For the Life of me Chapter 12: The Calm Before the Storm, a harry potter fanfic

The Calm Before the Storm

And god only knows all the places I've been
But I love this life that I'm living in
I wont look back to regret yesterday
we're not handed tomorrow so I'll live for today

-"Live for Today" 3 Doors Down

Lily was the first to awake in the girls' dormitory. At first she was confused because she was sleeping on the floor, and Adrianne was using her left arm as a pillow instead of the actual pillow she had her feet on. Lily carefully rearranged Adrianne so that her head was now on the pillow and went to the bathroom. After showering and getting dressed, Lily went back into the dormitory and found that her three dormmates had not moved since she had left them. Not wanting them to miss breakfast, Lily started tapping them trying to wake them. Adrianne woke pretty quickly, but Jena and Chrissy had to be violently shaken before they woke up.

Once all the girls were dressed and ready, they went down to breakfast together.

Peter poked his head out of his bed periodically, to make sure nothing was sneaking around that shouldn't be. Once the sun had risen, Peter climbed out of his bed and got dressed. He hurried downstairs into the well-lit common room to wait for the other three to wake up.

James heard Peter move about the room, and watched unnoticed by the boy through a crack in his bed hangings. When Peter was downstairs, he walked over to Sirius's bed and woke him up.

"Wha—James! What did you wake me up for?" Sirius shouted, waking Remus up.

James held a finger to his mouth and hissed "ssh." Sirius complied.

The boys crept down the staircase to the common room, where they saw Peter sitting near the fire facing the portrait hole.

Peter kept looking over his shoulder, hoping nothing would sneak up on him. When he was looking toward the girl's staircase, James, Sirius, and Remus snuck down the stairs and crawled across the room to where Peter was sitting nervously. Remus barely made it behind the couch when Peter turned and looked at the exact spot the boys had just been crawling.

After peter completed his scan of the room, he relaxed into the chair. Just as he was settling into his thoughts of the previous night when Sirius jumped from behind the chair screaming.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Peter screamed jumping out of the chair faster then anyone had ever seen him move.

James, Sirius, and Remus started laughing, along with the few other students who were sitting in the common room at the time. Peter's face was bright red.

"What did you do that for?" Peter shouted, still shaking slightly.

Sirius put on a face of innocence and said, "Do what?" Behind him James chuckled. Remus looked less than amused.

"You jumped out behind me to scare me." Peter said.

"There you have it, I did it to scare you. Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?" Sirius said, diverting attention away from his actions.

Peter looked confused as he tried to figure out what Sirius had said.

"Listen, Pete, don't hurt yourself trying to figure that out. Let's go to breakfast." Sirius said, putting his arm on Peter's shoulders.

Peter forgot all about the episode in the common room by the time he started eating. James, Remus, and Sirius however, did not. The three boys laughed about Peter's girly scream the rest of the day.

The first quidditch game of the school year was held the Saturday after Halloween. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw, the two best teams in the school at the time. It was said to be the biggest game of the season. James and Sirius dragged Remus away from his books down to the match, and of course Peter tagged along. They got down to the pitch as early as they could so they could get great seats.

Lily and Adrianne had no intentions of going to the game, but Jena and Chrissy made them come. The girls found seats not far from James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus.

The game started off with the captains shaking hands and then Madame Hooch release the balls and the game began.

Ravenclaw scored first, but the Gryffindor chasers fired up and quickly scored three goals in a matter of five minutes. The seekers were marking each other, circling the field from above. A few times one of the seekers would surge forward but come up with nothing.

Ravenclaw scored again, and on the next play Gryffindor scored. It was a close and fast paced game.

The score was tied 80-80 when the Gryffindor seeker dived for something at the base of the Ravenclaw goal posts. The Ravenclaw seeker quickly matched this action, but was too far behind. The Gryffindor section of the stands erupted with cheers as the seeker Roger McClain landed with the snitch in hand.

"Wow, who knew sports could be so fun!" Adrianne said to her friends as they walked back to the castle.

"See, aren't you glad we dragged you away from your precious books for a little fresh air?" Jena asked.

"Yeah." Adrianne answered. Lily didn't look quite as amused.

"Sure it was fun, but nothing spectacular. It's just a bunch of people passing a ball back and forth on broomsticks." Lily said. Her words brought looks of shock and confusion from not only Jena and Chrissy, but James who was walking nearby with Sirius, Peter, and Remus.

