James had no sooner landed his broom on the solid ground when he was hoisted up back into the air. The crowd had erupted and they could no longer be contained in the stadium. He looked around and saw the sea of red surround him with his teammates raised up beside him. Then it all hit James at once: the House Cup. They had won the House Cup! James raised the clutched Snitch into the air and the crowd erupted again.

Something in the back of his mind told James to be concerned but his heart was about to burst from his chest and he hadn't the faintest idea of what he should be concerned for. They had won the Cup! They defeated Slytherin! Wait until he saw old Snivelous…

Oh crap.

James looked through the crowd of screaming fans but even through the chaos, he couldn't find Moony or Wormtail. He screamed over to Sirius but the noise was too loud and Sirius was just screaming along with them. He finally looked over towards James and when he was his confused face, he tried to ask him what was wrong but the words were drowned within a foot of space.

As James looked around, he noticed that the crowd was taking them to the side of the pitch where Dumbledore was now standing on a platform, the Quidditch Cup at hand. One look at that cup and James forgot everything else. He let the crowd carry him towards it as he watched Monroe walk onto the platform to except it. Dumbledore spoke through an amplified voice but everything was flying around too quickly in James's head to be able to comprehend. All he needed to know was that Dumbledore had handed the Cup to Monroe and he lifted it high above his head in time to the crowd erupting even louder around them.

James and the rest of the team were taken off their high thrones and ran towards their Captain. The event was so unreal, James was sure he was dreaming. As the Cup was put into his hands something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Madame Hootch was off to the side of the celebration and with her was Avery, Snape, Wilkes, still in Slytherin uniform, Lestrange, and Bellatrix. Bellatrix looked up for a second and burned a hole through James before turning back and withstanding the reprimand Hootch was dealing to them. James looked next to them and saw a sight right behind the platform that made him surprised but also made him smile.

First in line was little Peter, who was so excited that James was 80% sure he peed himself. His face looked not only happy (understatement of the century) but also really relieved. Next to him, with his arms folded across his chest and a wide half smile across his face was Remus. James did a double take as he noticed a new black eye also on his face, but besides that Remus looked thrilled. And the greatest surprise was to the right of Remus and was no other than Lily Evans. Lily had her arm resting on Remus' shoulder and looked a little out of breath. James would have made more note of her contact with Remus if it hadn't been for the fact that she was staring right at him with the grandest smile he had ever seen. Did he just say grandest? Who the hell cared!

The next thoughts that James's mind hit him fast and hard. He looked around at the screaming fans and spectators around him and wondered for the first time what they were really excited about. Sure, he rode a broom and caught a ball. Somehow that had won him honor. Everyone knew that. He looked back towards his friends and his mind began to connect the pieces together.

Peter and Remus had managed to not only learn the Slytherin's scheme but warn him and Sirius in time to do something about it. Sure, he and the team played hard and were able to overcome the obstacle but what if he hadn't known about the Snitch Glitch? Or the cursed balls? The Slytherins were getting what they deserved now and their House would be disgraced. Remus and Peter caught the culprits and were able to find proof that brought them to justice.

But no one knew about that.

They knew James caught the Snitch and they knew that Gryffindor won the Cup that he was still clutching in his hands. They didn't know the part his friends made to help them win. James didn't even know all they went through but he knew that they put in as much will as he did. Moony even got a good shiner from it.

But no one would ever know what happened behind the game. They would continue to treat James and Sirius and everyone else as heroes without knowing what a hero really was. They acted based on only what they knew and left the rest behind.


James kept this thought in the back of his mind for the rest of the day as the nonstop celebration continued. Remus and Peter were escorted to the Headmasters Office and they weren't seen until later that night. The Gryffindor House had completely exploded into a party and James let himself enjoy it for a while. It wasn't until around 9 that he saw Moony and Wormtail make their way through the portal door.

"Guys!" James screamed through the crowd. He punched Sirius once on the shoulder before pushing his way through the crowd. "Guys, over here!"

The two acknowledged him and the Marauders walked over to some chairs in the corner where it was less noisy. Peter and Remus collapsed into them before Remus said, "Well lovely day, how bout you lot? Congratulations by the way."

"What the bloody hell happened, mates?" Sirius said without hesitation as he watched Remus clutch at his side when he shifted. "Moony, mate, you look more of a mess than usual."
"I promise, I've survived worse."

"Well sure, but you usually do it to yourself. Now I can actually let some anger loose on whoever gave you that nasty shiner."

"I'm flattered really but wouldn't you rather hear the story?"

