Forgot an A/N, so here it is. Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its franchises. Rated K+ for British swearing and minor injuries.

Consequences

"What'd you get for question three?" Peter asked. "I wasn't sure whether it was avoid the sun or avoid the shade."
"The right one," James snorted. "What do you think?"
"Honestly, the questions were so boring I think I fell asleep halfway through," Sirius said.
Students thronged around the four, scurrying to and from classes as the Marauders themselves eased their way through the crowd with the arrogance of experience. They seemed to create a path as they continued forward through the corridor; no one dared get in their way for even a second. Students knew them. So did teachers. Probably even the Headmaster himself knew them by name. Though the four had only been at Hogwarts a few years, they were famous throughout the entire school. Imagine that: practically famous. And only fifteen!
The reason for that was obvious. They were the best. There was nothing the Marauders couldn't do. They'd invented their own map of Hogwarts; they knew more secret passages than Filch; they'd gotten straight Os in practically every subject; they'd become Animagus at fourteen. . .the list of their accomplishments never ended.
But James knew they weren't proud. Far from it. No, they were quite humble. Hogwarts almost didn't deserve them. They were just too good in every respect.
"I still can't believe Flitwick's class, though," Sirius said, casting a casual spell which caused a nearby Slytherin to trip. "He only let us try out that new spell once before dismissing the class."
"You're right there, Padfoot. They don't even let us practice spells anymore," James said, disgusted as he muttered a spell to move a third-year Hufflepuff out of their way. "Thank goodness we can use our wands outside the classroom, else we wouldn't learn anything."
"That's what magic is for," Remus said.
"And slime balls," Sirius said. He let out a short laugh as a first-year Ravenclaw tripped on his too-long robes.
"Where is he, anyway?" James asked, searching the students for one they all knew quite well. "I feel a hex coming on."
"Maybe he quit," Sirius shrugged. "Was too stupid. Flunked out."
"Maybe he's trying to brew a potion that'll make him less of a git!" Peter said.
"He does seem to be fairly good at potions," Remus said. "Maybe he'd have some luck."
"We're better," James said, rolling his eyes. "Who brewed the potion to turn us into Animagus last year? That's right, the four of us."
"It only took you three times to get it right," Sirius said, punching him in the shoulder.
"Hey, holding a Mandrake leaf in your mouth while you're drinking pumpkin juice isn't the easiest thing in the world," James said. "And weren't you the one who ran outside during that lightning storm, slipped, and dropped your entire potion on the ground?"
"Says the one who almost choked to death in the middle of the night on his second Mandrake leaf," Sirius said.
"You probably would've ended up in the hospital wing if I hadn't used that summoning charm," Remus said.
"Yeah, thanks for that, Moony," James said, stroking his windpipe. "Though I think you almost ripped apart my throat. I'm still recovering."
"That's just puberty," Sirius said. "When boys become men and girls become. . ." His eyes followed a group of quite attractive Hufflepuffs, winking at them and causing them to all giggle. Then Sirius casually tossed his hair, seeming to walk taller after that short interaction.
"I wonder how Lily looks," James said, unable to keep the grin off his face.
"You're about to find out," Sirius muttered.
James brought his eyes forward, immediately finding Lily Evans. She was walking away from him, hair swaying gently as she walked and figure visible even through such thick robes. She seemed to be talking to someone. . .
Someone!
James only had to look at that someone for a second before knowing who it was. How dare he! How dare that slime ball talk to her and—she was laughing now! She was laughing at something he'd said! James' body temperature rose by ten degrees. He felt the wand in his hand begin to shake with rage.
Upon seeing their target, Sirius' eyes brightened like a hunting wolf's. "It's already a few hours into our fifth year and we haven't said hello to our favorite victim yet."
James nodded, teeth bared. "Think we should give him a proper greeting? One worthy of a Slytherin?" He spat the word out with as much disdain as he could manage. He felt, rather than saw, Sirius nod. Like a pack about to pounce, the four altered their course to pursue their prey. Peter was practically jumping up and down in excitement.
James silently went through all the jinxes and hexes he knew, carefully picking out one that would cause the most anguish. But he couldn't cast it now. Not in front of Lily. No, he'd have to wait. Hopefully soon, the two would separate.
The pair, unaware that they were being followed, continued through the corridor, and James wondered if either could sense his fury. Was his magical wrath creeping up on them, informing them of his intentions or state? Would Snape turn and disarm him? Yeah, sure. Like he could. But if Lily got wind of what he was up to. . .well, then she might never date him.
Then suddenly, a ray of hope. A Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw came up to Lily and talked to her, and, after a moment, Lily bade Snape farewell and the three girls departed in a different direction. Now Snape was alone. Yes. James waited a few more seconds before lifting his wand to his target. Maybe he could turn the git into a flobberworm and squish him underneath his shoe. Wouldn't that be satisfying.
But he didn't know how to do that. Darn. Well, a good jinx would suffice. "Colloshoo!" In an instant, Snape's shoes stuck fast to the floor, and he fell to the ground, barely catching himself and taking out his wand as he did so. Snape twisted around, and James could already see his eyes burning with rage. James leveled his wand at his opponent, ready for anything that came his way. "Having fun talking to Lily, Snivellus?" James asked.
"At least she talks to me," Snape countered.
James' wand convulsed at this statement, and with another shout, he sent a second hex flying, though this time Snape countered it. Snape was fully facing James as well, which James thought odd as he hadn't heard Snape utter any counter curse to undo the first hex. Whatever. Git.
Why did Lily have to associate with the likes of him? Why did she even give such a greasy slime ball the time of day? Why couldn't she hang out with other Gryffindors instead? Gryffindors like him? She was so beautiful; she deserved someone like him. Brave. Strong. Handsome—

