James waited patiently for his turn as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain,
Craig Hopkins, called students wanting to try out, one by one, and
evaluated his or her performances. Whenever he got nervous, or felt sick to
his stomach, James remembered the trick he had played on his friends that
morning at breakfast, and soon the nervousness faded, and he had to bite
back a laugh.
It had taken him two whole days to come up with that one spell, the days filled with frustration. But it was worth it in the end. His friends weren't the only people he had played this trick on. He had initially tried it out on his father while he was reading the evening paper, and at supper that night, he relished the look on his mother's face when she saw her husband with a cup of coffee in his hand, changing random colours as he waited for his dinner to be brought to him. James suspected that his parents wouldn't have realized that James was the one who had pulled the trick if he hadn't burst out laughing, and not stopped until ten minutes later. He had been grounded for two weeks, during which he spent the time in his room, coming up with more hexes and charms. Although, he had to put up with his older brother at meals, who kept shaking his head, and continuously stated that when he was James' age, he had never gotten caught. Which, of course, made James want to hex him right there on the spot, but restrained, as he didn't want to get grounded again, and miss out on the fun he knew his best friends were having without him on Diagon Alley.
Suddenly, his thoughts were pushed away as he heard Craig call out, "Potter, James."
He picked up his broom, a Stratus 3000, the best on the market, and flew to where the captain was, on the way, noticing bright colours coming from the stands. He looked, and saw none other than his best friends, patiently awaiting James' turn as they sat in the stands, trying very hard to ignore the continuous looks being shot at them from surrounding watchers.
"What position are you trying out for?" Craig asked kindly, which was surprising, as he had been doing the tryouts for quite some time now, and it was getting very sunny and hot outside.
"Anything available," James replied.
"But, surely you have a specific position you want to try out for," Craig said, a tad confused. James shook his head. "So, you're saying to me that you would try out for ANY position available?"
"Yes," James stated.
"Alright…" Craig said, not quite believing it, "We only have two positions available: Seeker and Chaser."
"That's fine. Which one should I try out for?" James asked.
"Well, both if you want," Craig answered, a little taken aback by the quick, confident response, "Then we can see which one you're better at."
"OK," James agreed, "Which one first?"
"Well, try Chaser first. Holly Tugnutt, one of our Chasers, over there has the Quaffle. Now, you, Holly and Simon Bullard, our other Chaser, will be try different plays against me, the Keeper, and we'll see how well you do," Craig replied, his tone almost challenging, as he pointed over towards the Gryffindor Chasers.
James flew over to the chasers, and when Craig was ready in his position at the goal posts, James flew forward, along with Holly and Simon, forming a Hawkeshead Formation, passing back and forth, going at dangerously high speeds, until finally, with one last pass from Holly, James diqued Craig, and scored.
"Wow, Potter…that was amazing," was all Craig could muster, still in shock.
"Not too bad, James," Simon nodded to James.
"Seriously! How long did you train?!?!? It must've taken MONTHS to get that good!" Craig exclaimed in disbelief.
"If you make it as Chaser, we'll be sure to win the Quidditch Cup," Holly grinned.
"Are we ever glad you're in Gryffindor! If you were in any other house, we would get slaughtered!" Craig exclaimed.
"Thanks," James beamed, blushing deeply.
"Right, now we still have to find a seeker," Craig said, reaching for his clipboard, looking at the rest of the names. He started to call, "Dani-"
"Wait! I was going to try out for Seeker as well!" James exclaimed.
"Yes, but how could we ever give up a Chaser like you?" Craig replied, as if this were an obvious reason.
"At least let me try," James protested, realizing then that he really wanted to prove that he was just as good as a Seeker as he was as Chaser.
"Alright," Craig gave in, "I'll let the Snitch go on the count of three. Wait ten seconds, and then try and find it. We'll time you. One, two, three!"
James was off, zooming up above the field, he combed the pitch with his eyes, searching for the golden snitch. After only a minute of this, he directed his broom as fast as it would go to the center hoop on one side of the pitch. He clenched his fist around the golden ball, and with a look of triumph, he raced back to Craig, who was looking shocked.
"O-o-one minute, th-th-th-thirty-five seconds, twenty-five m-m-m- milliseconds," Craig sputtered, a look of utter shock on his face, "That's got to be a record!"
"When will you be posting the new players?" James asked, changing the subject.
"Uh…Tomorrow night at dinner," Craig replied dismissively, still stunned by the talented Gryffindor.
