Flight and Fight
Every afternoon of the following week, James attended Quidditch practice in preparation for Gryffindor's first game. Although none of the original team members had fully adjusted to their new Seeker's nagging presence, King was able to keep them from arguing outright during the practices. Still, Kennedy continued to pay more attention to the faults of the other players than the Golden Snitch, which worried James as the day of their first match drew closer. When Raul brought up this problem after their third training session, Kennedy merely answered with his usual confidence in his abilities, reminding the others about his impressive display of speed on their first day of practice and questioning Raul's experience as a Beater at the same time. In response, Raul nearly went at him with his bat, but King was able to stop him just in time.
A few days before the weekend, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came to watch James practice his flight patterns on the pitch, which James had requested of them. No one else was on the field, and James spent an hour in the sky while his roommates gave him feedback from below, although only Sirius provided any real insight on James' technique.
"You keep flying against the wind," Sirius told him when he landed for the fifth and final time. "You would go much faster if you let it push you along."
"Aw, but it makes my hair look so much better!" James complained jokingly, running his hand through his already mussed-up hair. "It would get in my eyes otherwise!"
"Wear a hat," Sirius suggested, shrugging. Shaking his head, James pretended to ignore his advice, but he reminded himself to pay attention to the wind during the game.
"You looked great to me!" Peter told James as the four roommates started for the pitch's exit. "The Quaffle won't be going anywhere if you fly like that in the game!"
"We'd better hurry," Remus spoke up, peering ahead. "The Slytherins have a practice scheduled in the next few minutes."
Right on cue, a few Slytherins students stepped onto the field with their broomsticks hoisted over their shoulders, and Sirius turned to James with a smirk as they walked past.
"Why don't we stick around to see how they're shaping up?" he suggested, and James chuckled as Marcus Mimbleton threw Sirius a glare.
"Clear off—you'll have plenty of time to see us fly on Saturday," one of the Slytherin Chasers, Evan Rosier, threatened as he overheard. To James, he added, "And you'd better hope that your fool of a Seeker is ready to face our man in a few days. He's got a nasty surprise waiting for him if he isn't."
Glaring at the Slytherins as they stalked off, James watched their progress as Peter spoke. "Who do you think they found this year?"
"Eh, it hardly matters," James replied, shouldering his own broom. "Whoever he is, he won't be able to beat our Chasers."
Nevertheless, as he and his roommates put the Slytherins behind them, James could not help but feel a pang of worry at Rosier's remark, since his own fears about Kennedy were not fully resolved. Still, as much as he hated to think the best of Gryffindor's new Seeker, he reminded himself of Kennedy's undeniable skill. Feeling a bead of sweat creep down his forehead after his hour-long flight, James tried to resolve the creeping feeling in his gut.
On Saturday morning, James ate breakfast with his roommates in the Great Hall, afterwards leaving them behind to arrive at the pitch half an hour early for the game. Joining the rest of the Quidditch team in the locker rooms, he dressed in his uniform as King stood off to the side, staring at the wall. Chatting with the other players as he prepared, James wondered if King was feeling nervous at all for his first match as Captain, but he soon dismissed the idea as King turned and addressed the others.
"I don't expect any trouble from the Chasers or Keeper," he said, commanding everyone's attention. "We know their moves, and we've been able to beat them before." Looking at Kennedy, he told him, "Cassius, your one job is to look for the Snitch. Is that understood?"
"Of course," Kennedy replied with a smile, and James only resisted the urge to smack off his smirk with his broomstick when he remembered that Gryffindor needed a Seeker to win the fast-approaching match.
"And although I'm sure I don't need to tell you, I'm going to say it anyway," King added, pausing just in front of the door. "Remember the first rule of playing against Slytherin: don't let Vanity get to you."
Leading the team out onto the pitch, King marched towards the Slytherin players as they entered the field, Captain Emma Vanity striding in the front. Turning to the stands, James waved at the Gryffindor students and spotted his roommates cheering near the top half, accompanied by his parents. Looking back at the Slytherins, James waited for King and Vanity to shake hands, the latter sending King a flashing smile.
