Chapter 2: Gryffindor Antics
Authors Note: I do not own anything referencing Harry Potter be it characters, settings or otherwise. Thanks for reading! Any feedback you want to throw at me is also appreciated!
"Here cometh our esteemed prefects," said Trevor sarcastically as they walked in and sat down. Heather parked herself in between Rigel and Keira and James choose the window seat on the opposite side of the compartment next to Freddy. The stocky red-head was lazily playing with his pet bullfrog Whizbang. Freddy would conjure a flying speck from his wand and Whizbang would calmly eye it before darting out his tongue and touching it. Upon making contact the speck would disappear and then they would do it all over again, Whizbang never missed. It was like catching flies to him, except without the annoying flies. It was just like Freddy to have gotten a pet frog (playing off the fact that students were allowed a toad) instead of the customary owl even though he could have chosen whatever animal he wanted as a gift from his parents. Jonah, who was next to Fred, spared them both a wave and then went back to reading some thick textbook-like volume. Trevor, as per the usual, was not seated and appeared to currently be regaling the group with the blow-by-blow of some elaborate duel.
"Esteemed indeed," James retorted, putting on fake airs to say "But unfortunately, now it's back to the paltry peasant life with ragamuffins like you lot if you know what I mean." He managed to conjure up a weak grin but he still wasn't feeling amused.
Eye-rolling ensued and Rigel asked immediately "How did the meeting go?" Nosy buggers they are thought James as he noticed everyone's attention perk up at once. Jonah actually shut his book and waited with rapt attention for either of them to recount what had occurred in prefect's world. James could easily see that his friend hadn't been completely disinterested in being a prefect after all.
The two Gryffindors who had attended the meeting looked at each other carefully, trying to figure out how to explain it in the easiest way. "Well," started Heather "James was late, ("No surprise" quipped Fred abruptly) so why don't I go ahead and tell it from the beginning?" James was relieved to have Heather do the explaining and he leaned back in his seat, keen on remaining as calm as possible during the rehashing.
"Right ok, I suppose we should start with whose Head Boy and Girl. Does anyone want to take a guess?" the Muggleborn asked the crowd.
"Um… Clive Bristow as Head Boy maybe?" guessed Rigel. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she mentally calculated his social/academic qualifications.
"That Ravenclaw toe rag? Ugh, I hope not. At least say it's anyone but Finley Mills. You know the Hufflepuff bloke? He's really dense," said Keira making a face.
"What's wrong with Bristow? He's smart…and distinguished," Rigel argued with her pointedly. Heather ducked her head and leaned forward in her seat on pure instinct, she was used to her female friends bickering over her head about random nonsense.
"Distinguished? Hardly! I think you the words you're really searching for are snobby and uptight. And sure he's smart; he always makes sure everyone knows it. He's an arrogant, toe rag sod," reiterated Keira and she wouldn't say any more about him. Keira Morley was a very no nonsense girl, if she thought you were a toe rag you would have to do a lot to make up for it, that is if you cared. Rigel on the other hand, looked like she wanted to continue championing Bristow for some reason but she changed her mind after a quick glance at Trevor. Somehow she must've acknowledged that perhaps it wasn't appropriate to gush about another guy in front of one's boyfriend. Nobody said anything about this non-verbal exchange between the two love birds though, mostly because they didn't know how to approach it. No one wanted to assume Rigel suddenly had a thing for Clive Bristow.
"Robards," suggested Jonah, suddenly deciding it was best to continue talking about Heads in order to let the awkward moment blow over.
"Yea Robards would be a decent Head Boy," agreed Freddy and all the other non-prefects in the compartment nodded their approval as well waiting before gazing at Heather for conformation.
"Yea Mickey Robards is Head Boy," she informed them happily "Now, any guesses for our Head Girl?" They all thought a few moments, this group of 5th years never turned down a good guessing game.
"I'm guessing Ivory Dillinger?" Trevor threw out there "Gwen Rothchild maybe? Or perhaps Blair Turnbull even?" he continued rapidly.
"Hush Trev, let someone else guess," scolded Keira "How about that Hufflepuff Claire Cain? After all it doesn't matter if you weren't a prefect when it comes to Heads." Everyone nodded in agreement at that observation.
"I have a feeling its Antila Davies," offered Jonah casually. James gave a derisive snort at that moment and had to force himself to look out the window as a distraction.
Heather was surprised that Jonah had guessed both Heads all by himself and confirmed the answer of Davies to everyone else before adding "But how did you guess Jonah?" He shrugged and thumbed at the edge of his book as though he was already itching to get back to it.
"Henley's a Seer in disguise," said Fred and he ruffled the short, skinny wizard's white-blond hair affectionately. Jonah flinched and brushed him off.
"Yea he already has the huge, dopey glasses and the creepy eyes. All he needs are the layers of shawls and some loud, heavy bangles to complete the transformation," added Trevor teasingly. Jonah scowled at that and started swatting at the two jokesters with his book. It was quite a sight really, tiny, frail little Jonah with his large seafoam green eyes (not at all creepy really) and black coke-bottle glasses attempting to beat on the burly and tall Fred Weasley, Gryffindor Beater, and the equally large Trevor Wood, Gryffindor Keeper.
Freddy sprang up from the seat, grabbed his wand from his pocket and promptly turned the book into a cardboard box, making it no longer a painful weapon. Once he realized that the object he was wielding was now useless, Jonah threw the box at Fred's bright red head and frowned. "Fix my book Weasley," he demanded "It cost me 12 galleons at Flourish & Blott's and I need it for Ancient Runes."
