AN: Ladies and gentleman, I'm kind of back! Before you lies a new one shot, that may, or may not, be part of Shadow in the Dark, but I confirm nothing. The writing for Shadow in the Dark is going slowly, but it is going. I hope (keyword hope) to be done with it before New Years. It's been a long time since I've actually posted anything, and I miss it. That being said, please enjoy.

Vivamus, Moriendum Est: Or Grief and All His Friends

By: Tyrano

Part I: Vivamus, Moriendum Est

James Charlus Potter was quite truthfully, your average teenaged pureblood boy. He was tall and rather muscled (from years of playing quidditch no doubt), he had bright hazel eyes, and black hair that always seemed to stick out at one odd angle or another. On most, his hair would be rather awkward-looking, but he found a way to make its appearance quite charming. He had a handsome face with neither a mustache nor a beard to be found, and upon his nose rested what seemed to be his only flaw, an almost wire thin pair of glasses, for despite the beauty of his hazel eyes, they were nearly blind.

However, he was still the epitome of pureblood handsomeness. And he had a fair sense of dress as well, undoubtedly drilled into him by his mother, the Lady Dorea Potter, and perhaps even his father, the Lord Charlus Fleamont Potter. James quite clearly achieved his good looks from his parents.

Charlus Potter was a man of average height and stocky build. He had thick arms, a square jaw, and a devilish smirk that was ever present on his face (which James most definitely inherited). His hair was the same black as his sons, but much shorter, and very muggle soldier like, his square jaw (which drew many women to him in his teenaged years) became hidden by a great big, bushy, black, beard, which over time, had begun to grey. His eyes were a dark blue color, and his face was rather pale, quite offsetting to his dark hair.

Dorea Potter was where James got his height; she stood no more than 8 centimeters shorter than her husband, but was on the rather petite side; she had long dark hair, and the same hazel eyes as her son. Her face was pretty, and had aged very well, with hardly a wrinkle in sight. Her skin was the same pale color of her husband and son. She had always enjoyed being naturally beautiful, and avoided makeup as such. Her heritage as a daughter of the Black family was clear to see.

James, as mentioned above, was a longtime quidditch player. His skill as a chaser earned him a starting position in his second year, and the honor of being Gryffindor's team captain in his fourth year. He helped Gryffindor win the Quidditch and House cup for six straight years. And he even performed well in school, despite never trying. James consistently earned EEs in all his classes, and rarely didn't get Os in Transfiguration; school seemingly came natural to him, despite his rather blase attitude about it.

The thing James excelled in the most however, was girls. They flocked to him, he got good grades, he was rich, he was handsome, what wasn't there to like? Of course, despite the constant attention from numerous girls spanning all years of Hogwarts, there was only one who ever truly drew his eye.

Lily Evans was a rather petite girl, with very little height, and a lot of temper. She had bright red hair, emerald green eyes, and pale skin. She was intelligent, she was funny, and she hated James Potter with a passion.

Her reasons were many: one, he constantly bullied her friend Severus; two, he was cocky and a womanizer; three, he constantly chased after her, always asking her out, trying to keep her away from Severus, and just annoying her in general; and fourth, worst of all, his grades. They were far too good for someone who spent all his time flirting and playing quidditch. He never studied, and yet he achieved consistent EEs and Os, whereas Lily had to constantly study and review to achieve her own EEs and Os. It was infuriating; he was infuriating.

For five and a half years, she dealt with his constant persuals. Until one day during their sixth year.

-BREAK-

The potions hall was a rather dark and depressing room in the dungeons of Hogwarts, not far from where Lily knew the Slytherin common room was, and where she knew Severus would be right now. She missed him, at least a little bit, but she knew that ending her friendship with him was for the best, his obsession with the dark arts, and his now known following of the blood supremacists was far too much for her. She supposed that his calling her a mudblood wasn't entirely his fault, as he had just been humiliated by Potter, Black, Remus and Peter again, but still, it hurt, and he had yet to offer an apology several months later.

And there they were, the "Marauders": James Potter; Sirius Black; Remus Lupin; and Peter Pettigrew. Lily never understood how Remus had come to be friends with the other three—he was completely different from Potter and Black. He was a hard worker, he enjoyed quieter things, and he had always been the kindest to Severus (although, he still followed Potter and Black's lead when they bullied him). Peter she could understand, he had serious confidence issues, and to be looked at kindly by two of the most popular and wealthy students in Hogwarts, well, he'd do anything they asked.

The past several weeks had been weird. Potter had stopped flirting with her, in fact, he had stopped almost all interaction with her, besides the occasional "Good morning" or "Afternoon, Evans". It was strange, she still caught him staring at her in class or the common room occasionally, but he rarely spoke to her. And this day was no different. When she passed by his and Black's table upon arriving to class, he politely said hello, and returned to his conversation with Black. It was strange and she had no idea what brought on the sudden change. But no matter, she had work to do; she turned to her potions partner, Alice Smith, and they begun to work.

