MyBeewing says, "Ah. The Map will really come in handy in situations like this. But guys ! Stop isolating Peter ! You don't understand the consequences of your actions ! (if only you could to the book's characters. *sighs*). Poor Sabrina, having to watch Lily and Remus together… This chapter was bloody brilliant (to copy Ron), I'm looking forward to the description of these horrible detentions MUAHAHA. :)"

Indeed it will! And don't worry, Peter will have an arc over the course of the Marauders' time at Hogwarts that is probably one of my favorite. He, and his relationship with the others sucks right now, but it will change! And I'm glad you're liking all of this so far, as evil as it is for Sabrina to be pining after the Lily/Remus ship. And yes, detentions with Filch are never fun :(

Hecc yeah, Quidditch time! This chapter was genuinely sooo fun to write! Hope you all enjoy it :)

3rd November, 1972

It's the night before the first Quidditch game of the season, and Derek Bell had called everyone down to the common room for a pep talk. We sat 'round the fire, the whole house of Gryffindor, and Derek stood up on the little coffee table and looked 'round at us team members. "Tomorrow, we face off against Hufflepuff," he said, "Now, Hufflepuff historically doesn't have the best team, but they've got a couple of new Beaters that are rumoured to be particularly good, so that means you two - Weasley and Longbottom - you'll have your work cut out for you keeping our Chasers on their brooms. Sabrina, in practice, you've been a bit flighty about the Bludgers. Be sure to keep out watch for them tomorrow - we don't need anybody falling off their brooms and getting injured. Potter, you, too." Derek paced a moment, and took a deep breath. "I just know this team can win, alright, you lot? I know we can. I worked hard curating you all, and I want to include a majority of you on the All Star team for the match against Ilvermorny. But you've got to be spiffing during the season if I'm going to do that, so let's show Hogwarts who their Quidditch champions are! Let's rock that pitch tomorrow like they've never seen before!"

"Here, here! Shouted Bilius, raising a bottle of butterbeer, which Peter had nicked from the kitchens for the occasion of the pep rally. The entire house clapped at the words.

Derek turned, jumping down off the little table, and magicked a box onto it. It was a rather large box, and he opened it up and pulled out James and I's official game uniforms, our names sewn into the back cover of our numbers. "Wow," I murmured, running my palm over the letters - STRATFORD. I beamed at the gold letters happily, seeing the number 24. James was number 16.

When Derek had finished handing out our uniforms, he cleared his throat and sent us to bed, saying it was important that we all get a good night's sleep as we would need our energy for the game tomorrow. He stayed in the common room himself only long enough to shoo the other players off. James and I quickly gave each other an excited hug before we split ways.

In my dorm, I quickly forgot the task of going to sleep and wriggled the Quidditch jumper over my head. The sleeves were miles too long and the whole thing was a bit too loose. I shook the hands out of the ends of the sleeves and nervously looked at myself in the mirror, frowning. "It's too big," I complained.

Lily giggled, "Good luck trying to catch the Quaffle with those sleeves!"

"What's the spell to cut fabric? I need to cut these down." I asked.

"Don't cut it," Lily said, "That'll look awful." She came 'round the end of our beds and took out her wand, tapping the sleeves of the jumper. "Reducio," she commanded. The whole jumper shrunk just a bit - just until it was snug as it should be. "There you are."

I beamed, "I swear, Lils, you really are a genius."

Lily shrugged, "Just a simple Shrinking Charm, not a big deal at all."

4th November, 1972

This morning, I was extremely nervous and could barely eat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Bilius however kept shoving eggs onto me and James insisting that we eat them. "Protein helps with the playing!" he persisted.

James looked about. "Where's Derek?" he asked, and I too noticed the captain of the team was missing.

"Dunno," Bilius replied. "Reckon he's probably gotten up early to head down to the pitch ahead of us or something. He was already gone when Andy and I got up this morning."

"Oh," James said. I began thinking, that sounds rather odd. What could Derek possibly have to do that would take that long down by the pitch? But I had more pressing matters to ponder as Bilius loaded up our plates with even more eggs.

James groaned, clutching his stomach in protest. "If I eat even one more bite of egg, I'm going to burst!"

