Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Special disclaimer: This chapter contains a very familiar scene from the Order of the Phoenix, though I tweaked it a bit since it won't be from Harry's point of view. It belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I humbly borrowed it to use for this storyline. The scene was borrowed for the sake of the story, and I intend no profit from it (unless you count more reviews). And now…on with the story!
Chapter 81: O.W.L. Exams and Toerags
The warm spring weather brought with it a plethora of blossoms, full of sweet fragrance and bright colors. It also brought the stress-induced haze of fifth and seventh year students preparing for their upcoming exams. Madame Pomfrey was working overtime and had to constantly request replenishments for her stock of Calming Draught from Professor Pilon.
Narcissa Black was so stressed by the upcoming exams that she developed hives whenever the morning post arrived. The sight of owls entering the Great Hall only served to remind her that her O.W.L.'s were right around the corner.
Frank was becoming increasingly nervous as well. He had worked hard all year to keep up his DADA marks, and he worried that this one exam would make or break his ambition to become an auror. He and Alice continued meeting in the library and he even asked if she could spare him some more time so they could do some extra reviewing. Alice was more than happy to spend the extra time with Frank, and even happier to keep him away from Amy for a little longer.
The night before the first O.W.L. was to begin, Alice and Frank were doing some last minute cramming for their first exam, Charms. Frank, who normally did well in Charms, was getting so frazzled that Alice was tempted to see if Madame Pomfrey had any Calming Draught left.
Frank let out a frantic sigh as he leafed through the volume of his spell book. "Where is the wand movement described for the Cheering Charm? Argh! It has to be in here somewhere!"
Madame Pince threw him a nasty glance, silently warning him to keep his voice down.
Frank, not seeing the librarian, continued to flip through the text. "I don't understand…how can I just forget something like this so close to the exam? I'm sure to fail."
Alice reached over and grabbed the hand he was using to turn the pages of his book. She squeezed it a little and said, "Frank, you're going to do fine. You need to relax. Getting panicked is what will muddle your brain for the exam."
"Panicked?" echoed Frank, a little wide-eyed. "I'm not panicked. Why would you say I'm panicked? Do I look panicked?"
Alice had to swallow a laugh at his disheveled state and the slightly wild look in his eyes. She gave his hand another squeeze, not bothering to think about how familiar they were becoming with each other, and said in a placating voice, "Right. Of course you're not panicked."
Frank looked at her for a moment before finally admitting, "Okay, so maybe I'm a little…on edge."
Alice smiled and said, "Why? It's Charms. You know this stuff. You'll do fine."
"Fine isn't good enough," said Frank. "Fine may get me an O.W.L. in Charms, but it may not get me into the auror program. I have to have better than 'fine' marks. One question, Alice…one question may be all that stands between me and my future. Getting it right may make the difference."
Alice watched as he started to riffle through the pages of his text again. Suddenly, she felt a double-solution for his problem pop into her mind. "Frank?" she said. When he looked at her she waved her wand and performed a Cheering Charm on him, both showing him the correct wand movement as well as improving his mood.
Although Frank's mood was much improved, the two students were forced to leave the library after Madame Pince became fed up with Frank's incessant giggling, an aftereffect of the charm. Alice made a mental note to swish her wand a little more and flick it a little less, hopefully reducing the intensity of the charm if she had to perform it on the practical examination.
They walked back to Gryffindor tower, hoping to review a few more spells before turning in for the evening. When they walked into the common room, they found a table in the corner and started to spread out their books and notes. Before they had a chance to review Growth Charms, the portrait hole slammed open and Lily stormed inside, closely followed by James and the other Marauders.
"C'mon, Evans," cajoled James. "You have to admit it was funny."
"You defaced the school, Potter," retorted Lily.
"It's just a little decoration," countered James.
"A little decoration?" echoed Lily. "It's covering the walls of the entire corridor leading down to the dungeon."
"What did they do?" asked Alice.
Lily turned to her and said, "They painted 'Gryffindor Rules!' all over the walls, even across the portrait of poor Davidia the Daft. Then he-" indicating James, "-hexed a student to get tied to the wall with scarlet and gold streamers."
"He was a Slytherin," said James casually, as if that settled the matter.
