"She knows! Help James, she knows!" Regulus yelled as he threw open the Gryffindor common room door.
"Walburga? What, how?!?" James yelped, standing up and grabbing Regulus's hand.
Regulus was still babbling, "she found out about us, about the hat wanting to put me in Gryffindor, everything! Merlin, I'm dead, I'm dead!"
"I'm not letting that happen." James responded. "Who snitched?"
"Crouch. He found out and told Bella. I'm dead!"
"Reggie, your witch of a mother won't kill her heir. You're the last son she has."
"Doesn't mean she won't torture me. I'll be the heir, but you've seen how she treats Sirius! James, help me!"
"Regulus?" Sirius asked, entering from the portrait. "What's going on?"
"Warburga found out about Regulus." James responded, bringing Regulus to a chair.
He collapsed, panicked and exhausted.
"Sirius, she's gonna kill me. Torture me. Disown me. I'm screwed! Regulus cried.
"Not on my watch she won't." Sirius replied, a spark of idea in his eyes. "Not on my watch."
"Remus! Lily!" Sirius barged into the library, where the two were studying together. "I need your help."
"Padfoot, we're not helping you with your essay. I said you could've come with us." Remus replied, not looking up from his parchment.
"It's not about the essay- wait we had an essay?"
Remus rolled his eyes and Lily sighed.
"Yes, Sirius. We had an essay." Lily said, giving him a disappointed look. "It's due tomorrow. Transfiguration."
"Whatever about the essay. My mom found out about James and Regulus. Crouch found out and told Bellatrix. He's in danger, you know how my mother is. Put down the essay and help us!" Sirius barked, frustrated.
Remus's head snapped up and he immediately stood, with Lily on his heels.
"Regulus's is in danger? I'm in." he said.
"Me too." Lily added. "And I'll get Pandora, Dorcus, and Marleen."
"What's the plan?" Remus asked.
Sirius smiled his all too familiar smirk.
"I thought you would never ask."
"Are you sure about this, Sirius? What if it doesn't work? I'll still be dead, and in more trouble." Regulus whispered.
"It's okay." James whispered back, silenting him with a light kiss on his cheek. "We've got this. We do it all the time."
"Remus, do the spell! Now!" Sirius whispered, urgently, ignoring his little brother and best friends talking.
Remus waved his wand as Barty Crouch Junior walked past the hidden group of friends.
"Levicorpus!"
Crouch dropped his wand from one hand, and his sandwich in the other, as he flew into the air by his ankle. His robes flew over his head, blinding him.
"Let's go!" Lily called. "Before the other's come out."
It was too late. Bellatrix and Narcissa Black walked out in time to see Crouch hanging in the air. Narcissa looked around, her eyes landing on the group.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Lily said, sharply as Pandora did the same.
The sisters both froze, unable to move.
"Great! Now we've got three of them!" Sirius snapped, sarcastically.
"Get them back to the common room." Marleen said, a mischievous grin spreading on her face. "Me and Dorcus had another idea.
"What's going on?" Narcissa shouted as Lily removed her curse. "Untie me you dirty freaks! You scum, you'll pay for this! Regulus, what are you doing with them?"
"That's the problem." James responded, stepping in front of his boyfriend, who looked terrified. "Crouch found Regulus's secret and told Bella. His mother won't be happy, and we're here to stop it."
Narcissa laughed in his face.
"Nothing-and I mean nothing-stops Walburga Black when she's mad. What's a bunch of foolish, underage, witches and wizards going to do against her?"
Suddenly Dorcus stepped forward and landed a punch against her chin. Narcissa shrieked in pain as Marleen placed a hand on Dorcus's shoulder.
"Save the punching for when it's necessary, babe." she said, calm in the chaos, gently pulled her girlfriend away from the flailing Narcissa.
"What's wrong with you?" Narcissa yelled again. "I have nothing to do with this! Let me out! It's not my fault what Bella and Crouch did!"
"Silencio." Lily said, simply, waving her wand as the older girl was forced into silence.
Narcissa glared at them but couldn't speak.
"Well, Cissy's taken care of. She knows nothing. Bella next. Then Crouch. It's time for revenge." Sirius said, a big smile spreading across his face as Remus stepped forward to stand with him. "And last, but not least, my mother."
"You deserve to be disinherited from the Blacks!" Bellatrix hissed at Regulus.
Both Sirius and Regulus flinched at these words and a wicked smile spread across her face.
"Don't say a word against my boyfriend!" James snapped, growing angry. "You monster."
Bellatrix let out a cackle.
"Aww, the perfect Potter boy wants his little boyfwiend back doesn't he? Isn't that cute?"
Regulus's gaze was hurt and James could tell. He took Regulus's hand and wrapped his arm around his back. Regulus set his head on James's shoulder, as Sirius took over.
"How could you? You told my mother Regulus's secret! Are you trying to kill him? What's wrong with you?"
"He deserves it. And so did you. Blood-traitors!" Bellatrix said, a smile still spreading on her face.
Sirius whipped out his wand, but Remus caught his hand.
