Something Really Weird

"Hey, hey, hey." James chuckled as soon as he saw it.

He acted first, flicking his wand, and a Levitation Charm landed on the wand.

Lily's wand floated up, higher and higher, until it reached a place beyond her reach, hovering in mid-air and slowly spinning.

"Can't reach it?" James laughed so hard he almost fell over.

He glanced sideways at Snape, who was still frozen on the ground, and a word was on the tip of his tongue, which he picked up just in time.

"Jump, Evans, jump higher, maybe you'll reach it."

Lily rushed over, tilting her head back to reach the wand floating in mid-air. She stood on tiptoe and stretched out her hand, but couldn't reach it.

James watched with amusement, taking two steps closer to her. He tossed the wand around like he was teasing a cat, swaying it left and right. His attention was entirely on the wand in mid-air and Lily's embarrassed expression as she couldn't reach it.

His two steps forward brought him directly beneath the Niche.

Lily landed on her tiptoes, her gaze returning from mid-air, no longer looking at her wand.

His green eyes gleamed, and he suddenly raised his left hand toward the Niche, fingers spread wide, then pulled it down forcefully. The movement was so fast and decisive that it happened without any warning.

There were no incantations, no beams of light, no gestures; Magic Power simply seeped directly from his fingertips, seizing the armor's center of gravity and violently yanking it off its base.

The armor wasn't secured underneath, and its center of gravity was high, so the helmet on top was fastened crookedly.

The helmet slid off first, and the breastplate and gauntlets, losing their support, flipped outwards and scattered with a crash. The entire suit of armor collapsed with a thud, carrying the wind as it slammed down on James's head.

James reacted with absurd speed. The light above him dimmed, and without even looking up to see what it was, he waved his wand upwards and uttered, "Impedimenta!"

A spell blasted towards the pile of iron, purely reflexively, shoving the falling armor aside.

The breastplate and arm guards were knocked off course, metal plates crashing against the walls and the ground. The helmet rolled a long way, making a series of clanging sounds on the stone floor, Mars flying everywhere.

Suddenly, James ' wand, spell, attention, and entire reaction were all locked onto those metal lumps above his head.

The Levitation Charm on Lily's wand broke, and the wand fell from mid-air, landing beside the Niche.

Lily had been waiting for this moment. As the armor slammed down, she lunged at her wand.

He lunged forward, crouched low, reached out and grabbed it, then stood up, turned, and aimed the tip of the cane at James.

"Expelliarmus!"

The red light struck James squarely in the chest, and his wand flew from his hand, tumbling through the air before landing with a clatter at the other end of the Corridor. The Corridor fell silent again.

The lingering thud of the armor parts rattling on the ground echoed, and the torch flickered against the wall, illuminating the scattered iron pieces with flickering light. James stood frozen in place, one hand still half-raised, the smug look on his face still lingering from the moment he had just unfastened the armor. Iron pieces lay scattered at his feet, and his free hand slowly fell to his sides.

She looked down at her empty palms, then looked up at the person opposite her, and her whole face began to turn red.

Lily stood amidst the scattered armor, her wand pointed at James, her chest heaving, her red hair disheveled, her cheeks flushed, her green eyes bright, her lips pursed, her knees still aching, and the cuts on her palms burning, yet her wand remained firmly pointed at him.

We won.

She herself could hardly believe it.

But the wand was in her hand, and James ' wand was on the ground; that was true.

"You think you've won, don't you?" Lily's voice trembled with breathlessness. "Every time you corner someone and beat them down, you think you're so great."

He took half a step forward, the tip of his cane still pointing at James's chest. "You can only bully people who aren't as good as you. If you run into someone as strong as you, how many moves do you have left?"

James stiffened his neck, his face flushed red, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Lily glanced quickly at the base of the wall, knowing she had to be wary of Sirius.

If this guy were to do it again now, she really wouldn't have any strength left; the previous encounter had already drained her almost completely.

But when she glanced over there, she was stunned for a moment.

Sirius's gray eyes were staring straight at her, his expression extremely strange. It was hard to tell whether it was doubt or something else; it was as if he was looking at her, or as if he was looking through her at something else. He was unusually quiet.

She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but judging from his posture and the hands in his pockets, he certainly wasn't planning on continuing the fight.

Lily didn't bother with him, but she didn't let her guard down. This guy was a habitual sneak attacker and had no class whatsoever.

Sirius's gaze remained fixed on the scene, his mind still preoccupied with what had just transpired.

He recognized what it was— Magic Manipulation, not bad, but nothing special.

But that kind of comeback where you think I've lost, but I'm just waiting for that moment when you're most relaxed.

