A/N: Thank you for the more reviews! It's nice to hear from others too! Thanks for your help Rumbledroar's Army, I took what you said into consideration, and…let's just say I've got it planned out how I'll fix my mistake in the next book.

Alright, as promised, here's two chapters.

On with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created.

Chapter Four

Learning How to Fly

Turns out I had all classes with James, Remus, and Sirius except for Divination, which I had with Sirius alone. And the next class we had was Herbology, which I also happened to have with Lily and Tonks. The five of them in a room together…this should be interesting. Especially since I had befriended both rival groups, which I was starting to suspect was a really bad idea.

"I've never met anyone else that can do Wandless-Magic before," James said, trying to make conversation.

"I didn't know you absolutely had to use the…wait. Can you do magic without one too?" I asked, brightening up some.

James grinned and said, "Yeah, but I can only do a little bit."

"Like what?" He wasn't getting off too easily now.

"Well I can control a little bit of fire, like enough to light a candle. And I can control a tiny breeze; say enough to blow out the flame. Simple easy stuff like that. It's pretty hard, that's why I was surprised that you could do Wandless-magic in the seventh year level. It takes a lot of concentration, and that's hard to come by."

"Really? I always thought it was easy. I mean, the more you do at one time, the harder it gets, but you'd have to expect that. It's pretty cool that you can do it too."

"It is. But it's a little bit strange to watch until you get used to it," Remus said.

"We should work with each other sometime so we can build up our strength," I offered to James.

"I'll take you up on that offer," James said.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"You gonna stay here with us too?" James asked as we walked inside a building that was located outside. According to James and Remus, it was called a greenhouse. It didn't look green to me though.

"I—"

"Nike! Over here!" Tonks called.

"Oh. I see," he said. They walked me over to where Tonks and Lily were standing. Tonks tensed and Lily's eyes narrowed. James shifted uncomfortably while Remus looked away.

"What do you two want?" Lily asked harshly.

"Just making sure Nike stays out of trouble," Remus muttered, not meeting their eyes. I smiled at him and James, trying to get them to loosen up.

"Did you seriously just say you're keeping her out of trouble? I don't believe it. You're probably getting her in even more trouble," Tonks scowled.

"She gets in enough trouble on her own," Lily agreed. Her eyes widened as she thought of something. "In fact, you probably set her up with Peeves, knowing Professor Damant would lose it! Didn't you!"

"So you heard him too?" I asked.

"That wasn't their fault," Sirius said, pretending to be interested in some plants nearby. "I did it without them. Revenge, you know?" James and Remus exchanged looks.

"Wh—" Sirius stepped on my foot hard (probably enjoying it), shutting me up. I could remember him saying "I don't care what they say about me. There's a difference between my feelings for them and their feelings for them." He may have been a jerk, but he was a good friend. And maybe, deep down inside, he was a good guy through and through.

Lily and Tonks looked like they didn't believe it, but just then they took a good look at James and Sirius.

"What the hell?" Tonks shrieked.

"What did you do?" Lily demanded.

James regained his usual easy-going attitude. "Transfiguration is fun today."

Lily almost smiled. "I can imagine."

A short stout man entered the door we were standing next to, wearing an apron and a busy expression. His appearance was messy, but he gave off an air of humor. He looked to be about fifty or so.

"See you later," Remus said to me, nodding in the direction of the other two.

"So…I see you've made new friends," Tonks said, not looking mad but not exactly happy.

I decided to be truthful. "I can't see what you have against them."

They exchanged glances. "That's what they do to you," Lily said. "Which one did you fall for?" I looked at her confused. "Never mind. You'll see soon enough."

"They seem a lot like me though," I told them again.

Tonks shook her head. "You're wrong," she said. Again. I started to protest so she said, "We'll talk about this later."

