Bloody chaptering system

Bloody chaptering system. All my reviews, deleted. Oh well, not a lot I can do but sit and swear frequently. Not on here, though. Heh heh. I was reading through your reviews. (*Annoying sing-song voice*) Nobody knows who the mysterious person is. Twilight, it wasn't a bad guess, but no, it isn't Dumbledore. Kibee, you should tell me who you think it is. Naomi, I don't think it was Voldemort, somehow. Gumdrop, you didn't guess, but thanks a lot for reviewing all of Werewolf anyway, it is some consolation. Hear that, people? Read the stories of these wonderful people. Oh, and I hate to be cruel to you guys (Well, actually, I love it. I'm evil, as you quite rightly say, Chinook), but you probably won't find out the identity of the mysterious person for a few years … Well, I suppose it gives you time to think *Cackles copiously*. Oh yeah, and some other things. Ben Coates, the Quidditch captain, is actually named after a good friend of mine. As I'm English, I didn't know there was an American football player with the same name. Call it coincidence. Jason Mak, too, is a good friend of mine, even if he won't review my stories (Get the message, Jas?). He's given me a great idea for year three, and he's the only person who knows who the mysterious sender is. Heh heh heh. Anyways, if you're still awake, here's Part eight …

James gasped. A Silver yew. And yet his brain was pounding with the inevitable question. Who had sent it? This was the most difficult ingredient of the Animagi potion to procure, and yet they had obtained it without any effort. Well, Sirius had to have been knocked unconscious by a seven-foot spider … even so, James thought, this was brilliant. He decided to show the others.

'Pete?' he said, pulling back his curtains. Peter was lying on his bed reading a book, without his curtains drawn.

'Hmm?'

'Look at this,' he showed Peter the leaf. Peter leaned over, saw the leaf, and gasped.

'A Silver yew!' he said, amazed. 'Where? How? How did you get it?'

'With this note,' he passed it to Peter. 'The Cloak was with it as well.'

'Wow! That's brilliant, this is the hardest ingredient to get but – but who sent it?'

'If it takes a man and a half a week and half to dig a hole and a half, how long does it take to walk a fortnight?'

'You could just say, "I don't know",' Peter replied.

'Force of habit.'

'So, someone saves Sirius' life, and finds us the most difficult ingredient for our potion. Wait, I hope whoever it is doesn't know we're becoming Animagi.'

'You and me both,' James replied. 'Anyway, c'mon. Let's go and tell Sirius and Remus.'

'Oh yeah, Pete, by the way,' said James, as they were walking to the Hospital Wing. 'What animal d'you wanna be as an Animagi?'

'A rat.'

'A rat?' said James in disbelief.

'Yeah. Don't ask me why, I've just got a thing for them. I used to have a pet rat before I came to Hogwarts.'

'What happened to it?'

'Let's just say that in those days it was easier for me to confuse rat poison with rat food.'

'I'm sure I'd rather not know. So you're absolutely sure you wanna be a rat?'

'Yeah, ever since you mentioned the plan. I don't know why, but I really like all small animals, you know, rodents. Rats are stronger than mice, though, I don't want to be eaten.'

'Talk to Sirius about that, not me.'

'Why? What's he becoming?'

'Don't have a clue, but he's bound to be hungry.'

'What about you? What do you want to be?

'Er,' James thought about this. 'Er – something big. A large animal. I mean; we'll need to be able to keep Remus in check. Sirius could be a big dog, I thought of that.'

'There's no need to mix his appearance with what he should become,' said Peter sternly. James laughed. 'Remus says he wants to be a werewolf, you know,' he continued, in the same tone. 'Strange boy.'

'He's not the only one,' said James, laughing, as they entered the Hospital Wing.

'Missing us already?' Remus asked, as they approached.

'Ha ha,' said Peter sarcastically. 'James has received a little pressie.' James pulled out his Cloak and the note. Sirius took the note.

'"Thought you might like this back",' he read. '"Try and avoid the spiders". What? Who sent this?'

'If it takes – oh, sod it. We don't know.'

'But then …' Sirius lapsed into silence. Remus had taken the note.

'But – hold on – what does this mean, "Enclosed is something you might find useful"?'

'Oh, how could I forget?' James pulled out the Silver yew leaf and placed it on one of the beds. Sirius and Remus gasped.

'A Silver yew,' whispered Sirius, amazed, taking it in his hands. 'Excellent.'

'How did this person know we needed it?' Remus asked.

'Must have been following us in the Forest,' said James nonchalantly. They were all silent.

'Where's Madam Pomfrey?' asked Peter, breaking the silence.

'Dunno,' said Remus. 'She said she had to go off somewhere.'

'C'mon,' said James. 'D'you wanna go and get something to eat?'

While they made their way down to the Great Hall for lunch, all four were still utterly perplexed about who could have sent them the Cloak, the letter and the leaf. As they entered the Entrance Hall, James checked his watch, and realised that they were very late.

