If hundreds of hawks suddenly swarmed down upon your school during breakfast, what would you do?
Run? Hide? Offer up your friends as sacrifices to the almighty hawk-gods?
Across the Great Hall, Lily could see many of her classmates doing just that. Unfortunately, those who had chosen to run soon discovered they were trapped, because all of the exits were being bombarded with hawks.
But Lily Evans didn`t feel trapped (although she was). Lily Evans didn`t cower in the face of confusion (although she felt like doing so). She held her ground, like most of the brave Gryffindors, smart Ravenclaws, and some students from other houses who were bright enough to wise-up to the fact that wands beat talons (most of the time).
Almost everyone in the hall had whipped out their wands by this time, and was trying to think of spells to protect against the oncoming storm, when one of the birds, the one directly above Frank Longbottom to be exact, opened its talons.
Poor Frank didn`t even see the lightning fast blur falling strait for his head until it was too late.
"Ow!"
Everyone held their breath, half waiting to see if Frank was alright, half in wonder of who the next victim would be.
Frank rubbed his head, and picked up the offending object. "Huh?"
It was a rolled up piece of parchment, tied with a blood-red ribbon.
Just as Frank Longbottom pulled on the string to untie the ribbon, hundreds of identical scrolls fell from the sky.
Then, the only four boys who hadn`t panicked at the hawks, hadn`t drawn their wands in fear, grinned at each other, silently congratulating themselves as the rest of the hall felt the raining of the scrolls.
Severus Snape was not quick enough to dodge his scroll. It bounced of his head in a manner that made him positive that it was going to leave a bruise.
Severus wasn`t positive about many things. The only other thing at the moment he prided himself in being positive was this; this hawk business was positively the fault of the four vile, despicable Gryffindors whom he despised the most.
Unfurling his scroll, he was shocked to find it blank. He was even more shocked an instant after that, when the letters started to appear on the page. His greasy hair covered most of his sinister scowl, but it could not hide the noise of distain he made. The offending writing was only two lines, and was scrawled in what appeared to be blood.
Go jump off a cliff, Snivellus Snape. Wash your hair while you're at it.
Consider yourself Marauded.
At the bottom of the page was a large M.
Severus only hesitated a second before running over to Lily Evans, who was on her way out of the room with a cluster of girls he could only assume were her friends. When she saw him approaching, Lily lagged back from the group, who gave Severus strange looks before continuing off without Lily. Before they were out of sight, he noticed one of the girls turn and look at him with an expression he`d only seen on the very Gryffindors he suspected to be behind the fiendish attack. He glared back before turning to Lily.
"Did you see what Potter did? Of course you did. We have to go show Dumbledore, this will finally get him and that horde of his expelled!"
Lily looked quizzical, and asked gently, "How do you know it was Potter?"
"Who else would create such a spectacle? Honestly, Lily, his enormous head must be blocking the view of the facts! He just dropped evidence all over the hall! Look!" He shoved the scroll towards her smugly.
"Sev…"
"Hmm?"
"What is it I`m supposed to be looking at?"
"The-let me see…"
Severus took back the paper, smoothing it out. "Look he-"
Suddenly, he felt like crying.
"Sev, what are you getting at? It`s just a blank bit of parchment."
His evidence. His precious evidence, the ultimate chance to evict Potter and his cronies from Hogwarts. Erased.
Lily took out her scroll. It too was now blank.
"How…?"
"It`s okay, Sev. You`ll get them next time." She said tiredly. "I have to get my morning textbooks from my dorm. See you in Potions?"
"Yeah…" Severus watched his friend walk off to her common room, leaving him with one question still hanging in his mind.
Why would Potter waste the time and resources just to send fancy insults to everyone in Hogwarts?
Severus laughed. Why else? It was James Potter. Did he need an excuse to show off his affinity to flamboyantly insult everyone?
Lily Evans stopped at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and took out her scroll again.
Still blank.
From all her years of studying, she`d developed a partially-photographic memory, but even without it she knew she would remember every word her scroll had held.
Hello, beautiful Ms. Lily-flower Evans.
On the forth night after the full moon, seven thirty sharp, go to the cupboard next to the stairs on the seventh floor, by the hospital wing. Knock thrice on the door, and then whisper your official title (above).
Prepare for the first annual Marauder Extravaganza!
Consider yourself lucky.
If you speak a word of this to anyone, consider yourself dead.
At the bottom of the page was an M, written with flourish.
When the words had first appeared, she`d compared her scroll to her friends, and they all said the same thing, only with different beginnings. Lily didn`t know what Severus had received, but if she had to guess, it hadn`t been nearly as pleasant (if you could call it that) as hers.
"Hey, what did he want?" Alice asked her, handing Lily the books she`d got from their room for her.
"Thanks." Lily shrugged. "Sev was just wondering about the stunt with the hawks. Are you sure you want to class with that headache?"
"What headache?" Alice asked slyly, and whispered, "The boys let me have some of that magic wake-up juice they`ve got."
Not needing to be told who 'the boys' were, Lily rubbed her face and shook her head at her friend`s dedication to class, or just blatant disregard of the 'don`t take anything edible from a Marauder' rule. Lily especially wouldn`t trust any of them not to slip something messed up in it.
"Is your 'friend' trying to get the Marauders expelled again?" Mattie asked, catching up with them.
"Mattie…"
"What? It`s not like this would be the first time. He hangs around listening in to conversations and following them all the time, just waiting to hear something incriminating."
