Disclaimer: Harry Potter. Not mine.

SSS

CHAPTER II

Midnight.

Snowy.

The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

Four years ago.

Three people, two men and a woman, shrouded in darkness all sat around on the kitchen table. It was a tight fit, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Evans being a small townhouse, therefore the kitchen and everything in it being a tad small. The curtains on the window looking out into the backyard were closed halfway. All three had tea cups in front of them, waiting to be filled.

"Strange, having tea at three in the morning, eh?" murmured Mr. Evans, taking the kettle and pouring some into the woman's cup.

"You wouldn't have any sherry, by any chance, would you?" said the raspy voice from the woman.

"Sorry, Sibyll, my wife forbids it," answered Mr. Evans, while filling the other man's cup.

They all sat down, looking at their tea cups. None said a word; the man who was not Mr. Evans took a quiet sip. They all listened to steady hum of the refrigerator, while a cold draft entering through the cracks in the window made Sibyll shudder.

Sighing, the man named Mr. Potter said, "What you said last week was indeed very troubling, Sibyll. Very…morbid…"

"Yes, and let me tell you: that was just the beginning. Young James and Lily are in for a hell of a lot more," replied Sibyll Trelawney, Seer and lover of sherry. She was not smiling as she said this.

Christopher Evans was completely lost. His daughter was to marry his friend's son in order to produce a child of their own who would eventually do something really important. He was frustrated and bewildered. Mr. Evans was proud that his youngest daughter was a witch, but he had not been one to understand the intricacies of magic. He also had a hard time believing that prophecies were real and were made by the woman sitting in front of him.

Harold Potter, however, was annoyed. Of course he loved his dear cousin, but he had never been one to place much faith in the branch of divination. If this prophecy was legitimate, he was sure James would not be happy with the arrangement. But that was not the main focus now. What he had to concentrate now was that Sibyll was not making this up. She loved weaving strange romances with young people.

Trelawney sat with shoulders hunched and rubbed her worn hands on the tea cup. She rocked back and forth slightly, making her seem more of an authentic witch with the strange grin appearing on her face.

Trelawney was positively sure that she had not made this little fore-telling up. She'd seen Hogsmeade burn down to the ground with a skull and snake over the town square. Hogwarts would no longer nurture and educate, but be a sanctuary where no soul had hope anymore. She saw Tom Riddle's face especially, smirking with complete satisfaction.

"I only ask that James and Lily produce a child within five years. They don't even have to get married! Slip some Amortentia into their pumpkin juice! Just make sure…" Trelawney trailed off, with a disturbed look in her eyes. The glasses only magnified the strange look.

Christopher looked uneasily at his good friend sitting next to him with his eyebrows arched upward. Harold looked back and shrugged, signaling that he was just as clueless as Christopher.

"The fate of our world does lie with them, you know," muttered Trelawney, taking a large draught from her tea cup, pretending it was cherry.

SSS

The following is an excerpt from an article found in Witch Weekly:

Mrs. Lily Potter, 21, is, undoubtedly, one of Britain's strongest and most popular witches. As Deputy Head Auror, her magical skills are rivaled only by that of Dumbledore and her husband, Mr. James Potter. Her Dark Wizard Count is well over 200. Receiving the highest marks in her N.E.W.Ts and her O.W.Ls, she quickly took the Auror internship over the course of the summer and by the end of the year, she had risen among the ranks of the Aurors. Redhaired, medium height and with gorgeous emerald eyes, many assume she is a sweet, loving young woman. This is not so. She is infamous for her stance while watching her department work. Arms crossed, a faint frown and legs stationed shoulder-width apart, and she never seems to break her emotionless expression.

When we asked her about this truly unladylike stance, she replied with eyebrows raised. "I must have gotten it from my husband," she says offhandedly. What other miracles does the much sought-after James Potter perform? The only time she smiles is in his presence, she immediately drops her stance when he puts his arms around her, and they never seem to argue. They truly are the perfect couple… (cont. pg. 7)

SSS

The following is an excerpt from an article in The Daily Prophet:

James Potter, 21, Head of the Auror Department, has just received the award for "Most Hard-Working Wizard in the Ministry" tonight. Mr. Potter had risen quietly from his seat, gotten up to the podium, humbly took the award from the minister and made a quiet speech, thanking all his hard-working colleagues and ending by saying, "Our work is not done." It is believed that James Potter is the most powerful wizard in the Ministry. Not even the minister or Crouch can best James Potter in a duel or any magical contest. His work in the Auror field is widely recognized throughout the world, but he had always stated that, "I'm an Auror because people need Aurors. If they didn't, I'd be a Quidditch star right now." James Potter resides in Godric's Hollow with his wife, the well-known Lily Potter.

