All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I don't intend to make money out of it.

Now that we have it out of our way, let's start. I had this inspirational thought to write a story with a muggleborn James Potter. This will be AU and I will try to keep all the original elements related to magic as close to the original as possible. That means, no Super!Harry. My Harry will be powerful, but he wouldn't be the second coming of Merlin. The only special powers in his arsenal will be Parselmagic, which in my world would just be the ability to speak to snakes and related species, and Metamorphmagic – which would be explored and used properly.

As the summary suggested, Lily will be a Black. She is basically Lily Evans and Andromeda Tonks merged into one. Nymphadora will be the first born Potter. Ted Tonks and Dursleys don't exist. There will be some other OC's instead.

This is my first fanfic, so hope you like this! Constructive criticism is welcome. Please forgive me for any grammatical errors and I don't have a beta as of now.

Let's get started!

Chapter 1

The Ancient and Most Noble house of Black was always known for sticking to its house motto – 'Toujours Pur', which meant 'Always Pure'. The events over the past few days had hit the family and magical world like a blizzard. Nobody in the past century or two had known a member from this aristocratic, upstanding family commit such an atrocious act. The repercussions on the culprit had been swift and vicious. There was no public statement issued, but the message was clear. Lillian 'Lily' Black had been banished from the house of Black for going against its family's wishes and running away with a common muggleborn, James Potter.

Lilly Potter was an emotional mess. She had tried contacting her parents to explain her side of the story. But, the wards at Black manor were no longer accessible to her. James was with her all the time, giving her the required support. They both knew her life-long ambition of becoming a healer was now in shambles, even when she possessed the skills to become one of the best healers in the country. She was considered by many as the best student to come out of Hogwarts in years, she would never get the job as the society would only see her as the disgraced daughter of a pureblood family. Her mistake- she refused to marry Severus Snape- a member of the Noble house of Prince through his mother, a potions master and inner circle member of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Lily and Severus had been good friends in their initial years at Hogwarts, some would call them inseparable, until two events occurred.

-Flashback-

Lily's eldest sister Bellatrix Black was married to Rodolphus Lestrange, another member of Voldemort's Death eater group a year ago. She knew for a fact that Bellatrix was against the marriage, but didn't raise her voice to oppose it. Instead, she saw, how within a span of a year, she went from a loving sister to one of the most vicious member of Voldemort's army. Bella had become insane, and had lost all the charm people associated her with.

Lily still remembered the conversation she had with her eldest sister prior to the wedding. She had returned home for her Easter holidays for the upcoming wedding and was excited to be a part of it. She was one of the bridesmaids and was looking to forward to the new dress being tailored for the occasion. More than that, she was excited to meet Bella after a long time. She rushed to her sister's room and knocked-

"Come in."

"Hey Bella! I am back. I missed you so much this year at Hogwarts. Just wait until you listen to-"

Lily stopped abruptly looking at her sister's face. It was like she had been crying for a long time and composed herself haphazardly. To add fuel to the fire, Bella gave a smile which was so fake, Lily would identify it from a mile away.

"Hey Lily. How are you? Look at you, all grown up. Sev will find it difficult to keep his eyes off you once we get you fitted for the dress"

"Whats wrong, Bella? Why are you crying?"

"I am not crying. I am just happy that you are back. I have missed you, baby sister. Come give your big sister a hug."

Lily went up to her sister, who engulfed her in a hug.

'Damn, that feels nice' thought Lily. But something was nagging her. She needed to get it out of her system. She looked up to her sister, who had closed her eyes and looked deep in thought.

"Bella, you know you can tell me anything right?"

Bella opened her eyes, composed herself and led her sister towards the couch where they sat down next to each other. Lily nuzzled into her sister who draped her arm around.

"Everything's fine Lily. I am just nervous with all the wedding preparations."

Lily was very perceptive for her age. She knew when someone was hiding things from her. And Bella was one who she deeply cared for. She pressed on-

"This is not your nervous face. This is your desperate face. Its like the time when you were struggling to learn that advanced spell. Whats wrong? Why don't you seem happy?"

