Quote from Naaga on October 9, 2023, 1:23 pm

Quote from Dark Angel on October 9, 2023, 12:48 pm

Wow, those are good ideas. You should write a fanfic about it. 😊

@jaysm I don't write, I prefer judging other's work and giving authors my unsolicited opinions and ideas. In other words: I prefer being a nuisance, it's the sole purpose of my existence.

I'm looking forward to your next challenge response. I still have to laugh at mine and @naaga's  simultaneous but opposite suggestions 😂

@naaga I'm torn between feeling honored that you have gotten to know me so well and offended because you're making it sound like I'm a sadist (which isn't exactly wrong)

Seeing your avatar cat, it's hard to not see some sort of sadism. 😸

Quote from Sam on October 11, 2023, 2:54 pm

To be fair, Angel does give off that vibe. Something something that rhymes with Bellatrix. I jest of course, or do I?

Quote from JaySM on October 21, 2023, 1:38 pm

Challenge 32: Cruelty
Characters/Pairings: Snape/Lily
Rating/Warnings: Rated M /AU (No Voldemort), Mentions of sexual acts, violence and torture, there are themes Readers may find disturbing

Summary: This is based in an AU world where the Ministry decided to experimentally alter the Statute of Secrecy in 1970 to prevent muggleborns from knowing their birthright and excluded them entirely from the wizarding world. With the increase in magical accidents in the muggle world, muggle organizations were created to hunt the culprits and experiment on them to understand their mutation of magic. After a decade, the Ministry amended their decision to reintegrate muggleborns after a major decline in magical birthrate and sent envoys to inform and collect the forgotten ones.

Severus laid listlessly staring at the ceiling. He knew that each tile had 744 circular divets and within the entirety of the grid there were 280 tiles. That was 208, 320 small indents he had painstakingly counted several times during the duration of his stay in this hellhole. There were no bars or walls in his prison, just a low ceiling seemingly hovering in the abyss of the darkness above him. His only source of light was the glowing red circle etched into the cement floor encasing an equally large pentagram within. There were long strings of sigils in a language he couldn’t decipher encircling the edges of the platform. They too were an angry red color, but to him, they served as a constant reminder of the limits of his prison. It was large enough to house a toilet, a sink and a firm, floor mattress with bedding but small enough to reach the non-existent wall of his prison in under two seconds before the sigils forcibly bounced him back to the center of the pentagram. The reminder of his failed attempts had him clenching his fist in aggravation.

To his right, a mechanical whirl sounded loudly in the quiet room and Severus’ dark eyes discreetly glanced at the pinprick of green light that signaled he was being watched. He wasn’t surprised. The muggles were on the lookout for any signs of violence since his first day of imprisonment. They had initially sedated him in order to move him into his custom prison but it appeared they weren’t aware that as a Potion Master he had built a tolerance to most poisons. He awoke surrounded by muggles in white lab coats, connected by various tubes and wires to a monitoring device as they drained his blood into medical bags. In his confusion and panic, his magic lashed out in defense severing a hand of one of their medical assistants. With practice ease, they had packed and left him trapped and confused. By the time he realized his predicament, it was already too late.

Initially, he had tried to reason with whoever brought his meals, conveying it to be a misunderstanding. He tactfully avoided mentioning the purpose of their magical trap in favor of emphasizing his innocence. They were probably annoyed with his questioning because the gaps inbetween meals elongated with every question he asked. He was in a constant state of starvation and loneliness. Severus found himself envying the freedom of those who were able to come and go. It was the first sign of a crack in his mental shield.

The days blurred until someone unexpected arrived. The man wore jeans and a collared shirt, a pleasant sight to see amongst the sterile white lab coats everyone else was wearing. Severus thought it odd that even though his prison was surrounded by cameras, the man still poked his head through the door as if to see anyone was still there. The muggle left and promptly returned, dragging a wooden chair a step down from the platform in front of him, just out of Severus’ reach and sat on it backwards. The man, Severus learned, was called Duncan. He was the person Severus had initially mistaken to be a medical assistant whose hand he defensively amputated. Duncan propped his bandaged stump over the back of the chair as his face adopted a fiendish expression and he unfolded the lengths he took to trap a wizard like him.

At first Severus couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

Lily, the light of his life who he had been in a relationship with the past four months, was a key player in his imprisonment?

Lily, the muggleborn he was originally sent to inform of her magical birthright and introduce to the wizarding world, was working for these muggle witch hunters?

The irony of that was not lost on him.

Since Duncan’s arrival, Severus was taunted almost daily. A part of him grew to depend on that consistency to keep track of the days that passed as well as fish for information of the purpose of his stay. Duncan, himself, was vindictive and resented Severus for the loss of his hand. He brought up Lily often and Severus found that Duncan’s consistency had proved fruitful and he began to doubt her loyalty. It was another crack in his mental defenses and he was afraid how long he had left before there was nothing left for them to chisel away.

According to Duncan, Lily was a new hire looking to get her sister out of an abusive relationship. Being homeless herself and recently having lost her parents, Lily turned to easy money that promised her a furnished home and a well-stocked fridge. To Severus, it sounded like something Lily would do. Lily wore her heart on her sleeve and was willing to do anything for those she cared about. But at his own risk? It occurred to him then, that he had never met Petunia. Lily always made excuses as to why he couldn’t and often frequented his house instead when her sister visited. Was their relationship truly a sham or was she being framed?