Freddy laughed at Jonah as the box bounced harmlessly off his arm. But then, knowing his moment of fun was over, he dutifully picked it up off the floor, waved his mahogany wand at it again and muttered the counter spell. Suddenly, the briefly cardboard rectangle was a book again, its gold embossed title reading Rycroft's Rune Guide for Magical Relics. "See all better Henley my little-know-it-all friend," he said and handed Jonah his huge volume back with a cheeky smile.
"You and James haven't told us who this year's new prefects are for Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin yet," mentioned Rigel, who was still desperate for gossip.
"Actually James hasn't said anything," Keira calmly butted in and she looked interestedly at him. Things like this rarely escaped her attention.
James could see everyone's reflections in the window glass because this wet, grey English day meant they'd turned the lights on all over the train. His jaw was still set in great annoyance after Antila had, for all intents and purposes, ruined his first prefect's meeting but he was still actively listening to his friends chatter. He had actually stopped brooding for a second to smirk at Freddy and Jonah's reflections during their little scene, but only for a second. "It's Heather who's telling the story we agreed," he replied casually to the bait and did not turn away from the window because he could tell they were all looking at him.
"Yes indeed," said Heather loudly in order to get the attention focused away from James again as much as possible "But I keep getting interrupted."
"So get on with it Heath and no more guessing," suggested Trevor semi-annoyed as he studied his best friend's expression from his reflection. Trevor wasn't normally a patient guy and he wanted to know right now who or what had stuck a pole up James's ass at the moment. But he realized they would get to it soon enough if Heather kept talking and everyone else just listened.
The brunette Muggleborn stuck her tongue out at Trev childishly over his demandingness before getting on with it. "Well for the 'Claws its Dane Scarborough and Kristen Stickney and for the 'Puffs its Niles Trembley and Langston Harmon. So lastly for those surly Slytherins it's Jasper Grenaumort and Indus Harlow," she said. The Gryffindors chewed this information over and came to the conclusion that, aside from the Slytherins it could have been worse. Trevor was already muttering about how much he considered Jasper scum and Rigel mentioned for the zillionth time since first year that Indus Harlow was the witch's version of a skank, whatever that actually meant. James, who could usually Slytherin bash with the best of them, ignored this prime opportunity and it did not go unnoticed.
"Say did you all know that Langston Harmon actually came on to me last year in the back of Honeydukes?" Fred commented incredulously and he snuck his cousin a questioning with his glance eyebrows raised.
"Yea you may have mentioned it several times… enough times in fact that all summer I was struck randomly by the image of her kissing you up against a barrel of Fizzing Whizbees," replied Keira huffily as if the image made her sick. Heather wasn't sure however if it made her sick in a "that's disgusting" sort of way or if it was more an "I'd rather you kiss me" way but it was something she would bring up later in their dormitory away from the boys.
Freddy, of course, took it that she meant it the first way and chuckled in response to the idea that him and Langston could be so scarring. "Ah well I'm just saying for a Hufflepuff she's quite errr… forward. No wonder she's prefect. I might have to reassess my turning her down. Would you say you agree Trev?" he asked as slyly as possible for him (which wasn't very).
"No I wouldn't change my mind personally. She has a weird nose and her eyes are creepy, in that she has this thing where she stares at you but you can't be sure she's even seeing you? It's odd," Wood concluded and he actually shuddered involuntarily thinking of Langston's stare.
Fred frowned and considered this. He really did attract the weird ones, and Langston was no different. "Yea… it is odd. Maybe I shouldn't re-explore after all," he decided. Rigel nodded at him fervently, Heather grimaced and Keira attempted to appear convincingly disinterested.
"Well what else happened?" interjected Jonah, ignoring the possibility of a serious romance between Freddy and Ms. Harmon of Hufflepuff on the grounds that she was a bit nice for him. Fred Weasley was kind, but he was also a trouble maker who often times didn't spare his victims feelings when performing his crazy schemes. Jonah didn't think Langston Harmon would able to bear the unfairness of Freddy's random pranks for too long because some of them came off, quite frankly, as harsh. He could have, of course, pointed this out aloud. But it would no doubt have caused a mindless discussion to evolve about all Langston Harmon's particulars; from the sound of her voice to that supposed mole, ever apparent, on her left shoulder. It seemed like it was up to him, as usual, to move the conversation along so that they didn't dwell on such inane things for very long.
Heather picked up on his cue and reported "We set patrols, went over what to look for on our routes…"
"Sneak thieves, horny teenage wizards, and chimaeras," interrupted Freddy as he ticked off possible patrol disruptions on his fingers.
"Enough Fred," groaned Trevor, rolling his eyes and thinking about how just listening in this group was impossible "Or we'll never get caught up before Hogsmeade Station."
"Cornish Pixies and astronomy geeks," the red-head persisted in a quieter voice, testing Mr. Wood's delicate patience.
Trevor glared at his second best friend warningly and purposefully patted at his wand in his jeans pocket. The two boys were great friends but very alike in the fact that they were incorrigible. They always knew just the right buttons to press when it came to getting the other's goat and often they went ahead and pressed them just to be spiteful. "Chimaeras," snorted Keira suddenly picturing a violent chimaera lurking behind the castle tapestries and statutes waiting to challenge the prefects. That'd be the day Hogwarts went to the next level in crazy.
Heather smiled at the thought herself and resumed speaking. "The other thing we did was learn a brief history of our position, you know like famous witches and wizards who once were prefects and whatever? Anyhow that was courtesy of the Head Girl and no doubt supposed to inspire us and then…" Her voice trailed off as she became suddenly hesitant to go further. She flicked her eyes over to James and then quickly back again.
"And then what?" insisted Rigel and she followed Heather's gaze to James and back.
"Well then… James walked into the compartment," responded the prefect simply. She gave him a helpless shrug, indicating it was hopeless to stall discussing it anymore.
"What did you say?" said both Trevor and Keira automatically turning towards the boy in question. They did know him too well to assume otherwise.
