Hello again- I'm just going ahead and posting a few chapters right off so you can get the feel for the story. =)
Thanks for reading!
*hugs and cookies*
DISCLAIMER-(forgot to do this first chapter…and this is the only one I'm doing) I am not JKR nor will I ever be. This story is based on her Harry Potter series and many of the chacters, settings and props belong to her. All others, unless mentioned, belong to me. Rock on JKR. =)
Chapter One Summer-1976
The air was dry and warm, without the slightest calming breeze to twirl the summer flowers about. Blue skies, sprinkled with soft white clouds, towered over the green field, casting the brilliant sun's rays upon the land.
Every once in a while the shrill sound of a bird in the distance could be heard; calling out to find its mate.
A black, messy haired young man shifted in his spot under the shade tree. He was reading a Muggle paper; seeing how the Muggle world interpreted and explained events.
His latest interest was of a major explosion happening in Italy; the Muggles said it was an industrial explosion caused by too large amounts of a chemical. James Potter knew the truth.
He heard flapping of wings; wings too big for a small bird that was more common in this field. He looked up from the paper just in time for a gray, snipping owl to land next to him.
"Canopus, what are you doing here?" James snatched the small parcel tied to the owl quickly, as not wanting to get bit or pecked. Just as hurriedly, before reading the letter enclosed, James emptied his pockets of all possible snacks for Canopus to choose from.
Satisfied with her treat, the owl swooped away before James could even unravel the parchment.
"Guess its best not to be seen around me for even an owl," James mumbled to his self.
He did a double take and looked around the field after reading through the note. It had to have been a prank; a cruel one, but he wouldn't have put it past his best friend.
"Okay, one more time, Prongs," James, with a bemused look upon his face concentrated on the parchment once more.
Prongs-
I've got to get out of here. I can't take it anymore. This family, these lies I keep telling myself. I'm nothing like any of them-I'm not what they wanted or expected from their first born. Reg-he's got it now, James. He's got the mark on his arm, I know it. The way he talks, the way he acts. Mother and Father haven't actually declared it, but they're on his side. How can I live with people who hate me and my best friend? If I leave they'll never speak to me again. I can't wait. See you on the dark side of the moon.
Padfoot
"Hot damn," James muttered. "Sirius is really going to leave."
James stood and stretched. He yawned and scratched his head, hot and tired. As he gathered his things and readied to mount his broom, a smile came across his face.
About to turn 16, he already knew that the world was not soft; that it could be heartless and terrorizing. But amidst all that, it was nice to know that there lied innocents, loyalty and purity. That true friends could be found.
* * * *
With his wand just out of reach, he did the next best thing and struck his fist to the cheek bone of the flesh and blood.
It was a sound that sent shivers up Sirius's spine, but a slight defeat against his brother. Regulus, in shock of what had just occurred, fell back against the wall, his hand holding his jaw. Sirius took this opportunity to grab his wand and head for the door.
"SIRIUS BLACK!" His mother's annoying screeching engulfed his head.
Sirius ignored her and continued for the stairs, Regulus right behind him.
"Get back here, you bastard!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Came a thundering voice from the front door.
Regulus was about to catch up with his older brother, having long lost his own wand. Sirius stopped at the top of the stairs with a look of pure hatred for his family.
"Make another move, and sweet brother, I have the advantage being at the top of the stairs with a wand," Sirius told him, only loud enough for him to hear.
Regulus glared back as Mrs. Black joined Mr. Black at the bottom of the stairs.
"What's this all about?" Their father demanded.
"Sirius just came home from visiting his Muggle friend," Regulus explained happily to their parents. He knew his way would be won over rather than Sirius's open mindedness.
"And this little twerp said some not so nice things," Sirius finished the explanation.
"Who's been using magic?" Mr. Black asked, glancing around the hallway. "And Sirius, damn it, why do you insist on spending your free time with her? She's a nobody; doesn't know and doesn't need to know about our kind."
Sirius took a deep breath and counted in his head. But he only got to the number three; that's when his brother opened his mouth again.
"But the world is open to so many possibilities, remember Father?" Regulus chided.
Mr. Black chuckled, "Possibilities? Wizards and Muggles have lived separate for all this time for a reason. We're nothing alike. They can't accept us and they're intelligence is far below ours-"
"Stop it already!" Sirius interrupted his father with a yell. We are alike, we're all human! And they can't accept us because we won't let them! As far as they're intelligence-"
"Even Wizards lack it," Regulus smiled at his brother.
Without hesitation, Sirius furrowed his brow and threw a shove into Regulus' shoulder.