"Nothing spectacular." James said, looking as if she had just slapped him across the face, or more likely kissed him.

Both Jena and Chrissy seemed surprised that the words didn't come out of their own mouths.

"Just because I don't like silly games—"

"Silly games!" James interrupted.

"Yes, silly games, James, and what is it to you if I don't like Quidditch. It's not like we are friends or anything." James looked too shocked to speak. Sirius grabbed him by the shoulders and led him away from the girls.

Lily shook her head and looked forward, not caring what would become of James.

"Lil, there is no need to be so harsh about Quidditch. This is our sport. It's like football in the muggle world. You don't just go around insulting it to the sport's biggest fan."

"I don't like football either, and I have never cared about insulting Potter before, why should now be any different?"

"Of course you don't like football, why doesn't that surprise me?" Chrissy said looking at Jena.

There was a party in the Gryffindor common room that night. Lily didn't want to stick around for it so she went upstairs to the dormitory as soon as the party got underway.

Adrianne stayed at the party for a while, talking with Remus about the game and then moving on to the subject of homework. Soon he was dragged away by James and Sirius, so Adrianne decided to call it a night and join Lily upstairs.

Lily was surprised when Adrianne came into the room. "I thought you'd be downstairs celebrating with everyone else." She said, not nastily but purely inquisitively.

"It got kind of dull. Besides I could think of a million other things I could be doing with my time. Want to play chess?"

The girls played four games of chess, all of which Adrianne won. Jena and Chrissy came upstairs shortly after they finished the fourth game.

James and Sirius were having such a great time at the party. The game had been amazing, and Gryffindor had pretty much claimed the Quidditch Cup for this year, beating the only team that had been a serious threat to them in recent years. They got deep into conversation with a few fourth years about the game, arguing about which plays were the best, and what would win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor.

The party cooled down after midnight when Professor McGonagall came in to yell. James and Sirius brought their conversation upstairs along with Peter and Remus, who were much less involved in the game.

The Monday morning following the first Quidditch game of the season, James and Sirius made their way down to breakfast a little later than usual. The Great Hall was buzzing with a nervous excitement. James took a set opposite Remus, who looked paler than usual.

"What's the matter Lupin, more bad news from home?" James asked, assuming it was Remus's sick mother.

"Not exactly from home." Remus said, pointing to a copy of The Daily Prophet lying on the table.

Splashed across the front page read the headline "3 Killed by Terrorists who call themselves Death Eaters" accompanied by a picture of what looked like a skull with a serpent coming out of it's mouth made of twinkling stars.

"What—" James started, too dumbstruck to complete his question.

"The Death Eaters, what a catchy name." Sirius said sarcastically. "Hey listen to this, 'Coral Gifhopt, a ministry witch who is well known for her work in muggle protection and her husband Stefano were found dead in their home along with an unknown muggle neighbor.' They really seem to be stressing the muggle part."

"What do you mean Sirius?" Remus asked.

"These Death Eaters are probably like my parents, all for the purifying of the wizarding race. Those Gifhopts were probably seen as blood traitors. I can only imagine what my parents would be saying right now."

"So you think this is really terrorism then Sirius?" Asked Jena, who had been listening in.

"I'd bet my life savings on it Jena."

"This is all so terrifying. Can I see the rest of the article?" Lily asked, joining in herself.

Sirius handed Lily the newspaper. As she scanned through the article, her face drained of color. "It says here that they were killed by a dark curse that hasn't been seen since the days of the dark wizard Grindelwald, and then goes on to talk about Grindelwald's reign of terror. Do you think someone is copying off of Grindelwald?"

"It's possible. I don't know much about him, but from I have heard things were pretty bad."

The news of the murders was all anyone at Hogwarts could talk about for the next week and a half. Every day The Daily Prophet brought more news about the murders to the students. It had gotten to the point that Professor Dumbledore addressed the school about the attacks a week after the article was printed.

"I would like to assure you that for as long as you reside within these walls, you are all safe from whatever dangers may lay outside. The Ministry of Magic is investigating and will be sure to catch the culprits. I ask you, please to try to push these attacks from your minds and concentrate on your studies."

Naturally, after Dumbledore's speech, the school continued to buzz about the attacks, speculating what was really going on. The older students seemed to think that this wasn't a huge thing, just an isolated event. The younger students were panic-stricken, and tried desperately to contact parents. All the school owls were constantly in use by one student or another and the morning post was an explosion of feathers and wings.