The uncertainty must have shown on his face, because Duncan turned to video recordings that were captured by hidden cameras in Lily’s apartment. It was a turning point in their odd relationship and Severus had to admit he was lulled into a false sense of security when he thought the worse Duncan could do was frame Lily.

His meals arrived more frequently after that and Severus became suspicious and began testing his food by nibbling it slowly to wait for a reaction. When nothing happened, he deduced it to be his capturer’s attempt at manipulation and began to eat more heartily. His complacency led to him losing large blocks of time in random parts during the day. When that happened he woke with a stinging pain in his back and a piercing migraine. He was barely functional when Duncan arrived and struggled to stay awake when the man played the videos. Severus still held hope for Lily and found great comfort in the soft melody of her voice. He slept, lulled by their muted conversation playing in the background.

Duncan apparently considered Severus sleeping during video-torture as a personal insult and decided to take it up a notch. He didn’t come for about a week, which usually would have been a form of strange torture in itself but Severus barely noticed because he was asleep for the majority of it. His whole body ached every time he woke and he had difficulty staying warm. Most times, he stayed awake long enough to realize he wasn’t under blankets but was instead on concrete in the middle of the room. When this occurred, he wasted none of his energy wondering how he got there and instead dragged himself to bed falling back asleep shivering under the bedsheets.

In the last day of the week, he woke with some clarity and was horrified by what he discovered. He was marked like a pig for slaughter with rectangular gauze taped in various parts of his body and his hand heavily bandaged with hints of fresh blood. With great care he removed the tape over his abdomen with his free hand and lifted the patch to see his skin had been grafted, his muscle exposed like a marbled steak clumped with silvery white powder. Exposing his wound to air caused a stinging wave to reverberate from the area throughout his body and he shakily placed the patch back on the best he could before turning his attention to his left hand which hand been bandaged tightly. He dreaded what lay underneath and the nightmare of having to rewrap it with one functioning hand.

Severus brought his left hand to his eye level, the ceiling blurring behind it as he inspected the missing digits of his heavily scarred hands. The bastards took his fingers. He could still feel painful prickles shoot down his non-existent fingers every time he moved them, the sensation usually radiated throughout his hand and down his forearm.

He was lucky he was a wizard. Unlike muggles, he had healed within a few days. He was scarred but still alive. Everything they have done so far was repairable but only if he could make it back to wizarding society. He had been hoping Lily would notice his disappearance and would reach out to the Aurors or the muggle police to go find him but now he was sure that wasn’t going to happen.

Shortly after he discovered they had mutilated him, Duncan came with his television setup and played a video recording with an embarrassing display of Severus’ backside. He vividly recalled how mortified he was staring at a large 63 centimeter screen watching as his muscles contracted with every thrust as he grinded himself into Lily’s pelvis against the wall behind her. The audio was crisp and clear with the sounds of the wet slap of their sex and her encouraging moans. Duncan commentated the entire time tearing apart any illusion that Lily was a victim in this. He pointed out how Lily always stayed out of frame of the camera, often using Severus’ body to hide her nudity. How she was a shy girl but played her role well being as vocal as she was because no one could truly find pleasure in his ugly mug. It was when Lily looked directly at the camera after their coupling, uncomfortably redressing herself in a hurry as he walked out of view to the other room that he could no longer make any more excuses for her.

Afterwards, his anger grew daily and so did the glow of the pentagram underneath him as he could no longer suppress his magic in such a state. He spent most of his time pacing and examining the sigils to plan an escape but without a key to decrypt it, he was no closer to finding a way out than the first day he arrived. Duncan continued to taunt him, this time with slabs of Severus’ own skin and the missing digits of his fingers while he needlessly pointed out that he held all the power.

So now Severus presently waited within his cage appearing to the world bored laying in his makeshift bed meditating behind the walls of his mind magic. It was all he could do to stave off the insanity that lingered in the shadows. He felt hot and claustrophic. His magic bled out of him like a festered wound from every pore in his body. The feeling was uncomfortable. His mind began to stray.

What would happen if he just snapped?

He imagined tearing the bed to shreds with his teeth and clawing at the bedding as if he were an animal indulging in a kill. He imagined looming over the toilet looking down at it with a mean glint as if it were the dismembered muggle cowering from him in fright as he ripped the cover from its hinge and shattered the porcelain into little pieces against the outer rim. He could imagine collecting a shard, stabbing the bowl ruthlessly as he visualized the water sluggishly gushing out to be blood. He was suddenly in front of the sink kicking it with such force that the pipe burst and a jet of water hit the ceiling, and Severus could see himself close his eyes and envisioned the drops raining down on his skin was the blood of all those who have wronged him.

It was at that moment that he realized that it felt too real. His imagined blood was ice cold against his face and he opened his eyes in alarm.

It was no longer a daydream.

He had at some point in fact actually lost it and was surrounded by the wreckage of his deranged tantrum. He noticed straightaway the missing glow from the pentagram and the circle that held his magic in, the culprit of its disturbance being the edge of the sink imbedded on the floor interrupting the ring.

