"Good luck today!" Alice Fortescue said as Blythe and I passed her on our way to breakfast.

Alice was a year older than us and a fellow Gryffindor along with her boyfriend Frank Longbottom. The two of them were known by pretty much the entire school for being the most genuinely nice and friendly people to anyone who crossed their path. Since Frank was also a year older, he had to put up with being in the same dorm as the Marauders; poor bloke.

"Thanks Alice!" we both said as we continued out of the portrait hole.

"Ready to squash some snakes?" Max asked as we sat down beside him in the Great Hall and reached for a bowl of porridge.

"Born ready," I said while Blythe nodded confidently beside me.

Our practices had gone by extremely well, and Riley was already becoming a prized asset to the team.

"Anything today?" I asked as I noticed Fern reading the Daily Prophet like she did every morning.

"Your parents are investigating some more disappearances of some muggles in Yorkshire," she responded while I frowned at her.

It seemed her parents were always in the middle of an investigation which centered on the looming war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It made Adeline's stomach knot as she feared for her parents' safety more and more these days. Being the face of the Auror department and being responsible for raiding Dark Wizard houses and hideaways did not earn you a forgiving reputation amongst the dark wizarding community.

James and Adeline also found this relationship to filter over into their lives at Hogwarts. It seemed there were many children of Death Eaters and their supporters who attended the school and were destined to follow in their family's footsteps; and unsurprisingly to Addie, they were mostly from Slytherin house. Her father usually told her and James the names of highly suspected Death Eaters since he knew their children went to school with them, much to their mother's hesitance. Their mother was always less willing to pass along information since she thought it would jeopardize their safety, they were still students after all. But so far Adeline knew of Rodulphus and Rabastan Lestrange, Sirius' cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa Black who were following in their family belief of blood-supremacy, and Alecto and Amycus Carrow, the Slytherin team's beaters. These group of seventh years all hung out together as well and were mostly avoided by the other students at Hogwarts. But Addie found them all to be cowards who stood behind a man who was no more important or impressive than a dung beetle. But what really bothered her was how much Sirius was targeted by his relatives who prided themselves on upholding the Black name and accusing Sirius of sullying it.

"Morning all," Sirius exclaimed as he and his dorm mates joined our group for breakfast.

"Anything new with mom and dad?" James asked as he looked towards the paper.

"Just another investigation," I answered while he simply just nodded.

I didn't think James was as nervous as I was about mom and dad, especially since I knew both he and Sirius had plans of becoming Aurors once they graduated in a couple of years; something that also made me nervous.

"Ready to kick some Slytherin arse?" James asked as he changed the subject, showing even more confidence than I felt.

I didn't doubt my quidditch abilities, or any of my teammates, but the Slytherin team were ruthless and hardly ever played clean, especially against us.

"Didn't Amycus almost send you off your broom last year?" Elodie asked nervously while Max scoffed.

"Yes, well I wasn't expecting him to come up from behind and actually beat me over the head with his bat, but now I'm ready for anything," Max said in a waveringly confident tone.

"They beat you over the head?" I heard Riley ask from down the table as his face started to turn stark white.

"Yea, Slytherin are pretty nasty players, so don't let your guard down for a minute," James explained while Riley only nodded.

I could now see him having difficulty swallowing his porridge.

"Don't completely scare our new chaser," I chastised to my brother. "We need him to score goals."

"Yea, but the lad needs to know what he's dealing with," Sirius reasoned.

"I guess you're right."

"Alright team let's head out, shall we?" Indigo said as she approached us from the far end of the table.

We all stood up and followed our captain out of the Great Hall. Most of us walked in silence except for Sirius and James who never seemed to be able to stop laughing whenever they were together. Once we were all in the changeroom it seemed only seconds before we were being called out by the announcer. We walked out in single file as the stands erupted into loud cheering at the sight of us. Most of the school showed their favour for Gryffindor by dawning some sort of red and gold paraphernalia while the Slytherins loyally hoisted their own house colours of green and silver.

Indigo went to meet Sirius' brother Regulus in the middle of the pitch since he was the captain of the Slytherin team. They shook hands before we all mounted our brooms in anticipation of the whistle. When it was blown moments later, everyone took off into the air and diverted to their respective positions. It didn't take long before I was in front of the Gryffindor goalpost where I watched Indigo carrying the quaffle towards the other end of the pitch. Max had just passed it to her as she easily scored the goal. The Slytherin keeper, Vincent Crabbe, was big and boorish, but greatly lacked the necessary techniques and skill to be a good keeper. This meant that Gryffindor easily scored on them. In turn however, Slytherin quickly became frustrated which increased their number of illegal moves.

