Disclaimer- I disclaim it all as much as it is possible to disclaim it.
Authoress's Note- (wringes hands) I've been gone for a bit, haven't I? Apologies. I haven't felt compelled to write up a new chapter for a while, and I've been trying to make a creditable advance on my manuscript because it's in dire need of work as well. Anyway I hope you all enjoy this chapter; I had a bit of trouble with it, so it's a bit short but no worries I'll get out a nice long chapter sometime soon! E.D.J.
(1)- The 'wee bit o' celebration' is borrowed from Friends. Ross plays the bagpipes. Don't ask.
Thanks for waiting so patiently, reviewers!
Black Emerald Dawn- I'm glad you thought it was great despite the obviousness of the last chapter!
ThelovelyladyLily- One of your friends hasn't seen the Holy Grail? (gasp) You must get them to watch it! I'm glad you liked the Bella giving Sirius a nice kick in the shins bit. Heh heh. I'm glad you're glad that Bella made it! (eh tongue twister, ain't it?) And I'm glad you like Shev! Perhaps he will be Cedric Diggory-like. Maybe I'd better write him up a brave scene of him getting killed by Voldemort, eh? Nah, I don't think I'd be able to kill him off. Is it bad for me to say that I think he's got a lot of potential to be very dreamy? (laughs) Oh well...
MeadowRunner- Thank you so much for all the reviews! (cheers) Ah yes the ever contraversial James Seeker vs. Chaser. They DO say in the movie that James is Seeker. I establish that fact. But if you look on the Harry Potter Lexicon, it shows that J.K. Rowling has mentioned that James was a Chaser. Due to the fact that the movies tend to alter things (i.e. when Harry gets his Firebolt et cetera), I base my canon facts on things that are specifically in the book or something that Ms. Rowling says. This is what the Harry Potter Lexicon says,"Y es, the editors are aware that on a summer's day when he was 15 he was fooling around with a Golden Snitch - much more effective to impress girls than a Quaffle, of course, and something that proves nothing about which position he actually played. JKR said in Sch2 that James was a Chaser, so until she explicitly says otherwise, her word goes." Get my point? To me as well, her word goes. Ah I must confess that I too like Monica Longbottom better than Bella Meadows, but as this story was written first and Bella was created first, she'll be sticking around; I'll be working on improving her as she goes. I have no idea if Mon will make an appearance in this story seeing as in Summer with the Arrogant Prat her brother Frank is a year older than her and the Marauders and in this one, Frank is the same age as the Marauders. Though I do enjoy the idea of Neville having a cool aunt so perhaps she'll make an appearance as a sister younger or older than Frank and the Marauders. Hee I'm glad you enjoyed the fact that your name got into the story! I looked at your author's page and noted the correct pronunciation of Nicola in the file of interesting names I have saved on my computer. I had no idea it could be pronounced 'nick-uh-luh.' Very interesting. I'm glad you liked the Quidditch. I agree I don't know how anyone couldn't like Quidditch! Yep Tamora Pierce and Ms. Rowling have terribly wonderful action scenes!
Harry Lvr- I'm glad you like Shev! Nope I didn't even think of Tonks when I thought about Shev not liking his name! I just thought, "Sacheverell. That's an incredibly cool sounding name, but I would actually want to be named that?" Therefore the shortening to 'Shev'. I'm glad you liked the ending of the chapter!
M.E.R Lupin- Aw you wish you could write stories like me? Thank you! That's such a sweet compliment! I'm glad you liked James's whooping incessantly bit. Heh heh. Dancing on the ceiling? Sounds like fun...
VixenMage- I'm glad you like the story!
Ch. 28- Midnight Merriment with the Marauders
Lily was dozing in the common room over her half-finished Herbology essay when a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and someone screamed, "I made it!"
She looked up to see Bella beaming down at her. "Made what?" Lily asked sleepily, eyes drooping.
"Beater!" snapped Bella impatiently. "I made Beater!"
"That's nice," murmured Lily, curling into a ball on the sofa and shutting her eyes again. A moment later, her eyes flew open again. "Did you—did you just say you made Beater?"
"Yes!" said Bella, rather exasperated by this point.
"Bella, I'm so proud of you!" squawked Lily, throwing her arms around her friend.
"Well, you could have had a better reaction the first time I told you," Bella grumbled to herself, but she was unable to wipe the silly grin from her face.
"Who else made it?" asked Lily eagerly. "Anyone we know?"
"Well—" began Bella, but she was interrupted when the portrait hole was flung open.
Sirius Black with James Potter on his shoulders galloped inside, both bellowing something along the lines of: "We made it!" "Potter's a Chaser!" "Black's Keeper!" "Go Gryffindor!"
