"I'm with McGonagall on this, James," Remus said, shaking his head. "We have absolutely no way of knowing who attacked our first-years."
"Yeah…I mean you've seen the papers. The world's going mad lately…" Peter piped up.
"Just long-held opinions coming out in the worst way," Sirius muttered darkly.
"It wasn't any of that lot," James insisted. "They've killed people. Merlin! Think of Oliver Smith! If they'd got on grounds they'd be firing more than stunners."
"And one apparently was…" Remus said, fixing James with a stare.
James whipped his head around to glare at Sirius.
The long-haired boy raised his hands in the air. "Don't give me that, Prongs. They needed to know."
"Like hell," James grumbled. "Katie fixed me up just fine. Practice went without a hitch."
"The point is," Remus began again, "someone was out there casting dark curses."
"Exactly. Snivellus," James said firmly. "He's always practicing bizarre wand movements, muttering to himself, coming in and out of the restricted section–"
"And the only new thing we've ever overheard was that incredibly useful, but relatively innocuous muffling spell," Remus interrupted.
"Look," James said pointedly, "I was out there. It was him."
Remus threw his hands in the air.
Sirius shrugged.
"What are you asking us to do exactly?" Peter asked meekly.
"Well…I'd just handle it myself, but given what I told McGonagall back when it happened it'd come right back to me. All I'm saying is that our first-years deserve somebody dishing out a little retaliation. Other than the occasional tripping jinx, we've left Snivellus alone far too long this year anyway."
"I can agree with you there," Sirius quickly added. "What's the plan then? Dump him in the lake? De-pants him in Hogsmeade? I've been dying to do either of those…"
"Simpler," James said conspiratorially. "He's in Defense with us just before lunch. I figure we catch him alone, put a full body bind on him and tuck him away somewhere. Easy enough to manage."
"Well, I'd do it in a heartbeat Prongs, but it's almost March…quidditch coming up soon…you know we can't afford me being banned," Sirius answered.
"I'll do it," Peter volunteered. "He's been goading me ever since he out-dueled me again."
The others shared a skeptical glance before James locked eyes with Remus.
The other wizard sighed. "Alright. I'll help," he said resignedly, patting Peter on the shoulder in support.
Immediately after being dismissed for the day by Professor Osorio, Remus and Peter quickly made their way to a deserted corridor. Their plan was simple. After ensuring no students or staff were in the vicinity, they would don James's invisibility cloak and proceed to the dungeons near the Slytherin dormitories. When Snape inevitably left alone for the Great Hall, he would be subdued and transported to an out of the way broom closet for safekeeping. With a bit of luck, the entire task would be finished in time to catch James and Sirius for lunch.
After over an hour of waiting, things were not going according to plan.
"Does he even eat lunch?" Peter whispered loudly, his speech almost being overwhelmed by the sound of his stomach growling.
"You'd know best, Wormtail," Remus answered. "You certainly never skip a meal."
Remus left out a groan as he struggled to keep the cloak covering both of them following a sharp elbow from his portliest friend.
"Cut it!" he hissed. "Between your elbow and your stomach, if he does come out we'll miss it."
"You asked for the elbow," Peter replied with annoyance.
Both fell silent as the wall opened to release another Slytherin from the bowels of their section of the dungeons. Fortunately, that student was none other than their intended target, who to their relief was in fact alone. The pair immediately took up pursuit.
"Merlin! Can he walk any faster?" Peter panted as Snape turned another corner.
"Just keep up!" Remus whispered harshly. "He gets to the staircase and we've lost even more of our day."
As he approached said staircase, Snape stopped suddenly. He remained frozen in thought for a moment before turning back the way he had come, almost running into Peter and Remus in the process. Spotting no other students in the area, Remus signaled Peter that the time to act had come.
Casting off the cloak, Remus yelled. "Obscuro!" The spell had the desired effect, producing a tight blindfold over Snape's eyes.
In the next moment, Peter cried out, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Snape's body went instantly rigid and the pair moved quickly to cover it with the cloak. With a flick of his wand, Remus used the mobilicorpus charm, positioning Snape's incapacitated body in front of them. With Peter watching their rear, the boys proceeded carefully forward up several staircases until they discovered a sufficiently deserted corridor with a broom closet. As Peter opened the door, Remus removed the cloak and folded it up into his robes. Manipulating Snape's body so he was almost standing upright in the doorway, he canceled the charm they had used to move him and shoved him, still blindfolded, into the darkness.
Severus was finally found several hours later by a startled Argus Filch who had run off to fetch the nearest professor for help. Fortunately for James and Sirius, that professor had been Professor Sprout who had simply shaken her head and muttered about the how juvenile the incident was without giving thought to who may be responsible.
