Relive the mysterious and strange past of Harry Potter…… read All for Love, the series of stories before Harry Potter ……learn how James and Lily met……watch the betrayal by Pettigrew……relive the night of horror when Voldemort appeared……all these and more,

Relive the mysterious and strange past of Harry Potter…… read All for Love, the series of stories before Harry Potter ……learn how James and Lily met……watch the betrayal by Pettigrew……relive the night of horror when Voldemort appeared……all these and more, in All for Love.

All for Love- a thrilling four book series of the days before the Boy Who Lived.

Days of Freedom- how James and Lily met and their courtship. Watch their enchanting love unfold in the carefree days of adolescence.

Never Again- Peter Pettigrew is shadowed by his friends and vows to seek revenge upon them. See the Dark Lord and his power of evil.

Night of Mercy- Faced by their darkest fear, the Potters must find their courage to face the evil forces that are gathering. Is there a love strong enough to survive?

The Innocent- Sirius Black is furious over his friend's senseless betrayal and goes in search of revenge……however, he encounters more than he reckoned.

Days of Freedom

By Lorelai

A/N: This is a story of Lily and James. At least this one, anyways. It's strictly a love & fluff story. Yeah, isn't it nice? But I know, people like a little more than this…don't worry, folks. It's not that bad. And if it is, you can flame me! Thanks so much and a huge hug to everyone who reviewed! I love you guys. And in this chapter, there'll be a ball…yeah, yeah, yeah, and it IS a rare occurrence. But it fit very perfectly with the plot. If I do say so myself, and I do. Hehehe. Enjoy reading!!

Disclaimer- Very straightforward. The ones that are J.K.R's, are hers. And the rest is pretty much mine. And if you recognize some that seem like some one else's, it probably is.

Chapter 5 - A Strange Courtship

James woke up very happy. It had been two weeks since the first Quidditch lesson. He was doing fine in most of his classes but Potions was never his strong point. He'd gotten his best scores in Transfiguration. Sirius was best at Herbology, to his surprise. Lily was excellent at Charms and Potions. He yawned as he sat up. He had dreams all night about him and Lily. I must be a little crazy, he thought as he got up and dressed for the day. He noticed Sirius lying in a corner of his bed, snoring.

" Up, Black!" he grunted as he tried to hoist Sirius up. Sirius grumbled a sentence. Through the grunts, James thought he could decipher phrases of " too early" and just maybe " hex ya if ya don't lemme sleep". With a muffled chuckle, he carefully lifted up Sirius and settled him on his bed. He decided to forget about Sirius. He was way too sleepy to wake up.

He made his way to the bathroom and as he combed his hair, he started to think about Lily and him again. What is it with me? He thought. Do I like Lily that much? She is pretty. He shivered with pleasure when he remembered the smile she'd given him two days ago when he helped her in Transfiguration. His heart had done a flop when she did that and his knees almost turned to jelly. Fortunately, Professor McGonagall was staring sternly at them and that helped James gather himself together.

He finished brushing his hair and tried to smooth it down a bit but it popped up, as wild as ever. He gave a sigh and splashed some water on his face. When he was done washing up, he came out and went to their dormitory. He found Sirius dressing carefully.

" So you up finally, Black?" he asked. Sirius cast an insulted glance his way and said nothing. James was used to Sirius' mood swings so he ignored it and picked up his schedule. According to the piece of parchment, they were to have Double Potions with the Slytherins today first. He shook his head in despair. He hated everything about Potions, from the teacher to the students. The Slytherins were all very unpleasant and they banded together underneath Snape and another boy named Lucius Malfoy. Professor Nervier was not any better. If you could believe it, he was even worse. He was always dark and gloomy and took the Slytherins' side every time.

" No time to sulk 'bout Never and the Slytherins, buddy. We gotta get some breaky," said a voice behind him. James turned around and grinned when he spotted Frank Longbottom. Frank was an outgoing, nice boy who was very kind to everyone. To everyone's surprise, he was placed in Gryffindor when his family had gone to Hufflepuff. Frank accompanied James and Sirius, whom they found in the common room, down to the Great Hall and chatted with them all through breakfast. All too soon, the meal ended. As they stood up, Professor Dumbledore did so too.

