Formation: Year 5 - Sudden Changes
Author's Note: I decided to restructure this story between posting last chapter and this one, breaking the entire fic into two sections rather than the planned three. This has not changed any of the contents of the previous chapters, though I did update the title of Year 4 to match the Formation naming conventions and edited earlier author's notes to explain the change. This chapter is now the last chapter in Section 1: Formation.
It was a gray and chilly day, hinting at the rapidly approaching autumn, when the students of Hogwarts gathered to board the train at the start of the new school year. The gloomy weather mirrored the feelings of some of the children, facing the end of their summer freedom and a return to the toils of academia, though there was plenty of excitement and anticipation there as well, particularly among the younger students. Among some of the older ones, and many of the parents who had come to see their children off, there was worry as well. There were growing concerns about the increasingly unstable state of the wizarding world and those who threatened it. There had been attacks that summer, still few and sporadic, but increasing in frequency as the followers of the self-styled Lord Voldemort increased in number and influence. Parents spoke about it in whispers on Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, and older students discussed it as they settled into their compartments on the train, trying to keep their voices low to avoid concerning their younger schoolmates.
Anyone could see that things were not quite what they had been even as recently as the spring before, though much of the enthusiasm and joyful reunions that usually filled the station on September first were still present, if perhaps slightly muted. Parents still fussed over their eleven-year-olds going away to school for the first time and friends still ran up to each other chattering about all their exciting adventures over the break. First years still anxiously searched for familiar faces and seventh years still reminisced together about school years of the past and marveled that this would be their last train ride to Hogwarts.
James and Sirius arrived on the platform together, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Potter. James had been persuaded not to put on his shiny new quidditch captain badge until he changed into his robes, but made no secret of his position, loudly discussing new game strategies with Sirius. His behavior was only partly due to ego, though. Mrs. Black was visibly fussing over Regulus farther down the platform, and James was also hoping to distract his best friend from the scene. Sirius was doing a reasonably good impression of his usual carefree attitude, but his laughter sounded a little forced and he occasionally glanced towards his family before quickly looking away. The arrival of Remus wearing a Gryffindor prefect's badge prompted a more natural grin, as well as some good natured teasing of the most studious and well-behaved of the Marauders.
Remus wasn't the only one to become a prefect that year, nor even the only one of his friends. To no one's surprise, Lily had been named the new Hufflepuff girls' prefect. She had been very excited to find out, immediately sending Severus a letter by muggle mail to share the news. Severus, much to his own relief, was passed over for the role of prefect; the job had gone instead to Marcus Smith, a slightly pompous boy but not a bad fit for the job. Severus was quite content to avoid any requirement to interact with the younger students, though he was happy for Lily. The two Hufflepuffs met up at the train station as had become their tradition, with Lily's parents looking on in fond amusement as the teenagers for once managed an enthusiastic hug without knocking over themselves or their luggage. The pair said their goodbyes to the Evanses, gathered up their things, and made their way onto the train.
Lily's new role required her to attend a meeting in the prefects' compartment of the train at the start of the trip, but she planned to leave her things with Severus and rejoin him later in the journey. The pair ran into Remus as they made their way along the train; he had left the Marauders to find their own compartment while he met with the other prefects. Neither Lily nor Severus was terribly shocked to see that Remus had landed the Gryffindor prefectship, and he was equally unsurprised to see Lily's badge, though he had wrongly guessed that Severus might have gotten one as well. Congratulations were shared all around, an empty compartment was located, and Remus and Lily set off down the train together in search of the Head Boy and Girl. Severus was left alone with his and Lily's belongings, and his thoughts. He was happy for Remus, maybe even as much as he had been for Lily, as odd as it was to realize. Severus had grown fond of the Gryffindor boy in the two or so years that they had been studying together and had begun to think of him as a friend, perhaps even his best friend other than Lily (though he would not have admitted it to anyone but her). There was still no love lost between Severus and the other Gryffindor boys, though, and the Hufflepuff dared to hope that Remus might be more successful at reigning in the other Marauders with his new authority.
With both his friends busy with their prefect duties, Severus pulled out a book to read as the train began to pick up speed. It was a worn copy of a work on Ancient Runes, focusing on practical applications for healing and defensive magics. Severus had noticed the battered old volume in a secondhand shop when he went to pick up his new textbooks for the year, and used most of his hard-earned pocket money to buy it. He had just selected a fascinating chapter on shielding runes used in ancient tombs and treasure vaults when a knock came at the door to the compartment. Expecting to see one of his friends, or at the very least another student, Severus was surprised to see an adult witch enter in response to his "come in." She was fairly young by grown-up standards, though clearly too old to be a student, and was slightly out of breath as if she'd had to run to jump onto the train as it pulled away from the station. She grinned sheepishly at Severus, running her fingers through windswept shoulder-length black hair in a futile attempt to tame it.
"Sorry for barging in like this, I'd forgotten how difficult it is to find a seat when you don't show up an hour early. Mind if I join you?" She waited for Severus's nod before throwing what looked like a muggle hiking backpack up onto the luggage rack and sitting down across from him. "I'm Diana - er, Professor Arratay, that is. Damn, that's going to be hard to get used to."