'C'mon,' he said, jogging slightly. 'We won't get any food.' This had the effect of speeding Sirius up a great deal. He pushed open the doors to the Hall, grinning, but it was replaced immediately by a mixed expression of astonishment and horror. Bemused, James entered the Hall, and gasped, loudly.

'Oh my God,' whispered Remus from behind him. 'How did this happened?' James shook his head, and Sirius merely stared. Peter looked up.

'Where the hell are the teachers?' he said.

The High Table was empty. All of the students at the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables were sitting in their places, their heads hanging limply on their shoulders. There was complete and utter silence. They had all been Stunned. James looked to the Gryffindor table.

'My god, they weren't expecting it. Look at this.' He pulled Lily's usually beautiful long red hair out of her soup bowl. It was sopping wet with tomato soup. James expected Sirius to laugh, but he was still looking completely shocked. James muttered something quietly and instantly something odd began happening to Lily's hair. It stood on end, making her look as though she'd just had seventy thousand volts passed through her body. Very slowly, the stains of soup separated themselves from Lily's hair and fell to the ground.

'How'd you do that?' Remus asked.

'Separating Charm,' said James indifferently. 'Look, c'mon, we need to revive them. Yes, Sirius, even them.' He followed Sirius' disgusted look to the Slytherin table, where they spotted Snape, his face resting on his empty plate.

'You're right,' said Remus. 'Shall we help our fellow housemates first?' He looked at James. James nodded mutely.

It was hard work. The reviving spell wasn't easy to perform at the best of times. James had enough sense, however, to revive the seventh-years first, as their advanced education would help in reviving everyone else. Peter was having especial trouble, as he couldn't quite perform the charm correctly.

'It's "En – verate", Pete,' said Remus, as Peter tried, and failed, for the fifth time. You need to say the "En" for slightly longer.'

'Enverate!' said Peter, pointing his wand at a sixth year. The sixth year blinked, and slowly opened his eyes.

'Nice one, Pete,' said James, smiling, as he hurried to explain the situation to the newly awakened student.

He was just about to turn around and help Ben Coates when Dumbledore suddenly entered the room, with Professors McGonagall, Lennox, Flitwick and Loughran right behind him. Dumbledore surveyed the scene, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. His face, however, was etched with anger.

'Enveratus Totalus!' he called loudly, with a flick of his wand. Suddenly, every unconscious person in the room dazedly woke, many of them looking completely bewildered. Dumbledore made his way up to the High Table and put his hand up for silence. The low mutterings that had broken out ceased immediately.

'I need to know,' said Dumbledore firmly. 'If there was anyone who was not rendered unconscious.' James and Sirius raised their hands immediately. Remus put his up, and was followed immediately by Peter.

'Very well,' said Dumbledore. 'I ask all students to remain to their respective common rooms. You four will need to come with me,' he added, fixing his eyes intently on James, Sirius, Peter and Remus, all of whom nodded.

As soon as Dumbledore stepped down, the murmuring started again, and it had soon evolved into loud conversing. However, the heads of houses began sorting their houses into lines and leading them from the Great Hall. James and Sirius sat down at the Gryffindor table. Through the mêlée of students leaving the Hall, James spotted Lily and Frank, grinning at him. Lily was holding her hair; she was clearly blissfully unaware of the state it had been subjected to half an hour ago. James chuckled at the prospect of seeing her face if he hadn't cleaned it up for her.

Soon, the Hall was empty except for Dumbledore, McGonagall, James, Sirius, Peter and Remus.

'Follow me,' said Dumbledore gravely, leading them off towards the Entrance Hall. Minerva,' he said, turning to Professor McGonagall, his blue eyes flashing brightly. 'I need you to go down to the kitchens, and ask –'

'No need, Dumbledore,' said a voice from behind them. They all turned. It was Professor Turner. 'I've already been down. House Elves say that the food was sent up as usual.'

'Very well,' Dumbledore repeated, sighing. 'This way, you four.' Leaving Professors McGonagall and Turner to their own devices, Dumbledore led them down an unfamiliar corridor, which was evidently a short cut to his office. After walking for a short time, they came to the familiar stone gargoyle backed against the wall. Dumbledore muttered the password, and the five of them slowly climbed the moving staircase up to his office.

The only difference in Dumbledore's office, James noticed when he entered, was that Dumbledore's Phoenix, normally handsome, with a beautiful plumage, was now looking feeble and decrepit.

'When's burning day?' James asked. He hadn't really meant to say it out aloud, he had only wondered to himself. Dumbledore, however, smiled at him.

'Tomorrow, James,' he said, seating himself at his desk. 'Now, to business. Do any of you have any idea what this is all about?' The four boys exchanged puzzled glances.

'No,' said Sirius finally.