"Look at you, acting all mature. I am the elder sister, remember? I should be the one worrying about you. Not the other way round. Anyway, there isn't anything you could do."

"So there is something that you are not telling me.."

"As I said, its beyond you. You can't do anything about it."

"I am not saying I have a solution for your problem. But you can share the burden, right? We are sisters. There should be no secrets between us."

"Ugghh. Knowing you, it will be difficult to have you give up on this. Fine, I will tell you. There is a catch, this conversation never happened. If you would have been someone else, I would have gone for the unbreakable vow."

Lily looked up to her sister- "I promise, I won't divulge this to anybody I don't trust completely."

"The wedding is next week. There is nothing I can do about it. I have resigned to the fact that it was never under my control. Honestly, if I could, I would back out of this marriage right this moment."

"But why?"

"Because, this is nothing but a political maneuver to align the Black family with Voldemort. I don't like Rodolphus. He is almost 20 years older than me. He is not handsome looking either. In the few conversations I have had with him, he hasn't shown any signs for actually caring for me. I will just be a trophy wife for him. And from what I have heard, the Dark Lord has supposedly shown interest in me. I am not sure what the future holds for me"

"Why don't you run away then?"

"Easier said than done. I tried it 3 weeks ago. I was caught before I could get out of the house. Father took extreme measures after that to make sure I didn't escape after that. Look at this bracelet. It has a tracking charm on it. Both Rodolphus and Father can track my movements. I can't take it off by myself."

"Did you talk to the Lord Black? Maybe he can assist you."

"I thought about that. But Lord Black is at Black Manor. All outgoing mail is being intercepted. The elves have been ordered to stay clear of me."

"Maybe I can. If you could write a letter, I will make sure it gets delivered to the Lord Black-"

"No. You are my baby sister. I can't risk your happiness as well. If you get caught, you will suffer my fate. For all we know, the orders can be from Lord Black himself. As I said, this is political and will define the house of Black's legacy."

"I am sorry, Bella. How are you so calm and composed about this? I would have gone crazy by now"

"I went through that phase. Mother took away my wand after that. As I said, I am fine with it now. I just want it to be over with. But I want you to promise me something."

"Tell me, what can I do? I will do anything for you"

"From what I have understood over the past few months, in the days to come the House of Black is going to change a lot. Cissy has already decided she will stand with Malfoy. Our house will be on the path of war against the establishment to support Voldemort's cause. Some will perish. Others will become more violent. It's in our blood. It can't be helped. I personally don't want to be a part of it. And I am damn sure you too don't believe in Voldemort's ideology. But I am sure Severus will follow him. I see it in his eyes. My advise to you- get away before you are stuck in this quicksand. If you get a chance, take it. Don't look back at the family. It's not family, if they don't respect your opinion and prepare you for slaughter."

"Are you sure, there isn't anything I can do to help you?"

"Lily, I know you are smart. I also know that you are practical to the core. You take after me in that sense. I have thought this over a million times. I can't get out of this. But its not late for you. Don't let it come this far in your case. Do this favor for your sister. I would be happy thinking you didn't end up with the same fate as me."

"I promise, Bella."

This changed Lily's outlook on the pureblood supremacy movement and swore to stand up against it. She owed Bella that much.

-Flashback End-

Secondly -she fell in love with James Potter. Lily was a Slytherin- cunning and ambitious. James was a Gryffindor- outspoken and knuckle-headed. At least that's what she saw initially. She was aware that he was enamored by her. However, he never said anything about it. It was only later when they got together that she got to know he was aware of the pending betrothal with Severus and having seen them together, he knew he never had a chance. James was always a jovial person. He was good academically, but he was known across Hogwarts for his comic relief skills. Along with her cousin, Sirius Black (Heir to the house of Black, first Gryffindor from House Black in recent times) and two other Gryffindors - Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, they formed a group called The Marauders, who wreaked havoc across Hogwarts with their pranks and practical jokes. Even, the poltergeist, Peeves was considered tame in comparison. These included changing the colors of robes and hair to vibrant and translucent textures, temporary transfigurations and so many more. Nobody was spared from their pranks. There wasn't any malice in their acts. Lily had never seen them trying to prank opposing Quidditch team members prior to a match or trying to one-up somebody who was being rude to them. They had a long rap sheet, and were gracious enough to accept punishment, if caught. They would just strive to better their act the next time around.

