Together Forever

Chapter 1: James Potter and the Blue Unicorn

This is my first fanfiction on this site (or, for that matter, anywhere). It's a MWPP (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, for those amongst you who are grossly misinformed. *g*) story that will turn out quite long, so please stick with it because it has taken me a while to write (this chapter, at least). I know most people think Lily and James are supposed to hate each other, but what the hell. Also, all my SPG is colloquial English, you Americans etc will have to bear with. If you don't understand well … tough. Also, thanks to Tropical Fishy (the best fanfic writer – If you like L/J fics, read The Flower and the Stag) for inspiring me to write this. Enjoy. Note: I have rewritten a large section of this (4/01) …

He kept on running…the pain in his leg was intense, but he couldn't stop. He heard the beast again, heard it howling in the full moon, and its paws scrabbling across the path, after him. He had to keep going, he had to get away. Faster he ran, as fast as his legs would carry him, the pain in his leg intensified only by the fear in his mind. Further he ran, through the thick forest, until there was nowhere else he could go; he was trapped. The beast edged slowly forward, its many teeth glinting in the moonlight. He began to scream, he screamed with all his might, but the creature had him. He felt razor sharp teeth sinking into his soft flesh, and the world began to spin. Darker and darker, he was vaguely aware of voices, but he couldn't understand them. He fell backwards, and his mind went blank…

James Potter woke with a start. He checked the clock. It was 3:30AM in the morning, according to his handy luminescent alarm clock. He tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't; he couldn't get the visions from his dream out of his head. He decided instead to get himself a glass of water. As he walked across the hall, he heard snores coming from his parent's room, and allowed himself a small smile. As James returned to his room, he passed the mirror in the hall. It showed a tall, very tired-looking 11 year old, with glasses covering a pair of deep blue eyes and black hair that stuck out at every angle. There was nothing unique about this boy except for one thing. James Potter was a wizard.

It was only yesterday, as he went to fetch in the newspaper for his mother (who had worried frenziedly that she may not get the chance to check her Divination prophecies for the coming week), that he noticed received a peculiar looking letter in the post. Bemused, James had proceeded to skim through the letter, and allowed himself a contented grin upon completion. It had been a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and had looked like this:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND

WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc.,

Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International

Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

James parents, being as they were former pupils of Hogwarts, had not been particularly surprised. However, that hadn't ruined the celebrations. The atmosphere the previous night at the Potters' place of residency, The Observatory, had been a cheerful one. Today, James and his parents were to travel to Diagon Alley in London to buy him all his school equipment. Also, his father, being quite a wealthy constituent of the Ministry of Magic, had promised to get him an owl.

At the moment, however, James was not feeling remarkably ecstatic. The nightmare he had just encountered was one he had previously met as a small child, and that was not the first time it had recurred since then. Unfortunately, the events of the dream tended to slip from James' memory shortly after he woke, and hanging on to the details was like trying to retain flowing water in one's cupped hands. He decided with a sigh that he may as well attempt to get some sleep, and lay his head slowly down onto his pillow.

*

The next day was both exciting and interesting for James. He got all his new robes, books and equipment in Diagon Alley, a secret street full of magical shops and buildings.

He also purchased his wand from Ollivanders, the wand makers, which was not a particularly gratifying experience. According to the slightly eerie Mr Ollivander, his wand was mahogany, with a phoenix feather running up its eleven-inch core. Ollivander also seemed very interested to learn that James' wand hand was his left and not his right.

There were a number of items with which James was fascinated, though in more than one case his parents had to put their feet down about what he could and couldn't purchase. The one thing James desperately wanted was a brand new, state-of-the-art broomstick placed in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies. According to its caption, the new Silver Arrow boasted speeds of up to 100 miles an hour and incorporated an impregnable shield charm. James was passionate about Quidditch, and, though he had rarely played, his father always told him he would play for England one day. However, to James' chagrin, on his equipment list it remarked:

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

Therefore James was not allowed one. He was disappointed, but he cheered up immensely when, after finishing several hours of avid shopping and picking up all James' required items, his father bought him his own tawny owl from the Magical Menagerie.

*

On the night of the thirty-first of August, James couldn't sleep. He was both too excited and nervous about the forthcoming day. He decided, instead of getting into bed, to flick through some of his schoolbooks, which were very interesting, and to mindlessly stroke his new owl, which he had affectionately named Mercury. He fell asleep eventually, and visited a land of dreams far from the desolate forest of central Nottingham.

The morning brought with it an outbreak of unusual activity. The Observatory was usually seen as a dormant building, and the gratuitous amounts of shouting and hooting coming from it served to make more than one neighbour from the surrounding village curious. Fortunately, no one succumbed to actually looking over the high Observatory walls, as a number of strange sights may well have met their eyes. After much panting and puffing, James and his parents were able to transfer his entire luggage from the front hall of the house to the boot of James' father's car and shortly, they were off.

They reached Kings Cross station, from where James was instructed to catch the Hogwarts Express, at ten-forty, giving James twenty minutes to get onto the train. Once he had fallen through the seemingly solid barrier onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters, he kissed his mother and father goodbye, and they left.

He began to heave his immensely heavy trunk onto the train when he heard a voice.

'Hey, do you want us to give you a hand?'

He looked up to see whom the speaker was and saw that it was a tallish boy, of around his age, with long black hair and a grin on his face. He had, even for one so young, distinctly rugged good looks, though James didn't dwell on this point for long before moving his eyes to the boy's companion.

She was a rather short girl; indeed, her friend was at least a head taller than her. She too was very pretty, James noticed, glancing from one to the other. The girl had long, dark red hair, and a pair of extremely bright green eyes. James thought, with a grin, that she'd be difficult to lose in a crowd.

'Yes, thanks.' James replied, returning the boy's grin, and the three of them managed to haul his trunk onto the train. 'So,' he asked, as they stood panting slightly on the platform, 'are you two new at Hogwarts too?'

'Yeah,' replied the girl, 'I'm Lily Burns and this is Sirius Black. He's insane,' she added fondly. 'What's your name?'

'James,' James replied simply, 'James Potter.'

'Potter,' Sirius mused. 'Hmm. Has a nice ring. Potter … James Potter.'

'You watch far too many Bond movies,' Lily replied, rolling her eyes. 'Come on. Time to go.'

After their initial introductions, the three of them climbed aboard the train, and were chatting to each other unconcernedly about Quidditch and arriving at Hogwarts when two more people entered their compartment, a tall girl, with long, blonde hair and a smaller, slightly podgy boy.

'Hey, do you mind if we sit here with you?' asked the girl, 'Everywhere else is full. Well, except that compartment with that kid who's really –'

'Let's not go into … gratuitous detail,' muttered one of her companions, eliciting laughs from the compartment.

'No problem', replied Sirius, moving up and allowing them to sit down.

'What are your names?' James inquired.

'My name's Katie Evans and this is Peter Pettigrew,' replied the girl. 'I'm really excited, aren't you? I'm the first person in my family to go to Hogwarts, you see, nobody in my family's magic. You should have seen my parent's faces when I got the letter; they were so shocked.'

'I'm the first witch in my family as well' said Lily. James noticed an odd flicker pass over her face, almost like a grimace. 'So I know what you mean.'

The five children continued to talk to each other throughout the rest of the journey, and bought copious amounts of various pickings from the food trolley. They all soon realised they had many things in common. As they were approaching Hogwarts, and they had all changed into their robes, they began to talk about the different houses.

'Gryffindor sounds like the best,' James said, thinking about what his parents had told him.

'I don't care which house I'm in,' remarked Sirius, 'as long as it isn't Slytherin.' There was a murmur of agreement from the others.

'I doubt Slytherin would want you in it, Black,' came a drawling voice from the compartment door.

They all whirled round to see three unpleasant looking people standing in the doorway. The boy in the centre, who had just spoken, had black eyes and greasy black hair. On either side of him he had his friends, one looking slightly nervous, James thought, and the other looking very mean. All three of them were glaring at Sirius, who, James realised, must know them.

