A/N: Thank you so much to azuresilver for being the first and ONLY reviewer. *glares disappointedly* Please please please review.

Chapter 7: Complications

After finishing her homework with Lily and the others in the Library, Brenna hurried back up to Gryffindor Tower so she could change and get her things ready for Quidditch. Alice, Lily and Marlene had wished her luck though none of them would try out and Lily wouldn't go anywhere near the Quidditch Pitch with James being there since it would most likely result in him harassing her.

They had told her that the team had been all boys for 2 years now since Gryffindor didn't have many good Quidditch playing girls, and most of them only pretended to be interested in Quidditch because Sirius and James played. So that meant that if she did make the team, which hopefully she would, Brenna would be most likely playing on a team with 6 other guys.

At quarter to four, Brenna grabbed her broom and walked down to the near empty Common Room, it seemed that a lot of people either watched the Trials or participated in them. When she reached the Pitch she saw that James and Sirius were already down there taking to another guy that looked to be a 7th year.

Quite a few people had showed up to try for the two spots that were open, a chaser and Seeker. Clusters of boys, mostly younger or the same age as Brenna stood around the Pitch talking, their brooms slung over their shoulders or in their hands. There were a few girls that clearly didn't belong on the Quidditch Pitch just by their outfits; they were wearing form fitting clothes, some of them in jeans, and low cut, showy tops. It was a miracle that they weren't frozen yet. Even though it was only September, at five o'clock in the evening with wind blowing on the open Pitch, it was cold.

Brenna had dressed more appropriately. She wore a coal grey fitted jacket with a black and white stripe design with a white t-shirt underneath and black pants that were more like tights. They reached down to her ankles ending in her trainers. Her long hair was tied in a French braid that hung down her back. She held her broom in one hand as she looked around the Pitch.

The only people she knew were James and Sirius and both of them were talking to some other guy. Girls glanced at her occasionally but turned back to their groups talking to each other. Guys looked her over, taking in her appearance. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, but her beauty was different than the other girls. She wasn't just 'hot' she was elegant and mysterious. She was exotic and every guy on that Pitch wanted to ask her out, if for nothing but the fact that every guy wanted her.

The boy that had been talking to James and Sirius walked away and the two stood together talking and looking around the Pitch.

"Wood's gonna throw a fit when he sees them all." James muttered as Sirius discreetly looked at the few girls that were audacious enough to show up to Quidditch Trials after all the times they were yelled at by the different Quidditch Captains since their second year. His eyes fell on Brenna who stood somewhat awkwardly at the edge of the Pitch, noticing all the guys that continuously checked her out.

"Bloody vultures" Sirius growled as Peter Fleming, a fifth year with a reputation as a player, walked over to Brenna presumably to flirt with her and ask her out.

"Why do you care so much?" James asked looking sideways at Sirius.

"Wh- I…Why don't you, Prongs? She's new here and she's a Gryffindor, as the Marauders and pretty much the leaders of Gryffindor and the School, we can't just let her be…preyed upon!" James smiled a bit at the urgency in Sirius' voice. He finally found someone, James had Lily-well she still had to yes but that's besides the point- and now Sirius had Brenna, though he still had to admit that he liked her.

"Very true Padfoot, now why don't we, the noble Marauders, go and protect Brenna from the preying vultures." Sirius was so intent on getting over to Brenna that he didn't pick up on James' mocking.

"Oi, Fleming, screw off." He said over whatever the boy was saying to Brenna, who was looking annoyed.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that interrupting people was rude, Black?" Peter said arrogantly.

"Apparently not…How are you, Brenna" He said angling himself so Peter was blocked from the conversation.

"Good thanks, how 'bout you?"

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Peter said as he walked away exasperatedly.

"Bye Fleming" Sirius called with a smile as Brenna chuckled a bit.

"He's a bit of an ass isn't he?" Sirius grinned at her.

"Yes, yes he is."

"So when's this thing going to start?" Brenna asked feeling the glares she was receiving from the other girls on the pitch.

"Should be any minute now, Wood just went to get the equipment from the locker room and his broom I think." James answered.

"Speaking of brooms, let's see this Nimbus 1500." Sirius added as Brenna held out the broom for the boys to see.

"You guys can take it for a spin after Trials if you want."

"Seriously? You'd let us?"

"As long as you don't break it, if you do, you're getting me a new one; they just came out in the summer."

