Disclaimer: Anything you recognise does not belong to me it belongs to JK Rowling. I'm not making anything from this, so please don't sue me.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews – Greatly appreciated!! – Hope you like this chapter? Glad that every one is still enjoying reading my little old story.
This chapter is a little longer to say thanks for the great reviews also as an apology as I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out (hopefully within a week) due to the fact that I'm making a patch work quilt for a friends new baby. Sorry!!
The Lady Lillian: Yes there are some more uncut chapters coming up but I just need to find an appropriate place to slot them in (one of these conveniently appears in this chapter), Valdeene Legacy I'm not sure about, mainly due to loosing the note book with all my notes in. As I understand it a MarySue is an original character that is larger than the other characters, tends to dominate, never fails, always very beautiful and saves the day.
Little A: Sorry about the Harry/Draco thing but I've never written anything like that before and just wanted to give it a try, I know its not every ones cup of tea but it stretches ones writing skills.
Jo: I'm not turning Aggy into a MarySue I was worried that she was already one and wondered if she needed toning down a little.
That crazy little thing called Quidditch
The run up to the end of the autumn term was as chaotic as usual for the students of Hogwart's school of witchcraft and wizardry, mainly due to the dawning of the Quidditch season. For the first time in a while the Gryffindor's were in good shape and only needed to scout for some new replacement players. The team stood strong on the back of last season.
Watching the trials Lily and James had managed to select a new chaser and beater as potential substitutes but best of all they had finally managed to persuade Remus to act as the replacement keeper. It had taken a lot of harassment and finally it required a little blackmail from Aggy to back Remus into a corner he couldn't escape from.
James had the team practicing like there was no tomorrow, chiefly due to the fact that he had to win the house cup one last time. The team found them selves out on the Quidditch pitch four times a week, two mornings before school started and two evenings before dinner.
Only two of the merry little band was not directly involved in the hectic training sessions but never the less Annie and Marie could often be found sat in the Quidditch stands watching their friends practice. For Annie Ryan she also found her self out at the Quidditch pitch at other times of the week as well, generally smiling to her self as her eyes perused the athletic figure of Danny Brocklehurst.
To Annie's dismay the first game of the season was Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. For the last two weeks there had been friendly banter between Danny and the Gryffindor's but Annie was secretly dreading the match.
Lily dashed back to the common room one night after practice to find Annie sat in the window looking pensive. Going over to her Lily placed her hand on her friends shoulder and as Annie turned to look at Lily she said, "You ok Annie"
Sighing heavily Annie nodded and then shrugged. Screwing her face up slightly she said, "I'm not really looking forward to this weekends game to be honest with you"
It suddenly dawned on Lily what the problem was and smiling at her friend Lily moved closer putting her arms around Annie hugging her. As they broke apart Lily said, "Don't worry about the game, as long as you turn up in Gryffindor colours and shout and scream when we win I'm sure a little cheering for a certain Ravenclaw chaser will not be noticed"
Seeing the expression on her friend's face Annie said, "I'm being stupid aren't I? Its just I don't want people to think that I don't want Gryffindor to win but I don't want Danny to think that I don't love him enough to cheer for him" breaking off Annie chuckled and then said "God I sound like a love sick puppy. Sorry for being a Pratt"
Laughing as well Lily said, "Come on let's get down to dinner before the boys eat all the good stuff and then why don't you go and talk to Danny"
Linking arms the two girls headed down to the great hall.
Later that evening Danny walked Annie back to Gryffindor tower and Annie decided to broach the subject of Saturday's game. Noticing the worried look on her face Danny pulled her into his arms and the pair stood in the middle of the corridor for a moment just staring at each other. Tipping his head forward Danny he captured her lips kissing her soundly and then holding her tight to him.
His face against her hair Danny said, "Please tell me you have not been worrying about the game?" as he moved just enough to see her face the look she gave him said it all. Smiling at her he said, "Annie, you're a Gryffindor I would expect nothing less than to see you cheering for them to win on Saturday."
Face now pressed against his chest she asked "Are you sure?"
Stroking her hair Danny said "Yes I'm sure and anyway you can always cheer for me later in private if you like?"
Looking up at the smirk on his face Annie feigned a look of shock at the innuendo but then a naughty grin spread over her face, moving away from him and carrying on walking down the corridor she said "I think that could probably be arranged" and then burst into a fit of giggles as Danny caught her up and spun her around.
******
Saturday arrived and with it the whole school seamed to buzz with the excitement of the first game of the season. As lunchtime arrived the two Quidditch teams could be found huddled together at their respective house tables. The experienced players were trying to persuade their younger teammates to eat something as they went over last minute details.
