CHAPTER 20
Quidditch Tryouts
The school was very sullen for a few days, and Lily Evans could be seen crying outside the Potions room after seeing the new teacher arrive. Her name was Professor Hall, and she was a lively old hag that enjoyed talking about her four Kneazles at home. Their names, as James found out quickly, were Ruffins, Hugo, Dolly, and Wheezy. Her students said she had their pictures hung everywhere around the Arithmancy room, and no one could turn without coming face to face with one of their catlike faces.
Professor McGonagall didn't assign homework for a few days, and her class was filled with assignments from the book. Remus, who had heard of the incident from Sirius and James that Halloween night, tried to give her a comforting smile before leaving. James tried to follow his example, but she wouldn't even look at them.
But as all things do with time, Hogwarts healed from the loss of Professor Snorks. He was never forgotten, no, but life continued.
Quidditch tryouts were to be held on the next Thursday, and James found himself talking of nothing but the sport. He checked out every book that he could find with the word "Quidditch" written on it, and poured over them every night. Sirius and him looked through magazine piles, reading interviews with Ludo Bagman on how to become better at bludger aims.
"Blimey, this isn't going to help me," James said, turning the page, "I want to be a Keeper, not a Beater."
"Hey, don't be picky, Potter," Sirius said, "You'll be lucky to get on the team at your age anyway. Did you see their keeper last year? Huge brute, he was --- must have been half giant or something."
Finally, Thursday night came, and James grabbed his Cleansweep 2 and rushed outside with Sirius behind him. His stomach flipped when he saw the stands of the Quidditch pitch. There was Lily Evans, sittting daintily on a bench, looking at the crowding group of hopeful players.
"Hey, Evans! What are you doing here?" James shouted as he stepped onto the field.
Lily looked up, surprised to see him looking at her. But she recovered herself nicely, and said, "I'm watching my boyfriend tonight. You know Darryl, don't you?"
Sirius's mouth dropped as Darryl Avery turned around to face them, smirking. James felt an anger boil up inside him.
"Are --- what?!"
"It's not physically possible!" Sirius whispered in awe.
"Wow, Evans, I didn't know you were that desperate," James said, starting to laugh.
Lily's face turned red, and Sirius joined in the laughter. Darryl frowned, and went back to talking to a second year friend of his.
"All right, all right, break it up."
A very large and muscular boy came charging onto the field, adjusting his riding gloves, "Stand in a straight line, and don't talk."
"See ya," Sirius said, striding toward the stands.
"As most of you know, I'm Dennis Berster, and one of the Chasers for this team," Dennis said, pacing in front of them, "The positions open for this year are Chaser and Beater. Yes, Potter?"
"What about Keeper?"
"No, we've got our Keeper for this season."
"Who is it?"
"Hugo Dashings, a fifth year," Dennis said, "He's been on the team since second year."
Darsing had just arrived and was now taking a seat next to Sirius, and said guhdae to him.
"I believe that we're just going to play a game, rotating positions so you all get a chance," Dennis said, "Potter, Opinheimer, and Warwick start as Chaser, Avery, you're Seeker, and Kelper, you're Keeper. Bludgings and Greasings, Beaters. Bridgings and Abbot, you wait here for a moment."
The seven swooped into the air, and James felt his heart leap again. He was free. He was home.
"Potter, here's the Quaffle," Dennis shouted, and James caught the heavy ball in his hand as he soared higher. He passed it to Warwick, and zoomed over to the highest goalpost. Warwick passed it back, and James caught it. Without thinking, he shot the ball into the hoop, and scored.
"Very nice, Potter," Dennis commented, and then said, "Abbot, trade places with Avery. Avery, you should have been on that play."
Avery glared, and Abbot shot up towards James. Just as Sirius was leaning back to see how James would welcome this new player, Sirius caught a very tempting sight in the corner of his eye. Snivellus Snape had just arrived to take a seat next to Lily. He was in a very sour mood, but his mood brightened a bit when he saw Darryl Avery sulking back to the sidelines of the pitch.
