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

Chapter Twenty-one

Gryffindor vs. Slytherin

"I'm going to take charge today because our team captain is currently being senseless," Sirius said, standing in the center of our group. James just rolled his eyes at him.

"The Slytherins, I can assure you, will play dirty. They'll probably have stuff rigged. Their main way of playing is taking the main players, or the best players, permanently out of the game." The team looked at James, and then at me.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Amata asked.

"Last year it was easy, well, sorta, to protect the main player 'cause it was only James. This year we've got to watch him and Nike. How's that gonna work out?" Jean asked.

"We have two Beaters don't we?" Remus pointed out.

"Right," Sirius said. "So that'll have to do. No big deal, right?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Derek said.

"And why, pray tell, would that be?" Amata asked her cousin.

"I—"

"Fine. You protect both of them," Sirius said, shrugging as if it were nothing too awfully important. But I could tell he was pissed off at this guy. "But you better do your other job well and right."

Derek frowned. "Whatever. Do what you want, like usual."

"Do we get a say in this?" I asked finally. James smiled when everyone yelled,

"No!"

"I asked the same thing last year," he said. "It's no use."

"We'll keep an eye out, and where we can we'll stop them. Not being entirely dirty, of course, but we have some tricks too," Jean commented.

"Alright. Remus, you've got…?"

Remus smiled slightly. "James. You've got Nike."

"Uh…can we switch?" he asked. "It's easier for me to work with James and I know you and Nike work best together."

"Nope," Remus said, shaking his head stubbornly. "You've gotta learn, as do I."

"Don't lower yourselves to their level, am I clear?" James asked, taking charge again when Sirius started to pout.

"Yes Prongsie!" Remus, Sirius, and I yelled while the rest said, "Yes!"

"Let's go and kick some Slytherin ass!" James yelled. And with that, we walked out into the dark evening and tons of cheering.

From the banners, cheers, and colors worn, I could tell all of the Houses wanted Gryffindor to win except for Slytherin. I caught sight of Lily, who gave me an encouraging smile and cheered even louder for me. Peter, who was slouched in his seat next to her, was watching us in his normal nervous little way. I glanced over in the Ravenclaw stands and met Gary's eye, and he gave me an encouraging smile. Despite not being able to practice together since Gryffindor's last game, he knew I would do fine. I was surprised to see him wearing some Gryffindor colors, especially after what had happened between him and James and Sirius.

"I want you all to play a nice, fair, and clean game. Am I understood?" Adda demanded, looking at the Slytherins in particular. I locked eyes with Regulus, who smiled cockily at me. Sirius glared at his little brother and moved so he blocked him from view. I gave him an appreciative look, and he nodded in recognition. Adda glance at our team, and I could tell she was worried.

"Mount your brooms then," she said. We did as she said, and then seconds later, the game began.

"Well ladies and gentlemen today we are going to have ourselves one interesting game!" Tonks said from her spot as commentator. "Gryffindor, of course, gets the Quaffle as soon as it hits the air. They better watch out though because here comes Slytherin, right on the Chasers' heels. Slytherin's Harrold Malfoy goes for Gryffindor's Jean Redgrave, and to tell you all the truth, here's where the dirt resides. One of the three suppliers anyways."

"Don't start already Tonks," Professor McGonagall, not a second sooner or later than I expected, said tiredly.

"Alrighty then! Anyways, Slytherin's Coates and Crichlow, who, might I add, are sneaky little—"

"Tonks!" came McGonagall's irritated voice.

"And the war of words has begun," Sirius muttered.

"Is that going to be your entertainment for the game?" I asked.

"No. Believe me; I'll get plenty of excitement guarding you."

"You can go knock them off their brooms if you really want to. I don't mind."

"I know you don't," he replied with a smile. "Please don't tempt me."

"I can take care of myself!" I pouted.

"No, Nike, you can't."

"Yes, Sirius, I can. Now get out of my way so I can do my job."

"Coates and Crichlow just blocked Capaldi and Farr so Malfoy could move in and take care of Redgrave himself. Now Malfoy thinks he can get back at Nike by scoring on her. Fat chance there boy!" Tonks yelled.

