You are viewing a story from harrypotterfanfiction.com
View Online | Printer Friendly Version of Entire Story
Format: Novella
Chapters: 14
Word Count: 35,587
Status: WIP
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Strong Language, Strong Violence, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, Substance Use or Abuse, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme
Genres: Drama, Humor, Romance
Characters: Lupin, Sirius, Lily, James, Pettigrew, OC
Pairings: James/Lily, Remus/OC, Sirius/OC
First Published: 01/07/2007
Last Chapter: 10/09/2011
Last Updated: 10/09/2011
Summary:[new banner by Roonil Wazlib at TDA]
Nothing could break their friendship. They had always been there for each other, forever and always. But what happens when the Marauders steps into their lives? Is this the end of their friendship? Same story - new title! Formerly known as "Forever and Always"
Chapter 1: Chapter 1 - Four Girls
[View Online]
[View Online]
Characters: Izzy, Lily, Kate, Nessa
Beautiful chapter image by cherrypie3601 from TDA
Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.
- G. Randolf
Beautiful chapter image by cherrypie3601 from TDA
Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.
- G. Randolf
"Yes Mom, coming!" Lily called back and dragged her trunk down the stairs. "Hiya Dad!" she said cheerfully and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Ready to go?"
"As soon as you are, my flower," Mr Evans said and took his car keys.
"Bye, Pet!" Lily called up the stairs, but got only a slam of a door as an answer. "Love you too..." she muttered under her breath and rolled her eyes, as she ran after her parents to the car.
"Excited of the coming year?" her dad tried to sound casual, but his normally calm and deep voice cracked slightly.
Lily sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Dad, you promised to not cry..."
"I'm not crying, and I won't!" he said to his defense and blinked rapidly as they drove towards London, leaving the house where Lily had spent most of her life behind.
"And Mom?" Lily asked, staring at her mother intently. "Are you going to cry?"
"No" she answered shortly, looking stubbornly out through the window.
"Good... Because I can't deal with waterfalls today," she said with a smile.
Lily looked as the trees slowly changed into houses, and soon to larger houses. Before she could even notice it, she was in London.
"Lily, are you sure you have everything?" Mrs Evans asked worriedly, as they started to near King's Cross Station.
"Julia, it would be a miracle if she wouldn't have something," Mr Evans said to his wife and parked the car.
Lily smiled a little. It was not a secret that she was a perfectionist. Maybe the worst ever. Well, she knew how to relax and have fun, but it was nothing compared to what her best friends Nessa and Izzy called fun. Nessa had her boyfriends and Izzy had her Quidditch. Both were on Lily's forbidden list. Of course she had had boyfriends here and there (Amos Diggory in second year), she just had more important things in life than... boys. And Quidditch, psh... Lily was a great fan of Quidditch, but... just the thought of being so high up was... petrifying. So she was a Quidditch fan in secret. Oh how pathetic, Lily thought darkly. I'm a closet Quidditch fan...
Her auburn hair was in a tight ponytail, every strand perfectly in its place, as usually. Unlike her friends, Lily was very careful how she looked like. No, she wasn't a make-up freak like one of her best friends Vanessa, but she liked to look like a perfect role model, and give a perfect first impression. First impressions are the best impression, she thought and starightened her light blue t-shirt. Her Head Girl badge was neatly in the seat next to her and she picked it up, starting to twirl it in her hands, deep in her thoughts. She wondered who could be the Head Boy. Remus Lupin, a nice seventh year Gryffindor, would fit perfectly. Lily and Remus had always been pretty good friends, even if he was a... Marauder. Bloody Potter..., Lily thought and clutched her badge tighter, the fresh memory of the Marauders' last prank on her mind. It had taken two bloody weeks to get the green color from her hair! It had been hideous!
But this years was going to be different. She knew it. She would give the Marauders a hard time to do any pranks with her on their heels. She grinned a wicked smile as she saw the station in front of the car. As the car stopped, she climbed out and took her trunk, waiting for her parents, before walking with them in to the station to say goodbye, and then leave for her final year at Hogwarts.
Yes, this year was going to be different...
~ * ~
Isabel Rush lay on her bed, staring up at the dark green canopy of her bed, as she threw a Quaffle in the air and grabbed it again. Doing this movement over and over again, she could just forget the noise of arguments and all that downstairs. Suddenly her door opened, making her sigh and close her eyes tightly. She stopped throwing the Quaffle and satisfied to squeeze it tightly with her hands.
"What?"
