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Fighting Together


The moment Sirius started crying as he stood there before the Marauders, his head all shorn and horrible - which only took about fifteen seconds of that ringing, terrible silence before he realized neither James or Peter could think of anything to say to the sight of his hacked head - James threw his textbook across the bed and got up. “Excuse me,” he said, grabbing his wand from the night stand, “I have something I’ve got to do.” He pushed past Remus and Sirius, out the dormitory door.

“James --” Remus tried, but James was gone before Remus could even attempt much more than a half-hearted plea. He couldn’t very well have done much more than that, not with any meaning. He wanted to go after them, too, but rght now -- being with Sirius was his most important thing. He turned to Sirius, “C’mon,” he whispered. “Let’s get you into bed.” Sirius nodded. “I’ll hold you.”

“What if -- what -- Snuffles -- his hair -- is it -- what if --”

Remus gently patted Sirius’s back, “Shh, one step at a time, love… one step at a time.” He kissed the back of Sirius’s neck gently, then he smiled and he said, “I’m not going to lie, being able to reach this part of you isn’t all bad…”

Sirius didn’t reply.

Peter cleared his throat, “It doesn’t look dreadful,” he said, trying to be helpful.

“Yes it does,” Sirius said, “It looks worse than dreadful.” He climbed into the bed. “Don’t bleedin’ look at me. Any of you.” he grabbed the duvet and yanked it up over his head.

Remus sighed and looked at Peter with an apology on his face, then he hurried to crawl up behind Sirius and he wrapped his arms around the duvet-covered lump. “I’m here,” Remus said.

“Ok. Just don’t look at me,” came Sirius’s voice from under the blankets.




James went marching down the stairs to the common room with purpose to his step, his focus singularly on the door and his mission, wand in his fist. He was already out of the portrait hole and into the corridor beyond when Lily Evans came scrambling up beside him, “Potter. What’s happened? Where are you going? Is Sirius alright? Does he need mending? I know a few healing charms I could give you. Do you know who’s done it? Are you going to Dumbledore?”

“Out of my way Evans,” James replied shortly.

Lily scrambled along with him, “James.”

“I’m going to bloody kill the bastard that’s hurt him,” James replied. “I intend to hex him so hard that they’ll be looking for the ruddy dust of him before I’m done, and they’ll never bloody find it because I’ll have scattered it to the bleedin’ wind.” He continued walking, then, “And no offense, Evans, but I don’t particularly need a prefect there to witness it as I’d rather get away with it, the same as he’s gotten away with what he’s bleedin’ done…”

Who?” Lily asked.

“Evan Rosier and his bloody little gang of cockroaches,” James answered. They were on the stairs, heading down…

Lily said, “How do you know it was --”

“Because that’s who’s done all the shit to Remus, too,” James said, and he only just barely caught himself from walking over the edge of a split staircase and he cursed loudly in frustration at having to wait for the moving second half to return. His jaw was set and he looked quite furious.

Lily used her moment with him to ask, “Is he okay?”

James looked away.

“I mean, it’s just hair, it grows back,” Lily said.

“It’s Sirius’s hair,” James said. “It’s not just hair to Sirius Black. They’ve taken a part of him, part of who he is. He’s up there in that dormitory crying. Sirius Black is crying.” He said this part of it with emphasis. She shook his head, “Nobody makes Sirius Black cry. Nobody.”

“He’s crying?” Lily’s eyes widened… softened.

“Yes. Sobbing.” James leaped forward as the second half of the stair came up to where it belonged and he felt Lily start after him again. “I can’t be having that.”

Lily hurried alongside James.

James looked over at her. “Evans, for real,” he said, “If you come with me, you help me… Answer, are you in or out?”

“Oh I am so bloody in, Potter,” Lily answered.

And so they walked together purposefully through the castle.




Evan Rosier had run frantically out of the toilet, down the hallway and into the crisp air in the Ravenclaw courtyard, where he’d slammed himself into a bench to regroup. He’d never expected the truly terrifying version of Remus Lupin that had turned upon him back there… Who had known that Remus Lupin had it in him to do all of that? To tower with a formidable energy as he’d done - to produce such forceful and strong magic without saying a single incantation…?

Evan Rosier’s gang had split directions, only part of them had followed after him - so it was that it was Rosier, Mulciber, Avery, and Snape outside under that tree, Rosier flung onto a bench as Snape paced, muttering to himself, as Mulciber and Avery stood to one side, trying to sound tough as they talked about what had happened…

Snape suddenly turned on Rosier, “You can’t for a moment think that they won’t go to their head of house.” He glared at Evan.

