"James?"
Sirius waved a hand in front of his friend's face, looking concerned. James' head snapped up, eyes wide as he realised he hadn't been paying attention. Sirius glanced towards Peter, who shrugged.
He'd arrived back in the Common Room barely half an hour ago, and had quickly told Sirius and Peter about being let off from detention. Glad of his new found freedom, Sirius had set up a game of Wizarding Chess.
"James, it's your move," he said, watching as James, almost as if he was slowly coming out of a dream, glanced over the board and tried to think of his next move.
He'd made the decision not to tell Sirius and Peter what he'd seen. He would speak to Remus, first. The boy was clearly hiding something, but James didn't think it was a secret he should share. Not straight away, anyway.
The portrait swung open, and as was usual in the Common Room, most people looked over to see who was entering. Lily and Alice were deep in discussion, both carrying piles of books. They must have been in the library, James thought. Exams were coming up, and whereas he, Sirius and Peter were happy slacking off, others had been piling in and out of the library, determined to study.
James spotted the book on the top of the pile, as Lily placed them down and stretched her undoubtedly aching arms. She glanced at him, frowning.
"What are you looking at, Potter?"
"Nothing," he mumbled, tearing his eyes away from the Defence Against the Dark Arts book that Lily had been carrying. Dark Creatures. Caedmon had hinted that they were more than likely to come up, although they would only be looking at the basics.
Something in James' head clicked.
"What, no witty retort?" Lily scoffed. "Something wrong with you today, Potter?"
James leapt to his feet, scrambling up as he ran across the Common Room and towards the stairs. Lily, Sirius and Peter gaped at his retreating back, all of them wondering the exact same thing, questioning what, exactly, had got into James Potter.
He burst into the dorm, stopping by his bed as he reached into the drawer in the cabinet and yanked out his homework. His eyes scanned the half-completed moon chart, until they reached the current date.
"Full moon," he whispered to himself. "It's a full moon. And Remus was away...a month ago..." He went back through the dates in his head, checking them against the chart. "Oh, Merlin, Remus!" he sighed, slumping onto his bed, eyes still fixed on the chart.
Now he knew for sure; there was no way he could tell Sirius and Peter.
* * *
The score for the Quidditch Cup was currently tied.
It meant that, for the second time that year, Gryffindor were to play Slytherin.
This time, there was more at stake than just winning or losing; this match would decide, once and for all, who would take the glory of the Cup.
The whole of Gryffindor was aquiver with excitement and nerves. Briefly, Remus wondered how the Slytherins could still act like they owned the school, when the rest of the school was against them.
The moment he'd left the Hospital Wing, he knew something was up. It was strange to walk around the castle and see students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff sporting Gryffindor colours. Some of the older students had charmed the badges on their robes so that they showed lions alongside the badger or eagle. Out in the grounds, someone was holding a large banner that read Gryffindor for the Quidditch Cup! At the end, a lion could be seen swatting at a snake.
Really, Remus couldn't help but feel a bit bad for the Slytherins.
As it turned out, one of the Slytherin students had tried to hex the Gryffindor keeper, another had tried to slip something into the drinks at the table and Remus felt his sympathy ebbing.
All of this he learnt on his way from the Hospital Wing to the Common Room.
Yet no one told him why.
It was only when he found Sirius and Peter that they explained about the match, and suddenly Remus understood. Of course, thanks to the banner, he knew it was about Quidditch, but he had assumed that Quidditch was over and all the excitement was because they had already won.
"All of the Gryffindor team are getting other students to try their food and drink before they eat," Sirius explained. "They're even paying for it! Michael's been throwing up all day."
Remus cringed at the thought.
"Where's James?" he asked eventually, finding it odd that their bespectacled friend wasn't around. He thought he would be loving this; he had expected to return to find James and Sirius planning another prank against the Slytherins. After all, with the castle as it was, this was the perfect opportunity.
"He went to the library," Sirius muttered, frowning. "Said he wanted to study. Left about half an hour ago."
"Really?" Remus glanced around the room. "That's...odd. Are you sure he's not looking up spells for a prank?"
"I hope so," Sirius replied.
