Previously: Lily and James meet again on the train. They argue, and when Lily pushes the Marauders out of her compartment, she notices that her friends are giving her weird looks. James isn't sure why Lily seems different. Filch now has Mrs. Norris.
Chapter 21: A New Understanding
"Stoughton looks like he'll be the same as Banks," said Alice unhappily as they sat at the Gryffindor table, munching on the superb breakfast that the house-elves always provided. "Same appearance, same demeanor, same expression…. I think somebody cursed the DADA position to provide the worst teachers possible."
Lily wanted to point out that Banks had actually been a pretty good teacher despite the fact that she was very strict, but she decided against it. After Alice had insulted her minimal decorations on their very first class and Banks had threatened to take away points, they both disliked each other from that point onwards – actually, Lily was pretty sure Banks just found Alice an unpleasant student, but the last time Marlene had pointed it out to Alice, the rant which followed went on for several minutes, so this time she wisely said nothing.
Rather than suggesting that it was just Alice's view of Banks and risk her life in the process, Lily said, "Look on the bright side: no teacher can hold the job for more than a year. If Stoughton turns out to be a bad teacher, rest easy knowing that he'll be gone soon. If not, well…."
That seemed to cheer Alice up considerably, and by the time the mail came, she was back to her usual chatty self.
Lily's first owls each held one envelope: the first one was her usual letter from her parents and the second one, which was much flashier and more official-looking than her parents' letter turned out to be an invitation from Slughorn to join him at a party he was throwing a couple of weeks after school started. Unlike the owls that brought her the copies of the Daily Prophet, these owls did not wait for any payment and took off the moment Lily had untied the letters.
"I really hope that the newspaper comes quickly," said Marlene, biting her lip. It was a bit of a surprise for Lily to see any kind of anxiety in her cobalt eyes as Marlene had always come across as self-assured and poised, but for some reason unknown to Lily, she was apprehensive as she watched the hundreds of owls circle above the tables.
"Why?" asked Lily quietly, also searching for the usual owl who would drop off her copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Because," said Marlene, "Daddy says that Minister Jenkins and some other Ministry people introduced some new laws to the Wizengamot over the summer that they were supposed to vote on last week – actually, there were several different parts, but it still all comes down to the same thing."
The same worry present in Marlene's eyes now started to bubble up in Lily at the words.
"What kinds of leg –"
Her words were cut off when an owl landed in front of her, dutifully sticking out its leg like all the other times. Lily snatched it up, barely even paying attention as she gave the money to the owl, which took off while she desperately searched for a bold caption that would alert her to the newest limitations on witches and wizards. It did not take long to find it since the headline was on the front page.
THE DEBATE OVER RECENT LEGISLATION REGARDING MUGGLE-BORNS AND PART-HUMANS
By Betty Braithwaite
Witches and wizards are fighting a battle in the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot right now, a battle not of wands but of words. Lobbyists and petitioners on both sides have been trapped in a gridlock, debating about how seriously wizards and witches should take the Dark Wizard as well as arguing the rightful place of Muggle-borns in an all-magical society. At least now, a small part of that issue was recently resolved in the Wizengamot last week.
After much confusion and debate about how the Jenkins administration viewed and thought of those without magical and human heritage, Minister Jenkins and her advising committee introduced several new regulations to the Wizengamot in June regarding the place of Muggle-borns and part-humans in the public, and the proposed legislation was stuck in no-man's land until last Friday, which was when the Wizengamot made its final decision in a vote split twenty-seven to twenty-three. The new law (The Statute of Authority as it is legally called) has now officially banned any Muggle-borns and part-humans from taking up official positions of authority in Britain in all publicly-funded establishments. It reads as follows:
As of January 1st, 1973, all self-proclaimed magical person or persons who are currently holding or will hold a spot in a single-person seat and/or a representative council presiding as the highest office of management/position of authority/executive post/etc… that demands a fully-qualified witch or wizard to occupy that respective supervising post in any institution/government/organization/etc… must henceforward abide by these lawful regulations set forth by the British Ministry of Magic: A) Any and all of the aforementioned person or persons shall have no less than one proven and registered witch or wizard in the aforementioned person or persons' genealogical pedigree within and no later than the ten ancestral generations prior to the birth of the aforementioned person or persons; B) Any and all of the aforementioned person or persons shall have no non-human within the five ancestral generations prior to the birth of the aforementioned person or persons; C) Any and all of the aforementioned person or persons shall not be classified by the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures into the Beast Division/Being Division/Spirit Division.
