Ch 33 Marauder Brawl

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Her actions may have caught the Marauders by surprise but they were quick to react. James, Sirius and Peter had already started casting counterspells or dodging before her and Severus' attacks even made it halfway to them.

After a look between the three of them, the Marauders squared their jaws and responded in kind.

At first, it was nothing more than an uncontrolled frenzy, but in a matter of moments, each side had split off, Severus facing Sirius and Peter while, of all coincidences, Lily found herself facing James.

Who wouldn't stop talking. "Lily, this is crazy! It was just an accident!"

"Shut up!" she shouted while hurling first a petrificus totallus then an expelliarmus.

He managed to duck the first and blocked the second with a spell of his own. "Honest, I just wanted to have a small prank, nothing of any importance. I didn't expect it to -"

Three more spells went his way.

He dodged the first two but a tarantallegra got him in the hip this time, causing him to dance about crazily for a few seconds before he countered the spell, and unfortunately, he still wouldn't stop talking! "We just wanted to get him in trouble, that's all. Hell, Snape's done just as bad and used dark magic besides. He -"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

With her words, Lily unleashed as powerful a stunner as she could.

James ducked it, and it sailed into the distance before exploding against one of the cauldrons, sending metal and potion flying.

"Do you know what I think?" she said, hurling another spell at him, which he blocked, "As bad as everything that happens at school is, that's school. It sucks, and I think that both you and Severus needed to let bygones be bygones a long time ago, but this? Severus hasn't gone after you in months. This isn't a 'I'm retaliating for X and he's retaliating for Y and so on, and so on, and bloody so on!' He's left you alone. Now, he nearly died, it's all your fault and this isn't Hogwarts! If you have any sense of right and wrong, then shut up and take your damn punishment!"

"That was an accident. I didn't want him to get hurt - it was supposed to be a joke, a prank! Yeouch!" she got him in the leg with a stinging hex. "Seriously, that kind of hurts!"

"When Severus called me a Mudblood, do you think that he planned to? He was angry, he was furious, and, in his words, 'it slipped out', but he still said it." Lily took a deep breath. The wound had mostly scabbed over but even now the recollection hurt. To James, she said, "You may not have planned to nearly kill him now, but you still nearly did. So if you truly regret it and if you want to make up for what you did, then give up and let us summon the Aurors."

James' eyes had a look of agony to them and he bit his lip. For one hopeful moment, he considered… but then he shook his head. "No, not the Aurors, not for Snape. I am not going to be arrested like some kind of criminal for him."

"That's the thing: you are a criminal! People are nearly dead because of -"

"It's just Snape! " James roared. "All he cares about is the dark arts, all he loves is himself. Him getting punched in the face is a blessing for everyone who has to look at that ugly face because he deserves nothing more than to live and die in squalor as the disgusting little worm he is!"

His face was red, mouth twisted in a snarl, every bit of arrogance and casual cruelty finally laid bare. Had she never seen it? Or had she been ignoring it all along?

She remembered him apologizing for his actions towards Severus so long ago... but that had never been to Severus, had it? Only to her, to woo her. Had he ever been sorry for what he'd done to Severus?

No, it had all been to win her. Just like always, Severus was just something to kick whenever it was convenient.

Her heart hardened. "You know, Severus has many flaws, and had even more in the past, but one thing he never did? Said you deserve to suffer because you exist, nor say that you were born to be his punching bag! Not with you, not with anyone. You think you're better than him but you're wrong. Whatever Dark Magic he may be capable of, it is no match for the darkness that lives in your heart. You're a liar, a thug and a monster. Now accept. Your. Punishment!"

She attacked him in earnest, hurling spell after spell at him. He managed to block some of them but every so often, one would slip in. He dispelled them though.

With each one, her jaw tightened. She was creative in Potions and great in charms, but none of her creations were meant for combat. Her spells were all by the standard book, and James knew them just as well as she did.

At least he didn't seem happy about it. "Quit it, Lily, I don't want to..." his words failed and he shook his head, his voice dropping to a pleading, "just let us go."

"No James, not anymore."

He bit his lip, looking from Lily to his wand and back, and sighed. "I… I can't do it."

An explosion rattled the room, sending more smoke billowing into the air. "James," Sirius barked, "It's okay if you can't handle this. Let me. " his jaw tightened. "I've got a score to settle. Don't worry, we can heal and obliviate them when we win."

Lily paused almost out of curiosity.

James grimaced but nodded. "Fine, but don't injure her too much."

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Severus roared, but James rained spells on him as the two Marauders quickly ran past one another, leaving James and Peter facing Severus and Sirius standing before her.

