Title: Glass Hearts

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: All books.

Genre: General, Romance, Humor.

Era: 1970-1981.

Main Characters: MWPP, Lily.

Ships: James/Lily, Remus/Marlene McKinnon, Sirius/OC

Summary (for chapter): With the upcoming Quidditch game, there is, as usual, tension in the corridors. We see Regulus Black for the first time. There's more teenage hormonal problems when Sirius insults Lily, and James actually defends her honor.

If there was one thing Regulus hated about being in Slytherin, it was the competition between his house and Gryffindor. It didn't work out great that his brother was in Gryffindor, or that they were on opposing teams. It really didn't help that they weren't on the best terms, either. Sure, they talked every now and then. But that didn't mean much.

The November Quidditch matches were coming up, meaning Gryffindor and Slytherin were in constant opposition with each other. He could hardly walk the halls without someone booing. They were practicing two nights of the week and for three hours on Saturday.

A few days before the match, he was standing around with a few Slytherins after lunch. He saw Sirius approaching them, the Pettigrew boy trailing behind him, and Regulus knew there wouldn't be good results. He stayed silent, but Rosier stepped forward. "Ready for the game, Black?" he drawled.

"Of course," Sirius said with a smirk. He kept walking, and Pettigrew watched them warily.

"Does your fat friend have something to say?" Rosier asked.

"Maybe if your ugly friend does," Sirius said, motioning to Wilkes.

"You think you're funny," Rosier snapped.

"Just about as funny as you are," Sirius said, walking by them.

Rosier drew his wand. He always went looking for a fight. "Well, let's see how funny you'll be in a moment," he said.

Sirius turned around slowly. Pettigrew drew his wand, chewing on his bottom lip. Wilkes and Avery joined Rosier. Sirius half-glanced at Regulus, who watched with his arms crossed. He was badly outnumbered; Pettigrew counted for half a person. Sirius whipped out his wand, hexing Rosier with a slug-vomiting spell. He bent over unto his knees, spitting the creatures out of his mouth. Sirius dodged a jet of purple light and shot a confundus charm on Wilkes. Avery hurled a Conjunctivitis Curse at him. In defense, Sirius yelled, "Protego!"

Wilkes stood there, blinking stupidly. Avery tried to put a countercurse on Rosier, but it only seemed to get worse. Sirius rubbed his eyes, and Pettigrew looked around, at a loss as to what to do.

"Okay, cut it out," Regulus told Avery.

As soon as the Shield Charm had worn off, Sirius shot an Impediment Curse at Avery. "Good lord," he said, pocketing his wand. He nodded at Regulus and then started to leave.

Regulus glanced at the Slytherins, then followed Sirius. "That was pretty nice," he said. "They're going to kill you."

"Right," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "They're idiots; that was three against one."

And they want to be Death Eaters, Regulus thought. He pushed the thought out of his mind. "You are going to lose on Saturday," he said.

"Whatever," Sirius said with a smirk on his face. "Tell your friend he'll stop vomiting in half an hour or so. Unless he can figure out the countercurse. It's pretty simple."

Regulus smirked back at him. "I'm sure he's enjoying it after what he usually has in his mouth," he said.

"Violet Moss?" Sirius replied.

"And all of her friends," Regulus added.

Sirius shuddered as they left the grounds. It was a windy day, slightly overcast. Regulus hoped it wouldn't rain on Saturday; he hated playing in the rain. "Where are you headed?" Regulus asked.

"The pitch," Sirius said. "I've got practice soon."

"Where's your broom?"

"James already took it down there."

"Touching."

"Shove off."

"It's all rather stupid, if you ask me," Lily said hotly after walking past a group of Slytherins with Marlene McKinnon, and Sirius and Remus walking in front of them. "It's just a game."

Marlene winced as Sirius turned on Lily. "Just a game?" he asked. "Evans, you know nothing about Quidditch, obviously."

"It is just a game!" Lily exclaimed. "A bunch of balls and broomsticks. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's fun, but everyone's too competitive about it!"

"Maybe that's the way it works in the Muggle world," Sirius said calmly. "But for witches and wizards, Quidditch is not just a game."

Lily and Marlene stared at him in shock. Luckily for Sirius, James was off writing a Potions essay. If he were next to him instead of Remus, Sirius would probably no longer be breathing.

"Are you trying to say I'm not a witch?" Lily asked, her cheeks getting red.

