A/N: Chapter ten is here! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful review's I've recieved, it really warms my heart to see you all enjoying and sticking with the story!

review responses:

000kayko000: Thank you :D I'm glad you liked it. Well, I always thought that because Regulus turned back to the goodside, he must have a some good in him at some point, and I thought it would be a nice twist to have the doted upon Regulus to idolize his disowned older brother, I get the feeling he and Sirius were once close, as most brothers are when they're young. It's really cool that you like my potrayal of him aswell, I had a big grin on my face when I read that :D. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and also sticking with the story. It means alot. I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

evershort: It's fine that you didn't review the other day, just having readers is enough to keep me chirpy :D I'm glad you liked it, I was excited for second year too haha. Romancey stuff, well, they're still a little young, but I can say that a few crushes will pop up in this year, and of course, third year is Hogsmeade year, so there'll most likely be a few dates (this is a romance story, after all) so you won't have to wait long. I did have a few couples planned, but two of them have completely changed! Just goes to show even I don't know whats gonna happen half the time! Thanks for continuing to read and review the story, please enjoy the next chapter too!

quirky-as-alice: I know, she's really awful! She may not have been a Death Eater, but she was still a complete snob! Sirius will get his happiness soon, I promise, but I can never resist a little angst haha. Well, in the books, it said the Marauders discovered Remus' condition in second year, and I can officially tell you have just completed the scene where they find out :D it was brilliant to write! So, it'll be coming up very very soon :D Thanks for reading and reviewing once again, and I hope you like this next chapter!

splatteredpaint: Haha! It's coming, don't worry. Very, very soon ;) as I said above, I've written the scene, and I'm really excited to see what you all think! Yeah, I liked Regulus, sure he was a Death Eater, but like Snape, he risked (and unfortunately lost) his life for the greater good, and I wanted to show him as a good kid, before he turns to the dark side (Star Wars? Anyone?). I always imagined James and Sirius being close right from the start, they were brothers in almost every sense, after all. I know, at this age, it's only confidence, however I think he leant towards arrogance more as he got older, and that can only infuriate Lily more, right? He's in for a hard time from our fiery red head, I can tell you now! Yay! I'm glad you like the pairing! There's a lot in store for those two, some of which may suprise you! I hope, haha. Anyway, thank you for reading and leaving your wonderfully detailed reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

pensieve1392: Hi there, and welcome to my story :D I know, I'm so interested in the Marauders story, it's something I've wanted to write for a long time! You know, you're english is very good! If I'm honest, it's better than some people's I've seen who actually speak english as their first language (one of my friends is absolutely terrible, bless him). The best? Wow, thank you so much, that means alot to me. There are some really good fics on here though, I particularly recomend the fics I have on my favourite stories list. I don't know if I'm allowed to give out the title, but just pop over to my profile page and have a look :) Wow! No ones ever said I could be a published writer before! It's my absolute dream! I'm hoping an idea will come to me soon, I've had ideas before, but they've always been rather scattered, you know. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you like whats to come too!

To everyone, have a wonderful weekend, and if anyones going out, don't get too drunk now ;)

Disclaimer: Not mine, not at all...Lord I wish it was, but J.K Rowling owns it...lucky sod!


The Marauders Tale: The Hogwarts Years

Chapter Ten

Quidditch Practice and Idiotic Boys!

The next morning, James awoke early to check the bulletin board in the common room. He knew Quidditch tryouts were usually held in the second week of term, and was determined to make the team.

He spotted Holly at the board already, a small smile spreading across her face.

"Morning," he greeted, scanning the board.

"Morning, have a look at this," she pointed to a small notice in the middle of the board.

"This is great, two chaser positions are open...and a beater and seeker, I wonder if Sirius has seen it?"

James glanced sideways and saw a slight reddening in Holly's cheeks. That was odd...and definitely new.

"Do you know if anyone else is trying out?" James asked, still eyeing Holly strangely. Holly seemed to be avoiding his gaze, but shook her head.

"Chris was deliberating, but I reckon she's happier ogling the boys from the stands."

James laughed, and decided to let whatever had caused the pinkish tinge in his cousins cheeks slide. He was sure it would come up sooner or later, anyway.

"Come on, I wanna see what we've got first this year," Holly grabbed James' arm and dragged him across the common room and through the portrait whole.

"You know, I think this is the first time we've ever walked to breakfast just the two of us," James mused as the two made their way down the first flight of stairs (luckily, they weren't changing that morning, so it seemed).

