The Way Life Works- Chapter 1

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Chapter 1- Get it Together

Four seventeen year old boys sat on two red worn couches in a room lit warmly by a large fireplace. Two of the boys, a tall, dark and handsome boy named Sirius sat talking intently with a short, pudgy boy named Peter, they were discussing the scores from their favorite Quidditch teams latest matches.

"Sirius, I swear, Puddlemere is going to knock the Harpies out of the air."

"Never underestimate the fairer sex Peter, the Harpies will not be beat."

The other two boys were also talking quite emphatically, but on a completely separate and much more serious subject. One boy, a pale, light haired boy named Remus was talking with a black haired with round glasses and calm, but intense brown eyes, named James.

"James, do you really think this is a good idea, it sounds dangerous?"

"Dumbledore asked me to do it, I can say no can I? It's Dumbledore." James answered.

Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the most respected wizard in the world.

"Besides Remus, Dumbledore wouldn't lead me somewhere if there was great risk." James reasoned.

"I guess I can't argue with that, just… just be careful. You're my best mate James, so don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Remus is right James, this is serious, be safe." Sirius added from his position on the other couch, he had finished his conversation with Peter and had been listening to James and Remus. Peter had headed up to bed.

"I'll be fine guys, and Dumbledore will be with me. I have to go. I'll be back sometime tomorrow morning."

James got up from the sofa, grabbed his school bag, which at the moment contained only his invisibility cloak and some water, and walked out of the common room of Gryffindor Tower, one of four towers within Hogwarts. The other three towers were located in various areas in the castle. As James was walking up to Dumbledore's office he bumped into a girl with auburn hair. Her name was Lily Evans and she was Headgirl. James, being Headboy, was familiar with the girl who had only recently become what might be considered a friend. They had been enemies the first six years of their schooling, but had reached a truce of sorts when they found they'd be working together.

As the books Lily were carrying fell to the ground, James let out a soft curse and apologized.

"I'm sorry Lily, I didn't see you." He bent down to help her pick up her books.

"It's okay, where are you headed, it's getting quite late?" Lily asked.

"I'm just meeting someone." James said to her, evasively, he wasn't given permission to tell Lily anything about what he was doing, even though he knew she could be trusted. He thought he saw a flash of something in Lily's eyes but thought she must just be tired.

"Oh, okay, I'll see you later." Lily said. Lily turned and walked in the direction of the common room James had just left. Had James not been so preoccupied with his mission with Dumbledore, he would likely have noticed the sadness and confusion in Lily's eyes, with a hint of jealousy. But he was preoccupied and nervous, but he knew how important this was and continued to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore's office was located in an isolated tower, guarded by the statue of a griffin, and required a password, James being Headboy knew the password, but he always took a few seconds to admire the statue on his way up to see Dumbledore. Something about it fascinated him. He had seen a lot of Dumbledore in his six years at Hogwarts, it was only since the start of the current year that he saw Dumbledore for something other than to receive detention for a prank he pulled. He found that he enjoyed his time in Dumbledore's office much more when he wasn't in trouble. Dumbledore was a fascinating man and a man that deserved as much respect as he was given. James felt strongly about this point because Dumbledore had given James a chance, as Headboy, when he in no way earned it, or so he felt. Ever since he had received his badge in the late summer he vowed to show Dumbledore that he hadn't made a mistake, and show Dumbledore the respect he never had before when he was flouting the rules at every turn.

He reached the top of the stairs and knocked on the heavy wooden door that lead to Dumbledore's office and entered when he was invited in by Dumbledore. They immediately headed out and caught a carriage to the edge of Hogwarts so they could apparate to wherever it was they were going.

"Well, James, are you ready to go?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes sir, is there anything I need to know?"

"No James, we shouldn't see any danger or adventure on our excursion this evening I'm afraid. Just meeting a new friend who will hopefully agree to be a professor for the remainder of the year, I'm sure you heard that Professor Stewart needs to leave immediately to care for her sick mother."

"Yes sir." James said. He wondered why he was asked to go if only to pick up a new professor, but he kept his question to himself.

"Well, the night gets later every second, she's agreed to meet us at the Three Broomsticks Pub, you know where it is I trust?" Dumbledore asked with a small smile. James and his friends had gotten drunk and caused a small ruckus there when Remus had turned Seventeen.

"Yes sir, I'll meet you there?" James returned with a small smile remembering the incident.

"See you there." Dumbledore said.

With two distinct pops James and Dumbledore disappeared.


When Lily arrived at the common room she glanced to her right and saw Sirius and Remus laughing and telling each other jokes. Her heart sank a little more. Clearly James was meeting a girl somewhere. She had been fighting everyday for the last several weeks with her feelings for James and still wasn't sure how she felt. She knew, that she didn't like the thought of James with another girl. She also knew that had this been last year, James would have made a point to flaunt his latest escapade to her face in the hopes of making her jealous and getting her to go out with him, but something had made him change, grow up a little. She appreciated that about him this year, especially considering she had to work with him constantly, but something was missing between them now and she wanted it back, she just didn't know what it was, or how to get it back. She nodded to Remus who had given her a small wave and a smile, they had always gotten along. Remus was more studious than his friends and they had formed a friendship when they patrolled together as prefects. She sat down at a table and decided to get a start on her potions essay, potions was relatively easy for her and helped her relax, as strange as that sounded. Her mind would not focus however, her thoughts kept focusing on James which just frustrated her. So she packed her things and headed to bed, bidding goodnight to the two boys. Her last thought before she fell asleep was about James.