It wasn't until class was about halfway through, when a younger looking student entered the room, and handed a note to Professor Slughorn, before leaving. Slughorn looked at the note, and expressed nothing. He looked at the class, and by now everyone was looking at him.

"Mr. Pot…" He stopped there and righted himself, "James M'boy, if you would follow me please."

Potter looked confused, but stood and followed Slughorn into his office, telling Black that the potion just needed to simmer for half an hour, and it would be ready to be bottled.

No one looked back at their potion. They looked through the small glass window on Slughorn's office door, through which they could see Potter's back, as he sat in the chair before the great big desk that filled half the room. For about a minute, they heard nothing but muffled speaking, before a voice that very clearly belonged to Potter shouted:

"NO! YOU'RE LYING!"

At this point, Potter stood, ripped open the door, and ran out the still open Potions room entrance. Slughorn sighed loudly, before standing, walking back to his desk in the classroom itself, and saying to the furiously whispering students, "Alright! Alright! That's enough of that! I'll have no rumour mongering in my classroom; everybody get back to your potions. Mr. Lupin, please assist Mr. Black if he needs any help."

The rest of potions passed uneventfully.

-BREAK-

By dinner time, still no one had seen Potter, not even Black, Remus, or Peter. Sitting next to Alice, she waited for the nightly mail to arrive. And as it did, the Great Hall filled with silence. For on the Daily Prophet, was something Lily had not expected.

LORD CHARLUS POTTER AND LADY DOREA POTTER née BLACK FOUND DEAD

By: Rita Skeeter

It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you dear readers, that early this morning, the Lord Charlus Potter and Lady Dorea Potter, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, were found dead in a heavily damaged Mt. Plastes, the ancestral castle of the Potter Family. Flying above the castle was a dark mark, confirming that the Potter's were murdered by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or his Death Eaters.

The Potter's leave behind one son, James Charlus Potter, now the Lord of House Potter.

Lily was horrified, as much as she disliked Pot— James, she would never wish something like this on him. No matter how much he bullied Severus, no matter how cocky and arrogant he was, he didn't deserve to have his parents killed. She heard a sob and watched as Remus and Peter helped a sobbing Sirius Black walk out of the Great Hall. Oh, that's right, he had lived with the Potters for years (Dorea being his great aunt). She had forgotten about that. She stood and walked out of the Great Hall shortly behind them, as Dumbledore stood to address the students.

She had to think, where would she go if she were James Potter, after learning his parents were dead. Of course! The one place he loved the most! The Quidditch Pitch!

She walked quickly to the Quidditch Pitch and discovered she was right. Sitting at the top of one of the towers, looking towards the Black Lake, was James Potter himself. As he was more than 100 feet in the air and she was to his right, he had not seen her. Within minutes, she had climbed the many flights of stairs needed to reach the top platform, and sat herself down next to him. He either didn't see her, or was just ignoring her presence. She waited ten minutes before she spoke.

"It was in the Daily Prophet. I'm so sorry."

He didn't look at her when he responded.

"It was going to happen eventually. They refused to join him; they knew the risks."

Lily was shocked by the sheer lack of emotion in his voice, but she knew well the stages of grief, and it seemed he jumped straight from 1 to 4.

"Still, you're allowed to be sad, James. It's normal to be sad when something like this happens."

She saw him smile slightly, but it was gone almost immediately.

"That's the first time you've ever called me James. It's only ever been Potter, since the beginning of first year."

"It's hard to comfort someone when calling them by their last name."

"I suppose so. If you wouldn't mind, I would enjoy it if you didn't return to using my last name."

Lily looked at him. He still hadn't stopped staring at the Black Lake, where the Giant Squid could be seen playing. The sun was slowly setting over the Scottish Highlands. The sky was a brilliant mix of orange, blue, purple, and black.

"It's a beautiful night." And it truly was.

"It is. I wish my parents could see it."

Lily was surprised; he had gone back to stage 3.

"It won't be the same for me and Sirius anymore. It never will be."

Lily looked at him again, and saw a single tear run down his aristocratic face. She had never realised how handsome he truly was. But now was not the time for that. She gently reached her arm over his shoulders, and pulled him against her side. The fact that he was 30 centimeters taller than her, and twice her weight, made it slightly awkward, but she ignored it, and since he didn't move away, she assumed he was doing the same thing.

Lily realised that it would never be the same for James and her either. Not after tonight. It wouldn't be until nearly one o'clock the next morning before they left that tower. And they would be far closer than they had been just 13 hours ago.

AN: I hope you enjoyed. Quick announcement, I do believe I will be changing the title of Shadow in the Dark, you'll see if I do. Please favorite, follow, and review if you enjoyed. And thank you!

AN2: If you're reading this after 11:30 EST, yes, I changed the title. If you are unaware, the new title (Vivamus, moriendum est) is a latin phrase, which translates roughly to "Let us live, since we must die", which I fell fits the story more than "Seize the day".

Tyrano out.