Chapter 15-

Getting up for classes was awful. Remus looked exhausted while James and Sirius didn't look much better.

Charms was an exercise fortitude to get through. They, of course, had no trouble with the charms or theory, but the moment Peter sat on the other side of the room the rumours started.

James could hardly look in Peter's direction. How could they have been so wrong about him? What else could they be wrong about?

When the lunch bell rang they were their trio was the first out the door despite the state of tiredness.

This didn't, however, keep Lily from catching up to them.

"Hey, James!" she shouted.

For once in his life, he didn't slow, he didn't even look around, Sirius did to catch her expression.

"Hey!" She grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. Sirius and Remus to either side of him stopped as well.

"What is it, Lils?" James asked, his words sounding as sluggish as he felt.

"What did you do to Severus?"

A flash of anger swelled past the exhaustion and the depression. Severus, Severus. Sev.

He was sicking that name from her lips. He yanked his arm free of her, "I didn't do anything to him." Except help save his miserable life.

And in another astonishing turn of events, he turned his back on her walked as fast he was able toward the Great Hall, Sirius and Remus following his lead wordlessly.

But this was Lily Evans, and she didn't give up that easy, not for a moment.

"You punched him, you big bully!"

James didn't look around when he said, "What's sad, Lils, is that you think he's such an angel, that I'm the only one who could possibly want to punch Snivellus in his sniveling face. I promise you, I'm not, and that he's never been an angel."

"You're just jealous!" she baited him.

He didn't bite, just kept walking.

"Let it go, Lily Flower," Sirius told her, "not today, okay?"

"But he-"

"He didn't," Remus said tiredly. "We didn't pick a fight with Snape. Whoever hit him wasn't one of us."

They made it to the Great Hall and it took them all a moment to find Snape at his table, whose face was multi-colored bruise, his eye so black and blue as to be swelled shut.

It was a beautiful sight.

Slughorn was interrogating him, probably trying to get the name of the bloody genius who thought to go mugglestyle on a Slytherin. Whoever it was, Snape didn't give them up and as he stood -presumably being sent to see Poppy, James finally put two and two together.

Apparently, so had Sirius, "Hey, Prongs, you don't think it was… I mean he wouldn't have…"

Remus picked up the thread, "It looked like he wanted to hit Wormtail last night."

"Who are you talking about?" Lily asked, not leaving them alone. Which was annoying because it was the first time James had ever wished she would have.

When they didn't answer, she went so far as to sit next to him at the table.

That had never happened before, at least not by her initiative.

"Who hurt Severus?" she demanded.

The three Maureaders exchanged glances.

Even if they did tell her, she wouldn't believe it.

"Why isn't Peter sitting with you the rest of you?" she asked abruptly.

"Because he's a worm and we are no longer friends with him," Sirius answered.

There was a brief hush around them, followed by a frenzy of whispers.

Remus sighed, "What is wrong with rumour mill in this school?"

Sirius fluffed his hair, "With students as gorgeous as we are how could the rumour mill be anything less than rapt with our every step?"

Lily rolled her eyes.

But the rumor mill started spreading like wild fire.

"Did you hear?" One of the second years asked.

"Hear what?" Narcissa snapped. Her patience thinning, the Great Hall was far too nosy today.

"The Marauders broke up!"

Her eyes narrowed at the little girl, "Which ones?"

"The pudgy one."

"How does he even matter?" Reggie asked.

"Those three are probably more dangerous without that vermin slowing them down."

Narcissa gave him a sharp look, "Didn't know you felt that strongly about your brother's friends."

"My brother's friends suck, but at least I know they weren't hurt him, not directly. But Pettigrew? There's something wrong with him."

Narcissa grabbed her cousin's hand under the table and give it a little squeeze, only she and her sisters knew how much Reggie missed his older brother. Only the Black Sisters really understood that one of the reasons Sirius acted out so much was to draw their mother's rages onto himself and away from his little brother.

