Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.


Chapter 3
The Golden Boy's Fall


OWL'S POST
Hogwarts Monthly: September

Gryffindor's Golden Boy: A Dirty Cheat?
By Ophelia H. Greengrass

Caught in the act! Seventh year Gryffindor and Quidditch Team Captain, James Potter was presumably found snooping through Slytherin quarters as well as obtaining what seems to be Slytherin Quidditch Team Captain Scorpius Malfoy's sport playbook. An anonymous source provides genuine proof of the indecent act, the unknown photographer following the Gryffindor through the Slytherin common room to Malfoy's dormitory.

Hogwarts campus is not particularly new to acts of cheating concerning the wizarding sport. Various reports such as deliberate infliction of injury towards rivals before matches and dangerous fouls within the game prove this very fact. However, James Potter performs an unconventional Gryffindor act of secretly breaking into a rival's dormitory to steal Quidditch plans.

This news calls for the attention of students and professors alike in order to determine the real state of Hogwarts Quidditch today and perhaps what should be done to address the issue of cheating more seriously.


Hogwarts was bustling, and it was due to something Effie hardly ever dreamt of happening since the start of her newspaper campaign. Students in the Great Hall, Entrance Hall, classrooms, dormitories, common rooms, by the lake, and every single part of the castle one could possibly think of whispered mercilessly on the latest big news.

Owl's Post was printing more copies than it has ever done, and not a student in sight could be spotted without one. Effie was bombarded by questions, accusations, and praise wherever she walked, but typical of her to feel, she was immensely uncomfortable at the sudden attention, seemingly miscalculating how the recent news would affect not only the paper but her life in Hogwarts as well.

For instance, she received much verbal abuse from Gryffindors, but Slytherins treated her like royalty. The paper was only released over breakfast three hours ago, she had not even taken her lunch, and more people had approached her within that time period more than they had in her first six years at Hogwarts.

As soon as her lunch break began, Effie slipped out of the classroom before anyone could corner her for threats or thanks. Briskly walking in the hall, Andy caught up with her, typical grin plastered on his face as his brown curls bounced freely over his forehead.

"Ms. Popular's got to slow down," he teased, getting into her stride. "I'm beginning to get worried you're about to ditch me and Dom after this newfound fame of yours."

"No one's ditching anybody," Effie said irately. "Everyone's just caught in the moment. It'll die down in a week."

"You really think so?" Andy snorted.

"I know so," Effie replied. "That's how the business works. That's why the hardest part of journalism is that you constantly have to discover and report something interesting and new if you want to succeed in the field. But we've got none after this issue, so give it a week or two and the hype will die down."

The two reached the Great Hall and sat on their usual places. Dominique was already seated, but as Effie and Andy approached, her expression hardened.

"So you're saying James Potter has nothing to worry about because everyone will forget about it in a week?" Andy clarified, grabbing a piece of bread on Dominique's plate. She growled.

"Precisely," Effie muttered, avoiding a certain blonde's glare.

"Shut the bloody hell up, Effie," Dominique snapped, composure cracking. "Nothing to worry about? You wouldn't know because you're not the one falsely exposed on the front page of Hogwarts' school newspaper!"

Effie felt as if she were slapped in the face. Hard.

"Don't tell me you believe in all that Gryffindor crap, Dominique?" Andy asked, outraged.

"No, but I believe in my cousin!" Dominique cried. "Both of you are being so bloody tactless and selfish that it makes me sick!" She pointed a stiff finger at Effie. "You only care about your stupid paper!" She pointed another at Andy. "And you only care about your chances of winning the Cup this year! You only wanted Effie to publish it so James would fall apart!

"None of you actually thought about the fact that maybe James Potter is an actual human being with legitimate human rights, and he had the bloody right to know you had those pictures, Effie!" She sounded in the verge of tears. "The only reason why I didn't tell him about it was because I expected you would know what was the right thing to do!"

Effie was stunned to silence while Andy glared at his empty lunch plate. Dominique breathed heavily, eyes wild in rage as they shifted from one friend to the other. Suddenly she stood abruptly, hopped out of the bench and briskly walked away.

"Wait," Effie called desperately, following after her. "Dom, wait!"

Dominique reached the Great Hall's double doors right as Effie grabbed her shoulder. She spun around furiously, causing Effie to draw her hand back in fright. Guilt and shame bubbled in her stomach and no doubt her expression relayed these emotions.

"Dom, please hear me out," she pleaded.