The Herbology professor said loudly above everyone else, "My name is Professor Longbottom." A couple kids snickered. "Yes, yes, I know," he said good naturedly. "Let's make one thing clear. You pay attention and do what I ask when I ask you to, I don't care what you do after- or before-wards, and most likely we'll get along. If you don't…you might not find any help or get any warnings when we get to some deadly plants." He smiled mischievously. "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," everyone replied, not sure if he was serious or not.

"Of course I am," he said quietly. "Good. Now we can have some fun!" I seriously doubted it. I mean, we were learning about plants. Where was the fun in that?

"Do you know how to fly?" James asked while we were waiting for the professor to come.

"No," I said, looking around at the rest of the students. There were fourteen of us all, and all of them looked comfortable and so un-confused, whereas I was the exact opposite, although I tried not to show it.

"It's easy. But don't worry, it's not like she's going to have us play a Quidditch game on the first day. She'll teach you to fly first," James said, turning to me.

I wasn't afraid to fly; I just had a lot of questions, as usual. I was about to say such when a lean woman of average height that had long, curly auburn hair that looked about the same age as Professor Weasley walked out of a sheltered area blowing a whistle and lugging brooms and a leather box.

"That's Madam Adda Weasley. She goes by Adda, and she's a strange one," Remus said. I wondered if she was related to the professor. I'd have to ask him.

"Welcome to flying lessons!" she yelled through the whistle in her mouth. "Seems we have all Quidditch players from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Rivalry." She smiled. "Interesting."

"Uh-oh," a girl said beside us. "That can't be good…"

"Since we all know how to fly, and if not, you're completely dense; we're going to have a little friendly competition. A little bit of fun. Seeing as all of us are familiar with this sport…let's have us a game of Quidditch! What better way to start a school year then with blood and broken bones? And what better way to make new friends?"

I turned my head to glance at James who turned away quickly. "She won't huh?" I asked.

"Told you she was a weird one," Remus said.

"Alright! Captains… Potter! Malfoy! Front and center!" James and this tall white haired kid stepped forward and took a broom. As they did so, their clothes changed colors; James' turned maroon and Malfoy's went dark green.

"Sirius!" James called.

"Big surprise," a haughty looking boy said. Remus glanced at him sharply. Sirius walked up next to James and took a broom and his clothes, too, changed color. Team colors I guess.

"Bertrand!" Malfoy barked.

"Remus!"

"Durer!" Malfoy looked satisfied with how things were turning out. Bertrand and Durer must've been his friends.

"Nike!" It took me a minute to realize James had called me. Evidently I wasn't the only one shocked. The people standing around us (the Quidditch players) didn't seem too happy that I had been picked before them. Yes, they already knew what team they were getting picked for; I guess it was just a competition to see who got called first.

Remus tossed me a broom and I caught it instinctively. My clothes changed colors and I stood next to Remus.

"You should be fine," he muttered. But he didn't sound like he believed it.

"Coates!" Malfoy yelled.

"Capaldi!"

"Crichlow!"

"Farr!"

"Eaton!"

"Redgrave!"

"Volp!"

The teams were assembled, and I noticed Slytherin's team was made up of guys only.

Adda not looking at all surprised by the turnout of the teams, yelled, "Alright! You have one minute to assign positions!"

James' team looked over at me worriedly.

"What are we gonna do with her?" asked a cute blonde haired brown eyed guy.

"Forget that Derek! Where can we put her where she won't cause too much trouble?" asked a pale skinned girl with long curly black hair pulled back in a pony-tail, showing off amber colored eyes.

"But Jean, we can't leave our positions! They've got their whole Slytherin team from last year!" another girl, one that had pale blue eyes and dark brown hair pulled back like the other one's, said.

"Guys calm down!" James said. They all shut-up, but they looked nowhere near being calm.

"It's not a real match," Remus agreed.

"Yeah but they'll treat it like one if they win," the brown haired girl protested.

"We'll get them back during the season Amata. There's nothing we can do about it right now," Derek said. He was resolved we were going to lose. They all were.

