Chapter II
Quidditch Woes
Lily Evans"James Potter! Of all the 7th year boys, it had to be him! The most arrogant and pompous boy I've ever met and now I'll actually have to make conversation with him! Who in their right mind would make him head boy!" Lily whined to her best friend, Nancy Doyle.
"I don't know…He's obviously more mature then he was last year and I guess it makes sense. He's popular, intelligent, and he's already shown signs of leadership on the Quidditch pitch. Besides, the summer definitely did the Marauders good. They look so…foxy." Nancy answered as she eyed the 4 boys who were too busy catching up to notice her lingering eyes. Lily rolled her eyes but couldn't help looking over to where the Marauders stood. James and Sirius could've been twins now. James grew quite a bit over the summer and was now just barely an inch shorter than Sirius. Lily couldn't help but notice that James looked a lot musclier then the last time she saw him too. "Ugh! There is no way I'm thinking about this. It must be something I ate." Lily thought to herself.
"So…did you keep in touch with Sirius?" Lily asked Nancy but regretted it as soon as she saw her best friend's face. "He didn't write back…I don't think things will ever work out with him. He's just not interested." She answered sadly and Lily gave her a friendly hug. Lily hated the fact that Sirius was so popular. Personally, she thought Sirius was a spoiled rich kid who trampled the little guy just to get what he wants. She wished others would see what she saw when she looked at Sirius.
"Oh well, it doesn't matter. Who needs a guy like him anyway? Sure he's incredibly good-looking, intelligent and extremely fit but…I'm sure he sleeps with a teddy bear or something!" Nancy exclaimed angrily and Lily couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Sirius with a teddy. "I think James Potter would be a much better catch. He's also very good-looking, intelligent and all that good stuff AND he's also Quidditch captain + head boy. You just can't go wrong there." Nancy said with a dreamy smile spread across her face. A small twinge of irritation pricked Lily's mind but she shook it off by smiling. "If Nancy goes out with James, I'm going to be okay with it…right?" Lily thought to herself.
The two girls made their way towards the Hogwarts Express and got on. They found an empty compartment near the back and stored their trunks. Nancy took out a muggle fashion magazine while Lily silently stared out the window. She saw James say goodbye to his parents and laughed when Mrs. Potter kissed Sirius on the cheek and he grimaced and attempted to wipe the lipstick off. Remus and Peter each hugged their mothers and climbed on the train. Seconds later, the four Marauders came into their compartment, talking loudly about Quidditch. They put their trunks away and everyone sat down but James.
"Um...Do we have to sit in the prefect compartment?" He asked Remus who nodded in response. "Oh…Can Sirius come?" He asked Remus again who smiled but shook his head. "Sorry mate." James said as Sirius pretending to pout.
"Well Lils, James…we should get to the compartment. We'll see you guys later. Oh and Peter, make sure Sirius doesn't do anything stupid." Remus said as he got up and opened the compartment door. Lily also got up and went through the door. James who looked more nervous than she had ever seen him followed her closely.
"It's going to be okay. You'll do fine as a head boy. People respect you." Lily reassured him and he smiled at her causing her stomach to flutter. She groaned and thought:
"It's something I ate…something I ate. It has to be."
The three of them got to the compartment and had a meeting. Lily didn't pay much attention to it though. Images of James Potter smiling kept clouding her mind. And that's how she spent most of the journey to Hogwarts. Scolding herself because she kept thinking about the boy she "hated" so much. Once they got to Hogwarts, the Marauders, Nancy and her found a carriage. Sirius tried his hardest to cover the awkward silence that haunted everyone in the carriage but he was unsuccessful. They went up the stairs and into the Great Hall where they all sat in their regular seats and waited for the sorting to begin. The sorting took place without any major complications and afterwards the feast began. For the first time since she woke up this morning, Lily felt comfortable. James was at a distance and she was enjoying a nice conversation with Remus. Lily felt satisfied once she was finished and she happily went to bed without anymore disturbing thoughts about James Potter.
Remus Lupin"Remus! Where are your Potions notes?" Sirius yelled from the common room to the dormitory where Remus was trying to finish his homework.
"Up here!" Remus yelled back. He heard Sirius running up the stairs and sure enough, seconds afterwards, he ran in with a quill in one hand and a piece of parchment in the other. Sirius shuffled through a few papers before he found what he was looking for. He sat down next to Remus and dipped his quill in the ink. Remus stared and his best friend for a moment before going back to his own work.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm doing my homework in the middle of the afternoon?" Sirius asked impatiently. Remus sighed and asked:
"Why are you doing your homework in the afternoon, Sirius?"
