A/N: New chapter up (obviously).

***********This story does not go along with what the fifth book says about these characters, however I am not going to stop updating this story just because of it.  I still like this story and I want to keep it on the site.  Call it an AU fanfic if you must, but I am STILL going to post this up.  DON'T FLAME ME FOR IT!  I would tell you more, but I don't want to give anything away……****************

Anyway…………………………….I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Let met just say here and now---I HAVE JUST HAD THE BEST THREE WEEKS I COULD EVER HAVE!  Hawaii was incredibly awesome (hot but definitely bearable!)  Even my tour around Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine were fun.  In fact, Maine was incredible!  We were staying RIGHT on the harbor (Boothbay Harbor to be exact!) and it was soooo nice and everything was soooooo cheap!  I became even closer with the friends in the group I went with (and of course, I'll NEVER forget Ben's organ!!  Of course, my clam chowder and cherry made up for it, right Ben and Bobby?) and we all had such a blast hanging out together!  My birthday was even exciting—my friends on my church tour made it a lot more fun than I could even write about (did you say bum?------No, I said RUM you idiot!...Or dumb now that I think about it…! Oh forget it, just pass the weed------What seed? ------YOU DUMBASS!!)  California was even amusing—the family reunion was actually more entertaining than I thought.  But I love being seventeen and the oldest of ALL of the cousins.  It's great to boss around the obnoxious seven-year-olds who are trying to throw you into the pool (they didn't have much success, thank God!).  But here's the most important part about the past three weeks-----I GOT MY LICENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (yes I realize that I turned seventeen, but that's the driving age you have to be in New Jersey!!  yes, I hate it, too…….)

 Anyhow, thanks to all of you who have reviewed the last chapter, and I know that a whole lot of you are wondering about James and Lily.  Well, you're going to have to be patient!  These things take time and trust!  I swear to you that it will happen! 

Disclaimer: People/Things you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling.  Everybody/thing else belongs to moi. 

MEMORIES

CHAPTER 20: Forever  (this is technically not chapter 20, but I get annoyed when it's out of order on the table of contents on the top and bottom, so I'm making this chap 20---don't think you're missing something because you're not!

Written by ByeByeBirdie

            At about nine o'clock that morning, a knock came at Lily's door and she immediately knew who it was.  She stood up and ran down the stairs.

            "I got it, Lily," Andy said, coming out of the kitchen.

            "No, I already know who it is.  Let me get it," Lily said calmly.  And sure enough when she opened the door a melancholy Sirius was standing in front of her with his broom in her hand.  He dropped the broom to the ground and Lily, once again for the second time that week, scooped Sirius up in a hug as he, yet again, soaked up Lily's shirt with more tears. 

*~*~*~*~*

            "It's already been a month," Kaitlynne complained.  "Why hasn't she written or called or even visited us??"

            "Good question," Lily muttered.  They were all in Kaitlynne and Remus' backyard for James' birthday and Easter, which was the same day that year.

            "It feels so different without her," James commented.

            "Everything has changed now," Remus remarked.

            "I miss her a lot," Kaitlynne muttered.  Everyone nodded with agreement.

            "And it would be nice to have received some sort of notice explaining where she is and how she's doing," Allie said.

            "That's what hurts the most," Lily said.  "Knowing that she doesn't care enough to even sit down and write a simple four-sentenced postcard!"

            "Hey, guys," Sirius said, coming around from the front with no emotion shown on his face.  They all knew that when they all got together, it reminded Sirius about how much Savannah wasn't there which reminds him about how much he missed her.

            They all exchanged worried looks.

            "So how about that damn stock market?" James randomly spoke out

            Remus and Josh couldn't help but laugh as everyone else tried to smirk it off.

            "What were you talking about?" Sirius asked curiously.

            "Football," Remus lied.

            "Queen Elizabeth," Lily answered hurriedly.

            "Hogwarts," Peter fibbed.

            "Strip Poker," James smirked.