It was around this time that Voldemort turned his attention towards Hogwarts. People claimed he wanted the coveted 'Defense against the Dark Arts' post. He didn't get it, but some students in Slytherin came out in his support not long after. Some had family members already in his service. This changed the dynamic of the school. The Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry was legendary. But this just added a cruel angle to it. Wannabe death eaters attacking muggleborns became a recurring occurrence. Severus too got influenced by this ideology. He knew James had the hearts for Lily. He decided to make an example of it. He along with his friends - Travers, Mulciber, Yaxley to name a few decided to ambush James. Lily happened to come upon this. She was on her way back to the common room when she saw 7 Slytherins standing upon a badly bruised James. The Slytherins didn't look any better. They were looking run-down and were bleeding. Her respect for James just went up a notch. She decided to stop it.

"What do you think you guys are doing?"

Severus looked up and saw her. "Go back to the common room, Lily. We are teaching this mudblood a lesson. After today, he wouldn't even dare to look at you."

"And who gave you the authority to act on my behalf?"

"As your betrothed, I am honor-bound to protect you and this mudblood deserves to learn his place in our world."

"You speak about honor, Severus? I see 7 of you ganging up against one person. As far as I can see, you are just bullying others for your personal agenda. Don't try to fool me. I am aware of the circles you are frequenting these days. There is nothing honorable about what you are doing today."

Mulciber spoke up- "If you hadn't been of the house of Black, i would have sliced that tongue right now."

Lily glared at Severus- "Where is your honor now? Would you let him talk to me that way?"

The others decided to weigh in. Yaxley smirked and said to Severus- "Mate, never thought your betrothed would turn out to be a blood traitor. Are you sure the dark lord will be happy with this?"

Travers piped in "From what I heard, her sister was also similar. Look what she is now. We should do what Lestrange did to his wife. "

Mulciber couldn't hold back either "How the mighty Black have fallen. I am sure their ancestors would be turning in their graves looking at the current stock. Even their heir isn't any better. I agree with Travers. Let's give her the same treatment as her sister. It's time we take matters in our hand. The Black leadership isn't up to the task anymore"

Lily was getting angrier and angrier by the moment. Her best friend was allowing his friends to abuse her. As far as she understood, they didn't intend to stop there. She had her wand in her hand, and wasn't a novice by any means. She could take maybe three of four of them. Potter seemed to be gaining consciousness. But she couldn't depend on him right now. She needed an opening to escape. She saw them all laughing viciously and a grin form on Severus's face. She felt as if a part of her died that very moment. But this was not the time to grieve. She would have time later. Before anybody else realized, she raised her wand and pointed it towards the closest –

"Reducto!" Mulciber hit the ground.

The others immediately shielded up. Lily sent in two more stunners and a reductor their way. One of them shot a reductor towards her and Lily shielded. In all of this, Severus hadn't done anything. He just stood there watching her actions.

The battle was ablaze. Lily was using some of her darker spells and was attacking them with no respite. One more wannabe death eater had hit the ground, courtesy of a stunner. But Lily was getting tired. She wouldn't give up. She just needed a small opening.

She thought she had it when one of the group fell down. Three down, Four to go. She was just about to release a spell, when she was hit by a red beam and her entire body screamed with pain. With immense pain, she looked towards the caster. Severus Snape had finally entered the fray.

"How dare you raise your wand at me? I thought you were different than Bellatrix. Guess you aren't. The dark lord will help me mold you into a perfect pureblood wife. But before that, I will make sure you know the consequences of going against me."

