Leaving the somewhat lonesome summer following the fourth year at Hogwarts, the Marauders were thrilled to be back at the school they had come to call "home". They had visited each other periodically over the summer months, but life wasn't the same without having Severus Snape nearby to verbally, and sometimes physically, torture. Seeing one another any less then 24/7 wasn't nearly enough, of course, so coming back to Hogwarts was like a joyous family reunion.
James Potter had found his fellow Marauders, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew on the Hogwarts Express. They had joked, taunted Malfoy, and eaten chocolate frogs on the ride to the school. Now, fully confident and slightly arrogant, as usual, James hopped off the train, ready for a new year of slacking off, pulling pranks, and Quidditch. Oh yes, Quidditch. Quidditch was one of those things that made James want to be alive each day. Quidditch and...
Lily Evans stepped off the train, her emerald eyes glowing in the dusk sunlight. She laughed with a group of her friends, not taking any notice of James as they made their way past him. James heaved a heavy sigh and turned to Sirius, who had just approached him.
"It's okay, mate. One of these days she'll give you the time of day."
He grinned and gave James a friendly shove on his back. James smiled a weary smile and looked after Lily. His heart sank, and he yet again lost hope temporarily. He always bounced back, however. He had a reputation to carry out. He was one of the most popular guys in school, tied in popularity with Sirius, most likely, whom all the girls drooled over. Unfortunately for the witch population, Sirius had a habit of ignoring those who were trying to impress him, crushing their, well, crushes.
"C'mon guys, we have to find an empty one," said Remus, the taciturn, level-headed one of the group. He scanned the carriages for one that currently wasn't occupied. He thought he found a vacant one, but then noticed there was a small 2nd year crouched on the floor. He looked at him puzzled, but then shook his head and continued his search. Finally succeeding, he called after James, Sirius, and Peter to come over. James and Sirius followed Remus into the carriage, while Peter hesitantly followed after them.
"What drives these things, anyway?" inquired Peter. No one seemed to hear him, as James spoke up next.
"How can I get her attention without her hating my guts?"
Sirius couldn't help but smirk. The carriage slowly began to take motion.
"Don't be such a show-off. Dazzle her with your Potter charm."
Remus raised an eyebrow at this comment and laughed lightly. Peter laughed also, and the three others looked at him in disapproval.
"I'm not a show-off!"
"Who are you trying to fool?"
"But I'm not!"
"Riiiight."
Sirius laughed and then looked at his friend with a "C'mon, admit it," look on his face. James sighed and threw up his hands.
"Alright! I'll try not to brag, even though I never do."
"Good luck," muttered Sirius sarcastically. He grinned and ate his last chocolate frog.
When they arrived at the school, they walked up the steps in a crowd of anxious witches and wizards. Peter tried to keep up with his friends, but was having a bit of trouble doing so, and they surely weren't waiting for him. James and Sirius stood side-by-side as they entered through the great oak doors; Remus was directly behind them. Peter had fallen behind and was trying to make his way through a crowd of gossiping 4th years. His efforts were futile, and he didn't reunite with the others until they were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.
The students were creating a buzzing sound throughout the hall as they all spoke to each other, not caring to keep quiet. James couldn't stop talking about Lily, and Sirius found it hard to listen. Peter gazed at the others around him or listened to James's unceasing whining. Remus quietly talked with a fellow 5th year who was sitting next to him.
"She says I'm conceited. Am I really that conceited?"
Sirius rolled his eyes and shrugged as he had been doing for the past few minutes.
"Because if I am, then I have to prove-"
The headmaster of Hogwarts stood and every person fell silent. He scanned the room and lightly stroked his beard.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts."
James didn't hear a word the headmaster said after that. He had more important things to worry about.
"Maybe if I do well in the first Quidditch game and be modest about it afterwards, she'll change her mind," he thought.
The rest of his thoughts were relevant to this topic until he finally snapped back into reality.
