Chapter 3: I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)
-Brianna POV-
I'm sitting on the ground in the quidditch pitch in the pouring rain. This is bloody ridiculous! I don't even know why I have to be here. It's just that James' head is so bloody big from being the new captain that he just wants to boss everyone around. All I've done for the last hour is get soaked while I sit on the equally wet grass.
We're at quidditch try-outs. James insisted that the whole team be there. This is usually pretty customary. However, since the only open spot is for Chaser, I've been doing nothing. Sirius, Fabian, and I have been sitting here the whole time. James won't let us leave. Sirius and Fabian (Prewitt) are the beaters. Chasers are James and Gideon, Fabian's brother. Abbey is the Keeper and I'm Seeker. Fabian and Gideon are both 7th years. James and Abbey have both been on the team since their 2nd years (Abbey being a year below us). I didn't try out till 3rd year because I knew I wanted to be Seeker. Sirius joined 4th year. Which means that there weren't any openings last year and there are a LOT of people trying out this year. It's taking forever.
I look over at Sirius. He's wiggling his fingers at a giggling girl across the field. Honestly! I look at the girl and she doesn't seem the quidditch type. I'm sure the only reason she's trying out has to do with Sirius and James.
I nudge Sirius. He frowns at me. "What?"
"I'm bored. Entertain me," I say.
He grins and waggles an eyebrow. "I can certainly entertain you, Miss Potter."
I shove him. "Eww, Sirius, not like that!"
"Ewww? I'm not ewww! Fabian, do you think I'm ewww?" Sirius turns towards Fabian. Fabian grins. "Of course not. I would have you in a second if I could."
What is wrong with boys? "Come on, you two! Shove it!"
"Do you reckon James will ever let us go?" Fabian asks. "I'm not even sure he remembers we're still here."
"I'm sure he wouldn't notice if we left," Sirius agrees. I glance longing at the entrance of the quidditch pitch. I'm staring out towards freedom when I see something in the shadows near the entrance. Someone just snuck right past. It was Darcie Malfoy. My eyes narrow, what is she doing? I turn to Sirius, who has gone back to eyeing the girl across the pitch. I nudge him again.
"You really have to quite that, Bria!" He says in annoyance.
"I just saw Darcie Malfoy go by the entrance," I tell the two of them. Sirius and Fabian look in interest towards the entrance, but it's empty. "We have to go check it out."
Fabian hesitates. "I don't know…"
"Let's do it!" Sirius grins, getting up. Fabian and I also stand up. "Come on, Fabian! You said yourself that James probably doesn't remember we're even here."
"Plus, we haven't done anything," I reason.
"I know. But I don't fancy having James mad at me. You know how he can get. You two might not be too worried about it, being his best friend and sister, but I'd rather not deal with that."
I give him my 'convincing face' I've mastered so well. He hesitates. "Please, Fabian?" I put in.
He sighs. "You two just go on. I'll cover for you if James notices."
"Fine," I say, defeated. I grab Sirius' arm and we sneak off the pitch. Darcie is not too far away. We follow her, being sure to stay in the shadows.
"This is great!" Sirius whispers. "I love being sneaky!"
"Shh!" I whisper back. We follow her up to the castle and in the front doors. When she gets into the Entrance Hall she heads up the stairs instead of down into the dungeons. Which is strange, because it's a Saturday. Where would she be going other than her house? We follow silently, being sure to keep a safe distance. Between the two of us we're quite good at trailing someone without being seen. We're walking for a good five to ten minutes. She turns a corner and disappears. We reach the corner and begin to go around, when I grab Sirius' arm. He stops and looks at me in question. I peer down the shadowy hallway. There are two figures in an alcove not far away. Sirius follows my line of sight. I can't quite make them out. Then they turn and –
"Bloody hell!" Sirius whispers very loudly. Darcie Malfoy is meeting in secret with Rodolphus Lestrange. Have they been snogging? It's common knowledge that Lestrange has been dating Bellatrix Black for a good three years. At Sirius' outburst the two suddenly break apart.
