As we entered November, the already cold weather turned even colder. The Great Lake had ice on the edges of it, and we were all predicting snow once winter came. My third werewolf transformation at Hogwarts wasn't as bad as the first two, and I used the 'my mother's very ill' card again.
On the second Saturday of November, the first Quidditch match was to be held. There was a notice on the common room wishing the Gryffindor players luck in their match against Slytherin.
"QUIDDITCH!" James yelled out on the day of the match as we walked into the stands. He and Sirius had insisted the Peter and I wore Gryffindor face paint with them, much to my disgust. So the four of us were walking onto the stands with our faces painted half red half gold and feeling disgusting. James and Sirius were also holding a banner together.
"WHERE DO YOU WANT TO SIT?" Peter yelled over the cheering and talking of the crowd.
"THERE'S FOUR SEATS OVER THERE, NEXT TO LILY EVANS!" James cried out. We walked over to the seats, and James sat next to Lily, Sirius sat beside him, I sat beside Sirius, and Peter sat next to me.
"Alriiiiiiiiigghhhtt everyone!" came the voice of a teenage boy through the speakers. He had a pile of sandy blonde curls for hair, lightly tanned skin, and bright green eyes. "It's ya boy, Kaiden Banks, back as Quidditch commentator! You know y'all missed me, eh!?"
He was responded by a huge cheer from the crowd.
"Alright, soooooo… here comes Gryffindor! Seven players, yep… and Slytherin! They, too have seven players, wow, what a coincidence!" Kaiden Banks cried, as players from both teams came flying out from the sides.
"YEAH GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius yelled out, followed by a huge whistle from James.
"The Golden Snitch has been released!" Kaiden yelled out. "If you catch the snitch you'll probably win because it's worth 150 points! And you'll also end the game! So, for all we know, we could be here for years! Anyway, the Quaffle has been released, and the game begins! Oh, and Slytherin's got the Quaffle, they're off to a good start, passing it… but oh! They've been intercepted by Gryffindor! Oh, oh, she shoots… and she… misses! Slytherin has the Quaffle again…"
The six chasers were zooming past, and it almost seemed like there was a blur of green and red mushed in the air.
"Christmas isn't until next month," Peter joked.
The Slytherin chasers were passing the Quaffle amongst themselves while the Gryffindors were trying to grab the ball in between throws or steal it out of one of the opposing team's hands.
"Slytherin is keeping a good streak of keeping the Quaffle, will they be able to score?" Kaiden said, earning a huge cheer from the Slytherin side of the stands. "Oh, they're shooting, oh! The Gryffindor Keeper has defended the hoops! Oh, and a bludger coming for Slytherin chaser, er, what's his name… whatever, but luckily a Slytherin beater has saved his life! Phew! Could've had a death there!
"There seems to be no sign of any golden snitch so far, so the Seekers seem to just be sitting around, like honestly, come on snitch, we're getting a bit bored here! Also no one is scoring so I don't get to press the button! Sad."
"Who is this commentator?" Peter asked.
"Kaiden Banks," said James. "Sixth year, Hufflepuff. He's basically famous for being the Quidditch commentator, apparently."
"How do you know this?" I asked him.
"Quidditch club, duh," James said, rolling his eyes. "Now shush, I'm watching the game."
"Bludger, shoot, no shot, ugh, this game is pathetic!" Kaiden complained.
It was pathetic, as nothing was happening. Slytherin and Gryffindor were both pretty evenly matched, so neither of them were getting any goals.
About an hour and a half into the game, just as I was about to fall asleep, a yell came out from the pitch.
"SNITCH!" It was the Gryffindor beater, pointing downwards. And there it was, the tiny golden ball with buzzing wings.
The two seekers didn't wait a single moment, the two of them were diving down at a rapid pace.
"COME ON GRYFFINDOR!" James screamed. "GET THE BLOODY SNITCH!"
Everyone in the stands stood up and was screaming and cheering.
"Wo-hoho!" Kaiden said, also standing up and looking down at the pitch. "Who will get the snitch? Everyone is watching, no one cares about the Quaffle anymore… they're neck and neck… and… someone's grabbed it, who is it… SLYTHERIN! Slytherin has caught the Golden Snitch and scored 150 points. Slytherin wins the game!"
"NOOOOO!" James screamed out. There was a huge cheer from the Slytherin side of the stands, and some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.
"IT WAS RIGGED!" Sirius yelled out.
I laughed. "Alright, let's go."
"I can't believe we lost," James sobbed back in the common room that night.
"You didn't lose," I told him. "The Gryffindor team did."
"Which I'll be joining next year!" James wailed. "We were so close to winning! But the bloody Slytherin seeker…"
"Was faster," I said. "They won fair and square. Come on James, it's just a game."
Sirius and James both stared at me, looking offended.
"Just a game?" James repeated faintly.
"It's basically just basketball on brooms plus some weird heavy ball things that try to kill you and some golden thing you have to find," I said, rolling my eyes. "So, the seeker literally just sits there the whole time while everyone else is just throwing balls around. It's the dumbest sport in the world, honestly."
"Remus!" Sirius cried. "That is so rude! How could you?!"
"Sorry," I muttered, opening up my book.
"You'll respect Quidditch more when Sirius and I are on the team," said James, mock tears in his eyes.
"Whatever," I said.
"Still can't believe we lost," Sirius said sadly, shaking his head mournfully. "I will never get over this."
The entire Quidditch team was sitting in the corner of the common room, receiving many comments of, 'You tried you hardest' or 'You're absolutely pathetic look what you've done', and no in between.
"You know, they probably lost because we're not on the team," James said. "Next year the team will be a lot better."
"Yeah, you're right, James," said Sirius. "Think positively! I can't wait to join the Quidditch team!"
"And we'll become team captains when we're older," James grinned. "Then become professional Quidditch players!"
"Yes!" Sirius said excitedly.
"What role will you play?" James asked.
"I don't know… any role would be fine, I think," said Sirius. "You?"
"I'd want to be a chaser," said James. "They're in the action the whole time."
"Guys, I hate to burst your bubble," I said. "But you do realise that there's about sixty or seventy people in our house, and seven people on a Quidditch team."
"Your point?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms.
"My point is that, even though not everyone will try out for the team, there's going to be a lot of people," I said. "It's not certain that you'll get into the team."
"Whatever," said James. "It's all about the experience, you know? And if we don't get in, we try again the next year!"
"Yeah, right," said Sirius. "See how responsible we are?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yep, soooo responsible. Anyway, I'm gonna head back to the dorm, goodnight guys."
"Night," Sirius smiled.
"Nighty-night," James said, and Peter waved.
I walked up the stairs to the dormitory, and plopped onto my bed. I needed a good sleep after that very long and boring Quidditch game. I was just dozing off when I heard a tapping at the window.
I snapped my eyes open and looked out the huge window. And saw the twisted face of Fenrir Greyback.