Chapter Six: Of Quidditch Tryouts and Witch Weekly
On the dreary morning of September 21, James has collected the veteran Quidditch players for an impromptu meeting in the locker rooms before tryouts. Much complaining fills the air, since it is eight o'clock in the bloody morning.
"He's got a knack for picking horrible times for practice and meeting and the lot." Sirius was lying prostrate on a bench in the middle of the locker room with an arm flung dramatically over his head. He had only his Quidditch trousers on, and Marlene couldn't help but find herself stealing glances at his (very well-built) form. She found herself turning redder and more embarrassed because sooner or later, one of the boys would notice and-
"McKinnon, if you keep ogling Sirius like that, you'll lose your status as Quidditch Mother and gain a new status of Sneaky Ogler." Marlene face flamed violently at Emmett's remark and she busied herself with shaking out her Seeker robes. Emmett waited for a response, and when none came, he sighed. "Pity, could use a little talking in here other than His Highness complaining about the time. Speaking of the time, where is our glorious Captain? He told us to be here at eight sharp!"
"Probably being his own Sneaky Ogler and staring at Evans' chest. And Marlene, I don't know why you'd be looking at me now. Early mornings are a horrible time for me; I haven't even properly shaved yet today."
"Your face is as smooth as a baby's, Black, you never shave!" Marcus chimed in from the shower. The boys and Marlene had long since given up most modesty with one another, and both were comfortable showering while the other was in the locker room. They had separate changing areas, but for the most part nobody cared much if the other gender saw some skin.
"I shave every day! Twice a day! You wouldn't know, Downing, you're not in the same room as we are! Back me up here, Dackery." Before Emmett could say anything, James entered the locker room.
"The only thing that you shave twice a day is your legs. Now, I just wanted to go over some quick things before the contenders show up…" James hurriedly reminded them all to be on good behavior and that he would be taking their opinion into account before making a decision. He wrapped up the meeting and they marched onto the field, where a small group of students waited with their brooms in the middle of the pitch. James, after five years of eagerly watching Quidditch tryouts, was confident and ordered the group to separate by position. The team needed one more Chaser and a Keeper. The veterans led the group in warm-ups and proceeded to watch as some second-years couldn't even stay on the broom.
"Downing, McKinnon, take Zales to the hospital wing. I think his arm's broken." James ran a hand through his hair and sighed. The crop of hopeful Quidditch players this year was, in a word, pathetic. He ordered the group to begin tossing the Quaffle back and forth, then called Emmett and Sirius over.
"Do you two see anyone worthwhile yet?"
"We've been here for an hour James; nobody's going to show off their star quality yet. I wouldn't be concerned, try-outs continue tomorrow too!" Emmett clapped James on the back, accidentally knocking him sideways. "Sorry, Captain."
"Don't look now, Prongs, but we've got onlookers," muttered Sirius. "Not all Gryffindors, either."
"Oh, this is just rich…" James muttered to himself. He ordered his team to run the contenders through basic drills and flew up to the stands to have a word with the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, Robert Yaxley.
"Oi! Yaxley, what d'you think you're doing here?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Potter, I'm not here to see you." Yaxley's pale hair was drawn back into its usual pigtails, and in James' opinion it only served to make his face seem even broader. He had a flat face, rather like an eel. "When she's flying, McKinnon's arse is a pretty picture. Besides, I know you were at our own tryouts. It's only fair that I come to yours." James' face flushed, because Yaxley was correct. However, James had only gone to the Slytherin tryouts because Sirius had wanted to know if Regulus was still on the team.
And, he supposed, because he wanted to spy on the tryouts. But mostly for Sirius… because of Regulus. Moral support and all that rubbish.
"I'll let you in on a secret, if you promise not to tell." Yaxley snorted but leaned closer to James anyway. "I think we're considering that big bloke there for the new Chaser." James pointed to a fourth year who was flying completely the wrong way around the pitch, being chased by a Bludger. "And Keeper, we're thinking her." He motioned to a small Indian girl who looked no bigger than the broom itself.
