Hi all, so I am back to this wonderful fandom with a new story! I am taking a delve into a fandom, an era and a couple that has always fascinated me and it's the James/Lily era.

This is the second part of the story that started in the Beginning of the End and these are the moments in the first Wizarding War and the build up to Harry.

This story will be twenty chapters long and some events/events that do take place might be missed.

Also spelling/grammar...not my best thing. Again keep that in mind when you read...please.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

And on a side note, I like so many other Fanfiction Authors no longer receive notifications via email about reviews/PMs etc. So if you do send any it might be a while, if ever before I get back to you. Please keep that in mind for it is not intentional-If anyone has a fix please let me know

I do not receive PMs anymore, if you have a question stick it in a review and I will answer it in the chapter notes.

I am not sure how much James and Lily knew about the Prophecy and weather or not they told anyone. My guess for this fic is that they told Sirius so he knew (mostly) about events that took place in the Order of the Phoenix. Just my opinion and make of that what you will.

AND ONLY THREE MORE CHAPTERS LEFT!

The End Of The Beginning

Chapter 17-Children Of A Lesser Dad

James and Lily go into hiding, Sirius is given the title of Secret Keeper. And so it begins.

"I don't like this"

"And you think I do?"

Lily watched him from where she had just put Harry down for his nap and she sighed. Sirius from where he was sat on the sofa watching them perhaps sensing the storm muttered something about checking on his godson and he disappeared into the next room allowing them time and space to enjoy themselves.

Or argue with each other which is all they had been doing recently.

Lily watched as her husband paced up and down.

"You know I trust the old man completely" he said running a hand through his hair and she thought even as she nodded that he must have aged ten years in the past ten days, he was older now than he had been when he had buried his own parents and she was filled with hate, an emotion that she had often and always viewed as wasted, at the way Voldemort had come crashing into their lives. Even now at what should be the happiest moment of their lives they were battling this constant pressure of injustice, going into hiding because this madman (if he was even a man and Lily doubted that very much) had set his sights on her baby.

For what? Because he was part of a prophecy.

She could not help but notice that the Longbottom's did not plan to go into hiding. She suspected that was because Alice and Frank held no stock in Divination and more to the point she didn't either. Sirius had been the only person she knew who had taken it when they had been at school and he didn't go into why he had taken it only that he had wanted to. She didn't know how much stock she held in prophecy's. To be honest if it was coming from anyone other than Dumbledore she would chalk it down to a complete and utter crock of shit.

She bit her bottom lip and turned back to James who was sat on the arm of the sofa watching her.

"I don't know" he said finally. "I don't know what to do. There isn't anything in a handbook that tells me what to do here, there isn't anything in those baby books that tells me what to do when it comes to your son and a threat to him that you can't control. So no I don't…if it was anyone other than Dumbledore…I just…I don't think he would come to us and tell us this unless it was legitimate. I trust Dumbledore, and I know a lot of people don't and I know that he trusts a lot of people that he shouldn't along the way, but I trust Dumbledore. I'm sorry I trust Dumbledore. And I trust him when he tells us that our son is in danger and if this is the best way, the only way in which to keep Harry safe then I am sorry Lily then I am going to do it"

"And you think I'm not?"

"That's not what I said Lil and you know it" he said tiredly. "We can't keep having the same argument over and over again. And the truth is that is all we have been doing recently. Arguing over and over again. And I don't want to. Because I think we both know what the right decision is"

She did Merlin help her she did but the truth of the matter was that she didn't want her life to change. She wanted to do all the things with Harry that her mother had done with her. Was it the same as her mother with the muggle mother and baby classes no. But Molly had told her of some really good swimming classes (James had looked very alarmed when she had mentioned Harry and water considering the state her son was in at bath time) but she had been looking forwards to it.

The point being she had a life and she wanted to go and live it.

She wanted to go and live this life.

With her son. With her husband.

Happy.

She didn't want her baby boy to grow up in the world that she and James had grown up in. Granted she couldn't pin point the exact moment where everything had begun to change for them but she could remember one day there not being a Voldemort and one day there being one.

And that she remembered with aching loss.

She had not wanted Harry to grow up with that. She had wanted her baby to grow up free of that.

And yet…

And yet…

"And he took my damn cloak"

"James enough about the cloak"

"Well I'm sorry I don't get it. The cloak…like seriously I don't get why. I don't get why he suddenly wants the cloak, I mean seriously all the happy childhood pranks we pulled? I'm a bit old to give detention too and Harry is bit young for him to hold a grudge"

"That's what your pissed about?" Lily said quietly.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean is it that or is it the fact that you can't now go out and be with your friends?"

James shot her a long and rather painful look.

"I…"

"I am still an Animagus"

And then suddenly her guilt just went away.

