October came, and with it, the first quidditch match of the
season. James was constantly on edge, chewing his fingernails and jumping
when anybody spoke to him. He was terrified that he would make a fool of
himself at the match, and no matter how many people told him he was the
best Gryffindor Seeker in about 300 years, he still felt that way.
After one more fruitless late-night expedition, Peter, Sirius, James and Remus had given up hope of finding secret passageways for the moment. James was too busy juggling schoolwork and quidditch, and Remus had other things on his mind. Sirius often found himself sitting in the common room, with only Peter for company.
There was something about Peter that Sirius did not like, although he couldn't put his finger on it. Peter was obviously a sheep, with no confidence and no mind of his own, something which annoyed Sirius, who was a natural leader. Several times, he pretended to be feeling ill, just so he could go to bed and get away from Peter's gaze.
And then there were the dreams. Almost every night now, Sirius dreamt of that voice, pleading from the darkness. It disturbed him, but he had no choice other than to ignore it, and hope he would some day understand it.
'I'm gonna throw up.'
'No you're not.'
'I am. I'm gonna puke. Or maybe I'll faint. Or maybe both. Either way, Gryffindor will lose and It'll be all my fault.'
'Shut up, James', Sirius was getting quite exasperated.
It was breakfast time, two hours before the quidditch match was to begin. James was clutching a piece of toast so tightly that it was turning into a heap of crumbs. Sirius had never seen him look so tense.
'Calm down, Potter', sneered Bellatrix, 'nobody expects you to be any good- so when you lot get trashed by Hufflepuff, we won't be surprised.'
'Get lost, Bellatrix', Sirius was scowling now. Why did she always have to turn up and make things worse?
James stood up abruptly, and rushed out of the Great Hall, looking distinctly green. Adam rolled his eyes.
'He'll get used to playing, in time', he commented, 'the first match is always the most difficult.'
'I just hope his nerves don't stop him catching the Snitch', Paul MacNally remarked, somewhat callously, Sirius thought.
Sirius, Remus and Peter hurried down to the quidditch pitch soon after the team had left the Great Hall (James returned, looking rather sheepish, after about ten minutes). They chose seats high up in the stands, and watched as the rest of the school poured into the seats around them.
'Hello, chaps', Arthur Weasley clapped Sirius on the back and grinned, 'anyone up for a spot of gambling on what the result will be?'
'Arthur!' A shrill voice cried out his name in reproachful tones. Arthur's ears went red, and Sirius looked around; a short, red-haired Gryffindor girl, who also wore a prefect badge, was glaring at Arthur, her hands on her hips. 'I TOLD you!' She moaned, 'no gambling! Honestly, trying to lead a group of first years astray! Do forgive him, boys.'
'Sorry, Molly', Arthur slipped an arm awkwardly around Molly's waist, and gave her a peck on the cheek, 'it won't happen again. Sirius, Remus, and Peter, this is Molly, my...er...girlfriend.'
'She's got you well under the thumb, Arthur', Remus said cheekily, grinning. Molly made a disapproving noise, then smiled at the boys.
'It's nice to meet you', she said sincerely, beaming around. She glanced sideways at Arthur and arched an eyebrow. 'Come on, Arthur, Professor MacGonagall asked us to make sure Malfoy, Lestrange and Nott don't cause any trouble.' She grabbed Arthur's arm, and pulled him away from Sirius, Remus and Peter, into the crowd.
The two teams filed out onto the pitch. 'And here they are at last, the new squads, officially revealed for the first time today!' A Gryffindor fourth year boy was commentating, under the watchful eye of Professor MacGonagall. 'MacNally, Fowler, Jordan, Cleansweep, Longbottom, Spinnet aaaaaand Potter. That's the Gryffindor team, folks! And now Hufflepuff: Diggory, Jackson, Bloom, Finch, Patterson, Hogan and Gill! Madam Hooch is referee as always aaaaaaaaand....they're off!'
Sirius and Remus watched in excitement as James and the rest of the players shot into the sky: fourteen scarlet and yellow blurs. James soared high above his team mates, turning his head this way and that, trying to spot the Snitch. The Hufflepuff Seeker was a strong and broad-shouldered seventh year named Amos Diggory. He and James were evenly matched in skill.