Yaxley raised an eyebrow. "Funny, Potter."
"I'm serious! And one more thing…" Yaxley leaned in again, and James poked him in the ear with his wand and sent a shower of sparks into his pigtail. Yaxley reared backward and tripped over the bleachers, landing heavily on his back. Several loud swear words left his mouth as he rose, brushed off his robes, and stalked away. James grinned and flew back down to the pitch.
"Alright, Captain?" asked Emmett when he landed. James gave him a brief description of what had happened, and Emmett boomed with laughter.
"Good on you, mate! But about the Indian girl…She's actually quite good as a Chaser. Keep an eye on her, would you?" James nodded absentmindedly. A mane of red hair had been spotted in the bleachers, and he made a mental note to talk to Lily after the tryouts were over. Which, looking at his watch, would be somewhat soon.
"Alright, you lot! It's lunchtime, let's break for today and we'll continue tomorrow at eleven o'clock sharp! You all flew well today and should be proud of yourselves. Dismissed!" The tryout group dispersed slowly and James ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. He couldn't believe that the crop of potential Quidditch players was so inexperienced this year.
Emmett, on the other hand, couldn't believe that James had released them before lunch. He sprinted back to the lockers, changed, and was out the door just as Sirius was stepping into the showers.
"Dackery! Wait for me!" called Sirius.
"No way! Lunch is clam chowder, you think I would miss that just so you can style your hair? Catch you later, Sirius!" Emmett let the door slam shut behind him and followed his nose into the castle and the Great Hall.
In the courtyard after tryouts, between the fountain and the castle entrance
Lily didn't know why she had gone down there. Marlene didn't need to change into fresh clothes in the locker room. She could have walked up to the dormitory in her uniform and changed there. But no, Lily had seen her clothes on her bed and thought she would be a good friend and deliver them to her at the pitch. Call it a momentary lapse of judgment on her part. Because of course he would see her, her hair was like a giant, glowing sign that was pretty hard to miss, even if you weren't looking for her.
"Evans!" He called, hot on her heels. She pretended that she didn't hear him and continued to walk at a brisk pace towards the great, oak doors. If she could just get inside the castle, maybe she could lose hi-
"Oi!" He called again, this time from directly behind her. "Didn't you hear me calling you?" He asked, taking a few more steps and stopping in front of her. She sighed and looked down at the ground.
"Of course I did. Half the castle heard you."
"Then why didn't you stop?"
Lily put a hand on her hip and sighed. "Maybe I didn't want to talk to you."
For a moment, James' face fell. It was just for a moment though and then he was smiling again. "I don't think that's the reason."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Think what you want."
"I think we should talk." This he said in a more serious tone. "We never really resolved what… happened last year."
"Resolved? Do you expect me to forgive you for the way you acted? For what you said?"
"I don't see why not." James shrugged. "I mean, that fight wouldn't even make the top ten in volume, or length. And there were no spells fired. I'd say, for us, it was pretty tame."
Lily sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "The fact that you have a list of our worst fights-"
"I don't!" James interrupted, holding his hands up. "I'm just saying, were we to compile such a list… Look, I came over here to apologize. I've been trying to do it since term started but you've been pretty hell-bent on ignoring me."
"Avoiding, actually."
"Right," His hand went to his hair and Lily clenched her jaw shut. "I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean any of it, I was angry and, well, you know by now that you tend to wind me up."
"Are you actually blaming me for what happened in your apology?" Her eyebrows inching their way up her forehead with each word.
"Let's not act like you're completely faultless here." He said, raising a brow of his own. "I'm just trying to tell you that I'm sorry and that I don't want you to be angry with me anymore. I like it better when we're all chummy."
"You and I were never 'chummy.'" Lily shot back. "And we never will be, now please get out of my way." She took advantage of his dumbfounded expression to sidestep him.
"Wait a second," He reached out and took hold of her arm before she could get too far away from him. "Are you saying we weren't friends last year?"