            "Dumbledore," Kaitlynne said with a shrug.

            "James' birthday," Allie lied.

            "Easter," Josh stated quickly.

            Sirius looked at all of them strangely.  "Seven-way conversation?" he said skeptically.  "Hmm…lemme guess—you were talking about Savannah…"

            No one said anything and instead all looked up at Sirius with guilty expressions their face and sympathetic smiles.

            "Would you believe we were having a seven-way conversation?" Lily asked, giving it a chance.

            "No way."

            "Oh…well then, yeah, we were talking about Savannah," she said uncomfortably.

            Sirius just nodded as a lump formed in his throat.

            "Everything's different," James repeated from what he had said before, trying to skip over the awkwardness.

            "And we haven't gotten any letters since her move," Allie hinted.

            Sirius looked at her surprised.  "You haven't?  That's really strange.  I mean, I haven't gotten any letters, but I figured I wouldn't for a while," he said with a heavy sigh.   "I wouldn't think Savannah would do that.  Savannah's not the type of girl who would disappear off the face of the earth from the people who care about her the most…"

            "We were just thinking that," Lily said angrily with a hint of pain and grief expressed on her face.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            A month later…still nothing.

            "Sirius?  What are you doing out here?  The party's inside," Lily joked, after she found him outside sitting on her deck with a beer in his hand staring up at the moon.  "You're missing out on all of the hott girls."

            "No…I'm just missing on one hott girl," Sirius whispered.

            Lily sighed, and even though her birthday party was being held inside, she took a seat next to Sirius.

            "What are you doing?  It's your party!"

            "Yeah, but you're my friend."

            Sirius sighed.  "I'm being completely heartless and unwilling to forget, aren't I?"

            "Do you really want to know?"

            Sirius didn't answer her question.  "I'm being the guy I told myself I'd never be."

            "And who's that?"

            "I'm brooding over a girl I'm never going to see or talk to again.  I'm sulking over someone that's out of my life.  I shouldn't care, Lily.  I should just be saying 'whatever.'"

            "But you're not, and we both know why.  She may not be in England anymore…but, to you, she's still not gone yet"

I'll be loving you forever

Deep inside my heart, we'll be together

Even though you took my heart

And tore it apart

I will still love you forever

            Sirius looked over at Lily.  "I know.  I go to sleep at night and she's in my mind.  I wake up in the morning, and she's the first thing I think of.  I walk outside of the house, and she's still in my mind.  I don't get it!!  I mean, I've always loved her, yes, but I never thought I could love her this much," Sirius said painfully.

            "I always knew you loved her that much."

            "Unfortunately…her absence from my life has made me realize it…and now it's too late."

You are the sun

You are my light

And you're the last thing on my mind before I go to bed at night

You're always 'round when I'm awake and asleep

When troubles are on my mind you put my soul at ease

There is no one in the world

Who I could love more than you

That is the reason that I wish I could have spent forever with you

            "No, it's not too late.  It's never too late to love."

            "It's just too late for her to love me back," Sirius whispered.

            Lily looked over at him and saw the pain in his eyes as he hugged his knees closer to his body.  She wish she could do something to soothe him, but she knew that he just needed time.  Time heals everything… 

            "I just…I just miss her so much," he said barely audible.

            Lily hated seeing him like this, but unfortunately there was nothing she could do and that hurt her most.  "We all do."

            "The thing is…I don't think I can ever deal with seeing her again," Sirius whispered again.  "Unfortunately that's what I told her I wanted."