A blaring alarm sounded, looping obnoxiously every three shrieks. White and red lights flashed in sequence illuminating the well-stocked warehouse in color. He immediately attempted to break through the low ceiling using his power of flight but ricochet off and landed painfully on the ground. The sigils surrounding him glared warningly and Severus’ eyes dropped the edge of the platform that held it. In one swift move, Severus summoned the remains of the sink and redirected it to smash against the edge of the platform leaving a gigantic crevice as the sigils flickered off engulfing him in total darkness.

The magic that required to lift such a heavy object, left Severus disoriented and out of breath. His own breathing sounded loud to his own ears but so could the distant footsteps that were beginning to close in. A door slammed open on his right, flooding a thick strip of light into the warehouse.

Severus melted into the darkness, noiselessly weaving behind a stack of small conex boxes as armed men filtered in. The men in the forefront had lights mounted on their rifles, each briefly scanning his prison before forking to search the area with their teams behind them. Severus laid in wait wondering the limits of his wandless magic as they cleared the room behind him. He gauged the distance from his hiding place to the entrance to see if he could make it when he felt the barrel of a rifle on his neck.

“Don’t move.”

Severus heard it but he didn’t comply. Instead he felt his magic answer when he turned and swiped his hand in the air. Amidst the flashing lights, Severus stared stunned as the man was sliced diagonally in half as if from a Sectumsempracurse. The body curling outward as it clattered noisily to the ground.

“There!”

Severus preemptively rose his magical shield as he dove for cover behind a pyramid of barrels. A storm of bullets rained down on him, one piercing his shield and nicking him on his triceps.

He always wondered if Protego could defend against muggle weapons. That answers that question.

Changing tactics to offense, Severus shimmered into invisibility, hoping his rapidly draining magic would hold as he was starting to see spots. He flew into the air and ignited a line of fire in front of the barrels causing them to forcibly explode. Blue and yellow merged into a tornado of destruction as men caught fire and the chaos forced the surrounding teams to fall back. Severus took his chance and left, his indecision on which way to take when he reached the corner fleeting as he boldly made a turn. He let his invisibility drop to conserve magic and his vision cleared as he roamed the maze of the building.

The sterile white corridors were identical and there were no identifying markers except the numbered plaques outside each door. At some point, the alarm echoed at a distance and the lights no longer flashed as he moved through an area that seem more fit for a business with its thin passageways than an asylum. When Severus was forced to take a right, he overheard a commotion via an open door and raised his spell of invisibility again in attempt to stealthily pass it. He saw at the end of the hall, a glowing exit sign hanging tantalizing overhead.

“Stop!”

Severus stilled.

It was Lily. He could hardly mistake her.

“Let go of me!”

Severus tentatively placed one foot in front of the other, crouched low as he passed the open doorway unnoticed.

There was an end in sight, he just had to make it there.

“I see you’ve been busy.”

Severus froze.

He was well acquainted with that voice, having heard it almost daily as it provoked him from a chair outside his prison.

“Please, Duncan. Just let me go,” he could hear Lily pleading.

With a sigh, Severus crept closer to the opening, craning his neck to peer in. His eyes were first drawn to Lily and nearly recoiled at the overwhelming love he felt just looking at her. Thankfully the sense of betrayal that followed stamped it down. It was jarring.

He could see there were two guards in black business suits flanking Lily but it was Duncan, who had his hand wrapped around her thin wrist.

Seeing it had his magic boiling.

Duncan stared at Lily, his nub of a hand pointed at something Severus couldn’t see because one of the guards blocked his view.

“Is it his?”

Duncan threw back his head and laughed at her silence. A part of Severus felt riled hearing it.

“You dumb bint. You don’t know what you walked back into.” Duncan pulled Lily towards him exposing her large swollen belly as he touched his nose to hers and sneered, “You’re not going anywhere.”

He pushed her into the guards who swiftly pinned her hands behind her back as she struggled, exposing her pregnant belly.

“Was this why you left?” He asked not seemingly interested in her answer. “I knew we should have found a way to bug Snape’s house too.”

Duncan pointed at her in accusingly.

“Don’t think we didn’t know you’ve been given him hints from the very beginning. You think you’re so clever.”

Duncan turned and moved out of view. Severus could hear drawers opening and closing and the sound of a metal sliding against metal.

“Please, Duncan.” Lily looked on the verge of tears.

“We’ve been looking for you for months.” Something metallic snapped into place. “And you came running back on your own. Why?”

“Please,” Lily begged. “Please, just let me see him one last time.”

“We’ve already turned him against you.”

Lily shook her head in disbelief. “No.”

“You’re a hindrance. A mutation.” He moved back into view as he leaned forward as he spat, “A freak! And you’ve run your course.”

Severus’ heart sank as Duncan raised his hand in his arm until the metal of the pistol glinted under the incandescent light. In response, Lily raised her sleeve to hold a shoelace she had tied around her wrist.

What was she doing?

Duncan cocked back the hammer with an audible click and Severus’ vision tunneled.

“No!” He roared.

As Duncan swung his gun to aim it at Severus, Lily simultaneously used the distraction to discharge some of her magic to get away from her guards and hide behind a writing desk. Duncan fired and Severus felt it hit the right side of his chest.

Severus growled and his magic pulsed causing the light to flicker and Duncan choked as he fell forward to his knees. Severus felt another round hit his shoulder and something whistled past his ear. Amongst the spots beginning to darken his vision, the two guards that remained standing, aimed their firearms.

