Chapter 5
"Did you hear? Opus Smethywck's got the pox, it's going around Hufflepuff House," Peter said eagerly to his friends at breakfast. The Great Hall was noisy with all the black-robed students sitting down and chatting over toast. The four Gryffindor friends were no exception.
"Small, chicken, or dragon?" Remus asked as he reached for the marmalade.
"Does it matter?" asked Peter, disappointed.
"So it's a miasma," said James. "We'll get over it soon enough. Pomfrey's more than up to it, I'm sure."
"Concerning Hufflepuff, you haven't given your new strategies for the game next week, Prongs."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, I'll give them to you on Friday."
"Friday! We have practice on Thursday, that'll never do."
" 'We'? Since when are you on the Quidditch team?" Remus asked. He sucked on his spoon and looked thoughtfully at Sirius.
"Assistant Captain," Sirius said in a bored voice, pulling a piece of parchment out of his pocket that was signed by James Potter, Captain of Gryffindor Team. On Sirius' lapel, there was a wooden badge with a Snitch engraved upon it. "I evaluate the plays, make sure they're legit and everything."
"You do not. You only want to see what I'm planning, so you can change it," said James, scrunching his nose at Sirius.
"Only revising until we achieve perfection," retorted Sirius. "And you all know what Hufflepuff's like this year. Bulldozed over Slytherin just before Halloween, as I recall."
"But we flattened Ravenclaw," protested Peter. "Never had a chance, did they?"
"Ravenclaw has been going down the toilet for three years now. All they can hope for now is a renaissance next year," said James. "Slytherin has been lagging a bit this season, but not as bad as Ravenclaw. It's between us and Hufflepuff."
"Well, I'm off," said Remus standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "See you in charms."
"'Bye, Moony," called Sirius and James.
"Er, Prongs," said Sirius, eying Peter. "We have that meeting, you know, must dash-"
"Right you are," James said quickly. "Wormtail, would you mind fetching my bag for me? I need it for, er, Transfiguration. It's in the dormitory."
"Sure, sure, I'll get it right away," said Peter. He said this very quickly and just as suddenly tripped while swinging his legs over the bench to stand up. "I'll be back really fast."
"Peter, just be in Transfiguration with my bag, okay?" said James.
"Of course, of course," said Peter, and as quickly as a mouse, he dashed out of the Great Hall.
"He's so thick, he didn't even notice you had your bag on the table," said Sirius, pointing to the sack resting guiltily next to the milk. "Why do we even bother with him?"
"Oh, come on, he's a good fellow," said James. "A little awkward, but he'll grow out of that. Let's go now, we're late meeting with Evans." He gathered his bag and loosened his tie, but not before quickly running his fingers through his hair.
"You pity him, I saw it the day we met and six years later I still see it," said Sirius, walking in stride with him into the Entrance Hall. Although Ravenclaw might have been pitiful at Quidditch, it had no lack in points. The indigo stones had sunk into a hefty pile in the bottom bulb of the Ravenclaw hourglass.
"I would pity you too if your dad died when you were nine," said James. "And here he is, this chubby little eleven-year-old looking as though he's going to cry while Slytherins are leering at him."
"If it were me, I'd sock 'em all in the nose, seeing as I couldn't curse them when I was eleven," replied Sirius. "I wouldn't stand there looking like a horse carcass while vultures are circling."
"So what would you have done, Padoot, eh? If you were in my spot?"
"Well, first of all, I would have gone for the family jewels and not the stomach, meself. And it would have been Snape I'd gotten to first, not Malfoy."
"Well, anyway, you would have bailed him out, too, right? So young Wormtail and myself gets on the train, and what do you know, this gangly-"
"-striking-"
"-oddball-"
"-dashing debonair-"
"-funny little kid-"
"-prodigy child-"
"-is in the compartment we're in. And he says-"
"I'm Black. Sirius Black," they said together, laughing.
"And I said I was James, and this was Peter, and you said I looked like a tomato, with my face flush from my little disagreement with the Slytherins. And my friend looked like a drowned rat."
"Well, you didn't take that very well, as I recall," said Sirius, unable to keep from snickering a bit. "Insisted on fighting me, as doomed as you were."
"Doomed? Unless your meaning of doomed is 'destined to be victorious'."
"I won that fight and you know it!" cried Sirius, and they began to wrestle good-naturedly in the hall. They charged into the girl's bathroom together, laughing at the top of their lungs.
"Idiots, be quiet!" they heard a shrill girl's voice say.
And at that moment they remembered the skinny little redheaded girl that had barged into the their compartment on the first trip to Hogwarts.
