Chapter Text
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who commented or left kudos!
Before this chapter starts, I would just like to address a couple of points from Chapter 2. When Snape came over to Lily's house, Mrs. Evans didn't comment on his damaged face. The reason is because she has known Severus for years and has seen him with injuries like this before. Now, she suspects that Severus is being abused at home of course, but as she has no proof there's not much she can do, so she occasionally asks him about it, but he always tells her he injured himself doing something for Hogwarts. Severus doesn't tell her what his dad's doing because he doesn't trust Muggles, so he figures telling someone won't make a difference or may even make the situation even worse. As she cannot disprove Severus, Mrs. Evans has not called child services or anything like that, even though she wants to. She also does not because she know it could risk exposure of the wizarding world, and she may get in trouble. In addition, I do not know how effective or strong child protection laws were in England during the Marauder Era(the 1970s) so it may be possible that even if she did call child services nothing much would change.
As for why Snape's mom hasn't stood up to her husband using her magic…well, there actually is a really legitimate reason for that…. That I shall reveal later on. ;D
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fanfic except for my OCs.
When Mary Macdonald did not come to class the day after she was attacked, not many people noticed but for the few that did just assumed she was sick and in the hospital wing. They were half right, at any rate. None of the Gryffindors who had been with Mary reported what had happened to their classmates; Madam Pomfrey had given them strict orders not to until they were all interviewed to determine what really happened. As for Mulciber, he was suspended from class before he could even speak of the event to any of his classmates; his father had arrived at school to have an interview with the school board with his son, determining whether or not the curse he used was worthy of expulsion. It wasn't until the next morning, when people noticed that both Mary and Mulciber had not been seen for nearly two days that the school began buzzing about what was going on. It was no secret that Mulciber had a fondness for the dark arts; he had gotten into trouble before for using Dark Magic. Did he use any on Mary? To add to the excitement, James Potter, Sirius, Black Remus Lupin, and Lily Evans were all absent called out of class that morning and did not return until lunch.
The reason for their temporary absence was because when Dumbledore went to visit Mary in the Hospital Wing to hear her side of the story pertaining to the events of the other night, all of the students involved-including Mulciber-had to be interviewed as well in order to fully comprehend the situation. Mulciber was returned to classes Friday afternoon; however whether or not he would finally be expelled would not be determined until the end of the period, when Mulciber would be summoned to the Headmaster's office to receive the final verdict. He would remain in class until then.
Students all asked the Gryffindors-aside from Mary, who was still hospitalized- about what had happened. All four told a slightly censored version of the story under the orders of the Headmaster; they excluded the part about Mary having a job in Hogsmeade. They claimed that Mary had been on her way to bed when Mulciber ran into her and started harassing her, so she snapped at him, before he proceeded to curse her.
They were prohibited to tell the other student's about Mary's job, so this version was more or less the gist of what happened censoring them being in Hogsmeade (it would look suspicious for Mary to be in Hogsmeade without mentioning her job, so the Hogsmeade part was exterminated entirely in their retelling, and the entire incident took place at Hogwarts, rather than just half of it).
Even Mulciber was prohibited from telling about Mary's job, and miraculously enough he too respected the Headmaster's wishes in that respect. In fact, Mulciber had no qualms about censoring the story whatsoever. So much so that he would tell his Slytherin buddies that Mary had randomly approached Mulciber after curfew saying all of those nasty things she had said to him, only in this version she had no good reason to do so; he decided to conveniently forget the fact he had been sexually harassing and even downright assaulting her and that she was perfectly in the right to stand up for herself, even if that did mean she said some rather unpleasant things as well. No, in Mulciber's story, he was the victim. Mary Macdonald had been unnecessarily cruel to him and he was only giving her "what she deserved."
But more on that later.
The class the fifth year Gryffindors had right after lunch was Potions, a class shared between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. The entire class had heard the story at lunch, whether it be Mulciber's version or the Gryffindor's version. Well, almost the entire class. Karen Smith, as usual, hadn't the foggiest idea what was going on.
Karen Smith was known as "Slytherin's Brainless Beauty" for a reason. With her fair skin, wide hazel eyes, stunningly pretty coppery brown hair that cascaded past her shoulder blades, a stellar smile and gentle facial features, she was undeniably beautiful. Unfortunately, she wasn't perceived as being anywhere near as intelligent as she was attractive by her peers; even her own housemates mocked her lack of intelligence. By her fifth year, it had become slang known to everyone at Hogwarts except for the first years during the first month of the year to refer to making a very dumb mistake as "pulling a Karen Smith." Karen had become infamous for her vastly less than intelligent behavior. How she had made it to fifth year was the biggest mystery at Hogwarts; just last week she had asked Slughorn what a cauldron was. One might find this funny had they not realized Karen was actually dead serious.
