Chapter Four
Laurie was bored.
Kathleen and Remus had left nearly an hour ago, which left her alone in their compartment. She didn't usually mind solitude, but it was maddening today. She had nothing to occupy herself with, and had no one to go and search for on the now-crowded platform. It was infuriating.
Another thing that infuriated her was the knowledge that, when Kathleen did return, she would bring the other prefect with her. Remus was nice enough, but Laurie didn't really approve of him. She didn't know him personally, but what she knew of him and his friends was enough to make her cautious.
Remus Lupin, James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew were known throughout the school. Most considered them noble pranksters, others though them arrogant bullies, and the rest believed them to be glorified troublemakers. They'd lost Gryffindor hundreds of points throughout the years, yet few seemed to care. They were, though Laurie didn't like to admit it, excellent students; they usually had grades that were only slightly below her own and Kathleen's.
On top of that, two of them were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Potter was an excellent Chaser, who had helped the team win countless matches. They rarely lost, even when they didn't catch the Snitch. Black, on the other hand, was a Beater. He rarely missed his target, and the Bludgers always seemed to be chasing the other team. These two were also the ones who always seemed to get into the most trouble, yet nearly the entire house was fond of them; other than herself, Laurie only knew of one other who felt the same.
The two boys had been on the team for as long as she had; the three had managed to gain positions in second year, though only as substitutes (there had been an incident in which half the team had been banned, after turning the entire field and all the balls red and gold). The next year they had gotten a permanent place.
Thoughts of Quidditch soon urged Laurie to get out her copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, which ranked among her favorite books.
After a fair amount of reading, she heard a knock on the compartment door, and the sound of people entering. She continued on with her book, assuming it was Kathleen and Remus returning.
She glanced up when she felt someone sit next to her; Kathleen never did that, opting instead to sit across from her. The sight that met her nearly caused her to groan, and she had difficulty keeping her eyes from rolling.
Sirius Black, along with his gang of sorts, had joined her. James sat across from her, and Peter was next to him. She assumed that Remus would normally occupy her spot.
"Good choice," James said, settling more comfortably in his seat. Laurie looked up.
"In what?"
"Book, of course. It's always good to work on your Quidditch skills, even if it's through such a tedious medium." The boy believed himself to be a sort of Quidditch god, and tried to prove this by using words that suggested that he knew more than the rest of them.
"Is that so?" Laurie's tone was dry.
"Yep."
That seemed all he was going to say, and the girl didn't have a response, so she returned to her book, trying to ignore their curious, smug expressions.
"You know, you might not want to ignore him, if you want to stay on the team." Sirius had spoken, or, rather, stage-whispered, his voice laced with amusement.
"And why is that?"
"He's the new Captain." It was Peter who had spoken now, in much the same tone as Sirius. James was looking out the window, pretending to ignore the exchange.
"Well, tell him I said congratulations." The two boys rolled their eyes.
"You do want to stay on the team, don't you?"
"James wants to know who will respect him as captain, and he's demanding that everyone recognize him as captain before he considers giving them a spot on the team." Laurie rolled her eyes; Potter was often too theatric for her liking.
"My dearest captain," she began, addressing the black- haired boy. "I do hope you will consider allowing me to continue as Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, where I have proven myself under others. I pledge my loyalty to thee, and am amazed at your greatness." Laurie said this with enough sarcasm to drown someone in, though she still used a sincere tone.
James smiled in approval, as the other boys snickered. "Good."
"Oh, and you might want to talk to Kathleen and ask her allegiance." The last part was said with an eye roll.
"Why?"
"She's trying out, obviously." This statement caused the three boys to almost lean forward in curiosity. They all began speaking at once.
"For what?"
"Is she any good?"
"Does she have a broom?"
"Has she played before?"
"What position? We don't have many open."
"What type of broom does she have?"
"Is her broom any good?"
Laurie held up her hands, in a gesture that screamed stop at them.
"She's played at my house over the summer, and she's pretty good. She's trying for beater, and she's got a Nimbus 1500, which, considering its international standard, I'd say is decent." They boy's eyes widened when they heard the name of the broom.
"Is it here?" James voice implied that if it was all of his dreams would come true.
"Yes."
"Can we see it?" Sirius' life seemed to depend on it.
"Ask her."
"Well, where is she?"
"Where's Lupin?"
"Prefects carriage, why?"
"There's your answer."
James and the other two boys leaned back, preparing to wait.
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated! I'd bore you with my excuses, but none of them are any good, so instead I'll just stick with apologizing with a long update!