We've had the fun

We've made mistakes

You have left and now I don't want to see you again, give or take

You were so much more than I could have dreamed

'Cuz you make loving you so easy for me

There is no one in the world

Who I could love more than you

That is the reason that I wish I could have spent forever with you

            He sighed, but continued.  "And I hate feeling that way.  I mean, I'm so goddamned emotionless.  I haven't laughed in days or even made a joke in days.  I'm not just scaring James and Remus, but I'm beginning to scare myself.  This isn't me.  I'm not supposed to be out here wondering where she is.  Wondering what she's doing.  Where she's going.  What she's up to.  Who she's with.  How she's doing.   If she's happy or if she's sad.  If she's laughing or if she's crying.  If she's whispering or yelling.  If she's awake or sleeping.  But…I'm not even sure if I ever want to find out these things!!  She hurt me so much and now I don't know what to do anymore!!!  I'm not supposed to be thinking these things about her!!  I'm just supposed to be thinking about how she's gone.  How she's not here.  How she'll never be here."

            Lily squeezed him on the shoulder.  "These things take time, Sirius.  No one expects anything from you anytime soon."

            "I know no one else does…but I expect something from myself…and I'm not getting it.  I'm letting myself down more than anyone else has or will."

            "No, you're not.  This is just a reaction to her absence.  It's not your fault and you never have let yourself down.  You're just trying to take the blame off of Savannah because you don't want to think that she could do this to you."

            A single tear rolled down his cheek.  "But…how could she do this to me!?  Why?  Why me?  What have I ever done to her!?"

            "…You loved her," Lily answered quietly.

            "And look where that got me," Sirius muttered.  "Now I'm just a sulking prat who sits off to the side of a party and mopes—a party where a year ago I would have been the life at dancing with every girl in sight and drinking more than enough beer to last me a month.  I've become the party-pooper, Lils, and you know what's the worst part about it?  Knowing that any party I ever go to will never be the same without her…"

            Lily looked over at him and saw the shining glisten of a single tear in his eye.  She knew what he was going through and yet she felt that it was never as bad.  "Sirius…I-I…" she started, trailing off with a loss of words.

            He nodded sympathetically.  "Don't bother trying to make me feel better," he mumbled heartbrokenly.  "No one can…no on will.  Unless you've got something to heal a broken heart, then I'm just a worthless case."

            "You are not a worthless case, Si," Lily stated firmly, looking at him with a look that simply stated don't-mess-with-me-because-even-though-I-may-not-be-in-your-situation-now-I've-been-there-and-I'll-always-care-for-you-and-you'll-find-that-in-time-you'll-pick-yourself-up-again-and-realize-that-life-isn't-over-but-that-it's-just-the-beginning.  Lily was quite good with her looks…

            "Then why does it feel like I am?

            "These things take time…" Lily repeated.

            "Well, I'm a very impatient person," Sirius growled in contempt, crossing his arms in protest.

            "Sirius, I've been in the situation you're in, and let me tell you that no matter how impatient you are, you'll soon realize that your life isn't as worthless as you expected.  You still have your whole life ahead of you, Sirius, so stop dwelling on the past and start approaching the future with a smile.  You never know—maybe something good will come out of it."

            "That will only happen if I realize I'm in my own dream…or nightmare in this case.  I just feel so…trapped.  And then there's always helpless and alone."

            "You're not alone, Sirius," Lily reassured.  "You're not alone." 

            "Maybe it's better to be alone," Sirius said.

            "And why is that?" Lily asked.

            "Because," Sirius started, "No one can hurt you…"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            Two and a half years later in November, Lily finally moved back to England to work with Daily Prophet.  She moved to Branchwood, a magic town, where she was an okay distance (about forty minutes) away from her headquarters with Daily Prophet.

            James moved into a house a block away from where Daniel and Savannah lived in Godric's Hollow, and his house was about twenty minutes away from London and his office at Sir Sephilia's headquarters.

            Allie and Josh had their first child two years earlier on November 15, 1983.  A healthy baby girl, Jenna Nichole Matthews and everyone crowded in the hospital room to be there on the occasion…everyone except for Daniel and Savannah.

            Daniel and Savannah??  Well…no one had heard anything from them since they moved to Canada.  They had chosen not to stay in touch, and at first Lily was really upset…but she soon got over it and went on with her life.  No one got any information on where they lived or their jobs or anything about the baby.  In fact, Savannah and Daniel could have gotten married and none of them would have known.  Eventually, Savannah and Daniel just became names that were rarely ever mentioned.  They weren't forgotten…but they weren't remembered either.

