There You Were

Disclaimer: I own nothing that came from the Harry Potter books by the brilliant J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 1: Giggles in the Night

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It was dark, that much was obvious; but the reason for the darkness was still unknown. Always unknown. Nothing ever occurred in this particular darkness; no scary monsters popping out of side corridors, no attacks. Nothing that made you scream, but at the same time everything made you scared.

And then, just when you thought you were safe, It came: the faint laugh in the distance. Not a deep chuckle you followed to find it's owner, nor a cheerful cackle that invited you to join in. This laugh resembled a child-like giggle, one that sent chills up your spine.

It was this exact giggle that featured in one teenager's dream every night for the past week. This student walked through the quite halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry searching for something; though what it was they could not say. Forever searching, and forever followed by the giggle.

James Potter jolted awake, the memory of his dream echoing in his mind. Sitting up, he reached over to find his glasses on the night stand, certain that he wouldn't be going back to sleep tonight. It was the same every night. Sleep, dream, wake at 5:30 in the morning and forget about trying to go back to sleep. James had learnt the hard way that sleep again would only bring on worst dreams.

These dreams were starting to worry him, but until something more substantial happened in them James was unsure what they meant or how to resolve them. He wasn't afraid of a giggle, or at least that was what he told himself when he woke in the early hours of the morning. What scared him was not knowing how to stop it, or what he searched for every night in the dark halls. But waiting for the dream to unfold seemed like the best option to him, if only he could manage to ride the dream out.

Getting bored waiting for the sun to come up; James wandered down to the kitchen. He thought the Potter house elves would be at work making breakfast until he remembered Fridays were their day off. Why Fridays he couldn't say, something about his mother thinking an odd day would be better than a weekend. Or maybe it was the day they picked for some reason. His sleep deprived self could not come up with a better answer so he decided to drop the thought.

Summer break was coming to a close, and with it came the start of the New Year at Hogwarts. For James and his friends, the famous Marauders, this meant their final year of school, and they already had plans to make this year the most memorable of all. Pranks were being planned, Quidditch was to be played, and the hopes of snagging a pretty young lady or two were all goals of the near future. Although for some only one girl would do: Lily Evans. Lily had been refusing his offer of dating for years. But James was certain this year would be different.

Coming out of his thoughts to the sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway; James turned to see his best friend, Sirius Black, drag himself through the house. His destination was the always ready coffee pot. Over the summer, Sirius had perfected the art of walking around the house with his eyes closed. It was a handy talent in the early hours of the morning when opening your eyes was extremely undesirable. The problem with this 'magnificent art' as Sirius liked to call is, was being unable to determine if someone else was in the room. James planned to use this knowledge to his advantage. Knowing that even on working days the house elves avoided making coffee, James waited for Sirius to fill the pot before making his presence known.

"Morning Padfoot."

No-one would believe Sirius could jump that high, at least not this early in the day.

"Jesus Christ Prongs! Give a guy a little warning before you waltz into the room as quite as a bloody mouse!" Sirius spun around to face James, holding a hand over his heart in a dramatic show of surprise. "You'll give me a heart attack one of these days."

"Only if you don't give me one first." James replied grinning as he took a seat at the kitchen counter. "Besides, if you'd had your eyes open you would have seen I was already in the kitchen. No mouse waltzing happening here."

"Sure, I'm definitely going to believe that one." Sirius said rolling his eyes as he began to prepare his pot of coffee. "What are you even doing up? Did you have the Giggle-Dream again?"

James sighed. He'd told Sirius about the dream because they told each other everything. But like James, he had no idea what it meant or how to fix the terror James felt every morning. It was becoming a topic he didn't want to talk about.

"Yeah, I had it again. Not much different from the rest of them. Less walking before the giggling started." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "If I could find out who the giggles belong to, or maybe just reach my destination maybe I could…could."

"I know mate." Sirius replied, understanding how frustrated James was with being left in the dark; in more ways than one. "Moony might know something to help, or maybe even dear Miss Lily can provide you with an answer. It's not her giggling is it?"

"I am not telling Evans that I'm having nightmares about giggles!" James defended immediately. "And no, she's not my giggle monster. It's more of a horror-child sound"

"I still think you should tell Lily. She might think you're an actual person if you fear something. Prongs, this could help you get her to date you." Sirius said with true excitement in his voice.

