A/N: Hi there, everyone! Kagumi here. Jet's a little behind, so I decided to take over posting this chapter for her. Enjoy it!

A cool breeze filtered through Kagumi's now-brushed and coiffed hair; she absently reached upwards and wiped a small bead of sweat from the back of her neck. Her hands plucked absently at the dark robes that Mrs. Potter had loaned them; until the entire family and the two girls could make a trip to Diagon Alley, they only had their Muggle clothes. Bridget was similarly clad in magically modified robes. Both girls were a little shorter than Mrs. Potter, but with a few waves of her wand (Merlin, that was going to take some getting used to) the robes were tailored to fit them, well, temporarily.

Bridget was walking beside her, and the two of them were talking softly as they wandered around Potters' grounds. It was such a big place. Kagumi, however, seemed to be the only one awed by the size.

"I want my jeans back," Bridget muttered to herself as she tugged at the robes.

"Why? You look good in those."

"Yeah, yeah, but I miss my jeans. I don't like dresses."

"It's not a dress, Jet, it's a robe."

She waved her hand dismissively, "Robe, dress, same thing. Both are entirely too cumbersome."

Kagumi sighed, giving her friend a tired look before turning around and walking away. Bridget jogged after her. As soon as she caught up, she took a deep breath, her hands outstretched, "I love being outside, and it's so open here."

"I'll guarantee you that the Malfoys' estate isn't even this big…" Kagumi said quietly.

"I'll second that," came a voice from the Maze entrance.

Sirius leaned against one of the larger poles, scattering fairies that had been resting on him. Bridget smiled and bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh as one of the more offended fairies bit him on the nose. Kagumi felt a small amount of pity for him, as she noticed that the swelling from his last two encounters with Bridget hadn't completely gone down.

He rubbed his nose inattentively before grinning at the two girls. "Malfoy's estate isn't nearly half of this. It's one of the many reasons the Potters and Malfoys have that little feud of theirs."

Sirius sighed, looking out over the fields. There were vegetable patches, a rather substantial vineyard, and numerous other plots. A nice view of the distant mountains and even of the small village at the bottom of the foothills completed the extensive property.

"Mr. and Mrs. P make a lot of their money from their amazing Elf-Made Wine. Mrs. Potter tried paying the elves for their work, but they refused to take the gold. There's also their inheritances, and the numerous Potter investments. The Potter family is an old one. Of course, their state of financial affairs doesn't keep them from being Aurors." He grinned roguishly.

"You seem to know a lot about them." Bridget gave him a slightly curious look. "Do you normally stay with James over the summer? Mrs. Potter mentioned both of you, rather than just him."

"Yeah," a bitter look crossed Sirius' handsome face. "My family sort of…Well, it's a long…Ah, never mind." He gave them a slightly longing look. "You'd never understand anyway." He angrily stuck his hands in his pockets and stalked away. Bridget stared after him, turning to Kagumi only after she heard a distant door slam; she turned to her friend.

"Um…I did something stupid again, didn't I?"

"My guess is that he's afraid you'll judge him…Who knows? He's a gu--"

A twig cracking caught Kagumi's ear and in a single second, she had pulled Bridget behind her, and was quickly reaching for a gardening tool that lay in a nearby basket. Bridget huffed when Kagumi froze, unmoving. Kagumi's stiff back unsettled her, so she peeked her head around. An unruffled Remus Lupin had his wand pointed straight at Kagumi, the pair's eyes locked on each other.

"Hola Remus, that's an awful nice wand you got."

"Slowly move out from behind me," Kagumi didn't spare Bridget a look, as her green eyes were locked on Remus' golden ones.

"But--"

"Do it!" Kagumi murmured. She slowly eased up, eyes still locked on the boy's as he made to take the soil-encrusted shovel away from her. "What are you doing?" she asked as she pulled it out of his grasp.

"I could ask the same of you, Miss," his eyes narrowed. "I'm watching you. Oh, don't look so shocked. Do you honestly think that any of us, save Mr. and Mrs. Potter, really trust you?"