" Please wait, students. I have an important announcement," he said merrily. " Professor Robinson and Whitnell thought it more appropriate to tell you this at breakfast so you may ponder this today. We will be having a ball. It will be for all years, a rare occurrence. But this ball will be held in the Great Hall, sponsored by many Hogsmeade businesses. It will be held on the sixteenth. Thank you, that will be all," he sat back down after this amid a noisy throng of students.

" A ball this early?" snorted Sirius. " I reckon the old coot must be off his chair. A ball, yeah right," James didn't say anything. A ball? Could he invite Lily? It was just a week and a day later. After all, Professor Dumbledore said it was for all years. But did he really want to do that? Yes, he did. He made up his mind as they reached the Potions dungeon. However, his plans for romance were interrupted by Professor Nervier.

" Settle down, young children," he began, slinking out of the shadows. " Today, I shall be teaching you the Forgetfulness Potion. Listen closely, you shall need a frog spawn, two spider's legs, three dead caterpillars……" he continued on, but James had stopped paying attention.

Lily and him, him and Lily. He looked over at Lily who was sitting two seats away. She was listening attentively and copying down his instructions on a piece of parchment. Her long red hair fell over her shoulder and with a careless flicker, she tossed it back. He focused on her hair. It was very red, fiery and with a golden glint that seemed to sparkle in the light. Then he looked into her wide eyes. Her dark eyelashes seemed to enhance her crystal clear green eyes. They twinkled and shone happily. With each passing moment, James fell more deeply in love with Lily. Her beauty combined with her wits and talent made James dizzy. How could I be so lucky to meet a girl like this that actually likes me? He asked himself.

He stopped and carefully drew a piece of parchment from his bag. With a quill, he wrote down a few words on a corner then looked at it for a second before folding it.

Lily, would you go to the Hogsmeade Ball with me? I would love it dearly if you would.

With all my love, James.

He carefully wrote Lily's name on top and put down his quill.

" Mr. Potter, I shall presume you are not paying any attention to this Potion since you have not one word upon the parchment," came the harsh voice of Professor Nervier. " However, this looks interesting. What is this? A note? How charming."

He picked up the note and opened it after a look at the top ( " To Miss Evans, I see). James reddened. The Slytherins snickered and waited excitedly for the entertainment.

" Hmm. Lily, would you go to the Hogsmeade Ball with me? I'd love it dearly if you did. With all my love, James." He read out loud with a sneer on his face. He turned to face Lily, who was very astonished.

" And what do you say to that, Miss Evans?" Lily recovered quickly and replied loudly for everyone to hear.

" Why yes, of course, Mr. Potter. I shall be delighted to keep you company at the ball." She said with a smile on her face.

There was silence in the dungeon. The Slytherins were not very happy, James noted. But he was very relieved that Lily could go with him. He shot a grateful look at her and she smiled back.

Then he chanced a look at Severus Snape. His face was livid with anger and his eyes burned with a fire. James drew back suddenly. From his face and manner, it was not hard to fit together the pieces. Severus had also loved Lily and wanted her for himself. James shuddered to think what if he hadn't gotten up the nerve to ask Lily.

After Potions class, Lily and James walked together to their next class, Transfiguration.

" Thanks for being so nice, Lily," James said after a lengthy silence. Lily looked up at him and smiled.

" No problem," she said with a mischievously grin. " Just make sure you don't pull any of your pranks during the ball," She smiled. James laughed. Lily learned fast that James and Sirius pulled plenty of tricks and pranks. Not on Lily though. She caught on quick and had the common sense to avoid being pulled into one. His heart lightened considerably as they walked on. What could be better? Lily liked him and they were going to the ball together too. Life is good, he smiled.

So, how do u like it? Please, please, please review. I really need it. Thanks for reading!