Frank let out a few giggles, still afflicted by some lingering effects of Alice's Cheering Charm.
Lily turned to him and sighed, "Oh, not you, too. Don't tell me you find this funny."
Frank attempted to stifle his laughter, but wound up doubled over with his head on the table as he was forced to expel his pent up mirth.
"Still can't believe she assigned us a detention," muttered Peter.
Sirius snorted and waved him off, saying, "Ah, the trophies could use another round of polishing, especially now that Gryffindor's trophy is prominently on display," referring Gryffindor's victory of that year's Quidditch Cup after a spectacular win against Ravenclaw. James had caught the Snitch within the first two minutes of the game, and had been almost unbearable in his smugness since…at least in Lily's opinion since he tended to brag around her.
"You gave them detention?" Alice asked Lily, thinking that maybe it wasn't such a big deal that the boys had shown a little house pride.
"What was I supposed to do, Alice? I'm a prefect and they were blatantly breaking the rules. Somebody had to do something about it," said Lily, with a annoyed glance at Remus. They had been out patrolling when they had encountered Sirius and Peter charming paint onto the walls while James was sticking Alexander Zabini to the wall. Lily had done her duty and stopped them, but when she started handing out detentions she noticed that the other fifth-year Gryffindor prefect was rather quiet.
Remus, looking slightly guilty, cleared his throat and said, "Mates, maybe we should review our Charms notes, again."
Sirius was about to protest, feeling he had done all the studying he felt was necessary. Before he was able to say anything, Remus turned away and walked up to their dorm room. Starting to follow after him, he muttered to James, "I can't believe we forgot the map." He realized that if they had had it they wouldn't have gotten caught.
"What'd you say?" asked Alice, who they were walking past to get to their stairway.
"He said the test'll be a snap," covered James, not wanting anyone outside the Marauders to know about the map.
Once the boys disappeared upstairs, Lily flopped onto a chair near Alice and Frank and started rubbing her temples. "He's getting worse," she muttered, shaking her head.
"Who?" asked Alice. "James?"
Lily looked at Alice, her eyes oddly bright. She blinked a few times and nodded, saying, "He wasn't this bad a year ago. His whole attitude is so…different. I mean, this wasn't the first time I've caught him hexing younger students this year."
"James has never had a liking for Slytherins," said Frank.
"It's not only the Slytherins he's picked on," said Lily. "It's like if someone annoys him, he hexes him…or her."
Alice watched her friend with interest. She realized that this was probably the most Lily ever voluntarily spoke when it came to James. Alice also noted the expression on Lily's face. When she had first walked into the room she had been clearly annoyed at James, but now she seemed…disappointed?
"Lily-" started Alice.
"Are those your Charms notes?" Lily quickly interrupted.
"Yep," replied Frank, whose Cheering Charm was continuing to fade and who began to look a little nervous again at the mention of the next day's O.W.L. subject.
"Need any help?" offered Lily, who now appeared intent on focusing on the upcoming exam.
"Lily's an ace at Charms," said Alice.
Frank smiled and said, "I'd really appreciate it, Lily. Thanks!"
Alice watched as Lily reviewed wand movements with Frank and decided that she would have to talk to Lily later about what had happened with James.
**************************************************************************************
The next day, the Charms exam arrived and Frank, though still nervous, was a lot calmer since he had gotten help from both Alice as well as the top Charms student in their year. The fifth year students gathered in the Great Hall for the theory exam, noticing the tables had been moved and had been replaced by desks.
The next few hours were spent in silence. Some students who were already anxious about trying to stay focused were dangerously close to losing it, getting easily distracted by the sound of a quill scratching on their neighbor's parchment, or the occasional cough. Dorcas Meadowes was very close to impaling her quill on Peter's arm when he continued to sniffle next to her. She was trying to remember the proper incantation for the Cleaning Charm when she heard him do it again, sending her over the edge.
"Oh for the love of Merlin, just get a handkerchief, will you?!" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Is there a problem, Miss Meadowes?" asked Professor McGonagall, approaching with a severe expression.
Dorcas slid down a little in her seat and weakly replied, "Sorry, Professor. I just got a little distracted."