"Remus! You should have seen what we did!" Peter chipped in, a wide grin stretched across his face. Remus turned to the other boy, a soft smile around his lips as Peter began to explain the pranks they pulled on the Slytherins.
"The writing on the dungeon walls never showed," Sirius sighed when Peter had finished. "But that may be for the best. James just about managed to get out of detention. Oh, yeah, he asked me to tell you, Slughorn has invited you two for a meeting. Nothing bad. He said to look out for his owl."
"A meeting?" Remus frowned, leaning back in his chair.
"Slughorn likes clever-cogs," Sirius explained. "My cousin Andromeda explained it to me. He has these Slug Club things with people he thinks could go far. Apparently, he rarely asks first years to go."
"Why did he ask me and James?"
"I think he was impressed with the prank. James didn't even get punished for it."
"Oh. Right."
The boys fell silent, Sirius and Peter continuing with their game of Exploding Snap. Remus mulled over Sirius' words, surprised by the summons. He watched the game, barely paying attention, wondering what would be expected of him at this 'Slug Club'. Would he have to perform a spell? The prospect terrified him. What if there were loads of people there? He didn't think he would do well, with a lot of people watching him.
Eventually, tired and exhausted from the full moon, he went to bed, where he dreamt of standing in front of a group of Slytherins, desperately trying to make his wand light up. "Lumos!" he cried, over and over. They began to laugh, and it wasn't until Remus glanced downwards that he realised he wasn't wearing any robes, that he was just in his underpants.
Fear and anger took over his body and then, suddenly, he was the wolf, lashing out at the Slytherin students, roaring as he lunged at them. Severus Snape's face loomed up in front of him, terrified as he started to cry, begging for his life...
* * *
The teachers had given up teaching by the end of the week. It was just too difficult with Slytherins and Gryffindors yelling at each other across classes, or trying to hex each other when they were supposed to be practicing other spells. Students asked questions that were nothing to do with teaching.
And, in the staff room, they all agreed that the main offenders of this were James Potter and Sirius Black.
Not that the teachers minded. On the contrary, they found themselves getting into the spirit. Professor Slughorn just chuckled when James asked if there was a potion that would render someone unable to control a broom. McGonagall, a Gryffindor when she was a student, couldn't hold back a smile when Sirius quizzed her on spells to turn Slytherins into snakes. Or brooms into snakes. Or brooms into lions.
Professor Caedmon was bombarded with questions from both of them on ways to protect their team from the hexes and curses of the Slytherins. After class, he called for Sirius and James to remain behind. He slipped them a piece of paper with defensive charms on them, telling them not to tell anyone as he winked. "I'm sure you're capable of performing them," he whispered, although he held the knowledge that neither boy would be able to perform the spells while the players were in the air. Still, there was no harm in letting them try, in giving them a head start on their Second Year work.
In fact, that was how most teachers took it. For once, James and Sirius actually paid attention. And Remus could clearly see what the teachers were doing. He was impressed; both boys practiced the various charms and spells in the Common Room after classes. The spells were above their level, but they worked hard and he just wished they'd apply the same dedication to their studies.
Despite all this, Remus had the odd impression that James was avoiding him. Often, if, for some reason, it was just those two, he'd make up some excuse to leave. The day before the match, Remus stepped out of the shower to find James digging through his suitcase for something. Remus watched him for a few seconds before greeting him.
"Oh, Remus, hey," James muttered, shutting the lid and pushing it back under his bed as Remus crossed towards his own. "I have to...go." With that, James left, leaving Remus alone in the dorm.
He found it all very odd.
On the Saturday, hordes of students made their way down to the pitch, most wearing the Gryffindor colours. Small groups of Slytherins moved through the crowd, keeping their heads down as they approached the stadium.
"Gryffindor! Gryffindor!" The chant rose up all around them. The students piled into the stands and waited. The air of excitement was unbelievable, and Remus felt glad that he was actually experiencing it. James shuffled in and sat between Sirius and Peter, leaving Remus on the end between Peter and a third year. Everyone fell silent as Professor York stepped out onto the pitch.