With a wave of his hand, a disturbing wet fleshy sound could be heard as evidence of the men’s intestines were forcibly expelled from their mouths. They crumbled harmlessly on the floor like marionetted puppets whose string were recently cut.

Severus felt his chest burn as a warm liquid worked his way up his throat. His vision was briefly blanketed in darkness before he regained consciousness. He saw Lily’s horrified look but he couldn’t register its meaning. Instead, vengeance was in the forefront of his mind. The bloodthirst threatening to consume him as his magic inflicted its attention on Duncan who laid spasming on the floor, mouth ajar in silent screams.

Severus took a shaky step forward using the wall for support as he ignored the sharp stabbing pain in his chest, he suppressed the persistent urge to cough as he choked out his next words.

“Die,” his eyes hardened as he unleashed his intentions through his magic and Duncan burst into finely diced chucks of meat, his blood splattering the walls.

The room tilted and Severus fell hard to his knees. A laugh bubbled up in his chest but all that came out was a hacking cough and he caught bright pink spittle in the palm of his hand.

Upon seeing it, Severus felt what little energy he had deplete as he eased himself slowly down onto the floor. He heard footsteps raced towards him and within seconds, Lily’s bright green eyes peered down at him from above.

“No, Sev!” She fretted over him. “What do I do?”

Severus could barely breath. He regretted laying down.

He had so much to ask her but he had a feeling he had little time to do it.

Lily tapped his cheek and encased his mutilated hand in her own. “Stay awake. You have to stay awake.”

She unwrapped the shoelace from her wrist and sandwich it between their joint hand.

“I found a safe place. This should bring you there.”

There was so much left here undone. The Ministry had to be warned before someone else lost their life. He tried to tell her but he was going in and out of conscious.

He must have said something because she brought it up. “I couldn’t find the Ministry. You never told me where it was. I don’t know where anything magical is. I have to take you to the hospital.”

Severus felt something tap his cheek.

“Sev? Stay awake. Sev!”

The last thing Severus felt was a pulling sensation in his naval as the ground disappeared in a blur of colors. His only anchor as he freefell was Lily’s hand clasped in his own.

Quote from Sam on October 21, 2023, 2:45 pm

That was something. The pentagram thingy gave me the vibes that something supernatural was gonna happen. But loved it, regardless. Can't wait for whatever comes to your mind next. Until next time.

Quote from Dark Angel on October 21, 2023, 3:12 pm

Now, I'm totally convinced that you're messing with us with these OS challenges which shouldn't technically be one-shots. Each and every single one ends at a point where you could and technically should continue. Now, I'll just imagine that Sev just lost consciousness but got to the hospital in time and is now recovering.

Thank you for the response, I enjoyed it!

Quote from JaySM on October 21, 2023, 3:22 pm

Quote from Dark Angel on October 21, 2023, 3:12 pm

Now, I'm totally convinced that you're messing with us with these OS challenges which shouldn't technically be one-shots. Each and every single one ends at a point where you could and technically should continue. Now, I'll just imagine that Sev just lost consciousness but got to the hospital in time and is now recovering.

Thank you for the response, I enjoyed it!

It’s just a punctured lung. He’ll be fine. 😄

It sounds like you enjoyed it. I’m glad.

Quote from Sam on October 21, 2023, 3:31 pm

Now if only we could kidnap you and make you write our every little twisted desire, that would be quite something. Don't worry about food and shelter, you'll be even given occasional hugs and headpats to keep you motivated. I am joking of course. I don't have the means to do it or...

Quote from JaySM on October 21, 2023, 4:11 pm

Quote from Sam on October 21, 2023, 3:31 pm

Now if only we could kidnap you and make you write our every little twisted desire, that would be quite something. Don't worry about food and shelter, you'll be even given occasional hugs and headpats to keep you motivated. I am joking of course. I don't have the means to do it or...

I have to take your comments in small doses. You’re too good for my ego. 😄

Quote from JaySM on January 15, 2024, 12:06 am

Challenge 41: Severus Snape and Lily Evans

Prompt: Set in November of 1975, Which side of the war will Severus stand on? The choice is made for him.
Characters/Pairings: Snape and Lily
Rating/Warnings: For Mature Audience only, NSFW, Mentions of Violence and character deaths, Open ending

 

“Severus!”

Slughorn pulled me by the bend of my arm to prevent me from following the rest of the students into the Great Hall and pinned me in place with a look. His eyes were bloodshot, the bags under them looked bruised and heavy from lack of sleep but I could interpret the look he was giving me. It was one of warning. Whatever he was going to ask me, he wanted me to answer truthfully.

“Where are your classmates?”

I searched his eyes before they strayed to the small handful of students at Slytherin table. Slughorn tugged me much more forcibly, redirecting me to look back at him.

“They aren’t there.” His tone was short and pitched low in agitation. The grip on Slughorn had on my arm tightened as if he could somehow intimidate me into answering. “Think, boy! Was there anything they said? Anywhere they hinted to have gone?”

I gulped, my head shaking of its own accord. I’ve never seen Slughorn like this. He was never one to be confrontational and was perceived to be jovial old man who made an effort to get along with everyone. What was going on?

He must have been seen something on my face that cued him to looking across the hall to the staff table and shake his head. I followed the direction of his gaze to the Headmaster’s solemn blue eyes which turned piercing when they honed in on me. His pupils suddenly looked like tunnels and I could feel myself being sucked into its depths. My breath hitched and I tried to step back but my body froze mid-motion.

