All Right, Evans?

Chapter 2

Monday, 12:00 P.M.

James had left Transfiguration with his fellow Marauders, laughing and joking and occasionally staring at the back of Lily Evans's head as she made her way to the Great Hall with her friends. He wasn't being too subtle about it, but at this point everyone just expected that James Potter would be staring at Lily Evans, even if that meant stepping on the backs of everyone else's shoes.

Just as they'd reached the entrance hall, a group of Slytherins emerged from their dungeon common room. They eyed the Gryffindor girls with contempt, which wasn't a surprise considering this particular Slytherin group consisted of Avery, Mulciber, Lestrange, Snape, and Sirius's cousin Bellatrix (the two of whom refused to acknowledge each other unless a fight broke out, in which case they used the opportunity to mock each other for the sake of a good show).

Lily ignored the group, keeping her eyes determinedly averted from her estranged best mate and the friends he'd forsaken her for. Marlene McKinnon did likewise, as did Alice Prewett - that is, until Mulciber shot a hex their way, causing Alice's books to fly out of her bag and hit her repeatedly upside the head.

Marlene was quick with the counterjinx, so the books fell, harmless, to the floor before they could do much damage. Lily too was quick with her wand, which she directed at the Slytherins. A hush fell over the throng of students who had been making their way to lunch as they stopped to watch what was sure to be a brilliant duel, or a row at the very least. The Mauraders were no exception (unless you counted the fact that they all had their hands clutching their wands, just in case).

"Which one of you was it, then?" Lily demanded of the Slytherins, her voice ringing out against the sudden, echoing quiet of the hall. "Mulciber, you've got your wand out. Too stupid to hide the evidence, are you?"

Mulciber sneered. "You've got your wand out, Evans; no need to make snap judgments."

The Slytherins snickered, but Lily hadn't been discouraged.

"You must have missed the part where you're stupid and I'm clever," she countered evenly, her wand still pointing in their direction. "Now why don't you have a go while our backs aren't turned? Or haven't I egged you on enough?"

The Slytherins weren't laughing anymore. Mulciber and Avery were eyeing Lily's wand apprehensively. Snape was looking at a spot just beyond Lily's shoulder, as if he couldn't bring himself to meet her eye. Rodolphus Lestrange appeared haughty and Bellatrix sneered, but the tension was palpable despite their arrogance.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "No?" she said. "Right, then, Mulciber, ten points from Slytherin for using magic in the corridors."

A few Gryffindors cheered appreciatively, James whistled, and Sirius yelled, "Get it, Evans!"

Lily stowed her wand back in her pocket and turned away, making for the Great Hall again with Alice and Marlene, when Lestrange's voice rang out over the babble of talk that was beginning to overtake the students again...

"Walk away - good thinking, Mudblood!"

A few angry shouts came from the surrounding crowd, and James's grip fell from his wand as his fists clenched. Lily had paused for only a moment, but she shook it off and continued on her way, so she couldn't know that Lestrange had pulled out his wand...

"Oy! Prongs!"

"James!"

"Oh, dear..."

His friends' warnings fell on deaf ears as James ran at the Slytherins and his fist connected with Lestrange's face. There was a cracking noise and blood poured out of Lestrange's nose and over James's hand.

The watching students cheered, encouraging and jeering as the fight escalated. Lestrange had dropped his wand and was fighting James off with his own fists. Lily turned on the spot just in time to deflect the hex Bellatrix aimed at her, succeeding in making Bellatrix's face break out in ugly yellow boils.

"Hell, Lily, you'll get detention for that!" Alice groaned as the crowd cheered again.

"Rather detention than the hospital wing!" Lily said, a grin spreading across her face as she blocked Avery's jinx with a flick of her wrist, leaving him in a Full Body-Bind. "Now... Potter! Where is your wand, you complete dolt?"

But between the shouts of the crowd and the fact that Lestrange now had him in a headlock and was beating his head against the stone wall, James didn't hear Lily's amused admonition.

Sirius shot a Stunning spell at Snape then. "Not so funny now, is it, Snivellus?" he shouted before hitting Lestrange with the same spell. James was able to wriggle free from Lestrange's slackened hold then; he blinked several times to see stars erupt in front of his eyes.

"Aw, bloody... bloody... something or other," he mumbled. He looked down at Lestrange. "Reckon he'd look better with some boils like his girlfriend, eh, Padfoot?"

Sirius grinned wolfishly, his eyes darting to his cousin, who was still covering her face and failing to work out the counterjinx. "Reckon so," he said, and with a flick of his wand he had provided Lestrange with the same ailment.

James looked over to Lily, his vision swimming so that there seemed to be three of her. "All right there, Evans? Evanses...?"

She shot him a sort of halfhearted scowl, torn between amusement and annoyance and a bit of confusion as to why he was addressing her in plural form. James sent her a sort of salute then before losing his balance and blacking out.