The First Burst

"Alright!" called Madam Hooch. "Take a step towards your brooms and stick your right hand out. On the count of three I want you all to say 'Up' in a firm, steady voice," she instructed.

Their first flying lesson came on a dull and windy October morning, along with the Slytherins. Madam Hooch's instructions were barely audible over the howling gusts of wind and the students fought to keep their feet firmly on the ground. Eyes watering and cloaks wrapped tightly around them, they braced themselves for the inevitable moment when they would have to unwillingly part with the muddy ground.

"10 galleons Snivellus slides off his broom," murmured James, burying his smirk in his scarf.

"10 galleons he doesn't even get off the ground," snickered Sirius

"10 galleons he falls right into the mud" squeaked Peter, forgetting to keep his voice down.

"You don't even have 10 galleons," scoffed Sirius.

"Uncalled for," said Remus in an under tone.

"I trust you boys have been paying attention," called Madam Hooch sternly. "One, two THREE"

"UP!" chorused the class.

Most of the brooms lay still on the ground, while others quivered slightly. Mulciber looked over smugly at his fellow Slytherins; his broomstick had sprung into his hand the moment he had commanded it to. Severus Snape's broom, however, couldn't seem to decide as it rose momentarily off the ground and dropped back down again, rendering him furious.

Marlene McKinnon along with James and Sirius, stood equally smug as she held her broom with utmost righteousness. Lily Evans, had unfortunately received a full blown whack, as her broom handle had soared upwards and smacked into her face, causing her eyes to water. Alice and Mary were trying very hard to cover up their giggles over Lily's misfortune, while they held their brooms sheepishly, dreading the moment they had to mount them. Remus' broom quivered slightly as he held it, while Peter's was jerking violently.

"Alright now I understand that some of the brooms are fairly battered, therefore I would like you all to kick off lightly when the time comes," she explained slowly. "Mount your brooms," she commanded. "Let's see do you all have a good grip?" she added, walking around them once more.

"You alright there Lils?" asked Marlene of Lily.

Lily gulped slowly, "Yeah sure, what makes you think I wouldn't be?" she said, her voice higher than usual.

"I don't know maybe because your skin has turned a murky shade of green and your knees seem to have lost the ability to stay still," stated Marlene, trying to keep a straight face.

"Really helpful Marly, honestly," said Mary reproachfully, "it'll be fine Lily," she added, although sounding far from confident herself.

"Yeah just kick off lightly and don't hold the handle too tight," instructed Alice.

"Oh look Jamsie doesn't seem too pleased," said Marlene, who clearly wasn't paying attention to the conversation.

Madam Hooch had reached James, who was now sulking as she explained to him that he held his broom far too low, which could cause problems in strong winds. She then moved on to show him the correct area to grasp it from, much to his contempt and humiliation.

"Alright so," continued Madam Hooch, addressing the whole class, "the wind is picking up steadily so we don't have much longer before we'll have to retreat back up to the castle. Get ready to kick off lightly and keep you broom steady as it hovers above the ground. One, two, three!"

James kicked off hard into the earth and soared upwards, to do a perfect loop before swooping back down, smoothly controlling his broom with utmost precision, while Sirius hovered regally above the ground sweeping his hair out of his eyes grandly. Marlene, who also couldn't seem to contain herself, had soared into the air and dove back down near Lily who, face still green, was holding on to her broom tightly with her eyes shut.

Mulciber, who had wanted his fair share of glory had swooped around the class and was about to take his position again when Severus's broom lurched violently forward, causing the two to collide painfully and the latter to fall face first into the mud.

The whole class erupted with laughter as Snape got up slowly, clearly humiliated.

"That is quite enough!" barked Madam Hooch. "Your shenanigans were clearly uncalled for and I will be having a word with your Head of House about this," she added to Mulciber, who couldn't believe his misfortune. "The same goes for both of you," she added to James and Marlene, wiping the smug grins from their faces. "Now off you go."

The students placed their brooms into the shed and made their way up to the castle slowly. The wind was gradually picking up, causing them to pull their cloaks and scarfs closer around their faces.

"Well at least you didn't get detention," stated Remus, to a silent James. "Speaking of which, when-"

"Saturday," replied Sirius, grumpily.

