So, so many apologies. I never wanted to leave you guys hanging like that. I always hated when stories dropped off like mine did, and I hate that I did that to my readers! Life had just taken a sharp turn leaving me with no time and certainly no muse. Recently though, I got inspiration and was finally able to finish this chapter. I had it half finished sitting in my drafts for a while, unsure of where I wanted to go or how to do it. Hopefully I still have some readers out there, and you enjoy this chapter.
Perhaps it was the large amount of homework that the teachers were pushing on them that made it seem like the first few weeks at Hogwarts were flying by. Of course it was easy for people like Lily, James and Sirius who seemed to be naturals at nearly everything but for the rest of their year, people were bogged down with all the work, mostly Ruby. She wasn't necessarily a bad student, but she struggled with the more academic side. Essays were her worst enemy and she frequently begged Lily to let her just sneak a peek at hers.
James was usually more willing to help Roo out, not only because he didn't exactly see it as cheating but mostly so none of his players fell behind. James was more serious about Quidditch than anyone and if it meant that he had to write half of Ruby's potion essays, he'd do it.
Lily did not approve, obviously.
Sirius had been helping Ruby and Peter with a nasty potions essay when James burst into the common room announcing that Quidditch practices would start up the following day. With a loud whoop, Sirius and Ruby gladly abandoned their essays to talk Quidditch with James.
James had been captain of the Gryffindor team since the previous year and although he might have an over inflated head, he was a great leader and flier. He was the longest standing player for the Gryffindor team, since he joined during their second year. Ruby and Sirius had joined as beaters the following year but now the team consisted of a mismatched of years. If he didn't want to be an auror so bad, Roo knew James had a shot playing professionally.
That's what she wanted to do, books and cleverness just weren't her forte. Hitting bludgers and knocking people off their brooms were. She knew that sometimes scouts showed up throughout the year to look for new players and Ruby was really hoping to go professional. All she wanted was to fly with Holyhead Harpies. Gryffindor had a great team for the last two years and she was sure that they'd win the cup again.
Abandoning Peter to his potions work, they huddled around James who had a manic gleam in his eye, like he always did it when it came to Quidditch. Sirius wasn't near as obsessive with the game as James and Ruby were, but he was a pretty good player. After years of practice, especially a year under James, he really had improved from the scrawny boy playing beater at thirteen.
Ruby wasn't exactly what people pictured when they thought about beaters, but she played her position well. James had tried to convince her to try out being a seeker because she was so small but backed down immediately after seeing the fierce look on her face. She was small, admittedly but she had muscle and the aim to back up her skill. Beater had always been her position, despite others attempts to put her elsewhere.
Not to mention, her and Sirius worked well together. He made up for what she lacked, and she was faster than him, able to zoom around the field with ease. Although Roo wanted nothing more than to play professionally, she still worried about teaming up with someone who wasn't Sirius, who didn't know her flying habits like the back of his hand.
James flashed a piece of parchments in their faces, with a mad grin. "Note specifically from McGonagall saying we get the pitch tomorrow."
Although it was still the start of term, the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor was already gearing up. Ruby had a feeling that they'd need to get notes from McGonagall often just to be able to use the field, Slytherin had the tendency to hog it whenever possible. There had been a few scuffles last year when their captain Travers, refused to leave after their scheduled practice was over. James, Sirius, Ruby and their keeper, Dobbins had earned themselves all detentions after hexing nearly the whole team.
It was one of their greater moments.
With the promise of having the field, Ruby was able to sleep well that night, and get her through her classes the next day. Since they lived in a Muggle town, there was no chance for flying over the summers so she was itching to get back on a broom. After their last class was dimissed, the three of them raced to the commons to throw their bags down and hurry back down to the pitch.
Lily just rolled her eyes and muttered something that suspiciously sounded like "What's so great about Quidditch?" under her breath. They took no time to acknowledge it though, James was eager to teach them some new moves he learned over the summer.
