Author Note:
Yes, I'm back. The internet connection was restored very quickly, and as such, I'm back faster than anticipated. A little note about this chapter, it might bring negative reactions due to what happens to Lily, but I assure you that it is necessary for later events. No flaming me due to this please, there are many fanfics out there with much worse events in much more graphic detail than this one. This is your one and only warning so no complaints if you choose to read further through this chapter.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Marauders' Promise and Voldemort Vanishes
Orion kept a careful eye on James, Severus, and Remus following their ill-advised attempt at spying on him. He'd had to deal with a few incidents where all three turned up at his door in the early hours of the morning, shaking with fear and begging him not to kill them, to which he'd raised an eyebrow and said that if he wanted to kill them, he wouldn't do it within the walls of Hogwarts. That said, he'd allowed them to spend those nights with him, and had talked with them the following mornings, working through the issues, which were mostly just a lingering unease about the entire incident and a belief that the Unspeakables as a whole had repressed violent tendencies.
To dispel this ludicrous belief, Orion had decided to invite Reaper and Diamond back to Hogwarts for a casual meeting so the young spies could see for themselves that Unspeakables weren't violent all the time. Orion felt a bit insulted that his sons and his nephew thought that, as they only had to look at him to see that it wasn't true. The easiest time for the meeting was during the Third Task which was a couple of months away. The time in between was so the task could actually be set up, and so that the champions could have a bit of time to recover from the second task and figure out the clue to the third task.
Pulling himself out of his mental woolgathering, Orion unfolded the note which Severus had given him during his recovery from the second task. Frowning, he read the clue again, turning his mind towards solving it. He had time – he'd completed the grading that needed to be done, there were no detentions to oversee, and the Marauders had left him alone, preferring to prank Filch rather than hang around him.
He looked up as his fire flared to life and Professor McGonagall appeared in the fire. "Orion, could you please come to the infirmary. There's a situation that needs your input."
Orion immediately put down the clue and stepped through the fire, managing a graceful exit for once, rather than falling flat on his face. He looked round and saw the Marauders clustered round a bed, all looking very much the worse for wear, but it was the expressions on their faces which pulled him up short. They looked at him with eyes that were a mixture of sadness, shock, disbelief, and anger, before turning their gazes back to the bed.
On the bed was a figure which made Orion's heart clench. Lily lay still and silent, while Poppy worked on her. Bruises were visible on her arms and legs and there was one distinct set on her throat as well.
Looking at the bruises on her legs, he directed a sharp look at Poppy, asking a silent question with his eyes. She shook her head and Orion breathed a silent sigh of relief, even as rage welled up inside him, demanding that he find the one or ones who hurt Lily and make them pay.
"What. Happened." Each word was carefully enunciated as he struggled to control the impulse to kill the ones who had hurt Lily and the rest of his family. He didn't notice, but his spirit family did, that he had included Sirius in his family.
"We're not sure, she wanted to talk to you," McGonagall answered. "She won't talk to anyone else, the Marauders brought her in and they haven't talked either. We were hoping that you could get to the bottom of it."
Orion looked towards Poppy, who nodded, indicating that all the injuries had been documented and healed, and he moved towards the bed, the Marauders drawing back to let him near.
"Lily," he said gently. "Can you tell me what happened?"
The boys looked at Lily, who was trembling and struggling not to cry. "I was, attacked," she whispered, flinching as Orion moved closer. Seeing this, he stopped and crouched down so he appeared less threatening. The boys shifted position to draw around her and shield her from view, daring Orion to move any further.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Lily," Orion said softly, giving the Marauders a warning look. "I just want to find out what happened that's all."
Lily looked at him from within the protective circle of boys and nodded once. "It started a couple of weeks after the Yule Ball, some older boys began following me, ambushing me as I came out of the library, popping up as I went to classes. I didn't think anything of it at first, but then they got closer, began to "accidentally" push past me, called me names, said that I shouldn't be hanging out with blood traitors and mutts, things like that. I ignored it, because that's what you do with bullies, right? But then, today, they," she trailed off and the trembling, which had started when she'd begun telling the story, increased in strength.
Severus, Remus, and James all sat on the bed and wrapped their arms round her supportively but Orion was inwardly amused to see that Lily chose to use Severus' shoulder as a pillow, even though all three boys were hugging her. He sat down beside the bed, wanting to be closer so he could hear her answers to his next questions.
"What did they do?" Orion asked, he had a fair idea as to what they'd done but he needed Lily to admit it.
Lily looked up at him, her eyes damp and threatening to overflow with tears. "They, they pushed me onto the floor and two of them held me down, then one, touched me." She started to cry and then awkwardly threw her arms around him. As tears soaked into his robe, he hummed a tune under his breath that he used to use with his own Lily whenever she was upset. When the sobs eventually slowed to sniffles, he settled her back on the bed.
"Did they rape you?" he asked with a thread of urgency in his tone.
Lily shook her head, her eyes overflowing with tears once more. "No," she said. "They might have done but then Severus, Remus, James and Sirius crashed in and interrupted them," she waved towards the Marauders.