"Sirius, no. She's not worth it. Not yet at least."
"Am I now though? Remus Lupin? You think you're worth a pureblood, noble house of Black? Even this traitor is still too good for a filthy, half-blood like you."
"That's enough!" Lily snapped, breaking the conversation. "We're going to have a little talk. Girl to girl. Everyone out."
After a couple protests, the Marauders gang filled out. Lily caught Pandora's hand on the way out.
"Stay." she said. "Stay with me."
Pandora nodded, filling back into the room as the door closed, leaving the three girls together.
"Bellatrix Lestrange." Lily said, locking eyes with the Slytherin girl.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed in disgust.
"You all deserve to be punished. You vile, disgusting people! All of you horrible, vile people, you Mudblood trash!"
Pandora took Lily's hand as anger flashed in her eyes.
"This is what's going to happen," Pandora said, coolly. "You're going to tell your mother that Regulus and James, was a prank by the Marauders, on you, Narcissa and Crouch. You are going to shut down all the rumors about them and we'll let you go."
"Why would I ever do that?" Bellatrix spat in the girls' faces. "You have nothing on me."
"That's where you're wrong." Lily said, in a sweet voice, bending down to Bellatrix's level, tied to a chair. "I know about you and your little secret."
Panic flashed in Bellatrix's eyes that she quickly tried to conceal.
"What secret?" she asked, a hint of fear behind her voice.
"About you and your mark. And I'll tell everyone in the school about it, if you don't stop Walburga. You'll become an outcast, ignored and powerless. Might even be expelled. You're an underage witch, and have the mark? Illegal, isn't it?"
Lily slowly rolled back her sleeve and Bellatrix tried, unsuccessfully, to pull away. The dark mark glistened in the common room's firelight.
"Get off!" she shouted, her voice making Pandora jump, as she glared angrily at Lily. "Off! I'll do whatever, just stop! And don't tell anyone!"
Lily smirked and looked at Pandora, with a nod.
"Deal."
"Bellatrix won't tell." Lily said, exiting the room. "We can let her go now."
"Are you sure?" Regulus asked, not convinced.
"I'm sure." Lily said, confidently. "Who's talking to Crouch? I don't think it should be all of us."
"Me and James are doing it." Regulus said.
"I'm going. Remus?" Sirius asked, turning towards his boyfriend.
"I'll be the control." Remus said with a sigh.
Lily nodded, and the four boys left for the boy's room.
"What's happening?" Crouch yelled at the boys stomping into the room. "What are you doing to-oh, hello Regulus."
He gave an insane smile and laughed.
"Guess you found out about what I told your mother."
"How dare you!" James yelled, charging for the younger boy. "You disgusting creature! You know what it's like for Regulus!"
He slammed his hands around Crouch's throat, in a fit of anger. Sirius grabbed his friend and pulled him off the boy.
"Prongs, stop!" he shouted, yanking Jame's back. "We need him to talk!"
James pulled back, but gave Crouch a dirty look, glaring at him, breathing heavily. Crouch coughed, looking terrified of James.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Merlin, you stupid, heroic Gryffindors."
"At least in Gryffindor, we actually care about our friends." Sirius shot back. "You traitor. You let out Reggie's secret to everyone, and didn't blink an eye. How. Dare. You."
The room went silent.
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Crouch scoffed. "It's too late. The news has spread by now."
"You're going to tell everyone it was a prank, a joke, that the Marauder's played. Regulus still hates all of us, and none of this ever happened." Remus said, stepping into the conversation. "And then you're going to leave Regulus alone, and never talk to him again. I may not be a pureblood, but at least I don't betray my friends."
"And why should I do that?" Crouch asked. "You've got no reason for me to. And besides, Bella and Cissy will spread the word just fine without me."
"Neither of them are going to talk. We've already got to them." Remus said, kneeling down to eye level with Crouch. "And you have a reason to. Because if you don't, we'll ruin you. You'll never have a moment of peace. Your homework will always be missing. You'll be lost in the halls, and unable to find your way back. Always be on edge, scared of what we'll do next. Pranked and humiliated, day after day, after day, until we leave this school. Do you understand?"
Crouch's bravo faded and he slumped in his seat, as far as the ropes would let him. He knew this was his only choice.
"Yes. I'll do it." he muttered.
"Good." Remus said, standing up.
He untied Crouch from the chair and handed him his wand. Crotch grabbed in and stalked towards the door. Right before he left, he spun, and, in a fit of anger, punched Regulus in the nose.
Regulus cried out as blood began to fall, heavily down his face. James and Sirius both turned to attack Crouch, anger blazing in both of their eyes. James landed a punch to his stomach and Crouch recoiled, gagging, while Sirius caught him in the jaw. The blows knocked him to the ground, curled in a ball, coughing. James rushed to Regulus while Sirius glared at the boy on the ground.
"Regulus!" James cried, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him towards himself. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Regulus said with a grimace. "I'll be fine."
He clotted the blood with his robe sleeve and winced. James slowly reached up and ran his hand across his face.