James finally turned away from the window to acknowledge them and merely answered coolly "Nothing really."
"Nothing really?" echoed Rigel, she sounded doubtful and eyed James closely.
"Well," said Heather seeing an opening and jumping back in "Robards immediately told him about our patrol assignment and asked him if that sounded good. James said it suited him fine and asked if there was anything else you know… important." She paused and unconsciously built up the drama before the story hit its climax.
"Sounds alright so far," Jonah stated obviously. Trevor literally tutted at his scrawny companion and bit his lip, as if suppressing his reaction until they reached the point.
Heather nodded in agreement "It was alright. Until then Antila dove into the conversation with her bitch on. She insisted, rather snobbishly I must say, that there was indeed more he needed to know. So James then asked what he could do for her as a 'dutiful' Gryffindor prefect and well… she thought he was…um cheeking her on purpose." Everybody grinned at this statement except James and Heather who knew what happened next.
"What did she do about it Jamesie?" inquired Fred, gleefully assuming that his cousin had, in fact, done on it purpose to piss the girl off (he would have). The eldest Potter simply shook his head and grunted menacingly.
Heather sensed his rage building again so she hastily started in on what happened next. "It wasn't really his fault. We all started snickering behind her back but not James! And wasn't really that funny anyway, it was just the context and his typical innocent tone that did it. If he'd done it on purpose it would have been much funnier I'm sure," she said shooting James an apologetic look (indicating she felt partially responsible for the Head Girl's embarrassment) and actually smiling a little.
"Bet Antila didn't think of that," noted Jonah calmly, his head buried in his textbook again. His friends were used to that though, they'd often have conversations where everyone got caught up and failed to notice the little bookworm slipping away into his mobile security blanket.
"But what did she actually do?" insisted Trevor, rapidly losing patience. He was beginning to think that this whole thing wasn't going to actually be worth the buildup it was receiving.
"She blew a fuse," said Heather wincing at the memory "She started threatening James, vowing to revoke his privilege of taking house points if she even sensed he was abusing it. I mean, she definitely singled him out and implied that it was only a matter of time before he got out of bounds. Then she promised that when it did happen she would be in Flitwick's office raising hell before James could even get up and down a Quidditch pitch on his broomstick. After that, to save face I imagine, she threatened to keep a close eye on everyone else but by then you could totally tell it was just an afterthought." All the 5th year Gryffindors were now a bit stunned as they considered this information. Where did the Head Girl get off making threats to their friend over some little comment?
"That's an oddly specific reference, the whole broom thing. Clearly she thinks she has you figured out James," mused Jonah seriously and he actually looked up from his book again. Freddy no longer looked amused and his jaw had gone slack with surprise. Trevor Wood was now mutinous upon deciding that this incident was truly a big deal after all. He would never stand for some bitch taking shots like that at him or any of his friends but he didn't know what to do about it. Of course, if Antila had simply been a guy he would have chosen to deck or duel the mouthy prat at his first chance. Sadly though, she wasn't a guy and thus the only thing he could think was that there was nothing left for it but to let Rigel and Keira handle it girl on girl.
"That's bang out of order," raged Keira loudly expressing her opinion "Where is this pencil pushing toe rag bitch?" She looked furiously at the compartment door, as if Antila Davies would miraculously and conveniently materialize in her path. Upon (of course) not seeing the obnoxious Ravenclaw, the young blonde witch contented herself with thoughtfully cracking her knuckles and peering at James.
"Are you alright James?" asked Rigel curiously, because she knew after 4 years of being his friend that no one spoke to James Potter like that without hitting a nerve. She was the first teen to curb their anger long enough to care about how this was affecting him, not that such sympathetic feelings were ever really expected from the boys or from the tomboyish Keira. Aside from Heather, Rigel was really the only one of the group who could handle her anger and then let it out at an appropriate, carefully calculated time. Incidentally, it had occurred to them all over the years that Jonah didn't really get angry, (he merely became indignant or annoyed) so no one was sure how he would ever control such a true emotion. The others however, were active volcanoes; James, Trevor, Fred and Keira had little to no impulse or emotional control.
"I'll be fine Rige. Sticks and stones right?" said James in a forced casual tone and he glanced at her before giving an awkward shrug. For some reason all of a sudden he felt like downplaying his feelings. He knew his friends were an emotional lot and that they would have his back against anyone, but he was starting to wonder if maybe he had actually deserved what he'd got. Was this the reputation that preceded him? That he was some off the cuff, irresponsible troublemaker who had no respect for the rules? Or was Antila Davies just as out of line as they all seemed to think? James Potter knew his friends were biased in his favor and that they just couldn't give him the accurate representation of this situation that he so desperately wanted. Thus, he supposed he would just have to shake this altercation off and try to go forward behaving like a responsible prefect. He was still angry however, and that feeling wasn't going to leave him right away, no matter what he tried to convince the others of.
"Some wench just threatened you and you're going to take it lying down?" exclaimed Freddy appalled. James mentally noted that this seemed a touch hypocritical coming from his usually affable, non-confrontational cousin. Freddy never got into it with anyone! Well…unless it was a prank war of course. But that seemed different.
Trevor, who had gotten up and started pacing, now spun around and glared determinately at James with a hard, fiery look in his cool grey eyes. "You can't let this go so easy mate! It'll validate everything she said if you don't fight back!" he growled.
James's own hazel eyes flashed dangerously as well. "Damn it Trev, Fred shut up! You think going to war with the Head Girl is a rational solution? I mean yea… my first reaction was to go toe to toe with her right there in the compartment but it would have been no help." Heather found this outburst ironic, for it was her who had convinced him to back off and now he was preaching it as his own brainwave. She didn't really care to correct him though, because at least he was talking sense to the other boys who needed to accept this.
