A/N: Okay, I know I didn't wait very long for reviews before this chapter. I hope some of you will still review the last chappy, but I want reviews on this one more! I know its terribly short - much, much shorter than you've come to expect form me, I'm sure, but there's a reason, I swear it! Thank you to those who did review last time, again, i'll be geting back to you guys as sson as possible! Please Enjoy!

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Legal Disclaimer: See Prologue.

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This Chapter is Dedicated to X.Little.Black.Cat.X

Chapter 5:

Plans...

Big Plans

James drifted off to sleep that night, once again, thinking of Lily, of a way to make her see that he cared for her. Charity had given him an idea… She's a sucker for Fairy Tales…

…Fairy Tales…

Meanwhile, there was a battle waging outside the safety of the castle walls.

Mysterious deaths were an ordinary occurrence; Young, healthy people passed away for no apparent reason; Buildings collapsed unexpectedly; Some began fearing for the sanity of their loved ones who were acting strangely, very strangely, very, very suddenly; Small children woke in the night, screaming about zombies and evil monsters in their closets and under their beds - and instead of telling them there were no such things, parents began checking the house out of fear in spite of themselves.

These were dark times in the wizarding world. Students whispered rumors at meal times, and lines that weren't there before began etching themselves in teachers' faces. If, during the morning post, a student received a letter only to run crying hysterically out of the Great Hall, there were no questions as to why.

Students also began subscribing to the newspaper, not because it was interesting, but because it contained names of those who had been killed since the last edition. Grim faced and frighten, they opened it up each morning to either relief or horror.

Several students in James and Lily's year dropped out of school to start new lives, while they knew they'd still be alive to do so. Reckless behavior was not frowned upon as much as it was admired these days… these dark days.

"Have you noticed that Sirius has been spending quite a bit of time with Charity recently?" Remus asked James quietly one afternoon.

"Well, they are dating one another, Moony", James said.

"Yes, yes, I know that… But don't you think it's a bit odd that full moon is next weekend and he's not trying to plan out Saturday night?"

"Well", James said, honestly, "Yeah, it is a bit strange. But at least he's not trying to jump out of the astronomy tower like that poor third year."

Lupin pressed his fingertips underneath his chin. "I think Sirius is acting a bit… desperate, though. Not like himself."

James laughed slightly. "Remus, look: Everyone is acting differently nowadays. And maybe Sirius has grown up some. Charity's a good girl, she hasn't got him under a love potion or anything."

Remus smiled. "I suppose not… I just hope he doesn't do anything… rash."

"What could he possibly do?" James asked skeptically.

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. I never know with him."

James laughed, knowing this was partly true. Moony's just mollycoddling him, he thought to himself.

But James couldn't shake the feeling that there might be some reason in what Remus Lupin had said. When had he ever been wrong before?

Sirius Black began to realize that life was dreadfully short. One of the only family members he'd ever actually liked, his Uncle Alphard, passed away, leaving Sirius a rather hefty amount or gold. Sirius understood that there were only so many chances one had to do the things you felt you needed to do in order to live a full life.

While sitting alone in the common room, one late, late night a few days later, he decided to mention this to Charity.

"You know, I've been thinking…"

"Oh?" she asked, smiling, "Well, you'd be careful there, tiger. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

Sirius laughed. "That's not funny."

"Yes it is", she replied, still grinning, "and you know it."

Sirius was still smiling along, but shook his head. Charity saw and recognized this as a signal to be serious. She inched closer to him and held his hands within her's. "What's wrong, baby?"

Sirius shook his head slightly, looking down at their hands intertwined. "There's so little time… So little… You know I love you, right?"

Charity smiled. "Of course I do. You know I love you too, don't you?"

Sirius looked up. "Yeah. I know. I want you to know that I'll never leave you. No matter what happens, I want you to know that."

Charity looked somber. "Sirius, I don't want you to leave me. I don't ever want to be without you… I…" she began to finish her sentence, but couldn't.

Sirius took one of his hands and tilted her chin up so that their eyes met. "What is it?"

"It's just that… well… would you think I was terribly silly if I told you I was scared?"

She looked at him, but didn't wait for a reply. "I'm so scared, Sirius. I'm so scared I'll never see my family again or that I'll never grow up and get married… or have my own family… I'm just… I sound like an idiot, don't I?" she asked, lips trembling.

Sirius took her in his arms. "No, of course not. I'm scared too, I am. Just don't tell anyone", he said, smile evident in his voice, "It's bad for my image."