'What do you want, Snape?' spat Sirius, saying the word 'Snape' with utmost loathing in his voice.

'Now Black, don't do anything silly,' Snape replied, 'or you might regret it.' He put his hands into his robes as he said it. Both James and Lily stood up at the same time.

'Is that a threat, er, ugly?' James said coolly. There were some snickers from Sirius and Lily, and Snape's ears reddened slightly.

'No, I can assure you, it's a promise,' he replied, regaining some of his composure whilst his two friends chuckled, 'and I think you ought to watch your step too,' he added dangerously, before he and his friends turned and left the compartment.

'Slimy git,' remarked Sirius, after Snape had left.

'Who is he?' asked Peter.

'An evil git,' answered Sirius, 'his family are Voldemort supporters.' Everyone except James gasped.

'What?' said James and Sirius in unison.

'You said You-Know-Who's name,' said Katie, 'I thought you weren't supposed to. It says in all my books …'

'So did I.' Peter added, nodding in agreement.

'We're just showing him we aren't afraid of him, that's all,' said James. 'There's no point.'

'Speak for yourselves,' added Peter.

This conversation was cut short by an announcement made by the driver:

'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately.'

All five friends got up from their seats, checked for any leftover food, and joined the throng outside in the corridor. The train gradually slowed and finally stopped. As James and Sirius stepped out onto the platform, the cold night air bit their faces. Then a voice came bobbing over the heads of the students.

'Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!'

James looked up and saw an absolute giant of a person, a man who looked simply too big to be allowed. He had long, shaggy hair, and a tangled black beard. He also had crinkled beetle eyes hidden underneath all his hair. He didn't look particularly old, per se, or even like a Professor, but his height and width served to make him a very commanding presence.

'I think his name's Hagrid,' he heard Sirius explain to Lily. 'He's the gamekeeper.' Lily looked bemused, but as Hagrid had now managed to get all the first years together, he was leading them onward towards the Castle. They followed a long, narrow path, until they turned a corner and it opened out onto the edge of a great black lake. On the opposite shore stood Hogwarts Castle, looking distinctively mysterious with crystalline moonlight reflecting from its many windows. James could also see many turrets and towers protruding from the castle to the skyline.

By now, the first-years were all looking, as James had felt the previous evening, both excited and nervous, though none more so than Katie, who was positively shivering with anticipation.

Hagrid then shifted their attentions to the shore of the lake, where many small rowing boats were moored.

'No more'n four to a boat' cried Hagrid.

Sirius and James entered a boat with Lily and Peter, and the four of them began rowing across the lake towards the castle. When they reached the opposite shore, Hagrid led them along another path and up to the castle door. After checking that everyone was present, he raised his fist and knocked on the gargantuan oak door.

The door swung open to reveal a stern looking witch wearing magenta robes and a witch's hat.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' she said, nodding to Hagrid, and beckoning them into the Entrance Hall, which, James noticed, was absolutely enormous, with a magnificent marble staircase leading to the upper floors.

'Welcome first years,' the witch said, once sure she had everyone's attentions. 'My name is Professor McGonagall. The Sorting ceremony will begin shortly. Please wait here until I call you into the hall.'

After Professor McGonagall had left to prepare the sorting, the nervous first years started talking about the sorting.

'I heard you have to fight a dragon,' one terrified looking girl remarked.

'Don't be daft, they wouldn't make us do anything like that,' responded Sirius, though James couldn't help noticing that he looked rather pale. Even Snape looked slightly nervous under all the grease. James pointed this out to Sirius, and Sirius couldn't help smiling.

Suddenly, though, Professor McGonagall was back, and started leading them through to the Great Hall. As soon as he stepped into the Hall, James gasped, for where there should have been a ceiling, there was nothing; the Hall seemed to just open into the sky. He could see thousands of stars and a clear, full moon. In the hall itself stood four large tables, where students from the four houses were sitting. At the top stood the teacher's table, which was full all except for Professor McGonagall's seat.