Understanding dawned on Severus. "You're the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Professor Arratay sighed dramatically. "For my sins, Professor Dumbledore has coerced me away from my passion and life's work to wrangle a bunch of teenagers who no doubt would rather do literally anything other than listen to me teach. But alas, such is life."
Severus snorted with laughter at her clearly affected pompous tone, tried to cover it up with a fake coughing fit, then gave up when he spotted the young professor's grin.
"So, now that we've confirmed that I have no sense of proper professorial decorum, what's your name?"
"Oh, right. Severus Snape. Fifth year." Severus managed the introduction without too much trouble, desperately hoping that he wouldn't have to engage in boring small talk for too long. Though the professor seemed decidedly unboring so far, he had found that many grown ups seemed to think kids couldn't handle a real conversation about anything interesting. His fears were quickly put to rest, though, when Arratay instead began asking him questions about his book, leading to a lively discussion about Ancient Runes. Severus quickly learned that the older witch had trained as a Cursebreaker at Gringotts and was well versed in the kind of defensive runes that he had been reading about. He was fascinated by stories she told about reworking existing rune arrays for new purposes, already thinking of ways the concepts could be applied to creating entirely new spells. Arratay admitted that that was not something she had much theoretical background in, but it was clear that she was genuinely intrigued by the idea.
Lily returned part way through the journey, her surprise at finding an adult sitting with Severus in the compartment quickly forgotten as she was drawn into the conversation as well. By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station at Hogsmeade and professor and students made their separate ways up to the castle, the Hufflepuffs were sure that Professor Arratay would be the best Defense teacher they had ever had. She had refused to "spoil the surprise" by telling them the topic for the first lesson of the year, but they were sure it would be interesting. It was obvious that she knew what she was doing, which was already infinitely better than some of the professors they had had in the past four years. Arratay had mentioned offhandedly that she herself was considered an expert duelist as well as a Cursebreaker, and Severus was hoping that she might focus on dueling in class (a subject which none of their other Defense professors had covered at length).
Severus and Lily spent most of the Sorting Feast continuing their discussions from the train, though Lily devoted some time to trying to make the newest additions to Hufflepuff feel welcome. By the time the Headmaster officially introduced Professor Arratay at the end of the Feast, word had been spread around the Hufflepuff table by the Potioneers just how interesting a teacher she was, and they greeted Dumbledore's announcement with loud applause. At the head table, Arratay noticed her train companions at the center of the enthusiastic clapping and shot them a wink and a grin. The pair of Hufflepuffs grinned back, entirely unembarrassed by their antics. The rest of the start of year announcements went as usual, and the hordes of Hogwarts students rose from their seats and began to make their way to their various common rooms. As a prefect, Lily helped take charge of the first year Hufflepuffs, trying to shepherd them into a line (or at least a slightly more coherent gaggle) and lead them out of the Great Hall. Severus held back, not interested in fighting his way through the mob. Across the room he could see Remus at the head of a line of little Gryffindors, and gave him a quick wave when he saw the prefect looking towards him. There was no point in trying to do any more, not with a crowd between them and the other Marauders standing nearby, but they would see each other in classes soon enough.
And indeed, when schedules were handed around the next morning at breakfast, Lily and Severus found that their first class of the day was Ancient Runes, where they could work with Remus without any interference from his other friends. Severus was a little disappointed to see that they wouldn't have Professor Arratay until the following afternoon, but double Potions on the first day of school made for an excellent consolation prize. There was always a certain excitement to the beginning of the year, returning to classes after a long break with a newly refreshed desire to learn, a sense of getting back into a good routine. After four years at Hogwarts, Lily and Severus had a pretty good sense of what to expect in all their classes and how their different professors liked to teach. Even their electives had become familiar after two full years, and the subjects were no longer as strange and mysterious as they had been on the first day of third year. The one wildcard, of course, was always Defense Against the Dark Arts. With its constantly changing cast of professors, none lasting more than a single year, each Fall brought with it the potential for disaster, or the potential for greatness. After their time with her on the Hogwarts Express, Severus and Lily were both expecting great things from Professor Arratay's class, and they would not be disappointed.
The Gryffindors were the first class of fifth years to have Defense that year, but Remus refused to tell Lily and Severus anything about it when they met in the library that night to go over their Runes homework. Despite Severus's many pleas, the Gryffindor would only say that it was an excellent class and they would have to wait and see, all the while trying to hide his grin at the Hufflepuff boy's increasingly annoyed expression. Even Lily, herself almost as desperate to hear about the class as Severus, had to giggle at the adorably grumpy face that her friend was making. Eventually they settled down to work. Their professors all seemed determined to make it clear how much harder OWLs year would be by loading them up with homework even on the first day of classes, and Runes was no exception. After a while Remus apologetically said his "good nights" and excused himself to go back to Gryffindor Tower; he had promised to meet the Marauders to study with them too. Lily watched him go, feeling a sense of disappointment as he walked away. They would see each other again tomorrow in Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures (scheduled back to back this year, so they would spend the entire morning on the grounds). But his friends would be there so she would barely be able to even speak to Remus then, and more likely than not James or Sirius would do something stupid and start a fight and land them all in detention again. Or worse, the hospital wing. She sighed a little, and Severus looked up questioningly from his essay.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. No. I don't know;" she answered, not very coherently. "I just wish we didn't have to always sneak around to hang out with Remus. I miss him when he's not here."