Malfoy's mouth was twisted into a smirk and he had a confident look in his eyes. His teammates slacked behind him, not quite good, quick fliers, as, sadly, Malfoy himself.

I saw the shift of his body and the ball launched towards the lower right hoop. I sped after it and got in front of the Quaffle, catching it easily. I threw the Quaffle to Derek and gave Malfoy a smug smile. Malfoy's eyes narrowed at me and he flicked his hand out, which, apparently was a signal to his teammates.

They both flew after Derek, one on either side, and then they got closer, soon squishing Derek like a bug between them (truthfully that's what he looked like next to the big boys) before Derek could pick up speed and out-fly them. Crichlow shoved Derek backwards while Coates snatched the Quaffle out of his hands. In perfect sync, they turned around and headed our way.

"What the hell?" I yelled. Derek, lucky for him, had managed to stay on his broom.

"Hello!" Tonks screeched. "Did anyone see that? FOUL! You horrible, insignificant, loathsome, little fat gits!" I could just imagine Tonks' face getting extremely red, as red as her hair, actually, from rage. "This is bad! I'm sticking up for Derek Farr! Someone get these Slytherins under control!"

"Tonks!" McGonagall yelled. "Put a lid on it!"

"Well it's the truth!" Tonks snapped. "The Quaffle is again thrown to Malfoy, the dirtbag. He tries again, and, as before, is caught by Nike, who tosses it to Capaldi, who launches it down the field to Redgrave before the Slytherins can catch up."

"Aye Sirius! Comin' your way!" Remus yelled a warning, flying along besides James, who was searching the skies anxiously. One of Malfoy's cronies, Durer, was swinging a club and slamming it into a Bludger, sending it our way. Well, my way. I shifted, and it moved over so it would always have a straight, clear path to me.

I glanced at Sirius to say, okay, I accepted his help, but couldn't find him.

"Ah great. You couldn't have left me the club you stupid prat?" And, of course, no magic was allowed in Quidditch (although I'm sure that's what the Slytherins used to rig this game), so, I figured, I was screwed.

"Remus—" I started to yell.

He turned to look and saw the Bludger following my every move.

"Damnit Sirius!" he cursed. "We need her!"

There was a loud crack and the Bludger flew back down the field.

"Give me some time people!" Sirius yelled back at his friend. "I know what I'm doing!" I just glared at him, and he smiled. "What? You honestly think I'm gonna let them touch you?" he asked, deadly serious.

"Fool!" came a shrill yet familiar yell. There was an even louder crack that sounded twice, and I turned around just in time to see James fall, a Bludger hit my face, and Dominatrix's cruel, triumphant grin. I felt myself hit a hard, metal bar, and then I was free-falling. I saw Sirius' shocked and pained expression, and then everything went black with pain.

Nike! James! Damnit! Why the hell them? I had to think fast… I couldn't let James fall and possibly die or be out for the season; he'd hate that, and he was the only family that I felt I truly had. But as I turned to look at Nike's falling figure, deep longing and confusion overwhelmed me, along with this feeling that I wasn't familiar with. But, seeing her, I knew James wasn't the only person that I had in this world.

Not caring about the rules or consequences, I took out my wand and pointed it at James, yelling, "Aresto Momentum!" I then flew into a steep (not to mention probably suicidal) dive, trying to catch Nike, who'd, ironically, fallen back through her own goal post.

The ground was approaching rapidly. One-hundred feet. Fifty. Thirty. Twenty…

"Sirius!" Lily and Tonks screamed, their voices filled with terror. I gritted my teeth, and outstretched my arms. I grabbed her waist and pulled her towards me, and then tried to pull up so we wouldn't hit the ground. But it was too late; the ground was too close. I pulled her even closer to me so I could shield her fall. We hit the ground, me first, and my head slammed down, and everything went blurry. I fought for consciousness, needing to reassure myself.

I looked at James, who Remus was laying carefully on the ground before rushing over to us, and saw that in his hands was something gold. I looked down at Nike, who thank the gods I think was breathing, and I closed my eyes and blacked out.

