Chapter Thirteen
It was nearly dark by the time the Marauders made it back to the Gryffindor Common Room, loaded down with Zonko's and Honeydukes products. The Common Room was already packed with the other years, soaked through from the snow if they had been in Hogsmeade or warm and dry if they had remained at the castle. The Marauders, dry from having taken the Honeydukes tunnel back to the castle, commandeered a table in the corner of the room to discuss their latest plans for their new products. Peter was all for throwing some dungbombs down the Slytherin staircase, while Remus suggested replacing all the soap in the castle with frog spawn soap, causing wider spread mayhem. Once wet, the frog eggs in the soap would develop into fully-grown frogs, causing quite a bit more problems than a few dungbombs.
Sirius argued for both and it was decided that they would distribute the soap late that night and set off the dungbombs after breakfast the following morning. The combined mayhem would be a welcome entertainment before the Halloween Feast Sunday night.
"Who's sitting out, then?" Sirius asked, leaning back in his chair.
"I'll do it. You and Prongs did it the last two times. Besides, I've got to redeem myself as a Prefect or McGonagall's going to make good on her threat to take away my badge," Remus offered with a lazy grin, thinking about how he could spend that free time to Lily teaching her the fine art of bondage.
"Excellent. We begin at midnight, gents," James decided with a mischievous grin.
"Who's going to do Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" Peter asked nervously.
Sirius laughed and threw an arm around Peter's shoulders, saying reassuringly, "Don't worry 'bout it, Wormtail. I'll take care of ole Myrtle."
"There isn't a woman, dead or alive, who Padfoot can't charm," James said.
"Damn straight, Prongs!" Sirius whooped, slapping the table in his enthusiasm.
"Don't let Lily hear you say that or you'll find yourself cut off."
Remus turned to see Alice standing between him and James, already dressed in her pajamas. He looked over at the staircase, expecting to see Lily coming down in a similar get-up, but only saw a couple second years hurrying up to their dormitory.
"Evans would never cut me off, Prewett. Not with this body," Sirius insisted cockily.
"You wish, Black. But, anyway, where is Lily? I've been waiting for her upstairs, but she hasn't come up yet. I want to tell her about my date," Alice said with a bright smile.
Remus frowned as the legs of Sirius' chair hit the floor with a loud 'BANG'.
"What do you mean? Lily was with you at Hogsmeade," Remus said.
"No. I went with Frank. It was our first date," Alice told him with a shake of her head.
"But we saw her before we left for the village. She said she was going to spend the day with you," James insisted, somewhat frantically.
"When Frank and I left, she was still waiting for you four to come down," Alice said, a concerned frown marring her cheerful face.
"Padfoot, go get the map," Remus ordered quietly.
Without a word, Sirius darted up the stairs to search for the Marauder's Map. Remus urged Alice into the seat Sirius had vacated and took her hand in both of his.
"Now, Alice. You're sure Lily said she was waiting for us? She didn't say she had just seen us?" Remus asked, though he already suspected the answer.
"No. She was waiting for you guys. I know she was," Alice persisted.
"Okay. I just wanted to make sure. I was under the impression she would be spending the day with you, but obviously that was wrong," Remus said soothingly.
"She never actually said she would be spending the day with Alice," Peter piped up.
"What are you talking about, Peter? She told us that's what she was going to do," James said, his voice dark with anger.
"No, you told her to spend the day with Alice because she had seemed really upset last night and that the four of us were going to spend the day together. She just agreed," Peter reminded them.
"Shit," Remus groaned.
"So she's been here alone all day?" Alice asked, fear creeping into her voice for the first time.
"Got it!" Sirius said, laying the map down on the table.
Without any hesitation, Remus pressed the tip of his wand to the center and recited the phrase, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Alice's gasp of surprise went unnoticed as the four friends searched the map for Lily's dot. The Hospital Wing was the first place Remus checked, his heart pounding as he searched the small area for a dot labeled "Lily Evans", and only when he found the room empty did he breathe a sigh of relief. They checked McGonagall's office, the kitchens, any classrooms or hallways she might be in, every inch of the grounds, and came up with nothing.
"Could she be in the Room of Requirement?" Alice asked hesitantly.
"Possibly. We didn't know about it until Lily showed us, so it's not on the map," Remus told her, his eyes scanning the parchment once more and finding nothing.
"Well, then, let's go! Something must be wrong," Alice insisted, making for the portrait hole.
"Wait! There she is," Peter exclaimed, pointing to the second dot in Professor Dumbledore's office.
"Why is she with Dumbledore?" James asked, frowning at the map as if it might tell him the answer.
"You don't think… her parents?" Alice asked, her voice no more than a hushed whisper.
"No. If they'd been attacked, McGonagall would be with her, but it's just Dumbledore," Remus assured her, though his thoughts had gone the same route as hers.
"Should we go meet her or wait?" Sirius asked, fidgeting nervously.
"We wait. She has to come back at some point and we can talk to her then," Remus decided.