"With Filch" continued James.

"In his office," added Sirius.

"Any idea what-" began Remus.

"No," replied James and Sirius sullenly.

"OI Black!" called someone from behind them.

The boys spun around to see Marlene running up to them, her hair a wild, windy mess, clutching a letter in her hand.

"You dropped this," she said handing it to Sirius, a concerned look on her face. "It fell out of your bag."

Sirius' face darkened, as he snatched the letter out of her hand and crumpled it, his eyes searching hers. She had read it, he could see the signs etched on her face. He turned on the spot and continued making his way up to the castle, his friends following hurriedly in his wake.

"A thank you would have been nice!" she called after him.

"What-" began James

"It's just a letter," said Sirius slowly, stopping to look at his bewildered friends. "From my mother," he added, noting the comprehension dawning on their faces.

"You know you can tell us if-" began Remus lost for words.

"We can help-" continued James.

"It's fine, I don't particularly care" mumbled Sirius

"Is she mad at you again?" asked Peter, innocently.

"It's quite a constant thing Pete" mumble Sirius.

"Wh-" began James.

"She thought she should remind me how wonderful it is that Regulus is upholding the family name, since I have been such a disappointment," he said, painfully.

"But that's unfair" stated Peter simply

"Yes well that's my mother," replied Sirius. "Do we have Astronomy tonight?" he asked changing the subject.

"Yes" said James

"Ugh," grumbled Peter, "Do you think Professor Sinistra would let me bring up my duvet?"

"I doubt it" laughed Sirius.

"I'll probably sleep through it," grumbled James.

"Well we could always copy off Remus" said Peter, nudging Remus cheekily.

"Or not," said Remus, sadly.

"Wh-" began Peter.

"Sick aunt?" asked an amused James

"Well – yes," stammered Remus.

"How many aunts do you have?" asked Sirius.

"Quite a few" replied Remus.

"Do they take it in turns to get sick?" asked Peter.

"I-" frowned Remus.

"Are you sure they don't use their sickness as a scheme to get you to visit every month?" teased James.

"Well-" stammered Remus.

"Potter!" called a tall, burly figure from behind them. "Just saw you down on the grounds, quite impressive. George Steele, Gryffindor Quidditch captain." He added, extending a large hand for James to shake. "Try outs are on Saturday morning, I expect to see you there!" and without further ado he marched off to his next class.

"What d'you reckon?" asked James of Sirius, excitedly. "Should we try out?"

"Ican't really be bothered to be honest" replied Sirius, yawning widely.

"I thought you had detention on Saturday" said Remus, cautiously.

"Blimey I forgot about that!" exclaimed James.

"You could always ask McGonagall-" started Peter.

"To do what?" asked James, incredulously. "Postpone my detention?"

"My mother will be voted the nicest person on the face of the earth before McGonagall could be swayed on matters such as detention," muttered Sirius.

"I'm sure you'd be able to try out another time," said Remus, reasonably.

James gave Remus a dark look but decided to remain silent. He had been looking forward to the moment he would be able to try out for the Gryffindor team ever since he was old enough to understand what it was. In that moment he truly cursed himself for meddling in things beyond his control. If they hadn't tried to follow Remus that night, none of this would have happened.

Sirius, sensing the drop in the group's general mood said, "Well at least we got to see Snape fall into the mud!"

"Yeah," said James, unable to hold back his smirk. "The look on his face was pure gold."

"Priceless," added a satisfied, Sirius.

"I believe you owe me 10 galleons," squeaked Peter, with glee.

Humiliation did not even begin to cover how Severus Snape was feeling in that particular moment, as he sullenly descended the dungeon stairs to Potions with Lily in his wake. Not only had he managed to fall into a puddle of mud; he had done so in front of Lily and the rest of his cohort. He had taken quite pride in being the one who had introduced Lily to their world – knowing it all and demonstrating it with copious amounts of precision. Yet somehow, in the span of a few minutes he had managed to make a complete fool of himself, in front of the singular person who regarded him with a hint of awe. He had prided himself at being one of the best students in his year, yet now that pride had plummeted to the bottom of that muddy puddle.

"Oh come now Sev," said Lily, patiently trying to reassure him for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning. "Surely it wasn't that bad."

