Curly Red Hair

~ Chapter One: Unforgivable ~

Near the Lake...

Lily walked away, muttering incoherently under her breath. A gust of wind made her hair fly all over her face and several strands managed to get into her eyes. Though frustrating, it was the gust of wind blowing in the direction of the lake that alerted her to the fact that James was about to humiliate Severus Snape in a way that was truly undignified and horrible.

No. I shouldn't interfere ... Remus will probably stop it.

She bit her lip, slowing her pace. She finally turned and looked at the growing crowd in disgust. You are going to regret it, girl!

"Accio wand!"

Lily commanded in a clear voice.

"What the ...?" James looked at his empty hand in bafflement.

Lily did not care about the looks that some of the students were directing at her as she swiftly walked into the center of the attraction. Her eyes gazed fiercely at the Gryffindors before glaring at Severus. She countered the levitating charm and the Slytherin dropped to the ground with a loud thud. It probably hurt but Lily didn't really care.

"After all these years attending Hogwarts, I would've thought that you would be aware that you've been singled out for practice," she said calmly to the greasy-haired Slytherin. "Or could it be that you've been doing the same thing?" Her eyes darted swiftly at the gash on James's face before looking back at Severus. The Slytherin was already on his feet and he pointed his wand at her.

"I wouldn't recommend it, Snivellus, unless you wish to clean the dungeons without the use of magic for the rest of your summer," Lily responded with an arched eyebrow.

"You're going to report this?"

She jumped briefly at the sound of Remus's voice. When did he end up standing behind me? "Probably," she answered with a shrug.

"Stupefy!"

she heard Severus shout and turned just in time to see Sirius deflect the spell.

"YOU IDIOT!!!" Lily screamed, surprising the handsome Gryffindor. "Look what you've done!"

Sirius blinked and began to swear creatively when he recognized the pile of shiny cerulean robes.

"Potter, Black, and Snape. Ten points from each of you and detention," McGonagall said coolly. She had been standing at the edge of the gathering all the while. No one had bothered with a second glance at the cat she had been moments before. "And you'd better see Madam Pomfrey, Mister Potter."

The Transfiguration professor knelt and muttered softly under her breath, "Ennervate."

"I almost forgotten what that felt like," was the first thing the Headmaster said, making McGonagall smile faintly.

"I believe a cup of chocolate is in order, Albus."

"Yes ... perhaps, it was unlucky of me to take a walk at this particular time ...."

"That's exactly the problem, Albus. You should take walks more often," McGonagall said, glancing over her shoulder and looking significantly at the Marauders.

Lily watched in relief as the professors walked away with minimum damage done to them. "I think that is your cue to disappear," she said to Severus impassively. "Maybe you ought to brush up on your Charms. You could have used a Cushioning Charm to break your fall." The Slytherin looked at her angrily. "That peer-tutoring offer is still open but it is up to you if you want to allow a Mudblood to help you achieve higher grades."

By now, the crowd had dissipated and that left only the six of them. Knowing that he was outnumbered, Severus left but only after giving them the patented death glare that would terrify students in two decades time.

Lily watched the Slytherin's figure until the boy disappeared from view and she deemed it safe to pay attention elsewhere. She was about to nag at Remus about his duty as a prefect when James started blinking too rapidly for her taste.

"Are you all right?" Lily asked in a neutral tone.

"What?" James asked, looking confused. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lily circled the boy until she was able to examine the injury that Severus had inflicted on him. The gash looked very big to her now that she was so close to the Seeker.

"Can you walk?" she asked, growing more concerned by the second. His brown eyes behind his glasses were unfocused.

James was silent for several moments before answering, "No, I don't think I could." Then he slowly sank to the ground with one hand supporting his head.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sirius knelt beside his friend and studied the gash.

"I feel very dizzy. I can't really see," James answered.

Lily suddenly felt pity for him and was kind enough to conjure a stretcher. While Peter watched worriedly, Sirius and Remus loaded their friend onto the stretcher and lifted it up.

"How people would laugh seeing you in a faint," Sirius teased and James groaned.

"Lily," Remus called, "thanks for the stretcher ... and ... for not lecturing me."

It was only when they were out of earshot that she finally found her voice. That Remus! The gall! Oh! She was shocked that Remus actually knew she was going to nag him. Is that his impression of me? A nag? She thought in dismay. Oh dear! She combed her hair with her fingers and looked out onto the lake. For some reason, the sunshine did nothing to lift her spirits and she decided that she'd probably be better off studying in the library.