If you're reading this, much love. No Dad Advice today, just well wishes and hopes that you're feeling amazing today. You are amazing and I love ya. Don't try to hug me, just take the damn compliment and have a wonderful day, already!
PS- Reviews are love. Even the bad ones that make me laugh t you trying to insult a heartless demon such as myself. Please give me more of both the good, the bad, and even the absolutely ugly!
ENJOI
…
By Sunday, Harry was released from the Hospital Wing, arm still swathed in a cloth sling and on strict orders to avoid heavy physical activity. The grounds had befallen a slightly early winter and had been covered in a thick sheet of snow over the night he had spent in the infirmary, leaving the grounds a crisp white winter wonderland. He found James and Travis, dressed in oddly matching Ravenclaw themed jogging suits and jumpers, running into the Great Hall for breakfast. Their faces were streaked with sweat and their hair steamed from the temperature difference, and James wheezed a bit as they made their way to the Ravenclaw table before catching sight of Harry and him waving them down.
"What's... up... Harry...?" James gasped, heaving large breaths in between words.
"You're never going to believe this, but I was visited by our favorite friendly House Elf last night," Harry whispered quietly, making sure no one around them overheard.
"You mean-" Travis started, but Harry cut him off.
"Yes, that is who I mean," Harry said. He proceeded to tell them in extreme detail everything Dobby had said, making James, who had by then caught his breath, to scowl.
"So you mean to tell me that little runt is still trying to get us out of Hogwarts?" James asked.
"Not us," Harry shook his head. "Just me, I think. He still said all of us, but he seemed to care less about the rest of you, now, and was just focused on me. He didn't say it outright, but that's the impression that I got."
"Hm," James pursed his lips and bit into a slice of buttered rye toast, "Yoo gnow, dah's weally soospicous."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Harry muttered, rubbing his shoulder and wincing as the prickling of growing bone creeped back up on him. "Bastard damn near bloody killed me. But... that's not all of it."
"Oh?" Travis piped up, looking faux surprised. "There's something else that happened on par with your arm being blown off by a magically enchanted sporting instrument?"
"Worse," Harry muttered. "Y'know Colin Creevey?"
"The creepy kid that's always stalking us, photographing us, and won't stop asking for my autograph, no matter how many times I threaten his family and friends with a thousand years of suffering and painful deaths?"
"Uh..." Harry looked at James with concern but shook it off. "Yeah, same guy. He was... well, they found him petrified last night, just like Mrs. Norris."
James and Travis blinked, looked at each other in shock, blinked, then stared at Harry again in shock. "Come again?"
"Yeah, he was found with his camera in hand, up to his face," Harry pantomimed taking a photograph. "Dumbledore and McGonagall thought he might have gotten a picture at who'd done it, but apparently the media failed in the camera and the negatives went up in smoke. Then Dumbledore confirmed it to McGonagall and Pomfrey. The Chamber of Secrets is real and has been discovered and opened before."
"Damn," James whispered, looking at his rye toast forlornly for a moment before shrugging and scarfing it down. "Woill, on the fwip shide, we no longuh have to wowwy about that fan cwub he wash gon' start."
Travis slugged James on the shoulder. "That's low, even for you, man," he chided.
"Ow!" James hollered, rubbing his bruised arm as he swallowed his food. "It's just a joke, man. Besides, silver linings, am I right?"
"No," Travis growled, shaking his head. "Just... no."
"Excellent flying yesterday, Harry!" the voice of Percy Weasley hollered, who appeared behind Harry and patting him on his good shoulder thoughtfully. "Won us fifty points, too! You put Gryffindor above Ravenclaw in the House Cup!"
He spared a disparaging glance at the two Ravenclaws before him, before turning his attention back to Harry and smiling again.
"Yeah, Hare, you really showed us evil conniving 'Claws the what for," James muttered in an imitation of a 1930s radio announcer, rolling his eyes.
"Really showed us the errors of our ways, you did," Travis agreed, scowling at the Prefect.
"Thanks, Percy," Harry grinned bashfully. "Say, you haven't seen Ron or Hermione yet today, have you?"
Percy frowned in thought for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "Can't... say that I have? Oh, I hope he's not found his way into another girl's toilet..."
James, Travis and Harry managed to force a laugh at Percy's obvious joke as he walked away, and they all shared a look. "To Myrtle's Bathroom, then?" Travis asked.