Lily's emerald eyes were filled with tears. The pain was not making it easy. And suddenly the pain was gone. She struggled to sit up and looked up. What she saw amazed her. A majestic stag was galloping towards the remaining attackers. Severus was down on the ground. He had a deep gash on his face, running from his brow to his cheek. Looked like an antler had got him. Suddenly, hands were helping her get up. She looked up to see Sirius gently picking her up. She tried to speak, but he shushed her. She vaguely remembered being carried somewhere before fainting.

She next woke up in the hospital wing. She saw her head of house, Slughorn, the matron Pomfrey and the Headmaster Dumbledore deep in discussion. She looked around to see the Slytherin attackers on the other side. Sirius was standing guard over her. Potter was on the neighboring bed. He looked in bad shape. When he saw her looking towards him, he gave a lopsided grin and said-"Thanks for the help, Black. I would probably be dead if you hadn't been there."

Lily was surprised how he was still smiling after going through all of this.

Potter continued "When you were attacking them, I sent over a message to Sirius. I hoped you could hold them back till he arrived. After seeing you hit with that Cruciatus, I just couldn't hold back. Unfortunately two of them got away."

Lily finally spoke- "So your Animagus is a stag? And what were you doing alone in that corridor?"

"I was on my way back to the common room after completing a detention with Slughorn."

"Why wasn't Sirius with you?"

Sirius chimed in looking guiltily- "I was occupied elsewhere".

"Of course, it was the full moon today. You sure Lupin is fine in the shack?"

James and Sirius looked stunned. "You knew?"

"I have known it since second year. Anybody with two brain cells could have figured out that he looked knackered for a few days around the full moon and pieced it together."

Sirius looked sheepish. James's eyes looked proud with happiness.

"Look at us. We have been through hell tonight and yet we are chatting as if nothing happened. You sure you are ok?"

"It hurts a bit. Didn't expect Severus to do that. He was one of my closest friends growing up"

"I am sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault he decided to follow the dark wanker."

Sirius butted in - "Language, Lily! What do you think Grandpa Arcturus will say if he hears you speak."

"You are the one to talk. I know about all your escapades across the broom cupboards in Hogwarts. And you have the nerve to question my language."

"Whoa! You need to calm down. Its unbecoming of you."

James was laughing in the background.

"And why the hell are you grinning like a monkey?" Lily chided him.

"Apologies. I have always wondered what having a conversation with you would be like. Never expected it to be this way"

Madam Pomfrey came up towards them at that moment

"Miss Black, you are suffering from exposure to the cruciatus curse. You will have to take these pain-relieving potions and stay here overnight." Lily nodded and took the potions.

She moved on to Potter

"Mister Potter, you have broken bones which need to be mended. You also have lost some blood due to your wounds. Please take this skele-gro and blood replenishing potion. You will have to take this dreamless potion, as you are in for a tough night. I expect you to be discharged by lunch tomorrow." James complained a bit, but took the medicine.

Dumbledore took this moment to address the three – "Your actions will be reviewed tomorrow. Any punishments will be decided later. Have a good night." And walked off

Slughorn was the last to speak "Don't worry. Sirius has spoken to me about what happened. I will be at your side when we meet tomorrow."

Lily was surprised at the headmaster's words but felt a little relieved after listening to her head of house.

She was in a quandary. Something has shifted in her as the night had passed. Before tonight, she had accepted her father's wish to marry Severus. She knew he wasn't perfect. But she believed her to be a honorable person. Her opinion about him had taken a hit since the beginning of the year. It was like he wasn't the friend she knew him to be. She knew he was her betrothed. But for her, he was always her first friend. A person with whom she could share things, open up. And he had reciprocated the same until the end of her fifth year. She had heard tales of him and his band of hooligans torturing muggle-borns. But she had no proof to ascertain him as the culprit. She realized now, a part of her wanted him to be innocent. But she now knew irrefutably that he wasn't. She would never marry him. She knew the repercussions she would have to face because of it. Lily Black never backed out of her decision. Her Black ancestry taught her that.

That was the last thought before she fell asleep.

Author's Note:

Bella's characterization is somewhat similar to Itachi Uchiha from the Naruto manga series. She will always love her sister, but can't escape her fate.