Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1

The next time I saw James Potter was purely by accident; mind you it wasn't even in the flesh. I had been walking through Diagon Alley on my way to meet my best friend Alice Longbottom for our weekly get-together at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I was running late, (I was supposed to meet her at 2:00 and it was nearing 2:30) weaving as fast as I could through the throngs of people hurrying to get their supplies for the new year at Hogwarts. It was late August of the next year, a little over a year since I had last seen James. As I rounded the corner near a newspaper stand, I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned, squinting at the paper before me to ensure that what I was seeing was real. There, plastered on the front page of the Daily Prophet, was James' face. He had on a giant grin, holding a bag of what looked like gold coins in one arm and a child in the other. A fair amount of children were gathered around him, their small faces smiling up at him. The headline read: YOUNG POTTER DONATES INCREDIBLE FUND TO ORPHANED CHILDREN.

"Miss? Miss? Are you going to buy the newspaper or stand there staring at it all day? I have other customers you know!" I turned at the voice, not realizing that I had been staring at the paper for the past ten minutes. I heard a few angry coughs behind me. I whirled around and noticed that I was also holding up a line of about fifteen people. I quickly grabbed a paper and paid for it, muttering a small apology before taking off for the parlor. When I got there, Alice was, predictably, not there. I shook my head and smiled; no matter how late I thought I was she always seemed to beat me.

Taking advantage of the few moments I had to myself, I spread the paper out on the wrought-iron table in order to study it better. As I scanned the picture, I noticed my eyes immediately locked on James. He almost looked the same, but not quite. The light had come back to his eyes and his picture-self kept glancing down at the child in his arms, almost lovingly. The kids surrounding him were looking at him in awe, as if he was a god that had done them a great deed. And I guess he had in a way. According to the article, James had taken a good chunk of his inheritance from the bank a few weeks after school had ended. He then traveled around the world as he had said he would, visiting mostly the underprivileged countries and their orphanages. I was so caught up in the article that I didn't notice that Alice had arrived.

"What's that?" I heard her ask sharply. Startled, I took the paper and shoved it under my chair. I grinned at her innocently.

"Hey, Ally! How've you been?"

"Don't you 'Hey Ally' me. What is that under your chair?" She eyed my chair and me suspiciously. I decided to play dumb.

"Oh, you mean this?" I reached under the chair and took the crumpled paper in my hand. "This was just something my boss gave me to edit after work, nothing important." I said lightly, hoping to God she wouldn't catch my lie. I had always been a bad liar. Unfortunately, having Alice as a best friend had its disadvantages.

"Right. Give it here Lily." She smirked at me, sticking out her hand. I sighed and reluctantly put the paper in her hands. She smoothed it out on the table and I watched her face as she scanned through the article. Her eyes widened a bit and I heard her mutter "So this is what he's been doing all this time." Alice was the only one I talked to about what James had told me. I told my other girlfriends that he was going to some fancy Auror conference to honor his parents and wouldn't be back for a while. Luckily they bought it and I wasn't subdued to their constant questioning. Alice finished reading and looked at me curiously.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, aren't you surprised at all?" she replied.

"Of course not! James is a good person, it's only right that he would want to…" I trailed off at the look Alice was giving me, the look that said 'I-can-see-through-your-bullshit-and-you're-better-off-telling-me-the-truth.' I glared at her and she laughed, knowing she'd gotten her way.

"Okay, fine. I honestly didn't expect the whole 'I need time to find myself' thing to mean that he was going to do something right in the world. I figured that he would be out partying every night and getting his hands on whatever girl he wanted. That's the James Potter I knew for six years and I just assumed the habit would resurface once he left." I spilled out. I felt oddly better getting all of that off my chest, but also a little guilty, like I was betraying James. Alice looked at me sympathetically, reaching across the small table to pat my hand. I didn't mind because she knew how hard this had been on me.

The morning after he left, I went down to the Great Hall feeling absolutely furious. It hurt that he didn't want me to come with him and I suppose that was why I was angry. I regrettably took all my anger out on the people closest to me, especially Alice. She later paid a visit to my dorm, where I had completely broken down, sobbing so hard I couldn't even begin to tell her what had happened. She had sat with me that whole night, rubbing my back and telling me that it would be okay and everything would work out, even though she didn't know what the hell was going on. I had always been grateful to have her as a friend, but never as much as I had that night.

