The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 49 - Consequences

The boys lost themselves in laughter again until Regulus whipped out his wand. In near unison, the boys had their wands out as well. For a few moments, the Slytherin and Gryffindors faced off, the tension so thick in the air, it became difficult to breathe. Beads of sweat were forming on Peter's upper lip and Remus was focusing all of his energy on keeping his hand steady.

The atmosphere broke when the sound of footsteps announced the arrival of two more students.

"Potter!"

James spun around at the sound of Lily's voice.

"Evans! Good to see you." He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. When he saw Severus standing beside Lily though, his face hardened once more.

"Four against one?" Lily's hands were on her hips. "This is low, even for you, Potter."

Severus sneered. "That is Potter's style though. Stacking the odds in his favour. Trying to prove he's the biggest bully on the playground."

"You want to talk about bullies, Snivellus? What was that wonderful spell you showed us last year? Unguis Incrementum!"

"Agh!" Severus yelled out as his toenails ripped through his shoe.

"Finite!" Lily put a stop to the hex, then used another spell to reverse it. "Potter, you pompous toolbag!"

"Sod off, Evans!" Branwen was standing at the head of the stairs, wand in hand.

James turned to grin at his sister and Severus took advantage of the distraction. "Levicorpus!"

James' left leg jerked out from beneath him, and he was suddenly upside down, dangling in mid-air. His glasses clattered to the ground and his face bloomed red from the unnatural rush of blood.

"Severus! Set him down!" Lily screeched.

Sirius was already in action though. "Expelliarmus!"

"Sirius, no!" Branwen lifted her own wand, for as soon as Severus' flew into the air, her brother's body jerked to the ground. "Arresto Momentum!" She was nearly too late, but he hit the stone floor slowly enough not to break anything – except the glasses he landed on.

Remus caught the wand when it went flying and now he, Sirius, and Peter were facing off with Severus, Lily, and Regulus. Branwen ran to her brother to help him find his glasses and set them right.

"Oooooh!" A voice echoed from above. "Is potty wee Potter getting into a fight? Ickle bitty 'Ily taking on the big baddie boys?" Peeves looped around in the air, cackling in delight at the scene below.

A crowd had gathered by now, mostly Gryffindors going to or from their common room, but several from other Houses as well, all attracted by the shouting and movement. Peeves swirled around in sheer delight, pelting the students in the crowd with coloured bits of chalk that exploded into dusty powder on impact.

"I will give one hundred points to each House if I am incorrect about who is at the centre of this debacle." The crowd parted and began to disperse as McGonagall strode up the stairs. Peeves took one more jeering dive toward the students, then tore off, knowing the fun was at an end.

McGonagall folded her arms and glared through her square-rimmed spectacles at the students on the landing. They all lowered their wands and Remus tossed Severus' back to him.

Their professor sighed, her shoulders slumping. "What am I going to do with you all? Apparently detentions and point losses are not getting through to you. You continue to disregard school rules whenever you see fit. You are a disgrace to yourselves and to the House of Gryffindor."