"Shit!" I whisper. I tug on Sirius' arm and the two of us begin running in the opposite direction. I can hear footsteps, but they are very far behind us as we turn a corner.
"Up ahead," Sirius whispers. I follow him around another corner. He then grabs my waist and pulls me behind a tapestry. We stand silently and still. The footsteps run past. I let out my breath in relief. We stay quiet for a few more minutes, listening. After a short silence we hear footsteps coming back down the hall towards us. I cringe.
"Sirius, he knows we're here," I say in panic. I don't want to think about what Lestrange might do to someone he suspects knowing that he's cheating on his girlfriend.
"Shh, Bria, he'll hear us." We stand silently. The footsteps stop right in front of the tapestry. This is it, he knows we're here. I tense and I can feel Sirius do the same. Suddenly the tapestry is pulled aside and we are looking into the face of – Remus?
I am so relieved. Remus looks at us in confusion, raising an eyebrow. That is such a Remus trait, raising his eyebrow. I notice his eyes travel to where Sirius still has his arm around my waist. I push it off and lunge towards Remus, throwing my arms around him.
"I have never been so happy to see you!" I exclaim. It's true, I never have.
"MOONY!" Sirius shouts in relief and puts his own arms around both of us.
"Er – it's not that I don't love getting hugs from you two, but you're really wet," Remus says. I smile into his chest.
"It's okay, Remus, we don't mind," I say. Remus chuckles. I like the feel of his rumbling chest. It's – wait, what did I just think?! Before I can further contemplate the thoughts I just had, I hear a very angry voice from behind us.
"What in Godric's name is going on here?!" yells an all too familiar voice. Sirius and I turn in dread to see James standing in front of the quidditch team, all of them dripping wet. James looks murderous.
"Er…" Sirius trails off, helplessly looking at me.
"James, when you hear what we just found out I'm sure you won't be angry anymore. It's quite…shocking," I grin. What we just found out really is priceless. My grin falters, however, when James' expression doesn't change.
"You two," James begins. He takes a step forward, pointing his finger at us. Sirius and I back up, but we run into Remus behind us. "You two are in big trouble," James says. I think he's being a bit overdramatic. I know we left try-outs and all, but is it really that big of a deal?
Next to me Sirius is cowering. I guess it comes with being James' sister, but I'm not afraid of him at all.
"Be reasonable," I say. "We weren't doing anything. You would have done the same thing if you had been in our position. You still haven't heard what we – "
"You want me to be reasonable?" James says calmly. Too calmly. Okay, now he's starting to freak me out a little. When James gets that way, really calm when he's actually furious, I know that things are not going to turn out well. Sirius must not know this, because he smiles and straightens with confidence.
"That would be nice," He says.
"Okay," James answers. "You two are on probation."
"WHAT?!" Sirius exclaims.
"What do you mean we're on probation?" I say almost simultaneously with Sirius. "Can you do that?"
"I can do whatever I want," James answers with a really scary smile. I think he's finally gone over the edge. I really do.
"I don't get it. What is that even supposed to mean?" Sirius asks.
"It means that you will do what I tell you to do if you want to stay on this team." James then pushes past up and heads towards the common room. The rest of the team follows hesitantly. Fabian tries to give us a reassuring smile. Soon it's just Remus, Sirius, and I standing in the hallway. Sirius and I look at each other. His expression shows everything I'm feeling. A mixture of confusion, wariness, and most importantly…horror.
What did I get myself into?
-Lily POV-
"Lily, please," Sirius begs me. Bria stands at his shoulder, looking at me with her pleading expression that always gets me. I sigh.
"Fine. But I think you're both being ridiculous." They grin and give each other a high-five. Then they hurry to the empty seats next to Remus, Marlene, and Stella before I can change my mind. I walk towards the last empty seat, between Alice and James. Ever since Saturday, Sirius and Bria have been doing everything in their power to avoid James. I sit down and take out my books.
"Hi James, Alice," I greet my friends. I know, I said friends. James has actually become somewhat of a friend recently. I know what you're thinking: Lily Evans has become friends with James Potter? It's true. He's actually not so bad anymore. I think he's deflated his ego by a few sizes. While he hasn't given up pranking completely, he has been more responsible. But can I really blame him for his trouble making when Bria's almost as bad? Well, at least she's almost as bad now that James has toned it down a bit. Also, he hasn't asked me out since the beginning of the summer. That's quite a step forward for him.