"Mother wants you to come downstairs," her 14 year old little sister Lorena said with an annoying voice.
"And she wants you to be dressed properly..." Helena continued, popping her head in too.
"... And to not try and embarass the family name!" the third one, Elena, said.
"I'm coming soon," Isabel said from behind gritted teeth. When she could still hear the triplets snigger at her door, she turned her head slowly to them. "Anything else our dear Mother wants?"
"I don't understand how she didn't burn you out of the family tree after the sorting," Lorena said, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Yeah, you don't deserve to be in thsi family," Helena agreed.
"If we're lucky, she'll--" Elena started, but was suddenly cut off by a Quaffle soaring towards the door, making them close it quickly.
"We're so going to tell mom!" Lorena shrieked from behind it.
"Go on, you prat!" Isabel roared after them as she opened the door, just to see their blonde hairs disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor. "Here's a little message from me..." she muttered and was about to throw the Quaffle after them, when someone grabbed her arm from behind.
"Calm down, Izzy..." came a deep voice in her ear. Isabel spun around and narrowed her eyes at her older brother, Isaac. "There's no point in upsetting them more," he growled and nodded his head towards the floor.
Isabel sighed, brushing her long blonde hair behind her ear, and went back to her room, throwing the Quaffled from her hand to the other. "What do you want Isaac?"
"Hey, I'm not here to annoy you, sis... I'm here to--" he looked at her trunk and then at her closet, seeing that it was empty, barely untouched. "Did you ever even unpack that trunk?"
Isabel snorted loudly and sat down on her bed. "Hell no... I've been counting days to when I get to leave this hole..." she said darkly and eyed the little room. She felt her brother sit down next to her and she knew he was looking at her. She could feel his eyes on her. "What?" she finally said.
"What's up with you?" Isaac said. "Can't you just try and be what they want you to be? It would make your life so much easier!"
"And believe in stuff I don't believe at all!?" Isabel snapped and stood up. She walked to her window and pulled the dark courtains aside. She saw the garden of the huge mansion grow in front of her, and suddenly, she wondered how perfect looked like from outside, while she was suffering inside.
"I know some of their principles are a bit--"
"Some!?" Isabel snapped, looking at him with tears in her eyes. "Are you saying that only some of their sick ideas are a bit twisted!?"
"Look, Izzy, I didn't--"
"Just... forget it..." she said and grabbed her trunk. "Goodbye, Isaac," Isabel muttered and left the room, the Quaffle under her arm and her brother still sitting on her bed, shaking his head at the feisty girl...
~ * ~
"Honey, we're about to go now," Mrs Cook said softly from the door.
"Almost... done..." her daughter said absent mindly from her dressing table where she was putting on some more mascara.
"Oh Vanessa sweetie, you don't really need all that make-up..." her mother said worriedly and shook her head.
"Mother!" Vanessa said and rolled her eyes. She had had this conversation too many times. "What did I say last time? Never ever comment on my clothing, what I'm rubbing in my face and my social life, 'kay?"
"Yes, but--"
"Mother," she said, trying to sound calm. "It would be a social suicide if I would go around without make-up on the first day of school, and you don't want that, right?"
"No, but--"
"Go get daddy and I'll be right there," Vanessa said brightly and turned to the mirror again, deeply concentrated on putting lipgloss on her perfect lips.
She heard her mother sigh from the door. When she was finally gone, Vanessa rushed to her bed and kneeled down, helping a boy from under it. "Come on, Dan..." she grumbled as the shirtless boy stood up. "Look, this is not working... it's not you, it's me, and I need to think about life and... what's that other thing.... oh yeah, where I'm heading!" Vanessa explained quickly to the boy, pushing his clothes in his arms and steered him to the balcony.
"But Nessa--" the boy said, looking at her with a utterly confused expression. "I thought you loved me, I thought we had something!"
"Look, Han--"
"Dan!" the boy said at the verge of tears.
"Dan!" Vanessa said and pushed him forward. "We never had anything, 'kay?" she explained with a sigh and helped him over the rail. "It's just not... working!"
"But--"
"Bye bye, Han!" she said sweetly and pushed him down.
"Dan!!" she heard before he disappeared into one of her mother's rose bushes. She grimaced a bit and looked down. Ah, he lives, good..., she thought before rushing back to her room and grabbed her bag and ran down in her extremely short skirt and white tank top. As she ran down the stairs, she pulled her dark hair loose from the ponytail she had.
"Ah, my little princess!" Mr Cook said and kissed her forehead as she arrived to the gorgeus entrance hall.