It only took two more weeks for the gossip around Hogwarts to move on to a new topic. Soon most students had forgotten about the murder of an obscure ministry witch and her husband, and had gotten on with their normal lives.

The school term was rolling by pretty fast. Adrianne couldn't believe how much she had learned in three short months. She still wrote to her Grand-père regularly, and received letters back from him ever time. It seemed that in the time she was away from him, he had grown older and more distant. Adrianne was beginning to look forward to the Christmas holidays that were steadily approaching.

Sirius was not looking forward to the Christmas Holidays, which were rapidly approaching. He dreaded leaving the castle of Hogwarts to return to the musty old prison that was number twelve Grimmauld Place. He wished that his parents would let him stay at Hogwarts for the holiday, but knew that if he dared ask he would get yelled at. Not that he wouldn't get yelled at anyway, but it's one less thing for them to be angry with him over.

Lily had mixed feelings about going home. She missed her parents and sister, but she knew that Petunia would not care that she was around. Unless something drastic had happened that her parents hadn't realized, Petunia would probably either ignore her the entire break, or pick fights with her. Lily wished she could have her sister back, the sister she had before Hogwarts. But at the same time she loved what had happened with her life since she received that acceptance letter. All of her wildest fantasies had come true since that mysterious letter arrived six months earlier.

Chrissy and Jena made their holiday plans a whole month in advanced. Of course Chrissy would have to go home, but only for a night or so. Jean's parents wouldn't let her spend the holiday alone, especially since she always went to the Sinclair's house for Christmas tea.

Peter didn't want to go back to Mrs. Hagsby's house for the holiday. Now that he was older, his mother would probably make him do chores with her. He actually considered writing and telling his mother he would be staying at Hogwarts. But he didn't want to be alone at Hogwarts alone, so he reluctantly made plans with his mother to return to Mrs. Hagsby's for the holiday.

James love the holidays. His parents always held a party on Christmas Eve with loads of fancy guests and excellent food. James had written home early in December to ask permission to invite his school friends over for the party. Mrs. Potter told her son that would be a wonderful idea, but he had to make sure it was ok with their parents.

As soon as James found out he could have his friends over for the party, he went straight to Sirius, Remus, and Peter and begged them to ask their parents. Sirius promised he would try to show up, but also said not to count on it. His parents also had a Christmas party and he was expected to be there. Remus said he would ask his parents, but that didn't seem too promising. Peter was the only one who really seemed excited and anxious to come, something James wasn't exactly looking forward to.

Remus was depressed with the upcoming holiday. The full moon fell on the evening of the 24th, Christmas Eve. James had asked him to a party that same night, and oddly, Remus was actually wishing he could go. Of course Remus would have to think of some way to reject James's invitation without flat out saying "I can't because I am a werewolf and that is the night of the full moon." That wouldn't work. Maybe he could just say that his mother, his sick mother wanted to spend the holiday with her, as it could very well be her last. Yes, that would do.

"James," Remus called out to his friend across the common room.

"Yeah," James said walking over to where Remus was standing, holing a piece of parchment in his hand.

"I just heard back from my parents, and, er, I can't go to your party. My, er, mum is still pretty ill and they don't know how many more holidays she has left."

"Oh, ok, I understand. And uh, I hope your mum makes it to another Christmas."

"Thanks James. I hope your parent's party is fun, I really wish I could go."

"Maybe next year."

"Yeah, maybe."

"What are your plans for the holiday Adrianne?" Lily asked over breakfast.

"Well, I'm going back to the house in London for a few days, and then Grand-père and I will fly to the chateau in France for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning." Adrianne explained.

"I still can't get over you living in a chateau." Lily said excitedly.

"It's nothing spectacular. You should come and stay sometime."

"That would be magnificent! I've always wanted to visit France, and stay in a chateau."

"France is not much different from England really, they just speak a different language."

"Can you speak French fluently?"

"Oh yes. Grand-père taught me when I was very young. But we only speak French when we are in France."

"In school we learned some French. I couldn't speak it fluently, but I do know some of the language, as well as Latin."

"I don't know any Latin. My Grand-père home schooled me so I really only learned the general subjects, history, math, science, and of course both French and English grammar and language."

"You were home schooled? How did you make any friends?"