"Good luck today," she told him as they released grips, her golden hair sparkling in the bright sun. "You're going to need it."
Keeping his face expressionless, King stepped back as Instructor Zunderfield, the referee, directed both of the teams onto their brooms. However, as King moved away, James spotted a familiar face among the rival players and could not stop a gasp from moving up his throat.
"You? You're the new Seeker?"
Shooting him a dark look, Regulus did not reply as Frank pulled James away.
"Come on, we're about to start!"
Unable to take his eyes off of Regulus, James did not respond until the Slytherin player had risen into the air with the rest of his team. Mounting his broom, James followed Frank into the sky just before Instructor Zunderfield blew his whistle.
"Here, James!"
Hearing King's yell, James shook off his lingering shock just in time to grab the Quaffle from his teammate. Chancing a glance up at the Seekers as he raced towards the Slytherin goalposts, James spotted Regulus zipping back and forth on his broom while Kennedy eyed the progression of the Quaffle from farther away. Attempting to shake off his wandering thoughts, James threw the ball to Frank, but his hand slipped and caused the Quaffle to travel a few meters short of its mark, landing instead into Mimbleton's grasp. Growling, James turned tail and zoomed in the other direction, fighting to gain ground on the Slytherin Chasers while they avoided Frank and King. A few moments later, James let out a hiss as the Quaffle sailed past Joseph into one of Gryffindor's goalposts.
"Watch your throw, James!" King called to him, and James slowed as Joseph dove to retrieve the Quaffle. Glancing up once again at the Seekers, he gritted his teeth when he spotted Kennedy staring right at him, evidently unconcerned with the hunt for the Snitch.
Spinning around, James tried to coax his mind back into the next few plays, but he contributed little to the rapid exchanging of the Quaffle. Every time he glimpsed the back of Regulus' head flash past by, the sheer oddity of seeing Sirius' brother in the air always managed to slow James' flight. Unfortunately, his distraction did not go unnoticed for long, and King soon waved James down after the Captain scored Gryffindor's first goal of the game.
"Is something wrong, James?" he asked, and James shook his head rapidly. Frowning, King gave him a closer look. "You're not nervous, are you? Your throws have been off."
"It's nothing!" James insisted, resisting the urge to kick himself. "I'm fine!"
Hovering by his side, Frank tilted his head. "Are you sure? I haven't seen you this disjointed during a game since the rainstorm last year."
"I'm fine, really!" James repeated, and King gave him one last look before flying off towards the center of the pitch.
"Well, if you're sure you're okay," Frank said slowly, giving him a close stare. "But if you could keep up with us, we could really use your help out there."
Throwing a glance over his shoulder at the Seekers, Frank took a moment's pause; stiffening, James thought that he had discovered the source of his agitation, but Frank soon turned around again.
"I don't want to doubt our new Seeker," he continued in a low voice, "but I'm a bit worried that Kennedy won't be able to come through for the Snitch at the end. I'd certainly feel a lot better if we pulled ahead of Slytherin while we can, just in case."
Relaxing slightly, James shot a glance up at Kennedy where he sat nearly motionless on his broom, and he turned a nod at Frank. "Right," he agreed, setting his jaw. "Let's win this thing!"
Brightening at James' sudden change of attitude, Frank followed him towards the middle of the field. Positioning himself in front of Rosier, James stared the enemy Chaser down until both teams were in flight again. Dodging a rogue Bludger, James took the Quaffle from King and dove to avoid Vanity's attack, drawing a roar of approval from the stands. As he approached the golden hoops at the end of the field, he tossed the Quaffle to Frank and zoomed to the side. Frank soon threw the ball back to James for the trick play, and James chucked the Quaffle into the left goalpost with all his might.
