AN: Thanks to those who reviewed! Yay! OK, I decided to make James a Chaser
in this one. I know, I know, James was a Seeker in the SS movie...but
people keep saying that JKR said he was a Chaser so I'm going to go with
that assumption. Ahem...
Harry gasped as James pulled out of a sharp dive and hurtled straight upwards. The Slytherin Chaser above him barely had time to react as James grabbed the Quaffle off of him and zoomed towards the other side of the field.
Harry and Lupin were sitting next to Sirius, Remus, and Peter amidst a crowd of highly excited Griffindors. All three of them leapt to their feet and cheered wildly as James hurled the Quaffle into the goalpost, past the head of an extremely disgruntled Slytherin Keeper. Harry recognized Lucius Malfoy for a third time. Malfoy scowled as the Griffindor section exploded with cheers and several "Oh!'s" as James yelled exuberantly and did number of complicated loops in the air.
Harry couldn't help being impressed as well. James really was a good Quidditch player. Despite the fact that he did seem to be transforming quickly into the arrogant jerk Harry had seen in Snape's memory last year, he somehow felt a sense of pride. He felt a tiny bit closer to the impossibly distant ghost that was his father.
"GRIFFINDOR SCORES!" boomed the announcer. "230 TO 40!" James had scored again. He seemed to be the main attraction of the game. People hardly noticed when the Slytherin Seeker caught the snitch, possibly because the victory still decisively belonged to Griffindor.
"What year is this?" Harry asked Lupin curiously.
"Third year, if I'm not mistaken," replied Lupin. James's friends had raced over to congratulate him after the two teams had shaken hands, but Harry and Lupin were following them at a leisurely pace. After seeing so many memories, the novelty had worn off slightly and Harry had started resisting the urge to sprint around constantly.
A gang of Slytherins, including Snape, had walked over to the pitch to console their team. They stood next to Lucius and glared at the celebrating Griffindors, James in particular. The Slytherins were conversing quietly. Lucius leaned over and whispered something at the crowd of third years, who grinned and looked at Snape expectantly. Snape was looking extremely apprehensive. Harry strolled over to the Slytherins and listened to their conversation.
"Come on, Severus," whined Bellatrix. "You hate Potter. You're the best at curses. Right guys?" The crowd around them nodded in agreement. Harry had the vague idea that they were just trying to stay out of trouble. Snape turned towards the Maruaders. His eyes narrowed in intense dislike when they fell upon James, which seemed to set his resolve. He walked towards James. The rest of the Slytherins followed a short distance behind him, grinning maliciously.
"Nice game, Potter," hissed Snape in a silky tone. "I especially enjoyed all those times you plummeted downward. Of course, it was terribly disappointing when you didn't hit the ground. It's really not surprising how often you fly downwards, I imagine that broom has an extremely difficult time keeping your swollen head in the air...."
"At least I can ride a broom, Snivellus," snapped James. Snape scowled. The two groups of third years were now slightly spread out, as if they were meeting on the battlefield.
"You think you're so great, Potter, just because you can toss a stupid ball through a hoop...swaggering around like you own the school..." continued Snape hatefully.
"Shut up, Snivellus," said Sirius. He seemed to be sizing up the crowd in front of him. A gang of older Slytherins, including Malfoy, was surveying the scene with immense satisfaction.
"Make me," replied Snape icily.
"Maybe I will," growled James, pulling his wand out and pointing it menacingly at Snape. Snape decided not to wait and see whether or not James would follow through with his threat.
"Serpensortia!" yelled Snape. A large angry looking snake was advancing towards James. Something stirred in Harry's memory.
"Hey!" he said suddenly. "Snape told Malfoy to use that curse on me when we were in dueling club second year!"
"I think Severus still feels that there are a great number of unresolved issues between himself and James," said Lupin, laughing.
"He acts like I bullied him in school," complained Harry. "He's always hated me. I never did anything to him." Snape was smiling in satisfaction as the snake advanced on James. Remus stepped forward and vanished the snake. The Slytherins looked highly disappointed.
"He sees your father in you, Harry," said Lupin. "Both the good and the bad. It must be quite frustrating for him. He's always hated your father, but it's hard to wish ill will upon someone who died so tragically. I assume he wishes he could just hate your father's memory without feeling guilty, so he has to settle for hating you instead."
Pandemonium had broken out amongst the two conflicting groups on the Quidditch pitch. Curses were flying in every direction as a few teachers raced onto the field to break up the conflict.
"Well, I'm not apologizing to Snape for anything," insisted Harry, but a spasm of guilt flitted across his face.
"We were awful to him, I know," sighed Lupin.
"You weren't nearly as bad as James and Sirius," said Harry miserably.
