Disclaimer: All things canon are owned by the one and only, JK Rowling, and not me... sadly.


Chapter One
Beginnings and Ends


Lily Evans rushed, books in hand, out of the Potions classroom and back to the Gryffindor sixth year girls' dormitory. She had been tutoring a fourth year after Slughorn had asked her to give him a hand with his Swelling Solution, but now it was nearly time for the end of year feast and she still had not packed. The Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade at eleven o'clock sharp the following morning and it was most unusual for Lily to be so disorganised.

The last week had been a stressful one; having had exams the week prior, most of the year groups had been getting their results and the teachers certainly had not held back on giving normal homework, as well as work to do over the summer. Admittedly, Lily had completed the majority of her summer work already, but that left her trunk unpacked and her clothes and books scattered around the dormitory she shared with four other girls.

When the redhead reached her dorm, she checked her watch, noting she had exactly one hour to pack, shower and put on a new set of robes. Drawing her wand from her pocket, Lily set about charming her books into the bottom of her trunk, praying to Merlin they would all fit. Her trunk already had undetectable extension and weightless charms on it and she was unsure how much more space her magical power would allow her. Once she could see everything was running smoothly, Lily grabbed her toiletries and jumped into one of the showers in the adjoining bathroom.

As the hot water poured over her skin, her mind wandered to life beyond Hogwarts. She only had one more year at the magical school, meaning one more year under the protection of Albus Dumbledore. The world beyond the castle boundaries was a dangerous one, particularly for a girl of her blood status and although she had tried to keep it from them as much as possible, Lily knew her parents had realised the current tumult in which the wizarding world lay. It would not be easy to hide the Daily Prophet from them over the summer but she could not let them pull her out of Hogwarts. Nothing good could possibly come from that.

Lily had not realised how much time had passed until she heard commotion in the dorm and Marlene came barrelling into the bathroom calling her name.

"Lils, I thought you said you were going to pack your stuff before the feast. We have fifteen minutes before it starts."

"What?!" Lily squealed, grabbing her towel and nearly slipping over as she rushed out of the shower. "Let me just get dressed, chuck me my robes."

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty that was Marlene McKinnon had been one of Lily's closest friends from her first year at Hogwarts. While the two girls were very different, both in appearance and personality, they got on extremely well and had always been the closest out of the five Gryffindor girls in their year. Their friendship, while it had always been there, grew and blossomed tenfold after the incident in fifth year - the one no one spoke about unless they wished to be hexed into the next century. Over time Marlene's confidence began to bring Lily out of her shell and the redhead had never been more grateful to have friends who had her back, even if she had been distant in years before.

Lily dressed quickly and hurriedly charmed the clothes she knew she would not need again to fold themselves and be placed in her trunk.

"See, I've never really got the hang of household charms. I don't understand how you can just flick your wrist and it comes so easily." Marlene's voice pierced Lily's train of thought as she wondered if the clothes would be okay by themselves if she left them.

"I'll teach you someday, Marls, but we should get moving, I don't want to be late."

The blonde nodded and followed her friend as Lily left the dorm at high speed, knowing that getting to the Great Hall would take five minutes at the very least if she walked at quickly. All she knew is that Dumbledore's speech would be very important this year and there was no way she was going to miss it.


Tuned out from the voice enveloping the Great Hall, James Potter glanced down the Gryffindor table to where Lily sat. It was not that he was not interested in what the old wizard had to say, James had just heard it before - from his mother, his father, his father's co-workers, everyone. He was tired of it, 'there's a war coming', 'danger everywhere', 'stick together', 'come together as a school', 'have each other's backs', blah, blah, blah. James understood. The message was through. He would fight for what was right, he would do what he could, but he did not need the reminder that his childhood was over every second of every day. As much as he felt the pull to fight, he also wanted to live his life while he still could.

James could tell Lily was concentrating very hard on what Dumbledore was saying because every so often her nose would twitch for just a millisecond. If you blinked, you'd miss it, but James never missed it. For years, he had taken an interest in the redheaded witch, and knew every trait and habit she had. He was completely in love and he knew it, but he also knew that it would never happen. James Potter was resigned to his fate – a life without Lily Evans. If he lived through the war, that is.