"Thanks for coming with me," Lily said to him as he brushed his robes smooth, "You really didn't need to."
"Oi! No Slytherins on the pitch, you greasy hairball!" Sirius barked, and Snape's head twitched around to come face to face with him. Both boys glared.
"Less talking! We're in the middle of a tryout here!" Dennis shouted down to the three of them.
He threw the ball to Abbot, and James motioned for him to pass it to him. No such luck. Abbot just smiled, and zoomed off to the closest goalpoast. He aimed, and ---
WHAM!
Down in the stands, Sirius's fist connected with Snivellus's head, and Snivellus fell to the ground, unconscious. Lily jumped from her seat in one great leap, ran to him, and then looked back to Sirius murderously.
"What is wrong with you lot!" she shouted, now trying to support Snape's head in her lap, "You're such a load of dung, Sirius!"
"He's out cold, Darsing, ma'am," Avery said, coming to Lily's side, "Someone should take him to the hospital wing."
"Nah, hah's fahne," Darsing shooed a hand towards him, "Ah've had wahse injahries. Jus' puht sahme ahce ahn hahs fahhade."
"What?" Lily said, as Snape groaned and came to.
As Lily helped him up and headed for the infirmary, Sirius went to sweet-talking Darsing in hopes to avoid a detention (this ploy seemed to be working) and Dennis was complementing Greasings on his bludger-hitting abilities. Greasings was a large fourth year with arms like tree trunks. He sorely reminded James of Snorks.
"Great aim. Haven't seen anyone hit it that good since Bagman in the World Cup a few years ago," he said, "Bridgings, you're in for Abbot."
A girl who was in the same year as James took hold of her broom and flew into the game.
"Potter, take the ball," he said, throwing it back into the air.
James grabbed it, and then, without passing it or even looking at the other players, zipped past them and threw it through the smallest hoop.
"Amazing, Potter! Amazing!" Dennis said, "I haven't seen anyone fly that fast since Warhash in the match against Bulgaria in '69. Amazing!"
James beamed, and looked down to Sirius. Sirius, who was back to leaning on the bleachers, gave him a thumbs up.
The Quidditch team was to be listed in the common room that night. Of course, only two hopefuls would be picked. One for Beater, and one for Chaser. Everyone knew that the Beater would be Greasings. After he had pelted one good at Darryl's head toward the end of tryouts, he had become the hero of Gryffindor Tower. As for James, everyone was telling him that he was a shoe-in for Chaser, but he didn't know if they were being nice or truthful.
Sirius seemed to think that there was no question about it.
The four of them waited patiently for the list to come out, and finally Dennis, beaming, emerged from his room and posted the roster for the 1973- 1974 Gryffindor team.
There was a frantic huddle around the posting board while people read the names. Sirius stood up, and shoved all of them aside. James covered his eyes, not wanting to look. Finally, Sirius jumped over the back of the couch, and plopped down next to James. He didn't look too pleased.
"What?" James asked, "What happened? Tell me. Did I make it? Did I get it?"
"I'm sorry, Potter," he said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean you're sorry?" he replied desperately, "I didn't get on? How could they do this to me?"
"It's a tragedy," Sirius said, leaning back in his seat, "That you didn't get Keeper."
James eyed him, "I mean, you got Chaser instead," his friend finished.
All of the boys jumped up from the couch and excitedly ran back to the roster. Sure enough, there was James Potter, Chaser, listed right under Orlick Greasings, Beater.
"Congratulations," Remus said, patting him on the back. He just laughed a bit, and shaking off his anxiety, only said:
"Of course I'd make it. Wasn't worried in the slightest!"
There was a bit of a huffed scoff that sounded from behind the heads of his admirers, and this bit of disapproval seemed to cancel out all the adoring fans that he found himself surrounded with. James looked beyond Sirius, Remus, and Peter's smiling faces to see a very angry Lily Evans, grabbing her books and heading up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.
