*** The Marauder Chronicles is a fan fiction. It isn't to be sold, reproduced, or taken as true. The main characters and most locations belong to J.K. Rowling, as do all
publishing rights. No copyright infringement is intended.***
Note from little old me: sorry if you think this is a cliff hanger. You may ask why I did what I did. Well this is why: I wanted to explore different aspects of the characters
and make them real. And also to give Trelawny credibility which she needs. You'll understand when you reach the end. To any new readers: If you want to be part of
my mailing list and be notified when I put up a new chapter, leave your email address in a review or just tell me directly at the5thmarauder@msn.com. I am now
accepting anonymous reviews. I would like to thank Renee, my editor and fellow Potterite. Thank you so much for helping me with my terrible grammar. And thank you
all who read this story.
Part three: 'A Terrible Fight'
"Never make a promise you don't intend to keep."
James looked closely at Sirius, and tried to remember a time when he had an expression like that before, but there wasn't a time. It was a cross between confusion,
disappointment, and shock. James just stared at him, waiting for Sirius to say something. Sirius, however, didn't know what to say.
"What's the matter?" James asked him. Sirius looked up from the ground and looked into James' eyes.
"I don't know; it's just..." he said, then broke off. He put his hands on his face and sat down on the corner of his bed.
"Sirius, I thought you'd be happy about this," James said, sitting on his own bed suddenly not feeling tired anymore.
Sirius didn't say anything for a while, he just sat on his four poster with his face in his hands. James was very disappointed in his reaction and could only imagine what Jade was going to do when she found out about him.
"Talk to me," James said. Sirius looked up, his face lacking any distinguishable emotion.
"I wasn't expecting that. I've never thought of her in that way before, James, and to tell you the truth, I still can't imagine her in that way."
"What do you mean? Sirius, she's a great girl. She's perfect for you."
Sirius shook his head and sighed. "She's my friend, a good friend. I can't have her as a girlfriend, it just seems weird. How long has she felt this way about me?"
"A long while. I still don't see the problem. You're supposed to be friends with someone before you go on to the next level. If you're not, you have nothing to say to each other."
"It's just that I can't picture us together like that. Okay, so my past relationships with girls have been short, but I don't see myself dating Jade. I like her a lot, she's a great person, but..." he shook his head again.
"Come on. She's pretty, she's smart, she's nice and she thinks you're great. How can you not want that? This is your chance to have something that is really worth having. She cares for you deeply, Sirius. And I for one don't believe that you feel nothing for her, after your little stunt against Dominic last year. You got jealous so you fought him."
"What?" Sirius asked confused. "That is called being a protective friend, not a want-to-be boyfriend. I don't want this James, I can't think of another way to say it."
James stared at him and waited for Sirius to say, "GOTCHA!" but those words were never uttered.
"Well I honestly thought you would be happy with her. She seems like your type, the kind of girl that you should be with, the kind of girl you have been looking for."
"She's not."
"Well at least think about it for a bit. It's sudden, maybe it'll ease into you as time goes on."
"I don't think so, James. I like her as a friend, nothing more. Will you tell her that?" Sirius asked.
"Me?" James asked surprised. "I'm not going to be the bearer of bad news. This is your deal. You break her heart; I'll have no part in it; don't even mention my name; don't even mention a letter of my name; don't even bring up anything that can be associated with my name or my person. I still think she's the one for you, and I'll be damned if I'm wrong. Just think it over for just a few days so that you can get used to the idea. Alright? Just a few days, that's it."
Just then, Remus walked into the room with books in his hand. He looked at the two of them and smiled at first then quickly frowned when he saw their faces.
"You two look like someone just died. Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Sirius doesn't want Jade," James said. Remus looked shocked at the idea, just as James did.
"She's perfect for you," Remus said.
"That's what I told him."
"What are you going to tell her?" Remus asked.
"That we're better off as friends, I guess. There's really nothing more to say. Gosh, I really wish I didn't feel like this."
James got an idea. He walked over to Sirius's trunk, and pulled out the Marauder's map.
"Let's go to The Three Broomsticks, that always makes the day go better. Come on, Sirius. Do you want to come, Remus?" James asked, as he threw on his cloak and stuffed the map in his pocket.
"No, I'm going to study with Liz. Then maybe, um..." James smirked.
"I'll leave the cloak?" James asked. Remus smiled shyly.
"She doesn't know about the cloak. Shouldn't we keep that secret?"
"Lily knows about the cloak, and that means Jade and Liz have known as long as she has. Just take it if you want."
Remus nodded gratefully. Sirius got up, put on his cloak, and followed James out of the door.
"Where are you two going?" Lily asked.
"Just for a walk to talk about..."
"Quidditch tryouts," Sirius said.
"Yes, yes. Quidditch tryouts. We'll be back in a few. Ta-ta.," James said as he headed for the door and walked out into the empty corridor.
"You think she suspects us?" Sirius asked.
"Lily? Duh. Okay, let's see here," James said, pulling out the map. "I solemnly sear I am up to no good," James rehearsed as he tapped the map. Instantly tiny lines wove themselves into a complex representation of the Hogwarts castle.
"Charms corridor...Damn it! The one time we want to go out there and Snape is kissing up to some teacher. What a prat. We should've taken the cloak and pantsed him."
James laughed at this but looked for another route. "How about through the armor and we run there?"
"Okay. I still think we should pants Snape though, for the record."
