Chapter five: Arabella, Lily and Quidditch Tryouts
Surprised, Remus looked around. He was even more surprised when he saw that it was Arabella Figg who was calling his name.
Remus turned to James and said, "I'll catch up with you guys." Then he walked over to where Arabella was standing.
"Hi," he said shyly.
"Hey," she said, smiling. "How have you been doing? I heard you broke your finger and your mum is ill."
"My finger has been fine for awhile, and.." he paused, hating to lie to her. "Yeah my mom is kind of sick."
Arabella put a reassuring hand on Remus' shoulder. "Hang in there, it'll turn out ok."
Feeling such kindness radiating from her, Remus felt much braver. "Do you want to eat lunch with us?" he said very quickly.
Arabella laughed and her whole face lit up. "Who is 'us'?" she asked.
"Oh...yeah," Remus smiled, too. "My friends James, Sirius and Austin."
"Sure," she said and followed Remus to where they sat.
"Sirius, James, Austin, this is Arabella Figg. She's a second year. And this is Sirius, James and Austin," Remus said, as they all shook Arabella's hand. They gazed at her long blonde hair, clear skin and turquoise eyes. Then they looked at Remus with a look that plainly said "wow Remus, you are the man."
Remus shook his head at them and said, "She helped me find the common room after Dumbledore talked to me our first night."
The others seemed to shake off their amazement and act like normal human beings. Remus hoped Arabella hadn't noticed, he didn't want her to think that he had a crush on her, or had told his friends that. I don't have a crush on her, he thought. She's just really nice.
The conversation turned to quidditch and it turned out that Arabella was as into it as the boys. She was planning to try out to be the Gryffindor keeper this year.
"Good luck at tryouts," Remus said.
"Yeah, good luck," Sirius added. "We'll all be there to watch the tryouts since James is trying out for seeker. Well, Remus won't be there…" he trailed off.
Very quickly, Remus said, "I wish I could come but I have to visit my mom."
"Don't feel bad, Remus," Arabella said sincerely. "Your mum is more important than quidditch tryouts. You'll have to let me know how she's doing, ok?"
Remus nodded, thankful to be relieved of his guilty feeling. He had a suspicion that since Arabella said it, his friends would now agree.
After a few more minutes of heated quidditch conversation, a tall boy seated farther down the table called out, "Arabella! Over here!"
"Sorry, guys," Arabella said sadly. "I have to go talk to Mike now."
They all stared at her as she got up and walked down to Mike. As soon as she sat with him, Remus' friends all turned and looked at him.
"What?!?" he said. "It's not like she's my girlfriend, or that I even like her."
Austin said, "But what if Mike is her boyfriend?"
"Didn't you hear me? I don't like her. I don't care if she has a boyfriend," Remus said in an exasperated voice.
Neither Sirius nor Austin said anything else, but they exchanged knowing glances. James looked like he believed Remus, at least partly, but he knew about Lily and no one else did.
The rest of the day, Remus tried to concentrate on his lessons and his friends, but he kept worrying. He worried about the upcoming full moon, he worried about what would happen if anyone found out his secret, or if Mike really was Arabella's boyfriend, or if he would ever get up enough courage to talk to Lily Evans. At the end of the day, he decided the only of these worries that he could do anything about was talking to Lily, so he resolved that the next chance he got, he'd talk to her.
His chance came sooner than he expected. The next day on the way down to the dungeon that Potions class was held in, Remus and his friends were walking a few paces behind Lily. Remus was admiring her long auburn hair when an older Slytherin came down the hallway from the opposite direction. He plowed right into Lily, scattering her books and papers, and kept going.
Remus stopped immediately and began to gather up her belongings. After a moment of staring shocked at the retreating form, Lily looked down and started to help Remus. "Thank you so much," she said. Her voice was light and Remus almost died right there.
"You're welcome. Any decent person would have done the same," Remus managed to say.
Lily smiled sadly, "I'd like to think so. I'm Lily Evans." She held out her hand.
"Remus Lupin." He handed her the things he had picked up. Then he realized his friends were still standing there. "Oh...these are my friends James, Austin and Sirius."
"Nice to meet you all," she said with a smile that lit up her green eyes.
Lily and the four boys walked into Potions together. James asked Lily if she wanted to sit with them. Her smile grew even bigger. "Sure," she said. "I haven't made too many friends here yet. I came from a family of Muggles, but I just love being a witch!"
Remus found it hard to believe that Lily hadn't made any friends, she seemed so nice and her eyes were so pretty. He shook himself from his daydreaming and tried to pay attention to the potions professor.
Lily ate dinner with Remus and his friends that night. Remus was glad, but the looks James kept shooting at him from across the table made him blush uncomfortably. He tried not to look at Lily, knowing that would just make it worse. Concentrating on the food in front of him, Remus was extra quiet.