It wasn't long before the entire school could be found filing into the Quidditch stands waiting for the game to start. Underneath the stands in the players tunnel that led from the changing rooms to the pitch stood fourteen nervous teenagers, dressed in their Quidditch robes and holding their brooms tight.
The doors opened to reveal the cool winter sun twinkling high in the sky. James gave the nod and the Gryffindor's mounted their brooms and took to the air. At the same moment the Ravenclaw's emerged from their tunnel and both teams did a courtesy lap of the pitch before taking up their positions.
Facing one another Danny and James gave each other a small nod and then both boys smiled. Noting the small figure below them all attention was turned to Madame Turner as she released the snitch, for a second all the players watched the small golden ball shoot out of her hand and then disappear. A quick kick of the box had the bludgers away; next she took the quaffle into her hands and with a blow of her whistle the game was underway.
Although an excellent chaser Danny knew that his fellow Ravenclaw chasers were no match for the skill and prowess of Lily and James. The Ravenclaw game plan soon became clear and the battle of the seekers was well underway. Danny had confidence in their new seeker, who had graduated up to the full team this year. David Chang had only just been kept out of the main squad during the previous season but the olive skinned boy with sleek black hair had really come into his own this year.
Gryffindor soon had a huge lead, Annie had declined the commentator's job for this game and Professor McGonagall had been very understanding. Sat in the Gryffindor stand with Marie Annie had cheered with the rest of them every time the quaffle went through the Ravenclaw hoop. As the game progressed Annie decided to bugger it and cheered loudly when Danny had managed to escape the bludgers and finally score. She noticed a few strange looks from some of her fellow Gryffindor's but couldn't help but smile when Marie rolled her eyes at her and a younger student behind her whispered "She must be the one that he goes out with, lucky bugger"
All of a sudden the chase was on as the snitch was spotted and the two seekers became the main focus of attention for the spectators. Catching the Ravenclaw players off guard James had taken advantage of the moment and slotted the quaffle past their keeper. If he had been a minute later the Gryffindor's would have been gutted because just as James had scored David Chang scooped the snitch into his hand and the game was over. Sitting on his broom James groaned closing his eyes but the tap on his shoulder and the hand pointing up at the scoreboard soon had him smiling again. They had won by just ten points.
Later that night in the Gryffindor common room as the party was in full swing, only the seventh years noted the absence of one of their own. Lily, Aggy and Marie looked at one another smirking at the sudden disappearance of Annie Ryan, while James, Remus and Sirius raised their eyebrows at their girlfriends which caused the girls to blush and to James's horror giggle.
******
December had swept in with a cold front from the north and Christmas break was in sight. For Sirius Christmas couldn't come soon enough, it had always been his favourite holiday but this year it signified something else, the end of detention and the winning of the infamous record for gaining the most detentions by a single student. Detention every night and no Hogsmeade visits had been a drag but Sirius hadn't complained, he knew he had deserved far worse.
With two weeks to go till the end of term Professor McGonagall had posted the Christmas sign up sheet in the common room. Again this year only seven Gryffindor's would be staying over the holiday period. Sat around the fire one night Peter had informed his friends that his mother had insisted he go home because his father was not well and she needed his help. He received a range of 'oh well never mind', 'hope your dads ok' and 'I'm sure everything will be fine'.
As it turned out only one Ravenclaw was staying over for the holiday and with a little persuasion and a lot of begging Professor McGonagall agreed to let Danny Brocklehurst stay in Gryffindor tower for the duration of the holiday.
******
Finally the last potions lesson of the term had arrived to the great delight of the seventh year Gryffindor's. Professor Greenhalgh was not known for her kindness especially when it came to Gryffindor's who she generally viewed with much disdain and contempt. With the lesson well underway the students were busy adding ingredients to their slowly simmering cauldrons while the Professor wandered around the room praising the Slytherin's and chastising the Gryffindor's for their inept abilities.
Waiting for the right moment when everyone would be occupied with their attention fully fixed on the now bubbling cauldrons two students were smiling at one another as the last prank of the term was about to be pulled off. Thanking his lucky stars that his girlfriend just happened to be one of the smartest witches he had every come across, James nodded at Remus who was stood quietly beside him wand at the ready. Using Sirius as a shield Remus pointed his wand at James and with a quick flick his friend disappeared from sight.
Quickly James headed across the room, reaching the desk of Malfoy, James slipped his hand into his pocket and waited for the signal. Sirius had been set the task of creating a distraction, which he happily supplied even though it would cost them some house points. Watching Sirius make his move James took advantage of the moment and slipped an extra ingredient into the tall blondes cauldron.