"I won't keep you from your feast any longer..."
He glanced at Sirius, who was apparently trying to stifle a yawn, and then glanced at Remus, who had looked as though he had been paying attention. Peter was watching James intently, studying his every move in an uncomfortably fervent manner. James looked at him curiously and then jumped a little when the food suddenly appeared on the table. Slightly embarrassed, he acted as though nothing had happened and began to pile food onto his plate. He then quickly grabbed the nearest plastic spoon and filled it with peas, ready to launch this ammo at any random passerby, but a much more pleasing target was within range.
"Snivellus."
Sirius spoke the cruel nickname, for he had followed the direction of James's glare. They looked at each other, and as if reading one another's minds, Sirius called out to Snape.
"Snivellus! Look!"
Unfortunately for Severus, he turned around to face his enemies and was hit directly in the face with the peas that once resided in James's spoon. This had to have been the most minor trick they had done over the past 4 years at Hogwarts. They quietly chuckled while Severus gave them a menacing look and cleaned off his face with a napkin.
"I hate these stupid tricks. We can only do the ones worth planning when Lily's turned..."
James cast a worried expression over at Lily, who was at the other end of the table. He then turned his gaze to his plate of food and began to eat at an exceptionally rapid pace.
"What are you doing?"
Remus was done chatting with the witch to his right and looked over at his friends, curious to why James was almost inhaling his mashed potatoes.
"I'm going to go talk to her," said James, after swallowing a rather large mouthful of food. The other three looked at each other with and expression of pity, for they knew that every time James spoke to Lily, it ended in utter disaster.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Remus. Whenever James was turned down, he acted as though it was nothing, but his true friends had to listen to his constant moaning and complaining.
"'Course it is. Don't want her thinking I forgot about her, eh?"
James grinned with newfound excitement and self-esteem, while the others watched him with pleading looks. They dreaded what came next.
"Evans! Hey, Evans!" James called across the table. He stood up and then walked over behind where she was sitting. He leaned forward, his head now in-between hers and the guy's head whom was on her left.
"What do you want, James." Her tone certainly contained annoyance and irritation.
"Well, the first Quidditch game is between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and I was just...thinking...wondering...if you'd be there to watch me?"
Lily's expression was now full of surprise and she looked at him, and as if his disposition proved he was being serious, she nodded.
"Of course I will. I mean...I always go to Quidditch games, no matter who's on the team."
Her eyes averted from his and he, somewhat satisfied and somewhat put-down, stood up straight again and made his way back to his friends.
"Well? I didn't hear any yelling. Couldn't have been that bad." spoke Sirius, trying to sound comforting, though it was obviously a joke.
"I asked her if she was going to the game. She said yes, but that she would have, even if I wasn't there."
He looked at his empty plate in sorrowful misery once again, and this time Remus spoke.
"Don't worry about-"
"I was nice this time! She didn't even care!"
Remus blinked and stared, not quite expecting the interruption, but he didn't seem to mind.
"I don't know what to do about her. She's impossible!" argued James. He slammed his fist on the table in frustration, and for the first time in the Great Hall, Peter spoke.
"Maybe she's just like you. Maybe she finds it difficult to be polite to someone she likes..."
They stared at him in such an alarming way that they made him shut up for the rest of the night.
"That's crazy talk," said Sirius. "If she doesn't like manners or bragging, what else is left?"
"Maybe she likes romance," replied Remus, as he put more food on his fork. He wasn't looking at the others, so he didn't see James's look of perplexity.
"You know, girls like that kind of stuff."
James stared at Remus, even though Remus wasn't looking, and thought to himself.
"How would you know, Moony? Got a girlfriend?" said Sirius jokingly.
Remus gestured to his right to where the girl he had previously been engaged in conversation with was now chatting with the girl on her right.
"Listen," he whispered.
