CHAPTER FIVE

~Detentions and Flying~

Flying class was up next … something James was looking forward to most. The four marched down to the neat green lawns of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lily, Felice and Paige walking alongside them. Despite of the fact that James and Sirius had both received detentions with Snape meaning that they had to clean the boy's toilets that night, they were still all laughing merrily, an obvious bond starting between Sirius and Felice.

James's mouth dropped in awe at the sight of broomsticks lying ahead of them. Not all were perfect, in fact, most were over fifty years old – but as long as they could fly, there was nothing wrong with them. Well, maybe the slowness was something … but you get that. Peter gave an audible whimper.

"What's the matter, rat face? Scared of a pile of twigs?" sneered Lucius Malfoy, his fat cronies on either side of him. Snape's ears seemed to have twitched and heard this because he ran almost at once next to them.

"Bet I can get your sorry butt of that broom, Potter," he said icily, pointing to a very old model of a Comet Two Hundred.

"Bet you can't," James countered.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Lily muttered in James's ear. "Don't you dare do something stupid again James!"

"Stupid?" James said. "How can you call flying stupid? How can you call pushing Snape off a broom stupid? I'm gonna take him on."

"Oh, I don't think so Mr Potter. Not unless you would like to be expelled on your very first day." Came a sudden voice from behind the group. They all turned around, surprised, meeting the hawk-like eyes of Madam Hooch. "Now, I suggest you all behave yourselves or you shall end up with your necks broken for the rest of your lives." She walked off, telling the class to stand beside a broom.

First they had to learn how to hover. Sirius did it almost perfectly, his broom giving just the slightest quiver when his nerves nearly failed him. He screamed a very loud, "WOOHOO!" because he was so proud but this only resulted with Peter plummeting down and practically breaking every bone in his back. Snape slid off his broom first go, and he looked very funny indeed, clutching his broom desperately with one hand. Remus was still trying to get his to jump into his outstretched arm and the broom wasn't responding very well – only rolling over and over again. Lucius was perfect along with James. Lily was hugging her broom tightly in midair, anxious of falling off. Crabbe and Goyle didn't even know what the word "hover" meant.

Next came the "leading-your-brooms-the-right-way" part. Before Madam Hooch blows her silver whistle, she would say which direction she wanted the class to go. Then the class would point their stick that way, give the air a good push and then stop.

"Right everyone?" Madam Hooch yelled. "LEFT!"

The majority of the class sped in the left direction. But some were extremely dumb and actually went to the right, smashing into the person going the other way. A good example of this was Crabbe and Malfoy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Crabbe bellowed in anger as he came close to losing control of his broom.

"Going left!" yelled back Malfoy.

"But -!" Crabbe stopped, looked right then left, then right again, blushed and said, "Oh. Sorry. Silly mistake."

"Silly indeed," huffed Lucius, smoothing back his messed up blond hair.

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful seeing as their three lessons with the Slytherins were over and exciting things only happened when Slytherins were there. Lily found out an interesting fact about James Potter that day though: he excelled in both Transfiguration and Flying. Sometimes, she wondered why she was even thinking of James. He was stupid, ugly and stupid. Has she said that already?

Night came and the first years had their second dinner at the Great Hall. Everyone seemed tired and wiped-out from all the work they had done just in one day. But James, Sirius and Severus's work weren't over yet. They still had Professor Ghassan's detention.

Seven o'clock sharp, loud and thunderous footsteps accompanied by deafening laughs filled the halls and passageways of Hogwarts. The source of this of course, was James and Sirius. Severus scowled at the pair as they kept telling nonsense jokes to each other. How could Lily stand these two?

There it goes again. Severus noticed that that must have been the hundredth time he thought of her today. You can't blame yourself, said the "angel" in his head, she's incredibly pretty. Severus stroked his chin thoughtfully, thinking about these words. Then the "devil" came in: She's a filthy mudblood! What do you think you're doing, having feelings for her? It screamed in his ear. Severus's eyes darkened. The "devil" was right. She was mudblood. And Snapes don't go for those low classes.

A voice interrupted the argument he was having with himself.

"Right, you three." It was Professor Ghassan. "Mops, water, bucket, cloths. That's everything you'll be needing."

"What?" Snape yelled suddenly. "No magic? You've got to be kidding!"

"I do not make jokes of these situations, Mr Snape," Professor Ghassan's lips were in a thin line. "And if you ever decide to speak to me in that manner again young man, you may find yourself cleaning not only the boy's toilets but also the girls. Imagine the shame." Severus's cheeks reddened. Professor Ghassan turned to the other two. "You will go to bed at eleven o'clock – no later nor earlier. When I come and inspect your work tomorrow morning, and find that it is not satisfying enough, get yourselves ready for another punishment." Then the Professor added with a meaningful look at James and Sirius, "There is a certain spell that will enable me to tell if one of you have been using magic. So I suggest you do not dare to do anything as stupid." He turned around and walked away, his black cloak billowing behind him.

"Better get to work then," said James cheerfully. It didn't bother him nor Sirius that they had detention. In fact, James was thinking about getting used to this seeing as he and Sirius have already planned masses of trick and pranks that they could play on people.

They worked on for hours. James and Sirius never stopped talking, leaving Severus to think to himself. Just as his thoughts slowly came back to Lily again, freezing cold water striked him on the face. He heard the other two snort mischievously, obviously trying to hold in laughter.

"Sorry Snape … an accident," came James's voice.

"Yeah," loud laugh. "An accident."

"You two better stop or you'll have more than a bucket of water thrown over your heads," Severus said threateningly.

"Bucket water?"

"No, no! That wasn't bucket water … was it Sirius?"

"No it wasn't."

"It wasn't?" Severus asked nervously. "What was it then?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"TELL ME NOW OR I'LL WRING YOUR BONY NECK POTTER!"

"Okay, he wants to know."

"Toilet water."

"WHAT?" Snape bellowed.

"Toilet water."

"BLACK!"

"What?"

"I'LL KILL YOU I SWEAR, I WILL!"

"It wasn't me! It was … James!"

"Sirius!"

"What?"

"Never mind."

James and Sirius ducked for cover as a Jelly Leg curse barely missed them. Severus looked similar to a skinny, raging rhinoceros when he was angry. Laughing, the pair broke into a run, dodging the following spells expertly. It was already eleven o'clock – the time they were allowed to finish.

"That," panted James, "had to be the funniest detention."

Sirius laughed. "We'll have many more my friend, many more."