Professor McGonagall gave the Hufflepuff a stern look before saying, "I expect silence during this examination, Miss Meadowes. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Professor. Sorry, Professor," said Dorcas.
Professor McGonagall gazed about the Great Hall, making certain every student was clear on what she had just said. As she turned to walk back to the front, she heard Peter sniffle. Conjuring a handkerchief, she handed it to him saying, "Next time you get the sniffles, Mr. Pettigrew, I expect you to see Madame Pomfrey before sitting for an exam."
Peter gave Professor McGonagall a sheepish look and muttered, "Yes, ma'am."
The rest of the Charms theory exam passed by uneventfully, and the students lined up after lunch to wait for their turn at the practical exam. One by one, they walked into the Great Hall and were assigned with an examiner, who each looked easily over 100 years old.
Predictably, Lily did quite well for her examination. She had a close call when she had been distracted by Daniel Abbott who had just been asked to perform a Water Repelling Charm on a cat. Unfortunately for the poor kitty it did not take effect and Daniel had to be escorted to the hospital wing to have his claw marks healed.
Tuesday morning they had their History of Magic examination. James felt he scraped by even though he had not stayed conscious for more than half of Binns' classes. He preferred classes that included a practical aspect, such as Transfiguration, where he could show off his skills.
Sirius wrote down what he thought he could remember, then settled back in his chair, bored for the remaining half hour. He glanced at James who had his head on his desk, his gaze settled on the usual redhead he had been enamored with for so long. Sirius looked at Peter, whose beady eyes watered as he continued to stare at the examination questions as if the answers would suddenly appear before him. Remus was still writing, pausing every so often to reread what he had written.
The rest of the day was spent preparing for Wednesday's Herbology examination. When Sirius was called in to take the practical, he was asked by Professor Marchbanks to describe the proper diet for a Scandinavian Glumsnatcher. With a straight face and a serious tone to his voice, Sirius recited, "The Scandinavian Glumsnatcher eats Glumbumbles and teddy bears."
Professor Marchbanks, who was about to give Sirius marks for answering correctly, paused when she heard him say 'teddy bears' and, thinking her hearing was going out on her again, asked, "What did you say, young man?"
Sirius repeated, slightly louder, "Glumbumbles and teddy bears."
Lily, who was a few spots down attempting to subdue Devil's Snare, shot Sirius a scathing look before refocusing on trying not to be suffocated by her exam.
Professor Marchbanks gave Sirius an odd look before raising her eyebrows and shaking her head. "I'm afraid I can only give you partial marks. You were correct on Glumbumble, but the Scandinavian Glumsnatcher does not eat teddy bears. I have no idea how you got such a thought."
Sirius protested and explained what he had witnessed the previous autumn. Professor Marchbanks was close to having him escorted out of the Great Hall however Professor Sprout, who had been standing nearby, corroborated Sirius' story. Professor Marchbanks finally capitulated and gave Sirius full marks for the question, making note to speak with some Herbologists about this new discovery in the diet of Glumsnatchers.
On Thursday, they had their Care of Magical Creatures examination. Sirius, Peter, and James had no difficulty describing the traits of bowtruckles, what with Sirius still trying to cope after getting attacked by some of them during one of their full moon escapades. Remus did well, though his memory of the bowtruckle attack was not as crystal clear as his mates' were.
Friday brought the Muggle Studies and Arithmancy examinations. For the Muggle Studies practical, the Great Hall had been divided into sections, almost like a Muggle obstacle course. At one section, students had to use Muggle pens and pencils to write a letter. Sirius lost a few points when he grabbed a piece of parchment rather than standard stationary paper. At another station students were faced with eating at a Muggle restaurant. The tricky part came at the end of the meal when they had to use Muggle money to pay the bill. Marlene almost spent 100 pounds for a simple chicken dinner. At the end of the practical there were several mannequins dressed in various outfits. Each student had to pick the appropriate outfit Muggles would wear for certain occasions, such as exercising or going on a cruise.
During the weekend, the fifth year students fretted over the upcoming Potions examination. It was Alice's turn to be nervous. Frank finally took the opportunity to prepare a Calming Draught for Alice, both as review and to soothe her anxiety.