"Yeah," Harry nodded with a worried look on his face. "I'd say so."
"Christ," James muttered, looking up to the ceiling in worry. "I had almost forgotten about that. Si- I mean, my contact, hasn't gotten back to me yet about those ingredients!"
As if on cue, the spectacled owl that was the newly christened Wabbajack descended from the ceiling, landing forcefully on James's shoulder and held out a package to him even as it shook the cold and snow from its body. Grouching and flicking the now splattered, half melted snow off him, he fed the owl a sausage and took the package. Attached it had a letter that he and Travis leaned in to read.
Dear Mr. Portland
I appreciate you taking the time out of your obviously busy schedule to write up dear old me. And do not fret, good man, the Italian Model will be back in your life in no time, perhaps we'll take it out on the Welsh countryside next summer? I understand your needs for ingredients, and since you assure me it'll be not for the greater good, but the greater mischief, I cannot bring myself to tell you, "No." As such, you'll find all that you need and more inside the parcel I have sent with your messenger to concoct whatever safety plan you have in mind.
Until we see again,
Your Friend, Sirius Arcturus Black
P.S. Merry Early Christmas
James handed the letter off to Harry and pulled the parcel from Wabbajack, handing him another slice of sausage before shooing him away. Grumbling about Sirius using Wabbajack instead of his own owl and something about 'operation security,' he used a butter knife as a letter opener. James pulled the wax seal on the package open and looked inside, eyes bugging out of his head at the contents. Inside wasn't just a year's worth of bicorn horn or boomlsang skin, but also bundles of various different potions ingredients not listed as necessary for the Second Year potion's curriculum. James smirked as he showed Travis, who grinned back in appreciation.
"Gotta love Uncle Padfoot," Travis sighed. "Always comes in clutch."
"Agreed," James giggled as he pulled the ingredients out and shuffled them away. He left the empty packaging on his empty breakfast plate and jerked his head at Harry in the direction of the exit. "Let's get these to Hermione, she'll be needing them soon."
With that, the three set off in the direction of the second-floor girl's lavatory. As they neared, James waved at Harry to go ahead as he and Travis kept a lookout for wandering teachers or Prefects. When he was confident the coast was clear, James pushed Travis through, and taking one last look to really ensure the coast was clear, he made his own way in.
"... We already know, Harry," Hermione was saying as she was sat cross legged in front of a large cauldron. "McGonagall and Flitwick told us this morning. It's such a shame, really... How easily it could've been me..."
"It won't be," Ron assured her defiantly. "We'll get this potion made and force the confession outta Malfoy."
"Alleged," James corrected with a held up finger. "Force the alleged confession. After all, we have no concrete evidence it was Malfoy."
"You saw what happened to him yesterday!" Ron argued, standing up as his fists shook with rage. "He was peeved beyond belief at how it went down. He was humiliated, lost his broom, and lost the game despite Harry being harassed by a rogue bludger! What more proof do you need?"
"The kind that isn't circumstantial nor applies malice when incompetence can easily explain it away," Travis responded sagely. "He was locked in the Hospital Wing for a really long time, and even then, he still wasn't walking straight this morning. Pomfrey was pulling splinters from his pale, blood pure family jewels all day after the game. He likely was in no condition to go opening chambers or bossing around monsters when he was too busy licking his wounds."
"That does make sense," Hermione admitted dourly, but perking up when James handed her the ingredients she needed. "Oh, thank you!"
"No problem," James responded coolly, tucking the rest of his gifted ingredients in his short before she could see them before leaning against a stall. "It doesn't exclude him from the pool, Ron, it just means we don't know if he was the one who peed in it yet. We all jumped to kinds of conclusions last year about Snape, remember? Let's... not make the same mistake again."
"Right," Harry nodded, remembering how angry he'd gotten at his twin over defending Snape. He still felt bad for how he treated James over that and was no more willing to listen to what he had to say this go around. "All we now know, after what I heard from Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, is that the Chamber has been opened before, and people may have died because of it."
"Whatever," Ron seethed, shaking his head. "Harry just confirmed it; the Chamber has been open before. The proof is in front of your eyes! Malfoy is the one most obsessed with blood purity, and he was gloating about it the night Mrs. Norris was petrified! I'd bet a hundred galleons that ole Daddy Lucius opened it back in the day and had passed the secret on to Draco!"
