I know. "What the hell is happening in this chapter?" - oh, just me making Canon worse :) 

Anyway, I've been listening to Taylor Swift's new album quite a bit. Very nice. I'm completly takedn by 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me' and 'The Prophecy'.  I've been busy preparing for my interview for an American visa (I'm scared) so I can go to NY and watch something on Broadway. I always dreamed to watch something on Broadway.

I hope you all like this chapter. Leave comments, please. 

TW: BULLYING, HOMOPHOBIA, (BLOOD) RACISM (?)

It was no secret that the three-quarters of the Marauders had gotten another detention. They shared that fact avidly, proudly even. The speculation about the why that Severus Snape had gotten a detention as well at the same time was just that, speculation; still, it was readily decided that they had gotten into a fight and had been caught.

It was later known that it had been a duel between James and Severus, and once James won, Sirius didn't think it was enough and continued attacking Severus (now wandless, unarmed and helpless) – Peter had tried to intervene and failed, ending up attacking Sirius. McGonagall caught them all at it.

Remus Lupin, apparently, was away with Lily Evans, doing their prefect duties.

"Pathetic," Luna grumbled, bitterly as Sirius smiled and joked with James, who unapologetically winked at Peter, but Peter did not seem too excited about leaving dinner earlier to go to detention. "How can someone be so proud of hurting someone else?"

"Men," Pandora answered.

Put out with her food, Luna pushed her half-empty plate away from her.

"Not all men, surely," Luna said.

Pandora shrugged.

Evan had always liked teasing; being (with Pandora) the youngest child of the family, it was easy for everybody to tease him and make him feel small and unprotected, so he started hurting back – sharp wit, hurtful words aimed at anyone that would as much as look for him for too long in a way that made him uncomfortable. He took pleasure in hurting the people that tried to hurt him. It was more than revenge; it was the feeling of superiority that being brighter and sharper that it brought him. Pandora's father, Raphael, too liked hurt people, or so Pandora understood growing up. Much like Evan, he would aim his angry words at people that would lock their attention on her to notice her 'quirkiness'. He would go further than most people would to find their deepest and darkest secrets just to find a way to share them, hurt them. And he would smile once they would bow, kneel and apologise, begging for mercy – for secrecy.

By all she knew, men took pleasure and pride in hurting people.

"I think most of them," Rosalie said, nodding. "My brother laughs when he pulls my hair."

Luna frowned.

"Remus only pulled my hair when we were small, fighting," she said. "I don't think he has hurt me physically since I was... I don't know, ten or so."

"Lucky you," Rosalie grumbled. She took a sip of her juice from her goblet. "Besides, as Regulus Black's partner, I'd think you'd know about pleasure and pain."

Both Luna and Pandora turned to Rosalie.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, eyes narrowing.

While she knew that Regulus most likely had people in secrecy, as most people in that school had. However, the idea of Rosalie Richards and Regulus Black made her stomach churn and her mouth turn bitter as her disgust made her uncomfortable, as if she held something personal that belonged to someone else. Besides, she had never thought of Regulus of someone that would enjoy hurting other people, someone that would find pleasure in choking, slapping and biting and...

Rosalie suddenly blushed deeply, eyes widening as she shook her head.

"I did not mean that –" she stuttered. "I mean, I had no intention of implying that –"

"Whatever do you mean?" Pandora asked.

"I meant to say that since he fights so often, I'd think that perhaps he enjoyed fighting," Rosalie tried to explain, but the blush on her cheeks and forehead made it quite obvious that her first thought had been completely different. "Right..." she grumbled, still uncomfortable.

Luna watched Rosalie for a few seconds, narrowing her eyes at her housemate.

"Have you and Regulus –" started Luna.

Rosalie's eyes widened.

"No. Good God, Luna, no. Never. I would've warned you otherwise, in the very moment you began hanging out with him. I promise I wouldn't hide something like that from you," Rosalie said. "It was just as assumption, an ill-timed and harmful assumption."

Pandora looked at Rosalie coldly.

"See that it doesn't," Pandora said.

Luna turned to Pandora in surprise.