"It was mortifying Lily," mumbled Severus, brushing past the students going up the stairs.

"I for one didn't even realise you fell" said Lily, truthfully.

"That's because your eyes where shut tight from fear of falling off your broom," sighed Severus. "Everyone saw what happened," he groaned, looking back on how James and Sirius had clutched their sides with laughter.

"Why do you even care whether you're good or not at flying a broomstick?" sighed Lily, re-adjusting her bag as they came to a halt in front of their classroom.

"Well – I" blushed Severus, trying to choose his words without giving too much away.

"Isn't being good at actual subjects more important?" asked Lily, leaning on the wall.

"Yeah I guess so," he shrugged, not entirely convinced.

"Well-," she began, as Professor Slughorn began ushering them in.

"I just detested making a fool of myself," said Snape, bitterly. "You saw James Potter, he's exceptionally good at flying," he continued dropping his bag down in front of his cauldron.

"Well yes," said Lily tentatively, "but why do you even care?"

"Everyone likes him," replied Snape bitterly, looking at her intently.

"You're nice enough…" she said, cautiously.

"You don't seem to be so sure yourself" he retorted.

"Sev," began Lily testily, "you're my best friend, I think I, of all people, am quite fond of you."

"Y-you are?" stammered Severus, blushing furiously.

"Yes, I am," said Lily, admiring the effect her words had on him.

"I've already owled dad to send me my broom and servicing kit," said James, happily.

Oh not Quidditch again, thought Peter.

The four Gryffindor boys were making their way towards the Great Hall for an early supper after a long, but eventful day of lessons. It was Thursday, which meant that tonight at precisely midnight, they would have Astronomy with the young Professor Sinistra, on the highest tower of the castle. It was the last thing Peter felt like, especially given that the wind was threatening to uproot the castle and send it whirling into the lake. He thought hungrily of the scrumptious food that would be laid out in the Great Hall, blocking out James' voice. He was generally quite a happy go lucky lad, yet today didn't seem to be his day. Although deeply appreciative of being part of the group, he couldn't help but feel left out at times. Sure he wasn't as good as the other boys at lessons, and he'd probably need tutoring to pass his end of year examinations, yet he was good at other things. He just wished his friends wouldn't underestimate him so much, maybe trust him more. He was sure something was up with Remus, and that the other two suspected something, yet nobody had let him in on anything. I guess it's better being in than out though, he mused, just as they were about to enter the Hall.

"Sirius!" called Andromeda, running to catch up with them, "a quick word?" she asked jerking her head to a secluded corner.

Peter groaned, he really was hungry. Sirius, sensing the seriousness in his cousin's voice, motioned for his friends to go along without him. He frowned curiously at her as she motioned for him to follow him into the courtyard, just off the Entrance Hall. It was a windy, clear evening and the sun had already begun to set. Andromeda sat on a low wall, clearly something was bothering her.

"Have you spoken to him since the sorting?" she said suddenly, taking Sirius by surprise.

"No," replied Sirius, quietly. "I haven't seen him," he added, resting on a nearby column.

"Are you sure you haven't been avoiding him?" she asked, sternly.

"Well it's not like I'm going to march up to the Slytherin table to talk to him," he retorted. "He could come if he wants," he added, defensively.

"He misses you Sirius!" she cried, indignantly.

"Well-"

"Don't even try to say that you don't, because you clearly do," snapped Andromeda.

"I just-" began Sirius, trying hard to find the right words, "I thought-"

"Well just because he's in Slytherin, doesn't make him unworthy of your time," said Andromeda, hotly. "It's actually quite hypocritical of you to think like that."

"It's not what I mean," began Sirius, to which Andromeda gave him a reproachful glare. "Well not exactly!" he added defensively.

"Slytherin or not he's still your brother," she said. "The same brother you grew up with."

"I thought he was different," mumbled Sirius.

"Being in Slytherin doesn't make him a bad person and you know it," she said.

"Knowing it isn't enough, he has to believe it," said a sad voice from the shadows of the setting sun.