"Evans!" he tried to sound, but she didn't hear him. Either that, or she pretended she couldn't.
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Due to the loss of Snorks, all Quidditch matches had been postponed until after the holidays out of respect. James knew for a fact that this would have made Snorks very angry, since he was the biggest Chudley Cannons fan that the wizarding world had ever seen. But alas, he didn't make the rules. He just broke them.
Sirius had tried to avoid Regulus the entire term, but now that they were going back for the holidays, he didn't know if he could stand it any longer. Finally, he decided to write his parents and beg them not to let him come home for Christmas. James told Sirius that his parents were also writing a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Black. He thought that the struggle was hopeless. But still a response came, and it was in his father's handwriting. Sirius had to reread it to make sure that he was reading it correctly.
"I --- I can go," Sirius said, showing James the letter.
"What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah, they gave me permission." He smiled and gave out a laugh that sounded like a bark. "Way to go, James's parents!"
James returned the laugh, and they spent the rest of their meal talking about the amazing adventures they were to have the next week.
Snape was even angrier at James and Sirius after his own tryouts for the Slytherin team. It seemed as if he had taken a Bludger to the face very early on, and they hadn't given him a second chance. He hadn't been put on his roster, and it looked like he never would. And because of this, James wouldn't let him hear the end of it.
In retaliation, he had made it his life goal to catch the two of them red-handed in the midst of a prank. But, as the boys' oath told them not to get caught, this never happened. Their most remembered escapade still was the bubble gum Peeves and, coming in runner up, the skeleton of the dragon. Everyone had figured out that it had been them along with Remus and Peter. Sadly, though, there wasn't enough evidence to punish them, and the teachers alone had concluded that it had been Snape. He had gotten a month's worth of detentions, and he had to piece the skeleton bone by bone back together for the Defense Against the Dark Arts room.
The day before they left, they tried once more to get Peter to see his animal. He had shut his eyes tightly and sat there, his face turning purple, for about an hour, before announcing that he had no idea and that he should give up.
"Keep working on it over the holidays," James said. "And buck up. You'll get it."
"It would be good if you two at least started to go on to the next stage," Remus said haughtily. "The transformations are getting worse." He pointed to a scar on his chin.
"We're going, we're going," Sirius said. "Don't be so pushy."
Wormtail curled up on Peter's lap, looking for some place warm. As he stroked his rat, Peter wondered aloud, "If only I knew what animal I was. I'm holding you guys up."
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The next morning, they awoke with excitement. James and Sirius would be the only two going home this year. Remus had decided to stay after his parents wrote him a letter telling him that they were doing some cleaning around the house, and Peter had never gone home for the holidays.
Remus helped the two of them pack and walked them out into the corridor.
"Have a great time," he said. "And don't worry about me," he added to James as the rest of the group walked away. "Full moon doesn't happen until New Year's Eve. I'm going to have a Christmas."
"That's good news," he said, and shook hands with him. "And get Peter to see his animal while we're gone. How many more spells do we have after this one?"
"Two," Remus sighed. "I haven't read up on it yet, but they look pretty difficult."
James's face fell. "Well, we're trying our best, mate."
"I know you are," he replied, and he looked back to the Fat Lady. "Well, I better get going."
"Yeah."
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"Okay, so you get to be a dog, and I get to be a deer," James said, biting into an apple. They were sitting in Sirius's new whitewashed room. To his delight, the pink and frills had disappeared, and blank walls stared at him from all corners.
"I guess so," he replied.
"I don't get it," James said, "I really don't. I mean, if I asked you what sort of animal I'd be, the first name that comes to your mind isn't a deer, is it?"
"It's better than the slug," Sirius said coolly, and he lay down on his bed, arms behind his head.
"I was thinking more like a lion or something," James said. "I'd go with the dog, even."
"Hey, I like my dog," Sirius said.
