She thought her life was over – but fate gave her another chance, in a world of magic. Now, running around Hogwarts with James Potter and his friends, she's about to make choices that will change the future in ways she never thought possible…

Marauder's Phase

CHAPTER FIVE

Watching Quidditch

I don't know why it surprised me a lot that Sirius seemed to know his way around the Forbidden Forest, but I found it to be a great challenge losing him there. Finally, finally, as dawn was breaking, I was able to lose him, by walking out into the middle of a shallow creek and running downstream quickly and quietly, so that he couldn't hear me, and the water would mask my scent.

I stopped for a moment to drink from the stream (trying hard not to think about it) and then glanced upstream again. No sign of Sirius.

Good.

Finally, I was able to collapse onto a pile of dry leaves, lay my head down onto my wet paws, and sleep.

I was really hungry.

***

No One's P.O.V:

"Can't believe ya lost it, Paddy." James said teasingly, as the four boys made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, after only half an hour of sleep.

"Can't believe ya didn't get any sleep before a big Quidditch match!" Shot back Sirius, who wasn't particularly happy at the moment. Lack of sleep and losing the wolf had made him aggravated, and his friends wisely left him virtually alone for the duration of breakfast, which was interrupted only once by Severus Snape coming along, and both Sirius and James threatening to hex him if he didn't keep walking.

Down the table, a beautiful girl with thick, dark red shoulder length hair and green, almond-shaped eyes glared at James, before getting up and walking swiftly from the room.

James didn't look happy. "What is with her?" He asked. None of his friends replied, for once they were all too preoccupied with their own agendas. We'd better win against Slytherin today, Lily'd like that… James thought.

Next to him, Sirius was eating his bacon like he wanted to kill it again, and muttering something about 'get it next time' between mouthfuls.

Across from them, Remus looked pale and tired again and, beside him, Peter had fallen asleep at the table, with his head in his arms.

*

"Okay team," The Gryffindor Keeper, a seventh year student named Lyle Hansworth, said, broom in hand as he looked out over the players. "This is my last chance to win the cup this year. We already beat Hufflepuff, thanks to out Seeker, so let's all keep it up, shall we?"

"But no pressure." Joked James, and the rest of the team laughed. James was smirking. He was the best thing to happen to their Quidditch team, and they knew it.

Above them, they could hear hundreds of feet climbing the steps to the bleachers, and then Lyle said: "Okay team, it's time – good luck, and let's get out there and win this thing!" He suddenly gave them a steely Look that clearly meant 'or else', and most of them fairly ran onto the pitch, except for James, of course, who strolled.

He took his time to look up into the crowd, and spotted his friends, sitting close to the stairs, and he grinned at them. Sirius gave him the thumbs up, and then jerked his head over. James looked across the bleachers, which were a sea of maroon and gold on this side, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Lily Evans there, wearing her Gryffindor scarf.

She came, He thought, miraculously forgetting that the entire school had shown up to watch.

He and the others players mounted their broomsticks – James felt the familiar rush of adrenaline as he did – and with the sound of the whistle, the match had begun!

***

I was sitting on the grass, out of sight, my head turned up to the sky as I watched my first ever real-live Quidditch match in amazement. The players streaked around like red and green blurs, respectively, and I had a hard time keeping up with everyone. Everywhere I looked, there was a player on a broomstick, all fourteen of them flying really well but none more so, I had to admit, than James. Watching him, it was like watching Harry in his first ever match, and I really began to enjoy myself.

And that was when I made my big mistake. I crept forward, into the very late afternoon sunlight, and I think that said sunlight must've reflected off my fur because, suddenly, James had pulled his broomstick to a complete stop, and was staring at me.

We locked eyes for a moment, and then I happened to jerk my head up to my right.

Peering over at me from the edge of the bleachers were none other than James' friends and, when Sirius saw me, his expression changed from confused to determined, and he began hurrying down the steps to the ground.

I wasn't going to hang around to wait any longer. The match would go on without me – or would it?

As I turned on my tail to run toward the forest, I saw James reach out almost lazily and pluck the golden snitch out of mid-air. The Lee Jordan of the past screamed: "GRYFFINDOR WINS!!!!"

Oh, fine then. I thought, as I ran into the forest with Sirius on my tail.

It was harder to shake him off this time and, as I entered my third night without food, I collapsed onto the ground and fell asleep almost instantly.

I was going to have to do something soon, or else I would die.

Maybe it was time to give myself up…