JAMES POV
James was sitting next to Claire in the changing rooms for the Gryffindor quidditch team. They were a few minutes away from their first game, and as much as James refused to admit it, he was nervous. But only a little bit. And he felt a fair bit nauseous, but he must have eaten some undercooked bacon. You could get sick if meat wasn't cooked properly. Yeah. That was it.
"Okay, team. Gather round." Anderson called, standing in front of a chalkboard.
The six remaining players got to their feet and stood in a loose half circle around the captain.
"Slytherin has nothing on us. We've been training harder than any of the other teams. Especially harder than the Slytherins. They barely ever practice. Anyway, we don't have anything to worry about. We have an unbeatable seeker, the best keeper in the school, two strong beaters, and two unbelievable chasers."
Claire looked at James nervously while James narrowed his eyes," Which two?"
"You two, of course."
"You're forgetting yourself again, Andrew." Ingrid said.
"I just yell a lot. I'm not that great." He shrugged.
"You whip us into shape." Blake said.
"And you're a better chaser than both of us, right Claire?" James said.
"Brilliant, really. We wouldn't have a chance without you."Claire nodded.
"Flattery won't get anyone anywhere." Anderson said.
"Yeah, well, if flattery happens to be the same as the truth, you have to deal with it, because it's true." Ingrid huffed.
"Okay fine. I suppose I'm okay. But that doesn't matter. The point is, we have the best team in the school. We're in top shape-"
"Only because you exercise on in the air and on the ground. I shouldn't have to hurt every time I breathe." Camden complained.
"But we're in top shape. And that will give us an advantage. So let's go out there and put our practices to the test. Let's go out there and beat those Slytherins. Ready?"
Everyone gave non-committed nods, making Anderson frowned," I'm sorry. I said are we ready?"
"Yes!" The team said loudly.
"Good. Let's go."
Claire and James stayed together as they grabbed their brooms and hurried onto the pitch with the rest of the team. As soon as James saw the crowd and heard just how loud they sounded, his stomach twisted uncomfortably. Were there really that many people in the school? And were those his parents?
"Oh Merlin." Claire whimpered next to him.
He steeled his nerves, took a deep breath, and looked at her," We can do this. We can do this, Claire. It's just a game of quidditch. That's all."
She looked at him nervously.
"Just a game of quidditch. We can do this no problem. It'll be just like practice, only with people watching. Yeah?" He nudged her arm.
"R-Right..."
"Just pretend we're playing with Sirius, Remus, and Peter."
"They're terrible at quidditch."
"Sirius isn't that bad."
"No, but the others are dreadful."
James nodded in reluctant agreement," Yeah, but we are playing Slytherin."
Claire laughed," Alright then. Just pretend we're playing your friends. I think I can handle that."
"Brooms ready!" Madam Hooch, the relatively young which who oversaw all flying lessons and quidditch games, called.
Claire and James threw their legs over their brooms and got ready to take off.
"On my mark, then. Three. Two." She blew the whistle and flicked her wand at the same time. The bludgers shot off into obscure corners of the pitch, closely followed by the beaters. The snitch disappeared before James could even see a flash of gold. The quaffle was thrown into the air, and the biggest Slytherin (Hepburn? Something like that) grabbed it. Anderson was right on his tail. James marked a different chaser that was probably four times his size (James swore he had some giant in him). Claire was on the other chaser, who looked to be maybe an inch smaller than the one James was marking.
"Captain Rhodes of Slytherin starts off with the quaffle, closely followed by Captain Anderson." Ben Davies, a sixth year Ravenclaw announced.
Oh, his name is Rhodes. Where did Hepburn come from? James thought. He didn't spend much time thinking about it because Rhodes went to pass the quaffle. James shot forward and grabbed it out of the air before the gorilla he was guarding could even lift his hand off his broom.
"Oh, and second year Gryffindor Chaser Potter intercepted the quaffle. He's turning around and heading up the pitch. Potter passes to Anderson- passes to Yates- ouch, that has to hurt."
The quaffle curled into the tips of James' fingers. Claire had managed to pass the quaffle to James right before a quaffle smashed into her shoulder. She cried out and held her shoulder. Anderson called for a time out and shot to the ground. The rest of the team was right behind him.
