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Winter, 1979
The winter was brutal, blowing in more and more snow nearly every day causing the quaint village of Godric's Hallow to become, for lack of better words, trapped. Of course, the crafty ones, the ones with the wands and the spells stored up in their heads had dozens of alternatives as to how to escape the snowed in town. Apparating, floo network, the whole lot was still open to them giving a feeling of pride that appeared whether they wanted it to or not.
While Lily, a muggle at heart, found herself reverting to the ways of extra blankets and turned up thermostats, James took a more magical approach. The living room would begin to show signs of chilling and he'd wave his wand. In seconds the problem was nonexistent. The windows would begin to fog over and another wave and the view out onto the winter wonderland was crystal.
As soon as Christmas and New Years had passed a schedule of sorts began to take over. It was nearly the same every day, but Sirius never failed to make sure the Potters mixed things up every now again because he was sure James would go mad if he didn't.
Thus being said, the Potter's morning started with Lily pushing James out of bed, insisting that she refused to be late to work again. James would then mumble something about how they were never late and would encase himself tightly in a blanket despite the need to shuffle down the stairs while wearing it. He would sit at the table, placing his head on the hard wood and doze off for a few moments before Lily came down the stairs, dressed and ready as always. She'd hand him his lifesaver, a large cup of coffee, and she'd shovel down a Poptart, something James had just been introduced to and found far too sugary for his liking (which was saying something).
Work came next. The two would step into the fireplace, clutching tightly to the others hand, and disappear in a green flash with not more than a few words and some powder. They'd meet up with their fellow aurors, namely a dead tired Sirius and Marlene, and a beaming Alice (who had always been a morning person) dragging along Frank. Paperwork seemed to be the only thing they did for the Ministry anymore. They wouldn't get sent out ever. Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry. He had done it subtly, but after time it had become quite obvious. The aurors were rarely out due to the fact that they had their jobs to defeat the very people who followed Voldemort.
After work was always an adventure though. They'd listen to Lily's muggle records and dance around the living room, make cake just for the heck of it, visit Hogwarts, go to auror meetings, and of course the occasional mission always popped up though James was no longer allowed to go without talking about it with Lily first.
Everything traveled along through the whole winter in this manner. It was somewhat peaceful and definitely a new start for the Marauders. Things actually appeared to be normal and each of them thought differently of this normality that was flowing through their group.
Sirius, for one, was bored, terribly so. Sure, he found the Order meeting brilliant as he always had, but what else was there to look forward to? Definitely not paperwork. He was used to dashing around Hogwarts with a pocket full of dung bombs, hiding around corners at any given second. Once he got out of school he became used to whipping his wand out at virtually any sound because the need was dire and battles were often. Why had things slowed down? He was definitely suspicious as January melted into February and February turned to March without any one battle. People were disappearing though, yet no one seemed to notice except the Order.
Marlene, on the other hand, was grateful for the break they were receiving and didn't want to think of why things were so slow. She practically floated through life in those few months because she was in love. Deeply so really, she knew because every time Sirius held her hand her heart would flutter and every time she saw him walking towards her she'd feel like she was safe and could be happy. Her family was disappearing, you see. Her very few uncles and aunts that were still living had seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. Yes, it was worrying, but Marlene was trying to be more of an optimist. In fact, Alice was giving her lessons, something that made Sirius explode with laughter every time she mentioned them. Sirius made her grin like a madman despite her dozens of worries and that was exactly what she needed. Life was good in her mind.
Frank and Alice were content as well, perfectly happy with their lives together. Of course they were adorable together as well, always holding hands and being each other's strength. They were that beacon of happiness that lay in the background. They were prepared to face whatever might be thrown at them no matter what it was as long as they were together. The two were smart, realizing that their moment of peace would dissipate soon. They basked in the moments they did have though, keeping each other close.
James and Lily were standing strong as they always have. Bickering as usual, they kind of…tripped through life. Lily taught James the ways of cleaning while James actually got her on a broomstick. They were cautious too though, a little too much for Sirius' taste. Wands were always at the ready and training was done every afternoon.
Lily found it surreal, the life that they were living after all the tragedy they have had to endure. The simplicity of things scared her and the not knowing was the worst part of it all. She didn't want the surprise that was guaranteed to come. Lily wished to understand what was happening, understand Voldemort's plans for them. She knew that they were included in whatever he was preparing for. It was inevitable.