I mumbled, "I've been full since the second round."

There was a fine mist hovering over the grounds of the castle as we made our way out to the pitch a bit early for the game. James and I followed the veteran players into the Gryffindor locker room. I expected to find Derek there, but he was nowhere to be seen. I turned to Bilius. "I thought Derek was out here?" I asked.

Bilius shrugged, "Dunno where he is, then. I thought he was out here, too." He didn't seem interested in discussing it, though, he was too busy polishing his Beater's bat with a smelly liquid.

James sat on one of the long benches, double-knotting up his laces on his trainers, while I attempted to braid my hair like the way Lily taught me. After a few failed attempts, however, I gave up, and settled for a simple ponytail to keep my hair out of my face.

Bilius had finished polishing his bat and was now rubbing it down with a sort of sandpaper. Frank Longbottom was doing the same a little ways away. The energy in the locker room was intense, like a bubbling anticipation that almost ached, it was so thick and heavy. But it was slowly turning into anxiety as the sounds of the stands filling up with spectators echoed down through the locker room and we realised the game was getting closer and closer and we still hadn't seen Derek Bell.

"What do we do if he doesn't show up?" I heard Andy Tinnamin whisper nervously to Bilius, "We'll be short a Chaser."

"Dunno," whispered Bilius, "He swore he'd be back before the game."

I realised then that Bilius knew a lot more about Derek's whereabouts than he was letting on and I inched a bit closer, trying to be inconspicuous, using the little pitcher of water and nearby cups for an excuse why I was hovering the way I was, listening in to their whispered conversation,

"I told him it wasn't a good idea," Bilius was continuing. "But I swear he's addicted."

Andy sighed, "Ruddy git he is."

Bilius shrugged. "I think it helps him is all, he's still going through so much...what with his parents dying and then his sister, too...I can't imagine. He's the only one left in his family."

"Yeah, but…" Andy grunted. He didn't know how to cordially finish the sentence, and I knew what he was implying. And I didn't blame him for not wanting to say that Quidditch was more important.

"He'll get here," Bilius said, though he sounded less sure than he'd probably meant to.

Bilius was right of course, Derek did show up, but only just in time. He was still tugging on his jumper as we walked out onto the field at Madam Hooch's whistle and he scrambled to grab his broom from Andy, who had carried it out onto the pitch for him. He ducked to the front of the little crowd of Gryffindor players to walk to the centre of the field and shake hands with the Hufflepuff team captain.

"Good luck," he offered.

"You too," answered the Hufflepuff captain.

The game began soon after, and in the stands Sirius, Remus and Peter held up a little sign they'd made, reading "GO POTTER AND STRATFORD!" on it. I saw them jumping and clapping in the corner of my eye as I soared through the air with James, passing the Quaffle and dodging bludgers.

Derek had been right about the Hufflepuff Beaters, they were very good. The Bludgers were flying extra hard about the field. I found myself having to dodge them so often, I couldn't get near the rings to put the Quaffle through to score because I kept having to somersault out of the way of the Bludgers. I passed the Quaffle to James, who had scored several times as a result. He was so quick and zippy on a broom that he seemed to have less trouble avoiding the path of the Bludgers than I did.

Bilius and Frank had to cover me pretty close as the Beaters seemed to be aiming for me. News had travelled about the castle about my skills for a Muggleborn, and my tiny stature made me a bit of a target anyway. Besides, the third Chaser, Derek, seemed distracted as he flew about and he managed to fumble the Quaffle a couple times. He was the first to be struck by a Bludger, too. Despite all that, the score was deeply skewed in Gryffindor's favour, and the Seekers were looking a bit nervous hovering over the pitch way up there, watching and waiting for the Snitch to make itself seen. Either Seeker capturing the Snitch could win the match because Gryffindor was not quite 150 up on Hufflepuff, and there was a lot of pressure. Tinnamin held onto his broom, scanning the grass for a hint of gold, his palms sweating against the shaft of his broomstick.

I think James and I were certainly proving ourselves quite well as Chasers. The commentator even mentioned the fact that the two of us second year Chasers were doing better on the Gryffindor team than our seventh year counterparts last year.