"Remus?" Lily said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," he said looking up.
"Are you worried about your mother?" Sirius asked sympathetically.
"Yeah…" Remus trailed off.
Lily looked concerned. "Is she sick?"
"Yeah, I am going to visit her tomorrow," Remus muttered.
The others got the idea that he didn't want to discuss it anymore and changed the subject.
Remus did not sleep well that night, he had too much on his mind. Classes the next day dragged on, and Remus barely noticed that Lily joined the group whenever she could. Finally the wait was over. After dinner, he walked to the hospital wing and met Madam Pomfrey. As they walked, she tried to start a conversation, but Remus answered shortly.
"See you in a few days," she called as he disappeared under the Whomping Willow.
Remus' transformation this month went much the same as the last. Nothing went wrong the first night and Remus decided the next morning to see if he could watch a bit of the quidditch tryouts without being seen. He poked the large knot near the bottom of the tree and emerged from the tunnel cautiously. No one was around. Remus walked through the forest, following it around to the quidditch field. He could see some of what was going on from his hiding place in the woods.
"Is that James?" he said aloud. He watched a small form on a broom being drilled by an older student. The other student was throwing golf balls in all directions while James flew after them. It looked to Remus like James was catching about 80% of them. He decided to come a little closer to the field so that he could see better. While he walked forward, he also kept his eyes peeled for Arabella, but he didn't see her.
Remus stood at the edge of the woods and watched for a few minutes, in wonder at James' quick reflexes. His attention strayed for a moment, and when he looked back, James was flying directly at Remus, reaching out for the golf ball that was beginning to descend. Suddenly, James looked directly at Remus and was so startled, he almost fell off of his broom.
Remus panicked. As he ran deeper into the woods, he heard a voice calling, "James, you had that one. Why'd you stop?"
Not stopping to hear James' answer, Remus ran as fast as he could back to the willow, almost breaking his ankle as he went. Breathing heavily, he stopped the tree's motion and jumped into the tunnel. There he sat until he could breathe normally. Oh my gosh! What have I done? he thought. If James finds out, he'll never want to talk to me again, and neither will anyone else!
Needless to say, Remus spent a long and sleepless night in the shack, wondering if James would believe that he saw Remus, or if he would have told Sirius and Austin. He tried to think of a plausible story to explain his presence. Finally, he realized he would just have to play it by ear once he got back, and he drifted off to sleep. *** As Remus was running panicked through the woods, James was still staring at the spot where he thought he had seen Remus standing. It couldn't have been, he thought, shaking his head. I must be seeing things.
A voice broke through his thoughts, asking for the second time what had gone wrong on the last catch.
"Oh," James said. "I thought I saw something moving in the woods."
"Is that all?" said the other student. "There's tons of things that live in those woods."
James put his hallucinations out of his mind and focused on the tryouts at hand.
*** Remus entered breakfast the next morning with a very queasy stomach. He had no idea what James thought he had seen, or how he would react if he believed he had seen Remus. As he approached where his friends were sitting, they all greeted him warmly.
"Hullo Remus," Austin said cheerfully.
"How's your mum?" Sirius asked.
"Doing better, thanks," Remus replied and sat down. He thought James had watched him closely for his answer, but he couldn't be sure.
"How'd tryouts go?" Remus asked James.
"Pretty well, I think," James said with a smile. "They kept saying 'you're a first year?' like they were surprised."
"That sounds like good news," Remus replied.
The boys dug into their breakfasts as Dumbledore called for everyone's attention. "I have been asked by the Gryffindor quiddich captain, Mary Johnson, to inform everyone who was at tryouts yesterday that the member's names have been posted in your common room." An excited buzz came from the Gryffindor table. James looked nervous, but very excited.
"I can't eat any more," he exclaimed. "Let's go look at the list!"
Most of the members of their house had had the same idea. The boys pushed their way to the front of the crowd at the bulletin board. James scanned the list and turned away, his face giving away his intense disappointment. He collapsed onto an armchair.
As he did, Mary Johnson, a seventh year and quidditch captain, came over to talk to James. His friends gathered closer to hear what she said to him.
"James," she said, "I don't want you to think that we didn't put you on the team because you were bad. You're phenomenal, especially for a first year. But we have a seeker who's a seventh year and has more experience. If you work really hard for next year, I can't even imagine how good you'll be. You'll flatten every team you play."
James looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "You mean it?" he said hopefully.
She nodded. "I really do. You could play for England some day, but there isn't room for you on the team this year."
"Thanks, Johnson," James said. Then he got up and rejoined his friends. "Alright you guys, I have a great idea for a prank to pull on old Professor Binns. Who wants to help?"