"That's not what I said," Sirius said, raising his voice. Maybe that had been uncalled for, but really, Evans knew nothing.

Lily glared at him. She flipped her hair off of her shoulder and walked past him. Marlene shook her head at him and followed her.

"Damn," Sirius said. He looked at Remus. "Don't say anything about this to Prongs, you hear me?"

Remus just nodded. "I can only imagine the look on his face," he said. He held back a smile.

"I hate it when your mouth twitches like that," Sirius replied, narrowing his eyes.

It was the last practice before the game, and James was pushing his team harder than ever. They were great, probably better than last year. James didn't feel like a great captain, but he did what he had to. He had loved flying since his dad had bought him a toy broomstick when he was four, and he had been into Quidditch since he went to his first game when he was eight. He knew what it took.

Sirius hit a Bludger viciously and it flew past Marlene, barely missing her. Marlene sped her broom toward Sirius. "Maybe that's the way it works in the Muggle world, Black," she snapped. "But it's not going to work here."

"Shove off, McKinnon," Sirius said.

"That's what Lily should have told you," Marlene said. "You're a right bastard, Sirius. What makes you think you can just talk to people like that? She's top of your year –"

"Wrap the personal business up after practice!" James yelled at Marlene and Sirius, ignoring what he had heard. "Let's play it again."

Afterwards, Marlene lost no time in wrapping it up. "You're such an arrogant git, you know that?" Marlene asked right as they landed. "Just like all those Slytherins – why weren't you Sorted into that house?"

"Marlene, don't you think that's a little uncalled for?" Sophie asked. She was the new Seeker, and the youngest player on the team, only a second year.

"No!" Marlene exclaimed. "I bet everyone's thought the same question – you practically are a Slytherin. Are you sure we can trust you during this game? You won't go all soft against your brother?"

James stepped in before Sirius could reply or strangle Marlene, his face was mangled up in anger. "McKinnon, you're not the captain," James said. "That's not your place to question that."

"Easy for you to say, you're his best friend!" Marlene exclaimed.

James grabbed Marlene's arm and dragged her off while she yelled at Sirius. He stopped behind the locker room and she gave him a vicious look. He crossed his arms. "Leave him alone," he said. "He's a Gryffindor, he's a Beater on our team – and come on, just the other day he took on three Slytherin guys."

"Then he shouldn't be such a jerk!" Marlene said, throwing her arms around.

"What did he do to you?" James asked. "I'll make him apologize."

"He called Lily a Muggle," Marlene said. "Maybe that's how it works in the Muggle world, Evans. But for witches and wizards – Potter, you need to punch him, since I can't!"

James tensed, but continued, "If Sirius plays lousy tomorrow because he's angry, I'm going to blame you."

"Don't you ever wonder why he's not in Slytherin?" Marlene asked. "All the rest of his family is – his brother, all of his cousins, his parents."

"No, of course I don't," James replied. "He's in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat always knows the right choice for somebody. He's a prat sometimes, we all are. I want you to apologize."

"Apologize?" Marlene repeated, her eyes widening. "Are you mad, Potter?"

"I want you to apologize after he apologizes to Evans," James said. "Got it?"

"Whatever," Marlene said, crossing her arms. "Can I go, captain?"

"Yeah," James said.

Marlene pushed past him in bad temper. Sirius wasn't in the locker room. After James changed, he took their usual shortcut to Gryffindor Tower and found Sirius trudging along. He caught up with him. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Sirius said.

The two of them walked on in silence, and then Sirius spoke. "I don't need you sticking up for me, you know."

"I wasn't sticking up for you," James said. "Okay, I was, a little. But I was mainly just making sure you didn't get expelled for murder."

"I wouldn't have murdered her," Sirius replied. "I mean, I know everyone wonders it . . . why is Sirius Black a Gryffindor?"

"I can tell why. People are just daft," James stated. He stuck his hands in his pockets.

"The Hat said I'd be good for Slytherin, like the rest of my family," Sirius said. "But I asked to be Sorted into Gryffindor."

James looked at Sirius, surprised. His whole family had condoned Gryffindors, and he asked to be Sorted into the house? "You did?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said, nodding some hair out of his eyes. "When you and Peter told me you think you'd be in Gryffindor, I wanted to be in it, too. So, I asked to be in it."

"But, what if we hadn't been Sorted into Gryffindor?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged, not looking at him. "I knew you would be, somehow," he said. "Your parents were, and you were so . . . unlike the rest of my family."

