The Marauders Tale

Disclaimer: As much as I love all things Harry Potter, all of it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Any scenarios, names, and concepts of this story belong to her.

Chapter 4: Gryffindor Versus Slytherin

"You all know what's coming up." James was pacing back and forth in front of his quidditch team in the locker room. "You all know what we've been preparing for."

He looked at the team expectantly.

"The Slytherin match!" shouted Henry.

"Right. The Slytherin match is in only two short days, and I refuse-" he said in a deathly whisper. "-To lose it."

The team murmured their agreement.

"Do you know what that means?"

There were fragmented responses chorusing throughout the locker room:

"Extra training sessions?" "Skive off Potions, like you said. Come on..." "Train harder than we've ever trained before."

"That's right," James said. "We've got to train harder than we've ever trained before." He eyes Victoria, who had answered as such, with an almost idolizing glance.

"Now," he continued. "I'm not going to give you a long pep talk. I'm just going to say this: we're going to win. End of story."

With that, he led his team onto the pitch. After releasing the balls, the game began. The team flew better than they ever had before. James, Rose, and Victoria worked as a finely woven unit and unleashed shot after shot targeted at the hoops. The only thing as good as the chasers was Marcus as keeper; he let in only two goals, and made a number of outstanding saves.

"If we fly like that the day of the match, we've got the game won," James told the team after practice. "And remember, this is Slytherin for God's sake! This is what Gryffindors live for: beating Slytherin."

A chorus of laughter and cheers echoed across the pitch. They were going to win.

The next day...

The day before the match, it became apparent that the Slytherin team was as set on winning as the Gryffindor team was. The Slytherin captain, Nathaniel Horn, and the rest of the Slytherins tried to hex members of the Gryffindor team on numerous occasions; nearly all the Gryffindor players had been cursed by lunchtime. Victoria showed up to lunch with boils sprouting across her face, Marcus' arms been had turned into tentacles, Stuart was reportedly in the hospital wing with a number of broken bones, and Henry's face had swolen to the size and shape of a large watermelon.

"That's it!" roared James as he received the news of the day's 5th assault shortly after lunch: Michael had been locked in a broom closet. "I'm ordering that everyone on the Gryffindor team be escorted to their classes!"

He, himself had been attacked numerous times. Nathaniel had attempted to sneak a bit of powerful sleeping potion into his goblet at lunch, a random Slytherin boy had tripped him in the hall after breakfast, and Gordon Thomas, a Slytherin beater, had tried to turn him into a slug. However, James' reflexes were good enough that he was able to avoid the attacks.

"Really, Nathaniel? You don't think I'm that much of a git to drink that, do you? Well, then again, you don't know a git when he's staring you in the face; if you did, you would've recognized him every time you look in the mirror..." he had said coldly to Nathaniel as he tried to offer him a cup of pumpkin juice. Sirius had howled with laughter as Nathaniel stalked off muttering something unintelligible, yet sounding somewhat like "We'll see...".

The following day...

The day of the match dawned bright and clear, perfect weather for Quidditch. James awoke early in the morning, before any of his friends were up. Unable to get back to sleep, he put his glasses on and wandered downstairs to the Common Room. He couldn't sit still, and was beginning to become restless with nerves about the upcoming match. Sighing, he ran back up to the dormitory, grabbed his broomstick, and headed out to the Quidditch pitch. It was empty, as expected at 6:00 in the morning. James kicked off and soared into the air; his nerves were instantly averted. As he flew through the air, he concentrated on his technique. He practiced a few dives, spirals, and sprints across the pitch. He seemed to be on form; this was a huge relief. No, he told himself. Don't get stressed over the match. But it's SLYTHERIN, another voice said. He shook his head to rid himself of the nerves. His team would be fine; they had practiced hard for the match.

After what seemed like ages, he begrudginly flew down to the ground and headed inside to the Great Hall. Everyone was at breakfast; he grabbed a seat next to Sirius.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Flying," James replied. "Wanted to take my mind off the match."

"You'll do fine," said Sirius, clapping James on the back. "We're going to beat some Slytherins today, eh?"

James smiled a forced smile.

"Jeez, you must be nervous! Normally you'd be jumping at the chance to make fun of Slytherins!"

"Padfoot!" interjected another voice. It was Remus. "You're not helping!" He turned his attention to James. "Prongs, you're going to fly great, I know it."

"Thanks, Moony. And I am excited to wipe that smile of Horn's face," he acknowledged Sirius.

"That's my boy! You show him! Oh- and I'm comentating," said Sirius deviously.

James smiled his first real smile of the conversation. "Excellent."