'I surmised as much. We have no idea as to how this happened. Some of the staff and myself were in a meeting until a few minutes before I joined you. Now, Madam Pomfrey told me that you were visiting Remus in the Hospital Wing. This is why you were late for lunch, presumably?' They nodded. 'Now, I won't lie to you. This is most likely a clear-cut warning from Lord Voldemort. You needn't look so shocked. He is nowhere in the castle and probably never will be.' He looked around at their bemused expressions and sighed. 'Dark magic is a fairly recent idea. Grindelwald was the first significant dark wizard; the first wizard who was willing to kill and torture innocent people for power. It was he who discovered and used the Imperius and Cruciatus curses first. You may or may not know, but these curses are two of the three that make up the Unforgivable curses. Now, I can see by your faces that you don't understand why I am telling you this. Voldemort is becoming stronger and stronger, no matter what the papers or anybody else says.'

'Now, when Grindelwald began to rise back in the forties, Armando Dippet, who was the headmaster of Hogwarts back then, myself, and the Minister for Magic, Atticus Davies, all agreed that Hogwarts needed protection from external evil forces. The school was already sufficiently hidden from Muggles – that was the focal point of its original design – but for a dark wizard, entering the school would be mere child's play.'

'First and foremost, we put fields around the school. These are magical fields, which prevent Apparation and Disapparation from inside the school grounds. This meant that any evil couldn't easily enter or easily escape from the school. Next, we installed a number of "Dark Detection Devices" as we dubbed them. The most prominent of those was the magic sensor that was actually built into Hogwarts' walls. It was a remarkably complex charm, and its function was, and still is, to detect dark magic. If any curse more severe than the Stunning curse is used, for example, an alarm goes off in my office and also into this.' He held up a small sensor, which looked like a miniscule radio.

'Unfortunately, this charm only has an effect within the school. Even an Unforgivable curse can be used in the grounds. You still look unconvinced. However, there are many other precautions. For a start, very few wizards actually know the location of Hogwarts. As amazing as it may seem to you, the castle is very stealthily hidden. I can assure you that no dark wizard will cross the threshold of this school while you are here.'

'But what if they were disguised?' Remus asked. Dumbledore's beard quivered.

'I cannot really give you a definite answer. An impostor, if he or she didn't leave any traces of dark magic, may be able to infiltrate the castle. Then again, it would require acting skills of the highest order. I have never known it to happen.' Dumbledore stood up for a minute, and crossed the room, scratching his head. He glanced out of the window, looking down over the grounds. James looked out and spotted the tentacles of one of the inhabitants of the lake – the Giant Squid. Dumbledore sighed, and then sat back down.

'This is why,' he began, 'this Stunning incident worries us. I think it would be presumptuous to think that Voldemort is even near the castle. However, I cannot even begin to imagine how he could have stunned the whole student body of the school.'

'Was it definitely him, sir?' Sirius asked. Dumbledore considered this for a moment.

'I find it very unlikely that he directly caused the problem,' Dumbldore sighed. 'I imagine that whoever did this was a follower of Voldemort. Dark wizards support only he. Whoever cast the spell, and whenever they cast it is irrelevant. It all goes back to him.'

'Sir, if you don't mind me asking,' said Peter. 'How was everyone Stunned?'

'The most probable explanation would be the contamination of the food. As you may have noticed, the soup was the only thing sent up today – normally there is greater variety.'

'Is that why Professor Turner checked down there?'

'Yes. For a Dark wizard, enchanting soup is no complex feat. Whoever did this, it was meant as a warning. Lord Voldemort wishes me to know that even if he is in Albania, where his headquarters are rumoured to be, he can still infiltrate the school, even if he can only go as far as Stunning.'

'But then – why didn't this … follower … poison the soup – to kill everyone?'

'As I explained earlier. If someone charms soup to be fatally poisonous in this school, I will know about it.' He held up his sensor again. 'Besides, it would be a remarkably difficult spell. For example, Avada Kedavra, the curse, requires not just powerful magic, but also force of mind.'

'Sir?' said Remus.

'Yes?' said Dumbledore amiably.

'Er, no offence to any teachers, but were any of them not attending the meeting?'

'Oh yes, a good deal were in their offices. In the meeting were myself, the heads of houses, Madam Pomfrey and Madam Hooch. Professors Sinistra, Turner, Binns, Cooper, Kettleburn –' he counted off a number of others on his fingers. 'They were all in their offices. I trust all of my staff.' Remus looked satisfied.

'But then – why did nobody come to the Great Hall?' Sirius asked.

'I am afraid that I don not know the answer to that question. I will speak with the staff, and I will address the school this evening. I suggest that you all return to Gryffindor Tower. I must contact the Ministry.'

The four boys made their way back up to the Tower. Now that they had been assured of their safety, they were a lot more cheerful. The thing that James was thinking about was his first Quidditch practice that Friday.

'You'll be fine, you know you will,' said Sirius, as they climbed a flight of stairs. You'll give Mak a run for his money.'

'Have you ever actually seen Jason fly?' asked Remus shrewdly.

'Yes, I wonder who'll win the Quidditch Cup,' said Sirius, tactfully changing the subject. Remus and James laughed.

