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Sirius was cursing their DADA teacher. Non-verbally. As part of their 6th-year course, they had non-verbal spells and all the instruction the teacher had given was to say the spell within instead of out and imagine the incantation. As usual, he had paired up with James, who didn't have any problem casting the spells non-verbally. Sirius, on the other hand, couldn't even make a small lumos without his wand. Beside him, Remus and Lily were paired. Both of them were having the time of their lives. Sirius huffed and raised his hand. "Can you give me any helpful instructions?", he asked.

The teacher smiled at him. "I am damn sure the most famous Black heir knows more about this class than me. Don't hide your skills, Mr. Black."

The defense teachers either hated him because he was a Black and betrayed the Slytherin house being a Black and sorted into Gryffindor or hated him because he is a Black and has no business in Gryffindor. Half of them thought he would crack his head and start using the Dark Arts in the middle of the class.

Sirius would always roll his eyes and get on with his work because, by the end of the class, the teacher would either love him due to his exceptional defense skills or hate him because he is that good. Either way, it was fun. That is until now. Because the person this year was so infuriating. He couldn't decipher if was favoring him or mocking him. He ignored Sirius until Sirius would ask a doubt in the class and then instead of clarifying, he would say Sirius was just better than anyone in the class.

He was forced to laugh when he was hit by a mild tickling charm. "What?", he asked, laughing when in reality he wanted to punch James in his face.

James grinned. "Remember, all DADA Professors are idiots. Don't listen to him."

Sirius huffed before glaring at the teacher. Soon the class was over and on their way to their next class, James threw an arm over his shoulders and pulled him close. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know, Prongs. Maybe I am rubbish at this whole defense thing because I am not a Black anymore. Why am I the only one who is rubbish at nonverbals?"

James ruffled his hair. "Just because you weren't good in one class doesn't mean you are rubbish. Some practice and you would get it. Also, what's up with the Black magic. You are a Potter, idiot. You have Potter family magic."

Sirius didn't believe him. Family magic is complicated. Just because James feels it, doesn't mean the magic would accept him like he is its own.

When Sirius didn't reply, he bumped their shoulders. "Hey, we would practice some more and then you could top the class. Also, ignore the idiot. If I am not wrong, he is a Slytherin."

They were startled when they heard a scream and turned to the next corridor where a boy was cowering on the floor held at the wand point of Bellatrix. The boy looks on the younger side, probably a first-year and from Ravenclaw. "Bellatrix", shouted James, dragging her attention from the boy to him. "What on Earth are you doing?"

Bellatrix cackled. "Saint Potter. What do you want me to do? Pray to Merlin."

"Bella, leave the boy alone", he warned.

"Why do you think I would listen to a blood traitor?", she said, before laughing at Sirius. "My favorite cousin. Have you fallen this low? You left a pureblood home to a blood traitor?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "You would know all about blood, wouldn't you, Bella?"

"You would too when you finally come back to your senses and joins the dark lord."

Sirius barked a laugh. "Must be fun if you are gathering followers of your own right here in the school. What now? Your dark lord needs kids in his army? Aren't the adults accepting him to be a Lord enough?"

As they bantered back and forth, James ignored them in favor of calming the boy down. "Hey, it's okay. Sirius would distract her. Why don't you run off to your dorms? We would inform your head of the house about this, okay?"

The boy nodded and was about to run when Bella screamed an incantation. James, distracted, was too slow to get to his wand but then another scream of the Protégé and there was a loud clunk that was heard as if a glass had landed around him and the boy. James poked at the air. It was invisible but he could feel the thick magic in a circle.

In front of him, Sirius had his wand raised, glaring at Bellatrix. "Do not ever try to hurt James. It is the last warning, Bells. Raise your wand against him and I know the Dark Arts better than you. Remember that."

Instead of getting offended, she cackled like the mad-women she was. "But baby Sirius wouldn't use it. Because baby Sirius is too coward to use Dark Arts. What would Saint Potter would say if he did?"

"Saint Potter would punch you on your face. Sirius, remove the shield", said James.