It wasn't often that she showed that she, indeed, belonged to her family. There was a sharpness that the Rosiers would find when talking to someone that had gone against them, something that Pandora rarely ever used and hated to hear on her own voice. It was miraculous that she done so, even in protection of Luna.

Perhaps, Luna thought, it wasn't just men that found some pleasure in hurting people, because when Rosalie looked down, upset and completely ashamed, there was a small sparkle of pride in Luna's chest, an ember of something that she couldn't name.

Noises made Luna look around, searching for the crescendo of voices that she couldn't place.

"I might have several problems in my life, McKinnon, but at least my condition is natural!" Severus Snape was screaming.

Finding the people involved in the discussion near the Gryffindor table, standing facing one another made Luna relax. Her brother wasn't involved, at least. It was just Marlene McKinnon and Severus Snape.

"Don't be a prat. What the fuck are you even trying to say to me? I was trying to help you!" Marlene said.

"I didn't need help. I didn't ask to be helped," Severus answered.

Slowly the noise around them started dying down, letting their voice become louder and louder.

"Answer! What are you trying to say?"

"That I don't need the help of an unnatural woman!" Severus screamed.

"UNNATURAL? UNNATURAL IS YOUR FUCKING GREASY HAIR, YOU FILTHY BITCH!" Marlene yelled, shoving her hands against Severus' chest, pushing him away roughly.

"AT LEAST I'M NOT A LESBIAN!" Severus yelled.

McGonagall jumped up from her seat, smoothing down her skirts as she stepped away from her chair, going as fast as she could manage to walk towards the stairs to the student's corridor.

"Mister Snape! Miss McKinnon!" she exclaimed. "That is quite enough."

"YES, I'M A LESBIAN. AND?!" Marlene said, turning to the school population watching the scene. "Well, now it's public fucking knowledge. I LIKE GIRLS. I LIKE WOMEN. See, Snape, that's not the problem. The problem is that nobody fucking likes you because you stink to potions all the time. Making eyes to my best friend won't change the fact that she will never love you in the way that you want, screaming at me won't change the fact that nobody else would intervene against those horrid boys –" (Sirius made a loud 'woop', making sure and clear that he was one of those boys), "that you hate so much."

"Enough with the screaming!" McGonagall said, finally getting to the two, stepping between them. "You either eat, or you leave and stop getting in the way of the enjoyment of this meal with your screeching."

Sirius laughed loudly. "It's entertainment!" Sirius screamed over Professor McGonagall's voice.

With a glare, the woman shut Sirius right up.

"I refuse to exchange one more word with this dyke," Severus said.

"MISTER SNAPE, DETENTION! I will not allow such hateful language in this school," McGonagall said.

Snape did nothing more than shrug, turn around and walk away, slamming his hand against the door of the Great Hall to open it, not closing it once he was through.

Luna had her jaw almost to her chest, shocked and disgusted by the hateful speech that Severus had spat at someone that he had been somewhat friendly through most of his school career.

Though everybody knew that Snape was friendly towards to Marlene due to her close friendship with Lily Evans, the only true friend that Snape had seemed to make in his whole life, it was clear to the world that he hated everybody that not Lily Evans in that school. He had not made friends in Slytherin due to his attachment to the girl, and nobody in Gryffindor had liked him for his manners.

"What the fuck was that?" Marta said, finally separating herself from Morris.

"I guess Marlene McKinnon is a lesbian," Morris said, watching as the girl, blushed and uncomfortable, walked to Lily Evans and sat beside her to eat, but did not fix herself a plate. "I suppose I know why I never stood a chance with her..." he said, smiling. Marta turned around to punch his arm so fast that he didn't have time to pull away, "... I'm joking! I'm joking, my love. It was because I loved you so much."

Luna turned to look at the Gryffindor table, face flushed in anger against the prejudiced boy.

Lily Evans whispered furiously in Marlene's ear, who became redder and redder in the face until she got up, slamming her hands at the table to hiss something in her friend's direction and walk away, not looking back when Evans called her name.

Luna found Remus watching her, face unreadable.

She looked away.

Walking with Regulus was becoming an incredibly enjoyable pastime to Luna.

