Marauders Oneshots

It was one of the England’s rare nice days, just a little too hot to be running around but perfect for lounging about. And that’s exactly what Lily and James were doing. Sirius and Remus had gone down to swim in the lake -or Sirius was swimming and Remus was reading in a tree near the water, but same difference- and Peter had scampered off somewhere, leaving the two of them alone. Lily was reading with her head resting on James’s stomach, and James had busied himself putting tiny braids in her hair and tucking flowers into them. 

“What are you reading?” James asked, sectioning off another small piece of her bright hair. 

“It’s a muggle book,” Lily said, handing it to him. “About the dust bowl in America,” 

“It’s tiny,” James commented. “Looks like even I could finish it,” 

“Oh please, you could read anything if you wanted,” Lily said, swatting at him with a grin. 

“Peter would love it,” James said, noticing the title. “Of Mice and Men. He’s both,” 

“It’s not actually about mice,” She said. “Its about muggles in america who work on a farm. Remus swore he could finish it before me, and I’m trying to beat him,” 

“When did you start it?” James asked. 

“We both started at lunch,” Lily said with a shrug. “He’s further then me, but I’m banking on Sirius distracting him,” 

“It’s what he’s best at,” James replied, weaving another daisy into her braids. “You look like a fairy with your hair like this,” 

She laughed, reaching back and touching the braids. “You’re getting good. Who taught you to braid?” 

“Remus did. He used it to make rope on the farm when he was little,” James said. “Apparently it’s far cheaper to buy twine and braid it then real rope,”

“Huh, who would have thought?” She asked. 

Lily continued talking, probably about her book, but James had looked past her, spotting someone on the lawn across them. They were in the shade -as was everyone else- so James couldn’t exactly make out their face, but he’d spent enough time to recognize Snape immediately.

“What is it?” Lily asked, quing in on James’s distraction. “James?” 

“Hey, do you wanna go down to the lake?” James asked suddenly. She tilted her head, so one braid fell in her face. 

“I thought you hated the lake,” She said. “You said the squid would eat you,” 

“I’m not scared of a stupid squid. I’m Gryffindor, remember?” He asked, standing up and reaching a hand down. 

“...okay,” She said suspiciously, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up. James wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders as they walked, and she looked up at him inquisitively. He would have explained himself in a moment, but unfortunately he didn’t need to, because after a few moments Snape made his way across the lawn and stood in front of them. 

“Can I talk to Lily?” He asked. Everything about him looked disgruntled. His clothing was wrinkled and not quite settled on his body, and his hair went from slightly greasy to absolutely disgusting. His skin was pale and he was covered in sweat. “Alone?” 

“Uh-” Lily said, looking up at James. She didn’t want to be mean, but Snape made her feel gross, like her skin was crawling. 

“Not right now,” James said. What he meant was ‘not ever in a thousand years will I let you close to her’ but he was trying to prevent drama. Emphasis on the trying. 

“It’s really important,” Snape said. 

“Um… can’t you say it with James here?” Lily asked, tilting her head. 

“No, no I can’t,” He said, talking a step forward. Lily immediately took a step back and James tightened his grip on her. 

“Look man, some other time,”James said, trying to side step Snape. Snape however, was not taking the hint and he followed James, reaching out to grab Lily. Lily jumped back, so she was directly behind James, grabbing onto his arm. 

“Lily, come on. Will he really not let you even talk to me?” Snape asked. “Really? Come on, you never would have let this happen,” 

“Dude, she doesn’t want to talk to you,” James said. “Step off,” 

“Lily-” 

“Can we just go?” Lily asked James. James nodded, putting a hand on her back and quickly walking away. He’d half expected Snape to follow them, but he didn’t and the two were able to make a break for the lake. 

Once they were finally out of sight from the court yard Lily let out a sigh of relief, pressing her nose into James’s neck. James hugged her briefly, giving her a kiss before they continued down to the lake. It didn’t take long to find the tree Remus was hiding in, and they walked down to him. 

“Hi,” Remus said, leaning down to look at them. “What are you guys doing?” 

“We wanted to see the lake,” James said with a shrug. Remus looked suspicious, and looked at Lily. 

“Long story,” Lily said. Remus nodded, swinging down out of the tree. 

“Sirius is… somewhere out there,” Remus said, gesturing to the lake. “Or he drowned,”

“He’s right there,” James said, gesturing to Sirius, who was swimming back to shore. “Dang it. I was rooting for drowning,” 

“Me too,” Remus said, nodding. James laughed and waved as Sirius as he exited the water. 

