Before the Storm

Chapter 1

"Was it Real?"

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June 21

It was sometime after midnight when James Potter finally went to bed. He'd spent the entire night in solitude, trying to get over the disappointment. Ever since he'd turned eleven three months ago, he'd been anxiously awaiting this day. Now, that day had come and gone with no difference. James Potter was now the only member of his family that did not get accepted to Hogwarts. He was the only member of the family that was a squib. James sighed. He had hoped for this his whole life, and now it all seemed to be a waste. Suddenly, his father's voice rang out from downstairs, "Jamie! Get down here quickly!" James trotted down the stairs, expecting some distant family member. For that was the only time his father ever rushed him, other than that he knew James was a tad bit slow.

"Yes Dad?" James replied, desperately trying to flatten the stubborn black hair he'd inherited from his father. His father smiled broadly as he handed him a thick piece of parchment. James's heart leapt. Could it be? He accepted the letter from his father with trembling fingers. There in green ink, were the words he'd waited his whole life to read,

Dear Mr. James Potter,

It is with great pleasure that we inform you of your acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

James's face lit up. Never in his life had been this happy. "I'm in!" James exclaimed brightly, beaming at his mother and father. "I'm in!" James did a series of cartwheels around the room, until he tripped over the small coffee table and landed rather hard, on his bottom. James smiled sheepishly at his parents. He got up quickly rubbing his bottom as he did so. "I'm in?" His father laughed as his mother enveloped him a giant hug. "Good for you son!"

***

Young Sirius Black sat firmly on the trunk refusing to budge. He completely ignored the muffled thumps and yells coming from inside it. His younger sister Seanna had stolen his Hogwarts letter, and Sirius has spent the better part of the hour trying to get it back from her. When that did not work, Sirius merely picked her up, tossed her in his trunk, and sat on it. It didn't matter that she had the letter. Sirius had her... in the trunk.

As Sirius's father, Shane Black passed by; he couldn't help but notice the evil smirk on his son's face. "Sirius? Everything okay?" Sirius's expression quickly changed to, what he called "the innocent as the day I was born" or what his father referred to as "proof of the devil". Sirius never quite managed to look very innocent. "Yes Dad," Sirius replied, with what he hoped was an innocent grin on his face.

"Did you get your Hogwarts letter, son?"

Sirius nodded.

"Didn't get to read it though, Sea took it."

His father nodded.

"And ah where is Sea?"

Sirius shrugged as his trunk shook.

"No idea. Perhaps you should ask mum."

Shane Black shook his head. "You get an E for effort, Sirius. Now let her out." With much reluctance Sirius slid off the trunk. Seanna climbed out grumbling, and handed Sirius his letter. She stuck her tongue out at him, causing Sirius to trip her as she walked by. "Si, Se!" Their father yelled, thinking that his nicknames were clever. Both children groaned.

"Read it Sirius!" Seanna said impatiently tapping her foot. Sirius cleared his throat and read the words appearing on the parchment in green ink.

Dear Mr. Sirius Black,

We are pleased to inform you of your acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Sirius grinned happily. "I'm in!"

Seanna sighed. "Poor them."

***

Remus Lupin sat on the edge of his bed, reading some odd Muggle novel is aunt had given him. It made no sense really; Remus hated reading anything that didn't involve magic. Muggles novels, in his opinion were quite irritating. Yet, he read to take his mind off what today was, the day Hogwarts acceptance letters arrived. Remus sighed, a depressed ball forming in the pit of his stomach. He focused on his uncle's words, about Albus Dumbledore being the kindest and most understanding headmaster at Hogwarts, and his mothers prompting to remain positive. None of it worked. Remus had to face the facts: No headmaster in his right mind would let a werewolf into Hogwarts.

Remus had been just 4 years old when he received the bite, and since then he'd never known a normal life. He not only had to deal with the guilt he felt about putting his mother in danger every month, but also the fact that his father died because of him. His mother oft told him she didn't blame him, that it was God' will. But Remus always blamed himself. If he hadn't gone out that night, he wouldn't have been bitten, his father wouldn't have come out looking for him, his father wouldn't be dead today, and he wouldn't be a werewolf.

Without warning, an owl landed on his head. "Stupid bir-" Remus stopped short. "Owls bring Hogwarts letters. This is an owl. It has my Hogwarts letter. He checked the bird once more, just to make sure that it was an owl. He ripped the letter off its foot and read the green script eagerly.

