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 30:Mist Before the Storm
Callidora peered anxiously at her reflection in the restaurant window. She was in Diagon Alley, about to enter a fancy wizarding restaurant to meet Kenneth for her date. All around her shoppers jostled past, dragging small witch and wizard children with them or either lugging heavy bags of potion ingredients, quills and other assorted knick-knacks.
Taking a deep breath after rearranging her hair for the millionth time that evening, Calli' approached the door and stepped into 'Mermaid Palace'. It didn't take her long to locate Kenneth. He was sitting at a small table near the entrance looking eager for her arrival. Once he saw her, he immediatly jumped to his feet and hurried towards her.
"For a moment there I was worried you wouldn't show." he said smiling tentatively as he took her arm kindly and led her to her seat. Callidora laughed politely.
"I'd never dream of showing you up. I'm only late because of my roomate, Cadence. She tried another cooking spell and ended up blowing our living room up." Kenneth chuckled in amusement.
The evening seemed to pass quickly, with both parties enjoying themselves enormously. After dinner, Kenneth led Calli' to a magical courtyard behind the restaurant where music was playing and couples danced with each other dreamily.
"Shall we?" Kenneth asked romantically as he offered her his arm. Calli's smile broadened magnificantly.
"Of course." All in all, Callidora felt as though she'd never met someone as sweet as Kenneth. They both felt a connection deep and strong, even though it was only their second date.
"Calli', will you be my girlfriend?" Kenneth whispered softly into her ear as they danced closely to a slow song by a famous wizarding group. Calli' felt her heart melting as she replied with a gentle,
"Yes." Hardly able to contain her glee, Calli' kissed Kenneth passionately and warmly. Tingles shot up her spine as he returned the gesture and embraced her tighter then ever before. She had never experianced a night so perfect.
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Remus, Sirius and James sat excitedly in the Quidditch Stands as they watched Puddlemere United face off against the Wimbourne Wasps. Peter had once again failed to join them as he mysteriously became sick, for what seemed to be the tenth time that week, and Lily and Cadence were at the Potter's place having a girls night with Alice. Nevertheless, the three marauders were enjoying themselves greatly as they re-immersed themselves in the old sport.
The look of longing on James' face as he watched the Quidditch players whoosh by on their brooms was apparant to even the dullest of creatures. It seemed so long ago that he himself had felt the wind rush through his hair as he flew, felt his hands snatch the quaffle from mid air, felt his muscles move harmoniously as he threw the quaffle through the hoop and lead his team to numerous victories. Sirius could sympathesize with him, having been a beater himself.
"Go Wasps!" Remus cheered as the Wimbourne Wasp's seeker, Esmeralda Jones dived in pursuit of the snitch.
"No, no, no!" Sirius screamed. James shot his best mate a questioning glance. Since when did Sirius root for Puddlemere United?
"I just don't want Moony to in the bet." he explained, his voice hoarse from so much shouting. James rolled his eyes before adding his cheers to the pandemonium. He himself preferred the Wasps over Puddlemere.
"That was a great game!" Remus exclaimed as minutes later they exited the Stadium, a broad grin glued to his face. Esmeralda Jones had managed to catch the snitch, thus ending the game and resulting in a 290-260 Wimbourne win. This victory had also cost Sirius five galleons from having bet with Remus on the game.
"Bloody brilliant." James agreed heartily. Sirius mumbled and kicked a nearby garbage can. Unfortunately the hem of his robes caught on it, dragging him to the ground as it toppled over from his previous kick. Roaring with laughter, Remus and James waited as Sirius grumpily used his wand to fix his cloak and staggered back to his feet. They were just getting set to apparate when a sly, quiet voice caught their attention as a pale, blonde haired man walked swiftly past them.
"Lucius Malfoy!" James hissed malevolently. The marauders had never liked the Malfoys as they were always so obnoxious and prejudist. James in particular harboured a strong hate for the twisted family as Lucius had always treated Lily with such contempt not to mention the Potters had a long history with the Malfoys. From the very beginning, the two pure blood families had been rivals. The Malfoy's views about muggleborns and half-bloods were well known and the Potter's efforts against this prejudism were equally as well noted.
The marauders exchanged a mischievious glance.
"Should we?" Remus asked worriedly.
"Oh stop being such a prat Moony," Sirius scoffed, "You got the cloak with you Prongs?" James nodded deviously as he subtly removed it from his robe pocket. Remus hesitated for a moment before muttering,
"Fine. Let's just get this over with."