"Will you stop that infernal racket?" asked a rather annoyed seventh-year girl who was furiously studying in front of the fire.
Sirius abruptly stopped his mad dash around the common room; so abruptly, that James was flung forward over Sirius's shoulders and onto the common room floor where he laid laughing and gasping for air.
"Sirius, you bloody idiot, help me up!" wheezed James; clutching his sides as he imagined how terribly funny he must have looked catapulting through the air.
Suddenly, not Sirius, but a smirking cloud of red hair loomed over him. "That's what you're sharing a team with, Bella?" Lily said, her voice rather flat. "I pity you, I really do."
"I got a place on the team; that's all that matters to me," Bella mumbled, staring at her feet to avoid Lily's steely gaze.
Realizing Sirius was in no mood to help him, James scrambled to his feet. "Not that this isn't the most interesting conversation I've ever had the joy of hearing, but I'd better be off for a wee bit o' celebration on Sirius's and my behalf." (1)
He nodded curtly at Lily and Bella then went and dislodged Sirius from the abandoned bag of Bertie Bott's Beans he'd happen to find under an armchair before the two of them thunder up the stairs.
"How could you agree to be on a team with those two on it?" demanded Lily after James and Sirius had disappeared. "I can't believe this!"
"Why?" asked Bella, shocked by Lily's cold tone.
"Because—because it's Black and Potter!" said Lily somewhat lamely. "I just don't see why you'd put me—yourself through this!"
"You know everything doesn't have to be about your silly feud with Potter!" snapped Bella. "Sometimes some things are more important!"
"Like a stupid sport on bloody broomsticks?" retorted Lily. "I didn't think you were one to put a hobby before friendship!"
Bella clenched her hands into fists, terribly frustrated. "This is not about me choosing Quidditch over my friendship with you! This about you making a big thing over nothing!"
"Nothing?" breathed Lily hotly. "The fact that he'll ruin my life even further through this is nothing?"
"How, Lily? How is Potter going to ruin your life because he and I are on the same Quidditch team, huh?" asked Bella furiously.
"I don't know! But he will!" Lily replied angrily.
Bella sighed. "Lily, you just can't understand why the fact that I'm actually playing Quidditch is more important than who I'm forced to play with."
"Why can't I understand? Do enlighten me!"
Bella shifted uncomfortably. "Well Lily, because you're a Muggle-born."
Lily gasped, her face contorted with rage. "Because I'm a Muggle-born?"
"Don't take it like that," murmured Bella. "It's just… I've loved Quidditch all my life, and finally, I can have something to show for that! Did you know I was the only girl who tried out for Beater? And I made it! I made it!" Her voice wavered slightly. "Haven't you ever wanted something so badly that it hurt? That's what Quidditch is to me, Lily—something deep in my bones. Can't you understand that?"
Lily merely scowled.
"Forget it," sighed Bella. "I'm going to bed. G'night."
Remus was woken from fitful dreams by the sound of his bed hangings being yanked back, a large thump, and the air suddenly rushing out of his lungs. He gave a strangled gasp and threw James's idiotic grinning form off him and onto the floor. James gave a yelp of pain, and Remus was pleased when a similar yelp came from Peter's direction.
"I take it you made the team then?" grumbled Remus, staring bleary-eyed down at James. "Or did you and Sirius just suddenly get the urge to act like complete dolts? I mean, more dolt-like than usual."
James merely grumbled and rubbed a bruise on his elbow. Whether it was from the Quidditch tryouts or from Remus tossing him to the ground, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it hurt.
Just then, both Sirius and Peter appeared on the other side of the bed. Peter looked slightly panicky and was shooting angry glares at Sirius, who looked gleeful and full of boundless energy.
Not a good sign that James and Sirius were in the mood to simply go to sleep after their successful tryouts.
"So…" said Remus, picking at a loose thread on his pajamas and pretending to be oblivious to the gleam in James and Sirius's eyes. "Can I go back to sleep now?"
"Well, we were thinking that some sort of celebration is in order," said James evasively. "After all, tomorrow is only Sunday. We can afford a bit of merriment."
Remus groaned and buried his face in his pillow. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
"Come on, Remmy," moaned Sirius, tugging at Remus's arm, "you're so boring!"
"I am not boring!" snapped Remus. "I am tired!"
"Well that changes everything!" gasped Sirius, pretending to be astonished.
James put a hand to his chin, thinking for a moment before saying, "Would it change your mind if I said I thought I'd discovered where the kitchens are?"
"What?" exclaimed Remus, bolting up from his bed. "When? How?"