Immunity from the abovementioned policies is only guaranteed to the person or persons if any and all of the proposed exceptions introduced to the British Ministry of Magic regarding the abovementioned policies fall into and meet the requirements of one and/or more of these classifications allowing for exemptions of the abovementioned policies set forth by the British Ministry of Magic. A) If the institution/government/organization/etc… benefits only from private funds and receives no government assistance; B) If the person or persons are supervising no more than ten humans and/or beings and/or beasts and/or spirits; C) If the institution/government/organization/etc… is a part of and tied to only non-magic people and/or the non-magic society.
The law was met with much criticism from Muggle-borns and their supporters. Factions opposing the law have done everything in their power to make their disdain for the new law clear, ranging from demonstrations to amend the regulations to a mass movement to flood Minister Jenkins and her support staff with Howlers. Along with the fresh breakout of riots, there have been several Ministry employees who have resigned in protest, such as Bob Ogden, 80, the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, and Euphemia Potter, 72, the Head of Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Most notably, Albus Dumbledore, who is the Chief Warlock for the Wizengamot and current Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has stayed on in hopes of trying to change the regulations their peers are passing.
"It used to be that all you had to do was wave a wand and make some sparks fly to prove you belonged in our society," says Ms. Millicent Bagnold, 55, who was recently promoted to Head of Auror Office. "But now we're taking away the rights of our fellow witches and wizards simply because they come from a Muggle background? It's despicable. While the Minister and her lackeys are squabbling about Muggle-borns, there are real threats out there that we have to focus on."
Others, however, have more positive thoughts about where the Jenkins administration is heading and take the recently passed regulations as a sign of hopeful change, including many of our sacred pure-blooded families like the House of Black and the Malfoy families (Though of our sacred pure-blooded Wizarding families, some, like the Weasleys, the Shacklebolts, and the Potters, are the exceptions.) They take it as a sign that the Ministry of Magic is finally establishing the correct hierarchy that should not even be argued for in the first place, and many are expressing their relief on the Wizengamot's most recent action.
"It's about time this happened," says Mr. Deanobulus Lestrange, 49. "Those Muggles who have the gall to call themselves our equals need to be taught that they are not our equals. Muggle blood is what they come from, and it's the Muggle blood that contaminates them. The only thing left that I want to know is which wizard they stole their wands from. Minister Jenkins is on the right track, and it won't be long before the opposing wizards realize what cheats those Muggles really are."
Is this as far as the Jenkins administration is willing to go, or are they prepared to reach even farther? The only fact that was clearly proven by this is that Eugenia Jenkins is on the side of the magical world, not the Muggle world.
Lily put the paper aside, anxiety welling up inside of her as the old fear latched itself to her mind, more inflexible than ever before. After a year of reading about the Ministry's indecision regarding what to do with people like her, it had finally become official. Whatever hopes she might have held about going on to head a Ministry department or eventually becoming Head Girl quashed at the news – and really, how stupid was she to even think of that as a possibility? Of course they would give those positions to somebody much more talented and of purer blood than her, the stupid little Muggle-born.
"They can't do this!" yelped Alice as she grabbed the article which held her friends' attention. Mary had also leaned over curiously, her cheeks fading from their normal rosy pink to abnormally pale as her eyes skimmed the article.
Marlene grimaced.