'Look at it this way, Jay,' said Peter. 'If I can perform the counter-curse for a Stunning Charm, anything's possible. You can win at Quidditch, Sirius can tell us all a joke that's actually funny, Frank can fall asleep in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Snape can take a shower – well, actually, let's not go over the top …' James, Sirius and Remus laughed all the way to the portrait hole, where they had to rudely awaken the Fat Lady.

On entering, they found the common room fuller than usual. Quite a few people came up to them.

'What happened to us?'

'Who cursed us?'

'What did Dumbledore want?'

'Will you help me with this Transfiguration?'

'All right, all right, calm down,' said Sirius, taking charge. 'You were all Stunned, by a Death Eater, Dumbledore just told us that we're not in any danger, and no, do your own homework. G'night!' And, grabbing James' arm, he dragged him through the crowd to the staircases leading to the dormitories. At Sirius' mention of Death Eaters, the expression on people from wizarding families faces' had gone from perplexed to terrified. Death Eaters were what Voldemort's supporters had started calling themselves; James knew this because of his father's job, though Sirius had hardly elaborated when addressing the crowd.

The four boys managed to claw themselves through and reach their dormitory. When they opened the door, they were surprised to find Lily in there, talking quietly to Frank.

'What's all this then,' said Sirius loudly, grinning from ear to ear. 'Surreptitious rendezvousing?'

'Damn you!' said Lily wryly. You interrupted our moment of passion.'

'Yes,' said Frank in the same tone. 'I was just about to propose, and you ruined the moment.' James laughed.

'Lily, m'dear,' said Remus, approaching her. 'Your hair looked nicer the way it was before.'

'What are you on about?' said Lily, chuckling at Remus' expression.

'What?' said Remus apparently horrified. 'You didn't know about your tomato-flavoured hair?' Lily surveyed him for a moment.

'Hmm. And I thought Sirius was the insane one.'

'When you were unconscious,' Remus elaborated. 'Your hair was in your soup. Messy.'

'And I don't suppose I could condescend to ask why it isn't there now?' said Lily

'You've got three guesses,' said Peter, as everyone turned to look at James, who grinned. 'And the first two don't count.'

'You get around a bit, don't you?' said Frank, grinning at James. 'Rescuing fair maidens from falling brooms, ugly Slytherins and – much more critically – messy hair!' James laughed.

'All part of my cunning plan to win Lily's heart,' said James seriously. 'Don't tell me you – didn't – know?' he added horrifically.

'Aw,' said Frank. 'Does that mean I don't get her heart?'

'I can give my heart to whoever I like, thank you very much,' said Lily, laughing.

'Anyone but Snape and I'll be happy for you.'

'Gasp! How did you know that he was my secret lover?' said Lily monotonously.

'Right,' said Remus. 'This conversation is now officially sickening. Possible cure: Exploding Snap.' He pulled a pack out of his pocket, and for most of the rest of the evening, loud explosions and a great deal of laughter could be heard from the second year Gryffindor dormitory.

For the next week, Hogwarts was cruelly subjected to a severe thrashing from the weather. Black, billowing storm clouds adorned the sky, and the grounds were soaked with relentless rainfall. Post owls were finding it increasingly difficult to get their massages delivered in time, and Hagrid had taken it upon himself to care for them before they took flight again. The Quidditch season was fast approaching. James' first team practice was on Friday, and the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match was scheduled for the third Saturday in November. Slytherin would play Hufflepuff the subsequent Saturday. As James had looked out of his window on Monday morning, he had spotted a number of yellow-clad figures flying around above the Quidditch pitch.

The week was uneventful. On Monday, Lily had entertained the boys by describing how her friends, who were all wondering why she had spent an entire evening in the boys' dorm, had subjected her to the third degree. There was still a feeling of uneasiness from the debacle of Sunday's lunch, but it did not take long to die down amongst the student body.

By Friday morning, the weather had slowly worsened. A loud clap of thunder woke James very early. He rolled over, and tried to get back to sleep, but the noise of the storm, combined with Peter's snores, was enough to prevent this. In the end, he poured himself a glass of water, pulled on his robes and a cloak for warmth, and made his solitary way down to the common room. His first thought on entering was that it was empty, but then a slight movement of something red in the corner caught his attention. It was Lily. She was lying on the chair next to the fire, shivering slightly.

'Here y'are,' said James, wrapping his cloak around her shoulders, and sitting in another chair.

'Oh, Morning,' said Lily sleepily, slightly taken aback by his sudden entrance.

'Couldn't you sleep?' James asked.

'In this?'

'Yeah, well, at least you don't have Peter's snores to keep you awake as well.' Lily chuckled weakly.

'Ooh, you'll have fun playing Quidditch in this,' she said fervently, getting up and peering out at the window. Flashes of lightning were rippling across the sky.

'Yes, so I see. Maybe it'll have cleared up in – er, half an hour,' he said, checking his watch.