But instead of removing the shield, Sirius covered his line of sight as he moved in front of them and the first-year boy beside him was clinging to James.

What's going on here?

They turned and found the two Gryffindor prefects, Moony and Lily.

"Not bad, cousin. First the blood traitor and now the mudblood. Are these your best defenders?"

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Bellatrix, say any incantation which could possibly hurt someone, and the teachers would be here in no time. If I were you, I would go to my dorms", said Remus, in his stupidly calming voice.

Bella sneered at the boy. "But you are not me, teacher's pet. Remind me, what are you again? Half-blood? Mudblood?"

Remus smiled at her pleasantly. "Human, like you", he said.

They have learned something during their initial years. Remus would be calm but when someone is pissing him off, he would be calmer and a lot snarky. The calmer Moony is, the more trouble you are in.

Lily snorted at the joke, angering Bellatrix. "You shut up, Mudblood."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I know who I am. What are you? Black blood? Just like your soul?"

Sirius whistled at that.

Bella glared at him before turning to Lily. "The dark lord would rise in power and then you would know where you stand."

"Go to hell, Black", said Lily before wincing. "Oh, I am sorry. You are already in hell."

"Merlin, Lils", exclaimed Sirius, from where he was leaning on the wall enjoying the drama, "do you smell anything burning in here?"

James thought they were a good pair as Sirius let the redhead take the center stage even if he had a defensive stance, ready to protect Lily if he had to. Remus was on her other side, as pleasant as ever. James would do something too if only the idiot breaks the shield protecting them. It was one of the strongest James had seen anyone conjuring and he would have yelled at Sirius, if not for the shaking boy in his arms.

Before Bellatrix could say anything, fortunately for them, Professor McGonagall was there as she glared at everyone. "What's the commotion? Ms. Black, Sirius, I thought we have the rule not to raise wands in between the corridors. Lower your wands."

Once they had both complied, Lily and Remus lowered their wands but not before Lily throwing the fiercest glare in the Slytherin's direction. When Minerva asked about what happened, Sirius pointed toward the boy. "She was harassing the boy and when James asked the boy to leave for his class, Bellatrix tried to hex James."

"And he conjured a shield charm so strong that I can't get through it. Minnie, ask him to free me", complained James.

Minerva was surprised when she raised her hand to brush through the magic before shaking her head. "Mr. Shacklebolt, do you agree with what Sirius said here?"

The boy nodded scared as Sirius muttered the counter charm. "She said I shouldn't be allowed to walk in Hogwarts because my skin is Black."

"Race", muttered Minerva before turning to Remus. "Mr. Lupin, would you please drop him to his next class, or do you want to go to your dorm?"

"Class? I am late to Charms", he told.

"It's okay, Mr. Shacklebolt. Mr. Lupin, please inform Filius about this. I will talk to him later when he is out of the class about the incident and about Ms. Black here."

Remus gave her a nod before disappearing with the kid, conversing with him. James knew the boy would be fine before he reaches his class.

"Ms. Black, 50 points from Slytherin, and you will have detention with your head of the house", said Minerva.

Bellatrix snorted. "Slughorn? Good."

"A detention that I would supervise, Ms. Black. Blood supremacy isn't allowed at Hogwarts. Yet, you bring another issue to cause violence and unrest. I will have words with the headmaster as soon as he is back in the castle. Now, please go back to your dorm. I don't think you have any interest in the rest of the class anyway."

As soon as she left, Minerva turned to the three. "Are you three okay?"

"We are fine, Minnie. Lily Evans saved the day like the goddess that she is", said Sirius before conjuring a bunch of lilies and falling down on both his knees. "Lily Evans, you are a Goddess descended to walk among us lowly mortals and I am your servant, happy to serve you for the rest of my life."

"You incorrigible flirt", said Lily, throwing her head back, laughing before she accepted the flowers, pulled Sirius up to his feet, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

James clamped down his urge to groan when Minerva McGonagall, out of all the people, let her eyes wander to James on seeing the other two. James was betting on all the bets that were going on with Lily, Sirius, and his relationship.