As much as they all despised Gryffindor House, there was no question of why Sirius had rebelled.

The bell for the end of lunch rang and Narcissa hung back to speak with Andromeda motioning for Reggie to go on without her. Kingsley who was at Andromeda's side got the same message.

Her sister raised dark brows at her, as from her having more wave and being a deep brown rather than straight and raven black, looked like twins. How she had ended up with girly blonde hair and blue-grey eyes was anyone's guess, allow Reggie and Sirius had the same blue gray color too.

"A certain claw has been looking at you," Narcissa said under her breath just loud enough for her sister to hear.

The corner of Andromeda's lips turned down, "How many times do I have to tell you, Terry and I are just friends."

"I don't mean the blood traitor, I mean the bastard."

"Don't call him that," Andromeda snapped.

"Which one?"

Her sister's glare would have put most people in their place, but Narcissa wasn't most people.

"Potter's been looking at you too."

"Since when did looking become a crime. He hasn't been ogling me."

"No, he's been stealing glances, which no one but I and perhaps Siri has noticed."

"You two were always too perceptive for your own good."

"So there is something going on."

"No."

Narcissa pulled her sister into one of the little used classrooms, it was too small to be much more than storage space.

Andromeda pulled back, "We'll be late for class."

"Rickard Potter is powerful enough to make up for being a bastard and or a blood traitor."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Seduce him."

Andromeda glared at her, "You have thirty seconds to explain yourself before I curse you for the rest of term."

"You won't hurt me."

The look she received from cold brown eyes brought up even Narcissa's heart rate. "Not permanently. You wouldn't permanently hurt me. And that's my point."

"What point?"

"Bella would."

Andromeda shook her head, her hair spilling over her shoulders, "Cissa," she sighed. "Our sister isn't completely stable, that doesn't make her evil."

"But she would hurt us, badly, if we pushed her the wrong way or betrayed her, yes?"

A short nod.

"Our parents know that," Narcissa explained, "just as they know you wouldn't."

A raised brow, "Then they are mistaken, because I would orphan us all if it came to that."

"Not over a marriage engagement."

Andromeda made a harsh noise in her throat, "I'm only eighteen, I have tw-"

"You have until you graduate. Our parents might have to wait for Bella but they won't wait for you. I heard them talking this summer. Andromeda, if you want to have your freedom, then you need to pick someone, and you need to pick someone soon."

"I-"

"Do you want to end up with Lestrange?"

Narcissa demanded. "You know Mother is fond of those boys -for whatever accursed reason. Do you want Bella to end up with the other Lestrange? Bella will follow your lead. Even if it is just a contract, she will agree to marry one of them if you do."

Andromeda looked away, the rage and shame clear on her face. "I don't want to get married, Cissa."

"We don't have that choice."

She spun to face her, a shimmer of power heating the room, "And do you know who you will marry?"

"I have two or three in mind, yes," Narcissa said cooly.

"How can you be so… so calm about this? Two or three? Getting married isn't like adopting a kitten."

"Who said marriage has to be about love? I just want someone respectable who I can put in their place when needed, but you? I know you. You are a romantic and you want more."

"I'm not going to find the love of my life in school! Not in one year when in seven years no one has so much as caught my eye!"

"Not until Rickard Potter."

Andromeda made a noise somewhere between a groan and growl, "I don't know him. I don't know anything about him. He's interesting, but I don't love him. I don't even like him enough to begin to think about-"

"Then get to know him. Or get to know someone else and learn to like them, or it will be Bellatrix Lestrange and Andromeda Lestrange for two undeserving moss wipes."

For a moment Andromeda looked as if she might cry, Narcissa hugged her. "We will get through this," she promised.

Andromeda hugged her back so tightly it almost hurt. There was a price to be paid for being born into the Black family, and they couldn't even say it was because they were women, because Reggie and Siri didn't have it any better than they did.

In fact, Heir Black likely had it rougher than any of them.

