Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Anything you do not recognise from the either the films or the books, belongs to the author of this FanFiction.


Shadows Falling

Despite James' worries, Nearly Headless Nick appeared to be right. The announcement that Hogwarts would be holding the European Youth Quidditch Cup had sparked excitement from the majority of the student body and Dumbledore was now signalling for quiet. He got it almost instantly with a raise of his hand.

"Delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving within the next month. I hope that all of you will make our guests feel welcome. Trials to find our team are open to fourth years and above. If, however, you are on a house team and are under fourth year you may try out. Details on the tournament will be announced nearer the time, however, its history and any other matters can be found in the library from various sources. I am sure Madam Pince will be delighted to point you in the right direction."

The noise level rose once more: cries of complaints from those not on the House teams and under the entering age but fanatics in their own right and friends of those on House teams asking eagerly whether they were to try out or not.

James had listened patiently, his mind ticking over the information being taken in. There were to be only three teams taking part. One from Beauxbatons, one from Durmstrang and of course, one from Hogwarts. Apparently, due to the raging war, several of the smaller schools had refused, fearing for their pupils' safety. As Hogwarts was playing host, the delegations from both schools would be arriving at the castle sometime within the next month; and within that time Hogwarts had to pick its own team from hundreds of hopefuls.

--

Like a porcelain doll, she had an air of fragility surrounding her as she sat staring out of the window, droplets of rain trickling down the pane. Sickly looking skin was pulled taught over her face, apart from the area around her brown eyes which was slack and blemished purple from lack of sleep. A bulky cloak hid her painfully thin arms and although the fire was lit, she was still cold, so very cold.

The door to the room opened and a man in his late thirties walked in, polished shoes clipping on the wooden floorboards. The woman, for she was definitely no girl, looked up. "Edward, why have you come back so soon?" She tugged at a strand of cotton on her robe. "It isn't even lunchtime yet. You should be at the Ministry."

The man, Edward, sighed impatiently. "I know I should, Gwendolyn, don't nag me." He paused. "A family was murdered near Liverpool in the early hours of this morning. Bagnold doesn't want the press to get hold of it, no real surprise there. The public will find out eventually, and when they do there'll be an uproar. Old Barty Crouch is in agreement with me; the sooner Bagnold goes the better. We need someone in charge who is more concerned with getting rid of You-Know-Who than protecting their public image!"

This news seemed to have little affect on Gwendolyn, who had turned her head mid-way through to look out across the garden, where gnomes were appearing every now and again and running to find a better shelter from the harsh rain. "I don't like it when you tell me things like that, Edward. It makes me feel like a pathetic, good-for-nothing waste of space, because I know that's what I am!" Her voice was riddled with bitterness.

"You are not!" exclaimed Edward. "It's not your fault-"

"I hate it when you lie as well. Just look at me! Ever since I stopped working, my condition has deteriorated faster. I don't want to die with the memories that I did nothing in my last few years apart from stare out of a blasted window all day." She stopped, taking a deep breath and composing herself as best she could. "I've decided that I'll go and see Dumbledore at Hogwarts as soon as I feel a little better, see if he has anything useful for me to complete.

Edward looked at his feet and slowly nodded. "If- if that's what you want Gwen, I'm-I'm not stopping you this time." He took out a pocket watch from his pocket, looking as the small planets encircled each other. He was going to have his head chewed off by Moody if he didn't make a move. He shuffled two steps closer, leaning down to kiss his wife on the cheek.

"I'm going to have to go, Gwendolyn. Did James get to the station all right?" Edward asked.

Gwendolyn smiled sadly and tilted her head into a half-nod. "He did. I'm afraid that he's still angry with me for not believing him when he received Head Boy."

"He'll get over it, Gwendolyn, he's normally as resilient as a springboard. Don't worry. Francesca should come round about three this afternoon. Morry will let her in. I'll see you this evening." With another peck on the cheek, Edward swept hurriedly out of the room, aware of his impending lateness to another meeting.

--

The feast had ended on a high note, students talking excitedly at the prospect of the European Cup ending up at Hogwarts. That, and the fact there would be new students residing within the school walls. James was getting fairly fed up of people asking him whether he was going to tryout. It would be stupid not to.

He had given it some thought but the answer had always been there, in the back of his head. He had loved Quidditch when he was younger, before he had come to Hogwarts and after. The first year rule had annoyed him to no end and he had seriously considered smuggling his own broom in. Flying lessons had been the highlight of his first year, well, that and mercilessly teasing Severus Snape. What a prat he had been.

James, much to his own surprise, found he had no desire to go to sleep after the feast. His mind was buzzing with a contained excitement, even if he did not show it outwardly. He felt a small smile creep onto his face as he sat himself down in one of the armchairs. He could see it now. The cheering crowds roaring on the Hogwarts team. And him, holding the huge trophy above his head admiring looks from all directions, Lily included.

The sound of feet tiptoeing down the stairs made him scowl deeply as his fantasy melted away from the front of his mind. He turned his head sharply and was just about to let a tirade out on the little bugger who had dared disturb his placidity. However, he stopped almost immediately, for it was not the third year he had been expecting, it was a seventh year. Lily, to be precise.