She felt her cheeks heat up a little when she said it and hoped Severus wouldn't notice. If he did, he didn't comment on it. He just leaned over to hug her and quietly said "I know, I do too."
Lily hugged him back tightly; at least she always had Sev.
The next afternoon Severus was practically vibrating with excitement as he and Lily made their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom after lunch, along with the rest of the fifth year Hufflepuffs. Their morning classes had gone well since the Marauders had been kept too busy for mischief, and now Severus was finally going to see whether Professor Arratay was as interesting in a classroom as she had been on the train. The Hufflepuffs began filing into the room, barely having time to notice that their professor apparently wasn't there before the door suddenly slammed shut and the lights went out. More than one student screamed in surprise or fear; with the windows covered, the room had gone completely dark. Or almost completely, for the darkness was immediately broken by jets of orange light as spells shot towards the area where most of the students had been standing. Chaos broke out in the room, shouts of "get down," "scatter," and simply "help!" echoing through the space. Some students ran or hid, tripping over the desks and chairs scattered about the room, those closest to the door trying and failing to get it open. A few were hit immediately by spells and fell silent. In the darkness it was difficult to say what exactly had happened to them. Lily and Severus had been among the first to enter the room, and had been partway across the floor when the lights went out, rather than clustered by the door like some of their fellows. It was this stroke of luck, or enthusiasm to get to class, that spared them from the initial round of spells aimed towards the door.
They ducked down behind a desk, but almost immediately realized that staying put would not be a viable strategy when another spell hit right next to them, barely missing Severus. He managed to roll out of the way just in time, crashing into Lily in the process.
"Sorry!"
"It's fine, we need to move! Should we split up?" Lily whispered, detangling herself from her friend and pulling him along as she crawled towards what she was pretty sure was the side of the classroom.
"No, probably safer together. Look! She's on the move." Severus pointed, then felt like an idiot when he realized that if he couldn't see his own hand then Lily couldn't either. They could see that the spells were coming from a different part of the classroom now; the flashes of light made it harder for their eyes to adjust to the dark but stood out like beacons on their own.
"They look like color changing spells, probably overpowered enough to knock people over. Maybe we should shoot back. There aren't so many students left, she'll come after us eventually."
Lily had mentally flipped through her repertoire of spells and come to the sudden realization that she had never learned any shielding spells. Severus was coming to the same conclusion. They both knew some defensive runes, but nothing that they could use in a hurry in the dark. Severus grinned. "They do say the best defense is a good offense. Looks like she's by the back wall now. We'll have to get a bit closer."
They kept low, fumbling their way between desks and over other students lying on the floor. After a quiet count of three, they jumped apart from each other and began shooting color-changing charms at the approximate location of their professor. Lily thought she heard a soft "ouch" coming from that direction, but that didn't stop Arratay from hitting her with a returning spell and knocking her over. A moment later the lights suddenly turned on, revealing the carnage. All of the students were on the floor, and as they cautiously stood up it became clear that the professor had in fact been using a variation on a color charm: every single student's robes had been turned bright orange. Lily spotted Severus a little ways away, looking in disgust at his own orange robes and shaking his head. Professor Arratay, standing by the door, had a few splotches of different colors on her own clothing, and a smile on her face.
"Well, that wasn't too bad for your first surprise attack! Almost 7 minutes to the last one down. Quite a few of you tried to work together too, much better than some of my other classes, though I suppose I should expect that from Hufflepuff House." She started walking to the front of the room as she spoke, waving her wand and de-oranging each student as she passed.
"Now then. I am Professor Arratay, usually a Cursebreaker at Gringotts. I'm on loan to Hogwarts for the year to teach you all a bit about defending yourselves. Shall we start with a discussion of our little opening exercise?" She reached the teacher's desk and turned to look at the students.
They had mostly gotten themselves into their own seats by this point, though only a few had gotten themselves together enough to start pulling out parchment and quills to take notes. Many still looked confused, trying to process the experience of getting hexed by their professor on the first day of class, while a couple looked upset or even angry. Lily and Severus, having regained their seats, were more excited than anything else. Lily would grumble a bit that it would have been more fair to at least tell them what they were allowed to do before starting the exercise, and even Severus agreed with that. But once the shock wore off it would all seem like a brilliant trick, and a good way of showing just how much they had left to learn about defense against other wizards. As Professor Arratay began to talk about strategy and self-awareness and how important it was to realize what you didn't know while you still had a chance to fix it, she had the students' full attention, and would keep it for the rest of the year.