"What are you doing here?" Alice asks. "You always sit next to Remus in Transfiguration."
"Well, Sirius and Bria really…" I glance at James, "really didn't want to sit here."
"Really?" James looks up with a grin. I'm a bit taken aback. Why is he happy about that?
"Why is that a good thing?" I ask, exchanging glances with Alice.
"Because it means that they're scared," his grin grows even wider. It's almost demonic. I think that being completely mental must be a Potter trait. Though, to be fair, neither of their parents are mental. Stella's one of the least mental people I've ever met. Maybe it's a twin trait.
"I know everyone thinks I'm going way overboard," James says. "To be honest, I don't really care that much about them leaving try-outs early. But the thing is that they're the only two on the team who aren't worried about not listening to me. So, after this, I can guarantee you that they'll never do something like that again. They'll listen to me just like everyone else."
I look at James, impressed. He frowns. "What?"
"That's actually a really good idea," I say.
"You don't have to look so surprised," he says indignantly, "I can be smart when I put my mind to it." I laugh. I glance over at Alice and see her watching our exchange with a small smile. I look at her inquisitively, but she just shrugs and looks down at her book. She still has a smile on her face that I can't quite read. What's up with her?
Sometimes I feel like all my friends are going mental.
-Sirius POV-
Bria hurries ahead of me. There are two empty seats, between Stella and Remus. Bria quickly grabs the seat next to Remus, leaving me to sit next to Stella. I know that she did it on purpose. She's all set on making me become friends with Stella. Or, as she says, I just have to be 'friendly'. What's the difference?
I sit down and slouch in my seat. I look over at Stella, who is studying her notes from last week. "Hi, Stella," I say, thinking back to the conversation Bria had with me, right before she broke my nose, "How are you?"
Stella is startled. She looks at me in surprise. "Um, I'm fine. How are you?"
"You know, as good as possible under the conditions," I say. Stella is looking really confused. I have no idea why.
"Tell me about it," Bria mutters from my other side. "James is a tyrant."
"Did you finish with the team's laundry?" I ask. James is making us wash all the teams' quidditch robes by hand. Her eyes widen.
"You were supposed to do that," she says. "I just cleaned the Gryffindor changing rooms."
Bloody hell. I thought I was supposed to do that. "Damn," I say. Stella's lips purse at the curse. Then she glances at me and her face quickly relaxes, as if she's trying not to show her disapproval.
I give Bria my puppy dog eyes. They work on girls all the time. "Could you help me with the robes?"
"No way!" Bria exclaims. "I did my part." I guess they don't work on Brianna Potter. Not that I've ever had any success before.
"Honestly," I hear Bria muttering, "as if I would let you put it all on me."
Stella looks at us thoughtfully. "You have to do it by hand?"
"Yes," I answer. Obviously. Bria doesn't like my tone and gives me a look. I glare at her then turn to Stella. "Yeah, he's making us do it by hand," I offer a weak smile.
"It's just, how is he going to know if you did it by hand?" she asks me.
"He'll know if I bring it all to – "
"No, I mean, you could do it with magic and he'd never know," she tells me. My eyes widen in surprise. But then I forget my surprise when I realize I have no idea how to do this.
"I don't know how to clean laundry with magic," I say. We haven't exactly been learning household cleaning charms.
"Well, I do," Stella says. Now it's time to try the puppy dog eyes on her. "I'll show you if you'd like," she continues. I guess I don't need the eyes after all.
"Brilliant!" I exclaim with a grin. I see a small smile appear on Stella's face.
"Aw, Stella, you should have made him do it on his own," Marlene says from her other side. I give Marlene a glare. I swear that girl gets amusement out of my torture.
"Stella!" Bria complains, "What about me? I just spent hours scrubbing the changing rooms!"
"You could have easily done that by yourself with magic," Remus remarks lightly.
Bria gives a huff. "I didn't think of the fact that James would have no idea if I used magic or not."