"Alright, see you," and with that, James flew back to the ground, only to meet his very yellow friends.
"James! That was great!" Sirius exclaimed, patting his friend on the back.
"They'll have to let you on the team now!" Lily cried out, giving James a quick congratulatory hug.
"Did you see Craig Hopkins' face when he saw you out there?" Peter squealed.
"He looked like he'd just figured out the true meaning of life," Remus stated matter-of-factly, and then, as an afterthought, "Or he'd just found a Chocolate Frog on the ground…"
"Thanks, Remus," James replied, dryly.
"What? It's true," Remus said.
"Thanks for helping me out," James said honestly.
"You don't have to say thanks. We already got your gift," Sirius replied lightly.
"Speaking of which, are you going to take back any time soon?" Lily asked.
"When I make the team, I'll take off the spell," James replied.
"Well, I'd best be off," Remus said suddenly.
"What? Where do you have to go?" James asked curiously.
"Why, I've got to go bribe Craig to let you on the team, because I'm starting to think that I really don't look good in orange," Remus answered.
"I don't think he'd need a bribe. He'd be happy to let James on the team," Peter piped up.
"Why, thanks Peter," James said, raising his chin a bit.
"Any time, James," Peter answered, his face lighting up from the recognition that he was even alive.
"Well, you may be good on the Quidditch pitch, James, but you're no match for me when it comes to Wizards' Chess," Lily spoke up.
"Is that so?" James asked, folding his arms, and raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, that's so," Lily replied, doing a perfect impersonation of James, not only by the tone of his voice, but his expression and actions as well.
"Well, I challenge you to a game of Wizards' Chess as soon as I put my broom away," James challenged.
"I accept. I'll meet you in the common room in ten minutes," Lily accepted.
"You're going down, Potter," Sirius said, a mysterious glint in his eyes.
"We'll see about that, Black," James retorted, backing away in the direction of the broom shed.
"See you in ten," Lily said casually, a hint of glee in her tone of voice.
As they walked away, James couldn't help thinking, Why was she so happy to play Wizards' Chess with me? And why did she even bring it up in the first place? He brushed the thoughts away, as he put his broom in the shed with the rest of the brooms, and was just turning back when he heard a rustling in a nearby bush.
"Who's there?" James called, quickly yanking his wand out of his robe pocket.
He heard nothing, so he walked to the steps of the castle, with the tingly feeling on the back of his neck that someone was watching him.
It had taken him two whole days to come up with that one spell, the days filled with frustration. But it was worth it in the end. His friends weren't the only people he had played this trick on. He had initially tried it out on his father while he was reading the evening paper, and at supper that night, he relished the look on his mother's face when she saw her husband with a cup of coffee in his hand, changing random colours as he waited for his dinner to be brought to him. James suspected that his parents wouldn't have realized that James was the one who had pulled the trick if he hadn't burst out laughing, and not stopped until ten minutes later. He had been grounded for two weeks, during which he spent the time in his room, coming up with more hexes and charms. Although, he had to put up with his older brother at meals, who kept shaking his head, and continuously stated that when he was James' age, he had never gotten caught. Which, of course, made James want to hex him right there on the spot, but restrained, as he didn't want to get grounded again, and miss out on the fun he knew his best friends were having without him on Diagon Alley.
Suddenly, his thoughts were pushed away as he heard Craig call out, "Potter, James."
He picked up his broom, a Stratus 3000, the best on the market, and flew to where the captain was, on the way, noticing bright colours coming from the stands. He looked, and saw none other than his best friends, patiently awaiting James' turn as they sat in the stands, trying very hard to ignore the continuous looks being shot at them from surrounding watchers.
"What position are you trying out for?" Craig asked kindly, which was surprising, as he had been doing the tryouts for quite some time now, and it was getting very sunny and hot outside.
"Anything available," James replied.
"But, surely you have a specific position you want to try out for," Craig said, a tad confused. James shook his head. "So, you're saying to me that you would try out for ANY position available?"
"Yes," James stated.
"Alright…" Craig said, not quite believing it, "We only have two positions available: Seeker and Chaser."
"That's fine. Which one should I try out for?" James asked.
"Well, both if you want," Craig answered, a little taken aback by the quick, confident response, "Then we can see which one you're better at."
"OK," James agreed, "Which one first?"
"Well, try Chaser first. Holly Tugnutt, one of our Chasers, over there has the Quaffle. Now, you, Holly and Simon Bullard, our other Chaser, will be try different plays against me, the Keeper, and we'll see how well you do," Craig replied, his tone almost challenging, as he pointed over towards the Gryffindor Chasers.