"James!" called another voice: Rose. "We'd best head out to the field."

"Right."

But Sirius had stood up onto the table. "LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!" he yelled. "BEAT SLYTHERIN!"

The table errupted into a chorus of cheers. James and Rose walked out of the Great Hall toward the locker room. There, they were joined by the rest of the team.

"Okay," said James. "This is it. LET'S WIN!"

The team cheered as they walked onto the pitch. Sirius was sitting in the stands, ready to commentate. He had obviously amplified his voice.

"AND HERE THEY COME: THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM!"

He paused to allow the crowd to roar its approval.

"I GIVE YOU...PRICE! CRAMER! CLEARWATER! FLETCHER! POTTER! [he said James' name with extra enthusiasm] FABIAN! AAAAND...BROWN!"

The crowd cheered once more.

"AND NOW, PREPARE YOURSELF FOR...THE UGLY...THE HORRIBLE...THE WORTHLESS...SLYTHERIN QUIDDITCH TEAM!"

Half the crowd laughed (James included); the rest booed. But Professor McGonagall's voice drowned out the entire crowd. "BLACK! BE FAIR NOW!"

"Yes, sorry, Professor! Not really...But moving on! I GIVE YOU...THOMAS! COURTRIGHT! COBWOOD! MYERS! HORN! [he said Nathaniel's name in a scathing voice] SMITH! AAAAND...WALTER!"

The Slytherins in the stands waved their green and silver banners. James glanced at the Gryffindor section of the stands. His eyes rested on Lily, who was wearing a Gryffindor scarf and holding a sign that read 'GO ROSE!' across it in scarlet and gold across it. He forced himself to look away and concentrate on the match.

"Now, I want a clean game!" shouted Professor Cox, the flying instructor. "Captains, shake hands!"

James approached Nathaniel; it was impossible to say who was wearing an expression full of more loathing. They grasped hands, and Nathaniel seemed to be attempting to break James' fingers. After one wrenching shake, James pulled his hand away immediately, and stalked off to his team.

"ON MY WHISTLE!" shouted Professor Cox. "ONE...TWO...THREE!"

The two teams shot into the air, and the balls were released.

"AND THEY'RE OFF! IT'S GRYFFINDOR IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE AS POTTER GRABS IT! MY IS HE SOMETHING WITH THAT QUAFFLE!"

The Slytherins booed viciously.

The game had instantly turned nasty. Gordon Thomas, a beater, whacked his bat at James, hitting him in the head.

"WHAT IS THIS?" roared Sirius.

"THOMAS!" screamed Professor Cox.

"Sorry, professor! I thought his head was a bludger with that black hair of his!"

"PENALTY- GRYFFINDOR!"

The Slytherins booed yet again.

James accepted the quaffle from Professor Cox and flew in front of the goal posts. Professor Cox blew her whistle; James threw the quaffle with all his might toward the rightmost hoop.

"POTTER SCORES! TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor section cheered wildly.

"Nice shot!" called Rose.

"Thanks," called James. The game was immediately back underway.

"IT'S CLEARWATER WITH THE QUAFFLE NOW! NICE FLYING THERE! SHE THROWS IT TO FLETCHER! OOH, CAREFUL THERE!"

Winston Courtright, the other Slytherin beater, had hit a bludger violently toward Victoria. However, she dodged it aptly and retained possession of the quaffle.

"FLETCHER! CLEARWATER! POTTER! GO, JAMES! COME ON!"

James was streaking toward the goal, the quaffle tucked under his arm. When he neared the goalposts, he drew back his arm and shot the quaffle. However, Priscilla Smith, the Slytherin's keeper, blocked it with the end of her broom.

"NICE SHOT BY POTTER, BUT BLOCKED BY THE SLYTHERIN KEEPER. IT'S SLYTHERIN IN POSSESSION OF THE QUAFFLE NOW, AS SMITH TOSSES IT TO HORN!"

Nathaniel sped toward the Gryffindor hoops, but was stopped.

"THAT'S A NICELY PLACED BLUDGER BY PRICE! HORN DROPS THE QUAFFLE, AND IT'S FLETCHER IN POSSESSION!"

Victoria was directly underneath Nathaniel when he dropped the quaffle, anticipating his error. As she caught the red ball, she flew toward the goal. The Slytherin beaters slammed into her hard on either side, forcing her to drop the quaffle.

"COME ON, PENALTY!" roared Sirius. "THAT SCUM JUST CHEATED!"

"BLACK!"

"No, Professor! Did you see that-"

"PENALTY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, COURTRIGHT AND THOMAS?