'Fat chance,' came a voice from the door up to the dorms. It was Remus. 'What's this? Another secret tryst?'

'Hardly,' said James. 'We were discussing my chances of survival in this.'

'Slim to none.'

'Don't you have confidence in us?' came another voice. Ben Coates had entered the room, carrying his broomstick in one hand and his Quidditch robes in another. All right, James? Got your Quidditch robes?'

'Upstairs. Are you going down now?'

'I'll wake the others quickly, and then we'll go down. What broomstick have you got?'

'A Lightspeed 1.' James' father had lent it to him. 'I was hoping for a new one soon. A Silver Arrow, hopefully.'

'Yeah, although I heard that there's another new broom out as well. Can't remember what it's called. Anyway, back in a sec.' He climbed the stairs, evidently to go and rudely awaken his fellow Quidditch team members.

In half and hour James found himself changed into his robes in the Quidditch changing rooms. It was still remarkably cold, and the wind was howling outside.

'Right,' Ben began, when he had made sure everyone was listening. 'This is James Potter, everyone. Linda came to see me at the end of last year to say that she didn't want to play no more, so James is her replacement. James, this is Matthew Brown, our Goalkeeper, Nancy Beaufort, our Seeker –'

'David Vaughn our third Chaser, and Andrew Preston and Jane Spinnet, our Beaters,' James finished. 'I know, Ben.' The other members of the team grinned.

'Right,' said Ben. 'So, last year. Pretty diabolical. This year we're going to play with a whole different style, and we will win the Cup.' And he was off, launching into a long speech about tactics and positions. James paid attention, as this was his first practice, but the rest of the team were merely looking bored. Andrew was falling asleep, and Matthew and David were telling Nancy and Jane a joke. It didn't require expert deduction skills to see that Matthew and David were best friends. Ben finally finished talking, and whistled loudly to get everyone's attention.

'Right,' he said, for the third time. 'You can screw my tactics if you want, I really don't care. Just play to your utmost ability and I'll be satisfied. Now, c'mon, we've still got a while to practice. Get your brooms.' This was the part that James was waiting for. He hadn't actually ridden on a broom since the trials, and now he was looking forward to it tremendously.

James mounted his Lightspeed 1, trying to keep out of the rain. He removed his glasses and squinted towards the pitch. He could already make out two indistinct figures – probably David and Matthew – chasing each other around the pitch. James suddenly remembered a spell that Lily had told him a few weeks ago.

'Impervius!' he muttered, pointing at his glasses. He tried them on and grinned. Lily had been right. These glasses would now repel water. He mounted his broom and shot up into the air to join David and Matthew. He let his robes whip out behind him. This, he thought, was what made being a wizard worthwhile. He sped to the far end of the stadium, looped the goalposts, and sped back towards the other end. Lily's charm worked brilliantly. He could see, even though his glasses were soaking. James didn't mind the fact that it was cold and wet. Being back on his broomstick made up for it. He sped back towards David and Matthew, who had now been joined by Andrew. They looked dumbstruck. James stopped near them in midair, grinning.

'Where d'you learn to fly like that?' David asked. He looked completely shocked.

'Something I picked up,' said James, laughing. 'Care for a race?'

'I never turn down a challenge,' said David, grinning himself. 'All right, first one here and back. Go!' He had started so suddenly that James was taken aback, but he soon regained his composure. He sped off towards the far end, catching David up. David looked surprised when he turned the goalposts to see James streaking ahead of him. He bent lower on his broomstick, but James was faster. The two figures were now a blur, speeding back towards their teammates. James was bent nearly flat against his broomstick as he passed between Matthew and Andrew, did a loop the loop, and pulled into an emergency stop in midair, hanging about ten feet above them. He descended slowly.

'Heh heh. Hard luck, Dave,' said Andrew, grinning broadly. 'Excellent flying, James, Ben will be pleased.'

'Ben is pleased,' came Ben's voice from behind them. 'Wow. You flew better then than you did in the tryouts.'

'Beginner's luck,' said James, laughing.

'Yeah, whatever you say, James,' said Jane Spinnet sardonically from behind him.

Considering the weather was so awful, the practice went smoothly. The others wasted no time in telling James that he was better than Linda Carter had been, and his presence seemed to inspire everyone to play to their highest ability. Ben had very few criticisms to make, the only ones he did make aimed at Matthew and David for constantly messing around.

'Excellent practice, everyone,' said Ben, as they headed back to the changing rooms. 'We'll give Ravenclaw a run for their money this year. We can beat them.'

'Yeah right,' said Matthew quickly.

'I'll rephrase that,' said Ben, ignoring Matthew. 'We will beat them.'

'We're only joking, Ben. ''Course we'll beat them,' said David. 'Won't we ladies and gents?' The team members answered this in the enthusiastic affirmative.

'That's the spirit,' said Ben. 'Right, team practices are gonna be three times a week from now on. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings. We've got a few weeks to get ready for our game.'