Sirius watched as Regulus' expression changed from a haughty smirk to a fearful frown. The stairs were not that wide and he had not been expecting Sirius to use physical force in front of their parents. Regulus lost his balance and started to fall backwards, down the stairs.
Just as Sirius backed away and the feet of Regulus were inching into the air, Mrs. Black made a fast reaction. She pulled out her wand, mumbled a spell and made Regulus' landing a cushy one.
Reacting just as quickly, Sirius made a run for his room. Regulus regained his composer and took off after him while Mr. and Mrs. Black headed up the stairs.
"Sirius!"
All three were yelling for him, all angry and upset.
When Sirius reached his room, he stopped and glared at his family, "Face it, I'm nothing like you and I never will be. I can see a future while you all can only see what's right in front of your face."
And with that he slammed his door shut, used his wand to lock it, and pulled out his trunk.
By name he was a part of this rich, pure-blood family. But where the heart was concerned, he was an orphan, and always had been.
* * * * *
"Peter! Dinner time!"
A plump, older lady with her gray hair pulled back into a bun, called.
A short and round young man entered the small kitchen; his watery eyes darting around in anticipation of the meal.
"Wash up, boy. Let's eat, I'm hungry," the woman told him sternly.
"Yes Mum."
The pasty man listened without objection. He washed his hands and obediently sat at the table, awaiting the nod to start dishing out the food.
His mother nodded, and as the two began to serve them selves and eat, light conversation began.
"I'm heading out to Diagon Alley tomorrow, do you need anything?" Ms. Pettigrew asked.
"I can wait; I'm supposed to meet up with the boys soon, I'm sure we'll head out there," Peter explained.
"I read about Remus' uncle in the Daily Prophet," Ms. Pettigrew's face grew solemn. "And James has lost how many family members in recent months?"
Peter's voice was almost squeaky upon answering, "Too many. But the Potter's are a brave and strong family Mum."
"Yes, it is the Lupin's I'd be more worried about. Have you owled?"
"No Ma'am," Peter was beginning to cower in the wooden kitchen chair.
Ms. Pettigrew gave Peter an alarmed look, "And you call yourself a friend? Peter, I'm ashamed. You march your behind up to your room this instant and owl Remus a condolence. And when you're done with that, I want you to owl James to see how he's doing."
"Oh, I've owled James, he's fine Mum," Peter mentioned, nodding his head.
"Peter," Ms. Pettigrew sighed. "And Sirius? What about Sirius?"
"What about him, Mum? They're my friends, Mum, I can know when to owl them and when not to!" Peter argued.
"I've lost my appetite from the arguing," Ms. Pettigrew pushed her plate back. "Finish dinner and clean up the kitchen. I'm going to lay down for a nap."
And with that, Peter watched his mother leave the room and head upstairs. Peter pushed around his food for a bit, before noticing the chocolate cake on the counter. He quickly finished the main course and began to cut the cake.
As he enjoyed the moist dessert, he began to hear his mother's voice in his head.
I'm ashamed. Can't you do anything right? You're brother was smarter than this Peter, why can't you be? I never dropped you! Why are you so slow sometimes? Can't you follow simple directions boy?
As hard as he always tried, he'd never live up to his mother's standards.
He ate another slice of cake before hurrying to clean the kitchen and owl his friends.
* * * * *
He hadn't been all that close to his Uncle Brantford anyhow, but it was still a loss of a family member. Someone that was close and related by blood; a victim of a pointless and heartless battle.
As selfish as he felt, Remus had been relieved that the family gatherings had been around a new moon- he had been safe from a transformation and able to not miss anything.
It had also made him happy when the Potter's had shown up for the service. James and Remus were seeing each other more often this summer than in the past, simply due to sad occasions.
Neither boy held it against Sirius that he hadn't shown-he had owled as soon as he found out. They were surprised to have not seen Peter, although summers where hard for him in his own way.
Remus looked out his window to the night sky. A storm was moving in and the wind was picking up a bit. The half crescent moon was just visible through the clouds
.
He wondered who else was looking up to the stars then; if anyone else dreamed.
He often lay awake at night, looking out the window, dreaming of an easier life. A life without the monthly transformations or hardships his family had to endure. A life where no one had to live in fear.
He sighed, as he rolled over and closed his eyes.
He wasn't a seer, but something told him life was pretty simple right now. At least compared to how it might turn out.
* * * * *
The muffled giggles from the red-head were of a happy note. She was having a great summer; spending time with her family and traveling. She was even getting along with her sister for the most part; something that was out of the ordinary as of the last few years.
"Mum! Did you see the way he looked at Lily?" Petunia was giggling like mad.
Lily blushed as she threw a pillow from the Hotel couch at her sister, "Tunia!"