"James you know she was dead wrong… right?" inquired Keira indignantly. She was also standing now and the compartment was starting to feel more cramped than usual from Heather's prospective.
James tiptoed around this question from the half-blood with the light brown eyes by saying "Let's just take this conflict slow for a change. If it dissolves from this day on then that's good for me… good for us right? If it escalates past threats I know we can handle it," He looked determinately at Keira, Freddy, Trevor and Rigel in turn imploring them to let it lie.
"Fine we won't hit her…yet," Rigel relented finally and she gave an angry toss of her wavy reddish-brown hair before adding "Right Keira?" Keira frowned and bit back another hostile retort before nodding stiffly in consent. She couldn't help wondering though, why on earth James Potter, of all people, was earnestly preaching patience all of a sudden.
Trevor had resumed pacing up and down the cramped compartment no doubt trying to square with letting this insult on their group lie. James could not catch his best mate's eye as he went back and forth so he chose to stare down his cousin instead. Freddy's deep blues radiated with all his Gryffindor and family loyalty combined as he absentmindedly stroked Whizbang's head and James had no doubt that he was planning a nasty, complex prank for Antila. "Freddy we will not be pranking the Head Girl," he said insistently.
"For how long?" countered the mischievous Weasley, his disappointment was clearly written all over his face. It would've been such a great prank, he was already certain of it.
"For at least a couple of months," James decided seriously, but he noticed that he couldn't bring himself to make it indefinitely. Fred nodded glumly and just like that, he was as convinced as the girls. He and James had been partners in crime since they were nappies for Merlin's sake! So yes, he would honor his cousin's wishes no matter how much revenge he personally wanted. "Say Jonah… you won't be sneaking off for a word with Professor Longbottom before the feast later right? Hypothetically in order to cite a complaint on the new Head Girl the first chance you get," said James innocently.
The puny blonde waved a hand at him dismissively and rolled his unusual eyes, as if the mere thought of this hadn't entered his mind. "Fine James, I will let this gross pronouncement of authority slide," he responded dully. Now the raven-haired youth needed only to placate Wood and then they could finally put this issue to rest for the moment.
"Trevor," coaxed Rigel suddenly, as she reached out an arm to grab her boyfriend mid-pace. He stopped immediately but still involuntarily went to jerk his arm away in frustration. She remained undaunted. "What do you say we take James's lead on this one? Wouldn't it be nice to not be preoccupied with retaliation just this once?" she cajoled, attempting to meet his eyes with her speckled ones. The young pureblood's peepers were unusual even for the wizarding world and strangers never got tired of asking her about them. They were predominantly deep blue, similar in that regard to Fred's, but at different angles you could see unmistakable flecks of purple in the irises. Trevor often got caught up staring into them and lost touch with the world around him. But not right now.
Instead, the sandy brown-haired Keeper looked around the compartment at every one of his companions (besides James) trying to get someone to refuse to fold along with him. He knew he was stubborn, but so what as long as he was right. Antila Davies had no right, absolutely no right whatsoever, to browbeat James in front of all the prefects in the school over a mostly benign comment and some exaggerated hunch of how he would perform his duties. She deserved a reality check. Someone needed to show her that sane people didn't treat others like that on a whim. It made him boiling mad and usually his friends would be uncontrollable right there with him plotting to get even. The fact that they had gone and switched the tables on him was exasperating, not to mention totally unexpected. Trevor saw no one in the crowd offering any support. Keira was looking reluctantly neutral and the others were completely on board with James waving the white flag. Alright, he thought sourly, if that's how it's going to be.
"Fine," he spat aloud, abruptly budging onto the edge of the seat next to Rigel and Heather. He looked across at James and detected that maybe he saw a hint the anger still hiding in his friend's memory and it oddly comforted him. James Potter may have decided to wait, but in the meantime it was clear he would not forget his grudge with Antila, and so neither would Trevor. He was now confident that in time his best mate would prove his current doubter so wrong that she would be choking on large helpings of crow. With this idea in mind, he eventually allowed himself to calm down and enjoy the afternoon.
This unexpected incident had taken up half the journey to Hogwarts to resolve, and thus the fifth year Gryffindors were behind on their usual train activities. They had just started a spontaneous tournament of Exploding Snap and were also pondering the odds that Puddlemere United finished first place in the league at the end of the month, when the snacks trolley finally showed up. The pleasant witch who had been pushing this trolley since before Harry Potter's time would never outright admit it, but they suspected she was afraid to come near their compartment until she had already made the rounds once. The reason for the evasive tactics was probably because they had a tendency to buy out the rest of her stock every time they got on the Hogwarts Express. Thus, it was only fair if she liked to give the other students a chance to get their goodies first. James, Trevor and Freddy were, quite frankly, rich, and with fathers that were the head Auror, an international Quidditch star and a highly successful entrepreneur respectively, there was really no questioning why. On top of that, it just so happened, that all three of their mothers had earned their fair share of Galleons by playing professional Quidditch for a while. Ginny Weasley-Potter had been a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies and Fred's mother Angelina Johnson-Weasley had also been a Chaser, but for the Tutshill Tornadoes instead. Trevor's mother was Katie Bell-Wood. She of course, had met his father while they were both Gryffindor students and teammates. But they hadn't pursued a romantic relationship until reuniting on the pitch after the war as members of the Puddlemere training program. Katie had been an elite level Chaser as well and, to be quite honest, it was hard on the boys to decide which of their mums had the most skill. Angelina and Katie had been fellow Chasers on the Gryffindor for several years and Ginny had gotten to play a bit with Katie one year when she hadn't been subbing in as the Seeker. All three women were good friends and, needless to say, when the friendly Quidditch matches broke out over the summer at get-togethers they made a great team, even when pitted against the younger age group.