Practice duels and war games intended to mimic attacks without hurting anyone too badly became a regular part of Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. As the year went on, students grew ever more prepared for surprise attacks launched by their professor at random times during lecture, in addition to their usual class work or hands-on spells practice. Ironically, Professor Arratay quickly became a favorite not only of Severus (and to a slightly lesser extent Lily), but also of the Marauders. James and Sirius in particular idolized her. Both Gryffindor boys hoped to become Aurors when they graduated, and absorbed any and all fighting tricks that the professor mentioned.
Severus was less interested in the melee fighting or strategies for large teams, preferring the elegance of a one-on-one or doubles duel. Truthfully, the more the Hufflepuff learned of dueling, the less interested he became in upfront fighting as a concept. He had always been one to aim for sophistication and subtlety in a fight, rather than the brute force methods that Gryffindors often favored. He picked up the few offensive spells that Arratay taught with no less aptitude than the Marauders, but given the choice he would rather a complicated shield and method of distraction than blasting away at an opponent. It was Lily, between the two of them, who preferred to take the offense, and their best fights even in years to come would always be the ones where they could fight side by side or back to back.
Remus, who was a solid but not terribly flashy dueler himself, often thought that it was probably a very good thing that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts class together anymore. Having seen all of his friends practicing their dueling at one time or another, he was not eager to see a fight between James and Sirius (who complemented each other as well as Lily and Severus, if in a different way) and the two Hufflepuffs. Professor Arratay, along with the various Heads of House, had made it very clear early in the year that anyone caught dueling outside the context of class or supervised practice sessions would be made to seriously regret it. By that point her reputation had grown enough that few students in the school would have dared to cross her (and fewer would have wanted to) and the relative peace of Hogwarts held. That is not to say that the Marauders and Potioneers never butted heads that year, for they certainly did, but none would have risked the wrath of Professor Arratay by engaging in a major duel against her orders.
And so the year went by. The fifth years found that all of their classes, Defense included, were pushing them harder than ever, with constant reminders that their OWL exams were coming at the end of the year. Their workloads grew, but the topics covered in the classes in many cases grew more interesting as well as challenging. For the new prefects there was more responsibility as well, added on top of their schoolwork and whatever extracurricular and social activities they might try to pursue. Lily and Remus found themselves spending more time together as they went about their rounds and attended meetings with the other prefects. It wasn't that they made any active effort to be assigned to the same duties, it simply seemed to happen, perhaps more often than might be expected due to chance. The fact that the Head Girl, a Hufflepuff named Alice Fawley, strongly approved of Hufflepuff-Gryffindor friendships (and relationships) may have had something to do with it, though there was certainly no way to prove anything.
While Lily and Remus were off dealing with their new responsibilities and deepening their own friendship, Severus was left on occasion to amuse himself. He found the state of affairs not terribly objectionable. There was still plenty of time for studying with Remus and curling up with Lily by the common room fire, and the time alone he could spend pursuing his own thoughts. Severus had always had an interest in potions experimentation, and that interest had extended into spell development as he learned more about it. It was on these sorts of projects that the boy spent much of his free time, either researching background in the library, planning out ideas, or occasionally attempting hands-on experiments, sometimes with Lily's help and sometimes alone.
Actual experimentation was far more difficult than theory work, especially as the weather grew colder. In the warmer months they could go down by the lake and attempt new spells without worrying about causing too much damage when the prototypes inevitably produced unexpected results, but it was harder to find a practice space while trapped inside the castle by the cold. Severus dreamed of one day being able to work on creating new healing spells, being increasingly fascinated by the idea of magical healing. He had little knowledge of the current state of spell-based healing, though, and was forced to focus only on potions work in that area. He and Lily discussed asking Madam Pomfrey for healing lessons of some kind, but quickly realized that neither of them had the kind of free time that they would have wanted to devote to the endeavor and shelved the idea for the future.
Many of Severus's attempted spells were focused on issues of stealth, concealment, and protection, spurred in part by what he was learning in Professor Arratay's class. He spent some of his free time visiting her office, alone or with Lily, listening to the stories the professor told and discussing not only her work but his own ideas. It was perhaps the first time that Severus had found an adult who was interested in his thoughts not only as a classroom exercise but as ideas that could be developed into something real and new. Arratay had no experience in creating new spells (it was hardly a common talent or skill), but her theoretical knowledge of Runes and general magical theory far exceeded that of her students, making her a fascinating resource. And, to Lily's delight, she had a wealth of experience in coming up with creative uses for the spells she knew, and ways of repurposing knowledge. The two Hufflepuffs were far from the only students who met with the Cursebreaker outside of class; the professor had made it clear that she was happy to engage with students and held regular office hours to facilitate conversations. James and Sirius could often be found haunting her office, usually with Peter and/or Remus in tow, always wanting to learn more about magical dueling.