"Oh, and by the way, Mum and Dad say that they consider this your room, whenever you'd like to use it. Wendy's sort of packed up and left for Morocco with her new husband so it's all yours." James sat down next to the empty closet. "You want to put posters up, that's fine. We could go into town, and I know this great place in Diagon Alley that sells Chudley Cannons merchandise."
"That's nice of your folks," Sirius commented. He wondered why they were being so generous. First it was all the Christmas presents, and now it was his own room.
"Well, we want you to have a place that you can call your home," James said. "I know how your family is, and-"
"What about my family?" Sirius said, jumping to attention.
"Well, you know, Sirius," James said. "And why are you looking at me like that?"
"I --- I don't need charity just because you think I ---"
"It isn't charity, Sirius," James said, standing up. "I'm your friend. I'm trying to help you."
"I'm fine," Sirius growled. "And I am capable of handling my life, thanks."
James, sort of surprised, put his hands up in surrender, and sat back down. There was a moment of silence before he said, "Well, I still think Chudley Cannons posters wouldn't hurt the room."
"Master James! Master Sirius!" Sprite shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "Sprite has finished making dinner!"
The boys headed off down the hall and down the stairs. They flew into the dining room, stomachs empty. There, on the table, were mounds of food. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sat down, and the boys followed. Sprite took her seat, fidgeting with her red mitten.
They lowered their heads, and spoke softly for a few minutes. Yet Sirius didn't hear what they were saying. His head was still buzzing from the conversation before. The Potters felt as if they were helping him. As if they were giving him a home and a comfortable setting. He wasn't beaten, he wasn't starved --- why did they feel that they had to be so nice to him?
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"Sirius," James's voice whispered. "Sirius, wake up."
Sirius woke from a dream that he couldn't exactly remember. It was dark, and the whitewashed room was blackened, except for a tint of green light from outside.
"What?" he groaned, and rolled over in his bed.
"Look!" James's shadow was above him, pointing at the window.
Sirius sat up, and then followed James's finger to the window. He gasped and felt a coldness sweep over his body.
There, across the street, hovering over another white house, was the Dark Mark. All was still except for the green glow that came from both the sign and the house itself.
"An old Muggle-born by the name of Grace Harting lives there," James said quietly. "She used to watch me and Wendy when we were younger. And-"
He trailed off into silence as the two boys sat there on the bed, not able to take their eyes off of the Mark. Sirius didn't know if James's parents knew what had happened. He just stared at it, the hatred building inside of his heart. He glared at it and felt tears well up in his eyes. He was crying? When was the last time that he had cried? It must have been years ago.
"That could have been my house, Sirius," James finally said. "It could have been mine."
Sirius didn't say anything, as they heard the Ministry cars pull up to the scene.
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The article in the paper the next day read ANOTHER MURDER IN LONDON. The entire Christmas holidays had a damper put on them because of the tragedy. The Potters attended the funeral of Grace Harting, and Sirius decided to go along, out of respect. Christmas was totally forgotten, except for three whole hours in which James and Sirius unwrapped their presents quietly. Even Sprite was melancholy during the holidays.
A letter came from Remus and Peter, along with some sweets that they had gotten out of the kitchen one night.
Hope your Christmas went well. Peter thought that he was a sloth for a few days. No such luck. Heard about the Harting woman. Hope you're all right. Write back.
Remus and Peter
They wrote back saying that everything was fine. But it wasn't. And the tone of their letter must have suggested something of the sort, because Remus wrote one back asking if they were sure, and Sirius wrote one back saying that of course they were sure, and Remus wrote back telling them that they were liars, and James wrote back telling Remus that they weren't. The argument between the four of them went on for a while, and finally the letters from Hogwarts stopped coming, and Sirius and James were more cut off from the world than they had been.
One night, they heard Mr. and Mrs. Potter arguing, and crept to the top of the stairs to listen to their squabble. Sirius had found it very interesting that they were capable of being angry, since they had always seemed like the perfect family to him.