Orion turned to the Marauders and silently raised an eyebrow. James seemed to be the spokesperson because he answered, "We saw what was happening a few times but Lily said she'd got it under control. We did prank them to try and get them to stop what they were doing, and we did our best never to leave Lily alone but we can't be with her all the time."
"So how did you know she was in trouble today?" Orion queried.
The boys exchanged a glance, and James responded, "We were following her, covertly of course, but we were taken by surprise. Those," he called Lily's attackers a name which had Orion itching to use a Scourgify charm on his mouth, "Stunned us but we were only knocked out briefly because most of the spell hit a pillar we were hiding behind. Remus overcame it really fast and Ennervated the rest of us. Then we heard what sounded like a struggle, and Lily was yelling for someone to stop, and so we burst in. They were in the middle of, er," he blushed to the roots of his hair, but plowed on, "undressing Lily and she didn't want it, so we attacked them."
"And who are they?" Orion enquired.
"We don't know their names but they were seniors," Severus hissed, his eyes alight with malice as he hugged Lily even tighter than before. Lily shifted a bit but didn't protest the tight hug, not even when James and Remus followed Severus' lead.
"What house?" McGonagall asked, having remained silent throughout the questioning so far.
"Two Gryffindors and two Slytherins," Sirius said, his tone telling everyone present what he thought of that. Orion looked at Severus, who nodded, seeming ashamed of the crest he wore on his robe.
"Where are they now?" he asked.
"Probably back in their common rooms," Severus answered. "Dad, er, Professor Potter," he amended, seeing the disapproving look from Professor McGonagall, "what's going to happen now? I mean, we couldn't identify them, so how are you going to know who they are?"
Orion looked thoughtful. "May I view your memory of the event?" he asked. "You don't have to allow this if you don't want it, I won't be upset if you refuse. It's just the easiest way of identifying the attackers."
Severus looked at the other Marauders, before reluctantly nodding. "Will it be through Legilimency or in a Pensieve?" he asked.
"Pensieve," Orion answered, "it will allow more than one person to view the event."
"Who else is going to see it?" Lily interrupted, sounding scared. Orion looked at her and his tone became very gentle.
"Just me, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore," he answered. Seeing that Lily looked even more upset at the thought of the Headmaster seeing the humiliating experience, he made her look at him. "Lily," he said softly, "Professor Dumbledore has to see it so that he can say that he's seen conclusive evidence to justify their expulsion. He won't tell anyone about the details, only that you were assaulted. That detail alone is enough."
"What about if they get taken to court?" Lily wasn't calming down, if anything, she was getting more and more agitated.
"They will only be taken to court if you and your parents choose to press charges," Orion answered carefully. "Under the circumstances, we will contact your parents and inform them of the situation. When they get here, you can discuss where you want to go from there."
"First we need to discover who these cowardly excuses for wizards are," McGonagall interrupted, her Scottish accent becoming more pronounced as she grew angrier.
"Leave that to me," Orion growled. He Flooed back to his office, grabbed a Pensieve, and Flooed back to the infirmary. Sitting down opposite Severus, he locked eyes with his son and quickly slid into his mind. Despite his anger at the situation, he was gentle with his search; Severus didn't deserve to feel the pain that inevitably accompanied an overly rough mental probe. He felt a strong surge of pride as Severus actively helped him, directing his father to the relevant memory and not fighting the withdrawal of said memory. Depositing the silver strand into the bowl, Orion waited for Severus to recover from the slight disorientation which always accompanied memory withdrawal, and then pushed the bowl towards the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress.
"Lily, are you OK with this?" he asked gently.
Lily had curled up in a ball but she nodded. "It has to be done, just, please, don't think any differently about me when you come out."
Looking quickly at the two other professors, Orion gathered Lily up into a hug once more. "Lily," he said gently yet firmly, "this was not your fault." He tipped her head back a bit so her eyes met his and he consciously let his eyes return to their natural green colour. His expression and tone softened even further. "We are doing this to help you, not to hurt you any further. We won't think any differently of you, we promise. We actually think you're very brave, allowing us to see what happened."
Lily blinked, she could have sworn that Professor Potter's eyes were usually gold but now they were green. She blinked again and they were back to their gold colour. Shaking her head, thinking it must have been a trick of the light, she looked towards Dumbledore and McGonagall, both of whom nodded in agreement with Orion's statement.
"Do it," she said and then burrowed under the bedcovers as Severus, James, and Remus returned to her side, hugging her gently. It was odd, Orion mused as he entered the Pensieve, how Lily could be so accepting of a wizard being near her after what had happened, especially an adult wizard, but then he remembered that for Lily, the Marauders and even he himself represented comfort and safety for her.
The Pensieve memory was hard for all the professors to endure and when they came out, Dumbledore's voice trembled with outrage as he said, "Professor Potter, Professor McGonagall, find those… those pathetic excuses for wizards and bring them to my office. I'll contact Mr and Mrs Evans and bring them to Hogwarts, we will need to consult with them as to whether charges will be brought or not. I will also contact the parents of those other students and get them here too."
