PART V
It was Halloween and the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year. All of the marauders had dates, even Peter. So Lily had nothing to do. The situation with Davy had not panned out well. He treated her like nothing had happened, and though she was slightly crushed, she moved on. Lily didn't like him that much anyway.
It was Saturday, and since no one over the age of 13 was in the castle, Lily decided to get a head start on her homework. She walked down over towards the library. She found it slightly creepy. As much as she loved Hogwarts, walking around a dark castle by yourself in complete silence can be a bit scary.
She hurried along the corridors when all of a sudden her bag split. It was a tad overstuffed. Lily had a tendency to shove more things in than she really needed. She just always wanted to be prepared. She sighed and repaired her bag. She was struggling to cram everything back in. Then she smacked herself on the forehead. They had learned shrinking charms last year! And here she was trying to do it the muggle way. 'Old habits die hard,' she thought with a shrug.
Suddenly, a pair of rough hands came from behind. One was covering her mouth and the other encircled her waste. Lily tried to pull herself away, but the grip was too strong. Lily's book bag lay on the floor and everything spilled out. Her screams were muffled, not that anyone was nearby anyway. Somehow the pair of hands brought her all the way down to a back room in the dungeons, Lily struggling viciously the entire way.
Finally the hands let go abruptly. She fell to the floor. "Who are you?" she demanded. Everything was in shadows, and Lily couldn't tell who had released her.
"You mean the mudblood doesn't know something?" the stranger sneered stepping forward out of the shadows.
"We?" Lily asked, her heart dropping all the way into her stomach. She recognized the young man as Avery.
"That's right!" He grinned eerily. More people stepped out of the shadows. Rosier, Wilkes, Snape, Regulus, and Rodolphus all walked closer, leering at her.
Lily's eyes widened. Seeing Rodolphus here was not a good sign, not at all. He probably wanted a rematch after that last duel. And he had brought along a few of his friends to participate. "What do you want?" she asked, not quite managing to control the waver in her voice.
"Your blood," he replied nastily. "Our lord was most displeased that you lived. He told us to dispose of you when the opportunity arose, but see, we decided that a quick death was entirely too kind for you, the biggest mudblood in existence. Regulus!" he barked. "Why don't you start? You still need to hone your skills after all."
Regulus nodded slightly, and the others backed off. Lily felt a chill run down her spine as she realized how much he looked like Sirius. She knew that Sirius didn't get along with his family, that they were dark, and that he had a brother. But she hadn't realized how extreme the case was, how real his conflict with his relatives had been.
Lily expected him to draw a wand and was startled and horrified when instead a knife was revealed instead. "There's detection for the unforgivables and most dark magic here," Rodolphus called out from the back. "We thought it would be more… entertaining if we did it the muggle way."
There was no possible way that Lily could have braced herself for the coming pain. Several shallow slashes made their way across her stomach, glistening slightly with blood. Slowly, more cuts were made all over her. "How sad," Rosier said sarcastically. "Her clothes are ruined."
The deatheaters exchanged nasty grins. "Might as well take them off then," Wilkes said in a logical voice.
Lily looked into all of their eyes, unmistakably panicked. She noted that Severus looked slightly uncomfortable and inwardly smiled. She had always known that she was right about him. He wasn't like the rest of the Slytherins. He just wanted friends and recognition, not to torture, kill, and rape for power.
With a flick of his wand, Rodolphus banished her clothes. Lily desperately tried to cover herself up, but the wounds on her stomach were making it difficult for her to move.
They all looked at her closely. "Where are her boobs?" Wilkes asked cruelly.
Rosier snorted. "Right there," he said stepping forward and making a grab for her. "They're just barely noticeable. I think my 10 year old cousin has more cleavage than her, and he's a guy." The others laughed loudly.
Lily tried shifting closer to the door. She was mortified, cold, and in pain, but she still had hope. Someone had to find her! Or maybe she could somehow get away.
Regulus blocked her way with something almost unreadable in his eyes- could it be regret? But no, it was gone a second later. "I'm so sorry!" he told her insincerely, "But you can't leave just quite yet."