"None of your business." Sirius smirked causing Remus to whack him in the arm. "Okay…okay. Geez, you don't need to beat me up. Well, it's full moon tonight and I thought if I could finish my homework, I could spend the whole night out with you."
"You really don't have to. Besides, normally you and the rest of the Marauders only stay out for about 2 hours and that is sufficient." Remus protested.
"Oh please Moony! You still chew on yourself…"
"Sirius." Remus interrupted sternly. Sirius quieted but Remus knew this was not the end of the conversation. Sirius would never stop hoping that he could cure Remus but Remus knew…He knew he was a monster forever.
"All right Remus, first full moon of the year. You know the drill sweetheart. I'll be back for you in the morning." Madame Pomfrey said before climbing back up and out of the tree. Remus was alone. He hated this part the most. He hated thinking about what was going to come. He watched as the full moon kept getting higher and higher. He felt pain as the fur sprouted all over his body. His face grew outwards and became a large muzzle. It would be over soon. His transformation was complete and the wolf let out the tension with a piercing howl. The wolf took over. Remus was no more. The wolf was angry and hungry. He smelled blood. It was his own. He attempted to bite himself but was stopped by a big black dog that bit the wolf on the neck. The wolf recognized the smell of the black dog. Slowly, Remus took control over the wolf and he saw Padfoot standing in front of him waiting for a reaction. Remus shook his tail happily, which was code for Sirius to know everything was okay. Sirius barked happily and Prongs came out from the shadow with Wormtail on his back. The four of them played tag until they were too tired to move. Remus curled up into a ball and fell asleep. This is when the rest of the Marauders left, knowing Remus was going to be okay.
Days passed without much happening. Remus kept busy by keeping Sirius out of trouble and making sure he did his homework. Sometimes Remus felt more like a mother to the Marauders than anything else but he knew if he didn't help them, they would learn from their mistakes the harder way. On September 20th, Remus went by the Gryffindor message board and noticed that the Quidditch sign-up sheet was posted and already had a couple of names on it. He took a double take when he saw that his name and Sirius' were written on the very top in a very familiar handwriting.
"James!" Remus yelled as he ran up the stairs to their dormitory where he knew James would be hiding. "James Potter!" He yelled once he opened the door and found Sirius sitting on his bed but James was nowhere in sight. "Where is he?" Remus asked.
"Under Daniel's bed." Sirius said. "Traitor!" Yelled a muffled voice but Sirius just smiled. Remus walked up to Daniel's bed and grabbed James' collar, dragging him right out from underneath the bed and on his feet.
"Hello mate!" James said while trying to pull off the good ol' innocent look. Remus just growled menacingly.
"What made you think I wanted to tryout for Quidditch!" Remus asked James while still holding him by the collar.
"Please!" James pleaded and Remus sighed.
"Did Sirius agree to it?" He asked and James nodded. Remus looked at Sirius who shrugged.
"Fine." Remus said without further objections causing James and Sirius to cheer. "What position?" He asked.
"Keeper." James answered promptly.
"What!"
Sirius Black"Are you going to practice before you tryout?" James asked but Sirius ignored him. "Sirius…SIRIUS!" James tried to get Sirius's attention. Sirius finally snapped out of his daydream and focused on what his best friend was trying to tell him. James repeated his question with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I don't need practice." Sirius said.
"Yes you do. You may be good but you haven't been on a broom since summer and the other Gryffindors who are trying out for the same spot will crush you because they are actually working hard to get the spot."
"Look James, I highly doubt I forgot how to fly over the 20 days I haven't flown. When is the tryout anyway?" Sirius asked.
"6:00! For goodness sakes Sirius, if you aren't going to take this seriously, you may as well drop out now." James said before getting up and leaving.
"Whatever! I didn't ask to tryout anyway!" Sirius yelled to James' retreating back.
Sirius got up from the Gryffindor table and went to find Remus. He found him studying in the library. Remus detected something was up as soon as he saw Sirius walk in. He was surprised there wasn't a storm cloud hanging over the tall boy's head.
"I can't believe him! Telling me off! He's the one who signed me up for this thing. I never asked for this. In fact, I was happy being a complete nobody with nothing to do but piss off the teachers and Slytherins." Sirius exclaimed as he sat down next to Remus who had to hurry to get his ink off the chair.