"Record noted. Let's go."
They walked to the suit of armor that guarded one of the seven tunnels that led out of Hogwarts. It was still daylight, so they transformed into Padfoot and Prongs and raced to the outskirts of Hogsmeade.
"Ha!" James said as he transformed back into himself. "I beat you, again." Sirius growled at him then transformed back into himself.
"It's only because your legs are longer than mine."
"No, it's just because I am faster than you are, Sirius."
"Oh yeah? Race you to the Three Broomsticks!"
"Don't be so immature," James said as he walked towards the village. "On the count of three?"
"One," Sirius started, getting into position, "two," James leaned forward, "THREE!" They burst with speed as they ran to the village, each laughing at how stupid they were both being but having a good time while doing it.
"Excuse me!" James yelled to a group of elderly women as he bolted through them. "Watch out, coming through!" he yelled to more people.
"The young people these days," he heard a woman say as he nearly collided into her.
Sirius was in a slight lead and turned around to laugh at James when he slipped in some mud and fell flat on his rear. James laughed loudly at him, then went over to give him a hand.
"I would have beat you if that mud hadn't have been there," Sirius said as he examined his backside which was covered in thick mud. "Damn. Now what am I going to do?"
"Turn around; I can fix it," James said, though still sniggering as his mind played Sirius's flying into the air and smacking into the ground over and over again. He pulled out his wand and did a simple little spell which made the mud vanish.
"Thanks," Sirius said. They walked the rest of the way to the Three Broomsticks, still arguing over who won the second race. But the conversation stopped when they opened the door and walked in. It was quite busy, which wasn't really surprising, as it was five. All the tables were taken and the bar was completely filled.
"So I guess we just stand then?" Sirius asked.
"I guess. Maybe we can move someone," James suggested.
"Okay. I'll give you five galleons if you can get that group of goblins to move out," Sirius said, pointing to a table in the corner.
"Gross," James said. They were quite hideous, he thought. But what could he lose? "Five Galleons?" he asked.
"Yep, it's all in my pocket. Get them to move."
"Okay," James said, smiling confidently. He walked over to the table and smiled at the five ugly goblins, which upon closer inspection appeared to be young girls. Ugly ones, but girls nevertheless.
"Good evening ladies," James said smiling, they all frowned. "I was wondering if you could be so kind as to move so that my friend and I can sit here." They weren't very receptive to this. Instead of getting up and leaving, or just saying, "No," they picked up their drinks and splashed him in the face. Then, he only assumed because he didn't really understand them, they started talking quickly and violently at him. Then they started to make obscene gestures with their hands, which scared him, so he backed away silently.
Sirius, on the other hand, thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen in his entire life. He was laughing so hard he was crying and his face was beet red.
"Laugh it up, mud man. So they didn't want to move, big deal. We'll just wait for two seats."
"They wanted blood," Sirius said.
"Well, well, well. Look who came to see me," a pretty young woman said.
"Rosie!" they both yelled as they hugged her.
"It's been too long. You guys need to bust out of the castle more often."
"Yeah, we would but James has a rule abiding girlfriend. But I still love you, Rosie. I want to run away with you." She smiled and looked back at all the tables.
"Let me see where I can sit you two, I'll be back." She walked over to behind the bar and magicked two bar stools and put them at the end of the bar. James and Sirius went down to them and sat down.
"So how have things been?" James asked her.
"Busy," she said. She poured them two large mugs of butterbeer and slid them down the bar to James and Sirius. "Business is booming at the beginning of the year. Don't ask me why. What about you two? What kind of trouble have you been in?"
"Trouble?" Sirius asked, "Us? Never. I haven't gotten a detention for a whole year. Terrible isn't it? We did jinx the mirrors in all the girls' bathrooms, though, last Christmas."
"I thought that was your work. I remember hearing Professor McGonnagal complaining about that. Apparently it caused quite a lot of tension and unease."
"That was us," James said smiling.
"So how does it feel not being underage anymore?" She asked as she piled drinks onto a tray.
"Free," they both replied. She smiled and left them as she delivered the drinks to her waiting customers.
"I love her," Sirius said. James rolled his eyes. "I love her as-a-friend, James, not marriage material."
"I still think-"
"I know, Jade is the one, but I don't think so."
"Why the hell not?" James asked, "Give me one good reason."
"One good reason, alright. I like being good friends. I don't want to complicate things, and that's how I want it to be. Now stop pestering me. Let's talk about Quidditch tryouts." Sirius sounded very final on the matter, so James did stop asking him about Jade. And they did need to talk about Quidditch, they needed to talk about it badly.
The question was, "Who would be Slytherin's new captain?" They also needed to replace a beater, "who would that be?" Sure, it doesn't sound like such a big deal, but you would be surprised. James and Sirius had loved the sport since they could walk, much of which was their fathers' faults, but they were still obsessed with it. Gryffindor hadn't lost a match for over five years, since James had joined the team, and he wasn't going to lose in his final year.
The two spent hours, yes, hours talking about new strategies: how to train the new seeker, how to find out about Slytherin's new captain, and new equipment that they were in dire need of. By the time they finished, it was nightfall.
"So, we hold three sessions, one centering on maneuverability, the other on speed, then the last is a match, yes?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I think that's best. We need a really good seeker this year. The sooner they catch the snitch, the better."