"Why? Do you have a reason not to trust us?" Kagumi asked carefully, wishing suddenly that she had her brothers to help her out of this mess. A wave of homesickness washed over her, but she set it aside for later examination as she stared into golden eyes.

"Oh, Merlin…Let's see. What could a sweet little angel like you have possibly done?" He raised his left hand, and began ticking off things on his fingers as he spoke. "You show up in the middle of the night, dressed only in pajamas. You then proceed to throw things, hit all of us at least once, feign ignorance of magic, fall out of a closet, and then worm your way into staying here for the summer. Do I really need to elaborate?" he asked grimly.

"Please do," Kagumi replied with a scowl, "As all of that's circumstantial."

"You know, Gumi, he does have a point. It's all rather suspicious. Although, why in heaven's name would we show up in pajamas. I mean, that's going a bit far," Bridget said thoughtfully. Remus and Kagumi both turned to her incredulously, Remus with suspicion tempering his anger, and Kagumi just with anger.

"What?" Kagumi poked her in the stomach with the shovel.

"He has a point. It is very suspicious. We were just abandoned at some stranger's house in the middle of very tense times. I'm suspicious and I know we don't have any ill intentions." She frowned at the garden tool currently dirtying the borrowed robe. "Are you threatening me with a spade? Are you seriously threatening me with a spade? You couldn't even pick something pokey? For the love of God, do you think I'm that lame? I can defend myself against a stupid spade! Jesus Christ, I've trained with guys three times my size."

"Trained?" Remus asked, narrowing his eyes.

Bridget didn't notice. "Yeah, martial arts and the like." She shrugged. "It's normal in Hawaii, kinda like joining a little league, or soccer team. I never quite had the interest or discipline to take it very far, though.

"However, I have some issues with your points, too," Bridget said, frowning. She, unknowingly mimicking Remus, counted her points off on her fingers as well. "We had no control over either time or attire, as we were expecting to, I dunno, go to bed. I never threw a thing other than my fist. Gumi never hit Sirius or James, I hit Sirius and once that was an accident, and James went unharmed (physically at least) by us. We never feigned ignorance of magic to my memory, and falling out of a rather small closet we were pushed into has nothing to do with anything. We had nothing to do with the summer thing: I would've been perfectly fine exploring Hogwarts without interruption this summer, and in fact I'm starting to think that I may enjoy it even more."

Remus put away his wand, and gave the two girls a level look. "Don't lie to me."

"I don't like lying," Bridget said with a frown, seemingly ignorant to the obvious warning in his voice. She gave him an equally level look, revealing that she did know exactly what he was inferring, and, perhaps, even more. Her tone, however, remained light and conversational. "It's so difficult to keep up with, and, personally, I tend to be rather trusting so it upsets me. I also tend to dislike liars."

Bridget smiled brightly as he walked away. "Bye, Remus." She frowned once he was far enough away. "I think I did something stupid again."

Kagumi just put her hand to her face, and sank to the ground, using a nearby fence post for support. Her knees drew up to her chest, and her arms automatically locked around them; the shivering began not long after. Bridget gave her friend an uncertain look, rather uncomfortable with the sudden change in demeanor.

"I want my brothers…" Kagumi mumbled, fighting back tears. "This can't be happening…It's all a dream, and I'm going to wake up and help raise my brothers, and deal with my father, and work my jobs…I am not in Wizarding Britain, I did not just threaten my friend with a shovel, we did not offend Sirius Black and I did not just argue with Remus Lupin."

Kagumi rocked back and forth, shivering even in the warm summer air. There were goose-bumps on her bare arms, and her knuckles were white. Without a strong "rock" to lean on, such as her father or her brothers, Kagumi was left vulnerable. Her greatest fear was being left alone, and here she was, not only in the semi-distant past, but also in a completely different world!

Sudden anger at their so-called "allies", Cordan and Raminus flooded her veins, for leaving them stranded here, alone and with no idea of how to get home. The more she tried to calm down, the angrier she got. Her confused feelings finally had a target, and they weren't about to relinquish that hold anytime soon. Kagumi's eyes got a slightly glazed look about them, as she stared at the gardening basket not too far in front of her.