James flew over to the chasers, and when Craig was ready in his position at the goal posts, James flew forward, along with Holly and Simon, forming a Hawkeshead Formation, passing back and forth, going at dangerously high speeds, until finally, with one last pass from Holly, James diqued Craig, and scored.
"Wow, Potter…that was amazing," was all Craig could muster, still in shock.
"Not too bad, James," Simon nodded to James.
"Seriously! How long did you train?!?!? It must've taken MONTHS to get that good!" Craig exclaimed in disbelief.
"If you make it as Chaser, we'll be sure to win the Quidditch Cup," Holly grinned.
"Are we ever glad you're in Gryffindor! If you were in any other house, we would get slaughtered!" Craig exclaimed.
"Thanks," James beamed, blushing deeply.
"Right, now we still have to find a seeker," Craig said, reaching for his clipboard, looking at the rest of the names. He started to call, "Dani-"
"Wait! I was going to try out for Seeker as well!" James exclaimed.
"Yes, but how could we ever give up a Chaser like you?" Craig replied, as if this were an obvious reason.
"At least let me try," James protested, realizing then that he really wanted to prove that he was just as good as a Seeker as he was as Chaser.
"Alright," Craig gave in, "I'll let the Snitch go on the count of three. Wait ten seconds, and then try and find it. We'll time you. One, two, three!"
James was off, zooming up above the field, he combed the pitch with his eyes, searching for the golden snitch. After only a minute of this, he directed his broom as fast as it would go to the center hoop on one side of the pitch. He clenched his fist around the golden ball, and with a look of triumph, he raced back to Craig, who was looking shocked.
"O-o-one minute, th-th-th-thirty-five seconds, twenty-five m-m-m- milliseconds," Craig sputtered, a look of utter shock on his face, "That's got to be a record!"
"When will you be posting the new players?" James asked, changing the subject.
"Uh…Tomorrow night at dinner," Craig replied dismissively, still stunned by the talented Gryffindor.
"Alright, see you," and with that, James flew back to the ground, only to meet his very yellow friends.
"James! That was great!" Sirius exclaimed, patting his friend on the back.
"They'll have to let you on the team now!" Lily cried out, giving James a quick congratulatory hug.
"Did you see Craig Hopkins' face when he saw you out there?" Peter squealed.
"He looked like he'd just figured out the true meaning of life," Remus stated matter-of-factly, and then, as an afterthought, "Or he'd just found a Chocolate Frog on the ground…"
"Thanks, Remus," James replied, dryly.
"What? It's true," Remus said.
"Thanks for helping me out," James said honestly.
"You don't have to say thanks. We already got your gift," Sirius replied lightly.
"Speaking of which, are you going to take back any time soon?" Lily asked.
"When I make the team, I'll take off the spell," James replied.
"Well, I'd best be off," Remus said suddenly.
"What? Where do you have to go?" James asked curiously.
"Why, I've got to go bribe Craig to let you on the team, because I'm starting to think that I really don't look good in orange," Remus answered.
"I don't think he'd need a bribe. He'd be happy to let James on the team," Peter piped up.
"Why, thanks Peter," James said, raising his chin a bit.
"Any time, James," Peter answered, his face lighting up from the recognition that he was even alive.
"Well, you may be good on the Quidditch pitch, James, but you're no match for me when it comes to Wizards' Chess," Lily spoke up.
"Is that so?" James asked, folding his arms, and raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, that's so," Lily replied, doing a perfect impersonation of James, not only by the tone of his voice, but his expression and actions as well.
"Well, I challenge you to a game of Wizards' Chess as soon as I put my broom away," James challenged.
"I accept. I'll meet you in the common room in ten minutes," Lily accepted.
"You're going down, Potter," Sirius said, a mysterious glint in his eyes.
"We'll see about that, Black," James retorted, backing away in the direction of the broom shed.
"See you in ten," Lily said casually, a hint of glee in her tone of voice.
As they walked away, James couldn't help thinking, Why was she so happy to play Wizards' Chess with me? And why did she even bring it up in the first place? He brushed the thoughts away, as he put his broom in the shed with the rest of the brooms, and was just turning back when he heard a rustling in a nearby bush.
"Who's there?" James called, quickly yanking his wand out of his robe pocket.
He heard nothing, so he walked to the steps of the castle, with the tingly feeling on the back of his neck that someone was watching him.