Disclaimer: I almost forgot about this! Well, the Harry Potter world, and everything in it, does not belong to me. No, we owe much gratitude to J. K. Rowling for that. So thank you, J.K.R.! This disclaimer applies to all of the following chapters. Now, on with the story . . .

Hearts and Minds

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Chapter One: The Warning

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A full moon rose silently over London. Dark clouds were racing past the giant orb in the sky. In this midnight hour, in the outskirts of the city, Lily Evans was kneeling down beside her bedroom window, peering out at the night sky. She should have been asleep; after all, the next morning she would be on the Hogwarts Express, going back to school for her last year. However, her thoughts had been keeping her awake at night for the past few weeks. Naturally, Lily believed that the thought of school starting up again was simply making her nervous, but after several nights of tossing and turning, she decided it had to be something else. Something she couldn't quite figure out. She kept trying to put it out of her mind, but on this night, more than before, it was there, ever present, making her worry.

Something's coming . . . she told herself. I can feel it. Something's coming.

Her emerald-green eyes were glazed over as she just stared out the window at the stars. She tore them away after what seemed like hours and blinked a few times. Looking at her alarm clock, she sighed.

I suppose I should try to get some sleep . . . it's nearly one in the morning.

With that, Lily stood up and walked over to her bed. She sat down and looked around her room. Everything seemed to be in order; her trunk was fully packed with her Hogwarts robes folded neatly on top. She had picked out the outfit she would be wearing the next day. She had cleaned up her room a bit so that her parents wouldn't have to look at a mess for months. She was as prepared for school as she could be, so why was she so uneasy about September 1st?

Lily sighed again and laid down. She double-checked her clock, making sure the alarm was set. Lying next to the alarm clock was a thin wand made of willow, and a small silver badge. Lily picked up the badge off of the nightstand.

"Head Girl," she whispered, reading the engraving on the badge and smiling softly. "I wonder who the Head Boy is? Hmm, probably Remus." She then placed the badge back on the little table and rubbed her eyes, finally feeling the tiniest bit of tiredness. Lily pulled her blanket up over her head and fell asleep a few minutes later.

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Lily was floating. She was wearing a light blue nightgown, and she was very cold. Her eyes darted from one place to another. She was a few feet off the ground, but she could tell she was on the astronomy tower at Hogwarts, close to the edge. She looked down and saw fires burning on the ground. There were bodies everywhere, teachers and students. People she knew. Her own friends. Suddenly, she heard a loud popping noise come from behind her. Lily tried to turn around and see what it was, but she couldn't. She tried to scream, but someone was holding a hand over her mouth. An icy, white hand with long fingers . . .

"Evans! Evans, wake up! Lily-"

She gasped and sat bolt upright. It was still dark, and her bedroom window was open, letting in the chilly night air. Lily glanced around her room, not realizing that someone was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her blanket had fallen off while she slept, and she could feel cold sweat on her forehead. She rapidly wiped it off. It was just a dream . . . she told herself, not really believing it, and tried to calm down. Then, her eyes narrowed, and she noticed.

Just as she was about to scream, James Potter whipped out his wand and muttered, "Silencio." He distinctly saw Lily mouth the word, 'POTTER!' and unfortunately, his Silencing Charm did not prevent her from pushing him off the bed. James flew into the wall and landed on the floor with a thud. When he lifted his head and adjusted his glasses, he saw that Lily had her feet on the floor and her fists raised. James needed to explain, and fast, for she looked as though she was going to beat him into a bloody pulp.

"Lily," he began. "I know this doesn't look too good, but listen to me, okay? I'm here on Dumbledore's orders." At the mention of Dumbledore's name, Lily's eyebrows raised, and she lowered her fists a couple of inches. James sat up, and continued. "We need to leave as soon as possible. Dumbledore said that an owl was sent to you, but apparently it was intercepted. Mine was, too. He came to see Sirius and I personally last night."