Dear Mr. Remus Lupin,

It is with great pleasure that we inform you of your acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

"Whoo!" Remus yelled happily, as he rushed downstairs to show his mother. "Guess Dumbledore isn't in his right mind!"

***

Peter Pettigrew backed cautiously away from the owl. He didn't care what his grandfather said. Owls weren't nice, and as far as disposition went, this one looked down right menacing. But as Peter backed away, the owl flew closer. It kept coming until Peter backed right into the counter, knocking over his mother's collection of books. "Ah!" Peter screamed.

His grandfather, Davis Pettigrew came rushing in.

"Peter? Is everything all right?" Peter, just shook his head and with a shaking finger pointed to the owl. Davis sighed. "Oh Pete it won't kill you!" He quickly untied the letter the owl held and scanned its contents. "Pete! You're in!"

For a minute Peter looked confused. "In what?" Davis shook his head and handed the letter to Peter.

"Read!"

Peter's eyes widened as he carefully read the words on the parchment.

Dear Mr. Peter Pettigrew,

We are pleased to inform you of your acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Peter's face broke into a broad grin, as he sunk into the kitchen chair. "I'm in!"

Davis Pettigrew shook his head. "And you're sitting in my peanut butter sandwich too. "

***

Lily Evans sat cross-legged on the floor absently staring at the TV, as her older sister, Petunia combed her dark red hair. Lily knew Petunia's greatest envy was her red hair and green eyes, the features that Lily had inherited from her great-grandmother. Petunia had pale blonde hair and blue eyes like everyone else in the family. Lily sighed. Her great grandmother had been an amazing person. She was well, Lily couldn't think of any word to describe her other than magical. The woman had an amazing aura. Lily felt as though she'd lost one of her best friends when she died two years ago, at the age of one hundred and four.

Lily sighed and stared up at the clock. She'd been sitting in this exact same position for two hours strait. She doubted she'd ever be able to stand normally again, that was until an owl landed on her coffee table. Petunia screamed as she ran from the room. Lily, who'd always had an infatuation with owls, carefully stroked it, before noticing the small letter tied to its leg. Lily quickly relieved the bird of its burden. She then opened the letter, as her parents rushed into the room, looking for "the bomb" that had scared Petunia.

Lily's wide green eyes scanned the parchment in amazement.

Dear Ms. Lily Evans,

It is with the utmost pleasure that we inform you of your acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Lily stared up at her father. "I'm a witch?"

Her mother's eyes lit up. "Looks like her appearance wasn't the only thing Lil got from her great grand mother."

***

September 22

James Potter could hardly believe that he'd been at Hogwarts for three weeks. It seemed as though he'd just gotten on the train. In the short three weeks, James felt as though he'd learned enough to get him into the ministry. This of course, as his mother pointed out in the last letter, was obviously not true. Still, James felt at ease here. Performing spells came easily to him, and to his surprise, James found himself excelling in classes. Of course, he wasn't nearly as good as some of the other first years... at least when it came to regular classes. In the only practical class they had, "Learning to Fly" with Madam Hooch, James was easily the best. He was a natural born flier. Even Madam Hooch had no criticisms to make. She simply beamed whenever James was flying.

While James's classes were satisfactory enough, some of the people in Hogwarts definitely weren't. James had already found an enemy in Severus Snape, a first year Slytherin boy. Snape was a greasy haired slime ball, who thought he was better than everyone. In James's opinion, the only thing Snape had over everyone else was his abnormally large nose.

There was also the matter of his dorm mates. James couldn't stand any one of them. Peter Pettigrew, was an accident waiting to happen. In 3 weeks, the melted 6 cauldrons, caused a buffalo to fall on Professor Flitwick, and managed to break his wand... twice. James wasn't quite sure how Peter made it into Gryffindor, let alone Hogwarts. He suspected there had to be a great deal of money involved. His other dorm mate was Remus Lupin. James supposed Remus could have been nice, if he ever talked. He was much too quiet for James's liking. Remus seemed the type to stay in the Common room and study during Christmas break, definitely something James would never be caught dead doing. Last, and the largest of James's problems was one Mr. Sirius Black. James wasn't quite sure he'd ever met anyone this annoying. Sirius was loud, obnoxious, klutzy, and was constantly playing pranks. He'd caught James twice already. James fixed a glare in Sirius's direction. He was on the other side of the common room, undoubtedly planning another prank. James smiled to himself as he unrolled a spare bit a parchment, one of his most brilliant ideas forming. He hastily scribbled a diagram on the paper, covering it so that only he could see it. James smirked. "Sirius won't have any idea what hit him."