"Alright everyone gather round, the Quidditch Trials are beginning." The seventh year boy that Sirius and James had been talking to called as everyone on the Pitch walked towards him.

"For those of you that don't know, I'm Mitchell Wood, I'm a 7th year and this is my second year as Quidditch Captain. Anyone that's here because Black and Potter are, leave right now, I'm not putting up with this again this year. Go back to the Tower." When none of the girls left, probably because they at least wanted to watch the Trials, Wood continued. "Right, put your brooms over here and run two full laps of the Pitch to warm up."

"You do realise that Quidditch is played with brooms and there isn't actually any running involved right?" A blonde haired girl said, sounding extremely bratty. Wood turned to look at the girl, maddened by her questioning his authority and intelligence, obviously he knew how to play Quidditch, he was captain last year.

"Yes I know how to play Quidditch, now get running or leave." The girl scowled but began jogging with two other girls, a dirty blonde and a brunette. "Anyone else have an issue with running? No? Good, get moving." Brenna set her broom down next to Sirius and James'.

"Hey Brenna, you probably don't have to run, we'll tell Wood." Sirius said as Brenna was about to start running.

"It's fine, I like to run and besides, I don't need that blonde coming after me because I didn't have to run, I'll see you guys in a bit." With that she turned and jogged along with everyone else, though when they got to the other end of the Pitch, most people slowed down or stopped for a breather, Brenna on the other hand continued jogging at the same pace.

"Oi Black, Potter" Wood called walking over to them

"We're not running you know we can play and that we're serious about Quidditch, no pun intended." Sirius said when Wood reached them.

"Nah that's fine, but who's the girl, I've never seen her before." Wood asked gesturing to Brenna who had already begun her second lap on the Pitch.

"That's Brenna Templar; she's a new fifth year." James answered, "Why do you ask?"

"She just doesn't look like the others and she's actually running."

"Yeah well she wants to play Seeker."

"Oh really, she's not here for you? You're losing your touch." Wood laughed directing his comment to Sirius. All the girls that ever showed up to Quidditch Trials were only there to see him.

"I'm not losing my touch" Sirius said oddly offended by the accusation.

"No, it's just not working on her." James added as the potential players joined them once again in the middle of the pitch.

"Damn, there are still three of them; they're really persistent this year." Wood commented on the blond and her two friends that were still at the Trials, the other girls had gone back to the Tower with the exception of Brenna.

"Alright, grab your brooms. Form two lines, Potter and Black will lead you through the warm up." Wood waved his wand a few times and muttered some incantations as pylons and flares rose into the air creating two parallel floating obstacle courses.

Sirius and James jogged over to their brooms as did Brenna and the others.

"Brenna, go in my line, alright, I'm a way better leader than James."

"Yeah right, who's the leader of the Marauders? Me, not you Padfoot, Brenna you want to be in my line."

"Okay, 1, the Marauders don't have a leader Prongs and, 2, Brenna wants to be in my line."

"Are you guys really arguing over whose line I'm going in?" The two boys smiled sheepishly at Brenna realising how stupid it really was once Brenna said it out loud.

"Well I asked first, so Brenna you have to be in my line, it's only fair." Sirius said attempting to end the argument, though his voice was more hopeful than authoritive. Brenna and James smiled at Sirius' comment, Brenna because it was just funny to see a 16-year-old reverting back to a 6-year-old's tactics and James because he knew Sirius fancied Brenna, whether Sirius knew it or not.

"True, but your line's got that blonde and her friends…"

"Black, Potter get in the air now, we haven't got all night!" Wood yelled as the other people stood waiting for Sirius and James in the middle of the field. Sirius and James swung their legs over their brooms and kicked off.

"Come on Brenna," Sirius called before flying off over to the middle of the field. "Alright, this line here, you're with me, let's go." Sirius chose the line that the blonde girl wasn't in purposely and James had no choice but to take that line.

Brenna swung her leg over her broom and kicked off, soaring into the air and joining Sirius in only a couple seconds.

"See, no annoying blonde and now you're in my line." Sirius said as they waited for the other boys to fly up to meet them. "Oi hurry up, we're starting. Just follow the person in front of you and you should be fine. Do not fall or crash into the person in front of you. Alright let's get started."