"Unfortunately, they can, so long as the majority of the Wizengamot votes for it," she said. "I know Dumbledore's been doing all he can to block it, but remember, Alice, people are nervous about the Dark Wizard and what he's capable of. Last year, he was just a name, but now he and the Knights of Walpurgis have got some murders under their belt – remember that Bernard Thatcher and Magnolia Rears? Their bodies still haven't been found."
"Don't listen to them, Lily. You've got just – Lily? Lily, I'm talking to you," said Alice, prodding her shoulder gently.
"Huh?" asked Lily, still not looking at her.
Though it was undoubtedly an important conversation buzzing in her ears, Lily had abruptly stopped paying attention after noticing the familiar black hair of her friend she had spent the entire summer with, though they had not been able to sit together on the train ride here since he was with less pleasant company. His nose, just like the rest of the Slytherins, was still a little red from the Marauder's prank last night, but everybody's nose had fully healed curtesy of Madam Pomfrey.
Alice regarded her with a mixture of concern and pity.
"I said, you shouldn't be listening to a bunch of politicians like Jenkins and her gang who think that trying to appease You-Know-Who and racists like him will solve the problem. Dumbledore will get them to change their minds, just you wait. There's not a thing that nutter can't do."
"That sounds great," said Lily absentmindedly. She had not been able to talk with her best friend for so long… What did Severus think about this new bill? Was he doing alright? "Can you tell me later? I've gotta scarper."
Without pausing to answer the other girls' questions, she grabbed her things and took off to where Severus stood off to the side of the entrance to the Great Hall. As she approached him, smile wide on her face, it took a moment to realize that he had once again switched from Sev to the student he had become when surrounded by Hogwarts and his housemates, and by the time Lily reached him, her smile had fallen slightly.
"Hey, Sev," she said lightly, though the barest trace of weariness remained. "We didn't get a chance to talk before."
Fortunately, the moment Severus made eye contact with her, his face broke out into a grin before he hugged her tightly. Lily enthusiastically returned his hug, grateful that her concern was unfounded. The embrace lasted a couple more seconds before Lily broke apart, looking up (for he had finally gained enough height over the summer) at her lanky friend expectantly. Lily noticed his eyes drop down to the necklace he had given her for Christmas last year, and a brief smile came over his face when he saw that she still wore it.
"Sorry about the train, Lily," said Severus, guessing her question. "Lycoris invited me to join him and the others – it wasn't like I could say no to my other friends. Besides, I've been meaning to tell you about those spells we were working on – I think we've succeeded in making three now!"
Lily's excitement mounted. Though many warned that the art of inventing spells was dangerous, that had not stopped either of them from pouring over ancient textbooks. Severus proved much more interested than she ever had been, so it was not surprising to hear about his accomplishments when it came to inventing spells during the summer, given his uncanny knack for that particular branch of magic.
"Really? I know Langlock – remind me to test it out soon – but what are the others?" asked Lily curiously.
"Well, I have yet to use them on somebody, but there's Muffliato and Crescrantegues," said Severus. "I think Muffliato fills the ears of anybody near you so that they can't eavesdrop, and the other makes toenails grow really fast."
"Hmm," wondered Lily aloud. "That first one sounds really useful…. What was it again, Muffliato?"
Severus nodded.
"Yeah, and can you think about what we could do to the Marauders with Crescrantegues – I mean, I s'pose you could figure it out with other things, but I looked into the toenails specifically since it seemed entertaining," he said eagerly. "Ha! They'll never see it coming."
Lily bit her lip hesitatingly.
"I dunno, Sev, I really don't think we should stoop to their level."
Her response was a startled look of disbelief.
"Are you serious, Lily? They humiliate me!" said Severus, and there was a look just shy of betrayal in his dark eyes. "The least I can do is level the playing field. Besides, Madam Pomfrey can fix anything, so what is there to worry about?"
He obviously thought he had impressed her with that argument, but Lily was not buying it. It was one thing to retaliate defensively against the numerous Marauder tricks, but to seek out somebody to initiate the fight? That was something she would stand firmly on the other side for. Really, it was surprising that Severus brought up going after the Marauders in the first place even though he knew Lily well enough to understand that she did not approve of things like that.
