"I can't believe they've got that prat teaching classes," Sirius mumbled darkly to James as they headed down to the Quidditch pitch. He and Allie were so confused, and had scared a particularly small third grader with their desperation to find out why Snape was in Hogsmead with the Hogwarts students, "And I can't believe that Harry has a red-headed girlfriend. Allie and I spent valuable time on our date trying to figure out how you two went from completely ignoring each other to holding hands in two minutes."

James grinned, and shook his head. It was true; Harry and Ginny did look like James and Lily when they walked around together. He was sure that it was going to spark a few rumors, "Well what can I say, Padfoot? The future is messed up."

They had reached the pitch, and turned into the changing rooms. Dumbledore had decided to let James and Sirius practice with the Gryffindor Quidditch team, although they weren't allowed to play in any of the matches. Sighing, James pulled on the extra set of robes that he had been given; they were rather large, and were going to be a distraction while he flew. Better than not playing at all, James thought, and grabbed the rickety old broom from the bench next to him. Walking out onto the pitch with the rest of them team, James' eyes lit up. He hadn't flown in ages, and was eager to get going. Turning around to grin at Sirius, he saw his best mate waving at someone up in the stands. To his immense pleasure, he noticed Lily and Allie sitting up in the stands. Although Lily looked slightly uncomfortable, it didn't matter at all; she was going to get to see James fly.

Mounting his broom, James kicked off hard, and flew high up. He was probably not going to get as many chances to show off his skills, for there were four chasers practicing instead of three, but it would be enough. He couldn't help but smile as he watched Harry fly up, over James. His skills were amazing; he was as good, if not better than James. Proudly, James mumbled, "That's my boy!"

xxx

Lily rolled her eyes as she noticed James look at her and grin. Obviously he was going to try and show off again. Well it didn't make one bit of a difference, as Lily wasn't going to fall for it; Quidditch skills didn't mean anything to her. Slightly irritated, she turned in time to see Allie smiling and waving at Sirius.

"Oh, honestly, Allie. It's like you two are inseparable or something. You've only been together for three days," she snapped.

Allie groaned, "Lily, are you going to act like this the whole time? I know you hate watching James play Quidditch, but try and enjoy yourself. Besides, I've known Sirius for seven years, so I have a right to be close to him."

Both Allie and Lily turned as someone sat on the same row as them, a little farther off to the right. Lily thoughtfully looked down at her lap, and bit her lip, searching her memory for any signs of this girl. Finally, she tapped Allie on the shoulder and whispered, "Allie! Isn't that the girl that's always with Harry?" Allie nodded, and studied the girl. She had bushy brown hair, and brown eyes. She was average height wise, and seemed to hold herself in the same poised manner that Lily did. As she caught Lily and Allie looking at her, she smiled at them.

Allie smiled back, and stuck out her hand, "Hello. I'm Allie. This is Lily."

"Yes, I know," the girl smiled wider, and her features seemed to soften slightly, "I'm Harry's friend, Hermione. Look, I know this whole situation is rather awkward, especially for you," Hermione looked at Lily, "But I think you should talk to Harry about it. He's always sneaking about, observing you, and telling us what he finds out. He wants to know more about you."

Lily frowned, and ran a hand through her hair, "But why would he want to know more about me when I live with him anyway? I don't think my personality would've changed that much if I got older. I think I'm missing something, because I've noticed that he seems awkward around James and I. Why should he be, when we're his parents?"

Hermione bit her lip, and glanced out onto the pitch. They were all still immersed in their practice, "Well…no. No, you're not missing too much. It's just…a bit awkward for him is all. I'd better get going…lot's of homework to do," and with that, she swept off, and hurried out of the pitch.

xxx

James grinned yet again, as Harry did another amazing dive, and shot back up to his original height. There was no reason for him to do this, so James was assuming that he was just trying to show him his skills. But didn't James play Quidditch with Harry at home? Who else would've taught him to fly? James still hadn't figured out why his son was so distant from his parents. He knew he and Lily were missing something, but truth be told, he wasn't so sure that he wanted to know just what it was.

Ginny made a spectacular catch as Sirius hit the bludger at Katie, and threw the Quaffle easily past Ron, into the post. James had taken his time learning everyone's names as he met them; that was another component that made the predicament confusing. There were so many new faces, names, and personalities to remember that James felt his brain would burst. So far, he had gotten Harry's close friends down. There was Ron, who seemed to be Harry's best mate, then Ron's sister, Ginny, who was Harry's girlfriend. Hermione seemed to be Harry's other best mate, though she and Ron had had a lot of rather public rows. Ginny and Ron's brothers, Fred and George were also Harry's friends. James and Sirius had taken a particular interest in them; they were after all, the next generation of trouble-makers.

Suddenly, he snapped out of his daze as a Quaffle soared past his ear. Swerving around, he grabbed it, and threw it over his shoulder, not watching where it was going. Allie was still sitting, watching them practice, but Lily was gone.

A/N: Short, yes, I know. The next chapter is very important, so I had to leave a lot to answer in that one. It'll be a lot longer, as you should expect. Thanks to all of my reviewers, it makes a world of difference to hear what you think, so please review for this one too!