So, with accomplished Quidditch playing mothers and equally (if not more so) skilled Quidditch playing fathers, the three boys were blessed to be genetically capable athletes that had a thirst for Gryffindor domination running through their veins. The last Gryffindor fifth year on the current squad was Keira Morley, and what she didn't have in pedigree she made up for with tenacity and natural broom skills. She was a very capable Chaser also their only female player. The other three members were Albus, who played Seeker, and his two fourth year mates; Tristan Galloway (Chaser) and Dillon Carnaby (Beater). Gryffindor was currently experiencing a plethora of competent Quidditch players and they had developed a serious B-team who often practiced with the squad as a result. Lily and Hugo, who were now second years, quite plainly wanted on the A-team this time around, more than anything. But there were simply no spots for them. James knew that it was going to get messy really fast having to choose between his sister and/or cousin or his and Albus's mates for the A-team, so he tried not to think about it much. Young Lily Potter was a very versatile player (courtesy of countless pickup games at the Burrow and practices with her brothers) and played everything but Beater. She would however, have to beat out Trevor, both her brothers, Keira Morley or Tristan Galloway in order to make this year's team. Hugo was really just a Keeper with a sketchy amount of experience at Beater, and James hated to admit it but he knew his cousin would never match up with Trevor Wood. His best mate was like an octopus up in front of the rings, for it constantly felt like he had sprouted unknown limbs to make some of the saves he did. Now that didn't mean Hugo was a bad Keeper, like his father he was more than decent when he was relaxed, it just meant that Trevor was unnaturally skilled and therefore the only real choice (for the good of Gryffindor House) at the position.
James had decided this literally about an hour after receiving his badge, but he hadn't broken it to Hugo (or Lily for that matter) just yet. The eldest Potter sibling knew that Lily would be furious on her cousin/best friend's behalf and that even if she made the team (which remained unlikely) she would not be calmed easily. James had discussed this problem with Albus in his room over the summer at a time when he had known (beyond a doubt) that Lily was out of the house with their mother. If Lily had been home, he was positive the conversation wouldn't have been a private one. Because the young red-head seemed to have a limitless supply of their Uncle George's extendable ears, which now had a handy camouflage feature, readily available at all times. At the Potter mansion, Albus, James and Lily were routinely unable to disappear alone or in a pair without the other sibling/siblings automatically becoming suspicious. This had been going on since Lily was about 5 or 6, so after about 6 years or so of it the trio had honed the art of sneaky down to a science. Albus (who was even more wary of their sister than James was) had merely advised him to duck, in case she threw a couple bat bogey hexes his way upon hearing the news about Hugh.
James had also asked him if a) he felt Lily deserved a spot on the team right now and b) if so in place of whom? Al had hemmed and hawed over these questions for a bit before deciding that Lily needed to wait for a spot to open up at Chaser, unless she flew so fast her broom caught fire and/or she scored 20 goals at the trials. In his logic Tristan, Keira and James had been a unit for two years already and were in great sync as a result. They practiced at least twice a week over the summer and had even created their own special formations that Hogwarts had never seen before. Lily was a better Chaser than a Seeker or Keeper, but no matter what she just needed to be patient and content herself with being the team's first alternate in case someone got hurt. The Potter boys rationalized that maybe this way, if Lily and Hugo knew that the other had to wait as well, perhaps it would ease the blow…a bit. James was still leery though, because as Captain this decision (not yet official) was on his head no matter how many people agreed with him and it was going to infuriate his competitive little sister to no end. He got the shudders just thinking about how she would try and get even and about the letter she would no doubt write their mum over such a betrayal.
As per the usual they bought out the trolley and the sales witch rattled away shaking her head ever so slightly at the boys, who fumbled their way back into the compartment laden with mounds of sweets. James promptly ripped into a package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor beans (he had always been the adventurous sort) and finally realized that while his trunk was present, his owl was noticeably absent. "Where's Aether?" he said curiously, but was not even remotely concerned. Aether was like him, to handsome for his own good, and so James routinely got asked if Aether could ride in Al or Lily's compartments because their friends loved him so.
"With your brother," Rigel informed him "Carrie and Rose insisted, so Al said he would return him later when he, Dillon and Tristan stopped by for a Quidditch team chat." James was unsurprised, but wondered for the billionth time why his cousin Rose was so taken with his owl when she had her own. It was a grey female Scops owl named Goshawk (after the writer of the Standard Book of Spells) and it was a direct descendant of his Uncle Ron's old Scops called Pigwidgeon or just 'Pig'. She had it well trained too, which was quite a feat, given the fact that all Pig's owlet offspring seemed to have a hyperactivity problem just like their father. James had a feeling that eventually Rose would suggest they cross-breed Goshawk and Aether to produce like tiny, dark brown owls with white markings. To him, this idea bordered on incest but he supposed the owls didn't really mind if their owners were cousins, it was all the same to them.
Carrie Phelps was a Muggleborn friend of Al's with blue eyes and brown hair. She was funny and kind, especially to animals, but James knew that she wasn't allowed to have her own owl yet because she lived in the Muggle suburbs. Her parents apparently believed that an owl in the neighborhood would come off as strange, but had promised her if they ended up moving out towards the country more they would get her one. James remembered hearing from Albus that their father had once tried to persuade the Phelps's that an owl in Surrey wasn't really so conspicuous, as he had done it for six years, but Harry hadn't managed to budge them. Carrie had once confided in James a couple of summers ago that she was convinced her parents were full of shit, that moving to the country was never going to happen. So her plan was, that when she eventually settled down in the wizarding world (after leaving Hogwarts) she was going to get a pair of owls instead of just one in order to make up for her current misfortune. After that conversation, James had become even more willing to let her use/see Aether whenever she wanted because he found her straight-forwardness and inability to be snowed by adults rather refreshing. The 6- year-old Aether was actually a very patient owl and more personable then his species tended to be. Aside from bonding with James, he responded favorably to Carrie as well, who always seemed to have an owl treat waiting for him.