Sirius leaned forward on his broom and sped towards the course, weaving through the pylons and going over and under flares. Brenna followed quickly, expertly manoeuvring through the course, the rest of the boys following behind her.

After both lines had finished the course, they landed around Wood who was holding a clipboard.

"Alright, anyone that is trying for Chaser there, Beaters over there, and Seeker there. Last year's team has to try out to, if you're the best then your back on the team, if not…well, you get the point. Let's start with the Chasers. You'll each have 3 tries to get a Quaffle in, and from there I'll decide the three chasers. Potter you're up." James and Wood flew into the air, James holding a Quaffle in one hand.

James got all 3 shots in, though the last one was narrow. A few of the other boys got 2 shots in, including Peter Fleming who was on the team last year, and the blonde's friends both missed all three shots, most of them were way off.

Next up were the beaters. They had to hit the bludgers into the goal posts then try to hit bewitched moving targets. Sirius, of course, hit every target and the other beater from the previous year, George O'Malley, only missed one by a few centimetres. The others that tried weren't nearly as good.

Last were the Seekers. It was dusk by the time they got their chance and visibility was low, as it would be if there were plenty of clouds or rain during a match. For this trial, anyone who wasn't auditioning would fly around the pitch, passing Quaffle to each other and hitting bludgers at the other players. The Snitch would be released and everyone trying for Seeker would be looking for it. The goal was the same in any game, catch the Snitch before anyone else.

There were only three people trying for Seeker, Brenna, the blonde who was named April Keaton, and another boy, Steven. The three took off, each of them searching for the Snitch that Wood had just released, he would be staying on the ground to asses the Seekers.

Brenna by far was the best flier. She had the superior broom but more than that, she was balanced and unafraid of falling or going exceptionally fast. To dodge bludgers she would spiral to the side or simply move her body, letting her broom remain on course. April was alright, but you could tell that she was scared slightly; you could sense her hesitance to take risks. Steven was the same as April but mostly kept to himself only glancing occasionally at the competitors.

April knew that Brenna was a good player, so her strategy was either to 'accidently' knock her of her broom or follow her around until she found the Snitch, she wasn't sure yet. Brenna, of course, was aware of April's tactic and easily avoided the times that April flew way to close. A few times Brenna had to duck quickly to avoid being hit in the head by April's foot or broom handle and April's tricks were escalating, every time becoming a closer chance and a more violent potential injury.

Sirius, still overly concerned for Brenna's safety landed next Wood who was watching each of the Seekers closely.

"Wood, someone's going to get hurt!"

"This is Quidditch, people always get hurt."

"Not at a Trial within our own house. Keaton's going to kill someone!"

"Black, this is a competition and Keaton hasn't actually touched Templar in any way, shape or form. She's perfectly within the rules of the game."

Brenna had been unconcerned with what was happening on the ground, she was focused on dodging April's attempts to knock her to the ground while trying to find the Snitch. And as Sirius was talking to Wood, Brenna saw it. A flicker of gold by the far goal posts about a foot from the ground. She leaned forward and sped toward the small speck in the distance. Vaguely she noticed April following and Steven behind her, but neither one was going fast enough to catch the Snitch before she did.

Brenna was lying flat against her broom as she had done when she played with Cyrus back home. For the students at Hogwarts it wasn't very normal to see someone flying so fast during a trial, but Brenna was focused on only one thing, the tiny, golden snitch.

"She's seen it, look how fast she's flying and straight at the ground…Merlin, she won't be able to pull up in time." Wood commented as everyone on the pitch stopped to watch Brenna.

She was speeding quickly toward the goal posts and the ground, she had to get low enough to catch the snitch and leave enough space to pull up. But that was the thing, she didn't need much room or time at all, the only thing she needed was the Snitch closed in her hand.

She approached the far goalposts and it seemed that she would crash into the ground, the post or both. Brenna stuck out her left hand and felt the delicate wings flutter against her hand before pulling up incredibly hard. Just before the broom hit the ground, the front end that she had pulled, reared up and she pivoted 180 degrees so she was facing into the Pitch and flew towards Wood and Sirius who were standing off to the side open-mouthed. Stopping in front of them she hopped off her broom and held up her left hand, the Snitch still enclosed, for them to see.

"Here's your Snitch" She said with a small smile at the shocked looks on their face. I guess they don't do that here…she thought as the rest of the players landed around them.