"Gryffindor goes up by ten points!" Eric Thompson, the student commentator, announced from a high tower overlooking the field. "They still have forty points to go if they want to catch up to Slytherin, but it looks like Potter is back in the game!"
Raising his fist towards the commentator's box as the crowd applauded, James flew back to join Frank and King until Kennedy suddenly appeared by his side, raising his white-gloved hand to stop him. "Potter? Might I have a word?"
Giving the Seeker his best glare, James snapped, "We're in the middle of a game! Shouldn't you be—"
"I couldn't help but notice that your flying has been a little slow," Kennedy interrupted as if he had not heard James at all. "If you flew with the wind instead of flying against it, you might be able to—"
"WHAT?" James shouted, putting his hand to his ear and flying with more urgency. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
"I SAID THAT YOU—" Kennedy yelled back, but James lifted his hands in a shrug and zipped off, leaving the Seeker in his wake.
Rolling his eyes, James clenched his broom handle and put as much distance as possible between him and his teammate. Queuing up with the other Chasers, he soon joined in the midair struggle for the Quaffle, but his lingering irritation caused him to miss a catch from Frank, allowing Vanity to grab the ball instead. Vexed by his helplessness to aid his teammates, James sat back on his broom as Slytherin scored once again. His eyes flitted up towards Kennedy, and he immediately wished that they hadn't; paired with the Seeker's usual raised eyebrow, Kennedy's mouth had twisted into an expression much like that of Remus' whenever James and Sirius landed in another detention.
Barely able to fight his instinct to ram into Kennedy, James spun around with a scowl and forced himself back into the play. Surprisingly, his frustration paid off in the form of powerful throws and incredible speed even for his Airwake, although his aim was a bit lacking. Once, he almost pummeled King in the temple when he tried to exchange the Quaffle, and Rosier managed to snatch the ball after King fumbled with the unexpected catch. Thankfully, Michael slowed Rosier with an expertly-aimed Bludger, and Frank recovered the ball before the Chaser could pass it to Mimbleton.
"Send it home, James!" Frank called out a few minutes afterwards, alerting James to his throw before he threw the Quaffle in his direction.
Snatching the ball, James sped towards the Slytherin goalposts and found himself fighting the wind. Choosing to ignore its resistance at the thought of Kennedy, he continued on his path of travel and reached the other end of the field slightly ahead of Vanity and Rosier, who swished forward to intercept the ball as James let it go. The Quaffle slipped right past their outstretched hands and even past the Keeper, but it bounced off the golden metal of the left hoop. Even so, James turned up a smirk at Kennedy as the ball fell away, feeling that the force of his throw had proved his merit.
"JAMES, LOOK OUT!"
Banking to the side, James heeded Frank's cry and tore away from the incoming Bludger, which had been hit by one of the Slytherin Beaters. In his hurry to avoid the incoming missile, he nearly bowled Vanity over in midair, only just missing her when she let out a short scream and swerved to the side. However, the Bludger seemed intent on following James, and he had to complete a sharp dive when it became clear that he needed to shake it off. Unprepared for his change of direction, the Bludger throttled right over his head and towards Kennedy, who only spotted the danger since he had been watching the Chasers instead of searching for the Snitch.
When he swiveled back into an upright position, his uniform slightly disheveled after the close miss, Kennedy shot a glare at James. "Are you trying to get somebody hurt?" he spat.
"I wouldn't have minded if I did," James retorted a little too loudly, and Kennedy glowered at him as James shook off his brief flight and flew back to join the other Chasers. King glanced over at the two players as they separated, but James ignored him as Kennedy zoomed off down the pitch and finally seemed to put some effort into his task.
Unbothered by any more unwanted comments for the moment, James flew without hindrance for the next several plays, and Gryffindor began to gain some ground on the opposition. Working with King and Frank, James was able to keep the Quaffle outside of scoring distance from the Gryffindor goalposts, and he even managed to forget about Regulus as he helped score one goal after another. Fully focused, James gave Frank a thumbs-up when the fifth-year scored another ten points, and he intercepted a pass from Rosier a few moments later and joined the other Chasers on the race towards the Slytherin Keeper. Before they could reach the goalposts, however, James glanced up when a collective gasp rose from the spectators.
