Disclaimer: Not. Mine!
A/N: Thanks you guys! I'm beyond delighted to hear how many of you like this story!
"Why are we going after Snape again?" Remus asked in frustration, interrupting the Marauders' planning session.
They'd adjourned to their dorm after a triumphant return to the common room. Most Gryffindors believed their side of the story, the most popular rumour floating around being that Snape had used some underhanded Slytherin trick to fool Frank and Lily into defending him. But Remus knew better and he knew his friends did too.
"You saw what he did to James," Sirius pointed out reasonably. "We can't just let that go."
"Exactly!" James chimed in, "We don't want people to think that they can just curse us and get away with it!"
Remus folded his arms and gave his best disapproving glare. "I don't want any part of this," he snapped, trying to hide his fear. "Pranks are fine, but focusing so much on tormenting Snape…I just don't see the point."
James opened his mouth to reply but Remus rushed on before he lost his nerve. "I don't want to be a bully," he blurted, "and I don't want you guys to be either. I'm sick of having people end up in the Hospital Wing—just think of what almost happened to Lily's sister!" Part of him couldn't believe that he was taking the risk of losing his only friends and for Snape of all people, but his long suppressed Gryffindor side was kicking the hell out of his conscience on this.
James shut his mouth with a snap, his recently restored hazel eyes widening at the almost blasphemous accusation. Even Sirius was struck speechless. Peter shifted slightly on his bed but kept his head down, his eyes darting between the three of them.
"Look, I know he's a Slytherin," Remus said unsteadily into the ominous silence. The blank expressions on his friends' faces were rapidly leeching away his resolve, but he stumbled onward regardless. "But compared to Mulciber and his group or older students like Malfoy, Snape hardly registers! He's friends with two muggleborns for Merlin's sake!"
"But what he did to James…" Peter offered bravely.
"Only because we pushed him into it," Remus said guiltily. "If we'd just left him alone, it never would have happened."
James blinked before turning to look at Sirius uneasily. "Maybe Remus has a point," he conceded reluctantly. "I know he said some stuff, but given the circumstances…"
Despite his curiosity about what 'stuff' Snape could've said to earn such enmity; Remus forced himself not to ask and held his breath as he waited for a response. Sirius sighed and raised his head to look at them each in turn. His grey eyes were shadowed and Remus felt a shiver ripple down his spine as he motioned them all closer. When they were all sitting on his bed, Sirius took a deep breath as if bracing himself.
"Okay," he said determinedly, "I'm going to tell you something I never wanted any of you to know. I just hope that you'll hear me out 'til the end and that once you do know, you won't think any less of me." He swallowed hard. "But I'll understand if you do."
Remus, wedged between Peter and James as they sat facing Sirius, felt as if he'd been kicked in the stomach. He didn't have a clue what Sirius' secret could be but whatever it was, the thought of revealing it clearly scared the spit out of him. His friend's face was pale but his jaw was set. The irony wasn't lost on Remus and he admired Sirius for having more courage than he could ever hope to.
"Whatever it is, you can tell us, Sirius," James said softly, "you know you can trust us. We're your friends!"
Sirius gave a curt nod and visibly pulled himself together. "Your Dad's an Auror, right James?" he stated baldly. It wasn't really a question and he didn't wait for James' inevitable answer. "Have you heard him mention anything about some wannabe despot calling himself a Dark Lord?"
Remus and Peter exchanged looks of incomprehension but James stiffened. "How do you—"
"What do you know?" Sirius asked bluntly.
James hesitated before responding. "He's a new player, no-one knows that much about him," he began cautiously. "He preaches Pureblood supremacy, believes muggleborns should be disposed of before they 'infect' us and wants to pretty much exterminate all muggles."
Remus blanched and he felt Peter shake beside him. The very idea was disgusting. Peter was a Halfblood and while Remus was Wizardborn he wasn't a true Pureblood—not that it would matter. For a maniac that valued blood above all, someone with his curse would undoubtedly be viewed as tainted.
"But your Dad'll get him, right James?" Peter asked a little desperately. "He's nuts right? No-one's going to actually listen to him…right?"
"Of course not!" James said cockily, but one glance at Sirius and his bravado faltered slightly.
"He's already got a following, especially in the older families," Sirius said quietly. "They call themselves 'Death Eaters'," he made air quotations and rolled his eyes, making Peter laugh nervously. "They're very selective but they're growing in number…and most of them are Slytherins. Ambition, you know?"
Remus shivered again and James' eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "How do you know all this?" he asked suspiciously.
Sirius snorted. "I'm from the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black," he said in disgust. "Almost all my ancestors were Slytherins with just the odd Ravenclaw, and my mother insists we can trace our lineage back to Merlin." His long-suffering expression made Remus doubt the validity of those claims but James didn't even crack a smile.
