The Year It All Changed
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is JKR's.
A/N: Please review ^^
If it's veeeeeery terrible, blame education. I'm having end of semester exams and I decided to write it anyway.
I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can.
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Chapter 1
James winced at the sunlight pouring in through the open window. "Damn sun." he muttered, moving his right hand, hitting Sirius squarely in the face. The latter leapt out of bed yelling bloody murder about carnivorous steaks. James grinned, despite being up at an unearthly hour of the day and unwillingly at that.
"Padfoot, mate, I think you had a little too much to eat last night." James joked, untangling himself from the sheets wrapped around him and stood up. He shook Remus who was on his left, none too gently. Remus mumbled something, turned onto his stomach and let out a soft snore.
How do you prefer your shower, Sirius?" James asked softly. He pointed his wand towards his friend.
"Cold, I presume?" A jet of water shot out from the tip of his wand, hitting Sirius in the face. Padfoot shot awake once again and glared somewhat groggily at James. "Prongs! That's the second time today! Right in my face too! Do you have something against me getting a peaceful sleep?"
James shrugged and then smirked. "I'm a Chaser and I have impeccable aim, if I do say so myself. And I figured, if I have to wake up, so do you." Then to stop his friend's grumbling, he added, "Look at it this way, now you have the pleasure of waking up Moony."
Sirius predictably brightened. "That makes up some, I suppose." He said, looking for his own wand. James left him to his rummaging and headed for the bathroom. He was barely out the door when he heard Remus screaming girlishly, followed by a loud thunk. Mingled laughter and cries of pain reached his ears. He shook his head and laughed silently. Sirius was, as usual, spending his vacations with James and the Potters along with Remus.
-x-
The curtains flapped in the slight breeze stealing in through the window. Sunlight poured in, creating distorted shadows on the floor due to all the cracks in the windowpanes. The light was a weightless blanket on the sleeping figure lying on the rickety but comfortable bed. The room was furnished practically. It contained a chest of drawers made of highly polished oak, a door that opened into the bathroom, and a sturdy oak table beside the bed burdened with a lamp. A plush maroon carpet covered the stone floor.
It was several minutes later that a head emerged from under the heavy sheets clothing the bed and the figure gave any signal of awakening. A loud yawn erupted from the sixteen year old girl's mouth as she lazily opened her wide, startlingly emerald eyes and sat up. Her arms stretched and she sighed. Her lazy manner soon disappeared though with a quick glance at the clock next to her bed. It indicated that it was well past her usual wake up time and now almost 11:30 am.
She almost leapt out of bed and hurried towards the window. The sun had risen like a newly minted gold coin and was casting its warm light over the muggle side as well as the invisible world of Diagon Alley. The breeze caught Lily's hair in a game of hide and seek. Strands of auburn hair twisted away from each other and appeared as a spark of fire in the sunlight. Lily ran her hand through her sleek and long hair, sighing in happiness, the emotion coming over her in waves. She was happy, although it was her last day at the Leaky Cauldron.
She had spent the last two weeks at the pub. She simply had needed to get away from her older sister's ranting about her perfect fiancé. If being large, slow, with an enormous mustache was considered perfect, Lily completely agreed with her.
Her parents had agreed to let her spend the last two weeks at The Leaky Cauldron because their older daughter was likewise talking through their last nerves and they knew how Lily felt.
She was at her last day of summer vacation having to catch the Hogwarts Express back to the castle tomorrow. She had been Prefect the previous year and had received her Hogwarts letter late last night with the usual list of books and items needed. Lily was excited and anxious to start her 7th and last year at Hogwarts. As she thought about her last year, happy and some not so happy memories rushed to her mind.
She remembered her first train ride, her Sorting, her first feast, her first look at her dormitory. She remembered her first "Outstanding" in Charms and she recalled casting her first spell. She remembered meeting her dorm mates who were now her best friends. She felt a moment's distaste as some other memories rushed to the surface. Potter and his gang of friends. How she loathed the all except Remus. Nothing irked her more than James, Sirius and that tagalong Peter.
Lily crashed back to herself as the clock beeped to signify that it was now noon. She gaped at the clock. Had she really been daydreaming for half an hour? Briskly she headed to the bathroom and freshened herself up. Deciding to dress in muggle clothing, Lily pulled on a green sundress, which bought out the green of her eyes and set off her hair quite well. She strapped on a pair of green sandals and grabbed her list of school supplies.
Though it was her last day here, she had yet to get anything. She assumed most people were coming today too to get their supplies because she had rarely seen anyone over the last fortnight. Lily exited the room and made her way down the handsome wooden staircase to the dark and shabby pub downstairs. A number of tables sat in the shadows of the corners and were filled with customers.
It wasn't long before Diagon Alley was before Lily. A wooden sign hung over the door of the first shop she saw and read "Apothecary." A barrel of black beetle eyes stood near the door. In the doorway, stood two wizards. One was apparently a customer while the other was the owner of the shop. They were arguing over the price of five ounces of dragon liver.
Lily smiled to herself and let her gaze wander to the next shop. "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC" read the sign. Lily didn't need a new wand either so she passed the shop. Besides Mr. Ollivander had watery eyes and he scared her a little. The next shop was the tiny shop next to the Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Stationers" was a shop that supplied ink, parchment and quills. Since Lily needed all three, she made a quick detour.
