Shame

"What are you waiting for?" Sirius said coldly. "What do you want to do, Snivellus? Wipe your snot all over us?"

A stream of mingled curses and hexes burst from Snape's mouth, but his wand was ten feet away, so nothing happened.

"Clean out your mouth!" James said icily. "Scourgify!"

Pink soap bubbles immediately poured from Snape's mouth. Foam clung to his lips, making him gag and leaving him unable to breathe—

"Let him go!"

James and Sirius turned to look. James's free hand immediately darted up to his hair.

A girl was walking over from the lakeside. She had thick dark-red hair falling to her shoulders, and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes—

They were Harry's eyes.

She was Harry's mother!

"How are you, Evans?" James said, his tone suddenly turning friendly, and somehow deeper and more mature as well.

"Let him go," Lily repeated angrily. Her emerald-green eyes fixed on James, every bit of her expression showing intense disgust. "What did he do to you?"

"Well," James said, putting on an air of carefully considering the key points, "it's mainly because he exists, if you know what I mean..."

Many of the watching students burst out laughing. Sirius and Wormtail laughed too, but Lupin, who was still absorbed in his book, did not. Of course, neither did Lily.

"You think you're funny?" Lily said coldly. "But you're nothing more than an arrogant, rude little bully, Potter. Let him go."

"If you go out with me, I'll let him go, Evans," James said at once. "Go on... go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivellus again."

Behind him, the effect of the Impediment Jinx was gradually weakening.

Snape began inching slowly toward his lost wand, vomiting bubbly soapy water as he crawled.

"Even if I had