There was a familiar brush against the forefront of my mind, a telltale sign of someone trying to invade it before an audible ripping sound echoed, as if two pieces of velcro were being ripped apart when I forcibly dropped my gaze. My chest heaved from the effort it took to sever that connection, my heart hammering an erratic beat against my chest.

“Severus.”

My attention snapped back to Slughorn and his now pitying look as his grip loosened. That was the most empathic emotion I’ve ever received from the man since I’ve known him and I couldn’t help the heat of irrational anger that rose from my chest, past my throat and as it trapped itself behind my clenched teeth.

“Please, think harder on this. It could potentially save lives.”

“I don’t know!” I yanked my arm away.

A large BOOM reverberated throughout the castle dislodging loose dust from the ceiling. The magic holding the candles and lighting the Great Hall flickered as they dropped several inches in altitude simultaneously. There were several loud shrieks of protests from several students before the Great Hall erupted in cacophony of noise.

I had to strain my voice to be overheard. “What’s going on?”

Slughorn barely managed to open his mouth before the Headmaster spelled the Great Hall into silence. It didn’t take long before he had everyone’s attention as he took several steps forward until he stood behind his podium.

“It is with a heavy heart I must inform you that as of last night the Ministry has fallen and in its destruction terrorist have now set their sights towards our school.” He paused, and scanned the crowd as if he were attempting to meet the eyes of every boy and girl in the room. “Help will not be coming.”

The benches creaked as students simultaneously turned to face each other exchanging uncertain looks.

My eyes narrowed in on the Slytherin table noticing how bare it appeared compared to the other houses. There were people missing.

The Headmaster continued undeterred. “Those of age who would like to volunteer to stay and fight may do so. Everyone else will follow the underage Prefects to the Room of Requirement for evacuation. Filch will lead you.”

The spell was lifted and the room filled with voices and yells of people striving to be overheard.

Who would ever want to come to a school and destroy defenceless kids?

I must have said it aloud because Slughorn responded with a faraway gaze, “You-Know-Who” before excusing himself to head towards the staff table.

The way he said it implied I should know but it wasn’t just me, anyone would have known. You-Know-Who was a moniker to one of the Greatest Dark Wizards of the century.

Another BOOM rattled the walls and I could hear screams as the Great Hall darkened and something fell. I could feel myself being pushed aside so people could get through the exit and I stumbled back but I wasn’t truly aware what was going on around me, it was more like I didn’t care. My eyes glazed as memories began to fill my mind as if a reel were playing that held snippets of a movie. I could remember Avery in the beginning of the year, warning me that I will have to choose soon. Mulciber’s change in personality and how volatile he had become as of late. The majority of Slytherin being split unevenly between Death Eater supporters and the those with “tainted blood” and the disappearance of the neutral families. Rosier’s knowing grin as he left last night taunting him that I should have known better after a confrontation with Mulciber. It sounded off at the time simply because my dorm mates lined up alongside each other leaving me alone on the other side of our room but I’ve had an unsettling feeling since and it never resolved itself like I thought it would.

Someone shoved me roughly aside and I felt the impact of my head hit the doors of the Great Hall before I saw stars. As if time were speeding up, I observed in disinterest as the crowd frantically bottling at the entrance as the students made their way to the next floor. My mind worked a mile a minute struggling to accept that I was abandoned by the cause and I needed to reprioritize. Now.

A red bow tie caught my attention as it pulled me from my thoughts.

“McKinnon!” I yelled. “McKinnon!”

McKinnon quizzically looked at me her face scrunched in confusion.

“Where’s Lily?”

“Wha-“ her voice was drowned by the din of the crowd.

“Lily!” I bellowed from my diaphragm.

I sucked my teeth as she shrugged. My annoyance at her disregard hiking up my anger as I pulled out my wand to cast a Point-Me Charm. I felt my heart dip when the wand tip shuddered and snapped to the left aimed outside of the castle.

It was early morning. Dawn hasn’t even broken past the horizon yet. What on earth was she doing outside?

The wand shook as if it took much effort to turn towards the wall in-between the decorative armoured knights. With a goal in place, my feet moved one in front of the other only sprinting to a run when I heard my name.

“Severus!”

“Mr. Snape!”

I opened the door to the entrance, leaving it ajar behind me as I jumped over the steps nearly tumbling down the hill. I glanced at my wand to see if I was still going in the right direction as I tried to find my feet again and run. The grounds were well lit from the light of the full moon, the grass crunched beneath my feet from the November frost. The wand quivered in place before changing direction again, this time towards the Forbidden Forest.

A flash of light in the sky caught my attention and I slowed to watch it streak by like a shooting star.

BOOM!

A large dome shimmered into view upon impact before disappearing seconds later.

Was that the school’s wards?

No! Lily!

I was running out of time.

I pushed myself to run faster. My lungs screaming as my throat painfully inhaled the cold air. I extended my legs as far as it could go and pumped my arms towards the last place the spell directed me. From a distance, I could see the smoke coming from Hagrid’s hut and I knew I was still several hundred steps away from being able to see down the hilltop.