"He's the most vocally obsessed about blood purity, Ron," James replied neutrally. "Other Slytherins are just as, if not more so obsessed about it, they're just wise enough to not talk about it in good company. Don't get so emotional about it, we're not saying he's not a bad guy, we're just saying there's the possibility that he might not be the bad guy we're looking for."
Ron sneered, shaking his head again, but sat down on a toilet and kept to himself. With that out of the way, Harry went on to tell Ron and Hermione in better detail what he'd told James and Travis, as James began helping Hermione with the potion, dropping lacewing flies on top of the leeches Hermione had casted into the boiling pot. Hermione and Ron looked more overly concerned than anything, especially with the confirmation about the Chamber coming straight from Dumbledore's mouth.
"Strange that he isn't addressing it with the student body, isn't it?" Travis asked, looking confused. "You'd think that he would have made some form of statement by now,"
"Discretion is the better part of valor, I guess," James replied as he gave Hermione a break and started to watch the potion so she could stretch her legs. "Dumbledore isn't the kind of guy to do things without reason, no matter how crazy he makes himself out to be."
"Maybe the school governor's won't let him," Hermione suggested.
"The who?" Travis asked.
"The school governors," Ron repeated. "You know, the group of people in charge of the school?"
"Uh… wha'?"
"They're kinda of like… oh, how do Americans describe them…" Hermione looked up a bit in thought, then snapped her fingers. "Oh! They're like the school board, or the PTO!"
"Oh, yeah, okay," Travis nodded. "The overly ego-inflated jerkwads who think they know what's best for the kids, when really, they're just circle jerking each other!"
"Precisely!" James and Ron cheered before being slapped by Hermione.
"I dunno," Harry said, rolling his eyes at their antics. "I think James may have been on to something."
"About what now?" James asked, still rubbing the back of his head.
"Dumbledore not addressing the problem."
"Oh, yeah. He's kinda funny like that. He seems to like to keep secrets, but them put them kinda in front of us to find out."
"As evidenced from last year," Harry muttered, half statement, half question.
"As evidenced by last year," James affirmed, nodding. "He told me he didn't want us down there around the Stone at all, but... I'm not sold on that. He specifically set it up so that I was the only one who could retrieve the Philosopher's stone, after all, as if he knew I'd be the one to actually retrieve it. He set it up, I'm sure of it."
"That makes no sense," Hermione scoffed. "Why set it up so a child, a First-Year wizarding student, would get the most crucial piece of magical technology in the world?"
"Who knows," James shrugged. "But he did. I played right into his hands, too, which, while I'm not sure how to feel about it, worked out right in the end."
Silence fell over the group as Hermione focused on the potion, pursing her lips in thought and mulling over the implications of what he'd said.
…
The news of Colin Creevey's fate had taken the school by storm. Dumbledore, as predicted, failed to make any statements about the incident and the teachers were all hushed about the whole thing as well. Fear was starting to grip the school populace, and James couldn't say he blamed them. Many First and Second Years were so scared that they were starting to wolfpack up, traveling in large groups and traveling together in herds. One such group, a gaggle of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls led by an oddly blushing Hannah Abbott herself, made it their goal to follow James, Travis, Brian, and Kiara, whispering to each other that they'd be safe sticking with them because of what happened last year.
James wouldn't have minded if not for the fact that he was once again waylayed from finishing his Replication Potion in his legal free time and was under constant watch from discussing his plans for a prank with his group. He couldn't even get a moment of peace at Quidditch practice, where his newfound gaggle of follower's watched from the bleachers as they drilled, making him nearly lose his sanity.
Ginny Weasley, it seemed, was the most distraught over Creevey's unfortunate condition. According to Ron, he sat next to her in their Charms class, and was taking his absence hard. Her older twin brothers were in the process of cheering her up by covering themselves in boils and furs and jump scaring her from behind statues in the halls between classes, but that only served to aggravate her even more. One day, she full on burst into tears and unleashed a bat-bogey hex on Fred before she ran from them, screaming all the way back to Gryffindor Tower and not going to anymore classes that day.
In secret, hidden from the eyes and ears of teachers, a black market had formed among the student body. Talismans, jewels, amulets, wives' tales, and other "protective devices" were traded and sold in the dark corners of the castle, James, Travis, Brian, and Kiara were quick to jump on the trend, using their "superior magical knowledge" to create their own useless trinkets for a quick galleon. Sticking to runes and basic magical symbology, James and company crafted numerous little trinkets, most with tasteful but hastily carved Helms of Awe and sigils of Thor scribed into them.
