Before it Began
By. SkyQuill
Summary
James knew he was in love at first sight, but what would it take for Lily to love him back? Read their story leading up to their deaths and discover the dangers they faced and the loves and friendships they shared.
Disclaimer
I do not own most of the characters and places or anything else that may seem familiar. J.K. Rowling has the exclusive claim to this as well as the general plot that formed this fanfic.
Chapter 3: A Hint of Darkness
James, Remus, Sirius and Peter stepped out of the carriage they had been riding in. Running a hand through his hair to make it even more messy then it had been before, James gazed around fondly,
"Can you believe this is our last year here guys?" he asked.
"Aw, don't go all soft on us Prongs!" Sirius protested.
"I'm not! I just mean that this is our last year to play pranks and all." James replied slightly haughtily. Remus grinned,
"I know what you mean." James gave him a thankful look,
"Going soft, I tell you." James muttered as the marauders made their way into the castle and to the Great Hall.
000
Lily seated herself gracefully between Callidora and a fellow Gryffindor girl named Marlene McKinnon.Cadence and Serena took seats opposite to them.
"Hello Lily." Marlene said pleasently.
"Hello." she responded politely but with a hint of distraction in her voice. Slightly worried, she glanced searchingly up and down the long table, hoping to spot one of her best friends whom she hadn't seen on the Hogwart's Express.
Alice Jones was perhaps Lily's very best friend. Indeed, they had been friends from the very first time they had set foot on Platform nine and three quarters. Alice was probably the quietest, and more reserved memebr of Lily's group of friends. Rather then dating every other boy in Hogwarts, as Cadence tended to do, she had comitted herself to a single, deep relationship with a man named Frank who had just left Hogwarts the year previous.
Unable to spot her friend's cheerful, and rather round shaped face or honey brown locks of hair, Lily inquired,
"Hey did anyone see Alice on the train? It's not like her to be late." Calli shrugged and Serena said,
"Didn't she owl you guys? She sent me a letter saying her mother had fallen ill and she wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow morning." Lily stared at her,
"How come you didn't tell us earlier!"
"I thought she'd tell you!" Serena defended herself.
"Look," Calli' cut in calmly, "If her mother is sick she was probably too busy to owl all of us." Lily nodded in worried agreement.
"Did she say it was serious?" Cadence asked frowning.
"No, her letter was brief. There wasn't anything else." Serena responded quietly, "It doesn't sound good." Lily opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Professor McGonagall announcing the sorting. Lily sighed, poor Alice.
Dinner was a solemn event, during which Professor Dumbledore gave a grim speech on Lord Voldemort and what his return might mean.
"I must warn you all to excercise extreme caution this year..." he had said. The girls exchanged dark looks. Lily was surprised to see that even the marauders were looking serious about the subject. Wonders never cease, she thought gravely.
Before long, however, the students were dismissed, and everyone groggily made their way up to the Gryffindor dormitories.
Upon arriving, Lily made straight to head for bed but James grabbed her arm.
"What?" she snapped, stifling a huge yawn.
"We have to do our rounds." he reminded her quietly. Lily's eyes widened with surprise, and a light blush spread across her cheeks. Potter was supposed to be the irresponsible one.
"Er, thanks." she mumbled, biting back her annoyance. James smiled,
"No problem. How about I do the west wing and you do the east?"
"That's fine." Lily replied, casting an appraising look over James, "What's with you?" she asked brusquely. For a moment, James looked surprised, but shaking it off he responded.
"I've grown up." he said simply. The corners of Lily's mouth twitched as though she were going to smile but she hastily surpressed it,
"Well good, maybe I will make it through this year alive then." she joked gravely, more to herself then anything. Grinning despite what she had said, James turned and left the common room; Lily followed a moment later.
000
Lily awoke early the next morning to the sound of rustling clothes and parchment.
"Good morning Lily." Alice said in an unconvincingly cheerful voice.
"Alice?" Lily responded groggily as she opened her eyes, "We missed you last night."
"Yeah, I had to come late. My mother fell really ill. I'm sorry I didn't owl you but I was really busy..." Alice replied, letting her voice trail off sadly,
"What's the matter?" Lily asked, her eyes squinting against the morning light which was boring through the windows. Frowing with with concern, she quickly sat up and surveyed her friend. Alice's eyes were slightly puffy and red, and her face was set in a grim expression.