Luckily for him, instead of teasing him like Madam Pince definitely would do, Minerva rubbed her forehead. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this", she muttered to herself before walking away.

XXX

James cuffed Sirius's head as soon as they were alone.

"Oww, Jamie. It hurts", he said, wincing dramatically.

James rolled his eyes. "Why the hell did you trap me?"

"I was protecting you."

"We could have protected each other. Understood? Don't do that again."

Sirius pouted for the rest of the day and James ignored him.

XXX

James met the kid outside the Great Hall when he was going for dinner that evening.

"Hi, James", said the kid, looking as if he was waiting for James for a long time. "Can I...Can we talk?"

Seeing the nervous look on his face, the three marauders walked ahead while James went to lean beside the boy. "Hey, are you feeling okay?"

The boy nodded. "I just wanted to thank you for the morning."

James sighed. "What's your name?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"No need to thank me but stay safe, okay? Why were you walking alone in the corridors?'

"I lost the path."

James patted the kid on his arm. "It's fine. Just stick to your friends and she wouldn't dare again. I am sorry you had to go through something like that this early in your school but trust me, Hogwarts has so many things positive too. Don't be scared because of this one incident, yeah?"

"Everyone warned us to be careful of the marauders. No one did against the Slytherins or the Blacks."

"Not every Slytherin is bad and not every Black is bad either. The one who defended us, Sirius? He is Black but he isn't bad either. Bella is a bit unhinged ever since she was a child. We can't help her", he said, making the boy giggle.

"Do we have to learn Dark Arts to defend against her? Like Sirius did."

"You don't have to learn Dark Arts to learn defence skills, kid. Concentrate on DADA classes and if you feel it's not sufficient, take a book and practice. Ask for help from your seniors or any of the teachers. Anyone would help you. What Sirius did is not Dark Arts. He conjured a protective shield. Its charms."

"But you couldn't get out."

"Advanced charm. But definitely not Dark."

"Okay", said the boy. He waved at James when one of his friends came searching for him before going in.

"You did good, Potter."

He spun around and saw Lily. "Lily."

"You think Sirius is that powerful?", she asked as they walked together towards the Gryffindor table.

James snorted. "That idiot blasted his whole living room when he ran away, knocking out four fully grown wizards, just because he was scared when they were forcing the dark mark on his arm. That's his accidental magic I am talking about. Imagine what he could do if he is channeling his whole magic on one thing." And for some reason, James knew if that one thing was about protecting James, Sirius would conjure the strongest of magic.

XXX

Sirius was already in James's bed when he returned from the common room. "No plans tonight?"

The boy just huffed and waited for James to get into bed before curling up beside him. "Jay, you didn't talk to me all day."

"I was there with you, Siri."

"I know but-"

James sighed and carded his fingers through the boy's hair. Come to think of it, they really didn't talk all day because though initially he was ignoring the boy but there was something swirling inside his mind. "I was thinking", he muttered.

Sirius nodded his head against James's arm to let him know that he was listening.

"In the morning during the defence class, you said you were rubbish at non-verbal spells. Yet, against Bella, you had cast the strongest shield charm around me", he said. Sure, they were taught the shield charms but they usually aren't that strong.

Sirius raised his head to look at him with a confused frown on his face. "But I raised my wand said the spell. It was not nonverbal."

"I don't know, Pads. It was the strongest shield and I couldn't use my wand from within to break free myself. What were you thinking?"

"To protect you. I recognized the wand movement she was trying to do. Do you think it was my accidental magic again?"

James shook his head. "I don't know. I wish I could speak to someone good. I don't trust the DADA teacher."

"He is good to you."

"He is an idiot to you so he is an idiot for me", said James. "And Professor Dumbledore isn't the castle. Where do you think he is?"

Sirius shrugged putting his head back on James's shoulder. "Do you think he took himself out on a little vacation? Like a beach and muggle shorts, sipping some drink and popping muggle candies?"

James laughed at the mental image.

A/N: I have another chapter almost done. I just need to add another scene at the end. If I am getting some time before the weekend, I will post another update, if not, who knows when. :')