"You didn't fight them for him?" asked James teasingly, mostly in Rigel's direction. She didn't have an owl either, but unlike Carrie's parents hers didn't even bother to supply an excuse when they said no. In fact most of his friends didn't have pets, except Freddy (who had Whizbang) and Heather (who had a dog at home named Tottenham).
She shrugged at him and mumbled through a mouthful of Chocolate Frog, "He'll be back just in time to share my last frog. I mean I know he doesn't like them as much as chocoballs, but he still never turns them down."
James had once heard you weren't really supposed to give birds chocolate. He'd always considered it just a Muggle rumor, but either way it was now a perfect opportunity to guilt his friend. "Nice, kill my bird Ms. Wicklow! Death by Chocolate Frog, it'll make a great story in the Prophet. I can see it now. James Potter, son of the fantastical Harry Potter, his owl shamelessly poisoned by everyone's favorite of wizarding treats," he narrated dramatically.
Rigel was lounging in her seat with her head nuzzled into Trevor's shoulder area as he polished the handle of his Firebolt 4K (a special Keeper's model enhanced for balance). She was busily assessing the Chocolate Frog cards she had just acquired in order to try and trade with Keira for an elusive Aberforth Dumbledore, but paused in her quest long enough to give James a rude hand gesture for his load of crap. The hazel-eyed prankster was an impeccable story teller and many people, even those inside his circle of family and friends, had lots of trouble distinguishing between his lies and his truths. Rigel however, was one of the few that had ceased to be fooled by him years ago. You could say that reading people had always been one of her strong suits. "Tut Potter that's a Muggle thing you damn bull-shitter," she pointed out dully and James scowled. "Bloody hell, I just got two more cards of your Aunt Hermione. It's ridiculous. I mean don't get me wrong, the first one that she signed for me was neat but I don't need the extras. Blimey! Did she really get 11 O.W.L's like it says? Ruddy brilliant witch if you ask me. I'll be lucky to get half that many. I can't believe they're this year it's going to kill me," she exclaimed, suddenly sullen.
"I'm going to die before you," muttered Keira darkly as she attacked a dark Chocolate Frog headfirst and quickly reached into the pile for another.
"It won't be that bad," suggested Heather bracingly and James nodded to back her up. At this moment they looked like a cinch to him and he had yet to understand what all the fuss was about over some ruddy tests. Jonah made a noise from behind his book, half way between an amused and incredulous snort.
"Oh don't even start you overachiever," Keira butted in and she shot him a scathingly jealous glance that he didn't even bother to look up and see. Fred appeared nonplussed, for his fondest wish was to take over his father's business, play some pro Quidditch like his mum or, better yet, do both. Neither of those career choices required any O.W.L's, but even on the outside chance they did he imagined it wasn't very many. His mother and Grandma Weasley probably wanted him to get at least get more than his father, which he believed was three, and he guessed that wasn't too unreasonable. Trevor Wood sat there doubting that his Dad had put down his copy of Which Broomstick for even 5 minutes over his 5th year exams. But he did know that his mother had been no slouch on hers. After retiring from the pros, her old school marks had gotten her accepted into the St. Mungo's intern program and she was now a fully licensed Healer despite taking care of four kids during the process. It was admirable what his mum did, don't get him wrong, but she put in a lot of hours and he didn't know if he could bring himself to sign up for the same like his older sister Brianna had. The youngest Wood wasn't stupid, but like James he didn't work terribly hard at being smart. He supposed he was good Quidditch player; he was, after all, the best Keeper at Hogwarts that he knew of at the moment. But that didn't mean much without a scout's recommendation. He knew from growing up around the professional league and by traveling around the globe with his old man for World Cups that there was more to becoming a pro than just being a good player, you had to also be lucky.
Thoughts of O.W.L exams quieted the Gryffindors for a while until James and Trevor got bored and started bunging the crappy Every Flavor Beans that no one ever wanted at Jonah. Freddy, who was still seated beside the serious wizard, would levitate each offending bean away after impact so that Jonah had nothing to throw back at his torturers; it seemed like a perfect system to say the least. The girls watched benignly and smiled a little but they would not help the other boys torment him as they adored him too much. Eventually, the practically Albino Jonah actually blushed a faint reddish color in annoyance, snapped his textbook shut and groped for his wand. He muttered low under his breath and the stick of linden promptly caused three Bertie Bott's Every Flavor beans to torpedo themselves up the nostrils of his three male companions, one missile for each of them. While his fellow Gryffindor dorm mates started to whimper and curse a blue streak Jonah merely sat back and watched the results with satisfaction.
In the midst of this commotion three other boys made their way into the compartment, carrying an owl and already dressed in their school robes. Upon assessing the situation Albus Potter smiled and handed his brother's owl off to Rigel before choosing to remain the spectator. He watched along with everyone else as James struggled to remove the offending bean on his own. Heather kindly had her wand drawn and was keen on helping Freddy out of his predicament, but she wasn't sure how. Trevor had simply plugged his free nostril and calmly snorted his bean out, which appeared to be a sickly green color. Lucky for him, James caught wind of Trevor's idea and soon had safely removed his own blockage, a translucent blue-green one with white dots floating in it.
"Merlin he's an idiot," piped up Albus's blonde haired companion as they continued to watch the 15-year-old Weasley wriggle in pain. Someone clearly needed to step and be merciful, but it was too amusing to stop. "Oi Freddy hold still," he said finally and as Fred paused momentarily, he waved his wand in a graceful arc and summoned the bean from up his fellow Beater's nose so that it hovered in mid-air in front of him.