He always insisted in holding her hands and books if they were going or coming from classes, but when they were just strolling out of plain companionship, then he would take her hand into the crook of his arm, leading her through the familiar corridors and on the grass like a gentleman from an old film, allowing her to babble about anything and answering her questions, but rarely talking himself. Sometimes, when she said something that pleased him enough for a laugh, he would pet the hand in his arm or would just rest his hand on top of hers to say something gently.

"With my dad living in Cardiff and mum in Bristol, we don't travel much outside those two places and, sometimes, London when needed," Luna admitted as they spoke of travelling. "You spoke of leaving the country in the summers."

"Sometimes," he said, nodding. "My family, as I said before, is French. I spent most of my childhood going back and forth between London and Bordeaux. Our Château is one of my favourite places on Earth. I could spend most of my days there and never regret leaving everything here behind."

"Oh, how posh you are!" Luna lamented with some irritation.

"Why that tone?" he asked.

"There's a reminder every time that I talk to you about how I could work my whole life, and I'd never get half as much money as you can spend in a blink of an eye," she exclaimed.

Regulus looked down at his own feet with something alike shame in his face, but he felt odd. He had nothing to be ashamed of. That money in his vaults was older than him, there was little he could do about being born wealthy; still, he felt shame that Luna felt like he was flaunting it or making her feel compared to his lifestyle on purpose.

"What's your favourite place on Earth? A place that makes you feel like the world is waiting for you, and time stopped," he said.

What a romantic notion, Luna though. What a romantic thought that the world would wait, and time would stop for anyone or anything at all. Such sentences sounded odd coming from Regulus, as if the boy she was walking with wasn't the one that became a wild animal at the mere hiss of his brother's words (which she had yet to find out).

"My grandmother's place," she answered.

Regulus nodded.

"You spoke of her with great tenderness," he said. "Where does she live?"

"A small village in Wales," she said. "It's... quaint."

Suspicious over her pause and careful choosing of words, he looked at her by the corner of his eye.

"Quaint?" he asked.

Luna felt more ashamed by her shame than anything else. She loved Wales, she loved the accent her grandfather and her own father carried; it was the place her grandmother had met her grandfather and fell in love with him. She loved the language and the way she was raised. And yet there was hesitation that she couldn't describe whenever she was to speak about it to anyone at all.

"It's small and... old," she said.

"Most of the United Kingdom is old, Luna," he reminded her.

She pressed her lips together.

"My grandparents had a bigger house before, you see, and they were happy there for a long time, but when my grandfather got sick, they decided to go to their favourite cottage. Once he died, she decided to stay. It was their favourite place, in the same sense your country house is yours," she explained in a low voice as they approached the courtyard. "I believe I can feel some of their happiness whenever I visit, an echo of their memories. The cottage in itself is really big, gigantic to my standards."

"The one with five bedrooms, yes, I remember you saying," Regulus said.

Surprised, she looked at him and nodded. He had been paying attention to everything that she had said that day.

"Yes. It's the biggest in the region," she said. "Whenever she has parties, she invites everybody. A lot of people come."

"She's well-liked," he said, also remembering that.

She nodded, silently.

In the courtyard someone laughed loudly, making Luna peek between the stone pillars. She froze, hand in Regulus' bicep holding onto him, keeping him in place by accident. He understood that she had seen something rather quickly, because he didn't ask what was wrong, but held her hand in place and cranked his neck to see it, too.

Snape was on his back on the grass, kicking the ground to put some distance between him and James Potter, panting. James barely noticed that Snape was moving, because he was looking over to a group of girls, winking at one of them; but it was Sirius that send an 'Impedimenta' towards him, making him struggle on the ground as if bound invisible ropes.

"Oh no," Luna whispered.

Regulus scoffed.

"Poor bastard," he grumbled. "Two against one. Unarmed."

Snape was screaming a stream of swear words and hexes, but he had yet to take domain of wandless magic, and his wand was on Peter Pettigrew's hand.

"Wash out your mouth," James scolded. "Scourgify!"

Soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth. He choked, gagged and coughed.