"I'm alright. It'll pop back into place. I'll be fine." Claire insisted.
"Here. I dislocate my shoulder all the time. I know a couple tricks." Blake stepped forward," Just a warning, this is going to hurt worse than when it happened."
"Fine."
Blake hesitated before grabbing her bicep and shoulder. James didn't see exactly what happened, but he heard Claire swear surprisingly loud. A second later, she breathed in relief and looked at the Keeper," Thanks."
"No problem. Healer Palms got tired of seeing me in the hospital wing because of my shoulder, so he taught me that. It'll last for about an hour, then you'll get sore again." Blake explained.
"Right. So let's finish before that happens. Ingrid, find the snitch." Anderson said.
Ingrid rolled her eyes and crossed her arms," What d'you think I'm doing up there? Having a sleepover with some Hufflepuffs?"
Anderson scowled," Watch it, Fathers. I'm your captain."
"You're also painfully oblivious."
"What?"
"Nothing. Come on. Time out's over."
"Right. Lions on three. One, two, three, Lions!"
The Gryffindor team got back in the air. James got the quaffle and started back down the pitch, sending it back to Claire. She dodged three bludgers and scored for them in a matter of seconds. James sent her a thumbs up. Anderson just shouted for them to get the quaffle.
Claire avoided further injury in the twenty minutes the game continued. It ended when the Slytherin seeker spotted the snitch and Ingrid snatched it from under his nose. The game ended with 230-10 Gryffindor. Claire and James had each scored two goals while Anderson scored four.
When Ingrid caught the snitch, Anderson stopped in midair to look at her. He stopped at precisely the wrong moment too, making him the only other player to sustain an injury that was more than a bruise. He was hit square in the jaw with a bludger and toppled to the for him, Professor Dumbledore had attended the game. James heard the headmaster shout a charm across the pitch, and Anderson visibly slowed before he hit the ground with a dull thud.
James and the rest of the team shot to the ground to make sure he was okay. Ingrid was the one that knelt down next to him to make sure he was alive.
"Andrew? Are you okay? Please be okay." She said anxiously.
James fought a laugh when he saw Anderson's eyes slowly drag open and a bloody half grin pulled on his slightly mutilated face. He tried to say something, but he choked on the blood and accidentally spat it on Ingrid's face (James actually laughed at that).
"That's disgusting, Anderson." Ingrid growled, wiping her face.
"Come on, mate. To the hospital wing with you." Camden pulled him to his feet. Thomas got on Anderson's other side and helped them up to the castle.
"You'd better go with." James told Claire.
"I'm fine."
"Do you really think Childs is the best at fixing up shoulders? Best see Healer Palms about it. Just so you can practice."
Claire frowned and started arguing. James went along with it, but he started walking towards the castle. She followed without a second thought. Before she realized what was happening, she was in the hospital wing. James smirked as she growled and threw herself down on a bed.
LILY POV
Lily walked down to one of the unused dungeons. She had been coming to this dungeon for the past year just so she could see Severus without having to study or be bullied by other students.
"I don't know why you're sorry. I don't even like quidditch."
"I know. I just feel bad that your house lost and mine won."
Snape shrugged and looked away," I still think you should have been a Slytherin. Now you're stuck in a house full of arrogant gits."
"They're not that bad, Sev."
Severus whipped around, black eyes filled with fury," Have you met Potter and Black? They are the worst people in the whole school."
"They're not that bad. They just enjoy a laugh."
"They hex me in the hallways for no reason. They're always making fun of my hair and my clothes. Everything I do they mock."
Lily frowned," I know Potter and Black don't always think things through but-"
"They never think things through. I don't think they even have brains. I'm surprised they haven't been thrown out of school yet. Especially with how many detentions they get."
"They are in detention quite a bit..."
"They always in detention, Lily."
"Not always. If they were, I'm sure James wouldn't have been allowed on the quidditch team."
"Oh come off it, Lily. Potter is the golden boy to the professors. All of them love him. They only give him detention to make it seem more fair to the rest of us."
"Sev, that's not fair. If anyone did half the stuff Potter's done, they would have detention too."
"Exactly. Half the stuff. Potter doesn't get into nearly as much trouble as he should."