Sirius and James did their share of studying, though after a few hours of reading through ingredient lists they felt antsy and needed to expend their energy on something fun. They wandered the corridors, devoid of most fifth and seventh year students. As they were walking by the Ravenclaw entrance they saw Gilderoy Lockhart who was, as usual, smiling his over-bright smile at a few girls, describing his latest feats of daring.
James and Sirius exchanged a look, similar to the one they had exchanged on the train before pranking Snape. James casually walked by Lockhart and dropped a few stink pellets down the back of his robes. Before he could admire his handiwork, he heard the familiar 'meow' coming from Mrs. Norris as she had just caught him red handed. Within seconds, it seemed, Filch appeared with a malicious sneer on his face as he said, "Carrying around stink pellets, are you? That is number 96 on the list of forbidden items posted on my door."
The smell from the stink pellets was wafting through the air, emanating from Gilderoy's robes. The girls scrunched up their noses in disgust and Gilderoy's face became slightly confused as he turned around and saw Filch confiscating the rest of James and Sirius's stash of stink pellets.
As Filch was doling out detention for James and Sirius's actions, Lily happened to walk by, on her way back to Gryffindor tower from the library. She passed by in time to catch the stench surrounding Gilderoy and the amused looks on James and Sirius as they waited for Filch to finish sniping at them for carrying around illegal items.
James caught sight of Lily and grinned, saying, "Hey, Evans! Wanna take a walk outside with me?"
Lily slowly shook her head as she tried to take in what had just happened. "Did you do that to him?" she asked, indicating the foul smell and Gilderoy.
James shrugged, still sporting an amused grin.
Lily felt her frustration with James increase. It seemed as if each time she came across him, if he wasn't asking her out, he was causing damage around the school or picking on someone. What was worse was that he didn't seem to show any remorse. Lily tried to take a few calming breaths, but before she could say anything, Filch grabbed Sirius and James by the arm and started dragging them toward his office, muttering something about flogging.
Lily stood there, surrounded by a heavy air of unsaid frustrations and awkward silences. Finally, Gilderoy, who had been frozen in bewilderment, let out a forced laugh and said, "No matter. I know the exact spell to rid myself of this hideous odor. It reminds me of the time I came across a swarm of angry dung beetles, each of which must have been over six feet long…"
As Gilderoy went into his latest tale to the girls who were at this point holding their noses, Lily took the opportunity to get away and hurry back toward Gryffindor tower. She pounded her way down the corridors trying to release her vexation. She only hoped the summer holiday came before James and Sirius did anything else.
**************************************************************************************
The Potions theory exam was brutal. If one didn't know better, he would assume the majority of the fifth year class was comprised of zombies at the end of the exam. For the practical examination that afternoon, Emm was supposed to prepare an antidote for warts, but instead caused her toad to sprout feathers. She got partial credit, since the warts did go away, though every time the toad hopped it almost took flight.
Tuesday morning the students sat for their Astronomy theory exam. Sirius smirked when he saw that question seven asked the name of the brightest star and to which constellation it belonged. He had the afternoon off while his mates took the Divination examination.
Peter came back red with embarrassment after the Astrology section of his Divination exam. He had predicted that Professor Marchbanks would have a torrid affair with Professor Tofty. Sirius guffawed after hearing this, amazed that Peter knew the definition of 'torrid affair' and more amazed that he predicted that for the ancient witch and wizard.
After Tuesday night's Astronomy practical, the students walked into the Great Hall Wednesday morning, bleary eyed but ready to tackle DADA. The order was reversed that day as they were going to take the practical exam that morning and the theory exam after lunch.
Alice was nervous on Frank's behalf, because she knew all of their hard work that year had led to this examination. She was pleased to see that he successfully stunned Professor Darme, without causing the Frenchman to twist his ankle. Alice saw Frank after they finished and congratulated him on a job well done. Frank nodded with a weak smile, and reminded her that they still had the theory examination to complete.
After lunch, the fifth years settled into their seats, several of them looking up at the ceiling. It looked like a beautiful sunny day outside, and the Great Hall was rather warm. Several of the students sighed, wishing to be outside cooling off rather than confined to the Great Hall.