Evan looked up at Severus with cold anger in his eyes. “I really don’t care if they do.”

“You will. When they tell McGonagall what happened and she does the priori incantatem on your wand.” Snape glared at Rosier. “You’ll care when you’re expelled and the Dark Lord’s anger flares up against you.”

Rosier looked up. He hadn’t even thought of that. He glared at Severus, not wanting to seem weak, he lied, “I’m not afraid of the bleedin’ Dark Lord.”

“You should be,” Snape hissed. “He possesses powers you know nothing of.”

Rosier paled.




James pulled the Marauders’ Map from his pocket, rapping it with his wand, “I solemnly swear I am up to no good,” he said as he continued on down the stairs, Lily Evans right behind him. He ran his eyes over the Map hurriedly.

“There,” Lily pointed to the Ravenclaw Courtyard, where she’d spotted Rosier’s name before James could. “Rosier, Mulciber, Avery, and --” her breath caught in her throat.

“Snape.”

“He couldn’t possibly. Severus would never do that to someone,” Lily stammered.

James looked at Lily with a raised eyebrow.

“He wouldn’t. He isn’t evil like those other boys are. He - he wouldn’t have --” She looked shocked.

James shrugged, “Why else would he be hanging out with them?” He quickly set course for the courtyard, Lily running beside him again as she hurried to catch up, her breath still weak from seeing Severus Snape’s name in connection with these horrible bullies… James said, “Snape isn’t as bleedin’ innocent as you always think he is, Evans, maybe this’ll show you that.”

“I never thought he was innocent, I just --” she stopped mid-sentence because she realized she had always tried to make excuses for Severus Snape...

As they emerged into the courtyard, James spotted Rosier under the same tree that he’d been at on the day when he and Sirius had turned the bully into a cockroach and he sped up, adrenaline running into his veins, practically setting him on fire… Then to James’s surprise, Lily Evans ran ahead of him, her wand out, and she ran right up to Severus Snape and she lifted her palm and slapped him across the face. James skid to a stop, his eyes wide as Severus stood there, his eyes closed, face turned from the impact of Lily’s strike.

Rosier sat up on the bench and Mulciber and Avery turned to see what happened. James raised his wand and aimed it at them, and bounded to Lily’s side, effectively standing between them and her, just in case.

Severus took a moment to gather himself, then he looked into her face as he raised his hand up to his smarting cheek. “What was that for?”

“You know what that was for! You hexed Sirius Black!”

Severus took a deep breath. “First of all, I did not hex Sirius Black. Unfortunately, that honor did not fall to me. Was Rosier that’s done that. So your detective skills of yours are sorely lacking.”

Rosier was getting up - Mulciber and Avery falling into line behind him as they started toward them. Rosier had a twisted look to his mouth as he looked past James at Lily.

“Were you there when it happened? Did you stop it?” Lily demanded.

Severus stared at her.

Not stopping it is just as bad as doing it,” she hissed. She stared at him, then her eyes flicked over James’s shoulder at the other three coming closer. “You’re scaring me, Sev.”

“Scaring you?”

“With the way you’re acting,” Lily said. “The way your eyes are right now…” They were stone cold, perfectly black.

“Hey Mudblood, you better step off.” Rosier said, grinning as he stopped just a couple feet away from where James stood.

Lily’s voice was a razor. “Do not call me that,” she said, fire in her eyes.

“What you are ain’t it? Mudblood,” Rosier repeated.

James stepped closer to him so that his wand tip pressed into Rosier’s chest, “Now, now Rosier… she’s only just asked you not to call her that. Perhaps you ought to learn to show a little respect for the lady?”

Rosier looked down at his wand and then back up to his eyes. “You lot do like defending your girly friends don’t you?”

James narrowed his eyes, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Black with his Puffer Fish… the Puffer Fish with his Pretty Little Bitch… and you now with the Mudblood…” Evan Rosier smirked. “Who’s going to come to your rescue, Potter? Certainly not that fat little git that tags around you everywhere? Pettigrew? That would be a laugh!” Avery and Mulciber both snickered at the thought of it.

“Peter would defend me if he had to,” James said, knowing it was true because Peter had done it before. Perhaps reluctantly, but he had done it. “We stand up for each other because we have each other’s backs and when someone hurts one of us, they hurt us all. It’s called friendship, you daft bastard. I understand you don’t recognize it, seeing as your cowardly croneys probably don’t share the same sort of loyalty that my friends and I do… and you’re too stupid to learn it, but --”

And it started.