"He wasn't the only one that did all of that stuff. There were others. Besides, we don't know if he was the one that actually did them." Lily knew he knew she was lying. Everyone knew that Potter and his friends had done all those things. Everything from the exploding cauldrons to the dung bombs to the random tap-dancing Slytherins in the corridors and Great Hall.
"Come off it, Lily. Everyone knows he did it. Why are you defending him?
"I don't know why you hate him so much, Sev."
"He hexes me every day."
Lily bit her lip. That was true. And Severus almost never did anything to him. Lily sighed," Okay. You're right. I'm sorry."
Severus let out an aggravated sigh," I just don't know why you're friends with him."
"I'm not friends with him. I tolerate him. I have to. We're in the same house. We're in all the same classes. I have to deal with him every. If I didn't tolerate him, life would be terrible, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I guess." Severus muttered.
Lily offered him a half smile," It's not like he'd replace you, Sev. You're my best mate. You're always going to be my best mate."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Severus allowed a small smile on his sickly pale face.
They stayed in the dungeon and talked for a bit before Severus started complaining about James Potter again. Lily got fed up with it quickly and stood up," I should probably get back to my common room. I'm sure Gryffindor is celebrating the win."
Severus frowned," You're going?"
"They'll notice if I'm gone too long."
"No they won't. Everyone's probably running around like idiots up there."
Lily felt her face heating up in mild anger," Well, what about you? Your mates in Slytherin will notice if you're not there any time soon."
Severus narrowed his eyes," Fine. Go then. I'll see you around, Lily."
He grabbed his discarded cloak and scarf and stormed from the dungeon. Lily threw her hands in the air, grabbed her cloak, scarf, and mittens, and hurried up to Gryffindor Tower.
"Where have you been? Why aren't you celebrating Gryffindor's win with everyone else?" The Fat Lady asked when Lily approached her.
"I was at the library. I wanted to get some reading done before I was trapped in all the noise." Lily lied smoothly.
"Fair enough. Password?"
"Audentia."
"Have fun."
The portrait swung forward, and Lily climbed through the portrait hole. Her ears were full of shouts and cheers. Her fellow Gryffindors were still celebrating, and the game had ended a good hour and a half ago.
Lily quickly found her friends.
"Where've you been? We've been worried sick." Mary chastised.
"Nowhere. Don't worry about it. Now, tell me. How many times have the team crowd surfed?"
JAMES POV
"Hold him still, Pete."
"He's really strong."
"Do as the man says and hold him still."
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING?"
"Don't let him go, Pete!"
"I c-can't hold on."
"For Merlin's sake, Peter, hold onto him. We're almost there."
"LET ME GO, YOU LUNATICS."
The four boys finally burst into their dormitory. James, Peter, and Sirius were holding Remus (who was tied up, thanks to a handy spell Remus himself had found). The three boys dumped the latter on his bed and quickly held him down.
"This is ridiculous." James complained. He let go of Remus and took out his wand," Petrificus totalus."
Remus went rigid. He glared murderously at James. Sirius and Peter let go of him and took a step back.
"Pete, go make sure the door's shut, yeah? And make sure no one can hear us." Sirius requested.
Peter locked the door and mumbled," Muffliato."
"Good. Now for the reason we've gathered here today." James turned back to Remus, who was still glaring at James.
"Sounds like we're at a wedding." Sirius muttered.
"Oh, haven't I told you? This is your wedding. Remus here is about to become your wife. Ready to kiss the bride?" James shot at him.
"Of course! You know how happy this young lad makes me." Sirius grinned at Remus.
"But really, we're here for a serious reason."
"No, we're here for a Remus reason."
"Sirius."
"Sorry. Couldn't help it."
"Anyway, we're here because we know, Remus."
Remus was no longer glaring. Instead, his eyes were wiped blank. The kind of blank that scared everyone. The one that showed that they just gave up.
"And we wanted to tell you that we don't care." Sirius added.
Remus didn't react. The binding spell should have worn off by now, so James knew he could talk.
"Remus? You going to say something, mate?" James prodded his foot.
"How did you...?" Remus whispered.
"Mate, you leave every month like clock work. Always on the full moon. We figured it out a few weeks ago in astronomy class. How knew that would come in handy so soon?" Sirius explained.