"I didn't. I suppose looking back now he probably did it knowing that when I was eleven I would be leaving school to come here anyway. But Hogwarts is the first school I ever really attended."

"I never knew that." Lily said softly. "Well I went to school in Surrey and it was pretty hard to leave it behind when I got my Hogwarts letter."

"Do you regret it at all?"

"Sometimes. My sister, Petunia, and I used to be the very best of friends but ever since she found out I was a witch she's been avoiding me and calling me a freak. And I miss some of my friends but mostly Alexia. She was my best friend after Petunia, and I never really got to explain to her where I was going."

"You miss her?"

"A little. But I could never tell her the things I can tell you Adrianne. You are the best friend I've ever had."

"You the best friend I've ever had too Lily, but you really are the first friend I ever had, my Grand-père excluded."

"Hey Remus, what are you doing for the holidays?" Adrianne asked after class one Friday afternoon.

"Going home to, er, spend time with my sick mother."

"Oh, right. Will it just be you and your parents then?"

"Yeah, just mum and dad and me."

"Same here, except instead of mum and dad its Grand-père."

"What are you doing for the holiday?"

"We'll probably stay at the house in London for a few days and then fly to the chateau in France for Christmas Eve and stay through New Year's Day."

"Chateau? Did I hear that right?"

"Oui! Grand-père owns a little chateau in the northern countryside of France. The house in London was my parents. Someday it will be mine."

"Wow, your family must be very wealthy."

"I suppose you could say that, but nothing like the wealthy I always hear about. Grand-père says all our wealth is in real estate, I think that's properties."

Not much work got done on the last day before the Christmas Holidays. Students were too anxious for the long break and to go home to do any work. Teachers like McGonagall and Binns tried to teach as if nothing was different, Binns succeeding but McGonagall failing miserably. James and Sirius sweet talked her into letting them off with a short lecture and no homework, which amazed the rest of the class. Many other professors had given up the hope to teach anything at all, allowing the students to play games or talk about the upcoming holiday.

The marauders planned a big prank at dinner the last night before the holiday. Each time one of the Slytherins tried to drink from their goblets, it would splash in their faces. Even the teachers were impressed with the magic, although everyone pretended not to know who was responsible. Professor Flitwick ended the charm after the third goblet drenched a Slytherin, who just so happened to be Lucius Malfoy.

After dinner, Lucius and Narcissa approached Sirius and James to scold them for their prank, but to the boys' luck Professor Slughorn also approached them at that very moment. They were free for the moment, although Sirius knew he would pay later.

Saturday morning, the students who were going home for the holidays filed out to the Hogsmead train station where they would catch the Hogwarts Express back to London.

Lily, Adrianne, Jena, and Chrissy found a compartment to sit in together, which coincidentally was directly next to the compartment James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting in. The two groups left each other alone for most of the trip, but a little more than halfway to London, James couldn't resist stopping by to wish the girls a "Happy Holiday."

"What do you want Potter?" Lily said calmly, not even looking up at James as he entered the compartment.

"Can't a guy come and wish his classmates a Happy Christmas?" James said innocently.

"Not you," Lily answered coolly.

"That hurts Evans, that hurts right here." James said, holding his hand to his chest. Lily shot him a look that clearly showed she was not amused.

"Happy Christmas James," Adrianne said. "Now I may suggest you return to your own compartment before she gets angry. You don't want the last conversation with Lily for a long break to be with angry Lily now do you?"

"I suppose you are right Adrianne. Happy Christmas girls, Lily." James said as he bowed his way out of the compartment. He didn't dare enter again. The girls didn't see any of the boys again until they were on the platform meeting their parents, and then it was just Remus they spotted.

"Have a nice holiday Remus." Adrianne said as she walked pass him toward her grandfather. She didn't even notice that he was walking to his mother, who was in perfectly good health.

"You too Adrianne." Remus said stopping on his way to his parents, trying to avoid her noticing his mother looking positively cheerful in a festive Christmas sweater with a wide smile on her face. He waited until Adrianne had turned her attention to an old man who must be her grandfather.

A/N: Woo-hoo! Next Chapter is the Christmas holidays. Hope you all are enjoying this story so far. Keep reading and keep reviewing!

DISCLAIMER: I do no own any of this nor am I making any profit, this is just my way to procrastinate on doing my homework. All names, places, ect. From the Harry Potter world belong to JK Rowling and the publishers ect. and the song quotes belong to their respective artists and the correct rights owners