A/N:
Welcome to The End of the Beginning, a canon Harry Potter fanfiction during the first rise of Voldemort. It will follow all of our favourite characters until you-know-who is defeated by a baby boy and disappears without a trace for a decade.
This is to be written as a stand-alone story, but further background for the characters was set in my story Change is in the Air, when these characters were at Hogwarts, if you're interested.
Thank you to the amazing JK Rowling once again for creating such a great world for me to play in – I promise I will leave your toys where I found them.
Usual disclaimer: anything you recognize most likely belongs to Rowling.
Enjoy!
~CannS
CHAPTER ONE:
Wearily, the tall man walked along the footpath, ignored by the bustle of people heading to the London Underground on their way home to have dinner with their families. He was thankful to be spending the evening with his surrogate family, but most nights now were filled with a silence and solitude that left him aching deep down for the companionship he craved.
He had the best three brothers that a man could ever ask for, but since leaving school they were spending less and less time together. A mere year ago, their school had begun to crumble; the mighty castle brought to its knees as the ground ripped apart beneath it, bringing the four boys and their fellow classmates closer than ever before. But it was also at that point that everything began to change. The war was now on their front steps, there was no denying it and no more hiding behind their headmaster. They had seen that monster and fought him face-to-face while his followers killed their fellow classmates. There would be no going back. Now was a time for fight, or flight, and Gryffindor's fought with bravery and fierce loyalty for what is right and true.
They had all found their places in this world, all but one. There was no room for this lonely beast. While three of his closest friends were training around the clock, preparing to be sent into the battle fields, far too soon and far too young, and his other friends were all finding their way to contribute to society, he drifted. Though born to one world, that infectious werewolf bite as a child would do its best to rip him from it. The muggle-world was the only place that his reputation could not follow, though his inability to work after dark and a lack of experience in their non-magical gadgets and contraptions left him with nothing more than odd-jobs to do as he waited for his friends to be granted leave to come home.
He didn't dare mention it because he knew that they would drop everything for him, regardless of how selfish and unreasonable he was being. But he did miss them; particularly on the long and painful nights of transformation which he now spent alone, instead of playing in the woods with his comrades.
Lost in his thoughts he came to a stop in front of an old department store and turned to look through the grimy glass at the old sale posters and misaligned mannequin's. Taking a deep breath to clear his mind and make way for the forced smile he gave to convince the world that everything was okay, he gave a shallow nod towards the store. Within the window, a one-armed mannequin moved in the slightest of movements which most would have chalked down to a trick of the light, but then it clearly winked at him and he boldly walked forward, disappearing through the dusty glass, completely unnoticed by any passers by.
Stepping through the front of the department store, Remus found himself in the wide-open reception of St Mungo's hospital for magical maladies and injuries. All surfaces shined and gleamed beneath the bright lights that flooded the building. Side stepping a team of medics that were rushing a stretcher into the room, Remus sat on one of the cool, uncomfortable seats in the waiting room of the first floor and watched as various casualties came and went. One young wizard was walking around with his head completely backward to his body, whilst a young mother struggled to contain her toddler whose young magic seemed wildly out of control. Remus watched on as the toddler's teddy bear came to life and bit the arm of a nearby doll.
Remus' attention was brought back to the present world as he heard his name being called. Looking up he saw two trainee-healers, marked by their white dresses with a wide, lime-green sash around their waist. The brunette with a blue tuft of fur perched on her shoulder was waving.
"Amelia," he stood to greet his friend in a hug, careful not to let himself stare at the second trainee-healer. This unknown witch had bright, sparkling blue eyes and tight blonde curls resting upon her shoulders. Despite his mental protests, his eyes stole a glance and noted her white dress smoothing over her feminine curves. He turned his head slightly away as he pulled back out of the hug and tried to clear the fog from his brain.
"Remus, this is Erin Winfield. Erin, this is Remus Lupin, we went to school together." Amelia made the introductions.
"Pleased to meet you," Erin had a thick Irish accent that left him wanting to hear more of her soft rolling voice.
"Hi," he was surprised at the breathy tone in his voice as he went to shake her hand in greeting, and he immediately cleared his throat.
Wide, wispy wings spread out from the blue fur on Amelia's shoulder and it flew over to Remus's shoulder. It grabbed onto his collar and stretched the opposite marmoset hand out to him for a high-five.
"Hi Zell," Remus laughed at the welcomed distraction as he looked into her large eyes and touched his own hand against her much smaller one.
