James had left late-night Quidditch practice in a good mood. He'd, of course, done amazingly well, and was practically bouncing on his way up to his dorms. Now all he had to do was gather up the ol' gang and pay Moony a visit, and his evening would be complete.
He almost didn't want to find Sirius first, since that meant he'd want to bait Severus before going and really, James just couldn't find the same amount of pleasure he had in the past from tormenting Snape. It was almost as if… he could sense the complete and utter agony and pain deep within his soul that he guarded with a defensive, wicked tongue and derisive scowl. It just screamed from every pore of his body. How his eyes would empty whenever them tortured him, as if he'd retreated into himself until it was over, because his mind was the only safe place he knew anymore.
The way Severus slouched almost defeated, broken, whenever he thought someone wasn't looking. And the way he never voluntarily touched someone. Whenever touch was forced upon him, either with Madame Pomfrey's hugs or a punch from Sirius or a friendly clap on the back, he either stiffened as if to Transfigure himself into a board, or he would flinch violently, before striding away in what could only be described as escaping.
Either way, James' conscious couldn't find it in himself to deliberately torment the poor boy- poor boy? Really, James, you're either going soft or just losing your damned mind- so he purposefully avoided where he usually met with Sirius after practice, and just headed for the showers to clean up.
After scrubbing his hair relatively dry, he found Lily and Peter lounging in the Gryffindor common room. He plonked himself down beside them, deliberately placing himself closer to Lily.
"So, any of you seen Sirius? I haven't seen him since Moony… left." Lily still didn't know about their secret, and for some reason that he wasn't able to place quite yet, James didn't trust her.
Peter spared a sneaky glance towards Lily, and she smirked, her eyes glinting darkly.
Despite the shudder that ran down his spine, he couldn't pique his curiosity.
"Alright, what's Pads up to now?" He carefully watched Peter, as he was the easiest to read. And it was obvious that… something had him just about tickled pink.
But nonetheless, it was Lily who answered. "Sirius said something about tricking Snivellus into doing something stupid. Which shouldn't be too hard, considering."
There, that was it. In front of Snape, she was all best-friends-you-can-tell-me-anything but as soon as Snape wasn't around, she treated him like dirt and exploited all his secrets. Yes, he hadn't made any secret of his dislike for the boy in the past, but at least he was always honest about it, not giving false promises of desired friendship before stabbing him in the back. Frankly, if this was the real Lily, he had to wonder if she didn't do the same thing to him as soon as his back was turned. The thought made his stomach roil.
He quickly brought his mind back to the conversation at hand. He turned to Peter and raised a delicate eyebrow, silently suggesting- ordering- him to elaborate. He did so, gladly.
"Sirius is convincing stupid old nosey Snivellus to visit…" Here, a shifty glance at Lily. Then, in a voice heavy with double meaning, whispered. "The Whomping Willow."
James didn't think three words could completely freeze his soul so quickly.