Aunt Walburga was one reason Narcissa had abandoned any notions of love. As the youngest, she was the most disposable. She would not be forced to marry her cousin, not for power, not to be Lady Black, and certainly not for money.

Narcissa Black was no one's whore. Even if she didn't hate Sirius, she wasn't going to be her cousin's bride.

Later that night in an unknown location a man could be seen with a twisted expression on his face, but soon his action turned violent.

Voldemort roared and slashed at one of the walls, making it buckle and splinter like a torn tree.

Months had passed, months, and he was no closer to discovering what had gone wrong with his Horcruxes.

One day at the beginning of the summer his soul had shredded itself, and he had spent the night coughing up blood, his throat feeling as if he had swallowed glass.

Nowhere, not in any of his research had he ever discovered a way for a soul to just spontaneously shred itself apart. In fact, it seemed to be an impossibility, the soul, after all, did not like to be separated, it fought violently to stay together.

Voldemort of all people knew that. Knew the amount of work it took to rend his own soul. So if he hadn't done it and his soul had not acted on its own, then that left an attacker, but he could not imagine how someone unseen could have managed it.

And there was no question that they had managed it, one's soul being torn asunder had a very distinctive feeling that could not be mistaken for anything else.

Voldemort went to his restroom to splash water on his face, his face that was as much a weapon as an Imperio. Thick black hair framed his aristocratic features.

Eyes the color of dark blood shined back at him, a physical symptom of his ravished soul. He had made five horcruxes, had intended to make seven but the spontaneous sixth soul split had changed things.

No more soul magic. He would go to the cave tomorrow, one more night of rest and he would go back to the cave and the cottage. He needed to ensure their security, so much so that not even he would be able to reach them. He was certain that the two he had stored at Hogwarts would be safe. No one knew the secrets of that castle as he did.

He glared at his reflection, despising the weakness he observed there. Whoever had managed to attack him with Dark Arts stronger than his own would pay, would pay in blood, bone, and sorrow.

Thousands of miles away a young man blinked at his own reflection, the version of red eyes and another's memories giving way to the reality of Ravenclaw's restroom and eyes changed and shoned to the color of sapphires.

"Ricky," Terry asked, shivering in his night robe as he watched Ricky grip the sink for support. It was four in the morning and the other boy looked as if he was running a fever. "Are you sick?"

The raven-haired boy shook his head, turned on the cold tap and rinsed his face. When his friend turned to face him, he was smiling. Terry felt his worry grow, not lessen at that expression.

"No, I'm great. Wonderful, in fact."

Terry doubted that whoever was on the receiving end of such a look would be 'wonderful' because that look on his face was the same one James Potter wore when he was about to trigger a plan.

A plan that typically resulted in the immediate suffering of everyone around him.

Not for the first time, Ted was glad he was on Ricky's side.

In the Griffindor common room early the next morning three boys sat together talking.

"I think we should tell McGonagall," James said

Remus sighed, "Finally."

"Why now?" Sirius asked.

"Because it would be better coming from us, and besides, someone else should know that Wormtail is a rat."

"True enough," Padfoot said.

"Should we go now?" Remus asked, he'd been suggesting this from the beginning. He was grateful to them but his rule-abiding self was unsettled by keeping such a large and illegal secret.

"She's probably still in her suite, breakfast doesn't start for another fifteen minutes."

Fully dressed the trio exited the portrait hole and went down a few paintings to knock on McGonagall's suite entrance, well, knock to the side of it, it would have been rude to knock on a painting.

The painting swept inward revealing the stern face of the raven-haired, green-eyed witch whose face only got sterner upon seeing them. "What's happened now?" she asked with no prelude.

"We have some confessions we would like to make," Sirius said cheekily.

McGonagall sighed, much as Remus had done. "Well, come on in let's hear it."

Five minutes later she exploded with the question, "You did what!?"

They couldn't tell if she was proud or horrified.

Probably both.

Whatever it was, they knew she would be handing out a wallop of detention.