Chapter 12
James’ Anger Unleashed
A week later, Severus and Peter were sitting in the Slytherin Common Room discussing the details of their plan. It was simple yet sure to work as long as they could keep James out of the picture for the night.
“Okay, Peter. We’re carrying this out tonight. Don’t get the letter to Lily until 15 minutes before she’s supposed to be at the Quidditch Pitch. Otherwise, she will talk to James about meeting him there and he will know something’s up,” Severus explained, Peter nodding the whole time.
“Got it,” Peter replied. “I’ll take care of keeping James out of the common room before I give Lily the note, too.” As Peter said this, Severus looked skeptical at Peter’s capability. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
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Later that night, Peter looked at his watch, waiting for the right time to give Lily the note. She was supposed to go down to the Quidditch Pitch at 7:00 p.m and it was now 6:45. Everything was working out perfectly: James was no where to be seen and Lily was alone.
Peter ran over to Lily with the counterfeit note in his hand. “Hey, Lily, how are you doing?” He proceeded to shake his head slightly as he realized how the fire made her hair turn a myriad of reds.
“Hi, Peter! I’m fine. Have you seen James by any chance?” Lily asked, a little concernedly. She hadn’t seen him since this morning.
Peter smiled. This plan was working out flawlessly. “Yes, I actually have. I met him in the hallway a few minutes ago. He asked me to give you this note,” Peter said, as he handed her the note. He looked down at his watch and realized it was time for him to look for James and distract him as Lily went down to the Pitch. “Well, I gotta run, Lily. I’ll see you later.”
She did not answer, however, because her eyes were lighting up in anticipation as she read the note. Peter felt a twinge of guilt at this but shook it off. He could not forget that going through with this meant he may have a better chance at becoming a Death Eater with Snape. The thought of all that power made Peter joyful, like nothing else ever had. Severus had never mentioned it but Peter suspected he had wanted help with this plan to see how competent Peter was in the art of deceiving.
So, Peter set out into the hallway to find James. Coincidentally, he was coming up the stairs at the same time Peter was going down. So, Peter assumed a false look of panic and hurried toward him. “James, James!” Peter yelled.
“What, Peter?” James asked, concerned.
“You’ve got to hurry. Snape is torturing some first year in the library. You’ve got to help!” Peter said, hurriedly.
He noticed that James’ face became suddenly darker when he heard Snape’s name. “Where in the library?” he asked in a quiet but deadly voice. Deadly enough to make Peter shiver.
“Near the Restricted Section. But you better hurry, he’s been doing it for a good 15 minutes now or at least it looked like it judging by how the kid was beat up,” Peter replied, lying easily.
James rushed off towards the library without another word. Peter looked down at his watch. 6:53. James would hopefully not be back until after 7. The plan was still going flawlessly. Peter smiled to himself at his success and sauntered towards the Slytherin Common Room to deliver the news so Snape could leave as soon as possible.
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Lily,
I feel really bad that we haven’t gotten to spend much time together this past week. But you know how much homework we’ve been having. So, meet me down at the Quidditch Pitch at seven. I’ll be waiting.
I love you,
James
Lily smiled as she read the note as she grew antsy with anticipation. She was reading it again as she walked down to the Entrance Hall. She had not seen James all day and missed him terribly. They had grown to be quite inseparable. Their hormones were still raging considerably but one of them always stopped the other before going too far. She hoped she would be able to stop tonight, especially with how much she had missed him that day.
She was now outside and nearing the Quidditch Pitch. Once she arrived, she realized he was not there yet, but James was never very punctual. As she waited, she heard approaching footsteps behind her. Before she could turn around, she felt a rough hand cover her mouth. “Don’t scream, or else I’ll kill you immediately,” a low, gritty voice whispered. Snape.
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James was making his way back up to the Common Room after going to the library in vain. He was quite angry; either Snape was done or Peter had been lying to him. No one was there. He had wasted precious time that he could have been spending time with Lily. As he neared the top step, he heard the door at the Entrance Hall open. He turned around and his eyes became wide as he saw something that made his heart twist in anger. Snape had his Lily. Luckily, Snape did not see him.
James rushed up the stairs. He needed the Marauders’ Map and quick.
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Peter paced the Slytherin Common Room, anxiously awaiting Severus’ return, hoping everything went alright. Or else, his head would be on the line. A few minutes later, he heard the portrait hole open and then close.
He turned around and smiled nervously as he saw Severus enter with Lily. He immediately hid in the shadows so Lily could not see him. It would ruin his whole plan. The Marauders and Lily still had to believe he was being sincere.
“Well, Evans, do you know why I brought you here tonight?” Snape asked silkily.
“No, actually I don’t, Snivellus. But I would appreciate it if you told me so I could get back to the Quidditch Pitch and snog my boyfriend,” Lily answered back, sarcastically.
Snape chuckled at her bravado. “He won’t be there, Lily. That note was fake. Of course, stupid Peter didn’t know that. He was just trying to help out a friend. Looks like that didn’t happen, huh?” Snape asked, lying through his teeth. He could not let Lily know that Peter was not what she thought he was.
“Don’t blame Peter, Snape. It wasn’t his fault,” Lily answered, menacingly.
“Well, enough about him, anyway. Back to you,” Snape said, evilly. “I have you here for one reason and one reason only. Potter.”
Lily’s heart skipped a beat as she heard his name. His face flashed into her mind and realized that Snape wanted to hurt him. “What are you going to do to him?” Lily asked jumping up, her eyes flashing in anger. She even managed to hide the fear in her voice with her unmistakable amount of anger and contempt.