"See how the spokes go all the around?" James asked Parvati Patil as he held up the cleaned and freshly carved bird skull he was passing off as a raven, pointing to the rune on its forehead. "It's Odin's symbol for spiritual protection from all sides. It'll protect you from some of the worst magical effects you could suffer from a magical beast."
Neville, they were ashamed to admit, was their biggest customer, who, surprisingly, even went so far as to purchase a worthlessly large green onion "imbibed with sage to ward off evil spirits," from Brian. Neville wasn't phased when Hermione told him he'd been ripped off and that as a pureblood, he had nothing to fear. "The thing went after Filch first and foremost, and everybody knows I'm one step away from a Squib myself." Their ill-gotten gains went into a group fund that they all decided to save for a rainy day, and as the trend died out, they went on with their lives pretending to be their large and in charge characters of the Second Years.
Before long, the end of November came along, and with it, the first match for Ravenclaw's Quidditch Team. They were set to face off against Hufflepuff, and it was a match many were looking forward to, if only to get their minds off things. Roger was nervous because this was going to be his first game as a captain. Travis was nervous, as this was his first game as a player. Cho was nervous, because she was going up against a touted and upstart Seeker who played remarkably well last year against arguably the best Seeker in the school, Harry Potter. James was nervous because...
Well, he wasn't really that nervous at all, actually. Grant Page, the lisp voiced, front teeth missing Keeper told him that the entire Hufflepuff Chaser corps had decided that they were bound and determined to put "that pretty Potter Ravenclaw into the dirt." James lived for the challenge and was no longer nervous, but rather determined to see them try.
The morning of the game, fresh snow had fallen, and James was up and at the breakfast table rage eating breakfast before anyone else, including the rest of the team. He was already dressed in his uniform, which consisted of tight breeches, turtleneck sweater, over robes, knee high leather riding boots, and a new pair of enchanted No-Fog, No Frost goggles Uncle Remus had bought him as congratulations for making the team. It looked ridiculous, and he felt like he looked like a rich kid horse jockey wearing a bathrobe, but at this point, he could care less what he looked like.
He wanted on that pitch, and to bury those damn Badgers into the snow that they so desperately wanted to bury him in.
Roger, Travis, and Grant came in next, with the general wave of students milling in for breakfast. They all sat with him, but were all still groggy from just waking up, and said nothing. Ron and Hermione all joined them at the Ravenclaw table, and Hermione gave James a small, encouraging smile, but silence still reigned. Finally, the rest of the team came in, and Cho, who looked surprisingly fresh and ready in her quidditch uniform, turned queasy as she ate her small breakfast.
"Beth to eat hearty," Grant advised her, nudging a platter of bacon to her. "Gameth can end up taking a long time."
"Don't make her get sick," Roger muttered, giving Cho a firm but assuring grin. "You eat what you can, and you'll do fine. Just remember the drills we went through, right?"
"Right," Cho said quietly with a nod. She picked up a piece of bacon and nibbled on it along with her toast, though. Sensing the weakness, James grabbed a small handful of bacon on her platter and scarfed it down.
"Well, at least one of us isn't nervous," Duncan Inglebee cracked, laughing.
"I'm gonna bury those Puff Draggers in the Pitch," James said coolly over a mouthful of crispy bacon.
"That's the spirit," Jason cheered, wrapping an arm around his new teammate as he sat down next to him. "We got a little spitfire here, all rearing to go, Boss!"
Roger smiled. "I hope so, we're putting a lot on the line with all the new players."
"You saw the tryouts, these little guys nailed it," Duncan assured him. "And they are easily the squirreliest Chasers we've ever practiced against. We're gonna knock those puffs outta the water."
"Unless Diggory catches the Snitch," Cho remarked, going green in the face, and looking down at her plate like she was going to puke.
"Then don't let him," Travis told her, pushing a cup of warm tea at her to soothe her nerves.
"Oh, there he is now," Roger pointed out. They all turned to look, and saw the Seeker in question leisurely stroll into the Grand Hall, a gaggle of giggling Hufflepuff girl's following in his handsome wake. Cho gasped, and when James turned to look at her, she had her face pointed back down to her plate.
"Oh, I get it," James chuckled. "You like him!"