When they reached the outskirts of the forest, they both transformed and ran to the castle. Prongs reached the passage entrance first then00 Padfoot. Once back in human form, they continued to talk about Quidditch and were so enthralled they forgot to check the Marauder's map for solicitors.
They were almost to the tower, just a few more flights of stairs, when one sound made them quiver.
"Meow." James and Sirius whipped around and pulled out the map. James took his wand and placed it on the map, ready to open it and see where Filch was, but there was no need.
"So," they heard his greasy voice say from behind them, "Black and Potter too good for the school rules, eh?" James tried so hard to put the map in his pocket without Filch noticing, but didn't succeed. Filch snatched it out of his hands when he came around to face them.
"What's this?" Filch asked, his ugly eyes sparkling with malice.
"Just some parchment. For notes and things," James said calmly with no trace of alarm. Filch gazed into James's eyes, looking for truth.
"So then you wouldn't mind if I took it?"
This was the time to use reverse psychology.
"You could, but I don't think you really want it," James said coolly. Filch grinned.
"And why is that?" he asked.
"Because I sneezed on it," Sirius said quickly. "Oh sure, it doesn't look used, but be warned. I have a very rare strain of the Bohemian flu, and I blew all of my snot on that parchment. We wouldn't want you to be sick, would we James?" Sirius asked with a huge grin.
"Oh no. What would Hogwarts do without you, sir? But if you really want the parchment so bad, please by all means."
"We can always get another one," Sirius pointed out. "It's more durable than tissue so it'll last longer, for more blows."
James was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a straight face, but he had to.
"Just where were the two of you coming from?" Filch asked, pocketing the map. This was a major disaster.
"Dinner, in the Great Hall," James said quickly, Sirius nodded.
"It's ten o'clock. Dinner hasn't been served for over an hour," Filch said grinning. James and Sirius tried to look like they already knew this, and quickly thought of a new answer.
"Well," Sirius said, "we had dinner over an hour ago, but we went up to the library to study."
"Study what?" Filch asked.
"Transfiguration," James said. Sirius nodded.
"What about it?" Why was Filch asking all of these questions!
"Anamagi," Sirius said. "We were looking up the registry because we were interested in how many there are."
"Yes, and there aren't very many, sir. Must be really tricky stuff. Huh, Sirius?"
"Oh yeah, tough work." James and Sirius crossed their fingers inside their robes, hoping Filch would give back the map and let them go. Filch remained thoughtful and silent as he watched the two of them squirm.
"What if I told you, Aragorna Syphily spotted two juveniles running through the village of Hogsmeade at about five. One of them tall with black hair and glasses, the other tall with black hair and clumsy. What would you say to that?"
The both kept quiet, but only because they were thinking of what to say; they wouldn't go without a fight.
"What a coincidence. I mean, how many guys look like us? Geeze, that must have been really cool to have seen, you know?" Sirius asked. But the gig was up.
"Try detention, Mr. Black. This weekend. It'll be the three of us, again, in the Great Hall. Then cleaning some of the more nastier aspects of the school. As for your parchment, I will be keeping that. Nighty night," he said, then left.
It happens very rarely when two people ever have the exact same thought. You could even say it never happens, especially at the same time. But that evening at ten o'clock, on the staircase in Hogwarts castle, the second day of school, September 1977 James Potter and Sirius Black thought the very exact thing: Filch dangling from the ceiling and hanging over a pit of lava. And he was screaming. He was screaming loudly. Not even his little cat could save him.
"I hate that man, I hate that man, I hate that man!" James said as he stomped up the remaining stairs. "He took our map. He took our map! Our MAP!" James said with anger as he shook Sirius's shoulders.
"We'll just have to steal it back, that's all. We'll use the cloak to snatch it."
"I hope we can. God, our map! We spent so many weeks making it, perfecting it, adding all the special features. Remember when it was just a drawing?" James reminisced. He sounded like he was talking about a baby.
"Yeah, you'd have never known it would have been so big and strong," Sirius said. "I'm going to miss that map. We have to get her back!"
"Yes, let's go now!"
"We can't go now. Let's just go back to the tower and think about how we're going to get it."
"I want to kick him hard!" James yelled. Sirius grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him all the way to the tower.
"Quarante," Sirius said when they came to the portrait of the Fat Lady. He pulled James inside, who was still cursing Filch, and met two very unlikely students who were waiting for them.
"Where were the two of you?" Lily asked, her arms crossed.
"Just when you think the day can't possibly get worse, this happens," Sirius said as he looked at Lily and Jade's disgruntled expressions.
"We were out," James said casually.
"Out where?" Lily asked.
"Out of the tower, talking about Quidditch. We left because we know that you hate hearing about it."
"Where did you go?" she asked more forcefully.
"Why does that matter?" James asked, also more forcefully.
"Excuse me? It matters because I want to know where you were. You left at five, and it's," she looked quickly at her watch, "ten now. You were out of the castle, James, I know you were. Now tell me, where did you go?"
James glared at her, Jade was looking at Sirius, who avoided her eyes. "Hogsmeade," James said.
"What?" she asked.
"You heard me," James said.
"Don't talk to me like that!" Lily shouted at him.
Sirius stepped in between them and signaled for them to silence. "This needs to stop. Lily, we went to Hogsmeade to discuss many things. We've been sneaking out of the castle for years now to do just what we did tonight. If it makes you feel any better, Filch just gave us a very lengthy detention for our actions. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed and won't be here to play referee, so you two do whatever you need to do so you won't take each other's heads off. Goodnight." Sirius walked out from in between the two of them and started for the stairs. He looked back at James and saw he was staring at Lily. Jade also went for the stairs and caught up with Sirius very quickly. Sirius didn't really want to talk to her so he tried to pick up the pace.