Zell was a radafemia, another orphaned animal from the forest that was saved by their old school's groundskeeper, Hagrid, to later be adopted by Amelia. Radafemia's were always thought to be myth, but here she was now proving the truthful link through all of those children's stories. Zell had bonded to Amelia, and mirrored each of her traits. As Amelia's medical strengths were realized they too began to grow in Zell and she had now been classified as a medi-creature with healing powers. Wherever Amelia went, Zell was sure to follow, each one as powerful as the other.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Mel. Nice to meet you, Remus." Erin said with a little wave and a smile before leaving through one of the floo-ports across the lobby.
Remus watched after her and a moment later felt an elbow jab into his ribs. He looked down to see Amelia with a wide smile.
"What?"
"She's single, you know." Her grin stayed stubbornly in place as she opened her pocket and Zell jumped in, fully engulfed inside the small compartment that opened up far beyond what would be conceivable within the bounds of the muggle world.
"Huh," he replied non-challantly.
"Do you want me to ask if she's interested?" she asked as they excited the hospital and headed down the street to Remus' old Morris Minor.
"Come on, Mel, I don't think Sirius would be very happy if I encouraged his girlfriend to ask out another girl… On second thoughts, never mind." He said with a cheeky smile, unlocking and opening the passengers' door for her before going around to get into his side.
"Come on," Amelia laughed. "It's obvious you like her."
"I don't date." He stated factually.
"If the right person comes along and there's a chance that you could make each other happy, you should grab onto that with both hands. With all the terror of today's war, happiness is a rare blessing."
"Adding distracting emotions to times of war is hardly logical."
"I disagree. It gives you something to fight for," she trumped him.
Remus stared at the road ahead, his jaw locked in place as he silently drove out of the city.
"You deserve to be happy, you know that, right?" Amelia said.
Remus summoned his 'everything's okay' smile and glanced to her before returning his attention the road. "I am happy. Why wouldn't I be when my evening ahead will be filled with great friends and great food?"
Half an hour later, they were pulling up outside a small thatched cottage with wild flowers growing freely along the fence line. The sun was slowly setting over the countryside and an orange glow began to consume the fields and the few houses of the region.
The cottage belonged to Sirius Black. Sirius had been outcast by his family for choosing the wrong side of the war to fight for, but one uncle supported his decision and bequest Sirius a sum of money to help him find his feet. When he graduated he bought the small cottage and was able to call somewhere home for the first time in years.
The moment Amelia opened the car door, Zell flew outside and straight in through the cottage window, making herself at home. Amelia and Remus followed, entering the cottage through the front door. They were greeted by the rich smell of simmering stew and dumplings, and the pair followed their noses through to the kitchen.
"That smells great, Peter," Amelia said, causing the young man's cheeks to flush red as he bustled around the kitchen, blanching the green beans to be served on the side. "I'll set the table for you."
"Thanks, Amelia." He stirred the vegetables and began rummaging through the drawers for serving utensils as Amelia levitated stacks of dinnerware into the adjacent room.
"Can I help?" Remus asked, peering over Peter's shoulder and quickly ducking out of the way as Peter rapidly pulled the vegetables off the heat, shutting the gas flame off with one hand as with the other he poured the beans into the awaiting colander in the sink, draining off the boiling water.
"I'm nearly done. Can you go and tell the guys dinner will be on the table in five? They're out in the shed."
"Sure," Remus said retreating from the kitchen. Getting part time work in the Leaky Cauldron's kitchen when he left school had unleashed a new passion for Peter and when he got in the kitchen, they had all learnt to keep out of his way and let him work his magic.
Remus exited the house and crossed the back yard toward the small wooden shed tucked in the back corner. As he approached, he saw Lily sat upon the wooden bench that ran right along the left wall, her legs swinging freely on each side of James who was standing infront of her, leaning against the edge of the bench and gently tossing tools to the dirt floor of the shed upon request.
Lying on the dirt floor Sirius was cranking a muggle ratchet as he worked on the second love of his life, his motorcycle. He had only ridden the large black bike once before winding up in a ditch, but he had fallen in love and spent the last two months spending every spare moment repairing it.
"Oops, what's this?" Sirius asked as he found a lead that wasn't connected at one end. He popped the other end off and inspected it, holding it high for Lily to see.
She thumbed through the large manual they had sourced from the local muggle library. "Uh, that's an ignition lead, you're probably going to want that."
"Oh right," he reexamined the connections and attempted to determine where they fit on the bike.
"Hi guys," Remus said as he stepped through the doorway into the shed.
"You could make it!" James stepped forward and hugged his friend.
"Wouldn't have missed it! Pete said to call you guys in; dinner's nearly ready and it smells amazing."
"Good, I'm starved." Lily jumped off of the bench and, taking James hand, the two began to walk back up to the house.
"Coming, Padfoot?" Remus asked.
"I suppose I can work out where this belongs some other time," Sirius twisted out from under the bike and sat up, setting the lead to one side. "Is Mel here?"