"I do not!" Cho protested, but without looking up and doing her best to hide her cheeks.
"Holy hell," Jason erupted into hyena-like giggles. "She does!"
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Roger clasped her shoulder consolingly. "Just don't let your crush get in the way of doing your part."
:I'll try," Cho nodded, conceding the argument.
"If nothing else fails," James prompted. "Fake him out?"
"Or better yet, deceive him into thinking you are about to catch it," Jason added excitedly. "Win him over with that charming smile- ah, there it is, and then lead him straight into the side of the stadium!"
"Wronski Feint?" Ron piped in, taking a keen interest in the conversation now that strategy was involved.
"Close, but modified," Travis nodded, running the math through his head.
"Just focus on your job, keep Cedric busy, and catch the Snitch if you can. We'll keep those morons off your back," Duncan told her, nudging her shoulder.
"Yeah," Jason agreed, pounding the table. "And with Roger, Travis, and James running the offense, they won't stand a chance to outscore us."
"Your confidence is as astounding as it is uplifting," Roger smiled, throwing back a glass of pumpkin juice. "I like it."
The sun was out without a cloud in the sky that morning, and it cast it's beams on the snow-covered pitch, making the flakes glint and glimmer like glitter on the grounds as both teams made their way out. The stadiums were already filling up, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke off to join some of their housemates in the stands, who were seeming to join Harry in solidarity of cheering Ravenclaw on that morning. Amongst the sea of red and gold were banners of bronze and blue, and interestingly enough, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas had bested their last year's artistic success with a new flag, one with a pitch-black eagle imprinted on a large flag bearing a field of navy blue that was trimmed with bronze. The eagle screeched every time it waved in the wind, making Ravenclaw students cheer everytime it did. James, however, didn't get to see much more before he and the rest of the team made their way into the locker rooms.
"Right, let's get down to brass tacks," Rodger called out, ushering everyone onto the front bench seat in front of the chalk board. "We got ten minutes before we need to be on the pitch, and it's time for last minute strategy. Let's start with assignments. Chasers, when we're on defense, we're going to keep our eyes on the incoming Chasers by assignment. I got my eye on Malcolm Preece. He's the oldest and most experienced Chaser they got.
"James, you have Tamsin. You know her?"
"Not a clue," James admitted.
"Right," Rodger nodded. "She's the one with the brown hair that will be pulled back in a ponytail. She is a good Chaser but tends to lean towards her throws and goal shots, a massive tell. Use that to your advantage and intercept her whenever you can, yeah?"
James gave a hearty thumbs up. "On it, Bossman."
"Travis, you have Heidi. She's young, a Third Year, and it's her first year playing. I don't know much about her, but on the flip side, she doesn't know much about you, either, and you're smart enough that I'm confident you'll manage to figure her out on the fly. She'll be the one with short, boyish blonde hair."
"You got it," Travis agreed.
"In terms of offense, we're going to run a high-low alternating attack, just like we practiced, to start. Malcolm's not the captain, but he'll be the lead decision maker for the chasers, and he has a bad habit of thinking on a horizontal playing field, rather than three dimensionally, so we'll be able to carve them up and down the field with finesse and better teamwork.
"Beaters," he pointed at Jason and Duncan. "When we're charging, you're on high-low cover base. Focus more on keeping those bludger's off our back then actually going for their players themselves, but feel free to take shots as you see necessary.
"Now, on defense, I'm going to be switching it up. With the way you fly, James, I wanna try something out that's a bit... risky. Rather than do our usual run, score, run home, I want you to instead, when they get the ball after a score, go high and try to keep the sun at your back, and dive bomb Tamsin when you get the chance, and she has the Quaffle."
"That is risky," Travis murmured, looking at James and back to Rodger. "That leaves us a man short on defense."
"Yes, but Grant is good enough to make up the difference," Roger replied, waving a hand in Grant's direction. "I have faith he can handle the added pressure. They aren't very tactical in their shots, relying on their basic passing skills and occasional parlor tricks to misdirect the Keeper. It'll be fine.
"On overall defense, we're going to run a high low orbit as our base. Beaters are going to stay far back to guard the goals, and the Chasers are going to run mid level options, keeping their enemy Chaser alignments. Once that Hufflepuff charge breaks midfield, we harass the hell out of them. Got it?"
"Yeah," the entire team affirmed in unison, making Rodger smile.