The sense of déjà vu is even stronger now.

Lily looked away and then at James: "Potter, the wand is on the ground. Whether you pick it up or not is up to you. I just have one thing to say."

She took a half step forward, raising her wand slightly, her tone a bit sharp. "From now on, don't cause any more trouble for Severus, and don't let me catch you blocking people in the Corridor again."

James stiffened his neck, his face alternating between red and blue.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he looked down at the wand on the ground and then glanced at the overturned metal parts, all the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't get them out.

He was knocked off by a suit of armor and disarmed by a little witch of the same age.

If this gets out, just thinking about it gives me a heart attack.

Seeing his humiliated expression, Lily finally felt relieved after holding her anger for a year.

This is James Potter, after all.

She didn't let herself be smug for long; she knew better than anyone how she won.

If Potter hadn't fallen for the trick, hadn't been distracted by teasing her, and hadn't been distracted by the armor, which had blocked the attack steadily, she wouldn't have been able to turn the tide. Her victory was precarious, extremely precarious, but she ultimately won.

I glanced at Sirius again, and a thought popped into my head.

That guy just ambushed someone who was cornered, and then he acted like he was watching a show.

Compared to that the Dark Lord, I'm far inferior.

Lily's lips involuntarily curved into a smile, but she quickly suppressed it.

She thought of the man who always had a way of doing things but never bullied people like that. If he were here, she wouldn't need to worry about this at all. Those two guys probably wouldn't even have the guts to block people.

She suppressed her thoughts, her face remaining impassive, and with a sigh, her tone softened.

The wand hung down, and he waved his hand. "Alright, let's go."

James stood there for a while, as if he were struggling with himself, before finally bending down to pick up the wand.

He didn't look at Lily or Snape again, his face dark, his chest heaving, seething with anger.

But he didn't make another move. He couldn't bring himself to pounce on someone who had been disarmed; that would be more humiliating than admitting defeat.

He turned and headed towards the other end of the Corridor, his footsteps hurried and heavy, making a thumping sound on the stone pavement.

After taking two steps, he turned back and glared at Sirius.

Sirius was still standing there, staring blankly at Lily, that strange look never fading.

"What are you looking at!" James yelled impatiently. "Come on!"

Sirius finally snapped out of his daze, shrugged, and slowly followed.

As he left, he turned back to look at Lily one last time, his brow still furrowed.

The sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing around the corner down the Corridor.

Lily turned around and knelt down next to Snape, dispelling the Petrifying Spell.

Snape's body suddenly relaxed, then he pushed himself up to sit, his frost-covered arm still stiff and unresponsive as he raised it. Lily saw that arm, and her anger flared up again.

"Severus, are you alright?" She reached out to help him up, and then picked up the wand that had rolled to the side and handed it to him.

"Your arm is freezing! Those two went too far. I'm going to find Professor McGonagall and tell her about this."

Snape ignored her words, staring at the wand offered to him, and did not take it.

After a while, he pushed himself up and stood up straight, his arms still stiff, his eyes never looking at her face.

"Severus?" Lily's hand froze in mid-air.

"Who cares!" Snape's voice was cold and low as he snatched the wand from her hand.

He turned around, walked past her, his black robe billowing in the wind, his footsteps quick and muffled, heading towards the cellar.

Lily's hand was still raised, in the gesture of handing over the wand, as she watched the dark figure walk further and further away, turn the corner of the cellar Corridor, and be swallowed by the stone wall.

After a while, he withdrew his empty hands, wiped the dust and bloodstains from his palms on his robe, and let out a breath.

He raised his wand, lifted the few pieces of armor scattered beside the Niche, and stacked them back on the base. Then he turned and walked toward the Gryffindor Tower.

Gryffindor Tower, girls' Dormitory.

The fire in the fireplace was still burning, casting a warm glow on the red and gold curtains.

Marcia sat cross-legged on the bed, flipping through a combined issue of "Transfiguration Today," while Susan lay on her pillow writing a letter home.

The door opened, and the two of them looked up at the same time.

"Why so late?" Marcia trailed off mid-sentence.

Lily's school uniform was wrinkled, the sleeves were dusty, a few strands of her hair were loose, there were scratches on her palms, and her trousers were slightly torn at the knee. But she didn't look like she had been bullied.

Susan put down her quill, leaned closer, and asked with concern, "What happened?"

Lily placed her Handbag on the bedside table, took off her school robe and hung it up, then sat down on the edge of the bed and bent down to untie her shoelaces.

He hissed in pain when his leg hit his knee, rolled up his trouser leg to take a look, and saw a bruise.

Marcia handed over the Dittany Essence: "What happened?"