Listening wasn't the easiest task, and James could barely hear a word they were saying. They were obviously trying to keep the volume of their voices low. In a moment, however, he distinctively heard the word "Remus".
"Alright, explain yourself," demanded James. In a hushed voice of his own, Remus replied to his command.
"I gave her flowers at the end of last year for helping me in Potions, and she's still telling the other girls about it!" He had a look of satisfaction on his face. James mouth dropped.
"Bloody flowers! That's it! Why didn't she just say so?"
"Looks like someone has a crush on you, Moony," said Sirius laughing. Remus could see the girl staring at him from the corner of his eye. He blushed slightly and turned back to his friends.
"Hey, Moony, isn't it almost a full moon?" asked Sirius in a stern tone.
"Yes," replied Remus hesitantly, "BUT WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?" he announced very loudly so that anyone who may have overheard might have forgotten their suspicions. Sirius chuckled and answered meekly.
"I just thought I'd remind you that the Whomping Willow field trip is coming up soon."
Remus gave him a look that clearly said, "Shut up or I'll pry out your lungs."
Sirius just leaned back and laughed, amused at his own assertive attempts to frighten Remus. He was sure one day he'd end up giving him a heart attack.
James awoke unusually early the next morning, changed into his robes, and dragged the others out of bed.
"What are you doing, Prongs!" protested Sirius as James opened the curtains to the window and light streamed into the room.
"I have to see her before classes start."
Peter reluctantly climbed out of bed and changed, while Sirius still searched for darkness under the sheets. Remus was already awake and dressed, standing behind James as he gave orders.
"C'mon Padfoot! I...want...you...to...see...this!" He said this while pulling the sheets off Sirius. In the end, Sirius finally gave up, and with a lot of groaning, got changed and followed the rest down to the Great Hall.
Lily Evans was sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table alone, which didn't happen very often. James, very happy for himself, took out his wand and said, "Watch this," to the others quickly. He slowly made his way toward Lily, and she caught sight of him when he was a few feet away.
"Another question, Potter?" She raised an eyebrow. Her expression was somewhat bored, as if she couldn't care less what meaningless words escaped James's mouth.
"Not a question. Just a greeting." She grinned as she looked at him curiously. He lifted up his wand and gave it a flick.
"Rosendia!"
In an instant, rose petals began to fall all around where Lily was sitting, and she gasped in surprise and what looked like delight. She looked up as they slowly glided to the floor all around her. At this point, James was practically beaming, convinced that it had been a success. When the petals stopped falling, she looked at James gaping, apparently not finding the right words to say. James decided to break the silence.
"Don't touch them, though, or they'll disappear. These are for holding."
Behind his back, he had been holding roses the entire time. He presented them to Lily and she took them, still gaping.
"They're...they're...lovely." Lily was obviously shocked, which proved that James never did this sort of thing. Utterly pleased with himself, James smiled his charming smile and casually walked to the other side of the table and took a seat. Remus, Sirius, and Peter followed, all of them in shock.
"Wow, you really took what I said to heart, didn't you?" asked Remus smiling. "It seems to have worked." He glanced over at Lily, who was staring at the flowers, apparently deep in thought. James didn't say a word, but he sat there grinning while considering the fact that he might be dating Evans soon.
The time for Quidditch had finally arrived, not including the several practices James had to endure while doing his homework with the least amount of effort acceptable. It had been raining most days, and practices were frequently cancelled due to intense downpour. The Gryffindors were rather confident this year, however, so they didn't feel too bad when they skipped a practice.
It was a beautiful Saturday morning, yet it was slightly overcast. The cloud coverage made it perfect Quidditch conditions; it was much harder to play with the sun's glare in your eyes. The Marauders were in the Great Hall, eating a quick breakfast before the game. James stared at his scrambled eggs with no intention of eating it. He had to get over his typical butterflies. The butterflies did indeed frequently visit him before games, though he never showed it. To others, he was the most confident person on the team, and he was, but he still got slightly nervous.
