Chapter 9 – Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw

Remus and Peter entered the Great Hall together at 8am – what they both considered a reasonable time to have breakfast, having told James to bugger off when he'd woken up at 6am and dragged Sirius out of bed. While James had gone off to wake the rest of the team, Remus had happily fallen back asleep to the sound of Peter's snores.

The four house tables were busier than they would normally be at this time on a Saturday morning because everyone was up early for the first Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw. Stifling a yawn, Remus pointed towards the Gryffindor team, who were all huddled together at one end of the table. He and Peter sat down next to Sirius, who seemed to have taken over the role of encouraging leader, since James was looking very pale and absently trying to eat a piece of toast with a spoon.

"We're going to be brilliant," Sirius declared loudly, addressing the entire team. "James worries too much, just because McKinnon fell off her broom that one time." He shook his head cheerfully, placing a heavy hand on James' back. "If you hadn't been circling right underneath her she'd never have landed on you, you know."

James choked on his toast and Benjy, one of the other chasers, helpfully handed him a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Ignore him," Remus said mildly to James. "I'm no expert on Quidditch, but I've seen you train and you're plenty good enough to take on Ravenclaw."

"Yeah," Marlene agreed. "This is the best team we've had in years. They don't stand a chance!"

James managed a grin. "You're right. We can do this."

"That's what I've been telling you all morning," Sirius said, playfully nudging Remus in the side as he and Peter sat down. "One word from Moony and you're over your little panic?"

"Moony is much more reassuring than you," Peter informed him, slapping Sirius' hand away from his plate of bacon.

James glanced up as, for what must have been the tenth time, someone approached the table and leant down to speak to one of the team members; people had been coming up to wish them luck all morning, but this one in particular caught his attention.

"Have you eaten properly?" Lily asked her friend Mary, who was three people away from James at the table. She nodded hastily and Lily looked pleased. "The Ravenclaws look worried; you've already got them on the ropes from all the extra training."

"No need to worry, Evans," James said, leaning forward so he could look down the table at them and nearly putting his elbow in a jar of marmalade. "Mary's one of the best. She'll probably score ten goals singlehandedly before anyone spots the snitch."

"Well then," Lily said, rolling her eyes as she headed away from Mary and back towards her group of friends further down the table, "you'd better make sure you're not the one who screws it up, Potter."

Forty minutes into the match, James found himself grinning. They were winning by fifty points after Mary's latest goal, and he was confident that the Ravenclaw team weren't going to catch up any time soon. As long as Chloe was the one to catch the snitch, Gryffindor would win for sure; and as Kingsley and Sirius had hit a pair of bludgers at the Ravenclaw seeker last time he came close to catching it, James was fairly confident in their victory.

Telling himself to save his celebrations for when they'd actually won, he turned his attention back to the game. Benjy ducked a bludger and rammed into a Ravenclaw chaser so that she dropped the quaffle, which James swooped down to catch. Clutching it to his chest with one arm, he turned in a tight arc to head towards the Ravenclaw goal posts. The other team's keeper was pretty good – as good as Marlene, even – but he'd been hit in the arm by a bludger earlier in the game and wasn't at his best.

Putting on a burst of speed, James darted towards the left hoop and threw the quaffle, whooping when he scored and flying in a loop to celebrate. But when nobody from either team moved to catch the quaffle and barely anyone cheered, James shot a puzzled look around the pitch and saw two players – one of them in scarlet robes, one in deep blue – flying next to each other, moving so fast they were a blur.

He held his breath, too far away to do anything but watch as the two seekers raced after the snitch.

Sirius couldn't see what was happening. He was used to being in the stands, where he could easily watch the whole pitch and follow each player as they moved, but with both his teammates and the Ravenclaws all flying around him, it was difficult to keep track of the players as they zoomed past.

One thing he did manage to keep track of was the bludgers, one of which was thankfully at the other end of the pitch; the other, however, seemed to be heading in the direction of the seekers. Panicking, Sirius swept forwards, bat outstretched ready to beat the ball away from his teammates.

The bludger though, wasn't as fast as the seekers, who dodged the ball easily as they flew back up the pitch, straight towards Sirius. He pulled his broom to the side, darting out of their path just as the stands erupted around him.

Before he knew what was happening, Sirius' teammates were surrounding him, Chloe in the centre of them holding the snitch high above her head with a huge grin. Then they were flying back to the ground and James' arms were around his shoulders, shouting in his ear that they'd done it – they'd won! Sirius could barely hear him over the roar of the Gryffindor spectators, but he grinned back anyway, enjoying the celebrations as his other teammates clambered over each other to congratulate themselves.

"I know what this calls for!" James shouted from where he'd somehow ended up during the minute that Sirius had lost track of him – on Kingsley's shoulders. "Party in the common room tonight!"

