Good For Nothing?
"Hey! Jenny! Lily! Elsie! We've got a compartment down here!" Sirius stuck his head out of the train window to yell to the girls. They waved and turned back to their families to say goodbye. Elsie and John, the only one of her brothers still at Hogwarts, were hugging their parents goodbye. Jenny seemed to be assuring her parents that she'd write lots. Mrs. Anderson had tears in her eyes. Jenny glanced back at Sirius and rolled her eyes. Sirius could tell exactly what Jenny was thinking; parents always make such a scene, don't they? Lily was speaking to her parents, too. Then the girls turned and hauled their trunks to the compartment where Sirius, Remus and James were waiting. The boys hopped out and helped haul the heavy trunks aboard.
"Where's Peter?" Lily asked. "Isn't he here?"
"Oh, yeah, I saw him a minute ago," Remus said. "He had to get something from his mum. Oh, there you are, Peter. We were wondering about you."
"I'm here now," the smaller boy said. "I can't believe how short that summer was!"
"I'm excited to be going back," Lily said. "I had a nice summer but Petunia's driving me nuts. She definitely doesn't like magic."
"Eh, Muggles can be odd that way," James said. "But I'm glad to be going back, too. Can't wait to start having more fun."
"I don't suppose you're excited about learning things?" Jenny asked.
"That, too, of course," Sirius said. "But while we're there, we might as well have some fun." He grinned at her. "Anyway, I've been practicing chess against James here all summer. I'll take you on any time."
"Well, I've been playing my dad. He's won tournaments, and he taught me lots of tricks," she said. "I'll beat you the first five games we play."
"Care to place a bet on that?" Sirius asked.
"No. Knowing you boys, you'd figure out a way to cheat somehow."
"I won't have to. I can beat you fair and square."
"We'll see," Jenny said. "Remus, how have you been?"
"Fine," he said. "I will be glad to get back, though. I don't have any friends back home."
"Well, you've got six right here," James said, putting an arm around Remus' shoulder. "We've told you before that we're your friends no matter what."
"I don't understand why you don't have friends at home," Elsie said. "But we are your friends. You can count on us."
"One for all, and all for one?" Sirius asked. "Is that our motto, James?"
"I've got a great motto for you four boys," Jenny said. " 'One for all, and good for nothing'."
"Oh, that is great!" Lily laughed.
"Good for nothing, hmmm?" Sirius asked. "We'll see about that."
"I can think of a few things they're good for," Elsie said, a wicked glint in her eye.
"Like what?" Remus asked cautiously.
"First of all, you produce carbon dioxide, which my Squib brother tells me is good for plants. Second, you annoy Filch and his cat. Third, if we girls do anything wrong, we can blame it on you. Everyone will believe us."
"Right," James said. "Well, three is about two and a half more than I can think of for you girls."
"Oohh!" Jenny yelled. She dived for her trunk and pulled out her wand. "Estreapilendium!" she shouted, pointing her wand at James and Sirius, but as she yelled, the train went around a curve and she fell against the side. The boys howled with laughter, except for Peter who was yelling something. Lily and Elsie pulled Jenny to her feet, and as things settled down, everyone turned to look at Peter.
"Oh my…" Jenny said. "That's not right." No one else could say anything, because they were all rolling around laughing. Peter had a pickle attached to the end of his nose.
"Get it off!" he yelled.
"Sorry, Peter," Jenny said. "That was not supposed to happen. Um, anyone have an idea how to fix that?"
"Never heard of anything like it," Lily admitted.
"Not a clue," James agreed. Sirius was still howling.
"Oh, man," he said. "I can't wait until we walk into the Great Hall and see the faces!"
"I am not going into the great hall with this on my nose!" Peter yelled. "Get it off."
"Sorry, can't," Sirius said, trying to hide a grin.
"Stand back," Elsie said. She had her wand out. "Iubeo nasum restitueri." The pickle fell from Peter's nose.
"How did you do that?" James asked in astonishment.
"I have four older brothers," Elsie said. "You learn things like that pretty quickly." She put her wand away.
"Good job Elsie!" Remus said. "That's a neat charm. Why don't you teach it to us?"
"I'm sure we'll learn it soon," she said. "It's very basic."
"And, Jenny, I want to know what went wrong with your spell," Sirius said. "If I can do that to Snape!"
"Oh, please, no," Peter said. "We'll get in hideous trouble."
"Sorry," Jenny said, "I can't help you. I don't know what went wrong, I was just trying to –actually, I won't tell you that either. It's a neat little charm when it works right but you boys would use it in the wrong places."
"We would not," Sirius said indignantly. "Just in History of Magic, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy…"
"Smart girl, Jenny," Lily said. "Don't ever teach them that one."
"Right," she replied. "I'll teach you tonight, though. There are some places when it can be useful."
The trip continued without incident. They resumed their customary places at the Gryffindor table and watched as new students were led in to be Sorted.
"Were we that scared?" Jenny whispered to Lily.
"No, I was more frightened," Lily said, watching the green-faced first years sitting on the stool. "I hope it gets done soon, because I'm starving."
"Let's all go down and visit Hagrid on Saturday," Remus suggested. "He's great fun, and he'll know if anything interesting has happened here over the summer."
"Sure," James agreed. "Besides, we've got nothing else planned."
"What about Quidditch?" Lily asked. "We're going to have practically a whole new team –only Tallin, the Keeper, will still be here. Are you going to try out?"
"Oh, that's Saturday?" Sirius asked. "I missed that announcement."
"Yes, Sirius and I have been practicing all summer," James said. "And we have good brooms, too."
"Wish I had a nice broom," Elsie said. "All I've got is Dan's old one that he doesn't need anymore." The girls knew that James and Sirius were both from well-off families and would probably have the best brooms, within reason. Jenny's parents, who were also fairly rich, had gotten her a nice broom, but she knew that Elsie and Lily wouldn't have much.
"You can borrow my broom any time," she promised them.
"Thanks," Lily said. "But I don't want to play Quidditch. I get a little dizzy when I go too high or fast."
"I think I will try out," Jenny said slowly. "It can't hurt to try. What about you, Remus?"
"No," he said. "I don't want to. Besides, I might miss practice or something."
"If you're sick as often as you were last year, you'd miss a lot of practices," Elsie said. "I'm not going to try out. I just don't have time for Quidditch."
"Well, come down to the field with us, at least," James said. "You can root for us."
"We'll all be there," Remus promised.
Saturday morning, bright and early, the seven friends marched upon the Quidditch field. James, Sirius and Jenny carried their brooms; the others had pillows to sit on, because it had rained the night before and the stands would be wet. It appeared that almost half of Gryffindor House was on the field; some carrying brooms, others sitting in the stands.
"Wow," Remus said. "Lots of people trying out."
"And there's only six spots," James said. "Well, we'll just have to be better than the rest of them, right?"
"Right," Sirius said firmly. Jenny didn't say anything, but she looked determined.
"Trying out?" Madame Hooch asked them. The three nodded. "What positions?"
"Seeker, Chaser, and Beater," James answered.
"Seeker is the first line there, Chaser the next one over, and Beater is the third," Hooch told them. "We'll be getting started soon."
"Well, good luck," Remus said.
"We're rooting for you," Lily added. James, Sirius and Jenny joined the lines pointed out to them.
James was the youngest boy trying out for Seeker. Most of the others were much bigger than he was and he kept getting pushed around in line. But he stood his ground and held tight to his broom.
Sirius, already big for his size, didn't look too out of place in the Beater line. There was only one girl trying out for the position; a sixth year that Sirius knew by sight but not name.
There were four girls, with Jenny, trying out for Chaser. It was the largest line; there were about fifteen hopefuls. Jenny hoped that she would be better than the rest of them. Or at least all but two of the rest, she thought, remembering that there were three Chaser spots open.
Hooch had them, one at a time, fly around a kind of obstacle course. She noted down times and other things on a small pad of parchment. After she was done, she called about a third of each group to come with her for further tests. The young friends were all in this bunch.
"We're going to have a bit of a scrimmage," Hooch said. "I'll assign you a position, just for trying out, and then make you two teams." Jenny, Sirius and James ended up on the same teams. Jenny was to play as a Chaser and James as Seeker, but Sirius was assigned the position of Keeper. The fourteen young people rose into the air quickly.
James soared over the field, looking for the Snitch. If he caught it, surely he'd be made Seeker. Below him, he saw Jenny pass the Quaffle to another Chaser, then swerve to avoid a Bludger. Sirius was flying around the goal posts. A minute later, a player on the opposite side came by and tried to score, but Sirius was able to block him.
"Oh, good job!" James called, but Sirius couldn't hear. James ducked as a Bludger came at his head.
Five minutes later, he caught a glimpse of gold and dived for it. The other seeker saw it too, but James got there first. He swooped, grabbed and soared back up.
"Well done, everyone," Madame Hooch said as they landed. "Now, just once more to let you try different spots." This time, Sirius got to play Beater. He went after the Bludgers with a will, whacking them all over the field, almost always on target. James played Keeper that time, while Jenny was still in as Chaser. It took longer for the new Seeker to get the Snitch, but soon they all landed again.
"All of you are good players," Hooch said, "and some of you will be reserves. But here are the players; as Chaser, Donald Heivan, Amy Boggs, and Jenny Anderson. As Beater, Samuel O'Conner and Jonathon Prewett, and as Seeker, James Potter." The selected players broke out in whoops of excitement. Sirius looked a bit dejected. Hooch spoke to several who had not made the team, including Sirius. Meanwhile, Lily and Remus led Elsie and Peter across the field to speak to their friends.
"Congratulations!" Lily said to James. "That was the fastest capture I've ever seen. Jenny, congratulations to you too."
"Thanks," Jenny and James said at the same time.
"Well, Sirius, that was nice Bludger work," Remus said. "I'm sorry you didn't make the team."
"So am I," Sirius said. "Hooch made me a reserve, though, and Prewett's a seventh year. I might get on next year." He looked totally dejected.
"I know you will," James said. "I think you were better than Prewett, but he is a seventh year and this is his last chance. And I guess they didn't want three second years on the team."
"That's all right," Sirius said gruffly. "I'll still get to practice, and maybe somebody will get sick and I'll get to play."
"That's the spirit," Remus said. "Just promise that you won't make Prewett or O'Conner sick on purpose."
"Who, me?" Sirius said, trying to affect a look of injured innocence. "Why would I do that?"
"Be serious," Jenny chided.
"I am," he grinned. "All right, I won't do anything to them."
"Good," Elsie said.
"Now," Sirius said, "What do you say we go and throw some Dungbombs at the Slytherins?"
"Bad idea," Remus said.
"Let's vote on it," Sirius said. "I say yes." Nobody else said anything. "I guess that means yes," he said.
"No," James said. "It means no."
"Oh, come on," Sirius said.
"No," Remus said.
"Let's just get Snape," Sirius asked.
"No," Lily said.
"Peter, come on, you can help me."
"No," Peter said.
"No," Elsie added as he looked at her.
"Jenny, please," he said.
"NO," she said loudly. They walked back to the castle, Sirius bringing up the rear and muttering to himself. James fell back and spoke quietly to him.
"I've got something better," he assured Sirius. "Tonight."
"Great," Sirius said. "All of us?"
"Just you and me this time," James said.
"Right," Sirius agreed. "I can't wait."
They spent the time between then and night in the Common Room, mostly. Sirius played Jenny at chess, but he was so distracted by wondering what James had planned that she won easily every time.
"Lily, you come and try," Jenny said finally. "I want to know if it's me or Sirius. If you can beat him in ten moves, it's him."
"I really don't want to," Lily said. "I just don't like chess at all."
"Let's all play a nice game together," Elsie suggested.
"Like what?" Remus asked, stretching in the chair where he sat.
"Cards are fun," Peter said. "My mom taught me lots of games."
"We don't have any cards," Jenny, Sirius and Elsie chorused. James had his mouth open, probably to say the same thing, but changed his mind and started laughing.
"We've been over this before, Peter. But we could play exploding snap," Lily suggested.
"No way," Sirius said. "You girls always gang up on us."
"Just be glad we don't play Monopoly," she said. "Muggle game," she explained, clearing the confused expressions from their faces. "It's really boring."
"Why don't we study?" Peter asked. "I need help on that essay for Potions."
"I'll help you, Peter," Lily said, scrambling to her feet. "I'm done with everything for the weekend."
"Thanks," he said. "I'd do it, but I just don't understand it at all. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong in that class? I'm the worst, everyone knows it, and Snape is going to kill me if I mess up all his potions this year, and I'm scared of him, and-"
"I said I'd help," Lily said, cutting him off. "You don't have to go on forever."
"Does anyone want to play chess?" Jenny asked.
"Don't you like any other games?" Remus asked. "I always see you playing chess, you never seem to play anything else."
"Chess is great," Sirius put in. "It's complex, and fun. Three year olds can play it, but you can keep playing until you die and never have the exact same game."
"Right," Jenny said. "And if you've got a good opponent it's great. Unfortunately Sirius here is pathetic tonight."
"I just decided to have pity on you and let you win a few," the boy said lazily, stretching.
"Oh yeah?" she said. "How about we play one without any pity?"
"I think I'm going to bed now," Sirius said. "Tomorrow?"
"What are you up to?" Remus asked. "It's just after ten! You never go to bed this early."
"I'm tired," Sirius lied. "Good night." He stood up and moved off.
"I think he just didn't want you to beat him again," James said in a low voice, eyes sparkling. "I think I'll go now, too, in case he does have something planned."
Moonlight shone in the window of the boys' dorm. Three of them were snoring, but two waited. Finally, James sat up.
"I think it's late enough," he said. "Let's go."
"What is it?" Sirius asked. James headed for the common room. When they both got there, he turned back to Sirius and pulled something from under his robes. It was silvery, shining cloth. Sirius' eyes went wide.
"That an Invisibility Cloak!" he said. "When did you get that?"
"Dad gave it to me, but he said to keep it a secret from you until I was ready to use it," James said. "It's great, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Where did your dad get it?"
"He said it's been in the family for years. Not many of these around."
"So what do we do first? Plant Dungbombs in the Slytherin common room? Blow up the kitchens?"
"First of all, Sirius, we don't know where the Slytherin common room is. Second, if we blow up the kitchens, we won't get breakfast. Third, let's do something a bit quieter tonight."
"Like what? Sneak into the Restricted Section?"
"Dad said not to do that. Some of the books have weird enchantments on them and we might get caught. He said he almost got caught once as a boy doing that."
"Okay. So what are we going to do?"
"Look around the school," James said. "We can do some real exploring. We'll worry about the mischief later."
"Right, "Sirius said. "Now, how do we both use this?"
"Carefully," James said. "Let's try it." They managed to get it on, then pushed the picture open and headed out into the dark school.
"You look tired," Lily commented the next day. "Didn't you sleep?"
"We slept fine," Sirius said.
"Well, Sirius kept snoring and woke me up," James, smiling. "Horrible snores they were, too."
"I do not snore!" Sirius said indignantly.
"How would you know?" Jenny asked with a grin.
"I don't snore," Sirius insisted.
"Fine," Lily said. "I don't care. Why were we talking about whether Sirius snores, anyway?"
"I forget," Jenny said. "Where'd Elsie go? We've got to get to Transfigurations."
Professor McGonagall always taught an interesting class. Today James asked her, before she could start, a question.
"What is an Animagus, Professor?" She looked at him.
"Usually we don't talk about those until third year, Potter," she said. "But you must have been doing some reading?"
"Yeah," James said. "So what are they/"
"An Animagus is a wizard who can become an animal at will," she said. "I myself am one." She stood and quickly turned into a cat and back. There were gasps, cheers and scattered applause from all students. "Animagi are very uncommon," she said, "Because it's a very difficult spell and there are lots of things that can go wrong with it. There have been only a handful this century."
"That's very neat," Remus said. "I'd think that more people would want to become Animagi."
"It is very hard," she reiterated. "The Ministry keeps very close watch on anyone trying the spell, just because it can go very wrong. There was once a wizard who tried the spell, and ended up as a talking tree. No one could ever change him back, so he just lived out his days as an oak. And there have been worse cases." She looked around. "But if you want to try it, someday, when you're grown, you can talk to the Ministry."
"Let's try it," James said that night in their room. Bill had, once again, fallen asleep at once, and the other four boys sat together. "We can do it!"
"We could end up as trees!" Peter said. "Or we could get expelled."
"It would be fun," Sirius countered. "And –we can be with Remus. Werewolves aren't dangerous to animals, just people."
"I can't ask you to do that for me," Remus said, but his eyes showed his desperate hope.
"Nonsense," James said. "We're going to do it. At least, I am."
"So am I," Sirius said. "And so are you, Peter. We won't get in trouble, or turn into rocks or anything, I promise. And think how much fun we can have!"
"Well," Peter said, hesitating, "All right. If you can find out how, I'll try."
"Good man," Sirius said, clapping the smaller boy upon the shoulder so soundly that Peter was knocked onto his face. "Where do we start looking, James?"
"Probably the Restricted Section will have a book on it," James said. "But we'll read some normal transfiguration books first, to see if we can find out where to get the spell."
"Right," Sirius said. "Christmas is coming up. Let's stay over; we can research over the holidays."
"I can't," Peter said. "Mom and Dad are taking me to Switzerland for Christmas. It's already set up, we have tickets and a chalet and-"
"All right, Peter," James said. "You go on; we'll look without you."
"You're staying over?" Lily asked.
"Great!" Jenny said. "My parents are going to America to visit some relatives and I'm staying on too. At least I won't be alone."
"I'm going home," Lily said. "I have to, but I'm sure Petunia will be just awful."
"Well, we'll miss you," Jenny said. "Train leaves tomorrow, right?"
"Yes," Elsie said. "I'm going home, too. My brothers are going to be there, and we're having our cousins over. It'll be wild."
"Sounds like fun," Sirius said. "I wish I had a big family."
"You've got plenty of friends," Jenny said.
"Why, Jenny, are you my friend?" Sirius asked in mock amazement. "I thought you thought that I was a good for nothing scoundrel."
"You are," she laughed, "but you play one good chess game. And sometimes it's fun to hang out with you mischief makers."
"Are we mischief makers, James?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know," the other said in a mock serious tone. "Lots of Muggle boys are mischief makers. We should sound different."
"Magical mischief makers?" Remus suggested.
"That sounds good," James said. "We are the Magical Mischief Makers of Hogwarts."
"Lousy name," Jenny said, still laughing, "But you do live up to it."
"We'll be remembered for centuries," Sirius promised. "By Filch's cabinets, if nothing else. We've almost got our own drawer already."
"By this time through next year, we'll have filled half another," James said. "And to future lawbreakers, we'll be legends."
"I don't doubt it," Lily said. "The boys who Filch finally got fed up with and threw out the window into the lake." She ducked as James threw a pillow at her head.
Christmas came quickly. On Christmas Eve, the students who had stayed on woke to find Hogwarts hidden beneath a covering of snow. It lay several inches deep across the grounds, and the forest looked as if it had been enchanted.
"Snowball fight!" Sirius yelled gleefully, grabbing his cloak and running down to the common room.
"Let's eat first, Sirius, "Remus suggested.
"No, first I'm getting a snowball and seeing if I can get Snape," Sirius insisted. He led James and Remus outside and stooped to pack a snowball. Suddenly, a whirling white missile hit below his ear. "Ouch! Who did that?" He turned to look at James and Remus, both of whom showed him their empty hands. A peal of laughter rang out and another snowball flew at the boys. Sirius ducked this one, which hit Remus right in the face.
"That was cold!" He said. "Who's there?"
"I'll bet it's a Slytherin," Sirius whispered. "Stay here." He circled around the clump of trees from which the snowballs had come, three balls clutched in his arm. James and Remus were busy throwing snowballs at whoever was in the trees, but the missiles fell short. Finally, Sirius got close. He shifted the snowballs to his hands and ran at the grove, shouting and launching the balls.
"Hey!" a voice said. "No fair!" Jenny slid out of a pine tree. She had been a few feet up, where she had a good view of the front steps and a pile of snowballs. "I didn't think you boys would ever get out here," she said. "I've been waiting forever."
"Hey! Time for breakfast," James called.
"That was smart, climbing that tree," Sirius said.
"I thought of getting my broom, but thought that would be a bit too much like cheating."
"I can smell breakfast," Sirius commented. "Afterwards we'll come out and I'll cream you."
"Yeah? You and who's army?" she parried, sticking out her tongue.
"James and Remus and I are more than enough army," he said, blocking her stroke and returning the offense.
"Oh, so it takes the three of you to beat one girl?" she asked, grinning. Sirius grinned too; he'd ducked the feint and stepped right her actual move.
"How many balls do you have up in the tree?" he asked her as they walked to the castle.
"About seventy," she said. "I got up early."
"Right," he said. "Well, then, if you don't think you can take on all three of us,"
"I didn't say that," she said.
"You and I can team up and cream James and Remus," he finished. "Sound good?"
"Great," she said. "And then we'll go in and I'll finish that chess game. I thought of a great move that you can't get out of."
"Oh yeah?" he asked. "I'll have your queen in two more moves."
"Let's get the book tonight," James said. It was early afternoon of Christmas day. "After the feast, when everyone's asleep. Then we can get a good look at it before everyone gets back."
"Right," Sirius said. "Who should go?"
"Let's try all three of us," James said. "I think we can manage three under the cloak, we should practice."
"Okay," Remus said. "Sounds great."
Late that night, the boys hurried down the corridors toward the library and the restricted section.
"It's called Animagus Transformation; A Compleat Guide," Remus reminded them. "It's probably very old, from the spelling of the title."
"Spread out," James said. "And don't touch any of the books unless it's the one."
"What if we can't find it?" Sirius asked.
"Then we go back to bed and figure something else out," James said. But half an hour later, he gave a soft cry. "Here it is!" The other two rushed back to him. He held a very old leather bound book in his hands.
"Bring it over here," Remus said. They put it on a table and Sirius pulled out parchment to take notes.
They spent two hours pouring over the old book, and knew that they'd have to come back again and again to check. The Animagus spell was complicated on a level far beyond what they had expected.
"It'll take us years!" Sirius cried. "How can we do this?"
"We'll do it," James said determinedly. "At least we know how to start." They replaced the book and snuck back off to bed.
"Had a nice break?" Tallin asked. The tall Captain of the Quidditch team stopped at the table near James, Sirius, and Remus. Jenny sat nearby. "Remember, practice tonight. Our first match is on Saturday!"
"Great!" Peter said. "I've been watching you guys and you'll be wonderful."
"We're playing Ravenclaw," Tallin said. He moved off to talk to the other players.
"Ravenclaw?" Peter asked. "I've watched them. They're really good. Hmm, I wonder."
"What?" Sirius asked.
"I think I could make some bets on this match," Peter said. "I don't usually bet, but I think that this match is already decided."
"That confident of us?" Jenny asked with a grin. "That's nice."
"No," Peter said. "I told you I've seen Ravenclaw. They're great. You're going to be trampled. I'm betting on them." He wandered off. The others stared after him.
"Well, of all the-" Lily said.
"He's going to lose a lot of money," Sirius said, looking determined. "Because you're going to beat Ravenclaw. They've got pretty good Beaters and Chasers, but their Seeker is really bad."
"That's good," Remus said. "We're rooting for you, aren't we, Lily?"
"We sure are," she said. "Elsie and I are going to be arranging for a party for after the match, when you win." She smiled at them.
"Thanks," Jenny said. "I think after we win, we won't let Peter come to the party."
"No," Sirius said, grinning. "Let him come and ask about how much he cheered, and stuff like that. Coals of fire and all, right?" Remus and James snickered.
"I really don't understand how you can enjoy tormenting Peter like you do," Elsie said to them. "It's a bit cruel. He really likes you boys, even if he does do things like betting on Ravenclaw."
"Peter's just – he just asks for it," James said. "But we are his friends. We stand up to Snape about him."
"Time for class," Remus reminded them. "Let's go."
"And they're off! Gryffindor's first match of the year, and they're flying really well. Practically a whole new team this year. Let's see how they do today before we pass judgment on them.
"That's O'Conner whacking around the Bludgers up there. Really quite something –oh, Ravenclaw's Chaser there got hit, he dropped the Quaffle. It's snatched by Chaser Heivan. He's flying nicely up there, passes off to Anderson, who dives for the goal – Keeper Pierre Jacques tries to block –he misses – Gryffindor scores! Ten-nothing Gryffindor.
"Millard Bones, Ravenclaw Chaser and Captain, gets the Quaffle. He's shooting up the field like a bolt of lightning. He's almost at the goal area, he's going to score –no, wait! Prewett's hit a Bludger right at him! Bones is desperately hanging onto his broom –he's recovered now, but he lost the Quaffle.
"Boggs, the third Gryffindor Chaser, has got the Quaffle. Gryffindor's two female Chasers are both superb! Maybe there should be a few more girls on the teams. Ravenclaw's only got one, Chaser Emily McKinnon, and neither of the other Houses have girls on their teams. Boggs shoots up the field, going for the goal – Jacques blocks, but she was feinting, she shoots into the left hoop and scores! Twenty-nothing Gryffindor!" The commentator's words were accompanied by frenzied Gryffindor cheers.
"Sorry you bet on Ravenclaw yet, Peter?"
"No," Peter answered Remus. "I still think they're going to win. They just had to warm up. Look, they just scored!" He was right. Ravenclaw cheers filled the air. Sirius was focused on the game, ignoring what went on in the stands around him.
"C'mon James!" he yelled as his friend swooped toward the Snitch. But a Ravenclaw Beater knocked a Bludger his way, and he had to swerve. Gryffindors everywhere groaned as the Snitch lost itself again.
The match was tight, neither team getting a decisive edge. The Seekers were the only ones not tired by the twelfth time Gryffindor scored. It looked as if this might be a very long game. James circled the field from above, closely followed by Emily McKinnon, a fourth year. Both peered down like eagles.
Suddenly, James caught a glimpse of gold. Instantly, he dove. It was right in the think of the action; a Bludger and Prewett the Beater were both approaching the point where he'd be in thirty seconds. Prewett looked up, sped up, and whacked the Bludger right at McKinnon, who dodged rapidly. It gave James the chance to grab the Snitch and pull up, shouting triumphantly.
"They did it! They did it!" Remus yelled, jumping up and down in the stands. He hugged Lily, who was dancing and shouting next to him. Sirius was yelling louder than anyone else.
"You lost your bets, Peter!" Elsie yelled at him over the commotion. The small boy was hunched over in the stands ignoring her.
"Well, Ravenclaw's going to win the rest of its games," he insisted. He looked up to see how his friends took it, but they weren't there. They'd headed off to the locker rooms to meet the victorious players.
"You sure showed Peter," Remus said as soon as James appeared. "He can't believe we won!"
"That was amazing," Elsie said. "I've never seen a better game! Good going, Jenny," she added as the Chaser emerged from the other changing room.
"We are going to win the Cup this year," James said. "It's got our names on it already!"
"Come on," Lily said. "We've got a party, remember?"
"All right!" Sirius shouted. "Do you need any explosions to liven things up?" He didn't seem upset about not being on the team at all.
"You boys are enough," Lily replied. "Just come on."
Author's Note begins here. Okay, I have a couple things to clear up. First of all, I thought I'd made this clear, but the Bill Weasley in my story is not Ron's oldest brother Bill. It is Ron's uncle Bilius, the one who saw a Grim and died. I will admit that we don't know that Ron's uncle was a Weasley, still, it's a reasonable hypothesis. My theory is that the current Bill was named for his uncle.
Second point: were people complaining that I write too fast? I'm not sure I understand this one, but… Actually, this series is taking me more time than usual, because I'm having it beta read –thanks, Blaise! I write quickly, okay? When the muse has hold of me, I don't stop unless I have to. And writing's better than a lot of things I could be doing!
Third thing: This series will eventually connect with some other stuff I'm writing. So if you're reading this one, please take a look at my other piece that I just uploaded, 'Double Trouble 1: Opening Moves'. Thank you.
And please keep reviewing, even if it's to tell me to get a life and do something that isn't writing. I won't listen to you, but go ahead.