I had to do this, it just came to me and I haven't been able to stop writing ever since. I hope you enjoy reading this story and that you give me any and all the suggestions you'd wish. Just let me know.
Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I'm immensely thankful to the lovely J. K. Rowling for giving me such a magical childhood and for allowing me to play around with her creation.

R&R

Chapter One

Sixth Year
1976

"Sleeping, Evans?" James Potter said with a rather smug smile on his face, which quickly faltered as Lily, still slightly drooling on her open book, didn't even budge. James sighed and sat on the chair beside Lily.

"Evans…" James sighed, shaking Lily's shoulder gently, "You know, if Madam Pince sees you drooling all over her precious books she would… well, rather kill you."

Lily jumped as she realized she had fallen asleep, she looked around wanting to thank the person that had woke her up, only to find James Potter sitting beside her with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Potter?" Lily said, slightly faking her surprise. "Is it even possible? James Potter in the library?"

He rolled his eyes at her and stood up, "I must've lost my way."

Lily stood up as well, gathered her belongings and raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word he said

"I suppose we are heading for the same place?" James wondered as he made his way towards the heavy wooden doors.

"I don't know, are we?" Lily said as she started walking out of the library alongside James.

"I'll walk with you. I'm just telling you so you don't get the wrong idea." He mumbled.

"Smooth Potter." Lily sighed as she rolled her eyes.

He shook his head and put his hands in his pockets, deciding to ignore Lily's previous comment. He considered his options and settled on chatting with Lily to make the walk to Gryffindor tower less quiet, "What were you doing in the library anyway?"

Lily looked at James in disbelief and James quickly added, "I know you're always in the library but-"

"Not always." she interrupted.

"Apparently you sleep in there so I'm not so sure about that," James said with a smirk. "Do I need to explain the question? I reckon it's clear." He said as he opened the library door for Lily.

"We have a History of Magic test tomorrow Potter, I wouldn't be surprised if you've forgotten already."

"Actually," he moved a hand to the back of his neck and a shy smile spread across his face, "I already studied. Remus made me, of course."

Lily bit her lip as hard as she could but her efforts were futile and she burst into laughter. Both of them had stopped walking, Lily gripped her aching middle and a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks. James smiled, he liked seeing Lily in such a good mood, of course he would prefer her laughing with him, not at him. Either way, after a short nap and a long day in the library she was the bright, charismatic Lily, who he rarely got to see, but everyone else saw regularly.

"Hush Evans!" he shushed her, trying to sound serious but the massive smile on his face took all the seriousness away.

Lily lifted her eyes to James and when she saw his face, a mixed contortion of seriousness and outright laughing, she burst into another fit of laughter.

"Evans you're scarring the poor students," James whispered making a show of taking a few steps away from her.

Lily tried to straighten up, she wiped the tears from her eyes, but she still had a smile on her face, "Sorry. I just imagined you... studying."

James put a hand over his heart, "Ouch, Evans."

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, her smile never leaving her face.

"So, you're all set for tomorrow?" James asked, placing his hands back in his pockets.

She thought about everything she had to study and everything that she had studied in the library. James noticed how she bit her lip and her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she thought through everything and he smiled. Lily brought her green eyes back to his, a worried expression on her face.

"No." She frowned and looked back at her feet.

"Evans you can still study in the common room, it's still early." James added casually with a shrug.

Lily looked up at him, "Wait, what time is it?"

James looked at his watch, "Err... eight."

Lily's cheeks turned a shade darker, "Oh, I... didn't know. I thought it was rather late."

James, not wanting to screw with this incredibly rare occasion, nodded and smiled.

As they approached the Gryffindor common room, they chatted lightly about their upcoming tests and its various subjects. When they entered the common room James knew this was his chance, they had been talking for a while now. Maybe Lily would say yes now that he was on her good side, he didn't know how long it would last. This was it, she would finally say "yes" after so many torturous years of denial.

"Lily I wanted to-" James started but was interrupted by someone's yell.

"Lily Evans! Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere! Did you forget, Lily? We have that dreadful History of Magic test tomorrow and you promised you'd help-"

Marlene McKinnon stopped abruptly, a questioning glare crossing her eyes as she recognized the person standing beside Lily.