'...and Hogan steals the quaffle from Julia Cleansweep, thanks to a nice bit of bludger work from Bloom', the commentator was telling the crowd, 'but oh, no! Ouch, that looked nasty...still, not technically a foul, so it's Longbottom, zooming towards the Hufflepuff hoops...he shoots, HE SCORES!!!'
The Gryffindors cheered wildly, while the other three houses booed- Slytherin loudest of all. Frank Longbottom, a cheerful fourth year boy raised a fist in triumph and grinned.
'He's my boyfriend!' One third year girl cried proudly, 'Frank Longbottom and I-we're going out together!'
'...what's this? The new Gryffindor Seeker, who incidentally tricked his way onto the team, seems to have spotted something! Diggory sees it too- ooh, so do I! Come on lads, fight for it!' The commentator was becoming thoroughly over-excited.
Sirius watched with baited breath as James and Diggory sped towards the ground, in hot pursuit of the golden winged ball. They were neck and neck...
'COME ON, JAMES!' Sirius roared. The tension was too much to bear!
'Potter couldn't catch a cold!' Shrieked Bellatrix, so everyone could hear.
James was inching ahead...they were only thirty feet from the ground...twenty.
A howl of shock rose up from the crowd. Remus gripped his seat tightly and Sirius stood up and yelled 'no!'
James' broom had broken clean in two. Sirius caught the look of horror on his friend's face. He also saw the look of pleasure on Lucius Malfoy's face, as he stowed his wand back in his pocket.
It was some sort of miracle. James grabbed at thin air for several seconds. He was falling to a humiliating defeat. Diggory's hand was only centimetres from the Snitch...when suddenly, it moved. James caught it in his outstretched hand, and landed on his back with a painful thump.
The stadium erupted. Nobody had ever seen anything like it before! James, flat on his back on the grass, was completely stunned. Sirius vaulted over the railings, and raced onto the pitch, just as the two teams returned to earth. Sixteen helpful hands pulled him to his feet, and lifted him onto their shoulders-Sirius and Adam taking the burden.
'Ha!' Paul bellowed, 'we don't even need brooms to beat the rest of you!'
'Look out Slytherin!' Adam whooped.
'It was Malfoy who snapped James' broom in two', Sirius murmured to Adam.
'Don't worry', Adam muttered, his voice barely audible above the hysteria, 'I saw him too. He'll get what's coming to him, I promise you that.'
After one more fruitless late-night expedition, Peter, Sirius, James and Remus had given up hope of finding secret passageways for the moment. James was too busy juggling schoolwork and quidditch, and Remus had other things on his mind. Sirius often found himself sitting in the common room, with only Peter for company.
There was something about Peter that Sirius did not like, although he couldn't put his finger on it. Peter was obviously a sheep, with no confidence and no mind of his own, something which annoyed Sirius, who was a natural leader. Several times, he pretended to be feeling ill, just so he could go to bed and get away from Peter's gaze.
And then there were the dreams. Almost every night now, Sirius dreamt of that voice, pleading from the darkness. It disturbed him, but he had no choice other than to ignore it, and hope he would some day understand it.
'I'm gonna throw up.'
'No you're not.'
'I am. I'm gonna puke. Or maybe I'll faint. Or maybe both. Either way, Gryffindor will lose and It'll be all my fault.'
'Shut up, James', Sirius was getting quite exasperated.
It was breakfast time, two hours before the quidditch match was to begin. James was clutching a piece of toast so tightly that it was turning into a heap of crumbs. Sirius had never seen him look so tense.
'Calm down, Potter', sneered Bellatrix, 'nobody expects you to be any good- so when you lot get trashed by Hufflepuff, we won't be surprised.'
'Get lost, Bellatrix', Sirius was scowling now. Why did she always have to turn up and make things worse?
James stood up abruptly, and rushed out of the Great Hall, looking distinctly green. Adam rolled his eyes.
'He'll get used to playing, in time', he commented, 'the first match is always the most difficult.'
'I just hope his nerves don't stop him catching the Snitch', Paul MacNally remarked, somewhat callously, Sirius thought.
Sirius, Remus and Peter hurried down to the quidditch pitch soon after the team had left the Great Hall (James returned, looking rather sheepish, after about ten minutes). They chose seats high up in the stands, and watched as the rest of the school poured into the seats around them.
'Hello, chaps', Arthur Weasley clapped Sirius on the back and grinned, 'anyone up for a spot of gambling on what the result will be?'