"They know about this guy? Do they agree?"
"They agree all right," Sirius replied with an edge of loathing. "They never shut up about how useless muggleborns are and how they're so great. It makes me sick!" He bit his lip and took a calming breath. "They haven't made any overt gestures of support just yet," he said, getting back on track, "they're waiting to see which way the wind will blow. But it's only a matter of time." At that grim pronouncement, he dropped his eyes.
Remus' mind was spinning with the sudden influx of information but he found it hard to be too worried. Society would never accept such revolting ideas. James' father and the other Aurors would catch that self-deluded twit and toss him in Azkaban where he belonged.
Sirius remained totally still, not looking up and Remus cursed himself for not saying something immediately. "Sirius," he said gently, "you didn't really think we'd hate you for your family's twisted politics, did you? You obviously don't believe in any of it."
His head snapped up. "Of course not," he yelped looking truly horrified.
James chuckled slightly. "Remus is right, Sirius," he said affectionately, grabbing him in a headlock. "Don't be such an idiot!"
Sirius squirmed free and shot a blinding, if slightly disbelieving grin at them. "Really?"
"Of course!" Peter chirped, bouncing in place.
"I might owl my Dad though," James said thoughtfully.
"Do, James," Sirius said with uncharacteristic gravity. "If it would help him catch that nut-job sooner, do it."
James nodded while Remus shook his head. "I'm glad you told us, but I don't see what any of this has to do with Snape," he said curiously, trying to lighten the mood.
"Everything!" Sirius burst out enthusiastically. "Slytherin is the Pureblood House—they're the families this bastard is zeroing in on. Normally I'd let the evil gits rot, but Lily and Frank are fellow Gryffindors! Even that self-righteous Ravenclaw… We can't just let Snape ooze his creepy Dark values into them—we have to get them away from him before something bad happens!"
The worst part was that Remus could actually see where Sirius was coming from. "But don't you think it could work the other way," he tried desperately, "Being friends with Lily, Frank and Petunia might be a…good influence on him!"
"No way," James said seriously, "Sirius is right. I've heard enough stories to know what Slytherins are like and with this on top of it…"
"Relax Remus," Sirius said reassuringly, "as soon as we prove what Snape is really like, we'll leave him alone, I promise."
Seeing the gleam in his friends' eyes, Remus relented. They were determined to 'save' their Housemates, even if the people in question didn't particularly want the Marauder version of white knights riding to their supposed rescue.
It took Lily an embarrassingly long time—almost a week—to figure out something was wrong. In her defense; between the end-of-term exams and worrying about the Marauders, things were almost too hectic to think! Frank and Sev were annoyingly relaxed about both while she and Tuney ran around like headless chickens, trying to cram a year's worth of lessons into their heads in less than a fortnight. But they weren't the only ones, exam fever had gripped Hogwarts and every student could be seen poring over books, even the aloof Slytherins. Lily had caught sight of Avery crouched behind a suit of armour trying to memorize Sinestra's star charts.
However once she took notice of the problem, it wasn't hard to guess the cause. Sev might be a closed book, but her sister most certainly was not.
"You're scared of what Sev did."
It was one of the rare times they were alone together, out near the Forbidden Forest which was made all the more menacing by the dark clouds overhead, though Lily was more concerned with the impending drizzle. Frank and Sev had disappeared off to get the quaffle and despite itching to know how they managed it, she focused on Tuney as she looked back at her innocently.
"I don't know—"
"Oh come on, Tuney," Lily cajoled, "We're sisters! Do you think I don't know when something's bothering you? You've been distant since we got Sev out of the Hospital Wing." She looked at Tuney's pale face. "He scared you, didn't he?" she repeated solemnly and Petunia sagged.
"Of course he did!" she hissed. "It would have upset any normal person! I just don't understand why you and Frank—but especially you Lily, could just brush something like that under the carpet!"
"He was trying to frighten them off Tuney," Lily exclaimed, controlling her irritation with difficulty. Why did Petunia always have to bring being 'normal' into everything? "It was a last ditch effort, remember? He was desperate!"
Seeing Petunia's stubborn, unyielding expression, an old anger flared in her. "You wouldn't understand, Petunia," she sneered. "You've always been so perfect, haven't you? Fit right in, popular without any effort? And just when you find out you've magic, it's straight off to Hogwarts with everyone else. You don't know what it's like to be different—to be singled out and picked on! But I do!"
She was crying now, all the things she'd never said clawing their way up her throat and battering the wide-eyed, clueless Petunia.