A house-elf scurried by, moving as Bridget waved it on down to the veranda, before calling it back. For the split-second that Bridget's head was turned towards the elf, the basket burst into flames, which crackled merrily in the warm air. Bridget spun around, nearly losing her balance and throwing out her hands to catch herself as she fell to the ground.

"What the hell?" she shouted, wide-eyed and sprawled on the ground, and, just as suddenly as it had gone up in flames, the fire was out, leaving behind charred remnants. Bridget stared at the smoking remains and her outstretched hand (Which was hovering in the air somewhat) before drawing it back.

"Mistress Griffins called Melan?" a nervous voice asked from her side. She jumped.

"Um, yes, but, um, I've seemed to forgotten why… so, yeah, you can go back to doing whatever it was you were doing before. Sorry." Bridget turned to Kagumi.

"Did you just do that?" the two girls asked simultaneously.

"I don't know," they both answered.

Bridget chuckled weakly, still holding her arm to her chest protectively. "Right…"

"Girls?"

"OhmyGod!" Bridget gasped, jumping. She gave James a slightly admonishing look. "Don't do that; you scared me half to death."

"Sorry," he replied. "Mum sent me to get you; Remus and Pete are leaving. Remus' mum is here to make sure he 'gets home safe and sound.'" He grinned at them. "She's a bit protective of him."

Kagumi stood between James and Sirius, with Bridget on the other end of the short queue. Remus was standing near the door, watching his mother somewhat dispiritedly, looking distinctly peaky. There were bags and darks circles under his eyes; the pallor of his skin made Remus look like he hadn't properly slept in two days or more. And of course, the unfortunate thinness that came with Remus' condition wasn't helping his "healthy" look. Funny how she hadn't noticed the pastiness of his face when they were standing off in the sunlight.

Kagumi briefly wondered why Remus was leaving, seeing as if her calculations were correct, it was just barely after the New Moon…Remus should be in perfect health, and yet he's looking like tonight is…Full Moon! With a panicked look, Kagumi sought and found Jet's eyes, not seeing any of the alarm she knew was shown on her own face. Remus' mother stepped forward into Kagumi's field of vision, briefly shaking hands with the Potter parents (who had apparently just arrived), then stepping back to stand by Remus.

The woman was small; even Kagumi was bigger than Remus' mother. She had the look of someone slightly unhealthy, but not by choice; much like Remus looked at that moment. Her light brown hair (the same hair the Remus had inherited, Kagumi noticed vaguely) fluttered in the light wind from the open door. Oval glasses were perched on her nose, while her thin hands checked absently on Remus' temperature and basic vital signs.

This woman must be a Healer or something, the ways she keeps absently checking things, as if she's used to it…Though Rem doesn't look to happy about it…wait. When the hell did I start referring to him as "Rem"? Kagumi thought to herself. She shook her head, and went back to watching the interactions. The woman she was watching wasn't distinctively pretty. She wasn't beautiful, really, and would probably fade into the background of most any crowd; that is, until you saw her eyes. Her eyes were the same as Remus', an almost magical combination of light and gold. No wonder his eyes stunned me when I looked at him… His mother's eyes were almost glowing, giving her a preternatural loveliness that captured the eye. But when she turned away, the moment was gone.

Kagumi sighed deeply, resigning herself to the madness that currently surrounded her. Somehow, I have to wonder if I have truly gone insane…She stepped forward, still lost in her own thoughts, as Vivian Potter gestured to Jet and her friend. Remus' mum narrowed her eyes, and stepped forward to look the taller girls in the eye. Remus looked down guiltily and he stepped forward.

"Mum, this is Kagumi Pheonix. Miss Pheonix, this is my mother, Veronica Lupin." Kagumi smiled.

"What a nice name, Mrs. Lupin." Veronica stepped backwards, surprised at the sincerity that the girl offered. Quickly rethinking, Veronica forced a smile and looked to Remus. He pointed to the other girl, the one with brown hair.