I was now watching as Emma Vanity approached me with the quaffle. Max and Riley were trying to get it away from her but she had gotten a head start and I knew they wouldn't make it in time. I wasn't worried though as I knew how Vanity played and that she would make a duck at the last minute to try and score in the left hoop. But as I was watching her I noticed a blur of something coming at me from my right which caused me to turn my gaze. I saw two beater bats rocketing towards me without being held by their respective beaters. I ducked out of the way to avoid being taken out just as Vanity threw the ball and scored. Indigo immediately called a time-out.

"That's a foul!" James hollered as he rushed over to where most of the players were now congregated in front of the Gryffindor goalpost.

"You can't toss bats at players, least of all the keeper!" Indigo argued as I saw her usually absent anger roiling to the surface.

"Gryffindor get's a penalty shot," the referee said banally, with little interest in the illegal action having just taken place.

"You alright Ly?" Sirius asked while I repositioned myself on my broom and nodded.

He gave me one more look as if to confirm it for himself before nodding and setting off down the pitch. The game re-started when the whistle was blown and Max took the penalty shot. He easily made the goal which then caused the game to go back into play. Sirius and Blythe were now getting more ruthless with their plays, as if they weren't already before. The Carrow's however were just as brutal and lacked the obedience towards any of the rules. It soon became a minefield as the chasers were continually dodging bludgers and the occasional beaters bat. The chasers were also more forceful as they tried to unseat their opponents off their brooms.

Thankfully, about ten minutes later, I watched James out of the corner of my eye dive towards a glint of gold. Moments later he was holding the snitch triumphantly in his hand, Gryffindor had won.

"You weren't kidding!" Riley said as we all walked towards the changeroom.

I could see a few bruises on his arms as well as a slight limp in his gait; however, this did not seem to dampen his triumphant spirits.

"Yea, Slytherins don't know the meaning of the word civil," James spat as I shot him a look.

As much as I despised most of our Slytherin school mates, James always seemed to outwardly loathe them. It made me uneasy sometimes, especially when he targeted them at random in the corridors.

"Party in the Gryffindor Tower!" Max shouted, successfully changing the topic and converting James' loathing into excitement.

"We'll get the supplies!" Sirius said while I shot him a questioning look.

As close as I was with James and his friends, they weren't really that forthcoming with some of their shared secrets, their capacity to produce sweets and beverages at a moments notice being one of them.

As we walked back to the castle however, we unfortunately crossed paths with Severus Snape.

"Looks like your poor little team couldn't win against us mighty Gryffindor's," James boasted; the two boys being mortal enemies.

"It's pathetic that you think somehow brawn outclasses pure intellect," Snape quipped which provoked James' short fuse.

In response James drew out his wand towards Severus before any of us could react to the situation.

However, someone else with much a quicker reflex approached.

"James Potter put down your wand at once!" Lily Evans demanded as she stormed over.

"Butt out Evans," James said with much less anger in his voice.

"I will not let you attack Severus just for your own entertainment and ego," she spat back at him while I thought I saw James flinch.

"He's insulting me and my team," he explained while Lily remained vigil.

"You can't go around hexing every person who doesn't agree with you," Lily continued before I finally saw James lower his wand.

"Fine," James said as he pocketed his wand and Sirius went to lead him away.

"Let's go Sev," Lily said while I watched Severus shake off her hand.

"Let go of me, I don't need you to protect me!" he shouted unreasonably at her as I saw her face turn from annoyance at James to hurt.

"Sev," she whispered as he shook his head and stormed off.

"That ugly little snake," James said as I saw him reaching for his wand once more and starting off towards Severus.

"What is wrong with you?" Lily shouted at James before she herself ran off in the opposite direction, no doubt holding back the tears which were evident in her voice.

James had stopped in his tracks and I could see a look of indecision and confusion on his face. I knew James could be arrogant at times which always led him to act as he saw fit with little regard for anyone else, let alone the rules. However, it seemed Lily Evans had the skills to somehow penetrate that large ego of his and question his actions. I would have to ask her about that; at a better time of course.

The boys did go and get the supplies as they had promised which incited a celebratory party in the Gryffindor Common Room. However, James was no longer in his regular boastful mood and instead stayed sulking in a chair while he sipped his butter beer.

"He's not taking Lily's comment very well, is he?" Fern asked as we all turned our attention to my sulking brother.

"Serves him right for his abrasive decisions," I scoffed while I turned my attention back to the others.

"You're mad at him?" Blythe asked non-judgementally.

"Yea, it is Snape after all," Max added.

"James can't go around hexing everyone who looks at him wrong," I explained.

"But they're Slytherins. They're Death Eaters!" Max continued.

"They are not. Not yet anyways. And it does not give him the right to do whatever he pleases. He's not an Auror yet!" I exclaimed in an exhausted tone.

