The Christmas break was getting closer and closer but so was the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. A lot of students were looking forward going home for the holidays but somehow the excitement of the game was getting more attention the last few days. James just finished his last practice and tomorrow was the day of the match. James was pacing through the common room, not able to sit down. "Would you please stop it?" Sirius said. James looked at him. "Fine. Because you are the one asking." Remus and Peter were silently exchanging glances. Both of them were also annoyed with James' pacing, but they knew that it would not be appreciated if they talked to James like that. Probably Remus would be looked upon, but Peter would never hear the end of it. The four of them were close and best friends, but just like most friends sometimes there was just a deeper connection between two of the four. And James and Sirius were inseparable. They were like brothers. Remus sometimes felt a bit jealous, but could rationalize it. He knew that Sirius and James cared deeply for him, but they just were on the same level about everything 99% of the time. But for Peter it was different, he took it the hardest.
He already felt like it was a riddle sometimes why Remus, James and Sirius wanted to be friends with him. He was for sure not as smart as them. So he usually asked a lot of questions during the classes and while doing homework. He was not as brave. Peter was so scared of getting caught that he almost never said to their nightly adventures. And pranks during their day he was usually the one in the back, silently just witnessing stuff and sometimes helping. And the last thing that was on his mind a lot was he was not as good-looking as them. They were close to being thirteen, Sirius already being thirteen, and their bodies were slowly starting to change. James and Sirius already grew a bit and Peter was sure that Remus would as well in the upcoming years. But somehow he couldn't help shake the feeling that he would always be the small one, the fat one and the dumb one for the rest of their lives. Peter had to witness how Sirius could make girls blush and even gasp for air sometimes. There charismatic about him that was hard to explain.
James was handsome, but not as charismatic as Sirius. His green eyes were the eye-catcher when you saw him for the first time, especially in comparison with his black hair. He was thin and his muscles started to show from all the Quidditch practices. But James didn't need the charisma that Sirius had. When he walks into a room, people would turn their heads. As if somehow they felt a great presence. You could maybe compare a little bit with Dumbledore. But Dumbledore's presence was at least a thousand times greater and stronger. People admired Dumbledore and looked up to him. It was known that He Who Must Not Be Named was afraid of only Dumbledore and yet, Dumbledore never bragged about it or flaunted it. But what Dumbledore had in modesty, James had in arrogance most of the time. His ego got a boost when he was selected for the Quidditch team at the beginning of the year and it only got bigger after their first win. Peter of course only hoped that his friend would win all of this matches, but maybe losing one time would make James less full of himself.
And there was also Remus. Remus was thin, the tallest one of the four and very smart. He described himself more book-smart and less experience-smart. He said that whenever a situation would happen where he would need to act quickly, he would probably stay calm and over-think. While Sirius and James would just start doing magic at random in the hope of getting out alive. And that chance was big, since they were quite lucky in general in life. Remus appearance was quite rough. You somehow had to stare at him when he would walk into a room. His hair was a bit messy, his skin white, baggy eyes, a bit slouchy because of a heavy bag and his clothes were old. Peter felt the closest to Remus, mainly due to the fact that most of their stuff was secondhand or sometimes even third- or fourhanded. Both of their families didn't have much money and needed to take it slow and make every penny count. But Remus had this easy appearance. Whenever you were close to him you felt at ease. He was relaxed, quiet and made you feel recognized in his presence. He was polite, kind and always asked questions. You couldn't help to feel that he was sincerely interested in you and your answers. And that is a quality that a lot of people don't have. Where right now girls would get nervous to be close to Sirius and James, they could always be found around Remus. Laughing and talking together. Remus was not shy, but neither very outgoing. He would not take the first step quickly, but rather let you come to him. But when you did he would never let you feel unwanted, how inconvenient the moment might be.
Peter was grateful for his friends that was for sure. He wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, but sometimes he couldn't help to feel a bit left out. He wasn't as charismatic as Sirius, not as good-looking or athletic as James and not as smart and easy-going as Remus. He was clumsy, usually he made his presence known by tripping over something or drop something. Since he hit puberty he hated that his voice would squeak a lot whenever he was asked something in class. Peter saw how James and Sirius grinned at each other whenever he gave the, nine out of ten times the wrong, answer in his weird voice. Sometimes he hated his friends because of this, but he would never say that. There was no one else who would defend him against the Slytherins who were mocking him and making fun of him behind his back. They would repeat his answer in a high pitched voice while making faces. Sirius and James hexed and threatened a lot of Slytherins that did this and served a lot of detentions because of this. Peter apologized time after time that they got punished, but Sirius and James always laughed it off. "We don't mind, Peter. Nobody mocks you except us. We will take anyone on who does this." And every single time they said this made Peters chest swell. He knew his friends well and he could endure their jokes about him if they did this for him. They truly cared for him and Peter felt safe when they were with the four of them. Somehow the other three felt like a thick, great wall that protected him for anything or anyone that would hurt him.