            It took Sirius about ten months to get over Savannah.  You may think that was a long time, especially for Sirius, but that just goes to show how hopelessly in love with her he was.  He refused to date anyone else and even rarely talked to any of his friends.  He was miserable the whole time and seldom smiled or laughed anymore.  As amazing as it is…he hadn't told any jokes in a year!! He often found himself not being able to sleep and thinking of her…and when he did sleep, he dreamt about her.  He kept all of her pictures for four months, until he finally tore them all up not wanting to have any of her memories.  Unfortunately the memory of her remained implanted in his mind for a further six months.   

Without you

The ground thaws

The rain falls

The grass grows

The earth turns

The sun burns

But I die without you

            Now, Sirius is back to his own self, rarely ever thinking of Savannah, since it has been two years since he's seen her, and he's happy with his life now, even though there are times when he gets an empty feeling at the bottom of his heart.  But he wasn't about to mention that to anyone…

            Sirius and Lily had been hanging out more and more, mostly because they can relate to each other and they were always there for comfort.  Sirius and James were still best friends, but Sirius couldn't talk to James about Lily or about Savannah, fearing that James wouldn't understand enough.  James knew how Sirius was feeling and if they were hanging out and the subject happened to came to mind, they got into a conversation about it, but nothing too extreme, both afraid to admit their feelings.

            Lily and James still haven't gotten back together, (much to everyone's surprise), but they stopped yelling angry comments towards each other here and there.  Now they were friends and often hung out by themselves without feeling awkward.  They came to learn that being friends was better than nothing.  

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "I'm just glad to be back in England, closer to all of you," Lily said with a huge grin plastered on her face.

            "I like this arrangement better, also," Sirius said.  "So have you finally settled in?"

            Lily nodded.  "Yeah…why?  You have a suspicious look on your face."

            Sirius laughed.  "No, I was just wondering if you wanted to head to Three Broomsticks with me and James for a celebration."

            Lily gave him a suspicious look.  "Am I supposed to trust you on this one?"

            Sirius laughed.  "I swear, no pranks.  Just a harmful butterbeer or two."

            "Sirius, when you say harmful, people usually run."

            Sirius laughed.  "I swear, it's not poisonous!"

            Lily rolled her eyes.  "Fine, I'll go, but if I die, then I'm blaming it all on you."

            Sirius grinned and threw her a jacket that was lying on the couch.  "Good, let's go then."

            Lily rolled her eyes but apparated to Hogsmeade with Sirius.  They both walked towards Three Broomsticks…actually, they ran because it was sleeting and hailing hard and it was freezing outside.

            Sirius grabbed Lily's hand and threw open the door, practically running into Rosmerta.

            "Rosmerta!!" Sirius cried.  "I haven't seen you since-"

            "Yesterday," she mumbled with a smug look on her face.

            Lily laughed and Sirius huffed.  "Well, if you want to put it that way."

            "What other way would I put it?  You were in here yesterday morning."

            Lily laughed again and Sirius rolled his eyes.  "You just can't get enough of me, can you?"

            "I wish I didn't have to."

            Again, Lily laughed.  "Damn, I've missed this place so much."

            "Oh, you're the red-headed girl that always came in with that black-haired guy with the glasses, right?" Rosmerta said. 

            Lily nodded, smiling at the thought of a waitress remembering her and James together.  "Speaking of James, where-"

            "What about me?" a voice said from behind.

            Lily turned around to find James bundled up with a heavy jacket on, two scarves, a hat, thick jeans, and she could barely see his face.  "I said James.  Not the Abominable Snowman."

            "Awww, thanks.  What a nice way to be greeted by someone who I haven't seen in four months!"