"Really, Bria, learn to use your head," I grin at her.
Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. She has the same look she did when she broke my nose. At just that moment McGonagall walks into the room. I have never been more happy to see Old Minnie in my life.
-Brianna POV-
It's been a week that we've been on probation. A week of torture. Complete and utter torture. I didn't know James could be so ruthless.
It's Saturday and Sirius and I are trailing behind the rest of the team. We have practice on this beautiful, warm Saturday. My arms are full. I'm carrying a case with all the balls in it, plus my broom, along with both James' and Sirius' brooms. Sirius has his own arms full with everyone's practice robes that he had to clean, plus all the game robes. Sirius has been grumbling the whole way as we struggle to keep up with the rest of the team. We finally reach the pitch. Sirius puts the robes in the changing rooms and we hurry to the field where the rest of the team is waiting.
"…five laps around the pitch," I hear him saying as we run over. James turns to us. "You two can take ten laps for being late."
My eyes widen. "But we left the same time you did! We just had so much stuff to carry!"
"Do you want me to make it fifteen?" He demands. I shake my head vigorously. Sirius looks like he wants to pummel James. I know the only thing holding him back is a stronger desire to not be on probation any longer than necessary. We silently grab our brooms and begin our laps around the pitch. I trail behind Sirius.
Looking around the pitch, I see a group of my friends in the stands. They decided to come watch, since it's a Saturday and it's so nice out. Lily, Alice, Marlene, and Remus are all chatting together. As I fly by, Alice waves enthusiastically. I give them a shake of my head, gesture towards James, and punch my fist in my hand. They all get my meaning.
Soon the rest of the team is finished with their laps. Sirius and I still have five more to go. I pull up to Sirius. I think the flying has calmed him down, he doesn't look so furious.
He gives me a look and grins. "What do you say to a race? We start when we reach the entrance and the first one to reach that spot after five laps wins."
I grin. At least this will make it fun. Plus, I know I'll win.
Five minutes later a pouting Sirius follows me over to the rest of the group.
"We're going to scrimmage," he tells us. "You two can stay ten minutes late to catch up on what you just missed." I put a hand on Sirius' arm to stop him from doing something stupid. I can tell that he's really getting fed up.
We start the scrimmage. Abbey's little sister, Macy, made the team and she's really good. I watch them play for a few minutes, then begin looking for the snitch. At one point I see it glittering at the other end of the pitch, but by the time I get there it has disappeared. James yells at me for not being faster. He can be a right prat when he wants to.
I follow behind James as he races down the pitch with the quaffle. I make faces behind his back. I can see my friends laughing from their spots in the stands. Lily looks like she's trying really hard not to laugh. James shoots the quaffle and then turns around. I immediately fly away, pretending that I'm searching for the snitch.
I'm starting to get bored. I love quidditch and all, but when there's no rush from the excitement of a game it can get tiresome just searching for the snitch. As I'm flying around, idly looking for the snitch, a movement catches my eye. My head snaps towards that direction. I see someone standing in the shadows of one corner of the stands. The figure must spot me coming towards them, because they quickly dart into the cover of the stairwell. But not before I see that it was Darcie Malfoy.
What is she doing here? Why was she hiding in the stands? Suddenly realization hits me. Of course! She wasn't snogging Lestrange last week at all. She's been –
"BRIANNA!" James bellows. I cringe. Slowly I turn around to see that the whole team has stopped scrimmaging and they are all looking at me. Sirius looks pleased that I'm the one in trouble and not him.
I'm about to open my mouth when I see a purple flash coming towards me from the direction of the stairwell. I swerve to miss it and my broom rolls over, but I hold on tightly. BLOODY HELL! Darcie's trying to curse me so I won't tell anyone what I saw. I'm just recovering from my roll when someone across the pitch shouts out a warning. I turn just in time to see another spark flying towards me. I try to swerve again, but I know I'm too late. It hits me. For a second I can feel my hands loosening on my broomstick. Then everything goes black.
A/N: I am desperate for reviews!!! Even if you don't like it then I would like to know what I can be doing better!!
