Lucius walked down the corridor with a few of his mates. All of them Slytherin, most a year younger than him. He didn't care about them. They were his little puppets. They did anything for the blonde boy. Lucius was pretty intimidating. Shaggy blonde hair, blue eyes that pierced anyone who dared look into them, standing at six foot three, he was not one to be messed with. He knew it too. He was in a devilish mood. His eyes scanned the people walking in the opposite direction. A small group of Hufflepuffs, two Ravenclaws kissing against the wall, and...what was this? His face turned into a grin as he saw who was walking towards him. Red hair, green eyes lost in a book of some sort. "Evans" he thought to himself.
He ran through what he knew about her in his head. Mudblood, Gryffindor, Good friends with his mate Severus, and the object of James Potter's affection. Lucius had had several run ins with him in the past. Lucius enjoys toying with the boys' emotions, usually making him quite angry. In fact, Lucius enjoyed making all of the marauders lives a living hell. Except Sirius. That boy scared him a bit, not that he'd ever admit it.
As the girl grew closer, he stepped towards her, his little groupies following. "Well look what we have here" he said towards the girl. Her green eyes, alert, looked up at him then a frown appeared across her face. "What do you want Malfoy." she said closing her book and holding it against her chest. "Oh nothing. Just wondering why somebody like you is still making these hallowed halls so...filthy" he spat down towards her. Her saw her fist clench and he smirked. "I don't know what you mean, Malfoy" she said, through her teeth. "Oh I think you do.." he said walking towards her. Him and his friends circled her. Trapped her. Like a small bird in a cage. "People like you...they shouldn't be allowed in Hogwarts. You make the place reek with you..mudblood stench" he said smirking down towards her. The other boys chuckled and agreed with words like "Yeah" and "Gross". Lucius looked around. The halls were empty. Class would be starting any second, but he had no care for that. He had trapped his prey. It was time for the kill.
James ran with the book in his hand. Sirius and himself were running from a very angry Remus. They had stolen his books, and were going to hide them, when Remus caught them. They were running through the almost empty halls. The portraits on the wall yelled at them to slow down, but they were laughing too hard to properly listen. Remus was gaining speed on them, their obnoxious laughter slowing them down as the doubled over. They turned a corner and suddenly James and Sirius stopped. There in front of them, was Lucius Malfoy, kicking Lily. Remus caught up and began yelling at them, then saw the spectacle begin in front of them.
Lily was letting out small cries for help. The Slytherin boys were laughing at her. James felt a tightening in his chest. It was like Padfootm, and Moony weren't there. All he could see was Lucius kicking Lily. That was all. His fists clenched, and he shouted "Oi! Malfoy!" he said walking towards him and his little group, Sirius and Remus following. Malfoy looked up and saw James. A grin spread across his face. "Hello Potter. Can I help you?" he said, not even caring to look down at the red-head, who was trying to prevent tears from falling down her face. James stepped towards Malfoy, and with one quick movement, he let his fist collide with Lucius' jaw. Lucius stumbled back, which gave Lily enough time to jump up and hided behind James, while she held her side. James put a protective arm around her. Usually she would have shrugged it off, and told him to go away, but this once, she allowed it.
Lucius held his jaw and looked at Potter, all of his little puppets, shocked. With once quick, and graceful movement Lucius pulled his wand. Within less than three seconds, James, Remus, Sirius, and all of Lucius's little puppets had pulled their wands as well. They all stood there, silent. The only sound to be heard was Lily attempting to keep her breaths even. Lucius and James both had a look of pure hatred in their eyes.
Lucius opened his mouth to let out a spell, when James saw this movement, he shouted "Expelliarmus" at the boy. Lucius' wand flew out of his hand before he knew what to do. Lucius looked between his wand and James. It was too far to run, without James hexing him before he got it. He looked back at his "puppets". "Well...What are you waiting for! Hex them!" He said to them. They four other boys looked between each other, and the Marauder boys. Without another word, they ran from Lucius, leaving him there alone. James grinned. "Real faithful friends you got there, Malfoy." he said sarcastically. Without another thought Lucius ran, grabbed his wand, and followed his "friends". James watched him for a slight second smiling, then remembered the girl behind him. He turned and looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you alright there Lily?" he asked. She looked up towards the taller boy, with the messy hair. "I think...help me back to the common room will you?" she asked. Without a seconds hesitation, James picked her up bridal style and held her close to his chest. "I've got you" he said quietly to her. He looked at Remus and Sirius, and gave them a look that said "I got it from here". They nodded and headed off to find Peter, to tell them the story. Silently, James began carrying Lily to the common room.
Lily kept close to James, his warmth pulling her in. They stayed silent the entire walk. Her sides hurt quite a bit. Nothing felt broken, but it still was not pleasent. The sound of James' heartbeat..it was very soothing. It was steady, and comforting. She slowly began to feel herself fade off into dreams. The last thought she remembered having was "He smells very nice."
James managed to get through the portrait, being careful not to trip and drop the girl. Lily, the girl who often told him to "Sod off" and to get away from her, was sound asleep in his arms. He thanked Merlin for Quidditch, so he wasn't sure if he'd have been able to carry the girl all the way across campus. He entered the common room, which was empty. Everybody was still in their last class. He carefully put the ginger down onto one of the sofas. She looked peaceful when she slept. Like there was nothing wrong in the world. She had a small smile on her face, which made James grin. "Oh Evans, you don't know what you do to me" he said in a whisper. He gently moved her hair, and kissed her on the forehead. With that, he turned and headed out the portrait, Lily Evans being the only thing on his mind.