Holly chuckled, "I know, hard to believe we were once inseparable," she clasped her hands in front of her, and shot James a sly look, "So, are we still obsessed with Lily-kins this year?"

James rolled his eyes and shoved Holly in the shoulder, "Sod off, I've never been obsessed with her," James was well aware he was now mimicking his cousins earlier pink flush. He wasn't obsessed with her, though if truth be told, he'd found himself randomly thinking about her over the summer.

Holly gave a derisive snort, and shook her head lightly, "Right, and I own a pair of authentic Merlin underpants, care to share anymore blatant lies?"

Holly could really annoy James when she wanted to, he supposed it was simply because she was family, and he knew his mum would murder him if he so much as even thought about hexing her.

"I'm not obsessed, I'm just confused as to why she always has a go at me, is all," he stated simply. Holly turned a corner and led James down another flight of stairs, tapping her chin as she thought of what to say next.

"To be perfectly honest, you have the worst timing in the world. I mean, it's no secret Lily and her sister don't get along, and you always seem to come out with your oh so entertaining quips right when we've just been discussing the wonderful Petunia," she glanced at James, who seemed utterly perplexed, "Or maybe it's the fact that whenever you see her best mate in the corridor, you feel the need to hassle or hex him...but it's just a guess..." Holly trailed off, and smiled sweetly.

James pulled a face, "You sound just like Remus. Why does she even like Snivelly?! I still can't get my head around it!"

Holly stopped suddenly, and spun around to face James.

"The same could be said for you hanging around with Black," the blush returned, "He's an arrogant little so and so, but you don't hear me having a go!"

James quirked an eyebrow, "Why did you go red when you said Sirius' name?"

Now, James, clearly, was a boy. And Holly knew as such, that boys at her age had little understanding on the concept of certain things. Shaking her head in disbelief, though not entirely grateful that her cousin was rather dim when it came to certain subjects, Holly merely shot him an annoyed look and started walking again.

"What?" called James, utterly dumbfounded, "What did I do now?"

~**~

The first day back was much like the previous year, save for the fact everyone knew where they were going, and James and the boys couldn't use the excuse of 'getting lost' to get out of some of the less appealing classes (History of Magic). Nothing had changed, really, except they were no longer the youngest in the school, a thought which gave James and Sirius, in particular, a sense of authority; but that could have just been their ever growing ego's, mind.

The first lesson of the year was Herbology; one of the lessons James didn't particularly mind, but found could be rather monotonous. That was, until the boys got there, and found the class entering a certain greenhouse.

"Greenhouse three today, lads!" the squat Professor Sprout called as she spotted the four Gryffindors hurrying across the lawn towards the greenhouses (Peter had forgotten his books, as was customary every morning).

Professor Sprout was a nice enough teacher, a little strange in her fondness of plants, Sirius swore blind he caught her talking to a flutterby bush when he was assigned a detention with her. She was often seen with smears of dragon dung fertiliser on her robes, hair, and face, which wasn't the prettiest of sights. Her flyaway hair made her look rather mad, much like the woman, Arabella Figg, James was sure she was called, who sometimes attended his parent's new year party.

"Three?" Sirius' eyes lit up at the mention of greenhouse three; everyone knew that was where the dangerous plants were kept, "Did she say three?"

James nodded excitedly, hoisting his bag higher up on his shoulder, "Brilliant! Do you even know what they keep in there?!"

Sirius seemed to be shaking with excitement; it was an amusing sight, especially to Remus. Peter just seemed to bounce around excitedly all the time anyway.

When the boys entered, the class, which comprised of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, were already seated at the long benches. The boys took seats next to Aiden McKinnon and Donald Cobbett, the boys James had met on his first day on the train.

"Alright, Potter!" Aiden called, his blue eyes twinkling merrily. Whilst they were in different houses, James and Aiden still got on fairly well, and the pair had even shared a detention or two together; apparently, Aiden had a fondness for cheekiness to the Professors too.

"Hi Aiden, have a good summer?" James asked, taking a seat beside the boy.

Aiden nodded, "Good enough, went to a few Falcons games, dad managed to score some tickets from his mate at work."

"Falcons," James snorted, "Am I the only one who actually realises Puddlemere are the best team to have ever flown?"

"Probably," Sirius grinned, leaning past James to greet Aiden and Donald, "Wasp's are far better than any of your second league teams."

"Second league," Donald jerked his head towards Sirius with a playful grin, "Reckons he's a right old fanatic, doesn't he?"

The three boys laughed as Sirius scowled; the Wasp's were Sirius one true love, so it seemed.

The table fell silent as Professor Sprout began to speak, the excitement of being in greenhouse three returning.

