Short one here.

Not mine, not mine, not mine

Chapter 18

Rivalry

The majority of the Gryffindor quidditch team did not know who to thank for the drastic difference in their crazed captain, but they were singing their praises none the less. Now don't be mislead, James was still a raving lunatic during actual practice but he had let off a bit on the sessions. They were now practicing three nights a week and for only 2.5 hours during the week and only on Saturday mornings for 4 hour stretches, although it was still ridiculously early starting at 7 AM and going until 11. As a result the team was more rested and more focused. They weren't as crabby and actually had their homework done and turned in on time. Which also meant that less of them were in detention.

This did not however mean that James had much spare time. Between Quidditch, homework, classes, and Lily, he was finding it hard to find time for the Marauders and food. But he was managing.. And though Sirius was getting irritable that he saw him so much less, he really couldn't complain. After all, half of the time James was gone the others were sleeping and when James was there, Sirius tended to be off with Soaryn. The times the two could be found together however spelled trouble this month.

With the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry going strong, both boys were being targeted for down right nasty pranks or traps. So far James had been hospitalized for a night because someone had made his potion explode causing terrible burns to his face, arms and hands. Luckily Madam Pomphrey hadn't had any problems healing him. He was pushed onto the vanishing step causing his ankle to break and then there was the Snape incident that had almost caused a fight between him and Lily.

However alarming James' month was, Sirius' was worse. The Slytherin's were always out to get him because of his traitor status, and Snape was still furious over Sirius practically leading him to his death or demise last year. He had been in the hospital wing no less than 14 times in the last month. The last time being so severe that the nurse threatened to pull him off the team. And Dumbledore had stated that if the fighting did not stop escalating that both teams would be benched for the rest of the season.

Both boys were irate. They hadn't been able to get revenge at all. They were planning on taking it out on the field.

oOoOoO

The day the game came it was a strikingly could February morning. James looked up at the bleary sky and smiled. Today was Quidditch what better day could there be? Today he was going to make the Slytherin team see why Gryffindor was so much better. They stood no chance against his seamless team.

oOoOoOoOoO

The game had been in full swing for nearly 5 hours when it took a dangerous turn. The entire match had been tough. The Gryffindor team was not taking no for an answer and was fighting hard. The score was currently 380 to 290 the only thing holding them back was that fact that the Slytherin beaters were slamming his inexperienced seeker. And the Slytherin boys were playing dirty. He was pretty sure that his jaw bone was broken and he could still see blood dripping from Sirius' nose. His keeper was playing with what was certainly a broken wrist, as he had been white faced and cradling it close to him for over an hour now.. Kingsley had been slammed into a goal post "unintentionally" and was carried from the game, Kyle had been knocked out cold by a bludger, which meant that James and Morgan were on their own scoring goals and he was trying to score and direct his team. Not to mention they were all slowly freezing to death, or to their brooms at least. The sky opened and snow began to fall, James watched as the large Slytherin beater hit his seeker in the back with his bat. He watched in horror as she fell towards the ground. Acting faster than he felt he could, he rolled his Nimbus 1000 into a dive, catching her in his arms 50 feet from the ground. He had never been more glad that he had chosen the small third year girl as his seeker. He never would have been able to catch her had she been any bigger, nor that his parents had gotten himself and Sirius matching racing brooms for Christmas.

He held her close to his chest and talked to her softly, ignoring his anger, trying to make her stop crying. That is when he heard it. The unmistakable crack of Sirius' bat meeting a bludger. He looked up in spite of himself and saw the Slytherin captain swerve to miss the speeding ball.

He was hurtling towards Sirius, who was watching the opposing seeker streak towards a flash of gold amongst the falling white.

"Noooooo!" Sirius screamed.

And then, without warning, the Slytherin captain made his final play. He pulled back his arm and shot the quaffle straight into Sirius' face. The crunch was sickening as it collided and Sirius slipped sideways off his broom. If that wasn't enough, as Sirius threw out his arm to catch the handle of his nimbus, a spell shot from the crowd hit Sirius square in the chest. His legs snapped together and his arms jerked to his sides and he fell to the ground, securely locked in a body bind curse. He fell directly in front of James, but there was nothing he could do, his seeker was still laying in tears in his arms, and he was at least 20 feet above the ground. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his best friend.

"Finite Incantum" he shouted the first spell that popped into his head.

Sirius reacted quickly but there was no stopping the impact, he threw his arms out and the breaking of bones echoed through the stadium.