“How the hell does his hair still look good?” Lily asked, squinting at him. “It should be tangled- Sirius your hair should be tangled,” 

“Can’t help being fabulous,” Sirius said, tossing his wet hair. 

“You smell like wet dog,” James said. Sirius walked over to him and shook his hair next to him. “Ew ew ew,” 

“Oh please,” Sirius said. “You’re so dramatic,” 

“I’m dramatic?” James laughed. “I’m going to kill you,” 

“You have to catch me first,” Sirius said, taking off sprinting. James bounded after him, launching himself at his friend. 

“How do guys have so much energy?” Lily asked Remus. Remus laughed. 

“Don’t look at me,” Remus said, walking back to the tree. “I’ve been tired since I was 6. Want a hand up?” 

“Sure,” Lily said. Remus scrambled up the tree, before reaching down and helping to pull her up. She perched on a branch, holding her book in her teeth until she got situated. 

“What page are you on?” Remus asked, sitting precariously with his legs crossed, book in hand. 

“Fifty seven,” She said. 

“Fifty seven?” Remus asked, “really?”

“Okay okay,” She said. “I got distracted,” 

“By what?” Remus asked. “I’m five pages away from the end,” 

“Okay well… don’t tell anybody,” She said, glancing at Sirius and James prancing around in the grass. “Severus came to mess with me on the lawn,” 

“He did what?” Remus asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“Yeah, he came and tried to get to talk to me alone,” She said. 

“Talk to you or murder you?”

“Remus-” 

“I’m not joking. He’s too smart to use magic, but he might have a knife,” Remus said. 

“You’re horrible. He’s not a bad guy, you know, he used to be so sweet when we were kids. He’s not good at taking no for an answer,” 

“I see,” Remus said. “And that is why I see him coming over here then, isn’t it?” 

“What?” Lily asked, looking at Remus wide eyed. Sure enough, walking quickly, Snape was slinking his way over to the tree. “Shit-” 

“I could always kill him for you,” Remus said. 

“Remus no- Hey Sev,” Lily said. Snape smiled up at her. 

“It’s been so long sense you have called me that. Look I’m sorry, I just saw you were on you own, and I really need to talk to you,” 

On your own clearly just meant not with James, and Lily was pretty sure Remus was more dangerous between the two of them. He couldn’t punch, but the willingness to kill and magical knowledge made for a nasty combination. 

“I really don’t want to right now,” Lily said. “Maybe some other time?” 

“Lily, listen to me,” Snape said. “James is dangerous. He’s going to end up hurting you, just like my parents, he’s already controlling who you talk to and where you go. He even decided how you wear your hair,” 

Lily looked around, not wanting a confrontation, but also aware that asking Remus for help would be permission for him to go for the jugular. “Look, it’s a nice day today, can’t we leave this for some other time?”

“No, I will not let you get hurt while I just stand by. Remember how horrible he was to me all these years?” Severus asked. “Are you really the kind of girl to go with someone who can be so mean?” 

“She asked you to leave,” Remus said from the tree, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Snapes face contorted as he gazed up, face wrinkling from the sun. “I suggest you do so,” 

“What are you, James’s goon?” Snape asked. Remus snorted at the accusation. He was almost too ridiculous to take seriously. At least he would be if Lily didn’t look so upset. 

“I promise I have only ever hated you because I hated you,” Remus said. “Come on, don’t you have some cellar to hide in?” 

“Lily are these the kind of people you like now? Really?” Severus asked. “You’ve changed a lot,” 

“Okay buddy,” Remus said, dropping out of the tree. “Time to go,”

“No no, Lily I can’t let you do this to yourself,” Snape said, pushing Remus aside to talk to her directly. 

“I’m really okay,” She said. “Really. I like James, he’s so sweet, he’d never be mean to me,” 

“That’s what you think at first,” He said. He tried to continue talking, but Remus had his wand out and held it to his throat. 

“You’re done,” Remus muttered, looking both intimidating and bored. Snape however had his wand out in a flash, and was already muttering a spell. 

“HEY,” All three of them turned to see Sirius and James sprinting to the tree. “What the hell is going on here?” 

“He was just leaving,” Remus said, raising an eyebrow. “Right?” 

“You really shouldn’t do that,” Snape said, venom in his voice.”It makes those gashes on your face wrinkle like old leather. Would you like some fabric softener?” 

