Remember When

A/N: Kimberly wrote this chapter! Yay fun. She writes such longness compared to my shortness. And by the way, I was totally thrilled with all the reviews guys. Thanks for them! And another thing: I never picked out a beta. I was hoping for a couple more offers. Anyone else?


Chapter One – Of Goodbye Kisses and Making Friends

"Give me a kiss, James," ordered his mother, smothering him in kisses. Not only that, but James's oxygen was now drawing to a close - he could barely breathe; his mother was hugging him that tightly - James decided he'd probably not even make the train if this act continued. "Please, sweetie? I won't see you for a long time?"

"It's not like I'm dying, Mum," grumbled James, wiping the lipstick stains from his cheek. "Gross!" he mumbled, looking at the smeared lipstick on his hand. Thankfully, his mother didn't heard. "I'll be back. Soon. Oh, and I'll write if that makes you feel better."

"I know you'll write. You're such a good boy and…" his mother kept on babbling. He eventually tuned her out, hoping that she'd get the point.

Now the boy really did love his mother, but there was just one problem: embarrassment. James could get so embarrassed that his cheeks would turn the same color as the sun. And the only person who really made him get embarrassed was his mother. His father - a different story - always loved his son and tried not to humiliate him.

"Honey, you need to let the boy go," piped up his father. "He's got a train to catch. Right, son?"

James sent a thankful look to his father. "Right. Well, I'll see you at Christmas time. Mum, Dad. I promise I'll write."

Just as his mother was about to pull him into another hug, he ran off - or more like skipping.

His mother sighed. "Darling, do you think he'll be okay?"

"Who? James?"

"No, our other son," she replied, sarcastically. Stomping her foot a little, she said, "Of course James, dear. Who else?"

"I think he'll be fine. He'll meet friends and play sports, and I bet he'll even find - "

"No, I mean Lily. Do you think we should've told him? He's tried to forget about her, but sometimes, I can just see his face - probably thinking about her. He really loves her, and when he goes to Hogwarts and sees her, all those emotions will come crawling back to him, and she won't even know who he is."

"I think we made the right decision."

Her mother sighed, dabbing her tears with a hanky. "I hope you're right."

With a bag slung over his shoulder and a nervous expression on his face, he searched for a compartment. So far, he hadn't been lucky; all of the compartments were full. But when he found an empty compartment, he let out a relieved sigh.

Entering the compartment, he soon figured out that the compartment wasn't empty; there was actually one person in it, sleeping. He couldn't really see the person, considering that his jacket covered up his face and part of his body, but he could tell that the person was really sick (there were hankies all over the ground, and the person started shivering).

"Excuse me," asked the boy, tapping the unknown stranger on the back. "Excuse me!"

The body jumped up at least five feet in the air - well, that's what James thought. Frightened, the nervous boy pulled the jacket over his head and started shivering, again.

"Are you okay?"

A head popped out of the jacket, revealing the person's facial features. The boy had sandy brown hair and a pale complexion. His nose was red - he looked like Rudolph, thought James. His eyes, though, expressed everything: worry, nervousness and a bit of calmness for some odd reason.

"Are you okay?" James asked, again.

The boy's eyes went wide, and James could've sworn he looked like a turtle. The boy opened his mouth, then shut it. He looked like a gaping goldfish with no water.

"If you keep on doing that then I might mistake you for a goldfish, or a turtle - possibly," joked James, lightheartedly.

"I'm sorry," apologized the boy, face downcast. "I'm usually not like this - sick and all. I'm usually friendly."

"There's no reason to apologize. You're sick. So what? People get sick all the time," explained James. Remembering his manners, he stuck out his hand. "I forgot, I'm James Potter."

The sick boy barely smiled, but enough to let James know he appreciated the simple gesture. "I would shake your hand, but I don't want you to get sick. By the way, I'm Remus Lupin. And usually, I'm not this sick."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin." James glanced at the hankies. "Now tell me again why you're sick? Who gave it to you?"