Orion and Minerva nodded tightly, but as they moved to the doors of the infirmary, Orion stopped. "Headmaster?" he said casually, "Do you want me to reveal my status to them as a means of shocking them into compliance if they resist?"
"They would know your status as Lord Slytherin from the second task," Dumbledore answered, a bit confused. He was shocked when Orion revealed the second ring on his finger just underneath the Slytherin one.
"You're Lord Gryffindor as well as Lord Slytherin?" he asked, astonished.
"Yes," Orion said flatly.
Dumbledore smiled coldly. "If they resist, then by all means, pull rank on them, Lord Gryffindor. Call in Horace as well, as the Slytherin Head of House he has the right to be present when the Slytherins are questioned, as Professor McGonagall will be present when the Gryffindors are questioned."
Orion nodded sharply and he and Professor McGonagall left the infirmary. As he went out the door, Orion heard Sirius ask if his parents and James' parents would be called as well. He couldn't hear Dumbledore's answer but he would bet a sizeable amount of galleons that Charles and Emma, and Orion and Walburga Black would not be called in as student fights rarely merited parental involvement unless it was a case of attempted murder. As James and Sirius defended Lily and weren't the ones who attacked her, there was no reason to call in their parents. He smirked as he thought to himself that Professor McGonagall would probably write to them anyway, to inform them of James and Sirius' parts in defending Lily, which Orion would confirm if necessary.
His thoughts turned to the four students that he and Professor McGonagall had been sent to fetch and he snarled, the sound drawing a concerned look from his companion.
"Are you alright, Orion?" she asked.
"No," he admitted. "The thought of what could have happened had the Marauders not come along at precisely the right moment both enrages and scares me. I'm not sure what to do, my impulse is to kill all four of them, but I know I can't do that."
"Kill them, no, scare the hell out of them, yes," McGonagall said with a predatory smile, causing a small moment of consternation in her colleague. He had known that she would protect her students with the ferocity of a lioness, and he had also known that she was capable of scaring students into submission when necessary – her reaction to Ron Weasley when he'd poisoned him was proof enough – but this predatory side of her nature was starting to scare even him.
"Would this be because it's a previously unknown side of her which you don't know how to react to?" came Severus' mental voice.
"Oh shush," Orion growled back.
"How are you going to deal with it?" Lily asked. The knowledge of what her younger self had been through had shocked all the older Marauders, but Severus and James in particular were furious.
"The Gryffindors should be easy, just snarl at them a few times and they'll roll over and show you their bellies," Severus growled. "They are "cowardly lions" after all. Can I borrow your body so I can deal with the Slytherins myself?"
Orion snickered at the commentary and said, "No Severus, I can't grant your request, as amusing as it might be to witness. Do you have any other suggestions for how I should deal with the Slytherins?"
"You've just been revealed as Lord Slytherin, the rightful Heir of their House Founder," James said a bit impatiently. "Use that, and your authority as a Hogwarts professor to get to them."
"Good idea, thanks Dad," Orion murmured, thankful that Professor McGonagall hadn't heard him.
"So, how do you want to do this?" McGonagall growled when they reached her office.
Orion shrugged. "I'll get the Slytherins, you get the Gryffindors?"
"I'd rather like you along with me when I get them. Revealing your Lord Gryffindor status may shock them into a confession."
Orion smiled ferally. "Would you like to meet Leo?" he asked.
When he got a confused look from the Head of Gryffindor, he smiled and smoothly transformed into the massive lion nicknamed Leo. Minerva gasped and then came round her desk to crouch beside him. Her fingers gently ran through his mane, and traced the rough fur on his neck. A massive paw was lifted up and she gently pressed the toes to extend his claws.
"Magnificent," she proclaimed as Leo transformed back into Orion. "I've just had a brilliant idea," she said with the same predatory smile that Orion had seen earlier. Orion looked at her uncomprehendingly at first, which transformed into a smirk as she explained.
The Gryffindor students were enjoying their Saturday afternoon, relaxing, or, in the case of the senior students, working on homework. They all looked up as the portrait hole opened and a huge lion leapt into the room, landing in the middle with perfect precision.
The students swallowed as the large cat walked around the room, examining each of them as he went past. The younger students relaxed as the big cat did nothing more than give the lion version of a purr as he passed them, but the seniors were less happy as Leo growled at them. Finally, he came to a stop in front of two sixth year boys, Pritchard and Smith, who gulped as Leo's tail began to lash around in anger and a growl emanated from him which was much more savage than the ones he'd directed at the other seniors.
The lion tapped both of them with a paw and indicated that they should follow him.
"Why should we?" Smith growled, not trusting that Leo wouldn't eat them.
The lion shivered and transformed back into Orion. "Because I want you to," he growled back. "Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office immediately."
"What for?" Pritchard asked.
Orion looked round at the curious Gryffindors who were clustering round him. "He didn't say, all he said was that he wanted to see you."