"What were you thinking, you almost died!" Sirius said concern etched into his face and voice.

"No I didn't, I've done that tons of times with way less margin for error. Relax, I got the Snitch and I didn't crash." James appeared next to Sirius, a mirrored look of concern on his face, but after seeing that Brenna was alright he broke into a smile.

"Can I try your broom now, trials are done." James asked clearly excited. Brenna nodded handing him the broom and gave the Snitch back to Wood.

"Right, well, Trials are done, I'll post the list for the team by tomorrow morning. Well done all of you." Wood said finally recovered from the shock and taking the snitch from Brenna. James hopped on the broom and the rest of the players left the Pitch, April and her friends scowling at Brenna and shooting her glares that instantly reminded her of the old adage: if looks could kill…

Brenna and Sirius sat on the bench to the side of the Pitch as James soared into the air putting the broom through its paces.

"You know you could've really gotten hurt, right?" Sirius asked still looking concerned.

"Sirius, I'm fine really." Sirius still didn't look convinced and neither one understood why he cared so much.

"Brenna, you could've gotten yourself really badly hurt, you could've died."

"If I didn't do things because I could get hurt, I wouldn't be here right now. Sirius, listen, I'm trained really well, and you're right I could get hurt, but I'll heal, and death is a little extreme. You only learn by trying things and sometimes you get hurt. Merlin knows I crashed a thousand times before I got that right. Live and learn, you know?"

"Brenna, who the hell are you? You tell us that you need to keep everything a secret. You hint that you and your brother are involved in something huge, and now you're talking about how whatever the hell you do is dangerous and you could get hurt or die. Who are you?" Sirius said looking at her intensely; he just wanted to know what was up with her. He didn't like feeling that he couldn't help someone with something that was clearly massive.

"You know I can't tell you. And it's not just because of Cyrus, okay? It's because I can't tell you. What I do is dangerous, is that what you wanted to hear? That if I screw up, me or Cyrus will end up dead? Is that what you wanted to hear, Sirius? You can't understand and I'm not asking you to, I'm just asking you to respect the fact that I live a very complicated life that I can't tell you about." Brenna seemed to zone out a bit after she said that, staring straight ahead, her body stiff. "Bring the broom back to the tower when you're done, I've got to go."

Brenna's demeanour had changed from 'please try to understand', to 'something's up and I've got to go'. She stood up but Sirius caught her arm, for him felt like she was leaving because he had said something wrong.

"Brenna, look I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Sirius, its fine really, I just have to go. Cyrus needs to talk to me." She said looking at the other end of the Pitch where Cyrus had just become visible standing at the end waiting for her.

"I'm guessing that's not just an epic twin connection."

"Nope, legilimency, Sirius, that's one I can tell you. Don't break my broom!" She called as she began running toward Cyrus who waited at the end of the Pitch.

James landed next to Sirius; he had seen Brenna running across the Pitch to a boy who was waiting for her. From the air, he couldn't tell who the boy was and figured he should go check with Sirius what was happening, and had been happening while he was enjoying himself flying.

"Padfoot, what'd I miss?"

"Brenna and her brother are in potential life or death situations, they know legilimency, Brenna said to bring her broom back to the tower when we're done and we can't break it. Oh, and right now she's going to see her brother."

"Wait, what?"

"Brenna could die because of whatever she's involved in, they can read people's minds, she's going to talk to her brother and we're supposed to bring the broom back to the tower." Sirius repeated emotionlessly. Then as though he was just clueing into what he was saying, his eyes widened slightly, "She could die!" He said hysterically looking at James.

"Whoa, Padfoot calm down, no one's going to die!" James grabbed hold of Sirius' shoulders to steady him.

"No, no Prongs, she said, she said that she could die and that if she screws up her brother could die. Prongs we've got to do something, we have to help. She can't die, we can't let her die." Sirius had calmed down a bit but he was determined. Sirius was just the kind of person that did everything he could to help someone once he found out that they were in any sort of trouble, whether a subject was difficult or someone's personal life was less than ideal.

"Padfoot, listen, we'll talk to her okay? She'll tell us what she can and we'll help if we can. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. You just need to relax." And just like that Sirius nodded and snapped back to his usual calm self.

"Right, yeah, I'm fine. Come on let's go, I reckon it's time for dinner."

A/N: Review? Let me know what you love and what you hate.