My head freaking hurt. My thoughts were jumbled, but I felt panic rising. Sirius…he—

"Where is he?" I grumbled.

"Nike?" I heard Remus say. "Tonks! Lily! James!" I heard feet rustling and then I sensed people around me.

"Oh gods, is she okay?" Lily asked.

"Are you sure you heard her Remus?" Tonks asked.

I felt a hand on mine. "Do you think she'll be alright Moony?" James asked.

"Yeah. I've been listening all night."

I opened my eyes and saw all of my friends standing above me with worried expressions. But something…was missing.

"I'm not dead or anything, just have this gods-awful headache."

They all cracked smiles except for Lily, whose frown deepened. "Umm…Nike…you got a concussion…are you okay?"

"She's fine Lily," James said, pulling her into a hug.

I blinked. "No, I don't think so. The Bludger must've given me brain damage 'cause now I'm seeing the impossible…either that or I'm delusional." They all laughed and I thought I heard someone chuckle and mutter,

"Can't get something that you already have."

"What's going on here?" I asked.

"I'll explain later," James said, winking at me.

"You will not," Lily said. "You'll leave that to me."

James smiled cockily. "Whatever you say dear."

"I was just worried about the stupid git, and I...accidently...kissed him," Lily said, blushing.

"Now I think I've died. Because this sure as hell isn't real life!" I said, looking from Lily's red face to James' triumphant one, wondering what this would mean in their relationship, or lack-thereof.

"Nike, you said you remembered getting hit by a Bludger," Remus said hesitantly. "Do you remember anything else? Like…what happened?"

It then registered what, or should I say who, was missing.

"Where's Sirius?" I demanded. They exchanged glances, but kept to themselves. "He's not…dead…is he?" I asked. "Oh gods. That stupid prick! What is his problem?" I glared up at the ceiling. "There is a point when bravery turns into stupidity."

Someone chuckled. "Well I'll take that as a 'thank you for saving my bloody life Sirius!'" Everyone turned around, relieved grins spreading out over their faces.

"Sirius Black!" I yelled. "You bloody idiot! You could've died!" I flung myself out of the bed I was in and stalked over to him.

"Nike, you really shouldn't move that fast, or at all for that matter…" Lily started to say.

I glared down at his usual arrogant smiling face and punched him. "What were you thinking?"

"Oh!" he yelled, rubbing his arm. "Well…I was thinking about seeing how good I was at pulling up from a dive, but apparently, I'm no good at all. I'll leave the tricky stuff to you and James from now on." His smile disappeared. "Hey, are you okay? You look kinda unsteady." He was right. I felt unsteady. The world was spinning super fast and I couldn't stay on my feet. I fell, my mind going blank.

"Nike!" Lily shrieked.

"Sirius has got her," Tonks muttered, smiling.

I looked behind me and glared at Sirius, who I was currently laying next to. He tried to hide his pained expression with a mischievous one. "Well, a simple 'thank you' would have been fine. You don't need to jump on top of me and smother me."

"Ha! Yeah right. I just got light-headed."

"I do that to people, so it's nothing to worry about."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm sure that's not it." I tried to get up but he held onto me.

"Oh, I'm sure it is," he argued.

James coughed. "Do we need to leave you two alone?" Both of us glared at him. He held up his hands in surrender. "Just thought I'd ask." Sirius released me so I sat up next to him.

"So…" Tonks said awkwardly. "Does anyone know what happened? Or should I say, why and how it happened?"

"I do," Sirius and I said at the same time.

Sirius stared at me with a puzzled expression. "How do you know?"

"I—uh—I'm not sure. It was like…a dream? I was knocked out and then all of a sudden…no. Never mind. It's crazy." And it was. It seemed like I'd woken up in Sirius' head, and it was like I was him. I saw things from his eyes, I thought his thoughts, and I felt what he felt. But…it couldn't have happened in reality. It had to be a dream.

"Nike, everything concerning you is crazy, so spit it out," Remus said. As I looked at them, I knew they all would help. They were my friends; I could trust them. So I told them what I had experienced.