Not for the first time, Lily could feel two sets of eyes on her. It was not some kind of magical trick that made her aware when people were staring, just a prickling on the back of her neck. Coming straight out of the important speech, Lily snapped her head around to the Slytherin table. For a moment she glared into the black eyes of Severus Snape, daring him to try and keep staring, before pulling herself back to Dumbledore's words. She felt the prickling on the back of her neck lift as Snape looked away. James was still watching her, that she knew, but she cared slightly less.

Potter was irritating, but ultimately harmless. In earlier years, he had made a public show of his affections for her, which was both humiliating and annoying, but now he just stayed silent. If it were not for the prickling at the back of her neck, she would not have even known he still held a torch for her. James had moved on, been with other girls, and caused mischief with his friends. But still he watched Lily - just as he had from the first moment they met, following her fiery hair through the masses on the crowded Platform 9 and ¾.


As The Hogwarts Express rolled out of Hogsmeade station right on time, Snape slipped through the carriages to the one his trunk resided in. A first year had brought it aboard along with those belonging to his housemates who would also be waiting in the carriage. As he slunk down the train, he stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar laugh. Severus bit his lip, knowing Lily Evans would never laugh for him again. He tried not to, but his head turned to the source of the sound and his eyes locked with hers. The laughter died in her throat and her face turned stony, an expression that was quickly mimicked by those in her company – some girls he did not know the names of and four boys he most certainly knew the names of.

They were crammed into the compartment like sardines. It seemed ridiculous to Snape as to why eight witches and wizards would force themselves into such close quarters that would lead to some sitting on others' laps when there were plenty of carriages available. This could have, of course, stemmed from the jealousy of anyone being so close to each other, especially Lily Evans.

"Sod off, Snivelly." A voice permeated Severus' train of thought before he could move on from the carriage or remove his eyes from Lily's. He turned and stormed off without another word to the carriage where his housemates were waiting.

Once he had gone, Lily turned to the owner of the voice, "Thank you, Sirius," she said in a small voice. The things this group of friends had done for her since fifth year was remarkable. A lot of the time she found the Marauders annoying and troublesome, but the guys were loyal and they had kind hearts. Occasionally, they could even be amusing. Lily, however, only really hung out with them as a big group of Gryffindors. Had the numbers been smaller, it would have become more awkward being in such close company with James Potter so she tended to avoid him when possible. He pushed her buttons and, most of the time, on purpose, but in large groups, it could be laughed off or ignored.

The group in the compartment was smaller than usual. All four of the Gryffindor sixth year boys were present, but the girls were missing a dorm mate. Deandra Wright, the most level-headed of the five girls who shared a dorm, was spending the train ride back to London with her long-term boyfriend, Edgar Bones. While the pair of them completed the regular group, the couple liked to spend their train journeys together. When Lily thought about it, she found it romantic, almost disgustingly so, even though they were not a disgustingly romantic couple. They were just perfect for each other in every way. It warmed her heart to think that people could still find, and keep, love in the present climate.

Dee and Edgar were not the only couple, though. Alice Fawcett sat beside Lily, practically buzzing in her seat as The Hogwarts Express took her closer and closer to Frank Longbottom. Frank had left Hogwarts the summer before and had spent the year on the Auror Training Program, a dream he and Alice shared. He had promised to be waiting at King's Cross when the train pulled in and having communicated only by letter all year, the petite brunette could not wait to feel him wrap his arms around her.

Sometimes thinking about her friends' relationships brought a pang of jealousy to Lily's heart. The idea of having someone there for you always, who loved you unconditionally, sounded nice but there was one huge downside – love made you vulnerable and Lily Evans did not do vulnerability, not anymore.

"Lily. Lily. LILY!" A shout and a hand waving in front of her face drew the girl from her inner thoughts. "Do you want us to deal you in?" The question came from the small, rat-faced, slightly pudgy boy sat opposite her with a pack of exploding snap cards in his hands. Peter Pettigrew was pretty useless when it came to just about everything, but he had a good heart and good intentions.