Potions was not as big a mystery for some of the Gryffindor's as Professor Greenhalgh led the class to believe, it was her prejudice for all things red and gold that stopped her from announcing that in fact one of her best potions students that year was actually a Gryffindor. All be it they did not compare to the skills of Severus Snape but they out stripped the abilities of the rest of the Slytherin's.
Marie Devon had not given it a second thought when Sirius had interrogated her about the workings of the potion they would be making in the last class, secretly she had been made up that Sirius was willing to listen to her rabbit on about it in great depth. She had gone on to explain the different ingredients you could add and the impact on the potion they would have thus showing its versatility and usefulness. What she hadn't known was that Sirius was just doing research for a prank.
Feeling the spell start to break down James made his way back to Remus's side and bending down, he then stood up pretending that he had retrieved something from beneath his desk as he became fully visible. Calm descended over the room once again and the only noise that could be heard was the discussion between partners concerning the progress of their potion.
Testing of the newly prepared potions was the bit of the class most students dreaded and often resulted in a trip to the infirmary for some of them. One member of each partnership had to scoop a little potion into a vial and drink it under the watchful glare of Professor Greenhalgh.
She had finished the Gryffindor side of the room and to her dismay only one of them had had to go up to the infirmary for treatment, Peter Pettigrew was normally a competent potion maker but pairing anybody with Sirius Black was unsafe. Heading over to the Slytherin's she glared at them in such a way that they knew they had better not let her down or there would be trouble. She may not take points from them or give out any detentions to her precious Slytherin's in public but in the privacy of the dungeons when all others had gone her punishments were legendary.
Anyone who ended up with Lucius Malfoy yielded to the fact that they would end up the guinea pig. Picking up the vial Zabini downed its content and waited for the potion to take effect but instead of the soft golden haze that was suppose to surround him showing that the potion had worked and he was now immune to transfiguration hexes, he glowed a soft shade of red.
Only a small number of students backed away from the confused boy, as they comprehended what was about to happen next. Backing away Malfoy walked straight into Aggy court.
Zabini instead of being immune to transfiguration hexes was now changing into different forms at random and eventually taking the form of a large grey wolf and jumping up onto the desk as the remainder of the room went into panic mode. Frightened students desperately trying to get away were causing chaos in the dim dank classroom and soon the room was a wash with bodies trying to get to the door, cauldrons knocked spilling their contents and adding to the horror that was sweeping through the room.
In the confusion one student had kept his cool and spied the opportunity he had been waiting for, grabbing the student he had bumped into only moments earlier. Before she could comprehend what was happening Aggy found her self separated from her friends and being pushed through a thick panelled door further down the dungeon corridor.
Regaining her presence of mind Aggy took in what she could of her surroundings that was until she felt a hand tighten around her throat and push her heavily into the wall behind her. Raising her eyes she got the first glance of her attacker and it didn't surprise her to find Lucius Malfoy's face sneering at her.
Aggy didn't frighten easily but she knew she was in trouble her wand hand was trapped behind her making her more or less defenceless.
Bringing his face along the side of her ear Malfoy hissed "Everything comes to he who waits" and he bit down on her ear lobe. At this Aggy's fear was turning into terror but she was concentrating hard on not letting the git know it, there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction. Her resolve was broke as Malfoy brought his free hand up and hit her across the face.
"You will learn your place," he said as his fist this time found its way to her stomach "You will learn to show respect to your betters" this time the fist connected with her nose causing blood to gush down her face. Releasing his hold on her neck Malfoy took a step backwards as her body crumpled to the ground and he delivered a kick to the small of her back.
Back in the potions classroom Professor Greenhalgh dismissed the students and closed the door to the room with a bang as she contained the affected Zabini and dealt with the situation in her devastated classroom.
The students did not need telling twice, running from the room as quickly as they could. Half of the students turned left and headed to their common room while the rest turned right and headed up the staircase towards the entrance hall. It wasn't until the Gryffindor's reached the top of the staircase that they realised they were one short.
Scanning the group Remus thought shit where's Aggy and recognising the fact that the others were having the same thought he quickly said "Girls stay here just in case she made it up here before the rest of us" and looking at the two other Gryffindor boys said "We'll go back down and see if she is still in the dungeons"
Getting nods of agreement from all concerned, the boys were soon running back down the stairs and making their way back to the potions classroom. Reaching the door they found it locked and could hear the dulcet tones of Professor Greenhalgh trying to subdue Zabini. At this Remus cast his eyes around the immediate vicinity knowing they didn't stand a chance of finding her down here with out help. Looking straight at James he uttered one word "Map" but before he was finished saying the word James was already running back down the corridor.