Rodolphus came forward from the back. "Ok! I'm getting bored," he announced. "I never was much good with just watching," he added. He dragged Lily to the center of the room by her leg. She kicked furiously, but for all her effort, he didn't seem the least bit affected.
Lily's eye widened and she tried to struggle even more as he began his next move. Her legs were pinned down by his, and he was slowly working her knees apart with his cold and rough hands. She flinched as he made a light trail up her thigh with his fingertips. "I own you, Evans," he muttered. "You're nothing but a filthy mudblood, a speck of dirt. His fingernails dug in and scratched from the top of her thigh down to her knee leaving bloody red marks. "You think you're something, but you're not. Quit living in our world; you don't belong."
Snape stepped forward. "Are you going to shag her?" he asked loudly.
A revolted look crossed his face. "No," he spat, looking disgusted at the idea. Lily almost sighed in relief. "I don't want my dick in that," he continued nodding towards the girl below him. "Although…" he trailed off, and Lily stared at him uncertainly. What was he playing at?
Lily knew in the next moment as she jerked forward. A finger had entered her roughly. She was a small girl, and his hand was by no means, tiny. She couldn't suppress a whimper as he twisted around his finger and slipped another in. Lily automatically clenched around it. Something was ripping. It hurt so much. Tears trailed down Lily's cheeks, and the others all stood around and laughed. Lily was too distracted to notice that two of the young men were not chuckling quite as loud or surely as the others.
"Hmm, men," he called out as he pulled himself away from the girl. "It looks like we've got a virgin here. I can't say I'm surprised." He smacked Lily across the face and spat on her.
Again she tried to pull herself up and make a break for it. She stopped as the blade of the knife cut down her arm. She convulsively gripped the bloody limb. This cut was much deeper. She was thrown heedlessly onto the floor. Her head hit stone and Lily heard a loud crack that echoed throughout the walls. 'Someone had to have heard that!' she thought desperately.
The others apparently thought the same thing since they looked around at each other uneasily. Suddenly footsteps could be heard, and Lily's heart soared. Someone was here! The door flung open. "Get out of here!" a girl's voice hissed. "You've been at it too long! People are starting to come back! They're sure to have heard that thud!"
"Thanks Bella," Rodolphus told her. "Let's leave, before we're caught," he told his peers. "But first!" he turned to Lily, "A parting gift." He grabbed the knife from Rosier, and Lily realized he had been the one who had thrown her down. The knife sunk into Lily's leg, and she tried to scream, but found her throat clogged by a cloth. He withdrew the knife. "Don't want to leave any evidence," he informed her with a smirk. He bound her arms together with the same type of cloth, which Lily recognized as her uniform. He didn't even bother with her legs. She wouldn't be moving any time soon. Then the Slytherins all filed out of the room.
Lily waited for what seemed like ages. No one came. Lily felt cold despite all of the warm blood around her. How long would it take for someone to notice her disappearance, to find her? Would anyone even miss her? Finally her breathing slowed and she couldn't cling on the consciousness any longer.
James rolled his eyes as he gave his date a goodbye kiss. He had asked her out, because she looked so hot. Her hair was a honey blonde color and she was tanned and toned nicely. Unfortunately, she seemed to only contain half of a brain. He was getting sick of dating the same old stupid witches. They were great for certain things, but anytime he tried to discuss something with them, it went right over their heads.
He jogged over towards the other marauders, who had just ended their dates as well. "How were your dates?" he asked.
"Mine wasn't the brightest crayon in the box if you know what I mean," Remus said with a shrug.
The others looked at him blankly. "No I don't," James told him. "What's a crayon?"
Remus sighed but just gestured for the others to speak.
Peter made a face, "She was alright, but she made it pretty clear that she was in it just for the status of dating one of us. I told her she picked the wrong marauder," he chuckled darkly.
"My girl was fantastic!" Sirius declared. "Completely amazing."
Remus arched an eyebrow at him. "And her name was…"
"Debbie?" Sirius guessed. "No! Danielle. Wait maybe it started with a J…Jaclyn? Jessica?"
"She sounds wonderful," James interrupted dryly. "But let's just head back to the castle. I'm bored."
The others agreed and walked up to the castle, stopping at the heads' room. They walked in expecting to find Lily, but saw her nowhere.
