Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter although most of the plot is mine

A Change in the Tide

Chapter 3: James' New Life

Captain Potter looked over the edge of his ship called The Phoenix and saw clear blue water all around him. He had been living on this ship for nine years now, since he was twelve. The two men that had kidnapped him, he later learned were named Bill and Hyde, were pirates. They brought him to this ship and showed him to the captain. The captain at the time was a man named Harold Clark. He was kind of old when James met him, in his late sixties, but he did not act his age. He was a loud, active man with a lot of energy. He was very happy when he met James. He had always wanted a son and the James came along. It was perfect. They took an instant liking to each other. James considered Captain Clark as a father to him. The captain taught James a lot and watched over him like he was his son. James was taught the ways of a pirate by him; how to fight, how to steer a ship, how to read a map, how to find and burry treasure and much more.

Unfortunately, two years ago, old Captain Clark passed away from a heart attack. A week before the captain died, he had a long talk with James. He told James that he hadn't been feeling well and didn't think that he would live much longer. He told James that if he died, James would take over his position as captain of The Phoenix.

James has been captain now for two years. Not much has changed since he came into command except that a few younger men have joined the crew. Some of them include James' current best friend and first mate, Sirius Black. Sirius is a very handsome man, with dark brown hair and stormy gray eyes. He joined The Phoenix after running away from his family. He had had a troubled childhood that he wanted to get away from. He was instantly welcomed aboard. Sirius and James were around the same age and quickly became best friends.

Captain Potter has two other good friends named Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Remus has sandy blonde hair and a tall frame. He joined James' crew because he wanted to sail. Peter is slightly shorter than the other men and has brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. He, like James was an orphan, and decided to become a pirate.

James himself had changed after he became a pirate. Through all of his training, he now had well defined muscles and a sharp mind. He was a very good looking man as well. He had raven black hair that was extremely messy, a tall, lean figure, and a nice tan from the sun. He was a kind man and a good leader but when he was angry, he could be very dangerous.

As James was staring out in the distance, he thought about his old life when he was an orphan. It had been nine years and with each passing day, he remembered less and less of his old life. Although he misses his childhood, he does not regret that he became a pirate. He still is mad at the two men who took him away from his old life, Bill and Hyde, but his new life on this ship has been wonderful. It has been a nice change for him. He just wonders where Lily is right now and if she is alright.

Lily. He misses her terribly and wishes that he could see her again. She was his best friend for the longest time. He wonders how her life is right now and what happened to her after he was kidnapped. James wants to know if she misses him as much as he misses her.

James had checked every newspaper he could find for information on Lily when he first became a pirate. There were a few articles that talked about a missing male orphan, but none of them mentioned a young girl. He figured that someone obviously found her because there weren't any ads saying that she was missing. James just wishes he could see her again.

"Captain, there is a British ship in the distance," Peter yelled. James was shaken out of his thoughts and looked out in the distance. His eyes focused on a small dot that was obviously a ship.

After some quick thinking, James came up with a plan. "Full speed ahead. We are raiding the ship," James commanded. That was how his life was as a pirate. They stole goods from wealthy ships and brought them onto their own ship. They would leave all of the people on the ship alive, just without their wealth. After the attack, they would leave and spend all of the money on goods and rum.

After James' orders, everyone on the ship got into position, readying the ship for boarding. The crew also took out their swords and guns.

James watched as his crew followed his orders and then called for Sirius, Remus and Peter. "You know the deal, take all of the gold and valuable goods you can find. Bring them back on this ship. Don't kill anyone. If someone gets in your way, bring them to me. I'll deal with them. Savvy?"

"Aye," they chorused.

"Tell the others. I will be busy talking with the captain of the other ship once we board."

James' faithful friends nodded and turned to instruct the rest of the crew.

Finally, The Phoenix was within boarding distance. Captain Potter gave the orders and shouted, "Attack!"

A/N: Sorry if there are a couple of errors. I edited this chapter so many times that I think some of the words might have got mixed up and stuff. I know that this chapter is short but there wasn't much I could add to it. The next chapter will be longer and more exciting. It will be about the attack. Tell me what you think of this story. I really want to know your opinion. Review.

Also, I may not update the next chapter until next weekend. I don't have much free time during the weekdays with school and homework and stuff but every weekend I will try to write about two chapters.