The grass glowed brightly and my head snapped up just in time to see lights streak across the sky. The impact sounded like the end-of year fireworks being detonated all at once. The ward shimmered into view but unlike before it stayed within sight. I could see multiple cracks branch out like broken glass from where it was hit and a cold dread worked its way down my spine as I watched the wards fall piece by piece from the sky, disintegrating before hitting the grounds.

I nearly toppled over when I reached uneven ground, noticing that I reached the hilltop. I heaved uneven breaths,  plums of cold air distorting my view as I strained my eyes to see. I wet my throat with a swallow and it was enough to calm my breathing enough to see. Fear lodged itself in my throat, my body frozen in place in indecision as my eyes widened to take in the scene before me.

Lily was on the ground using her small body to cover the massive half-giant laying injured on the ground with blood pooling near his neck. Before her stood a familiar brown werewolf almost twice her size, growling at her menacingly while being corralled backwards by a large dog and a stag.

I felt something solidify inside of me separate from the rising panic that had me calling her name.

“Lily!”

I knew I caught the animals’ attention but my eyes were drawn to Lily’s pale form. I reached my hand out to beckoned her but instead of coming, she placed her hand on Hagrid’s shoulder and let out a choked sob.

The grounds lit up again, but I didn’t look up to know that there were spells shooting down the wards widening the crack. My eyes never left Lily’s. I couldn’t see her eyes clearly from this distance but I could tell the moment the wards fell from the look on her face.

“Lily,” I didn’t yell this time but I knew Lily heard me by the way she winced and returned her hand on Hagrid’s shoulder and moved it to his chest. It lingered there as if she was saying her last goodbyes and she shot across towards the rocky path that lead towards me. I watched with my wand at the ready as the werewolf struggled against the stag before an eerie howl echoed from the forest and the werewolf responded in kind. There was a preternatural stillness in the air, as if the surrounding area was suddenly on alert. Alarm bells were ringing in my head and I took a step back watching the scene unfold as if in slow motion. The only warning was the low growl in the cover of darkness coming from the forest before the creature pounced on the stag snapping its neck at an unnatural angle. The stag shifted into human form, the body limp, head completely disappearing inside of the other werewolf’s mouth. The dog whined briefly before staging its own attack on the black werewolf’s scruff but it was batted away until it fell against the tree sliding down seemingly unconscious on the ground.

There was a loud crunch as the unfamiliar werewolf bit down and ripped the head from the body. A low, submissive whine could be heard by the brown werewolf as the one feasting howled his bloodthirst. There was light, and movement beyond the trees and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I shook my head taking another step back. Something grabbed my arm, and I let out a small breath of protest as I swung my wand around and faced Lily. I could see the tears shimmering as they streamed down her face and it took nearly all I had not to hold her then and there. A guttural sound had me glance back down towards Hagrid’s hut and I scanned the area to see it missing two werewolves. My heart jumped to my throat in surprise as I turned to run back towards Hogwarts a hand blindly searching for Lily’s to tug her along.

All too soon, the ground vibrated beneath me, the only sign that danger was imminent. I barely noticed the shadow in my peripheral before I looked over my shoulder to aim my wand at it.

“Sectumsempra.”

There was a yelp of pain but I refused to slow to investigate whether I hit my mark. It didn’t stop Lily from looking back her eyes widening on something as she gave her own horrified comment. “Oh God.”

Instinct overtook me, a feeling in my gut that had me raising my wand in a wordless protego. I heard something smash into the shield and turned my head to aim at the other werewolf but just as I did, I lost awareness of what was in front of me and tripped over a rock. Lily and I tumbled down hitting the sharp blades of grass. I released a cutting spell by habit as I went down but it didn’t slow the black werewolf at all.

Unlike the other werewolf, the spell didn’t slow it down but I kept firing spell after spell adding more and more power behind it as I scurried backwards placing myself protectively in front of Lily.

“Sectumsempra. SECTUMsempra! SECTUMSEMPRA! Avada KEDAVRA!” A green light shot out of my wand and hit the werewolf on the shoulder catching it midair in its attack. It touched the ground but skidded toward us as if it were a skipping stone on water. The creature slid to a stop by my feet and I scrambled to a stand knowing the brown werewolf wouldn’t be too far behind.

Uncaring of how rude it would be, I yanked Lily to a stand and pulled her towards the direction of the castle. We reached the cliff face all too soon and I knew I wouldn’t have the strength to climb up it. I ran at the base following it around the castle feeling resistance as Lily began to slow down. She was depending on my dwindling strength to pull her along but I knew I didn’t have much time before it left me.

We passed by some raised stones and I ignored how it lit up as we stepped on them until I heard something shift noisily to our right. It sounded like rock moving against rock and I found my concentration wavering and the will to keep running drain from me.

Gasping and out of breath, Lily and I slowed to a speed walk with Lily taking at least four steps to my two. Just as we turned the corner to follow the trail to the castle I noticed the entrance of a large cavern and a torch lit at the mouth of it as if it sensed our intrusion.

I heard a loud canine sniff coming from around the bend and I pushed Lily into the cavern and warded it with every spell I knew to keep from being seen. I back away slowly, pushing Lily backwards and wincing when it activated more torches. I stilled as I saw the long dark snout of the brown werewolf. Knowing who that was, I found my wand faltering to shoot a deadly spell. It sniffed the floor of the entrance briefly before snapping its head to the left towards the direction of the forest. As if it were being called, it raced away into the open plains still within view.