"Oh, you know - the bug and all. It's going around England," explained Remus, nervously.

"Really?" asked a curious James. "I didn't know that. Has it been in the Daily Prophet, because if it was, I surely don't remember seeing it. I'm the Daily Prophet's number one reader, along with my father. We read it every single morning over orange juice and scones."

"Well, you must've not been looking hard enough."

"True."

The train jolted to an abrupt stop, which flung James in an awkward position - hands up in air, legs crossed, lying against the seat. Remus, however, didn't change positions. Still in the same position before, James wondered how he could maintain his stiff position, even with a big jolt that could've even moved an elephant.

"What happened?" asked James.

"I think the train stopped," Remus told him. "Let's get out, considering the train has stopped."

"Good idea."

"I'm Arabella Figg. It's a pleasure to meet you," introduced the girl, putting out a hand to shake.

Lily Evans looked at the girl's hand curiously, and eventually, shook it. "It's nice to meet you Arabella. My name is Lily Evans, but Lily will just do. Or you can call me Lil, or Lils. Either name is fine. Just don't call me Flower; it kind of reminds me of my sister."

Arabella slanted her neck a bit, eyebrows scrunched, pondering while in the process. "Do you like the name Arabella?"

"It's - well, uh - it's a n-nice name, I suppose," stuttered Lily, not knowing what to say.

"I don't like it very much. Actually, now that I think about it, it's a horrid name. Sometimes I wonder why my mother named me Arabella. Why couldn't she think of something bland - like Emma. Emma is a nice name, don't you think?" Scrunching up her shoulders, then letting them loose, she sighed. "It's decided then; from now on, I'll be known as Bella. Just Bella."

"Okay 'Just Bella', where do we go from here?" asked Lily.

"Follow me. I met somebody on the train who could help us. He's really nice," muttered Bella, searching for her victim. "I swear, I just saw him awhile ago. You'll love him, Lily."

A smile leapt to Bella's face. She pointed a finger at a boy with jet black hair and horn-rimmed glasses. To her, he looked faintly recognizable. She closed her eyes, raking through her mind, trying to figure out who this mysterious boy was. Nothing there. Just a bunch of puzzle pieces that couldn't be pieced together. Giving up, she turned her attention back toward the curious boy, talking to a boy with sandy brown hair.

"There he is!" cried an indignant Arabella. "That's him! Oy, James!"

The grinning boy saw the screaming girl - Arabella - and waved at her, but as soon as he laid eyes on Lily, his smile vanished. He cocked his head a little bit to the left, studying her. Growing uncomfortable, she cleared her throat and tried to obscure his vision by placing Bella in front of her.

"Oy, what'd you do that for?" she hissed.

"That boy is staring at me," Lily whispered.

"He must like you."

"Oh no, I mean the kind of staring where he's about to eat me. It's like I'm the prey and he's the predator."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lily. He's a lovely boy. You'll love him."

Even though she just met Arabella, Lily felt that she'd known Bella her whole life. It could've been the fact that Bella resembled her mother; they shared many character traits that Lily didn't have - courage, respect and of course, stubbornness, even though Lily had a bit of that.

"If I love him so much then how come I'm not feeling anything?" spat Lily, not meaning to be rude.

Ignoring her rude comment, she said, "You're not supposed to feel love. You can't base your feelings on love. That's like gambling, and gambling is bad."

"Great, so if I'm not supposed to feel love then what am I supposed to do?"

"Love is an act, Lil."

"Don't go psychotic on me, Just Bella."

"I thought I already was." Bella grinned. "Right, James is coming this way. Now's the time to come from my shadow and greet him."

James and his friend greeted Bella, but half the time they did this, James had been eyeing Lily the whole time. Making her uncomfortable, James started staring at her more intently. Every time he stared at her like that she felt naked. Unclothed. Bare. She didn't like the feeling - not one bit.

