
"Yea my family are pure blood all magic folk, you have half-blood witch or wizard marries a muggle, then..." Marie said delighted she could share some information but then trailed off as she glanced back at her mother unsure.
"It is a really awful term for muggle born's but you will hear it at some point in your life, it is called Mudblood. Meaning dirty blood." Shelly said softly so that only the group she was with could hear. "I tell you that so you're not confused it's a term used by those who believe magic should be kept within all magic families. They are a small percent of the wizarding community not to worry." Shelly said and smiled reassuringly.
"So there are people who don't want me to go to school." Lilly said as she looked back at Shelly with tears in her eye's.
"Not to worry dear, those types of people are rare and you wouldn't want to be friends with them anyway." Shelly said and smiled sweetly. "Time to go dears. Up you go I love you and write soon Marie have a good term and see you at Christmas." Shelly said as she ushered her daughter onto the train with her trunk and tawny owl.
"Yes mum I love you too see you at Christmas." Marie said as she made her way back to find a compartment. She found and empty one put her stuff away then went back to help Lilly with her trunk. "I've found an empty compartment if you'd like to join me." she said and smiled.
"Sure. Bye Mum, love you." Lilly said and waved as the train started to move Marie waved as well until their families were out of sight.
"There you are Lilly I've been looking for you I had hoped you had found your way. Can I join you?" a greasy unkempt boy had slid back the door to their compartment and was looking excitedly at Lilly.
"Sure Sev. You don't mind do you Marie?" Lilly said as her smile kind of faltered at Marie's look. Marie was looking at Severus Snape with an eye brown raised and a slightly disgusted look on her face.
"Of course not, a friend of yours is always welcome." Marie said and smiled over to Lilly.
"Here we go seems to be the only empty seats left. Can we join you?" A young man said with messy black hair and blue eyes there was also a young man slightly behind him with neat short black hair and almost black eyes.
"Ah James, nice to see you. Did you manage to get your parents into gear at Diagon Alley they seemed a little tired." Marie said and laughed as she motioned to a seat beside her. "And you must be one of the Black boy's." She said as the other young man came in and sat down beside James.
"Awe you know them they like to take their time." James said and laughed. "This is Sirius Black, I'm James Potter." he said catching the eye of the lovely young lady beside the greasy git in their compartment.
"Lilly Evens and this is Severus Snape." Lilly said and smiled.
"I'm Marie Willis nice to meet everyone." Marie said and smiled then laughed a little. "Well any idea's on the Hogwarts house you want to be sorted into. I'm hoping for Gryffindor for myself." She said and smiled.
"It'd be nice if we are in Slytherin together Lilly." Severus said slightly excited as he looked over at his friend.
"Come off it there isn't a witch or wizard who was in Slytherin that didn't go bad. I'm for Gryffindor like my Father before me." James said very pompously as he glared at Snape.
"My family's always been in Slytherin as far as I know. It's a great house." Severus said very agitated as he glared back at James.
"Slytherin is nothing but a bunch of backstabbing Pure Blood maniacs who have no right to learn magic in the first place." Sirius said angrily as he also glared over at Severus.
"Coming from a Black that's funny the whole lot of you have been in Slytherin." Severus said switching to glare at Sirius.
"I don't want to be lumped in with that lot I want to be in Gryffindor." Sirius said getting to his feet aggressively.
"Well you are lumped in with that lot." Severus said as he stood up to match Sirius' aggressive posture. And up came James as well pulling out his wand and pointing it at Severus.
"Oh wow that escalated quickly... " Marie said as she stared between the three boy's now standing and glaring at each other with wands raised. "Sit down all of you!" she yelled at all of them the way her mother yells at her and her brother when they were being stupid.
The three boy's looked around dumbfounded at the way she had yelled at them. Then slowly sat back down but still glaring at each other.
"Bunch a gits. You want to get thrown out of Hogwarts before we even get there then by all means curse each other like prats. Otherwise put your wands away it's a long ride." Marie said glaring over at the boy's like they were idiots. "Anyway that's 3 Gryffindor and 1 Slytherin. Lilly What about you?" She asked curiously as she glanced over at her friend who was wide eyed and staring between the three boy's.
"I really don't know I hadn't really thought about it much." Lilly said softly returning her attention to Marie.
"Well there is, of course, Gryffindor which values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry the colors are scarlet and gold with a lion. Godric Gryffindor was the founder of the house. Then there is Hufflepuff values hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play their colors are yellow and black with a badger. The house was founded by Helga Hufflepuff. Next is Ravenclaw which values intelligence, knowledge, and wit their colors are blue and bronze with an eagle. Was founded by Rowena Ravenclaw. Then last is Slytherin who values ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness their colors are emerald green and silver with a serpent. Slytherin's founder was Salazar Slytherin. My mother made me learn all that so I knew what house I was sorted into what it meant." Marie said with a smile as she looked around at the others who seemed surprised.
"Oh well they all sound nice, actually I'll just be glad to be sorted into a house and start school. I've been worried this is all a dream." Lilly said and kind of blushed.
"It's not a dream Evens I'm really here." James said and smiled as he leaned over and took her hand. "I'll be more then happy to prove it to you." he said and winked.
"Get your hands off of her." Severus said angrily as he tried to grab James' arm, but Sirius had jumped across the compartment and pinned him down.
Lilly looked slightly scared as she yanked her hand back from James. "Sev, get off him." Lilly said going from scared to angry in a second.
"Oy you lot what's wrong with you. Stay in your seats!" the door to the compartment had just been flung open and Sirius was pried off of Severus then thrown down in his seat. "Fighting is not tolerated at Hogwarts. I'll be back to check on the lot of you!" an older boy said with blond hair and blue eye's wearing robes for Ravenclaw with a neat badge with a P on it for Prefect. Just as suddenly as he had appeared he disappeared.
"Nosy git..." Sirius said as he glared at the door.
"Leave it Sirius he's a prefect just like a teacher he can hand out punishments. I told you not to fight or you'd get kicked out. You can bet he'll tell your head of house after we've been sorted." Marie said in a warning tone.
The rest of the journey was uneventful as all the prefects on the train seemed to be notified and were checking their compartment regularly. They had all changed into their robes just before arriving at Hogsmead Station. As the train slowed all the kids were filing out into the corridors. Once the Train stopped their was a surge onto the station grounds.
"Firs' years over here, firs years don' be shy, firs' years follow me." A very tall and unkempt man was saying his long black hair and shaggy beard matched his eyes.
"Oy who are you then?" James said as he stared up at the man with his mouth hanging open slightly cause he had to tilt his head back so far to see the man's face.
"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. 'Tis my job to lead you lot to the Castle." Hagrid said down to James then turned his attention back to the students coming off the train. "Firs' years over here, firs years don' be shy, firs' years follow me." At this summoning he turned and started around the station towards the lake.
