Chapter Seven: Magical Means

Several minutes after the competition ended, James still sat kneeling over Evans trying to revive her. He swore that, had he known the wand movements for the countercurse, he would have used them immediately. But things like that just weren't learned until third year or so. He looked up when he heard footsteps walking down the hallway (which was now clear of any remnants of fog or smoke). They were McGonagall and Dumbledore's, who were followed by a very cross-looking Sirius. When they saw him leaning over Lily, they hurried over to him.

"What's happened to her?" Dumbledore asked, leaning down.

"Snivellus—er—Snape hit her with a stunning spell. I don't know the wand movements, Professor."

"Ennervate." Dumbledore said softly, and Lily's eyes snapped open. She groaned, closing them again. "I imagine you hit your head quite hard when you fell, Miss Evans. I daresay you have a concussion."

"Can Madam Pomfrey do anything to fix her?" James asked, concerned.

"Madam Pomfrey, I have long since decided, can do just about anything, James." Dumbledore told him with a wink. Dumbledore levitated Lily and they all followed him on the way to the Hospital Wing.

"Oy, Professor!" Sirius said, studying Dumbledore.

"Yes, Mr. Black?"

"Where'd you get all those red dots on your face?"

"Why, from you of course." Dumbledore said, grinning at Sirius. Sirius' eyes widened comically, and James' eyes flew to Professor McGonagall's arm. He could just see the tip of a white bandage under the sleeve of her torn robes.

"You were…we…" James stammered foolishly.

"Looks like brute force works nearly as well as advanced magic, Mr. Potter. Don't expect congratulations." McGonagall said sternly, but James could have sworn he saw her smile as she turned away from him.

"You say it was Snape who" Sirius whispered at James. He nodded and their eyes met; unspoken understanding passed between the boys. They were both fully aware of what would come next: Retaliation.

"I can't believe you tackled him!" Peter said in awe.

"I can't believe you haven't got detention." Remus said.

"I wasn't really thinking." James confessed.

"Too right, you weren't." Sirius said disapprovingly.

"I'd think that you'd be happy I gave Snivellus a fat lip."

"I can't believe you didn't curse him when you had the chance! He was right there! Right. There. You had him at the tip of your wand and let some bird"

"Speaking of some bird," James interrupted what he was sure would be a long tirade about the evils of Severus and women, "I'm going to go see how Lily's doing." He stood up, heading for the portrait hole.

"Lily is it, now? Abandoning his mates for a girl. This, gentlemen, is how it starts." He heard Sirius saying to Remus and Peter.

James hadn't seen Lily since the incident with Snape. He did, however, find out from Alice Arthurs that she was in the library studying.

"But she won't want to see you." Alice had said haughtily with a flip of her chestnut hair. James frowned. Why the bloody hell not?

He found her at a corner table with books piled high around her. She was chewing thoughtfully on the end of her quill.

"All right, Evans?" he said cheerfully. She looked up, narrowed her eyes, and went back to reading as though he wasn't there. Confused, he took a seat across from her. "That must be some book you're reading." When she didn't say anything, he tried again. "Oy, what's up with you? Did dinner make you sick or something?"

"The company, James, is what makes me sick." She snapped. Taken aback, he looked around the library.

"Did Snivellus just leave or something? I'll hex him if you want me to."

"Why don't you just go hex yourself?" she snapped again.

"Why would I do a thing like that?" James asked, completely lost.

"Because it would save me the trouble."

James studied the top of her head for a few moments. "Are you having your monthly then?" he asked seriously. Her head jerked up and she stared at him slack-jawed.

"Am I…"

"Oh, come on, Evans. Don't be a prude. I do have a mother you know. I know all about the evil side of women that tends to come out once in a while. If that's the problem, you could just ask me to leave." Lily took a calming breath before she answered him.

"No, James. That is not my problem. My problem is you."

"Me?" James asked, perplexed. "What about me? I thought we were friends. I thought"

"Thought what?" Lily said angrily. "That you taking the mickey out of someone about their parents would impress me? That I think it's funny to make someone feel like something you stepped in while at a kennel?"

"That's what this is about? What I said to Snivellus? Look, Lily…"

"Save it, James." Lily said, raising her hand. "I thought you were different, but you're just like Sirius and the rest of the egotistical pompous…bastards around here. And I want nothing more to do with you. In fact," she stood up and gathered what books she could carry, "I don't know why I did in the first place." She stomped out of the library, drawing irritated looks from Madam Pince. James sat where he was, in shock. Where had that come from? He had defended her from Snivellus and she was acting like he had committed some horrible crime. Like…like he'd kicked her puppy or something! He didn't know how long he sat there, staring at her empty seat before he trudged back up to the Gryffindor common room. Sirius waved at him from across the room.

