Quidditch Craze
The D.A, despite its promises of bold high jinks against Slytherin, lat dormant for the next few months. James's invisibility cloak lay in Nero's wardrobe, or wherever he kept it, and time rolled by just as usual. Although he would have loved for the opportunity to steal it back, he doubted it would be happening anytime soon. In a couple weeks, Hogwarts had already become a home. Those terrible memories of the Goldmans' slowly faded away. The Forbidden Forest outside the castle walls had become a feast of colors as autumn drew nearer. There was a marked chill in the air, but it was still quite nice.
The biggest problem James faced was, Wolfgang Lestrange. According to Wolfgang, Felix was the waste of life brother that was an embarrassment to the family and probably a squib. Luke was a muggle born so he was naturally quite worthless. Gwen was a dork, and thus a waste of life. James had no family and his eyes had a funny color. Basically, that was the world according to Wolfgang and he made sure to remind them at every opportunity.
Although waving around a wand and saying funny words looks quite easy, Magic is actually quite difficult. Magic was so difficult the teachers felt that it was essential to pile up as much homework as possible to make sure they learned. Everyone thought the teachers were quite evil for this, except for Gwen of course.
Gwen enjoyed homework, feeling it necessary to add extra rolls of parchment to every essay she wrote. James felt no such need, though he was passing most of his classes (except for potions). The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Felix. James hated to admit it, but Wolfgang was close to right saying Felix was a squib. While Felix could do some magic, it backfired more often than not. The four were sitting in the library on a rainy Saturday doing some homework.
"What's Gillyweed," asked Luke, basically handing Gwen his essay to right for him.
"For me to know and you to find out," shot Gwen back, handing him his scroll and a dictionary, "456,"
"Thanks," mumbled Luke, "Though why can't you just let me use your essay."
"Because grades without learning are meaningless," said James in his best impersonation of Gwen.
"Weak," said Gwen, "You can't even do an impersonation properly."
"I'd give a better impersonation if you'll give me your Potions essay," countered James.
"I'd do it but I can't," said Gwen, "Remember he gave you a special essay, because he was afraid you'd be cheating."
"Ugly git," complained Felix.
"He can't help having the face of a troll," said Gwen, "I owled mum and she told me he was hero in the old war of something so we shouldn't be too harsh."
"Nor should he," said James.
It was a good thing that conversation ended about there because Professor Crabbe, surrounded by a posse of Slytherins passed by them setting their slimy selves onto nearby tables.
"I think I'm allergic," said James, leading his friends away. Wolfgang spat on them nastily as they walked out.
"Uglier git," said Gwen as they made their escape. James found the nearest bathroom possible to wash the spit off his hands. Spitting on someone was a low James would never resort to. All this anger made James a little famished and he reckoned it was time to head over to get some food.
"He actually spit on me," complained James, "That's absolutely disgusting! And I'm famished too."
"Are you always hungry," asked Gwen who never seemed hungry.
"He still reminds of a skeleton," said Felix, "It's quite disconcerting. Let him eat so he looks like a normal human being."
While James certainly had gained a decent amount of weight in the last couple months, no one could deny that he was stile extremely underweight. It was well into noon the soup and salad being served looked quite appetizing.
Mike, the captain of the Quidditch team, was in a heated debate about Quidditch tactics with Horatio Gates (Fifth Year, Gryffindor), when James heard his fathers name.
"We haven't won a single house cup since Harry Potter left the team," said Horatio despondently, "We've lost 30 years in a row. How can you say we'll do any better this year."
"We've got a more talented team than ever," shouted Mike back.
"You always say that," argued Horatio Gates.
"But this time I think we have a shot of recruiting some new talent," said Mike, his voice almost a whisper, "Harry was a natural and I'll bet you anything James is a natural too."
It was a bit of an awkward moment for James. He couldn't help swelling up with pride when he heard the amazing stories about his father. Still, James had no idea how he could ever meet everyone's high expectations for him. He'd never flown on a broom before but everyone was hailing him as a Quidditch superstar.
"Pity Slytherin has the best brooms," said Felix, "They got Jade Storms for every player last year. Its absolutely disgusting how big their advantage is."
"Almost as disgusting as they are," added Luke.
"How are yeh, James," said Hagrid as he walked into the Great Hall, carrying an unusually large pumpkin in one hand and his pink umbrella in the other.
"Just fine," replied James.
"Why don' yeh come down fer a visit?" suggested Hagrid as he deposited the pumpkin on a table adding, "I got a little surprise fer yeh."
Shrugging his shoulders, James thought why not to himself. He felt kind of guilty not visiting Hagrid in the past month after all he had done for him.
Hagrid looked at Wolfgang quizzically when Wolfgang introduced himself.
"Yer a Lestrange and yer a Gryffindor," said Hagrid bemusedly, "Well I've seen stranger things. Hope yer better than the louts yer brothers are."
"You don't like Nero either," said Wolfgang, "I thought all of the teachers were in love with him."
"All 'em teacher are being had," spat Hagrid, "He tried gettinn' me fired las' year when he stole me Chimera an' let it loose on 'em students."