At that point however, his attention was drawn to a ragged hat, sitting on a stool at the front of the hall. All the first-years around him were looking slightly bemused. But then, a rip appeared on the hat, and it began to sing:

'Now this is not an easy job,

I can assure you that.

But this is an important job -

The Hogwarts Sorting Hat.

My job though 'tis not easy,

'Tis something I must do.

To look what is inside your head

And choose a house for you.

So should I then choose Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave and bold.

Or perhaps choose Ravenclaw,

If ready mind you hold.

Then again, choose Hufflepuff,

Where stand the loyal and just.

Or finally choose Slytherin,

Ambition is a must.

So try me on, don't be afraid

Don't stand so nervously.

Just try me on, and I will tell you

Where you ought to be!'

The moment the hat stopped singing, the whole hall burst into applause. Professor McGonagall stood up, holding a large scroll of parchment.

'When I call your name, please come forward and put on the hat,' she said. 'Ackerley, Jonathan!'

'Ravenclaw!' shouted the hat, and Jonathan went and sat down at the second table from the left.

'Avery, Jacob!'

One of the boys that had been shadowing Snape on the train, the one who James had noticed looking slightly nervous walked forward, with a bored expression on his face.

'Slytherin!' screamed the hat, and Avery made his way over to the Slytherin table.

'Bennett, Deborah!'

'Hufflepuff!'

'Black, Sirius!' A pale-faced Sirius ran forward, and placed the hat on his head. Then after about ten seconds…

'Gryffindor!' and a very relieved-looking Sirius went and sat on his own at the Gryffindor table.

Next came Lily. She was also made a Gryffindor, and went to sit next to Sirius.

'Carter, Anna!' then became a Slytherin.

Slowly, the line of people at the front got shorter.

Katie was also made a Gryffindor, and went to sit with Sirius and Lily.

'Lestrange, José,' the other boy that had been with Snape on the train was also made a Slytherin.

'Longbottom, Frank!'

'Gryffindor!' James could see Sirius, Lily and Katie welcoming Frank, and he began to start feeling very nervous.

'Lupin, Remus!' No one moved.

'Lupin, Remus!' Again there was no reply. All around the hall, people were whispering to each other with puzzled expressions.

At that moment, however, a short witch, who could only be the school nurse, as she had a red cross on her hat, crossed the hall and whispered something into Professor McGonagall's ear. Professor McGonagall seemed satisfied, however, and continued down her list. Peter was also made a Gryffindor, and then, she came to…

'Potter, James!'

James walked forwards, and placed the hat on his head.

'Let me see,' said a voice at the back of his head. 'A left-hander, eh? Sinister … no … I can't see anything for Slytherin in here. Courage, yes, and talent, lots of talent. Ravenclaw? No … intelligence, a degree of mischief … yes, I concur. It can only be Gryffindor!'

James, now feeling dazedly content, and still chuckling at the Sorting Hat's analogy, made his way over to his new house table to join Sirius, Lily and the others.

'Nice one James.' whispered Sirius, grinning.

After the rest of the new students had been sorted (Snape was made a Slytherin, much to nobody's surprise), and the Sorting Hat had finished its task by loudly announcing 'Stableford, Andrew!' as a 'Hufflepuff!' and 'Xavier, Jésus!' as, eventually, a 'Ravenclaw!' Dumbledore stood up.

'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts.' He began, 'there are a few notices I must give you all before the feast. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all pupils, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all students in first and second year. Yes, Mr Vaughn, I said all pupils,' he added, his eyes twinkling as he looked to the Gryffindor table.

'Also, I would like to draw your attention to a new hazard within the school grounds. A Whomping Willow has been planted for certain imperative reasons. I needn't warn those older students amongst you how dangerous Whomping Willows are, as I'm sure your rapt attention in Herbology lessons would suffice to give you the answer.' He paused as a number of people snickered around the Great Hall. 'Anybody caught within the vicinity of the Willow will be punished.

'And finally, Quidditch trials and flying lessons will begin next week. Anyone interested in playing House Quidditch should contact Madam Hooch as soon as possible. Remember that the Quidditch cup is a great honour to whichever house should receive it. Thank you.' He sat down.

