Changing Times

By Neurotica

Chapter Eight: Night Time Quidditch

A few days after Harry spent the evening with his parents, Professor Dumbledore gathered Professor Lupin, Harry, Lily, and the Marauders in his office to inform him that he'd found a way to send the visitors back to their own time. The entire group had been saddened by the announcement – Dumbledore included. Lily, however, had admitted that while she was enjoying spending time at this Hogwarts, she missed her friends; Sirius announced two things: one) One Remus J. Lupin was enough for him, and two) a younger Snape was easier to deal with than the professor.

Dumbledore confided in them, as he said, "just for Professor Lupin's knowledge" that the Quidditch Pitch would be "Argus-free" that night, and would he please to patrol around said Quidditch Pitch to be sure no "unauthorized" students were out of bed.

(Translation from Dumbledore-nese to English: Filch would be kept busy elsewhere in the school. Take the Marauders, Lily, Harry, and his friends to the Quidditch pitch, if they wish, to play a game. And the broom shed would be open. Oh, and make sure Draco Malfoy isn't hanging around like the little Slytherin git he is; he'll report to his daddy the first chance he gets – that's a loose translation, by the way.)

Later that night, as the clock struck eleven o'clock, the Marauder's gathered under James' Invisibility Cloak, the original Marauders Map in hand. Lily joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione under the cloak Dumbledore left Harry with the older Marauder's Map in hand. They met Professor Lupin near the Gryffindor stands on the Quidditch pitch.

Simultaneously, James and Harry pulled their respective cloaks away from their heads, revealing themselves to Lupin. The older werewolf smiled widely as he set eyes on the two (nearly) identical Potters.

"Broomsticks are in the shed. I'm sure James knows how to get in," Lupin said, grinning at James.

Once everyone had a broom (Harry brought his Firebolt), they all gathered around the ball crate in the center of the pitch. "We've decided something," James began, "about the lineup for tonight. Hermione said she would prefer not to play–" Harry and Ron glared slightly at their bushy-haired friend. "–so we need another player. Unless something has changed, you're a hell of a Keeper," he said, pointing to Lupin. "So here are the teams - no arguing… Remus as Keeper for one team; Lily, Seeker; Sirius, Beater; Ron, Chaser. The rest of us – Harry, me, Lupin, and Pete are the other team. Peter, you're Beating."

Lupin put up an argument that fell on deaf ears that he hadn't flown in years, but when Harry reminded him about the flight from Surrey to London only the year before, Lupin smiled in defeat and took the broom James held out to him.

Sirius, James, Peter, Ron, and Remus jumped on their brooms and flew out into the night, racing one another around the Quidditch pitch. Harry climbed on his Firebolt, but before he took off, he noticed the odd look on Lupin's face.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked concerned. Lupin was watching the five boys race in and out of the goal posts.

Slowly, Lupin turned his head to Harry and smiled widely. "Ever had the feeling of déjà vu?"

Harry nodded and smiled at a memory of a dream he'd once had about a flying motorcycle.

Lupin winked at Harry, climbed on his own broom, and chased the others around the pitch. Harry took off on his Firebolt and met Lily in the sky.

"I didn't know you played Quidditch!" Harry called to his future mother.

Lily only grinned. "I don't!" she called back.

Professor Lupin conjured lights so the players could see what they were doing, but anyone inside the castle wouldn't be able to see a thing.

Hermione released the Snitch followed by the two Bludgers, and finally the Quaffle. The Snitch fluttered between Lily and Harry for a moment, and took off to the other side of the pitch. James immediately caught the Quaffle and took off for Remus' goal. Ron was just behind him.

James threw the Quaffle towards the right hoop, but was knocked off course as Sirius hit a Bludger in his path.

The game went on for an hour; Lily and Harry were purposely ignoring the Snitch to allow the others to play longer. Lupin surprised Harry and Ron when he blocked the majority of shots with the Quaffle. Harry wondered why Lupin never told him he played Quidditch.

Sirius showed a lot of restraint when he was close enough to Peter to knock him off his broom, but didn't – that alone was enough to shock everybody. Apparently, Sirius was having too much fun to kill his friend that night.

"HARRY! THE SNITCH!" James called from Lupin's side of the pitch.

Harry spun around his Firebolt in the direction James was pointing at and saw a glimmer of gold. Lily was already miles ahead of him when he took off. Harry caught up with Lily in a matter of seconds. The redhead turned, grinned at him, and accelerated towards the Snitch. They were neck and neck, their hands stretched out at the speeding golden ball. Harry's fingers touched it, but Lily knocked his hand out of the way and grasped the Snitch.

"YES!" Sirius and Ron yelled.

Everybody landed on the ground around Hermione, who had waited patiently while she read some book she'd brought.

"Evans! Why didn't you try out for the team?" James asked in disbelief.

"Because you did," Lily said simply, winking at James.

"Your mum beat you at Quidditch, Harry," Ron whispered in his best friend's ear.

Harry shrugged, smiling widely. Yes, his mother had beaten him, but, hey, who ever gets the chance to play Quidditch against his sixteen-year-old mother? Only the Boy-Who-Lived could now claim that…

"Okay, let's get everything put away," Lupin announced, grinning as widely as any of the students.

Once everything was stored and locked, the Invisibility Cloaks were thrown back over them, the maps re-activated, and they made their way up to the castle. Harry, Ron, and Hermione said good night to the Marauders, Lily, and Lupin before making their way back to Gryffindor Tower.