Prologue: The Letter

Before the story of 'The Boy Who Lived', there was another story.
One of trust and friendship,
bravery and deceit.

Broken vows extending through time
could not have torn through the concrete wall
of the friendship they once had.

This is the story of the four legendary boys;
one a hero inside of a child,
another a family outcast;
one a monster within himself,
and lastly one who would betray them all.

The four practically grew up together,
helping each other when they fell:
a resting shoulder.
Risking their lives to help a friend
and equally saving each other's lives.

You are passing through
A Window to the Past,
And trust me, my friend;
You may never want to leave.

A howl pierced through the night sky, interrupting any thought of sleeping that James Potter may have had otherwise. His eyes shot open instantly and he found himself lying on his pillow in bed, safe from any harm. He sighed in relief and sat upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He picked his glasses up from the bedside cabinet beside his bed and slid them onto his thin face. Glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner of his room, he read 2:40, which was far too early for anyone to be up.

He slid easily out of his bed sheets and walked across the hardwood floor, out of the bedroom. Stealing a lone-lit candle from its stand, he walked through the deserted hallway and down the creaking staircase into the kitchen. He set the candle onto the counter and took a glass from the cupboard, which he proceeded to fill with water and drink.

Wiping off his mouth on the sleeve of his pajamas, James stole a quick look out of the window about the kitchen sink. A bright full moon lit up the night sky, casting dark, eerie shadows around his house and all of the other houses around his. The tombstones in the square in the center of the small village seemed to shimmer off of the light providing by the luminous orb, giving off the impression of ghosts rising from their eternal graves. James shuddered and looked up at the moon once more.

He blinked in surprise: something was silhouetted against the full moon. It was coming closer and closer when James realized it was an owl, its great wings flapping against the wind.

He opened the window when the owl came closer and allowed the creature to fly into his home. The large, gray barn owl rested itself on the counter and looked up at James with its round, golden eyes before letting out a loud screech.

"Shush!" James hissed at the crazy thing. He spotted the letter tied to the bird's leg and tried to untie it, only to be pecked at.

"Ouch!" he put his bleeding finger into his mouth. "Menace…." He muttered, opening the family change jar, which held spare sickles and knuts for whenever they were needed. He took out a silver sickle and slipped it safe into the owl's knapsack. He was usually not so cross with owls, but he was tired and wanted to return to his bed.

This time, the owl made no attempt to keep him from the letter as he untied it from its leg and allowed the bird to fly away again. He flipped the letter over to the front and read:

Mr. J. Potter
Number 13
Godric's Hollow

The letter was addressed to him, but why?

He flipped the envelope over again and saw a strange seal bearing an even stranger coat of arms. The seal had four pictures on it: one of a badger, one of an eagle, one of a lion, and one of a snake. A large letter "H" separated each of them.

He recognized this seal. He had seen it before so many times. Excitement swelled up in the pit of his stomach as he ripped the envelope open. Two papers fell to the floor. Bending down, he picked one up and unfolded it with excited hands. He knew exactly what it was.

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 been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

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

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

James felt his stomach do a back flip, he was so happy! He had known that he was going to receive his letter! He had! "Mum! Dad!"

A/N- Harry Potter and friends and everything else you recognize do not belonging to me as they are the property and creations of J.K. Rowling...but of course you knew that was coming!

My name is Beansie and I am currently a senior in high school. I first became interested in the Marauder Era backstory when I finished reading the third book for the first time. I began to write this story when I was in the sixth grade and have tirelessly spent the last six years rewriting it and perfecting it to my standards. I apologize if some do no not find it appealing, but overall I am personally satisfied with the work. I believe that it is a story that needs to be told and I am going to try to tell their story to the best of my abilities.

I am currently rewriting it to be canon with the final installment of the Harry Potter series, Deathly Hallows, and I must confess that I am sadly behind schedule. A few chapters are missing, but I hope that that does not discourage anyone from continuing because those will all be brand new chapters. Other chapters appear out of order, but that is only where I placed them in the new outline and I have not editted them yet. I apologize. I had deleted all of the chapters to this story and was slowly rereleasing them, but people missed the old chapters, so I reuploaded them. Many people are now complaining about my unorganized mess of chapters. I am at loss of what I should do! If many more continue, I shall probably take them down again and leave them down until new chapters are up. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I am a hopeless perfectionist. The entire outline is not prepared yet, but the first ninety-five chapters are, or a few chapters into the sixth year, with many new chapters installed into the original story to make it more enjoyable and understandable. I hope it helps!

And so without any further ado, I give you the Lost Legacy of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs...