As soon as the whistle blew 15 brooms rose high up in the air. The Snitch, Bulgers and Quaffle were released. Fourteen players from two teams and the referee were taking part in the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. James felt the cold wind whip around his face, but he ignored it. His eyes were set on the big red ball that was now falling down. He sped down towards the ground and saw someone from his team on his left doing the same thing. But right before he could catch a Chaser from Hufflepuff caught the Quaffle and flew away.
James tilted his broom the left and pursued the pursuit. He pushed a little harder on his broom trying to make way through the cold, hard wind. His eyes started to water from the speed but he managed to get closer and closer. Just a few more meters and he was right next to the Chaser. He checked the distance left towards the Gryffindor goals. He needed to act fast, there was no room nor time for hesitation. He was almost there, he could almost bump into him to make him lose the Quaffle. Just a few more seconds and WHAM. James flung himself to the left and hit the Chaser on his right. The Quaffle fell down and a Gryffindor Chaser caught it. That had to be Minnie, he thought.
James was cheering on the inside. He turned his broom around and started following Minnie. Soon he caught up and he mentally prepared himself to be ready if she needed to pass the ball. They needed to dodge a Bulger so they were now flying on the right side of the stadium towards the Hufflepuff goals. James looked over his shoulder and saw that a little bit behind them, just a tat lower, were two Chasers from the Hufflepuff team. He tried to find the third one, but he couldn't see him anywhere around him. Minnie was holding the Quaffle against her body, in front of her while steering her broom with one hand. James was about to get closer to her when he saw something black coming into his sight on his left. "MINNIE!" James yelled. "BULGER!" He had no idea if she heard him or not and there was no time to check this. He shot up with his broom to dodge the bulger and he was trying to catch a sound of a bulger hitting a body, but that didn't came. He sighed in relieve and saw that Minnie had made the same decision as he had. She grinned and together they set off towards the Keeper.
The Keeper was flying from one side of the other. James looked around and saw that they were surrounded on each side by a Chaser from the other team. He tried to look for their third Chaser, but somehow he couldn't find Peter anywhere. Damn it, Smith. Where in Merlin's beard are you? James was getting fed up. How were they supposed to score against three Chasers and a Keeper with just the two of them? His captain, Alistair Murray, was going to blow his mind. Minnie was probably thinking the same thing, considering her confused look on her face. She looked around and James knew they were trapped. The closer they came to the goals the closer the Chasers came. James already had to fly almost next to Minnie right now. She looked at him with a look on her face that James understood as: What are we going to do? James needed to think quickly. There was no way that they could keep going forward without losing the Quaffle. There was a way that was quite tricky and difficult. But it was worth a shot. He looked at Minnie, at the goals and then at their opponents. "Drop it and keep flying." He said to Minnie. "What, drop it? NO!" Minnie shouted back. "Just do it. Trust me." James looked her in the eyes and smiled. "Trust me. Do it NOW." If Minnie didn't trust him or hesitated, you could not tell. She immediately dropped the Quaffle but kept on going. James braked and shot down with his broom. The angle he had to make was almost impossible. Nobody had expected this and he heard some gasps from the public.
His pulled his broom a little bit back and he was now flying down. He could feel himself slowly slip away, but he tightened his muscles from his thighs to keep a hold on his broom. His legs were his only help since he had to stretch his arm soon to catch the Quaffle. There were a few meters left between him and the ground. He could hear the spectators in the stands yell that he had to let it go. But there was no way that James would listen. He knew that he could make it. He pushed himself a little further until he felt the tips of his fingers slowly grasp the Quaffle. James swooped his arm underneath it, pulled on his broom and shot up again. He sped up, ignoring everyone around him who was yelling and cheering him on. He knew that if he acted quickly he could score. He had the element of surprise.
He shot right past a Bulger that scraped his back. He grabbed the Quaffle with his hand, lifted his arm and aimed for the middle post. He saw the Keeper flying to that one, but in the last second he twister his wrist in such a way he spun the Quaffle more his right. The Quaffle flew right through the right hoop. The Gryffindor stands were erupting with cheers and screams. People were stamping on the ground and chanting his name. "Potter! Potter! Potter!" James flew by them while holding his fist up in the air. He just scored the first goal of the match and now it was 10 – 0 for Gryffindor.