The subsequent feast was incredible. James certainly ate well at home, but even if his mother worked for weeks she would be hard pushed to give him such variety. There were huge platters of every kind of meat under the sun; chicken, turkey, lamb (a/n Shudder), beef, pork chops. Even something that looked like roasted antelope. There were also copious variations of potatoes scattered around. Fried, boiled, mashed, baked, sautéed … James could barely keep count.

And that was just the beginning. Tureens of vegetables and thick gravy stood at every few places along the table. And there were a number of condiments, herbs and spices easily accessible. James also had a large number of drinks to choose from. There was traditional pumpkin juice, a wizarding specialty, but also chilled water, various other types of juices, and what looked and tasted precisely like the Muggle drink lemonade. Lily almost fainted when she heard that its colloquial name was 'troll sweat', and was given profuse apologies by a sixth year who explained that this name had little if anything to do with the actual contents of the drink.

There was a lot of chatter going on around James at the table. Most of the first years were chatting about their impending lessons and or Quidditch practice. Lily, however, was glancing at James, who was at that particular moment drinking a goblet of water.

'What?' he asked amusedly.

'Are you left-handed?' Lily asked, sounding impressed and awestruck.

'Yeah. Why's that so amazing?'

'Oh, it's just quite rare, that's all, or so I've read,' Lily replied. 'So, what lessons are you looking forward to?'

'Right at this moment, Lily, I just can't wait to get into bed …'

*

Later that night, Sirius, James, Lily and Peter sat up in the Gryffindor common room. Nearly everyone had gone to bed, but the four friends were enthusiastically discussing what Hogwarts was going to be like.

'I can't wait for flying lessons,' said James. 'I love Quidditch.'

'I don't' replied Peter.

'Don't worry Peter,' said Lily soothingly, 'you'll be-'

But what Peter would be they never found out, because at that moment, the portrait hole opened, and a boy with a face the pallor of snow entered the common room.

'Hi,' he said looking around at them, 'I'm Remus Lupin.'

'Oh, nice to meet you, Remus,' said Sirius, grinning at Frank, who smirked. Remus, if it was possible, blanched further.

'What? Think my name's funny, do you? Sirius Black?' He laughed coldly. 'That's not a name. It's just a failed colour.' Sirius' face went red. James, sensing danger, stood up. He didn't like the way this conversation was going.

'Hi,' he said, holding out his hand to greet Remus, and giving Sirius a warning look. 'I'm James. This is, er, Lily. That's Peter and that's Sirius. Dammit, there are too many names to remember.' Remus surveyed James interestedly.

'Nice to meet you, Mr Potter,' Remus answered formally, taking James' hand. He sighed. 'I'm very tired,' he said. 'Busy day. I'm off to bed. Where's our dorm?'

'Right at the top,' Lily replied, without skipping a beat.

'Thanks,' Remus replied, showing what looked like a true smile. 'I just –

'Do I know you from somewhere?' James asked interestedly. He knew he'd seen Remus before somewhere.

'I doubt it,' Remus replied. 'I was just about to say –'

'Why'd you miss the Sorting?' Sirius interrupted. A shiver crossed Remus' face.

'Late – missed the train,' he replied, though he avoided eye contact with any of them. 'Anyways, I'm shattered. See you people later.' And he left the common room, soon to be followed by Peter, Sirius, Lily and James.

As James climbed into bed that evening, he thought hard again. Remus had appeared somewhere before, hadn't he? He shook his head, bade Sirius good night (he was still reading his book), and fell asleep. And he had no dreams involving a very small, petrified child, or a large, horrific beast, with no affinity whatsoever for the full, orb-shaped planet taking centre stage in the starry night sky.

D'accord. There you are. Now, most of you must have noticed that this is not the original Blue Unicorn. I've actually just gone through and beta-ed it all, basically. I was, er, bored. I rarely put in disclaimers, and you all know that HP and all its rights belong to J. K. Rowling. I own … let's see … Katie, James' parents, the plot (which isn't really much) and the shifty Professors. See you, peeps.

Ciao