"Welcome to greenhouse three!" the stout woman began, dusting a little fertiliser from her hands, "I'll ask you only once to keep your hands to yourself, if you get bitten it's your own fault," several students looked around uneasily, Peter included, "Now, I want you all to first come up and collect a pair of ear muffs," she pointed to a box of mismatched earmuffs (the majority, fluffy pink), and the class quickly scrambled for a pair of the more tasteful kind. James, and most of the boys managed to acquire black and grey, Peter and Sirius, Sirius by choice, for some odd reason, were stuck with pink.

"Suit's you," James remarked, causing Sirius to grin. The dark haired boy turned to Remus, and pouted a little.

"What d'ya reckon Lupin? Is pink my colour?"

Remus' mouth curled upward, "Get a matching pair of gloves and scarf, and we may be onto something".

The boys laughed heartily, ignoring the disapproving looks from several girls in the class. Normally, Remus would have merely smiled, but slowly, the boy was coming out of his shell, much to James' happiness.

"Alright, that's enough!" Professor Sprout waved her wand slightly, "Ear muffs on, and we'll see what we're working with today."

The class quickly put their earmuffs on, eager to see what wonders greenhouse three would hold. They waited as Professor Sprout pulled down a curtain blocking the front of the classroom, revealing rows of small orange pots, each with a little tuft of green leaves poking out. Sprout signalled for the class to watch her, and picked up a pot. She set it on the nearest desk to her, and pulled out probably the ugliest thing James had ever seen.

Whatever kind of plant it was, it looked like an extremely angry baby. What appeared to be the roots, had two arms, two legs, and a gnarled face, which would have been screaming, had James not been wearing the earmuffs. The class watched Professor Sprout take a bigger pot, fill it with a few scoops of dragon fertiliser, stuff the ugly plant into the pot, then fill the rest of the pot to the top. A few moments later, she removed her earmuffs, and the students followed suit.

"Now," Sprout clapped her dirty hands together, "Can anyone tell me what this plant it called?"

Lily's hand shot into the air. She remembered reading about these in one of her books the year before.

"Miss Evans, yes?" Sprout nodded.

"Those are Mandrakes, Professor, or Mandagora," Lily said promptly, earning ten points to Gryffindor. Beside James, Sirius mimicked Lily's expression as she answered the question, causing James to snort rather loudly. Luckily, neither Lily nor Sprout noticed.

"Yes, yes, and can anyone tell me why Mandrakes are used?"

Again, Lily's hand shot into the air, much to the delight of Sprout.

"They are used to reawaken those who have been magically placed in comas and such," Lily was clearly very pleased with herself, as a slight flush had crept into her cheeks as she spoke.

"Excellent Miss Evans, take another ten points," Sprout turned to the rest of the class, "Now, Mandrakes are particularly dangerous, can anyone tell me why?"

And once again, Lily's hand shot into the air, however this time, it was joined with another.

"Mr Pettigrew, yes?"

Peter flushed when the rest of the class turned to him expectantly. It was very rare for Peter to raise his hand in class, in fact, James couldn't remember a time when he'd done it at all.

"The...the cry of a Mandrake is f – f – fatal to anyone who hears it," his voice was barely above a whisper, but Sprout had clearly heard, as she began to grin.

"That's right Mr Pettigrew, take ten points, now..."

"Brilliant, Peter," James clapped a flushing Peter on the back, "Guess we've found our next Herbology Professor."

Peter blushed again, and mumbled something inaudible. James smiled at his friend; really, Peter didn't get half the praise he deserved.

The rest of the lesson was spent re-potting the Mandrakes, who were apparently fast approaching becoming toddlers. Because of the need to wear earmuffs, James didn't get a chance to talk, though he and Sirius did earn their first detentions of the year for throwing dragon compost at each other, some of which managed to hit their Professor when Remus ducked.

"Right, so it was Transfiguration last year, and Herbology this year," Sirius was saying as the four Gryffindor boys left the greenhouses, "What d'ya reckon next year'll be? Potions?"

"My money's on Defence," James answered, dusting a rather large clod of fertiliser off his pants, "Or maybe Charms."

"Naa, Flitwick's a softie," Sirius waved his hand, "What do you reckon, Lupin?"

Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Next year I think it'll be on the train ride to school."

The four boys laughed as they crossed the lawn to the entrance of the school.

"Definitely, we should try for it!"

~**~

"Sirius! Hey, Sirius!"