Lily was quiet, looking down at her homework and pretending to check it over.
Mattie sighed. "I`m sorry, Lils. I know he`s your childhood friend and all… I just don`t want you to get hurt if he takes a turn for the worse."
"Why, because he`s a Slytherin?" Lily snapped.
It was Mattie`s turn to not meet the other`s eyes. Alice, who was standing between the two, didn`t say a word. She wasn`t feeling tired anymore.
"Not all Slytherins turn out bad, you know. You and Potter shouldn`t always be so stuck on the stereotypical judgments…"
"He hangs out with Avery and Mulciber. You`ve seen them, they`re one a one-way fast track to Death Eater-hood."
"But he doesn`t…"
"Standing around watching your friends beat up a second year is just as bad as being the one behind the wand and throwing the blows. Snake is bad news, Lils, and…"
"Enough!" Lily glared, her grip tightening on her books. "Severus is my friend. I need you to respect that, or leave me alone."
"I`m your friend too, Lily, and that`s why I`m trying to protect you."
Lily stopped, causing some girls walking behind them to almost collide into the three. "If you were really my friend, you`d respect my wishes and leave the topic alone."
"Whatever. Fine." Mattie marched off, practically sprinting to class.
Alice and Lily didn`t say another word to each other for the rest of the walk to Transfiguration.
"You okay?"
Of all people, it had to be Sirius Black, number three in her list of people she really wasn`t in the mood to talk to at the moment. "Couse I am. What makes you ask that?"
"It looks like you`re trying to snap your quill in two." Sirius grabbed her hand to stop her from stabbing the quill on the page (again). "Whatever`s wrong, I doubt Professor McGee will appreciate you taking your anger out on her assignments."
"Black, I`d prefer it if you leave me alone."
"I`d prefer it if I could ride my broom to class and have James be my personal butler, but that`s clearly not going to happen… well, the butler thing might be arranged…" He smiled wickedly.
Lily snapped her fingers in front of his face, knocking him from his dazed fantasy. "Earth to Black!"
"Ah, it must be bad. What happened to 'Sirius'? What did I do?"
"It`s not you, it`s…well, it is you." She looked across the room at Mattie, who was discreetly playing hangman and talking to Melody while McGonagall had her back turned.
Sirius followed her gaze. "Don`t tell me you`re going to sick Bell on me! Are you at least going to tell me what I`m being punished for?"
"What? No, Mattie`s actually most of the problem."
"I thought you were eternally thankful for the Madeline thing. Everything was fine between you two at breakfast, and that was barely an hour ago."
Had it only been an hour? Lily brushed a stray hair out of her face to avoid looking at him. "It`s a long story."
Everyone knows that 'It`s a long story' most of the time is not a long story at all. Usually, as in this case, it was code for 'I don`t want to talk about it'.
"I`m gonna be here a while." Sirius leaned back in chair, as if to demonstrate his point.
Lily cleared her throat. "No, you`re not."
He rested his feet on the chair in front of them.
She tried to go back to the assignment, but failed to concentrate due to the fact she could feel his eyes on the back of her neck.
He crossed his arms.
She asked, "Don`t you have work to do?"
He pointed to the notes he`d already copied from James and Remus.
She sighed and gave in, saying, "She was saying some really rude stuff about one of my friends."
"That doesn`t sound like her."
He thought for a second before it dawned on him.
Sirius had to force himself not to smile. "Let me guess. He`s Slytherin, has really…"
"Really what, Black?" She asked, daring him to say 'greasy hair'.
"…high grades in potions."
"Mmhmm."
"What did she say? Was she doing stuff like…" Again, he had to stop himself from saying 'what James and I do'.
Used to do, she corrected herself.
"She didn`t hurt him or anything. Mattie just pretty much said he was an untrustworthy Slytherin who was going to be an evil Death Eater."
Sirius nodded, using all his strength to suppress his opinions, and said instead, "You flipped?"
"Sev`s my oldest friend. I defended him." She said strongly.
Thoughtfully, he asked, "Did she say why she was choosing now to tell you what she thought of him?"
"After he was talking to me about your little hawk display, she came up and was saying all that stuff, saying she was just trying to 'protect' me." Lily scoffed.
"What, you don`t think she was telling the truth?"
"No, I think you and Potter have diluted her brain into anti-Slytherin central, and she was trying to fulfill some grudge you`ve instilled in her."
Sirius snickered. "We didn`t brainwash her, if that`s what you`re suggesting."
Scowling, Lily turned back to the work.
"Look, Mattie`s a good person. She`s one of your best friends, and she cares about you enough to put aside petty things like rivalries, you know. Her judgment isn`t that impaired. Besides, have you forgotten already what she did for you last night? She and Mel were telling me at breakfast, Lils. It wasn`t easy, you know. They had nothing against Madeline before she threatened you, and they struck back for you with unreserved revenge, just to protect you."
Lily looked back at the hangman-playing girl in question.
"She might not be the most unbiased person in the world, or the most pro-Slytherin, but that doesn`t mean she isn`t reliable. Mattie may or may not be wrong, and it`s your decision whether or not to listen to her. But from what you said, I can tell she was being genuine, Lilykins."
"Who are you, and what have you done with Sirius Black?"
"I`m serious." He said, and then laughed at his own joke. Lily couldn`t keep from smiling.
"Oh, you`re always Sirius, you prat… but I suppose you`re right."
"Of course I`m right! Don`t you know who I am?" He patted her on the back. "Back to work now, you slacker. You`re only half done!"