            Lily laughed, and tried to wrap her arms around his neck.  He stuck out his arms around her waist, and they squeezed each other.  I wouldn't exactly call that a hug…haha.  "Agh!  Can't…reach… back!" Lily panted slowly, and James swatted her over the head with his glove.

            "HEY!  Is that any way to treat a person you haven't seen in four months?" she teased.

            "Are you mocking me?"

            Lily fake gasped.  "Never!!"

            "Okay, okay, I get it…You hate me, don't you?" he teased.

            Lily rolled her eyes.  "Yes, you caught me.  Ever since I lay eyes on you, I knew we were destined to be enemies," she replied sarcastically.

            "Instead we became friends…how did that happen?" he joked.

            "I know.  I mean, with friends like you…who needs enemies anyway?"

            "HEY!!"

            Lily laughed.  "Okay, it's cold by the door.  Let's go get something warm to drink before my ass freezes off."

            "That would be an interesting sight," Sirius teased.  "A little butt of Lily Evans running around the Three Broomsticks…I can see the headlines now!!"

             "Oh, shut up, Si," Lily said, swatting him on the shoulder.

            "And what fun would that be?"

            "Tons," James replied in a joking manner.

            "Actually, speaking of headlines, did you guys read the article on Voldemort that was in the newspaper yesterday?" Sirius asked, after they walked towards a table in the back.

            James nodded.  "Yeah.  I thought he was in Greenland…"

            "That's where they spotted him last, but about five death-eaters were found lurking in northern England," Sirius explained.

            Lily gasped.  "Why were they there?"

            "Good question," Sirius mumbled

            "They wouldn't tell," James explained.  "All of the death-eaters refused to spill anything and were sentenced to Azkaban for twenty years unless the give information, in which their sentence would be shortened.  Instead, their privileges in Azkaban were halfway diminished. They're being severely strict on them, but I don't blame the guards and the Dementors."

            "How did they find them?  And who found them?"

            "Aurors," James answered.  "Luckily, they didn't call me in for extra back-up.  But, they were holding a séance or something around a white, burning cross at Victory's Graveyard in Palenstone Hatch."

            "What, are they the KKK or something?" Lily muttered.

            "Actually, that's how it was described," Sirius smirked.

            "How many damn death-eaters does Voldemort have now?" Lily asked angrily.  "I mean, they've been catching more and more lately and sending them to Azkaban or to death."

            "He's obviously losing a lot," Sirius pointed out.  "But no one can be sure how many followers he has anyway."

            "But, Sir Sephilia claims that there are more than twenty death-eaters in Azkaban now that have been caught in the past ten years, and that's not even all of them.  A bunch had died on missions and a bunch died soon after they entered Azkaban," James explained.

            Lily sighed.  "It's horrible to know that that many people would agree with Voldemort so highly."

            Sirius sighed.  "It truly disgusts me."

            "Malfoy and his father were found outside Victory's Graveyard," James admitted in distress.  "But they claimed they had no information and because they weren't with the death-eaters, nothing could befall of them.  But Snape's uncle was one of the eleven sent to Azkaban, who tried to kill Benedict Harrington, the leader of the Auror mission."

            Lily shook her head in disbelief.  "This is crazy.  Palenstone Hatch is not that far from here.  They just keep getting closer and closer.  I don't like this at all."

            "Although being an Auror is fundamentally satisfying, knowing of Voldemort's whereabouts and knowing that his death-eaters are always around, getting closer and closer to the center of England and London, just scares me," James said.  "It's that simple.  When I get missions, it's so much easier to be sent to China or Russia for a mystery disappearance or something.  That way I know my friends aren't in danger."

            Lily nodded.  "We get so much information on Voldemort and deaths caused by him and the Avada Kedavra curse at the Daily Prophet center.  Writing it all down and getting the pictures of certain atmospheres creeps me out.  I had my first day of work at the Daily Prophet in England yesterday afternoon, and it's so different than the Daily Prophet in California.  It's more active and employed and there are so many different jobs and everyone is working hard, mostly on stories of Voldemort and strange disappearances and deaths throughout the world.  The office in England is international and everything's amazing to read and research.  They're reference desks is four times as big as the one in California."