"First of all, you almost sat in ink. Secondly, James wants you to play because he loves you and he loves playing Quidditch with you and he really wants this year to be great. Thirdly, this is James first big decision as the captain because last year's team didn't need any new players so I suggest you cut him some slack. I'm not saying he was right for giving you a hard time but I really don't think you should make such a big deal about it. It'll be over soon." Remus said calmly earning a small groan from Sirius but he was happy with that answer. A groan meant that he was right and Sirius could no longer argue.
"Well I'm going to go get ready to tryout. Are you coming?" Remus asked but Sirius shook his head. "I'll see you later." He said before picking up Remus' Charms book and began to read. Remus sighed but left him. He could not tell Sirius what to do. Sirius watched as Remus walked away. "To tryout or not to tryout, that is the question." Sirius thought. "Oh who am I kidding?" He said aloud before picking up Remus' book and walking out of the library.
Sirius walked up to the pitch, broom in hand, with his head held up high. His eyes caught James' from far away and James looked surprised but he smiled. Sirius winked back at him and went to join the other boys who were trying out as chaser. He had a few minutes to fly around a bit because James was trying out the keepers at that time. Remus was up next. Sirius crossed his fingers and waited for Robert Finnegan to shoot on Remus. Robert flew left and right as he tried to psych out Remus but Sirius was proud to say that Remus didn't fall for Robert's little game at all. Finally Robert shot the quaffle and Remus caught it easily. Remus saved a few more and only let one in when James started to shoot on him. Sirius was sure Remus would make the team. The others only saved a couple and let in a whole bunch. One of them even ducked when a ball came hurdling towards their head.
"All right, good job keepers. Now I would like to see the chasers on the pitch." James said loudly so everyone could hear him. Sirius sighed and picked up his broom. He got a clap on the back as he went by Remus. This simple move by his best friend scared all his nerves away and Sirius was ready to kick butt. The first exercise consisted of zigzagging between the players who were already on the Gryffindor team while James timed them. Sirius could've done this with his eyes closed as he made it look easy. James couldn't help but smile as he saw Sirius swooping through the air with ease. The second drill was passing and Sirius managed to ace all his passes and even invent a cool pass that made him look like a complete idiot but was highly effective. The last drill was shooting and Sirius managed to get 9 out of his 10 shots.
"Okay everyone. We're finished and I'd like to thank everyone who came out. You guys were awesome but unfortunately I can only pick 2 people. The results will be posted on the board tomorrow. Thanks again!" James said happily.
"Hey James! So…are we in or what?" Sirius asked James who smiled.
"I got to go talk to McGonagall. I'll see you guys later." James said before running off.
James PotterJames ran to the common room so he could post the results of the tryout. He wanted to do it when no one was there so he had to hurry before everyone came back from supper. He raced through the portrait and came to a halt when he saw Lily reading by the fire.
"Don't you eat?" He asked her.
"I ate earlier." She answered without looking up from her book. James shrugged in response and made his way to the board. "She doesn't care about quidditch anyway." He thought as he pinned the results on the board.
"Remus and Sirius. That's interesting." Lily said from right behind James causing him to jump.
"McGonagall and I came to that decision. They'll be great additions to the team." James said.
"I guess so. It really doesn't matter to me. It's just a game." Lily said and turned to go back to her book but James stopped her by taking her arm and turning her around so they were face to face.
"Can you honestly say that you don't care who wins the Quidditch Cup! Common! This is our last year. We have to come out on top." James argued.
"James, it's just a trophy."
"Maybe…"
"James?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you let go of my arm?" Lily asked and James quickly let her arm go. They both laughed nervously while James mentally kicked himself. The awkward silence was interrupted by Sirius coming in with a whole pumpkin pie he nicked from the Slytherin's table. He immediately sat down on one the couches and began to eat it with a fork he also nicked.
"Sirius?" James asked with annoyance.
"Yes James?" Sirius said mockingly.
"The list is up." James said between his teeth.
"That's good." Sirius answered between mouthfuls.
James couldn't take it anymore.
"You and Remus made the team!" He yelled. Sirius jumped up and gave James a big hug. He even hugged Lily who pushed him off but Sirius was too happy to notice. Remus came in and received a big hug without knowing why. Once he understood, he was also happy but he was much more reserved about it than Sirius who was now dancing on the tables. Once every Gryffindor returned from supper, they all celebrated. As soon as James had a small second to think he thought:
"We will win this year. Who cares if the Slytherins are bigger in size? We're faster and we will crush them until they can no longer move because we are Gryffindors, the brave and the noble. United we stand, divided we fall."