"What else am I supposed to say to you, Effie?" Dominique bitterly laughed. "I know it's weird that I, out of all the people, am giving you and Andy lectures about tact and respect, seeming as I hardly ever give anyone the same, but this is my family, Ef." Her eyes glinted tears. "You hurt them, you hurt me."

"I know," Effie muttered.

"And that's not even the only reason why it's all so wrong," Dominique continued. "I thought you knew what was right."

Effie's voice shook, hands enclosed in fists. "I did think I was doing the right thing. Come on, Dom, he can be an arse–"

"And when have you ever spent enough time with him to get to that conclusion? You ran into him once and he seemed perfectly polite then," Dominique spat. "I know who he is and what he's done but people are capable of growing up, Effie. Perhaps if you actually talked to him first before publishing your precious headline then you would know."

With a final piercing glare, she swiftly turned and walked away. Effie sighed and stalked back to the Ravenclaw table with a grim expression. Andy watched her sit back down and bang her forehead on the varnished wood.

"Effie," he said carefully.

"I am a terrible person," Effie announced.

"Ef, you're none of the sort," Andy assured her.

"Why did I bloody do this?" The distressed Ravenclaw put her head in her hands. "What was I thinking?"

"You had everyone's best interests in heart."

"Not James Potter's," Effie pointed out sullenly. "Especially not James Potter's. I didn't even try to approach him about it." She sighed. "Dominique's right. Everything about it was all just selfish. I saw the opportunity and bloody took it."

The food before her hardly seemed appetizing now. Effie rose once again, muttering her loss of appetite to Andy and turned to exit the Great Hall. Steps heavy and throat tight, Effie made her way with as much dignity as she could muster.

Walking down a dim hall, it was a miracle she ran into no one. The quiet of the atmosphere allowed her to think clearly for the first time since the release of the first issue. The first concern in her mind was her relationship with Dominique. The feeling of guilt doubled as she thought of possible ways to mend her friendship.

The one obvious thing that needed to be done was to apologize to James Potter. The mere thought of it already scared Effie, certain that she was the last person he would want to see now. He definitely would not accept the apology, Effie was damn sure of it. He would probably curse her out of his way.

Then Effie realized the entirety of the Potter-Weasley clan would not hesitate to hex her at any time possible. She shivered at the thought of making enemies. Six years of happily staying below the radar with her writing and two friends were long gone. Now what awaited her was a long year of drama concerning the one family nobody ever dared to mess with.

Her quiet stroll was interrupted by the loud taunts of Slytherin goons. Effie turned a corner only to see them pushing around a petite redheaded girl wearing crimson-lined robes and a jaded expression.

"Bloody right for that school paper to finally give us something relevant," one of them said nastily, his wand out and directly pointing at the girl. "James Potter's got karma chasing right behind him. And look here." He raised an issue of Owl's Post at her face, James' delightful grin in the Slytherin dormitory on its front page. "Caught him right in the act."

The three cronies behind him laughed. Effie frowned at the scene, hand twitching to her wand beneath her robes. If this were last year, the Ravenclaw would have walked away as if nothing happened if she were to run into a situation like this, but something in Effie's head refused to let her leave.

Confrontation terrified her, but she could not keep her mouth quite shut this time.

"Hey, back off."

The group jumped at her tone, only realizing her presence. The big burly Slytherin who taunted the girl grinned.

"Oh, look who it is!" he laughed. "The woman of the hour! Great article, by the way. Big fan!"

Effie saw the girl blink at her in recognition, practically seeing the gears in her head spin as she put one and two together. She felt a drop in her stomach as she realized something on the girl as well, taking in the bright red hair neatly cut, familiar hazel eyes, and the underlying proud expression. Lily Potter.

"I said back off her," Effie repeated, voice clear.

"Strange, you are," the Slytherin chuckled. "I thought you'd appreciate a bit of telling off." He jerked his head towards the girl, who in turn stared boringly back.

"I don't appreciate bullying," Effie said dryly.

"That's a surprise." He raised a brow. "You know, considering what you just did to James Potter."

She breathed in sharply but refused to give up any emotion in her expression. With a sneer, the Slytherin turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall with his gang. Effie frowned at his back, trying to pinpoint where she had seen his cropped brown hair and smirk. Then as if she heard a faint ding in her mind, she realized they had been classmates in Potions almost every year.

"Marcus Zabini," a voice rang in the empty hall.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Effie realized it was Lily Potter who spoke.

"Trying to remember his name, weren't you?" Lily spoke again, raising her eyebrows at the stunned Ravenclaw.

"Sort of," Effie mumbled.

