AN: Just wanted to say that this is my first ever posted fanfic, so please be kind. This is actually the second version of said story, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I'm trying to take a different approach on the tale of the Marauders' time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter characters such as Lily and James and Remus. Such wonderfully in-depth characters are property of J.K. Rowling, etc. The only characters I own from this chapter are the parents and their personalities, even then, the names may have been used before. Although I don't think this is true, if I have copied work by any other fanfiction author, I apologize. I really haven't recognized any of that in here and I'm trying not to.

And So, Our Story Begins

May 13, 1957, ended with a beautiful addition to the Evans family. Her name was Lily Anastasia Evans. Her mother, Amaryllis, had asked that her family tradition of naming the females in the family after flowers be continued. Both of her parents had decided that, because of her Russian heritage on her father's side (he was half-Russian through his mother), she would have a Russian middle name. For reasons that Nathaniel and Amaryllis Evans never understood, they chose the name Anastasia which meant 'she who will rise again.' Lily, unlike her older sister Petunia Melanie, had the vibrant red hair of her paternal grandmother and her mother's vibrant, deep green eyes. Petunia Melanie Evans, who was five years older than her new-born sister, had thin blonde hair and blue eyes.

The tiny child was, for the most part, very quiet and well-behaved. She spent much of the night asleep and never developed colic. Her parents were relieved. Petunia had been an extremely fussy child and they were unwilling to have to go through that again. When Lily was seven months old, her aunt Iris came over to visit, bringing her own two children along as well. The eldest, Romulus David, was almost ten. He bore a fierce expression and refused to associate with any of the younger children. The youngest child, Remus Algernon, was a sweet child almost the exact same age as Lily herself. His birthday was May 6. Remus and Lily became instant friends. What Amaryllis did not notice were the sparks of emerald and amber threads of light that stretched from one child to another. Iris, on the other hand, did notice it and was very happy.

Petunia loved her little sister very much. As Lily grew older and grew closer to her cousin than to her own sister, Petunia started developing a deep resentment for her obviously odd cousin. She wanted her sister to become a proper lady, but instead was forced to watch as Lily played many of the rough and tumble games her cousin favored. Although Lily and Remus also played dress-up and tea parties, it was obvious that Lily would never fit into her sister's ideal world. Another thing that upset Petunia is that her sister was growing to be much prettier than she was. To be brutally honest, Petunia looked like a horse. Her teeth were nothing near straight, she had a neck far longer than normal, and her blue eyes were a smidge too large to be considered pretty. Lily was often commented on by the parents of Petunia's friends. They remarked on the thickness and texture of Lily's hair, the clarity of her eyes, and the beautiful smattering of freckles that Lily developed from her time in the sun on an otherwise flawless face.

Lily wasn't an absolute angel. As time went on, she grew to be more and more of a tomboy. Spending a great deal of time with her cousin, she could more often be found rolling in mud with a dirty, rather than clean, dress. Lily and Remus loved to play harmless pranks. Often, Remus would come over for the night when their parents wanted to go out to a movie. Romulus had left for boarding school when his brother was only a year old.

When the inseparable cousins were three, they frightened a babysitter by somehow managing to turn her hair three different colors. Both mothers thought it was rather funny. Amaryllis thought that the teen had done it herself and was merely lying. Iris winked at the two conspiratorially. Other things happened where the so-called "impossible" would occur. A toy would mysteriously appear in a play-pen when the toy had previously been in a bedroom. Amaryllis, called Amy by her sister and husband, merely shrugged her shoulders and put it down as a case of her doing something and forgetting about it. The lives of the children were, for the most part, happy ones. Then, on the first night of a full moon during the summer of their fourth year, disaster threatened to tear their world apart.

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Lily and Remus were sitting on the steps leading to the porch of Iris' house, his mother sitting comfortably behind them on a swing. Romulus, home for the summer and 13 at the time, was nowhere to be seen, although Iris seemed not to notice. Remus merely shrugged when Lily asked. His older brother often disappeared during the night. Remus' father was at work, working the late-shift in order to earn a bit more for the family. Lily's father, mother, and sister were visiting Nathaniel's mother, who was ill.

Lily was wearing a white sundress with tiny lilies embroidered around the hem of the skirt. She decided to step off the porch and chase fireflies that flitted across the lawn. Remus watched happily, pleased to see his cousin happy, but for some reason, watching her closely. As she wandered further and further away from the porch, he got up to join her.

From bushes lining the property and unnoticed by the three occupants, a pair of glowing yellow eyes watched the children with blatant envy. As young Lily drew closer, he attacked.

The first thing Remus noticed was a wolf-like creature heading towards Lily. He screamed, dragging his mother's attention to the situation. Iris pulled out a thin wand and shot red sparks high into the air before pointing it at the creature. Remus pulled Lily as far away from the monster as he possibly could, although the bloody thing started to follow them as they moved towards the porch. As the creature lunged for Lily's delicate little neck, Remus shoved his cousin and himself to the ground. The creature, now revealed as a werewolf in the light shining from the porch, missed Lily but ended up biting Remus' ankle. Remus howled in pain as many distinct pops could be heard around the yard. Several people wearing robes quickly subdued the werewolf, getting him far away from the children. Others ran to the children, noticing the bleeding wound and crying face of Remus. Iris ran to her youngest and instantly saw the bite.