"That's Bridget…Griffins, I think?" At Kagumi's nod, he lowered his hand, hiding it quickly in a fold of his robes.

"Hola!" the brown haired girl said, smiling brightly at everyone, once again seemingly ignorant to the heavy atmosphere of the room. "Yo es—"

Kagumi sighed, "Will you stop speaking Spanish, Jet?"

The other girl looked disappointed for a moment before her face lit up again. "Aloha 'auinala. ' O Pilikika ko'u ino—"

"English, if you will," Kagumi interrupted.

Bridget's face dropped and she gave her friend an imploring look. "But, Gumi—"

"En-glish."

"Yes'm." She perked up again, and smiled at Veronica, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lupin. I'm Bridget Ashlyne, or Jet, or a variety of other names I'd rather not go into."

The woman smiled back, although it wasn't nearly as innocently happy as Bridget's own grin. "The pleasure's all mine. But, if you don't mind of course, I do have a few…questions I'd like answered." At Kagumi's nod, Veronica launched into her questions with all of the authority of a Healer dealing with an uncooperative patient.

"How did you say you got here? It seems a bit odd that you're so far from home; home of course, more than likely, being America, though you do such a wonderful job of appearing British," she said, trying not to sound too suspicious. With everything that the Death Eaters have been responsible for at St. Mungo's. I trust no one except those that I know, she thought to herself, and know well. The black haired girl stepped forward, making an effort not to fidget with her borrowed robes; she brushed the strands of blue back from her hair, and sighed before looking Mrs. Lupin in the eye.

"Mrs. Lupin, I would like nothing more than to go home right now. You have no idea how out of place I feel here. Our brothers are in so much trouble, as my (and Jet's, incidentally) being here is the result of a prank-gone-awry. I'm guessing they mispronounced a spell; after all, Latin is hard to say correctly sometimes.

"You see, Mrs. Lupin, Bridget and I were on vacation here in Britain; yes, we are from America."

"Actually, I'm from Hawaii," Bridget said. Kagumi gave her a strange look until Bridget's eyes widened in understanding and her cheeks turned pink. "Oh, right, part of America, 50th state and all. I always forget; my family confuses me so much." She gave Gumi a weak smile and motioned vaguely with one hand. "Continue, my dear."

Kagumi turned back to Mrs. Lupin, "Anyways, our families were staying together, as both families are rather close, and it also cut down on monetary needs. Our brothers got together, or so I would assume, and decided to play a prank. Imagine how you would feel, Mrs. Lupin, were you to wake up in a completely unfamiliar place in these dark times, in only your PJs with a bunch of teenage guys there." Kagumi silently gave thanks that all those unwanted acting classes had taken some sort of root in her brain, as she put just the right amount of disgust into the word 'guys'. Vivian laughed somewhat uncomfortably, and looked at the younger mother, trying desperately to break the heavy tension; at any moment, she thought, there was bound to be wandfire.

"Won't you stay for tea, Veronica?" Mrs. Potter asked delicately.

"Oh no," Veronica answered immediately, still looking in caution at the two Americans. "No, I'm afraid we absolutely must be going."

"Yes, yes, of course, but you must come by some time."

"Bye, guys," Remus said to his fellow Marauders before turning, somewhat awkwardly to the defiant Kagumi and the... well... Bridget. "Bye, Kagumi, Bridget. I hope we get to know each other better next time."

"Bye Remus," the two girls intoned as Bridget waved cheerily. And so, with a couple of small pops the two Lupins were gone.

"Well, Peter has already left, so it's just the six of us," Mr. Potter said after a few moments of silence.

"I'll have the Elves bring us biscuits and milk," Mrs. Potter added before she bustled off, assumedly to the kitchens. "Wait in the Dining Room!" she called back.

The five of them made their way to the aforementioned room, Mr. Potter leading the way, whistling a cheerful tune to himself, followed by Sirius and James, who were muttering to each other, looking rather glum, with Kagumi and Bridget trailing behind.

Bridget was giving Kagumi a look the girl had never seen before. "Yes?"