"Excellent," he laughed, and held an arm up to bring them around him. They all did, and when they were all touching his hand, he declared, "Let's make this year the same as last year, and take the Quidditch Cup, yeah!?"
"YEAH!"
…
The pregame pleasantries weren't like the Slytherin/Gryffindor affairs. Cedric Diggory and Rodger were respectful, almost friendly as they shook their hands, and when Cedric took his position across from Cho and Malcolm lined up with Rodger in the center kick off box, playful grins were shared. The same couldn't be said as James lined up with his assigned Hufflepuff Chaser, Tamsin Applebee. She was pretty, despite the heated scowl she was aiming at him, and it lit a fire in his gut that made him wipe any thoughts about her appearance away. She was the enemy, no longer a human being, much less a pretty girl, and he was gonna bury her in the cold, snow covered ground. There were no doubts, only determination that he was going to raze her to hell and back. He met her cold gaze with his own steely eyed glare, making it apparent that he was not affected by her attitude.
"Hope you're ready to learn your lesson today, Pottuh," she chuffed at him, obviously trying to get a rise out of him as Lee Jordan, the student announcer, called the pre-game ceremonies into session. "Your name may have bought you a broom on that team, but it isn't gonna save you from the thrashing we're about to give you."
"Wanna bet?" James asked conversationally, running his thumbnail through the gap of his front teeth, not even amused. "Perhaps you should get that attitude fixed, it would explain a lot about why you're single."
James was merely guessing as to what her relationship status was, but he grinned when he saw her reaction. The quip had more than hit its mark, and she looked even more pissed than before. Her hands gripped her broom handle with a white-knuckle grip, and her nostrils flared as she gave him a thousand yard death stare. Picking up on it, James smirked smugly at her.
"Careful, now, I know it looks like it, but that broom handle isn't a chicken for you to choke in compensation," he laughed.
"Why, you-" Tamsin started to roar, but was cut off by the high-pitched whine of Madam Hooch's whistle. She threw the quaffle straight up, and Rodger managed to beat Malcolm to it by a badger hair. With his team confirmed to be in control, James Dean surged forward, shouldering Tamsin as he plowed through her for the goals.
"Ravenclaw wins the toss off!" Lee Jordan's high pitched, excited voice called out, his magically enhanced voice booming. "Rodger Davies wins it out by a hair and Ravenlcaw's already on the offensive!"
"Rraaaargh!" Tamsin thundered after him, but James was already three full broom lengths away and gaining by the time she recovered from the sideswiping tackle. Hitting maximum speed, James did as they had drilled in practice, and sharply angled downward as Travis angled up, and by the time they were in position in front of the poorly protected goal posts, Rodger was reeling up to pass as he was being swarmed by Heidi and Malcolm. A quick Bludger nailed Heidi in the back, giving him a window just big enough to pass to James. He reeled back, but at the last second, flicked his wrist. The Quaffle flew straight at James for a split second before curving off, and Travis had to adjust to catch the curve ball, but still caught the pass in one gloved hand.
Cutting right towards the center, he made an easy shot into the right-hand goal post, well past the point of where the Hufflepuff Keeper, Herbert, could compensate. James knew the drill already and cut up sharp, taking to the sky and disappearing into the sun. Herbert Fleet recovered the ball and tossed it to Malcolm, who led the charge to the Ravenclaw side before tossing the ball...
Straight towards Tamsin.
Taking the chance, James dived, himself falling from the sky and easily intercepting the dimpled ball. Leveling off as his tail swept at the fresh powdered snow on the ground, he barreled towards Herbert Fleet once again. Pulling up, he leveled himself for his shot, and grinned as Herbert took a neutral stance, watching the ball in his hands.
"Potter, in a gutsy move, nose dives and intercepts Malcolm Preece's pass and is now rushing the goals! What a play!"
James ignored the commentary and threw Herbert through a loop by cutting his charge short, coming to a dead stop a few feet before the Keeper's Box lines, and gave him a cocky grin. With a flourish, he spun the Quaffle into his other hand before snapping it back and throwing it at full strength into the left goal. Herbert, eyes crossed from the ball play, reacted too slow, and James was welcomed to the sound of cheers as he scored the second goal of the game.
"Amazing! This kid just keeps gambling, putting a target on his back just to confuse Herbert Fleet! Another ten points to Ravenclaw!"