Luna took a step forward, ready to intervene before the group took it too far, already glaring at Remus for standing there and doing nothing. Regulus was the one to click his tongue in disapproval, holding her in place by the hand resting in his arm.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" someone screamed before Luna could say something to Regulus.

Lily Evans was certainly a force to be reckoned with, because a group of students parted to allow her to pass through. Though Marlene was right behind her, she said nothing, just crossed her arms and watched as her friend stepped to protect the boy that had hurt her before.

James' smile was so bright that Luna had to look away from a second.

She felt horrified that her brother wasn't doing something – anything at all. When someone had tried to spell Pandora and tease her, Luna had gotten her very first detention, and then her second was when she interfered on someone else bullying a first-year that she didn't know. She remembered because Remus had smiled at her when he found out in pride, and yet there was no denying that his hypocrisy. She knew of their rivalry between the Marauders and Snape, but there was a whole group watching and nobody was doing anything to make the fight fair.

"What's he done to you?" Lily asked loudly.

"Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean... Though the fact that he called your best friend a slur sounds like a reasonable excuse," James answered, raising his eyebrows at Lily.

Luna couldn't understand why James was taking it so personally. Sure, she could understand Sirius – known and publicly part of the community -, after all, Luna herself – recently discovered bisexual, with such fact still hidden – had felt disgusted by Severus Snape's words and actions, but she couldn't think of herself attacking him with backup when he was alone and unarmed.

Her only comfort was that most people laughed of James' joke, but not Remus. He was as serious as Lily, not looking away from his book.

"Coward," Luna mumbled to herself, watching Remus glance around before looking back at his book.

Regulus glanced at her before going back to watch the scene.

"You think you're funny," Lily said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

James smirked. "I will if you go out with me, Evans," he quickly answered, glancing at Sirius for approval. Sirius grinned. "Go on... Go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Regulus made a little noise, not believing it for a second.

Behind the scenes happening, the jinx that Sirius had thrown at Snape was wearing off and the boy was dragging himself on the ground, inching towards Peter's distracted body, who had his wand in hand.

"Here we go," whispered Regulus.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said, laughing, then turned. "Oi!" he screamed at Snape.

Too late for him, because Snape was pushing Peter with his whole body, making the boy fall to the ground and taking the wand from the boy. He directed his wand straight at James' face and a gash appeared at the side of his face. James made a loud noise as his robes were spattered in blood. Unfortunately to Severus, Potter's wandwork was complimented by many professors, and the reason was how fast it was. It was barely half a second and a flash of light later that Snape was hanging upside down on the air, robes falling over his head to reveal his skinny legs and greying, old underpants.

Luna made a loud gasping noise that was easily covered by the crowd cheering and for the someone screaming and whooping.

Regulus turned to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She knew that Snape had trouble with money, much like she and Remus. The sight of the familiar, greying clothes that were washed one too many times just reminded her of that.

Her chest hurt.

"Let him down!" Lily screamed.

"Certainly," James said.

Snape fell to the ground, headfirst and tangled in his own robes. It took him a moment to disentangle himself and stand up, but as soon as he stood, Sirius' wand was pointed at his chest and Snape keeled over again, rigid in the spell.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted, her own wand in hand now.

It was all it took to make the boys wary.

James made a disapproving noise.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," he said, sounding a lot more genuine than Luna expected.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed, but did as she instructed.

"There you go," he said as Snape got up. He reached for the cut in his face, trying to make the blood stop. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –"

"I don't need the help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" Snape snapped.

Another gasp from Luna, she covered her mouth with her hand, pulling it away from Regulus' arm. Regulus, taken aback by her reaction, put an arm around her shoulders. She stumbled backwards and he held her in place, trying to call her name.

"APOLOGISE TO EVANS!" James roared.

From where Luna stood, she could see James' wand pointed at Snape's chest again, ready to use something a lot worse than Impedimenta or a freezing spell. The anger in his face was something that not even Sirius had seen before, and that made the black-haired man take a step back, unsure of what to do next. He had been the one to offer the pastime of annoying Snape that day, and yet, there he was.

"I don't want him to apologise," Lily shouted at James. "You're as bad as he is."