She eyed him as they circled around each other. They had barely spoken in ages, yet she remembered his glare from back at Hogwarts. "A score to settle? What are you talking about?"

"For the past year, you've been leading James on. After that? Yeah, I'd like some payback." Sirius gave her a smile like Christmas had come early. "You haven't had to watch as he was miserable thanks to you, always wondering as you played with his heart -"

"I wasn't playing. He just wasn't -"

Sirius ignored her. "Point is, after everything, you have some karma to make up," he smirked, "and I'm going to collect."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh please! You nearly kill someone and you're trying to lecture me about leading James on? Don't you have any sense of perspective whatsoever?"

Severus had restarted his dual with James and Peter, doing his best to counter or block everything they cast. It seemed a stalemate for now, as he held them off, but that wouldn't last forever. She needed to beat Sirius to help him turn the tide.

"The difference is," growled the boy in question, "one of them is a Dark wizard, and the other fights them." A spell hurtled from the tip of his wand, nearly impacting her knees, followed by another and another. "Unlike you!"

She managed to dodge the second one and block the third, but even though she tried to hold firm, it still pushed her back.

Her eyes widened. Sirius was a powerful wizard, she'd known this, but this much? Had this been what Severus was fighting the whole time?

As if in answer, he hurled another spell at her.

She dodged to the right, casting a few quick charms of her own in the meantime. Two of the cauldrons chased him around before he blasted them away.

Three spells hurtled for her, one by one - she ducked two, but had to block the third one, which she barely managed. She got him with a Bat-Bogey hex in return but it was countered moments later.

"You know," he said, "you talk a good game about wanting to fight the dark. 'Ooh, You-Know-Who is so awful and evil'," he said in a high-pitched parody of her voice, "but when it actually comes time to put up and do what you should, you ignore that corrupted wart right behind you."

"He's not-"

With a crack, Sirius brought down his wand and Lily realized her mistake. He had been herding her, deliberately driving her into just the right angle, and now, what must have been six cauldrons were sent flying straight at her.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they blasted toward her like meteors, each dripping a trail of slime behind them.

Panic froze her for a split second but started shooting back. A depulso knocked two away, a blasting curse bounced one into another, sending both flying. Then she desperately cast a wingardium leviosa to send one high and she just managed to duck the sixth. Finally, she exhaled. That had been far too close -

A jet of red slammed into her midsection, driving the breath from her lungs and sending her wand skittering away.

She dove for it as fast as she could. Even through the throbbing of her stomach, she knew what would happen if she didn't get it back.

"Oh no you don't!" A spell hit her and took hold before she could get anywhere near her target. A moment later, she was hurled into the air, only to be thrown back down.

Were her wand in hand, there were several spells she could have cast. Cushioning charms, summoning charms, softening charms or more. Without her wand, all she could do as she descended toward a pile of cauldrons was cross her arms over her face, tuck her knees into her chest and brace herself for the impact.

Her elbow slammed into the side of one of the cauldrons first, with all the force of a car crash. 'Luckily', her forehead slammed into the lip of another - while the blow sent her ears ringing, everything swam around her and she was pretty sure the liquid dripping down her face wasn't just the potion goo, at least the pain masked the throbbing of her arms.

The world spun about twice until her momentum plowed her into another cauldron, where she finally flopped onto the ground.

Everything spun dizzily about her, her forehead feeling like a branding iron had been pressed against it. For a moment, she laid still.

Ropes, one after another, wrapped around her legs, coiling like snakes until she was tightly bound stuck to the floor.

"Accio…" she croaked. "Accio Wand!"

Her wand slowly, ever so slowly, arced toward her… Only for Sirius Black to catch it back before it could reach her hand.

Gripping it tightly, he narrowed her eyes at her. "Sneaky trick."

"Takes one to know one..." she retorted blearily, trying to struggle against her bonds - they were tight, but there was a little give near her feet. She wriggled as best as she could.

"Leave her alone," Severus bellowed, but from the sound of spellfire, James and Peter still had him busy.

Maybe if she could distract Sirius… "Look at what you've already done. You hurt -"

"Oh for the love of Merlin, will you ever shut up? Words, words, words, let's clean up your filthy mouth. Scourgio!"

She tried to shut it but was too slow.

Scourging was a simple spell, summoning a basic soap and cleaning everything in its caster pointed at. Harmless to the skin, it was used by countless witches and wizards throughout magical Britain, and really, it was harmless, except that it attacked the inside of her mouth, viewing her saliva, her tongue and everything past her lips as a something to clean. It filled everything like liquid lava, trying to pour itself down her throat to clean her stomach.