James flipped over his examination paper and smiled as he realized he knew the material. He finished the questions with several minutes to spare. He straightened up and put down his quill, deciding to take Moony's advice for once and proofread his answers. As he got toward the bottom of the page, the sunlight and warmth in the room, combined with the aftereffects of the previous night's Astronomy exam left him sleepy, and he yawned. Partly out of habit and partly to try to stay awake, James rumpled his hair and decided to see if Sirius had fallen asleep.
Taking a quick glance at Professor Flitwick to make sure he wouldn't get caught, James turned around and saw Sirius sitting four seats behind him. James was wrong. Sirius was not asleep, though he was not far from it, leaning back on his chair with his hair falling into his eyes. Sirius caught James' glance and gave him the thumbs-up. James grinned back and had to stifle a chuckle, seeing Caroline Sanders sitting behind Sirius eyeing him hopefully. Sirius, who was now folding his spare parchment into the shape of a hippogriff, appeared oblivious to her attentions.
Turning back around, James grabbed his quill and started doodling on his spare parchment, preferring ink as his medium rather than origami. He was putting the finishing touches on his picture of a Snitch when he found his eyes wandering to Lily, who appeared to be adding a few thoughts here and there to round out her answers. He felt his stomach do its usual flip-flop as he watched her tuck some hair behind her ear, the sunlight dancing across her red locks. When he finally tore his eyes away he realized he had been tracing the letters L.E.
"Quills down, please!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"
James laughed as he saw Professor Flitwick try and fail to keep his balance as a large cluster of parchment zoomed into his oustretched arms. Emm Vance and Daniel Abbott rushed to help him to his feet.
"Thank you…thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"
James hastily crossed out the L.E., jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam question paper into his bag, which he had slung over his back, and stood waiting for Sirius, Remus, and Peter to join him. As the boys arrived, Lily, Alice, and Marlene walked by chattering about the exam. James, seeing that they were headed outside, decided to follow after them.
"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius as they emerged into the entrance hall.
"Loved it," said Remus briskly. "'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."
"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.
"Think I did," said Remus seriously, as they joined the crowd of students who had decided to skive off studying for the time being to enjoy the nice weather. "One: He's sitting on my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin…"
Sirius, James, and Remus laughed, all glad that Remus was able to joke about the subject. Peter was the only one who didn't laugh.
"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I
couldn't think what else-"
"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run round with a werewolf once a month-"
"Keep your voice down," implored Remus, looking around to see if anyone had overheard. He noticed with a jolt that Snape was nearby, though he appeared to be more interested in rereading the exam questions than eavesdropping. Trying not to believe that Snape could have overheard, he followed his friends as they walked toward the lake.
"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," said Sirius. "I'll be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least."
Remus rolled his eyes, not bothering to remind Sirius that he couldn't get higher than Outstanding.
"Me too," said James, feeling the need to do something with his hands. He reached in his pocked and took out the struggling Golden Snitch he had had since before his first game that year against Slytherin.
"Where'd you get that?" asked Sirius. He'd seen James with it a few times that year.
"Nicked it," said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot
away and seizing it again. As usual, his reflexes were excellent. Peter watched him in awe.
They stopped at the edge of the lake and threw themselves onto the grass under the shade of a beech tree. James saw that Lily was laughing with Alice and Marlene as they took off their shoes and socks and cooled their feet in the water.
Remus pulled out his Transfiguration book, hoping to get a head start on the last minute studying, while Sirius opted to stare at the students milling over the grass, looking bored. James continued to play with the Snitch, taking the opportunity to make some more difficult catches, all the while hoping that Lily would glance over and be impressed by his talent. After each catch Peter clapped enthusiastically. James would have told him to quiet down, but he thought that perhaps the clapping would draw Lily's attention, though she seemed determined to not look his direction. Feeling the heat despite the shade, James rumpled his hair to try to cool off.
"Put that away, will you?" said Sirius just as James had caught the Snitch which had fluttered a full two feet away, causing Peter to cheer again. "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement."
Peter turned slightly pink but James grinned.
"If it bothers you," he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.
"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon." He remembered their last trek into the Forbidden Forest. Each trip led them a little deeper into the expanse of trees, and he was eager to explore further.