As James was walking back up to the castle with Matthew and David, a voice ahead of them made Matthew and David jump.

'Finished already, Mr Potter?' It was Sirius, hiding somewhere under James' Invisibility Cloak.

'Who's that?' said David.

'Sirius,' said James in a long-suffering voice. He took a rough estimate at Sirius' position and pulled. The Cloak came away in his hands, revealing a grinning Sirius, holding three pieces of toast.

'Something to eat?' he said innocuously, handing James some toast.

'Thanks,' said James. 'What have we got first today, Sirius?'

'Herbology,' said Sirius disgustedly. 'I'm sure we can find a way of – well – not attending. Fake illness, for example.'

'Sounds good,' replied James.

'We had no idea you were such troublemakers,' said Matthew, laughing. 'What's your name again? And James, where did you get that Cloak?'

'Ooh, Sirius Black, at your service,' said Sirius, with a wry grin. 'Jamesy got his Cloak for Christmas. Fun training sessions?'

'Well, not too bad,' said David. 'James seems to be something of a natural.'

'Oh, yes, he is. But he's too modest to admit it. He rescues maidens and all sorts.' David and Matthew raised their eyebrows.

'I'm sure we'd like to know all about that,' said Matthew sincerely, and Sirius was off, explaining all about Lily and the Quidditch tryouts, as the four of them slowly walked up to the castle.

'Have fun, did you?' Lily asked, as the four boys entered the Great Hall.

'Ah, this must be the illustrious damsel you described, Sirius,' said Matthew in a mock knightly tone, pretending to kiss Lily's hand. 'Alas, we must leave. Farewell.' And the two of them turned and left for Gryffindor Tower, laughing.

'Friends of yours?' said Lily sardonically, raising her eyebrows at Sirius and James.

'Something like that,' replied Sirius. 'Anyway, c'mon, you're coming with us.' He grabbed her hand and started leading her out of the Hall. Lily looked amused.

'And miss, he cursed me, and now I can barely walk. He's a bully, miss.' The three friends had made their way up to the Hospital Wing, and Sirius was explaining his supposed predicament to Madam Pomfrey in the best "I feel sorry for myself, you should too" voice, as he dubbed it. Lily and James were only just holding in their laughter, and Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows.

'Indeed,' she said. 'Wait here.' She strode off to her office. James and Lily burst out laughing.

'Ooh, we'll get you an Oscar yet, Siri,' said Lily, through tears of laughter.

'What do you mean? I've already got an Uncle Oscar.' Lily laughed again, and explained to Sirius what the Oscars were.

'So what would he get?' said James. 'The Award for best fake-act-of-injury?'

'Oh, naturally.' Suddenly, as soon as Lily had stopped speaking, an announcement came in over the loudspeaker.

'Warning! There is a fire in the Hospital Wing!'

Sirius got up, and ran to the door, where he met an immensely satisfied looking Madam Pomfrey.

'Oh good, your leg's better,' she said, smiling serenely. Sirius realised that he'd been tricked.

'Argh. And there isn't even a loudspeaker in here. Rats.' James and Lily laughed. Sirius looked highly affronted.

'Oh well,' he said. 'No Oscar for me.' He shrugged with a funny look on his face, sending Lily and James into further fits of laughter.

Because he was beginning to feel slightly nervous about the impending Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, time seemed to have started speeding up. Before James knew it, he was getting into bed on the Friday night before the game. The weeks had passed without incident, and Ben Coates had been working the team down to the last minute before the game. News that James Potter, the newest addition to the Gryffindor team, was supposedly being a better Chaser than both Ben Coates and Jason Mak had spread, mostly thanks to Sirius and Remus, and therefore James had started getting a lot more attention around the school. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs wishing him good luck for the match. Ravenclaws looking at him as though he might be carrying the Bubonic plague, and Slytherins being, well, Slytherins. Snape seemed particularly vindictive about James' new popularity, and took every opportunity to make snide comments about him. James was fully aware, however, that Snape would never say these things to his face, because he would curse him without batting an eyelid.

And so, the atmosphere in the Great Hall on the morning of the match was one of tense excitement. James felt as though there was a very tight knot in his stomach. During breakfast, Sirius left the table to speak to Professor McGonagall. He returned looking remarkably pleased about something.

'I thought so,' he said quietly, grinning widely as he sat down.

'What?'

'Oh, nothing,' he said, with the air of someone who has a secret that they have no desire to divulge.

'Yeah sure,' said Remus sarcastically. 'Nothing.'

'You will see, my metamorphic friend.' They decided for once not to pursue the subject, and to let Sirius surprise them.

The morning was cold and overcast. After the torrential rainfall of the previous week, the rain had eased off slightly, but it was still bitterly cold. James left Sirius, Remus and Peter to head for the changing rooms. All three of them wished him good luck, and his stomach tightened further.

In the changing rooms, nobody said very much. James pulled on his scarlet Quidditch robes over a t-shirt and jumper he was wearing for warmth. Ben Coates gave a few words of encouragement to his team before leading them out of the door and into the stadium.