Sirius ran towards them, grabbing Remus’s wand before he did something he would regret, but he also shoved Snape over, making him fall to his knees momentarily before he sprang back up. Unfortunately for him, he turned the other direction and came face to face with James. 

“You need to go,” James said. He had -with the help of McGonagall- been working on his anger management skills. He hadn’t even punched Snape yet. “You have five seconds,” 

“I’m not going to let you do this to her,” Snape yelled. 

“Severus stop it,” Lily called from the tree. Sirius turned to tell her to be quiet, but her yelling quickly turned a few heads, and a crowd started forming around them. 

“Shit,” Remus muttered. “We’re so getting detention,”

“Severus, step away from me,” James said, backing up as Snape walked to him. “Knock it off,” 

“What, are you scared, Potter? Are you scared of me?” Snape asked. “I thought I was Snivlerus? I thought I was too sad and weak and pathetic to do anything? Isn’t that what you said?” 

“Take another step and I cannot be held accountable for my actions,” James said, standing still. 

Snape continued to talk forward, until they were almost nose to nose. 

Throwing his wand down, James took half a step back and swung at his face, connecting with his abnormally sized nose. The crack was distinctive and everyone ‘oooo’d at the noise. Snape, blinded by fury, launched himself at James, and both of them tumbled into the lake. 

It wasn’t a fair match, and if Snape had quit, it would have been better for everybody. But he didn’t,  and quickly he managed to get a grip on James’s tie, choking him. It was as James was trying to shove him off that they both froze in place, seeing someone pushing their way through the crowd. 

“What in Merlins name is going on here?” A familiar voice called. “Mr. Potter, Mr. Snape, both of you will be following me,” She said. “Until further notice, I have deducted a hundred points from both houses for fighting,” 

“Hey that’s not fair-” Sirius said, jumping forward. McGonagal placed a hand on her hip, looking disappointed. 

“Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, you will be coming to,” She said. “And- oh boy. Ms. Evans, is there a problem?”

“No ma’am,” She said, covering her mouth. 

“Then why are you crying?” She asked. Lily just shook her head, climbing down from the tree. 

“All six of you will be in my office,” She said. “The rest of you, surly must have something better to do on such a lovely day. Go do it,” 

With that, the crowd started disbanding, and James and Severus sloshed their way out of the lake. Sirius made a comment about Snapes crooked nose under his breath, but Remus elbowed him before he could make anything too much worse. Lily, who was crying almost uncontrollably, ran over to James and hugged him as soon as he was out of the water. 

“There is no need for this many tears, Miss Evans,” McGonagal said, sounding tired. 

“You don’t even know what happened, how could you possibly make that call?” Remus argued. She just shot him a warning look, and they all made the rest of the trek to the castle in relative silence, other than a few muttered annoyances. 

Upon arrival, Snape was sent to Pomfrey to get his nose set, with instructions to come straight back as soon as it was done, and James was taken back to her office. Lily, Remus, and Sirius were left to wait in her classroom with Filch watching them silently in the corner. 

Remus was sitting on a bench at one of the desks next to Lily, with Sirius cross legged on top of the table. Lily had her face hidden and continued to cry quietly, while Remus and Sirius exchanged glances of concern. After a silent argument about who was better at comforting, Remus put an arm around her. 

“It’s alright Lily,” He said in the most comforting tone he could, which was better than he thought it would be. “McGonagall will be kind once she figures out what going on,” 

“I just don’t understand,” She said in between sobs. “He used to be so nice,” 

“I know,” Remus said. Remus did not know. Remus has been beat up by this kid sense second year. But that would not be helpful in this particular moment. “It’s alright,” 

“It’s not,”  She said. “Why can’t he just leave me alone?” 

“I don’t know,” Remus said, shaking his head. Sirius sat near them, trying to make his face look compassionate. He did feel bad for Lily, but mostly he felt like he wanted to commit murder.

“Like- if he were dating someone I didn’t like I would just try to be happy you know?” She asked, wiping her eyes. “I just wish him and James would get on,” 

“I know,” Remus said, smoothing a hand over her hair. One of the daisies fell into her lap as he did so, and she picked the flower up gently, holding it in between her fingers and twirling it once. 

“I used to think James was rotten you know,” She said, her head resting on Remus’s shoulder. “Because him and Sev always fought. I assumed he was bullying him, and I thought he was rotten to the core,” 

“That’s why you two never went out?” Remus asked. “Before now anyways?” 