In fact, much to the relief of Remus, the Marauders stayed so busy during the early months of the school year that they had little time left for causing problems with the Potioneers. James might still try a little too hard to sit near Lily in Care of Magical Creatures, and there had been a few incidents between Sirius and Severus in Herbology, but things remained relatively calm. There were two Hogsmeade weekends over the course of the Fall, both of which Remus spent with the Marauders. On the first visit he didn't see the Hufflepuffs at all, and later heard that they had decided to skip the trip in favor of walking by the lakeside in the unseasonably warm weather. The second time he saw Lily and Severus from a distance, laughing and walking hand-in-hand along the main road of the village, but only waved at them instead of going over. Remus didn't think James, Sirius, or Peter had spotted them, and figured it was safer to keep it that way, feeling a pang at the reminder that his friends hated each other. At Slug Club meetings Remus couldn't observe their interactions, not being a member himself, but everyone seemed to still be on their best behavior at Professor Slughorn's events, which he was glad to hear.
Halloween passed, and soon Christmas and the end of term were rapidly approaching. As in the year before, Slughorn's Christmas party promised to be the event of the season among the fifth years, bringing a chance for entertainment and drama to take center stage. Remus fruitlessly hinted at James that it might be better to ask literally anyone other than Lily to go with him, given what had happened the previous year. Unsurprisingly, his suggestions fell on deaf ears, and all he could do was try to commiserate with both James and Lily separately after the proposal was made and shot down. James had created and sent a variation on a Howler, which was supposed to sing its message to a cheery holiday tune at breakfast before transforming into a bouquet of lilies in an explosion of confetti. In reality, an explosion happened quite a bit sooner than James had intended, when Lily blasted the thing out of the air before it could sing more than a few bars.
In the end, James chose not to attend at all that year, despite Sirius going to the trouble of getting the lovely Cecelia Drake to agree to accompany him. Remus had to spend the night of the party listening to his friend complain about the fickleness of women, making sympathetic noises and resisting the growing urge to point out that Lily's behavior couldn't exactly be called fickle when she had been consistently rejecting the other boy for over four years now. For her part, Lily went with Severus for the second year in a row and enjoyed herself immensely, though she did blushingly confess to Severus a certain disappointment that Remus had been unable to attend. Severus, who was growing to enjoy dancing more than he was willing to admit, had a rather good time as well.
Sirius, in what James called a shocking lack of regard for his friend and Captain's broken heart, did attend the party. To make matters worse, he took James's abandoned date with him. Sirius thought James was more offended by that than he had any right to be, considering that neither he nor Cecelia had been terribly interested in attending together in the first place, though Remus agreed that it was a little gauche. Sirius brought his original date as well, the same Antonia Primrose whose (now ex-)boyfriend had tried to hex him at the previous year's party, though he had barely spoken to the girl since the incident. That budding romance proved doomed, however, and by the end of the evening Antonia was once more joined at the lips with her beau of the previous year. Sirius, whose broom closet rendezvous with Fabian Prewett had prompted Antonia's flight in the first place, didn't seem terribly upset by the turn of events. Cecelia, who had only been looking for a way into the party, had split as soon as they got through the door and was later spotted with a boy on each arm, and several more trailing behind and fawning over her.
With the excitement and spectacle of the Christmas party suddenly behind them, the Hogwarts students scrambled to get through their last few assignments and classes before boarding the Hogwarts Express and heading home for the holidays. As had become their custom, Severus went home with Lily for the winter break, enjoying the time spent with her parents in their cozy little house. Petunia, to Severus's hastily suppressed disappointment, was home as well. She had apparently decided that the sophisticated grown-up version of tormenting her little sister was to simply ignore her and Severus, which suited the younger pair just fine. The break rushed by in a blur of food, presents, and several snowball fights in the backyard that even Mr. and Mrs. Evans participated in, always followed by hot cocoa with little marshmallows back inside the house.
All too soon they were on their way back to Hogwarts, where the professors wasted no time in piling on work, along with increasingly frequent reminders that the OWL exams were rapidly approaching. Stress levels were increasing exponentially among fifth years of all Houses, and everything other than required coursework fell by the wayside. The more frantic students (mostly Ravenclaws) began to write up their study guides almost as soon as they returned from winter break, and as spring break approached it was the rare student who hadn't begun to stress at least a little. But it was then, right as OWLs prep approached its peak, that they were warned to start thinking about their career plans, and meetings with Heads of House were scheduled for after Easter. None of the fifth years went home for Spring break that year, instead choosing to stay in the castle to study for OWLs or peruse pamphlets on different wizarding occupations. For some, the question of what career to pursue was obvious, though others were far less certain of where they hoped to end up. As with the selection of elective courses three years before, many students found advice thrown at them from all directions. Older students, professors, relatives, and friends all rushed to provide their input, some more helpful (or requested) than others.
Both Severus and Lily were considering healing as their chosen field of study, with slightly different focuses. Severus's interest leaned more towards the research side of things. He would have been content to spend his days in a medical research laboratory, formulating new healing potions and spells and rarely if ever having to interact with human subjects. Lily, on the other hand, had more interest in the clinical aspects of healing, working with real people ("Patients, Sev! Not subjects!") and helping to solve their problems. Professor Sprout left both of their advising meetings satisfied that her not-so-little Badgers would be well suited and well prepared for their chosen paths, and immediately went to speak to Madam Pomfrey about perhaps offering a healing elective or club the following year. By this point the Matron knew both Hufflepuffs fairly well from the frequent times that Severus had ended up as a patient after some mishap or another, usually with Lily accompanying him (or practically carrying him once or twice). She was delighted to hear confirmation that their interest in her field had indeed progressed from simple childish fascination as they watched her work to the more focused curiosity she thought she had seen on their more recent visits.