It was something James had never experienced. Clutching his broom tightly, he stared at the gigantic stadium around him. He had never really taken in how large the stadium actually was as he gazed around the crowd. On his left were the Gryffindor supporters, decked out with flags and banners of scarlet with such slogans as 'Go Gryffindors!' and 'Gryffindor – Hogwarts Champion!' and other such mottos. Behind where James was entering the pitch were the Slytherins, decked out in green, their own house colours. They seemed to be booing both the houses taking part. James could see Professor Loughran at the front with a green wizard's hat on his head. The Hufflepuffs were at the far end of the pitch. There was a variation of colours in their stand. Some people were holding up yellow flags, the colour of Hufflepuff, and yet many were holding up flags of blue and scarlet to support either the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws. The Ravenclaws themselves were seated on the right hand side, a colossal mass of blue. Professor Flitwick, who had taken over as the head of Ravenclaw house after Professor Jackson had left, was sitting on a large pile of books so that he could see over the heads of the crowd below.

James could see the Ravenclaws entering the pitch on the far side, from the Hufflepuff end. Ben walked to the centre of the pitch and shook hands with Jake Smith, the Ravenclaw captain and Seeker. Madam Hooch, who was to be refereeing the game, was decked out in her black Quidditch robes, and had the crate of balls under her arm. When the captains had shaken hands, Madam Hooch released the balls, and blew shrilly on her whistle. They were off.

James kicked off quickly and the knot in his stomach disappeared immediately. He was suddenly confident. He spotted the Quaffle hanging as though waiting in midair, and sped towards it. He noticed Jason Mak do the same. He put on a spurt of speed, and managed to grab the Quaffle before Jason. He flew into the air, dodged a Bludger, and sped off towards the Ravenclaw goalposts. It was then that he heard something that almost made him drop the Quaffle.

'And James Potter takes the Quaffle straightaway, he's flying like an eagle up there, even if he won't admit it …' Sirius. Sirius was commentating. Now James knew why he had looked so happy before. He continued flying, managing to hold onto the Quaffle. He spotted a Beater heading towards him, and played a nice one-two with Ben Coates, before …

'GRYFFINDOR SCORE!! James Potter with a new twenty-second record!' James could hear the Gryffindors below screaming, but he focused on the game. Jason Mak had the Quaffle; he needed to get behind him. Suddenly, a Bludger came pelting straight at James. He had to twirl over in mid-air to avoid it.

Back in the stands, all of the second year Gryffindors except for James and Sirius were hanging on the edge of their seats, watching.

'He's brilliant,' said Remus breathlessly. 'I've never seen anyone fly that well.'

'Ooh, I can't watch,' said Lily, as James dove down to receive a pass from David Vaughn.

'And Potter has the Quaffle again, Ravenclaw Keeper Coward – no seriously, that's his name – comes out to meet him – Potter squares it – GRYFFINDOR SCORE! Finished by Ben Coates.' Ben and James high-fived in mid-air. The Ravenclaws were looking stunned. Jake Smith was bellowing something at his Chasers.

'Ah, Mr. Smith, language,' said Sirius, as the crowd below laughed. Jake glared at him, but all his teammates had to stifle their own chuckles.

'He's a natural at this,' Remus was saying to Lily in the stands, referring to Sirius. 'No wonder he was looking happy this morning.'

'How does he manage to stay on?' said Lily, looking at James, who had just rolled over in mid-air to avoid a Bludger.

'He's a natural,' said Frank from behind her. 'And I just thought he was clever.'

'You learn something new every day,' said Peter pensively.

After another hour, Gryffindor had pulled ahead by eighty points, but there was no sign of the Golden Snitch. James had managed to score five times, and the longer he played, the more he was enjoying it. The Ravenclaws were starting to pick up the pace, however. Jason Mak had already scored thrice, and it was obvious that Jake Smith could beat Nancy to the Golden Snitch. The Gryffindors had to pull ahead by as many as possible.

'C'mon lads!' Sirius roared, as James put the Quaffle through the Ravenclaw hoops again. Suddenly, James saw something that made his heart stop. The Snitch was fluttering down by the Gryffindor goalposts, and Jake Smith was much nearer to it than Nancy. Neither of them had spotted it. James flew over towards Nancy.

'Nancy, do a fake dive,' he called as he streaked past her, pointing to the Gryffindor goalposts. Nancy nodded, and, faking a look of concentration, sped back towards the Ravenclaw goals. It did the trick. Smith, thinking she'd seen the Snitch, soared after her. When James looked back, the Snitch had disappeared. He sped down to help Ben, who was just about to be dispossessed. Suddenly, however, Madam Hooch's whistle rang out. Somebody – a Ravenclaw – had been hit with a Bludger and had collided with Andrew Preston. Both players were lying on the ground, and Smith and Ben had both called time out. James glided slowly back to the ground, and the extent of the crowd's noise actually hit him. Madam Pomfrey was standing over the two injured players. Ben came over to James.