            "Yeah, but England seems to be the heart of Voldemort's attacks," Sirius muttered.    

            Lily nodded awkwardly.  "Which isn't always a good thing…"

            "But we shouldn't let this bother us," James pointed out.  "We still have our own lives to live without worrying about Voldemort and what he's planning on doing next."

            Sirius and Lily nodded vigorously.  "I agree," Lily replied.

            "Right now, he's the least of my concerns," Sirius agreed.  "But the article yesterday just made me realize how close he's getting."

            James nodded uncomfortably.  "It's not a good sign…it's not a good sign," he repeated.

            "I just hope he doesn't get any closer…" Lily remarked.  

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "They're on to us Wormtail."

            "I know.  I'm sssssssorry.  We've got to throw them off-track."

            "I know.  But I'm losing my attendants!  And I need them all to succeed!"

            "You'll get more.  Everyone issss rooting for you!"

            "That's not good enough!!!!" he boomed.

            "I'm ssssssory, Massssster.  But we'll get them back."

            "We better…" a cold, dark, deep voice said hoarsely.  "I'm not Lord Voldemort for nothing…"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "Daily Prophet.  How may I help you?" Lily said, answering her phone on her desk, the next morning.

            "Lily Evans?" a scratchy voice said.

            "Yeah…" she replied hesitantly.  "May I ask why you're calling?"

            "I'm after you…" the deeper, coarse voice cackled, before a click on the other line was heard.

            Lily held the phone away from her ear full of bewilderment, wondering who the hell that was and why he was after her.  She didn't like the voice. It was full of suspicion and corruption.  But she shook it off; she didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing.  But for the rest of the day, she couldn't help but replay that conversation in her head.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "Sirius?!  What are you doing here?" Lily cried.  She had just returned from work around six o'clock and walked into the lit kitchen to find Sirius standing there holding the refrigerator door opened.

            He laughed.  "I have no food at my place."

            "Oh, so you raid my kitchen?"

            "That was the plan."

            "Evil."

            "I know."

            Lily laughed, and threw her purse on to the table.  "Can you get me the Caesar salad in the back of the fridge?

            "Nope."

            "Huh?"

            "I ate it.  Sorry."

            Lily laughed.  "Some friends I have," she muttered teasingly. 

            "Some hungry friends you have," Sirius corrected with a laugh.

            Lily threw a gum wrapper at him. 

            "Ooooh, gum!!"

            "No, gum wrapper, with no gum."

            "Well, what are you throwing an empty wrapper at me for!?" he joked.

            "You're completely useless."

            "I know.  That was my job when I was put on earth."

            "No, your job was to annoy each and every single person around you."

            "Is it working?"

            "Just about."

            "Good!  Then my work in life is through."

            "Yes, so now you can retire, learn to play golf, buy your own food at a country club and sit on your ass the whole day," Lily teased.

            "Hmm…doesn't sound half-bad."

            Lily laughed.  "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

            "Raiding your kitchen."

            Lily laughed.  "Right, I knew that.  I should've figured—that's the only way I get to see you."

            Sirius grinned.  "Well, I suppose I can hold that off for a while."

            "Good, because I was hoping to get together with you, Remus, Kaitlynne, James, Peter, Allie and Josh considering I haven't seen you all in a while."

            Sirius nodded.  "Sounds fine with me.  I know Allie, Josh, Remus and Kaitlynne are home.  I'm not sure about James or Peter."

            Lily nodded and walked towards the phone.

            "Make sure food is involved!!" Sirius cried and Lily laughed as she dialed Allie's number.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "No, you dumbass, we spent Thanksgiving with my parents this year!" Allie corrected.

            "No, because my two brothers were there."

            "No, that was on your father's birthday, Josh!"