The redhead suddenly bent down to pick an Owl's Post copy from the floor, left behind by Zabini. Effie fought the overwhelming temptation to run before it was too late, but she managed to keep her feet firm on the ground, mentally preparing herself for the verbal abuse coming from the young Potter.

"You didn't have to do that you know," Lily chuckled without looking at her, eyes scanning the paper in her hands. "I can deal with Zabini and his goons by myself."

"You didn't seem to be doing much when I got here," Effie reminded her bluntly.

She shrugged. "I didn't feel like jinxing him yet. He seemed to be having a lot of fun making fun of my brother. Didn't have the heart to ruin it."

Despite herself, Effie laughed. A small smile tugged at Lily's lips.

"Not to be forward, but why haven't you hexed me into oblivion?" Effie asked, raising a brow.

"Why, because you called my brother out?" Lily scoffed. "It was bound to happen anyway. For someone who can top all his classes, he can be as senseless as a rock."

Effie frowned. "I don't understand."

There was a short moment of silence. The young Potter gave Effie a curious look before speaking up.

"That wasn't the first time James stole a Slytherin playbook. All his recent captains have been asking him to look through the same book at the start of every year. About three years ago, Slytherin had a six-year winning streak and Gryffindor was desperate to win. The captain then forced James to get a copy of their playbook to find out what their secret was. He threatened James, told him he'd be out of the team if he didn't do it

"Ever since then, he's been treated like their dog, always being ordered around to do sneaky business against the Slytherins. He'd gotten so used to it that when he was told he was the new captain at the end of his sixth year, he went out of his way to find out who was chosen as the new captain for the Slytherins and broke in Malfoy's dormitory to get his playbook."

"But if the playbook never changes, why does James go back to find it every year?" Effie asked, wide-eyed at the rather disturbing news.

"It changes within the school year," Lily said with a shrug. "Plays crossed out and plays added."

"Is that why Gryffindor's won the Cup every year since three years ago?" Effie looked rather appalled.

"Maybe. But you can't cross out the talent."

"But these are formations and plays!" Effie cried. "If you can predict what they're going to do on the pitch–"

"Then it's not even a game anymore," Lily finished the statement. "Exactly. Why do you think I don't play? And talent comes in against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff because Gryffindor doesn't see them as competition enough to cheat against them."

Effie looked at her, utterly confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

Lily blinked at her, a wave of emotions seen through her eyes.

"Because I think you can stop it," she said quietly.

"I–What–" Effie stuttered, momentarily unable to formulate a sentence.

"He's not a bad guy, you know. A bit of a pushover, probably doesn't think through his decisions ninety-eight percent of the time, but he's not a bad guy."

She could not have been more than thirteen years old, but her words impacted Effie more than anyone's today, next to Dominique's.

"It's Lily, by the way. Lily Potter," she introduced herself, arm stretched out. "If you didn't know already."

"Er, Effie." The Ravenclaw took the Gryffindor's hand in her own and firmly shook. "Effie Greengrass."

"Nice to meet you, Greengrass." Lily winked and turned, briskly walking away.


The rest of the day thankfully passed with no further unexpected run-ins. Effie noted she shared most of her general classes with James Potter, but he went on with his day as he normally would. Perhaps the only things out of place were the overwhelming gossip and Effie's sneaky glances towards him in class. In fact, if the leakage of his actions bothered him at all, he hardly showed it.

Late in the afternoon, Effie decided it was better to study in the library than in Ravenclaw Tower because it provided less distraction. Sitting alone on a table, she flipped through her books with a length of unused parchment unrolled on the desk and a quill in her left hand. Effie attempted to read through the needed chapter for her Transfiguration class and ultimately start with her essay. Unfortunately, anything but the current situation at hand refused to enter her brain.

Effie groaned, hands fiercely gripping her brown locks of hair. She grew more and more frustrated the longer she stared at her pathetically blank stretch of parchment. The harder she tried to concentrate, the less information she managed to sink in her head. She wanted so many questions answered, and the guilt building up in her stomach since breakfast refused to let her think straight.

She wondered what Lily Potter meant when she told Effie that she could stop what was going on with Gryffindor's sketchy Quidditch team. Did she want Effie to publish another article? She immediately rejected that idea, knowing this particular article had done enough damage already, and it hardly seemed like the right thing to suggest as James Potter's little sister.

No, Effie knew there was something else there that Lily was pertaining to. She seemed to believe that there was something Effie could do that nobody or hardly anybody was capable of doing that would manage to stop Gryffindor's deceitful reign. Perhaps it had to do with the school paper, but what exactly about it?