Regulus Black emerged from behind a large column, clutching a heavy library book in one hand and readjusting the strap of his bag with the other. His resemblance to his brother was quite remarkable, although with slight mistakes. Sirius, although two years older, was quite tall for his age; while Regulus had retained a certain scrawny awkwardness. Both, however, had the same elegant features exclusive to the Black family, with soft black hair and stormy grey eyes. At this very moment Sirius was trying very hard to avoid his brother's, wary of what he would see if he looked at them. Andromeda cleared her throat suggestively and glared at Sirius.

"Reg- I…," began Sirius, distracted momentarily by a figure very similar to Remus walking hurriedly along the corridor.

"I'm sorry Sirius," said Regulus, looking intently at his shoes.

"You don't have to be sorry," began Andromeda indignantly. "Tell him he doesn't have to be sorry!" she added reproachfully to Sirius, whose eyes were following the retreating figure distractedly.

Sirius looked back at his younger brother, not knowing what to say, yet having so much to say at the same time. He would never admit it to a single soul, yet the truth was he really did miss his younger brother deeply. He had blindly hoped that he too would be chosen for Gryffindor and felt irrationally betrayed when he hadn't. Yet under all the pent up anger, he was truly worried that being in Slytherin could destroy the side of his brother he knew and loved so much.

"Don't let them get to you," he said simply, before turning on his heel and marching up towards Gryffindor tower, having lost his appetite entirely.

Don't let them get to you! Who does he think he is? How dare he refer to us with such contempt? Andromeda had been fuming all day after her encounter with Sirius and Regulus the evening before. She still couldn't stomach the nerve Sirius had; the tone he used when referring to people of her house. She had taken it deeply to heart. Meda had had it with the entire student body's perception of people in her house. Sure they were cunning, opinionated and downright obnoxious at times, but the Gryffindors weren't so far along either. The nerve, the bloody nerve, she fumed, stamping up the stairs towards the third floor. She turned briskly into the corridor leading towards the trophy room and pushed the door open roughly.

"Oh hi" she came to a halt abruptly as she saw Ted Tonks leaning against a cabinet dedicated to Special Services to the School Awards.

"Hullo," he replied simply.

"Didn't think we'd get the same detention co-" she muttered, before being cut off.

"Considering you were going to hex my head off," he said, finishing off her sentence.

Andromeda's eyes narrowed in anger as she folded her arms neatly across her chest. She was about to say something back when Filch decided to make an appearance.

"Well I'm sure you lot know what you have to do," he snapped, gesturing to the cloths and cleaning liquid sitting in a corner of the room. "Loitering about isn't going to get the job done now, is it?" he added meanly. "I need to see Dumbledore about that wretched poltergeist. Spect you to be done by midnight," he said and without further ado turned on his heel and made his way out of the room.

The pair gave each other a quick glance before getting to work on the many glass cabinets present in the room. Shelves upon shelves of gold, silver and even crystal trophies; not to mention a multitude of medals and plaques in honour of various causes. Some needed polishing, others needing a good scrub – and all without magic. They worked for a solid hour in silence, pointedly making sure to stay out of each other's way, until the silence got too much for Andromeda to bear.

"For the record I wasn't going to hex your head off," she said simply, nicking the grime out of an elaborately engraved plaque.

Ted scoffed, "You Slytherins don't exactly have a reputation to pass off the chance for a good duel."

"I'd rather you didn't make such sweeping assumptions," she snapped, suddenly angry again. "Just because I'm in Slytherin doesn't mean I'm anything like the worst in my house."

"Then again you are a Black," continued Ted, mockery dripping in his voice. "And we all know how essentially pure you lot are."

"Sod off will you?" she snapped, walking as far away from him as possible.

Ted shook his head bemusedly before muttering, "And so the silence resumes."

Andromeda huffed, her infuriation consuming her, rendering her irrational. What was it with this year? Blow after blow, how much more could she take? She loved her family dearly and would do anything to protect them, yet deep down in the very pits of her subconscious she resented them. Resented the way people looked at her, spoke of her, just because she was a part of them and their world. She had always felt a strong connection to her family, yet for some reason she had been feeling detached as of late. She felt different with every passing day yet she shared many of the qualities of a Black. I'm a good person, she thought determinedly, I don't deserve to be treated as though I'm horrid, I don't even deserve to be in this detention. It's all his fault, she added giving Ted a dark look over her shoulder, if it weren't for him I wouldn't even be here, she continued irrationally. Yet, deep down she knew the reason she was there was due mainly to her sister's shenanigans and her disloyal friends. Andromeda sighed as she polished the door of a cabinet, and closed it shut neatly, to find Ted's reflection staring intently at her as he polished a gold medal.