"Yea, I picked her up on my way here."
"Good," Sirius nodded to himself as he stood up and snatched a rag off of the workbench to wipe the worst of the grease from his hands.
"What's up?" Remus knew when something was wrong, and it wasn't like Sirius to be so solemn.
"It's just… I… you'll see." He finished as they reached the back porch. "I'll just go and wash up and be with you guys soon."
Remus watched Sirius climb the stairs and wandered himself into the dining room where his friends were gathered.
"Hi Remus," Cherie, the seventh member of their group greeted him from in front of the fireplace. She placed a bottle of wine on the laden table before unbuttoning her coat and hanging it in the corner of the room, shaking the fresh dusting of floo powder loose from her long black hair.
"Coming through!" Peter's voice called out from the kitchen and a large casserole dish levitated into the room, followed by a glass bowl of green beans and Peter carrying through a ladle and a pair of tongs.
With the dishes set down in the centre of the table, the group took their seats and began to dish up as Lily poured out wine for each of them. Sirius soon joined them, freshly washed up and in a clean black shirt and jeans. He leant down to kiss Amelia on the cheek and then took his seat at the head of the table and helped himself to some stew.
"This smells amazing, Pete." He said, ladling a large helping onto the centre of his plate. There were murmurs of agreement around the table as everyone had their mouths full of the rich casserole.
"Thanks," Peter smiled and gently bowed his head, before quickly changing the subject and moving the spotlight off of him. "So Cherie, I read your article in the prophet today."
Cherie scoffed. "My article? You should have seen the censorship that went into it! For England's number one paper, you think they would have the obligation to report the facts, not a numbed down fairytale version of the truth deemed acceptable by the Ministry."
"They're still not letting up on you, then?" Lily asked.
"Not at all. If they force me to finish another piece with 'the Ministry reports that everything is under control' I may just be forced to burn the printing press to the ground."
"Ooo, we should mark you as a potential terrorist threat for that!" James pointed a fork in her direction. "That's what we were learning today, identification of threats, and pyromania was on the list!"
"Well cuff me up, it's got to be better than having another article pulled to shreds," Cherie laughed and jokingly offered her wrists forward. "How are those top-secret auror classes coming along then?" she addressed James, Lily and Sirius, the three of the group who were hand-selected to train under Auror Moody.
"Funny you should say that actually," James started.
"Prongs?" Sirius cut him off with a meaningful look. James nodded towards him, conceding the conversation to Sirius. When he spoke, Sirius addressed the group though he had Amelia locked in his gaze. "There's no more time. We're being deployed."
There was the clang of cutlery falling against china as Amelia's fork fell from her suspended hand.
"What do you mean there's no more time?" Remus asked in alarm. "You're barely half way through your training!"
Sirius shrugged. "We're in the middle of a war. There is a front of deatheaters moving in from the North and the best aurors have been battling 18 hour days for the last month and a half. They need respite and we are the only resources unallocated."
"When?" Amelia's voice came out barely above a whisper.
"Our portkey leaves at 6am."
"Congratulations," Peter said. "Moody has always loved you guys, but to deploy you so early his faith in you must be outstanding."
The seven had not made it to the end of their senior year at Hogwart's school of witchcraft and wizardry before the brewing war literally arrived on their front doorstep, forever changing the lives of each of them.
It would be the start of one of the biggest wars in all of wizarding history; the fight of the pureblood wizards for dominance over the weaker, non-magical 'muggles'. They were led by a gifted young man, stunningly handsome and remarkably charismatic; traits which he used to recruit and propel his ever-growing army. He was known by several names, primarily Lord Voldemort or the Dark Lord, but hushed whispers about "you-know-who" were becoming increasingly common throughout the wizarding world where it was feared that he would seek to punish those who uttered his name aloud.
Though there were those who refused, 'muggle sympathisers' and those who would resist the tyrannical rule that this new age would bring. In the meantime, Voldemort and his mob of media-proclaimed "death eater" followers took no hostages and were prepared to take out anyone, pureblood or not, who stood in their way. That is why the Ministry of Magic were sending in their best and mobilizing all aurors to defend the status quo against this powerful and murderous tyranny. The fact was that the opposing side was growing faster than the Ministry could mobilise; they were getting desperate and were now forced to call upon the under-experienced and under-prepared to join their ranks.
As the group discussed the upcoming deployment of the three training aurors, Sirius' attention honed in on Amelia. Silence wasn't uncommon for her, but he could read it clearly in her face that this wasn't her usual mode of reflection. She didn't look up for the remainder of the meal, just focused on cutting her dumpling into smaller and smaller portions before moving onto her green beans and slowly chewing them.