Out of the four sixth year Gryffindor boys who were self-dubbed, 'The Marauders', Lily was more accepting of the presence of some more than others. For example, she may actively seek out the company of Remus Lupin, a tall, sandy-haired, hard-working boy who tended to be the voice of reason behind the Marauders' pranks and mischief. However, it would be a rare day if you found Lily Evans and Sirius Black purposefully hanging out. Sirius, while amusing and generally kind, had absolutely nothing in common with Lily. She enjoyed reading and studying, while he would rather shove his head in a vat of Malevolent Mixture for a week. He played quidditch and caused trouble, while she refused to go near a broomstick and was a stickler for rules. The pair got along, but they would not actively choose each other's company.

Lily nodded to Peter who dealt her in and the compartment soon became wracked with screams, shouts, and explosions as the game got into full swing. Even James joined in, sat on the opposite side of the compartment from Lily and trying his best not to look at her as she laughed at the game. It was far easier to push her from his mind when she was not right in front of him.


Stepping off the bright red steam train and onto the solid ground of London town again was always like a wake up call for Lily. It meant re-entering the muggle world, the real world. It meant having to deal with her family. Namely Petunia.

As the train began to show the tell-tale signs of approaching London (suburbia followed by masses of terraced-house-towns and high-rise buildings in the distance), Lily gave Marlene, Alice and Mary hugs and waved goodbyes to the Marauders and excused herself before heading down to a quieter end of the train.

The Christmas and summer holidays were the only times in the year the young witch got to spend with her parents, but they came with a cost - leaving her friends behind. While Rose and Andrew Evans would not have minded in the slightest to have Lily's school friends around, she did not wish to burden her parents. Occasionally, Marley would make an appearance but too much reference to Lily's magical abilities in front of Petunia sparked arguments that lasted for weeks and, in Lily's opinion, her parents did not need any reminder of the strain magic had put on the family. Friends were a small sacrifice.

Therefore, as the Hogwarts Express approached London, Lily always said goodbye to her friends and went to sit alone and get used to being without them and being 'normal' again before she had to force her presence on her sister. Most would want to spend every second possible with their friends but Lily did not do goodbyes, so a simple hug and walking away was preferable to her that the big, platform-group-hugs-and-kisses-and-see-you-soon-pr omise-to-write fandango.

Getting off the train, Lily made sure her trunk, magically bottomless, weightless and the size of a pencil case, was still in the pocket of her jacket and her owl, Athena, would be waiting for her when she got back home so she did not need to worry about her. She pushed her way through the masses of parents and family welcoming home their children from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The redhead did not even bother looking around for her family; she knew they had not made the journey to central London – there was no point now that Lily could apparate home quicker than they could start up the ignition on their car.

In no time Lily had reached the designated apparition point and thought of home. Destination, deliberation, determination, the witch thought, but just before she felt the familiar squeeze that meant she was in transit, her eyes locked again with the black pools of sorrow that belonged to Snape. Her determination and deliberation faltered and so did her destination as she 'popped' from King's Cross and arrived at her new location. Instead of the property line of her family's house in Cokeworth that marked the edge of the protective enchantments she had put on the area when she returned briefly for that purpose at Easter, Lily found herself in a play park.

The redhead sighed and sat on the grassy mound she had arrived at which overlooked the park. By locking eyes with her ex-best friend moments before apparating, her thoughts were diverted from the solid ground of home to memories of her childhood in this particular park of Cokeworth with the boy who grew into a man who betrayed her. A year ago, Lily promised herself she would put the incident behind her and, while her sixth year had been awkward trying to escape Severus, her housemates had stepped up to the mark and helped her immeasurably. A year on and she was still coping with the pain the betrayal had brought her, but Lily did not regret walking away from her friendship with Snape for a second.