She gagged, choking. Desperately, she tried to do do something, summon her wand, even just breathe.

"What's wrong? Sirius said mockingly, "Don't worry, you won't remember any of this, you rotten bi-"

"Oi! Sirius, look out!"

Sirius tried to dodge, but it was too late. A spell collided with him and sent him flying, her wand falling from his hand.

In a moment, Severus had reached her. "Are you alright?"

She tried to say something, only to continue choking as more soap tried to make its way down her windpipe.

Severus cast an Accio to remove most of it and she managed to gasp out, "I'll… I'll be fine. Don't worry about me.".

"Here," he said, grabbing her wand from the floor and giving it to her. He looked at her though, eyes taking in the pale skin and blue cheeks. He didn't look much better off than she did either - the robes around his shoulder were torn and droplets of red oozed from through them.

He looked from the Marauders to her again before shaking his head. "We should give up," he said as he cast a few quick healing spells, "it -"

The searing fire on her forehead lowered to a mere stinging, but her mind burned at the very thought of surrendering. "No, I'm not letting then get away with this again."

"Lily," Severus said quietly, "I don't think we can defeat. I can't win a two on one alone, and Sirius…" he trailed off, but she understood what he meant.

She wanted to declare that he was wrong, but it was pretty clear that James had been holding back against her. Sirius had thrashed her easily and she was still weak. Even if she could hold him off, Severus would eventually lose to James and Peter.

At least there was one good bit of fortune: for the moment, the Marauders were staying back for the moment, circling around as they discussed what to do next - James looked rather annoyed at Sirius. It wouldn't last forever though, and then they would continue their onslaught.

Her eyes hardened. And yet there was one option. "Severus," she quietly said, "you nearly died. If there ever was a moment we could claim self-defence, it's now. "

His eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if you have any Dark tricks buried up your sleeves, now is the time to use them." She bit her lip. "Don't kill them, but... if you need to hurt them, I'm okay with that."

For a moment, Severus grinned ferally, a fierce glee on his face she had never seen there before... then he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I would like to say that I could agree to that," he said quietly, "but I don't think there's any way I could guarantee it. Dark Magic... it can be very dangerous, even under good circumstances. I could kill them, cripple them, tear their minds to shreds... but I can't promise them ever recovering. So are you willing to maim or torture them to make sure that we win? Is it worth it to you?"

She looked at him and the word 'no' was on the tip of her tongue. Except... She and Severus couldn't beat the then fairly. She knew that, and if they didn't use Severus' Dark Magic, they would be defeated. He would have been hurt, nearly killed, the Matthews' family would lose everything and the Marauders would escape every semblance of justice. If Black's words were true, they wouldn't even remember what had happened.

What he had just done to her, it would be forgotten, even by she herself. Fury burned through her, out of pain, injustice, disappointment, fear, and countless other emotions, and all her moral objections choked in her throat.

This must be how Severus felt every time he was bullied by them, a helpless rage because there was no justice allowed and no recompense to be earned. No matter what, he would watch as they walked free.

"I… I… I don't know." She could tell Severus to decide, wash her hands of it and let him make the choice. It wouldn't even be her fault, not really... except she was a Gryffindor, and bravery meant not leaving it to someone else, no matter how painful it might be.

She wanted nothing more than to tell Severus 'yes', let him unleash every bit of Dark Magic he knew and give the Marauders the punishments that they said so richly deserved... But to maim, torture or kill them? Their crime was terrible... but was she prepared to kill them over it?

It was her who had to make the choice... and she just couldn't say yes.

"Let's try some other something else," she finally said, forcing a smile, "maybe there's a creative way to defeat them."

"Maybe…"

Severus met her gaze, and in that look, she could see that he knew as well as her that it was nothing more than a comforting lie, but he nodded, saying without words that he understood and didn't blame her.

They brought their wands to bear, ready for round two.

Maybe she was wrong. Maybe they could beat the Marauders without Dark Magic.

Maybe just the two of them would be enough.

It hadn't been enough.

Her breath burned in her chest, blood dripped from her forehead, probably from when Sirius had blasted her into the cauldrons, another trickle of blood oozed past her swollen-shut left eye and when she breathed out her mouth, the soreness of her lower jaw and way the air whistled through an unfamiliar gap made it clear that she was missing a tooth.

At first, they'd managed to hold off the Marauders but as the battle wore on, they'd taken more and more hits until...