"Oh yes well, if that was all that you cared for then that is the end of that then isn't it?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

And you get the point of what their conversations over the past few weeks had been like hadn't you? You get what they had been through? History alone would decide if they had been right but history was history for a reason. The one listening to it, reading it, studying it would not be the one who would be the one that was living it right now.

Sirius came back into the room fresh from their row and she turned. Harry was a messy sleeper and he was prone to waking up at the slightest of noise much to his parents despair. Even before he had been born they had not been getting much sleep but Lily had to think that they were getting more sleep than this.

Sirius however was one of those strange people who got babies to do what he wanted. Lily was not entirely sure how—very carefully she did not think about the comment Sirius had made upon his last visit which was a spoonful of firewhiskey in the milk made babies sleep but her tired brain had registered the knowledge that she was never to let Sirius feed her son unless under the guise of Remus who was infinitely more sensible and who whipped out Hogwarts A History (they were rapidly moving through school textbooks) another book that put him to sleep rather quickly.

And so it began.

"Dumbledore tell you why he thinks you need to go into hiding? I mean other than Voldemort wants Harry?"

Neither one of them looked at the other. Dumbledore had been very clear that they were not supposed to tell anyone what was going on. The secret of Harry's prophecy was supposed to stay that way and personally Lily was glad. She knew Sirius. Finding out about a prophecy could go two ways and neither of them good.

"He just said we should go into hiding."

"For how long?"

"He didn't give a timeframe Padfoot, he said right away but I don't…he said he was leaving the decision up to us but then he took the cloak with him which I still don't get—I'm sorry Lily but I am a grown man and if want to use that cloak to get out of this oppressive nightmare that this world has become I will!"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that. Sirius watched them as if watching a tennis match Harry fisting the necklace where he kept the ring that she knew once belonged to Marlene.

She wondered what Marlene would think of all this.

Scratch that, she knew what Marlene would think of all this.

It made her laugh just to think of it.

God the ache that she got when she thought about her best friend was still something fierce.

It never went away she mused. Her mother, her father, the lack of contact with her sister who had never even seen Harry and whose letters lacked any kind of interest in a connection with him and Marlene.

The people that they had lost…

"If something was to happen" she began but Sirius was already shaking his head.

"Don't go there Evans"

"I have a child Black I have to go there"

He shook his head again.

"No you don't. Not really. You start thinking that something is gonna happen to you and It will you know that"

She shook her head. She didn't know how to tell this man that she was totally and completely afraid of leaving her son alone, this man who had come to be one of the closest people in her life and who two years ago she had openly disliked.

"I don't want to leave him alone you know. Promise me, promise me that you won't let him go to my sister. Petunia will take him out of some kind of love for me, whatever she has left, I know that but…but she wouldn't love him. She wouldn't understand him, she wouldn't get what makes Harry, Harry. I need Harry to be happy more than I need to live to see it happen and if I cant then you or Remus or Peter…one of you needs to take him or kidnap him or do…whatever it is that you have to do, hell give him to Molly if you have to. Just…just make sure that he is happy. I love Albus Dumbledore and I respect him as a great wizard but my baby boys happiness as opposed to his safety will not come to mind. Harry shouldn't just be safe, he should be happy."

Sirius eyed her for a second and she was aware of James standing in the doorway again. He had by the smell of him had a cigarette from the packet that they both pretended didn't exist and right now she was gagging for one herself. She had asked Sirius to stop around the baby and now…

"Alright" Sirius said slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"Alright Evs we'll take care of it. God knows with Remus he'll do his homework"

"You'll be Secret Keeper?" James asked finally.

Sirius sighed.

"You think that's a good idea, I know Dumbledore offered and there is some safety to it—"

"I want you" James argued. "Your not gonna let anythign happen to my son, I know you, I trust you. You…you might have go into hiding yourself—"

Sirius face twisted. Going into hiding for Sirius meant Lily was sure doing something deeply unpleasant—like going home. But the point was there.

"Take Mooney with you as well"

"Prong—"

"It's not him" James said softly and Lily realised that they were having a conversation that she didn't understand. "Come on mate, it's not him and you know it. Please do this for us. Do it for us and we can cast the charm tomorrow and this can all be over. Quicker we get this done the quicker Dumbledore or some other clever fucker can kill him"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah" James said with a grin. Harry gurgled against Sirius's chest.

"Its still a full moon" he said with a shit eating grin that Sirius returned.

"I say it's time the Marauders went out with a full scale bang"

He waved his wand and a banging noise admitted. Harry jumped in Sirius's arms and then instead of crying laughed kicking his little legs in his godfather's tight grip.

Lily despaired she really did.

In truth she wouldn't have it any other way.

And I will do my best to bring you the next chapter sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-It's the last night before the curse is cast. And life is never the same for James, Lily and Harry again.