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“I’m going to kill him.”
“Moony, no.” James jogged down the corridor, silently cursing his long-legged friend. “Believe me, I’m as pissed as you are, but we’re already on thin ice after last week. Wormtail, back me up here.”
“Peter Pettigrew, if you say one word, I swear to Merlin I’ll hex you into next month.” Remus’ voice was tight with anger as he strode down the hall, fists clenched.
Damned stubborn werewolf. With a burst of speed, James ran in front of Remus and held his hands out placatingly. “If you would just listen—”
“He called Lily a—a mudblood, James,” Remus hissed, barely pausing for a second before shouldering past. “I found her crying in the library.”
Fury spiked up in James’ chest at the slur and he tried to tamp it down. “I know, Moony, but if you go after him in broad daylight he’ll tattle to his parents and detention will be the least of our worries. You could get in serious trouble.”
“Since when do you care about trouble? You practically live in detention.”
“I care when Pete’s mum sent him a Howler and yours is threatening to pull you from school! Don’t you see? Malfoy’s family is way more powerful than Snape’s, and he could get us all kicked out,” James said, grabbing Remus’ arm and forcing him to turn around. The Howler had been bad enough, shrieking and wailing at Peter for a good five minutes at breakfast about responsibility; it even yelled at the other three at one point. The letter from Mrs. Lupin had come later in the evening on plain parchment with only one sentence: If you can’t control yourself, your father and I will bring you straight home. Remus had sent a response an hour later, once his hands stopped shaking.
Peter made a face. “Besides, Malfoy’s always a prick. Straight-up hexing him won’t be as satisfying as humiliating him later when we won’t get caught.”
“Exactly.” James dropped Remus’ wrist and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, let’s just head back to the Common Room and start planning with Padfoot. Hell, we’ll get Lily involved and she can plan her own revenge, she’s perfectly capable.”
“Malfoy’s arrogant and a fucking coward. If I beat him in a fight, he won’t tell a soul.” James started to argue again, but Remus’ gaze refocused on something outside and his face flushed with rage. “There he is.”
“Remus—” James stumbled into Peter as they were pushed aside for the second time that day.
“You entitled, bigoted, asshole!” Remus seethed, storming out onto the grass. Lucius Malfoy looked up and smirked when he saw the trio, then quickly backpedaled when Remus drew his wand in one sharp motion and shoved the point beneath his chin.
“Remus, no!” Peter shouted desperately. “He’s not worth it.”
For a moment, Remus didn’t move from where he had pinned Malfoy against the stone wall. He pressed his wand tip deeper into the soft flesh and Lucius whimpered— Remus was known to be quick with hexes and very creative when he was provoked, and finding Lily Evans sobbing in the library was enough motivation for James to almost pity the blond bastard.
Then, slowly, Remus lowered his wand and stepped back, deflating slightly as he faced his friends again, and James let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. The sheer fury on his face gave way to mere frustration.
Then Malfoy, stupid, prideful Malfoy, started to laugh. Fast as lightning, Remus whirled around and the laughter cut off with a sharp crack and a shout of pain.
Lucius Malfoy, pride of Slytherin House, hit the ground with a thud and scrambled back as his nose spurted blood. James wished he had brought a camera for the few seconds of unadulterated shock on his pinched face before he was back on his feet and sprinting for the castle with Lestrange and Mulciber hot on his heels, sputtering and ranting incoherently.
Remus flexed his fingers, face alight with satisfaction. “That felt good,” he said plainly.
“Good?” James couldn’t hold down his laugh. “Moony, that was brilliant!”
“I thought you didn’t want me to.” Remus hiked back up the hill toward them, grinning the whole way.
“I didn’t want you to kill him or make him run to Dumbledore sniffling all over the place.” James threw an arm over Remus’ shoulder and tugged him down to ruffle his hair. Merlin, he loved his friends. “Clocking him, on the other hand, was a stroke of genius.”
“Sirius is going to flip his shit,” Peter cackled as they headed back inside. “He’s going to be so pissed that he missed it. James, I bet you a galleon he whines that we left him behind.”
“Nah, he’ll be too busy cheering. You’re on.”
Remus’ proud smile dimmed. “I hope Lily’s alright. Didn’t really stop to comfort her, did I?”
“She’s a tough girl, she’ll be fine,” James assured him. He believed it, too—Lily had been crying when Remus brought her back to the Common Room, sure, but beneath the hurt there had been a spark of classic Lily Evans fierceness. She was in good hands with Sirius for the time being and hearing how Remus had avenged her honor would certainly cheer her up. “Hey, who wants to race back?”
Much to James’ chagrin, Peter won the mad dash to Gryffindor Tower by a landslide. The little rat was too fast for his own good, and it wasn’t like James could just pop into a stag without anyone noticing. “Hail, the conquering hero!” Peter whooped as the three of them tumbled into the Common Room, out of breath and laughing. “Lils, how are you feeling?”
“I’m alright. What’s got you all worked up?” Lily raised an eyebrow from her seat by the fireplace.
“Moony decked Malfoy!” Peter threw himself onto Sirius’ lap and sighed dramatically. “It was magical.”
“You what?” Lily and Sirius chorused.
“Pete and I were trying to convince him that cursing Malfoy was a bad idea, no matter how much of a slimy git he is, and Remus is a smart lad so he listened—”
“I seem to recall coming awfully close to hexing him anyway.”
“Anyway, Moony had him against the border wall, then Malfoy started laughing when he didn’t get cursed, so Moony turned around and punched him in the nose!” Excitement hummed in James’ veins as he recounted the tale; he felt like he could pop out of his shoes at any second.
“Hit him so hard his head smacked back against the wall,” Peter said fondly and wiped away an imaginary tear.
Lily bit her lip in concern. Her face was still a bit blotchy and her eyes were red-rimmed, but she looked as beautiful as ever. “That’s very sweet of you, Remus, but aren’t you going to get in trouble? I thought your mum—”
“Malfoy’s not going to tell,” Remus interrupted, settling into his favorite chair with a contented sigh. “He’d rather die than have word spread that he got bested, and I heard him telling his cronies not to speak a word about it. Besides, he deserved it for what he said to you.”
“I have never been prouder to call you my friend.” Sirius leaned into Lily’s side. “Lily, darling, hold me. I feel faint.”
“Aren’t you upset that you missed it?” Peter asked. “Do James and I have to re-enact it for you to fully understand the majesty of that punch?”
“Oh, I’m furious.” Sirius snorted. “I’d pay good money to see the look on Malfoy’s face when Remus came at him.”
“Called it!” Peter shouted, pumping his fist in the air. “Prongs, you owe me a galleon!”