"I'm in no way excusable from blame," said Lupin firmly. "Don't worry, he hates me, too," he added, smiling.
Professor McGonagall was pulling James and Sirius towards the castle by their necks, shrieking about detentions and inexcusable behavior. Sirius was stumbling along, looking confused and making wild gestures towards his ears. The geraniums growing out of his ears probably made hearing McGonagall quite difficult. Most of James's body, which had been incapacitated by what seemed to be a Jelly-Legs Jinx, was dragging on the ground and James was looking disoriented. The scene faded as the rest of the dueling students were dragged off the field.
They were standing in the hallway next to a 13 year old Snape. It was nearly sunset. Snape was peering cautiously around a suit of armor as two figures slipped quietly out onto the grounds. They were conversing in low, but polite tones.
"I didn't know you liked Danten," said 13 year old Remus in surprise.
"Why not?" asked Madam Pomfrey, laughing. "I've always loved poetry, and he's one of the best writers of our age..."
Snape ducked down as they passed him. He remerged as soon as the door closed with a soft thud and moved to follow Remus and Madam Pomfrey. Before his hand reached the door knob, he was interrupted.
"Snivelly, Snivelly, Snivelly," said Sirius shaking his head. He was leaning casually against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to pay Lupin a visit," Snape sneered in reply. "He's always disappearing, I'd think you'd be curious as well..."
"Really?" asked Sirius, smirking. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get Remus in trouble."
"In trouble for what?" asked Snape quickly, apparently hoping he could trick a confession out of Sirius.
Sirius grinned mischievously. "Really, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," he said, his eyes glinting. "But I do know that if you want to follow Remus you simply have to take the secret passage under the Whomping Willow."
"What secret passage?" demanded Snape. "How am I supposed to get past that bloody tree?"
"There's a knot under the branches," explained Sirius. "Just give it a prod with a long stick, it freezes all the branches."
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Snape suspiciously.
"Snivelly!" said Sirius in mock outrage. "Don't you trust me? I thought we were friends!"
Snape made no reply. He glanced quickly at the door. He seemed to be struggling internally. Trusting Sirius was obviously a bad idea, but there was also the tempting option of satiating his curiosity.
Sirius grinned wickedly. "Have a nice night, Snivelly." He turned and headed down the hall, snickering. Snape stared intensely at the doorknob. Finally, his curiosity won out. He wrenched open one of the doors and slipped outside.
Lupin made a few disapproving tutting noises under his breath.
AN: Ooh, a cliffhanger. I know no one has ANY idea what's going to happen next, lol.
Harry gasped as James pulled out of a sharp dive and hurtled straight upwards. The Slytherin Chaser above him barely had time to react as James grabbed the Quaffle off of him and zoomed towards the other side of the field.
Harry and Lupin were sitting next to Sirius, Remus, and Peter amidst a crowd of highly excited Griffindors. All three of them leapt to their feet and cheered wildly as James hurled the Quaffle into the goalpost, past the head of an extremely disgruntled Slytherin Keeper. Harry recognized Lucius Malfoy for a third time. Malfoy scowled as the Griffindor section exploded with cheers and several "Oh!'s" as James yelled exuberantly and did number of complicated loops in the air.
Harry couldn't help being impressed as well. James really was a good Quidditch player. Despite the fact that he did seem to be transforming quickly into the arrogant jerk Harry had seen in Snape's memory last year, he somehow felt a sense of pride. He felt a tiny bit closer to the impossibly distant ghost that was his father.
"GRIFFINDOR SCORES!" boomed the announcer. "230 TO 40!" James had scored again. He seemed to be the main attraction of the game. People hardly noticed when the Slytherin Seeker caught the snitch, possibly because the victory still decisively belonged to Griffindor.
"What year is this?" Harry asked Lupin curiously.
"Third year, if I'm not mistaken," replied Lupin. James's friends had raced over to congratulate him after the two teams had shaken hands, but Harry and Lupin were following them at a leisurely pace. After seeing so many memories, the novelty had worn off slightly and Harry had started resisting the urge to sprint around constantly.
A gang of Slytherins, including Snape, had walked over to the pitch to console their team. They stood next to Lucius and glared at the celebrating Griffindors, James in particular. The Slytherins were conversing quietly. Lucius leaned over and whispered something at the crowd of third years, who grinned and looked at Snape expectantly. Snape was looking extremely apprehensive. Harry strolled over to the Slytherins and listened to their conversation.
"Come on, Severus," whined Bellatrix. "You hate Potter. You're the best at curses. Right guys?" The crowd around them nodded in agreement. Harry had the vague idea that they were just trying to stay out of trouble. Snape turned towards the Maruaders. His eyes narrowed in intense dislike when they fell upon James, which seemed to set his resolve. He walked towards James. The rest of the Slytherins followed a short distance behind him, grinning maliciously.