"Did you hear? Opus Smethywck's got the pox, it's going around Hufflepuff House," Peter said eagerly to his friends at breakfast. The Great Hall was noisy with all the black-robed students sitting down and chatting over toast. The four Gryffindor friends were no exception.
"Small, chicken, or dragon?" Remus asked as he reached for the marmalade.
"Does it matter?" asked Peter, disappointed.
"So it's a miasma," said James. "We'll get over it soon enough. Pomfrey's more than up to it, I'm sure."
"Concerning Hufflepuff, you haven't given your new strategies for the game next week, Prongs."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, I'll give them to you on Friday."
"Friday! We have practice on Thursday, that'll never do."
" 'We'? Since when are you on the Quidditch team?" Remus asked. He sucked on his spoon and looked thoughtfully at Sirius.
"Assistant Captain," Sirius said in a bored voice, pulling a piece of parchment out of his pocket that was signed by James Potter, Captain of Gryffindor Team. On Sirius' lapel, there was a wooden badge with a Snitch engraved upon it. "I evaluate the plays, make sure they're legit and everything."
"You do not. You only want to see what I'm planning, so you can change it," said James, scrunching his nose at Sirius.
"Only revising until we achieve perfection," retorted Sirius. "And you all know what Hufflepuff's like this year. Bulldozed over Slytherin just before Halloween, as I recall."
"But we flattened Ravenclaw," protested Peter. "Never had a chance, did they?"
"Ravenclaw has been going down the toilet for three years now. All they can hope for now is a renaissance next year," said James. "Slytherin has been lagging a bit this season, but not as bad as Ravenclaw. It's between us and Hufflepuff."
"Well, I'm off," said Remus standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "See you in charms."
"'Bye, Moony," called Sirius and James.
"Er, Prongs," said Sirius, eying Peter. "We have that meeting, you know, must dash-"
"Right you are," James said quickly. "Wormtail, would you mind fetching my bag for me? I need it for, er, Transfiguration. It's in the dormitory."
"Sure, sure, I'll get it right away," said Peter. He said this very quickly and just as suddenly tripped while swinging his legs over the bench to stand up. "I'll be back really fast."
"Peter, just be in Transfiguration with my bag, okay?" said James.
"Of course, of course," said Peter, and as quickly as a mouse, he dashed out of the Great Hall.
"He's so thick, he didn't even notice you had your bag on the table," said Sirius, pointing to the sack resting guiltily next to the milk. "Why do we even bother with him?"
"Oh, come on, he's a good fellow," said James. "A little awkward, but he'll grow out of that. Let's go now, we're late meeting with Evans." He gathered his bag and loosened his tie, but not before quickly running his fingers through his hair.
"You pity him, I saw it the day we met and six years later I still see it," said Sirius, walking in stride with him into the Entrance Hall. Although Ravenclaw might have been pitiful at Quidditch, it had no lack in points. The indigo stones had sunk into a hefty pile in the bottom bulb of the Ravenclaw hourglass.
"I would pity you too if your dad died when you were nine," said James. "And here he is, this chubby little eleven-year-old looking as though he's going to cry while Slytherins are leering at him."
"If it were me, I'd sock 'em all in the nose, seeing as I couldn't curse them when I was eleven," replied Sirius. "I wouldn't stand there looking like a horse carcass while vultures are circling."
"So what would you have done, Padoot, eh? If you were in my spot?"
"Well, first of all, I would have gone for the family jewels and not the stomach, meself. And it would have been Snape I'd gotten to first, not Malfoy."
"Well, anyway, you would have bailed him out, too, right? So young Wormtail and myself gets on the train, and what do you know, this gangly-"
"-striking-"
"-oddball-"
"-dashing debonair-"
"-funny little kid-"
"-prodigy child-"
"-is in the compartment we're in. And he says-"
"I'm Black. Sirius Black," they said together, laughing.
"And I said I was James, and this was Peter, and you said I looked like a tomato, with my face flush from my little disagreement with the Slytherins. And my friend looked like a drowned rat."
"Well, you didn't take that very well, as I recall," said Sirius, unable to keep from snickering a bit. "Insisted on fighting me, as doomed as you were."
"Doomed? Unless your meaning of doomed is 'destined to be victorious'."
"I won that fight and you know it!" cried Sirius, and they began to wrestle good-naturedly in the hall. They charged into the girl's bathroom together, laughing at the top of their lungs.
"Idiots, be quiet!" they heard a shrill girl's voice say.
And at that moment they remembered the skinny little redheaded girl that had barged into the their compartment on the first trip to Hogwarts.