"James!"
But Sirius' shout came too late. James was still bringing his eyes forward when the spell hit him. James didn't know what the spell was, which was the unfortunate part, but it threw him backward with the force of the Hogwarts Express. Somehow his friends were quick enough to jump out of the way, then James crashed into a wall, sliding to the ground.
Perhaps it was James' magical core that'd protected him from a more lethal injury. Maybe Sirius or Remus had cast a spell to cushion the impact of the wall. Whatever it was hadn't been enough, though, for as James exhaled and got up, he felt a sharp pain in his side. He'd probably broken a rib. Oh, well. "Is that all you got?" James laughed as he pushed himself up, wincing once. James spat out then, convincing himself that it wasn't blood. And no, he hadn't lost a tooth. Or a lung.
Seeing a duel in progress, a crowd of students surrounded them, watching either out of boredom or excitement. Some were cheering for James. Others, not so much. James wished he could hex the ones who would dare root against him.
"Don't worry," Snape growled. "I've got a lot more than that."
Well, now. James might actually break a sweat. Ignoring the worsening pain in his side, James casually walked back to the center of the corridor, his friends behind him. He opened his mouth to cast another spell, but somehow Snape was already casting his own, and James couldn't, for the life of him, hear what spell he'd shouted. Had the git even opened his mouth? Of course he had; he was probably just whispering and James couldn't see it underneath his long nose.
Snape was obviously becoming agitated, and James threw up a shield charm to counter what the slime ball had thrown at him. It was a successful block, but the second spell came at him so fast that he barely dodged in time. "Flippendo!" James shouted, recovering fast enough to see a brief break in Snape's defenses. The spell struck true, and James laughed loudly as Snape was knocked backward, falling to the ground a second time. "Doing okay, Snivellus?"
But Snape was already lifting his wand, and in an instant, the spell had struck James in the face. Pus-filled boils erupted all over his skin, and James swore as both the pain and swelling obscured his vision and prevented him from seeing his opponent. He was aware that Snape was getting up, but James also felt magic coming from behind him. His boils were rapidly disappearing, healing, and James somehow knew, without looking back, that Remus was helping him out. "Thanks, mate," James said, risking a glance behind him at his friends. He nodded at Remus, then Sirius, but as he was looking at Sirius, he saw his friend's eyes widen. Just in time did Sirius step in front of him to block the curse that Snape had thrown.
"Trying to attack while his back is turned?" Sirius asked loudly. "That's low. Just like a Slytherin."
James turned back to Snape to see that his opponent had lowered his wand.
"At least I have the bravery to take all of you on by myself," Snape said coolly. "And you call yourselves Gryffindors."
James grit his teeth at the call, and he sent another hex at Snape that he blocked. "Take that back, git."
"I wonder what your schoolmates think of Gryffindor. When you fight me, he blocks my spells, and he heals you," Snape countered, pointing out each Marauder in turn. "Pathetic!"
The griffin inside James screeched in protest. James sent another spell at Snape; he was able to block it. But Sirius stepped forward beside James, not allowing House slander to go unpunished. Sirius' spell hit Snape in the chest, bringing him to his knees.
"Don't you know that griffins go after snakes?" Sirius asked coldly, wand ready to strike again.
Snape looked up, and James was infuriated to see that he was smirking. "Fight me yourself, then."
"I am," James said, though all five of them knew this wasn't true. But, if James thought about it, the four of them going against Snape wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't as if he actually needed their help. Far from it; he could disable Snape blindfolded.
Snape let out a bark of laughter that almost reminded James of Sirius. "You're cowards!"
It was those two words that sent James over the edge. He didn't even remember shouting the hex at Snape that brought him down to his face in front of his superiors. "Duel!" he screamed. "One hour!"
After many seconds, the lump that was Snape regained mobility. He looked up at James, and his eyes were burning with both hatred and excitement. "All right. The courtyard."