It was Remus, however, that was having the most trouble. He was jobless, his pride crushed to a pulp, and moral frighteningly low. He was still lost though his friends had already found him months ago. His only inkling of hope was the potential offer Dumbledore had for him. The old wizard was hinting at it during the Order meetings, always talking about how he needed a new teacher at Hogwarts. Remus was scared he was getting his hopes up, but it was the way Dumbledore's eyes twinkled whenever he mentioned it, as if he was taunting Remus with a chance at a new life.
You see, Remus didn't want a new start. He wanted to wallow in self-pity and mope around all day because it was something he had never been able to do before. Every one was pushing him though, pushing him to be happy and get a job. A small part of him, the old Remus maybe, did want that, but what did the old Remus ever get in return for being that nice, caring guy? He got pain and misery, every one around him did. All he knew was that he wanted to be happy and the only way he could get that was to take the time to feel sad if even only for a little while.
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Spring 1979
It wasn't until the spring that Lily and James began to speak of the world and what was happening, if it was only for a few moments. They came to acceptance of sorts in this season and learned that it was okay to not know what was happening all the time.
"Sunshine! It's warm and the snow is melting and flowers will start growing!" Lily exclaimed, throwing the curtains open and letting the sunlight stream into the room.
"It burns!" James murmured, burrowing deeper beneath his pillows.
"Shut up you…you…" Lily sighed; she had never been good at comebacks.
"Come one Lils, shut the curtains," he pleaded, his voice muffled.
"James, get out of bed! It's a Saturday, no work. We can go and do something couple-y for once!" she said plopping onto the bed, causing it to bounce with her weight.
He peaked head out from beneath the covers and gave her that puppy dog look that never worked. While, yes, she found it incredibly adorable, it was never able to actually accomplish anything. His mop of inky hair was hilariously sticking up every way, worse than usual and Lily couldn't help but let out the smallest of giggles. His hazel eyes took on that mischievous look and Lily grinned widely.
"Are you laughing at me, Lily?" he spoke with laughter of his own written in his tone.
"Of course not," she spoke with that same grin still on her face. James smiled right back and swung his feet out from beneath the covers.
"Fine then, we can go and do something 'couple-y' if that's what you really want," he said rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
"Yay!" Lily said, clapping her hands together and jumping off the bed. "Now go and get dressed and ready, I'll be downstairs eating breakfast."
"You'll make me coffee?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'll make you as much coffee as you'd like," she said smiling.
James nodded in understanding and made the moves to get some clothes from his dresser. He watched Lily leave the room with a little bounce in her step and was happy to see how excited she looked. Sure they were together nearly every second of every day, but it wasn't often that they got to be together alone, talking and laughing together, telling stories.
A sudden rush of excitement ran through him at the thought of spending the day with her. She was truly the love of his life and he couldn't think of a better way of doing things than to do them with her. In that moment he promised to stay realized, set on having fun with his wife rather than paranoid about what might jump out from behind the corner.
While James got psyched up about their day together Lily was dancing around the kitchen, just as excited as he was. She whipped herself up some sugary cereal in celebration as James' coffee was being made in the coffee maker. She made sure to open up all the windows, letting the still chilled air and sunshine filter in.
Lily had always loved spring. It was a time of rebirth and new beginnings. She could barely remember the last time she had seen the sun shining so bright and the sight of it made some sort of darkness, brought on by winter, escape her.
"Ready?" James asked once he came down the stairs.
"Yep," she replied, handing him his coffee mug before offering him her arm. "You can drink it on the way, let's go,"
"Go where?" he asked, following her out the front door.
"A park, a special one at that."
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Lily wobbled a bit as her feet touched the ground. She was never able to apparate without nearly falling over every time she hit solid land again. Luckily, James was nearly always there to steady her and gripped her arm tightly, keeping her upright.
She glanced around and smiled. It was just as she remembered it. The grass was peeking from beneath the rapidly melting snow and the trees and bushes laid out in the background were beginning to become green again. Even the old swing set she used to fly off of was the very same rusty yellow, moving slightly in the breeze. The sight was nearly overwhelming and she raised her hand to her lips, trying to dim the amazingly bright smile that was there.
She turned to look at James and saw him smile in understanding. She pulled her wand out boldly and raised both of her arms. She moved them in a slow steady motion and watched the area around them blossom with each movement. The snow melted into the ground and the grass sprung up, turning from a sickening yellow to a dark and lively green. Little purple flowers rose up between the blades and matching ones of a more pink and red color appeared on the trees that had quickly gained large oval leaves. The park she had grown up playing in instantly turned into the beautiful pictures she used to love.