They all smiled and Sirius said," We're all in. What's the plan?"
Surprised, Remus looked around. He was even more surprised when he saw that it was Arabella Figg who was calling his name.
Remus turned to James and said, "I'll catch up with you guys." Then he walked over to where Arabella was standing.
"Hi," he said shyly.
"Hey," she said, smiling. "How have you been doing? I heard you broke your finger and your mum is ill."
"My finger has been fine for awhile, and.." he paused, hating to lie to her. "Yeah my mom is kind of sick."
Arabella put a reassuring hand on Remus' shoulder. "Hang in there, it'll turn out ok."
Feeling such kindness radiating from her, Remus felt much braver. "Do you want to eat lunch with us?" he said very quickly.
Arabella laughed and her whole face lit up. "Who is 'us'?" she asked.
"Oh...yeah," Remus smiled, too. "My friends James, Sirius and Austin."
"Sure," she said and followed Remus to where they sat.
"Sirius, James, Austin, this is Arabella Figg. She's a second year. And this is Sirius, James and Austin," Remus said, as they all shook Arabella's hand. They gazed at her long blonde hair, clear skin and turquoise eyes. Then they looked at Remus with a look that plainly said "wow Remus, you are the man."
Remus shook his head at them and said, "She helped me find the common room after Dumbledore talked to me our first night."
The others seemed to shake off their amazement and act like normal human beings. Remus hoped Arabella hadn't noticed, he didn't want her to think that he had a crush on her, or had told his friends that. I don't have a crush on her, he thought. She's just really nice.
The conversation turned to quidditch and it turned out that Arabella was as into it as the boys. She was planning to try out to be the Gryffindor keeper this year.
"Good luck at tryouts," Remus said.
"Yeah, good luck," Sirius added. "We'll all be there to watch the tryouts since James is trying out for seeker. Well, Remus won't be there…" he trailed off.
Very quickly, Remus said, "I wish I could come but I have to visit my mom."
"Don't feel bad, Remus," Arabella said sincerely. "Your mum is more important than quidditch tryouts. You'll have to let me know how she's doing, ok?"
Remus nodded, thankful to be relieved of his guilty feeling. He had a suspicion that since Arabella said it, his friends would now agree.
After a few more minutes of heated quidditch conversation, a tall boy seated farther down the table called out, "Arabella! Over here!"
"Sorry, guys," Arabella said sadly. "I have to go talk to Mike now."
They all stared at her as she got up and walked down to Mike. As soon as she sat with him, Remus' friends all turned and looked at him.
"What?!?" he said. "It's not like she's my girlfriend, or that I even like her."
Austin said, "But what if Mike is her boyfriend?"
"Didn't you hear me? I don't like her. I don't care if she has a boyfriend," Remus said in an exasperated voice.
Neither Sirius nor Austin said anything else, but they exchanged knowing glances. James looked like he believed Remus, at least partly, but he knew about Lily and no one else did.
The rest of the day, Remus tried to concentrate on his lessons and his friends, but he kept worrying. He worried about the upcoming full moon, he worried about what would happen if anyone found out his secret, or if Mike really was Arabella's boyfriend, or if he would ever get up enough courage to talk to Lily Evans. At the end of the day, he decided the only of these worries that he could do anything about was talking to Lily, so he resolved that the next chance he got, he'd talk to her.
His chance came sooner than he expected. The next day on the way down to the dungeon that Potions class was held in, Remus and his friends were walking a few paces behind Lily. Remus was admiring her long auburn hair when an older Slytherin came down the hallway from the opposite direction. He plowed right into Lily, scattering her books and papers, and kept going.
Remus stopped immediately and began to gather up her belongings. After a moment of staring shocked at the retreating form, Lily looked down and started to help Remus. "Thank you so much," she said. Her voice was light and Remus almost died right there.
"You're welcome. Any decent person would have done the same," Remus managed to say.
Lily smiled sadly, "I'd like to think so. I'm Lily Evans." She held out her hand.
"Remus Lupin." He handed her the things he had picked up. Then he realized his friends were still standing there. "Oh...these are my friends James, Austin and Sirius."
"Nice to meet you all," she said with a smile that lit up her green eyes.
Lily and the four boys walked into Potions together. James asked Lily if she wanted to sit with them. Her smile grew even bigger. "Sure," she said. "I haven't made too many friends here yet. I came from a family of Muggles, but I just love being a witch!"
Remus found it hard to believe that Lily hadn't made any friends, she seemed so nice and her eyes were so pretty. He shook himself from his daydreaming and tried to pay attention to the potions professor.
Lily ate dinner with Remus and his friends that night. Remus was glad, but the looks James kept shooting at him from across the table made him blush uncomfortably. He tried not to look at Lily, knowing that would just make it worse. Concentrating on the food in front of him, Remus was extra quiet.