Remus, James, Lily, and Tonks listened quietly and carefully, making absolutely no expressions. Sirius, however, got paler and a little bit panicked. When I was done Lily said,

"Well, that all happened, but I didn't know any of the details and stuff you described. I mean, I don't know that much about Quidditch and so on."

"Huh. I don't know any of it except for the fact something hit my spine and almost broke it in two, which really hurt," James said. He had a knowing look in his eyes, like he very well knew the mind of which I was speaking of. Despite the look, he said nothing.

"Visitors out please!" said a female voice from the back room. "Mr. Potter, Miss Nike, get back into bed. You'll stay here for a little while longer so I can make sure you're okay. If you're good, you should be out in time for the Hogsmeade visit tomorrow."

We listened to the nurse, and before they left, Lily smiled down at me and said,

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry about it, just rest and get better." Remus nodded his agreement.

Once they, along with the nurse after she'd finished fussing over us, had left, I sat up and looked over at James and Sirius expectantly.

"I knew you'd known I knew something," James said. "I had tried to fall asleep, but that's not happening."

"Let me guess; you wanted Sirius to be the one to open the discussion."

"Basically." We both looked at Sirius, who also was pretending to be asleep.

I grabbed a pillow from behind me and threw it at him hard, hitting him in his face.

"Thank you for that rude awakening," Sirius said, flinging it back at me, which I caught.

"Don't show off Miss Keeper," James said, smirking.

"I'm not."

"If you say so."

"Okay then. I thought it was mine and Nike's job to argue over stupid things," Sirius said.

"Aw don't be jealous mate," James said, giving Sirius an innocent look.

"I'm not," Sirius replied.

"Don't copy my words of wisdom!" I exclaimed.

"I'm not," he repeated, mocking my angry expression.

"Ugh! You're impossible!"

"Yes I is!" he sang merrily. James and I rolled our eyes in unison at him.

"Did we win the match?" I changed the subject.

James grinned. "Of course. They should've known it takes more than a Bludger to keep me from catching the Snitch!"

"He caught it as he fell, right before he lost consciousness," Sirius explained.

"That's amazing. Good job Prongs, I'm proud of you!" I said.

They both laughed, but I could both tell they were pretty proud of, regardless of what bad things had happened, how the day had turned out.

"Do any of you have the slightest clue as to what happened?"

"You, somehow, got into my mind," Sirius said after a moment.

"Oh."

"How come you didn't tell us you were mind reader too?" Sirius asked, pretending to be hurt at my absentmindedness. He also seemed a little...wary. Like he was waiting for me to call him out on something. But what, I wasn't sure.

"I don't think so…it seems more complex than that," I said, thinking about it.

"I'm pretty sure it's mind reading," Sirius insisted.

"No! It's not! I think I'd know!"

"Obviously not! I think you're confused because it is mind reading," he continued to argue.

"Sirius! No! It's not mind reading!"

James chuckled. "Uh-huh. Arguing about pointless stuff like this, yes, that's definitely your guys' thing."

Lights were out shortly after we'd just eaten. Sirius and James had been given a potion that made them pass out, and I'd been given the same thing, except it either hadn't worked or hadn't taken effect yet.

"I need in to see her!" a voice was saying, getting angry. "You told me I couldn't come in earlier and to come back later, so now I'm here."

"She's asleep. She needs it to heal properly," the Healer's calm, tired voice said.

"Gary!" I exclaimed, sitting up in the bed.

"Nike?" I heard rushed feet. "Oh gods, you're okay." He sat down in the chair next to my bed and stared at me with a worried expression. Seconds later Madam Ashton and Austin came in.

"Out!" Madam Ashton hissed to the two boys.

"No! No. They're okay. Both of them," I said, quieting my voice. She gave me a reluctant look, but she went to her office.

"Five minutes," she called. "And then they're leaving."

"I'll take what I can get," I replied.

"She wouldn't let us in right after," Austin apologized. "Only Evans, Tonks, and Lupin. But I think it's because Lupin used a spell to."

"Did you hear what happened?"

"Yeah," Gary said. "All of it. Including your…experience."

"Who…?" I started to ask.

"Lupin. He found me during dinner and told me. He said he'd thought that you would've wanted me to know since I couldn't have been there sooner."