"But...how can you not care? I'm a monster."
"Just because you're a werewolf doesn't mean you're a monster. It just means you...have a furry little problem. That's all. If anything, it makes you even cooler than before."
"Trust me, it's not cool. It's painful. And I have killed before, you know. Not on purpose. I can't control myself when I turn. I just black out from the pain and wake up in the morning."
"Well, yeah, I guess that part's a little..." Sirius allowed.
"And I'm shut up in the Shrieking Shack so I can only break the furniture and hurt myself." Remus added.
"Did you say the Shrieking Shack?" James asked, a little too interested in the matter.
"Yes." Remus said slowly.
"How do you get in there? It's all boarded up."
"I'm not telling you. You'll try and sneak in when I'm changing, and I can't let that happen."
"Come on, Remus. We won't even go during your furry little problem. We'll go...we'll go tomorrow. You've already had your time of the month, yeah?"
"I suppose..."
"So tomorrow then? Should I bring the cloak?"
"Maybe..."
"Alright then. That's settled. What d'you say we all go back to the party?"
"I'd love to, James, but these three gits ruddy tied me up." Remus growled.
"No problem, mate. Diffindo." Sirius cut the ropes off Remus, only giving him a small cut on his arm when Peter tripped on his own robes and distracted him.
"Next time, you cut the ropes. Or better yet, next time, don't tie me up and talk to me like normal people." Remus said to James.
"But if we just tried to talk to you about it, you would have denied it. We figured you would be more likely to tell us the truth if you were tied up and all alone with us."
"You really don't mind this, do you? You don't mind that I'm...a monster?"
"Remus, you wear slippers and a house robe around the dormitory on weekends. If that's not the picture of a domestic man, I dunno what is. I don't think you can be domestic and a monster. It's one of the other."
"Maybe he's part time monster, and his job is to get rid of all the dark wizards in the world, starting with Voldemort." Sirius said.
"That's it, then. We're starting your training bright and early Monday morning." James told Remus.
"You don't even wake up early enough to get breakfast during the week. How in the name of Merlin are you going to get up and make me 'train' on Monday morning?"
"We'll make sure you're in class. I'm sure that'll be enough training for now."
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius," I'm going back to the party. But- can you do something for me?"
"Sure, mate."
"Can you...can this stay between us? My...condition? Only the teachers know about it. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Dumbledore. He's such a good guy. Gave me a chance when I doubt any other headmaster would."
"Oh, no problem. This isn't ours to talk about. It's your secret. We're just in on it." James nodded. Sirius did the same and was quickly followed by Peter.
"Thank you." Remus breathed in relief.
"So that party?" James reminded everyone.
They hurried back down to the dormitory. A bunch of people applauded when James appeared. They patted him on the back and complimented his skills as a Chaser. He had just gone to get some pumpkin juice when he saw the portrait hole open and Lily climb through.
James frowned. Where had she been? The match ended two hours ago.
He watched as Lily found her friends and went to join them as if she'd only left to get a pasty or something.
Suddenly not wanting to party, James snuck up to his dorm, grabbed out his dad's old invisibility cloak, and made his way out of Gryffindor Tower. Maybe some time by the lake would sort out his mind...
LUCIUS POV
Lucius pulled his hood further down over his face. He could not let anyone see him. He walked his head held high, though he couldn't see with the hood so low over his eyes. It took him twice as long as it usually would to walk to Hogsmeade and into the Three Broomsticks. Slowly, he walked upstairs to the last private room and shut the door.
"Took you long enough, Lucius."
Lucius lowered his hood and looked at the three people in front of him. The woman closest to him looked down on his despite him being much taller.
"I had to be sure I wasn't seen, Bellatrix." Lucius snapped.
"Is that any way to speak to your future sister-in-law?"
"I will speak to you however I see fit."
"I'll be sure Father hears that you said that. He might not want his precious daughter marrying the likes of you."
"Cygnus won't complain about Narcissa marrying me after that sister of yours marrying that mudblood filth last year."
"She is no sister of mine." Bellatrix raised her chin proudly.
"I should hope not."
"We should get to the matter at hand." One of the men said.
"Of course." Bellatrix gestured for them all to sit. She sat down on the couch with the man that spoke. The other man didn't move from his spot against the wall, but Lucius sat down in the winged armchair.