The rest of game was crazy. Alistair had been right not to underestimate the Hufflepuffs. Their game was strong and they had a lot of great moves. James scored two more times and Minnie once. There was no sight of Peter Smith, their third Chaser. There was no use to think about it now, since Hufflepuff had now scored three times in a row making it 50 – 30 and they were about to make it 50 -40. James had to focus and he was pursuing the Hufflepuff chaser but she was shifting through the air. He wasn't able to be behind her nor pass her. He truly hoped Alistair could stop them from scoring or the Snitch would be caught soon. The Chaser threw the Quaffle to her teammate. Minnie tried to interfere but missed. The Quaffle was caught and James shifted directions. He was speeding up, but he came too late. The Hufflepuff stand and the Slytherin stand were whooping. 50 – 40, they needed to end this match as quickly as possible.
And it was almost as if his prayers were heard. Within five minutes the referee blew her whistle and the game was over. James had no idea who won the game until he saw his teammates cheer and yell. Their Seeker Isobel had caught the snitch. James flew, just like his teammates, towards her and starting celebrating. They ascended down still celebrating and their moods were cheerful when entering the changing room. James saw Peter sitting on a bench, covered with bandages. What happened? He sat down next to him. "Hi Peter. What's going on?" Peter's faced looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Bad luck, James. About five minutes into the game I was hit by a Bulger. The referee was about to stop the game, but I said no and just went to the changing rooms. I made sure that Alistair knew that I was fine and that you guys should continue." James looked in awe. "Wow, so you just dropped out? I did indeed miss you during the match, but I never imagined that you were injured." Peter laughed, but he flinched. "Oy, that hurts. But injured, yeah a bit. My ribs are bruised or something. Nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix. I came to see her immediately and after that I could go already. So I walked back here to watch the last part of the game and see us win." James was impressed. "Amazing. You know we could just stopped the game or something you know. We could have continued after we made sure you were okay." Peter smiled. "I know, but I somehow had the feeling that it might could have jinxed everything. Alistair was about to ascent to make sure I was okay, but I wove him away. He gave him a thumbs up and walked away. I saw him doubt himself but I waved again and made sure he continued with the match." James was nodding impressively. "Well, I guess it helped. We won!" Peter smiled. "I would give you a high five now, but I don't think I can lift my arms. Pomfrey said I would still feel it for 1 or 2 days." James wished him well and changed into his regular clothes. He knew that there would be a small party in the common room tonight.
That night they celebrated their victory. Some of the older students smuggled in some firewhiskey and giggle water. James was complimented over and over again for his first goal. Everyone was impressed with him. "You will probably be Captain one day, Potter." Alistair said. "Maybe not after I leave, which is next year. I think they will give it to Minnie. But after her, I think you have a great chance." Alistair sipped his firewhiskey. "So keep a close eye on me from now on if you want to know how to be the best Captain." He grinned and stood up. "Well, enjoy your evening for now lads. I will turn in soon. The stress from the match is now taking its toll on me. Good night." James, Sirius, Peter and Remus wished him a good night and relaxed for a bit. "He is quite intense, isn't he?" Sirius said. James nodded. "Yeah, you should see him during practice." Sirius laughed. "I'd rather not!"
Soon after Alistair left the four of them also went to bed. "One week left guys. One week until the Christmas holiday. I am excited for this one. The four of us together at my house, eating and having fun." James was putting on his pajamas. This Christmas Sirius, Remus and Peter would be at James his house. His parents had invited them over a long time ago and they finally accepted the invitation. The three of them were planning to stay at Hogwarts, but James tried to convince them to come to his house. "We have plenty of food, come on guys. Enough food, enough rooms, my parents are dying to meet the two of you, Remus and Peter." James was telling them what his parents had told him in their letter. "My mum will make her famous Shepherd's pie. She claims that everybody who eats it wants her recipe. So just make sure you ask for it, even if you don't like it." Everybody laughed.
James had to emphasize several times that it was no problem at all that three extra people would sit at the table. Finally after a few weeks Remus budged and soon after that Sirius and Peter followed. James immediately send his owl to his parents with the confirmation. Their reply was a happy one, saying how much they looked forward to seeing him again and meeting all of his friends now. James got into his bed. He looked at Remus who was folding his clothes neatly and putting them on the chair next to his bed. His eyes wandered towards Sirius, who was relaxing on his covers, loosely hanging one leg out of the four-poster bed while reading the Daily Prophet. He hold the newspaper with one hand while the other was underneath his head. Peter was examining his nails and where he could he would bite some more. He looked like he was gnawing on his nails. The four of them were so different, but somehow the four of them together worked.