"What?!" James yelped, voice high. "I'd never call you a... you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you just got off your broomstick, showing ff with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you because you can. I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me sick!" she said.

Luna shook her head.

James' actions were wrong, but it was the slur that had taken her by surprise.

"I can't believe he said that" Luna said.

Regulus watched her for a moment.

"It sometimes slips," he said, shrugging. "When someone's embarrassed and angry, words slip out of mouths. He probably didn't even mean it. He doesn't use those words in the Common Room, or at least I never heard him say it."

Luna turned to him.

"They use that word in your Common Room openly?" she asked, surprised.

He frowned.

"It's just a word," he said.

She shook her head.

"It's racist!" she said. It was the confusion in Regulus' face that made her clear her throat and step away from him, making him drop his arm from around her. "Well, not racist, but... prejudiced, nonetheless. I don't have a word for it."

"Blood puritism isn't surprising, Luna. It's common," he said.

"Common doesn't mean right!" she said.

"He was just embarrassed," he said shaking his head.

Luna blinked.

"I can't believe you're defending him!" she exclaimed.

Uncomfortable, Regulus looked around. Nobody was watching them, because now – with Evans done – James and Sirius were laughing as Severus tried to defend himself from James attacks (at least now it was only him duelling against him; fairer).

"It's just a word, Luna. I don't understand your shock or disgust. You're acting like Sirius did," Regulus said.

"It's like using slurs against black people or Jews," she said. "This sort of hatred has already created enough problems; don't you think so? Slavery, killings, massacres. My grandfather fought in the Second War. This isn't right."

Regulus frowned.

Sometimes Luna spoke as if it was another language, using terminology that he didn't understand.

"What? The muggle war? Did muggles have a lot of wars?" he asked.

"Yes, we do that when we're bored," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Really?!"

"NO!" she exclaimed so loudly that Regulus took a step back. "Regulus, fucking Merlin! Have you studied nothing?"

"Of Muggles? No," he admitted.

Luna shook her head, stepping away from him, hand flying to her sternum, pressing it distractedly.

"Do you know how slavery started and how it still clouds the judgment of many people? Do you know how many people died in the Second World War because of the colour of their skin, their race, their religion... their sexuality?" she asked.

He shook his head.

Luna said nothing.

"Aren't you going to explain it to me?" he asked.

"Perhaps you should find a book," she said. She took a deep breath, hissing through her teeth in pain. "I should go to the Hospital Wing," she mumbled.

Regulus tried to reach for her.

"I'll walk you," he said.

She pulled her arm away from him.

"No, I'll just – I can walk by myself," she said, shaking her head, starting to walk away from him. "I need some time alone."

Regulus watched her walking away, uncomfortable about not being able to help her and not being able to comfort her.

Luna knew very few emotions that would make her react so painfully physiologically, other than fear. The fact that Regulus didn't see a problem with what he had just seen made her feel fear – if Severus (half blood, penniless) was in danger, what would make her (half blood, penniless) safe? She was terrified of the fact that Regulus most likely would not find a problem of something similar happening to her.

Sirius silently watched Luna stumbling forward, away from Regulus, looking terribly pale.

"Hey, mate," he said, turning to Remus. Remus looked up from his book. "I think your sister's sick."

Remus looked around, seeing Luna walking away from Regulus, turning the corner by herself as Regulus silently watched.

"Do you want me to go take a look at her?" Peter asked, turning to Remus.

He often sent Peter to sneak near her, taking a look at her to find out if she was well or not.

"No. I'm going myself," Remus said, getting up. "Don't cross the line, please. Stop this mess before McGonagall gets here."

"Ah, another detention is nothing," Sirius said, dismissing his friend's worry. He pushed his hair over his shoulder. "Now, go on. Luna might be needing someone. She won't let Regulus see her like that."

Remus watched Sirius for a second before nodding and walking away.

Peter watched the exchange in silence, not understanding how Sirius seemed to know Luna so well.

A friend of mine scolded me for making James only attack Snape again after he cut his face. I DIDN'T PUT THE CUT THERE - IT'S CANON. Not my fault at that, please. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter (you probably hate me)