'Beautiful flying, James,' he said, his eyes gleaming. 'We're a hundred and twenty points up.'

'Right,' said James. 'Heh heh. Smith doesn't look too happy.' He looked over to where Jake Smith was berating his team. Ben laughed.

'C'mon, I think we're back on,' he said, as Madam Pomfrey blew her whistle again.

Their players' revivals seemed to give the both teams new inspiration. The Chasers for both sides increased their efforts. Soon, Gryffindor had pulled ahead by a hundred and sixty points.

'Jason Mak with the Quaffle now. Nice one-two there, he's approaching the goals, c'mon Matt, save, save, oh shi –'

'Black!' Professor McGonagall was breathing down Sirius' neck, making sure he commentated fairly.

'Slip of the tongue, Professor. So, Gryffindor ahead now by two hundred points to fifty, and – wait a moment, was that the Snitch?' It was indeed. James' heart stopped again as he assessed the situation with some quick thinking. Jason Mak had the Quaffle, but he had stopped to watch the two Seekers. James had to score for Gryffindor to win by ten points, because Smith was gaining on the Snitch every second. He bent low on his broom and shot down towards Mak. Mak looked up in time to see James Potter streaking towards him. James grabbed the Quaffle and sped to wards the Ravenclaw goals. Smith was closing in on the Snitch, he could still make it – he forced his broom forward.

'Faster!' he muttered, approaching the goals. Some of the crowd seemed to notice what he was doing, and the noise increased substantially, but James couldn't hear. He was just concentrating on getting to the goals. Coward was coming out to meet him – Smith was inches from the Snitch. James threw the Quaffle and the next moment happened in slow motion. The Quaffle passed Coward's outstretched hand, and passed through the hoop. A split second later, Madam Pomfrey blew her whistle. Smith had the Snitch, but James had scored in time. The crowd were now screaming themselves hoarse, and slowly, it dawned on the players.

'GRYFFINDOR WIN!!' Sirius screamed. Everybody turned to look at the scoreboard. Jake Smith's mouth hung open. He turned, Snitch in hand, and saw that James was at the Ravenclaw end, and he had picked up the Quaffle again. Smith realised what had happened, and spat bitterly. All of the Gryffindors flew at James, and the team, tangled together in a many-armed hug, slowly floated down to the ground.

'You did it! We did it,' Jane was screaming.

'Well played,' said Ben, cuffing James on the back.

'That was quick thinking,' said Matt, grinning from ear to ear.

The Gryffindor supporters flooded onto the pitch, and James and the team were lifted onto people shoulders. Sirius was still happily shouting the result. Gryffindor had won by two hundred and ten points to two hundred. James' goal at the end had secured the victory. The Ravenclaws were looking completely shocked. Jake Smith was shouting at Jason Mak, who looked completely apathetic, about not keeping hold of the Quaffle. They hadn't lost to Gryffindor for years. James just grinned broadly as he was carried over to the changing rooms. He spotted Remus, Frank, Peter and Lily near the back of the crowd, beaming. He winked at them, as he was put onto the ground.

'Wow,' said a voice from behind him. It was Sirius. 'You've never flown like that before.'

'Beginner's luck,' said James, grinning. 'So, why the new profession?'

'Oh, that. Yes, I convinced McGonagall to let me.'

As James walked back up to the castle surrounded by his friends, he couldn't have felt happier. He'd shown those Ravenclaws what he was made of. Everybody was congratulating him on his superb performance. James did have to admit to himself that he'd flown pretty well.

'C'mon lads,' said Matthew, sticking his head round the Entrance Hall door. 'Party in the common room.' Gryffindors didn't require much of a reason to throw a party, and since they were now on top for the House Cup, nobody thought twice.

The party went on long into the night. Nearly every person in Gryffindor house had congratulated James on his performance at least twice.

'You think that was good?' said Sirius, who had taken it upon himself to promote James wherever he went. 'Wait 'till he gets a decent broom.' James just laughed. It had been his best day at Hogwarts since he had started, he didn't care what anybody said. He'd done something to be proud of. Even Jason Mak had congratulated him after the game, and he'd been on the losing side.

As he climbed into bed that night, James still had Peter, Sirius, Frank and Remus talking about the game around him. James was now looking forward to the next game after Christmas, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. As he settled down to sleep, with Sirius and Frank still discussing the match enthusiastically, he realised for the first time in his life that this was where he really belonged.

Um yeah. This part is kinda long, actually. Sorry about the speeding up of time, I just want to get a move on. I've got nearly 200Kb and I haven't reached Christmas yet. Oh well. Thanks to my loyal band of reviewers, who never fail, people like Twilight and Silence, Ana:), gumdrop, padfoot freak, Chinook, Kibee. All sorts of marvellous people. Oh yeah, and you people who read and DON'T review: You disgust me (That includes you, Jas).

Ciao