Rosier waved his arm very suddenly as James was talking, swiping his wand away from his chest, and waved his own, knocking James to one side and turning to Lily. He jabbed his wand her direction, sending her sprawling to the ground with a cry. Snape turned to Rosier as he stepped between Rosier and Lily Evans and James leaped to his feet and joined Snape before her and the two of them looked at each other for a moment - a strange uncertainty going through them but the sound of Lily’s shriek still seared both of their ears and an understanding went through them that neither was going to let Lily Evans get hurt and for just this one moment, they were united - fighting together - as they turned on Evan Rosier.

Rosier, Mulciber, and Avery all three looked surprised by this turn in events as Severus and James both stepped together toward them, but the three of them adjusted tactics and the duel continued - people looking from all over the courtyard, from windows and parapets and over ledges from the second floor… Lily scrambled to her feet and rushed forward to help, coming between the two boys with her wand raised and assisting…

Sparks flew back and forth, a lot of pomp and circumstance as both teams blocked most of the spells being sent across so that there was sparks and cracks and hisses but no real damage being done until finally, Rosier had his moment where the two boys were both engaged with Mulciber and Avery and Rosier himself focused on Lily Evans and with a grin he stepped forward, separating her from the other two, making her back up as he shot great stone-cracking hexes toward her feet, making her dance away from him, still slashing the air, trying to stupefy him, but he blocked each one. “Expelliarmus,” Lily tried, “Stupefy!” but he blocked both of those, too, and suddenly her back hit the wall of Ravenclaw tower, so that she had nowhere further to go, and Rosier grabbed her wand arm with a quick snatch of his hand, raising it up over her head as he stepped closer, pinning it against the stone so her wand was aimed straight up instead of at him.

He grinned and stared at her as she struggled to get her wrist away from him and he laughed, looking her over, “Well you are a pretty little thing, for a mudblood, I suppose I understand Snape’s obsession with you now that I have a good look at you.” He stepped even closer until his body was practically pressed against hers and she turned her face, repulsed, as he leaned in as though to kiss her or something… and just before his mouth could come to rest on her face, when he was as close as he could possibly get… Lily raised her knee as hard as she possibly could, right into Evan Rosier’s crotch. It sent him screaming to the ground.

Petrificus Totalus,” she hissed and he was frozen in place, grabbing onto himself in yowling pain. “That was for myself - and for Remus Lupin - and for Sirius Black,” she snapped, “Maybe in the future you’ll respect other people a bit more and keep your filthy hands off what doesn’t belong to you.” She started to walk away, then she paused and looked down at him again, “How does it feel to have been beaten up by a girl -- a mudblood girl, no less?”

Lily stepped around him, running back to help Severus and James, but seeing what had just happened to Rosier, Mulciber disengaged from James and bolted to the nearest door - the library entrance, and disappeared inside. James turned to Avery, who was still fighting Snape and as he stepped up, Avery realized it was the three of them against him and he raised his hands in surrender, sliding his wand into his pocket at his chest.

Snape kept his wand trained on Avery moment, even as James and Lily lowered theirs in respect to the surrender.

“You’re a fool, Snape,” said Avery, “Defending a mudblood like that? What will the Dark Lord say to that?”

Severus kept his jaw level.

Avery looked at Lily Evans. “You’ll be sorry for what you’ve done, attacking purebloods like an insolent little brat. We won’t forget, Mudblood.”

“Shut your stupid face, Avery,” James snapped.

Severus waved his wand threateningly, reminding Avery he had it trained upon him still.

Avery shut up then, and, still holding his palms up in surrender, he stepped around Snape very carefully, and headed over to where Rosier still lay, clutching himself just as Lily had left him.

Snape lowered his wand and turned to face James and Lily, his dark eyes shining from behind strands of thick greasy hair that had fallen into his face in the duel. Both James and Severus were panting hard, having exerted all of their energy in the fight.

Lily looked between them. She smiled, “There we are,” she said breathlessly, “We - we won. And look at you two, fighting together, like friends!”

Severus stared at James a moment, and James right back at him. They silently agreed in the expression of their eyes to let the other walk away - for now - under the circumstances. But this was in no way them becoming friends. In fact, quite the opposite, there was now a surge of understanding that both of them would fight to the death for Lily Evans, and there she stood, equidistant between them, as far from Severus as she was from James, out of reach of them both.

Severus turned and walked away without saying a word.