The weekend brought the Quidditch tryouts, and Harry was looking for a completely fresh team. Alice sat with Hermione in the stands, not particularly bothered about trying out.

"Good luck, Ron," Hermione gave him a swift kiss on the cheek before leaving the pitch.

"What was that?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

"What was what?" Hermione replied nonchalantly, and Alice knew she wouldn't get anything else out of her.

An hour passed in amicable silence. Hermione scribbled furiously on the parchment in front of her, and from looking over her shoulder, Alice could tell that it was Transfiguration homework.

It was time for the keepers to try out. Ron went a delicate shade of green as he mounted his broom.

"Good luck Ron!" Lavender Brown called from a few rows behind, and Alice noticed that Hermione looked intensely cross.

"Hermione, if you fancy Ron, why don't you do something about it?" she asked.

"I do not fancy Ron!" Hermione insisted.

"Keep telling yourself that, I'm sure it'll work out well."

Ron managed to save all his goals, and Harry clapped him on the back and gave him a wide grin.

"Oh no," Alice muttered. "McClaggen's next. He can't be keeper."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she slipped her wand out of her pocket, muttered something under her breath and went back to her homework.

Alice smirked. "I never thought I'd see the day when you break a school rule."

"I've broken plenty of school rules," Hermione countered.

"Such as? And the twelve inch rule doesn't count, everyone breaks that."

"I've been out in the corridors at night."

"Hermione, you're usually out in the corridors to tell Harry to stop being such a twat and get back to bed, and the Fat Lady buggers off somewhere. And that hasn't happened since first year."

"I'm a prefect now, I have to set an example for the younger students," Hermione's tone had a note of finality to it, and Alice dropped the issue and moved on to the previous one.

"Tell him," she insisted.

"I'm sorry?"

"Tell Ron you like him. He likes you too."

"No he doesn't," Hermione rolled her eyes. "It took him four years to notice that I'm a girl."

"Alright, well he might not know he does yet, but he does, trust me," Alice insisted. "Even Ginny said so last night."

"Speaking of Ginny…" Hermione cast a furtive glance around her before leaning towards Alice. "I know we both encouraged her to move on from Harry, but what if it was a mistake?"

"A mistake?" Alice frowned, a small crease appearing between her golden eyebrows.

"Have you seen the way he looks at her?"

Alice looked over to where Ginny was in the air, tossing the quaffle to the new chasers, Katie Bell and Demelza Robbins. Harry was watching her, a look of subtle admiration on his face.

She turned back to Hermione and shrugged. "I don't know if he'd ever do anything about it. He values his relationship with Ron too much. And besides, she's going out with Dean."

"You don't think she'd dump him if Harry made a move?" Hermione asked, her eyes alight with a strange gleam.

Alice thought about it for a while. They were already friends. They had lots in common. Together, they looked a lot like James and Lily, and they were perfect for each other. Yet somehow, she didn't like the idea of it. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, though.

"Tryouts are over," Hermione announced a little while later, once Harry had addressed the new team and arranged their first practice. Dean had waited with them for Ginny, and Alice pushed Hermione towards Ron. She stumbled into him, and he caught her by the arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, and she nodded, blushing, as he helped her stand on her feet again.

Harry let his team leave and caught up with Alice himself as she was strolling back to the castle. His voice was hoarse from screaming at the various players, his hair messier than usual from running his hands through it in frustration, and his glasses kept sliding down his nose from the amount of sweat on his face.

"You stink. Get in the shower," Alice wrinkled her nose, and Harry shoved his shoulder into hers. She used to be able to hold her own against him, but over the summer he'd grown about a foot, and she tumbled gracelessly into the grass.

"I hate you," she grumbled, getting to her feet, while Harry laughed at her.

"No you don't," he replied, still chuckling.


"Last one in the sea's a rotten Flobberworm!" James had yelled when they'd taken their families on holiday to that cottage the Potters had always owned in Cornwall. Harry had just turned nine, and Alice was eight. Sirius raced James eagerly towards the waves, Harry tugging Alice along with him, all of them shrieking with laughter.

"They're mad," Marley said flatly, holding hands with her three year old. "It's freezing in there!"

Lily paused, in the middle of capturing the moment with her camera. "Well, yes, but would you have it any other way?"

Marley laughed, a laugh that Sirius loved, where she threw her head back and smiled so wide it threatened to split her face into two halves. That laugh meant that she was truly happy. "No, I suppose not."

Sirius had sprinted back, picked up his wife, leaving his youngest daughter with her godmother. Ignoring Marley's shrieks to put her down, he ran with her towards the sea. James and Lily laughed at them both; Marley was attempting to kick Sirius while he ignored her fruitless attempts and dumped her in the water. The next moment she'd tripped him up and he'd fallen under with her, and they both emerged, shivering and laughing, a picture of happiness.