'Arthur!' A shrill voice cried out his name in reproachful tones. Arthur's ears went red, and Sirius looked around; a short, red-haired Gryffindor girl, who also wore a prefect badge, was glaring at Arthur, her hands on her hips. 'I TOLD you!' She moaned, 'no gambling! Honestly, trying to lead a group of first years astray! Do forgive him, boys.'
'Sorry, Molly', Arthur slipped an arm awkwardly around Molly's waist, and gave her a peck on the cheek, 'it won't happen again. Sirius, Remus, and Peter, this is Molly, my...er...girlfriend.'
'She's got you well under the thumb, Arthur', Remus said cheekily, grinning. Molly made a disapproving noise, then smiled at the boys.
'It's nice to meet you', she said sincerely, beaming around. She glanced sideways at Arthur and arched an eyebrow. 'Come on, Arthur, Professor MacGonagall asked us to make sure Malfoy, Lestrange and Nott don't cause any trouble.' She grabbed Arthur's arm, and pulled him away from Sirius, Remus and Peter, into the crowd.
The two teams filed out onto the pitch. 'And here they are at last, the new squads, officially revealed for the first time today!' A Gryffindor fourth year boy was commentating, under the watchful eye of Professor MacGonagall. 'MacNally, Fowler, Jordan, Cleansweep, Longbottom, Spinnet aaaaaand Potter. That's the Gryffindor team, folks! And now Hufflepuff: Diggory, Jackson, Bloom, Finch, Patterson, Hogan and Gill! Madam Hooch is referee as always aaaaaaaaand....they're off!'
Sirius and Remus watched in excitement as James and the rest of the players shot into the sky: fourteen scarlet and yellow blurs. James soared high above his team mates, turning his head this way and that, trying to spot the Snitch. The Hufflepuff Seeker was a strong and broad-shouldered seventh year named Amos Diggory. He and James were evenly matched in skill.
'...and Hogan steals the quaffle from Julia Cleansweep, thanks to a nice bit of bludger work from Bloom', the commentator was telling the crowd, 'but oh, no! Ouch, that looked nasty...still, not technically a foul, so it's Longbottom, zooming towards the Hufflepuff hoops...he shoots, HE SCORES!!!'
The Gryffindors cheered wildly, while the other three houses booed- Slytherin loudest of all. Frank Longbottom, a cheerful fourth year boy raised a fist in triumph and grinned.
'He's my boyfriend!' One third year girl cried proudly, 'Frank Longbottom and I-we're going out together!'
'...what's this? The new Gryffindor Seeker, who incidentally tricked his way onto the team, seems to have spotted something! Diggory sees it too- ooh, so do I! Come on lads, fight for it!' The commentator was becoming thoroughly over-excited.
Sirius watched with baited breath as James and Diggory sped towards the ground, in hot pursuit of the golden winged ball. They were neck and neck...
'COME ON, JAMES!' Sirius roared. The tension was too much to bear!
'Potter couldn't catch a cold!' Shrieked Bellatrix, so everyone could hear.
James was inching ahead...they were only thirty feet from the ground...twenty.
A howl of shock rose up from the crowd. Remus gripped his seat tightly and Sirius stood up and yelled 'no!'
James' broom had broken clean in two. Sirius caught the look of horror on his friend's face. He also saw the look of pleasure on Lucius Malfoy's face, as he stowed his wand back in his pocket.
It was some sort of miracle. James grabbed at thin air for several seconds. He was falling to a humiliating defeat. Diggory's hand was only centimetres from the Snitch...when suddenly, it moved. James caught it in his outstretched hand, and landed on his back with a painful thump.
The stadium erupted. Nobody had ever seen anything like it before! James, flat on his back on the grass, was completely stunned. Sirius vaulted over the railings, and raced onto the pitch, just as the two teams returned to earth. Sixteen helpful hands pulled him to his feet, and lifted him onto their shoulders-Sirius and Adam taking the burden.
'Ha!' Paul bellowed, 'we don't even need brooms to beat the rest of you!'
'Look out Slytherin!' Adam whooped.
'It was Malfoy who snapped James' broom in two', Sirius murmured to Adam.
'Don't worry', Adam muttered, his voice barely audible above the hysteria, 'I saw him too. He'll get what's coming to him, I promise you that.'