With that conclusion, the witch stood up, brushed any dirt off of the back of her jeans, and started towards home which lay just a five minute walk from the park. This time Lily did not feel the eyes that watched her go from behind a tree that the pair once lay beneath on a summer day similar to that particular one. She did not see Severus Snape's shoulders droop, defeated, as he turned and headed back to Spinner's End.


From the compartment in which they had spent the whole of the train journey from Hogsmeade to King's Cross, James Potter and Sirius Black exited with fellow Marauders, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew in tow. The latter two would soon depart and go their separate ways to their families and homes, but James and Sirius were family. They may as well have been brothers.

Since summer of fifth year when Sirius ran away from his purity-mania family, the boys had lived under the same roof at Potter Manor, but their brotherhood stemmed from years before that. Their meeting on the Hogwarts Express back in first year had brought about an unbreakable bond, which grew and grew over the years, making them inseparable.

Remus and Peter followed soon after and the two became a four and that four became the Marauders. Learning Remus was a werewolf early on and making it their ambition to help him, the four became closer than ever, but everyone knew that the closest bond was between James and Sirius. Fifth year was a pivotal point for most of wizarding community as the year of O.W.L.s, but Lily was not the only person who had a life-altering encounter with Severus Snape that year.

Having learnt to become animagi to help old Moony with his monthly excursions, and wishing to teach Snivelly a lesson, Sirius had told him the trick to get past the Whomping Willow. James having to save his sworn enemy from almost certain death at the hands, or claws, of one of his best friends was not something he had seen coming in Divination.

The weeks that followed where James refused to speak to Sirius were the oddest in Hogwarts history. The two inextricable Marauders, the bonded brothers, were broken and … extricable. The months after the incident saw the gradual build up of the friendship once more, as not a lot could keep the pair apart for long, but the trust would take longer.

It seemed now, at the beginning of summer in 1977, James may be able to trust in his brother completely again. He hoped he could and these next few months would need to be used to insure that. Hard times were coming and neither boy would know where they would be without the complete trust of the other.


Lily pushed open the front door of her family's semi-detached house, identical to that of every other house in the street, that lay in the outskirts of Cokeworth, a town not far from Camberley in Surrey. It was plain and boring but it was where she had grown up and where her parents were, so it was still home for her.

As soon as she had made it inside, a voice called for her as though she had never left, "Lily, dear, we're just in the living room, you couldn't bring the tray through, could you? It just on the side in the kitchen." Smiling lightly at her mother's version of 'welcome home, darling it's lovely to see you', Lily did as she was asked before she headed through to see her parents and, no doubt her sister.

Entering the room, Rose Evans, a small woman with strawberry blonde hair, streaked with grey, stood from the chair in which she had been sitting. She kissed her daughter on the cheek before taking her seat again and the tray, loaded with a pot of tea, three cups and some biscuits, and placing it on the table placed between her and her eldest daughter. Lily sat on the opposite side of the sofa from where Petunia was sitting and took the cup of tea offered to her by her mother and sat quietly while the women continued their conversation.

It was not that Rose preferred her elder daughter at all; more that she had come to make a compromise. In the earlier months following Lily's eleventh birthday, the Evans girls' feud had put such a strain on their mother that she had been taken ill and diagnosed with both physical and mental fatigue, leaving her bed ridden for a month. Even in the years following, the arguments would leave Rose drained and stressed and she would take to her bed. Petunia was stubborn and would never back down from a fight but Lily could see what the sisters' troubles were doing to their mother and so now a days she chose to ignore her elder sibling. Rose, like Lily, took a higher stance and chose not to get between the girls and avoided having them in close company whenever possible.

That left moments like this, when the girls were forced together and Lily went ignored even when she had just arrived home to see her family for the first time in six months. She understood why, and did not want to provoke the situation but that does not mean it did not hurt.

Finishing her cup of tea and gushing about her boyfriend (who she never stopped going on about), Petunia stood and kissed her mother, saying Vernon was waiting for her and not to wait up, she'd be back late. Normally, Rose would have invited Vernon for supper, but on Lily's first night home, she thought it would not be prudent. Petunia completely ignored her younger sister's existence and left the house, waved off by her mother.