They were the first of the Gryffindor team to reach the pitch, although they noticed quickly that they were not alone. Seven people in green Quidditch robes zoomed overhead and Roo let out a frustrated sigh. Of course, Slytherin was there.
"Oi! Don't even bother, they won't come down." A voice called out to them, and they whirled around to see Marlene McKinnon stalking up to them. She was the Ravenclaw captain, a short black girl with kinky curls and a bright smile. Most of the time, but right now her face was arranged into a scowl.
"Well lucky for us, McKinnon we got a note from McGonagall special to practice today!" James said with an indignant huff as he waved it in her face. Marlene just rolled her eyes, she and James had been friends since they were toddlers, and she was used to his antics by now.
"Yeah, good luck with that mate." She said, snatching the note from him and smacking him on the forehead with it. "Looking good Zeller," Marlene added with a wink as she started back up to the castle, causing Roo to break out in a loud laugh.
Although Marlene was almost always spotted with a different boy at the Hogsmeade weekends, those close to her knew that it was girls that she was really interested in. Although Ruby was not her type (those who knew Marlene knew she was into tall brunettes), Marlene still liked the tease her.
"Why does she do that?" James asked with an eye roll as Sirius and Ruby continued to laugh.
"Because it confuses people and Marlene loves to mess with people." Ruby answered, giving him a light shove. "Go get them out of here captain, the rest of the team will be here any minute."
James looked up at the Slytherin's flying over head, who seemingly did not notice or care about the Gryffindors on the ground. He considered shooting up in the air and confronting them that way, but thought better of it. Slytherin's were not above shoving him off his broom to make him miss the first game of the season. With a sly grin towards his team mates, James fished out the whistle he always wore during practices and blew into it hard, making even Ruby and Sirius cover their ears.
"A word Travers?" James called out in a friendly tone, once the team halted in mid air. Skinny, blonde and positively creepy looking, Roman Travers descended, stomping on the ground until he was practically in James' face.
"Yes Potty?" He sneered, his upper lip curling. Ruby was unsure how James was still wearing an amicable, cheerful even smile, when she was sure she would vomit if Roman Travers ever got that close to her. Although the Slytherins hesitated, the rest of the team was on the ground in seconds, hovering behind their captain, as if waiting for a fight.
Unlike the Gryffindor team, which was a mix of boys and girls and different years, the Slytherin team boosted an entire team of boys with mostly upper years, the youngest being a fifth year.
"That never gets old." James rolled his eyes, the cheerful mask falling for a second before picking back up. "Either way, field is ours. Special note from McGonagall." He waved it in front of his face just like he had with Marlene. "I can help you sound out the big words if you need."
Sirius and Roo both let out a snort of laughter as James looked back at Travers with a cocky grin. Before Roman could retort, another voice called out from the Slytherin team.
"Let them have the pitch, they need the extra practice. Their team is made up of basket cases. Unless MacDonald finally quit. Then you only have one weepy girl to contend with." Mulciber pushed his way past the beaters, pulling his keeper gloves off, with a hint of a smirk on his face.
The laughter died on Ruby's lips instantly and without saying anything, she launched herself at the Slytherin. Luckily Sirius had the foresight to grab her around the waist, pulling back against him as she lashed out, kicking her legs and flailing her arms. She didn't have her beater's bat, or else she would have hurled that at him, since Sirius was holding onto her so tightly.
"That's detention Mulciber!" James roared over the sounds of Ruby hurling obscenities.
"You can't give me detention!" Mulciber challenged, puffing his chest out, and shoving Travers out of the way.
"I'm Head Boy. I can and I will! Now clear out before I get Slughorn down here." James glowered, all hints of his false cheerfulness gone. He had just been messing with them earlier, but now he was livid. "Go!" Travers and Mulciber both looked like they might protest but after a few seconds stalked off, no doubt muttering under their breath.