"Did you get any answers for the riddle, yet?" she asked timidly. Sirius closed his eyes and thought about it. Should he tell her the truth? Tell her he didn't want a relationship? Or just say he hadn't figured it out yet?
"Um," he said, twisting the knob for the door, "Not exactly, but nearly. I have narrowed it down. I should have it in a few days or so." He saw that she looked slightly disappointed, and he tried to imagine what she would look like when he told her the truth.
"Oh," she said. "If you need anymore help," she broke off and twisted her fingers nervously, then went into her dorm.
"You're going to break her heart," Sirius whispered to himself solemnly. He opened his door and walked inside to go to bed.
Downstairs, James and Lily were still staring at each other. She was waiting for him to apologize and he was waiting for her to apologize. Neither of them said anything for several minutes, but just looked at each other.
James was the first to speak. "Sirius doesn't want to date Jade. We left to talk about that so she wouldn't hear."
Lily looked shocked, "What?"
"I know. I think he feels badly about it, but that's how he feels. I don't know what to say. I kept telling him to think about it, but he says he doesn't want that."
"Is he going to tell her?" she asked.
"I think so. I still think he's being crazy."
"Oh my gosh. She's going to be heartbroken." James nodded in agreement and looked down at his feet. "This is terrible. When is he going to tell her?"
"I don't know. Probably sooner than we think. I feel terrible about it," James said truthfully. Lily looked at him sympathetically and went to hug him.
* * * * *
It was actually a week later, after this incident, when all the excitement really began. It all started with a simple statement Remus had to tell James.
"James!" Remus said running down a corridor very excited. "I know who it is, I know who's captain for Slytherin. I heard them all talking about it." James and Sirius stopped breathing they were so excited.
"Well, who is it?" James asked. Lily, Liz and Jade all rolled their eyes and continued on to class.
"The seeker, Jake Ballard," Remus said. James and Sirius exchanged surprised looks.
"Ballard? I expected Greene, not Ballard. Are you sure?" James asked.
"Positive. I just heard them saying that they held a vote in Slytherin and Jake won. I don't know who the new beater is, though, but Ballard is the new captain."
"This changes everything," Sirius said to James. "We don't know anything about Ballard."
"Other than he's a great Jackass?" James asked with sarcasm.
"Well, yeah other than that."
"We need to hold tryouts for the new seeker and reserves. We need to post a flyer or make a house wide announcement. This weekend, we should hold it, then on Monday. What do you think, Sirius?"
"I'm with you."
That afternoon, James and Sirius as well as the other four players, sat down and discussed Jake Ballard. What were his tactics, his personality, his experience? They knew that he had played since his third year, and he was now in his sixth. He had only two years experience, so why did they pick him?
"You think he bribed them?" Sam Moore asked.
"I have no idea what went on," James said, "but we need to...watch them carefully, if you know what I mean. Sirius and I have posted a note asking for anyone with talent to go out for seeker. Hopefully we'll get someone good. In the meantime, practice has now commenced. I want all of you out there whenever you can and practice like your life depends on it."
They all nodded their heads in compliance and broke off. James ran upstairs, went under his bed and removed the floorboard to take out the secret weapon: a complex play book. No one knew, except Sirius of course, that he closely documented every game he saw, even if Gryffindor wasn't playing. He had written down maneuvers he had seen, and maneuvers he had dreamt or thought of. He pulled the book out, sat on his bed and drew the curtains around him.
It was a very thick and heavy leather bound book with the Gryffindor shield painted on the front. He opened it and looked inside. His name was written sloppily on the inside cover for he had started it when he was eleven, and there was a photo of him and Sirius that his parents had taken before they got onto the train on their very first day. He flipped through the pages until he got to his fifth year, a tough year. It was the year he was elected captain, and he realized just how hard it was.
But there were some excellent plays that the Slytherin team had, so he copied them down. He didn't mind using the Slytherin tactics against them because he knew they stole them from someone else.
"James," Sirius said, "you looking at the book?" he asked as he pulled back James's curtains.
"Yeah, looking for some things we can do to win. I can't lose in my last year. I won't stand for it. I just keep worrying about the new seeker. What if they can't catch the snitch, what if we can't score, why do I think all of this? I need to relax. You know, I think I'd feel better if I knew I still had the map in my trunk, but damn Filch. Gosh I hate him. I want it back. Anyway, I'm looking at Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff two years ago."
"Oh, yeah. That was a harsh match. I was thinking we should get on the training for the new seeker, you know? I mean the game is on their shoulders, not ours. I'm glad I'm not seeker, way too much pressure."
Tryouts were held a day later. It seemed like everyone in Gryffindor wanted to go out for it. James had conveyed, however, that winning meant everything to him, and he wanted someone that could win.
"You are all here because you won't let Slytherin have the benefit of beating us. Practices are going to be long, hard, and daily from now until we slaughter them. If you can't handle that, then leave. First we're going to test your speed, then your skill, and lastly, if you make it to the third day, we're going to put you in a match. Is that clear?" James asked his team and possible potentials.