Mrs. Evans smiled as she skimmed the Italian paper, "He did seem to have an eye on you Lils."
"Stop it," Lily giggled, hiding her face behind a pillow. "He was cute though."
Petunia rolled her eyes, "Are there cute guys at your school?"
Mrs. Evans couldn't help but let the proud smile engulf her face. Usually it was like pulling teeth to get her two daughters to get along. As soon as Lily's term had ended at Hogwarts, the Evans had left for a summer filled with family time. Neither daughter had been exceptionally pleased with the prospect, but Mr. Evans had run into a smashing deal he couldn't refuse at work.
As an auditor, he did a lot of traveling, but this summer he was asked to audit some big companies around Europe. By doing so, he'd have a chance to holiday in many different places. His boss loved him. So he took the opportunity.
It meant a lot of hard work, but it was a chance of a lifetime for his family.
The holiday started off like any other time that the girls both came home from school. Lily was 15, about to turn 16 at the end of the summer while Petunia was 13, about to turn 14 in the fall. The two, when little, had gotten along wonderfully. They'd play together and Lily would always help Petunia with her schooling.
Until Lily received the letter from Hogwarts, when she was eleven. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been ecstatic to find that they had a witch in their family; the two parents had always been open minded and friendly people. In their early years of being a family they had lived by a Wizarding couple.
Petunia was jealous upon this discovery, having always wanted to be just like her sister. And when Lily would return home on her breaks, she'd be full of interesting information- nothing of which Petunia could match.
Expecting to receive the same letter her eleventh year, Petunia was greatly disappointed to learn she was just a mere Muggle, as Lily explained to her.
Thus starting the rampage hatred the two threw at one another. Petunia felt she was nothing next to Lily; the witch of the family, the beautiful redhead, the talent and the one with the brains. Petunia, with her dullish blond hair, her long neck and bulging eyes, didn't stand out as much. She received average grades and had no extraordinary hobbies.
But in Lily's eyes, Petunia had potential. If only she could get her sister to see that being a Muggle born witch, especially in these times of trial, wasn't easy. Old friends looked at her strangely, almost scared of her now. Family members couldn't understand the things she did or went through, the reasons she didn't always make it home on holidays through out the school year.
Lily enjoyed being a Witch, and was honored to be one of her stature, but it didn't come without hard work. And for that there were times that she wished she could just be a Muggle girl like her sister.
But this summer was proving to be different. With no one else to talk to, the two sisters had no choice but to get along. Mr. Evan's was often off working while Mrs. Evans entertained the two. Nothing made either Evan's daughter happier than to realize that when their father heard their stories of the day; his beaming smile could be seen from miles away.
"Yeah, there are some cute guys at Hogwarts. What about at Castleton?" Lily asked, interested in her sister's life just as much.
Petunia giggled, "Well, there's this one boy. He's from near us too, back home. Lily, he's just so…great."
Lily laughed, "What's his name? What's he look like?"
"His name is Vernon. He may not be the most smashing boy to look at, but Lils his personality is just so charming."
"Aw, that's great, Tunia."
"What about you? Do you have a special boy at school?"
Lily rolled her eyes, thinking back to Hogwarts. Sure, there were cute guys all around her; nice ones, intellectual ones, and fun ones. But none of them really tickled her fancy. She had more on her mind than running off to snog someone behind the Professor's back.
Lily shrugged, "There isn't anyone special, no. But I don't really have too much time to worry about a boyfriend at school."
Mrs. Evans winked at her daughters, "That's my girl. You have to think of yourself at times, girls. Emotions and men can't carry the weight all of the time."
Lily laughed, "Our mother the feminist."
Mrs. Evans laughed, "The world is full of more opportunities for you two than there was for me. I just don't want you to miss anything on account of a man."
The girls both smiled. They couldn't imagine their mother doing anything but what she did; she was happiest being a housewife and mother. And with both of her children in school, she had time to give to her hobbies: working with the elderly. Mrs. Evans always volunteered at the elderly homes; making sure they were taking care of and just listening to them.
"So there's no boy at all?" Petunia eyed Lily.
Lily laughed, "Nah. I mean, there are a few that I find rather…good looking I guess. But I could never date them. And then there's James."
"James?" Petunia was interested.
Lily rolled her eyes and clinched the pillow in frustration, "He's one of the Marauders, the pranksters of the school. He's in my house and apparently in 'love' with me as Lyndon so puts it. But he's right annoying. He's such an arrogant prat. He thinks he's the best at everything he does. And he's mean; always picking on Severus."
"Who's Severus?" Petunia interrupted.
"He's this boy in a different house…"
Mrs. Evans quietly left the room without either of her daughter's noticing.
She couldn't have asked for a better summer.