With Death Eater activity on the rise, and an increasingly unstable climate in the wizarding world as a whole, James and Sirius planned to join the Aurors together, which Professor McGonagall strongly supported. They would certainly have the qualifications for it, and she was quite proud to see two more of her lion cubs growing up to fight against evil. Remus had always been reluctant to speak of his plans, wary of even wishing for a future that he might never be able to have. Among the Marauders he spoke rarely of his concerns, and with his Hufflepuff friends not at all. As far as he was aware, Lily and Severus still had no knowledge of his lycanthropic nature and hoped to keep it that way, worried about how they might react. Remus's interview with Professor McGonagall was an awkward one. She knew as well as he did that it would be incredibly difficult for him to get a job anywhere in the wizarding world if they found out that he was a werewolf, and it would be difficult to hide that from an employer long term. All McGonagall could honestly recommend, as much as it pained her to say it to such a promising student, was to get the most he could out of his remaining time at Hogwarts and hope that he could find some job where he could slip under the radar. Peter Pettigrew arrived at his meeting with an equally amorphous plan for the future, though for a very different reason. He had spent most of his time at school tagging along with his friends, pulled along into more greatness and popularity than he could have dreamed of achieving on his own. McGonagall gently but firmly opined that he would be unlikely to follow James and Sirius into the Auror Corps. She suggested that he look into some lower-level ministry jobs, perhaps in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement if he wished, but avoid aiming above his abilities.
With career counseling behind them, accomplished in some cases with more satisfaction than in others, it felt as though the only things standing between the fifth years and the freedom of summer vacation were their OWLs. They grew increasingly frantic in their studying, and more than one student found themself being fed Calming Solution in the hospital wing after a breakdown from the stress. Soon enough, whether they were ready or not, the exams were upon them. For two weeks the OWLs ran, written and practical exams coming one after another with barely any time to recover from one before it was time to sit down for the next. The days sped by, and suddenly it was the last day. The afternoon exam was Arithmancy, and for many students the morning's History of Magic test was the last one. As Remus, Lily, Severus, were sitting down for their test, the rest of the Marauders relaxed outside, enjoying the beautiful weather on the Hogwarts grounds. As is so often the case with teenage boys, their talk inevitably turned to the topic of romance, and the conversation began to spiral rather out of control without Remus to provide a check. James's infatuation with Lily seemed only to have grown over the course of the year, and he was even more convinced that her rejections came from a lack of understanding, rather than a lack of reciprocity. As he explained to Sirius and Peter that afternoon by the lake, if he only had a chance to explain to her how he felt, in private, without either of their friends to get in the way, he was sure that she would get it.
"But how can I ever get her alone, she's always got Snivellus skulking along behind her! Our love is doomed!" James flopped back on the grass with a dramatic sigh.
Peter made the appropriate sympathetic noises, sure that his talented friends would be able to come up with a solution somehow. And indeed, Sirius was getting the sort of gleam in his eye that usually foretold what he would call a brilliant plan of action, the sort that Remus often tried to veto if at all possible.
"What if we got Snivelly out of the way for you, distracted him so you could talk to Evans? We could do it tonight. You get a nice tryst with Evans, and maybe we get Snivellus out of our hair for good once he figures out she's done with him," Sirius was on a roll now, ideas coalescing into a single perfect plan.
"What about Moony?" James's interest was piqued, but he wasn't quite convinced yet. "You know he's always saying to leave Snivellus alone. He'll be pissed if he finds out we locked his study buddy in a broom closet all night, even if the git deserves it."
"What Remus doesn't know won't hurt him," Sirius winked ostentatiously. "You can go on a little moonlit stroll with Evans, and Remus won't have to know until it's all over."
A slow smile spread across James's face as understanding dawned. "Brilliant."
The planning went quickly after that. Sirius promised to take care of Snape, and James was distracted enough not to notice that his friend never mentioned how he was going to keep the Hufflepuff boy out of the way. Remus joined them after his exam, but the impending full moon was already beginning to make him feel ill. It was easy for the other boys to keep the subject off of James's plan for a short time until the werewolf gave up and went to the hospital wing. James went to change into fresh robes that hadn't been rumpled by an afternoon lounging in the grass, and Sirius began to set the plan in motion. He sent a note signed by "Remus" asking Lily to meet him in the Great Hall that night to go over their Arithmancy exam, knowing that the two liked to rehash their answers. Another went to Severus suggesting that "Professor Arratay" had something fascinating to show him in a secret room underneath the Whomping Willow.