"Maybe she went down to Hogsmeade?" Sirius suggested doubtfully.
"More like she's in the library," James replied smirking.
"Oh yes, the library. Horrid place," Sirius mock shuddered.
"Let's go down and bug her!" James exclaimed. Remus smiled slightly as his friend's obvious desire to see the Head Girl.
Before anyone could say anything James and Sirius charged out of the room yelling war cries. Peter and Remus just shrugged and went to follow their slightly insane friends.
Sirius ran heedlessly ahead without watching where he was going, and so no one was surprised when he tripped and flew several feet. The other 3 marauders burst out laughing.
"Walk much?" Remus asked his fallen friend sarcastically.
"You would've tripped too!" Sirius responded defending himself. "Some mean person left their bag in the middle of the corridor!"
The others turned and sure enough there was a bag there. Books and quills were haphazardly lying around it. James looked closer. "That's Lily's!" he announced shocked.
The others quickly caught up with James and began investigating the scene. "Someone must've grabbed her," Remus said breathlessly. "That's the only possible reason I can think of."
The marauders looked at each other grimly. "Let's get the map!" Sirius yelled out. The others nodded in agreement and all ran back to James' room, which was where the map was currently located.
After quickly saying the password, James' eyes darted all over the map. "She's in the dungeon," he finally said shakily. "Follow me!" Everyone complied, and they ran straight down to the dungeon, taking several sharp turns and going down an innumerable amount of staircases. Finally panting for breath he stopped outside a door. "She's in there," he finally got out, pointing at the door. The others nodded and barged in.
Everyone gasped at what they saw. Lily was laid out on the floor, her arms tied above her head. Blood covered her, but they could still clearly see that she was naked. A dark bruise had begun to form on her cheek, and a small circle of blood surrounded her head. James fell to his knees without even realizing it.
"Is she…alive?" he whispered.
Remus cautiously approached her and felt her neck for a pulse. "Yes," he finally said, "but barely. We need to get her some help."
The next several minutes were a blur, but Sirius later told James that he had wordlessly picked Lily up and raced up to the hospital wing, not even getting breathless. All James knew was that he had to get her to Madame Pomfrey as soon as possible.
"Madame Pomfrey!" He yelled frantically. "HELP! Get out here!"
She came bustling out. "What is the meaning of this? This is a hospital wing you know…" she trailed off as she saw whom James was holding. "Put her down," she ordered instantly, pointing towards the closest bed. James complied. "Go get Professor McGonagall and the headmaster, please." Madame Pomfrey quickly pulled out her wand and shooed him out, blocking the infirmary doors so that he couldn't come in and distract her. Then she turned to the body in front of her. She had a lot of work to do.
Several hours later Lily woke up extremely sore and once again in a hospital gown. Dumbledore, Pomfrey, and McGonagall were standing over her in the hospital wing.
"So I guess you found me after all," Lily croaked out jokingly.
"Who did this to you?" McGonagall asked sharply.
Lily looked away. "Deatheaters," she murmured.
"Who?" Dumbledore asked tiredly, the usual twinkle absent from his eyes.
She looked up at the three adults in front of her, scrutinizing them and seeing if she should tell them. "Avery, Evan Rosier, Wilkes, Snape, and Regulus did, sir. Rodolphus was leading them, and Bellatrix was look out."
"This is preposterous!" McGonagall snapped. "They have to be expelled!"
Dumbledore looked like the old man he truly was for a moment. "Nothing can be done. I've already spoken with the Slytherins. They all have alibis and witnesses. It was extremely well planned and thought out."
"How bad am I?" Lily asked changing the subject before McGonagall blew her top.
Madame Pomfrey looked at the girl before her sadly. "You had several cuts on your body, the largest being the one on your thigh, as well as the scratches. You received a blow to the back of your head, but no major damage happened because you got here so quickly. There was minor bruising, that I cleared up. Also…" she drifted off uneasily and shot a glance at the other two adults. They took the hint and excused themselves.
"There was some tearing in the vaginal area. Please answer honestly. Were you sexually abused?" the nurse asked carefully.
