Three
"And there's the second one!" April exclaimed, gesturing towards the Hogwarts students lining the front of the Hall. "They are chauvinists!"
"How do you figure April?" July dared to ask, a bemused smile upon her face.
"There's more boys than girls!"
"There is one more boy because there are fifteen of them. Odd number, life's unfair, get over it." July remarked dryly.
"Well let's change the subject then," April replied snootily. "Jack, why the hell did you tell us all to leave when you knew you were supposed to be a 'buddy'?"
Jack laughed and shrugged. "Trying to avoid my civic duty. Guilty."
"And sentenced to-" But Kevin didn't get to finish his statement because at that moment, Mr. Healey stood and tried to quiet the crowd.
But no one seemed to want to cooperate this time. He cleared his throat loudly and looked to Minerva McGonagall. "Excuse me for this." He turned a glower upon his students. "SHUT UP!"
As a whole, the Dining Hall silenced. Crickets could be hear chirping outside and everyone turned towards Mr. Healey.
"Goodness gracious," McGonagall whispered to herself, casting a horrified glance at the American headmaster.
Mr. Healey cleared his throat once more. "Thank you. Now as you all can clearly see, the Hogwarts students have arrived. And as I mentioned before we will be doing a type of buddy program. Tonight I will name off who will be paired with whom. And don't groan with disappointment if your name is not called. Thank you. Okay now tonight will be only for introductions. Tomorrow morning you will be paired up together and do whatever you wish. And as it is Saturday and I know many of you will want to be out in town, my advice to you is not to wait until night time to do want you want. At least let there be a bit of daylight when you go about whatever it is you young people do with the muggles.
Some laughter followed this statement and Mr. Healey was able to quiet them with a simple motion of his hands. "Okay so let's get started and so we can finish up and get to bed."
"Hear hear!" April hollered into the quietness. Several tables laughed at her outburst.
The Marauders looked towards the same girl they had seen outside the room. "Bit of a loud mouth eh?" James snickered.
"Giving me a headache already." Sirius mumbled.
"Enough April. Okay, like I said before. Simply stand up when I call your names. Say a quick hello or polite," he stressed the word polite, "hand gesture and sit back down again. Okay, starting off the list from Hogwarts is Bellatrix Black and from Mayflower, Regan Orion."
April watched as a tall, slim black-haired young woman stood momentarily. Her face was waxy and pale; her expression one of superiority. She let her gaze fall upon the Hissdore, Regan Orion, and nodded, sticking her nose in the air and resuming her seat. Regan had a similar reaction.
"Must be from the Hissdore house equivalent at Hogwarts," July said.
"Wouldn't want to bet against you on that one," Kevin stated.
"Next we have Sirius Black from Hogwarts and Kevin Jennings from Mayflower." Kevin sighed, resigned, and stood. He acknowledged Sirius with a nod and Sirius acknowledged him with a small half-wave as Mr. Healey prepared to call off the next names.
A few names later it was July's turn. "Lily Evans from Hogwarts and July Merriwether from Mayflower." July stood and smiled to the auburn haired girl that stood up. Lily smiled back and waved a bit then sat down again.
"She seems nice enough," April said to her sister once she sat down again.
"Seems so," July said grinning. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."
"I wouldn't go that far," April replied. She glanced at Kevin. "You seem thrilled."
"Oh, I am." He said dryly.
Jack shrugged. "It couldn't possibly be that horrible. I mean come on, why would Healey put us through this?"
"To get back at us for the past ten years maybe?" April said as if it were an obvious fact. "I don't know." She listened as Rachel Wolfe was assigned some kid named Mark Howell from Hogwarts. "Well they're probably both on the smart side then."
The others nodded in agreement, already noticing how perfectly most of the students had been paired.
Mr. Healey cleared his throat as the voice level rose again. "Quiet down, we're halfway through. Come on people we've only been at this for five minutes?"
"Is that all it's been?" April said, yawning.
Mr. Healey shot his student a warning glance and continued. "Jack Rousseau from Mayflower will be paired with Remus Lupin from Hogwarts." Jack stood and nodded his head to the dirty-blonde haired boy who stood at the Hogwarts end of the room. Remus Lupin returned the greeting.
When Jack sat back down again, July smiled to him. "I've been watching the group of them and it looks like my buddy and your buddy are friends. Thank God. It would have made hanging out a bit of an… interesting situation."
April laughed. "No kidding it would." April just couldn't wait for her name to be called, that was for sure.
The names continued for awhile more. Then it happened. "James Potter from Hogwarts and April Merriwether from Mayflower."
April frowned severely when she noticed the boy who had accompanied that other guy who had whistled at her. She narrowed her eyes at him as they both stood. April smirked and while pretending to bow, flipped her hand under her chin to him, leading it to the floor to disguise the gesture commonly known as the Italian salute.
James of course picked up on the gesture and snarled. "Why in bloody hell do I get paired with that one!"
Sirius barked out a laugh as he eyed the blonde girl who had so rudely gestured to his friend. "You'll probably fall in love with her and forget you ever met Lily Evans."
"That is highly unlikely Padfoot."
"Just the same, McGonagall told us they matched us up by personality for the most part. So you'll be alike at least."
"That's not a good thing, Sirius," Remus grinned.
"This is true." Sirius said, hand pointed in the air.