"Just … promise me that you'll only use those kinds of spells when somebody else attacks first," said Lily about a minute of deliberation.
Severus's shoulders fell slightly, but nevertheless, he said, "Promise."
"Good," said Lily, and her smile soon found her way back to her face. "Now c'mon, you. We don't want Stoughton to take off points for tardiness when it's only our first day back."
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1972 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
James did not start off his second year on a good foot. Still used to the summer schedule and without as much excitement as there was during his first year, he had ended up oversleeping. After Remus finally pushed them out the door, Evans's cat Crackerjack angrily hissed and swiped at James when he accidentally tripped over that tetchy fuzzball coming down the stairs, leaving three thin scratches across his shin. The Marauders had entered the Great Hall for breakfast where James had then received a letter from his parents explaining what had happened at the Ministry and the reason for their resignations before Remus filled in the holes with the front-page story in the Daily Prophet, reading the whole situation aloud.
So now, after that terrible start to the morning, James sat with the rest of the Marauders in their first class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, waiting for the new Professor Stoughton to enter. He and Sirius, as usual, shared a table in the back with Remus and Peter sitting at the table directly in front of them. Unfortunately, they still shared this class with the Slytherins, so in addition to the table Prewett and McKinnon sat at (Macdonald had scooted a chair over so she could share with them), he was joined by all the other nasties.
Evans still sat with Snape at a front table which was a little off to the right, and the other Slytherins had formed a group of several tables on the side of the classroom opposite to where the Marauders took space. Beside him, Sirius was taking turns gazing at the back of McKinnon's head and glaring at the Slytherins, but James was instead focused on the pair sitting closest to the blackboard.
There it was again, that fleeting suspicion. Like before at the start-of-term feast, the notion that something had changed about Evans struck James as he stared at the wavy mane of dark red hair splayed out against the back of Evans's robes. Perhaps it was the way she carried herself? No, that was not it. Her demeanor was the same as it had been last year, but if that was not what was different, then what was?
That was when James realized with a shock: she was pretty.
Obviously, she had the same face as when he had first met her in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and James had known for a while that Evans had been lucky with her genes, seeing as he, along with any other Hogwarts student, had seen her face many times over the past year. Sure, he had and always would be fascinated with her distinctly brilliant green eyes, but it was only now that James – quite curiously – found himself appreciating her alluring features.
Just then, as if aware that somebody watched her from afar, Evans quickly turned around in her seat, searching for the source, which was when she noticed James watching at her. Those same emerald-green orbs that he reflected on glared at James, challenging him, and he quickly turned away, lest his unspoken contemplations be revealed.
Before he could berate himself for straying towards such thoughts, the door to the classroom opened once again, revealing a much closer look at Professor Stoughton. He looked much the same as when James had seen him stand up at the feast, though it had impossible for him to notice the slight wrinkles on a worn face when the Marauders had been sitting so far away, but other than that, the only difference was the color of his robes, which were now a burgundy red.
"Good morning, class," said Professor Stoughton in a clipped tone to the group at large, striding into the room with a purposeful gait. James took it was a hopeful sign when he saw that Stoughton already had his wand out. "Sit down now; we're going to start class."
This was to the few students who were standing as they chatted with friends. Most of them complied without much hesitation, but two Slytherins, Rosier and Mulciber, did not take their seats. Instead, Mulciber just smirked at Stoughton as if daring him to give him a detention while he finished his and Rosier's conversation about whatever they had been talking about before Stoughton came in.
Stoughton looked at them with narrowed eyes, a downward curve to his mouth as he frowned at the pair of Slytherins.
"I said sit," he said firmly, and he flicked his wand sharply at their two chairs, both of which obediently zoomed forward, knocking Rosier and Mulciber off their feet so that the two of them collapsed in a rather crumpled heap, each of them now sitting on their respective seats.
James's esteem towards Stoughton swiftly mounted, and it was easy to tell that so had Sirius's as he was now staring at their teacher with a newfound respect as Stoughton continued like there had not been an interruption to begin with.