James and the boys turned to see Regulus hurrying towards them, his bookbag swinging wildly from his shoulder and a look of pure excitement on his face. James liked Regulus, he was sweet and sort of reminded James of Sirius when he got excited over a prank...or a detention.

"Reg," Sirius grinned at his younger brother, though the other boys failed to miss the slight twitch in his jaw most likely attributed to the green and silver tie hanging from the younger boys neck.

"I had Charms!" Regulus began breathlessly, "And I made my feather fly! I really did it! My first try! Professor Flitwick even said it took you two tries!"

James, Remus and Peter snorted at this, and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Alright Reg, calm that ego."

"Atleast we know who he gets it from," Remus muttered, eliciting quiet chuckles from James and Peter.

Regulus adopted a rather guilty look, and he shook his head quickly, "No! No, I didn't mean it like that, I just –"

Regulus was cut off by a laughing Sirius, who held up his hand quickly, "I was joking Reg, so you had a good first lesson?"

Regulus returned to his excited smile, and nodded quickly, "Brilliant, I'm so excited for my other lessons. I have potions next."

"Ahhh, Slughorn, good luck with that one," Sirius grinned cheekily, "Have you made any new friends?"

Regulus missed the harder tone of the last question, and shrugged shyly, "Well, this boy called Walaze Grover leant me a quill in the lesson, Timothy Crabbe accidently set mine on fire!"

Sirius merely nodded, "That's alright then," he replied through slightly gritted teeth, "We're going to the courtyard for break, wanna come along?"

Regulus nodded, and proceeded to tell the boys word for word what exactly had happened in his first lesson at Hogwarts.

~**~

After dinner that evening, the boys decided to head off to the Quidditch pitch so James and Sirius could practice for the tryouts. James was hoping for the position of chaser, whilst Sirius was hoping to be picked for beater. The day had passed rather uneventfully. Both James and Sirius had decided to be on their best behaviour since Herbology until tryouts were over, just in case they received a detention on the night of the tryouts. Luckily, the Herbology detention fell on the night before the try outs. The teachers who knew their mischievous ways had been rather shocked, but quickly realised this was probably only a temporary decision after hearing the boys discuss the tryouts.

Lily hadn't shouted at James at all today, but had rather decided to just completely ignore him. James had thought alot over the summer, and had decided that maybe there was a slight possibility he fancied Lily Evans, especially after what his cousin had said that morning. He'd contemplated telling the boys, but decided against it, no doubt he'd be teased mercilessly if he did.

Once they reached the Quidditch pitch, James spotted several small dots zooming around in the air. It seemed more than one person had decided to train tonight. He scanned the edge of the pitch, and spotted Lily chatting away to Chris and Bridget. His stomach twisted a little, and he nudged Sirius.

"Look," he hissed, "Lily's here!"

"This is it mate, woo her with your Quidditch skills," joked Sirius. James however didn't take it as a joke, and thought it was the perfect plan.

James and Sirius kicked off into the air, and began racing around the pitch. James spotted Holly and a couple of other people tossing the Quaffle to each other, and flew over, whilst Sirius sped off to release a bludger. Madam Hooch, who was overseeing the practices waved at James happily, clearly content that he was indeed trying out this year.

"Over here Knight!" James called.

Holly turned and grinned evilly. She tossed the Quaffle as hard as she could, but James managed to catch it.

"Come on cuz, you'll have to do better than that!"

Holly rolled her eyes and sped off to do some laps of the pitch, whilst James raced towards the goal hoops. He launched the ball and scored straight through the middle hoop. He jerked his head sideways when he heard girls cheering. James grinned stupidly, always one for attention, and did a couple of loop de loops for good measure.

At the edge of the pitch, Lily snorted in disgust.

"Look at him, showing off like that, what an idiot!"

Chris chuckled, and jerked her head towards the gaggle of cheering girls, "They dont seem to think so...Sirius looks really good on a broom".

Lily and Bridget shrieked with laughter, and Bridget pushed her friend, "Chris you're such a prat."

Chris shrugged, "I can't help it, I love boys!"

Lily and Bridget continued to giggle, and Lily turned her attention back to the practising Quidditch players. Holly was very good on a broom, and though she hated to admit it, so was James. That didn't mean she liked him, though, and she'd certainly never admit it.

Madam Hooch called the practice to an end, and the would-be Quidditch players landed, talking excitedly about the upcoming tryouts for each house. To Lily's annoyance, Holly wandered over with James and his friends in tow.

"Go on, ask her! I saw her smiling when you scored," hissed Sirius. Holly frowned, and turned to Remus.

"Ask her what?"

Remus shrugged, "No idea, but I think we wanna see this."