She felt her cheeks flush unintentionally at being caught off guard.

"Don't be offended by what I said" said Ted, intently avoiding eye contact. "I was only joking."

"You weren't joking," said Andromeda, simply turning to face him across a glass table containing gold medals. "Even if you were, it wasn't very funny"

"I'm sorry," he said, sincerely, picking out a gold medal for her to polish and handing it to her. "I tend to be quite brash."

"I've just had it with the way people assume that just because I'm in Slytherin, I'm this horrid person looking for a duel," she sighed, snatching the medal from across the table.

"Well you don't exactly shy away from them," he said, simply.

"You don't have the slightest idea what it's like being me," she scoffed.

"I imagine it to be duly unpleasant," he smirked.

"Well that's nice of you" she retorted hotly, scrubbing a medal ferociously.

"Well, I don't suppose being Bellatrix's sister allows others to have a fair opinion of you," he continued, trying to reason with her.

She gave him a dark look before making her way beside him to place the medal in its place, "She's really not that bad you know," bending over to place the medal on the plush velvet.

"No of course not, just slightly deranged but on the whole pretty much your average nutter," he replied, smirking, as her perfume filled his nostrils with a scent that reminded him vividly of the seaside.

She swatted him with her cloth, "Oi, she's my sister," she said indignantly, yet smirking nevertheless.

"Not to mention her so-called friends, who you constantly feel the need to stand in front of for others' sake, not theirs," he added, taking his mind off the seaside.

Andromeda considered him for a moment, taking in his quaint appearance. She had never really noticed him until the day he stood in front of her friends, clearly outnumbered and ready to stand up for his friend nevertheless. Never in all her life had she imagined that anyone beside herself would realise that she wasn't the one who caused the trouble, she just voluntarily jumped into the middle of it, not to protect her friends, but to protect their victims.

"You do realise you're here because you wouldn't let dear Alecto have a go at me, right?" he added, for clarity.

"You do realise you would still be in the hospital wing, lost out of your senses, had I allowed her to, right?" she smirked.

"There you go underestimating me because I'm muggleborn," he tutted, shaking his head and walking over to the opposite end of the table.

"I- no-" she began, clearly embarrassed. "Well would you rather be stuck here with her then?" she asked, now taking particular notice of the frayed end of the cloth.

"God no" he laughed.

They continued working in silence until midnight, when Filch walked briskly into the room to inspect their work, which even he couldn't deny was flawless. They walked out in silence massaging their fingers, thoroughly exhausted.

"Well this didn't turn out to be half as bad as I expected" she said as they reached the Entrance Hall.

"You're not so bad yourself" he replied cheekily, running off in the direction of the kitchens.

James lay face up on his four poster bed, staring at the dark ceiling. The dormitory had long fallen silent, and Peter's snores infiltrated the still night. A quick glance to his left told James that Remus' bed was vacant. The boy frowned, I'm missing something obvious, he mused, turning on his side. Well it's not the only thing you're missing, said the snarky voice of his subconscious. James sighed thinking about the wretched detention he had the next day and how he was going to have to miss out on the Quidditch try-outs. He cursed himself silently for going after Remus that night. After all, they still didn't know what was going on, and neither could they say what they had seen in the Forest. However, the secret meetings seemed to have ceased as no muggleborn had visited the hospital wing that year. Nevertheless, nothing good had come out of their adventure. All they knew was that Remus disappeared every month and for some odd reason resided somewhere near the Whomping Willow. James closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep, yet all he could think about was being able to play for his House team. There had to be a way to get out of the detention; Filch was quite dim-witted from what he's heard. All he needed was a distraction, something more important than the detention. Something that would allow them to slip away -

"Sirius?" whispered James, propping himself up to look over at Sirius' bed.

"Mmm" replied Sirius instantly, he too had been lying awake.

"We need to find a way to get out of that detention"

"Well mate you're in luck," smirked Sirius, sitting up. "I've already got a plan."