Severus looked worse if anything. A mess of oozing pustules covered his face and grease literally poured down his back. A chunk of his ear had been torn off, and she suspected that at least one of his ribs was broken from the way he winced at each rise and fall of his chest.

He met her gaze and nodded though, saying without words that he was fine and not to worry about him.

It only made tears well up in her eyes - Severus hadn't been the one to get them into this fight.

Both of them were tied up, thoroughly bound and gagged, and their wands were not only nowhere close but stuck to the floor to prevent even a lucky Accio.

"We've got to heal them." James was talking. He couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Perhaps to his credit, he hadn't been too brutal to her, but that small bit of 'chivalry' was countered by how he didn't extend that same courtesy to Severus - those broken ribs had his name on them.

"I dunno," Sirius said, rubbing his shoulder, "we want them thinking it was an accident in the brewing room, right? That'd hurt, wouldn't it?"

Lily balled her hands into fists, not that it made any difference now. Sirius and Peter hadn't even shared James' few compunctions. Once they realized that she was the weak link between her and Severus, they had pounded on her mercilessly and once they overpowered her guard, they chained one spell into another while she hadn't been able to defend herself.

James had kept Severus busy then, holding him off with his own spellwork until they'd gotten the wand off her before the three turned their full force upon Severus.

"We don't want them to die or anything though," Peter said, a note of worry in his voice. "They'll look a lot harder if a death is involved.

"Fine, but making sure that they don't bleed out is all I'm willing to do", Sirius bellyached. "After that shot in the back, I'm not feeling too charitable."

In a clever tag-team, she and Severus had managed to get him in the backside with a deflected cauldron, the only real injury the Marauders had suffered. Even now, he was limping.

She hoped it smarted.

"Let's just make sure they don't die and obliviate the lot of them," Sirius continued. "Get this over with."

James pursed his lips. "Look, I'm healing them after we do the memory wipe. At least Lily."

"Well, Snape being injured could help sell the idea that it was his fault," Peter said. "Now, who's casting the obliviate?

"Why Prongs, there's a first time for everything, right?" Sirius sing-songed. "You got us into this mess. Now Come on. Show off your Charms skill to Lily."

"You just want me to do it because you got an 'A' there this year."

"Had better things to do than studying so hard for something that doesn't matter for our N.E.W.T.s…"

Without the ability to speak, Lily could only glare at them, stewing in helpless fury as they bantered and joked about wiping their minds was some big prank. But then, what was all that different? Many of the same things they'd done to her, they'd done to Severus several times before - why should they be too bothered that Severus had broken some ribs or she had lost a tooth when any qualified healer could wipe away the damage in a few minutes.

Nothing that had happened to her hadn't happened to Severus before. The only difference was that they made her a target instead of an observer.

She thought of all the times she had asked Severus to try to make peace and have a ceasefire with the Marauders… On some level, she had felt he was being unreasonable.

No more. After being subjected to the same tender mercies, she didn't want to make peace with them. She wanted them to hurt, to cry and to bleed. Making peace might still be the right thing to do, but she didn't want to cloak herself in righteousness. Now that she had walked a mile in Severus' shoes, she wanted her own pound of flesh.

'I'm sorry, Sev… so very sorry.'

It was perhaps ironic that she wouldn't remember a word of it.

The Marauders had apparently made their decision, as James came up and cast a few basic healing charms before undoing the bindings around her face.

"You okay, Lily?" He said, looking her over in a way that thankfully had more to do with checking for injury than any kind of lust. "Don't worry," he awkwardly continued, "once this is done, everything will be back to normal, you'll see."

Back to normal? Back to normal!?

"You don't get it, do you, James?" Lily gritted. "After what you did today, I don't want anything to go back to normal. I want you to suffer, and I hope that one day you know what it's like to be powerless and miserable as everything you love is taken away from you."

His eyes went wide. "You don't mean that," he said, begging audible in his voice. "You're angry and -"

"I'm angry, hurt and miserable, yes, and you're going to take that away from me!" she roared, wishing her wand was in her hand so she could blast him away. As it wasn't, she growled out, "That's the truth. Whatever I say afterward, that's the lie. Whenever I smile at you, it will be because you ripped my memories away. So go ahead, have your victory. It doesn't matter. Eventually, I'll figure you out again, because you'll never change. You'll always be a thug, regardless of who you fight or who you protect."

For a long moment, James stared wordlessly, just looking at her like a lost little boy who had been kicked, and he breathed the ragged breaths of someone about to cry.

"Fine," he finally bit out. "Let's… let's just get this done."

He pointed his wand at her and she glared at him, her only hope that even without her memories, her rage would endure.

Everything flashed red...