***

Severus Snape sat in the corner of the Slytherin dungeons reading, The Founders, a book some Gryffindor girl had dropped as she left Potions. The girl was no doubt of Muggle parentage. The information found in this book was trivial. There was nothing of use. The book, masked over the dark aspects of the founders. Including the real reason why the great Salazar Slytherin had left. Severus's father told him it occurred just after a fight with Godric Gryffindor. The fight had left Slytherin bloody, mangled, and barely alive. Just before he died, Slytherin vowed that his true heir would destroy the entire Gryffindor line, as well as anyone around him. When Severus had asked about the context of the prophecy, his father had merely shrugged. "The prophecy will only be revealed through the chosen Seer."

Severus sighed contentedly. Happy that he was put into the most magnificent house in Hogwarts. He cared not about what that James Potter or Sirius Black said. Gryffindor was nothing compared to Slytherin. They would all see that soon, he sincerely hoped.

***

"Sirius, you are amazing."

Sirius Black stared that the mirror in the boys' toilets, waiting for his next victim to run in. He sighed wistfully. If only it could be James Potter. Sirius didn't know what it was, but something about that boy irked him. He was such a... perfectionist. It was quite irritating to be awakened at 5:15 every morning to the sound of someone making his bed or reading Quidditch Through the Ages. It was, in so many words, bloody annoying. Sirius had already caught James with a prank twice, and was aiming for his third. As he daydreamed about the horrified look on James's face, the door swung open and a short, chubby boy ran in. Sirius laughed heartily. His little Prank had worked better than he planned. The short boy (who he recognized as Peter Pettigrew, the boy who shared his dorm) was covered from head to toe in honey and chicken feathers. Sirius whistled happily as he casually strolled out of the bathroom, and waltzed back into the common room. As soon as he got in, none other than James Potter accosted him.

"Are you STUPID, Sirius? What if that boy had been allergic to one of those things? You could have killed him."

Sirius glared. "He would have gone to Madam Pomfrey! You're the only git who would have sat there and itched to death."

James gaped at him. Sirius merely shook his head. Sirius had probably just pulled off one of the greatest pranks of all time, and all James could do was ramble about allergies.

"You know what Potter? Mind your own business. Stay out of it. You had nothing to do with it!"

James glared. "Only a fool would do something that stupid."

"And only a fool, would poke his nose where it doesn't belong." With that, Sirius stomped out of the common room, leaving James glaring after him.

***

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, thoughtfully sucking on a lemon drop. Lily Evens, one of the new Muggle born first years, had left in his office when she'd come to ask him about her grandmother. Lily's mother had told her that she and Albus had gone to school together and that Albus had been just a few years a head of her. Now, Albus was rather addicted to these Muggle sweets.

He began thinking about the great feats one could accomplish with lemon drops, about the money he could make for Hogwarts, when there was a sudden sharp rapping on the door. Dumbledore recognized the rap at once.

"Minerva! M'dear come in, come in! Have a..."

Dumbledore stopped his friendly chatter at once, upon seeing the severe look on Minerva's face.

"Albus, Sybil has fainted. She's having seizures and calling out... these words in a completely different language... sounds like Parseltongue... and-"

but Minerva McGonagall did not get to finish her sentence. Dumbledore had already begun the journey to the Divination Tower.

***

Sybil Trelawney saw things she did not wish to see. Horrible things. Death. Anguish. Despair. The last scene... the Grim! Was it her time? Was it her time? Then suddenly, light. Soft light. Heavenly light. The crying of an infant. Red hair. There was so much of it. So much... pain. Then Albus's voice broke in.

"Sybil what is it? What do you see?"

Sybil opened her mouth to respond, but the voice that came out was not her own.

The time is near

The Serpent awakens

Before long an heir will rise

Unmatched for a decade

Pain, horror, death lies in his wake

Only power stands before

Beware the friend

Who carries esoteric ambitions

Power is a fickle friend

Destroy those enemies

The babe shall bring the end

With that, Sybil passed out on the floor of the Divination classroom.

Minerva stared at Albus. "Did she just make a prediction?"

Albus nodded, just slightly.

"I think. But was it real?"