Karen's… confusion, for lack of a better word, was often quiet amusing to spectators though. Sometimes the Marauders even looked forward to Potions simply because Karen was almost guaranteed to do or say something hilarious as a result of her ignorance. She was also an excellent person to pull pranks on. Harmless ones, of course :Karen Smith was one of the few Slytherins they actually liked-and they knew who could take a joke-, so they made sure none of their jokes were ever mean or would upset Karen.
Today, though, they were in a foul mood as they caught sight of the Slytherins in Potions. They were all furious at him for what he had done to Mary.
He noticed their presence and talked loud enough so that they could overhear him, "You know how MacDonald's been absent for the past couple of days Avery? Well,-"
"Marlene's been absent?" Karen piped up.
Both boys stared at her quizzically for a moment before Avery realized what she meant.
"Her name's not Marlene, Karen, "he explained. "Her name's Mary Macdonald. You're thinking of Marlene Mckinnon."
Karen still looked confused.
"Do you remember back in first year when we all put on the school production of Mary Macdonald Had a Farm? "Avery pressed.
"Oh God, don't remind me, "Mulciber griped. "I still cannot believe the school not only let us, but forced us to reenact a play based off of a filthy Muggle song!"
Avery nodded in agreement. "Bloody disgusting, that was. "He turned back to Karen. "Do you remember the girl who played the star of the show?"
Karen nodded.
"That was Mary Macdonald, "Avery informed her.
Sure enough, a look of comprehension dawned on Karen's ordinarily clueless features."Oh, I remember that play! It was so much fun; I got to play a sheep! "She reminisced happily.
"Fun?" Snape had arrived. "How in the hell was acting out that monstrous-"
"Actually Karen," Avery spoke over him. "You played a cow, not a sheep."
"No, I played a sheep, "Karen spoke as if she were explaining the facts of life to a five year old. "Sheep go MOOO!" Several people in the vicinity jumped; if nothing else, Karen Smith was good at impersonating animals and could mimic the sound of any given animal. In fact, a few of these classmates actually believed for a moment a cow had somehow gotten on school grounds until realizing Karen had just produced the noise.
"Er, no Karen, cows go moo. Sheep go baaahh." Avery explained.
"Oy Prongs, "Sirius exclaimed loudly for everyone within the proximity to hear. "Do you remember what part Mulciber played during our school production of Mary Macdonald Had a Farm back in first year?"
"Oh that's easy Padfoot," James replied. "He was an utter jackass." There were some laughs in the crowd as people understood the double entendre.
"What's a jackass?" Karen solicited innocently.
"A donkey," Sirius answered swiftly. "He was most certainly a jackass, wouldn't you say Karen?"
"Oh yes, totally,"Karen agreed. " It was the part he was born to play!"
Several people in the crowd-even people from Mulciber's own house- howled with laughter. "What's so funny?"Karen was still oblivious to the joke. Really, everyone except Mulciber, Avery, Snape and Karen were laughing.
"You think your funny, you two-"Mulciber began before James interrupted.
"We don't think we're funny, we know we're funny."
Mulciber was about to retort when right at that moment Slughorn came bustling down the corridor to permit them to enter the dungeons. The class took their usual seats, still chattering.
"Anyway, "Mulciber carried on as if he had not been interrupted as he sat down." You're probably wondering why Macdonald is not here to-"
"Oh, I know why she's not here"Said Karen. The entire class fell silent: Could Karen actually be knowledgeable about something for once?
"Mary's been kidnapped by clowns." Karen announced
Avery blinked. "What's a clown?"
"An Inferius in its natural state,"Karen replied.
"Who cares,"snapped Mulciber."As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted-"
"Settle down, settle down," Slughorn attempted to get the class's attention. Once he finally did, he proceeded,"Today I will partner one Slytherin and one Gryffindor each to work together to brew a potion. Each Slytherin student and each Gryffindor student will receive the same grade for the potion they produced together; therefore, I expect no sabotage, lest it impact your own grade as well as your partner's. Now-"
"Excuse me Professor,"Mulciber said in a tone of mock concern. "But it appears that Gryffindor House is missing one of its members. We have an odd number of students today, it seems. What should we do about that?"He smirked in the general direction of where the majority of the Gryffindors were seated. Almost every single Gryffindor in their class sent glares in his direction. The only exception being Mary, who was in the Hospital Wing, although she undoubtedly would have done the same if not much worse had she been there.
Even Slughorn sensed what Mulciber was up to. "I was going to say, before you ever so impolitely interrupted me, Mulciber, was that there would be one group of two Slytherins and one Gryffindor. Every other group would consist of one Gryffindor and one Slytherin. Perhaps if you tried listening sometimes, you would understand what is going on, Mulciber."
Slughorn's gooseberry eyes scanned the classroom in contemplation momentarily. His decision may have seemed foolhardy to some, in recent light of events most recent, yet Slughorn believed this idea may actually be prosperous; if students from both houses were paired together, they could not harm one another or sabotage the other's work without running the risk of ruining their own grade. Thus, this should serve as an incentive for them to behave. Now, who should he pair his students with? He decided with the group of three. He did not want the sole Gryffindor in that group to be meek, but at the same time not be too headstrong. He settled on Lily Evans. However, he did not want his favorite student paired up with some of the brutes from his house (even Slughorn acknowledged there were a couple of bad eggs in his house) so almost all of the Slytherin boys were out of the question, except for Severus Snape. Snape and Lily it was then. Just one more… His eyes scanned the Slytherin girls. Unsurprisingly, they were much better behaved and mature than their male counterparts. Any of them would do. He decided to pick one at random in his head.
"The group consisting of three people will contain Severus Snape, Lily Evans, and…Karen Smith." He decided. He knew that his two prized potion pupils excelled at potions so well that not even Karen could unintentionally ruin their potion(unintentionally, being as Karen would never attempt to sabotage another person's work);it was a win win situation. If only the rest of the class were so easy…
"Potter you will be paired with…. Miss Zellar," Slughorn announced after he had paired off the majority of the class a few minutes later. James groaned, although he supposed it could have been worse. After all, he could have been paired with Avery or Mulciber. Zoe Zellar was James' rival on the Quidditch field; she was one of Slytherin House's Chasers. Needless to say, they did not get on very well.
"Mr. Lupin and..Avery,"Slughorn had very few options left. The only students left were Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Malum Mulciber, and a Slytherin girl who did not come off as being particularly threatening, achieved decent potions grades and would most likely not attempt to hex the living daylights out of Pettigrew, unlike Mulciber. On the other hand, Sirius and Mulciber spelled trouble, but at least Sirius could defend himself, and hopefully both boys would have enough common sense not to have a go at each other during class.
"Mulciber and Black, Pettigrew and Miss…Johnson? "Come to think of it, he did not even remember the girl's name after teaching her for over four years; that really was quite remarkable. "Any problems?" If he heard the girl politely mumble her surname was not Johnson, he ignored it. "Very well then, get to work."
As the students seated themselves appropriately and gathered their ingredients, Sirius glared daggers at Mulciber the entire time. Yes, he had insulted Mulciber in front of the entire class, but that did not compensate for what Mulciber had done to Mary. Mary, who Sirius had not ever, in over four years of knowing her, ever seen express any signs of vulnerability up until that night, where she lay writhing on the ground and on the hospital bed, screaming. He had heard that curse was almost half as bad as the Cruciatus curse. How could Mulciber not get expelled for this? Sirius strongly hoped he would be. He had to give Mary credit though; not once, despite all the pain she was experiencing, did she ever cry as far as he could see. She seemed to retain as much dignity as possible in a situation such as that, which was saying something. Although, in a situation like that, dignity was the last thing on your mind.
Meanwhile at the table of three, Snape had left to fetch the ingredients for the girls; he always offered to retrieve the potions ingredients when working with Lily and did not trust Karen to gather the supplies without doing something stupid. He was both pleased and disappointed with the seating arrangement. Pleased because he got to be with Lily, and disappointed because Karen had to be with them too. He knew it wasn't her fault, but he had wanted to work with Lily alone. The did not see each other anywhere near as often as he would have liked, and he preferred their time together to be spent alone. Of course, if he had his way, there would be scarcely a second of the day when he and Lily were separated.
While Snape gathered the materials, Karen exclaimed eagerly to Lily, "I'm so glad we get to be potions partners Lily! We always work so well together, don't you think?"
"Oh, um…yes," Lily did not know how to honestly answer this. In fairness though, Karen did have a point. They usually got good grades when they worked together…if only because Lily did most of the work and gave Karen specific instructions about what to do.
"And you're such a good teacher Lily! "Karen pressed on." Do you remember when you tutored me last year?"
"Yes." How could I forget? Lily though this but did not say it out loud. Karen was easily the most ignorant student Lily had ever tutored. Still, she tried very hard, and Lily admired her for that. After all, many people would get very disheartened after trying so hard and failing so many times, but Karen never gave up. Not even once.
"I think I learned more with you than any of the other tutors I ever went through! By the way, "a curious look passed on Karen's face. " Why was everyone laughing at what I said earlier?"
"Oh, well, you inadvertently made what is known as a double entendre Karen,"Lily began before she realized Karen probably did not understand half of what she had just said. " A double entendre is when you say something that has more than one meaning. "
"Like peanut allergies?"Said Karen.
"What?"Said Lily, unsure if she could have heard right.
"Well,"Karen elucidated. "if you have a peanut allergy it means one of two things:You are either allergic to peanuts, or you are going nuts."
"…Karen who told you that?" Lily did not know whether or not she should laugh or cry that Karen actually thought that.
Karen pointed to James, who was currently having an argument with Zoe Zellar.
"No Potter, I already got half of our ingredients. You go retrieve the other half. "Zoe flipped her golden hair over her shoulder.
"Well, as I am the better flier on the pitch than you are and Gryffindor House won the Quidditch Cup last year,"He smirked, feet propped up on the desk lazily. "I believe that you should be a good loser and go get the stuff; it'll help keep you in shape for our next match,. I'll still win of course, make no mistake about that;I am just feeling in a generous sort of mood today, so that maybe when you lose again next time your house won't be as ashamed, since they came in slightly closer than last time."
"Need I remind you Potter,"Zoe snapped, amber eyes flashing."That Slytherin actually beat Gryffindor in the last game we played against each other. Your house may have won the cup last year, but we still beat you in the actual match."
"Details, details,"Sighed James."Now be a dear and go retrieve the god da-"
"James!"Lily interrupted, looking mildly annoyed.
"Yes?"James' voice immediately became deeper and more mature sounding.
"Why did you feel it necessary to tell Karen that having a peanut allergy could be a sign of insanity?" Lily could not believe she was actually having to ask him something like this.
"just for a laugh, that's all, "James shrugged.
"Wait, so they're not a sign of insanity?"Said Karen.
"No Karen they're not,"Zoe quipped."But someone actually saying something as ludicrous as that to somebody may well be a sign of stupidity." She sent James a falsely welcoming glance as she said this, in a voice as sweet as honey.
Snape overheard this and chuckled as he walked back to his table; he and Zoe were not good friends, per say, but she was certainly more likeable in his opinion than most of the other people in this ridiculous school. At any rate, it was always nice to see someone other than him deflating Potter's almost infinite ego, regardless of who it was.
"Found that funny, did you Snivellus, "James remarked. A hush fell over the class.
"Well yes,"Snape smirked."It's nice to know that I'm not the only one here who understands what an imbecile you are."
"It's nice to know I'm not the only one who realizes how ugly you are,"James shot back. A couple of people gasped at this, but Sirius and Peter howled with laughter. Several other people joined in.
"Now really,"Slughorn interjected."That was really uncalled for-"
Snape raised his wand at James. "Langlock!"
James felt his tongue being bound in his mouth; it was not a pleasant feeling, to say the least. He tried to talk but, as his tongue was bound, was only able to produce an incoherent string of odd sounds. Some of the Slytherins-including Snape of course-laughed.
"Stop this at once!" Slughorn thundered.
Snape ignored him and performed a different spell on James this time. "Levicorpus!" James found himself floating into the air, turned upside down and the only thing he could register was that he was terrified yet very relieved he was wearing trousers underneath his robes or else-
"Severus!"Snape suddenly felt an arm grasp his, and looked into Lily's face. Etched onto her beautiful features was a look he had never wanted to cause to yet had appear there: Fear.
"Liberacorpus,"he muttered after he had levitated James down to about half a foot above the floor and James dropped to the ground. None of his bones were broken, nor was he in any danger of being seriously injured, but he was in pain nonetheless. "Finite." Snape added reluctantly so that Potter's tongue uncurled itself.
"Detention for both of you!"Slughorn bellowed. "Outrageous! My God, honestly, you are fifth years, behave yourselves!"He turned to James."Black will accompany you to the Hospital Wing." Sirius grabbed his bag, stood up, and escorted James out of the room."And you!"he turned to Snape."I expect you to report to Dumbledore immediately!" Snape left without a word.
"…Can't believe old Sluggy gave you detention when you were the one who got jinxed!" Sirius continued to rant as they walked to the hospital wing. "Granted, that greasy little git got detention too, but really, I don't see why you should be in trouble; you were just telling it like it is!"
Although James did not feel like speaking, he was nodding his head fervently in assent, a pout plastered on his face. "Well, Madam Pomfrey should be able to fix you up. I've never heard of any of those spell before that Snivellus used earlier. Have you?"
James shook his head.
Sirius suddenly looked very excited. "Maybe if it's Dark Magic we can get him expelled!"
James snapped. "And what good would that do?"
Sirius blinked. "Mate, I'm sorry if it sounded like I thought it was exciting or anything. Because I didn't. I was actually-"
"I know what you mean,"James assured him and meant it; he always understood Sirius. " I know you want Snivellus to be expelled so we never have to see him grease up the halls again. But I was just thinking. Yes, he would be gone. But there are others like him out there. Death Eaters, I mean. I don't have any actual proof, but we all know where that slimy git is heading; Lily's just too kind and naïve to admit or see it. There will still be others like him out there. Mulciber, Avery. I wouldn't be surprised if they become Death Eaters before we even graduate. Maybe it's possible they already are.
No, the only thing that could stop that lot would be if they died. Snivellus could always obtain another wand if he got expelled and just use all of the magic he uses already to wreak havoc on the world. Same goes for Mulciber, Avery, and the rest. Yes, they snap your wand when you get expelled, but that doesn't eliminate the possibility of obtaining another one and just practicing all of the Dark Magic you already know and learn more from other death Eaters. Not that I hope Mulciber doesn't get expelled, I just don't see how that could do much good. I suppose it's better than him sticking around here though."
They reached the Hospital Wing.
"Hey, Mary's probably in here,"Sirius realized."Do you want to say hello?"
"I suppose,"James shrugged as they entered. Mary was sitting up in one of the beds. A beautiful blonde girl was perched on a chair next to the bed. They appeared to be in conversation but stopped short as soon as they saw James and Sirius enter the room.
Madam Pomfrey spotted them instantly."What is it this time boys?"
James explained the situation. " …and so Professor Slughorn wanted to make sure I wasn't injured in any way that you could see."
Madam Pomfrey took out her wand, and cast an incantation neither James nor Sirius recognized. "You are in no danger as far as I can recognize Potter." She looked at the clock. "It is roughly a ten minute walk from here to the dungeons, and there are only fifteen minutes left of classes. Perhaps it would be best if you stay here, since you must still be in shock. Yes, I think a little lie down is all you need. After this period ends, you may proceed to your next class. Unless you truly are still in shock. And don't even think of pretending to be in shock when you're not Mr. Potter,"She added, sensing what James was thinking. "I know you well enough by now to know when you are faking and when you are serious."
"May I stay here too, Madam Pomfrey?" Sirius inquired. "Slughorn would want me to make sure James was okay before taking him back to class, I believe, based on past experiences."
Madam Pomfrey considered this for a moment, before deciding,"very well Mr. Black, if that is what you wish. However, if I sense any rowdiness from you I will not hesitate to kick you out for disrupting the patient. Understood?"
"Of course,"Sirius smiled dazzlingly. Sirius then noticed the seat next to Mary was now vacant. "Where did the blonde girl go who was here earlier?"
"She left, "Mary stated simply.
"Who was she anyway?"Sirius pulled over a couple another chair over to Mary's bed.
"That's really none of your business, Black. Why are you moving that chair over here? " James and Sirius had placed themselves by Mary's be when she was speaking.
"We have some time to kill,"Sirius remarked offhandedly. "Let's talk."
"About?" Mary raised an eyebrow.
"Anything you want,"Sirius suggested. "How have you been you doing lately?"
"Oh, just swimmingly,"Mary replied, voice dripping with sarcasm." It's really lovely being stuck in doors with nothing to do except school work, and even then there's a lot of free time left over, where the only activities you may engage in are pondering and lamenting."
"Not too well then?"James inferred.
"What was your first clue?"Mary snarked.
"I can understand why you'd be rather bored here,"Said James. "I'm bored out of my skull just talking to you right now."
"Always the gentleman, aren't you Potter? "Mary deadpanned.
"Are you always this friendly to people who visit you?"James inquired."Or is it just us?"
"Just you,"Mary answered coolly.
"I feel so honored,"James placed his hand over his heart."What about you Padfoot?"
"Indubitably" Sirius agreed.
"Although,"Mary mused." I haven't really had many visitors so that's not something you should go around bragging about; you two could easily not have been the only ones to receive such reception if I had more visitors."
"Who else has visited you then?"Sirius solicited.
"Well, everyone who visited me this morning for one,"Mary began."And that doesn't really count because it was mandatory. Although Lily's dropped by to give me my homework. "
"And the mysterious blonde who visited just now yet whose name you are unwilling to disclose to us at present, "Sirius added.
"At present?" She raised her eyebrow again. "More like ever."
"Blimey Mary, "James piped up. "Don't you have any friends?"
Sirius could have kicked him. Of all the idiotic things James had ever said, this one certainly made the top ten. Perhaps even the top 5. If she starts crying any second James, I swear I will kill you. Sirius thought to himself.
Yet to Sirius's surprise Mary didn't even cry; in fact, she did not seem moved by what James had said at all. She merely shrugged in response, not seeming to care in the slightest.
Evidently James seemed to realize that even though Mary was unaffected by what he had said, it was still a moronic thing to say so he hastily changed topics. " So, what are you going to do once you get out of here?"
Mary stared quizzically at him."What do you mean?"
"Well,"he began."Are you going to do anything special once you get out? Aren't you going to try to get Mulciber back? He might be expelled, but you could still get revenge somehow."
" Is it definite that he will be expelled then?" Mary tried to keep her voice level, but her eyes shone with excitement, something they seldom did.
"Well we don't know for certain as of now," Sirius explained."But Mulciber was sent to class with us for today while the school board decides that. They were actually supposed to summon him at the end of class, which should be right about now actually. They will tell him what his punishment is…right about now actually. And if he stays, he just goes on to class next period. "
"So, how are you going to get him back?" James grinned.
Mary glanced at him incredulously. "Are you daft? I'm not going to do something like that."
"What?!"James spluttered, completely losing his cool. Even Sirius looked surprised.
"He comes from an influential family of Dark Wizards,"Mary elucidated, slightly taken aback by their reactions." Of course I'm going to try and stay clear of him; it's for my own safety. Hurting him won't solve anything anyway. It's just common sense. That's like looking for someone who wants you dead. What types of fools do these sorts of things?"
James and Sirius shifted uncomfortably; they were the types of fools Mary was talking about.
"I'm not saying if he ever bothers me again I won't do anything,"Mary went on."For his sake he better not, unless he wants to be sent to Hell and back by the time I'm through with him. I don't forgive easily; Mulciber better watch himself, now that I loathe the very core of him. I am not afraid of him. I can protect myself ;I've faced worse than Mulciber."
This completely threw James and Sirius.
"What do you mean you've faced worse than Mulciber?"Sirius demanded.
Before Mary could respond, Madam Pomfrey bustled over. "All right boys, I think you should return to class now."
"But-"
"Out now, "Madam Pomfrey said not unkindly but sternly all the same."The patient needs her rest."
All throughout their next class(Transfiguration) the marauders and really almost everyone in class silently prayed Mulciber would get expelled; everyone in the room had heard about what had transpired between Mulciber and Mary and were all disgusted with him. Incidentally, this was not a class the Gryffindors shared with the Slytherins. As they boys practiced Vanishing Spells, James and Sirius divulged what had happened at the hospital wing.
"What does she mean when she says she faced worse than Mulciber?"Remus wondered once they finished speaking.
"We don't know,"Sirius lamented. "Madam Pomfrey kicked us out before she could tell us. Although I suspect she probably wouldn't have told us anyway even if we stayed."
"That's a very frightening thought,"Remus stated thoughtfully."I mean, what could she have ever experienced that was worse than sexual harassment and assault, and Dark Magic all in one night?"
"Wait a moment, James stepped in." When was there sexual assault involved?"
Remus stared at him in disbelief, and then noticed Sirius and Peter had the same looks of confusion on their faces as James had. "Let's think for a moment. He kissed her without her consent and she had to resort to kicking him in the balls just to get him to stop. Obviously, he didn't just kiss her because he thought she would like that and stopped as soon as he noticed she didn't want him to do that. Kissing someone against their will to the point where the only way one can defend oneself is to resort to physical violence as self-defense is something I would definitely classify as sexual assault."