SSS

James looked at the list of names. The list was longer than the length of his living room.

As his finger wove through the names, he noted the familiar faces: Black (this could only be Sirius), Lupin (the advantages of having a werewolf were limitless), Pettigrew, Weasley (maybe one of those muggle contraptions could help them out)…

He heard Lily's footsteps coming down from the staircase. James tapped the parchment once with his finger and the parchment quickly dissolved.

Lily didn't know yet.

SSS

Husband and wife both sat at opposite sides of the dinner table. Roast chicken lay in the middle, growing cold not only because it was losing heat to the room, but from the icy stares the wife sent at the chicken.

"I could have made dinner myself, you know," said Lily tersely.

James looked up from the Muggle newspaper he was currently reading. At first he looked troubled, still lost within the paragraphs of the article he was reading. Then he rolled his eyes and said, "It was only two galleons, a deal nobody could pass up. Before you say it's bewitched, it's from Ms. Elizabeth's grocery, handed to me by Ms. Elizabeth herself."

"You're too friendly with that girl," remarked Lily, though not at all jealous.

James, back into the newspaper, did not look up, but asked coolly, "Would that matter to you, Lily?"

"What I'm trying to say is don't mess this façade up," snapped Lily, annoyed that James had asked a question like that.

He fingered his glasses, adjusting them. This was one of those little things Lily knew oh so well. Something was troubling him. Finally, he took off the glasses and put them on the table. He folded the newspaper and set it aside. Finally, he took a vial from his robes and took a sip.

Lily did not look at his face. He was too handsome, sometimes. Especially without his glasses. If she looked into his hazel eyes, she sometimes got lost and confused.

His face was stern. "Why, pray tell," he began, "do we keep up this joke of an image?"

She did not reply at first, but then muttered, "It's what they expect of us."

"Who, dammit?! The war would pretty much go on the same way if the whole wizarding world knew we hated each others guts," said James angrily.

"People have enough on their minds. And our betters would think less of us once they found out we were deceiving them," Lily replied, still not looking at James.

He knew she was right, but he hated giving in to Lily. He studied at her. Her hair was in the tight bun it always was, with some strands falling in front of her emerald eyes, currently studying the sleeve of her robe. Her face was sad, though she still managed to look proud somehow. He'd be deemed a blind man if he ever said the woman in front of him was ugly, but Merlin, she was infuriating.

He took a sip from the vial again. It was nothing more than a healing potion for his eyes. As his vision cleared, he sighed and said, "Look at me, Lily."

Lily fought the urge, but it overcame her. She looked into the hazel eyes.

"We have three more bloody years before we never have to see each other again. After this damn war, we're both going to take a cauldron full of Amortentia and…let things find their course…we have our child, then we separate, divorce, whatever. If you're saying we have to act lovey-dovey all that time…" he trailed off, unsure of what else to say. He, too, was just as lost and confuse as his wife.

He looked at Lily. Her eyes were ablaze and her mouth twisted into a frown. James knew she wasn't angry; she was sad and upset. Before he could say anything else, she'd gotten up and gone to the fireplace in the living room. James got up to stop her but she had already stepped in, holding Floo powder in her hand.

"I'm going to the office," she said.

"It's Sunday Lily, take time to relax," James persuaded calmly.

She said nothing else and with a great burst of flame, she had gone.

Why are women so emotional? thought James helplessly.

SSS

Far away, by the sea in a cave not seen by common eyes, the Dark Lord sat in a stone throne with his followers by his side. The stone throne overlooked a lake which contained masses of the dead: the Inferi. Every once in a while, the waters of the lake would ripple, signaling that the Inferi grew restless with every second they spent drowned in the lake.

Seated on the cold, damp ground in a semicircle around the Dark Lord, Malfoy, Lestrange and Snape waited for their master to speak.

With his bloodred snake eyes, Tom Riddle, now known as Voldemort, he stared out into the lake before him.

"The Inferi grow restless and I wish to oblige them," hissed Voldemort.

The three most devout leaned closer.

"Listen, my children, because the greatest attack the wizarding world will ever see begins here."

SSS

Christopher Evans signed the parchment with the quill given to him by Harold. Harold on the other hand, was signing with a pen.

"Strange contraption," Harold said, looking at the pen.