They all nodded, mounted their brooms, and took to the skies. Practice had commenced. Mostly James and Sirius told the seeker possibles what to do, but the other players chimed in. Sam Moore, the other beater, was quite vocal about the whole thing and narrated each move that each player made with commentary.
"Well, that about stunk to high heaven," he said to a fourth year who attempted a sharp dive and hit the ground. "Anyone could have done that. I could have done that."
Other seekers left early because they were being asked for the impossible. "If you could dive, then loop up just before you touch the ground, then zag around the post, that would be awesome," James said to a group, who stared at him and left.
By day two, the group was down by half. And by day three, only ten remained. They were the best ten, and James was grateful he had ten to chose from. Amanda Davies, a second year, seemed to be by far one of the best he had seen. She was the perfect size, small and light, and she had an excellent eye.
James sent the ten to practice more with the rest of the team, and he watched her. She was the best, he thought.
He blew the whistle and called for the team to come down. "So what do you guys think?" he asked his five players.
"Davies is good," they all seemed to say.
"Alright. Can I have the ten of you land please!" he yelled up to them. Once they landed, their nerves kicked in.
"This is what we're going to do. We have decided who the new seeker is, but we'll write to each of you that didn't make it with reasons why. The person that did make it will also be informed by letter tomorrow. Thank you all for your time."
They each walked away worried. The rest of the team walked back up to the tower to write letters to those who lost.
"How did it go?" Lily asked.
"Fine, we got a winner."
"That's good. So you're done with it for a while?" she asked smiling with her arms on his shoulders.
"No, I'm not done. I've got to write out letters of rejection, and then the five of us are going go over the training schedule and what we're going to do with her."
"Oh," she said, retracting her arms. She walked away and sat with Jade and Liz who were doing homework. But James thought nothing of it and went over to do more Quidditch.
It was ten o'clock when the six of them finished their training agenda for Amanda, came up with five more plays, and discussed Jake Ballard's training of Slytherin, whom they spied on. Then James and Sirius suddenly remembered they had homework for Gellar and McGonnagal which had to be completed.
It was about twelve when James and Sirius finished and headed for their dorm. Perhaps it was because he was tired, or because he was only thinking about how to beat Slytherin in the long awaited match, but James didn't seem to notice that Lily had fallen asleep in a chair in the common room. She was waiting for him.
The next morning, ten school owls flew into the hall and dropped letters to the seeker hopefuls. James didn't want to look at the nine that he knew didn't make it, so he concentrated on his book, 'Quidditch Through the Ages.' He couldn't block out the sounds, though, of disappointed gasps, and one cry of excitement.
"Who got it?" Cara Lanigan asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"I did!" Amanda Davies cheered as she ran to James. "Thank you so much!" she said as she hugged him tighter than he would have liked.
"Congratulations. We're having practice this afternoon, Amanda. Be out there as soon as you can," he said. Sirius smiled at her and then she ran to all of her friends.
"You're having practice again?" Lily asked when she sat across from him.
"Yeah, we have to. We have to win this year."
"You have to win every year," she said frowning.
"Yeah, but this is my last year. Slytherin's a tough team; we have to work hard." Lily looked at him sternly, but didn't respond. Instead she pulled out a book and began to read. James went back to discussing Quidditch tactics with Sirius and Sam Moore until the bell rang for Transfiguration.
Much was the same in between and after classes. James and Sirius would run down to the pitch, change into their Quidditch attire, and practice until night would fall. James was feeling confident that they would win, but he didn't want to take any chances. After it was too dark, they would all go inside and look at James's no longer secret play book and go over plays and various moves. The seven of them would sit at a round table in the corner of the common room and whisper.
"How long is this going to go on?" Jade asked.
"Hopefully not much longer," Liz said. "James even has Remus spying on Slytherin and watching them practice so he can tell them what they're doing. I hardly see him anymore."
"I wonder what Sirius has to say," Jade said.
"What do you mean?" Liz asked.
"Well, do you think he figured it out? Or has he been too busy with that sport of his?"
"I hate this," Liz said.
"Me too," Jade replied. Lily didn't say anything. She just looked at James talking to his team. He was so enthusiastic about it, like he was a general commanding his troops right before a battle.
"He hasn't talked to me in so long," Lily said. Liz and Jade watched her for a while, worried about what she might say. Instead of opening her mouth though, she got up and walked over to James, put her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his.
He was talking about a Wronski Feint to Amanda, using his hands to demonstrate. It took him a minute to notice that Lily was even there.
"Hi," he said looking up at her.
"Hi," she smiled back. "When are you going to finish with this?" she asked.
"Not for a while. We're real busy. Why?" he asked with a serious face. Lily gave him a peculiar smile.
"No reason," she said.
James smiled, "Okay then. So what you're going to do is dive," he said to Amanda. Lily stepped back away from James, glared at the back of his head, and walked out of the common room. Liz and Jade followed.
"Where are you going?" they both asked her.
"Library. I need to get a new book."
"We shouldn't be out now, it's late," Jade said.
"I don't really care," Lily replied. "I'm sick of being ignored by someone that says he loves me. I shouldn't be reading all of these books."
"Are you going to tell him?" Liz asked.
"And when am I supposed to do that? He's always talking about that stupid sport. I wish I could get his attention. He hardly notices me." Liz and Jade agreed with her. Lily's opportunity, though, came sooner than she expected.
They got to the library and went to the section on charms, Lily's best subject. But they were not alone there.