"Oy! James! Get your fat arse over here right this instant!" he demanded. James trod wearily through the common room and collapsed in an armchair beside Remus.

"What's happened, then?" Remus asked carefully. James shook his head.

"I have no bloody clue. I don't get birds!"

"Who does?" Sirius asked no one in particular.

"I mean, one minute you're talking and having a good time, and then you go and defend her honor, and she tells you that you're a bleeding arsehole who doesn't know his dick from a stick in the woods!" James continued as though Sirius hadn't spoken.

"Evans said that?" Remus asked, clearly impressed.

"Well, not those exact words," James admitted, "but that was the idea of it!"

"It's her loss." Sirius said sincerely. "Really, who needs birds when you've got your two best mates here?"

"Three!" Peter said indignantly.

"Three." Sirius agreed.

"But it just doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, what happened? Maybe we can help you figure it out." Remus suggested empathetically.

"We were walking together during the competition when Snivellus came out of nowhere and started throwing all these insults,"

"At whom?"

"Well, first at Pete because of the whole incident with the suit of armor…"

"Snape knows about that? How?" Sirius said dropping the quill he'd been tearing apart.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" James said, sitting up straighter, "I thought I saw him creeping around the corner the night it happened, but then I completely forgot about it!"

"How could you?" Sirius said, shocked that such vital information had not been passed on to him. "We could've been torturing him for days and had a good reason, too!"

"Well, I know, but like I said…I forgot." James said lamely.

"I thought we were talking about your problems with Evans," Remus pointed out, trying to steer the conversation away from Severus Snape.

"Right. So anyway, I started insulting him back and then he called Evans a Mudblood, and I got right pissed and started in on his mum and dad, and how they hated him and…"

"Wait a second. You said this to his face? With Evans standing there?" Remus held up his hand. Everyone knew about Snape's family problems, but no one really talked about them in the open. It was public knowledge how dysfunctional the Snape household was.

"Yeah., so?" James asked, missing the implication.

"Well, there's your problem. You stooped down to his level in front of Evans, who just won't have that kind of thing. That's what she's wound up about." Remus said.

"Well," James said at length, "that's not something you can make up for with an apology is it?"

Remus shook his head; he felt awful for James. Everyone who knew James knew that he had a crush on Lily Evans, even if James wasn't ready to admit it. Remus had no idea where things would go from here, but he completely agreed with James. An apology just wouldn't do this time. "She's going to hate me forever." James said as if the sudden realization dawned on him. "For what I said. She will."

"Maybe not forever." Remus tried. "Maybe she'll just hate you until the end of the year. Or term even."

"I think he's right. She'll hate him forever."

All eyes turned to Peter who flushed a deep red and pretended to pick lint from his clothing.

"Thanks for helping, Pete." Remus said, annoyed. Usually he was more patient with Peter than James, or especially Sirius, but their friend was close to having an emotional breakdown of sorts, and Peter was running off at the mouth. "Now why don't you do us all a favor and not talk?" Peter shrunk down further into his chair than he already was and his lower lip poked out, but he said no more.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Potter," Sirius said, "Think of this all in a positive manner."

"Positive? How can Evans hating me possibly be positive?"

"Well," Sirius said, considering this, "if she already hates you then you can't feel guilty when you help us get back at Snivellus! There'll be no worrying that Evans will find out and hates you, because she already does!"

Sirius's twisted form of logic had them all mesmerized, but after a few seconds, James began to nod.

"You know what? You're right. She can't possibly hate me any more than she does now so I can do whatever I want to old Snivellus!" he said, face brightening. Remus nearly groaned.

"We can't do whatever we want to him," he tried.

"No, no. Sirius is right," James said, jumping up suddenly out of his seat, "Snivellus Snape hasn't heard the last from me. We're just getting started. No more blatant physical attacks. We're going to hit him when and where he least expects it. This is all his fault. Oh, yes." Sirius' eyes blazed triumphantly and even Peter looked somehow bettered by James' impassioned speech.

"Oh, no." Remus groaned, covering his eyes.

The next few days, despite Remus' many protests, were nearly completely dedicated to the plan to bring one Severus Snape to his bony knees. No detail, however insignificant, was overlooked. Teachers were ignored, parchment was wasted, and a person's very existence was doomed by two plotting boys with brilliant minds and a vendetta. Scores would be settled, lies would be told, mayhem would ensue, and Remus Lupin could do nothing but sit back and watch, making the occasional objection.

"Could you at least pretend to pay attention?" Remus asked. Sirius and James never really paid attention in any of their classes, but today they'd been so loud that they'd made the Charms teacher stutter twice while he'd been explaining levitation charms. Sirius looked affronted.