Deciding that she rather needed another run-in with a certain redhead, Effie left the library in a hurry with zero progress in schoolwork. Thankfully the coming weekend was near and schoolwork would be able to wait until then. Focusing on a clearer priority, the Ravenclaw weaved her way through the castle's halls, taking a route that she never realized she would ever have to take.

By the time she reached the unfamiliar yet also familiar hallway, she slightly hesitated before marching straight towards the Fat Lady's portrait. She had only ever gone here once and that was years ago when her Potions partner was a Gryffindor and they decided to meet up in front of the Gryffindor common room before going to the library together to study.

Effie halted nervously before the portrait, unsure of what to say.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked suspiciously.

"Er, I don't know it," Effie replied pathetically. "I was wondering if you could call someone for me?"

The Fat Lady sighed, looking insipidly at her manicured nails. "No can do, dear."

Effie cursed under her breath, crossing her arms in defeat as she stalked to the wall. Deciding it would not be long before a Gryffindor would enter his or her common room, she waited by the portrait. After a mere minute, Effie could already feel her pulse quickening and eyes squinting into slits as she grew more and more impatient.

After a full five minutes, she was ready to leave. Suddenly the portrait opened and a bushy haired girl stepped out. She donned royal blue robes and an annoyed expression. The frown only deepened at the sight of Effie.

"Hi!" Effie said in haste. "Would you mind calling someone for me? I'm not a Gryffindor but I've got to speak to Lily Potter."

The girl only stared, eyes unsure. Then Effie realized the blue robes and almost slapped herself in idiocy.

"Right," she muttered. "You're not a Gryffindor either. My bad. But how did you get in, if I may ask?"

"Why do you need Lily?" the girl shot back.

Effie blinked, staring harder at her fellow Ravenclaw. The hallway was dim but the girl's features seemed clear. She had a splatter of freckles along her nose and cheeks, thick red hair, and narrowed brown eyes. Suddenly the resemblance seemed apparent, and of course the color of her hair should have given it away the second Effie laid eyes on her.

The girl was a fifth year Ravenclaw student who went by the name Rose Weasley. That would explain her access to Gryffindor Tower; her whole family must have given her the passwords every month.

Effie's realization of the girl's identity neglected the formulation of an answer to Rose's question. The younger seemed to take this as a sign that Effie refused to give her a real response, rolled her eyes, and walked back inside the common room after muttering the password to the Fat Lady.

Assuming Rose went to fetch her little cousin, Effie was pleased that encounter went well enough and had not resulted into the screaming lecture that she had expected. She nervously waited for the young Weasley's return with Lily in tow, going over all the possible scenarios in her head. She was almost sure of it that Rose would demand she explain why she published that article. Effie was still clueless of what to answer to that.

Her heart skipped when the portrait swung open. A pair of feet stepped out, and Effie readied herself for the encounter. The Fat Lady swung shut, and suddenly the words died in her mouth before she could speak them. The person halted as well, staring back at Effie with a similar expression of shock.

Before her stood James Potter in the flesh. His pretty hazel eyes flashed behind his spectacles. It took all of Effie's courage to stay rooted on the spot.

"Are you the one looking for Lily?" he muttered, tone polite enough but laced with a hardness that Effie cowered at.

"I–Yeah… that was me," Effie stuttered, unable to look him in the eye.

"Why are you–" James hesitated, furrowing his eyebrows as if thinking through what would be the best way to end that sentence. "Actually, whatever. Your business."

That expectedly panged Effie's chest. There seemed to be a genuine carelessness in his tone, so she realized he unintentionally took a jab at their current situation. The Gryffindor noticed this as well, reading her hurt expression.

"Right," he muttered. "Your business. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? Too busy poking around someone else's."

Effie did not have a reply to that and opted to stay silent. She could feel his eyes burning down at her skull. With a sudden burst of nerve, she lifted her chin up to meet them. The guilt bubbled in her stomach, but she was surprised to see that his stare was not at all filled with malice. His shoulders were slumped and he carried a stack of books under his arm (despite his own brother implying he did not own a single one). If anything, he looked absolutely exhausted.

"I'll just… go then," Effie awkwardly said, incapable of handling this very encounter now. She needed to get away, and that seemed to be something she was good at.

"Nonsense," James dryly replied before she could sprint away. "Free country. Lily's probably on her way down."