"Sir," the Head Boy said, breaking the tense silence which had fallen.
"Yes," Orion asked a bit impatiently.
"We heard that Lily Evans was attacked today, the portraits were talking about it. Were these two involved?"
Orion frowned, but he couldn't deny it. "They are alleged to have been involved, yes."
"You can't treat us like this!" Smith suddenly growled, interrupting the murmurs that had arisen after Orion's statement. He glared at Orion and snarled, "What gives you the right to come in and do this? You're Lord Slytherin, why would you care about a mudblood like Evans anyway?"
Orion let the Gryffindor ring shimmer into existence on his finger. "I inherited the title of Lord Slytherin from my mother's side," he said quietly, his voice practically shaking with anger, "but from my father's side, I inherited the title of Lord Gryffindor. So I would suggest that you stay silent, Smith, unless you want to be dragged to Dumbledore's office by Leo."
The watching students all gasped at this new nugget of information, and one brave second year asked, "Sir? Um, will you announce that at the same time as you announce that you're Lord Slytherin?"
Orion looked down at the young witch, and smiled faintly. "I'm not sure, I'd need to discuss it with Professor Dumbledore first."
Turning back to Pritchard and his partner in crime, Smith, who were now both looking alternately resentful and defiant, he said icily, "If you ever use the word "mudblood," in my presence again, you will regret it. I won't have it, and I don't believe Professor McGonagall allows such derogatory language towards members of her House either. Come with me now."
"Er, Lord Gryffindor?" The Head Girl spoke up, her eyes full of disgust as she looked at the two sixth-year Gryffindors who had disgraced their House. Orion turned to her enquiringly and she swallowed but continued, "Is Lily going to be OK? Her friends aren't here either, are they alright?
Orion looked at her piercingly for a moment and then said, "She's understandably very upset and it's for that reason that Madam Pomfrey has restricted visitors to just her friends and family for now, apart from staff members. She will need support when she returns, but don't crowd her or press her for answers if she doesn't want to talk. Her friends are with her, and they're alright, just a bit shaken up."
He swept the common room with a sharp gaze. "No one is to mention this to anyone else is that understood? The details of what happened today are to remain private and if any staff member hears one whisper of what happened on the student grapevine then Professor McGonagall and I will find out who's responsible for the leak and we will personally see to it that the punishment is severe. Am I understood?"
The suddenly pale group of students nodded silently as Orion led the two sixth-years out of the common room, looking very grim. Behind him, he left a silence in which you could have heard a pin drop.
As they reached the main hall, they met Professor McGonagall, who took one look at the expression on Orion's face and smirked. "Did you leave any of my cubs alive, Lord Gryffindor?" she asked.
"Would you be upset if I said no?" Orion asked with a malicious smile.
McGonagall looked at him reproachfully, and he shrugged. "Yes, they're alive. They're annoyed with these two because they heard what had happened from the portraits and I couldn't deny it. They won't say anything; I might have threatened them with unspecified but severe punishments if any of the teachers heard a whisper of speculation or gossip on the matter."
McGonagall chuckled and then fixed the two students behind Orion with her sternest look. "Do you wish to get the Slytherins while I escort these two up to the Headmaster?" she asked.
Orion nodded. "It would be my pleasure," he hissed.
Salazar Slytherin was enjoying a talk with Godric Gryffindor when one of the knights from another portrait ran up to them. "Lord Slytherin, Professor Potter just went past my portrait, heading for the Slytherin common room. He looked like he was contemplating murdering one or more of the students there. You need to go, now!"
"We'll finish our talk later," Salazar said hurriedly before racing to his portrait which was just outside the common room. Godric watched him go and sighed, it was a pity that history made them out to be enemies when they were really best friends. It made having a friendly conversation very difficult as they had to pretend to hate each other whenever they were in public.
"Heir, wait," Salazar called out as he skidded into his portrait.
Orion stopped abruptly. "Salazar," he growled, "how are you?"
"I'm fine, but you look as though you're about to kill someone. What's got you in such a temper?"
Orion breathed slowly and deeply for a couple of minutes, reasserting his emotional control. When he felt that he was sufficiently calm enough to explain the situation, he turned to his ancestor with a disturbingly blank expression on his face.
"Two sixth-year boys from Slytherin sexually assaulted a third-year Gryffindor witch today. If her friends hadn't stopped them in time, they would be facing a charge of rape, rather than just attempted rape."
Salazar lapsed into Parseltongue as he hissed a long string of swear words. "How dare they!" the Founder growled when he'd regained control of his temper. "Was it just them?"
Orion shook his head. "No, could you get Godric for me? Two sixth year Gryffindors were also involved."
Salazar shook his head in disbelief. "He will be furious. Please tell me that you and Minerva dealt with them appropriately."
Orion nodded and quickly explained what he and McGonagall had done. Salazar chuckled, and gained permission from Orion to tell Godric what had happened. "Go get those treacherous little snakes and get them out of Hogwarts!" he said just before he left.
"Don't worry, I will," Orion responded.