Sirius and James' faces paled a bit; they hadn't quite grasped the gravity of that aspect when Mary told them about it that morning. Naturally, they had not found it acceptable in any way shape or form when they heard it and knew what Mulciber had done was wrong and absolutely not Mary's fault; just how grave his misdeed was did not entirely sink in until now. They had been paying so much attention to the Dark Arts part of the whole experience they almost overlooked this.
Remus hesitated a moment before speaking again. He Vanished his snail as McGonagall walked by noticing his progress.(He had been working and listening to his friends simultaneously) "Excellent work as usual Lupin. "She then turned to the rest of the group, who had not even started. She looked as if she were about to scold them for a moment, but walked away instead; McGonagall had appreciated the amount of support the boys had offered Mary recently, and evidently was in a generous mood towards them for the time being. She had not even questioned what they were doing up after hours the night before when they found Mary.
Although Peter had not been with them that night, she chose not to say anything to him about his lack of progress; he could always point out she hadn't said anything to James and Sirius.
"Anyway, "Remus muttered. "Let's just say the situation had been a bit different. What if Mary had not known where to kick him to get him to back off? Or what if he had used some Dark Spell on her that could prevent her from moving? Or if she wasn't physically strong enough to get him off of her? God only knows what could have happened-"
"Remus we get it,"Sirius stopped him. Sirius did not want to think any more on this topic. Yet he couldn't help it. If Mary had faced worse than a teenage boy who sexually assaulted her and used Dark Magic on her, what else had she experienced that was worse than that? He concluded she was not well off,to say the least. Sirius had never heard of any Hogwarts student having a job in Hogsmeade other than Mary , and he had not found that out until last night, despite knowing her for over four years. Come to think of it though, despite knowing Mary for that long, he barely even knew her at all really. They had never interacted much.
Anyway, Mary was not the only poor student who attended Hogwarts. Why did none of them have permission from the school to have jobs on weekdays after curfew but Mary did? That must mean her financial circumstances surpassed poor. If she was as poor as he speculated she was –though he had to give her some credit; the way she dressed and acted would not give anyone the impression she came from a financially disastrous background- she most likely lived in a very bad neighborhood. Possibly a very dangerous one. He tried not to dwell on this and what may or may not have happened to Mary.
Class ended at long last and the students filed out of the classroom. For once the boys found themselves looking for Mulciber. It was a very strange sensation. They stopped when they saw him standing in the courtyard , talking to Snape and Avery.
"Oy Mulciber,"James called. "Shouldn't you be getting the train home?"
"Of course not Potter,"Mulciber smirked. " Why would I? Surely you do not actually think I am expelled, do you?"
James stopped in his tracks."What?"
"Have a nice day Potter,"Mulciber laughed and walked off with Avery and Snape, who were sniggering and smirking as smugly as he.
"How is he not expelled?"James ranted back in their dormitory. "This isn't even the first time he's used Dark Magic before!"
"His father visited the school I heard,"Remus theorized. " It's probably safe to assume he bribed the school governors or threatened them with his connections." He looked out the window nervously. James noticed he looked rather pale and then suddenly remembered why.
"Oh my God, it's full moon tonight isn't it? "He realized.
Remus nodded, eyes still fixated on the window. "Yeah, I'm going to have to leave immediately after dinner tonight."
Meanwhile, Sirius lay on his stomach on his bed, a look of deep contemplation on his face. If his friends had been paying more attention to him, they might have noticed that the Marauder's Map was propped open right in front of him. He got out of bed and stood up. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. Don't follow me."
"If you fall in, call me," James hollered over his shoulder as Sirius exited the room before he promptly returned to ranting.
In reality, Sirius had a different location in mind that he intended to go to. He exited the common room and walked towards the courtyard. Sure enough Mulciber, Avery, and Snape were still there, only in a different area of it now.
Mulciber had just finished bragging to Snape and Avery about what had transpired between him and Mary. Or rather, he was giving the censored version of the story, unbeknownst to Sirius. In this story, he never harassed or assaulted Mary. He wasn't even in Hogsmeade in this version; he had simply been up late, ran into Mary in the halls by accident, resulting in her spewing all of the awful things she had said, only this time for no justified reason, and he cursed her as "punishment".
"And while I'm not expelled for all of that of course,"Mulciber was saying now. "I still have to serve detention every day for three months and am prohibited from going to Hogsmeade until I serve all of my detentions. Despite the fact I was only giving that cold hearted bint a taste of her own medicine and teaching her a lesson or two in manners, I'm the one getting punished. Ridiculous."