"Miss Evans," a deep voice said from behind a stack of books. The three of them turned to see who it was. Lily smiled weakly.
"Hello, Severus. How are you?"
"Fine," he smiled. Liz and Jade looked at Lily cautiously.
"What are you doing here?" she asked brightly.
"Oh," he seemed very nervous, "I'm getting books on charms. I need improvement. What about you, Miss Evans?"
Lily smiled. "You can call me Lily, you know. I was also getting a charms book. What a small world, eh?"
Liz and Jade still hadn't said anything, but smiled when they knew what Lily was up too.
"You're so good at it, though," Severus said, still smiling at her.
"Well, I don't know about that. I've just been bored lately, so I'm using my extra time wisely by learning more."
Snape looked like someone had told him he inherited a fortune. "You've been bored?" he asked. "What about Potter?" he tried not to sound vile.
"Oh, he's been working on Quidditch for the past few weeks. Nonstop. It's really quite tiring." She pulled out a book, then another but kept watching him. Liz and Jade backed up to let them talk, but not so far that they couldn't hear what was going on.
"Lily," he smiled, "Could I ask you something?"
"You have a very nice smile, Severus, you should use it more often. What's your question?"
Snape got more confident and leaned on the book shelf. "I was wondering, I mean if it wouldn't be much trouble that is, if you could maybe...tutor me in Charms. Whenever you wanted, I don't want to interfere with anything."
Lily looked at him thoughtfully. Jade and Liz stepped forward to stop her from saying yes.
"Lily, it's late, we've got to go before Filch finds us," Liz insisted. But Lily didn't move.
"Sure," she said slowly, with a kind smile. "Meet me here in the Library every afternoon, and bring your books, of course."
Severus smiled in a way none of them had ever seen before. "I'll be here, Lily."
"Good. See you then. Goodnight," and she let Liz and Jade drag her away towards the tower.
"Are you insane?" Jade asked her, "James can't stand Snape. It's one thing to talk to him, but tutoring? You're going behind his back!"
"I am not. I tutor tons of people. So this time it's James's archenemy, oh well. Maybe I wouldn't spend time with Severus if James actually paid attention to me."
"So that's why you're doing this?" Jade asked.
"I guess," Lily said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I just don't want to use Severus to get to him. Well, I shouldn't have to use anyone to get my fiancé's attention, now should I?" she asked them.
"No," they said, "you shouldn't. But he's going to be really mad when he finds out, Lily. He's going to be really mad."
But James was so caught up in the coming Quidditch match, he didn't even hear word of what was going on in the library every afternoon. And there was a reason for that. Slytherins were known for their ambition and thirst for great power, but they were much more than that. Slytherins were also very cunning and sly. Snape, being so overcome with joy, told his friends about his new arrangement with Lily. It was overheard, however, by Jake Ballard himself.
Jake thought to himself; why was he practicing so hard when the prize was already in the basket? Certainly Potter would be devastated to find out that the woman he bestowed his love upon was secretly meeting with Snape, Potter's enemy. Well maybe they weren't meeting secretly, at least not yet. Once Jake heard the wonderful news, he persuaded Snape to only meet with Lily in the evenings and in a quiet non-inhabited section of the library as to arouse suspicion when the news did break.
Snape was only too happy to comply. James Potter would be hit hard twice: the loss of Lily and the horrible defeat that Slytherin would give him. As such, Jake Ballard eased practices considerably from five a week to two a week.
"If all goes to plan," Jake said to his team, "the practices will have been in vain. He won't be able to stand, much less throw the Quaffle when he finds out about her. As for the snitch, they actually believe a stupid second year girl can grab it, instead of me. The arrogance!" The Slytherin team laughed with the taste of a win on their tongues.
Jade, like Lily, was tired of waiting. She tried to talk to Sirius on a number of occasions, but he seemed to be either avoiding her or was too busy with Quidditch to notice her. But she caught him one night when he was coming back from practice.
"Sirius," she said when he came through the portrait hole. He froze when he saw her, but couldn't go back.
"Jade," he said nervously, "how are you?"
"Good. Listen, I was wondering if you had figured that riddle out yet."
Sirius took her hands and looked down at them. "Yes, I have."
"Really?" she asked smiling at him.
"Yeah," he said softly. He really didn't want to tell her, to break her heart like he knew he would.
"And..." she said, still smiling.
"And," he started still clutching her hands, "I think we would be better as friends."
She dropped her smile and looked down at the ground then back up at him.
"I really like you a lot, Jade, but as a friend. You're a really great friend and I don't want to jeopardize that. You understand, right?" he asked.
She withdrew her hands and with all the strength that she had, she smiled. "Yeah," she said silently, "I understand. I have to be going to bed now. I'll see you around."
"Jade," he said reaching for her, "I'm so sorry. I just can't help the way I feel. Please don't hate me for this."
She fought to keep the tears in her eyes when she looked at him. "I can't help the way I feel either, Sirius. And right now I don't feel so good. I've just been told that the man I love doesn't love me back."
Sirius reached for her, put his arms around her and kissed her cheek then held her tightly. She put her arms on his shoulders as one tear rolled down her cheek. She didn't want to let go of him, but pushed him away, hiding her eyes, and walked upstairs to her dorm.
Lily and Liz were sitting and studying potions on Lily's bed. They both looked to see who came in, then jumped up and ran when they saw it was Jade in tears.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked.
"He doesn't want me," she said, "He doesn't want me." Lily and Liz hugged her.