"Hey, has someone seen Frank? He hasn't been around here much lately. I only see him in class, but he barely talks." Remus asked. Sirius shrugged. "Don't know, mate." James was thinking about it. Remus was right. Frank wasn't in their dorms much lately. James didn't even where he was, if he was alright and how he was doing. Weird, how you kind of live together, but you were living such separates lives. There was one thought that stuck in James his mind. What if Frank had the feeling that they didn't like him? He easily could feel that way since they barely spoke to him and didn't even really notice he was gone a lot. "He spends a lot of time with Alice and some other students." Peter said. Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is he? How do you know that?" He asked. "I've heard them talk about it. They have this kind of secret meeting place apparently that they meet up almost every night." Sirius his attention was caught. "Secret you say, huh? Interesting. What more do you know about this secret meeting place?" Peter's cheeks flushed red and he shrugged. "Not much, to be honest. I overheard them talking about it during lunch a few times. It's him, Alice and some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. I think there are about six of them." Sirius was stroking his chin. "Interesting. Well, at least we know he's safe. And probably their secret meeting place isn't that secret. I am sure that James and I have been there for sure." Sirius looked at James. "So about that, mate. How about a last time roaming the castles before we head off to your house? We still have a few days left before we need to go." James nodded. "Yeah, sure. I am always up to it. Do you want to visit some parts we haven't explored yet? We can go back to where the kitchens are and explore some more?" Sirius was overthinking it. "Yeah, that is a good idea. If we get hungry we just swing by our beloved friends and get some food as well." Peter was groaning a bit. "I could really use some pie right now or something." He said while petting his belly. "That blackberry pie from last night at dinner was unbelievable." James couldn't help but laugh when he looked at his friend. "Peter, you have some drool here." James said while pointing to the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, if you don't watch out with all that mouthwatering you could drown in it probably." Peter's head flushed red again. "Leave him alone, guys. Do you want some chocolate, Pete?" Remus asked him. "No thanks, mate. I think it's best that I go to sleep now." James and Sirius shrugged. They loved teasing their friends and especially Peter. He was so eager in responding immediately. He always felt the need to defend himself. James knew that he shouldn't take advantage of him, but sometimes it was too easy not too. He caught Sirius' look and winked real quick. Sirius rolled his eyes and rolled back down on his back. "Back to the newspaper I guess." He murmured. Remus was petting his covers nicely, so every side was even. "I will go to sleep as well, if you don't mind. Tomorrow I want to already start with that paper that we need to write for History of Magic. The more I do now, the less I have to do at your house, James." James rolled his eyes. "I would not expect anything else from you, Remus. I think I would have been in shock if you would have slept in. I probably would have woken you up by checking your pulse and temperature." Remus chuckled. "Hehe, I could sleep in a little. You are right. It is a Sunday after all. So I will leave my bed at 9, instead of 8." Sirius put down the Daily Prophet. "Wow, you are going to sleep until 9, Remus? Are you sure your body can handle that much rest at once?" He said sarcastically. "Well, that is enough mockery I can take for one night now boys." Remus said trying to sound upset, but he could barely hide his smile. "Good night!" He whipped his wand and the curtains around his four-poster bed were closing. Peter's were also closed. "I guess that is my cue as well. Sleep tight, brother." Sirius said, while putting down the Daily prophet. James nodded. "You too, mate."
Authors note: Another chapter done! The next one will be about the holidays, just before the holidays! Amazing timing! So we will all get a little bit more into the Christmas spirit or what you may celebrate. Part of my family is celebrating Hanukkah right now.
I think the next chapter will be only from James' view, but maybe the one after that again from both. It is easier to write more about Lily maybe once she is at home again or maybe after the holidays. Her birthday is coming up, so that is worth writing about.
If you want to stay updated about any new chapters, just fav and/or follow! And of course any review is welcome, I'd love read them!
To the last review, which was from a guest, thank you! I'd love hearing that you read everything at once and you want me to keep going. I will for sure!