To Be Loyal
Chapter Fourteen
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Bluebell Flames. Didn't even invent the idea. They'd be pretty neat, though. Imagine having a fire that barely burned you.
"Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters." —Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
"I'll make it up to you. All three of you. I won't fail you again." —Sirius Black to Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew, spring 1976, about the Whomping Willow incident
December 23, 1976
The Marauders were unusually subdued as they boarded the Hogwarts Express for the start of winter break. While learning Sirius's secret brought down one of the few remaining walls between them, James knew the knowledge weighed heavily on the rest of them. Never before had the depravity of the Wizarding World's prejudices been so clear to James, Peter, Remus, and Lily. Finally, they could understand, and more easily forgive, the hatred Sirius had held toward any representative of his parents' beliefs.
While this new understanding had cemented Sirius and Lily's friendship, understanding how ruthless their enemies could be had also cemented James's decision to become an Auror.
As they found a compartment on the Express, James looked over at Lily, who was talking with Alice down the aisle. As he watched them, Lily hugged Alice before walking down the hall to join James, who grinned and held the compartment door open for her. We've come a long way, he mused as he followed her inside.
They settled down into a comfortable silence. James sat with Lily on one side of the compartment while the other Marauders took the other. James stared out the window, watching the countryside pass by.
After about fifteen minutes, James grew uncomfortable with the somber mood in the compartment. "You know, we shouldn't let this get us down," he said, standing up and forcing himself to refrain from fidgeting.
Lily laid a hand on his arm. "It's all right, James."
"I just…" James sighed and huffed in irritation. He stepped into the center of the compartment and turned toward the door just as it slammed open.
James found himself face-to-face with Avery, Mulciber, and Rosier just as Mulciber fired a cutting curse at Lily. Snape, who was just behind them, shouted, "Stop!"
With no time to cast a Shield Charm, James took a quick step to his right. Since she was sitting down, the Cutting Curse might have taken Lily in the throat, but it instead connected with James's side. A burning pain made James cry out, but he held his wand steady as he pressed his other hand to the wound. He could feel warm blood against his fingers, but he didn't think it was bad.
"Are you trying to get yourself arrested?" Snape hissed, grabbing Mulciber's arm, but James could see fear in his eyes. He still cares about her.
"You've gone soft, Snape," Mulciber grunted as he sheltered behind Shield Charms cast by Rosier and Avery. Hexes from all four Marauders were deflected to the walls and ceiling of the compartment. "This Mudblood filth is messing with your head even after she cast you aside."
"I am not weak," Snape snarled, his voice approaching a shriek. "Depulso!"
Lily, shocked by her former friend's sudden attack, was too slow with her Shield Charm. Snape's spell passed under James's arm and threw her back against the wall of the compartment.
James saw red. "Fractus!" he roared, and Rosier's shield shattered. James fired a powerful Stunning Spell that knocked out its caster and leveled his wand at Snape, but his old rival cast first.
Snape's silent, carefully aimed Knockback Jinx hit just above James's injury, throwing him to the floor. James screwed his eyes shut and yelled as the pain in his side surged. After a few seconds, James slowly opened his eyes to find Sirius Black standing in front of him, wand held loosely at his side, while Peter and Remus traded hexes with Avery and Mulciber over the top of Shield Charms. All three Slytherins were still clustered just inside the door, unwilling to advance further into the close confines of the compartment.
"This is my fault," Sirius said quietly. "I'm sorry for choking you, Snape, but leave them alone."
"You should have thought of this before you attacked me, Black," Snape said coldly. "Besides, I hate your friends almost as much as I hate you. Sectumsempra!"
Sirius leapt onto the seats to avoid the bladelike jet of white light. As James hauled himself into a sitting position, the curse smashed the compartment's window. "Incarcerous!" Sirius incanted, but Snape's Freezing Charm stopped his conjured ropes in midair.
James turned to check on Lily and found her on her feet, spitting hair out her mouth as she directed an incensed glare at Snape. "Get out, you power-hungry, conforming prick!" Lily shrieked, her expression positively livid. "Ignis Frigidus Ligus!"
A rope of bright blue flame shot out of Lily's wand and wrapped itself around Snape's midsection, pinning his arms to his side. To James's surprise, it didn't appear to burn him or his robes. However, when Lily flicked her wand sharply to the left, the rope of fire swung Snape into Avery, knocking him over. Mulciber turned his wand on Lily, but Peter nailed him with a Stunner. As he crumpled to the ground, Remus disarmed Avery before giving Peter a congratulatory slap on the shoulder.
"Ligus Tetras," Lily whispered, and three tendrils of flame branched out from her rope of fire and curled around the fallen forms of Mulciber, Rosier, and Avery. A few sweeps of Lily's wand levitated all four Slytherins in a line between her and the door.
James, who could see sweat beading on her brow, offered, "We can help if you need it." Lily shook her head and took a step forward.
James kept his eyes fixed on Snape's wand, but Snape just gave Lily an inscrutable look as she strode calmly out into the hallway and dispelled her fire, dropping Snape and his fellow assailants on the carpet.