To Severus it was quite clear, but he knew just as he'd escaped punishment for a far worse crime, the same would happen to them. Given what had – or hadn't – been done to track the source to anyone in the school, they weren't going to test everyone's wands. Wands that had probably been washed clean with a myriad of other spells that enjoyed standard daily use. Having to instruct Avery and Mulciber on such a basic step of covering one's tracks was a particularly painful memory. Earning favor could hardly be achieved without discipline and results. Inside jobs could only go so far.
He'd missed his classes and so wandered back to the dungeons to reset his schedule. Stepping inside wasn't exactly a comfort. Even though he'd carved out a degree of recognition from his notoriously aloof housemates based on his cunning potion and spell development he was an outsider to most, a fact he was reminded of when a fourth-year from a proper pureblood family walked into him and moved on without a second thought. If his mind hadn't been occupied with bigger ambitions the boy might have found himself on the end of retaliation his tiny mind couldn't even fathom. Retreating into his dormitory he was irritated to find it full of quidditch goons.
"Look who it is Grant…" said Dareth, one of the few seventh-years on their patchwork excuse for a team.
"Oi! It's the Greasy Ghost! Come to bury your head in a book?"
"Shut up…" Severus muttered.
He felt himself being grabbed by the collar. "What was that?" snarled Grant.
"I said shut up."
In a flash he was on the ground. Though he was encircled, he wasn't alone. Grant was there laughing as loomed over him, standing tall with heavily muscled arms crossed and cropped blond hair. "Severus, Severus, Severus," he tutted, "everyone is always saying how smart you are, but I never get to see it." He grabbed the frail boy, yanking him up again.
Around the room the boy's teammates and their cronies laughed.
Severus's blood boiled. Then he smirked. He'd always needed a test subject and when Grant shoved him to his knees he realized this was his moment. Before the laughing blond giant noticed, Severus had slipped his wand outside of his pocket and into his hand. The crowd tried to warn Grant. Severus warned him as he felt the larger boy approach. "Walk away…"
"From you?" Grant guffawed. "I know you're supposed to be good at spells, but you can't do shit you little half-blood. You're too small, too slow and," he glowered down at Severus, the younger boys eyes meeting Grant's chest, "I'm too close." Severus looked down. Grant shoved him back, enough to make his point, but not enough to force Severus to the ground his time. "That's what I thought."
In a flash, Severus struck. "Sectumsempra!" The spell blasted into the older boy knocking him back slightly.
"What do you call that one, Snape? The poking hex?" Severus smirked as he observed the change. The boy gripped his chest. The hand came up wet. "The…the…fuck did you do to me?"
The crowd fell silent as Grant's shirt started reddening. Severus approached as they remained motionless. Now it was he who was staring down at Grant. Severus nudged the older boy's ribs with the toe of his shoe. He grunted and squirmed, biting back the pain. He did the same as Severus poked at his chest. "The poking hex?" Severus sneered. "This…" he waved his hand over Grant's body, "isn't even fully developed. Now you'll stay down – assuming you'd rather heal here rather than somewhere that someone…might ask questions."
Ten minutes later Grant followed his friends out of the room – Severus's room – still throwing glances behind him as he retreated. This would never do. It was useful, yes, but not nearly enough. There was an incredible difference between this and being able to rapidly exsanguinate an enemy, but he had time. Plenty of time. And plenty of potential test subjects.
Four hours later, Lily and Remus had nearly finished their required rounds.
"Thirty minutes for two more floors. I think we may manage to be on time tonight," Remus said happily.
"We ran a bit low on miscreants tonight didn't we?" Lily mused.
"Absolutely. I'm a bit worried to be honest. It seems without our providing constant inspiration the worst our schoolmates can muster lately is being out after curfew."
Lily glanced at him disapprovingly. "Remind me how you were made prefect again?"
Remus chuckled. "I like to tell myself that the powers behind that decision saw something special within me. Though in fairness, I think it's more likely I'm just clever enough to avoid pranks I know will get me caught."
Lily laughed. "You really can be as shameless as Potter and Black at times, you know?"
"I do. We are friends after all."
"What do you see in them?"
"Really?" Remus inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Really. Obviously they're very talented–"
"I've told you it's more than talents," Remus interrupted, his voice laden with a heavy seriousness. "They've both made difficult choices…taken horrible risks for me over the years. They're my friends. Despite everything."
Lily stopped walking and gazed out one of the castle's small windows. Silence hung between the two Gryffindor prefects as Lily stared into the starry sky thoughtfully, while Remus looked down at the stone floor of the corridor they had been patrolling, scuffing his feet idly.
"Too much then?" he offered, smiling feebly.
"No," Lily said softly, turning back toward him. "It's just surprising. That someone as rational and reasonable as you is so completely sure. Despite everything."
Remus gave her a weak laugh. "We all have our secrets Lily. Some people's just happen to be light instead of dark."
"But why hide it? Why behave the way they do if they're really like you say?"
"They have their reasons."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Could you be any more vague?"