Back in the common room in the tower of Gryffindor Remus was packing up his stuff to go to bed. "So Remus, how much homework did you get done?" Asked James. Remus smiled a bit and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I would say I am done right now." Remus had a smug look on his face. "You mean for tomorrow you are done?" Sirius asked. "Nope, I did all the homework they gave us so far. You know what I do. I do the work the same day they assigned it. I told you a hundred times that you should do it as well." Sirius rolled his eyes. "A hundred times? James, Peter, do you guys here that? Remus honestly thinks that he only told us that a hundred times. Isn't that funny? I think we are closer to a thousand. What do you think?" Peter laughed. "I would say probably even a million. You do know how often he said it during the finals last year?" James: "Yes, we thought he was replaced some kind of machine that was stuck on the sentence the whole time. We almost tried to find your motherboard." Remus rolled his eyes, but with an amused look. "You guys can make fun of me all you want. At least I got good grades on the finals, have my homework done on time and I know what we are talking about in class. And by that I stand and I am off to bed now. James, I suggest you do the same since you have the game tomorrow. You might play better when you are not tired." Remus grabbed his back and headed up the stairs.
"How big would that stick up his ass be?" James said. "He sounds like my mother sometimes. She writes the same things in her letters to me, you know." James suddenly stood up. "Oh that reminds me. She send me some candy in her last package. There was also some for the three of you!" Peter's mood suddenly improved a lot more. The candy that James got was mouthwatering good. His parents had a lot of money so they could buy the really good stuff. His parents were the best. They always invited Sirius, Remus and Peter to stay with them, sending candy and sometimes small presents via James to them and you could always count on motherly and fatherly advice if you needed some. Sirius' parents were also rich, but they kind of dishonored him after he got sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius didn't like to talk about them. Peter knew that it bothered him that his little brother, who did get sorted into Slytherin, still got letters and candy from his parents. Peter also knew that Regulus tried to share with Sirius several times, but Sirius always declined. He didn't need anything his parents didn't want him to have. Regulus tried to convince Sirius with arguments like: "Well, mum and dad know that I would share it with you anyway. So if they didn't want you to have it, they wouldn't give me it." Sirius' usual answer was that they knew that he would never accept it, knowing where it came from. "But wouldn't it teach him a lesson if you would eat it then?" Regulus almost begged him saying this. Sirius was inexorable. "I am sorry brother, I appreciate you coming to me, but don't offer me that stuff again. You know how I feel about them." Sirius then turned around and left. Remus hurried after him. "Sirius, what was that? There was no need for that. You acted like a real jerk towards Regulus. It isn't his fault that you and your parents are not speaking. Don't take it out on him. I cannot imagine what he must be going through at home. His only brother away most of the time and …" But Remus couldn't finish his sentence. "Remus, please. Just stop, okay? I don't want to hear it. Why is it Regulus who you worry about? I am the one who gets ignored. Whenever I need something new, like cloaks or books, I almost have to beg for them. My parents love seeing me squirm for stuff like that. They know I need it, they know I have to ask them and they know they can make me work for it. So don't worry about little Regulus okay? He is fine. He gets letters, candy and all the stuff he needs without lifting a finger. I am sick of this situation. I don't want anything to do with my parents, let alone talk to them. But I can't. I need them and their stupid money. My allowance, if I get it, is not enough to save up for even one book. But you know what, everything is okay. I will make sure I don't need them anymore hopefully soon. I will make it work." Sirius ended his rant on this note and quickly walked away. Remus knew his friend better than to follow him. At this point he knew Sirius needed to be alone with his thoughts and whenever he was ready he would talk to James about it.
The next morning it was cloudy and grey outside, just like the ceiling in the Great Hall. Everybody was bringing their scarfs, mittens and scarfs with them to breakfast to bring with them to the stadium. James ate some toast. "Eat some more, James. How about a sausage?" Remus asked. James shook his head. "Nope, thanks mate. I don't like flying on a full stomach." James said cool. "So you are not too nervous to eat?" Remus asked. James shook his head with great force. "Pff, please mate. I am not nervous. You know what my breakfast is? Hufflepuffs! Don't worry about me." Before Remus could reply the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked to them to pick up James. "You ready, Potter?" The captain said. "As ready as I ever will be." James said self-assured. "That's the spirit. Let's go then." James stood up and after several good luck-wishes from the Gryffindor table he left the Great Hall with his team.
James walked to the Quidditch field. He left his broom in storage there after last night's training, just to carry less with him. While walking on the path he was going over their strategy and some tactics they discussed for this match. He felt a jolt in his stomach, something he had if he was nervous. He knew Remus knew, but somehow James couldn't admit that he was nervous. In his eyes it was a sign of weakness. He rather seemed confident and sure of his case than nervous and insecure. "Hey Potter, get your head back here." James snapped back and looked at his captain. "You okay? You won't be flaking on us right now before the game right?" James shook his head. "No, there is no need to worry! I am focused and ready to win this match." The whole team started cheering and shouting. "Gryffindor will take the House Cup this year!" "Yes, they will hear us roar!" were just a few of the chants. They entered the changing room for some last minute tactics and pep talks. They heard footsteps above them from the other students entering the stadium to watch the game.
"Okay guys. I know it is cold outside. The weather forecast was not that good, it might rain. But nonetheless I expect 100% motivation and determination to win this match. Focus, do what we discussed and keep it clean. We want to win fair and square. I know we can beat Hufflepuff, but we can't underestimate them. So play fair but with power. Are you ready? Let's go win this game!" Everybody stood up, excited and full with power after this pep talk. James nerves were calming down and a certain determination came upon him. They walked to their brooms and as soon as James held his he felt a certainty. He was ready.
Authors note: Another chapter done! I am quite happy with this one. Especially because of the little bit of background from everyone and the ties between the four of them. I think I will re-read specific parts of PoA and OotF again to read more about where the four of them are mentioned. I feel I have more inspiration for Lily soon, so maybe next or in a few chapters we will read again from her pov.
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