"Nice to see you too, Tuney," Lily muttered under her breath with a roll of her eyes, before Rose re-entered the room. As she came in, the woman took her daughter in her arms for a hug.

"I'm sorry about that, darling. Petunia came all the way from London for tea and a chat and I couldn't just turn her away," Rose apologised, giving Lily another kiss before letting her go and picking up the tray to take back to the kitchen. The young witch followed her muggle mother, helping to tidy up as soon as the tray was placed down again.

"Athena arrived just before Petunia, I managed to get her in your room. Also, your father apologises for not being here. He finished for the summer yesterday and has a late staff meeting but promised he'd be home for supper. Would you like to help me cook? I'm making apple pie for dessert." A smile spread across Lily's face as her mother mentioned her favourite pudding. "I know how much you love it," Rose added with a smile almost identical to her youngest daughter's.

"Thanks, Mum," the girl said simply, kissing Rose's cheek as she passed to grab two aprons and throw one to her mother.

As the women cooked and baked, they caught up on all that had happened in the last few months, both in the muggle world and at Hogwarts. By the time Andrew Evans arrived home, the kitchen was spotless, the food was on the table and his girls were smiling.


The boys strolled out of King's Cross and began walking down a muggle street. They had no sense of where they were going and they didn't particularly care, they knew they would end up where they needed to be without even trying. Sure enough, not long after setting out, Sirius pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron.

Tom welcomed the boys with bows and two glasses of firewhiskey on the house before they had even crossed from the entrance to the bar. Being the son of the Head of the Auror Office often came in handy, especially in places like the Leaky Cauldron, but that did not mean is was devoid of downsides.

James rarely saw his father, Thomas, who was so engrossed in his work that he barely had time for his son. The two weeks at the end of summer when he would take leave from work and refused to be disturbed when he took his wife, Andrea, James and two of his friends to their little cottage in the village of Godric's Hollow, situated on the Somerset Levels, was the only father-son bonding time James had ever experienced.

Andrea Potter, James' mother would be awaiting Sirius and James' return back at Potter Manor, but tradition called for an end of year drink or five at the 'Cauldron before heading back. The boys settled themselves in their regular booth in the corner of the pub and began to discuss summer plans.

"Mate, I'm only at home this weekend and then I'm going to see Uncle A. He didn't sound so good in his last letter and I want to check on him before we get knee deep in summer pranks and whatever else this glorious season will bring." A smirk played across Sirius' lips as memories of prior summers passed through his mind. Before adding, "That okay with you?"

"I'm sure I can find something to do without you, Padfoot. Besides, I might actually be able to go to the beach without you scaring off all the birds within the first five minutes of being there!" James grinned, taking a swig of his drink and placing the empty goblet back on the table with a clunk.

Another round came and went before the topic of conversation fell on Godric's Hollow. The previous summer had been the first year since they had met when James had opted to take both Peter and Remus as opposed to Sirius and choosing between the other two. The Marauder who could not stay on that particular year would always pop in frequently during the two weeks, but Sirius had more or less been out in the cold the year prior and, while his relationship with James was mended, it was not perfect.

Though it was not obvious in his face, there was concern in Sirius' eyes that he would not be invited again this year. James took a sip of his third firewhiskey before bursting into laughter. "Pads, don't look so worried! Of course you're coming to the Hollow!"

Sirius relaxed and finished his own third round, a laugh escaping his own lips. "Alright, Prongs, alright. And that takes us right up to seventh year and whether or not you're going to keep trying for little old Lils…" he added, quickly diverting the subject so as to not dwell on past mistakes.

Prongs sighed and closed his eyes, finishing his drink and relishing the burning feeling as it slid down his throat. "It'll never happen, mate. She will never fall for me and I think I've come to accept that." James paused and nodded to Tom who brought over another round. "Moving on," he said as he raised his goblet in a 'cheers' and downed the liquid once more.