James nodded. So, if he had never decided to sit with Sirius in that compartment, and talked to him, then things could have been very different. Sirius could have been a Slytherin and still living with his family.

In the common room, the two of them walked over to sit next to Remus and Peter. Peter was doing some Herbology homework, and Remus was writing his mum. James's eyes strayed over to Lily Evans, who was sitting alone in an armchair in the corner of the common room. He looked at Sirius, who was staring in the fire. "Sirius," James said. "You've got to apologize to Evans."

Sirius looked up at James. The look on his face was unrecognizable. He looked like he could have been angry, and also unbelievable, but like he had expected this. "What?" he said.

"I said, you've got to apologize to Evans," James said. He saw Peter bury his nose further into his books, his eyes avoiding the two of them. Remus scratched his nose with the end of the quill, keeping his eyes on his parchment.

"For what?" Sirius asked.

"Calling her a Muggle," James replied.

"I didn't call her a Muggle," Sirius said. "She's Muggle-born, she's used to Muggle things. I was just stating that Quidditch wasn't just a game."

"Quidditch?" James repeated. "You – look, it was stupid, just tell her you're sorry."

"I'm not," Sirius said defiantly. James couldn't tell weather he was serious, or if he was just being stupid, to make James angry.

"Oh, come on."

"She just took it the wrong way. Girls do that, they're sensitive."

"You mean you're not going to apologize?"

"Of course not. One, you can't just boss me around. And I'm not sorry for what I said."

"I'm not trying to boss you around," James said angrily. "You don't want everybody to think you're a huge git, do you?"

"Everybody thinks that already," Sirius said. "Maybe if you weren't so obsessed with Evans, you wouldn't care what I said to her." He looked at Remus and Peter, who looked very preoccupied with their things. "Isn't he too protective over her? Evans can take care of herself, can't she?"

"How would you like it if I called Jewel a Muggle, hm?" James asked.

"You're not going out with Evans," Sirius said loudly. Fortunately for him, Lily was far away enough that she probably didn't hear him. "You probably never will be. Why can't you just drop her and go back to normal?"

"Normal?" James repeated. "Is that what this is all about? I'm not normal?" He looked at Remus and Peter. "It's not that bad, is it? She's just a girl."

"You're just always looking at her, you're just always thinking about her, you're only always hitting on her," Sirius said. "It's disgusting, she doesn't even like you. She never has."

James grew red in the cheeks. Remus put his head in his hands. Peter glanced from one to the other, looking desperately for something to do. "I know that!" James exclaimed. "It's not always – I just –"

"Just what?" Sirius asked. "Just –"

"You're just jealous!" James exclaimed.

Sirius looked at him, his eyes wide. "Jealous?" he repeated, as though he had just suggested kissing Severus Snape. "Jealous, are you mad, Potter? Jealous, of Lily Evans? Since when has she had anything that I could be jealous for?"

James crossed his arms and glared at Sirius, but apparently Sirius didn't like the look on his face. "You smug bastard," Sirius said. He stood up and punched James across the nose.

Within seconds, the two of them were fighting on the floor. Remus groaned, finally looking up. "Is this really necessary?" he asked.

James punched Sirius in the face, sitting on his stomach. Sirius pushed him off, then went after him, punching him again. "You arse," Sirius said, punching him twice. James punched Sirius in the stomach. Sirius doubled back, gasping for breath. He kicked James in the face and James fell back, his nose bleeding and most likely broken. James went after Sirius again, fists and face bloody.

"You two will be the death of me," Remus said. He took out his wand just as Lily came over and he separated the two of them with the Shield Spell with which he had become very familiar. The two of them started to go for each other again, but Paul Brendell stood between the two of them. "That's really enough."

"Shut up, Remus," Sirius said harshly.

Lily walked over to James, taking out her wand. "You are so daft, James Potter," she said, pointing her wand to his face. "Episkey." James winced as his nose healed. "I should have left it broken."

James looked down at Lily, blood all over his face and hands. Sirius broke past Paul and tackled James down. Lily jumped back, watching the two of them fight. Remus set the Shield between them again.

"Will you stop it?" Sirius yelled at Remus. "I'll break your nose next, you ugly prat!"

"Sirius, leave him alone!" Lily exclaimed. "He was only taking care of the two of you! I don't want to have to take points from Gryffindor."

