"Give!"
James thought he heard a twinge of desperation in Snape's voice, and James couldn't help grinning despite his state. If things were going badly for his opponent, that meant the tide was about to turn in James' favor. He turned toward Snape, noting that he seemed to be almost straining with his spell. Not to mention the git was wide open to attack.
The thought came to James in a flash. Of course! If he disabled Snape, the curse would disappear! It was too easy. James lifted his wand at Snape, a motion he did in full view of his opponent despite the fact that Snape wasn't even looking at him. James rolled his eyes; some duel this was turning out to be. Tired of waiting for Snape to attempt to counter or at least look and see his own defeat, James opened his mouth, quick to speak the incantation that would disable his opponent and win the duel. "Petrificus Totalus!" It was a very smart move, though a bit predictable, and James pocketed his wand satisfactorily as he watched Snape fall to the ground, knowing he would be there awhile. Probably ten minutes or so if the spell held. James sighed in satisfaction. Maybe he should've been in Ravenclaw. Ha. Birds instead of griffins. Not likely.
But as James turned away from the disabled Snivellus, he found himself faced with a problem. It seemed as though the very instant Snape was immobilized, the flames before him became sentient and gained consciousness. James thought he saw all the animals within the flames blinking, coming awake, then the low hissing began to grow.
No, way. Shouldn't the spell have been cancelled the instant he'd knocked Snape down? The hissing grew to a roar, and James, becoming concerned, pulled out his wand again and spoke the incantation to negate all nearby spells. "Finite Incantatem!" It did nothing for the fire before him, however, and now the fire's size had doubled. Moving differently, predatorily, the fire inched closer, then jumped forward like it was pouncing, abruptly increasing its speed. James backed up, then dodged out of the way as one of the fire snakes hissed violently at him and lunged again. Though he turned and began to run, the fire was still hot on his heels, its heat searing into his back even through such thick robes.
Was this a special spell, one that wasn't able to be countered by usual means? A water charm had done nothing. Neither had the general counter spell James used for everything else. What then was the proper incantation to end the spell? James, now panicking, turned to Sirius, even as he kept running. This was a curse after all, and Sirius' sister was Bellatrix. Sirius had to know something. "What's the counter curse?" he yelled, this time leaping desperately out of the way as the fire grew and lunged yet again, dissolving the grass underneath it and not even leaving any soot in its wake.
Sirius paused, and James hoped that panic wouldn't overcome thought for his friend. "I don't. . .I it's. . .Expugno. . .er. . .Diablo!"
James whirled to face the growing flames, swallowing his likewise growing fear. "Expugno Diablo!" Nothing happened, and James wondered if he'd said the incantation wrong. Was it just because he didn't know the spell? Did he need to go back to the boys' dormitory and practice? That'd be nice.
The fire grew again, and James tripped over his feet as he backed up, shouting the spell even louder and hoping this would get his wand and the magic inside him to respond accordingly. Again, nothing happened. James looked over at his friends, who had likewise drawn their wands and were shouting Sirius' incantation at the flames, getting the same response that James had. "It's not working!" James yelled, though it was quite obvious that their spells, even in combination, had done nothing to the flames. "What now?"
The fire was becoming more aggressive by the second. It began to sense life other than James nearby and drove back the students who had come to watch the duel, lashing out at them as well. This was the Fiendfyre James knew. This was the danger he'd expected. What if it consumed them all alive, then went on to destroy Hogwarts? He'd be posthumously expelled!
"Snape!" Remus yelled, throwing another useless spell at the fire. "He's the one who used the curse! He must be able to stop it! Undo the spell, James!"
James barked out a laugh at this. "Undo the jinx?" he yelled. "And concede defeat?"
"James!"
Remus' shout, though disparaging, was so alarmed that James swung around, mouth gaping as the fire grew again, becoming a roaring wall of flame. It was descending on him like a wave, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. James didn't even have time to wonder what death would be like.
"Expugno Maleficum!"
