Under The Nose of a Foe

In the distance, there was a tiny little window that illuminated the ebony night of October 30th, 1981. There was a swishing of cloaks. It was the only sound that could be heard, aside from the constant chirping of the crickets. A jagged nose pressed against the window of Godric's Hollow and chuckled in triumph. "At last," he muttered.

Inside a couple laughed merrily while telling stories about the Headless Hunt and the origin of Merdiva, an ancient witch that intruded dreams and caused nightmares. They were busy carving pumpkins, oblivious to the fact that just outside their home their death was being plotted.

Lily and James were running around their house in circles. James, being the prankster that he was, was chasing Lily with a pumpkin that he had charmed to follow her around. Lily conjured a hammer and attempted to smash the pumpkin to bits, but its grin seemed to grow even wider at the prospect. James smirked. In an act of retaliation, Lily muttered a charm that turned James's skin orange and a goofy-looking stem to sprout from his head.

"Lily! This is completely uncalled for! That pumpkin only follows you around. I have a stick emerging from my head," James whined. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Whatever happened to the Marauder Code of Honor, James? Rule 14.720 clearly states that if one is done an injustice, retribution must be made that is even worse than the original," Lily stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "An eye for a head, remember?"

"Yeah, but you're not a Marauder," replied James. He realized what he had said was wrong after he saw the look of melancholy overcome Lily's face. She had always considered herself a Marauder, even though the boys had never officially inducted her into their "society". He had never intended to make Lily feel left out, but it was just a guy thing. There was no way she wanted to go through the silly induction ceremonies and such.

There was a silence between them that could've pierced a hole into the atmosphere. Lily gazed into James's eyes. Oh, how she could get lost in them. They were the color of burnt firewood, with specks of gold near the center. They were so wide and hypnotizing. They held the past, expressed the present, and looked toward the future. A stranger could look into his eyes and see his desire for mischief. His eyes were certainly the window to his soul. She could tell he was regretful about what he had said, so she jumped into his arms and he twirled her around the room. Lily giggled as the feel of Cornish Pixies danced in her stomach.

A high-pitched giggle sounded throughout the room. Lily and James looked admiringly at one another as they both rushed to Harry's pumpkin seat.

"You like that, Harry," James asked. His voice hinted that if Harry even so much as smiled he would probably tickle Lily until she cried.

Harry beamed at his father and his olive eyes twinkled throughout the candlelit room. James' infamous crooked smiled appeared on his face and he turned toward his wife, who was reaching for the wand she had left behind. Before she could even utter the word "Accio", James had already hurdled on top of her and began to tickle her mercilessly. She beat her fists against his chest.

"Get off of me you great oaf! I can't breathe," she bellowed. Her face was turning a miraculous shade of crimson and James had to resort to the body binding charm. Once she was immobile, he leaned down and kissed her passionately. She gave in. How could she resist the impeccable charm of James Harold Potter? The one who rushed to open doors for her. The one who smiled at strangers and helped them when they dropped their books. And the one who always pulled the dinner chairs out for the ladies. Yes, he was Prince Charming. Lily was lucky enough to snag him. Yes, he kissed with passion. He kissed as though evil never existed and everything in the world was perfect. But to him, it was because he had Lily by his side.

"A big oaf? Is that what I am? I always thought it was: incredibly charming stud with a tight six pack and a smile to die for," James said as though he was appalled by Lily's witty statement. "But, if Lily says I'm an oaf, then an oaf I must be."

"Are you hungry my incredible charming stud with a tight six pack and a smile to die for husband," she asked. Raising one eyebrow as she always did when she was being inquisitive. It was one of the many traits that James adored her for.

"I wish we could go out for dinner," James said cheerlessly. He longed to be able to go outside and play quidditch in the meadow with Floren Merscue, one of his former classmates who loved quidditch just as much as he. He longed to walk outside and wait for Serum, his owl, to bring the Daily Prophet. He yearned to visit his best mate, Sirius Black. All of this was impossible now that they had cast the Fidelius Charm. They couldn't leave the house. At least not for a few months until the spell matured. He cursed Voldemort and all of his stinking Death Eaters under his breath. "I heard that they opened a new restaurant in Hogsmeade. I believe it is called the Squeaky Spoon. All the spoons squeak if the soup is too hot for your mouth."

"That sounds rather interesting," Lily said in a sarcastic way. She sat down in one of the many chairs in the parlor. A smile crept its way on to her face. "James, I've just had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!"

"What? What," He exclaimed. Lily always came up with great ideas. She was just so imaginative. Definitely an aspect need for a Marauder

"Go on up to Godric's Study. I have to get a few things and I'll be up there in a minute." Lily grabbed a few spoons out of the drawer and summoned all of the house elves to the kitchen. She then told them their instructions and raced up the stairs to Godric's Study to meet James. He was looking over one of the newer books, Cassius Casca's Guide to Wizard Entertainment.