Allowing my mind to wander back to those painful memories brought unexpected tears to my eyes. Alice, being the perceptive person she is, quickly changed the subject.

"So, how's your internship? Written any stories?" Alice asked conversationally while looking at the parlor's specials for the day. After school ended, the chief editor at the Daily Prophet had approached me about a small internship they were offering. I figured that I might as well accept since I had nothing else planned for the summer. I ended up enjoying it so much that I signed on for a second internship.

"It's wonderful. I haven't had a chance to write any big stories yet, but I've helped in the editing process and choosing pictures and such. Mr. Barkworth, the one who offered me the job, is currently offering me a full-time position." I said with a touch of hesitance at the end. Alice seemed to hear it too because she glanced up at me curiously.

"You don't sound that excited. If I were you I'd accept it right away! Think about it Lily; you'd be the first to know about all the things happening with the Death Eaters. You could really use that to your advantage." Alice said with a glow in her eyes. I shook my head.

"That's the exact reason why I wouldn't take the job. The way I see it, the Daily Prophet would be the first thing Voldemort would send his Death Eaters to destroy. Have you ever heard of a Dark Wizard that wanted the whole world knowing what he was doing at all times? I know I haven't." I had been thinking about this ever since I got the offer, and the more I thought about it the more I knew I'd be better off becoming an Auror. Yes the Death Eaters would probably be after me just as much, if not more than the Prophet, but at least I would have had the proper training in order to defend myself.

"Well I think it would be fun." Alice said as she made her way into the shop to order our ice creams. When she came back, she had a puzzled look on her face. "Hey Lily, you know how you work at the Prophet?"

I stared at her blankly. "Uh, Alice? Were we not just talking about this a few minutes ago?"

"Oh, shut it. I mean wouldn't you have seen that story about James before it went to the printer? It just seems odd that this is the first time you're hearing about it."

"Hmmm," I said thoughtfully. What she said did make sense. "I suppose I could have been in the back room editing a different section the day it was made. And no one there ever really knew James and I were together anyway, so they wouldn't have thought to tell me." It was also plausible that I was so tired I didn't even notice there was a story about him; the internship was more exhausting than it looked.

I was finishing the last of my strawberry ice cream when Alice jumped up.

"I completely forgot I was supposed to meet Frank this afternoon! We were going to dinner with some of his family and he wanted to talk to me beforehand. Apparently one of his cousins was attacked by a fire crab while on vacation and Frank wants to make sure I'm prepared to come face-to-face with the injuries." She rolled her eyes as if she thought it was all very silly (and it kind of was, Alice was the least judgmental person I knew).

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I asked her while gathering up my belongings.

"Yes, 6:00pm sharp. We'll meet at the Leaky Cauldron and go from there." Alice replied hurriedly. Our friend Marlene was having a small reunion at the Three Broomsticks. It would be the first time I'd seen anyone since school ended; she, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Frank would be there, to name a few.

"Alright, bye!" I said, giving her a quick hug and letting her be on her way. I started the walk back to the apartment I had bought about a month after school ended. I wondered if it would be hard to see James' old friends after so long. I hadn't really kept in touch with them since he left; James was sort of the connecting line between us. Don't get me wrong, I was beyond excited to see them; I was just afraid of how we would all react to each other with James being gone.

As I neared my apartment, I heard the shuffling of feet behind me. Taking my wand from my pocket I whirled around, ready to defend myself if I needed to. I scanned the area but all I saw were trees and a couple buildings. I turned back around but kept my wand out just in case. I was walking up the stairs when I heard it again.

"There's no sense in hiding! I will come find you!" I called out, sounding a lot braver than I felt. Again no one was there. I must be tired, it's been a long day and my mind is just playing tricks on me, I thought in an attempt to calm myself. I reached into my other pocket for my keys and unlocked the door.

I didn't even get a chance to put my things down before a pair of arms grabbed me around my waist.

A/N: Sneaky little cliffy there, eh? If I get enough reviews maybe you'll get to see what happens sooner! Thank you all who reviewed the first time; I smiled at every one!