"They asked me at work again," Mr. Potter's voice came.
"Who?"
"Klein, for one. Says that they're getting less picky about who they kill and who they leave alone. Says he doesn't care if we're pureblood or not. In their eyes, we're blood traitors."
"Well, we're not-"
"Of course we're not."
"We need to go into hiding then."
"No, we're not running. We're staying right here. All of us. As a family."
"We can't do that. If we stay then there won't be a family to protect. Think of James, think of me."
"I am thinking of you."
"No, because if you were, you would be-"
"I would be doing what? Tell me, what should I be doing?"
"Finding a Secret Keeper!" Mrs. Potter snapped. "I'm sure Dumbledore would be more than happy to-"
"Dumbledore already has too much on his mind," Mr. Potter interrupted. "What with the Order and all. No, I'm not putting that burden on him."
"What about Arthur Weasley then?"
"He just had a child. I can't bring him into it."
"Then Minerva, or Kingsley, or Hagrid-"
"No, we're staying here."
"We won't survive if we stay here."
"James is usually at school," Mr. Potter said, "and everyone knows that that's the one place that Voldemort won't touch. As long as Dumbledore's there, nothing's going to happen to him."
There was a long pause, and then Mrs. Potter sighed. "Whatever you think is best," she said.
"Master James and Master Sirius shouldn't be listening to Master Potter and Mistress Potter's conversation."
James and Sirius turned around, and saw Sprite standing on the topmost stair, pulling at her red mitten.
James grabbed her and ran for his room. Sirius followed, and shut the door behind them. Sprite yanked her arm away from James and backed away.
"You is scaring Sprite, Master James," Sprite squeaked.
"Are my parents thinking about leaving?" James demanded.
"Sprite doesn't know anything, Master James-"
"Sprite, please!" He took a hold of her shoulders. "Are they? Are they, Sprite?"
Sprite looked at Sirius, and then back at James, and then to the floor. "Sprite heard Master Potter say to Mistress Potter that Master Potter wanted to go to Morocco and live with Mistress Wendy, Sprite did. But Mistress Potter wouldn't have Master Potter's proposal, and-"
"Why would they want to go to Morocco?" James asked.
"Well, Master Potter has been asked to join Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters, Master James, and Master Potter will not budge. Sprite thinks that Master Potter will never turn to the Dark Side-"
"And you're damn right!" James said defiantly, and he looked towards the door. "I told you, Sirius. Things are getting worse. You heard Dumbledore that night Snorks died. He was killed by them. They found out he was spying, and they scratched him out. They don't care how many they have to kill, and how they go about doing it. And we'll be next."
Sirius didn't say a word. He just stared at James. He was a scrawny thirteen year old boy that was still struggling with Professor Sprout's homework, and he wanted to go out and save the world.
"There's nothing we can do," he said.
"There is something," James said. "There has to be."
"Leave it to the adults." Sirius crossed the room and sat down on his bed. "They know what they're doing."
James was still staring at the door when he said quietly, "No, they don't."
"Master James," Sprite said, "Master Sirius, you will both be safe at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everyone knows that Lord Voldemort fears only one wizard, and that is Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. After what he did to Grindelwald-"
"I don't care," James said. "My parents aren't going to be there."
"Your parents are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves." Sirius lay back down in his bed. "Now I want to go to sleep."
"No, you just don't want to talk about it," James muttered, and then took his leave of the room. Sprite, head bowed, followed him out.
So what if he wanted to avoid it? He knew reality. He knew that he was only a child, and didn't know enough about anything to go out and start attacking Death Eaters. They were talking about grown men and women that were powerful enough to kill other grown men and women. And knocking off two thirteen year old boys would not be anything to them. It would be like killing a cockroach. They wouldn't have a second thought about it.
As he looked out his window, he saw the silhouette of the house across the street. He thought he still saw some green flickering in one of the upstairs windows.