"You have a Chimera," said Wolfgang, even more in awe of Hagrid, "How'd you find one. They're extremely rare."
"Well ter be perfectly hones', it was confiscated from the Malfoy Manor," explained Hagrid as they went outside the building.
Hagrid opened his rather large pink umbrella which managed to cover all of them from the rain. Despite the fact Gwen and Luke weren't actually under the umbrella didn't stop it from keeping them dry. It certainly seemed a rather strange umbrella.
"So how are classes?" asked Hagrid, stumbling over a stray rock.
"Good except for potions," said James, "Crabbe hates me."
"Codswallop," said Hagrid, though it seemed quite forced and he looked away.
"Weathers been miserable lately," said Hagrid grumpily changing the subject, "Been rainin' cat's an dogs."
"What exactly do you do when the weathers like this." asked Gwen, "You can't make any rounds or anything."
"Course I can," answered Hagrid, "A lil rain won't keep me from me work."
James noticed a small cabin at the edge of the forbidden forest. Even from a distance, the forest looked extremely sinister.
Soon, they were right at Hagrid's doorsteps. A pair of galoshes and a crossbow leaned against the door.
"It ain't much, but this is my house," said Hagrid, graciously opening the door for them.
Smoked ham and pheasant hung from the walls of Hagrid's one room and a large sprawling bed with a patchwork quilt lay on the floor. An immensely large black Boarhound was taking a nap next to Hagrid's bed. There were a few boxes laying around on the floor and there was a large bronze cage as well. Hearing the clunking footsteps of Hagrid, the dog woke up at first confused, and then excited to have guests.
The dog bounded over the chair licking the four first years playfully, barking loudly and slobbering profusely.
"Back, Snuffles, back," cried Hagrid, forcefully grabbing the dog's collar.
"That's Snuffles," explained Hagrid as the fiercer than he looked dog backed down, "He's just a puppy."
That large black dog would seem quite frightening to most people, but Hagrid was looking at it in the same way one would look at a newborn baby or a tiny kitten.
Hagrid poured some tea out from a little black kettle and the four pulled up chairs while Hagrid took a seat on his bed.
"Well I tol' yer yeh were gonna get a surprise," said Hagrid, whistling softly, "an' here it is."
A great white owl swooped through the door landing on Hagrid's out stretched arms.
"It's a lil late," explained Hagrid, "since yer birthday was in August an' but I though' yeh'd appreciate it anyways."
"I don't know what to say," said James in shock giving Hagrid a massive hug, "this is the best gift I've ever gotten."
"I gave yer dad an owl years an' years ago an' he found it mighty useful," said Hagrid, "Reckon you'd find it useful too. Owls are dead clever, yeh know. Keep good company."
"Anything new at Hogwarts," asked Luke as Hagrid poured a cup of tea for him.
"Not much," said Hagrid as he took a sip, "Werewolf and Blood Sucking Bug Bear attacks have been up but nothin' out o' the ordinary."
"Similar situation in Hogwarts," reported James, "except we've got Wolfgang instead of Werewolves."
"I feel real bad for yeh Felix," said Hagrid consolingly, "Yer brother came down the other day to kick some o' my chickens fer the fun of it. I've seen him an' his brothers spendin' a lot o' time by the edge o' the forbidden forest. Don' have anythin' but I'd be a dragon that they're up to no good."
"Yeah that sounds like Wolfgang," said Felix, "he likes kicking things."
"He don' start showin' more respect or he'll be gettin' kicked real hard real soon," said Hagrid. James could hear a marked increase in the ferocity of the storm outside.
They spent the next few hours in the warm comfort of Hagrid's hut, discussing school magic and everything else. Everything was quite wonderful in Hagrid's little hut, even the treacle tart Hagrid made wasn't half bad, (the school ones were better though not by as much as one would think)
The four finally left Hagrid as the sun set. Walking under Hagrid's umbrella, there was a distinct sense of melancholy as they walked back to the castle. Only one more day of weekend before they were back to the drudgery of schoolwork.
Something unusual caught James's ear as they walked back to the castle. James heard the voices of Wolfgang, Nero and Augustus chatting idly by the lake. While there was nothing wrong with the brothers talking amongst themselves, there was something extremely wrong with the fact James could not see them.
"Hey Hagrid," called James interrupting Felix's comment about Gullbraithan Slowworms, "Did my dad have an invisibility cloak."
"Yes, he did," answered Hagrid, "Don't know where it is now though."
Hagrid switched the conversation back to Gullbraithan Slowworms. By the time they were firmly inside the castle, James knew more about those blasted creatures than necessary, and not nearly enough about the invisibility cloak James now desperately wanted back.
"How can I get it back?" James asked Phil fervently the next morning as Phil piled his porridge with sugar.
"You can't," answered Phil as he subconsciously toyed with a couple of dungbombs in his hands, "Tried it a dozen times. Failed a dozen times. But if you want to make a run at it, Augustus should be at Quidditch tryouts tomorrow to get a look at the new recruits. He's the dumbest of the three so you might have a decent shot at pilfering it from him."