Lily looked down and took her time in answering. "Yes…"
"Is there a chance of pregnancy?"
"Oh no!" Lily denied. "They didn't do that. Wait…will I have scars from this?" Lily asked fearfully. She wasn't an extremely vain girl, but honestly, no one wanted to have to deal with a scar.
"Most of them should fade," Madame Pomfrey informed her, and Lily felt a load of relief. "Although I think that the deep one on your thigh is never going to go away completely. You're very lucky you know. If James had brought you in a moment later you could have died from blood loss."
"James brought me in?" Lily screeched. Oh my lord! He had seen her naked. This was definitely the worst day of her life, besides that one over the summer.
"Yes. He was frantic, dear. I've never seen him so scared. His friends were right behind him," she told her, oblivious to her patient's discomfort. "Ugh! Here I am talking to you when you should be resting! I'll leave you to recuperate!" She left, and Lily was alone.
She stared at the ceiling for quite a while, and before she knew it, she had gone back to sleep. Nightmares filled her slumber, and after a particularly harsh one she jerked awake, only to find people standing over her bed.
"What is with you people and watching me sleep?" Lily grumbled. She finally recognized the four figures in front of her as the marauders. She blushed and looked away from James. "Thanks for saving me," she said shyly.
"Are you ok?" Remus asked concerned.
She looked up and smiled slightly at him. "I'm fine," she assured him.
"No you're not!" James burst out. "You look horrible!"
"Please stop. Your compliments are making me blush," Lily remarked dryly.
James opened his mouth to respond, but Sirius cut him off. "Who did this?" he demanded.
Lily looked at him but couldn't find it in her heart to tell him that his brother had taken part in the activities. "Some Slytherins," she responded vaguely.
"Why?" Peter asked. "Why did they choose you?"
"I'm sure they had their reasons." Lily didn't want to tell them about the attack on her over the summer. She noticed then how pale James looked and how red his eyes were. "Are you ok?" she asked him.
He smiled bitterly. "Aren't I supposed to be asking you that?"
"I already told you I was fine," she said impatiently. "But you look like a wreck, and you weren't even the one who was se- assaulted." She had almost said sexually assaulted. She hoped no one noticed her slip up. That really was affecting her more than the other pains she had. Lily had dealt with those types of pain before over the summer, but she was very protective of her body when it came to sexual things. She had only just had her first kiss for Merlin's sake. What Rodolphus had done to her, she hadn't expected to happen for quite a long time.
James shook his head. "I'm ok. It just brought back memories of my parents for some reason."
Lily was relieved that he hadn't noticed her change of wording, but that feeling soon faded as Remus looked at her curiously.
"What were you about to say before you cut yourself off?" he asked.
"Nothing. It was just a slip of the tongue," Lily lied easily.
"Right…" he said, but still looked at her suspiciously. "So what are your injuries?" he questioned.
"Just a few bruises, scratches, and cuts," Lily answered nonchalantly. "I asked Madame Pomfrey and she said that most of them won't scar."
"Most?" James asked sharply.
"Well, one was really deep. It cut straight down as opposed to the others, which just went across slightly.
"Where is it?" Sirius asked bluntly. "I don't see anything that looks like it hasn't been mostly gotten rid of." Remus smacked him in the back of the head when he saw Lily color.
"Well, it's not some place extremely visible," she informed them carefully.
"What?" James yelped. "Who did it? I'll kill him. It was a Slytherin right? Never mind, I'll just kill them all…" he began ranting.
"Chill Potter," she told him calmly. "The scar is on my leg." She didn't specify how high up or how far in it was.
"But you were naked when we found you!" Peter said. "Are you trying to say that they didn't do anything?"
"I'm not saying anything other than the fact that it's none of your business," Lily responded coldly.
"Did my brother do it?" Sirius asked quietly, sounding as if he was in pain. It was his younger brother, and they had been close when they were younger. It wasn't until Sirius turned 11 and Regulus 10 that they began to grow apart.
Lily couldn't deny it, and Sirius seemed to get the unspoken confirmation. "If it helps, he looked a bit unsure of himself, like maybe he regretted doing it," she told him softly.
"Then there's still a piece of the brother I knew left in him."