"You scumbag! You dirty, horrible, monster!" Sirius yelled at Crouch, who was cowering on the ground. He aimed his wand at his throat."You disgusting, revolting creature! How dare you do that to my brother!"
"Sirius, stop!" Remus yelled, knocking Sirius's wand out of his hand. "Don't do this!"
Sirius's breathing had grown heavy and his fists were clenched tightly. He grit his teeth and slammed his foot into Crouch's stomach, before grabbing Remus's hand and stomping out. James carefully took Regulus's free hand, and they left the room, Crouch still on the ground, wheezing in pain.
"Done." Sirius announced flatly to the girls waiting in the common room.
"Oh my gosh, Regulus!" Pandora cried. "What happened?"
"Crouch got me. I'm fine." Regulus replied, gruffly.
"Come here." Pandora said, not believing him. "Looks broken. Episkey!"
A loud crunch was heard from all members in the room that made James wince, but the bleeding stopped.
"Better?"
"Yeah. Thanks Pandora."
Just then, Crouch stumbled out of the boys room, still doubled over in pain. He looked away from the group and staggered out of the common room. Dorcus smirked.
"Serves him right." said Marleen, and the group laughed.
Only Regulus stayed quiet.
"What if it doesn't work then? What if she doesn't believe me?"
"Well then, that would be better. You could come live with me, and my family." James said, with a smile.
Regulus forced a thin smile, but it looked like he was about to cry. Without a word, James stood up and took his hand, leading him to the boy's room. Sirius looked at Remus, questioningly, wondering if he should follow. Remus shook his head.
"Give them a few minutes first, Padfoot, okay?"
Sirius sat back down and Remus fell next to him, cuddling up on the sofa together. Lily gave Pandora a kiss, and then Pandora left for her common room, for bed. And the room was silent.
"I can't do this James. I'm terrified." Regulus said.
"I know. It's going to be okay." James responded, looking deeply into his eyes.
Tears slowly but surely dripped down Regulus's cheeks and he was trembling in fear.
"Sirius is okay. Look at him! He's happy, he's dating Remus, he's safe."
"I'm not as strong as Sirius. What if I'm not strong enough to take on her?"
"Then I'll do it for you." James said, determined.
Regulus looked up at James, unable to put his thoughts into words.
"What did I do to deserve a boyfriend like you?"
He leaned up and kissed James, shutting his eyes, and with them, all his fear. James pulled him close and ran his fingers through Regulus's hair. After a moment they pulled away from each other.
"I'm scared. But I can do this." Regulus whispered.
"You can. You will."James murmured, inhaling the scent of Regulus's hair. "And I'll be with you, every step of the way."
"I love you." Regulus said. "I love you so much."
The two pulled apart as the door slowly opened.
"Regulus?"Sirius asked, nervously. "Can we talk? Are you going to be okay?"
Regulus didn't take his eyes off James, but responded,
"I'll be okay, Sirius. I'll be okay."
"So now what?" Lily asked, breaking the silence as the group of Marauders sat around the fire, unable to fall asleep.
"What do you mean, now what?" Sirius said. "We've got to take down my mother."
"How, though?" Lily pointed out. "It's not like we can go down to your house? And what about Regulus? How are we going to protect him? He can't go home."
"I mean, Christmas Break is next week. Remus and Sirius are coming over, Regulus can come." James pointed out.
"But what if our mom comes over?" Regulus asked.
"My mom will deal with her. It'll be okay. My mom would never let my boyfriend go back to an abusive house." James responded, looking tenderly at Regulus.
"Are you sure?" Regulus said, still unconvinced. "I don't want to harm you, or your family. I can stay here."
"Regulus Black, you are my boyfriend, and you will not spend Christmas at Hogwarts alone. Not when you could be with me and my family." James said, firmly. "Understand?"
Regulus smiled more than he wanted to.
"Understand." he said with a light laugh, noticing something about James's head. "What's that?"
James turned to see Lily holding a string with mistletoe over his head.
"Evans!" he yelled, laughing.
"You have to do it now." Lily commanded.
Regulus rolled his eyes, but leaned forward and kissed James, while the other marauders laughed and cheered.
"Merry Christmas boys." Euphemia Potter said kindly, passing around presents to all five boys.
Regulus smiled and blushed as James handed him a neatly wrapped present.
"You didn't have to do that." he said.
James rolled his eyes.
"Open it! You got me a new set of Quidditch robes, of course I had to get you something."
Regulus laughed and was about to tear open the gift, when a loud crack sounded outside the house. Euphemia jumped and Sirius and Regulus turned white. Everyone knew what was happening.
"Boys, stay on the couch! Now!" Fleamont Potter yelled, brandishing his wand.
The boys curled tightly together on the couch. Regulus was shaking and nearly in tears.
"James." he whispered, his breathing catching a fast pace. "James, help."
James wrapped his arms protectively around him, and Regulus buried his face in James's shoulder. Sirius was staring at the door, terrified but trying to stay strong in front of his scared, younger brother. Remus took his hand and squeezed it tightly. There were several slams on the door before it flew open.