As much fun as turning into Leo and terrifying the two Gryffindors had been, Orion knew he had to be more subtle with the Slytherins. As he stepped into the common room, the students nearest the door noticed him and in seconds, every Slytherin student who was in the common room or dormitory was clustered into the available space. Orion repressed a sigh; he'd hoped to quietly extract the two boys from the common room without catching the attention of every other student in the room. It looked like that plan was now completely unworkable.
"Oh well, when a quiet extraction is unworkable, go for public withdrawal and make them seem like the villains they are," he murmured to himself before looking round the common room, trying to pinpoint where his targets were.
"Lord Slytherin, it's an honor," Theodore Nott said eagerly, not quite fawning over Orion but coming close to it.
"Stand back idiot, can't you see he doesn't want you licking his boots," Lucius Malfoy hissed impatiently, before bowing to Orion and saying, "Lord Slytherin, welcome to the Slytherin common room."
"Thank you, Mr Malfoy," Orion said coolly. "I'm looking for Mr Donovan and Mr Goshawk. Are they here?"
"They're over there, sir," Lucius turned and indicated where the two aforementioned students were sitting.
"Thank you," Orion murmured, before raising his voice. "Will you two come over here please; I need to talk to you."
The boys looked at each other but walked over to him, apparently unconcerned about the fact that one of their professors who also happened to be Lord Slytherin wanted to talk to them. When they reached him, Orion stared at them, not saying anything for a minute, and then he said, "Come with me, I need to speak to you in private." He led the way out of the common room, and Donovan and Goshawk followed him, both confused.
Once outside in the hall, Orion cast a privacy spell and said, "The Headmaster sent me to fetch you. He requires your presence in his office, immediately."
The two students looked confused and Donovan said, "Why does the Headmaster need to see us, sir?"
"He said that it was in regard to a sexual assault on a third-year Gryffindor," Orion said coldly.
Donovan and Goshawk looked at each other and then back at him, neither saying anything to either confirm or deny their guilt. Orion narrowed his eyes, but turned and began leading them towards Dumbledore's office. As he walked ahead of them, he kept his senses on full alert. He wouldn't put it past these two to attack him from behind, they didn't seem at all concerned over the potential trouble they were in, and he didn't want to think what either version of Severus would say if they found out that he allowed himself to be attacked by two students.
It was at the second staircase when the half-expected attack occurred. Orion felt a movement of air behind him and then felt two sets of hands attempt to push him over the stair rail. He twisted his body so he was facing the two students and almost lost an eye as both students had their wands pointed straight at him.
"We're not going any further," Goshawk snarled.
"Yeah, the mudblood bitch deserved it," Donovan added, moving closer to try and shove Orion over the edge. Orion slid out of the way, moving a step up and then stepped down again so he was behind Donovan. He felt a flare of magic nearby and jerked aside, letting an organ rotting curse fly by him and impact the wall. Seconds later, he'd stuck Goshawk to the wall with a Sticking charm and taken his wand from him. Donovan stumbled forward, thrown off balance by Orion's unexpected movement and almost took a headfirst dive to the ground floor himself. Orion sighed, grabbed the Slytherin by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back to safety, sticking him to the wall beside Goshawk so he wouldn't go anywhere. Once that was done, he pocketed Donovan's wand, putting it beside Goshawk's.
"Oy, let me up, I'm going to fall," Donovan yelped, still thinking that he was about to fall over the stair rail.
"Quit whining, you're back on safe ground," Orion snapped. As Donovan processed the fact that he was stuck to the wall, Orion quickly asked the mental version of Severus whether he'd handled the situation correctly. Finding that the former Head of Slytherin approved of his actions, and in fact suggested that he could have done something a lot more drastic if he'd wanted to, Orion relaxed. Turning to the two Slytherins, he eyed them with a mixture of contempt and anger.
"That was very, very stupid," he growled, "and not at all what I would have expected from two senior Slytherins. In addition to the original charge that you're already facing, you have just now added attacking a Hogwarts professor to that." He silenced Goshawk with a flick of his wand as he continued, "A good lawyer could make a case that your attack on me was attempted murder. Do you really want to stand up in front of the Wizengamot on that sort of charge?"
Goshawk sneered at him, still apparently unaffected by what had happened, but Donovan shook his head, all his previous defiance and cockiness gone. He'd tried attacking the one teacher he should have known better than to attack, and had paid for it. Professor Potter had moved so fast he'd barely seen the movement, and he'd got the scare of his life when he felt himself falling over the rail, only to be pulled back by a strong hand which had closed over the back of his neck. He swallowed hard as he remembered that the man who was currently looking at him with an expression of utter contempt was not only one of his professors, but also Lord Slytherin.
"What was that?" Orion asked, deliberately mimicking the older Severus' silky tone, the one he reserved for students that he considered particularly dimwitted.
"No, we don't want to face a charge of attempted murder," Donovan said weakly. He swallowed and added after a minute, in a very small voice, "Lord Slytherin."