Lily placed her hands in her lap and mouthed, 'Dumbledore?'

"Yes," James replied. "Lily, if I remove the Silencing Charm, you're not going to scream, right? Because it's been a long night . . ."

Lily crossed her arms and pursed her lips, but she shook her head. With a wave of James's wand, she could speak again.

"Potter, what on earth is going on?"

"We need to get to the train station. The train is leaving early. In . . ." James checked his watch. "In thirty minutes, actually. Five A.M. sharp. So we need to hurry." With that, James stood up. He walked over to Lily and held out his hand. She ignored it and got up, as well. She started walking towards the outfit that was hanging in her closet, but she stopped when James placed a hand on her arm. "There's no time. Look, I'm in pajamas, too." And he was. "So, just grab what you need, and we can catch the train."

Lily turned around. "What about my parents, Potter? My mum and dad? Petunia? On second thought, forget Petunia, but what about-"

James interrupted her, pulling an envelope out of his pocket as he spoke. "Dumbledore wrote them a note telling them that the train was leaving early. All you have to do is leave it on your bed."

Lily snatched the envelope from James's hand. The front of it read, To Mr. And Mrs. Richard Evans, and it was in Dumbledore's handwriting. Lily gasped and flew to her nightstand. She turned off the alarm on her clock and picked up her wand, which she then realized had been there the whole time she was under the Silencing Charm. Lily stuffed it into the pocket of her grey pajama pants in exasperation. She took her badge from the nightstand, as well, pinning it to her white tee so she wouldn't forget it. Grabbing her blanket off the floor, she quickly tried to make her bed look neat.

"Here," James offered, taking the blanket from her hands. "I'll do it. You get ready."

Lily rolled her eyes, but she nodded. She silently ran to the bathroom across the hall and started brushing her teeth. When she returned to her room, her bed was made, and the envelope was lying on top of the comforter. "Otter, ow idoo ett ear?" Lily asked, her toothbrush still in her mouth.

"What?"

Lily ran back to the bathroom and rinsed her mouth out. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Her long, wavy red hair looked a bit messy, but she just pulled some stray locks to the side and secured them with a bobby pin. When she came back to her bedroom, she threw her toothbrush in her trunk and closed it. "I said, 'Potter, how did you get here?' "

"I apparated."

"Oh . . . right," Lily said, remembering the loud popping noise in her dream. "So, are we apparating to the train station?"

"No, we're flying." He pointed to a broom that was standing up against a wall. "There was a spell put on the station this morning so that nobody can apparate within a mile of it."

"So that's why you're here. You're the only one with a broom. But how did you know-"

"Violet told me."

"And now you know where I live! Remind me to give Violet a piece of my mind."

"Lily, this isn't the time . . ."

"And why do you keep calling me 'Lily'? I thought we were on a last-name basis, Potter." Lily pulled on a black jacket and dragged her trunk to the window.

James set to work on tying the trunk to his broom. "I grew up a bit over the summer, I guess," he said pointedly.

Lily stared at him, astounded. "You grew up? Am I hearing this right? So this means no more arrogance, no more pranks, no more picking on Slytherins . . ."

James finished tying, and faced Lily. "I said, 'a bit'. Are you ready? We've only got fifteen minutes."

"I think so, but what's going on?" Lily asked for the second time. "Just tell me something. Anything! Why is the train leaving early? What's happening?"

James looked away and brought his hand up to ruffle his already untidy black hair. "I don't know."

Lily placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her. "Yes you do. Please, tell me."

James's hazel eyes met Lily's green ones. He knew her too well; she would refuse to leave if he did not explain what was going on. He had to tell her. James pulled Lily's hand down, away from his face, and held it in his own.

"Lily . . . he's coming."

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A/N: Well, I hope you liked the first chapter! The idea just came to me one night, and I went along with it. The second chapter will be up very soon! Thank you for reading, and please review!

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By: SammyLynn