"We ran into Potter and his gang on the way," Lily, pulling out the cork and dripping two drops onto her knees, then rubbing some on the cuts on her palms. "We got into a fight."

Marcia exclaimed, "You fought with Potter?"

"Um."

"Then what?"

Then his wand flew away.

Lily put the Dittany Essence back on the bedside table, picked up her wand, wiped off the dust, and placed it next to her pillow.

Marcia and Susan exchanged a glance, both with the same expression: disbelief, yet also a disbelief that Lily would joke about something like this. "Wait a minute," Marcia squeezed onto Lily's bed, pressing herself against her, "You knocked James Potter's wand away? With a spell? What spell?"

Lily's lips curled into a smile, "Disarming Charm."

Susan sat down beside Lily, turning to face her. "I know it's Disarming Charm, but the problem is, how could he let you hit him? He's as fast as a wild rabbit."

"And another suit of armor," Lily, leaning against the headboard, legs outstretched, a hint of smugness in her voice. "The old kind in the Niche. I pulled it down, threw it at him, he blocked it, and then I hit him."

Susan thought for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise. "You Spellcasting pretty fast, two spells in a row?"

Lily chuckled and shook her head. "I never said I'd pull it with a wand."

Marcia stared at her, mouth agape, for a long while, then slammed her hand on the mattress: "Lily Evans! When did you learn Wandless Magic?!" "Magic Manipulation," Lily waved her hand, blinking. "Remember? I've been practicing."

Marcia raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and snorted, "Fine, fine, Black's good student."

Susan covered her mouth and laughed.

Outside the window, the moon hung above the Forbidden Forest, its silvery light spreading across the treetops and outlining layer upon layer of contours.

Lily stared at the moonlight for a while, and a thought flashed through her mind.

I'll see Regulus this weekend and tell him about tonight's events.

The corners of my mouth curved up on their own, and I couldn't stop them.

At the other end of the Gryffindor Tower, in the third-year boys' Dormitory.

As soon as James entered, he ripped off his robe and threw it on the floor. One shoe flew under the bed, while the other bounced off Lupin's desk leg. He collapsed onto the bed, which creaked loudly, and then began pounding his fists on the blankets.

"What the hell is going on lately?"

He yelled at the curtains and ripped off his glasses, throwing them next to his pillow.

"First, there were those second-year snake brats, five against four, and they still managed to keep us from gaining the upper hand. Now even Evans managed to disarm me! Evans! A Potions Class!"

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and grabbed a pillow, slamming it hard against the bed twice.

Those second-year students were Black's lackeys. They thought dealing with a few second-year students would be a piece of cake, but those little brats were surprisingly strong and managed to fight to a draw, with neither side gaining an advantage.

Now Evans has appeared.

On the bed next to him, Sirius lay on his back with his hands behind his head, his eyes fixed on the top of the curtains, not uttering a sound for a long time.

"Yes," he suddenly added, slowly, "It's so strange."

"You're absolutely right!" James sat up abruptly. "You noticed it too? I knew it! This whole thing was eerie; there was definitely something to it, absolutely something!"

"Hmm," Sirius was still staring at the top of the curtain, his eyes darting around, "It's eerie, there must be a reason for it."

They were each thinking their own thing.

James was thinking about how he had been running into obstacles everywhere lately, first the second-year students, then Evans —it was all very strange.

Sirius was thinking about Lily's fighting style, that inescapable sense of déjà vu, that feeling of having seen her somewhere before.

One mind was on earth, the other on heaven, and they happened to come together on the same topic.

"What's wrong with you?" James suddenly rolled over and sat up, stepping barefoot onto Sirius's bedside and poking his arm.

"Why didn't you make a move earlier? I was pushed to that point, and you were just standing by and watching?"

Sirius, annoyed by his poking, moved aside and said, "Tch."

"What are you cutting for!" James grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "You just watched me get disarmed by a woman, what kind of brother are you?" "You're just bad at it," Sirius shoved his hand away, looking distracted and not even focusing his eyes. "My fault?"

James retorted, glaring at him, "I'm bad? If I'm bad, then you go ahead and play!"

Sirius pulled the blanket up over his head. "Too lazy to move."

"You"

James pounced on him, and the two of them pushed and shoved each other on the bed, rolling around in a ball, the bed creaking and groaning.

At the desk, Lupin had a lamp lit, a book on Transfiguration open in his hand, and didn't utter a single word from beginning to end.

He looked up at the two men wrestling, then at James's defiant face, and at Sirius's seemingly playful but actually distracted expression.

Lupin sighed and turned a page.

"Everyone calm down, there's Transfiguration first thing tomorrow morning."