With that in mind, James tried coming up with a plan. But him, nor Luke, nor Felix, not even Gwen could come up with a good plan.
"You can't take it from him without seeing him," said Gwen, sounding almost angry and frustrated.
"Just keep your eyes and ears open," said James, "We've got seven years to get it back so lets not do anything stupid today."
That, basically was about as far as they got that Sunday. The notice had appeared on message board in the Gryffindor Common room, they would be taking flying lessons on Monday with the Slytherins.
"Perfect opportunity for my brother to make fun of me some more," complained Felix when he saw the notice, "I fly about as well as an emu."
"No problem," said James, "me and Luke have never flown before and we aren't scared."
"Speak for yourself," said Luke; "I like having two feet on the ground."
By the next morning James was quite nervous about this whole Quidditch thing. The way the wizard born students spoke, they were born and raised on a broom. Even Melvin Friend, (who James had trouble imagining on a broom) talked about how he almost hit an airplane once. Quidditch seemed to be the only subject on the minds of the first years, a pink elephant might have been flying in a tutu and they'd still be discussing Polokhov Maneuvers.
Even Gwen had a couple broom stories herself. Felix, as Wolfgang made pains to point out, managed to run into a barn house on three separate occasions and that he ruined his top of the line firebolt XL in the process. Of course, Wolfgang was wealthy enough to buy him a much nicer broom the next day.
Madame Murdo was standing on the greens, and about twenty brooms were gently lying on the floor. She was tall, slightly graying woman with long blond hair and sharp blue eyes. The brooms looked quite innocuous, there was no way to distinguish them from a muggle broom. But there was something quite different about these brooms; these brooms could fly.
In the distance, James could have sworn he saw Professor Lupin peering at him from one of the windows.
"Stand by a broom," she said laconically sneezing loudly. She seemed quite sick at the moment and looked
"I bet muggle brooms fly better than these pieces of junk" complained Wolfgang as he stared at his broom. While the brooms did look slightly bent, and some of the twigs seemed out of place, James figured they'd at least fly.
"Put your hand over the broom and say up," commanded the old woman, her face turned an odd shade of lime.
"UP" said everyone in unison, as a couple brooms flew straight into the hands of their users. Gwen was the only one of his friends to be successful, Luke's broom went half way up and he had bend over to catch the broom before it fell to the ground. Felix's broom sat still. It annoyed James quite a bit that Wolfgang's broom went straight up just as it was supposed to. He guessed it must have been something about confidence; there was a slight wavering in his voice.
After correcting everyone's grips, and showing them how not to fall of a broom, Madame Murdo curtly ordered them to mount their brooms.
"On the count of three, kick of the ground nice and hard and hover a few feet above the ground."
"One, two, three," she counted and everyone did (or tried to do) exactly what she told them to do. James's broom rose a few feet above the ground, though many did not.
Madame Murdo told them to try again, sagely giving advise on how best to do it. After he fourth exhortation, the entire class was in the air. It felt nice being in the air, though it wasn't quite as exhilarating as he'd imagined it to be. Still, he doubted anyone could find floating idly in a large pack of students while being chaperoned by and old woman particularly exciting. James felt a strange breeze prickle against the back of his neck.
Madame Murdo, though, didn't look like she was going to last much longer. She made a sudden about turn and quickly ordered everyone to get back onto the ground. James saw hurling vomit mightily to the ground as she flew towards the infirmary in the castle.
"Poor woman," commented Felix though he winced at the thought of the otherwise splendid grounds being covered by vomit.
James didn't really feel like getting back onto the ground, but didn't feel like breaking any rules so he gently landed himself. Melvin Friend, accidentally fell off of his broom in that process.
As everyone was walking back to the castle, muttering about what a disappointment flying lessons had been, James saw something quite strange. There was a broom above him flying; that wasn't strange but the fact that there was no one on it was extremely strange.
And then it hit him. That was Augustus Lestrange watching over him in an invisibility cloak. His invisibility cloak. James sprinted back to where the brooms were, as Gwen screamed, "What are you doing James."
James didn't know what he was doing, but he mounted his broom and flew up anyways.
All eyes turned to James as he flew higher and higher, closing in on his invisible target. Augustus didn't budge an inch as James got closer and closer. Finally, James felt the sheer exhilaration of flying. The cool air was rushing through his air as he closed in on his invisibility cloak. James had no idea what he planned to do once he reached Augustus but the utter joy of flying made him forget such trifling thoughts.
Strangely, Augustus made no effort to get out of his way, even though James hurtled faster and faster towards him. He was barely two feet away from Augustus when he ran into what felt like a brick wall; it must have been Augustus's body. Augustus let loose a massive punch straight into James's face, knocking him right off of his broom.
He was a hundred feet above ground and he didn't like the thought of falling to his death so he made one wild grasp at Augustus's broom. He flailed his other hand onto what he hoped was Augustus's body and pulled at it with all of his might. In one strong pull, he ripped the invisibility cloak off of Augustus's body. But the momentum of that action sent James plunging downwards. He was falling in free fall, when he passed out, clutching the invisibility cloak in his hands.