Orion's expression didn't alter one iota, and Donovan felt about one inch tall. With a flick of his wand, the students were free, but Orion immediately Petrified Goshawk. He didn't trust him not to try another attack. "Walk ahead of me," he said, and Donovan complied silently. Goshawk was levitated along beside him and the rest of the trip to Dumbledore's office was completed in silence.
When they arrived, it was a very subdued pair of Slytherins who entered, Orion having unPetrified Goshawk just prior to entry. The sixteen-year-olds went even paler than they already were when they spotted their parents sitting in the office, along with the Pritchards, the Smiths, and the Evans'.
Lily, and the Marauders were all there as well, along with Professors McGonagall and Slughorn, while Dumbledore was standing behind his desk, the usual twinkle notably absent, having been replaced with a cold fury which made Orion secretly glad that it wasn't him that Dumbledore was glaring at.
"We will now begin by hearing what happened earlier today," Dumbledore said curtly. "Miss Evans, as the victim in this distressing affair, perhaps you could start off?"
Lily jumped, but with her parents' support, she retold the tale, and by the end she was shivering violently. Rose was hugging her tightly while Daniel looked as though he'd love to strangle the four boys who had hurt his daughter. They remained silent though, in the interests of learning why this had happened.
"Mr Smith, Mr Pritchard, perhaps you'd like to explain why you, as senior Gryffindors, would attack a younger member of your own House in such a vile manner." Dumbledore wasn't letting up, his tone was cold and the words were clipped and precise.
The two boys didn't answer at first, but Orion's low growl coupled with growls from their fathers forced them to answer. "She's a know-it-all and she hangs round with blood traitors and mutts. The third years might not realize it but we know Remus' little secret!" Pritchard spat, glaring at Remus, who snarled in response, his eyes glowing amber.
"Remus," Orion said, putting a hand on his shoulder in both comfort and warning. Remus' growls subsided but he continued to glare at the senior Gryffindors. James, Sirius and Severus drew closer to him, showing silent support though it was hardly needed.
"What secret is that?" Mrs Smith inquired.
"That he's a werewolf," her son answered.
"He isn't the one we're here to discuss," Dumbledore interrupted, "and no matter your feelings about him, it doesn't excuse your assault on Miss Evans. He has hurt no one in his three years here so you can't use his unfortunate condition as an excuse for hurting one of his friends."
"That's perfectly correct," Mr Pritchard agreed, glaring at his son, who wilted under the ferocity of it.
"What excuse do you have for your actions towards Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, looking towards the Slytherins.
"The same as theirs," Donovan said reluctantly. "They got her into the room, and we joined in from there."
The tension level in the room skyrocketed as Donovan finished speaking. With a glance towards Lily, Mr Smith said, "Is there any evidence to support these allegations apart from the word of five students who are all friends and three of whom belong to the same family."
As the Marauders tensed, prepared to yell at the man for doubting them, Professor McGonagall stepped in. "Yes there is, I'm afraid," she said crisply. "I saw it with my own eyes. There is also documented medical evidence that our mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey, collected. Do you need to see it?"
Looking slightly more apologetic, Mr Goshawk said, "It would help make it more believable, yes. I'm sorry, Miss Evans, but we do need to know that this allegation is based on fact, rather than a clever hoax."
Dumbledore looked towards Lily and her parents. Rose and Daniel looked annoyed that Mr Pritchard was questioning their daughter's credibility while Lily looked like she was praying for the floor to open up and swallow her. It was obvious that she wasn't happy at the prospect of even more people seeing what had happened to her.
"Perhaps a less public venue?" Professor McGonagall suggested.
"Or use Veritaserum," Professor Slughorn put in. "The alleged culprits are old enough for the standard dose to not affect them."
"That would require parental consent," Dumbledore said delicately, looking towards the four sets of parents involved.
The Pritchards, Smiths, Goshawks, and Donovans looked at each other, and then at Lily and her parents. "You have it," they said.
Slughorn quickly left to get the Veritaserum and when he returned, the four senior students had been sat down in chairs and restrained in preparation for the interrogation.
"Miss Evans, do we have your consent to play the memory of what happened to you, before we administer the Veritaserum?" Dumbledore asked.
Lily slowly looked around at everyone in the room. Finally, her eyes came to rest on Orion, and once more, she blinked as she saw his eyes flicker from gold to green and then back again. Looking back to Dumbledore, she swallowed hard and then nodded.
The Headmaster nodded and set out Orion's Pensieve on the table. Tapping the side with his wand, the memory began to play. Lily turned away, unable to watch, but the other people present in the room were unable to tear their eyes away from it, no matter how disturbing they found the memory to be.
When it was over, Mr Smith approached Lily and stopped when he was a few feet from her. Daniel began to rise from his chair, unsure of the wizard's motives but when the man knelt in front of Lily and made no move to harm her, he relaxed.
"Miss Evans, on behalf of myself and my wife, may I offer my deepest apologies for our son's actions toward you. It was despicable and completely intolerable. You can be sure that we'll deal with this appropriately, and we won't breathe a word of it to anyone else. You won't find it splashed all over the media, we promise."