"He's crazy not to want you," Liz said, "You're too good for him."
"I really hate men," Jade cried.
"No you don't," Lily said, "He's just dense and doesn't know what's best for him. That's not his fault. His just been around James too long; it probably sunk in."
"I don't think the fight's over, Jade," Liz said.
"I don't think it is either," Lily said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," Liz said taking a tissue and wiping away Jade's tears, "Sirius is the type of guy that girls fawn over. He enters a room and they all faint because he is so good looking, right?"
"I guess," she said.
"So ignore him," Liz said. Jade looked confused.
"Ignore him?"
"Oh, I get it," Lily said, "He'll want the girl he can't have and that's you. Just ignore him completely and he'll want you like crazy."
"That's right," Liz said.
"What about James?" Jade asked.
"What about him? He's in a different solar system. He revolves around the planet Quafneff."
"It's 'Quaffle' Lily," Jade corrected her.
"Whatever. I think he's.....well....I don't know what's wrong with him. But Snape's starting to get a little more comfortable with the situation. I just hope James comes to rescue me soon. And on a white horse, not a damn broomstick."
"As soon as he hears the words 'Snape and Lily' his ears will prick right up!" Liz said laughing, and Jade, who knew she had the greatest friends in the world, smiled.
* * * * *
The day was November first. It was a nice day outside; the sun was shining and the birds were singing. Both excitement and tensions began to rise as the coming match of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin was just four days away. But something loomed in the air, no one could put their finger on it, but something big was going to happen.
The only sad thing was that James and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had no idea that an ominous breeze was sweeping through the castle, like all the other student's sensed. No, the morning for them was just like any other morning where they prayed for a victory in the coming Saturday. Perhaps the only difference was that Sirius began to notice a difference in Jade's behavior which he found to be very disturbing. She used to always greet him the morning, but now she didn't even look at him.
"Hey," Sirius said elbowing James in the ribs.
"What?" James asked as he was looking at photographs of last year's games.
"You think Jade hates my guts?" Sirius asked.
"Well," James said, though not taking his eyes off the pictures, "you did break her heart. What did you expect? You think things are going to be normal from now on?"
"Well, yeah. I don't like this new thing. I just don't get women. You know for a while I thought I actually understood how their minds worked, but now? I have no idea. Maybe one of you could find out what's going on."
"Sirius, I'm a little busy right now, talk to Remus about it." Sirius rolled his eyes and took the pictures out of James's hands.
"There is more to life that Quidditch, James," Sirius said, "You've been at this for over a month. Give it a rest, we're going to win."
"I know," James said grabbing the pictures back. Sirius got up from the table and pulled James up by his shirt collar. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"The bell rang, it's time to go to class."
"Let go of me," James said.
"No, we're going to class. Leave the pictures behind. We're going to win James." On the way to class, the two passed Snape and Jake Ballard who were in a heavy discussion until they saw James.
They both smiled maliciously at James and stepped in his way.
"Move," James said.
"So, the match this Saturday, eh Potter?" Ballard asked. James smirked and tried to go around the two of them but they moved.
"Ballard, you're going to lose, just admit that. You've slacked off on your team and I haven't," James said.
"No, you're right there. But we have something better, don't we Severus?" Ballard asked. Snape smiled cruelly.
"Yes we do. We'll see you around, Potter," Snape said as he passed him by.
"I hate Slytherins," James told Sirius. The continued on to class when they heard Snape yelling behind them.
"Hey Potter!" Snape called, "Say hello to Lily for me!" James started for him, but Sirius held him back.
"You stay away from her!" James yelled, but Snape grinned. "I'm going to kill him," James said to Sirius.
"He's just jerking your chain, he's trying to throw you off so you'll lose this Saturday. Just sit down and relax," Sirius said. But James couldn't help but worry about what Ballard and Snape had said. It suddenly seemed very peculiar that the Slytherin practices were only twice a week, yet they were so confident. James played out many different scenarios in his mind, but nothing fit. He just couldn't figure it out. And what did Snape mean by his cute little remark? 'Say hello to Lily for me' what was that all about? Maybe Sirius was right. Snape knew all of James's buttons, Lily being the biggest. He decided not to worry about it.
After History of Magic, James and Sirius joined the rest of the team for a quick practice down on the field. It was as routine as the rest. Sam and Sirius kept pounding bludgers at each other, Chris, James, and Brian passed the Quaffle back and fourth, and Amanda was catching the snitch that Casey would release. It was a very laid back practice and highly uneventful until Sirius spotted Remus running down from the castle and onto the field.
"James!" Remus yelled.
"What?" James yelled back.
"Come down here, now! I have something important to tell you!" James tossed the Quaffle to Chris and flew down to meet Remus.
"What's up?" he asked. Remus hesitated.
"Don't kill the messenger, James," Remus requested as he took a deep breath.
"Why would I do that?" James crossed his arms and raised his eye brows.
"Because you're not going to like what I am about to tell you."
"I'm listening," James said. Then the rest of the team, having read the tense body language, flew down to where James was.
"I saw...there has to be a good explanation for it, there just has to be," Remus said.
"What did you see?" James asked.
"I saw Lily, James. I saw her with Snape in the library. They were talking about charms, I think. It looked as though she was teaching him something."
At first Remus thought James took it rather well, but that soon changed. James remained silent but his face grew cherry red with anger. He clenched his fists and Remus and the six other Quidditch players clearly saw a vein pulsating in James's neck.