"Thanks Dilly," said Fred happily and he walked around the guilty yellow pellet to clap his teammate on the shoulder.
"Ew Freddy, it has your bogies on it you have to grab it now because no one else will," said Keira, staring at the bean as it vibrated in the air. Fred Weasley made a face at this idea and so instead of plucking the bean from the sky, he pulled out his wand and made it vanish. After that, he sat down heavily on the floor beneath Jonah and gave him a congratulatory pat on the knee. One upping a kid who dedicated his life to performing impossible antics was indeed worthy of some serious respect. Dillon Carnaby, his rescuer, joined him on the floor as there were no seats left for the newly arrived fourth years.
"Here Jo-nah take it back," said Trevor sourly and he hurled his bean back across the compartment in his friend's general direction "It matches your eyes, which after all is pretty rare." Wood was thankfully not a Chaser, as he had horrible aim, proven as the bean bounced off the ceiling above the bench Jonah was sitting on, slid harmlessly down against the wall and disappeared out of sight.
Henley clucked disdainfully at the poor throw and said, "I think these fine blokes had the right idea. We'd better change into our robes soon as well." Suddenly they all noticed how it was rapidly getting darker outside as night really began to fall, canceling out the semi-darkness that had been prevalent all day long.
"We'll go to the loo and change while you all talk Quidditch," suggested Heather indicating that she, Rigel and Jonah would give them some space. After the trio of non-players gathered up their uniforms and left Albus and the remaining fourth year present, Tristan Galloway occupied their seats. Tristan had short, dark hair like James and Al and his eyes were a sort of golden amber color that proved fascinating to the ladies. It was interesting to see that the ones with the truly unusual eyes (like Jonah, Tristan and Rigel) were most definitely wizards from either half-blood or pureblood families. Blue eyes, brown eyes, grey eyes, green eyes and hazel eyes were all relatively normal to Muggles and they cropped up in varying states of regularity. But some colors were only passed down in the wizarding world and they most likely came from marrying elves, giants, trolls and the like somewhere in the previous generations. There was even a girl with dark, navy eyes at Hogwarts these days; she was a 6th year Ravenclaw this year. Although, her eyes were just one of the reasons that guys threw themselves at her. James had always had a hunch that Jonah was remotely descended from elves, kind of like tiny Headmaster Flitwick most certainly was as well.
"No matter when we get stop in here something interesting is always going on. That's what I said to Al before and he thought I was exaggerating," observed Tristan. He stretched out over half the seat before adding in satisfaction "Now he owes me 6 Sickles."
The emerald eyed Potter appeared to take it well but said teasingly "Fine be that guy Trist. You can have your winnings later in the dorm, unless you want to go double or nothing on a round of wizard chess?" Galloway pretended to consider this alternative, before fervently shaking his head no at his best mate. Albus Severus Potter had received many chess lessons from his Uncle Ron and Tristan had already heard all about the great Transfigured Chess Match that had once occurred in the bowels of Hogwarts.
"So James, or should I say Captain Potter, it looks like we have about 15 minutes before Hogsmeade Station and four of us still need to hustle into robes, so start talking," said Keira pushily. As the only girl on the team she often tended to act forcefully in order to get through to her male teammates.
"Alright," James said cheerfully and then he purposefully paused (he was used to her bossiness but it didn't really intimidate him) before adding "As you know from our summer sessions I will be your Captain (everyone shared a chuckle at this obviousness). We were all around last season when Gareth Teague took some nasty whacks against Slytherin and then decided, what with his N.E.W.T's coming up, he simply couldn't take it anymore," The eldest Potter stopped and made a face. He had liked Gareth, the friendly Beater had been a great guy, but they had all recognized his lack of true Quidditch obsession immediately. James was damn sure that he would never back out on Quidditch, not if he had N.E.W.T's, or cracked open his skull, or met a girl or whatever. "Anyway," he continued "Dillon stepped in and took his place and we got even better. Professor Longbottom didn't assign us a new official Captain after Gareth left, but I guess now with him having graduated somebody needed to fill the job."
They all nodded in understanding and Dilly joked "I guess he did alright on those N.E.W.T's then," in a low voice.
The whole team snickered awhile before they allowed James to continue. "I think we should start training fairly soon, but we will have to have a trial first. Now I understand at this moment all the positions are full! But in the interest of fairness we have to give our fellow housemates their shot. It is safe to say however, to break up a reigning Quidditch Cup winning team such as this they will have to pull out a trial worthy of the English National squad more or less," he finished.
"What about Lily? You'll have to do some serious explaining" mentioned Fred. He was uncomfortably just realizing that this meant his young cousin was on the outs of her own brother's team.
"She'll have to wait Freddy," James barked at his cousin stonily and he looked at Albus for support.
"Wait 3 years?" piped up Fred incredulously, he was sure James was a dead man.
"Then, unless you have another idea, give her your spot," interrupted Albus, unwilling to have this argument right now.
"She doesn't play Beater. Give her yours," the stubborn Weasley retorted obstinately and they turned to face each other. Albus raised an eyebrow at his older cousin and waited for him to take it back. Because Fred was family he'd give him two whole minutes before he hexed him for being stupid. "No… I don't know… you're a better Seeker Al. Sorry, it just seems all wrong that she doesn't get a spot. She and my sister have been waiting for this practically their whole lives James," replied Freddy almost immediately.