Lily looked uncertainly at him and then nodded faintly.
"Well," Dumbledore said, as Mr Smith went to stand beside his wife, "shall we continue with the Veritaserum just to lay to rest the inevitable argument that the memory could have been faked?"
"We'll need an Auror to administer the Veritaserum," Slughorn said, his eyes darting round the room.
"I can get one if you want," Orion offered.
Dumbledore nodded, and one Floo call later, Amelia Bones was in the office. After a quick explanation of the situation, she took charge with her usual efficiency. The Veritaserum was administered and the results of the interrogation shocked everyone present.
As the antidote was administered, the silence in the room following the end of the interrogation was suddenly broken. "You are disgusting!" Mr Donovan snapped, glaring at his son with all the venom he could muster. "How could you do that? We didn't raise you to think like a Death Eater, nor did we raise you to behave like one!"
"Dad," Donovan said weakly. "It wasn't me, I swear!"
"How can you deny the evidence that was right in front of all of us?" his mother demanded, as incensed as her husband. "Are you saying that you lied while under the influence of Veritaserum? If it weren't for the fact that you're our only child, we would disown you!"
Similar conversations were happening between the Smiths, Goshawks, and Pritchards. The others in the room sat back and watched as the four boys were told in no uncertain terms that their actions were not condoned in the slightest, nor would their parents protect them from the consequences.
"I thought that parents of Slytherins wouldn't care about something like this," Daniel whispered to Orion, his comment unheard in the general shouting that was now occurring.
"Not all Slytherins are pureblood supremacists, and neither are their parents. Even the ones that are wouldn't condone something like this," Orion murmured back. "Rape in the magical world is very rare, and the penalties are very harsh. Attempted rape is treated as severely as actual rape itself, both because the number of attempts is so low and because the government wants to make an example of anyone who is convicted of this repulsive crime. Even most of the Death Eaters wouldn't do this – only the truly insane and sickest of them would use rape as a weapon."
Daniel nodded thoughtfully and then looked up at Dumbledore, who was waiting for the noise to die down. "Professor Dumbledore, what will happen now?" he asked, holding Lily tightly as she shivered, close to completely breaking down. Her magic sparked and flared erratically as she struggled to calm herself, accidentally shocking her father in the process.
The question had the desired effect of shutting up the furious parents who were still finding new ways to describe their opinion of their respective offspring's actions. Dumbledore looked very old as he said "Now it's up to you. Do you want to press charges?"
"Yes," Daniel and Rose answered immediately.
"Well, in that case, there are some things to consider. First of all, we should deal with the school aspect of this. Is there anything else that needs to be added before I make my decision?"
Donovan looked at Orion fearfully, while Goshawk merely looked sullen and defiant. Orion sighed, internally debating whether he should tell Dumbledore about the attack on the way up to his office.
"YES!" his spirit family yelled in his head.
"I have something to add," he said.
"What?" Dumbledore asked.
"On the way up here, Mr Donovan and Mr Goshawk tried to push me over the stair rail. I disarmed and subdued them, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. I just wished to let you know about their attack on one of your professors."
This statement brought growls of outrage from the Donovans and Goshawks. "Do you want that proven as well?" Orion asked mildly, and when the answer was yes, he wordlessly pulled the memory from his mind and dropped it into the Pensieve, beginning from when he'd gone to collect them from the Slytherin common room.
"This is unbelievable," Mr Donovan muttered. "I'm so sorry Professor Potter," he said, holding out his hand.
Orion shook it and said "No apology necessary, it's not you I'm annoyed with. I wouldn't have brought it up except I think that if they could attack a professor, what else might they be tempted to do."
"I've seen enough," Dumbledore said, drawing all eyes towards him. Eyeing the four subdued sixth-years sternly, he said, "You attempted to rape a young witch, you used offensive magic against four other younger students, and lastly, you, Mr Donovan and Mr Goshawk, attacked Professor Potter in a manner that a clever lawyer might be able to call attempted murder. Given the evidence I've both heard and seen, I can only in good conscience, make one decision."
Drawing himself up, he glared at the boys in front of him and said, "Mr Pritchard, Mr Smith, Mr Donovan and Mr Goshawk. For your crimes against Miss Evans, there is only one sentence I can pass. As of now, effective immediately, you four are expelled from Hogwarts. Please hand over your wands."
The boys could only stand and watch in helpless shock and pain as their wands were snapped in front of them. "Your parents will be allowed to take you home, but you will be charged with the attempted rape of Miss Evans."
As they nodded glumly, Dumbledore looked towards Orion. "Professor Potter, will you be pressing charges for the attack against you by Mr Goshawk and Mr Donovan?"
Orion looked at the boys in question and slowly nodded. "Yes, I think so. It was a separate attack, and should be treated as such."
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Very well. Mr Goshawk and Mr Donovan, you will also be charged with the attack on Professor Potter. You had best hope it is merely an assault charge, rather than attempted murder." As the dejected former sixth-years were led away by their fuming parents, Dumbledore looked over at the Marauders, who had been silent throughout the entire meeting.