"Who's your friend?" asked James.

"Oh, yes. I forgot to introduce you two," said Bella. "James, this is Lily. Lily Evans. Lily, this is James, oh, and let's not forget his steed, Remus Lupin."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Great," he mumbled, "I'm a horse now."

James' eyes grew wide, very wide. He started fiddling and doing odd things that even Arabella couldn't explain. Suddenly, he started stuttering things like, "You're Lily? Lily Evans? You dance ballet and have since a little girl?"

Lily nodded her fervently. "Yes, I'm Lily Evans. Why is that so hard to believe? And how did you know that I dance? Who are you!"

"This is amazing!" grinned James. His act had stopped and he was now staring intently at Lily. "Don't you remember me? James Potter? Childhood mate?"

Before Lily could get a chance to answer, James Potter had his arms wrapped around her. He twirled her. Hugged her. Kissed her - in that platonic way. Anything to show affection. "It's you Red, it's really you!"

Repulsed, Lily tried to push James off her. This stranger - out of nowhere - started hugging her, as if there were no tomorrow.

"Who are you?" Lily shrieked, finally pushing James off her.

James' smile sunk. She didn't remember him. After all, her past was only a puzzle to her. Pieces were lost, and even pictures weren't enough to bring her memory her back. Lily. Lost. She didn't know it, but in months time, she would be; all these memories, flooding back to her. Even the thought terrified him.

"I'm sorry," apologized James.

"It's quite alright. I guess wizards have a different way of greeting people."

He nodded his head.

Before the pair could exchange anymore words, a certain body bounded into the room. Not only that but fireworks were being set off in different parts of the Great Hall. A few second year girls squealed, running away from the explosion. Unlike the girls, the boys howled - laughing at not only the fireworks but the girls.

James got a good glance of the boy: dark hair that reached his bottom chin, mischievous brown eyes and an expression that no boy - or girl - could forget. Instantly, James liked this boy, and heck, he hadn't even met him.

"A Black is back, and this time, even better," yelled the boy who obviously went by the name of 'Black'. To James, the phrase made no sense, but the boy was fascinating, and he had to hand it to the boy.

"Who's that?" asked Remus, also fascinated with the boy.

"Oh. Him? His name is Sirius Black."

"How do you know him?"

"I talked to him a little on the train. He's rather jumpy…"

Remus nodded his head. "When's the sorting starting?"

"Attention students," said the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. He had white hair and a white beard. If Lily didn't know who he was, she could've sworn he looked like Santa, except a lot skinnier. "The sorting has begun."

A frantic look passed over some first years' faces. Not Lily, nor James. Both contained pride and bravery.

Sitting under the hat, Lily waited - nervously - for the hat's answer. Surely she wouldn't be put in Slytherin. She wanted to be put in Ravenclaw but Gryffindor would do. She even specifically told the hand not to put her in Slytherin. At that remark the hat laughed.

"I won't put you in Slytherin, silly girl," whispered the hat. "You would do well in Gryffindor. Hm…very good."

"Please," whispered the frantic girl, "put me in Ravenclaw."

"I usually make exceptions," whispered the hat, "but I'm sorry, I can't put you in Ravenclaw. You're too much of a Gryffindor."

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

Strangely, she felt an odd feeling in her stomach, and it wasn't worry. Not only did she get Gryffindor but so did James, Remus, Arabella and even Sirius - much to his amazement.

By the end of the day, she already had a best friend. And that Sirius boy wasn't so bad. Lily didn't end up talking to the strange boy who had started hugging her earlier that day. James, was it? Nor did she speak to the sickly boy that was with him.

Honestly, she loved Hogwarts. It was fantastic. But every time she glanced at James Potter, images filled her head: two children either picking flowers or chasing each other - probably playing hide-and-go-seek. And worse, the two children were her and James at age six.


A/N 2: Confused a little? It'll clear up later. Kimberly promised )