Derek called a time-out when our team was up by 120 points on Hufflepuff. He landed on the damp grass, followed by the rest of us players on the Gryffindor team. "Everything alright, mate?" Bilius asked the moment he set foot on the ground, looking at Derek with concern. "You seem a bit...er...distracted out there."

Derek frowned, "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'm sorry, guys."

"After all the chasing us off to bed that you'd done, you didn't go right to bed?" Frank Longbottom asked, shaking his head, "Oi, Derek, talk about hypocrisy!"

"I know," Derek said, abashed, "Some...er...things came up. Potter...Stratford...you two are doing brilliantly."

James puffed up with pride. "Thanks!" I said, whipping my ponytail over my shoulder from where it had come 'round the front.

Bilius eyed Derek carefully.

"I'm alright. Really. I just needed some water," Derek said, "I'll be right back." He ducked away into the Gryffindor locker room.

Madam Hooch landed behind us, "Everything alright over here?"

"Yeah, we're alright, Derek just needed a cup of water," Bilius informed her. "Soon as he's back on the pitch we'll be ready to go again."

Madam Hooch nodded and took off again to relay the information to the Hufflepuff team.

Andy Tinnamin and Bilius were sharing a look that I was pretty sure was a whole conversation, but I didn't know what they were saying with the expression son their faces, though they certainly did, and it ended with Bilius shrugging as Derek came back onto the pitch a moment later, his face wet from having splashed water on it. "Alright," he said, "Let's get back into the air and get this thing shut down." He took a deep breath and waved to Madam Hooch as we rose up into the air once more.

I thought it was funny that Bilius and Andy seemed to know what was going on and I wondered what Derek had really been up to all night if he hadn't slept. Whatever it was must've been mighty important to get Derek's mind off Quidditch, though, and it had my curiosity piqued. I stashed away a mental note to mention it to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, so that we could investigate what was going on.

But for now, the most important thing to me is Quidditch.

Refreshed from the time-out, Derek scored another goal almost immediately after play resumed. Gryffindor was now 130 up on Hufflepuff. The Bludgers were coming at me, James and Derek at unbelievable speed as the Hufflepuff Beaters got more and more frustrated. A Bludger got past Frank and hit me in the ankle at one point, and I let out a scream. Madam Hooch called a foul on Hufflepuff, allowing me to make a shot on an unblocked goal, which I easily made.

At 210 to 70, the match had been anything but uneventful. 140 points ahead, I was far from comfortable with our lead, however, as all it would take was...and then it happened, just as I was thinking it. The Hufflepuff Seeker suddenly broke into a dive, his broom pointed straight downward, arm outstretched as he shot through the air. I followed the trajectory and sure enough there was the Snitch, hovering near the ground, but directly on target for the Seeker's aim. My heart leapt into my throat. "ANDY!"

Tinnamin had just spotted the Hufflepuff Seeker's dive and broke into one as well, though he had considerable ground to gain before he could even hope of capturing the little golden ball.

I looked about for the Quaffle and saw one of the Hufflepuff players just above me, about to pass the Quaffle to another. I took a deep breath. This was quite a moment. I had to beat the Seeker's speed to the Snitch with my own speed to the Quaffle. I shot upward, clutching my broomstick and laying as low to the handle as I could to allow the air to flow 'round me as smooth as possible. I reached up and knocked the Quaffle out of its pass, tucking it quickly beneath my own elbow as I turned the broomstick with a jerk. People in the stands were gasping - whether for me or the neck-to-neck race between the two Seekers far off below as they swooped together to follow the Snitch around the curve of the south end of the pitch. Both had their arms stretched out, practically standing on their brooms for all the reach they were giving...I moved toward the rings, my heart slamming about in my rib cage. With an almighty thrust, I shoved the ball through the air. The Quaffle left my fingertips, soaring through the left ring, only just out of reach of the diving Keeper. Very nearly simultaneously, the Snitch was captured below by the Hufflepuff Seeker.