"You might," said Remus darkly from behind his book. The full moon was only a few days away and Remus was struggling to make it through the exams before he became too ill. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me…Here." He held out his book.
Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all." He figured he had never had to do more than the minimum amount of studying necessary for Transfiguration as it was still his best subject. Why start more now?
James, in the meantime, was gazing around the grounds, as bored as Sirius was now that the Snitch was pocketed. His gaze paused at a clump of bushes, where Snape was standing up, putting his O.W.L. paper in his bag. "This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is…"
Sirius' head turned. He had become very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.
"Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus." As far as Sirius was concerned, it had been way too long since they had cornered Snape. The grease ball was still sending suspicious glares at Remus occasionally, and it was high time they continued their mission to teach him a lesson and keep him at bay.
As Snape emerged from the grass and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Remus saw what they were about to do and froze, torn between stopping the inevitable and allowing them to continue tormenting Snape. They claimed to be harassing Snape on Remus' behalf in the hopes that Snape would not uncover his secret. Having just worried that Snape could have overheard their conversation about werewolves several minutes earlier, Remus was unable to bring himself to stop his friends. He noticed that Peter looked eager to see what was about to take place.
"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly.
Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack. Remus wondered if he had been eavesdropping the entire time they had been sitting by the lake. Dropping his bag, Snape plunged his hand inside his robes, and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.
"Impedimenta!" said Sirius, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet, halfway through a dive toward his own fallen wand.
Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained. Lily, who was still sitting at the edge of the lake with her feet cooling in the water, heard the commotion and with dread turned to see what was unfolding.
Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands up, James glancing over his shoulder, watching to see that he had drawn Lily's attention. Peter was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Remus to get a clearer view.
"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.
"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."
At this point Lily had gotten to her feet, feeling the familiar frustration creeping back into her, as well as some anger, too. What had gotten into James and Sirius? They were reaching an all time low, and Lily found herself drifting toward the crowd.
As Peter sniggered shrilly, Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.
"You-wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing. "You-wait…"
"Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?" Sirius laughed, remembering how they had given Snape his nickname during first year when James had 'accidentally' spilled sneezing potion on the Slytherin.
Snape let out a stream of mixed swearwords and hexes, but his being ten feet away nothing happened.
James, recognizing that some of the hexes Snape said were Dark Magic, coldly said, "Wash out you mouth. Scourgify!"
Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him-
Lily could not watch this continue. She stepped forward and shouted, "Leave him ALONE!"
James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again.
"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice went to his usual pleasant, deeper, and more mature sound that he got whenever Lily was within earshot.
"Leave him alone," Lily repeated, the well of frustration and anger starting to bubble over. "What's he done to you?"
"Well," said James, thinking about Snape and his probable path toward the Dark, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…"
Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Peter included, but Remus, still intent on staring at his Transfiguration book, and Lily, who found herself surprisingly standing up for Snape.
"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."
"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. After all, he hadn't tried blackmail to get her to go out with him, yet. "Go on…Go out with me, an I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."
Lily couldn't believe that James would ask her out at a time like this. "I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," she said, causing James's grin to fade slightly.
"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape and seeing that the Slytherin had just picked up his wand. "OY!" shouted Sirius.
But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James, who had just been absorbing Lily's latest rejection, whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.
Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Peter roared with laughter. James felt his mood lighten a little since hearing Lily's comment about him and the giant squid.
Lily almost forgot why she had been yelling at James for a moment as she had to quell a giggle at the sight of Snape's pasty legs. Hearing James's laughter reminded her of her frustration toward him, and she said, "Let him down!"
"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "Locomotor mortis!" and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now, aimed at James and Sirius who eyed it warily. They knew that she was capable of turning them into toads if she decided.
"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly.
"Take the curse off him, then!" she retorted.
James sighed deeply, realizing that to appease Lily he'd have to do as she demanded. He turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse.
"There you go," said James, as Snape struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"
"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" spat Snape.
Lily blinked, surprised that he had called her that. It's not like he had never called her Mudblood, but it hadn't happened since third year, before she had stood up for him against James after a Care of Magical Creatures class. Ever since then, Snape had been the loosest version of civil toward Lily, and hadn't called her Mudblood, to her face at least.
"Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus." Lily paused, realizing that in a way, she had just sunk to James's level by referring to Snape with that nickname and teasing him about his undergarments.
"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him. James couldn't believe Snape would have to gall to call Lily…that…in his presence.
Lily finally felt something snap, from the built up aggravation with James or the fact that she had just resorted to calling Snape names and teasing him about his underwear. She stood in the path between James and Snape and shouted, "I don't want you to make him apologize! You're as bad as he is…"
"What?" yelped James, shocked that she would compare him to Snape. "I'd NEVER call you a - you-know-what!"
At that moment the dam burst and Lily vented everything about him that had bothered her, "Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can - I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."
She turned on her heel and hurried away.
"Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!"
But she didn't look back.
The crowd was silent, waiting to see how James would react to Lily's rant. Even Snape was oddly silent, though he had a look of satisfaction that Lily had just knocked James' ego down a peg.
"What is with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.
"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.
"Right," said James, who was starting to look furious. Had it all been for nothing, he wondered. The entire year, his pursuit, his attempts to charm her? And all that turned out was resentment? James felt everybody's eyes on him, and repeated, "right-"
Trying to force away the image of Lily's ire, James raised his wand and with another flash of light, Snape was once again hanging upside down in the air.
"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" he shouted.
There were a few gasps and chuckles, but more of a collective groan of disgust. Even Sirius, who didn't mind Snivellus's discomfort in the least, shook his head in revulsion.
"Oy, mate," said Sirius. "I'd rather not lose my appetite for the second time."
**************************************************************************************
Alice and Marlene walked back into the castle, intent on finding Lily, who had rushed inside after her confrontation with James. Marlene went to check the library, while Alice walked to Gryffindor tower. When she entered their dorm room, she saw Lily standing by a window, facing away from her and looking down.
"Lily?" said Alice.
Lily started in surprise and quickly shoved something into her pocket, though Alice couldn't see what it was. Turning around, Lily faced Alice looking more agitated that she'd been in a long time.
"Hey," said Alice softly, approaching her friend. She noticed that Lily's eyes looked a little pink and slightly bright. "You okay?"
Lily shrugged, and let out a ragged sigh.
"You really went off on him, didn't you…back there?" said Alice, nodding toward the window where the lake could be seen. The crowd that had been present was dispersing, and she could see in the distance that James was storming off toward the Quidditch pitch.
"Yeah," muttered Lily. "It's not like I wanted to go off on a rampage, but I couldn't help it. He's been so frustrating lately, and he's changed…I mean, he wasn't this bad a year ago, right?"
"I suppose not," said Alice. She smiled and put an arm around Lily shoulders. "How 'bout we stay up here for a while? Looks like you could use some chocolate."
Lily let out a small laugh and said, "Can't. You ate it all, remember?"
"Oh…that's right," said Alice with a slight blush.
"It doesn't matter," said Lily. "We still have Transfiguration tomorrow, so I guess we should just focus on that instead of the empty chocolate stash that is supposed to be under the bed."
"Sounds like a plan, though if desperate times should come, we could sneak off and raid the other dorm rooms for hidden Honeydukes goodies," said Alice.
Lily nodded in agreement and the two settled onto her bed to prepare for the next day's exam, the last of the year. Lily found herself counting the days until the summer holiday, and couldn't help but dread her next confrontation with James after what had just happened.
**************************************************************************************
A/N: Phew! There you have it! I've been looking forward to including this in my story from the point of view of the people who were actually experiencing it, rather than from Harry's point of view. How do you think it turned out? Does it fit well with what I've written up to this point?
As for the O.W.L. exams, I switched the order around a bit, but I figured that would be okay since it had to have been different, anyway. In OotP, Harry had Transfiguration before DADA, but in Snape's memory, they had DADA before Transfiguration.
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Dilna, Miss France, PottersPrincess, DreamAngel, Jo Bob, Remus'sweetie, Incendia, Mani12191, Anonymous (x3), RainDateChick, Anu, Will the Wierd, alto2srock, God'sgirl, delpheena, tigerfairy, Golden Phoenix, granger1191, and Calypso.