Fate, Maraudery and Knuckle-dusters
"What the hell do you think you're doing Potter? You scared me half to death!"
I barked at him, my eyes ablaze. I was about to tell him where to go, on no uncertain terms, when I felt solid metal hit my cheekbone, shocking me so I hit the wall and slumped to the floor. Slowly, thinking about it, it hadn't hit my cheek, it had hit me in the temple, a tender part of any creature, unnaturally strong or not.
"Do you know what you and that sallow-faced prick did to my girl? She came running back in tears last night, because of something you said or did. I don't want you to *ever* go near her again, understand?"
As far as I recall, he continued to shout, while I drifted in an out of semi-conciousness. I couldn't fathom what he had hit me with, but it had hurt like hell. I sat for a few minutes, but I managed to regain enough of my mind to see the most spectacular sight I have ever seen.
Rounding the corner of the corridor came running four figures, the one, slightly more slender than the other three, pausing briefly, then turning and running with purpose in the direction of Dumbledore's office. How I still had such clear bearings of the castle, I did not know. The one came straight at me, and put a hand to my head, but just to the side of where I had been struck. The other two ran to James, one grabbing his shoulder and yanking him about to face them, and then the other floored him in the most spectacular one-punch pummelling I have known. James didn't get up; the knock had rendered him unconscious, just as his own gradually did the same to me. The last thing I remember was being picked up by the figure that approached me, who took me into the hospital wing with the figure who had delivered the mind-blowing punch.
I woke up, what I gather was some hours later, in the hospital wing again. My head felt heavy and awkward to lift, but light and airy at the same time. I immediately tried to sit up, but I was forced down by two sets of arms. I gazed up at them, trying to focus on their faces, but had they not spoken, I would have not been able to guess who they were for a considerable amount of time.
"Shh, it's ok Ren, you're going to be fine." Ed muttered in a calming voice. He gently smoothed the side of my head that remained intact with one hand, with gripping my burnt arm gently, but reassuringly with the other.
"You'll be fine soon, but don't try and get up, you'll make it worse." ventured Severus, in soothing tones I had never nor have yet heard him use again.
"What happened?" I asked, my voice croaky from lack of exercise.
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Ed replied, looking at Severus in an undefinable way.
"No, I want to know what happened. Tell me, I'll need to know at some point."
Severus this time returned Ed's wary glance, and sighed heavily.
"She's right, she has to know." Then, turning back to me, his hand finding my own, unimpaired one. "Lily ran crying to James, like we thought she would, and she told him some sort of cock and bull story about it. I don't know exactly what she said, but from what Sirius said, it wasn't the truth..."
"Sirius?" I questioned, with more than mild shock in my voice. "When did you talk to him?"
"He and Remus came over to Ed and I at Breakfast this morning, to let us know that James had lost all means of rational thought." He looked away, the biting in his voice deathly clear. "They warned me that Lily had said some stuff that they very much doubted was true, and that he was on the lookout for either one of us... I'm just so sorry I didn't get to you in time."
"I'm fine, don't be sorry...How did you even know where we were?"
"We knew that both of you were in trouble as soon as we talked in the great hall, so we came to find you as soon as we could." He continued, his voice edgy and inconsistent. Ed saw this too, and chose to step in.
"We just ran all over the place to find you, and thank god, you were on the first floor we looked."
"The four figures..."
"Yes." Severus resumed. "Remus stopped and went to get Dumbledore, and Ed went straight to get you..." His voice again wavered, and trailed off.
"Sirius and Severus went for James." Ed ventured, after a long pause. "Sirius pulled him round and held him steady, and Sev..."
"Knocked him out?"
"Yes. I'm not proud of myself, it was a stupid reaction."
"Well, if you aren't proud of you, I am!" I barked at him, with as much enthusiasm as my battered head would allow. "You floored him in one go, didn't you?"
They both nodded, looking a little confused.
"Well for God's sake, that's more sense than I had to do! If I'd walloped him one, perhaps I'd not be seeing double now!"
Ed laughed nervously, but gave a sincere smile. Severus just gave a shifty one, his guilt complex evidently kicking in.
"But...When he hit me, he didn't just hit me with his fist, did he?"
"No, he didn't. The yellow bastard was too afraid to rely on his own strength, so he used knuckle-dusters. I'll kill him when I see him, I really will, and I won't be using any bloody steel bracelet to help me!" The mention of James's dirty tactics obviously riling him.
"Sev, calm down. He's not worth any more effort." Ed warned, and Severus' grip on my hand tightened as his facial expression loosened. Well, well! The Marauders turning on their leader! I lay back and relaxed, my mind now a little more at ease, and a little less sore. I smiled at the thought of Sirius and Remus seeing through Lily's lies, and at Ed caring enough to avoid the obvious choice of going for James and coming straight for me, and perhaps most of all, Severus downing James in one fell swoop. I drifted back into a dreamless sleep.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Potter? You scared me half to death!"