"Why would I want to be friends with you?" She snapped, yanking her arm out of his grip and, once again, making an attempt to stalk off.
"Why are you acting like this?" He asked, turning to follow her.
"Acting like what?" Lily asked, spinning around on her heels and taking a step towards him. "Like I'm angry with you? Because I am bloody angry with you! If you actually thought that you were my friend last year you would have left Snape alone! You would have let me handle things with him, you wouldn't have shouted about how stupid I was to be friends with him for our whole house to hear, you wouldn't have made fun of me hours after my best friend had just called me a Mudblood in front of half the school! If you think that we were friends when all of that happened, if that's how you treat your friends, then why the bloody hell would I want to be friends with you now?"
James didn't have an answer for that and just stared back at her with wide eyes, but Lily didn't let his silence stop her tirade. She had kept quiet for the last three months, all the rage, and all the hurt that she had kept buried and un-dealt with, it was bubbling up to the surface now and James was on the receiving end. "You drive me mad, you know that! You act completely friendly and pleasant to me half the time and then you turn around and suddenly you're some arsehole who feels the need to prove that he's the best and the most powerful and- and- Ergh!" She felt her eyes start prickling and she clenched her fists tightly at her sides. "You pick and you pick until I just explode, and then you make it look like it's my fault! I don't want to be friends with you, Potter! I don't need a friend that makes me feel like shit all the time, I've already gone down that road."
This time when she turned to leave, he didn't try to stop her.
Later that night, Gryffindor Common room, directly in front of the fireplace
The common room was mostly empty, as it usually was around this time of night. Most everybody had gone up to bed a while ago but Catherine and Mary lay sprawled out on a couch. Cath, with the most recent copy of Witch Weekly and a pair of thick, wool, mismatched socks. Mary with a muggle magazine she had her mother send her every week called, Jackie and a bottle of nail varnish balancing on her knee as her toenails dried. Both of them were laying with their heads on the seat cushions and their feet dangling over the arms of the couches.
"We didn't get any of our homework done." Mary said, inspecting the advertisement in front of her.
"We never do." Cath sighed, turning to another page. The Psychedelic Trolls stared back at her, bobbing their heads along to some tune she couldn't hear. "Do you still listen to the Trolls?"
"Don't call them the Trolls." Mary said in response. "Psy-Tro, or by their full proper name. Never Trolls."
"I'd apologize, but I don't give a shit. I just wanted to let you know that they have a new album coming out."
"I know, I've already ordered it."
"Neat."
"Maybe I should try to get through some of the potions questions."
"No one's stopping you."
"You know that I'd need your help."
"I'm busy."
"You're a bitch."
"You're not wrong."
Mary grabbed the bottle of nail varnish, threw her legs off the arm of the couch and tossed her magazine onto the table. "Catherine, please help me. I don't want to fail."
"Ask Lily to help you." As if summoned by the sound of her name, Lily took the final step down the stairs and into the common room at that moment.
"There you two are." She said. "I was afraid I'd have to actually leave the tower to look for you."
"You wouldn't break curfew to do that." Cath said, glancing over at Lily before turning another page.
"It's nearly one in the morning. What are you doing down here?"
"Homework." Mary said, pointing to the stack of forgotten textbooks on the coffee table. Lily raised an eyebrow at her and Mary shrugged. "Well, that was our original intent anyway."
"Witch Weekly couldn't wait?" Lily asked, letting out a yawn as she fell into a nearby armchair. "The desperate sound of halfwit journalists crying for attention by means of spouting out falsities and gross exaggerations was more important than your school work?"
"Yep." Cath said, without looking up.
"I'm reading Jackie." Mary held it up as proof. "It's not like that. It tells you how to do your hair and stuff. It's definitely more important than school work. And where do you get off knocking Witch Weekly? You read it all the time as well."
"Not instead of doing my homework."
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Cath asked, swinging her legs off the arm of the couch and sitting up next to Mary. "Step in a puddle while you were wearing socks?"