"You saw what?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"I saw Lily with Snape, in the library." James threw down his broom and marched up to the castle, cursing with rage on his way.
"There's got to be an explanation for it," Sirius said to him. But James wasn't listening. He could only hear the drums beating loudly in his ears. He could only see Snape laughing as he held Lily in his arms. All he wanted to do was pound Snape into the ground. James marched into the castle, followed by the rest of the team and Remus, and stormed up to the library. Everyone in the library turned to look at him. James walked, not quietly, through the entire room, checking all isle ways and sections but found neither Snape nor Lily.
"She's probably in the common room now," Remus said. James turned around and left. He stomped down the stairs, stomped to the common room and yelled at the portrait of the fat lady.
"QUARANTE!" he yelled. He could never remember a time when he was so angry. The fat lady looked rather offended and swung open.
James advanced into the common room, indignation carousing through his veins. Lily was smiling and laughing with her friends, which really vexed him. The room grew eerily silent as everyone turned their attention to James, who was so irate his eyes were bloodshot.
Lily turned to see him, but did not smile. "What's wrong?" she asked moving closer to him.
This only worsened James's emotions. "What's wrong?" he asked, "What's WRONG?" he yelled. "How can you not know what's wrong? How can you do what you did? What, you think I wouldn't find out that you were secretly meeting Snape for a little romance in the library? Did you think I was stupid? WELL I"M NOT! HOW COULD YOU? How could you do this to me? Was it easy stabbing me in the back like that?" The entire common room was in awe. Lily also rose to anger.
"Stabbing you in the back? I stabbed you in the back? Oh look who's talking," she said crossing her arms.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he yelled at her.
"What do you think it means? You were the one that turned your back on me, you selfish pig!"
The common room gasped with shock.
"How can I have possibly done worse than you? You know how much I hate Snape, and you, you spent time with my enemy! What kind of person does that make you?"
"I was helping him! He asked me for my help when I went up to the library to get a new book because I had to read all the time because you didn't give a rat's ass about me! I am not a jacket in your closet that can be used at your leisure."
"You liar! If you were helping him then why didn't you tell me? Why didn't anyone else know about it until today, huh?"
"Perhaps it's because you're so self involved you can't even see the light of day!"
"Self involved? You were the one cheating on me with Snape! And you call me self involved? How dare you!" James yelled.
Remus looked at Sirius in amazement, "Shouldn't you intervene, Sirius?" he asked.
But Sirius shook his head as he watched James and Lily yell at each other, "There's no way I'm getting in the middle of that."
"Cheating! I was not cheating on you! I wouldn't have spent so much time with Snape if you weren't married to your stupid sport!"
"You know how important Quidditch is to me, I can't lose, I can't let this team down. How can you ask me to quit something I love?"
"I didn't! God forbid I ask you to stop chasing a stupid red ball. No one cares about it James. Just you and you're immature friends. Just grow up already," her face was now as red as his.
"I am so sick of you telling me what to do. You're not the boss of me. Leave me alone!"
"Well I am sick and tired of you running around like you own the school. Talking to your elders with no respect, breaking the rules because you think your above them. You act like a god! When are you just going to get over yourself and realize you're just another student?"
James stared at her. She had said the same words Snape had said to him last year. It deeply wounded him and all he thought of were words to say to her, to make her feel the same way.
"At least I don't think I am smarter than everyone in the world. You think just because they gave you a stupid silver badge that you have absolute power over everyone and everything? Do you know how stupid you look when you walk around like a Queen telling everyone what you know, like you know everything. No one cares, Lily. You only wanted it to make your parents proud of you, to push your sister down. You always have to be on top, don't you? Always have to be the best and Hell will freeze over the day you admit you're wrong. Open your eyes, you're not that great."
Lily looked ready to cry, but he didn't say anything to take back what he had said. He just stared into her eyes, determined to stand his ground.
Lily pulled off James's ring and unlatched his necklace in a flurry then held them out for him to take. "Here," she said in a spooky calm.
"I gave those to you," he said back.
"I know. I don't want them anymore. I don't want you anymore either. You break your promises too easily. You said you'd spend more time with me than with Quidditch, well you lied. And it was so easy for you. I don't want to see you again. Take back your gifts, because I don't want them."
He took a deep breath and shouted at her, "I don't want them back!"
"Fine," she said and she dropped them on the floor, "I don't care what you do. I just wish we weren't in the same house. I don't want to see your selfish face again!"
"You think I care? I don't want to see you either!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"I breaking up with you!" she yelled at him.
"You can't, because I am breaking up with you! So HA! Go live with Snape and see if I care!" he yelled.
"I don't know why I ever went out with you in the first place, you ignorant fool!"
"And I don't know why I was ever attracted to you, your Royal Highness!"
"Get away from me!" she shouted, but she turned and ran the other direction, ran up the stairs opened her dorm door and threw herself inside, slamming the door behind her. She burst into tears as she lay face down on her bed.
James watched her all the way until he couldn't see her anymore, then stared down at the necklace and ring he had given her, in a pile. He didn't notice anyone else in the room. It was a very surreal experience as he looked down at the ground. He pulled himself away from it, turned on his heel and left the room.
The common room itself was very silent. No one moved or said anything for several minutes. Sirius was the first one to speak, and he voiced what everyone else was thinking:
"Please tell me I didn't see that."