At the sight of their retreating backs, Ruby, although still red in the face stopping struggling against Sirius's arms and just slumped against him. Of course the rest of the team took that moment to show up with questioning looks on their faces.
"Locker rooms, now!" James barked out, nodding his head briefly to Sirius before leading the rest of the team to change.
"Calm down Ruby. It's okay." Sirius said, in his best soothing tone. At least she wasn't crying again. He was terrible when people cried. Anger, he knew, he could deal with anger. He let go of her waist, but gently took hold of her shoulders, turning her around to face him.
Anger still registered on her face, and Ruby was tempted to tell him to shove off and see if she could catch up to Mulciber and give him a tail, maybe cover him in boils. Instead, Ruby melted against his chest, wrapping her arms around Sirius's waist, and burying her face into his side. Embarrassing. She should have kept her cool, but hearing Damian speak about Mary like that, so callously like he had done nothing wrong, made her skin crawl. Like little beetles had burrowed under her skin whenever he was around.
She said nothing, using the warm and confinement of her face pressed against his robes to help calm her erratic breathing. It took a little coaxing on Sirius's part, promises of sending the entire Slytherin team to the hospital wing with irreparable damage, but Ruby finally dropped her arms from his waist and emerged from the folds of his robes. Her jaw was still set, which met bad news for anyone try to dodge bludgers but there was a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.
Two hours later, drenched in sweat and her muscles protesting, Ruby felt much better. Blood was flowing freely from her nose, and she was starting to form a black eye but she was pleased. Even more pleased was James who encouraged his team to adopt Ruby's new found enthusiasm for the game, because if the whole team played with just as much fever, there was no way they were losing. Her team mates, who were sporting their own injuries after a very intense practice, took one look at the blood flow Dobbins was trying to help Ruby staunched and made a beeline for the showers without answering James.
After her nose reduced to a slow trickle, Ruby finally waved Dobbins off, sending him off to the showers as well. She watched as the rest of the team cleaned up and slowly left the locker room. She was opting to clean up in the girl's bathroom and decided to wait for James and Sirius to emerge.
"Merlin Roo, are you trying to scare the first years going into the castle looking like that?" James laughed, ruffling his own hair, dressed in a pair of clean robes. With a fat lip that had split down the middle (quaffle to the face), he talked with a slight lisp, causing Ruby to grin.
"Not if you walk in front of me. They'll be too frightened by your hideousness." She answered with a shrug, shouldering her broom and following the pair of them back up to the castle.
"Dunno, you look like you died and crawled out of your grave." Sirius teased, dropping an arm around her shoulder while James hooked his arm through hers with no apparent revulsion to her sweaty and bloody robes.
"You sure know how to flatter a girl Sirius Black." Ruby rolled her eyes, but laughed. Although they were trying to be subtle, she knew what this open display of affection towards her meant. It was evident in the way they positioned themselves around her, stared down anyone who gave her a bizarre look. To mess with Ruby Zeller was like personally attacking Sirius Black and James Potter themselves. It was stupid, and so typical of them but sweet. Ruby could have hugged them both, the comfort of having friends who always stood by you was not lost on her. Instead, she just pulled them in a little tighter, casually wiping the sticky blood from her nose and grin at all the bewildered faces.
Lily worked herself into some kind of state at the sight of Ruby, bruised and bloody but all smiles. She's convinced that this is some sick idea of a prank master minded by the two dark haired boys who flank her friend. It takes some shushing and convincing but Lily finally backs off after healing Ruby's broken nose. She even smiles a bit after James tell her he gave out his first detention today. Maybe Lily realizes that's actually smiling at something James Potter did because a second later, she closes off her face and points a stern finger at him.
"Well as captain, you should be taking care of your players!" She huffs, but there's no real conviction behind her words. She grabs Ruby by the elbow and drags her up to the girl's dorm to wash off her face all while Ruby laughs.
"You picked a real nutter to fancy Prongs." Sirius shakes his head, throwing himself down onto the nearest unoccupied couch. James just laughed, knowing that even a small victory was something with Lily Evans.