It never occurred to either Hufflepuff that they were being set up, perhaps because there had been so little conflict with the Marauders in the last few months as they all focused on preparing for their OWLs. The notes were delivered through intermediaries, first by a random Gryffindor second-year right after dinner whom Sirius had asked to pass a note from his friend Remus. Later in the evening, a Hufflepuff first-year delivered the second note, knowing only that a Gryffindor boy told her to bring it to the common room. Both were fairly believable situations; Lily and Remus both enjoyed going over their test questions, which made Severus nervous, and it would not be the first time that Professor Arratay wanted to discuss a new idea at an odd time. The two Hufflepuffs walked together to the entrance hall, then Severus slipped out the front doors, trying not to be too conspicuous with the sun going down and curfew almost upon them.
He hurried down towards the tree, muttering under his breath about Arratay making him wander the grounds alone and risk getting caught by another teacher instead of meeting him in the castle so it would be clear he had permission. As he approached the tree he found a stick by moonlight and used it to poke the knot that would, according to the note, stop the willow from whomping. He wondered for a moment if he should wait for the professor, then, with a shrug, figured he might as well go ahead. The last thing he noticed as he slipped into the tunnel was the beautiful full moon. Poor Remus, he thought idly as he lit his wand and began to carefully make his way down the odd passageway. No wonder the Gryffindor had looked so ill by the end of their exam. Distracted by thoughts of whatever Professor Arratay wanted to show him and by the oddness of the tunnel he was in, it didn't occur to him until much too late that Remus could not possibly be meeting with Lily if he must be transforming into a wolf at that very moment.
Back in the castle, Lily slowly made her way across the entrance hall, Arithmancy notes under her arm. She was a little early to meet Remus, but she went into the Great Hall anyway; she didn't mind waiting if he wasn't there yet. Not seeing Remus, and feeling oddly small after standing for several long minutes alone in the vast emptiness of the space, she walked back towards the entrance hall. She now intended to cut him off there and come up with somewhere a little more comfortable to talk than the empty Great Hall. Intimate, her brain supplied, somewhere cozy and intimate. She pushed the thought aside, glad there was no one around to see her cheeks turning red. Lily walked out into the entryway, turning towards the staircase where she expected to see Remus appear. A few minutes later, she spied James Potter walking down the stairs instead, and her smile disappeared.
"Is something wrong with Remus?" It was the only reason Lily could think of for Potter to be there instead of their mutual friend.
"What? No!" Taken aback by her question, James fumbled for an answer. "He's fine —I mean, he's not fine —he's sick! But that's not why I'm here, I'm here to see you."
He had almost reached Lily by that point, but she pulled away when he tried to reach out a pleading hand towards her.
"I just want to talk, please!"
"I'm not interested! If you've just come to blather on about how much you think you love me, you can save your breath. If Remus isn't here then I'm going to see what Arratay and Sev are doing under the Whomping Willow. I'm sure it's a sight more interesting than you."
She whirled away, her hair nearly slapping James in the face as she started towards the outer doors of the castle. James was already starting to follow her, ready to deliver his carefully rehearsed speech even if he had to shout it at her retreating back, when he finally registered what she had said and froze.
"Under the Whomping Willow?" He could feel the blood draining from his face and the words came out as a croak. "No, he wouldn't...Evans! LILY, WAIT! It's a trap!"
James chased after her, shouting for her to stop. He didn't care if anyone else heard him now. Sirius had apparently sent Snape to get mauled by a werewolf, and Lily was about to go charging in there. She had a head start on James, but he caught up, desperation making him run faster.
"It's not the professor, it was Sirius — a trap for Snape!" She wasn't listening, so he tried the only thing he thought might get through. "THERE'S A WEREWOLF!"
Lily stopped abruptly and James almost ran into her. He saw her glance up at the sky and notice for the first time that the moon was full, heard her whisper "Remus?" then, much louder, "SEVERUS!"
Suddenly she was running with her wand drawn, sprinting towards the tree before he could try to stop her, and he followed, pulling out his own wand though he hardly knew what he intended to do with it. Lily barely slowed as she approached the tree, jabbing at the knot with a long stick grabbed from the ground the way the note to Severus had instructed, and half-falling into the tunnel with James right behind her. Tripping over the uneven ground, they hurried along as quickly as they could, animosity temporarily pushed aside by shared concern. They hadn't made it very far when they saw a shape coming towards them along the tunnel, stumbling and rebounding off the walls as he came. Severus spotted Lily and James coming towards him and immediately tried to move faster, shouting at them to turn around and run.
"He's behind me! Spells don't work right —only delayed him! RUN!"
Lily could see a larger figure behind Severus now, a wolf that to her eyes seemed almost large enough to eat all three teenagers whole, but the Hufflepuff boy was staggering, left arm pressed tightly against his side as if injured, and she had a sudden fear that he would fall and not have time to get back up. She began to run towards him, shooting stunning spells towards Remus which seemed to barely slow him down, whether because she was unconsciously underpowering them or because of his werewolf immunity to magic she had no idea.