She lowered her hands and looked at the area surrounding the park and back to what she had just done. The road behind them was still laced in snow while the park in front of them was the perfect image of summer. It was gorgeous. She grinned and pulled a blanket and basket out from her bag that she had shrunk. She laid the classic red-checkered blanket out on the ground and set the picnic basket on top of it before plopping down. James followed suit and grabbed her hand as soon as he was on the blanket.
"You are amazing," he said, looking around just as she was.
"Why thank you," she said with a smile, pulling out some sandwiches she had made.
"You love this place, don't you?" he asked.
"I always have," she said. "I grew up here after all. It's hard not to love it actually."
"I understand. I'm glad you took me here," he said before taking a bite of his sandwich.
"What do you think is happening, James?" she asked him.
"What do you mean?"
"What is he planning? Voldemort, I mean."
"Something big…he's waiting for something," he said after a moment of thought.
"What would he be waiting for though?"
"I don't know, but lets not talk about that today. It's our day off after all," he said grinning.
"No, you're right," she said shaking her head. "Let's just enjoy this sunshine while we have it here."
"I love you, Lily."
"I love you too."
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Summer 1979
It was summer that the next exciting thing happened, setting a few other things into motion. It was also one of the last days that things would be so incredibly normal though none of them realized it. Voldemort was finally ready to make his next move in the game. The registration forms were finally doing him some good.
As he mapped out his plan on that day, Sirius and Lily had a heart to heart, a short one at that, however.
"Lily? Evans? Oh fine, Potter? SUNSHINE WHERE ARE YOU!" Sirius yelled through the Potter home.
"Quit your hollering, I'm coming!" she exclaimed walking out of the kitchen as she dried her hands with a towel. "What do you want?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Just some good old advice from my favorite Lily ever," he said raising his hands.
"As far as I know I'm the only Lily you've ever met," she said chuckling.
"I know," he said with a shrug. "That way as few people as possible get their feelings hurt."
"Well way to be, Sirius," she said smiling before motioning for him to sit down on the couch with her.
"James is gone?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said somewhat hesitantly, not knowing what he was getting at.
"Good…" he said running a hand through his hair nervously.
"Is everything okay?" she asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Just fine. Here's the thing though…" he paused, looking even more nervous.
"What?" she asked, beginning to get worried.
"I need girl advice! There, I said it, laugh all you want!" he finally exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Lily smiled.
"That is absolutely adorable, Sirius. What would you like to know?"
"You see, the thing is…"
"Spit it out Sirius, come on," she urged him.
"I love her! I'm in love with Marlene and I don't know what to do!"
He stood up and began pacing with his hands behind his back. He looked a mess and Lily for some reason found it hilarious though she was able to hold her laughter in.
"Well," she started, causing him to turn his head. "There is actually quite an easy solution."
"Please!" he nearly begged. "Just tell me, I need to know!"
"Tell her."
"What?" he asked, wanting clarity.
"You heard me. Tell her."
"I can't just tell her! I thought you were supposed to be good at giving advice!"
"Come on Sirius, be a man! She'd want to know!" Lily exclaimed.
"Fine then, I'll tell her. It seems to be the only option at this point."
"Good job, now how are you going to do it?"
"How am I going to do it? Gosh, this seems to get more and more complicated by the minute!" he exclaimed.
"Well you have to do it right."
"How do I know what is 'right' when I don't know the first thing about absolutely any of this?" he asked.
"You'll know, just make it special."
"Make it special…yeah, I can do that. Thanks so much, Sunshine! You're the best!" he yelled before running out the front door as quickly as he had come.
Just as the door shut behind him green flames appeared in the fireplace along with James' head. He appeared worry, his glasses askew on his nose.
"Emergency Order meeting, something happened," he explained.
Those words were the very end to the months of normal. It was September 1979 and had been a calming eight months. They were ready to fight.
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I am so sorry! I forgot to tell you all in the last chapter that I'd be going up to the mountains for the weekend, hence the SUPER late chapter. To make matters worse I finished it this morning and only just realized I haven't yet posted it. I'm so so so so so so sorry and hope that you guys will all find a way to forgive me. This chapter is a jumbled mess, I know, but I needed to skip quite a bit ahead in time. I will have a few chapters of this year (1979) and skip a bit more to a month or so before Harry is born. The story will end a bit after his birth. I apologize once more! Please Review!
-Sweets5236