Charity giggled slightly, trying to hold back tears. "I love you so much", she whispered. "Promise me you won't leaveme?"

Sirius swallowed hard. "Charity", he said, pulling her arms length from him, "I promise you that no matter what happens, we'll be together. To the end. I'll be by your side. I swear to you."

Charity fell back into his arms. "Good. Thank you."

Sirius patted the back of her head, holding her there for as long as he could, never wanting this moment to end. "I'll make sure we're together for good sooner than you think. I promise, baby. I love you so much", he whispered, "So, so much."

As Charity fell asleep in his arms, Sirius began to think long and hard about what that gold he'd come into could do for him… and her.

Lily heard charity come in that night somewhere around three or four a.m. In the silence, she could have sworn she heard a sob; but when she pulled the curtains back, Charity had already crawled beneath the covers.

The thought of calling out to her had occurred to Lily, but then she thought No. If she wants to talk about something, she'll bring it up.

But Charity did not bring it up later that morning at breakfast. Nor did she even speak to Lily. Or anyone else. She sat by Sirius that morning, quietly eating her toast.

"Does Sirius seem to be acting funny?" Lily asked James that night as they were patrolling.

A flicker of surprise crossed his feature as he spoke. "You know, I don't think he is, but you're not the first person who seems to think that. Moony – or Remus, sorry – was asking me about that a couple of days ago as well."

"Oh", Lily said, "I was just asking because Charity has been acting weird… I thought Sirius would be too… I guess there's no reason to think that, though…"

James shrugged. "He's acting different, but his Uncle just died, so…"

Lily looked up as they turned a corner. "Oh? I though Sirius hated his whole family."

James shook his head. "He hates most of them, but there are a few he likes… His cousin Andromeda, the one in Ravenclaw? He likes her and he liked his uncle, Alphard, as well. There's not many."

"Poor guy", Lily muttered. She hated her sister, but she couldn't imagine having her whole family be a bunch of assholes.

"Yeah", James said in agreement. "But he doesn't dwell on it, really. Not a big loss in his book."

"Charity told me he really likes it at your place."

James grinned. "My parents practically adopted him. They love him. He loves them. It's a win-win situation."

"You're a good friend", Lily said.

James blushed. "Thanks", he mumbled.

They walked on in relative silence, occasionally punctuated by one of them pointing out a painting or something of the nature. It would have, normally, been an awkward silence, but tonight, it seemed to feel right to Lily.

"Hey", James said, "You going into Hogsmede with anyone?"

Lily was immediately on the defensive. "No, but I don't want to go with anyone", she said, hoping to nip the inevitable question in the butt as fast as possible.

James laughed. "Don't worry Lily, I'm not asking you out. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me and Sirius and Charity."

Lily couldn't help herself. "You're tagging along on their date?"

James looked impressed. "Why, Evans, why would you say something so snide to me?"

Lily giggled. "Sorry."

James waved a hand. "No worries. But, no, I'm not tagging along. Charity made the Quidditch team. She's one of the Chasers. So technically, you'd be tagging along with us", he said playfully.

"Oh, yeah", Lily said.

"Some friend you are, not remembering something like that" James said jokingly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Charity told me that she'd made it, but she's not around much anymore, so I wasn't thinking about it."

"Suuuure", James said.

"You'd better stop before I hex you", Lily said holding out her wand, smiling.

James held up his hands. "Sorry!" he yelped, playing along.

Lily laughed as she put her wand away and James over exaggerated his mock relief sigh.

"You know", she said, suddenly, "you're not so bad anymore, really."

James looked over at her, surprised. "What makes you say that?"

Lily shrugged. "You're just… different. You're not so full of yourself anymore, I guess."

"Oh, thanks", James said sarcastically.

Lily laughed. "I mean it… you're not bad, Potter... You're almost nice company sometimes."

James was hurt by this, but looked over and saw the embarrassed smirk tugging at the sides of her mouth, and knew, that Lily Evans had just come closer to telling him she liked him than she ever had before. There was a grin on his face for the rest of the night that Snape couldn't have wiped off.

…Fairy Tales…

Author's note: Short, I know, but I didn't want to draw this chapter out too long... I needed some of these things to be placed in the story rather early. Anyway, please review! I know I'm getting a ton of hits... Hiding from me, you are...

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me nice reviews! Kisses and Oreos!

BrittanyRose