Chapter 3: A Faint Glimmer of Hope
Just after the encounter with Snape, James went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, with Sirius following quickly after. "What do you think Moony would think of the way you left Snivellus alone?" he asked James with a hearty, barking laugh. "He said to leave him alone if he was with Lily fair and square, I fail to see that he is," James retorted, laughing as well. They reached the entrance to the common room, and almost immediately Peter Pettigrew was at their heels almost like a servant as they sat in good chairs next to the fire. It seemed that he was permanently attached to the two of them, whenever he was allowed to be. It was shocking to most that he was still allowed to hang around them after six years, but the little rat had his purposes.
"Hey James, Sirius" he squeaked. "Shut up Wormtail," Sirius said with a sneer. "The big boys are trying to make important plans right now." Peter sunk to the ground between their two chairs, staying silent and looking very hurt. Sure his two heroes allowed him to stay around, but when they were doing truly fun things he was completely left out lately. For all the notice James and Sirius gave him anymore he might as well be a rug or something following them around all day. As long as he was completely quiet until Remus showed up everything was considered fine. If he spoke too much, he was yelled at and ridiculed until he stopped speaking or doing anything at all. Not exactly the ideal situation to have with the only people in the world you could think of as friends.
Meanwhile, James and Sirius were planning their strategy for the midnight duel they would be involved in that night. James generally preferred to duel Snivellus in front of a large crowd outside in the midday sun, but this time his opponent had set the terms. Thus, there might be a handful of people watching now, in the middle of the night, in a dark shadowed room where the snake had plenty of room to hide. This was one of the obstacles James would have to overcome before he could punish Snape for dating the girl who James was deeply in love with. It could hardly be considered his fault that he had somehow been unable to gain her affections. The fact that his primary rival somehow had stung James deeply. Thus Snape was constantly punished merely for the fact that he existed, and had what James desperately wanted. Tonight would hardly be any different than pretty much every day.
"You know, we are playing completely on his terms tonight, Padfoot," James said thoughtfully. "You ready for the best fight old Snivellus will ever be able to give us?" This got another barking laugh from his best friend, as both were always ready for the best fight they could get from their constant adversary. It had always been that way, and his current relationship with the object of James' affections only made the mutual hate grudge worse, if that was even possible. "I assure you Prongs; I am more than ready for tonight. In fact, this is going to be a lot of fun." At this both laughed, relishing the duel to come.
At this point their discussion of Snape and Lily was interrupted as Remus came through the portrait hole. "So, how did it go?" Sirius asked loudly. "That was awfully fast," observed James. "You okay Moony?" The look on the teenage werewolf's face said that he was clearly far from okay at the present moment. "Nothing happened is why I am so quick, Prongs. I am still too injured from the last night to be capable of doing her much good. Maybe if I feel better later tonight I can go back and catch her and give her what she wants. If not I guess both of us will just have to wait for another day to get what we need." With that Remus sighed heavily and sank into a chair next to James, his body too old and in pain for his years and his mind quickly growing more depressed than it should be.
Then Remus caught the look on the face of Sirius, and instantly knew that something was not quite right. He looked again and could see the same thing barely hidden on the face of James. They had been up to something, and chances were it dealt with Snape. It nearly always did, even before he started going out with the girl who had held the heart of James Potter in her hands for so long. Remus no longer even knew why he attempted to stop it; it would just go on anyway. The best he could do was hope that no one was killed or injured too seriously. It was not that he held any affection for Snape, there was no love lost there. If James or Sirius got kicked out of school or something though, Remus would hold himself completely responsible. He was a prefect, and even more he was there friend. He should be there to keep them from doing anything too far out of bounds. Knowing that was not an option, he could at least stand guard over wherever they were and make sure that no one else with any authority caught them doing something against school rules and quite probably illegal.
Resigned to his fate, he decided he might as well see what he would be getting himself into tonight on the behalf of his two troublemaking best friends. "So, what did you do to Snape today, and what is happening tonight because of it?" he asked with a half hidden sigh. He had some homework tonight, a lot in fact, which he doubted would ever get done at this rate. All the same, maybe this would surprise him and be fun. Or even better, maybe they had done something this afternoon that was over and he would not have to deal with it at all. One could always hope and dream for the best scenario possible, right?
James looked to Sirius, knowing he would be more than happy to fill their companion who had missed the fun in on all of it. "Nothing happened this afternoon, mate, just some friendly chat about who was worthy of dating who and who was a rich, arrogant you know what." Sirius let his barking laugh ring out through the common room yet again. Today was truly a day to be enjoyed and celebrated, and he took a long moment before he composed himself to speak again." Everything happens tonight at midnight Moony. Duel between Snivellus and James, hopefully it will shut the greasy bat up, for a while at least." He turned to James. "I am your second, right mate?"
"Of course, Padfoot," James began, but never made it any farther than that. Lily had just come through the portrait hole, and she looked really upset about something. "What's wrong princess," Sirius said loudly as she approached them, "finally figure out you are dating a giant bat who hates everything including you? Or is it just that time of the month?" Unluckily for him, she was standing right beside him by the time he finished, allowing her to turn on her heel and slap him in the face with all the strength she could manage before he could do anything about it. The force of it kept Lily frozen in place for a while and knocked Sirius back against his chair, surrounded by his laughing friends.
"You really did deserve that one Padfoot," Remus said as he gained control of himself first. "Yeah, I would have hit you, but she beat me too it," James said as he gained his composure and looked over at Lily who had turned towards the girls' dormitories and started walking away from them. "Now, if you guys would excuse me, I have someone else who could use my attention more than you three right now I do believe." With that he quickly pushed himself out of his chair and followed after Lily, catching her by the shoulder and turning her around so they are face to face.
"What?" she practically spat out at him, not in the mood to deal with his arrogance so soon after the episode with Severus. "Easy Lily, I just wanted to see what was wrong and make sure you were going to be okay," James said with what he deemed an innocent smile. This was the honest truth, though it was doubtful that James would be taken at his word. This proved to be true as Lily merely snorted and pulled out of his grasp. "Even if I was about to die or something, I assure you, you would not need to know about it James."
This was more talk than anything else though. As Lily turned away and walked the rest of the way to her dormitory James was on her mind, and in a better light than he had been there in a long time. He really cares about me, more than Severus ever will; she could not stop herself from thinking. Maybe he is growing up, and is no longer just a giant, walking ego. Thoughts like this would fill her mind that night, as she began to see a whole new side to the overly popular hunk who had been after her heart for so long.