"Right, I have no time for dilly-dallying from children like you two – I'll get straight to the point. To start off this class, I need to know: why are you in this class?"
In front of James, Remus's hand, as usual, went up into the air, as well as McKinnon's. It was to McKinnon that Stoughton nodded, so she answered quickly, "So that we can learn the proper spells and counter-jinxes necessary to defend ourselves from Dark wizards and creatures whenever they happen to attack us."
Stoughton shook his head in a resolute no.
"That sounds like a standard answer straight out of a textbook, and it is also wrong," he said straightforwardly, and McKinnon went pink with embarrassment at how bluntly he had turned her response down – even Banks had more manners when correcting somebody.
"You in the back – what about you? Can you answer my question?"
This time he nodded towards Remus.
"Um … so we can avoid getting hurt?" said Remus uncertainly. Though he was normally very confident in his answers to their teachers' questions, the frankness Stoughton had used when he dismissed McKinnon's reply was clearly on Remus's mind when he spoke loud enough for the rest of the classroom to hear – and McKinnon was by no means stupid.
"Wrong," said Stoughton flatly, frowning as if it was a quite foolish thing to say, and just like McKinnon had, Remus flushed with awkwardness under the teacher's firm stare. "If you're fighting against Dark wizards and creatures, there's no doubt that you'll end up getting hurt. That is simply the nature of the Dark Arts, and thus, that is the reason we call them the Dark Arts, not the Oh-Dear-That-Looks-Like-It-Could-Get-Bad Arts."
James snorted at that – really, nobody ended up hurt every time unless they were completely useless in a fight. Through the Magic Shield, both of his parents had experienced a fair amount of duels with Dark wizards. Even though they were not as young as they used to be, the times he had visited one of them in St. Mungo's were sporadic. Normally, one or both would come back to the Potter Manor, only a little tired with a couple of scratches sometimes, but they usually were in good health when they sat down for dinner in the dining room with James and whatever family friend was looking after him at the time. Sure, there was a possibility that something dreadful would happen, but the way Stoughton talked, one would think every fight with Dark wizards left scars. Beside him, Sirius grunted as well, obviously thinking the same thing.
Evans glared at them and looked like she about to start yelling at them, but Stoughton swooped down upon them before either of them could even try to avoid detection, giving each of them one long, stern glare.
"You think I'm joking, do you?" he said, eyes flashing. "What if I were to place you under the Imperious Curse, Black, and made you torture little Pettigrew here with the Cruciatus Curse? What about you, Potter? Ever ask your father how much pain he experienced when we witnessed a wizard consume an entire village with Fiendfyre, a fire that is impossible to stop? You two may be young and naïve, but trust me when I tell you that you can't even fathom the sheer amount of evil in the world. Battle scars don't have to be visible to leave a mark – the most painful scars are the ones people can't see."
James sat there, shell-shocked at Stoughton's words that his mind was still processing, and Sirius gaped at their teacher.
Stoughton did not smile or do anything else to reprimand James and Sirius for their vocalized doubt, but the message had reached them loud and clear. Instead, their teacher just spun on his heel and strutted back up to the front of the classroom, a hardness to his eyes as he looked around at the assorted second years, all of whom were so quiet that even McGonagall would have been worried.
"Up! Out of your seats!" he said.
It was a very sudden change of topic, and James was not the only who ignored the command as he confusingly glanced at his peers, none of whom even had the slightest clue as to what to do.
"That means today, people! I already see several students who are dozing, and there is a reason I am telling you this. You'll thank me later," yelled Stoughton, and everybody quickly clambered out of their seats.
Stoughton took out his wand at flicked it, causing all the tables and chairs to vanish while a Slytherin, Casper Wilkes, who was too lazy to get out of his seat fell to the floor with a crash, to which James and Sirius responded with harsh laughter. Stoughton ignored them.