"Why not just put her as Keeper? If she does too horrible, we'll switch her out. Remus and I'll keep them away from her and the goals as best as we can," Sirius said.

Huh. Tonks and Lily hadn't told me he and Remus were Quidditch players too. Sirius avoided my gaze and the way he held himself made it seem like he was in a bad mood, so apparently he was still mad at me.

Before they could protest further, Adda blew her whistle and yelled, "Let's get this game started!"

James walked over to me and quickly said, "When you're on your broom, lightly kick off the ground. You see those six hoops?" I nodded. "You keep the red ball from going in those, so you'll have to fly around some. And just to warn you, the two black balls that are flying around everywhere, stay away from or else." He gave me a tight smile and patted me on the back (him and Sirius had changed back to normal towards the end of Herbology) and said, "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal." But I could tell it was a big deal. A very big deal.

Adda blew the whistle, released a tiny golden ball, a medium sized red one, and two wicked looking black ones, and the game began.

I stepped on my broom and kicked off the ground, going into the air immediately. Almost as if I knew what I was doing, I guided my broom towards the six hoops and flew very fast and steadily. I reached the posts and positioned myself a couple feet in front of the tallest one and turned around to watch.

Jean had grabbed the red ball and flew towards the other goal posts, flanked by Amata and Derek. Three Slytherins were just seconds behind them. Sirius, Remus, and two other Slytherins went after the scary black balls, each brandishing a club-like thing. James and the Slytherin named Malfoy were soaring around, searching for something.

Sirius hit one of the black balls and it went flying at a Slytherin who held the red ball and was rapidly approaching me. He ducked just in time, narrowly getting hit in the face. I imagine that would have hurt. I saw him shift and could easily read his actions and what he was going to do. I dashed down to the lowest hoop on the left and intercepted the red ball. I threw it to Derek, who smiled and winked at me. I looked at the Slytherin smugly. So much for that plan, stupid, I thought. I'm not to be taken advantage of. He growled at me then flew off after the ball.

I heard something coming toward me, and just as Remus shouted, "Nike!" I rolled over on my broom, watching a black ball fly where my head had been. It turned back around and came at me again. I flew up, and it copied me. I went down and to the right, and it mirrored my every move, and it was getting closer and closer.

"Aww crap," I muttered. Then out of nowhere I saw one of those club things pass right by my cheek. I heard it connect with the ball, and I turned around to watch it head off in search of a new available target.

"You're welcome again!" Sirius said, grinning. Then he flew off after another one of those black balls. Obviously he had forgiven me.

I looked over just in time to see Derek throw the red ball into the tallest hoop, right next to the Keeper-dude. The Keeper-dude wasn't quick enough. He wasn't the right build for this job either, I analyzed. Way too big. He couldn't move fast enough, either that or he was too lazy to. In fact, I was wondering how he'd even made the team as a Keeper-dude last year.

Just then James flew past me, after a glint of gold. Malfoy shoved me aside, almost knocking me off my broom, and trailed after him.

I watched as Amata passed to Jean, who scored again, then saw the other team heading my way with our team far behind. They tossed it back and forth to each other, trying to confuse me, but I saw what they were going to do seconds before they did it, and I made it look like they were incredibly stupid and threw it straight to me. I tossed it to Amata, and watched my team go and score.

Just as the red ball was in a Slytherin's hands, James yelled, "I GOT IT!" and he landed on the ground, holding up a tiny and shiny golden ball. Adda blew the whistle.

We all took to the ground and the looks of disappointment and misery James' team was replaced by joy and amazement.

"Oh. My. God!" Jean exclaimed, running over to me.

"How long have you been playing?" Amata asked.

"Guys, leave the poor girl alone," Derek said, coming up behind me. He smiled at me sweetly. "You were great out there. You're a natural, probably the best there's ever been!"

"I, uh…thanks," I stuttered.

His smile got even wider. "Any time. I meant it too." I looked away quickly. Well. Wasn't he sweet.