"I honestly tried to not listen to it," Austin murmured, looking down at his feet.

"No, it's fine. If Gary trusts you, then I do too." They both smiled at me appreciatively.

"It was Dominatrix, wasn't it?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yup. She was so damned happy about almost killing you," Austin scoffed.

"And then you know what she had the nerve of doing?" Gary asked. "She came up to us in the Great Hall, talking really bad about you and how weak you were and how better off we'd all be without you and how she'd done everyone such a good favor."

"Figures."

"Ha. I've never seen him so mad," Austin said, laughing quietly. "He almost knocked the whole table over. The only reason he didn't hex her was because Evans beat him to it. Got herself detention for it."

"Lily?" I repeated, astounded.

"I know! I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't seeing things. But it was Lily Evans who used some creative language and a pretty ugly spell, not Tonks, who I'd thought it would be," Gary said, smiling.

"Lily got detention?"

"Yeah, but only after everyone came out of their shock five minutes later, and after the whole thing they left to check on Black. The Headmaster gave her two weeks of detention starting after Christmas Break," Austin said, smirking. "And you know what happened then? She told him off and stormed out of the room. Tonks glared at the Headmaster, called him a few names, earned herself the same detention sentence, and followed after her with Lupin in tow. And there you have it, the show for the night."

"I missed out on a lot, didn't I?"

"You sure as hell did," Austin agreed.

"Time's up," Madam Ashton said, coming into the room with a tired look on her young face.

"You sure you're okay?" Gary asked.

"Absolutely. Thanks for checking in on me you two," I assured them. When they stood up, I stopped Gary. "Hey, umm, about the other day…I'm sorry about that. I should've let Sirius and James know about our friendship earlier that way they wouldn't have taken it all out on you in front of everyone."

"What was their problem anyways?" Austin asked while Gary said,

"They didn't let you have it, did they?"

"No, they didn't. They just let it slide seeing as they knew I was pissed at them," I answered Gary. "I think they thought you were using me, you know, to get in on out House secrets and what-not. They also are…protective…of me. All of them are. Don't take it personally because they don't trust anyone besides for our tight little group."

"I wouldn't—"

"I know you won't, and so does everyone else in our group except for Sirius and James. They're…they'll take some time. But they'll come around. Don't worry 'bout it." He looked liked he didn't believe me, but he nodded anyways.

"Night Keep," Gary said, squeezing my hand in a friendly gesture.

"Night Gary." I squeezed his hand back. "Night Austin."

"Get well soon girl," Austin said, and with that, they were gone.

A/N: Haha, I love Quidditch! Even if a Bludger to the face should've killed you or at the least knocked you out for days…whatever. Nike's different. So what? And James, getting one to the spine, well, he's tough too.

And Sirius is gonna take a plummet to the ground just fine, if you ask me. Not to mention the fact he and James both have the wonderful healing potions to help them live, right?

Next chapter: The Potters

What's A Kammel-Monkey: Damnit! If freakin' Can'tHideFromInsanity and midnight zoe can't keep their freakin' mouths shut I'm gonna hurt 'em! Shut-up guys! I don't want everyone to know what's gonna happen! *growls* Thank you, anyways, for your reviews. I'm glad you like Gary's character; I'm quite fond of him too. And, if you don't mind, anything that those two mentioned above tell you, please don't mention them in a review if it has yet to be mentioned in the chapters posted. That would be greatly appreciated.

Alright everyone! Let me know what you thought, and again, let me know if I can approve anything, especially with the whole Gary thing cause it kinda feels weird to me since he's commin' in AFTER I've already written all of this…but I promise in the next book he'll become a more prominent character and I won't feel weird or awkward when writing him since he'll be in the whole thing from the beginning. It's just that I came up with him last minute, and he'll have a HUGE part in the next book, so, that is my excuse. Please help if you feel it's needed!

Review and tell me what you think! Anything is appreciated! Please guys! I'm seein' TONS of hits and visitors and I have LOTS of people who've favorited and alerted this book, but I would REALLY love feedback! It sorta helps me write better. But, if not, thanks for reading anyways!

Nike