Once he'd reached the middle, the Slytherin team stepped out at one end. The announcer – a Hufflepuff in his fourth year – read out their names. Each one received heavy boos from around the stands, the cheers of the Slytherins drowned out by every other house.
Next came the Gryffindor team. Cheers erupted across the pitch, the faint boos and hisses of the green clad Slytherins barely audible above the cheers, whoops, cat-calls and yells of everyone who wanted to see a Gryffindor win. The two captains crossed towards the middle of the pitch, while the rest of their teams prepared themselves to take off into the air.
The Captains shook hands, Professor York blew his whistle and Remus held his breath as the teams kicked off the ground. All of them shot upwards, the Chasers flying towards the quaffles. Even the thought of flying was enough to make Remus feel sick and, watching as a streak of red caught the ball and shot off towards the Slytherin end, he felt more than a little dizzy.
Humans were not meant to fly, but they were easily adaptable. Wolves were not.
Beside him, he could hear James and Sirius whispering spells under their breaths. They had their wands out, held close to their legs, and every so often would mutter in frustration. Whatever they were trying to do, it didn't seem to be working.
Remus returned his focus to the match, watching as a Slytherin Beater smacked the bludger towards the Gryffindor Seeker. The crowd held their breath as the Seeker dived, just missing the large black ball. One of the Gryffindor Beaters chased after it, his bat held in the air. He whacked it, and it sailed towards the Slytherin Keeper.
He was not as lucky as the Seeker.
The ball hit his chest, sending him tumbling backwards. Luckily, he kept his grip on the broom, just about, and remained airborne, although his face was flushed a deep red and he was panting heavily. He signalled to York, and the ref blew his whistle.
The sound echoed around them as the players landed. Professor York spoke quickly to the two captains, and the keeper was led off. The crowd waited while the reserve was brought in. His face was pale and he was visibly shaking as everyone got back onto the brooms.
"And it looks like a penalty! Slytherin will take a shot."
The keeper fumbled the ball and it flew backwards into the goal, causing groans and moans to rise from the stands.
The score stood at 90 – 60, with Slytherin in the lead.
Everyone was tense. Eyes scanned the air for the snitch, the small golden ball which would win them the match. James, as he had in the past, kept his keen eyes scanning around for it, eager to spot it before the seekers.
Gasps rose from everyone as, suddenly, the Slytherin Seeker, a small, slim boy, turned his broom around and raced towards the Hufflepuff stand. James' head snapped around to watch, while other eyes turned to the Gryffindor Seeker. He paid no attention to the Slytherin, and people cried out to him from every stand.
Except the Hufflepuff stand.
"It's an earring," James hissed, fists clenching at his sides. "He's going to crash into her!"
The her in question sat still, face pale and body frozen as, slowly, everyone else caught on to what the Seeker had spotted. Fear engulfed the crowd as the Hufflepuffs started shouting at him to turn around, warning him that it wasn't the snitch.
Attention snapped back to the Gryffindor seeker as he turned his broom upwards and shot towards the sky. The Slytherin Seeker turned upwards at the last second, skimming the stand and the people inside. A collective breath was let out as the Gryffindor turned his broom sharply to the right. In vein, the Slytherin Seeker turned his broom and started racing towards the other end of the pitch.
It was obvious to everyone that he would not get there in time. James' eyes scanned the sky above the Gryffindor Seeker, frowning when he found himself unable to spot the snitch. Suddenly, the Seeker's hand snapped out and his fingers closed around something. He flew back down, level with the stands, and raised his hand.
His fingers uncurled, to reveal the small, golden ball.
Everyone erupted.
Cheers rose up, everyone chanting Gryffindor! Gryffindor! Gryffindor! The Seeker's grin was huge, stretching ear to ear as his teammates flew up and circled him. They landed, the Slytherin team following shortly after. As they landed, the Captain crossed towards his seeker and smacked him across the head, before storming off to the changing rooms.
"And that is it! Gryffindor have won the Quidditch Cup!"
More cheers and cries of joy. Everyone was whooping, hugging each other. The Slytherins were the first to leave their stands, leaving everyone else to their celebrations.