She looked around blearily before stepping off the last stair and making her way too one of the armchairs. Her hair was tousled, tumbling around her face and onto the plain white dressing gown she had on. Two bare feet, complete with chipped nail varnish were pulled onto the armchair and one of the cushions was dumped on them to keep them in some state of warmth.

"I need to get some Dreamless Sleeping Solution from Miss Poppy," Lily said, breaking the silence.

James tilted his head slightly in an attempt to stop his glasses from slipping off his nose. "Bad dreams, Evans?"

"Something like that," Lily replied, looking up briefly, and then going back to fiddling with a ring on her right hand. James intrigued with some inner fascination, watched as the precious metal glinted in the half-light of the fire. It was elegant, bands of gold weaving between each other to create an intricate Celtic design. James had only come across that particular type of ring once before, in the window of a rather posh looking Muggle shop, and had found himself admiring them. They were unlike anything a wizard might own; they did have pretty rings forged by the goblins- who prided themselves in their ability to make anything out of a precious material such as gold- but Muggle rings were a whole new spectre.

"I like your ring," James blurted out. He immediately regretted it, the back of his neck turning an uncharacteristic shade of red.

Lily looked at him surprised, immediately dropping her hands into her lap. "Er, thanks." There was a long silence and then, "You're seriously weird sometimes, Potter."

James frowned slightly. "How so?"

Lily shrugged. "You just are. I mean you and the other guys are so secretive at times. You'll sit in a corner of a room and snap at anybody who comes within three foot of you. It's just kind of strange."

"Point taken," James said, a jaunty grin returning to his face once more. He really didn't want to drag the conversation any further into the topic. That would have been like setting up his own murder. No one could know anything about Remus, or the fact Sirius, Peter and himself accompanied him on full moons as illegal Animagi, unless Remus was ready for his secret to be unleashed. "Did I ever congratulate you on getting Head Girl?"

"I don't know, it doesn't really matter though, it's hardly like I was shaking your hand, either." A wry smile was forming on her lips as she spoke. "Imagine what poor Severus's face will be like when he finds out."

This thought alone was enough to make the grin on James's face grow that little bit larger. True, he may have backed off a bit where 'Snivellus' was concerned, but that still did not quash the satisfied feeling when he saw his enemy look jealously upon him in any way, shape or form. "I thought you were against Snape bashing?" James questioned after a minute or two.

"Oh, I am!" Lily retorted quickly. "But when it comes down to it, Potter, he's a Slytherin and I'm not entirely against getting one over on them."

"I can see your principles have changed since fifth year, Evans," said James, adopting the kind of accusing voice McGonagall had whenever she caught him doing something wrong. Lily straightened herself up slightly, looking directly at him with narrowed eyes. She relaxed and then conceded.

"Alright, so what if they have? Am I not allowed to change my principles now?"

"I never said that. I said I could see that your views-principles- have changed over the years. It isn't such a bad thing to do, hell no! In fact, I think it's very brave of you," James remarked in an attempt to prevent an argument this early on in the school year.

Lily arched an eyebrow, "Brave? How is changing my opinions slightly, or taking a different view on things, brave?"

"Well," James began slowly, "With everything that's happening in the world you can't afford to change your opinions on what's happening." Lily looked at him slightly bewildered so he ploughed on. "Take for example a Death Eater. He or she has been serving Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who, for a while when they suddenly come to the realisation that what they're doing is wrong. If they tried to back out it's likely that they'd be deemed a traitor and probably killed."

Lily lowered her eyes and then nodded. "I can understand that, but it doesn't have anything to do with me changing my opinion, does it?"

"No. It's just an example. You have to be careful about what you say, and to whom you say it."

There was another silence, where only the crackling of dry wood burning could be heard. "Where do you get all this stuff from, James?" The use of his first name had been a jolt. Lily only used his first name occasionally and each time, in previous years, it had given him some hope that maybe, one day, she would accept him properly, for who he was, not who he could be.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, all these things about the world, what's happening to it now- everything. The conversation in the train, about those wizards and witches who got murdered, you knew they weren't the only people to die, but it wasn't in the Prophet or anything," Lily said impatiently.

"I pick things up from my Dad. He works at a senior level in the Ministry," he replied slowly. James was slightly uncomfortable saying anything concerning his family. He had been told pacifically that he was not allowed, under any circumstances, to tell of his father's occupation. The reason he had yet to discover, yet he was dissolved that he would, eventually.

"That would explain it. I just had these visions of you breaking into the Ministry or something stupid." Lily let a small laugh escape her at the thought, and James found himself smiling too. It was exactly the kind of thing he and Sirius would do, if it were important enough.

Slowly the dawn bled into the dark sky, pushing back the shroud of dark that had covered the Scottish highlands. James had eventually managed to drag himself upstairs and to bed, leaving Lily to her own devices down in the common room. He had found it slightly odd that he had managed to stay awake for that period of time, but there again he was talking to someone who had intrigued him for years.

--

A/N: Second chapter up! Any questions, bloopers, opinions etc. that you'd like to share with me, please do! Cookies go to anniePADFOOT and auroraborealis for reviewing, thank you guys!

And don't forget to check out Forbidden Love, my new pet project!

Thanks once again,

FF