Harry had the very picture of that memory in his wallet. It was one of his favourite memories, and he pulled it out, smiling, to show Remus. They were sat in Remus' office, a pot of tea between them, and Harry had been telling him of the morning's Quidditch tryouts. James, Sirius, Lily and Marlene waved up at Remus from the photograph. It had fluttered out of Harry's bag as he'd sat down and Remus, being Remus, had been curious and asked.

"So, Harry," Remus said, attempting his stern teacher face and failing. "Any girls on the horizon? What about Alice?"

"Did my parents put you up to this?" Harry asked him suspiciously, his green eyes narrowing.

Remus choked on his tea. "You're more perceptive than they give you credit for."

Harry shrugged. "She's practically my sister. We are actually related, anyway."

Remus nodded. "What about Hermione?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Remus. You know how she and Ron are. I'm almost sick of waiting for the day where something happens and I might just knock their heads together, if I'm honest."

Remus chuckled, his amber eyes showing his affection for his favourite mini Marauder. Harry continued keeping his father's best friend updated on their lives, mainly Ron wanting to murder Dean over Ginny.

"How's Tonks?" Harry asked suddenly, and then it was Remus' turn to talk. A smile threatened to tug at his lips every time she was mentioned, Harry noticed. It was nice to see Remus happy for a change, and who was better for him than Tonks?

After he'd finished his tea with Remus, Harry ambled back to the common room, thinking of getting started on some of his homework. He took one of the trusted shortcuts that he learned from the Marauder's Map, and walked headlong into Ginny, who was emerging from an empty classroom.

"Oof!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Sorry, Ginny," Harry grinned, embarrassed. "I wasn't looking where I was going. What were you doing in there?"

"Oh, um, nothing…" her voice trailed off, turning pink.

The door to the classroom opened, and Dean appeared.

"Oh," Harry said. "Right. Sorry, did I interrupt?" He felt ill all of a sudden; shaky, sweaty, and like the bottom of his stomach had dropped out.

"No," Ginny mumbled, refusing to look at him.

"Ok," Harry said slowly. "Well I'm off to the common room, I'll see you later." And with that, he hurried off. He took one of the secret passageways and stayed in there until he was sure they'd passed.


"Harry caught you and Dean after you'd been in an empty classroom talking?" Alice asked sarcastically. "Ginevra Weasley, you slut."

"He looked so weird!" Ginny said, sitting on Alice's bed. "Literally all we were doing was talking, because it was so noisy in the common room, and then Harry looked all awkward at the two of us and ran off!"

"Well you didn't do anything wrong," Hermione added, trying to be helpful. "Dean's your boyfriend, not Harry, and you weren't even doing anything with him anyway!"

"Yes but I still like Harry and I want him to think good things about me, not that I'm some slag who shags boys in empty classrooms," Ginny gave Alice a very pointed look.

"I have never… well alright, maybe once, but we weren't caught," Alice said, annoyed. "And that was a secret!" She hit Ginny with her pillow.

"Who was it?" Hermione asked, looking like she'd prefer not to know.

"I'm not telling you," Alice replied, just as Ginny said "Blaise Zabini."

"Alice!" Hermione was horrified. "He's awful!"

"He's fit," Alice shrugged.

An owl fluttered through the window, dropping three letters onto Hermione's lap. He was a handsome owl, and he took off again as soon as his messages were delivered.

"There's one for each of us," Hermione said, passing them around. Alice ripped hers open.

Dear Miss Black,

This year Professor Dumbledore, an old friend of mine, has invited me back to Hogwarts to gather a group of students of whom I think I may be able to help into their chosen careers. The teachers have very kindly given me a list of the brightest students from fifth year and above for me to meet. If you are successful, I will formally invite you to join what many of my old students affectionately call the 'Slug Club', where you will be able to meet old acquaintances and colleagues of mine, thus building social networks for you to take advantage of later on in life.

Please join me in classroom 607 next Saturday evening for a small get together with other talented students.

Yours most sincerely,

Professor H Slughorn.

"Who's Professor Slughorn?" Hermione wondered aloud.

Alice snorted. "Who cares? He sounds like a prick."

A loud wailing sound came from outside the dormitory, followed by a thud and a "bloody hell!" The three girls poked their heads around the door to find Ron, rubbing his behind at the bottom of the stairs, which had formed a slide.

"Oh Ronald, you weren't trying to get in, were you?" Hermione asked, half disapprovingly and half amused.

"Harry and I only wanted to see if you got one of these," he waved a letter around that looked like the ones that they'd been delivered.

Hermione led the way, sliding down the chute first. "Yes, we've got one each."

"He sounds like a right -"

"Ronald!" Hermione cut him off before he could swear in front of the first years that had gathered round.