Raising her eyebrow she looked at Lily, "You dare not meet with me and… and instead go with… with this lousy excuse of a man?"

Lily smiled as she heard the hint of mock rage in her voice. James smirked at Marlene, inwardly cursing her for appearing at such a moment.

"I was just leaving." He said, nodding at Lily before turning and heading up to the boys dormitories.

"Honestly Lily, what was it that possessed you and made you speak to him." She said as she dropped her books onto the table with a loud thud.

"Oh come off it, Marlene." Lily walked over to her best friend, "I was at the library, you should know better. It was pure coincidence that I met Potter there."

"James? In the library? You must be joking!" She exclaimed as she started laughing.

"I know that's what I thought," Lily said smiling at her boisterous friend.

As Marlene's laughing subsided she looked at Lily, "But seriously, you didn't look like you were going to rip his head off or anything of the sort as you came in. How's that even possible, you hate the lad."

"Marlene, Marlene. " Alice said materializing out of thin air. She shook her head and looked at Marlene as if she was being foolish, "Our dear Lily here doesn't hate anyone, even if that anyone asks her out every waking hour."

Both Marlene and Alice Stewart laughed as Lily looked at them crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, and may I ask where you were?" Lily said with a knowing look, "Maybe with some bloke by the name of… I don't know… Frank Longbottom?" Lily looked at her innocently and Alice's mouth dropped open, silencing them both.

"Lily!" Alice said stunned before she leaped forward, pinning Lily to the ground, "You'll regret that!"

Marlene was laughing her head off behind them, rolling over the floor grabbing her stomach as she laughed.

"Take it back!" Alice yelled trying to keep her face serious.

"Never!" Lily said as, she too, howled with laughter, "You know it's true!"

"Take it back!" Alice said once again and burst into a fit of laughter alongside her friends.

"Evening, ladies," Sirius Black said as he descended into the common room followed by the rest of the Marauders. "We heard your screams all the way up to our dorm, we got worried. But everything looks like it's just some… girl-on-girl action I suppose. Carry on, I'm rather enjoying myself."

He winked at them and they all glared at him. Before he could react a shoe went flying and smacked him right on the face. Alice and Lily looked stunned until they both glanced at Marlene and noticed that she was missing a shoe. Before they could stop it, all three of them burst into laughter, James, Remus, and Peter joining in.

"Oh Ha Ha!" Sirius said sarcastically picking up the shoe and showing it to Marlene, "Looks like I own a new shoe." He examined it and suddenly sprinted out of the common room.

Marlene stood up and ran after him yelling, "Blaaack!"

All of their party and a few other occupants in the common room stared after them.

"Black come back here! Give me my bloody shoe back!"

They laughed as they heard Marlene yelling from the end of the corridor.

Everything was well, their sixth year in Hogwarts was going smoothly, Christmas was just a few weeks away. Even though outside of the castle walls there was a war brewing they were all wonderful. But… how long could it last?

...

Charles Potter walked into the room where it had happened, the smell of blood burned his nose. It was a normal house in the middle of a small town, no one in particular lived here, so then why? He swallowed as he saw, for the fifth time this week, a family of muggles dead on the floor. They had tortured them, opened deep wounds in their skin, burned them and Merlin knows what they had done to their insides. By the way the bodies were placed on the floor the father had been protecting his children. Once he fell, the eldest tried to fight them proving unsuccessful, and thus, fell dead like his father. The smallest two were hugging. Those filthy criminals hadn't had mercy, not even for those innocent children.

"Captain Potter, they got away." An auror said as he came into the room, breathing heavily.

"Those bloody culprits! We have to move before they get any further away." He replied, scanning the room once again.

They were mere minutes too late, had they gotten the call earlier they would've caught His followers.

What were they looking for... or did they do it to prove a point? Charles Potter wondered.

"Please!" Wailed a woman from outside the house, "Please! My family!"

"Hannah, I believe you can handle that." Charles said.

"Yes sir! Right away." A young auror replied.

"Meyers, Joseph... clean this up." He looked at two men who couldn't be but a few years older than his own son, they nodded.

"Let's go." Charles said gravely to the rest of his unit.