MISCHIEF MANAGED
Chapter Fifteen – The Game
'Nice intercept from Whittle,' Ted Tonks' voice rang out over the stadium. 'Whittle passes to Potter. Potter shoots… and he scores! Ten points to Gryffindor.'
Sirius, Remus and Peter cheered from the stands. The smiles on their faces could almost match James'. A shadow loomed behind them and they looked up to see Hagrid, Lily beside him. 'What've I missed, boys?' he asked in a booming voice.
Still watching the game intently, Peter answered with great excitement, 'James just scored and we're ten points ahead!' He turned around then to see who he was addressing and almost fell off the stand in shock.
'Veneficus with the Quaffle now… racing towards the Gryffindor Keeper… he tosses it to Drapeta, who shoots… and Gorgon dives to the right and catches the Quaffle which she passes to Potter. And he's off racing down the pitch… wow! This kid's on fire today…' Ted trailed off as a commotion broke out in the Slytherin stands. People were running in every direction to avoid a bludger, hit by Ash Triumph. 'Wow, that is getting awfully close-'
The whole stadium watched in awe as the Bludger hit a first year Slytherin trying to get out of its way. 'Ouch, that's gotta hurt!' Ted resumed as he watched Andromeda usher the injured girl from the stand.
Remus watched as the two first years, India and Emily, jumped up from their seats in the front row of the Gryffindor stands. 'Merlin's beard, that was Emma wasn't it,' he heard them exclaim as they ran after their friend.
Once the disturbance had died down, the Marauders settled in to watch the rest of the game. James continued to steal the show, scoring goals left right and centre.
'Potter scores again for Gryffindor,' Ted's voice boomed over the pitch. 'That's Gryffindor on 170 points, 150 points ahead of Slytherin's 20. What's this? Slytherin's Seeker, Dubium, appears to have spied the Snitch. And there's Tucker from Gryffindor, following close behind.'
The crowd were watching as Dubium dove for the Snitch, pulling up just in time so as not to hit the ground. While the two teams were temporarily distracted, James took possession of the Quaffle and was racing towards the Slytherin goal. Moments before he shot he yelled out to Ted, 'Hey, check this out!' He threw the Quaffle over the Slytherin Keeper's shoulder and scored Gryffindor another ten points.
'Potter scores again,' Ted shouted and then, with barely a pause, 'Dubium grabs the Snitch. 150 points to Slytherin, but not the game. No, that goes to Gryffindor, by a mere ten points. Good game everyone, well played.'
The Gryffindor Tower had never seen a party like the one it saw that night. Sirius had recruited a horde of first-years to accompany him and Peter to the kitchens blindfolded, since none of the Marauders were willing to give up their secret just yet. They returned with platters heaped with every delicacy Hogwarts could provide to find James sitting on the banister on the landing of the boys' dormitory, revelling in the praise being awarded to him.
Remus saw Lily sigh in exasperation at this scene before she caught his eye and pushed through the crowd to get to him. 'What a show off,' she said, rolling her eyes pointedly at James.
'He's not as bad as he seems, you know,' Remus replied laughingly.
There was a moment of silence between Remus and Lily while they observed the frivolity of the other Gryffindors around them before Lily turned back to Remus and said, 'There's something I need to ask you. Can we go somewhere quiet to talk?'
James watched with a scowl as Lily led Remus out of the portrait. He didn't return to his senses until Sirius gave him yet another congratulatory clap on the back.
Once they were outside the common room, Lily stopped abruptly and asked, 'Remus, is there anything you want to tell me?' Before she received an answer she looked around at her surroundings and stopped him. 'Wait,' she said, taking his arm. 'There are portraits around here.'
'Lily, what in the name of Merlin is going on?' Remus asked, confused at this confrontation.
She looked around and seeing that they were alone, away from any prying eyes, she began to whisper fervently. 'Remus, I want to know what is going on. You disappear for a few days every month and at the same time you look tired and ill. I was checking a lunar calendar for Astronomy and I noticed that your disappearances coincide with the full moon.'
Remus looked at her in disbelief, tears welling up in his eyes, and said forlornly, 'I can understand why you wouldn't want to be friends with a werewolf, but can you do me one last favour. Please don't tell anyone, especially not my friends.'
He left Lily standing there with a confused expression on her face. As he hurried back to the Gryffindor tower he bumped into Alice Pratten, who was looking for Lily.
'What's wrong with him?' he heard Alice ask her friend. 'Did you two have a fight?'
'No,' Lily answered. 'He's having trouble with Severus in potions, so I offered to be his partner for the rest of the year. He'll work much harder than Potter anyway.'
In no mood to rejoin the party, Remus pushed through the crowd, ignoring his friends' questions of his whereabouts, and traipsed up the staircase to the boys' dormitory and to bed.
James woke the next morning to Sirius jumping enthusiastically on the end of his bed. 'James, I've had a brilliant idea!' he exclaimed.
James grunted and hid his face in the pillow. This however did not stop Sirius' annoying method of trying to wake his friends.
'Potter,' James heard from Ben's bed, 'Just ask him what's so brilliant so I can go back to sleep.'
James and Sirius scowled in his general direction. 'So tell me,' James mumbled as he dragged himself from his bed, 'What is this brilliant idea of yours?'
'Well,' Sirius beamed, 'You know the tree that attacks people-'
'It's called the Whomping Willow,' Ben interjected.
'Why thank you, Ben,' Sirius said with sarcasm. 'That is why it's called the Whomping Willow Game.'
He paused for effect, but when no response was offered he continued in his explanation. 'Basically, everyone tries to get as close to the trunk as they can and whoever gets closest wins,' Sirius explained quickly. 'Oh, and you can't get hit,' he added as an afterthought.
Sirius bounded from the room and his friends jumped out of bed, dressed hurriedly and followed him in their excitement.
By the time they had reached the Entrance Hall Sirius was coming out of the Great Hall with an armful of dry toast. 'Breakfast!' he announced before leaving through the oak front doors. Heading across the grounds towards the Whomping Willow, he yelled to the Hogwarts students lounging on the lawns, 'Everyone, listen up! The Marauders have a new game for you all.' Several students sat up, eager to hear more. 'The first person to touch the trunk of that tree,' Sirius continued, pointing to the Whomping Willow, 'wins eternal-'
'Sirius, you do realise its called the Whomping Willow, don't you?' Lily interrupted.
'Yes, thank you Lily,' Sirius answered jestingly, 'and that would be the reason it's called the Whomping Willow Game.'
He paused, and a third year Hufflepuff listening intently asked enthusiastically, 'What do we win?'
'Eternal glory,' shouted Sirius. 'And who wouldn't want that?'
Within minutes, Sirius had organised the surrounding group into a rough circle around the tree. 'On the count of three,' he said with mock authority. 'One… Two… THREE!'
There was a mad rush to the tree, with students tripping over each other, while Lily looked on disapprovingly. Sirius and James continued to egg the participants on even as they were belted by the tree's ferocious branches. Remus stood alert, ready to jump in if things got really bad. Before ten minutes had passed, all who had joined in meekly walked away, sporting a number of bruises.
'I guess that's all for today,' Sirius yelled out to the crowd. 'I'll send out the word for next time. Eternal glory is still up for grabs!'
Once everyone started heading back to the castle, the Marauders decided to follow suit. 'You came pretty close, Peter,' James encouragingly. Peter moaned in reply and attempted to hide the gash across his face, which had quickly swollen and turned an angry shade of purple.