"You leave her alone Derek Farr," Amata said, shoving him aside playfully. She looked at me with a smile. "That girl right there is my best friend Jean Redgrave. I'm Amata Capaldi, and you've already met my idiotic cousin, Derek Farr." Now that she mentioned it, she and Derek looked a lot alike. They had many of the same features. "We were on Gryffindor's Quidditch team last year, and we better…" She raised her voice and looked at James who was approaching with Sirius and Remus. "…be on the team this year too." She lowered her voice to a normal tone. "Jean and I are fourth years and Derek's a fifth year."

"I'm Nike. A third year, I think." That made them laugh.

"Yes, you're a third year," Remus said, beaming.

"And you all will have to wait 'til tryouts and afterwards to see if you're on the team. As everyone else does. Besides, I might find someone better…" James said.

Jean punched him lightly while Derek rolled his eyes and Amata muttered, "Not likely."

"And you Miss Keeper better show up or else. The team captain might be in your favor."

"And if I don't?" I asked teasingly.

Sirius put his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, you're forgiven now. Don't show up, and you'll never be forgiven again. By any of us." He looked down at me and smiled. "And I might just drag you here myself anyways."

"You will huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"And we just might help him," Derek said, his eyes on Sirius with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"The team needs you this year Nike," Remus said quickly.

"Last year we had the worst season ever. Our Keeper sucked, but don't tell him I said that, seeing as he's my brother," Jean agreed.

I laughed. "Siblings are best friends, aren't they?"

She laughed too. "Yep! Of course they are!"

"So…tell us how you did that back there," James said. "Team captain's gotta know. Background checks and all."

"I don't think she'll pass that test, being a fugitive and all," Sirius said.

"No one but a certain three that I know has ever called me a fugitive," I pointed out.

"Will you come?" James asked, almost pleading. "We've got to have you for the team. You actually looked like you knew what you were doing."

"I don't know about all of that, but I can read people easily. I could read the actions of the…people who had the red ball, and I could almost sense everything else around me. I reacted and relied on my instincts. Oh, and you should probably know Slytherin's…Keeper?…isn't the right type of person for his job. They should find someone else. I don't see how you couldn't have ever beaten them really bad."

"Sounds like a natural to me," Remus said.

"I agree. That's exactly what a Keeper's got to be able to do…they've, in a way, got to be the brains of the group," Amata said.

"They've got to analyze everything. That's why normally the Keeper's the team captain. But James here has been trying to do that part of the Keeper's job ever since his first year here," Jean said.

"Good game Gryffindor!" Adda yelled, shaking hands with James. "Gryffindor just might win the House Cup this year!" She lowered her voice. "Your team better, James. I can't stand it when the Slytherins are out here acting like they're better then all of the other Houses. It really ticks me off when they can't even fly, yet they still do it!"

"Slytherin is full of show-offs," Derek agreed, not bothering to lower his voice.

"That's true," said a cold voice. "But at least we have something to show-off, when Gryffindor can only show-off…what? Losers?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Malfoy flanked by Bertrand and Durer.

"Now that's enough," Adda said in a calm but firm voice, much like the one that Professor Weasley had used on me when we first met.

He ignored her. "It's obvious what happened." His friends crossed their arms over their chests at the exact same time. Bertrand had been the other Keeper, I realized, and both he and Durer were built exactly the same; they were huge. I could see them winning a fight. But I couldn't see them winning a fight against me.

"What would that be?" James said coolly, taking charge.

"You used magic on her. No one, especially a freak like her, is just naturally that good," he answered with a smirk.

I stepped up. "Come on Malfoy. Be a man and accept defeat." I paused. "But then…I don't think that's possible for you…considering you seem like a whiny little sissy baby."

He and his friends looked surprised that I had stood up to him, especially with such a young, kid-ish response (but who ever said I didn't like to sound like an idiot sometimes?). But their surprise was quickly turned into anger. Bertrand and Durer popped their knuckles while Malfoy tensed.