I pivoted in place, grabbing Lily’s cold shoulders until her red rimmed eyes looked at me.

“C’mon, we have to go.” Without waiting for her say so, I manhandled her to turn around and guide her further into the cavern.

I whipped my wand casting small wind charms behind us to snuff out the torches as we went further into the cave. At some point, the cold began to ebb away and spring-like heat began to take its place the further in we went.

I slowed my pace when I felt we were far enough from the entrance and Lily sighed in relief at my side. I walked to her pace, looking over my should every few step with my wand in front of me in case we encountered something else.

In minutes, Lily began to drag her feet and sniffle and I looked up and down the cavern for any danger before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as I guided her to face me. She headbutted my chest gripping the button-down underneath my robes to tug me to her. I dumbly raised my hands as she nuzzled my chest and sought comfort from me. Her warmth a balm to my chilled body.

Hesitantly, I slowly wrapped my arms around her back and held her. She let out a cry Like her soul was being torn apart and it echoed through the cavern, I nervously brought my wand up and casted a privacy spell I invented to distort the sound.

I needed to get her to calm down and with Lily distractions have always been best.

“Why were you out in the middle of the night?”

At first I didn’t think Lily heard me but then she rubbed her nose and sniffed before taking a step back. “It was Peter. He gave me a map and told me he needed help bringing the other Marauders back to school. He said he warned them not to go and he thought that I could just stop by during my patrol to just wrangle them up.”

“Why were you patrolling alone?”

“I wasn’t supposed to but Rosier didn’t turn up.”

I closed my eyes upon realization and took a deep calming breath in and a long breath out.

When I met Lily’s green eyes again, she continued without further prompting. “I followed them using the map and they were nearing the animal pens behind Hagrid’s hut. Hagrid stopped me and discouraged me from going further and just as I was explaining the situation, he pulled me behind him and I saw the werewolf bite his neck. I fell back from Hagrid’s weight on me and saw James over his shoulder looking just as surprised to see me. He helped lift Hagrid off of me and then called the werewolf Mooney and warned him not to hurt Padfoot.” Lily gripped the forearms of my robed to get my attention, but she already had it. “Sev, James and Sirius are animagus and Remus is a werewolf.”

She searched my face for a reaction but I didn’t give her one. Even though knowing now that Potter and Black were animagus, what was more surprising was this map that could apparently trace them. What else could this map do?

“You knew?” She looked crestfallen.

“Where’s the map?” I asked at the same time.

She reached for the pockets of her inner robes and before handing it to me looked downward to say, “You told me, didn’t you? And I didn’t listen.”

My hand drew short in taking it and my fingers lingered briefly watching her as she wallowed in her own guilt before I plucked it from her hand. I unravelled the parchment, watching the names crowd at the Hogwarts Entrance. All were familiar names, not because they were from the school but because they were well-known alumni. It was difficult to discern who was who as the names started to overlap one another.

Lily peered at the parchment and as if now realizing there was something odd on it she pointed to it. “What’s happening there?”

I sighed and flipped the paper several times until it showed me the seventh floor where name were disappearing in masses into a wall.

“It’s the war. It’s here.” I brought down the map and looked her straight in the eyes. “It’s at Hogwarts.”

Lily gasped, and I ignored her in favour of looking for our names on the map. We were still in Hogwarts grounds but where were we?

“Why were you out there instead of fighting?” Lily asked softly.

I could hear her cautious tone and I felt a piece of the trust I had in her shatter.

She thought so little of me.

“I was looking for you,” I said as if it were obvious.

There was an awkward silence that followed, a palpable tension that hung in the air until Lily let an audible breath out. All the tension evaporated with that single breath.

“Thanks,” she placed a hand on mine and I glanced at her face long enough to capture her smile weakly at me before I returned back to the map.

I shrugged. “That’s what best friends do.”

“Yeah,” she responded uneasily.

I let out a frustrated sigh and rerolled the map, making an entirely different excuse than the original reason. “We’re not on the map.”

“Maybe we’re beyond the boundaries of it.”

“Maybe, but I can still see the edges of the forbidden forest.” I hand her back the map and walk ahead of her thinking some distance from her would do me some good.

It didn’t take long for her to trail after me trying to match my stride.

I noted there were no more torches ahead of us but a bend and against the wall there was a glistening blue glow. I slowed and took cautious steps forward, angling myself to see what was beyond the bend.

I startled when Lily gripped the back of my robes as she followed closely behind. I fought down a wave of annoyance at her action.

A part of me rationalized that holding me from my robes would prevent me from quickly moving if a spell was shot my way but I knew in reality what it was really about. Her trust in me was faulty. Even though I gave her all that I could offer her I felt like lately she hasn’t been matching it but rather distancing herself from me. I felt unappreciated and it hurt.

“Sev,” Lily said in awe as she stepped around me to walk towards the opening.

It was a large clear orb that appeared to be located under the lake. On the floor were glowing blue stones that spiralled inward. The light reflected against the glass and water and cast a shimmery blue colour on the walls.

“Are these the Hogwarts wards?” Lily asked as she bent down to inspect the first stone.

“I don’t know.” I’ve never seen ward stones, I only knew how to cast wards without anchoring them down to anything.

Lily grunted in pain, her hand laid splayed on the stone as if stuck as she tried to stand up. “Sev.”