After a few more minutes the conversation began once again with the students in the Dining Hall. "QUIET DOWN NOW!" Mr. Healey roared. "I am just as bored as you are but get over it and listen up! We have only three more to go. Now, we have Severus Snape from Hogwarts and Andrew Chambers from Mayflower."
Finally though it was finished.
April stood up when the last name was called. She checked her watch and saw that it was nearly nine o'clock. "Are you kidding me. I have to squeeze in time to show," she checked her paper, "James Potter around the school before Quodpot practice at ten!"
"Then wake up early, it won't kill you." July suggested this while smiling and know the answer would be-
"No!"
"I knew you were going to say that."
"Extra-sensory perception Jules. I knew you knew you were going to say that."
"I think you're both odd. Why don't you just go to bed if you're complaining. You know the rest of the team has to wake up that early too," Jack raised an eyebrow and grinned.
Kevin nodded. "You're like a dictator you know. Murderous three hour practices a million times a week."
"Maybe I'll reduce it to two hour practices three times a week but no less until the season officially starts! We open against New York in two weeks!"
"Yes we know. The signs are already up and it's only the first week of school. And we need to hold tryouts very soon."
"Talk about it. We're still short two Trailers," Jack mumbled. "Who were you thinking?"
"Well, I'll have to let everyone try out obviously. But I'm thinking of bringing up a couple people from the Quidditch team." April said strategically. At Mayflower, unlike England, Quidditch was similar to a junior varsity team. Only the best players were able to have the honor of playing for the Mayflower Quodpot team. April had run right up through the Quidditch ranks as a chaser and had made it onto the Quodpot team in grade 4; the youngest player ever accepted on a Mayflower Quodpot team. She was proud of her accomplishments and had truthfully had not been surprised when she'd been picked as captain in her ninth year. She was also the youngest captain pick and this was her second and final year doing so.
Jack nodded in agreement. "Take a look at Courtney Johnson. She's a Howelin."
"Isn't she in sixth grade though? That's a bit young, isn't it?"
"You made it in fourth grade, Apes," Kevin pointed out, smiling.
April pointed at him. "Good point. Okay I'll focus in on her. Any other suggestions?"
As she said this a Hissdore girl on the team walked by, nose in the air. Her name was Mary Hutchinson and she and April had never gotten along. The feud between the two had deepened when April had been made captain over her. "Why not jump off your high horse there, Merriwether. Get your half-breed eyes open and look through the Hissdore house. I personally think you're attractive aura of being a Veela has been dragging all horrid players onto the team."
"Oh so I've been attracting scum like you then?" April said sweetly. Her eyes were blazing though and anyone who knew the twins knew why. April and July took high offense at being picked out because of their heritage. Everyone knew they had none of the Veela powers except being exceptionally good-looking. But sometimes people just liked to mess around with them.
April did not appreciate Mary's comment and Mary knew this. She glared at April when her insult had been smugly turned around on her.
July shot her twin a warning glance, making sure she didn't get herself into trouble. April did enjoy sticking up for herself after all.
Mary narrowed her eyes at April. "Just make sure you watch your pretty face this year, Merriwether. Wouldn't want to miss out on a chance to play for the Massachusetts league now would you?"
April was angry now. She stood up quickly, pushing the chair back a foot from her; loudly enough to have conversations die to a murmur and many heads to turn towards where the two girls faced each other. April put both hands on the table in front of her, her mouth in a straight, thin line.
"Is that a threat, Hutchinson?"
"Going to take it like one?" Mary challenged.
April balled her hands into fists and spoke without disguising her voice volume. "I suggest you take back that comment, Mary, unless you want to find yourself without a playing log to show the American leagues this year. I think you forget who you're talking to. I'm the captain on this team and if you want to say on it, you'll watch where you run your fat mouth around here. Understand?" She had yelled the last two sentences and lowered her voice for the last… "You can take that as a threat."
James raised an eyebrow and whistled low under his breath. "Wow, she looks bloody angry!"
Remus nodded in agreement. "Wonder what that was about?"
"Well, she said she's the captain. Must be the captain of the Quidditch team. Probably an inside problem." Sirius observed. But he wouldn't lie: He was impressed at the control she had over her players. It was respectable.
Principal Healey approached April after Mary stormed off. "Anything important going on here you'd like to inform me of, April?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Don't be smart with me."
April blinked, having never liked the expression all that much. "I wasn't?"
"Why don't you just leave the Dining Hall now before I have to assign some detentions?"
"Some?" July raised an eyebrow. "It's our last year here and you're threatening all of us with detentions!"
"No, I am not. You took it the wrong way, now go back to minding your own business. April, out."
April frowned and shrugged before grinning to the others. She smiled to her friends and sister. "Until later my buddies!" She blew them all a kiss and made her way out of the Dining Hall. Kevin stood and caught up to her, slinging an arm around her neck and saying something that made her laugh.
"I didn't know you could get kicked out of dinner! How come we've never gotten kicked out?" James demanded, feeling slighted by the fact that this girl, his buddy, seemed to be capable of getting in more trouble than himself.
Remus shrugged. "You can ask her tomorrow on your little tour."
Sirius pointed at Remus. "This is true."
"I know."
"Good."
"Okay be quiet now, you're giving me a headache," Lily interrupted the two boys, rolling her eyes.