Saturday morning rose with anticipation. For the first time in weeks the sun was out despite the steady wind which billowed around the castle walls. Many of the students took to the grounds to enjoy the sunlight, others to observe the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs.

Nevertheless, the corridors where still crowded with students bustling about and chatting excitedly about the next weekend – Halloween.

"Do you have everything?" asked Sirius urgently, as they pushed through the crowd in the Entrance Hall.

Peter indicated towards his bulging chest as they detached themselves from the crowd and huddled up in a secluded corner.

"Cloak?" asked James.

"Yes" replied Peter.

"Drooble's Gum?" asked James, again.

"Yeeeess" replied Peter, impatiently.

"Do you know what you have to do?" interjected Sirius.

"Down to every last detail," replied Peter.

"Look," said James, seriously patting him on the shoulder. "I know this is going to be tough for you to do alone…"

"But we are confident that you can do this," continued Sirius, sounding more hopeful than convinced.

Peter nodded and gulped, the pressure was starting to sink in. This prank needed to be executed with the precision that was usually exclusive to the two friends standing in front of him, yet he was determined to pull this off.

"Let's hope things don't get too sticky," he said cheekily, before running up to the third floor.

James looked on with a proud smirk at Peter's retreating figure. "He has potential after all."

"Yes, against all odds," laughed Sirius.

Filch's office was located in a deserted corridor on the ground floor, off the main castle halls, which students generally avoided. James and Sirius pushed open the door cautiously to find the caretaker waiting at his desk. The room was dark and windowless with a faint smell of mold penetrating the walls. The desk was littered with crumpled up papers and empty ink bottles.

"Well, well, right on time," Filch smiled nastily, walking around the desk towards them.

"What're we going to be doing?" asked Sirius.

"You see these here boys?" he asked, gesturing to piles upon piles of gathered parchment in every corner of the room. "Those are informal reports of the havoc you students cause within these castle walls. I was thinking that an official system of recording is in order."

The boys groaned; if they didn't get out of this they were in for an arduous day.

"Oh yes," smiled Filch at their expressions, "I want them written on these report cards," he added, patting a pile of cards on his desk, "and sorted in alphabetical order."

James and Sirius exchanged a quick glance at each other before walking sullenly to the caretaker's desk to begin. Peter had better put their plan into motion. With a heavy sigh the boys dropped their bags onto the dingy floor and extracted their quills. The chairs were stiff and uncomfortable, making their task all the more daunting. Filch breathing down their neck didn't help either; he smelled strongly of stale cheese and sweat. Come on Pete, willed Sirius with all his might. James was becoming uneasy too, it had been a while since they parted from their friend. Filch picked up on their hopelessness immediately; he fed on this.

"You know I wouldn't look too sullen if I were you," began Filch as their quills scratched the parchment, "back in the day, they used to hang students by their ankles in the dungeons."

"You'd love that wouldn't you," retorted Sirius, without thinking, earning himself a kick from James.

"Oh yes boy, a good whipping wouldn't do you bad either you-"

But the caretaker stopped short as the sound of distant explosions entered every corner of the room, causing the desk to rattle. Following the explosions came the rumble of commotion which grew louder and louder with every passing second. James and Sirius exchanged quick glances at each other and smirked mischievously. Whatever Peter had done, it had worked.

Suddenly the door to the office opened with a loud bang as a Ravenclaw prefect burst into the room panting, covered in pink sticky goo.

"Explosions in the Trophy Room!" she cried.

Filch, already purple in the face tore out of his office without a single glance back at the boys.

"Excellent!" exclaimed the boys running out of the office into the chaos of the corridors.

They dodged the oncoming students who too were covered in the same pink goo and tore down the corridor towards the stairs. A wheezing Peter met them along the way and received grateful claps on his back. The flustered boy shoved James' broomstick into his hand as they slid down the banisters and tore across the Entrance Hall and out into the grounds. From afar it seemed as though the try outs were coming to a close end. With an added burst of speed the boys sprinted down towards the Quidditch pitch.

"Ah Potter," called the Captain, Steele, "I thought you weren't going to show up."

James smiled widely, "That would be preposterous," he said kicking off hard into the ground and soaring up towards the team.