"Hey, daddy!" she said and smiled her perfect smile. It always made her father's a bit lighter.
"Darling, you ready to go?" Mrs Cook asked as she joined them from the living room.
"Yep, ready, set, go!" Vanessa squealed and skipped out, her parents following with amused looks on their faces.
"Can you believe that the day has arrived when the Potters are ready before us?" Mr Cook joked as a group of people across the street huddled out through the door.
"Oi, Nessa!" Sirius Black called, brushing his dark hair away from his grey eyes.
"Die, Black" Vanessa said with a mock of sweetness as James Potter and Sirius Black walked up to her, with the Potters coming up to Vanessa's parents.
"Aww, I love it when you talk naughty words!" Sirius said and grabbed his chest.
"Oh shut it..." Vanessa said and rolled her eyes. "Jay!" she squealed and flung her arms around the boy next to Sirius. James laughed and twirled the girl around before putting her down, his arms lightly on her waist. "Hey, Nessa" he said.
"Why does he get a special greeting?" Sirius whined.
"Because you're a prat," Vanessa said with a nod as she pulled away.
"Yeah, Padfoot," James said and laughed at the deadly look on Sirius' face. "Sorry mate, but you should know better than to not disagree with this lady!"
"I'm not a lady," Vanessa said and pouted.
"Oh sorry..." James said and kissed her forehead. "Princess, right?"
"Yes, Gryffindor Princess through and through," she announced proudly.
"Of course you are," James said and embraced her brotherly.
James and Vanessa. Jay and Nessa. They had always been like brotehr and sister. James was like the brother Vanessa never had, and she was like the little sister James always wanted to have. But as they started in Hogwarts, James had befriended Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, and heard that girls have cooties, which was why they didn't spend as much time together anymore. Now, when the boys had finally (okay, three years ago) got over the whole thing with cooties, they were like brother and sister again. Except when Lily was around. That was when Vanessa tried to look at things from her best friend's point of view. Which was nearly impossible, considering the way Lily's brains worked.
"So, I heard you had some late hour visit..." James said with a smirk as he put his hands deep in his pockets.
Vanessa's eyes grew wide and she quickly looked around at her parents, thanking God that they were busy with talking with the Potters. "Will you keep it down?" she hissed to James who just laughed, while Sirius looked a bit gloomy. "Don't tell mom or dad, please, James, please please please please please..." she pleaded.
"Hey hey hey hey," James said and put his hands up. "Just calm down, I won't say a thing, Nessa!"
"You won't?" Vanessa said, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Nope, not a word, my lips are sealed," he assured her.
"Honey?" Mr Cook called and the three teens turned around around. "We're going, ready to go?"
"Yeah," Vanessa called back and started to walk towards their car. "See you on the train!" she waved to the boys and winked to Sirius who grinned to her.
"Catch you there, princess," he called as James dragged him forcefully away.
"Catch me, if you can!" Vanessa laughed as she sat down in the car.
"Oh I sure will..." Sirius muttered after the beautiful brunette before being pushed into the car.
~ * ~
Kate Jones sat by her window, staring out at the old lady watering her flowers. Her room was rather empty, and even if they had moved to the new house last summer, she still had some of the boxes unpacked. The place just didn't feel like home. Their last house had been full of memories, good ones and... bad ones, very bad ones. Like the summer seven years ago...
Flashback
"Daddy?" the ten year old Kate called, her old and worn out dress dirty of all the playing outside. "Daddy?" she called again.
Katie walked into the kitchen and found her mother at the sink. She had her black hair in a messy bun and leaned heavilly to the sink, wiping quickly her tears away as she heard Kate's steps. "Mum?" Katie said quietly, walking to her mother. "Why are you sad?"
"Mummy's not sad, hun," she said and brushed her daughter's black hair softly. "Mummy was just talking with daddy... where is your brother?"
"Ethan is outside," Kate said and looked at her mother's face closely. "Daddy made mummy cry?"
"No, no... Daddy didn't make me cry," Mrs Jones laughed sadly and started to move around nervously in the kitchen, preparing for the dinner. "Go out and... play," she said absent mindly.
"Okay," Kate said and skipped out from the kitchen, but stopped at the door that led to the basement. She stared at the door that was slightly open. Kate had always been scared to go down in the basement without her dad. She knew her dad used to work down there, and he always carried her on his shoulders down there, which was nice. Now, she could hear her dad work down there, and she had a bad feeling about this.
