The Marauders: Year Four

Pescoco Engorgio

Julie, who had paused to look at the Rocky Horror Picture Show poster, too, gave him a funny look, "Of course they don't play Doctor Who, that's a telly show. Haven't you ever been to a cinema before?" Suddenly she wondered whether maybe Pertunia was right about him...

James wasn't sure what to say, and Lily could tell. She grabbed his elbow and pulled him away, "He's not from around here. You don't have to be rude." She rolled her eyes and glared at Petunia. "There are lots and lots of films, they come out with new ones all the time," Lily said quietly to James. "And you better be careful about saying stupid things. Julie's a muggle."

"Well I don't know what's stupid to say," James said, offended, "I don't know about muggle things anymore than she knows about magic. Blimey."

Lily felt bad, she sighed, "Sorry," she said shortly, "I just - Petunia's upset. I think Julie fancies you and it's upset Petunia for some reason and I'm certain it's going to end up being my fault. Why do you have to be so bloody good looking?"

James grinned, suddenly rather cured of his earlier despondency, "You think I'm good looking then, Evans?"

She stared at him.

James grin faltered slightly. "No?"

Lily stepped around him.

Frank, who'd overheard the whole thing, shrugged as James turned to look at him. "At least she's talking to you, mate," he pointed out.

Inside the theater was very, very dark and James found the runner lights on the floor that marked the path through the rows of seats to be positively fascinating. "Amazing, elecky-tricity, isn't it? We did that at Hogwarts and the carpet would catch on fire! Imagine Filch then?" he asked Frank, pointing them out.

Frank laughed, "Filch would go mad. Not that it's hard to make Filch go mad."

"He certainly doesn't have far to go," James smirked.

They found seats halfway up the auditorium and James climbed over a row to throw himself into the seat beside Lily, putting Julie on his other side. Frank held one bucket of popcorn for him and Ali at the end, then Petunia had one for her and Julie at the other end, which left Lily and James in the center holding the third one between the two of them. "I'll hold it for you if you like," James offered. Lily handed him the bucket and put her bottle of Tangy into the cupholder. James liked being the designated popcorn holder for their share of the buttery treat. It meant that Lily had to reach over and brush his arm periodically and he liked the feeling of her arm brushing his... he discovered quickly, too, that if he moved the bucket slightly so that it wasn't exactly where she thought it would be without looking that she'd grapple about for a moment, her hand touching his, and her touch nearly made his heart stop each time.

The film was positively hilarious and they all left the cinema a couple hours later, laughing and reenacting the funniest scenes, including a dramatic sword fight between Frank and James on the sidewalk, Frank pretending to cut off James's arm as he flung himself to the cement and shouted, "'TIS BUT A SCRATCH!!!!" at the top of his voice so that people all about turned to see what the mad teenage boy was yelling about.

They were walking back toward the bus stop, where Julie would be leaving their company first, when she leaned over to Petunia and whispered, "I'm going to ask him for his telephone number."

Petunia definitely did not want that to happen. "I wouldn't do that," she declared.

"Whyever not?" Julie demanded.

"Because Lily fancies him," Petunia said, fabricating, "You'll make her terribly jealous."

"Pish-posh," said Julie, waving her arm, "That's not true. Look at her, she hasn't even paid him any attention. He deserves someone who'll pay him attention!"

Petunia tried to grab hold of Julie's arm, "Don't - Jules - don't! You don't want to - not really! You'd have to have an addled mind to go out with someone like him!" The last bit of the sentence came out a bit louder than she'd meant it to and the others all stopped walking and turned about to look at Petunia, who'd gone quite red with a mixture of anger, frustration, and embarrassment.

Lily stared back at her, equally red, but only of the anger. "What?"

Petunia pursed her lips and folded her hands over her chest.

Julie could feel the tension, and she hovered uneasily between the two glaring sisters, unsure how to react. Luckily for her, the bus rolled up to the stop at that very moment just a way down the street and she squeaked and waved good bye to Petunia, then waved, red-faced, to James, and ran for the bus. She only just made it before the driver closed the doors.

In the silence that followed Julie's departure, Frank, Ali, Lily, James, and Tuney all stared at one another for long moments that seemed to stretch on and on and on. Lily was positively boiling with anger - so much so that she actually shook, and James wondered whether human combustion was something that they ought to be worried about... James reached out a hand to reassure her, "Lily, it's alright, it's not worth the fight."

Lily turned away from him, but away from Petunia, too, needing not to look at her, and she scurried to get away, crying.

"You see what you've done?" Ali shouted at Petunia, "You're a terrible sister!" She turned quickly and went after Lily.

James and Frank stood there awkwardly, James's jaw set, wanting really to go after Lily, too, but knowing that she'd never let him comfort her unless he was in his bloody stag form and even if he knew how to do that on command like that, it would be quite a spectacle if he went and transformed right there in the middle of the square, all the muggle Londoners looking on.

Petunia sneered, "Freaks, the lot of you," she said in a horrible pitchy voice.

James's eyes flashed as Lily's voice echoed in his mind...

"I have enough people calling me a freak..."

It wasn't people calling her a freak. It was Petunia. And James looked over his shoulder at where Lily stood, just a few feet away, huddled against a phone box with Ali, her hands over her face, crying... He could still feel the desperation of her fingers in his stag's hair and the warmth of her tears, could still feel her shivering with sadness... Fierce hanger built up in him that anybody in this world could ever make Lily Evans cry like that, that anybody could make Lily Evans think she was anything at all shy of perfect...

He reached in his jacket pocket and withdrew his wand. "Take it back."

Frank's eyes widened, "Uhh Potter, we're in muggle London, mate, might wanna put that away."

But Lily was choking on her own tears behind him, her sobs echoing off the brick wall they stood beside, and James's hand was steady. Let them take him away to the Ministry for Magic for doing unauthorized magic in a muggle neighborhood - let them punish him - send him to Azkaban, even if that's what it took.

He was protecting Lily Evans's honor and didn't give a damn what the consequences were.

Nothing in the world could've made James lower that wand. He had it aimed right at Petunia. "Take it back or I'll curse you and make you a freak and all your friends and everyone you know will laugh at you and we'll see how you like being called a freak."

"Mate... seriously..." whispered Frank, "Bad idea. Put it away." He reached for the wand but James dodged away.

Petunia stared at James with wildy intense eyes.

James stared right back.

"You wouldn't dare," Petunia hissed.

She'd pressed her luck.

"Pescoco engorgio!"

Petunia let out a shriek.

C