With the last of the stew consumed, Peter returned to the kitchen to tend to their dessert while Cherie, Lily and James picked through the Daily Prophet and criticized the blanketed truth it depicted in each of the toned down articles held within it's pages. Meanwhile Amelia dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin and excused herself from the room.
Remus rounded the table and sat next to Sirius who watched through the doorway that Amelia had just departed the room through. "That's what you were worried about before?" Sirius nodded. "Do you want me to go and talk to her?"
"No," Sirius shook his head and turned his gaze back to Remus. "I should go. But, Moony?"
"Yea?"
"Their army is getting stronger, and it's getting closer, and I…"
"I know," Remus nodded, showing he understood. "I'll keep an eye out for her."
Sirius smiled and clasped his friend in a hug before leaving the dining room into the cool hallway. The study at the front of the hall was dark, so he turned straight for the staircase and climbed the worn carpeted stairs to the upper floor. Branching off from the upstairs landing were four doors. The master bedroom and bathroom to the left and two guest rooms on the right, he walked towards the back guest room and gently knocked on the door before pushing it open. Amelia had always loved this room with it's view over the garden and creek running across the back of the property, she always felt it inspirational to sit quietly at the desk in the window and admire the view.
The room beyond was dark, but with the curtains wide open he could see Amelia's silhouette sitting in her chair as she stared out at the stars punctuating the night sky.
"Hi," Sirius said quietly as he took a seat on one of the beds in the room, careful not to sit on Zell who he could hear purring from her curled up ball on the foot of the bed.
"Hi," Amelia responded, turning her head away from the window to look at him through the dark.
Sirius reached out and took her hand in his. "Want to talk?"
Amelia stood and sat next to him, weaving their fingers together. "It's too soon. You're supposed to have another year, at least."
"I know." Sirius wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "But we're ready. Moody wouldn't send us in if he wasn't sure, and he'll be coming too, he won't send us right into the firing line."
"What will you be doing?"
"Not much at first. Heck we're likely to be doing not much more than collecting water, cooking for the other aurors and dismantling and setting up camp when we relocate each morning."
"You just make sure you come home, okay? Preferably in one piece, but Zell and I can work with two." She tried to make light of the situation.
"I'll always come back for you, hun," he said kissing the crown of her head.
"Well, we've still got tonight." She smiled bravely and got to her feet. "Come on, I'm pretty sure Peter was working on an apple crumble earlier." Sirius took her hand and followed her back downstairs to join their friends.
They stayed up late in the study, letting the warmth from the dwindling fireplace wash over them. None of them spoke the truth. They knew that in a few hours they would be closer to the frontline than any teenager should ever be. They knew they were to be up against death eaters much stronger and with far less remorse than they had. But for tonight, they would pretend. They would pretend that all was well and spend this one last night as children, knowing that tomorrow there would be no going back. It was in the wee hours of the morning that Remus, Peter and Cherie reluctantly stepped into the fire grate and flooed back to their respective homes.
"Padfoot, do you mind if Lily and I crash here tonight? Saves us coming back to catch the portkey in the morning."
"The bed's already made up." Sirius was one step ahead of them. "Will you stay?" he asked Amelia.
She nodded and the four of them headed upstairs. Sirius went straight to the Master bedroom and James to the one opposite while the girls went onto the bathroom to wash up.
"Don't worry, I'll look after him," Lily hugged Amelia tightly.
"You're going to have your hands full with both of them out there."
"Hey, I heard that!" Sirius and James both called out from their respective rooms.
"See you soon," Lily promised, kissing Amelia on the cheek and heading through to bed, after they brushed teeth.
Amelia retrieved her small overnight bag that lived in the spare room and changed into a pair of short pjs before crossing to the master bedroom and crawling into bed where she curled up against Sirius' bare chest and swiftly fell asleep. The next thing she knew, someone was smoothing her hair and calling her name softly.
"Sirius?" startled she came to and sat up, taking in her surroundings. Sirius was silhouetted against a light coming from the hallway, and she could see he was fully dressed and wore his cloak.
"It's time," he said softly.
"No, I was supposed to make you breakfast. Your favourite, blueberry pancakes and strong black coffee. It can't be time." She scrambled out of bed and rushed towards the doorway.
"Mel," his voice soothed as he held her close and placed a kiss on her forehead. "It's okay, go back to bed. Stay here if you want to; you and Zell can keep an eye on the place. We'll be back before you know it."
Amelia pulled back from his firm chest and reached up on her toes to kiss him. They then took each other's hand and walked downstairs. Amelia watched as he joined James and Lily in the middle of the dining room, each with a finger on the fruit bowl at the centre of the table. The bowl began to emanate a white light and the three waved to Amelia before, in a blur, they were gone.