"I think its time to get home to Mum and Tippy, don't you, Padfoot?" James smirked his trademark lopsided smirk as he stood. Most would have felt at least slightly woozy by the amount of alcohol the boys had consumed, but as Marauders – magical mischief makers extraordinaire – they had become hardened drinkers by their fifth year and a four shots of firewhiskey did little to them now a days.

"I agree, dear old Mumsie will certainly be missing us," Sirius' smirk matched James' in almost every way as they headed out of the pub, stopping only for James to tell Tom to put the drinks on his father's tab.


The moment Lily heard the tell tale click of the front door opening, she rushed from the kitchen, smile on her face, and jumped into Andrew Evans' arms. Dropping his briefcase and essays galore, he received her with open arms and a matching smile. At seventeen year old, Lily was still very much a 'Daddy's Girl' but she could not care less. Her and her father had a connection, bonded by words and stories as well as hearts and blood.

As a lecturer in English Literature at the nearby University of Surrey, his youngest daughter quickly picked up his interest in classical literature. It all began with a gorgeous fairy tale book given to her at her Christening, and it only went downhill from there. Lily would steal books from her father's shelf in his study on a daily basis; Little Women, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and then, just before she left for Hogwarts, she stumbled upon Jane Eyre and fell in love.

For two whole days, eleven-year-old Lily Evans did nothing but read the novel, cover-to-cover, stopping only to eat and sleep when her father told her that, as proud as he was of her love to read, she was being foolish.

Six years on and Lily still had her father's old and now very battered copy of Jane Eyre. Many a time her friends have suggested magically fixing the novel or even buying a new one but she just could not bring herself to do it. It was the novel that helped her get through a childhood without her sister's friendship and her first year at Hogwarts. It was the novel she went to on autumn days under a tree, winter days by the fire, times when she needed comforting or times when she just wished to read. It was the novel that made her fall in love with love.

After the incident of fifth year, Lily even tried to put the book away and leave it behind her. The idea that love was vulnerability caused a detachment from the book in her head, but it did not last long. She could not live without it. Her stolen moments with Jane and Rochester were the only time she let her heart open to love.

Kissing her on the cheek and taking her hand, Andrew took Lily back into the kitchen to see his wife, leaving his briefcase and essays on the floor of the hallway – he could pick them up later, he just wanted to be with his family. The three Evans' sat down at the kitchen table to the meal that the girls had made – toad in the hole with mash and beans.

"This looks wonderful, my dear," Andrew smiled, happy to be home as he dug in to his sausages. Andrew Evans, though often out of the home for long hours, loved his family dearly. He and Rose had met in University and never looked back since, still deeply in love nearly twenty-five years on.

He loved both his daughters immensely and equally, even though he had more in common with Lily. Petunia had been a more difficult child but it was far easier when the girls were friends, as soon as they split, everything became hard. Andrew resolved to stay out of it, unlike his wife who constantly wished them to sort things out and became ill with stress. He trusted Lily to take the higher ground and she did. His youngest daughter, the apple of his eye, would always do the right thing. But that did not mean her loved her more.

Happily, the Evans' finished their meal and played their traditional first-evening-back-from-Hogwarts game of Scrabble, in which Andrew just beat his daughter by a handful of points. Lily thrived off of the friendly competition and that night, she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, happy to be back with her parents and blissfully unaware of how quickly things were going to change, and not for the better.


Apparating to a spot outside the strong protective enchantments surrounding Potter Manor, James and Sirius strolled straight through the heavy, magical barriers with ease and headed up the long pathway to the entrance of the stately manor.

Ancient magic protected the household that had been owned by Potters since it was built back in the 14th Century. A leather bound tome sat on the mantelpiece above the fireplace in the drawing room that contained names of every direct member of the Potter family living in the house. It had been a pain trying to get the house to accept Sirius, but after hours of Thomas puzzling through ancient blood lore and protections, he managed to find a loophole that allowed the Potters to add Sirius' name to the tome.

Before the boys could get two feet through the door, a creature ambushed them, head barely reaching James' knees, with eyes like tennis balls and bat-wing ears. It wore a pristine, white pillowcase, embroidered with a purple 'P', but nothing else. The creature squealed and bowed so low that its long, pointed nose almost touched the tiled floor of the entrance hall. To someone not accustomed to it, it would have been a very odd sight.

