Chapter 35 – Boredom, or 'How to Get Stuck in a Broom Closet on the Way to the Quidditch Final'

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"…and so, that is how the Goblin Wars were started…"

Sirius's eyes were slipping shut. Struggling to keep them open, he looked around at his friends. James was scratching at a piece of paper with his wand, which he transferred to Lily, who smiled as she read it. Noel was tapping her wand on the table impatiently. Maria was snoozing on Remus's shoulder.

Sirius sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He needed to run, to dance, play Quidditch…anything but sit in this boring classroom, even if it was the last class of the day. Luckily, the final Quidditch match was today – Gryffindor versus Slytherin. How was it that all the final matches turned out that way?

He looked at the clock. 'Okay, five more minutes. I think I'll pass the time by staring at Maria.' He looked over at said girl, who was still on Remus's shoulder. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was snoring lightly. It looked like there was even a bit of drool on Remus's shirt! 'Hmm…she'd never forgive me if I saw her in such an embarrassing position…HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!'

Needless to say, he kept looking. He even took a picture on the little wizard camera he had gotten from Zonko's. Why he had that in his pocket, we'll never know…nor want to know.

"…and that is it for today. Class dismissed." Professor Binns said as he floated back through the wall to the teachers' lounge.

Remus shook Maria, who looked around furtively as she wiped her mouth. Remus grinned, being used to the whole process. Sirius laughed, dancing around her.

"I got a picture of youuuuu asleep!" He sang.

Maria's eyes popped. "What!? I…I…GIVE ME THAT CAMERA, SIRIUS BLACK!"

"Nyaaaaah!" Sirius stuck his tingue out and ran down the hall. The rest of their friends followed.

Later, no one could really remember how it happened, but one minute, they were all on their way back to Gryffindor tower, and the next they're locked in a broom closet.

James took out his wand and muttered, "Lumos."

Noel looked around. "Okay…how did we get in here?" She looked pointedly at Maria, who held up her hands.

"Don't look at me! I was following Sirius!"

They all turned to Sirius.

"I didn't know it was a broom closet!" He defended himself.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain how we're locked inside." Lily said.

"You guys didn't have to follow!" Sirius whined.

"How are we gonna get dinner before the match!?" James complained. "We've got four-sevenths of the team locked in here!"

"Not to mention it's really cramped." Remus muttered.

"Lily, Maria, get us out of here!" Sirius whimpered, seeing as how the two girls were the best at Charms.

Lily looked at Maria. "What do you suppose?"

Maria shrugged. "Hell if I know. Alohomora?"

"Worth a shot." Lily pointed her wand at the keyhole and said the incantation. Nothing happened.

James moaned in frustration. "It's getting hot!"

"Tell that to Sirius…" Noel mumbled. Sirius pouted.

"Come on, I didn't know!"

Maria rolled her eyes. "I suppose Bombarda is too powerful?" She asked Lily, who nodded.

"Yeah…we'd probably get sued for destruction of property."

"Sued?" James, Noel, and Sirius asked.

"Muggle thing." Lily answered.

After a while, Noel sighed. "Well, we might as well sit down…"

There was silence as six people slid down the walls and onto the floor. After a while, Sirius's head dropped down into James's lap. "Sorry," he mumbled, sounding like a five-year-old. James rolled his eyes and petted Sirius's silky hair.

Maria stretched, causing Lily to lean forward, as they were sitting back-to-back. They both giggled, and Lily asked, "How long have we been in here?"

Maria looked at her watch. "Fifteen minutes."

They all groaned, and silence fell again.

"How long now?" Remus finally asked.

"……………"

"…"

"………….."

"…."

"Half a freaking hour."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" James groaned.

Noel, who was sitting closest to the door, reached up. "Um…did we ever just try turning the doorknob?"

"No." Lily answered. "Why?"

Noel twisted the knob. The door fell open.

They hung their heads.

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"Aaaaaand here we have it, my fine folk…and Slytherins." Luke Jordan shouted. "It's the final match of the year, Gryffindor versus Slytherin! I'm sure you all remember our players…in Slytherin – Malfoy! Rosier! Lestrange! Avery! Nott! Madden! And….Alden! And for lovely Gryffindor – Wood! Longbottom! Westside! Black! Ravenwood! Potter, and Potter! So, let's get to that match.

Gryffindor in possession, Chaser James Potter speeding toward that goal! Watch out for that Bludger, James!! Oh, what a good save by the be-a-utiful Gryffindor Beater, Maria Ravenwood! Lusted after by many of the boys here, but, sadly, taken by her partner-in-beating, the handsome Sirius Black – "

Professor McGonagall hit Luke upside the head with her hand. "Luke, concentrate on the game!" She said irritably.

"Right-o, Professor. Anyway, there was one goal for Gryffindor, Slytherin better catch up –"

Halfway into the Quidditch match, Maria's head really started to hurt. It seemed like there was this huge barrier that was bent on blocking coherent thought from her head and causing her intense pain at the same time. She wondered if it was her own barrier, or if this was James's pain. Her vision started to go, but not before she saw a figure go down in the distance.

It was James's pain, but she went down, too.

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a/n: Ouch! Can you say "cliffhanger?" Sorry, but I've got a killer headache right now. I had to cut it short. Well, James and Maria sure have a talent for getting hurt during matches, eh? But could this be something more…sinister? Anyway, thank you to my newest reviewer, Peach! I really appreciate your comments. They make me happy. . Also a thank you to Charm12, Schnebz, Wind8,acovergirl09, QTpie, and val for reviewing earlier chapters. You guys are great – sorry I'm slow at updating!