"I'm okay." Lily said, looking slightly taken aback. "And if I wasn't, why would that be my problem?"
"You've obviously never had that happen to y-"
"You're dodging the question." Mary interrupted, shoving Cath's shoulder. "Spill."
"There's nothing wrong."
"You've been saying that since the end of last term." Cath sighed. "Please excuse us if we no longer believe you."
"It's the truth." Lily shrugged.
"What do you think those words mean then?" Cath asked, tilting her head to the side. "Because maybe you think they mean something other than what I think they mean."
"If you tell us, then we'll stop harassing you about it." Mary opened her bottle of nail varnish and started applying the second coat to her toes. "That's sort of how Cath and I operate. You should know that by now."
"Why do you even think I'm upset?" Lily laughed.
"Because it's almost one o'clock in the morning on a school night and you're still awake." Mary said.
"And you're bashing Witch Weekly." Cath added. Lily sighed.
"I fought with James this afternoon."
"I thought we were going to have to go a few more rounds before we got anything out of her." Cath said, laying back down on the couch.
"Seriously, Lils?" Mary asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's what this is about? You fight with our lovely Quidditch Captain every other day."
"I know." Lily shifted in her seat and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"What's different then?"
"It feels different then it normally does." Lily said. "I'm not angry about it. I'm not all fired up and frustrated, I'm just… resigned." Cath and Mary both froze in their seats and turned their gaze towards Lily. James rants they were accustomed to, but this? This was new.
"Resigned?" Mary repeated. "What do you mean?"
"You can't be resigned and upset at the same time."
"I'm done fighting with him." Lily tried to explain. "It's tiresome and serves no purpose, but it did upset me. It got me thinking about last term."
"Oh." Mary shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, James is an arse sometimes and-"
"He was apologizing." Lily said. "Which is all well and good, but… I don't know. I tried getting along with him last year and look what it got me. Nothing good."
"I don't mean to sound like I'm not agreeing with you," Mary said cautiously. "But I think you and Snape would have had a hell of a falling out either way."
"Maybe, maybe not." Lily shrugged. "That's not really the point."
"What is the point?" Cath asked. "Because it's one in the morning and my brain is starting to shut down."
"The point is, I need to move past all of this. Past the fact that my best mate of seven years would rather hang out with people who want me dead than with me. Past the fact that there's nothing I can do to help him. Past the fact that Potter, for some unknown reason, is able to drive me completely round the bend at the drop of a hat. I need to just get past all of it and have a good year. I deserve to have a good year."
"Cheers." Cath agreed.
"So, you're going to just stop talking to James then?"
"No." Lily said quickly, shaking her head. "I'm not going to avoid him, or ignore him. I'm just not going to care what he does. After all, I've got no reason to."
"Technically that's true." Mary said. "But you can't just decide that you're not going to care about something. I don't think that's how it works."
"She can do what she wants, Mar." Cath sighed. "Now ask her if she wants to help you with Potions because if you make me help you I'm going to give you all the wrong answers." Mary rolled her eyes and punched Cath's thigh.
"Bitch."
"Twat."
"You two have such a healthy friendship." Lily smirked. "And of course I'll help you with Potions, let me just go and get my notes."
"This is why I love you." Mary blew Lily a kiss as she ran up the stairs.
"I give it a week." Cath said as soon as the redhead was gone. "The James thing and the not caring. She'll hold out for a week."
"Three days." Mary amended. "She's delusional if she thinks that this will last."
"She is delusional, but she's also stubborn as hell."
"Two galleons?"
"You're on."
The next morning, equally as early, at the second and final day of Quidditch tryouts. Much of the same activity as the day before happened again, but with less falling off of brooms.
"At least nobody's been sent to the hospital wing today!" remarked Marlene brightly, trying to bolster the boys' moods a little. James had shown up to the lockers that morning and treated them all very curtly, including Sirius. His funk had affected everyone, and they stared morosely at the field as a third year pelted a Bludger and hit the goalpost, causing it to rebound and nearly miss him. Emmett and Marcus groaned in unison.