"Do you have any idea what it was like for me at school?" she demanded, waiting until she got a silent headshake in return. "I had no-one. I did one too many weird, freak things and everyone avoided me! They called me witch, only not in a good way. And you, whenever I came home or saw you at break you either ignored me or yelled at me for just being myself! I lost count of the times I wished I could blast those horrible girls away from me! So how can I condemn Sev for trying to stop it in any way he could?"
"Lily—"
"I'm not saying I agree," she growled, "But as a last resort, I can understand what drove him to it. That's all."
Lily quieted, chest heaving as sobs shook her and she took deep breaths until they passed. She wiped her eyes, studying the grass at her feet intently. She couldn't believe she'd broken down like that. Not to mention she'd taken a conversation about trusting Sev and made it all about herself. But while she might want to sink into the ground, she couldn't bring herself to regret her rant. It had felt good to vent. She'd thought she was over all that, that it was part of the past, forgotten, but apparently there was still a little resentment lingering.
When she finally snuck a look at Petunia, she saw her sister was examining her shoes with equal intensity. The silence stretched past uncomfortable and into awkward. Lily fidgeted nervously but before she could speak, Petunia cleared her throat.
"Lily…" she trailed off for a moment before rallying. "Lily I-I didn't know. I'm…I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She raised her head to spear her with a glance. "I promise."
Lily nodded shakily, torn between feeling vindicated and hoping they could just forget it now.
"But I still don't trust Severus," she finished flatly. Lily's mouth dropped open in outrage but before she could argue, Petunia spun on her heel and took off towards the castle.
Lily watched her go, seething.
"Lily!"
Her head shot up to see Frank and Sev hurrying over to her, just as a raindrop splashed her nose.
"Where'd Tuney run off to?" Frank asked just as the sullen skies opened.
"Shit!"
"Guess no Quidditch today then," he yelled over the rain. At their nods he hefted the quaffle. "We'd better put this back then."
Sev gave her a red-rimmed eyes a meaningful look. "Are you all right," he asked softly, so only she could hear. At her nod he looked skeptical but she waved an arm dismissively. "Just sister stuff," she reassured him. "It happens."
"Makes me glad I'm an only child," Frank broke in, grinning. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll sort it out. Um...Sev? Getting kind of wet here…"
Petunia stormed down a corridor her thoughts churning. She couldn't believe what Lily had told her. True, she'd known that Lily hadn't many friends in primary school but she'd thought it was because she was a loner. Too special to mix with ordinary people. She'd never even considered that her taunts had spread so far. Granted, Lily's proclivity for the bizarre would probably have alienated her anyway, but perhaps it wouldn't have been as severe if the other kids hadn't witnessed her own sister attacking her at every opportunity. She'd been deliberately cruel and thought it justified since Lily wasn't normal anyway. She deserved it. The familiar thought made Petunia cringe now. In hindsight, it couldn't have been more obvious that she'd been jealous.
Refusing to entertain any more uncomfortable revelations, she pushed the unexpected guilt aside and focused on what had been upsetting her to begin with. Severus shouldn't have done what he did. Maybe in desperation it might have seemed reasonable but it should never have come to that. He should have told a teacher, his Head of House—or better still, he should have told them.
"Tuney!"
She turned in surprise to find a soaking wet Severus Snape striding up to her, looking furious.
"You look like a drowned rat," she said, stepping back in distaste to avoid the drops that flew when he stopped in front of her.
"What did you do to Lily?" he demanded angrily.
Petunia felt another rush of guilt but narrowed her eyes. Things were different now. "Nothing, not that it's any of your business anyway!"
It was like she hadn't spoken. "She'd been crying," he accused.
"That's between us!" she snapped, incensed that he'd stick his nose in their business.
"Well whatever it was, you better apologise," he warned.
Petunia stiffened. "Is that a threat?"
Severus blinked, confusion momentarily overwhelming his temper. "A threat?" he repeated, tasting the words like they were something foreign and exotic.
At the honest incomprehension in his dark eyes, Petunia felt a little silly. And the guilt piled back twofold.
"Never mind," she said snippily. "Where is Lily now?"
Face still troubled, he murmured, "She went to get changed. She said she was fine but," he seemed to remember his anger and practically pinned her in place with the force of his glare, "She's not. Whatever you did—fix it."
"We've already made up," Petunia said simply.
His face hardened. "Then why is she still miserable?"
"That's a different argument."
Severus just stared at her and she sniffed at his incredulity. "You just don't understand women," she informed him haughtily, as she swept past.
Petunia could feel his bewildered stare as he watched her leave and had to struggle not to wince. Dangerous?She was almost embarrassed. But for now, she had a sister to find. Petunia grimaced as she realized how much Lily was going to gloat over this. In future, she'd have to make sure that she didn't judge so quickly, if only to preserve her dignity.
A/N: Sooo…what do you think? Tell me! Please review!