Right before impact, both fire and heat swung away from James, and he watched, mouth open, as Snape's incantation worked and he sucked the flames into his wand. Realizing he wasn't about to be burned alive, James looked away from Snape toward his friends, wondering who had performed the counter curse on Snape to allow him to undo his spell. Though he'd expected to see Remus pocketing his wand, James was surprised, shocked even, to find that it was Sirius who lowered his wand.
Not even the thought of his best mate undoing a hex on such a slime ball could force James' blank mind to work. He stood still, shaking slightly and not even considering to hex Snape until long after all the flames vanished. Once the fire's roar was gone, James found their duel circle very quiet. The only sound was James' own panting, and he wondered if there was a spell to stop the blood from pounding in his head. The dueling ground that they stood on was now black, and James vaguely wondered if grass would ever grow there again. He looked at Snape, who was also catching his breath, then to his friends, seeing that Sirius was burning with rage.
"Prick!" Sirius snarled. "You tried to kill him!"
Snape threw Sirius a dark look, but, now that the threat was gone and he'd recovered somewhat, his friend's words lit a fire inside him. Wait. . .a moment. Wait a moment! Yeah! Sirius was right! The slime ball had tried to kill him! Kill him! How dare he!
Snape still looked a bit drained from his previous spell, which was all right by James. It was time for the git to learn his place. To learn what happened to Slitherins who stood against Gryffindor. To learn what happened to a slime ball who would dare stand against James Potter.
At the moment, all James had energy for was a single spell. But, after a moment's consideration, James smiled. He knew exactly what spell to use against his opponent. "Mimblewimble." He said the spell quietly, not wanting Snape to hear it coming and deflect it. The spell struck true, and James' smile widened. Now who had the upper hand? A wizard couldn't do anything without an incantation, and James knew that he'd just turned Snape into a defenseless mute.
He'd win with both hands tied behind his back. Snape was glaring at him, and James had to fight not to laugh. He wouldn't mind gloating, though. "I think we both knew who was going to win this duel, Snivellus. And it wasn't you."
Someone in the audience had the nerve to boo him, but James shook it off. He would revel in the thought of beating Snape for quite some time. Obviously, this was the only outcome of their duel. James raised his wand, lazily waving it at Snape as he considered his incantation. First he could toy with the git, then he could end the duel. After an hour, maybe. He didn't have to end the fight right away. Besides, this would make him feel good. Very good. "Flippen "
The spell came out of nowhere, and James almost didn't believe it, even after the spell struck him and caused his legs to give way. Had Snape actually hit him with a spell? No, there was no way that

Another spell came at him, and James deflected it, nearly dumbfounded. What in the world?! They weren't supposed to start learning nonverbal spells until next year! Besides that, most students didn't even start to understand the concept until long after they'd graduated! James risked a glance back at the other three Marauders, seeing that they all looked as shocked as he did. Sirius caught James' eye and shrugged, while Remus gave James a rather hard stare, as if to say that James should've expected this. But nonverbal spells. . .
"James!"
Peter's shout caused James to focus again on his opponent, but he didn't have enough time to voice his spell or deflect what was coming at him. The spell hit; it took only a moment for James to realize what Snape had done. His precious tongue, the source of all his magic, instantly stuck to the roof of his mouth, effectively rendering all his spells useless. It probably would've been better to have his wand snapped.
Now Snape's eyes were glowing, and as he shot a curse at James, James inwardly screamed his strongest shield charm. It flickered like a faulty Muggle light bulb before breaking from the spell, tossing James backward.
But more spells were already coming, and James dodged out of the way as best he could, getting hit by at least half of them despite his efforts. He was aware that he was weakening, and he was also feeling strange things growing in strange places. He couldn't fight like this. He'd get massacred.
Then, a wave of magic from behind him. James recognized Sirius immediately, and could also decipher Peter as well. In a moment, his wounds healed. Better still, his tongue was free once again. Ah, yes. He wouldn't lose. Not when he had his friends with him. Not when he was such a good wizard. James straightened up, causing Snape to pause. "Must've been a bad spell, Snivellus," James said. "Didn't last long."