"You're telling me," Christopher replied, waving the quill around.

After they had both signed the papers signifying that James and Lily would marry for five years and produce a son, Harold felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Did you just have one of those stomach-sinky feelings right now?" asked Christopher.

"Yeah. Merlin, James is going to murder me in my sleep when he finds out."

"Oh God. What'll Lily do?"

"You have my condolences."

SSS

The thundering clouds above poured their rain. James pocketed his glasses and took a long draught from the vial. He could Apparate home, sure, but he needed a walk in the rain to clear up his thoughts.

He trudged up the muddy path up the small hill. His shoes were splattered with mud, but he didn't care. Lily, however, would scold him.

He hadn't seen Lily for a while; not that he'd cared, of course. It was just…James needed to fix things before he left for war. He at least needed to find out what had upset her. He went through all the things he said. What had he done wrong?

He was closer to the house. The house was the only thing Lily and James had agreed to early in their marriage, when duels and shouting matches broke out everyday. Godric's Hollow was perfect. Quiet and normal. The Muggles in the town didn't ask many questions unless they needed to. The wizards in the town left them alone.

The house was small, but not cramped. James, growing up in a mansion-like home, hated the empty rooms and cold hallways. He'd want something small and manageable. Lily, growing up in a townhouse, decided the little expansion wouldn't hurt. Afterwards, of course, both of them had put spells so it would be impenetrable like a fortress. The outside looked nice, though.

He dried himself after entering the house. No sign of life. The whole house was dark. He climbed the stairs and entered the bedroom. Lily was curled up with the blankets over her. She looked like a little girl, with her auburn hair splashed around the pillow. James approached her, putting his hand on her shoulder. She felt warm.

"Lily," he called out, "wake up."

It was rare that James would have to wake her up. By this time, Lily was downstairs making her breakfast and his dinner.

Lily stirred. Her emerald eyes were revealed, though sleepy. James couldn't help himself. She was really pretty. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Mmm, what time is it, James?" she murmured softly, stretching backwards. James stared at her figure, unable to help himself.

"James?" she said, smiling and cocking her head to one side.

Bloody hell, why doesn't she always act like this? James thought. "Seven thirty."

"Awfully early, don't you think?" she said, with that offhanded smile.

James could only stutter out, "Yes…well, er…"

"'S OK," murmured Lily, rubbing her eyes. She swung her legs over the bed and jumped up. Those Auror reflexes never cease to amaze, thought James. She staggered a bit and made her way to the bathroom. On her way, she absent-mindedly patted James on the shoulder like a dog.

Down in the living room, James picked up a newspaper he'd gotten from the grocer's in Godric's Hollow. He began reading, but his mind was elsewhere. Was he ready to tell Lily that he was be going to be gone for a year or more, fighting side by side soldiers to defeat Voldemort? Of course he was…So why was he so hesitant?

Lily had come down stairs in her work robes and had tapped all the knives, spoons, pot and pans and she started to crack an egg. The kitchen supplies whirled around her head to find the proper ingredients to mash, slice, mix and stir.

Lily began to speak. "I've been thinking, James."

She looked back into the living room to make sure he was listening. He'd put his newspaper down and his head was straight. Good, he was listening.

"We haven't exactly been very…friendly for the entire course of our marriage. We've always fought and called each other names, blamed each other for things we didn't do. But that's not how husband and wife should act, right? Even arranged marriages work out." As she said 'arranged', she'd almost chopped off her finger while cutting the onions for the omelet.

James still said nothing. Lily frowned. "I guess it's been our prides, really," she continued, "I never wanted to give in to you and you've never wanted to give in to me. We hadn't tried to act friendly or even respectable towards each other. And you don't have to tell me, but I know I act like a bitch sometimes." She waited for the snort to come from James.

He was still silent.

"I just can't help it, y'know? This war's got me on the edge."

At hearing the word 'war', James put his head down into his hands.

"So I want to say sorry for acting cold and harsh to you," finished Lily, exhaling. She laid out James' breakfast on the table. "Should we start over again, with a clean slate?" She looked at James, still quiet as a rock.

Lily started to feel annoyed. "You heard that, didn't you?" she asked, hardly keeping the annoyance out of her voice.

James got up and turned around to face Lily. His eyes were sad and his whole body was downcast. For a moment, Lily thought he was going apologize, but the next words that come out of his mouth were as unexpected as Christmas in September.

"Lily, I'm going off to war. I'm going to be the commander of the army."

SSS

Review. Please.

And please forgive me for the long update. Life's busy.