"THANK YOU, PROFESSOR!" said Sirius. "AND IT'S POTTER TAKING THE PENALTY, COME ON NOW...YES! HE'S SCORED! TWENTY-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"

James did a victory lap around the pitch. The Gryffindors were cheering madly for him. He lept back into the game, however, as the Slytherins took control of the quaffle.

"LEWIS COBWOOD WITH THE QUAFFLE! OH NO, SOMEBODY STOP HIM!"

Lewis was streaking toward Gryffindor's goal, his path unobstructed.

"GO!" yelled James to his teammates.

But they were too late. Lewis shot the quaffle.

"NICE SAVE! BLOODY BRILLIANT SAVE BY MARCUS FABIAN, THE GRYFFINDOR KEEPER! TAKE THAT, YOU STINKING-"

"BLACK, IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU ONE MORE TIME-"

"AND IT'S CLEARWATER WITH THE QUAFFLE!"

"Go, Rose!" shouted Lily amidst the clamor of the Gryffindors.

"GO! GO! GO! SHOOT...NOW!"

Rose shot the quaffle to the far left post, but Priscilla got there in time to block it. The Slytherins roared their approval.

"BLOCKED," said Sirius scathingly. "WAIT, WHAT IS THIS?"

Henry, Gryffindor's seeker, was streaking toward the Slytherin goal, his eyes alit with concentration. James looked frantically toward the goal, and sure enough, the golden snitch was fluttering around the center post. Nick Walter, the Slytherin seeker, immediately began to follow Henry.

"GO, HENRY!" screamed Sirius.

It looked as if Henry was about to get the snitch and end the treacherous match, but-

"WHAT? DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!" Sirius was beside himself.

Indeed, Gordon had flown headlong into Henry and blocked him from catching the snitch. Luckily, Nick had missed it as well.

"THIS IS THE WORST BEHAVIOR I'VE EVER SEEN!" screamed Professor Cox. "PENALTY- GRYFFINDOR. AND IF ANYTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS AGAIN, YOU'RE OUT OF THE MATCH, THOMAS!"

Sirius swore loudly; Professor McGonagall did not reprimand him for once. She seemed beyond caring, rather, she was shouting her disapproval at Gordon.

"THIS IS THE MOST FOUL, UGLY PLAY I'VE EVER SEEN, TOO!" screamed Sirius. "YOU WATCH IT, YOU BLOODY FOOLS!"

Gordon was smirking to himself as James took the quaffle. I'll show you, he thought.

"AAAND JAMES SCORES AGAIN! THIRTY-ZERO GRYFFINDOR! LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH US!"

Scowling, Priscilla threw the quaffle to Nathaniel.

"HORN! COBWOOD! BACK TO HORN! MYERS!"

Hannah Myers was holding the quaffle and flying toward the Gryffindor goal. She dodged a bludger sent her way from Michael, pulled back her arm, and shot the quaffle.

Sirius swore again. "SLYTHERIN SCORES! THIRTY-TEN, GRYFFINDOR!"

Marcus tossed the quaffle angrily to Victoria.

"FLETCHER! LOOK AT HER GO!"

Victoria was weaving across the field, dodging stray bludgers and Slytherin players.

"COME ON, VICTORIA!"

She was nearing the goal...she was closer...she was there...she was...

"FOULED! YOU WATCH IT, HORN, OR I'LL BE OUT THERE MYSElF-"

Nathaniel had knocked Victoria very violently, and she had nearly fallen off her broom.

"AND IT'S CLEARWATER TAKING THE PENALTY AS POTTER ATTENDS TO FLETCHER!"

Rose took the quaffle, her hands shaking slightly but her eyes narrowed with determination and dislike.

"GO ROSE!" yelled Lily, this time joined by Mary and Katie; the three of them were jumping up and down.

Rose flew back and forth across the goal hoops, apparently deciding which one she woudl shoot at. Priscilla's eyes followed her. Rose came to a stop close to the leftmost hoop, Priscilla stopping with her. Rose pulled back her arm and shot- at the rightmost hoop.

"CLEARWATER SCORES! BRILLIANT FEIGHTING TECHNIQUE! FOURTY-TEN, GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose smiled to herself, but her smile turned instantly to a smirk as she eyed Priscilla.

The game was underway again, and play was only getting dirtier. Fifteen treacherous minutes later, Gryffindor had been granted five penalty shots, and the score was up to 90-20, Gryffindor.

"IT'S SLYTHERIN WITH THE QUAFFLE, HEADING TOWARD THE GOALPOSTS! COME ON, STOP HIM!"