"That little speech of yours wasn't very polite!" she said, sounding rather annoyed. "We're at the mercy of these people's whims! Well, that's not very worrying, to be quite honest, they're rather nice. But, that's not the point! Didn't I already mention being nice to the kind and generous people giving us some unearned trust here?"

She continued to give Kagumi the same look, still steaming, with her hands on her hips. Kagumi looked back blankly. "Um, no?"

"Really?" The glare was gone, replaced by a surprised then pensive look. "Oh, I must've only said it in my head." She shrugged. "Sorry, I meant to tell you. Now you know." She clapped her friend on the shoulder and walked on briskly, catching up with the two boys.

Kagumi stared after Bridget, who was now having something animatedly described to her by Sirius. She didn't think that she would ever understand her friend's thought process or her somewhat violent mood swings.

Mr. Potter was attempting valiantly to keep up the conversation. He sent a glare towards his sulking son, before smiling at the two girls. "So what do you two do for fun? Do you keep up with Quidditch? I know it's not as popular in the States."

"No, we don't, sadly," Kagumi replied politely.

"We've never flown on a broomstick, actually," Bridget added as she bit into a cookie, or biscuit, whichever name you prefer.

Pfft! The table was suddenly covered in milk. Bridget looked sadly at the ruined cookies. "Aw..."

"You've. Never. Flown?" James asked jerkily, looking surprised and slightly sick.

"No, Gumi's dad's a bit overprotective, and I," the girl grinned, "Well, I like to go fast and do stupid stunts, and my parents didn't want me to kill myself... or someone else, I've never really been sure which." She gave a dramatic sigh. "Therefore, we have never felt the joy that comes with flying. Quite unfortunate."

"Son," Mr. Potter said, looking, once again, just like his son, "There are extra broomsticks out back. Go now."

"Warwick..." Mrs. Potter's voice carried a tone of warning, which apparently went unheeded.

"No, Vivian, this is a serious matter. These girls cannot go to Hogwarts without learning how to fly. James, go."

"Yes, sir," James replied. He and Sirius stood up simultaneously and each boy all but picked up a girl. "Come on."

"But, the - -" Bridget muttered.

"Leave the biscuits, Bridget," Sirius said. He grinned at her. "You two get to have the best flyers in the school teach you how to fly; once in a lifetime opportunity."

They made their way out the backyard, past the maze, to what looked to be a large Quidditch field. James and Sirius disappeared into a shed and emerged with two broomsticks each. James placed one in front of Bridget, who looked at it curiously, and Sirius placed another in front of Kagumi.

"Okay," James begun, "first thing you do is put your hand over the broomstick and say - -"

"Up!" The two brooms flew straight into the girls' outstretched hands, and they gave the boys almost identical amused smiles.

"Right, up." James looked at them suspiciously. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

"Yes," Gumi replied. "Just because we've never flown doesn't mean that we don't know anything."

"Right then, well I'll take Bridget, and you'll take Kagumi, then, Pads?"

Sirius shrugged. "Sure."

And, so, they split up to tackle the horrendously difficult task known as 'teaching.'

James was quickly learning that Bridget was, well, a quick learner.

"Okay, so straddle the broomstick and kick off lightly, if you do it too hard, you'll go too fast and too high. Once you're more experienced you can do that." He finished his speech only to find that she was no longer standing in front of him.

"Um, James," she said a bit nervously. He looked up; she was hovering about seven or so feet in the air. "I don't know what to do next... a little help, please."

He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off, enjoying the feel of the late afternoon air. He turned so he was hovering near her. "To move forward—"

"You lean forward on the broom, turn by pushing the handle in the direction of choice, pull up and you go up, push down and you go down, brake by pulling back on the handle." She smiled sheepishly at the boy, who was openly gaping at her; she had demonstrated everything rather well for a first-timer. "I watched you." She frowned suddenly. "Wait, I have a question... what's the difference between ascending and braking? Both have you pulling up. I mean, obviously, I must've done it well enough, seeing as I didn't crash into you, but I like to know the mechanics of things like this."

He shook his head to clear it, finally back in his element. "Well..."