Iris started to cry, knowing what had happened to her sweet little boy. Under the light showing from several wands, his hair was changing from it's previous blonde into a pale brown, becoming much thicker in the process and it continued to darken. His eyes changed from their sweet enchanting brown to a mysterious amber-brown, heading towards a full, golden glare. Iris's husband arrived in a tiny pop of his own. Seeing the situation, he grabbed his wife and kept her away from their changing son. As several of the people in robes sought to pull the young boy off Lily in order to keep her safe, an emerald light suddenly engulfed the pair. When it cleared several minutes later, Lily was sitting up, Remus' head in her lap, the transformation stopped in the early stages. Although his appearance would be forever changed by the werewolf bite, it appeared that Remus would never be like the other werewolves.

All four were brought inside the house as investigators appeared. Seeing young Lily holding a now sleeping Remus away from the darkness, the Minister was called in. Being unable to decide what to do, he called in a professor who specialized in that sort of thing.

The professor, Albus Dumbledore, knew the family well. As Dumbledore was the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and one of the greatest Wizards of all time, his decision carried a lot of weight with the Ministry. Dumbledore quickly embraced Iris, offering his condolences for the tragic event.

It was 7:00 in the morning before a decision on how to handle the matter was reached, and it was Dumbledore who offered the solution. "Remus was slated to attend the school long before this tragic event. I don't see how this should change anything, especially as it seems the transformation into a "full" werewolf was stopped by Lily, who is also slated to attend. He took the bite in order to save Lily from certain death. If I swear to take proper precautions, will you allow me to still take him into the school? I believe he will retain the purity of the human being he once was and, in many ways, still is. I will plant a Whomping Willow on the campus this summer that will be the cover of a tunnel that will lead to an abandoned house on the edge of Hogsmeade. This is where he will spend every full moon during his school career. Is this solution acceptable?" he asked, outlining his plans.

The Minister nodded, not seeming phased by the odd names Dumbledore mentioned. "As long as you are Headmaster while young Remus is attending school, I see no problem with it. He acquired the curse of the Lone Ones in saving another and, although he will be facing alienation by his peers because of it, it seems like a fair solution to me. It is NOT in any way, shape, or form, his fault that his older brother Romulus bit him. We will be taking Romulus to Azkaban for the required span of time for this transgression. I am so very sorry for your youngest son, Iris. We will also be investigating the Holding Area as well. I believe, if you put him in the basement for his transformations, Remus will do fine. I will speak with you again later." Iris and her husband nodded. All the people disappeared again in the same tiny pops that had heralded their opinion.

Philip Lupin, a top auror in the world of the wizards, hugged his wife as the two of them watched the sleeping children. Little Lily had stayed up most of the night comforting a restless Remus, lulling him back to sleep numerous times. He felt sorry for the two small children who's lives had been irrevocably changed. He did wonder how Lily had stopped a transformation he had seen the results of many times in his career.

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Lily and Remus had remained close, even despite the new problem. Romulus had become something of an outcast among the family for what he had done, but he didn't care. Romulus spent a great deal of time out of the house on holidays and after graduation from his boarding school, was taken out of the Wizarding World for good. He never knew what decision had been made about his little brother.

Lily had taken up the flute and violin shortly after the Incident. Remus was also taught how to play the violin, but chose the piano as his other instrument. It seemed to be another way to calm Remus during the week leading up to the full moon. For Lily, she was forced to keep a secret from her family and often spent the night of the full moon at her aunt's house. The Lupins had moved so that they were closer to the Evans, which turned out to be several blessings. One was Lily's ability to spend the night frequently, so that her parents never caught on to the moon connection. Another was that Lily could seek refuge from her older sister.

Upon returning from visiting her grandmother, Petunia discovered that Lily had somehow grown a thousand times closer to Remus. The resentment aimed at Remus was turned into a hate of her sister, "Perfect Lily." Petunia had grown up to be one of those gossipy girls, always talking about clothes, guys, and hair. Her looks never changed much really.... She remained extremely skinny to the point where their parents feared she was either anorexic or bulimic. That was another thing she hated Lily for. Lily never had to really work at keeping a slim figure, her natural metabolism and tomboyish nature saw to that.

It was May 13, 1968 and Lily woke up at the ungodly hour of five. She had developed a natural alarm that allowed her to stay up until obscenely late hours and still wake up completely by five the next day. It was her eleventh birthday, and seeing as Remus' birthday was so close to hers, they had switched off when the birthdays would be celebrated and shared the party date to save their parents more work. This year, it was being celebrated on Lily's birthday. Lily shot out of bed and grabbed her clothes for the day before slipping into the bathroom for a long bath. She was careful not to wake her sister up, because she would only be given a black eye.

