This year passed quickly. The fifth year was now dawning for the Marauders and there was a bit of news, as they discovered when they gathered in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express for the start of the year. "I can't stay long," Remus said as he left his bag with his friends. "I'm a Prefect now," he said, pinning the badge to his chest.
At the news, Sirius and James exchanged a glance. What was the meaning of this? Why had Dumbledore appointed a bumpkin as a Prefect? But then Sirius put on a grin. "That's wonderful, you can save us from detention then," he said with a mischievous smile. Remus rolled his eyes. "We'll have a chat about that later. I have to go now. I'll be back soon," he said and left the compartment. "That wasn't a no?!" exclaimed Sirius after him and Remus had to smirk. How could anyone stay serious around Sirius?
"Hey Sirius! Get back in here!", James called out to him. Sirius sat down next to James. "I don't suppose you could last a second without me," James remarked with a grin.
"Remus is now a Prefect and I'm now Quidditch captain," he announced. Peter beamed. "Wow. Congratulations, James I knew you would be!" he congratulated. "Yeah, I knew it too," James replied arrogantly. "So, what do I have to prepare for?", Sirius wanted to know.
"Early rising," James replied with a grin.
"Oh no. You can't do that to your best friend, your brother!" retorted Sirius theatrically.
"Only the early Quidditch player catches the Snitch!" retorted James.
"Besides, I've already thought of strategies," he said, explaining them until Remus returned and the cart of sweets arrived.
The four friends helped themselves to plenty and James was generous enough to pay for everything.
Once they arrived at Hogwarts, they endured the house division until they could finally enjoy the feast.
After that, Lily and Remus had to take care of the first years.
While the two Prefects were on their way, Peter, James and Sirius went to the dormitory. The time without Remus had to be used. "Do you think we'll get it right this year?" asked Peter.
"I think you mean you," Sirius countered, turning into a dog and back again. "I can do it all right, and so can James." To demonstrate, James turned into a stag and back again with a grin. "Don't worry Pete, we'll get you this far too and then we can finally surprise Remus," Sirius said with a satisfied smile.
James had now become Quidditch captain because the former captain had finished school last year. But that also meant they needed a new player in the Seeker position, which was why he put up a notice on the notice board. "I can't wait to see who all applies," James said as he sat by the lake with his friends one afternoon after class. The sun was shining and it was still a mild autumn day. "I specifically set the selection dates after the full moon so we could ..." But Sirius interrupted him. He put his fingers to his lips. "Shh!" he hissed. James looked around. They were sitting far away from the other students, so they could talk freely after all. He didn't understand why his best friend was interrupting him now. But the answer soon came when Sirius pointed his wand upwards. "Diffindo." The branch of the tree they were sitting under broke and with it Severus Snape crashed down. James, Sirius and Peter rose to their feet. Remus remained seated, preferring to immerse himself in a book.
Peter leaned against the tree trunk with a tense expression, while James and Sirius walked towards Snape like two cats of prey. Snape's nose was on the ground as a result of the fall. Sirius put a foot on Snape's back while James crouched down to him. "Tell me Snivellus ... are you eavesdropping on us?" he asked, grabbing his mop of hair to pull his head up a little. "We don't like this at all. Sirius, what are we going to do with someone spying on us?"
Sirius laughed out. "I think he needs a good head washing."
"Good idea. Your hair's all greasy too. It would only benefit you Snivellus," James commented. Sirius grabbed Snape's arms and put them behind his back, then cast a spell to tie a pair of shackles around his wrists. Only then did he get off him. Together with James, they dragged Snape to the lake. James grabbed his mop of hair again and pushed his face into the water. "Well, doesn't that feel refreshing?" he asked, pulling Snape back up only to dunk him back down.
James repeated this a few times while Sirius and Peter laughed it off. They only stopped when Remus decided to intervene. "That's enough," he said quietly.
James let go of Snape and kicked his side once more. "If you try to eavesdrop on us again, we won't be so friendly!" he snapped at him and then they just left him on the floor and went back into the castle.
"That guy is annoying," James grumbled. "Why does he stick his overlong nose into matters that are none of his business? We'd probably have to scare the hell out of him to get him to stop."
Sirius nodded in agreement. "I suppose you're right," he agreed, thinking about how they could best go about it.
"Different topic. Our Quidditch team needs a new Seeker," James said. Now that he had become the new Quidditch captain, he also had to worry about putting the team together and with the departure of the former captain, there was also a gap in the team that needed to be filled.
"I need you to help me with the selection games," he said addressing Sirius as she entered the Great Hall. A few girls turned to look at Sirius. He had become more handsome in the coming years and he was aware of that, as he winked at one girl. "Sirius, stop flirting and listen to me," James urged. "You need a new Seeker and you want me to help you. Got it already. Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging or bitching just because you can't end up with Evans. I've told you before, you could have any of the others, but you have to fixate on her," he replied.
James rolled his eyes but said nothing more in response.
By the weekend, the time had come. The applicants for the seekers came to the field to prove their skills. James let go of the Snitch and Sirius flew into the middle to better observe who caught the small ball the fastest. After a few hours, James settled on his choice. He walked up to the fourth grader. "Isabella Shepherd?" He looked at his list and then at her. "You flew the fastest and you also won the races against the others. You're going to be our new Seeker."