"Ready, Potter?" Daniel Wood asked, slapping the boy on his back. James looked up at the Quidditch captain and smiled weakly, failing to hide how sick he really felt.
The sun had barely risen over the Hogwarts castle and all those trying out for the Gryffindor team were standing by the stands of the Quidditch field. Despite the cold, all those who were hopeful of making the team were chatting animatedly with each other, speaking of possibilities and of the popularity they will gain.
"Yup, very ready. I'm shaking in anticipation." James lied. Wood laughed, while Fred, Peter, and Brennan scoffed. All four of the Marauders decided to try out for the Quidditch team, hoping it would score them some points with the girls in the school, as well as gain favor with Professor McGonagall.
"That's the spirit! Listen, Potter. Both of our fathers were on the same team. My dad being Captain while yours was the Seeker. Then, once my dad graduated, your dad took over. If there wasn't all that schmidt with You-Know-Who, they would have won every year. They were best Quidditch team Hogwarts has ever had. Oh, Weasley, your dad and uncle were pretty good Beaters too, I heard."
"Uh huh." Fred said. He was sitting on the bench with his face towards the sky, his leg bouncing up and down with adrenaline. Everyone was waiting to get to try-outs, but Wood was too busy giving a pep talk to Harry Potter's eldest son.
"We don't have any problems with Dark Lords and such, so that won't interfere with Quidditch. The Cup is as good as ours. With you as the Seeker, we can't possibly lose!"
"I'm trying out for Beater."
It took a couple seconds for Wood to realize what James had said. Then, all the excitement in him seemed to deflate. James was sorry for bursting his bubble. Not really.
"What!?" Wood exclaimed in disbelief, red appearing on his cheeks.
"I'm trying for Beater." James repeated, trying to keep a smile out of his face. His friends were not helping with their silent, teary giggles.
"B-b-but, can't you at least try out for Seeker?" Wood pleaded, kneeling on one knee in front of him and grabbed James's hand with both of his own. Fred, Peter, and Brennan could no longer contain their laughter.
"Uh…" James said intelligently down at Wood's puppy dog eyes.
"Wood, I didn't know you swung that way." Said a female voice behind James. He quickly pulled his hand out of Wood's grasp.
"It's not what it looks like!" James exclaimed, turning his attention towards the girl behind him. The moment he laid eyes on her, James felt his heart stop and heat rising up to his face.
"Of course it isn't, Potter." Wendeline Laurel teased with a wide, beautiful smile. James's throat suddenly felt dry and he was tongue-tied. He felt shy and wanted to hide in his dormitory under the blankets.
"Oh look, it's Wendy." James heard Fred snicker to the other two Marauders. Great, now they were going to tease him to no end.
Wendy was a fourth year and a fellow Gryffindor. She was the Chaser for the team and she was good, but that wasn't why James had a crush on her.
James's crush on Wendy began when she let him borrow a quill for his homework when James had lost all his. That was when he noticed the her green/brown nebula like eyes and the rainbow-colored hair dye at the ends of her blonde hair. Then he noticed the light freckles on her sun-kissed skin. Then, he noticed that Wendy was brave (obviously, she was in Gryffindor), smart, had a good sense of humor, and overall, good. Wendy stood up for what she believed was right, as well as for her friends (you did not want to be at the end of her curses).
Unfortunately, ever since that day with the quill, James hasn't made any progress with Wendy. Whenever he tried talking to her, James ended up mumbling something unintelligible or making a fool out of himself. Like the exploding Valentine's card, which it wasn't supposed to do. Wendy forgave him for scorching the front ends of her hair, but that incident had shamed James forever. Ever since then, James watched her from a distance. Until now.
But there's no way Wendy is going to fancy me, James thought to himself. I'm just some lame third year that is a couple inches shorter than her.
James's thoughts turned darker as he watched Wendy pinched Wood's nose, the green-eyed monster raging inside him.
James was vaguely aware of the tryouts beginning and everyone lining up based on position. He watched as Peter went up against Mason Thomas for the position of Seeker. Peter was the better of the two and became the Gryffindor Seeker, even though Wood kept muttering about how it should be James. Then it was Brennan's turn for the position of Chaser. He scored the second most points with the first being Wendy. Nevertheless, both Brennan and Wendy got the titles of the Gryffindor Chasers, along with a sixth year named David Hanson. Now, it was Fred and James's turn for the Beaters tryouts.
They congregated into teams and James and Fred ended up with the reserved players. Both of them did their job, keeping the Bludgers away from their teammates, but the other pair of Beaters were just as adequate.
The sun was high in the sky now and everyone was tired and sweating from the early morning exercise. But the two Gryffindor Beaters have yet to be decided. James did not know what Wood was waiting for, but he had to keep playing. He wanted to be on the Quidditch team badly, not just for the hell of it, but to make his family proud. So that the other students would look up to him and respect him, but also so that James could get closer to Wendy. He wasn't going to let the other two Gryffindors take the position away from him.
"James, look out!" Fred yelled, but James did not need to be told. He saw the Bludger heading straight for him and James raised his club, ready for the impact. James hit the brown ball with all his might, directing it towards his opponents. One of the Beaters was hit and fell off her broom, plummeting towards the grass at high speed, but Peter, being the gentleman that he was, caught her before she reached the ground.
"Sorry!" James called out. The girl, from Peter's arms, gave him a thumbs up even though there was a grimace on her face. At least she wasn't seriously injured.