The Hufflepuff onlookers in the stands went ballistic, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle several times over and they froze in their celebrations, staring out at the pitch in disbelief. "Score from Sabrina Stratford on Gryffindor's side as well as Pavlov catching the Snitch! 220 to 220! BLIMEY! A TIE!" The commentator's voice echoed 'round the pitch and the Hufflepuff students looked flabbergasted.

"What happens in a tie?" I yelled to James, who simply shrugged. I guess ties don't typically happen.

Madam Hooch called a time-out and consulted the official game rules book in the locker room. Tension built in the stands and on the pitch as we huddled together in our teams in the misty air.

"Good one, Sabrina," said Derek, giving me a quick high-five in midair.

"Yeah, awesome job, Stratford," agreed Tinnamin, while Bilius, Frank, and Jacob Woodhouse all grinned at me. James looked ever so deflated that he wasn't the star in this moment, but he gave me an encouraging grin nonetheless.

Madam Hooch returned after several long moments and flew up through the air to where Dumbledore sat in the stands and whispered in his ear.

When she'd pulled away, Dumbledore was grinning. He pointed his wand to his throat and magically amplified his voice about the pitch. "In the event of a tie, we enter sudden death overtime." There was an excited murmur that went through the stands and Derek's eyes were wide with excitement...he was certainly in the game now! Dumbledore went on, "Each team shall take turns one-by-one shooting on the hoops: the first team to score an unmatched goal will be declared the winner."

Derek looked 'round at all us quickly. "Potter. You shoot."

James' eyes widened, "Me?" he squeaked.

Derek nodded. "You got this."

"Yeah, go on, James!" I said.

James smirked and flew forward as Madam Hooch waved for the first two shooters to go. Hufflepuff won the toss and they were the first to try to shoot on the rings and James hung back, watching as the sixth year Chaser that had scored nearly all of Hufflepuff's goals for the whole game - a girl with auburn hair - took aim and flew toward Woodhouse at the Gryffindor end of the pitch.

Woodhouse crouched against his broom in the goal, heaving with nerves, and the Chaser shot...Woodhouse dove spectacularly and his fingers scraped the Quaffle, but despite his valiant effort, the ball still soared through the far right ring. "Damn it!" Woodhouse shouted as the Hufflepuff girl swooped about to the loud applause of the Hufflepuff spectators.

"Here you are, Potter," Madam Hooch said, handing him the Quaffle. "Make the goal to stay alive."

I could see James' hands shake ever so slightly as he took hold on the ball and flew down the length of the pitch toward the Hufflepuff Keeper. He sped up, and at the very last moment, he switched hands and palmed the Quaffle through the right ring with all his might.

The Gryffindor side of the pitch exploded with excitement.

"230 to 230!" shouted the commentator.

Derek looked at me. "Go," he said.

I nodded and I heard Sirius, Remus and Peter all screaming in excitement as I flew out to meet Madam Hooch and the second shooter for the Hufflepuff team. So much was riding on this. I just hoped I didn't goof it up.

The Hufflepuff Chaser sped off down the pitch. Woodhouse had come forward a bit off the rings and was ready, broom trembling with energy. When the Chaser shot the ball, he tilted the broom and took the Quaffle right in the chest. It bounced off his protective gear and Madam Hooch swarmed down to catch it before it hit the ground. Hufflepuff spectators were now booing loudly.

"Here you are, Stratford," Madam Hooch said, tossing the ball to me. "Make this goal and you'll have won the match for Gryffindor."

The Quaffle had never felt so heavy.

I sat in the centre of the pitch, staring down the length of it toward the rings and I felt sick to my stomach as the pitch seemed to grow longer and longer as I stared off at the shrinking Hufflepuff Keeper. I swallowed, nerves rising up within me,

It started slowly...lowly...just Sirius at first but then Remus and Peter and then the other Gryffindors and soon the Ravenclaws, too… "Stratford! Stratford! Stratford! Stratford! STRATFORD! STRATFORD! STRATFORD!" My name was echoing around the pitch, and it was like a dream. I felt the energy of it building me up, reconstructing my nerves and I grinned widely as I flew down the pitch...and sunk the Quaffle right past the Hufflepuff Keeper, ending the game in Gryffindor's favour.