.: On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful :.
Chapter 1 – Find Yourself
Find Yourself – Brad Paisley
The beginning of a story is often the best part, you find out about the hero and the trials he or she went through to get to their happily ever after. This story begins in the middle of a story that hasn't been written yet.
"Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to James and Danni, Happy Birthday to us."
That was all that could be heard in the graveyard that still June night, the ironic celebration of a birthday in a graveyard. A slight figure could be seen in the soft moonlight of the nearly full moon. The woman, whom I believe, it is safe to assume is Danni, had kept a vigil over that particular spot for the past fifteen years. She celebrated the birthday of her and her fraternal twin, James, every year. Each year she came back hoping for a miracle and her brother hadn't let her down yet. She kneeled on the grassy field where her brother and sister-in-law were buried and pulled a canvas bag closer to her. She pulled out a lighter and a candle and said a little prayer before lighting the candle. The flame flickered as Danni breathed in and out, and a tiny pool of the light was cast over the headstone in front of her. It read:
Here lies James Potter
A brother, soul mate, and a true Marauder.
Rest in Peace Prongs
June 29 1961 – October 31 1981
Danni laughed as she saw the mini version of a stag, James' animagus form, etched into the bottom left hand corner. She moved closer and saw a dog in the bottom right hand corner and a werewolf howling at the full moon in the top left hand corner. The top right hand corner was blank; no rat in sight, Danni knew that Sirius must have been the one to make the markings. Only she and Sirius knew how deep Peter's treachery went. However, it had been two years after he had escaped Azkaban prison and she had heard rumors of his "attack" at Hogwarts, it was common knowledge that Dumbledore had hired Remus Lupin to be the professor of Defense Against Dark Arts. Sirius would know that Remus would at least hear his side of the story, that was likely how he had managed to stay above the law for the past two years. With Remus's help came Dumbledore's help, and ultimately the Order's. She had been alerted that the Order of Phoenix had resurfaced and she was asked to become an active member again. She promised Albus that she would help in any way possible as long as she didn't have to set one foot in Number 12 Grimmauld Place. As an Unspeakable, she was used to getting her way and this time she was not disappointed. She promised to use her advantage as an Unspeakable to influence politics and she never had to see the man she loved again.
Danni suddenly felt a rush of wind, jolting her back to the task at hand. She looked and saw that the candle was still lit.
"On the count of three, all right James?" She held the candle a few inches from her face and directly in front of the headstone. "One… Two … Two and a half…" the wind roared and the wind blew out the candle too early. "Naughty, naughty little brother, twins are supposed to share." She smiled and shook her head and put away the candle. She recoiled in shock as she felt something burn her arm. Danni looked down and saw a rather red welt on the underside of her forearm. She looked at the candle and saw it had relit itself. Amazed, she held the candle to her face and gently blew it out. Satisfied that the candle wouldn't relight itself again she put the candle back into the bag. She pulled out a pink lily and moved on to the next grave over. She saw that this tombstone was absent of any drawings of the wolf and the dog, all that was pictured was a stag with lilies entwined in its antlers. It read:
Here lies Lily Potter
A best friend, a loving wife, and a devoted mother.
Rest in Peace Lily
April 4, 1961 – October 1, 1981
Danni looked down at the flower and smelled its sweet fragrance before she let it fall through her fingers. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down.
Chapter 2 – The Pros and Cons of Breathing
Harry was having a wonderful summer so far, even after a hellish fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Barty Crouch Jr. had fooled everyone, even Dumbledore, so he could lead Harry through the Tri-Wizard tournament and eventually bring back Voldemort at the end of the final challenge. It was not supposed to end with death; it was supposed to end in victory for both the Hogwarts champions. Harry had told Cedric to take the cup with him and they could both be the champion, but it never worked out that way. They arrived in a graveyard and before Harry could do anything to stop it, Wormtail killed Cedric. Harry was forced to watch as Voldemort came back to full power and dueled with Harry. Only luck and Priori Incantatem saved him, he even got to see his parents for the first time in real life. He was away from the Dursley's after just a week in their awful home. He was currently residing in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place with the Order of Phoenix and his godfather, Sirius Black.
Although he had been having a fantastic summer, he had not had a fantastic night yet. It had become commonplace for Harry to be the first one up and the last one to bed. Sirius would often join him in his early morning ritual, even if it was just for a cup of coffee. That was what Harry was hoping would happen this morning, he had a strange feeling about today, it had accompanied an even stranger dream, and Harry knew that Sirius probably knew the answer.
Harry entered the swinging kitchen door and saw Sirius fixing a pot of tea muttering some particularly nasty obscenities about the Black family house elf, Kreacher. Harry smiled at the normalcy of it all, well as normal as any magical family could be. For that's what he and Sirius were, they may have been misfits, but they were in it together.
"Bloody elf, oh, Harry, you're earlier than usual. I thought I'd get a head start on our little session, or rather Kreacher did." He gave Harry a smile and put a plate of rolls on the table along with two mugs for tea. Both men detested dainty little teacups. 'You can't have a decent conversation because the damn things are too small; you have to fill them up every ten minutes!' That was Sirius' opinion anyway.
Harry went to a cupboard, grabbed a knife and some jam, and sat down at the table. He reached for a roll while Sirius poured the steaming tea into the two mugs. Harry grabbed a lump of sugar and began stirring it into his tea. He just stared down at the roll for a few minutes, not saying a word.
"Harry, is everything all right?" Sirius didn't like to pry into Harry's life unless Harry asked him to, but the vacant expression on his godson's face had him worried. Sirius knew the boy had been through a lot and the only thing Sirius knew to do, was listen.
"Sirius, do you remember if something important happened on this date?"
Sirius looked at his pocket watch to see that it was June 29th at 4:17 in the morning. He looked taken aback for a few seconds, but by the time he made eye contact with Harry, his face was neutral. "Remus and I never told you about this date, did we?"
Harry shook his head and stopped stirring his tea. He nodded for Sirius to continue and took a small bite of his roll.
Sirius poured himself more tea and took a bite of his roll as well. He sighed and looked at Harry, "Ah, I wish Remus was here, he could always explain things better than I could." He locked his hands together and cracked his fingers. "This will take a while. First off Harry, it's extraordinary that you asked about today, because at this date 35 years ago your father was born. Actually, I think he was born at 9:17 P.M., Danni showed me their birth certificates once."
Sirius continued to drink his tea, not knowing the effect his words had on Harry. "Sirius, shut up." Both Harry and Sirius turned to see Remus at the door.
"Remus, what on earth?" asked Sirius in surprise, but Remus paid no attention to him, he was focused on the look on Harry's face and knew what he was about to ask.