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The Rescue


It would be a lie to say that James Potter did not fantasize about just letting Severus Snape be killed by the werewolf, even as he ran down the moving staircase at full tilt, his breath coming out in great gasps of panic. How much simpler it would be to just turn his face and ignore what was to come! The horrible person that Snape was, spreading rumors and telling secrets and lies and breaking apart James’s every dream of being with Lily Evans… always getting in the way… Oh it would be so easy to just let him have it, let nature take it’s course…

But it wasn’t right.

Nobody deserved to die.

Not even his nemesis.

And so it was up to him - James Potter - to stop this idiotic plan before it got out of hand, before someone got hurt.

Damn it Sirius, he thought as he raced down the last of the moving staircases, headed for the stone stairs that led down to the entrance hall, What do you have to be such an idiot for? This is the stupidest idea you’ve ever had! Even stupider than the motorbikes, stupider than going after Voldemort in first year, stupider than all of it combined!

Clearly, Sirius hadn’t been thinking straight.

Blinded by anger, blinded by passion to protect his Moony…

Isn’t it ironic, Sirius, James thought as he raced down the stairs toward the front doors, That the very thing you’re doing to try to stop Snape from taking him away from you may be exactly the thing that makes you lose him?

Suddenly there was a croaky voice behind him, “And where do you think yer going at this hour of the bleedin’ night?!”

James turned to see Argus Filch, holding a mop and dragging a bucket on wheels along behind him, staring across the entrance hall at him.

“Sorry Filch, but --” James aimed his wand, “Stupefy!” The caretaker had started to run forward and when James’s spell struck him he fell to the stones, his mop and bucket tipping over, a wave of dirty soap water splashing over the freshly mopped entrance hall floor. “Bloody hell,” James gasped at himself, “We might as well just move our dormitories into McGonagall’s office at this rate, we’re never getting out of detention again.” And he ducked hurriedly out the door onto the moonlit grounds.

The Whomping Willow was still, and he ran as fast as he could, his legs burning with the strain of it as he bulleted down the path toward the great tree, his breath searing his lungs. He could see the tunnel door open, and he ran for it. The tree suddenly reanimated, only seconds after James had passed beneath it’s branches and with a great swooping, it grabbed hold of him, one of the branches sweeping about his waist and swinging him off the ground. “WHOAAAAAAAAAAA!” James cried out as it lifted him up off the ground and he clawed at the bark of the branch, trying to unlatch it from him, but the grip was strong and he felt his glasses slide off his face and they disappeared in the darkness. He drew his wand, desperately. “PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!” he bellowed, aiming the wand at the tree’s trunk as it swept it’s him low and the tree froze, the velocity it had been moving at sending James sprawling onto the grass at the base of it’s trunk, smashing across the ground, leaving great stains across his chest as he rolled to a sitting position.

Accio glasses!” he called, and they came. He unfolded the frames and squinted through the dark, trying to see. “Reparo,” he said, tapping them and he heard a crack as the lenses fixed themselves and shoved them back onto his face. His ribs hurt - they were bruised - and breathing was a bit more painful than it usually was, but he hadn’t the time to worry about that rubbish. He had to stop Snape before he got to that trap door and James was already fallen behind.

He slid through the mouth of the tunnel and into the darkness.

“SEVERUS!” James yelled into the dark, “SEVERUS!” He held his wand up. “Lumos.”

His breath echoed as he ran down the tunnel as fast as he could, panting. “Severus!” He spotted the light of Severus Snape’s wand far ahead, glowing like a tiny bright pin prick against the pitch black of the tunnel’s darkness. He pushed himself to run even faster, despite all the pains that caught his muscles, the burning of his lungs… He ran ‘til he could see the shadow of Severus Snape, could make out the form of him, and then he shouted, “SEVERUS!” again and the light turned, and he could see Severus Snape’s pale face, glowing in the light of his wand, stunned and wide-eyed as he spotted James coming toward him…

Nox.”

And the light blinked out.

Stupefy,” Snape’s voice was low.

The red jet of light bounced off the tunnel walls and James ducked it. It shot off down the tunnel, red glowing until it finally burst and went out.

Nox,” James said and his own wand went out and his eyes struggled to adjust to the dark, but there was no seeing through this, it was impossible. The darkness was just too complete.

“Severus,” he whispered. “We need to go back.”

“Do you mistaken me for a fool?” Severus hissed, “When I’m this close to uncovering your secret? What is it you Marauders do out here, Potter? What is it that’s so bloody important to protect?”

James moved forward, toward the voice, his palm against the wall of the tunnel, “It isn’t safe for us to talk here, Severus. Come back with me and I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Liar.”

“You’re going to end up killed if you keep going. We both are.”

Snape was silent. James reached out into the dark, thinking he could hear Severus’s breathing before him, but his hands grasped onto thin air.

“Please. Come back with me.”

“I’m getting my proof, Potter.”

“You’ll get it in the form of a death certificate for yourself if you don’t listen to me!” James said, and he lunged forward, his arms clamping ‘round Severus Snape’s shoulders. “Got you!”

