The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Tension in the Entrance Hall

"James," Maryrose begged, "Please."

"Powerful? You? In what, mixing ickle little potions in the dungeons with the great Horace Slughorn, who pities you and tells you lovely things about how grand you are?" James said it in a mocking tone.

"I have power, Potter, that you could not even begin to fathom," Severus breathed, taking a step forward, "You have no idea how powerful I am, or what sort of spells I've learned."

James started to lower it - he fully intended to walk away for there was something there, something mad in Severus Snape's eyes that made James hesitate - but as he started to back down, Severus's wrist twitched and James reacted.

"Empurrar!" James shouted and Severus was shoved backward by a great burst of energy from James's wand, his legs thrown out from beneath him as he flipped backwards toward the door of the Great Hall. Maryrose let out a shriek. Severus's fall, however, was broken by Lily Evans, who had just come running out of the Hall, and the pair of them landed in a heap at the door.

"Pugnus!" Regulus shouted, flicking his wand at James with fervor and James doubled over, clutching his gut, where he'd been struck hard with a particularly nasty punching charm.

Maryrose was crying.

Lily and Severus struggled to get up and she looked about, "What is going on?"

"Potter's been bullying me and Sev came to my defense and he's hexed him!" Regulus exclaimed.

"I didn't bully you - you bullied Maryrose!" James said, voice raspy, breathless still from the punch.

"You didn't need to start this, though!" Maryrose cried.

Severus glowered, "Do you see what you've done, Potter?" The name came out as a terrible sneer. "See where being a bullying prat gets you?"

"Sev! Stop instigating him," Lily said sternly. She glared at James, too, though, even as he winced straightening up. "Detention for the lot of you," she waved at the three boys.

"But Lil -- it was James. Alll James. He hexed me, I didn't do anything to deserve --" began Severus, but Lily fixed him with a stare that froze him in mid-sentence.

"Detention. Friday after class."

"Wait - no. Evans, I have try-outs that day! I need to find a new Keeper for the team!" James said, "And being Captain it's rather important that I'm there and --"

"Guess you'll already be letting your team down then, hey?" Lily snapped. "It'll teach you for bullying."

"Standing up for people, Evans, you've got the term for what I was doing all wrong," James argued. His face was red with frustration.

Maryrose shook her head, "I don't need you to be standing up for me! I need to get over you and I can't do that if you're being chivalrous all about the castle."

"Chivalrous?" Regulus asked, "I didn't do anything except try to apologize and explain myself. He was going to attack me."

James said, "You hurt her."

"You hurt her, too!" Regulus replied.

And then the situation was compounded further as Sirius and Remus came out of the Great Hall, holding hands, Remus talking about how Sirius needed to pause and say things in his head before saying them outloud, "Then perhaps you wouldn't be hurting people's feelings all the time and you wouldn't be apologizing every day for saying rubbish things..."

They both paused as they came upon the scene.

Sirius looked about, saw Regulus and Severus, and, immediately defensive, demanded, "What did the scurvy Slytherins do now?"