"Stay in here for a minute, darling, while I go prepare your surprise," she said while trying to disclose how excited she was with her idea. She gently closed the solid oak doors of the study and retreated to her favorite room of the house, The Room of Erised. She closed her eyes as she entered and imagined a room full of bustling people, the smell of food cooking, and everything else associated with The Squeaky Spoon. When she opened her eyes, she saw exactly what she had imagined. One of the house elves came in behind her and asked her what she need from him. Lily told him that he was to act as a waiter in the restaurant when she requested him. The elf was dismissed and Lily began work on charming the spoons. When everything was ready she returned to Godric's Study to get James. Apparently he found Casca's Guide to Wizard Entertainment boring and had started reading Quidditch throughout the Ages

"It's ready," she told him.

"Finally! I've just about read every book in this library," he went on, but stopped abruptly when he looked up at her face "Lily Marie! What in the world is going on? You look like you've just discovered the secret of life"

"No, I did that a few years ago. Follow me."

James followed her around Godric's Hollow, the mansion that he had inherited when his father died, until she stopped at the entrance to The Room of Erised. He looked above him where a sign that read "The Squeaky Spoon" swung as though a gust of wind was rushing about.

"You didn't," he said, now understanding what was going on. He couldn't ask for anyone more loving or devoted than her. She was always good to him and doing little stuff like this. He just wanted to hug her and never let go.

"Yes, I did, for you," she replied and had to bite her lip because she was blushing madly. James was really impressed with what she had done for him. She could tell. She took his hand and opened the doors to the "restaurant". There were many people in the room. Some of them were eating at tables, others were huddled around the Wizard Wireless Radio, and the rest were casually chatting at the bar. James went up to one of them and touched him. As soon as his fingers made contact, the person formed a silvery mist and dissolved into thin air. In the back of the restaurant, dishes clattered and the food sizzled on the magical grills. James was in complete awe of the place. What a transformation!

"How may Blinky help Master James and Misses Lily this fine evening," croaked the voice of one of their many house elves. As large as their house was, Lily and James employed the house elves, not enslaved them. They thought it was against the will of humanity to do so. The house elves had adapted to this idea and were quite happy.

"A table for two, Blinky," Lily replied, since James was still mesmerized by the place and was unable to speak for himself.

They sat down near a window that had been charmed to look like the exterior of Hogsmeade. It may as well have been. Lily cast James's attention on the spoons. He was extremely impressed and eager to try them on his chicken tongue soup.

When dinner had concluded, they locked the doors to The Room of Erised and all of its contents dissolved into thin air. Lily was stunned when James picked her up and carried her down the steps to the parlor. The room was tastefully decorated in shades of gold and scarlet, as both of them had been prominent students of Gryffindor. The marble fireplace crackled and set a romantic air throughout the room. James went over to the baby grand piano and tapped it with his wand. Usually Lily would play muggle music on it, but tonight she was going to be a little too preoccupied to be playing any piano. James then retreated to the antique velvet couch where Lily was currently sitting. He leaned over and moved his arms up and down her body. Then, he looked into her eyes, her beautiful, brilliant, emerald green eyes. With her auburn hair and ginger eyes, the fire that burned inside Lily could light the world. And one day it probably would. He moved on and kissed her neck, working his way up slowly. Once he reached her lips he worked a little harder. But this little love scene was interrupted by a loud bang and a cloud of smoke. James wiped his eyes and peered through the smoke.

"Wormtail," James shouted. He was so excited to see one of the Marauders. It seemed as though eternity had passed since the last time they had all been together. Peter walked over to James and they gave each other the "manly pat on the back" and tapped their wands together, this was supposedly the Marauder greeting. "What brings you here?"

"What? Can't a guy just come over and see one of his best friends now and then," Peter joked. His insides were twisting about and his palms started to sweat. He looked around and sadly smiled at all of the pictures on the elegant mantle. There was the one with all of the Marauders at graduation, the one at James and Lily's wedding, a picture of James and Sirius playing quidditch, and a few random pictures of Harry. Peter wanted to disapparate, but he was sure James would be suspicious if he did. Then, he took a quick glance out the window and saw a pair of red eyes staring at him intently, these eyes belonged to the one and only Lord Voldemort.

A/N: Okay I think this is a good place to end this chapter. I'm thinking there will be 9 or so chapters, but that could all change depending on your reviews or suggestions. I'm trying to keep everyone's character as close to canon as possible. I like to integrate a lot with the Marauders. Hope you enjoyed this one.