"Listen up! My job here is simple. Prepare you for the outside world as much as possible. Today we will not be learning magic. When you're cornered against Dark wizards ten to one and have no other options available to you, what do you do?"
"Fight and knock 'em on their arses," said Sirius proudly.
Behind the teacher, Evans rolled her eyes while Stoughton looked rather annoyed.
"I just told you that you're outnumbered, Black. While you may want to always play the brave, self-sacrificing hero – and it's not that I'm saying you shouldn't ever be brave – remember that these Dark wizards are not above using cowardly means. Anyone have a better answer?"
Stoughton looked at each and every one of them, but when nobody else answered, he said, "You run."
"What kind of advice is that?" shouted James indignantly. "That's what a coward would do!"
"Silence! I will not be spoken to like that," said Stoughton sternly. "While your version of courage is bordering on arrogance and stupidity, you need to realize that sometimes it takes courage to walk away and fight another day. If you've done what you can, then you need a way to alert other people about the danger. But if you're so convinced, Potter, please, do tell us how would you be of any help if you just got yourself killed for absolutely no reason – other than your vanity, of course?"
James said nothing – he was struggling to come up with a good argument, and Stoughton smiled before saying, "I thought so, Potter. If there is nothing else, nobody to save, then you would help more people by being around if something like that happened again. However, you will still need to know things other than running since that's not always going to be an option, so for the next couple weeks, we will be practicing basic defensive spells and counter-charms. Pair up and start."
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1972 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
"You know, I think I'm gonna like Stoughton. He's not like Banks," said Alice conversationally, glancing back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where Stoughton was cleaning up after their hands-on lesson.
Their first lesson with the new teacher had just ended, and now they made their way down to the Potions classroom. At first, Lily was going to go down with Severus, but after he gave her an apologetic look when Mulciber invited Lily's friend to join him, her friends in Gryffindor readily let her join their usual little entourage.
"I think their similar with what they're trying to teach, but Stoughton has a different way of teaching," fibbed Lily.
Actually, she thought that the two were rather similar, but as Alice never got along with Banks, and Stoughton had not threatened to take away points for insulting his sense of decoration, which, Lily had to admit, was better than the minimalist classroom Banks had taught in, she said nothing else on that topic.
Alice snorted at that.
"Oh, give me a break. Banks just wanted to make our lives a living hell, but Stoughton wants to actually prepare us for what's really out there."
"Though he is the first teacher to not believe much in written exams," pointed out Marlene in an effort to prevent a rant – though it was true that Stoughton employed a few choosier words about the uselessness of sit-down quizzes.
"You're being biased, Alice," chastised Lily, ignoring the warning looks from both Marlene and Mary to drop it. "Their lessons aren't that much different from each other. It's just that this time, we have a teacher who you didn't get on the wrong side of during the first lesson."
As she knew how stubborn Lily could be in her views, Alice just rolled her eyes and did not answer, and the four girls continued through the route to McGonagall's classroom while Marlene started up a conversation regarding some American band that Lily did not know. They all had just rounded the bend to descend the grand staircase when Lily noticed that a small crowd had gathered off to the side of the entrance hall, and they seemed to be … cheering?
"What's that?" asked Mary curiously, pointing to the group, which was unnecessary as all four of them had noticed by that time.
After a moment of confusion when they all looked at each, hoping one of them could give a satisfactory answer, Lily was the first to take a step towards the commotion, and the others followed quickly as she hurried down the staircase. She was ten steps away from the bottom when a streak of blue light flashed from the throng of students, and the crowd gasped as a single entity. Lily quickened her pace.
Half of the students gathered seemed torn between curiosity while the others were loudly cheering and egging on whatever it was that held their attention. Lily fought her way through the crowd as the bangs and gasps grew louder. She felt somebody accidentally elbow her shoulder when they cupped their hands to holler, but she paid them no heed, instead bursting to the front row to watch the mysterious spectacle.
"Stupefy!" yelled a male voice, and the sound of crumbling brick falling to the stone floor reached Lily's ears as she reached the edge of the crowd, spurring her on even more.