"Yeah, you're one to talk. Stringing around Meadowes. She's without a doubt, the craziest bird I've ever encountered." James scoffed, shoving his friend and taking the spot next to him. Sirius just rolled his eyes. He was never offended when he commented on Dorcas. "And then there's Roo," he trailed off slyly.
"Come off it. There's nothing wrong with Ruby."
"So you do fancy her then." James exclaimed with another loud laugh before Sirius silenced him with a powerful whack to the gut.
"No. There's just nothing crazy about her is all. Don't let her hear you say that shit, or else she'll come down here and knock your head off your shoulders." Sirius rolled his eyes, trying to play off the misstep. "Dorcas and I are just having fun. I have too many other things to worry about than birds." He countered, his mind suddenly shifting to Regulus.
"Yeah well, this is our last year at Hogwarts. Might as well focus on birds while you have the chance. Doubt there will be a lot of time to wine and dine girls once we graduate." James noted, sounding much more serious. They had talked about this at length, the two of them. Sometimes with Remus and Peter, but mostly when it was just the two of them. There was no way either of them planned on graduating and going on to lead a 'normal' life. James had dreams of being a Quidditch star, but with all the whisperings of Lord Voldemort out there, blindly killing innocent people, he had better things he could do than toss a Quaffle around.
Sirius never had a concrete idea of what he'd do after school ended. He wasn't a Quidditch maniac like James. He didn't have a family business to fall back on like Peter. And even with his little furry problem, Remus was the smartest out of all of them and could do limitless things. So fighting in this war, and doing some good seemed just as productive as anything else.
Taking James's words to heart, he thought about Ruby, wondering if this would be his last shot. He didn't pursue her last year when she threw out all the hints that she wanted him to do. Instead, he threw up some walls and turned back to Dorcas. Being with Dorcas easy. Sometimes infuriating, but easy.
What would he do when graduation came around? Continue to mess around with Meadowes during the day and fight Death Eaters by night? Would she expect them to settle down? Would he always wonder about Ruby while she no doubt went on to play for some big league professional Quidditch team? Maybe he'd be killed taking down a whole group of Death Eaters and not have to worry about any of this.
"Better stick to Quidditch mate. We both know your track record with women." Sirius said gruffly after a long pause. "C'mon, lets find Peter and Remus. We missed dinner, we can raid the kitchens." He pushed himself off the couch, extending a hand to James, all conversations about girls and life after school over for the moment.
"Peter's probably already down there." James answered, with an easy laugh, before taking two steps at a time to burst into the boy's dorm and ambush Remus. With a backwards glance over to the hallway leading up to the girl's room, Sirius let his mind linger on Ruby for just one more minute. How easy it would be to be with her, not like with Dorcas. But actually easy. Their friendship was natural and the few times it had progressed past that, it didn't feel like it did with Dorcas.
Dorcas was fun, and he cared about her even if she had her moments. He had known her so long, but there was nothing building up from just fun. He didn't feel that same stirring in his chest. She was so hell bent on appearing independent, like she couldn't care less, but Sirius knew Dorcas well enough that she cared a lot but wouldn't let him in the way Ruby had.
But Sirius thought about his future, the likelihood that he'll die before he'd ever be able to give anyone a meaningful life. He could be with Dorcas because he knew at the end of the year, he could just end it, and go on to do what he wanted. He couldn't do that to Roo. Not unless he had too. And he didn't after to go after her.
With a sigh, Sirius turned away and bounded up after James. Girls aside, he could at least enjoy this last year with his friends.
Okay so I'd love to hear from you all! I know I left you waiting, but hope I can make up for that! What did you think of this chapter? Do you think Sirius will ever get his head out of his arse when it comes to Ruby? Or even Dorcas? Will Lily ever *really* soften towards James? What do you want to see happen? I'm always open to hear other people's ideas!