James listened as they told of the conversation they had overheard. Remus had hoped to stay and learn more before he got himself caught. Peter on the other hand, desperate to find someone who would listen to him, ran into the only person who would help him: Lily. She had arrived late to the game and was able to calm Peter down enough to hear the story. Lily had marched right up to Dumbledore in the faculty stand and demanded something was done before someone was seriously hurt. At that time, Remus had jinxed a few Slytherins and managed to get away. They had chased him back to the pitch when they realized it was time to unhex the balls. Lily had spotted Remus running towards them from the stands and ran down to him, Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn en tow. They were caught in the middle of the act when one of the Bludgers had been unhexed and Remus fell from exhaustion and two bruised ribs.

"Merlin," Sirius said leaning back in his chair as the story was finished. "They are absolutely mad. You two had quite a day."
"Us?" Remus said. "Look at you two. You managed to fend off those rogue balls and still win the Cup. I know we missed it but you must have been brilliant! I mean, just look!"

James did look but out of all the people, he couldn't find the one that really mattered.

"Hey guys," Peter said for the first time. "I got use the bathroom." And before another word could be said about it he was gone.

They all thought about responding but decided not to question the thought process of Peter Pettigrew. "Ah well," Sirius said as he picked up a glass of Butterbeer. "What are we sitting around for? It's not every day we win the House Cup. Come on."

James watched as Remus and Sirius got up the join the celebration. "Hey Moony, you mind waiting up a sec." Remus nodded and cringed once more as he sat back down. "What's up, Prongs?" he said trying to mask the grimace.

"Look, mate. I sorta, well Padfoot and I, heard you and Lily talking the other night."

"James."
"I know! It was wrong or whatever but I just wanted to ask—"

"—James—"

"—no just listen, I just—"

"We know."

There was a pause.

"What?"
"We know you heard us. We've known since the first time you tried listening in. When you and Sirius shared a trip to the loo? And guess what mate. She wanted you to hear."

James sat there dumbfounded as a wide smile grew on Remus's face and he began to laugh. Then something caught his attention and turned his head towards the portal. James sat here for a second more before following his glance.

Lily Evans had just entered the Common Room and was shyly making her way towards them. Remus nodded his head and got up to leave. He patted James once on the back (which surprisingly set him stumbling forward), muttered, "Good luck, mate," and walked back to where Sirius and the rest of the House was partying.

The wheels started turning in James' head as Lily sat down across from him. "Hi," she said as she looked towards the floor. James could only sit there for a second and gawk. What should he say, what should he say? He looked up at her and lost his thoughts once more. "Would you like to talk? I mean, outside where it's…you know?"
Lily smiled and looked up at him. "I would love that."


"What do you want, Wormtail?"

Peter looked up. "Can we talk somewhere?"

He slowly led the way to an empty classroom from outside the Headmasters Office. He kept his hands in his pockets and his face down as he turned around.

"That wasn't supposed to happen."

Snape chuckled to himself as he crossed his arms and stared the small boy down. "That, Wormtail, was exactly what was supposed to happen."
"You didn't tell me that!"
"That's cause we weren't sure if we could trust you," Lestrange said as he wrapped an arm around Bellatrix. "We thought you were gonna run off and squeal the first chance you got."

"Which you did," Avery added. "But no hard feelings. We were planning on you doing that. Grant it, we didn't expect you to take so long to do so. You almost screwed the entire plan up."
Peter looked up timidly at the group in front of him. "The dungbombs were a diversion, for the team and Hootch."

"Well looky here, the Worms got some brains in him after all. It's just unfortunate for you that your friend, that Lupin git, had to have more."

"You never said people were going to get hurt!"

"Look around you," Snape said as he stepped forward. "There is a war out there. People will die. If you don't have the guts to pull a prank during a game how can you be trusted during a battle?"

Peter looked down once more then straightened himself up. "You can trust me. I'm not going to be on the losing side. It's just my friends…"

"What friends?" Avery spat. "Those losers that treat you like crap? They may act like your bodyguards but just you wait. Once this war is in full bloom they'll be running and hiding to save their own skins. The Dark Lord can give you all the protection you need. But he doesn't take kindly to traitors."

Peter took one more look at the lot before him and took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm ready this time."


As Sirius sat by himself on the couch of 12 Grimwald Place, he looked out the window and wondered why he couldn't be a part of the people that walked by. It's a question he asked himself constantly when he was alone with his thoughts. He could physically walk outside but the second someone recognized him, he would be sent back to Azkaban. And that was what really got to him. People just didn't know. They were told by the Daily Prophet that he was a murderer and they were told that he was dangerous but not one of those people on that street out there knew what he did and didn't do. Most likely, no one would ever know. And people lived by these standards. They trusted their lives in what they think they know. They're willing to listen to the higher authority to tell them what they should know. Knowledge was power to people but corruption was irreversible. And the mob will die by the hands of what they're told they know.