The group was always divided on these types of situations. Max was always especially eager to agree with whatever Sirius and James had done since it was supposedly all in name of the war. Elodie and Zelene were also easy to forgive anyone who sent a hex in the way of a Slytherin since they were all considered the enemy. Blythe was always unusually quiet on the manner while Fern would often comment it wasn't our place to be the judge and jury. This left me to always be frustrated that James, and often Sirius, didn't seem to be able to contemplate where their actions would lead them. It wasn't even so much as the hexing being wrong, but the enemies they were surely making along the way. I knew as good as any that James and Sirius would make the Auror team the minute they graduated and then they would have big targets on their backs painted by their own arrogance. What would I ever do if I lost them?

My friends were still looking at me as if I were being unreasonable so I stood up and went over to sit with James. Sirius was trying to convince him into joining the party while Peter nodded along and Remus looked bored. My arrival seemed to offer Remus an excuse to leave since he went over to sit with Fern and Zelene; lucky stiff. Elodie had since gotten up and had started dancing with Wendall for a fast song while Max and Blythe were no doubt talking quidditch somewhere else.

"He's a lost cause," Sirius sighed as I sat in between them.

"What were you thinking?" I asked James in a relatively calm manner.

Or at least calmer than I had been.

"I don't know Addie. That- that Snivellus just makes my blood boil. And did you see the way he talked to Lily…" he stopped short at his own mention of her name.

"She doesn't want a knight in shining armour you know," I said while I already knew the root of James' brooding.

"What does she want then. I would be anything for her," James replied desperately before his face fell into his hands.

I looked over at Sirius who rolled his eyes at my brother's theatrics while I stifled a laugh.

"James, stop trying to be anything. It's not working, and you always end up being a pompous arse," I replied sternly. "I don't love the popular James Potter who always looks like he's stepping off his broom and has to have the last word. I love my brother who has my back no matter what and is always there for a good laugh," I said matter-of-factly while James just looked at me with an unreadable expression.

"Watch it there Ly, you're not exactly an angel yourself," Sirius smirked from my other side. "I've seen you strut around this castle."

"I do not strut," I replied flatly. "But I am the better Potter," I added in an exaggerated tone while I got up to dodge James' reprisal.

I stuck out my tongue before turning around and heading back towards my friends; I could already see the smile returning to James' face. But before I reached the other side I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Sirius had followed me.

"I don't know how you do that Ly," he said in a complimentary fashion.

"He's not that mysterious," I chuckled.

"I've been trying ever since Lily yelled at him to get him to cheer up. You did it in under five minutes."

"Well he is always at his worst when his ego takes a hit," I answered with a laugh.

Sirius just looked at me for a minute.

"Want to dance?" he asked while I was taken aback.

"What?"

"It's a fast song Ly, and your brother has already ditched me for some Ravenclaw who snuck in for the party," Sirius explained while I shook my head.

Sure enough, as I looked over at where James had been sitting only a moment ago, he was no where to be found.

"And what about Lily?" I asked incredulously.

"She still won't date him, so he improvises," Sirius explained.

"That is disturbing," I said while I felt my frustration flaring up again.

"Forget him Ly, come dance with me," he said simply while holding out his hand.

"Oh alright," I answered as I took it and followed him to where Elodie and Wendall were.

The four of us ended up mostly dancing together in a small circle before Max and Zelene joined in. I could also see Blythe, Fern, and Remus standing to the side while they watched us. Before long, Zelene and I went to get them to join, not taking no for an answer. It only took a little persuasion before we were able to convince them. Throughout the evening we all stayed on the makeshift dance floor, celebrating our triumphant win. Everyone approached us at some point to congratulate us, which we didn't let inflate our egos too much. At one point however, we all seemed to pair off as Elodie danced with Wendall, Blythe danced with Max, Fern somehow ended up with Peter who came in out of nowhere, Zelene with Remus and that left me with Sirius. Most of the songs were fast paced which left us goofing around and Sirius twirling me any chance he got. However, when a slow song did eventually come on, the easy atmosphere turned a little awkward.

"Come on Ly, I need the practice," he said with an easy grin before I shrugged and took his hand.

Sirius turned out to be an excellent dancer as he led me gracefully through a Foxtrot.

"Where did you learn to dance like this?" I asked surprisingly, taken aback by his effortlessness.

Sirius scoffed. "All those high society balls the noble families throw so they can marry off their children to their cousins."

I shuddered at the thought because I knew it was true, there weren't that many pure blood families left. But before I could give it too much thought the song changed and Sirius took the opportunity to start twirling me around again. The rest of our friends all seemed to reconvene into our original circle and I could see Zelene moving closer to Sirius who was somehow able to maintain a respectable distance. Our dancing didn't last too much longer after that since half of us were exhausted from our game against Slytherin while the others were just beat by the late hour. So, we all bid each other good night, with James still nowhere to be seen, and made our way upstairs. As soon as we shut the door though we paused to listen to McGonagall ordering everyone to bed. We then shut off our lights and I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.