"Messrs Potter, and Mr Black, you have earned Gryffindor and Slytherin sixty points each for your courageous defence of Miss Evans. Miss Evans, if you need counseling for this terrible incident, the school will provide it free of charge. You only need to tell us if you need it."
Lily nodded and shakily stood up. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. May I and my parents leave now? We want to discuss our options with Professor Potter."
"Of course," Dumbledore said gently, as Professor McGonagall moved forward and put a hand on Lily's shoulder.
"I'm truly sorry that I didn't see what was happening," she said softly.
"We know, and we don't blame you," Rose answered.
Later that afternoon, after a brief discussion and arranging to meet later the following week to hire a lawyer, Orion was the recipient of an unusual visit. The Marauders and Lily turned up at his office, all looking solemn.
"Dad, we want to ask you something," Remus said as they sat down.
"Alright," Orion said agreeably. "What do you want to know?"
"We want you to be our anchor for a protection ritual," Sirius said.
Orion frowned. "No," he said.
"Why not?" Severus asked.
"Because," Orion said sternly, "even the most basic of rituals can have side effects if not done properly, and the protection rituals are all complex. Many of those rituals also require the participants to willingly share blood with each other, both as a sign of trust, and also to enhance the magic in the ritual. If done wrong, if even one person involved isn't doing it of their own free will, then the magic can backlash, killing all the participants."
He broke off and locked eyes with all the Marauders in turn, including Lily. "I want all of you to promise me, here and now, that you will not think of, nor research, nor attempt, any sort of magical ritual, protection or otherwise. Rituals should only be attempted by adult witches and wizards who fully understand what they're getting into, and understand the risks involved."
"But, we want to protect each other, and this ritual is the only one we've found that works the way we want it to," James protested.
"What exactly do you want to do?" Orion asked, wondering if they were trying to achieve their desired effect with a complex ritual when a simple spell might do the same thing.
"We want a spell which will allow each of us to sense when another of us is in trouble, and also give us a sense of their location. We also want to be able to use it to send messages to each other, to arrange meetings after classes and things like that," Lily explained, hoping that Orion would relent. He'd never, to her knowledge, denied them anything with such finality before.
"You're going about this in the wrong way," Orion said as he thought of ways to achieve what the Marauders wanted. They looked at him with confusion and he continued, "You don't need an elaborate ritual to do what you want. All you need is a couple of spells. Go and do more research with that in mind and you should find what you need. Once you've found the required spells, come back and I'll help you set it up."
As they rose to leave, Orion coughed sharply. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.
"What?" James said.
"The promise," Orion said. "I won't let you leave without all of you, separately, promising me that you won't think about doing any rituals, or even research them. It's too dangerous a subject to play around with, especially at your age."
Reluctantly, all the Marauders, and Lily, gave their word that they wouldn't look further into magical rituals, and then left, keen to research protection spells. Orion watched them leave, trying to ignore a nagging doubt that they hadn't been quite as sincere as they should have been with regards to the promise they'd made. Closing his eyes, he decided to visit Godric's Hollow, having not been there for a while.
No sooner had he sat down on the couch and accepted hugs from his spirit family, James was trying to convince him to stop doubting the younger Marauders. "They won't break their word," he said reassuringly.
"I want to believe that but I have a really bad feeling about this," Orion said. Spotting the outrage on Severus and Remus' faces, he snorted.
"Come on, how often did you have a student promise they wouldn't do something, only for them to turn round and do it anyway. Particularly if it was a subject they were strongly interested in."
"Not as many times as you might think," Severus growled back. "Let them be, I'm sure that Lily won't allow them to go back on their promise, even if they did get it into their heads to ignore your warning."
Orion nodded reluctantly. "I'll believe that at least. I guess I'm just more wary about trusting them ever since your younger selves," he looked at James, Severus and Remus, "decided to try spying on me. I didn't punish them for it because I felt that the shock of seeing the interrogation and execution was punishment enough. It's put a serious dent in their eagerness to pry into my private life at any rate, which is a good thing."
"Yes, but that was a mistake brought about by youthful curiosity and it didn't put their lives in danger," Sirius said. "A mistake, might I add that they've paid for and one you've forgiven them for. This is different. They won't break their promise. If they do then you can punish them as harshly as you feel is necessary."
"I might not have to," Orion growled. "The consequences of messing up a ritual, even a minor one…" he trailed off as his family nodded silently. They all knew what he was talking about and they hoped that their younger versions heeded Orion's advice and kept their promise.
Orion stepped up his covert surveillance of the Marauders, extending it to include Sirius and Lily while they did their research. He slowly relaxed as he saw that they were keeping their promise about ritual research and decided that they didn't need him spying on them, so he removed his surveillance in several stages. Two weeks after the attack on Lily and the unusual request by the Marauders, Charles contacted Orion with some news which made the Unspeakable want to bang his head against the wall and then Avada Kedavra everything around him.
"Orion," Charles said with a worried expression, "Voldemort has disappeared."