"Remus?" Lily said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," he said looking up.
"Are you worried about your mother?" Sirius asked sympathetically.
"Yeah…" Remus trailed off.
Lily looked concerned. "Is she sick?"
"Yeah, I am going to visit her tomorrow," Remus muttered.
The others got the idea that he didn't want to discuss it anymore and changed the subject.
Remus did not sleep well that night, he had too much on his mind. Classes the next day dragged on, and Remus barely noticed that Lily joined the group whenever she could. Finally the wait was over. After dinner, he walked to the hospital wing and met Madam Pomfrey. As they walked, she tried to start a conversation, but Remus answered shortly.
"See you in a few days," she called as he disappeared under the Whomping Willow.
Remus' transformation this month went much the same as the last. Nothing went wrong the first night and Remus decided the next morning to see if he could watch a bit of the quidditch tryouts without being seen. He poked the large knot near the bottom of the tree and emerged from the tunnel cautiously. No one was around. Remus walked through the forest, following it around to the quidditch field. He could see some of what was going on from his hiding place in the woods.
"Is that James?" he said aloud. He watched a small form on a broom being drilled by an older student. The other student was throwing golf balls in all directions while James flew after them. It looked to Remus like James was catching about 80% of them. He decided to come a little closer to the field so that he could see better. While he walked forward, he also kept his eyes peeled for Arabella, but he didn't see her.
Remus stood at the edge of the woods and watched for a few minutes, in wonder at James' quick reflexes. His attention strayed for a moment, and when he looked back, James was flying directly at Remus, reaching out for the golf ball that was beginning to descend. Suddenly, James looked directly at Remus and was so startled, he almost fell off of his broom.
Remus panicked. As he ran deeper into the woods, he heard a voice calling, "James, you had that one. Why'd you stop?"
Not stopping to hear James' answer, Remus ran as fast as he could back to the willow, almost breaking his ankle as he went. Breathing heavily, he stopped the tree's motion and jumped into the tunnel. There he sat until he could breathe normally. Oh my gosh! What have I done? he thought. If James finds out, he'll never want to talk to me again, and neither will anyone else!
Needless to say, Remus spent a long and sleepless night in the shack, wondering if James would believe that he saw Remus, or if he would have told Sirius and Austin. He tried to think of a plausible story to explain his presence. Finally, he realized he would just have to play it by ear once he got back, and he drifted off to sleep. *** As Remus was running panicked through the woods, James was still staring at the spot where he thought he had seen Remus standing. It couldn't have been, he thought, shaking his head. I must be seeing things.
A voice broke through his thoughts, asking for the second time what had gone wrong on the last catch.
"Oh," James said. "I thought I saw something moving in the woods."
"Is that all?" said the other student. "There's tons of things that live in those woods."
James put his hallucinations out of his mind and focused on the tryouts at hand.
*** Remus entered breakfast the next morning with a very queasy stomach. He had no idea what James thought he had seen, or how he would react if he believed he had seen Remus. As he approached where his friends were sitting, they all greeted him warmly.
"Hullo Remus," Austin said cheerfully.
"How's your mum?" Sirius asked.
"Doing better, thanks," Remus replied and sat down. He thought James had watched him closely for his answer, but he couldn't be sure.
"How'd tryouts go?" Remus asked James.
"Pretty well, I think," James said with a smile. "They kept saying 'you're a first year?' like they were surprised."
"That sounds like good news," Remus replied.
The boys dug into their breakfasts as Dumbledore called for everyone's attention. "I have been asked by the Gryffindor quiddich captain, Mary Johnson, to inform everyone who was at tryouts yesterday that the member's names have been posted in your common room." An excited buzz came from the Gryffindor table. James looked nervous, but very excited.
"I can't eat any more," he exclaimed. "Let's go look at the list!"
Most of the members of their house had had the same idea. The boys pushed their way to the front of the crowd at the bulletin board. James scanned the list and turned away, his face giving away his intense disappointment. He collapsed onto an armchair.
As he did, Mary Johnson, a seventh year and quidditch captain, came over to talk to James. His friends gathered closer to hear what she said to him.
"James," she said, "I don't want you to think that we didn't put you on the team because you were bad. You're phenomenal, especially for a first year. But we have a seeker who's a seventh year and has more experience. If you work really hard for next year, I can't even imagine how good you'll be. You'll flatten every team you play."
James looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "You mean it?" he said hopefully.
She nodded. "I really do. You could play for England some day, but there isn't room for you on the team this year."
"Thanks, Johnson," James said. Then he got up and rejoined his friends. "Alright you guys, I have a great idea for a prank to pull on old Professor Binns. Who wants to help?"
They all smiled and Sirius said," We're all in. What's the plan?"