"It looks like Black's spotted the Snitch!" Thompson exclaimed from the spectator's box, and James watched as Regulus tore across the pitch in a seemingly random direction, his thin body pressed tightly against his broom handle. Shooting into motion a moment later, Kennedy flew after the smaller Seeker, and James chanced a glance up at the scoreboard. Feeling his heart skip a beat, he realized that their score was not high enough to secure Gryffindor a win if Kennedy missed the Snitch, and he flew faster towards the goalposts in front of him.
Ducking under Vanity, he lobbed the Quaffle up at Frank, who had to double back when Rosier and Mimbleton cornered him. Circling around with him, James and King waited for him to pass the ball, but Rosier blocked King's path moments before Frank could throw the Quaffle to him. Switching targets as King drew Rosier away, Frank tossed the ball towards James, who caught it and dove at the newly-opened route in front of the Slytherin hoops.
About to let the Quaffle fly at the right goalpost, James felt his hair whip into his face with a sudden rush of wind in front of him, and he only had a split second to marvel at the speed of Regulus' passage before a heavy body slammed into his side. Letting go of the ball, he snarled at Kennedy as they both recovered a few meters from where they had crashed into each other.
"What's your problem?" James snapped, feeling his loathing for the Seeker boil to a mounting point inside his chest. "Didn't you see me? You're supposed to be looking for the Snitch!"
"Actually, you were the one who got in my way," Kennedy responded, pulling up his collar as he glared back at James.
"Get back out there!" James commanded, jabbing his finger at Regulus' now-distant form.
"It's too late to catch up now!" Kennedy objected, stating the obvious as he refused to heed James' quickly-growing rage. Turning up his nose, Kennedy accused, "If you weren't such an oaf out on the field, maybe Gryffindor would have a chance at the Cup!"
With the abruptness of a breaking bone, James felt something inside of him snap, and he lunged at Kennedy with all of his might as the crowd yelled out. A little ways above him, James heard King's deep voice bellow out, but he ignored him as he let out his wrath on the Gryffindor Seeker. Falling several meters as their brooms became entangled, James and Kennedy pummeled each other on their way to the ground, and James only pushed away when he hit the grass with an unexpectedly hard thud. Rolling to his feet, he started at Kennedy as he started to rise, but he was soon stopped by a yell from King as the Captain landed and stomped towards him, fists clenched.
"JAMES! CASSIUS!" he boomed, making James pause and steel his fists. Lifting his chin, James stared back at King as Kennedy scrambled to his feet to meet the fast-approaching Captain. King's eyes were flashing a deep red, but James did not care: he only felt satisfaction that he had at last beaten the smile off of Kennedy's face.
However, all of James' anger disappeared when King thrust a finger up into the air at Regulus, who was holding up the fluttering wings of the Golden Snitch. His heart falling, James listened to the cheering onlookers before King changed the direction of his pointing finger and indicated the locker rooms.
"GET INSIDE!"
Clenching his jaw, James spun on his heel and marched towards the locker rooms with his Airwake. Leaving the clamorous pitch behind, he stomped into the dark underside of the stadium and slammed his fist against the nearest locker, feeling the cold metal bend under the weight of his hand. Pressing his forehead against his clenched fist, he breathed in and out heavily as he listened to the muted applause of the spectators outside, wishing that they could all just leave and give the place some quiet.
No one came to join him for a few minutes, and he eventually sank down onto the cement floor and wrapped his arms around his knees. Days seemed to pass, but James was grateful for whatever was keeping Kennedy from joining him in the empty room. If he had to look at the Seeker's self-satisfied smirk one more time that day, James felt sure that he would jump on him again without a second thought. Still, when King finally entered with the other players, James felt his throat tighten as he rose.