“Yes,” She admitted, wiping her eyes. “Sev hated him, always had, and he told me all of these stories of James picking on him. I thought he was gross,” 

“You made that clear,” Sirius said, and Lily snorted, smiling a little. 

“I did,” She agreed. “But then one time I got caught in the rain, and I was soaked, and he saw me walking back, and came over to give me his jacket. Which I thought was stupid. But then he left. He didn’t try to get anything from me, he just didn’t want me to be cold. And when I told Severus, he got so angry with me,” 

“Did he?” Remus asked. She nodded. 

“Yeah he told me that I was betraying him and that he couldn’t believe that now I was on James’s side. Which is so stupid, because it was just a jacket but… I dunno,” She said shrugging. “And I’m sure he’s told you the rest,” 

“Just every single day,” Sirius said. “Multiple times a day,” 

“Every meal,” Remus confirmed. 

“And before bed. And in any of our classes,” Sirius said. 

“I think he’s trying to make himself believe that it’s real,” Remus said. She laughed again, shaking her head. 

“I wish I knew he was so nice, I would have been kinder,”

“He did just fine,” Sirius said. “It was good, you sanded a few edges down,” 

“I guess,” She said, wiping a hand over her face again. “I’m so tired of all the fighting Rem. It makes my head hurt,” 

“We only have a few more months until summer,” Remus said. “Then you can see James whenever you want, without him there,” 

“Yeah I guess,” She said. The door opened, and McGonagal stood in front of them, her hands on her hips. 

“Seeing as Mr. Snape hasn’t come back yet, I suppose I can get your sides of the story for now,” She said. “Just so long as you all are able to maintain respect for one another,”

“We can be very respectful when we want to,” Sirius said, nodding his head. Remus cleared his throat behind him. 

“Yes, when is the proper phrasing for that,” She replied. “Come on then,” 

“Where is James?” Sirius asked, walking quickly behind her. 

“Still in my office,” She said, walking in. 

As she had said, James sat in one of the chairs, with his legs kicked out in front of him and pouting. He had a small cut on his lip, and a light bruise forming on his cheekbone, but overall looked pretty untouched. Lily went to sit next to him, pulling their chairs closer so she could hold onto his arm. Sirius and Remus took the back seats. 

“Without any interrupting,” She said, giving James a pointed look, “can you three tell me what happened?” 

“Severus wanted to talk to us in the court,” Lily said, sniffling back tears. “But he wanted to talk alone and I didn’t want to, so me and James went down to the lake,” 

“Right,” She said. “Why didn’t you want to talk to him alone?” 

“I dunno,” She said quietly, looking down and rubbing at a spot on the floor with her shoe. “I just… didn’t,” 

“Okay,” She said, looking at the other two. “Then what?” 

“Well Sirius was in the lake when they got there,” Remus said, pulling a leg up on the chair. “He swam back in and started messing around with James. Me and Lily were talking about the book we’re reading,” 

“Which is?” She asked. 

“Of Mice And Men,” Remus said. 

“But then Sev came,” Lily said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “And he came over to the tree me and Remus were in,” 

“Why was he coming over?” She asked. 

“I dunno,” Lily said again. 

“He kept saying shit about James,” Remus said. “Talking about how ‘dangerous’ he was and how he was ‘just like his father’ and trying to talk Lily out of dating him,”

“And I tried to get him to go away,” Lily said, her voice choking a little. James wrapped a arm around her, pulling her across the chair and into him a little bit more. “But he wouldn’t. And Remus tried-” 

“Whoa, how did Remus try?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“With my words,” Remus defended, although he looked a little sheepish. She looked suspiciously at him for a moment. “Okay and my wand- but I didn’t cast any spells and he had his out as well,” 

“When exactly did he take out his wand?” She asked. 

“When I got out of the tree,” Remus said. “We both had them drawn, but before anything else happened, James and Sirius came over,” 

“And James did try and calm him down,” Sirius chimed in. His voice always sounded a little extra ‘fancy’ when he was trying to convince someone of something, as it did now. “But Snape kept pushing him and getting in his space and being weird, and so James tried to… back him off. Which made Snape flip and- well you saw the rest,”

“I see,” She said, taking her glasses off. “Well I will obviously be talking to Mr. Snape, but for now, it does not seem like any of you are too severely at fault,” 

They all collectively breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I would not do that yet. James, you have detention for a week,” 

“Yes McGonagal,”