The hallway was perpetually dim. The patrols at this point in time were always a slow, dragging nuisances. Midnight rolls around and Lily Evans is still wandering the halls looking for students out of bed. Normally, make-out sessions ended around midnight and Lily could just return to her room to sleep, or maybe, if she was lucky, one of the boys would have snuck to the kitchen and leftovers would be sitting on the table when she got back. Her mind drifted to thoughts of work and food when rounding a corner, she stumbles upon two boys whispering in hushed voices. Avery and Mulciber by their builds. Shit. She sent Lupin to bed a half an hour ago because the full moon was tomorrow night and he needed sleep. As silently as possible, she crouched into an alcove behind the statue of a pompous warlock, straining her ears for their words.
"I don't see how we can trust that mudblood loving fool." Avery spat
"As if we have a choice, the Dark Lord wishes he aid us, we do as he says, or have you forgotten your loyalties?"
"Never. But Snape is slippery with his words. I can't trust that."
"Well we don't have to, just get him to make the potion and then have it tested on that mudblood Evans without telling him. See how he reacts." Mulciber snickered while Lily suddenly felt her breath catch. That sudden intake of breath was enough to make both boys turn and with a flash, followed by a yell that blasted the statue sideways. Lily ducked as the statue fell forward reveling her and aimed a spell towards the boys. But it wasn't enough, while her stunner got Mulciber, Avery hit her with a body bind.
"Well, well, well, here we have the little perfect flower. For a mudblood, you sure are fit." Avery leered, stepping around Mulciber's unconscious body towards Lily, "for such a lovely bird, you do hang out with the wrong crowd." With a flick of his wand, Lily felt the body bind lift and felt her voice leave her body. She turned to run, unaware as to why Avery decided to let her go; however, he grabbed her wrist and pinned her up against the wall with his heavy body. "Now, now. I am your superior. You will treat me as such, slag." And with one shove, he twisted her wrist and grappled with her shirt, tearing the buttons off. "Much better." Taking his hand, he traced her jaw and neck until he roughly snaked his hand onto her breast.
The reaction was instantaneous, she tried to kick and punch him away, but her movements only worked against her as he brought he hand up to punch the right side of her face. Lily swayed due to the force, barely registering that Avery now forced his hand onto her thighs and breasts, laboring to grab as much as he could of her all the while muttering "fight me, mudblood, see how little power you have."
He was becoming too involved with her body to take notice of Lily's eyes. She recognized her inability to physically overpower him, but she noticed Avery had stashed her wand in his pocket. Distracted with thoughts of finding a way out, she suddenly registered that he leaning in to lick her exposed chest. She struggled against him but Avery only forced her high on the wall so that her feet left the floor. Lily went to kick him and he raised his hand again, but this time she was ready. Her head felt the pain of the blow but she concentrated on her hand reaching into Avery's pocket. Her hand found the end of her wand and she drew it and cursed Avery off of her.
He reeled away, banging to the floor. She bound his body and knocked him out for good measure. Her hands shook with the effort to remain calm. Tying both boys up, she threw their wands across the hall. Now her whole body shook, she kept repeating the words like a rhythm, I am safe, I am safe. But at that moment, she heard a new set of foot steps coming around the corner. Bracing herself for a fight, she spun on her heals, fire red hair swishing and raised her wand.
Sirius Black sprinted around the corner, staring wildly around the hall way. Lily felt her knees buckling as she stared at her friend. Sirius, for his part, reacted instantly. He grabbed her by he waist and pulled her into a fierce hug. "I'm here Lily, what the hell happened? It's ok. You're ok" he whispered, his voice cracking. Lily remember what she looked like and immediately went to cover herself but she knew the damage was done. Sirius' eyes had darkened the moment he saw her, bruised and tattered with her torn shirt hanging off her shoulders, cuts covering her face where Avery's ring had hit her. If he noticed the boys tied behind her, he did not say a word.
"We have to move love, come on. There are more of them out tonight, we cannot risk them finding us." He pleaded, placing an arm on the small of her back, he helped Lily up. She nodded silently, following his lead as they wound up the castle through passages and stair cases, she barely registered Sirius checking a strange piece of paper before they moved, but she recognized the fat lady. Suddenly, she stopped.
"Sirius please don't make me go in there. People can't see me like this." speaking softly, Lily picked up her head and met his gaze for only a few seconds before staring at the floor again.
"Lil, it's 2 am. No one is awake. Don't worry about that, you need rest. Please let me help you." When did it become 2 am? How long had she been missing? How had he found her? Questions poured into Lily's mind, clouding her mind where before she had been to numb to even think or process the attack. But her head simply nodded and she allowed him to lead her up the stairs into the portrait hole. The common room was indeed empty. She followed Sirius, praying that he wouldn't leave her. Not now, she was too afraid to face her headroom, cold and alone.
The Headroom was built above the other Gryffindor dormitories, with a common room and two bedrooms off to the side. One for her and one for James. Sirius grabbed her hands and led her up, desperately she tried to convey how she didn't want him to leave her, failing to realize he had no intention of doing that.
"Oi, Padfoot, what took so long, I was hoping for chocolate cake a little sooner…" James' sentence fell off as he noticed who, and their state, walked behind Sirius. "Lily…oh my god." His eyes racked her body and his expression turned from concern to outrage as he took in each and every bruise and bump. "Who? No. It doesn't matter I'm gonna kill them" he spat, trying to step around Sirius but failing miserably.
"Mate, I know, and you will and by god I will aid you in that feat but now is not the time." Sirius pleaded, "The castle is teaming with wannabee death eaters tonight and it isn't worth it. Not when she really needs you." nodding at Lily, who still hadn't moved with the exception that she had begun to shake again.
James took one look at Lily again before he practically sprinted to her side and engulfed her in a hug. She sagged into his shoulders, finally letting her emotions rage within side her.
"No. No. He can't…please don't let him…don't let him" She whispered. He body giving way completely. James and Sirius moved her to the couch, laying her down as she mumbled.
"Shhh, no one is going to hurt you now, we got you lils. I've got you." James muttered to Lily for an hour, getting her body to stop it's violent reaction and drift into sleep. Once she was clearly asleep, he turned to Sirius, exuding anger.
"What the fucking hell happened to her!" James shouted, punctuating each word.
Sirius merely shrugged looking distraught "All I know is that I heard muggle fighting on my way to the kitchens and when I came around the corner Lily was just standing there, silently, with her wand raised. I thought she was going to kill me. But she just crumpled Prongs. I caught her before she fell and then I saw the true damage. I mean you saw, those bruises are on the inside of her thighs, ribs and chest. I think part of her wrist is broken, and definitely a few ribs. I saw Avery and Mulciber tied up behind her but I had already run into my dear brother so I figured we had to move. I brought her back and then, well, you were here." Sirius finished lamely.
"Shit. They assaulted her didn't they…they didn't…." James said, closing his eyes.
"I can't see another way." Sirius didn't bother to look at his friend to know the anger coursing threw his vain. It was the same anger Sirius had, but Sirius was in the midst of reconciling his fear to leave room for his anger. Not yet at least.
The pause permeated the living room until James croaked "What do we do? How do we help her?" The pleading for an answer did nothing to ease Sirius' mind. There were so many questions and the vision of Lily giving out into his arms consumed his every thought.
"The fuck if I know mate, but us being here is a hell of a good start."
So the two boys sat, James clutching Lily as she slept and Sirius sitting on the floor against the sofa. They would remain there until morning, neither sleeping. And for the first time, the war was real.