Empurrar!” Severus cried and James was pushed back. “Tourcao!” and James’s arm was caught up, twisted behind his back tightly so that he was doubled over, the bone pulling at the socket of his shoulder. “For five years I’ve put up with your arrogance. You take for granted your blood status, being pure means nothing to you. You hang about with riff raff and scum and blood traitors! Your status is wasted on you. And despite all the rubbish and the sodding bullying you’ve done me and others, you still think yourself noble. You still think yourself brave. You’re a coward, hiding behind bravado and a swaggering walk.”

Ziafarin,” James said and Severus dropped his wand as he was stung by a jet of white light on his wrist. They both scrambled for Severus’s wand, but James tripped and missed it and Severus pulled it up first. Both aimed their wands at the other, both wands lit with power, just waiting to be expelled and shot at the other’s body. “You think I give a bleeding damn about what blood I carry in my veins? It’s blood! Blood! It has nothing to do with your character, nothing to do with the things that matter, like honor and integrity - neither of which you know a thing of.” James’s hand trembled. “Luckily for you, I’ve got a bit of both. Luckily for you, I’m not a coward, like you claim. I’m here to stop you from getting yourself killed, despite every instinct telling me it’s what you ruddy deserve.”

Snape’s face was unreadable. “Save me from what?”

James stared at him. “Matters that don’t pertain to you.”

Both boys stood, wands aimed, neither speaking for several long moments.

Suddenly a loud, shrieking cry of a bark echoed through the tunnel and they both looked through the dark behind Severus Snape. There were snarls and growls and snaps and yelps and barks and cries and it was evident there was a horrible, horrible fight happening somewhere, far off through the darkness of the tunnel. Snape turned to face James. “So it’s true.”

Stupefy!” James cried because he didn’t know what else to do to stop Snape from the revelation he was having, to protect the secret. The red sparks shot past Snape and blasted into the wall of the tunnel, knocking loose a deal of dirt that rained over Severus as he held up his arms to block the falling debris.

They began shooting spells like little fireworks against one another - sparks flying back and forth, each blocking every cast, their wands whipping through the air with a precision of dueling that was well beyond what either of them should’ve been able to do, based on pure instinct and adrenaline. James jumped a spell Severus cast and sent another his way and Severus slashed his wand to deflect it and James blocked it until --

A great yelping cry went up from the darkness ahead of them. A cry that James recognized, that made his heart stop with fear. What had happened? Had the wolf gotten him?

Pugnus!” Severus cast, taking advantage of James’s momentary distraction, and the spell hit James in the mouth and blood spurted from his gums as he was knocked backward a few steps.

“DON’T BE A GIT! I’M TRYING TO BLOODY SAVE YOU!” James shouted.

“SAVE YOURSELF, MORE LIKE!” Severus yelled and he turned, lighting his wand with a shake of his fist, and started down the tunnel, toward the whimpering cries of the dog...

“YOU BLEEDING IDIOT! STOP!” James bellowed and he ran forward, leaping onto Severus Snape’s back, toppling him forward, face-first into the dirt… and only just in time as the werewolf came barrelling down the tunnel at full speed, snarling and leaping… soaring right over them, having calculated it’s jump while they were standing, and landing behind them in the dark. James scrambled to roll off of Snape, turning to face the wolf behind them, his feet scraping the dirt as the wolf regained itself and came at them, teeth bared, spittle flying from it’s jaws and James raised his wand, “I’m sorry Rey! STUPEFY!”

The wolf let out a howling cry as the spell hit him in the chest and he fell on top of Severus and James where they lay there on the ground in the dirt and the dark - Severus’s wand having rolled a bit away so that the glow only barely illuminated where they were - the werewolf’s heavy weight crushing them both. James’s arms splayed out over Severus… He’d been prepared to take the attack had the spell not got the wolf in time, he’d been prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of Severus Snape.

There was no denying it.

James pushed the wolf from his chest, rolling him over onto the tunnel floor, his heart slamming against his horribly sore ribs, his breath short and raspy. Severus Snape crawled out from beneath him, shaking on his knees and dropping to sit, back against the wall.

“You… you alright?” James panted, waving his wand to light up the space between them.

A long shadow of Severus’s nose was cast against the wall of the tunnel as the boys stared at one another. Severus nodded finally.

James nodded back and he leaned against the wall. “Bloody hell.”

Severus leaned over and caught his wand up from the floor and held it in his lap, dizzy from everything that had just happened.

Suddenly Sirius was there, kneeling beside James, “I’m sorry!” he sobbed. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t know - I didn’t think --!”

“Yeah… exactly,” breathed James, “You didn’t think!”

Severus stared at them… fading in and out of focus… he’d hit his head on a root exposed on the ground and he reached up and felt blood on his temple… quite a lot of blood…

“You could’ve killed us all you idiot!” James said, “You could’ve made Rey a murderer!”

Sirius was sobbing, “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

And Severus Snape blinked out of consciousness.