"Master James, Master Sirius, so good it is to see you. Tippy is been missing you. Tippy is taking your trunks and coats and things and Tippy is leaving you desserts in the kitchen," the pillowcase-clad house elf squeaked with wide eyes, before going to take James and Sirius' things. Then, she reconsidered and put her tiny hands on her non-existent hips, scowling as best she could, "Mistress Andrea is being waiting for you, Mistress Andrea is being worried - where is you been? You shoulds not be worrying Mistress like that." The tiny elf chastised the boys with a pointed finger, bustling them through into the library where Andrea Potter was residing with a cup of tea and piece of cake, before she took the boys' belongings and left the room bowing to her mistress.

"Thank you, Tippy," Andrea Potter called after the elf who was in charge of managing Potter Manor. The woman sat in an armchair in the centre of the library with shoulder length curls of hair pinned away from falling in her face, jet-black to match her son's but streaked with grey, and soft eyes that shone with a smile as she greeted her two sons back from school.

She stood, putting an arm around each of the boys and placing a kiss on their cheeks. An eyebrow rose as Andrea caught the scent of firewhiskey on their breaths – the witch was well aware of James and Sirius' tradition but preferred to pretend she was blissfully unaware. She was wise in her old age, far older than she looked for sure, and had remained at home since James was born.

Andrea and Thomas had been so busy with their careers that they did not even think about having a family until they were moving into their twilight years. It was only in her late forties that the conversation came up about starting a family and a few years later, she fell pregnant with her one and only biological son, James. Sixteen years later, Andrea was more than happy to acquire a second when she took in her son's best friend, Sirius Black.

While there were perks of being an older parent – happily retiring without feeling unaccomplished and being able to spoil their only son endlessly – there were also drawbacks, such as the Potters not having any friends with children James' age. Having spent most of his childhood playing with a young house elf, it was a blessing when James went to Hogwarts and met Sirius.

The years, however, had been kind to the elder witch and, with both James and Thomas always out of the house, she had taken to spending her days in the library painting. One of the smaller bedrooms of the Manor was filled with canvas after canvas that had no home but being stacked in an unused corner of the house.

An easel, paint palette and colourfully splattered apron were placed off to the side of where Andrea had been sat with her tea and cake, somehow looking immaculate although it was clear she had been painting.

"Go get yourselves some dessert, boys. Tippy made you some treacle tart," the witch smiled at James, knowing how much he adored that particular treat. When he was growing up, Tippy was a young elf and her mother was the head of the household. She was the one entrusted with helping Mrs Potter to bring up James and his only friend really, so he and the elf shared a bond. Tippy certainly saw herself as a motherly figure to him; she also frequently made him treacle tarts because she knew he loved them.

Collecting their treats, James and Sirius headed to their den – a room that was James' playroom before his Hogwarts years but quickly became the Marauders' space from then on. It was filled with broomsticks, fireworks, multiple copies of every item that could be bought in Zonko's Joke Shop, and a cabinet of alcohol. It was the perfect headquarters for the four Gryffindors.

The boys ate desserts, talked, planned, plotted and generally hung out in the den for hours and fell asleep on beanbags, not even hearing Thomas Potter return from the Ministry in the early hours of the morning.


A/N: I would like to thank Emily (aka disnemily), the James to my Lily, who constantly inspires me and does such a wonderful James that a lot of her influence is actually in my story (e.g. the Godric's Hollow holiday). Snaps for Em! Thank you also to my lovely beta reader, Emilie, who is fantastic and brilliant and there would be so many grammar mistakes and confusions without her. Snaps for Emilie! Last, but certainly not least, thank you to the lovely LittleRedLily who probably brought me more into the Jily shipper life than anyone else and never stops helping me in any way she can. Snaps for Little Red!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Hopefully, the next will be on it's way soon!

Reviews are a chilled can of Diet Coke on a summer day :)