Meanwhile, Snape had not been having a good day. When Slughorn sent him to Dumbledore, Dumbledore gave him detention every day for a week. Something which was grossly unfair in Snape's opinion; after all, Potter had insulted him first and he was only receiving one detention. Moreover, he had frightened Lily, and was remorseful about that. Suffice to say, he had been in a bad day. He needed to vent. "You're absolutely right of course,"he agreed. "If anyone should be getting punished it should be her; that bitch got exactly what she deserved."
Something within Sirius burst like a dam. So, it was Mary's fault Mulciber chose to harass and assault her? She deserved to be Cursed simply for defending herself? Sirius was at the moment, still unseen by the boys for he was hidden behind a pillar he was leaning against that was not facing them.
"Hey Snape, you coming with us? "Avery was questioning Snape.
'I can't,"Said Snape. "I have to write that stupid History of Magic Paper Binns assigned us. And since I have that detention to serve after dinner I might as well start that now, since I have detention every night and won't have as much time to work on it."
Mulciber and Avery nodded and walked off. Snape sat down under a nearby beech tree . Sirius strolled towards him. "All right there, Snivellus?"
Snape reached for his wand and was about to pull it out when Sirius stopped him.
"Oh, keep your greasy hair on for crying out loud Snivellus,"Sirius rolled his eyes."I'm not going to attack you."
"Then what do you want Black?"Snape spat, not putting his wand away just yet.
"I just thought you might be interested," Sirius leaned on the tree casually." To know that if you go inside the Whomping Willow tonight as it's full moon and keep going, well… you might see an interesting sight."
"Oh, and just how exactly do I get inside?"Snape had no idea what Black was up to but…. Perhaps Lupin would be there, if he understood Sirius's innuendo correctly. Perhaps he would finally catch Lupin and reveal him once and for all for what he really was. It was for everyone's own safety, honestly. More importantly, it was for Lily's. He recalled her scared face today in Potions.
If ever that look ever crossed her features again, he vowed, it would never be because of him. And he would eliminate anyone who could scare his ordinarily fearless Lily like that, or who posed any danger towards her. Oh, his friends didn't count, even though he knew Lily did not like them. Despite the fact some of his friends were blood purists, they had amazingly enough never caused Lily a spec of trouble, if only for one reason; he wouldn't let them. Everyone in Slytherin knew of Snape's reputation with the dark Arts, and many had seen him perform them first hand. They all knew he was the Slytherin who was most advanced in the Dark Arts, and they all had the sense enough not to do anything to aggravate him.
Everyone knew Snape was fond of Lily, and he had warned his friends ahead of time that if they ever did anything to harm her, there would be Hell to pay. Due to the fact that it was common knowledge as to just how skilled in the Dark Arts Severus was, no one dared disobey him when it came to this topic. None of the Slytherins-or really anyone at Hogwarts for that matter- would ever bully Lily as long as Snape was alive unless they were asking for a death sentence. That's not to say no one ever called her a Mudblood behind her back, but even that didn't happen very often, and that was the only unpleasant thing anyone ever said about Lily, that she was a Mudblood. As of now, no one had ever even said it to her face.
Though Lily may have disliked them, Lily was not scared of his friends, he knew. So there was no need to get rid of them. They posed no danger towards her. Now Lupin on the other hand….
He decided he would listen to Black just this once, as Sirius told him all he needed to know on how to get inside the Whomping Willow. It wouldn't be until a few hours later that Sirius would realize the gravity of what he had done.
A/N…And that was the night Snape discovered Remus was a werewolf and could have died. Originally this chapter was only going to be about 500 words…but then I realized that Snape could have died so I figured there had to be several reasons why Sirius would actually do something like this. He-childish though it undoubtedly is- has had a bad day and is taking out his frustration on Snape, whom he hates. It didn't help the fact that Snape-who wasn't exactly having a great day either- insulted Mary Macdonald(in fairness though, Mulciber did not tell him the whole story) . Sirius wasn't exactly too pleased about that. (*Hint: The interactions between Sirius and Mary will become very important later on ;D) I also like to think that Sirius wasn't thinking when he told Snape that, and it wasn't until after he did that that the reality of the danger he was putting Snape in hit him.
Also, yes, my OC Karen Smith really is just a blatant rip off of the character of the same name in Mean Girls. They're not the same character though; they have similar personalities and the same name, but they actually are not the same person.
Questions to consider for next time: Who is the mysterious blonde who visited Mary? Why was Avery-who will one day be a Death Eater- being nice to Karen?
Please review!:D