Meanwhile, Sirius and Kagumi were also already in the air, and Kagumi found that it was easier than she had originally thought. After all, Philosopher's Stone didn't give much of a description of flying, as the entire series is generally Harry-centric and he happened to find that flying came naturally. The reader was left to figure out and piece together what she may from Quidditch matches and other flying experiences.

However, given that yesterday Kagumi had never thought of flying on a broomstick was real or even believed that magic could actually happen, she felt that she was doing pretty well. In Sirius' eyes, she was doing very well, even to a seasoned flier such as him. She had automatically grasped the difference in braking and ascending, which was rare. From the moment she had mounted the broom, her posture and handgrip had both been correct, and she had pushed off with the perfect amount of force.

I'm not sure that I believe that she hasn't flown before, Sirius thought to himself. She moves too expertly, even if she doesn't see it herself. No one can hide the truth when they're flying…It's always evident if they know what they're doing or not; it makes sense; because you can't hide the way your body reacts. And hers reacts too well to be a beginner.

Kagumi soared, easily braking and doing a full 180 turnabout to face Sirius. She smiled, practically glowing. "Sirius, this is amazing…I've never felt so… free." Sirius smiled, knowing exactly what she felt. His own mother had never let him touch the family brooms, because he was the Black Family heir (Well, until he was blasted off that horrid tapestry) and it was too 'dangerous.' It wasn't until he met James, and had the first year flying lessons that he'd known what it was like.

"You're doing well, Kagumi. Are you sure this is the first time you've flown?" he said it as a joke, and was rewarded with a look of confusion.

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?"

He shrugged noncommittally when her look of confusion was quickly replaced by laughter. As he turned around, Sirius suddenly felt like he was back in his father's trick closet, in the drawing room, where brown robes had tried to strangle him when he was six. Long brown hair blew in the wind, and Jet swung in front of him, her face about four inches from his own. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!"

In shock, Sirius felt himself sliding off the end of his broom and, in response, began to flail. Feeling his fingers locking around the nearest thing, which curiously wrapped back around his fingers, he grabbed it and held on. "Ow!"

Sirius hit the ground first, with a sharp thud that knocked the wind right out of him. But it was Bridget's landing on top of him that caused him to pass out, from an elbow to the head. Kagumi roared with laughter, not because it was funny, (though it was…a little…in a horrifying sort of way) but because it was the only way she could stop herself from diving down there and making sure they were both alright.

James dived and crashed on the ground, running as he pulled the broomstick from between his knees and pulled his wand from his pocket. He dropped to Sirius' side and muttered something under his breath. Kagumi landed gently on the ground next to her friends, just in time to see Sirius' eyes snap open. He looked a bit muddled.

The last thing Sirius remembered was Bridget falling him, and he immediately bolted up to see if she was alright. Unfortunately, Kagumi had been in the process of leaning over him and their faces collided. Sirius felt his nose break against her forehead, for the second time that week, and cursed. "Dammit!"

She fell backwards, next to Jet (who lay on her side, sleeping peacefully and looking deceptively innocent) and started laughing again. James healed Sirius' nose with a flick of his wand, and sat back after reawakening Jet.

"Are you crazy?" was the first thing out of Sirius' mouth.

"Um, yup," Bridget replied, although she had no idea what he was referring to. Her eyes widened innocently as she looked at him and her face lit up with excitement. "Oh, I want to do that again!"

She began to stand up, but Sirius pulled her back down, "Oh no, I don't think so. You almost gave me a concussion, who knows what'll happen next time."

"But, I like flying. It's so…" she trailed off, eyes shining, as she stared into the sky, "Fast, awesome, free, liberating, and etcetera." She waved her hand dismissively with the last word.

"Why don't we play a round of Quidditch?" James suggested. When six skeptical eyes turned to him, he continued speaking, "I mean, like we do when it's just the four of us, Sirius. Two on two, one beater and one chaser/keeper on each team, first to five goals wins."

"I'm up for it," Kagumi replied, standing now with the borrowed broomstick in her hand, deciding to save her question until later.

