Summary: Lily Evans has a charming and debonair boyfriend and great friends. But one summer, her life is turned upside down and she can't begin to imagine the ripple effect it'll cause on her life. Meanwhile, James Potter has always had eyes for only her but events cause him to make the heartbreaking decision of forgetting his unrequited love...

Prologue

"For certain is death for the born
And certain is birth for the dead."
- Bhagvad Gita

A sob escaped Lily's throat. She turned her head, trying to block out the present, the past, and the future: everything. Numbness enveloped her like a woolen blanket, until she felt she would suffocate. Lily was drowning in a nightmare, choking on the unbearable silence until time slowed and seemed to still.

Her scarlet hair was currently limp and loose, brushed only on her sister, Petunia's insistence. Her skin was paler than usual, and she had lost so much weight during the past two weeks, that her black silk dress, which fell just past her knees had practically no frame to cling to. There were dark circles under her beautiful eyes of cut jade.

"I'm so sorry, Lily, darling, this was such a horrible thing to happen," her mother's friend, Angie Yorker said gently, patting Lily's hands.

'If only you knew the rest of it,' Lily thought, but she settled for a sad smile and a nod.

She watched in silence, as the last shovel of dirt fell and was patted down. Friends placed flowers on the joint grave – that had always been her parents' last wish. As a symbol of how their love was eternal, they were to be buried together. Of course, neither of them had known they would both be buried at the same time.

After just a short while, people began clearing off, hugging and patting her and Petunia. Many of them were crying. Petunia was crying too. But Lily? She just couldn't cry. She couldn't force out the tears that pressed against her breast, making it difficult to breathe.

Soon, only she, Petunia, Petunia's boyfriend – Archie Polkiss, and Archie's best friend, Vernon Dursley remained. Lily swept over to Petunia. Tears continued to stream down Petunia's face, and she was leaning against Archie, who had his arms around her.

"Now we only have each other left," Lily told her sister softly.

Petunia drew a deep breath and shut her eyes. "Don't say that. What could have happened, Lily? They were so healthy. You know, Dad went for a jog…that morning?"

"No, I didn't know that," Lily replied, feeling a quiver inside her heart. "Should we go home?"

Petunia broke away from Archie and wiped the tears away. Then she put her hands on Lily's shoulders.

"We have no home," she explained quietly.

"What do you mean?" questioned Lily.

"I didn't want to worry you earlier," she said. "I talked to a lawyer, and he told me when Mum and Dad wrote their wills, they split all the money for our education. They haven't paid off the mortgage, which means…we no longer have a home."

Lily's heart plummeted. "They put the money toward education? Then where are we going to live?"

"Amanda said we could stay with her," Petunia responded.

Thinking of Petunia's stuffy, extremely boring friends, Lily wrinkled her nose a little.

"Actually, I ought to stay with one of my friends," Lily said, making up an excuse. "Your friends will find it strange when I go to school."

"Why?" Archie spoke up.

"Oh, nothing," Petunia said, brushing him off. "You're probably right, Lily. I don't want to separate from you so early. God knows I see you so rarely during the year."

"Come on," Lily said, tears finally springing to her eyes. "Let's go home and prepare to leave it."

"Let us go," Petunia agreed.

The sisters knelt before their parents' grave and turned to return home, their arms around each other.

Author's Note: What did you think of this chapter? Unexpected, I know, in that Lily and Petunia have a good relationship and Petunia is with Archie Polkiss, not Vernon Dursley. Well, you'll just have to see how it progress, then, won't you? ;)