Cobwood was streaking toward the Gryffindor Goal, the quaffle tucked at his side.

"HE SHOOTS...AAAAND...SAVED! BY NONE OTHER THAN MARCUS FABIAN, MY HERO-"

"THAT'S IT!" screamed Horn, beside himself with his team's performance. "PLAN B!"

"WHAT IS THIS?" called Sirius in response. "WHAT IS THIS PLAN B YOU SPEAK OF?" He said each word with upmost dislike. "PROFESSOR COX, SURELY YOU CAN'T ALLOW THIS?"

It took only 1 minute for 'Plan B' to become clear. Horn and Cobwood were streaking toward the Gryffindor Goal, without the quaffle.

"What the-" yelled James. "MARCUS! OUT OF THE WAY!"

Horn and Cobwood were speeding straight toward the Gryffindor seeker. Marcus tried to dive out of the way when he realized what was happening, but he was too late. The Slytherins had knocked him off his broom. He was plumeting downward, faster and faster, his limbs flailing around him, pressing down on the air around him...James would never get there in time...

With a thud, Marcus landed on James's broom. James had flown beneath him and caught him on his broom.

"WHAT THE- RUDDY- WHAT IS- YOU SCUM!" Sirius's anger was rendering him incoherent.

"PROFESSOR COX!" roared Professor MacGonagall herself, her face flushed and her tight bun slightly disheveled. "SURELY-"

"HORN AND COBWOOD! WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? I'VE PUT UP WITH THIS ROTTEN PLAY LONG ENOUGH. YOU'RE OUT OF THE GAME!"

The Slytherin section booed desperately. "HE FELL!" someone yelled. "SERVED HIM RIGHT!" screamed another.

"SLYTHERIN WILL PLAY WITHOUT HORN AND COBWOOD!" shouted Professor Cox, livid with anger. "IF ANYONE DARE DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU'RE DONE WITH QUIDDITCH! IF IT WEREN'T FOR POTTER..."

The Gryffindor section cheered. James, unacknowledging, was supporting Marcus on his broom.

"You alright?" he asked.

Marcus looked slightly dazed, but unharmed.

"Yeah, better get back..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we've got a game to win." James grinned.

"Oh," said Marcus as James flew him back to his own broom. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"ON MY WHISTLE, YOU MAY RESUME PLAY! ONE- TWO- THREE!"

The game recommenced, the Slytherin team playing impossibly more brutally in the absense of their lost players.

However, it only took a few minutes for the game to end.

"HERE HE GOES!" shouted Sirius, jumping up and down with mad excitement. "HENRY'S AFTER THE SNITCH!"

Henry was streaking through the air, his hand outstretched, his eyes glinting feverishly.

"COME ON, COME ON, COME ON!"

He was nearing the snitch; the Slytherin seeker was nowhere in the proximity...

"YES!" bellowed Sirius. "HE'S GOT IT! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Henry raised the snitch in his left hand; it was struggling in his enclosed fist.

His teammates engulfed him.

"TAKE THAT, YOU BLOODY FOOLS! GRYFFINDOR WINS, 240-20!" With that, Sirius shot an enormous burgundy and gold lion out of his wand above the pitch. It roared and pranced through the air, until it came to a stop beside the pile of Gryffindor quidditch players.

James was elated: They had won. They had beaten Slytherin.

Meanwhile...

"Great job, Rose!" exclaimed Lily as she rushed down onto the Quidditch pitch to meet her friend after the match. Mary and Katie came following close behind. "You were brilliant!"

"Thanks!" said Rose rather breathlessly.

"That penalty shot where you faked going for the left one and then went for the right one, and that goal where you shot it in right under Priscilla's nose..." said Katie. "You were great!"

"I just had to beat them- if they won..." Rose shook her head.

Everyone laughed.

"By the way, how was your Meteor?" asked Lily.

"Brilliant! It was unbelievable. It was so easy to stear, and it went so fast!"

"Well you looked great out there," said Katie. "Can I have a go on it sometime?"

"Sure!"

"Oh my gosh," said Lily. "I was frantic while I was watching, though!"

"I know what you mean!" said Mary indignantly. "They were playing horrible! The way they knocked around Victoria...and Marcus!"

Katie nodded solemnly. "If it weren't for James catching him..." her voice trailed off.

But there was no need to finish the statement. Everyone was aware that James had saved Marcus's life. Lily, especially.

Author's Note: Sorry there's not very much action in this chapter except for Quidditch, but it was really fun to write about and I still hope you enjoyed it. As always, please review! Chapter 5 is on the way.