That reminded James of Roxanne Weasley, the third member of the Weasley/Potter Gryffindor trio of second years. Not as obsessed as Lily, not as desperately touted as Hugo, but competent none the less. She was a Chaser too, like her dear old mum (his Aunt Angelina) and he found it strange how that worked out. He and Lily were Chasers like their mother Ginny and Al was a Seeker like Harry. Fred was a Beater like his father Uncle George and Trevor and his brother were both Keepers like their old man. Tristan had even said once that his parents had both been Chasers, his mum for Hufflepuff and his pops for Gryffindor. "Merlin Freddy I know!" James answered exasperated "If they kill me, they can fight over my spot and my badge after doing a victory dance on my corpse. What do you want me to do, mess with the best chemistry Gryffindor's had in over a decade, since our parents mind you, or do you want me to reinvent Quidditch to include 5 Chasers and 2 Keepers?" He let out a frustrated sigh.
Trevor, Keira, Tristan and Dillon merely sat back and watched the family crisis unfold. They didn't trust themselves to speak because, quite frankly, they all counted themselves fortunate to be on the team in place of some available Potter/Weasley in the first place. They had all been over to the Potter's before, either as James or Albus's guests, and they had seen Lily play…and play well at that.
"2 Keepers?" questioned Fred confused "Aw bloody hell that's right Hugo," he realized after a few moments. "Well that's alright Trevor's a better Keeper than Hugo," he continued and he winked at Wood. Trevor smiled and saluted cheekily, out of the four non Potter/Weasley's present he felt the most comfortable, knowing he was pretty much safe. Dillon too, technically had nothing to worry about, although he was the newest member of the current team so the idea of a trial sort of scared him despite the lack of Potter/Weasley's in his way.
"Nice Fred," said Al sarcastically, noting sadly that yet again someone had forgotten about old cousin Hugo.
"Well it's true," persisted Freddy "Love the awkward little bugger to death, but he should stick to wizard's chess instead of trying to be like a double threat or something like Uncle Ron."
"I can see the lights of Hogsmeade in the distance now Captain and we might be slowing down a bit," interrupted Keira helpfully from beside the window.
"Bugger," said James as he now had no choice but to wrap the discussion up "Look everyone just be ready for a trial… even if it's mostly for show. I'll deal with Lily. That's why we have a B team after all." They all appeared mostly satisfied with the current state of team affairs at this point, given the one clearly impassable issue, so Albus, Dillon and Tristan then left while assuring their fellow housemates that they would see them at the feast.
On their way out, the boys ran into the returning fifth years who were now fully dressed in their Gryffindor best. James, Trevor and Freddy, realizing their lack of available time, promptly started to strip down to their boxers, set to dress on-the-fly in the compartment. Keira Morley simply huffed at them and hurriedly dashed to the loo, with her robes slung over her shoulder. Heather and Rigel did their best not to stare at the three toned (in Freddy's case this was a loose interpretation) Quidditch players shamelessly unclothed in their presence but there wasn't much else to look at. Trevor gazed at his girlfriend the whole time he dressed with a playful glint in his grey eyes and it seemed that he purposefully remained scantily clad in only his broomstick patterned boxers as long as possible. Freddy was the first one into his grey slacks and white button down shirt, but his boxers (white with rubber chickens on them) rode messily up over his pant line and he was having he usual trouble knotting his red and gold striped Gryffindor tie. James meanwhile, spent two whole minutes rooting around in his trunk for his knit vest before deciding to simply go without. After this Trevor and Freddy both decided against vests as well, citing that they were stuffy and tight and came off as pompous.
The five minute announcement came soon after and Keira returned wearing the same attire, except for a pleated grey skirt instead of trousers and knee high socks. All the students wore trainers these days, because no one stood for dress shoes any more after many complaints about how hard the stone castle floors were on their feet. James made sure to switch his trainers from green to red in order to match his uniform, which was something that Keira considered terribly anal and she started teasing him about it yet again. At the last minute, the trio stuffed all their discarded clothes and the remaining sweets into their trunks, James taking special care to make sure his jacket made it into his, and locked them. Still pulling on their black button up robes with the Gryffindor house crest and holding their cloaks they trailed their friends out of the compartment and off the train. They were presentable, but certainly not impeccably dressed, as James's tie was purposefully loose and the top two buttons of Fred's robes were broken off and the holes they went in were frayed. James left Aether to be brought up to the castle along with their trunks but Whizbang accompanied them, riding on Freddy's shoulder as usual.
It had stopped raining for the time being but the Scottish night air was still brisk and the group of friends quickly sought out a carriage. James Potter could not see thestrals; unlike his parents he had not witnessed death. Of the group Trevor and Heather could though, they had both lost one of their grandparents firsthand. Under old circumstances, they would have had to ride in two carriages, but Hagrid had recently expanded the seats in the thestral-drawn cars to seat groups of about eight. In the carriage, James finally started to fret over how to pin on his new badges. Were both on one side too much, especially with the crest already on the robe? Did one on each side look too symmetrical? Was it mandatory that he wear both at once or could he switch on and off? What if he put one near the hip like they did on those strange Muggle cop dramas? Finally, he settled on putting them side by side below the Gryffindor crest so that they sort of formed a triangle and his friends all told him they looked perfectly fine. Quite frankly, none of them really cared how the badges looked now because they all knew that James wasn't going to be diligent about keeping them positioned just so day in and day out anyway.
Eventually the carriage had trundled all the way the up the drive and through the wrought iron castle gates to the front door. Stepping out of the carriage the hazel-eyed James felt the familiar warmth that bubbled up within him when he knew he was home. The majestic castle was in his home in distinctly different way than the Potter mansion because while there he of course felt at home too it was strongly associated with feelings of family. Here at Hogwarts, he felt at home because it was where he experienced boundless freedom, here that small, but ever present, reminder that he was Harry Potter's son became even smaller. He was mostly just another young wizard within these walls, a wizard that could be himself and who could blaze his own future. James and his friends quickly jogged up the wide stone steps, away from the raw night and into the Entrance Hall. After saying a brief hello to some of their classmates, the group made their way into the Great Hall and took up their favorite seats near the middle of the Gryffindor table, ready for a feast.