The next shop down the Alley was "Flourish and Blotts." This was where Lily needed to get all her books. Staring with the first book on the list, "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7" by Miranda Goshawk, Lily worked down the list and was soon done. She left the store carrying two bags, one containing the heavy books and the other containing parchment and such. She passed Gringotts and Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop without a second glance.
The next half hour found Lily wandering in all of the shops lining the Alley. She had saved "Eeylops Owl Emporium" for last. She had wanted to get an owl for a really long time and thought this would be a great time to get one. She entered the shop. The interior was dark. Soft hoots could be heard here and there. Flickering jewel bright eyes looked back at her. Perched everywhere were Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy owls. Picking a beautiful and gentle looking Brown owl, Lily paid for it and left. "I'll name you Merlin," she said, smiling at her new pet. The owl hooted as if to agree with her.
-x-
"Sirius Orion Black! You get down here this instant young man!" Miriam Potter bellowed from the bottom of the stairs. Sirius, who'd been hiding, glanced guiltily at her. "Alright." He started walking down the stairs reluctantly. "And fast!" "Yes ma-am!" Sirius practically ran down the stairs, slipped on the last step and crashed. Standing up sheepishly, he smiled at Mrs. Potter. "Did you need me?"
She glared back at him. No, she usually didn't treat guests like that, but Sirius Black was no guest. He was her son's best friend and equally as mischievous as him, if not more. "Did you fill all the firewhiskey bottles with Pepperup Potion?" Sirius smiled innocently at her. "Me? No! I'd never do anything like that!" Mrs. Potter ignored him. "And, then you emptied the firewhiskey on my prized roses! How could you?"
Sirius continued to look at her woefully. "I'm sorry, Miry darling." Miriam gazed at him, confused. "Really, Sirius, I have half a mind to hug you and the other half tells me to smack you upside the head. If you do anything like that again, I will spank you." Sirius nodded meekly, before answering, "Yes ma-am."
He smiled angelically at her, before running back up the stairs. Shaking her head in amusement, she muttered fondly, "Honestly, boys. They never change." She returned to the kitchen; where she'd been preparing breakfast before James, Sirius and Remus came down to eat. Together, Sirius and James ate faster than she could conjure up food. Poor Remus was an angel.
Sirius meanwhile was running towards James' room, yelling "Prongsie, hurry! We're going to Diagon Alley!" Yes, it was that time of the year. School was starting tomorrow, and it was time to get their supplies. Gray eyes dancing wickedly, Sirius' mind was a jumble of plans on how to make the trip more exciting. Who had fun buying a bunch of books?
Maybe he could slip a toad down the Flourish and Blott's shopkeeper's shirt. She was a bit squeamish. Sirius Black was one of Hogwarts most eligible bachelors. With startlingly deep gray eyes, and ebony black hair, which fell elegantly into the aforementioned eyes, he wasn't one to be found alone on a Hogsmeade trip. And Sirius didn't mind at all.
What was better than meeting Julia at 2 pm, Deanna at 2:30, Sydney at 3 and then Heather at 3:30? I guess you could say Sirius was a ladies man. But at this particular moment, it wasn't girls that clouded his mind; it was mischief.
"And take a shower, Sirius! You smell like a dog!" Miriam called up the stairs. Sirius made a face, as he headed towards the bathroom at the end of the hall.
-x-
James emerged from the bathroom at the opposite end of the hall from the bathroom Sirius was in. His hair glistened with water, some of it dripping steadily on the floor. He was wearing jeans only as he had yet to find a clean t-shirt in his closet. From down the hall, he could hear Sirius singing -very loudly and off key- "All a wizard needs." James winced as he made his way back to his room.
Opening the door revealed Remus tidying up their beds. James sighed in mock frustration. "Oi, Moony, mate, we have house elves to do that." James remarked, making his way over to his cupboard. He pulled the door open, and started searching for a t-shirt in the clutter on the floor. Remus shrugged. "I don't have a house elf, so I'm used to cleaning up after myself." He finished folding the sheet.
James pulled on the black t-shirt he was found and turned around to face Remus. "You'd better hurry and take a shower. We're going to Diagon Alley today." Remus nodded. "Sirius is already in the bathroom." He remarked, opening the door. James shook his head. "Yeah, I heard him all the way down the hall."
Remus laughed as he opened the door. "What's he singing this time?" James walked towards the door, as he responded, "All a wizard needs." As if to confirm his reply, Sirius' voice carried down the hall. "All a wizard needs is loooooooove…." Remus pretended to sigh sadly. "I actually used to like that song before Sirius heard it."
James grinned and playfully slapped Remus on the back as Moony headed for the bathroom. James on the other hand followed the smell of food down to the kitchen. Mrs. Potter stood over the stove. "Morning dear." She said, smiling at her son.
James had his mother's wide hazel eyes but inherited his messy jet-black hair from his father. His mother turned around holding a plate of pancakes. "Here you go." She said, placing them in front of James, who was already seated. "Where are Sirius and Remus?"
James picked up a fork. "Remus is in the bathroom and Sirius is…" His voice was drowned out as the two heard, "And all a wizard needs is loooove. All a wizard needs is LOOOOOOOOVE!" James winced. "He's just out of the bathroom." Mrs. Potter laughed as she got up. "I guess I better start on their breakfast. With Sirius around, nothing seems to last very long."
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A/N: Was it horrible? Review and tell please ^^ I love reviews xDD
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