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"Oh Lily!" Alice gushed happily, "It looks perfect!" Lily smiled as her, Alice and Cadence all stood back in the small bedroom to admire their work in the future baby's room.
"I can't tell you girls how thankful I am!" Lily exclaimed.
"Don't worry. We know we're great." Cadence joked with a teasing grin. Alice laughed lightly,
"Thanks for helping me with mine too. I still can't believe we're going to have our babies around the same time Lily!"
"It's pretty amazing." she agreed serenely. Cadence put on a fake pout,
"Stop it, you're making me feel left out." she said sarcastically. Alice and Lily rolled their eyes simutaneously.
"If you want a baby so bad, why don't you and Sirius discuss it?" Alice suggested innocently.
"I don't know. We're not even married." Cadence replied thoughtfully. "I guess we're just not at that stage yet. You two after all, were always the responsible ones. Maybe we're just not mature enough yet."
"I wouldn't exactly call James the most mature person in the world." Lily scoffed.
"I wouldn't either but you have to admit, he's come a long way from the arrogant, ego-maniac he used to be." Cadence reasoned.
"Fair enough." Alice stated.
"I guess. But anyways Cadence don't worry, you should take as much time in your relationship with Sirius as you need." Lily replied.
"I agree." Alice added. Cadence smiled gratefully at her friend's support.
"Thanks guys, I needed to hear that. I really do love him, I just feel we need more time to let ourselves mature."
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"Padfoot you're on my foot!" James grumbled as the three men huddled under the invisbility cloak as they hid behind a large rubbish bin in a dimly lit alley.
"Shh!" Remus hissed nervously. They could just barely make out the soft conversation going on between Lucius Malfoy and another person whose identity was unbeknowest to them.
"You shall not disobey orders! That filthy mudblood is not to be touched until the babe is born. And as for this news of the pregnancy of Mrs. Longbottom, we shall have to see. We have not instructions as of yet and we wouldn't want to mess things up." Lucius's dangerously, sly voice commanded. James felt his blood run cold. What did he want with Alice and could the muggleborn they spoke of so rudely be Lily? She was afterall with child, but he did not see how anyone else would know about it yet. Perhaps it was just coincidence...
"Stop fidgeting!" Remus ordered in a quiet tone of alarm as Lucius dissapparated with a loud 'pop'. Sirius stopped scratching his arm and froze as the man that had been with Lucius swept out of the alley, his long black robe dragging behind him. James craned his neck to get a glimpse of his face but Remus forced him roughly back.
"What in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing?" he asked sternly, his face pale with alarm. Without having said anything, James was able to deduct that Moony too had been alarmed by the dangerous reference.
"Sorry." James said lowly. Slowly he removed the invisibility cloak and tucked it back into his pocket. Sirius surveyed his two friends warily.
"That didn't sound like I thought it did, did it?"
"I'm afraid so." Remus said gravely. "However James, you musn't jump to conclusions. We'll inform Dumbledore but I believe we should keep this from the girls. As you heard, whatever those dimwits are planning isn't going to take place for a long while, and you wouldn't want to worry Lily overly. If, as we assume, it's her they are referring to. If so, her and Alice will be safe until Dumbledore figures what this is all about. Afterall, unless they were deatheaters, they don't pose any real threat anyways."
"Well that's a very real possibility isn't it?" James muttered in frustration. Sirius and Remus shot him a sympathetic look. "Fine." James agreed reluctantly. "But we go now to inform Dumbledore."
"Sounds like a plan to me mate." Sirius stated agreeably. With a quick nod between the three of them, they dissapparated, leaving only a thin, eerie mist in the alley. Similiarly, though James had no way of knowing this, what he had heard tonight was only the mist before the rising storm of danger ahead of him and his friends.
Author's Note: Okay, so I understand there's a huge chance of you all hunting me down and killing me for not having updated so long. But before you do, let me at least apologize. I'm so sorry to have left you all hanging back in December! The last few months have been an extremely busy time for me and to tell the truth, I needed to take a break from writing this story for awhile. I think some of you fellow writers understand that a story can get boring to write after awhile if you don't take regular breaks. With a busy Christmas holiday, school midterms and now highschool registrations, I just haven't found the time to get a chapter down. This is my first free evening and i'm just relieved I managed to get this up!
Anyhow, thanks everyone for your patience and I hope to update at more regular intervals. Oh and just as an exciting side note, this is Chapter 30! Hooray! lol Well hope to hear from you all in reviews soon, and I promise (for real) that the next free moment I have, I will update this story! Thanks again and I truly am sorry for the excruciatingly long wait!