"We aren't even looking for a Beater, why are you Beating?" shouted James at the third year, who promptly dropped the bat and fled. Marlene snickered and Sirius threw his hands up in disgust.
"Everybody is rubbish. We might as well give Yaxley the Quidditch Cup now, because anyone that we pick is going to be rubbish." James glared at Sirius, who reddened slightly. "Well, it's the truth, isn't it?"
"Everyone listen up!" James marched into the middle of the field and gathered the newcomers around him. He selected two of the potential Chasers and two potential Keepers, then dismissed the rest. "We're going to begin by selecting a Chaser. Marlene, would you be ever so kind as to Keep for a moment?" Marlene obliged, mounted, and flew to the goalpost as James explained that they each would attempt three times to make a goal.
"McKinnon here is about as good as Ravenclaw's Keeper. So let's see what you can do." The rest of the team watched as the first Chaser, a second year named Beatrice, take her three tries. She scored twice and Marlene was hardly able to block the third from going in. Beatrice looked at James.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, I nearly got the other in-"
"Don't apologize, and don't call me Mr. Potter. My name is James." His scoffing was only for show, as he was actually quite impressed with the girl. She blushed and let the other go. The boy missed all of his shots, and James pointed angrily at the exit area of the pitch.
"Keepers! Sirius and I are going to try and score. Do not let the Quaffle in." With no further explanation, James soared into the air with Sirius following him. The first Keeper, a pudgy fourth year girl with blonde hair, flew up to replace Marlene. James and Sirius flew down the length of the pitch, passing the Quaffle back and forth, until Sirius very suddenly (and very successfully) scored.
"Guard all three hoops!" shouted Marlene encouragingly. Emmett and Marcus raised their eyebrows at her. "What?" she asked. "Someone here has to be in a good mood, since you four are about as enthusiastic as someone waiting for the Dementor's Kiss! Besides, a little more estrogen on this team wouldn't be so bad either. You boys are always so…typically and obviously male."
"Shove it, McKinnon," muttered Marcus. She ignored him. The fourth year, flustered, managed to save the other four shots. The following contender was not nearly as successful. James gathered Beatrice Gupta and the fourth year (they later learned that her name was Susan Arnold) around him and informed them that they were the newest additions to the team. Directly after making this announcement to the team, he packed up his gear and stomped off the field.
"Congrats, kiddos." Sirius said, throwing his arms around Beatrice and Susan. "Mind if I call you Bea and Sue?" Beatrice's eyes went really wide as she shook her head.
"It's actually Susan." Susan said, pinching her face up in mild dislike. "My Grandmum's name is Sue."
"Bea and Susan then." Sirius said with a bark of laughter. "Though, in all honesty, I'd call you whatever the bloody hell you wanted me to because try-outs are over and I couldn't be more happy if I was completely rat-arsed at the moment."
"Cheers." Emmett laughed in agreement. "Though, if we were drunk right now-"
"Oi!" Marlene shouted. "There are children on the team now and you will not talk like that around them!"
"Well," Sirius sighed, dropping his arms from the younger girls' shoulders. "It was fun for about thirty seconds. Bea, Susan, meet Mother McKinnon. She may look sweet and innocent but she can be a real battle axe when she's got a beater's bat handy."
"I've never hit you with a beater's bat. " Marlene muttered, looking down at her feet.
"I guess I'll see you all later then."
"Where are you going, Black?" Emmett asked, tucking the Quaffle that he had just been about to throw at Marcus under his arm. "Got a hot date?"
"Depends." Sirius said, rubbing his hand along his jaw line. "James' got a nice face, but his hairs atrocious and he's a scrawny git." The team laughed but Sirius just shook his head. He'd been friends with James since they were eleven and he knew that something was wrong, he just hoped that James wasn't going to be an arse about it.
AN: Don't forget to leave a review and the exit is on your right. Unless you're on a mac, then it's on your left. Have a nice day and thank you for reading ARSF. :)