Snape's eyes narrowed at this proclamation, and he shot a glare at Remus, Sirius, and Peter, as if knowing what they'd done.
"I'm in a rather good mood today, so I think I'll help you out," James said, muttering the counter curse to allow the slime ball speech. He wanted to hear Snape's frustration when he won the duel. He would win easily now. Especially since he felt Remus' strengthening charm from behind him. Sirius as well, using the same charm. Even Peter was chipping in. Gryffindors united. "Flippendo!" James yelled.
Snape put up a shield, but James' spell easily blasted through it, throwing Snape backward. The git looked surprised for an instant, but then he glared again at the Marauders; Remus, Sirius, and Peter quickly lowered their wands.
"Looks like I've got the upper hand, Snivellus," James said, bearing his teeth in excitement as he pointed his wand at Snape.
Snape gave a short, disdainful laugh at this, and James' anger rose at his defiance. The nerve! Why didn't he just surrender?! "Expulso!" The explosion threw Snape backward, and James stepped forward with intent, leveling his wand at the git and ready to declare victory. James knew there was no way, even if he somehow used the Cruciatus Curse, that Snape would ever admit defeat. All he had to use was one more paralyzing spell, and the victory would be his by default. "Petrif-"
At that moment, something very strange happened. James was in the middle of his spell when Snape, on his hands and knees now, raised his wand and flicked it upward. The rest of James' incantation was never spoken, for James was now, unbelievably, hanging upside down in the air, as though someone had hoisted him up by a single foot.
What kind of spell was this? Though he'd been at Hogwarts for quite some time, never, in all his years as a Marauder, had he come across a spell such as this one.
But thank goodness he'd thought to wear jeans today.
"Give."
James looked down at Snape, bearing his teeth. He pointed his wand at Snape's ugly face, which looked even uglier upside down. "I can still hex you from this angle, you know," James growled.
It looked as if Snape was daring him to try. Well, James wouldn't take such attitude upside down. Uh. . .
"Expul-" James gave a very unmasculine scream as he was hoisted another five feet into the air. After he reorganized both his thoughts and the contents of his stomach, James opened his mouth to shout another hex. "Impe-" Again, he was hoisted higher, not even able to get out half his incantation this time. Blinking hard to focus, James thought of another spell. Yup. Time for his broomstick to smash in Snape's skull. "Acc-" James fell, and he was heading straight for the ground when, abruptly, his wand was wrenched out of his hand. Then, before he crashed to the ground, whatever spell Snape was using began again, and James was, for the second time, hanging upside down. Though now he was without a wand.
Wandless and fuming, James glared daggers at Snape, wishing that his wand were back in his hand so he could wipe that smirk off the git's face. Maybe he could learn a curse to remove Snape's face altogether. That would be nice.
"Give."
James ground his teeth together. Never! He could still. . .well, he could still do something! And no, his face wasn't reddening from embarrassment! It was from being upside down! Snape continued to hold him there, seemingly content to keep James in his compromised position until he finally yielded.
It was getting harder to think now. Being upside down was starting to give him a migraine. The pulsing blood didn't help much. There had to be something to do! Wandless magic? Few wizards were strong enough for that, and he wasn't one of them. Darn. Cursing at him wasn't nearly as fun as cursing him.
Then, magically, a thought came to James. An idea. Yes, it would work. He didn't have magic, but others did. James struggled for a second, putting on a show so that Snape wouldn't suspect anything. Then he craned his neck and looked at his friends, who weren't too happy at James' state. Sirius seemed ready to attack, but seeing the look of intent on James' face made Sirius pause. Meeting his friends' eyes, James raised both eyebrows in a silent signal to Sirius and Peter, who both nodded at the same time and raised their wands.
Good. Now all he had to do was give up. Then Snape would drop him, Sirius and Peter would attack, and Snape would have no time to dodge or block. It was perfect. "All right," James said, swinging his attention back to Snape and glaring hard at the git, trying not to smile. "All right, Sniv Severus."