"I'm afraid I'm sworn to secrecy. But if you really wanted to know–"
"They'd never share," she interrupted. "Especially not with me."
As they climbed the staircase to the last floor left to patrol the conversation died, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Rounding two corners and stepping into an empty passage, their attention was snapped back to the job at hand by the sound of heavy breathing and the occasional thump against the door of a broom closet.
Remus smirked. "You'll catch up? I know the broom closet bust is your specialty…"
Lily nodded and Remus slinked past quietly before rounding the corner ahead. After he had gone, she reflected briefly on the partial hypocrisy of what she was about to do. True, the students were out after curfew, but she was exhausted and her usual speech was beginning to sound just as tired Taking a deep breath, she approached the door and flung it wide.
Inside, she was first confronted by the back of traditional school robes, which she quickly followed up to a delicate hand fiercely grabbing a fistful of their owner's black hair. Lily's suppressed amusement quickly turned to irritation however when it became clear that whoever they were, they were either still unaware of her presence or willfully ignoring it. She began to reach out a hand toward the snogging couple when they flattened themselves sideways and carried on. From her new vantage point, she could see that the wizard in question was none other than James Potter, locked in an intense kiss with Katie Wallenby.
"Ahem!" she coughed loudly.
Two pairs of eyes suddenly flew open and both struggled to scramble out of the small space before Potter quickly took the initiative, stepping out and blocking Katie from Lily's glare.
"Need something, Evans?" he said.
Lily bristled at his choice of words. "I need both of you to get back to the Tower. It's almost two hours past curfew and you both know better. That will be–"
"Come on, Evans. You know that'll have to be reported."
"Tragic," she said coolly.
"Look, we'll go now and you can just pretend you never saw us."
She stared at him. "I could. But I think I'd rather keep my badge." To think she'd actually been considering what Remus said.
Potter turned away from her quickly without so much as a retort and put his hands on Katie's shoulders, whispering something to her. Though Lily still could not see her clearly, the girl seemed to be surprisingly shaken up.
Turning back around, Potter stepped toward her, making himself more of an obstacle between Lily and Katie. "Look...we broke the rules. I get it," he began in a surprisingly pleading tone. "It's just…I'm not asking for me alright. Katie's dad is…strict. He gets an owl any time she loses points or gets below Exceeds Expectations on an assignment. He'll flip."
Lily paused to think for a moment. She did feel for Katie, but then she and Potter both knew the risk when they came here. Aside from that, she disliked the idea of not giving equal punishments to each violator. "I'm sorry about that, but I can't. I always give the same punishment…five points each."
"Please," James begged, locking eyes with Lily this time.
"Potter, I've already said–"
"I know what you said. Ten points total. So just take them all on account of me. Leave Katie out of it."
Lily moved her head to see Katie. The poor girl did look genuinely worried. "You? You're really taking all the blame for someone else?"
James nodded. "Yeah. I am. It's not just for 'someone else'."
For some reason this was very serious to him – far more than would be normal for just a snog after hours usually was. "Fine. Have it your way then. But you'll have to out yourself with some stupid excuse. I'm sure you can come up with something," Lily said finally. "Potter, that's ten points from Gryffindor for your flagrant disregard of curfew."
Behind him, Lily noticed Katie's face awash with relief as she silently mouthed a 'thank you' in her direction. In a flash, the pair were gone.
By the time she caught up to Remus he had almost made it back to Gryffindor Tower. "Enjoyed it tonight did you?" he asked.
"No, actually," she answered. "That was kind of the problem."
"Well, well," he chuckled, "I hope you're not going soft on me."
"No. Ten points, just like always."
"Alright then," Remus shrugged. "I'm off to bed then. Busy day tomorrow."
"Night Remus," Lily replied, waving as she headed off to her own dormitory.
As she ascended the stairs, Lily's thoughts returned to her experiences with broom closets that night. It was different from the experiences she had as a younger girl. Then it was faster and messier – not to mention a little awkward the first few times. Setting herself straight had taken a bit. Maybe that was why…she shook her head.
When she had caught Potter with Katie, it was different. She had heard their heavy breathing. Seen their flushed faces. She remembered the visible strength with which the other girl's hand had gripped Potter's hair. Despite that neither looked messy like the younger students she caught often did. What she had broken up wasn't fast or slow. That didn't seem to matter to them. It was…passionate and unrestrained and yet…loving? Lily had a fleeting feeling she couldn't quite place. But as she opened the door to her dormitory, it was gone as quickly as it came, buried by the avalanche of greetings and questions that issued immediately from her two roommates.
A/N: As for this chapter, I decided to do something a bit different and confront a lot of issues that are brewing all at once. I will admit from the outset that a big reason for that is that I wrestled with which specific issue I wanted to address next, but I think it actually turned out nicely dealing with them all together through the broom closet structure. I'm interested to see what you guys think.
As always, thanks for reading! If you're enjoying the story, please leave a like if you haven't already and review below!