I barked at him, my eyes ablaze. I was about to tell him where to go, on no uncertain terms, when I felt solid metal hit my cheekbone, shocking me so I hit the wall and slumped to the floor. Slowly, thinking about it, it hadn't hit my cheek, it had hit me in the temple, a tender part of any creature, unnaturally strong or not.
"Do you know what you and that sallow-faced prick did to my girl? She came running back in tears last night, because of something you said or did. I don't want you to *ever* go near her again, understand?"
As far as I recall, he continued to shout, while I drifted in an out of semi-conciousness. I couldn't fathom what he had hit me with, but it had hurt like hell. I sat for a few minutes, but I managed to regain enough of my mind to see the most spectacular sight I have ever seen.
Rounding the corner of the corridor came running four figures, the one, slightly more slender than the other three, pausing briefly, then turning and running with purpose in the direction of Dumbledore's office. How I still had such clear bearings of the castle, I did not know. The one came straight at me, and put a hand to my head, but just to the side of where I had been struck. The other two ran to James, one grabbing his shoulder and yanking him about to face them, and then the other floored him in the most spectacular one-punch pummelling I have known. James didn't get up; the knock had rendered him unconscious, just as his own gradually did the same to me. The last thing I remember was being picked up by the figure that approached me, who took me into the hospital wing with the figure who had delivered the mind-blowing punch.
I woke up, what I gather was some hours later, in the hospital wing again. My head felt heavy and awkward to lift, but light and airy at the same time. I immediately tried to sit up, but I was forced down by two sets of arms. I gazed up at them, trying to focus on their faces, but had they not spoken, I would have not been able to guess who they were for a considerable amount of time.
"Shh, it's ok Ren, you're going to be fine." Ed muttered in a calming voice. He gently smoothed the side of my head that remained intact with one hand, with gripping my burnt arm gently, but reassuringly with the other.
"You'll be fine soon, but don't try and get up, you'll make it worse." ventured Severus, in soothing tones I had never nor have yet heard him use again.
"What happened?" I asked, my voice croaky from lack of exercise.
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Ed replied, looking at Severus in an undefinable way.
"No, I want to know what happened. Tell me, I'll need to know at some point."
Severus this time returned Ed's wary glance, and sighed heavily.
"She's right, she has to know." Then, turning back to me, his hand finding my own, unimpaired one. "Lily ran crying to James, like we thought she would, and she told him some sort of cock and bull story about it. I don't know exactly what she said, but from what Sirius said, it wasn't the truth..."
"Sirius?" I questioned, with more than mild shock in my voice. "When did you talk to him?"
"He and Remus came over to Ed and I at Breakfast this morning, to let us know that James had lost all means of rational thought." He looked away, the biting in his voice deathly clear. "They warned me that Lily had said some stuff that they very much doubted was true, and that he was on the lookout for either one of us... I'm just so sorry I didn't get to you in time."
"I'm fine, don't be sorry...How did you even know where we were?"
"We knew that both of you were in trouble as soon as we talked in the great hall, so we came to find you as soon as we could." He continued, his voice edgy and inconsistent. Ed saw this too, and chose to step in.
"We just ran all over the place to find you, and thank god, you were on the first floor we looked."
"The four figures..."
"Yes." Severus resumed. "Remus stopped and went to get Dumbledore, and Ed went straight to get you..." His voice again wavered, and trailed off.
"Sirius and Severus went for James." Ed ventured, after a long pause. "Sirius pulled him round and held him steady, and Sev..."
"Knocked him out?"
"Yes. I'm not proud of myself, it was a stupid reaction."
"Well, if you aren't proud of you, I am!" I barked at him, with as much enthusiasm as my battered head would allow. "You floored him in one go, didn't you?"
They both nodded, looking a little confused.
"Well for God's sake, that's more sense than I had to do! If I'd walloped him one, perhaps I'd not be seeing double now!"
Ed laughed nervously, but gave a sincere smile. Severus just gave a shifty one, his guilt complex evidently kicking in.
"But...When he hit me, he didn't just hit me with his fist, did he?"
"No, he didn't. The yellow bastard was too afraid to rely on his own strength, so he used knuckle-dusters. I'll kill him when I see him, I really will, and I won't be using any bloody steel bracelet to help me!" The mention of James's dirty tactics obviously riling him.
"Sev, calm down. He's not worth any more effort." Ed warned, and Severus' grip on my hand tightened as his facial expression loosened. Well, well! The Marauders turning on their leader! I lay back and relaxed, my mind now a little more at ease, and a little less sore. I smiled at the thought of Sirius and Remus seeing through Lily's lies, and at Ed caring enough to avoid the obvious choice of going for James and coming straight for me, and perhaps most of all, Severus downing James in one fell swoop. I drifted back into a dreamless sleep.