"These are very sensitive procedures." He explained patiently. "If we do something wrong, we're liable to make Snape's nose fall off rather than grow to the size of a kneazle. You wouldn't want that on your conscience would you, Remus?" Remus muttered to himself and flicked his wand, making his feather bounce jovially on his desk.

"It's more of a swish, Mr. Lupin, and then a flick." Professor Flitwick said, grinning. "Go ahead. Try it again." His tiny eyes ticked over to where James and Sirius were huddled low over a piece of parchment, talking in low voices. "Mr. Potter?" James looked up and straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose. He smiled.

"Yes, Professor?"

"What are we learning today?" Professor Flitwick asked tiredly.

"We're learning," he chanced a glance at the heading of Remus' notes, "levitating charms."

"Would you mind a small demonstration?" Flitwick asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Certainly." James said. He caught Lily's eye from across the room and his smile faltered. She was watching him, a disapproving look on her face. When his eyes caught hers, she looked away, shaking her head.

"Mr. Potter?" Professor Flitwick urged.

"Right then." James said, lifting his wand and pointing it at the black and tan feather before him, "Wingardium Leviosa!" His wand swished and flicked perfectly, and his feather floated seamlessly off his desk and rose high into the air. He was even competent enough to make it soar once around the room, tickling Flitwick under his chin playfully, before landing back on his desk.

"I say," Professor Flitwick said, astonished, "where did you learn that, Mr. Potter?"

"Well, when you said last week that we'd be starting levitation charms I sneaked a peek in our books. It isn't that difficult, really. It's all in the swish and flick." He winked at Professor Flitwick.

"Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter, for your advanced knowledge in this subject today." Professor Flitwick said proudly.

"Where did you learn that?" Remus asked as they exited the Charms classroom. "Really?"

"Really? I read your notes yesterday while you and Sirius were playing Exploding Snap."

"But my notes didn't say anything about what you did in there. What did you do in there?"

"I just embellished a bit on the swish and flick part. If you move your wand subtly while the feather's floating, you can manipulate it easily enough as long as you don't lose your concentration."

"How did you learn that?" Peter asked, clearly delighted at his friend's genius.

"Didn't really," James admitted. "Just sort of figured it out after the feather started floating."

"But, really James, don't we have more important things to discuss with our comrades here?" Sirius said, grinning.

"That we do, Sirius." He turned to Peter and Remus. "Tonight's the night."

"The night for what?" Pete asked stupidly. The other three boys stared at him incredulously, waiting for him to tell them that he was somehow having them on, that he wasn't really that stupid.

"What've we been working on for the entire bloody day?" Sirius said, losing his patience.

"Oh."

"What do you mean 'tonight'?" Remus asked. "Please tell me you mean tonight as in just after dinner and not tonight as in after hours when Dumbledore said we'd be punished severely for being out of bed."

"The second one, I'm afraid." Sirius said, patting Remus on the back. "No worries. We've got it all figured out."

"Oh?" Remus said, deflating.

"All we need is a diversion. And this time we're using magical means." Sirius glared pointedly at James. "No more of this physical violence."

"I have an idea." Peter said suddenly. They all looked at him skeptically.

"Yes, Pete?" James urged.

"Well, what if we wait? Until after Christmas holidays. Snape will be expecting us to do something to him now. Maybe over the holidays he'll forget. Or something."

The other three boys stared at him for a moment, considering.

"He does have a point." Remus acknowledged, trying to stave off the plan as long as possible.

"Congratulations, Pete. You've redeemed yourself from the stupidity of your earlier comments." Sirius said. "Snape won't know what's hit him. And we'll have time over the break to research our plan further." James nodded.

"What if we all meet at my house? Spend the break there?" he offered.

"My parents will be thrilled," Sirius said, "They sent me an owl just the other day telling me to keep my disgraced Gryffindor self at Hogwarts."

"I dunno," Remus said haltingly.

"Oh, come on then, Remus," James said, his excitement mounting. "My mum loves fussing over people and my dad won't care. You have to be there!"

"I suppose so. I'll have to ask my parents of course, and it would be cutting it rather close…" he said more to himself than anyone else.

"Close to what?" Peter asked.

"Oh…um…my mum's birthday."

"And you, Pete? You'll come as well?" James said, ignoring the look Sirius gave him.

"Definitely!" Peter said. "Mum will be ever so pleased that I've been invited somewhere! I've never been invited anywhere before!"

"This," James said gleefully, "is gonna be the best prank ever."

"The most well-researched, anyway." Remus said evenly, dreading the results of what would no doubt be a brilliant plan executed by Sirius and James after the holidays.