            He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it and hesitated.  "Oh…right."

            "Yeah, remember you couldn't spend Thanksgiving with us this year because Allie's mother wanted to see Jenna again, and you were going home to Josh's family for Christmas?" Kaitlynne pointed out.

            "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I have a horrible memory," Josh complained.

            They all laughed.  "So how does it feel to be back in England?" Remus finally asked Lily.

            She looked around.  "Closer to all of you??  Not so great," she teased.

            "I feel so loved," Sirius said sarcastically.

            "The last time I checked…you weren't," James joked.

            "See!? There's the love," Sirius accused, and they all laughed.

            "You mean the non-existent love," Lily corrected.

            "Yes, that too," he agreed with a laugh.

            Lily couldn't help but smile.  They were all back together again, and it felt good.  Living in America was fun for a while, but she knew she belonged in England.  It's where everyone was.  It's where Sirius was.  Where James was.  Where Kaitlynne and Remus and Allie and Josh and Peter were.  It's where home was.  And it felt good to be back.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "Are you ready to go?  I said we'd meet Peter and Remus at the pitch," Sirius commented, early morning two days later.

            "Yeah, hold on, Si, the phone is ringing," James said, picking up the phone before he, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were planning on going to a Quidditch match for the day.

            "James Potter?" a heavy-breathing, deep voice asked.

            "Yes?  Who's calling?"

            There was a pause on the other end before the deep, cackled, rough voice said, "You better watch your step…"  And then James heard a click.  James stared at the phone with a confused look on his face.

            "Who was that?" Sirius asked.

            James jumped, forgetting that Sirius was there.  James paused and gave Sirius a once-over. "Oh…er…wrong number," he lied.  "It was nothing."

            James knew it wasn't nothing but he didn't want to say anything to Sirius…unfortunately, that conversation stuck in his head for the rest of the day.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

            "No way!!  The Bucknell Bombers have more of a chance of winning than the Rogan Rangers!" James argued.

            "But the Rangers have been on a winning streak for the past two months!" Peter protested.

            "So?  The Bombers are not only intimidating, frightful, big, good, but they've won the World Cup three years in a row!" Sirius said.

            "Yeah, but they lost their best players this year—Tulsack and Bagrarian, and Tulsack was their seeker," Remus pointed out.

            "Yeah, and the Rangers got Jarvis, who has amazing speed, amazing broom control, amazing skills, and refuses to let a Quaffle in!  He's had eleven shut-outs in fifteen games!!" Peter explained.

            "Yeah, but the Bombers have had forty-two shut-outs in fifty-eight games, for the past two years!" James cried.

            "Okay, okay, there's only one way to settle this!" Sirius jumped in.  "I'm betting ten galleons that the Bombers will beat the Rangers."

            "You're on!" Remus said and Peter agreed.

            "I'm going to get some Bertie and Bott's Every-Flavour Beans and a butterbeer.  Do you guys want anything?" Peter said.

            "No thanks," they all chorused and Peter wandered of into the crowd.    

            "This is going to be such an exciting game!" Remus couldn't help but squeal.

            Unfortunately, the game didn't take place that day because about five minutes later, a great cloud of green dust completely filled the stadium followed by thick, dark black smoke.  Everyone started screaming and panicking and James looked at Sirius with a confused look on his face.

            "What's going on!?!?" Remus cried.  He could barely hear James or Sirius over the commotion.

            "I don't know!!  But we better find out!!!!!" Sirius yelled back. 

            But he got his answer, when the dust cleared out and the Dark Mark was left standing in the middle of the stadium, dark, bright and clear.

A/N: Cliffhanger!!  What happens now!?!?!?!?!?!  Okay, that was just a chapter for back-up information, mostly about You-Know-Who.  So, now that that is done and said…

Disclaimer: Songs:  "Forever," by I-Have-No-Idea-Who (no, he is not real person…).   "Without You," from the RENT soundtrack (eeeek—great production!!!!)