James and the team already had moved back to their defensive positions, and the cycle played out again. It was like that for another thirty minutes, the Ravenclaw Chasers flying circles around Hufflepuff with iron clad cover by their Beaters. The Badgers were getting desperate by the time the score hit 100-0, and while the disciplined Ravenclaws kept their cool, the Hufflepuff's began to fight dirty.
James nailed a penalty shot after Tamsin elbowed him in the face, almost shattering a lens on his goggles, while Rodger sailed in another after one the Hufflepuff Beaters ripped his broom out from underneath him. Travis had easily scored goal after goal on his right-side cover area and led the Ravenclaw chasers in goals scored with seven made. The synchronicity of their play only got better as they got in the groove, and by the time they scored 150 unanswered points, they were so in rhythm with each other even the Hufflepuff Beaters had a hard time pinning them down.
The crowd had gotten into it, as well, with even the Slytherin's joining along in chanting as Brian, acoustic guitar now held up to Jordan's microphone, belted out the chords to an acoustic rendition to AC/DC's Thunderstruck.
The game was turned into a defensive slugfest before long, however, as the first hour of the game rendered the players on both sides exhausted. Cho and Cedric, unharried all game due to the high intensity offense of the Ravenclaw Chaser's keeping both team's Beater's so busy, orbited above the pitch, with both desperately trying to catch sight of the little golden ball.
Travis evaded a swinging bat coming in his direction that Hooch missed, and James had to pull a trick from his years of skateboarding, acrobatically leaping and landing back on his broom to avoid colliding with Tamsin. Rodger was nursing a black eye, and Travis two, while James, after landing on his broom wrong, was half doubled over and holding his crotch while his other hand nursed a massive, growing bruise on the entire left side of his face. On the flip side, James's breakneck flying had duped Tamsin into flying headfirst onto the ground, and her nose was obviously broken, blood staining the yellow parts of her robes. Malcolm took a Bludger to his knee, and he had a hell of a time keeping himself straight on his broom with only one good leg. Heidi had been the only Hufflepuff Chaser to avoid injuring herself, but the crazed look in her hazel eyes told all how she was fearful of being the next one to get hurt.
"What's this- Chang has caught sight of the Snitch?!" Lee Jordan proclaimed as James tried to fight off both Heidi and Tamsin, who were ganging up on him, from claiming the Quaffle. All movement on the pitch stopped in that moment, as all eyes in the stadium, including the other players, looked up. Cho, her face screwed in a look of determination, flew over Diggory's shoulder in an angled dive. Cedric bolted after her, and she was almost twenty feet from the snow when she braked, hard, and tore off for the sky. Distracted as he was, Cedric failed to slow his own dive and slammed into the ground hard, the sheer force of the impact snapping his broom in two on impact.
Cho crested the seats of the stadium and reached her hand out, fingers clutching at a small golden ball, silvery wings fluttering in the air as it struggled to free itself from her grip. The entire pitch erupted in cheers as she did, and Cho held her balled fist up victoriously, hands and feet both splayed out as she celebrated her win.
…
James found being a Quidditch star suited him. Arm in arm with Cho and Travis, the three river danced circles around Rodger, with pretty, older seventh year girls sitting on either side of him on the couch as the rest of Ravenclaw sang loud and sang proud, breaking their usual stoic, bookish demeanor to celebrate their team's victory. He had a satisfied grin on his face as he sang along, mostly with them and not the rest of the crowd while Travis, Cho, and James continued their shenanigans.
"... Bronze and Blue, you know you made it through..." the assembled housemates finished as Brian finished conducting them from the top of a study table.
"Woo!" Duncan cried as he and Jason, arms over each other's shoulders slugged back hearty chugs from some dark amber colored bottles.
The party raged on with loud music playing from an old wind-up record player as James loosed himself from Cho and Travis, who both went on dancing, and he propped himself onto the side of a couch beside some older fourth and fifth year girls, doing the best Fonzie impersonation he could. "Ladies, how you doin'?"
He was promptly yanked off his spot on the side and ended on his back across their laps while hands played with his hair. They cooed to him their congratulations and, despite his best attempts to stay cool, he found himself full face blushing.
"Oh," he stated simply, looking up into the eyes of a pretty, blonde haired girl with sparkling, captivating green eyes. "So... this is what admiring attention from women feels like."
His statement made them burst into fits, and James decided that being a Quidditch star did, in fact suite him.
Suited him well, in fact.