"Evans?" a Hufflepuff prefect asked in astonishment. He must have come to check out the commotion, James thought. He could hear a few people talking quietly in the hallway, but couldn't see much from where he was standing.
He saw a hand squeeze Lily's shoulder and heard Alice Macmillan's voice say, "Guess you didn't need me this time, Lily."
Lily hugged her and said something in reply that James didn't catch, then turned to the prefect. "These students attacked us in our compartment," she explained crisply. "They failed." Peter gathered up the other three wands and tossed them to the startled Hufflepuff with a grin.
"I-I see," the prefect said as Lily stepped back inside and slammed the door.
"Excellent use of Bluebell Flames," James congratulated her, offering a strained smile. Now that his adrenaline was fading, the pain in his side was demanding his attention. He collapsed back into his seat and pressed both hands to the wound.
"James!" Lily cried in alarm and rushed to his side. "Move your hands, let me see it."
James pulled his robe aside and hiked up his blood-soaked sweater and undershirt to reveal a deep cut in his side. Just above it was a rapidly swelling bruise from Snape's Knockback Jinx.
"Shite," Lily muttered. "Ferula," she incanted, tracing a complex wand pattern in the air. Her spell conjured a dressing that tied itself around James's waist. She cast a Numbing Charm on the wound, and James relaxed slightly as the pain retreated. Lily looked up at him, and he smiled when he saw that she was biting her lip in anxiety. "You're going to be fine," she said firmly. "I just don't feel confident enough in my abilities to close that cut on my own."
Sirius, who was hovering anxiously on James's other side, asked, "What can I do?"
"Get help," Lily ordered, and Sirius sprinted out of the compartment.
"You took that for me," Lily stated as she locked her bright green eyes with James's hazel. "Mulciber might have k-killed me. Thank you."
James inclined his head. "You're welcome."
Remus laid a hand on James's shoulder. "I think you're in good hands. Peter and I are going to stand guard outside," he said, shooting James a small grin. James gave an acknowledging nod, careful to keep his expression neutral as Lily stood up. Remus and Peter left and shut the compartment door, and Lily dropped into the seat on James's uninjured side.
For a long moment, they simply sat there together. Then James noticed tears forming in Lily's eyes and put an arm around her shoulders. "What is it?" he asked gently.
"Well, maybe almost dying, for one. But for some reason, all I can think about at the second is Se-Snape," Lily said, her voice quavering. She leaned against him and sighed. "He doesn't-well, he cares about me, but not enough to choose our friendship over being a Death Eater. And I keep worrying that things I do are going to drive him closer to Voldemort."
"None of it's your fault, Lily," James reassured her, trying to imagine himself in her shoes. "You were a good friend to him, and forgave him when he messed up. Sometimes, you have to cut your ties. You saw whatever good there is in him."
Lily gave him a watery smile. "You continue to surprise me, James. I'm glad I can confide in you." Her expression became pensive, and she stared at the opposite wall of the compartment. "Do you still like me as more than a friend?"
James swallowed hard. "Yes," he replied. "Very much so."
"Do you mind telling me why?" Lily asked quietly. "I want to know."
James considered his words carefully. "At first, it was somewhat shallow," he admitted. "You're beautiful, Evans, I'll just say it. But it was always more than that. You care," he said firmly. "About everyone. And a lot of the time, the way you show that as by holding other people accountable. Not many other Gryffindors would speak up if their housemates were bullying a Slytherin. You see the worst parts of the people everyone around you calls good and the best bits of the people they despise. Sometimes, you judge people too harshly, but you also give second chances." James fixed his gaze on his lap and twisted his hands together nervously. "People usually don't take too kindly to that kind of person. I didn't. But this world needs people like you. I need you."
James looked over at Lily and found that she was staring straight at him with something approaching wonder. "Now, I can understand how much you care. I see it when you're yelling at Oscar Brown to stop hexing Slytherin first-years, or getting mad about werewolf laws, or apologizing to Sirius after learning about his sister, or healing some-"
Lily stopped him with a kiss. It was soft and light and only lasted a moment, but James could have stayed in that moment for a long time. When she broke away, blushing, and laid her head on his shoulder, a huge grin spread across James's face. And in the next moment, every second James had spent listening to Remus give him advice was worth it, because James Potter managed to keep his mouth shut and not ruin it.
A/N: How about that speech! I think James deserves a review. Ok, ok, I'll cut it out. Hope you enjoyed!
The type of fire Lily conjures is known as Bluebell Flames or Cold Fire. Hermoine uses it in the books, most notably to set Snape's robes on fire in The Sorcerer's Stone. I came up with the incantation using Latin roots, as canon doesn't give it to us.
You may have noticed that my chapter lengths vary. Some are about twice as long as others. It kind of depends where I want to end things. All chapters will probably be at least 1500 words, though, and each is unlikely to exceed 5000. It's not a big deal, really.
Also, today is my first day of college classes. I don't know what my publishing schedule will be like-I almost certainly won't be publishing as frequently as I have been-but you can probably expect a new chapter every week at least.
Have a nice day!