Too surprised to move, Effie stayed put. She stared at the Gryffindor boy, an uncertain and frustrated look on his handsome face. It seemed as if he was about to tell her something, but the hesitation was clear.

"Would you mind if I just ask," he finally began, eyes flashing with insecurity, "who sent you those photos?"

He bit his lip and raked his fingers through his hair. Effie could see he was trying his best not to lash out, but she could not understand why. Anybody else would have. Heck, her best friend already had and here was James Potter, the subject of her divulging article, attempting to keep all composure as if one tone out of line would be too rude for him to live with.

"Actually, that's none of my business," he mumbled with finality in his voice. "Never mind that."

"It really is." Effie found herself speaking as well, voice undeniably shaky but somewhat clear. "If it's anyone's business, it's yours."

"Then why didn't you make it my business before you went off and made it everybody else's?" James finally burst but took deep breaths to calm himself. His eyes flashed with a tint of guilt. "Sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Effie huffed, utterly confused by his reaction. "You can yell you know. It's not as if I don't deserve it."

He merely sighed, not offering an answer.

"I got the photos at the start of the year," she explained softly. "There was no name or anything."

"Figures," James grumbled, giving her another uneasy look. "And why did you publish it?"

"I–I thought I was doing the right thing," Effie stammered, looking away in embarrassment.

"No, Greengrass, I meant why did you publish it," he repeated, sounding a bit more sure of himself this time. Effie flinched at the first mention of her name. "It could have been anyone. I'm sure Geller would have had a field day writing an article like this about me. Why you?"

"I always write headliners," she quietly answered, knowing James saw right through her.

"Contrary to popular belief, some people do actually read the school paper." He rolled his eyes. "There's no fixed person who writes headliners, I've noticed."

Effie hesitated, wishing someone would walk out of the portrait and end the conversation.

"I gave the final call," she said, avoiding his eye. "The vote was equal and I broke it. I knew publishing something like this would attract a lot of trouble and I didn't want any of my staff to experience that, so I decided to go through with it as long as it was published under my name."

"How gallant of you," James mockingly muttered.

"Everybody had a side," Effie continued, ignoring him. "Everyone was telling me what I should do. Believe me when I say I really thought I was doing the right thing."

"Did it ever occur to you that you had absolutely no idea what you were reporting about?" James' voice had lowered to a whisper, hurt evident in his gaze.

"Every second of it. But I couldn't stop, and I've realized that it was a mistake. I'm sorry."

James stood still before her, eyes shifting in unease. Effie looked down at her hands in shame, mentally counting the passing seconds of silence. After half a minute, impatience built in her system and she opened her mouth to speak up. Rather fortunately, the swinging open of the Fat Lady's portrait beat her to it.

"Greengrass? You still out here? Sorry I took so long, I was–"

Lily Potter blinked at the scene before her, unable to continue her sentence. Effie gaped nervously from the redhead's wide brown eyes to James' wary ones. The older Potter hardly acknowledged his sister's appearance.

"Did I interrupt something?" Lily asked comically. "Well, yes, obviously. I'll just go–"

"No need," James interrupted, swiftly turning towards her. "I was just, er… leaving." He nodded politely at Effie. "Good evening."

Then the Gryffindor turned on his heel and stalked away without another word. Lily and Effie watched him go, similar expressions of confusion etched on their faces. The young Potter recovered first, turning back to the Ravenclaw with a curious glint in her eye. But before she could express her thoughts into words, the Fat Lady unexpectedly spoke up.

"I could cut the tension between you two with a knife," she gossiped unabashedly, addressing Effie with a smirk on her chubby face.

"Oh, shut up, you nosy cow. Haven't you got banquet to eat or something?" Lily snapped, grabbing Effie's arm and leading her down the hall as well.

"I give great relationship advice, darling!" the Fat Lady called at their retreating backs.


Author's Note:

Hello! Relatively quick update again. It's my Christmas break after all so expect more of these. I'd like to thank all of my darling followers and reviewers. I wouldn't be writing more of this if it weren't for all of you.

So this chapter really focuses on the dynamic of my James Potter's personality, the division between what outsiders know about him and who he really is. That seems to be a recurring theme in the first three chapters, and I hope you like the first real encounter between Effie and James.

If you could drop a review because that would be so encouraging and would be a real good motivator to write more, perhaps you could answer a few questions: What do you think of James' persona in this fic? I tried to stay away from the cliche portrayal of him being the overconfident and stupidly brave Gryffindor boy but I want to know what you think of that? What about Lily's persona? And of course, how's my annoyingly impatient and antisocial Effie?

-Finner