"You know why we're here, Lucius." The first man said.
"Yes."
"The Dark Lord has two tasks for you."
"Two?"
"Is that a problem, Lucius?" Bellatrix asked sweetly.
"No. What are the tasks?" Lucius said in a cold voice.
"First, you're to find students to recruit." The man said.
Lucius nodded," Simple. What's the other?"
At this, the man grinned," The Dark Lord has ordered for you to kill another student."
"K-kill another student?" Lucius stuttered.
The second man pushed away from the wall with a nasty grin," It's easy enough. Just one simple spell, Lucius. All you have to do is make sure no one sees you or you'll be useless to the Dark Lord."
"I can handle it, Rabastan."
"Are you sure? Murder is no small feat. And your first is always the hardest."
"Is that so? Maybe if I get my first over with before I kill another student, things will go much easier."
"Now, now, Lucius. It wouldn't sit well with the Dark Lord if you killed one of his right hand men, now, would it?" The first man sneered.
"I hardly believe you are his right hand man, Rodolphus."
And Rodolphus stood up and walked over to Lucius, joining his brother in standing over the schoolboy," You don't know what to believe, Malfoy. Complete the tasks by the end of the year, and the Dark Lord will consider taking you in."
Lucius slowly got to his feet. He was the same height as Rodolphus and slightly taller than Rabastan. He looked at both of them with cold, hard grey eyes," I have work to do. If you'll excuse me."
"Don't try so hard you die, Malfoy. We've got the numbers, but I don't think it would do our cause well if you were to die, Malfoy."
Lucius stared at them for a few moments before saying in a calm, quiet voice," Don't worry about me, Rodolphus. I know how to take care of myself."
"I should hope so."
There were a few seconds of tense silence before Lucius calmly walked towards the door. Just as he reached it, he stopped and turned his head to the right, eyes on the floor," And I'll give Narcissa your best, Bella."
"Please. I do miss my dear sweet sister." Bellatrix drawled. Lucius couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not and decided it was best not to think about it too much.
He put his hood over his head again and left the Three Broomsticks. It was more crowded than before, and Lucius was glad. Now he was less likely to be noticed now. Outside, he had to walk slow again. Walking with a high, proud chin was not an easy task, and it didn't help that the sun was already setting. By the time he reached the castle, nothing but shadows could be seen on the grounds. He was almost to the front doors when he noticed a darker shadow moving near the lake. His curiosity got the better of him, and he walked a little closer.
Lucius hid behind a large tree and looked at the figure. He vaguely recognized him as a Hufflepuff seventh year. An idiot, if you asked Lucius. The Hufflepuff boy never made much of an impression, and it wasn't like Lucius expected much from Hufflepuffs to begin with. This particular boy was more more dimwitted that most others.
What is he doing out here so late? Lucius wondered. And then he realized that he didn't care. Not only did he not care, but this was the perfect opportunity.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Lucius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff wasn't doing anything but walking back and forth on the shore of the lake. After a few long moments of just watching the boy, Lucius stepped out of his hiding place and held out his wand. The boy stopped and looked at Lucius in shock.
"Er- hello? What are- what are you doing out here?" The boy asked.
Lucius strolled a little closer to the boy without saying anything.
"And why...why are you pointing your wand at me?"
Lucius raised a pale blonde eyebrow and rose his chin a little higher before saying in as steady a voice as possible," Avada kedavra."
There was a flash of green light, a muffled thump, and a splash of water. The Hufflepuff was dead, his head and chest in the water and the rest of his body on the damp shore. Lucius stepped closer and looked at the body. The boy's face was frozen in shock and fear, but there was no life left in them.
He didn't move the body. Instead, he stared at it for a few moments before his lip curled up in a nasty sneer. He wasn't sorry that he'd killed this boy. In fact, he was quite proud. That boy had been a menace. Nothing good ever came from him. He only took up space. Besides, he was a mudblood. No good ever came from mudbloods or Hufflepuffs, and he happened to be both.
Lucius allowed himself the satisfaction of kicking a bit of sand on the boy's body before turning and striding up to the castle. He didn't look back once as he walked, and he didn't feel a bit of guilt or pity when he climbed into bed just two hours later.