"Yup, me too," Bridget added.

"You two shouldn't be on the same team," Gumi pointed out to the best friends, not waiting for Sirius' acceptance. "It's not fair, you're like brothers, and you've played for years. This is our first day."

James shrugged. "If that's what you want… you and I can pair up, and Sirius and Bridget can be a team." He turned to Gumi, "Ready for some strategy?"

Bridget and Sirius watched the two walk a bit farther away. Bridget scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "So, shall we strategize?"

"I'm more of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along sort of guy, actually, but if you want—" he was cut off by Bridget's relieved sigh.

"Thank God," she muttered. "I'd rather not have to remember anything right now, my brain's a bit addled, too much excitement and all that rot."

Meanwhile, Kagumi and James stood in the shade of a large tree and planned under their breath. "So…Aim a little to the left of the Bludger, seeing as they like to target the Beaters more than the Chasers. And…Watch how you swing your bat, mainly because the handle is a bit slick from all the years we've had it - -"

"- -James - -"

"- -Oh, and watch that broom, it likes to tilt if you go up too high, and we just haven't gotten a replacement. And don't worry about hitting towards the goalposts, Sirius and I are used to knowing how to dodge - -"

"- -James! - -"

"- - Do you need me to trim your twigs? Oh, that came out all wrong. I mean your broom's twigs? They look a little frayed and I don't want to get you hurt. Here, let me show you a little charm I invented a while back - -"

"JAMES!"

"What?" He looked stupidly at the short girl, who was looking at him in an unnerving manner.

"James, it's okay. I'm used to playing sports. We've got our strategies. I'll play Beater. So… Let's just play," Kagumi said, feeling very much like she was talking to her brothers again; another pang of homesickness washed over her, but she kept the waves at bay by thinking of interesting Beater strategies. She instead followed her teammate out onto the field.

"Are you ready to lose, yet?" James called from the center of the field, foot tapping impatiently. Kagumi was shaking her head to herself.

"Sirius, your friend is extremely confident in his abilities. Is he really that good?"

He gave her a small smile, "I've heard it put worse, but, yeah, he's…He's good." He stood up and stretched out a hand to help Bridget up as well. "Beater or Chaser?" he asked.

"Um… Chaser, I think. Like I mentioned before, my brain is addled, my attention span isn't as great as it should be. Five minutes and you'll be on the ground with a bloody nose… again." She frowned. "I really am sorry."

He snorted in amusement. "It's okay. I'm fine now."

"You two took long enough!" James said as soon as they reached him. His hands were on his hips with the broomstick clutched in one fist. Put an apron on him and he would've looked like an annoyed housewife. "I want to finish kicking your arses, already."

"In your dreams, Potter," Sirius responded with as much fervor as his friend.

Bridget edged towards Kagumi. "I can taste the testosterone in the air," she muttered with an ironic grin.

"It's interesting at least." The two girls talked between themselves.

"Nah, Black, in my dreams I have some real competition."

"Hmm…" Bridget tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Clever comeback, and rather quickly shot, at that; you think they've done this before?"

Gumi shrugged. "Probably." She raised her voice slightly so the bickering males could hear her. "Do you think we can, I dunno, start the game?"

"Brilliant idea, Kagumi," James said. He smirked at Sirius as he slung an arm around her shoulders. "At least my teammate has brains, Black."

"Well, mine's hot," Sirius shot back.

"Gumi, are they making assumptions about me?" Bridget asked her friend politely, ignoring the two boys completely.

"I believe so; and incorrect assumptions, at that." She frowned. "Well, James' one, Sirius' was rather accurate."

"Should I be insulted?"

"Probably not. After all, James is but a teenage boy; hormones control his every thought; same with Sirius. It might be more interesting if you were insulted, though, possibly hurt."

Bridget gave her a thoughtful look before nodding decisively. "I have given much thought to your suggestion, my dear Kagumi, and I believe that that would be the more interesting reaction. Shall I begin now?"

"It would be most prudent. Please, do hurry; this whole thing is becoming rather tiring."