As much as he wanted to go storming to Dumbledore's office and demand to know what was wrong with Lily, he knew she wouldn't appreciate all of them crowding her. So, he resolved himself to wait it out by staring at her dot on the map. His heart rate sped up at the slightest movement of that solid black circle, but he remained calm on the outside.
He knew James and Sirius were struggling the same way he was. They all loved Lily and all three of them were fiercely protective of her. Sitting there waiting while she was in Dumbledore's office went against every instinct they had regarding their girl, but Remus knew Lily would appreciate their patience in the end.
He comforted himself by thinking of all the things that couldn't be wrong. He figured her parents were safe, mainly because of McGonagall's absence, but he couldn't be 100% sure until she returned. However, he could be sure that she wasn't injured, at least not too badly, because she wasn't in the Hospital Wing. This also meant that her curse wasn't acting up as that would be the first place she was taken. There was still the possibility that she had been injured earlier in the day and was regaling the Headmaster with her account of an attack or occurrence, but Remus hoped that, had she been injured, she would have called one of them on her mirror. Since she hadn't, he felt fairly good about her general health.
All these aside meant he hadn't a clue what she could be discussing with the Headmaster and that uncertainty caused his anxiety to ramp up until, finally, Lily's dot began to leave Dumbledore's office.
"She's moving," Sirius said, leaning forward eagerly.
The five of them watched as Lily traveled the halls unencumbered. Her pace was more sedate than usual, making Remus rethink his theory about her being uninjured. Perhaps it was painful for her to walk and they were making her travel while hurt instead of going to meet her. Before he could roll the idea around in his brain for too long, Lily had begun climbing the stairs to the seventh floor.
Impatient, as always, Sirius leapt to his feet and ran to the portrait hole to meet her. Remus leaned back in his chair to watch Sirius watch Lily approach the portrait hole. The look on his face was of anxious eagerness, giving nothing away about Lily's state of being.
"Evans," Sirius said.
Remus heard Lily's started gasp and noted Sirius' face darken into a concerned frown. Before he could so much as push his chair back to go meet her, he heard Lily's footsteps speed towards the portrait hole. Seconds later, he watched as she launched herself into Sirius' arms, clutching him tightly and sobbing openly. Remus and James were on their feet in an instant, but remained where they were as Sirius navigated Lily through the portrait hole and into the Common Room. Once inside the safety of Gryffindor Tower, Sirius lifted Lily into his arms and carried her through the crowded room.
"Upstairs?" Sirius asked, pausing briefly beside Remus.
"Probably be best," Remus agreed softly.
Without further instruction, Sirius carried her up to the boy's dormitory, James following quickly behind. Remus put a hand on Alice's shoulder when she made to go after them.
"It would probably be better if you waited down here with Peter. We don't know what set her off and she may require some time to calm down before you see her," Remus said as delicately as possible.
"But-"
"I promise. One of us will come back down as soon as we've taken care of her," Remus assured her before turning to Peter. "Do you mind, Pete? If you'd rather, we can take her to the Room of Requirements."
"Nah. Don't worry 'bout it. Just do what you've got to do," Peter said, waving him off.
With a grateful nod, Remus turned and hurried up the stairs to the Gryffindor Sixth Year Boy's Dormitory. He opened the door to find Lily laid out on James' bed, James and Sirius on either side of her. The three were pressed tightly together and Remus got the impression that it was for Lily's benefit from the way she was clutching James' hand around her waist with one hand and Sirius' shirt in her other. Her legs were intertwined with theirs, one thrown over Sirius' waist while the other was bent at the knee and under James'. They couldn't have been closer together if they'd been magically bound.
Lily jumped as the door fell shut behind him, her green eyes wide as she focused on him.
"Easy, babe. It's Remus," James soothed her, running a hand down the length of her hair.
Wordlessly, she untangled her fingers from Sirius' shirt and reached out for him. He noticed her leg tightened around Sirius' waist, but didn't comment on it. It only took him three steps to make it to the end of James' bed, but it felt like he might as well have been crossing the English Channel. By the time he was close enough to take her hand, Lily had begun crying again. As soon as his fingers brushed hers, she grabbed him with a strength he hadn't know her to be capable of and pulled her on top of her, James, and Sirius.
It was an awkward position, to say the least. He was partially laying on Lily, partially laying on James, and partially laying on Sirius. If Lily's distress hadn't been so obvious, he might have protested the arrangement, but one look into her terrified eyes had him settling as comfortably as he could across the three people he cared about most.
Lily wasn't sure how long the four of them laid there, but she knew Remus, at least, had to be uncomfortable. None of them complained, though, so Lily drew comfort from their awkward embrace for as long as she could. Eventually she knew she needed to let go. Slowly, she began shifting, letting them know she was ready to move into a more comfortable position. Remus was the first to move, sliding to the end of the bed and facing her, James, and Sirius. Sirius and James both waited for her to situate herself before moving around her.