Snape jumped back at the look in her eyes but then smiled mischievously. “Ooh, looks like we hit a soft spot, huh, Lily? Trust me, he won’t be hurt physically, just emotionally. He’ll be so upset that he couldn’t get here in time to protect you from big, bad Snape. See, if I get rid of you, James loses all of his willpower. You may not know this, but you sustain him, Evans. The Dark Lord was very happy when he realized this because we finally had the solution to defeating Potter. Now, sit still, I want to torture you properly.”
Lily started shaking in suppressed anger but now that was overpowered by fear and other emotions, too. She somehow felt slightly happy hearing she sustained James but it was impossible to be happy when she thought about what she was going to have to endure. Before she could think anymore, she heard Snape yell, “Crucio!”
Lily crumpled to the floor where she was standing and started to writhe in pain. It felt like he was sticking needles in every part of her body over and over again. After what felt like forever, he lifted the curse and laughed. “You didn’t like that, Lily? I’m sorry. Let’s try again,” Snape said.
“Crucio!” he screamed again.
Lily decided this time was even worse than the first time. She screamed in agony and right before she felt like she would die, he lifted the curse.
Snape laughed dementedly. “Sectum…”
“Expelliarmus!” Lily heard someone whisper. However, there must have been great power in that whisper because Snape was thrown against the wall so forcefully that the wall around him cracked. She then heard him run to her shaking body and say, “I’ll get you out of here, love, just as soon as I have a little word with Snivellus.” She smiled as she figured out who this was. James. Before he walked away, she uttered something in little more than a whisper.
“James? Thank you. Remind me to snog you senseless later,” Lily said while James smiled at the fact that she could still be cheerful even after being tortured. He was glad, though that she was at least conscious and able to speak. He began to walk away when he heard something that empowered him mightily. “I love you, James,” Lily whispered.
James face set with anger as he saw her shaking body and knew that Snape had done that to her. “Snape, how dare you? I told you that I would always protect her but I guess you didn’t think I was telling the truth. Well, be prepared, Snivellus because your life is about to be turned into a nightmare. I swear, if you ever touch her again I will curse you into the next century or I might just kill you. I haven’t figured out what I’ll do yet, but trust me, you will regret ever doing this to her. I would hex you now but you’re not worth it. Just know this: next time you hurt Lily, you will have me and only me to answer to and it will not be pretty,” James said. He had whispered all this in the same whisper Peter had heard earlier that night but now his whole body was shaking in anger and his voice was even deadlier than before. So deadly in fact, that Peter was shaking and Snape had a look of complete fear on his face that Peter had never seen before.
James then walked to Lily, picked her up gingerly and carried her out of the Common Room and towards the Prefect Bathroom.
As soon as he left, Peter walked out of the corner he had been hiding in, sat down and cried. He could not believe what he had just done.
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When James and Lily had entered the Prefects’ Bathroom, he laid her down carefully and removed her outer robe. He then went to get a washcloth and began to pat her face with it. He decided against going to the Hospital Wing. For one thing, he didn’t want a lot of questions and he desperately wanted to be the one to take care of her.
When he was done with the washcloth, he laid down next to her and enveloped her in his arms. That moment, something happened that was very unexpected. The love that he was feeling at the moment flowed through their embrace. Her pain melted away, her breathing came back to normal and she was perfectly well again. James, however, did not know this had happened until she sat up and he realized she was no longer shaking or sweating.
“What happened?” James asked, confused.
Lily looked down at him, ecstatic. “I’m not really sure, but I have a theory. Your love just healed me, James. Only deep, true love can do that.”
“You know I love you, Lils,” James said, although amazed that he had had the power to heal her.
“I know you do, James but this is different. This kind of power is extremely rare. I’ve read about it before. There have only been a few witches and wizards ever that have ever loved each other so much that their love can heal each other.” Lily looked down at him with a look of extreme adoration. “I love you so much, James.”
James did not respond but she could tell he was overwhelmed. He took her hand, led her out of the bathroom and toward the Gryffindor dormitories. When they had entered through the Portrait Hole, he looked at her, a pleading look in his eyes.
“Lily, will you stay with me tonight?” he asked, tears welling up in his eyes.
“James, I’m not ready,” Lily answered, nervously.
“No, we don’t have to do anything. Can I just hold you tonight, Lils?” James asked, now crying openly. “I need to know you’re there.”
She then saw the look of pure fear in his eyes. Fear of losing her.
“Of course, James. I would do anything for you,” Lily answered, now crying too.
He led her up the boys’ dormitories’ stairs. He gave her a big t-shirt of his and a pair of mesh shorts. She went to the bathroom to change as he took off his shirt and put on a pair of pajama bottoms. Lily then walked out of the bathroom and James had to admit that she looked very good in his clothes. Lily had to avert her eyes so she wouldn’t stare openly at his well-toned and tanned chest.
Shyly, they both crawled under his covers. However, once under them, they relaxed. He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. He then kissed her temple and said, “I love you, Lils.”
Lily looked up at him and kissed him full on the lips. “I love you more,” she answered.
He pulled her against him tighter and before they both fell asleep, he whispered, “Impossible.”
Not Another Teen Love Story by 365 letters_ryan gosling 20
Chapter Notes: Well, Peter and Snape's plan is carried out. James and Lily make a shocking discover. Warning: Major Fluff (near the end) Read and Review!!!