Remus had already finished eating and was reading today's edition of the Daily Prophet. Sirius was helping himself to a large stack of pancakes, and Peter was nibbling on a bagel. James, who was still waiting for the feeling of the butterflies to subside, was glancing over Remus's shoulder at the Daily Prophet.
"Nothing exciting today," noted Remus as he realized James was looking at the headlines. "They've even resorted to some Muggle news."
James shrugged and finally decided that he could eat some of his breakfast. He chewed a mouthful of eggs, when suddenly, Remus yelled, "What the-!"
He was looking under the table where they sat, apparently startled. James looked underneath as well, curious about the situation, and he was surprised to see a boy crouched on the floor.
"It's you! The same person I saw in the carriage! What are you doing under our table?" James had no idea what Remus was talking about, but also wanted to know why this guy had found refuge in an area audible of their conversation. It was highly peculiar.
The boy was shaking slightly and seemed to be intimidated. His hair was a sandy blonde and his eyes were abnormally large. He had a guilty expression, which was alarming to James.
"I..I.." That was all he could say.
Sirius was now looking under the table from the other side, just as troubled as the rest of them.
"Well if you'd like to continue to look at Remus's legs, feel free to stay where you are, as long as you can handle a beating afterwards," threatened Sirius.
The boy stared at him, his eyes wide and petrified.
"GO!"
The boy swiftly crawled out from under the table, stood without looking at anyone, and crept out of the hall. Sirius laughed, finding the scenario amusing, Remus sat there unsettled, and James and Peter had already forgotten about the situation. James was looking back over in Lily's direction, but she had been joined by her friends. Contact with her now was hopeless.
"I have to do good in today's game."
"Setting goals for yourself there, eh, Potter? Looks like you're aiming high," said Lucius sarcastically. He was the Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team. He walked over to James and company with a smirk on his face that James yearned to wipe off.
"Much higher than yours, I'd expect," chimed in Remus.
"Of course, his goals are to impress crooked-nose over there, so it's not hard to beat," mentioned Sirius, gesturing to Narcissa Black. "Can't expect much more for Malfoy, though."
The smirk was quickly wiped from Lucius's previously entertained face. His glare was quickly aimed at Sirius instead of James now, though it didn't throw Sirius off at all. He just grinned, as if it was an honor. He knew he had gotten to him. Narcissa glared in his direction, also, which was not surprising. They were cousins, but much more; they were enemies.
"I don't see you dating, Black," snapped Lucius menacingly. Sirius's smile grew wider as he looked over at a group of girls who were currently staring at him, and looked back at Lucius as they all gasped and giggled amongst themselves. Lucius grunted and decided to torment James once more. He walked up close to him and stared him in the eyes.
"Don't screw up, Potter, because if you do, I'll be watching."
There was something eerie about how Lucius spoke those words, as if they had a deeper meaning. James pushed that feeling aside, however, and replied viciously.
"Don't worry, I'll leave you the job of screwing up, since it comes so naturally."
Lucius sneered, turned on his heel, and swiftly made his way out of the hall, Narcissa trailing behind. James watched him, sheer loathing ready to erupt from his body. He somehow always managed to keep this intense hatred locked away somewhere deep inside him. It wouldn't last much longer.
"I'll show that stupid git," he said through clenched teeth as his hands became fists.
The wind through his hair was the well-known feeling that Quidditch brought to its players as they soared above the Grounds. James was flying through the air before the game started, searching for a certain red-head in the crowd. It was nearly impossible, for there was a huge amount of people, and they were all wearing crimson colors. It was as if he was trying to find Waldo in a crowd filled with people wearing red and white striped shirts. He sighed and kept searching until he felt the tip of his broom bump into something ahead of him. He whipped his head around to see what he had hit and was relieved to find that it was Andromeda Black, Sirius's only good-natured cousin.