"Daddy?" she called quietly as she took the first step down the dark stairway. Her hand brushed softly the cold stonewall. She was halfway down, as a spider ran across her hand, making her jump back and scream. "Daddy!!" Kate squealed, her arms around herself and her eyes tightly shut.
"Katie, go away, daddy is busy," came her father's voice, but it sounded different, as if he was nervous, and it was... strained.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" Kate asked, still standing very still.
"Just... go away!"
Kate opened one eye and saw nothing but darkness ahead. She gulped and looked back, seeing the warm corridor call her. But acting against her instincts, she took a deep breath and walked slowly down the rest of the steps. Kate came to another door. This door wasn't close either. Usually, this door was always closed. Kate's father had always said to close that door. Always. And so, it seemed weird, even to Kate, that it wasn't closed now. Something was terribly wrong, which gave the chills to Kate as she stood in her thin summer dress, and her old kneesocks hanging over her shoes because of her skinny legs. Once again Kate found herself thinking about her options. She was curious to push the door open, but yet she thoguht about what might be behind it. The basement seemed much darker and colder without her daddy there. As she stood there thinking, she scratched her leg with her foot nervously, looking back up the stairs she had just walked down, biting her lip.
"D-Daddy?" she whispered, hearing her voice echo softly in the darkness. She didn't get a response, so she put her hand on the door. It was cold. Kate pushed the door open and it opened with a loud creak.
The light was very dim in the room, and it took awhile for Kate's eyes to get used to it. But when she rubbed her eyes slowly and looked again, she saw her father stand on a little stool, his back to Kate. Kate walked slowly towards him, a small grin on her innocent face. Then everything happened fast. Her father let out a small sob and fell from the chair, but instead of hitting the floor, he dangled in the air, completly limp.
Kate looked horrified as her father's body dangled there, like a pinata of some sort. She screamed without even noticing it. She screamed, screamed and screamed. All she could do was scream. Her high pitched scream cut the hot summer day like a cold knife. Everything was a big blur. Her mother rushing in... falling on her knees and crying her heart out... her twin brother Ethan peeking from behind the door, his face blank of any emotions... their aunt running in from across the street, trying to get their mother to do something, finally ending with grabbing Kate and Ethan in her arms and carrying them out while their own mother continued to cry... and through this all, Kate screamed.
The screaming never stopped.
End of Flashback
Kate blinked, trying to get that memory out of her mind. When she wasn't thinking about it, she was afraid of forgetting, and when she was thinkign about it... then she felt utterly guilty. She knew it wasn't her fault, but still the haunting memory of seeing her own father hanf himself...
"Katiiiiiiie!" her seven, almost eight, year old sister ran in, her brown untidy curls up with a bow, and a brown dress with white tights on. "We're leaving soooooon," Cora said, blinking rapidly her big brown eyes.
"Are we?" Kate said and looked at her wrist watch. "Oh my, is that the time? Well, up you go!" she said and picked Cora in her arms, as she walked down the stairs with her.
"There comes my two babies!" Mrs Jones said, her black hair looking like a mess. She had clearly been up for days again, drinking most likely. That would explain the dark rings around her eyes. She used to be a beautiful woman, but after that certain summer day, everything changed...
"Hey, mum," Kate said and smiled slightly. "Where's Ethan?"
"Oh he's in the car," she said and took Cora from Kate.
"Allright..." Kate said and walked after her mother to the car.
"Ready? Let's go!" Mrs Jones said as she started the engine, Kate climbing in the backseat where her twin brother was sitting. They were almost identical, with the same messy black hair that couldn't be tamed, small dimples in their cheeks that came to notice when they smiled, but their eyes were different. Ethan and Cora had both got their mother's eyes, while Kate had got her father's, the dark blue ones.
"Ethan, what are you mad about now?" Kate asked quietly.
"Just shut up, will you?" Ethan snarled, staring out grumpily. Kate sighed. Ethan and she used to be close once, but as time went on, they just... became distant. A thing that never happened with twins was just what happened to them; they lost their connection. Everytime Kate thought they had it, Ethan pulled back in his shell. He probably blamed Kate for their father's death, she didn't know. And the Sorting messed it up even more. While she became a Gryffindor, he became a Slytherin. He had his Slytherin friends, while Kate had her Gryffindor friends. They had nothing in common. Nothing.
Except the fact that they were twins... but lately, even that seemed to mean nothing.
~ * ~
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! I would love a review, any kind of review, in fact. That way I know if I should continue writing on this one...
- Lily xxx
http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com