"As you wish." Bridget turned to James, suddenly looking absolutely devastated with wide, tearful eyes, and a slightly trembling chin. Her whole body posture changed, her shoulders dropping and her arms wrapping around herself. Overall, the transformation was startling, as even her normally perky ponytail seemed to droop in depression. "Do you really think that, James? I mean, I know I can be a bit dim at times, but…"

He stared back, also with wide eyes, although his seemed to be wide out of fear rather than good acting; he also seemed to have forgotten the conversation that had just taken place between the two girls. She looked down uncertainly, brow furrowing, as she bit her bottom lip, her chin still quivering, and his chivalrous Gryffindor side took over (aided by his mother's lectures on how to properly treat the opposite sex). "No, of course I don't. I mean—"

"You have insulted the lady's honor," Sirius interrupted. He stepped forward and eyed his opponent. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"Challenge—"

"Quidditch!" Kagumi shouted. "Just settle via Quidditch!" The other three teenagers looked at her. "We've just spent the last 15 minutes avoiding it; do you think we could start the game?"

"Okay," Bridget responded. She was cheerful again, her ponytail having regained its former perkiness.

James released the Bludgers and Kagumi and Sirius took off, each clutching a Beater's Bat. Bridget and James were hovering at the center of the field, in starting position. The Quaffle was hovering above them, waiting for the spell that would let it drop, and signal the game's start.

"Ready?" James asked, grinning at his counterpart.

Bridget grinned back, a familiar glint in her eye. She had grown up on sports (an effect of living in such an outdoorsy place, her tomboy nature, and having mostly guys as childhood friends) and was rather competitive, not even Kagumi had seen her really play anything. Besides, she had a new toy, and she wanted to see what it could do. "More than you can imagine."

He made a gesture with his hands and the Quaffle dropped. As soon as it begun to fall both she and James flew towards it. Bridget leaned forward on the broom dangerously and caught it with the tips of her fingers. As soon as she had the ball in her hand she pulled it towards her body, an automatic reaction after playing years of football, and one she was glad for as James just missed stealing it away from her.

She swerved around and shot down towards the three hoops, dodging one Bludger (and an apologetic Sirius), and being outstripped by James. He was circling the goals seconds before she reached them. She pulled her arm back and threw the ball, using the momentum of flying to give it more power.

He barely caught it, not that it would have even made it into the hoop; her aim was a bit off. James was almost at his team's currently unprotected goals when Kagumi shot down directly to his left, hitting away a Bludger that had almost hit him. Unfortunately, that left his right side completely open and Sirius took the opportunity to hit the other Bludger that way. James jerked back to avoid it, both hands now on his broom, and the Quaffle falling to the ground.

Bridget shot down, mere moments before James could manage to do the same. She, once again, leaned forward and caught the Quaffle, this time; however, she overbalanced and flipped over, doing the flying equivalent to a cartwheel. Straightening out, she flew back to her side of the field and threw the ball once again. This time it hit its mark. Kagumi was off to the left of the goals, toying with a Bludger that had flown too near. Suddenly, she hit directly towards the other Bludger, which was heading directly for James. Sirius shot her an appraising look as he passed. "Nice move!"

The game continued with four goals from James and five near-hits. Bridget wasn't so lucky; she only had two additional goals and seven misses. The close calls with the Bludgers were too numerous for any of the players to keep track of. Unfortunately, they also seemed to have a hard time keeping track of the Bludgers themselves.

Bridget had the Quaffle yet again, James having just scored another goal for his team, and was streaking towards her side of the field faster than she had before (apparently losing made her want to test her boundaries even more than merely her adventurous tendencies did). Kagumi swung her bat hard, hearing the strangely satisfying thwack of a Bludger well hit. Bridget glanced behind her, looking for her opponents.

James was, luckily, behind her quite a bit (Sirius was having fun with the Bludgers) and she pulled back her arm to swing, catching a glimpse of one of the large black balls out of the corner of her eye. She had a second to decide: make the goal and get hit, or dodge the dangerous ball.

In Bridget's mind, there was really only one choice.