Although very much a tomboy, Lily was extremely shy. She could often be found curled up with a book or playing one of her instruments as often as she could be found at the park playing with Remus. Thanks to the Incident, Lily had started learning about the magical world from her aunt and uncle. Both children knew about Quidditch and how the Wizarding world worked. Lily's inverted personality matched her cousin's which had grown reserved after the Incident changed his life. No longer the happy-go-lucky children of their younger years, both held the heavy weight of knowledge on their shoulders. A knowledge that matured them far beyond their years. A knowledge that separated them from their peers. Lily and Remus only had friends in each other, all the other children despised them for their differences.

As Lily cleaned herself of the night's grime, her mind drifted back to the first full moon after the Incident. She had slept over that night and heard Remus scream in agony as he transformed. She had also slept lightly, hearing his growls and snarls throughout the night. The next morning, when his parents were able to let him out, he had several broken bones and many bruises. In the moment when her Uncle Philip walked out of the basement with Remus a bloody mess in his arms, Lily swore to both find a cure for Remus' lycanthropy and to stay with him, always.

Lily stepped out of the tub and dried off before slipping on a green wool skirt that reached her knees, a long-sleeved and collared white shirt, and a wool vest in the same green as her skirt. She brushed her red hair that now reached mid-back before swiftly braiding it. Tying it with a green ribbon, she let it swing back down as she headed back into her room. She pulled a black cardigan out of her closet and tied it loosely around her neck. Putting in a set of angel earrings, she also slipped on white knee-highs and her black Mary Jane's. She padded as lightly down the stairs as she dared, despite the fact that it was now six. She sat down in the living room and picked up a book she had been reading the other night before bed. She heard her mother get up around seven and heard the noises of the house begin to grow as breakfast was made, Petunia and her father got up, and her cousin popped over.

One of Lily's favorite pastime's was reading. She had always enjoyed a good book and was able to throw herself completely into the story to a point where she could no longer sense the world around her. So it was no surprise that, at eight, when her cousin Remus came over, she was so immersed in her book that she didn't even hear him as he snuck up on her. He pulled the book out of her hands and quickly marked it before putting it down on the nearby end table. They hugged swiftly, Lily giving him a small (cousinly and CHASTE) kiss on the cheek.

After breakfast, other family members started to arrive. Knowing the routine, there were often several presents in the arms of almost every person who entered the house. The Evans were glad that they lived in an extremely large house with a humongous parlour. The presents were separated into two piles of presents on one side of the room. The room was filled with chairs, although said chairs were absent along one wall. This wall had two throne-like chairs flush up against the walls where the birthday children would sit as they opened presents.

Remus came away with many wonderful gifts, including a new violin and several new songs. He seemed content to hug a stuffed wolf cub that had been given to him by a younger cousin who didn't know any better. The wolf cub had beautiful amber eyes and tan fur, much like Remus' alter ego. His father, who merely smiled mysteriously at the questioning look in his son's eyes, had also given him a tiny owl.

Lily had gotten just as many wonderful gifts herself. As a flutist and violinist, she was given new instruments to replace the ones she had received when she first started playing. She was given several new dresses and jewelry. Knowing her love of books, many books were also given to her. She received an owl as well, though it was a snowy owl.

Remus and Lily both smiled happily from their seats as Albus Dumbledore walked into the room. Regarded by the majority of their family as a strange man who had only appeared in the family after the births of Lily and Remus, he was well loved by the children who he spent a great deal of time doting on. Neither of the two knew where he worked or even what he did; though whenever they would ask Iris, a mysteriously elated smile appeared on her face.

He handed each of them a large box which they willingly tore open. Each had much the same things in them. Coupons for a place called Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Pendants on leather cords (a fairy for Lily, a wolf for Remus). Uniforms for a school they didn't recognize. Cauldrons filled to the brim with books with odd titles. And two tiny golden keys.

That night, after the other families had left and all that remained were Lily's and Remus', Albus Dumbledore gave each of them a letter written on thick parchment and sealed with a crest impressed in a dab of wax. Upon opening it, they discovered that they were invited to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore explained what the decision had been all those many years ago, since both had been asleep by the time a verdict was reached. Amy, Nathaniel, and Petunia all learned that magic was real and what had happened to Remus. Petunia, scared stiff of her cousin, ran from the room. Amy and Nathaniel offered sympathetic looks to their nephew.

"But Iris, you never told me you were a witch, or that Philip was a wizard!" Amy exclaimed after the shock had worn off.

"I wasn't allowed to. You were so much older than me that it was never an issue and after I became a licensed witch, I was held under law to not tell Muggles. I'm just so very happy that Lily inherited the same genes that I did which allowed me to be a Muggle-born witch. Philip and I were both in Griffindor, by the way. I do hope the children get into there, although I don't really care as long as they are happy." Iris said softly.

"Well, Lily can come with us when we go to Diagon Ally to get Remus' remaining school supplies and then sleep over at our house that night as well. I'm sure she'll need the break from Petunia at that point. By the way, thank you for giving them a fair amount of their school supplies." Philip continued, thinking hard. Dumbledore merely nodded his head.

AN: Hope you enjoyed the story thus far. Please R&R, seeing as this is my first fic I would greatly appreciate it. I'll update as soon as chapter 2 is done, but I'm not sure quite what to have happen yet. suggestions will be considered carefully, I already have a general idea where I want this one to go.