"You stupid little mudblood!" he growled. "How dare you talk to a pureblood like that! You need to be put in your place!" He nodded at his friends, and they stepped forward.

"Oh, and you're going to be the one to do that?" I asked. I took another step forward so I was right in front of him, and cocked my head to the left. "I highly doubt a low-life like you can do such when Aurors can't. But, if you insist, bring it fool." He and his friends looked unsure, but they weren't going to back down. Not now, and I knew that. I was going to welcome this fight. Gladly.

"I said knock it off!" Adda barked. They looked over at her, and that's when Sirius punched Malfoy in the jaw. Malfoy flew back into his buddies, looking dazed.

"Mr. Black!" Adda yelled, but Sirius ignored her. He was fuming.

"Don't you ever call her a mudblood!" he growled. James grabbed Sirius' shoulders and Remus took my arm, leading us away before we could cause any more trouble. "Or anyone else for that matter!" Sirius yelled back at Malfoy, who was getting up shakily and being restrained by Adda.

"This isn't over!" he yelled back, his jaw looking slightly disfigured. I was satisfied by that, although it would've been better if I myself had done it.

"Now's not the place Padfoot," James muttered.

"Yeah, we'll get him later," Remus said cheerfully, looking forward to it.

Sirius shook his head and grumbled, "The stupid git needs it now."

"Adda can only let so much go by before she gets caught for allowing it," James said, trying a different tactic. "And if they fire her, they'll probably find someone who works for the Malfoy family."

That made him quit. "I guess you're right."

"You all right?" Remus asked.

"Fine." It didn't sound or look like it though.

"Nike?"

I looked over at them. "Huh?"

"You all right?" Remus repeated.

"Sure."

James looked at me with respect. "Were you seriously going to take on Malfoy and Bertrand and Durer at the same time all alone?"

"Yep. Guess I was."

"Girl you got guts. And you sure made yourself an enemy," Remus said. "Not that we're not enemies with him already…but…he might just hate you more then he hates us combined now, which we all, and everyone else, thought was impossible."

"Good. I need some action around here," I said, smiling slightly. I looked over at Sirius, who looked angry still. "Although next time I'll do the fighting, okay?"

He looked over and smirked. "You do realize he's low enough to hit a girl?"

"Who said he'd be able to hit me?" Good. He was back to normal now. "I'm too good for him. I have plenty experience in fighting, believe me."

"Trust me, we don't doubt you there. You looked like some warrior-queen when you were taunting him. You really had us thinking you were going to knock them all out," James said, comfortable now.

I had tons of questions, but considering I had just gotten them out of a bad mood, I'd save them for later. If I had to deal with them for the rest of the day, I wasn't going to deal with them ready to snap at the slightest hint of a wrong move. There was only one more thing to get out of the way…

"Sure."

"Huh?" they asked.

"I'll come to your tryouts or whatever they're called."

A/N: It takes me FOREVER to come up with names for certain characters. That's probably the hardest part! I mean, I have to find British first and last names…and it's just a little bit difficult. If any of you guys have some ideas for both boys and girls first and last names, please let me know! Trust me, with that part, I need all the help I can get.…

So…Nike's a Quidditch player huh? I had to have her participate in Quidditch because I love it, and I wanted to have her be able to do something else, instead of just watching the Quidditch games. I think it would make the games more interesting if we saw it from her perspective on the field instead of on the bleachers. You know what I mean? And the reason I picked Keeper for her position is because I can relate to it since I've been goalie for a couple soccer teams, and they're pretty close, don't you think? But you never know…Nike might not make the team! You'll have to wait and see…

Anyways…Slytherins (especially the Malfoys) I guess are just life-time enemies for Gryffindors (especially the Potters and their friends).

And Adda and Weasley are married, just to put that out there. I can't remember if I explained that later on…but it's not like it was going to be a big secret and surprise if I didn't.

This chapter we learned from Adda, next we hear from Weasley.

Please review!

Nike