"Ow! What the-..Oh James! Watch it, will ya?" said Andromeda grinning. She was now facing James on her broom.
"What's wrong, mate? You look pretty glum."
All he could do was shake his head in sorrow and fly away, not in a rude fashion, but in a way that portrayed depression. She watched him glide away, her eyes filled with concern.
"She said she'd be here. She has a lot of nerve," mumbled James to himself as he got into position. He was very moody at the moment, which in a way was good thing because he'd be more aggressive. It was also a detriment, however, because he may become blinded by his own anger.
The Snitch was released. There was a low roar of cheering from the crowd as the whistle blew and the game began. Gryffindor gained possession of the ball. James zoomed down parallel to the player that had the ball. The ball was passed to Andromeda. James, thinking he wouldn't get the ball at the moment, turned to quickly scan the crowd once again. To his utter delight, he spotted Lily, and if he didn't know better, he thought he saw her looking at him. He blushed slightly and was about to wave when he felt a sharp, searing pain in his leg. He'd been hit by a bludger. He looked around him to find which Beater did this and realized that no Beaters were within the range. Lucius's laughter answered his suspicion.
"He's not allowed to hit a bludger!" protested James loudly to anyone who would hear. That was it. He was going to show Malfoy. He was going to show Lily. He was going to win.
He accelerated forward on offense when Macenzie Harrington threw him the quaffle. He swiftly launched it into the hoop farthest to the right and scored. The Gryffindors burst into a loud applause, and the claps and yells echoed throughout the area. James did not heed this ovation. He dodged a quick-moving bludger and was trying to catch up to the Slytherin with the quaffle. After he was right beside him, he tilted sideways to try and make him get off-balance. This maneuver was unsuccessful. The Slytherin stayed perfectly balanced and inched ever closer to the hoops. James, now feeling even more aggressive, rammed into the player's side, causing him to tilt over and drop the quaffle. Andromeda caught it and zoomed in the other direction. James quickly followed after her, ready for a pass.
Andromeda succeeded in making it all they way to the hoops, however, and scored with ease. The Slytherin Keeper was obviously off tonight, though James hardly took notice. He was too busy shooting glares at Malfoy whenever he happened to pass by. He'd do anything to distract him from the Snitch, excluding dancing nude, of course.
The score remained pretty close, Gryffindor still in the lead about 20 minutes later. James would give Lily the occasional glance, as if to prove to himself that he wasn't seeing a mirage. He was still intensely focused, however, and ended up scoring 7 more goals. The crowd's unceasing cheering from the Gryffindor side finally reached James's ears and gave him a confidence boost. Gryffindor was winning and they had been playing for quite a while now.
Suddenly, the previously loud applause now erupted to full volume when the Snitch was caught by the Gryffindor Seeker. James beamed with pride, threw up his arms, and yelled.
"Take that, Malfoy! Woo hoo!"
He didn't care if he came across as stupid because he was too engrossed in the moment of victory. He carefully landed and ran toward the stands, not even giving a thought to changing or showering at the moment. He wanted to see his friends and maybe get a comment from Lily. He hoped he was that lucky. He spotted Sirius and Remus in the third row and weaved through the crowd that was descending the stairs to get to the ground. He finally reached his friends, a large grin still plastered on his face.
"Way to go, Prongs!" praised Sirius as he clapped his hand on James's back. "Watching you play makes me want to join the team. Maybe I'll try out next year." Sirius was already off in his own world, contemplating the possibilities of being on the Quidditch team and how many more girls this would give him access to.
"Congratulations mate," spoke Remus cheerfully. Usually Peter would have been eulogizing James by now, but he was mysteriously absent, not that anyone took any notice. Remus, Sirius, and James slowly exited the Quidditch area and strolled back to the castle, all grinning with delight, knowing that they could rub this game in the Slytherin's faces for weeks. To James's disappointment, however, he wasn't graced with the presence of Lily all night.
