The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

The Bat-Bogey Hex

The Bat-Bogey Hex

James had magicked his text book to fly about the Gryffindor common room, using one of the charms they'd been practicing for homework. Peter was clapping as the Charms book flapped it's pages, swooping in circles 'round the chair he sat in. He had yet to master the charm himself, as James, Sirius, and Remus had done now, and as James flicked his wand about, directing the book's movements, Peter screwed up his face in concentration and muttered the spell desperately.

Suddenly the portrait hole burst open behind them. "James Potter!"

James, turning to see why Lily Evans had called his name so angrily, faltered at his spell and the Charms text book fell with a thump and a wail onto Peter Pettigrew's head. "Sorry mate," he said, cringing. "What's the matter with you?" he asked, returning his attention to Lily.

"What did you do to Severus?" she demanded, brandishing her wand and aiming it at him as she moved toward him speedily. Several people from higher years turned to look, including Derek Bell, who elbowed Bilius Weasley to get his attention as Lily's wand tip pressed into James's chest. "Tell me."

"Blimey!" James exclaimed, eyes wide, "I – I didn't do a thing to him!" He waved his hand and beat her wand away, forcing it to point elsewhere, "Get that thing off me, Evans, you could do some damage."

She raised it again. "Afraid I might mess up your hair, are you, Potter?" she snapped, "I know you were antagonizing him again, I saw him after you'd done it."

Sirius was standing up, "James's been here with us for hours," he said defensively.

"He has," confirmed Remus, "We've been studying since lunch."

Lily's eyes bore into James just the same.

Bilius cleared his throat, "Evans," he called, "Lower your wand, please."

Lily reluctantly lowered her wand from James's chest and he let out an exaggerated breath of relief. "There we go, Evans, we both know you don't have the stomach for that sort of thing, really, anyway," he said, a grin rolling across his mouth. The grin was so arrogant that a wave of anger flushed Lily, the heat bursting from her chest to bloom upon her cheeks, and without even really thinking about it, she waved her wand again, shouting the hex, and a jet of light shot out, hitting James and bowling him over backwards.

"Oi!" Bilius Weasley shouted, leaping up, followed by Derek, and rushing over as Sirius drew his own wand, leaping to his friend's defense. "Expelliarmus!" Bilius shouted and both Sirius and Lily's wands shot from their hands and into his own. Both looked equally surprised by their wand's disappearance. "Enough of that!" he said as he reached them.

James sat up, looking quite surprised as fierce, winged bogeys flew out of his nose, attacking his face, though he waved his hands over his head, trying to get them off him. "Gerrofferme!" he shouted, his voice strangely muffled thanks to the big green blobs fluttering out of his nostrils, "Gerrofferme!"

Remus's eyebrows were raised, impressed with the ferocity with which Lily had managed to attack. A smirking shadow of amusement was hinting it's way across Sirius's face as well, and, in spite of himself, even Bilius couldn't completely keep a straight face. "Incantantum finite," Bilius said, and the bogeys that had come out of James's face already fell to the floor as though dead. James timidly lowered his hands, the bogeys having stopped coming out of his nose. "Lily," he scolded, turning to her, "Despite that being an alright hex --"

"Alright?" roared Sirius, "Bloody brilliant is what that was! How'd you learn that one?"

Lily blushed, "Sev taught it to me. Before we came to Hogwarts. He – he said he used it on the bullies, and he wanted me to use it on bullies, too, but... That was the first time --" she was flushed still. "Well, I guess I did use it on a bully," she added, glowering at James.