"Oh, go ahead and do it!" Sirius said. "Ten, twenty, thirty points from your own house! I don't bloody care, you already ruin everything else!"

"What have I ever done to you?" Lily asked hotly.

Sirius glared at her, then thundered out of the common room, his right eye bruising and his shirt ripped. "Stupid prat," James said once the portrait hole shut.

"I told you," Marlene said. "You just can't win with him."

"Shut up," James told her. "Only the three of us are allowed to insult Sirius."

"I can't believe you!" Lily exclaimed. "Fighting in the common room, with first and second years here to see and everything! You're a horrible example to your classmates!"

"He attacked me!" James said indignantly.

"You're lucky I'm not going to take points away," Lily said. She shook her head and walked back to her corner.

"I'm going to kill him," James said moodily, then stalked upstairs to his dormitory.

Jewel jumped up and down, cheering as Sophie Dillon, the smallest member on the Gryffindor team, held the Snitch in her hand. She turned and gave Juniper a hug. "I can't believe we're actually starting to understand this game!" Juniper yelled over the cheers.

Gryffindor had won by fifty points after an hour-long game. The students started filing out of the stands, meeting the players on the field. The only players who shook hands were the Black brothers, all the other Slytherins stormed off. There was a fight between two opposing players, but Frank Longbottom split them up before any teachers noticed.

"Was that Paul Brendell?" Juniper asked. "He's rather cute."

"Paul?" Jewel repeated. "He's so. . .girly."

"What?" Juniper said, laughing.

On the pitch, Sirius kissed Jewel full on the mouth. James and Juniper let out cat-calls. "Good game," she told him once they had pulled away. Sirius draped his arm over his shoulders, and Jewel was lucky enough to feel his sweat from the game. "You're sweaty."

Sirius wiped his face all over hers. "Oh, gods," Jewel said, pushing him away.

Laughing, he pulled her towards him again. "I'm going to enjoy a victory party," he said. "Want to come?"

"To Gryffindor Tower?" Jewel asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said brightly, "I can sneak you in."

"It's all right," Jewel said. "You go to your party. I'll see you later on today."

"You sure?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," Jewel said.

"All right, see you," Sirius said. He went into the Quidditch locker rooms, pushing James playfully. Despite Sirius's black and purple bruised cheek, he and James were talking again. The game had made them up. Jewel would never understand some boys. Fighting and punching one second, back to best friends the next. Yesterday, Sirius had harassed Ravenclaws outside of the tower to go get Jewel until she came out, then complained and vented to her about James for an hour. Then they had snogged in an empty closet after he got all of his frustration out.

Jewel started walking with a group of girls. Mary MacDonald, her voice hoarse from the commentary, smiled at Jewel. "You're going out with Sirius, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jewel said.

"How do you survive?" Lily Evans asked.

"Spend as little time with him as possible," Jewel said, laughing.

Sirius's seventeenth birthday came and went. He, James, Remus and Peter played in the Forbidden Forest all night beforehand, and Sirius woke up next to his three friends, stark naked, aching from running around all night. Kreacher, his family's detestable house-elf, sent him a box of maggots. Regulus gave him a book about Beaters. He never was very good at gifts, but Sirius liked it all right. Jewel had forgotten to get him anything, but gave him seventeen birthday kisses.

He could tell Evans was itching to tell them off for being too loud in the common room during the party they had thrown Sirius, but McGonagall finally told them off, and handed out detentions to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. Remus was none too happy about receiving a detention when he had been sleeping most of the party. It was just his luck that Sirius had made him wake up around one in the morning and forced him to dance with Candace, who was well past any common sense due to one too many firewhiskeys.

Fortunately for Evans, she went to bed early and James had no chance to harass her as he had harassed Mary MacDonald. Unfortunately for James, however, Frank Longbottom, Mary's new boyfriend, had not gone to bed early. Well, Prongs wouldn't be the only one with a black eye the next day; Sirius had taken a nasty fall when giving seventh year Katie a strip tease.

"Battle scars," he said grudgingly the next day, looking into the mirror.

"I'll show you war scars, you idiot," James said, throwing an empty bottle of firewhiskey at him. "You could have at least told me Frank was watching! Or distract him! Or something!"

"I was occupied," Sirius said shortly, throwing the bottle back at him.

The lump that was Peter moaned and groaned and told them both to shut up. Remus laughed when the bottle finally broke on the side of Sirius's head. After which, Sirius decided to give Remus some battle scars, as well . .