Sirius and Peter took their seats in the stands, next to a few other Gryffindors. Marlene too was up by the rest of the team, although she didn't seem too pleased.

"Remarkable!"

"Outstanding performance!"

"Exceptional flying!"

Showers of compliments followed James for a whole week after the try-outs. He had outperformed every student who had tried out for the team. The Captain, George Steele, seemed particularly pleased with the new found talent on his team and was confident that the House Cup will be theirs this year. Marlene, however, had spent the past week sulking, having not been chosen for the team.

"I just don't understand," said Alice, consoling her friend. "You flew better than half the idiots that tried out."

"I know," said Marlene flatly.

"Then he chooses Anderson…" continued Alice in disbelief.

"The idiot can't even tell the difference between a head and a Quaffle," scoffed Marlene.

"I wouldn't beat yourself up about it," murmured Remus from a few seats down. "I heard a rumour going around that-"

"Yes, that he tends to favour male players," continued Alice.

"Bloody git" began Marlene

"Marlene!" hissed Lily, reproachfully.

Marlene rolled her eyes and continued devouring her steak and kidney pie. A few seats down James, Sirius and Peter chatted away happily about the events of the week, as a silent Remus sat beside them; it was his first dinner back after the full moon, having had to spend a few nights in the hospital wing to recover. The latter had obtained a nasty scar just above his left eye, which he tried his best to conceal with his hair. He was truly tired of having to lie to them, yet fear of abandonment consumed him at the thought of them finding out what he really was.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, these are for you," said Professor McGonagall sternly, handing them an envelope each. "They are the details of your next detention," she added.

"Next detention?" exclaimed James

"Precisely," said their Professor, "I hardly need to explain why," she snapped, turning on her heal and making her way out of the Hall.

Sirius sighed and let his head flop onto the table with a soft thud.

"Do you think she knows we were behind the Sticky Incident?" asked James of Sirius.

"Is that what they're calling it?" piped up Peter excitedly.

"Completely beside the point" mumbled Sirius.

"Well does she?" asked James again.

"No she doesn't," piped up Remus.

"How d'you know?" asked James.

"Well I heard that your cousin, Andromeda and a bloke called Ted Tonks got the blame for the mess," began Remus.

"Why?" asked Peter, somewhat disappointed.

"Well, they had a detention in there the night before and nobody was seen entering the room the following morning so naturally…" explained Remus.

"She must be pleased," mumbled Sirius.

"Hardly," replied Remus.

"Then why did we get detention again?" began James

"Well we did leave the detention without permission…" said Sirius slowly.

"Word has it that from now on students may never be left unattended during a detention," said Remus, "and should the supervisor need to leave, a replacement must be found."

"Right," retorted James, "Nasty scar you got there, by the way," he added directly to Remus.

Remus' face flushed and paled at the same time, he felt he was going to be sick.

"Yeah, I bumped my head as I was coming out of McGonagall's fireplace," he explained, feeling entirely stupid.

"Must have been quite some bump," mumbled Sirius, his face still resting on his arms. "How'd you know about all this stuff?"

"I overheard Madam Pomfrey talking to Professor McGonagall," replied Remus.

"You know," began Peter looking at Remus, "you can tell us, you know, if something's wrong…"

"I- wh-" spluttered Remus.

His three friends were looking at him closely, concern etched on their faces.

"I'm fine, really," he said softly. "D'you think Filch will give you more filing to do?"

"I bloody well hope not," said Sirius

"Wouldn't put it past him," said James. "All those rolls of parchment, it'll take us forever."

"You know," said Sirius, with a twinkle in his eye. "I kind of agree with the idea of recording the students' wrong doings."

"You do?!" asked Remus disbelievingly.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked James looking at Sirius intently.

"Here have some pumpkin juice," said Peter, worriedly.

"No really I mean think about it," said Sirius, "One day, we will have a filing cabinet solely dedicated to our wrong doings."

"We'd better get to work then," smiled James.

Peter grinned foolishly, gravy dripping from his open mouth. Remus tutted and tossed him a napkin. He looked at them with deep affection and sighed contently. They would probably get him into all sorts of mischief one day, but as long as he was with these three boys, it would be worth it.