For a moment, Snape looked stunned. Then his wand faltered for a moment, and James knew he suspected nothing. He'd get even with the git. He'd show Slytherin who was boss.
"I," James said, sighing and making a great show of his defeat and apparent failure. "Give!"
Snape shrugged and flicked his wand again, releasing James from his spot in the air. James had barely hit the ground before he heard Sirius' and Peter's shouts behind him, and James could already imagine the git keeling over from their spell.
Snape's eyes widened, and as James grinned over at him, Snape flicked his wand a second time. James was astonished to find himself yet again in the air upside down. He realized what was going to happen only a moment before it actually did.
Oh, no.
Both spells, aimed for Snape, collided with James' body instead, and he felt the combined power of the same spell stiffen not only his body, but his insides as well. He could hardly breathe against the Petrificus Totalus. Was his heart even beating?
Though James' eyes were frozen in place, he'd fallen in just the right spot so that his vision was frozen on the git himself. He was forced to watch the slime ball smile at him before pocketing his wand. "Looks like I win. I guess snakes are more cunning than griffins." And Snape turned and walked away, swaggering just a tiny bit.
Oh, the nerve! Oh, the disgrace! Oh, did his nose itch!
Sirius, Remus, and Peter raced over to help him, nearly falling on top of him as they skidded to a halt and performed their counter jinxes. None of the usual spells worked, and it took them five minutes before Remus suggested that, due to the fact that it'd been a spell of double strength that put James in his current state, perhaps a counter spell of double strength would work as well. Sirius and Remus waved their wands, speaking their incantation in unison.
James inhaled the instant he could move again, sitting up and taking the wand that Peter had retrieved for him.
"Don't worry, mate," Sirius said, glaring at the spot Snape had been standing. "We'll get him. Teach him a right lesson."
James exhaled and deflated a bit, still unable to believe that he'd lost a duel with a Slytherin. Not just any Slytherin, either. With Snivellus! What did that make Gryffindor? Him: James Potter? Weak? Useless? Never! He was proud; he was courageous; he was the best.
Why then, had he lost?!
Remus inhaled, as if to say something, but James got there first. "Don't you dare say I told you so," James growled.
"Wasn't going to," Remus said. "Your arm got a bit burned from the Fiendfyre. I was going to tell you to go to the Hospital Wing."
James glanced down, only now noticing that his left wrist was blistering a bit. He shrugged it off. "I'm fine, Moony. But we'll get him, all right." James breathed out a bit of steam as the anger coursed through his veins, and his wand again shot sparks from its tip. He would show that Slitherin git who was who! He'd get revenge, even if it took him until the day he graduated from Hogwarts. No one hung James Potter upside down and got away with it. "Do any of you know what that spell was?" James asked.
"The hanging one?" Sirius asked. "No. But it was cool, though."
"Probably something he got from other Slytherins," Remus said.
"Deatheaters, no doubt," Sirius said blackly. "How else could he have learned it?"
The four went quiet as they considered both the spell used on James and their recent defeat.
"We have to find out what it is," James said abruptly.
Sirius' face split into a hungry grin. "I like where this is going."
James nodded. Remus said nothing, but he, too, looked interested.
"It'd be good to use in a duel," Remus said.
"A duel against that git," Sirius breathed.
"We'll find out what that spell was," James said. "We'll all learn it."
"And we'll take him down?" Peter asked.
James shook his head. Snivellus didn't deserve just a sound defeat. The git had humiliated him in front of the entire school. James had lost in front of the entire school. Gryffindor's name had been slandered. The Marauders had been slandered. James Potter had been humiliated. This was so much more than payback. "No. We'll do a lot more to him than that."
Sirius barked out laughter. "This is why I like you, Prongs."
James pushed himself up, standing tall despite his defeat. Never again would such embarrassment happen to him. This was only the beginning. He would learn the spell that Snape had used. He would learn nonverbal techniques. And he would get his revenge. He would. He would!
There was no other option. Snape would rue the day he came to Hogwarts.
James would make sure of it.

The End