Holly and Peter nodded, and hurried after James and Sirius.

James reached Lily, Bridget and Chris, his hand flying to his hair. Apparently, (or from what James had read in Holly's magazine), witches loved the 'just off the broom' look. Not that he needed it right now, since he was just off a broom, but James wasn't the brightest of boys when it came to Lily Evans. Lily merely eyed him with barely concealed annoyance.

"So...umm...Lily?"

Lily's frown deepened, "What?"

"I saw you watching me...you seemed pretty impressed...uhh....wanna go out with me?" he asked without preamble.

Holly, who had been taking a drink of water, sprayed it all over and began choking. Remus clapped her on the back whilst staring at James incredulously. Peter winced at the words as though they hurt. Sirius watched with an idiotic grin and Chris and Bridget gaped at James as though he'd grown an extra head.

Lily looked simply furious.

"Are you serious Potter?"

"No, I am," grinned Sirius. Remus slapped him upside the head, and dragged him away from James.

"You're an idiot," he mumbled, whilst Sirius eyed him in confusion.

"Yeah," said James as though it were obvious. Really, he'd read all about it. If you liked a girl, you asked her out. Surely she understood that.

Lily shrieked with mocking laughter, and turned to Bridget.

"He actually thinks I was watching him!"

"Lily," Bridget warned, glancing uneasily at James's slowly disappearing smile.

"My god Potter, I thought you were smart? I can't believe you think I'd even consider going out with you! You brainless creep! Just get out of my sight!"

She turned on her heel and stormed back towards the castle.

"Oh bloody hell James, you've really done it now," sighed Chris, hurrying after her friend. Holly and Bridget looked at James in a mixture of annoyance and pity, and followed their friends.

James turned to Sirius shaking his head.

"I dont understand...why won't she go out with me?"

Sirius shrugged, "Got me, I thought for sure that would do it."

"You two are unbelievable, I dont even have any sympathy for you," snapped Remus, "And you," he rounded on Sirius, "Please refrain from giving him advice about girls."

James mouthed wordlessly at Remus. He seemed to be in shock.

"I can't believe she called me a creep! She hangs around with people like Snivellus and calls me a creep! She...she's such a..."

"Bitch?" offered Sirius, earning him another smack from Remus.

"Come on, back up to the castle, and I suggest you keep out of Lily's way."

James nodded sadly, and followed his friends. Okay, so maybe he had been a little forward with Lily, but that didn't mean he was a creep. Though, rather than put him off, Lily's response only made him more determined. He'd make her see he was a good guy. He had to. He really really liked her.

~**~

Lily burst into the girls dormitory, her hands flinging wildly in the air and her eyes glinting maliciously. Behind her, Holly, Bridget and Chris stepped into the room quietly, and shut the door.

"Can you honestly believe him!? The first day back and he thinks I'd go out with him! Merlin, what an idiot!"

Lily turned to her friends, and was surprised to see frowns on their faces.

"What?"

Holly chewed her lip, and looked rather angry.

"You didn't have to be so mean, Lils. You shouldn't have called him a creep. Yes, he's an idiot, but really, what harm was he doing?"

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but strangely found she had nothing to respond with. She snapped it shut, and glanced away.

"James is a strange one, we get that," Bridget started, "And we know you don't get on, and you think he'd big headed...well...he is big headed, but maybe you should lay off him a little."

"It was Sirius' idea, after all," piped up Chris. Lily looked sheepishly from one friend to another, annoyed that she was feeling guilty all of a sudden. Alright, so maybe she had been a little too harsh. But wasn't it better that way? Get the point to him straight away, rather than drag it on. At least now he knew not to continue trying to get her, or whatever.

"Alright," Lily ran a hand through her auburn locks, "Maybe that was a little mean. I can't help it! He just makes me so angry! I can't explain it!" she fell back onto her bed, huffily crossing her arms over her chest.

Holly chuckled, and sat down beside her.

"It's alright, we all get like that sometimes. But maybe, next time, try not to be so...harsh?"

Lily mock glared at her friend, but nodded all the same.

"Alright, but if he gives me good reason to, I swear I'll throttle him!"

The girls laughed, and all jumped onto Lily's bed. Lily's temper could be a little over the top sometimes, but by Merlin they loved her still.


Like it? Don't like it? Not really bothered? Don't have a clue what I'm rambling on about? Whichever it is, let me know :)

p.s. I love Mandrakes!

p.s.s. The part with Lily and James was inspired by watching a friend of mine attempt to woo a young lady...the results were hilarious!