Leaning against James' headboard, she took Sirius' hand in hers, tracing his knuckles absentmindedly. Her feet were pressed against Remus' shins and James moved so that he could drape an arm over her shoulders, effectively pulling her into his side. Her body relaxed a little bit more with the three of them touching her and she was able to take a shaky breath before speaking.
"Sorry," she croaked between chapped lips.
"For what, sweetheart?" Remus asked, his hands covering her chilled toes.
Lily gave a humorless laugh before mumbling, "Everything."
She felt her three boys share a look over the top of her head, but didn't bother looking up to confirm her belief.
"What happened today, Evans? Why did you stay here by yourself? Why didn't you tell us Alice had other plans?" Sirius asked.
There was no accusation in his voice, but Lily felt shame well up inside her all the same. She struggled against more tears that wanted to escape, sniffling noisily as she did so.
"Alice went on a date with Frank. That was why she was so excited last night. She was nervous about what to do, whether Frank actually liked her, that sort of stuff. I didn't tell you guys because I knew you needed Marauder time. Peter's been feeling neglected and I don't want him to come to hate me or any of you. You're best friends and being with me shouldn't stop that. I didn't want you guys to feel like you had to stay with me or skip out on Peter. I was going to go to the library to find a good book when…" Lily trailed off miserably.
"What happened, Lily?" James asked, his voice softer than a feather blowing on the wind.
"Sev… Severus," Lily sobbed, unable to hold back her tears as the memory resurfaced.
The reaction in her boys was instantaneous. Sirius and James began cursing colorfully while Remus growled dangerously. They were torn between comforting her and going after Snape to teach the "oily git a lesson". Thankfully, their concern for her won out and the three of them set to easing her sobs with soothing touches and whispered words.
"Did he hurt you, Lily?" Remus asked intently.
Lily shook her head, knowing he was asking about her physical well-being, not how she was emotionally. She didn't think she would ever get over the pain Severus' admission had caused. It might scar one day, but the deep throbbing gash across her soul would never truly go away.
"What did he do, Evans?" Sirius demanded to know, his voice darker than she had ever heard it.
Lily tried to swallow her tears so she could speak, but more bubbled to the surface and she let out an anguished sob. It was frustrating, this inability to control her emotions, but the betrayal was so painful. Sure, she and Severus hadn't been friendly since last year, but she had never wished him ill. They had been best friends, after all, at one point in time.
Remus, James, and Sirius surrounded her once again, giving her the strength and encouragement to tell them what she had learned while they were on their way to Hogsmeade.
"It was h-him. Severus c-cursed me," Lily whispered brokenly.
"He told you this?" Remus asked fiercely.
Lily nodded, unable to speak through her tears.
"Did you tell Dumbledore? Is that why you were in his office?" James asked gently.
She nodded once more, wiping away her tears as she tried to gain control of herself.
"What did he say?" James pressed.
"Th-that he w-would talk to him, b-but it was h-his word against mi-mine. Th-there's n-no pro-of," Lily hiccupped.
They spent the next few minutes soothing her, trying to get her to calm down. It took a while, but eventually their soft touches and gentle words relaxed her enough that she was close to falling asleep. Remus pulled her legs down as Sirius lowered her head to the pillow. James ran his fingers through her hair, humming tonelessly.
"Sweetheart?" Remus murmured as she was slipping into dreamland.
"Hmm?" Lily hummed, not bothering to open her eyes.
"Did he say why?" Remus asked quietly.
"Mm-hm. He wanted me for himself," Lily sighed, the words coming easily from her place of dark warmth.
James' hand paused in her hair, but only for a brief second before he resumed the soothing strokes. She could hear their quiet words, but none of it made much sense as she succumbed to the darkness of a dreamless sleep.
As soon as Lily's breathing evened out, Sirius let out a vehement curse.
He couldn't believe fucking Snape had cursed Lily to use her as a sex toy. The thought made his blood boil and he found himself fighting against storming down to the Slytherin Common Room and blasting the slimy git to smithereens.
"That bastard," James hissed.
He hadn't stopped stroking Lily's hair, but the venom in his voice was enough to make Sirius check that James wasn't being too rough. Although his hands were shaking slightly, his touch was gentle as he continued to pet their girl. Sirius wondered if it was a conscious decision on James' part or if it just came naturally.
"What are we going to do about this?" Sirius asked, turning back to the issue at hand.
"I say we castrate him," James growled.
"No arguments here," Sirius grumbled.
"No," Remus said flatly.
"What do you mean 'no'? We're not going to let him get away with this," Sirius snapped.
"We're not going to touch Snape. If we attack him, he'll take it out on Lily. No, we have to be very careful about how we play this," Remus said quietly.
"Forget careful! I want that bastard to pay for what he's done to Lily," James insisted vehemently.
"There are other way to make a person pay than physical pain," Remus told them.
"What exactly are you planning?" Sirius asked.
"Well, Lily said Dumbledore needs proof. Let's get him some."