"Overheard Wolcosh telling the horrible Slytherin Head Boy Norrington on the first day back," murmured James, stifling a yawn. "Seems she doesn't expect the git to abuse the privilege, but I've seen him sneaking down that way twice this week."
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" hissed Peter, jumping excitedly. "We've been back for more than a week!"
James grinned wickedly. "I didn't think we'd had an appropriate occasion to visit the kitchens yet."
"Appropriate occasion?" said Sirius indignantly. "What isn't an appropriate occasion to get food?"
"Yeah, I mean, were you just going to keep this a secret from us if you didn't make the team?" gasped Remus, feigning horror.
James looked as if he was beginning to regret telling them about the kitchens.
"I am shocked, Jamesie!" moaned Sirius as if James had mortally wounded him. "Shocked to my very—"
"Alright!" said James, rather exasperated. "Let's just go!"
After all four boys had hurriedly dressed and James had grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and thrown it over the lot of them, they tiptoed silently down seven flights of stairs to the Entrance Hall.
"This way," hissed James, motioning toward a door to the right of the main staircase.
Peter pushed the door open and winced as it creaked. The four boys trudged down the corridor until James stopped suddenly in front of a painting of a large bowl of fruit.
"This is it," breathed James, smiling up at the painting and quickly scanning the corridor for any sign of any wandering ghosts, Filch, or Peeves. "Tickle the pear," he ordered Remus, who was the closest to the painting.
"Tickle the what?" exclaimed Remus, rather startled.
"Tickle the pear," repeated James.
"Why?" asked Remus suspiciously. "Last time you told me to mess with one of the painting, it ended up shouting insults at me for a week!"
James grinned wickedly. "That was a rather funny—"
"Oh bugger," groaned Sirius, pushing past Remus, "if you two are going to stand here forever and argue over why or why not Remmy should be tickling a bloody pear, I'll do it myself insults or not!"
With that, he reached up and tickled the pear, which gave a loud chuckle that echoed down the corridor and turned into a door handle.
"Hope no one heard that," murmured Peter as Sirius grasped the door handle and silently pushed the door open.
The boys paraded down a long staircase and ended up in a large, stone room bedecked with every necessity needed to cook a proper meal.
They were just noticing the four large tables that seemed about the same size and in the same position as the House tables in the Great Hall when high voice squeaked, "Is something there? Nixie is sure she heard someone…"
A bat-eared house elf stepped appeared from behind one of the large tables.She was dressed in a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest that was worn like a toga. The elf looked rather frightened as she stared through the four boys and up the stairs.
With a silent agreement, all four boys flung the Invisibility Cloak off themselves, and Nixie gave a loud shriek as they appeared, seemingly out of thin air.
"Nixie?" called another elf voice. "Is you alright?"
"Nixie is alright," said the elf, though her eyes were still rather wide and frightened-looking. "It is students! Boys!"
"Boys?" asked the voice questioningly, and another house elf rushed out from around a corner. It stared at the four Marauders, its gaze stern. "Most boys is being in bed at night," it said disapprovingly. "Perry knows that Master Dumbledore would not like this…"
"They is not hurting anything!" retorted Nixie, glaring at the other elf. She turned to the four boys who had been standing quietly, wondering what they would do now that they had reached the kitchens. "Is you boys hungry?"
"Food?" asked Sirius hopefully.
The elf nodded, and they all happily agreed to a bit of a snack, ignoring the harsh frown on Perry's face.
'A bit of a snack' was an understatement. The Marauders soon found themselves seated at a small wooden table with a large plate of delectable pastries in front of them and bottles of Butterbeer in their hands.
"Mmm…" murmured James contently, leaning back in his chair as he wolfed down half his pastry in mere seconds. "Excellent nosh, Nixie."
The elf merely smiled knowingly and went to shoo Perry away, so he would stop sending glowers their way. When she returned, she said tentatively, "Perry is not happy, but he says if you insists, you is allowed to come get food from the kitchens whenever you likes."
"Really?" said Sirius, a hint of glee in his voice, and his three friends groaned, knowing they'd never get him out of the kitchens now unless they bound and gagged him.
"Really," said Nixie firmly. "But now it is long past time for boys to be asleep." She shooed them toward the stairs. "What is your names so Nixie is addressing you properly if you returns?"
"James Potter."
"Sirius Black."
"Remus Lupin."
"Peter Pettigrew."
Nixie nodded and smiled. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, Nixie is expecting you back very soon."
The boys nodded to her, threw the Invisibility Cloak over themselves, and scurried up the stairs. But not without Sirius dragging them back to grab the last few pastries first.
I know it's short; no one remind me! Anyway I'll attempt to get a much longer, much more fulfilling chapter up sometime in in the future! Hopefully near future! E.D.J.