"I cannot believe your behavior!" King erupted at James and Kennedy. "You very well may have cost us the game, and you've made the team a laughingstock in front of the whole school! James, as if your attitude wasn't bad enough—"
"He's the one who's been causing all the problems!" James interrupted, pointing at Kennedy, but he snapped his mouth shut at the look on King's face.
"I don't want to hear what went on between you two!" he berated, and James knew that he meant it. "You're both at fault here, and I expect better of my own teammates! But since you obviously can't be trusted to behave yourselves on the field, I'll have to think up a way to fix your mistakes before you can embarrass the rest of us again. If I had anyone else remotely qualified to take your places, I would have you both kicked off the team."
Lowering his gaze, James scowled at the ground as the other players looked away. Taking in a long breath, King narrowed his eyes at James and Kennedy. "But seeing as how I can't do that, I'm simply going to put you two under probation. One more wrong move, and I won't hesitate to remove you from the next game. We don't need all seven members to play."
Yeah, but it's still tactical suicide, James thought, but he was glad that he was not holding a Venus Thought-Trap.
"We'll discuss this more at the next practice," King stated. "And by the way, James, Professor McGonagall wants to see you for blatching."
Knowing full well that he would receive at least a week's worth of detention for instigating a brawl with Kennedy, James sighed and headed for the door, brushing past the other players. Avoiding all of their gazes, he took care not to brush against Kennedy's shoulder on the way out, and he trooped towards McGonagall where the Deputy Headmistress was waiting for him out on the pitch.
Twenty minutes and one heated lecture later, James left the empty field, his ire now faded away into gloom as he joined Sirius, who alone waited for him by the stands. As they trekked back to the faraway castle, Sirius kept quiet and let the lapping of the lake fill the silence.
Finally, James spoke up. "Where are my parents?"
"They left after mine showed up to congratulate Regulus," Sirius responded, glaring at the ground. "My mum would have started a row, and they thought it best that they didn't make today any worse." Sneering at the grass suddenly, he kicked at it and caused a chunk of dirt to fly into the air. "I can't believe that my prat of a brother didn't bother telling me that he would be flying against my best mate today. And of course my parents didn't write me, either—nah, they would rather just arrive on the field unannounced, applauding Regulus for his mediocre Quidditch skills. Merlin, I would rather they just send me another Howler."
His own melancholy lessening somewhat, James decided not to argue for Regulus' indisputable talent in the air. "At least you don't have detention until Christmas," James replied. "I think that King might even kick me off of the team if I say one more bad thing about that Kennedy git."
"That bad, eh?" Sirius asked, giving James a sideways glance. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, your father said that Kennedy's face looked like a Kneazle had gotten at him in a wrong way, and that it was no wonder his personality was left a few marks short of a normal person's."
Cracking a grin despite himself, James huffed and ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "Well, at least I can say that I've knocked him up a bit. It was rather satisfying."
"See?" Sirius told him, smiling. "And you won't be serving detention alone." When James frowned at him, he explained, "We have our two-way mirrors, don't we? You can just talk with me when no one's watching."
"Thanks," James responded, grateful that he at least still had Sirius on his side. "Is Remus mad?" he inquired after a moment's thought.
"A little shaken about the fight, but not angry," Sirius answered, smirking slightly. "Actually, he was furious with Kennedy after he collided with you. According to Remus, he's as daft as a bat with a blindfold, and he deserves a good strike with the Confundus Charm. Still, he and your mum asked me to make sure that you were all right after hitting the ground at that speed."
"I'm all right, but I hope that the impact did something to fix Kennedy's big head," James said, grinning. "I'll just tell Remus myself when I get back. Thanks for waiting for me."
"No problem," Sirius told him. "I figured that you would need someone to cheer you up after meeting with McGonagall."
Smiling, James nudged him on the arm as they continued towards the castle, feeling good enough to at last raise his head as the two of them trudged past the lake.