"Nice game, Potter," hissed Snape in a silky tone. "I especially enjoyed all those times you plummeted downward. Of course, it was terribly disappointing when you didn't hit the ground. It's really not surprising how often you fly downwards, I imagine that broom has an extremely difficult time keeping your swollen head in the air...."
"At least I can ride a broom, Snivellus," snapped James. Snape scowled. The two groups of third years were now slightly spread out, as if they were meeting on the battlefield.
"You think you're so great, Potter, just because you can toss a stupid ball through a hoop...swaggering around like you own the school..." continued Snape hatefully.
"Shut up, Snivellus," said Sirius. He seemed to be sizing up the crowd in front of him. A gang of older Slytherins, including Malfoy, was surveying the scene with immense satisfaction.
"Make me," replied Snape icily.
"Maybe I will," growled James, pulling his wand out and pointing it menacingly at Snape. Snape decided not to wait and see whether or not James would follow through with his threat.
"Serpensortia!" yelled Snape. A large angry looking snake was advancing towards James. Something stirred in Harry's memory.
"Hey!" he said suddenly. "Snape told Malfoy to use that curse on me when we were in dueling club second year!"
"I think Severus still feels that there are a great number of unresolved issues between himself and James," said Lupin, laughing.
"He acts like I bullied him in school," complained Harry. "He's always hated me. I never did anything to him." Snape was smiling in satisfaction as the snake advanced on James. Remus stepped forward and vanished the snake. The Slytherins looked highly disappointed.
"He sees your father in you, Harry," said Lupin. "Both the good and the bad. It must be quite frustrating for him. He's always hated your father, but it's hard to wish ill will upon someone who died so tragically. I assume he wishes he could just hate your father's memory without feeling guilty, so he has to settle for hating you instead."
Pandemonium had broken out amongst the two conflicting groups on the Quidditch pitch. Curses were flying in every direction as a few teachers raced onto the field to break up the conflict.
"Well, I'm not apologizing to Snape for anything," insisted Harry, but a spasm of guilt flitted across his face.
"We were awful to him, I know," sighed Lupin.
"You weren't nearly as bad as James and Sirius," said Harry miserably.
"I'm in no way excusable from blame," said Lupin firmly. "Don't worry, he hates me, too," he added, smiling.
Professor McGonagall was pulling James and Sirius towards the castle by their necks, shrieking about detentions and inexcusable behavior. Sirius was stumbling along, looking confused and making wild gestures towards his ears. The geraniums growing out of his ears probably made hearing McGonagall quite difficult. Most of James's body, which had been incapacitated by what seemed to be a Jelly-Legs Jinx, was dragging on the ground and James was looking disoriented. The scene faded as the rest of the dueling students were dragged off the field.
They were standing in the hallway next to a 13 year old Snape. It was nearly sunset. Snape was peering cautiously around a suit of armor as two figures slipped quietly out onto the grounds. They were conversing in low, but polite tones.
"I didn't know you liked Danten," said 13 year old Remus in surprise.
"Why not?" asked Madam Pomfrey, laughing. "I've always loved poetry, and he's one of the best writers of our age..."
Snape ducked down as they passed him. He remerged as soon as the door closed with a soft thud and moved to follow Remus and Madam Pomfrey. Before his hand reached the door knob, he was interrupted.
"Snivelly, Snivelly, Snivelly," said Sirius shaking his head. He was leaning casually against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to pay Lupin a visit," Snape sneered in reply. "He's always disappearing, I'd think you'd be curious as well..."
"Really?" asked Sirius, smirking. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get Remus in trouble."
"In trouble for what?" asked Snape quickly, apparently hoping he could trick a confession out of Sirius.
Sirius grinned mischievously. "Really, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," he said, his eyes glinting. "But I do know that if you want to follow Remus you simply have to take the secret passage under the Whomping Willow."
"What secret passage?" demanded Snape. "How am I supposed to get past that bloody tree?"
"There's a knot under the branches," explained Sirius. "Just give it a prod with a long stick, it freezes all the branches."
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Snape suspiciously.
"Snivelly!" said Sirius in mock outrage. "Don't you trust me? I thought we were friends!"
Snape made no reply. He glanced quickly at the door. He seemed to be struggling internally. Trusting Sirius was obviously a bad idea, but there was also the tempting option of satiating his curiosity.
Sirius grinned wickedly. "Have a nice night, Snivelly." He turned and headed down the hall, snickering. Snape stared intensely at the doorknob. Finally, his curiosity won out. He wrenched open one of the doors and slipped outside.
Lupin made a few disapproving tutting noises under his breath.
AN: Ooh, a cliffhanger. I know no one has ANY idea what's going to happen next, lol.