James turned his eyes back to the game and his blood ran cold when he saw the Bludger heading straight for the back of Wendy's head. She did not noticed because Wendy was too busy trying to see if the girl James hit was okay. The other Beater tried to hit the Bludger, but missed. Without thinking, James raced forward, willing his broom to go faster. Now the Bludger was a couple feet away from Wendy's head, way too close for James's liking.
"Potter?" Wendy questioned, tilting her head slightly. He reached out for Wendy, wrapped his left arm around her and covering the back of her head with his hand. James attempted to hit the Bludger with his bat, but it was too close and too fast. Instead, it hit the back of James's forearm with a sickening crunch. Pain erupted from his arm, but James gritted his teeth, releasing only a hiss.
"Oh Potter, are you okay!?" Wendy asked in a high voice, panic evident in her voice.
"Just dandy." James said through his teeth, dropping the bat he was holding. He tried to smile for Wendy, but he probably looked like a twitching moron than a knight in shining armor.
"I don't think you're dandy. I mean… your arm… it's…"
James looked down at his arm and nearly fainted right there. His forearm was in half and… was that his bone showing?
"Bloody hell…" James whispered, before his vision started blurring.
"Wood! We need to take him to the infirmary! NOW!" Was the last thing James heard from Wendy before he blacked out.
"So how does it feel to be saved by a girl?" Fred asked, stealing a piece of apple from James's plate. Not that James cared. He didn't have an appetite and he couldn't eat with his wand arm broken and in a sling. Plus, infirmary food was not appealing in the slightest.
"I wouldn't know. I passed out." James muttered, leaning his head back against the soft, feathered pillow and covered his eyes with his unbroken arm.
According to the other Marauders, after James had passed out, Wendy flew them both down, then carried him bridal style all the way to the infirmary. And yes, many students saw. Now Wendy, along with the rest of Hogwarts, probably thought that he was weak. The son of the great Harry Potter being carried down the halls to the infirmary in the arms of a girl.
"At least James saved her. If he didn't, it would be Wendy in here with the head injury." Peter said helpfully. James smiled, but still did not remove his arm from his face. He was thankful for Peter, he was the only one who didn't make fun of him. Also, James was reminded that at least he was the one who was injured and not Wendy. It would score him some points with her. Hopefully.
After a while, Madam Foster kicked Brennan, Fred, and Peter out of the infirmary, leaving James alone in the dark. He tried to get some sleep, but James could not get the feeling of having Wendy pressed up against him out of his mind.
"Sad hours seem long." James said quietly, rolling onto his side. It was his cousin, Rose's favorite quote by some Muggle named Shakespeare. James tried to remember the name of the Muggle play. Was it Romulus and Julia?
Throughout the night, James dozed on and off. The magic mending his arm kept waking him up, which irritated James greatly. Though it could not be helped.
"Psst." Said a voice behind the white infirmary curtains. James sat up, trying to see who it is.
"Psst." It said again.
"Who is it?" James whispered back. After a couple seconds of curtains rustling, Wendy's face appeared between the gaps.
"Wendy?" James whispered in disbelief. He felt his heart flutter a little as Wendy stepped forward with a package wrapped in brown paper in her hands.
"Hullo." She said, sitting down on the stool by James's bed. His back straightened and James internally cursed himself for his uncontrollable hair. The two sat in the dark in awkward silence for a while. Then, James broke the silence.
"So, uh. What are you doing here?" He whispered, unaware that he was leaning closer to her. Wendy smiled and giggled.
"I just want to know if my little hero was alright."
Little, huh? James muttered internally.
"Anyways, my sister sent me some cake. I thought I would share it with you."
"Uh… thank you."
Wendy unwrapped the package as quietly as she could, before they both dug into the red velvet cake.
"So… is it your birthday or something?" James asked after swallowing the last bit of the cake. Wendy shrugged.
"No, my sister has been generous lately. I think it's because she began dating Tristan Hennessy, so she has more money to spend." Wendy said casually, but James could feel his eyeballs coming out of his skull.
"T-Tristan Hennessy?" He stuttered and once again, Wendy giggled. Even though James hated the Irish Seeker, it was still shocking to know that Wendy's sister was dating Tristan Hennessy.
"The one and only." Wendy sighed, folding the now empty package into the rubbage bin by his bed. James tilted his head, studying her.
"You seem upset." He said, but Wendy only shrugged.
"It's nothing really, but you should get some sleep. It's two in the morning."
"Blimey, it is? You should get back to the dorms then! You might get in trouble." At this point, James considered lending her the Marauder's Map or the Invisibility Cloak (Brennan brought it just in case James wanted to sneak down to the kitchens).
"Here, wait." James said, thrusting his hand under the blankets, blindly searching for the cloak. Wendy raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything. Finally, James felt its scratchy, flowy, fabric and pulled it free from under his leg and handed it to Wendy.
"It's an Invisibility Cloak. To keep you hidden from Filch and Mrs. Norris." James said, biting his lip. This would be his first time letting anyone use the Invisibility Cloak other than the Marauders. But James was sure he could trust Wendy.
"I can't possibly use it, James. It seems really valuable." Wendy said shyly and James sighed before thrusting it at her as best he could with his left hand.
"Just give it back when you can." He said and a smile played on Wendy's lips.
"Will you be able to play Quidditch this Saturday?"
"Hopefully."
"Do it." She said, taking the cloak from James before leaning forward so that their faces were a couple of centimeters apart. "Or else I won't forgive you for that Valentine's day card."
James felt his ears grow hot, then it spread to his cheeks when Wendy pressed her lips against his forehead.
"Get well soon, James." Wendy said before disappearing under the cloak.
After an eternity, James slowly laid his head back down on the pillow, wondering what in the bloody hell just happened.