"Help me!" Lily shouted at James, and the Gryffindor forced himself out of his panic and raced to help, shooting off a few spells of his own before he reached Severus and began to half support, half drag him along. The three of them desperately raced for the entrance of the tunnel as Remus the wolf gained on them, Lily using a shield charm to hold him off as she and James struggled to keep Severus moving. The tunnel wasn't quite wide enough for the three of them to walk shoulder to shoulder, and Lily lagged behind, keeping a shield up while James supported Severus, practically carrying his entire weight. Lily felt herself getting weaker, the repeated battering of her shield taking its toll. James noticed her slowing down, and how her breathing was growing shallower. They were nearly to the exit, but James knew with heavy certainty that they wouldn't make it out before Lily's shield broke. He glanced dubiously at the roof of the tunnel before coming to a decision.
"Evans, you need to get Sniv– I mean Severus– out of here. Moony can't fit through the opening like this. I'll boost the two of you up."
"Are you crazy?" Lily wheezed, "I can't keep the shield up when I'm climbing out."
"Just trust me!" James snapped.
They had reached the opening. James stooped to lift Severus and pushed him through the hole. Lily cast a wary glance at James before accepting his assistance, maintaining the shield for as long as she was able. As soon as she was clear of the exit, James vanished down the tunnel.
For a moment Lily and Severus just lay on the ground, struggling for breath. Then the tree above them began to creak ominously, prompting them to drag themselves upright and stumble their way out of reach of its branches before collapsing once more and falling into unconsciousness.
Severus couldn't have said exactly how they made it back to the castle. He later vaguely remembered an odd dream about being carried on the back of a horse, though he doubted it had any bearing on reality. When he awoke, he and Lily were in the hospital wing, James hovering awkwardly nearby. None of them were too badly hurt, in the physical sense, though an unlucky swipe from Remus had opened bleeding gashes on Severus's left forearm. A white-faced Madam Pomfrey informed Severus in a shaky voice that the shallow wounds would scar; only a werewolf bite could create a new werewolf, but even their scratches scarred forever.
It didn't take long to patch Severus up, and even less time for Lily and James's little scrapes and scratches from the tree and tunnel. Even Lily's minor magical exhaustion was set right by a single potion, but Madam Pomfrey was reluctant to let any of them leave before morning. Once Lily's shock began to wear off and she started shouting at James and threatening to curse him and all his horrible friends, the Matron decided it might be better for everyone if the Gryffindor returned to his dormitory. She sent him on his way with a rather sharp reminder not to say anything to anyone about the incident. Severus, who Pomfrey wanted to keep for observation, and Lily, who refused to leave without him, were put to bed at one end of the hospital wing, though it would be a long time before either managed to fall asleep.
They were quietly released the next day, but it would be several more before Lily, Severus, and all four Gryffindor boys were summoned to the Headmaster's office. In the intervening time, while the involved parties awaited formal justice from Dumbledore, quite a lot of informal justice had taken place amongst the students themselves. Madam Pomfrey had kept Remus in the hospital wing since his return from the Shrieking Shack, both to offer medical attention and to give him a place away from his roommates, with whom he was understandably furious. By the time they were assembled before the Headmaster's desk, all of them had, alone or within their smaller groups, agreed that the best approach to the situation would be to play dumb. They could, would, and already had begun to deal with the ramifications of the Whomping Willow Incident amongst themselves, but Marauders and Potioneers both were damned if they were going to let the school or Ministry of Magic punish Remus when he had done nothing wrong. Lily had expressed to Severus a fervent wish to get Sirius and even James in trouble, but they both knew they could only do that if they admitted what had happened, and they couldn't risk it.
Of course, the students were aware that Madam Pomfrey knew at least some of what had happened, but she was bound by confidentiality, and loyalty beyond that. No doubt the seemingly all-knowing Professor Dumbledore had puzzled some things out as well, but surely he had even less proof, and little desire to admit that he had allowed a werewolf to run rampant at his school. And so they found themselves, nine people arrayed in the Headmaster's study locked in a game of chicken: six students with the best poker faces they could muster, one Headmaster watching intensely and trying to see who might need to be encouraged to keep silent, and two Heads of House preparing for trouble from any side. Dumbledore began with an attempt to put them at ease, offering tea and lemon drops before getting to the matter at hand, looking at each student in turn as he spoke gently but firmly.
"We have a very serious matter before us. Do you know why you are all here?"
Hastily averted glances all around, each student waiting to take their cues from everyone else. It was Severus who broke the silence, locking eyes with the Headmaster as he spoke sharply, warningly.
"I can only assume this has to do with Mr. Potter's ongoing sexual harassment of Miss Evans. Is that it, Headmaster?"
"Of course, my dear boy, what else could I possibly mean?"
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and the tension in the room relaxed. Normalcy would be a long time coming, if indeed it ever truly did return after this, but it was a step in the right direction.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my take on the Whomping Willow Incident for this AU! Did you think I would include this scene? Let me know in the comments whether it went the way you expected, and what you think our heroes will get up to next :)
Huge thank you to Rory for not only handling my comma abuse, but also for noticing a big plot hole in the Whomping Willow scene and coming up with an excellent solution for it. Couldn't have done it without your help!