"I'll tell you and the others later. I want to finish unpacking before classes start." Alice said, clearly trying to buy time to ready herself for an explanation. Lily nodded in understanding,
"Of course." Lily and Alice shared a dorm with Cadence, Marlene and another muggle born girl named June Rylander.
000
"Oi, Prongs, wake up!" Sirius shouted in the early hours of morning. James stirred sleepily and rubbed his eyes,
"Do I have to?" he complained. Sirius looked at him incredulously,
"We have to set the prank up!" Peter gave an excited little whoop, causing Sirius to roll his eyes.
"Right..." said James, a raucous smile spreading across his face. He leapt out of bed eagerly and proceeded to get dressed. Just because he was 'deflating his ego' didn't mean he couldn't still get into mischief...he just had to make sure Lily didn't know it was him.
"Sure you're up for this Moony?" he asked happily. Remus looked at him tiredly(the full moon was approaching),
"I suppose, we'd better not get caught though."
"We won't" Sirius said confidently. Remus shook his head doubtfully but his eyes twinkled with mild mischief. Once they were ready, and James had his invisibility cloak and the marauder's map, they left the Gryffindor dormitories and made their way down to the kitchen. Sirius and James were squeezed under the cloak as Remus and Peter got into less trouble, so they would be more unlikely to get punished severely. Checking the map at regular intervals, they made it to their destination without their presence being detected.
"Ready?" Sirius asked gleefully as he turned to look at James. James nodded and whipped off the cloak. Remus reached out and tickled a pear which dwelt in the painting of large and colourful fruit bowl. The pear squirmed for a moment and then transformed into a magnificent door handle. The marauders hastily entered the kitchen.
"What can we do for you sirs?" a house elf asked squeakily upon spotting them. Grinning wickedly, Sirius looked expectantly at Peter,
"Er, I was w-wondering if you would s-serve me one hundred cups of t-tea." he spluttered nervously. The house elf widened it's already superbly large eyes in surprise,
"Yes sir. Odd though your request is, we shall do as you wish."
"Moony go with him, make sure he keeps them distracted." James ordered quietly. With a reluctant nod, Remus swept off after Peter. James then turned to Sirius and winked.
"Let's go!" Hurriedly, the two boys approached one of the long tables which were identical to the ones above in the Great Hall. This table happened to correspond with the Slytherin table.
Already on the golden dishes and platters were biscuits, bacon, eggs, sausages and more. James and Sirius immediatly jumped into action, bewitching the food with different charms and hexes they had discovered that very summer. Once they were sure they had left no dish uncharmed they hurried back to main cooking area.
"Done." James whispered breathlessly in answer to Remus' quizzical look.
"Er guys, sorry about the tea but we really have to go." Sirius said. The house elfs stopped in their scramble to make tea.
"Pardon?" a particularly small one squeaked in as it stopped filling the fiftieth some cup with hot water..
"We have to go." James repeated, and without waiting for an answer they left the bewildered and slighlty irritated house elves behind.
0000
Lily, Calli', Cadence, Serena and Alice sat down in the Great Hall for breakfast. Stifling a huge yawn, Cadence immediatly began dishing food on to their individual plates.
"So Alice, what's up?" Calli' asked. Sighing, Alice turned to look at them,
"Well my father died." she said bluntly. Lily covered her mouth in horror while the other girls looked equally shocked.
"What happened?" Serena asked in a hushed voice. Slightly teary eyed, Alice responded quietly,
"He was an auror, and well, You-Know-Who's deatheaters killed him."
"Alice i'm so sorry." Lily choked, fighting to hold back her own tears, as she had spent a few Christmas's at the Jones'.
"So that's why your mother was sick." Calli' said sympathetically as Alice nodded, tears spilling gently down her cheeks. Lily reached over and hugged her, and soon found the others joining in. The girls were so busy trying to comfort Alice that they didn't even notice the strange noises coming from the Slytherin table.
"Thanks you guys." Alice said attempting to smile as she whiped her eyes on her robes. The others nodded reasurringly. Lily ate the rest of her breakfast in silence. How many people are going to suffer at the hands of Voldemort and his deatheaters, she wondered sadly.
A/N: Sorry about this chapter. I know it's a bit arubpt and jumpy but I just wanted to set the character's personalities a bit better. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. Anyways please review if you have a moment. I'll update as soon as possible!