"I want her to date me because of Me; not because I have some silly little dream. I'm not flawless, and she should see that. God she should have noticed last year I wasn't exactly the bullying toerag of fifth year. I shouldn't have to keep presenting her with my faults so she can scrutinise me before turning me down."

The summer holidays had given James time to think over The Lily Situation. He was still madly in love with her, but he'd decided to change his tactics this year. No longer would he continuously bother Lily with endless amounts of dating questions. Nor would he suck up to her. His plan this year was to just be himself. So far he liked the plan; of course he was yet to put it into action since the school year had not started yet.

"I think that's what she wants though." Sirius stated bluntly. He wasn't very diplomatic before the coffee kicked in. "Look, we'll just wait and see what happens next week. You can wait a week, right?"

James sighed. He'd been waiting forever for Lily, he could wait a week.

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It was the day before school began and Lily Evans was making the most of it. She had already made her plans for the day, having written them down last night on a spare piece of parchment. Organisation: that was the key to Lily's success, or so her best friends Alexandra Wattleby and Dorcas Meadows liked to think. Lily liked to think it was dedication and determination; the organisation was a major factor of both.

Walking over to her desk, Lily read over her plans:

Final, unrushed family breakfast

Reading in the nearby park

Last minute packing/checking everything was packed for school

Go to bed early

The last item on the list was more of a reminder than a demand. Lily had a history of waking up extremely early when she had something exciting planned for the coming day. Going to bed early ensured that she would gain plenty of sleep even if she was up at 4 a.m.

Bounding down the stairs for breakfast, Lily faced her first problem for the day: Her father had already left for work.

"Good morning darling." Mrs. Evans greeted enthusiastically. "How did my baby girl sleep?"

"Mum, why did dad leave already? "We arranged it last night. My last morning here was going to be a family thing. I even said Petunia could bring Vernon if she wanted to!" Lily exclaimed, naming her sister's steady boyfriend.

"Oh sweetie, you know he would have stayed if he could. But it is getting pretty late in the morning, he couldn't stay around any longer." Her mother replied giving Lily a small smile. "But I made blueberry pancakes"

Internally Lily was still upset. She wouldn't have time to have a proper goodbye breakfast tomorrow because of the need to get to Kings Cross station bright and early. But she wouldn't let it show anymore.

'Dad didn't miss the breakfast deliberately,' She told herself calmly. 'And I'll see him tonight at dinner. I'll just adjust my plan for today and we'll have our final meal at dinner.'

"Thanks for this mum, it looks wonderful."

Over breakfast Lily thought about the upcoming year. A few weeks ago she'd received her final Hogwarts letter outlining what was needed for the year. But this year something extra special arrived with it: a letter informing Lily that she was to be Head Girl this year. Her excitement could hardly be contained. Lily had been aiming for this position since she first became a Prefect in fifth year; and now she had fulfilled her goal.

This year was going to be different. Lily had decided to enjoy her final school year more than ever. This meant going to Hogsmead on every weekend there was a scheduled trip; not studying every free moment she had, despite the fact that N.E. were a major obstacle this year; and attempting to fight with James Potter less than usual. Though the last point may prove to be more difficult than the rest, Lily was preparing herself to try. There was no use fighting the entire year, it wasted too much energy and never got them anywhere; especially since James was appointed as Head Boy. The two of them were going to be working together more often than previous years.

The day went by quickly for Lily. She managed to accomplish everything on her to-do-list and all without trying too hard. As she drifted off to sleep that night her dreams were full of bright red trains, glittering night skies and endless blue skies, as well as sparks of magic floating in the air. It was these moments that made Lily most excited about returning to Hogwarts: the magic she would do there.

Lily walked through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 at Kings Cross station without any concern at all. No longer was it a scary experience wondering what lay behind the door to the magical express train.

This was going to be a very interesting year.

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A/N: Well here we have the first chapter of my new story. I probably should have attempted to finish my other story but I didn't feel like continuing it at the moment.

As for 'There You Were'…I have no idea where I want this story to go, but I had an urge to write something and this is what I came up with. I'm hoping I'll think of something fabulous to write about.

Tell me what you think about the giggling-monster.

~James' Girl Lily.