“Coming.” I closed the distance and curled my body around her as I used both hands to pull her from it. Upon touching her, I felt something drain out of me as my vision began to blur.

Was it taking my life? What kind of wardstones were these?

“Sev!” Lily cried out, terrified.

I grunted as I pulled. “I’m trying.”

I leaned my weight back as I tugged with the weight of my entire body and I felt the moment the connection was disrupted as we fell backward. My head hit the floor before my back did just as Lily’s weight fell on top of me knocking the wind out of me. I made the mistake of opening my eyes to see the room spin before I closed them back up again.

Lily groaned as she sat up alleviating the weight on my chest. “Oh! I’m sorry!”

She tried to tug me up to a sit without help from me and I stayed in place trying to hold back a sound of protest.

Her tug quickly became an insistent tapping as if she were trying to get my attention. “Sev, someone’s here.”

I whirled to a kneel, ignoring how my stomach squirmed when the world tilted on its axis. I brought my wand up at the ready.

I could hazily see a shadow on the wall as it elongated they reached the mouth of the cavern. The foots steps were inaudible but that could have also been because of the blood rushing to my head filling my ears with static

“Well, well. What do we have here?” The voice was unusually pitched high for the man that stood before me. He wore long dark robes that blended well into the darkness. His inhumanly pale skin distorted as if it was melted, and there was something unusual about his face like the man was doing the bare minimum in order to appear human. One pale hand poked out from his sleeve with his finger wrapped around a wand, raising it to point it at us.

My own hand shook as my vision began to stabilize as I realized who it was that stood before me. The rumours didn’t do his image justice. He looked more worse than what was described.

I grunted as my head canted back from the force of the Dark Lord’s mental invasion. He painfully rummaged through my brain as I witnessed snippets of my memories being pulled to the forefront of my mind. I tried to raise my mental defences but I couldn’t feel a source to pull it from. Finally, I managed to string a thought together and physically defend myself.

“Protego!” I yanked my wand upward to cast a shield and it flickered into view before sputtering out. I tried again. “Protego!”

I felt the moment the Dark Lord withdrew from my mind with a high pitch cackle.

I gasped out of breath from the exertion before manoeuvring myself in front of Lily. I could see Lily jab her wand past my ear but no spell came forth even as the Dark Lord leaned to the side to avoid it, flicking his wand in a well-practiced motion to repel it.

Clearly entertained, the Dark Lord wheezed as he chuckled. Lily and I stayed frozen in place until his bout of laughter died.

The Dark Lord pointed his wand at me. “You were one of mine.”

I searched his face for any hint leeway to worm my way out of this mess.

He took a step forward, his wand at his side as I fumbled to a stand, helping Lily up as I pushed her behind me.

“How touching.” The Dark Lord looked repulsed by the action taking another step forward.

I raised my wand uselessly, as I staggered back until I felt Lily bounce slightly from the wall and hit my back.

The Dark Lord’s black eye’s glittered in amusement as he took an almost playful step forward to see what we would do. I could feel Lily flinch behind me as the Dark Lord’s eyes narrow on hers.

He flashed her a smile before turning back to me.

“Come, boy. Your path leds to me. Unwanted. Neglected. Forgotten boys like you belong with me.” He beckoned me with his wand. “Only I know how it truly feels. I will help you grow strong and powerful, only if you let me.” He took another step forward until he was in the centre of the room and I never felt as vulnerable as I did than at this moment.

What could I say to get us out of this mess. What could I do?

“Enough of that! My patience runs thin. You have three seconds to decide.” He took a step a step forward. “One. Two. Thr-“

At three, the Dark Lord buckled under the drain of the wardstone he stepped on. Lily sidestepped against the wall to reach the entrance. I stood in place mind running a mile a minute.

He’ll come for us. I can’t just leave. I have to do something.

Without a plan a place I took a step forward, narrowly missing the wardstone next to my right foot. I scanned the floor and the Dark Lord’s hand for anything I could use. I saw his wand clenched by his side that idea began to formulate. I tucked my wand into the pocket of my sleeve.

“Sev?” Lily called out.

It was at that moment I knew what I had to do. Just in case, my eyes calmly met Lily’s panicked ones. I could only offer her one word of advice before I moved into action.

“Run.”

I dove for the Dark Lord tackling him to the ground. I felt a the pull of the wardstone briefly draining me until we were dislodged from it. I yanked the wand from the Dark Lord’s hand and stabbed him in the eye with enough pressure that it snapped in half. Seeing another tool of opportunity, I mounted him at the waist and stabbed the other eye while he fought to take my weight off of him as he shrieked in pain. I tried hitting the wand with the palm of my hand to wedge it further in, hoping I could somehow lodge it into his brain but the forceful movements caused my own wand to clatter to the floor amongst the blood pooling behind the Dark Lord’s neck. I gripped my wand, feeling a rush of power return as I aimed it right at the Dark Lord’s throat just as bridged his hip to knock me off balance.

Staying focused on the goal I whispered, “Sectumsempra” and I knew I hit my mark when his entire head was ripped off by his Adam’s apple. The force of the spell, propelled me backwards, my back hitting the wardstone below.

I convulsed in place my eyes unmoving at they met Lily’s horrified ones. It felt like minutes but it could have been mere seconds before she moved to help, but by the time she hovered over me the world faded to black.