Risking everything Sirius Black quickly gave the corridor the once over and transformed into his animagus form. Nose to the ground he quickly swept the area for her scent and picking up a trail he headed off down the corridor with Remus hot on his heels. They hadn't got far before he came to an abrupt stop and frantically began searching the area, hastily Sirius re materialise where the large black dog had been and standing up he said "I've lost it, just to many other bloody scents here to be able to distinguish which ones Aggy's" slumping down to the ground his head in his hands he mumbled "I'm so bloody worthless, I'm sorry Moony"
Coming along side his friend Remus bent down and grabbing Sirius by the front of his robes hauled him off the ground saying "Stop being a daft git. If this is anybodies fault its mine, I cast the bloody spell on James so that he could throw that lemon into Malfoy's potion" and with that it was Remus's turn to bury his head in his hands and slide down the wall as the realization hit him of exactly what he had done. If anything had happened to Aggy it was his fault. Sirius returned the favour and hauled Remus up off the ground just as James came running towards them.
Flashing the map at them he shouted "This way" as he ran straight past them and on up the corridor. Finally he came to an abrupt halt in front of a heavy panelled door. Nodding at the door, the boys got their wands out just in case, they knew that Aggy was alone but you could never be too careful.
As the door swung open Remus rushed in and felt like he was going to collapse at the sight that met him. Aggy was splayed out on the floor covered in blood and she wasn't moving but for once Remus was glad he was a werewolf because his senses told him she was still alive. Before the rest could react he had swept her into his arms and was running out of the room.
He never faltered once on the long trip to the infirmary that was not until he had her gently laid on a bed and she was being taken care of by the medi-witch. As soon as he knew she was safe Remus took off, fleeing the scene unable to cope with the fact that his own need to be childish had caused this.
Seeing the despair on his face Lily grabbed James and said, "For gods sake James go with him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid"
James grabbed Sirius and the two boys dashed out after their friend and leaving their girlfriends to stay with Aggy.
The medi-witch soon had Aggy cleaned up and was pleased to see that it looked worst than what it was. She had a nasty gash on her cheek that could be taken care of without leaving a scare, two cracked ribs and some bad bruising but overall she had been very lucky. Once Madame Pomfrey was satisfied that Aggy was comfortable she turned to the worried looking girls and said, "She needs peace and quiet. You may stay while I go and contact Professor Dumbledore" and with that she headed off to her office.
Moving closer to Aggy Lily did the only thing she could think of and sat down next to her and held Aggy's hand hoping her friend would know that she was there. As the hand tightened in hers Lily smiled sadly as the tears she had held in flowed down her face.
Out in the grounds saw three boys sprinting across the front lawn and heading straight for the forbidden forest. As they were momentarily hidden from the view of the castle by one of the greenhouses two boys disappeared and in their place was a large black dog and a magnificent stag. In their new forms it didn't take long for them to reach the escaping figure of Remus Lupin. Sirius managed to tackle him to the ground just as they entered the Forbidden forest. Under cover of the trees Sirius and James quickly changes back to their human forms and it took both of them to pin Remus to the ground stopping him from disappearing into the hidden depths of the forest.
Feeling Remus relax slightly Sirius and James rolled to the side but never let go of their friend. As the three boys lay side by side on the soft forest floor there was just enough contact to transfer support to their distress friend.
"I'm alright, you can get off now" Remus said as he started to pry his body up into a sitting position. Letting go but staying close his friends followed his lead and before long they were all sat side by side.
A respectful silence fell over the little group no one quite sure of what to say. Two of them just sat and watched the third sit with his head in his hands shaking every now and again.
Taking a deep breath and wiping the heels of his hands over his eyes Remus looked up into the worried faces of his friends but before he could speak Sirius cut him off.
"Listen Remus, we are all in this together. Each one of us had a hand in that prank not just you" as he said this Sirius looked at both James who nodded and confirmed what Sirius had just said.
Running a hand through his hair James said "Remus are you ready to go back in" watching the sandy haired boy close his eyes for a second he went on "You can't put it off forever, its better to face them sooner rather than later. Trust me I have had experience in these things"
Rolling his eyes at his friends attempt to lighten then mood Remus nodded, slowly the three boys got to their feet and headed back into the castle.
******
A/N: In the next chapter find out how the girls react to the boys confession and then it will be straight onto Christmas.
Desperately in need of a beta – this story is going through a complete overhaul (will post new version of fiction alley, hopefully). Anyone interested please email me.
Please don't forget to click the button and let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading
Madame Padfoot