"Is that all you got, Podmore?" taunted a cold, drawling voice that was unfamiliar to her, and more inquisitive than ever, after much rude pushing and hurried apologies to other students, she had finally entered the center circle of bystanders to see what captivated the audience so much.
Two men in their late teens, one a Gryffindor and the other a Slytherin, stood in the middle of the floor with their wands out, circling each other, eyes narrowed. They both wore the prefect badges of their respective house, and with a jolt of realization, Lily recognized the Gryffindor as one of the people who had broken up the fight between her and other then-first years with some Slytherins that had occurred last year. The other man was a Slytherin with white-blond hair– it was the same person Severus had sat next to during their own Sorting and the subsequent start-of-term feast.
From the drawn wands and the cheering Marauders opposite her in the front row, it did not take a very long time for Lily to deduce that she was witnessing her first real duel, one where the two sides knew enough magic to cause damage. It was certainly scary, observing such a scene, but at the same time, she could not help her fascination. It was a perfect display of how much more magic she could learn.
"Ha! It's more than you could ever have, Malfoy," growled the Gryffindor whose name must have been Podmore. "When was the last time you needed poor little Granny to fix it for you – or how about all those times you go running to Daddy, huh? You can't do shit, Malfoy. You're just a slimy git of a snake, that's what you are."
Instead of listening, Malfoy retaliated by throwing a bright flash of white light that sped straight towards Podmore without even having to utter a single word. Hardly deterred at all, Podmore flexibly slashed his wand in an arc just as silently, producing a strong shield not unlike the one that had interrupted the fight between her fellow Gryffindors and a couple of Slytherins in Lily's first year. The hex ricocheted and before he had time to duck, Malfoy's own spell struck him solidly in the chest, sending him flying into the wall where he slid to the ground, looking dazed.
"Sturgis!"
This voice belonged to somebody else, and Lily pinpointed the speaker when she hurried forward to the middle of the circle Hogwarts students of all ages had formed. Alexandra Hopkirk, the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, ran towards Sturgis, placing a restraining hand on the fist that tightly clenched his wand and giving him a firm look while she slowly guided him backwards, away from Malfoy, much to the crowd's disappointment.
"That's enough. We have an audience," said Alexandra in a low voice, but Lily pricked her ears up just enough to hear them. "McGonagall, or any teacher for that matter, will notice this and be here soon enough. C'mon, we should just go back up to the common room. He's not worth all those detentions you'll get if you're caught."
Sturgis gave Alexandra a frustrated look, but she must have convinced him to stand down since he loosened the hand holding the wand. Before leaving, however, he shot once last glare at Malfoy, who was still struggling to get to his feet, and spat, "This isn't over, Malfoy. You would do well to watch your back."
Malfoy sneered, but it was not quite so intimidating when he faintly swayed on his feet from the rough tumble and lightheadedness that undoubtedly followed.
"I'm shaking all over, Podmore. You want a coward? The only thing you're good for is running away with your tail between your legs," he said viciously in an attempt to say one last hurtful thing before the two older Gryffindors walked away and Sturgis became the unofficial victor.
Lily would have just cautioned Sturgis, who had his back turned and had even started walking away with Alexandra, to ignore the slight, but Malfoy's words must have struck a nerve because he quickly whipped around, wand out and ready to use. Off the side, the Marauders, who had joined the chorus of groans when Alexandra interrupted, were once again looking eager for a renewed fight.
However, as Sturgis was getting ready to cast one last good jinx, Alexandra was, surprisingly, already in action. She jabbed her own wand at the still woozy Slytherin, and her curse jerked Malfoy around once again, this time sending him flying into the side of a pillar, which he hit with a painful-sounding thump before he came crashing back down onto the floor where he could not even attemptto stand up.
"Last I checked, Lucius," snapped Alexandra heatedly, adding an unexpected amount of scorn into his name, "You're in dire need of an appointment with Madam Pomfrey, so you and that prissy little arse of yours can run along now."