"You were amazing!" Lily beamed. She wasn't a huge sports fan, but the enthusiasm of everyone around game-days was infectious. Mary was already on her third bottle of beer, though Lily was only on her second. Not that she begrudged her friend enjoying herself after all the training the team had put in leading up to the game. "Those second and third goals that you and Benjy scored were brilliant, everyone was going mad for you."

"Cheers Lily!" Benjy called from across the room, as Kingsley threw himself onto the sofa beside her and Mary.

"I'm exhausted," he said. "The party's for me and all I want to do it sleep for a week."

"It was worth it," Lily encouraged, "if you hadn't aimed those bludgers at the other team the chasers wouldn't have played half as well! Have another drink, you'll feel better."

She stood to get Kingsley a bottle, as Mary huffed good-naturedly at her comment about the chasers.

"Where did all this beer come from?" James asked as he joined them by a table that was usually stacked with books and homework but was now entirely covered in bottles. "Has McGonagall finally decided to reward us for our hard work or have the house elves started a revolution and replaced all the pumpkin juice with alcohol?"

"I assumed it was your doing," Lily replied with a shrug. "No one is complaining though."

"Nothing to do with me," he said, picking up a bottle and taking a long drink. "Though I will take complete credit for winning the match today."

"You will not," said a voice behind him, and he turned around to see Chloe standing there. She was short for a fourth year, which was perfect for a seeker, but when she wasn't on a broom she looked tiny. "I deserve at least half the credit. And also a beer."

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" James asked suspiciously.

"Aren't you?" she replied, grinning.

"Fair point," he said, clinking their bottles together. "Just the one though. And really, well done today. We couldn't have won without you."

"She was definitely the star player, not you," Lily smirked once Chloe had disappeared back toward her friends. "Even Black did well," she said thoughtfully, "he must be very strong and muscular to hit the bludgers that far."

Kingsley raised his eyebrows and Lily patted him on the arm. "You too, Kingsley. Enormous biceps."

James opened his mouth and closed it again, feeling his cheeks going red. "Well. Chasers have to be fast and, er, co-ordinated and stuff."

"Co-ordinated, eh?" Lily said thoughtfully. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you trip over a desk in transfiguration the other day?"

James was rescued from having to reply to this by the appearance of Marlene, who slapped him hard on the back. "Nice one, Potter!" she said, leaning over him to reach the beer table. "Cracking first goal. Must've been within the first minute of the match."

"Cheers," James said, accepting the bottle that she pushed into his hand, even though he hadn't quite finished his first drink. "Glad someone is appreciating my talent."

"Inflating your ego, more like," Lily said, rolling her eyes. She picked up another bottle from the table and walked away. Shaking her head, she headed over to where Benjy was standing by the portrait hole.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him," Mary said, following her.

"He's such an arrogant -"

"Sometimes, yeah, but he's a great Captain, isn't he?" she asked Benjy, who agreed. "He's given the team a real confidence boost, and he helped me a lot with my passes."

Lily sighed, putting down her beer on the cabinet nearby. "Maybe I was a bit harsh," she admitted. "He just winds me up."

"Yeah, because you fancy him," Benjy muttered.

"Screw you Fenwick, I most certainly do not." She scowled, scanning the crowded common room to look for James, who was over by the opposite wall, talking to Remus. "Alright, I suppose I'll go and tell him that he wasn't completely awful – but if this turns into a disaster I'm holding you both personally responsible."

Remus never really knew how to behave at parties. It wasn't that he disliked socialising or even drinking; he just found it all a bit crowded and loud and overwhelming. It was even worse so soon after a full moon, when his senses hadn't quite returned to normal. The stench of beer seemed too strong and the occasional static from the radio was piercing.

James and Sirius were on the other side of the common room surrounded by their teammates, and Remus hadn't wanted to interrupt them even though the buzz of alcohol he'd drunk had somewhat lowered his inhibitions. It'd been fine when Peter had been there, but at some point he'd snuck off out the portrait hole and Remus hadn't seen him since. He was just beginning to wonder whether he should go up to the dormitory when James detached himself from the team and came over.

"Moony, I'm not sure you fully appreciate the purpose of a party," he declared, leaning against the wall next to him.

"Sirius has informed me that it's to get drunk and laid."

James snorted. "Like he'd know."

"Well there was that one time we found him behind the curtain with that seventh year Hufflepuff," Remus said fairly. "Even if he did swear blind he didn't know he was kissing a bloke until after."

"Oh Merlin, don't remind me." James took a large sip of beer as if to drown out the memory. "Though according to Lily he's 'strong and muscular' so no wonder so many people are attracted to him."

Remus gave him a curious look. "You do know she's only taking the piss, right? She's not about to elope with your best friend."

James pulled a face. "I know, it's just..." He gestured vaguely.

"Prongs, calm down, this whole party is because of you. Everyone knows the team played so well because you got them to train so hard. You should enjoy tonight." James raised his eyebrows and Remus ploughed on. "And you know you did some really good, er, flying. And excellent scoring. Some very good goals."

"Nice Quidditch talk, Moony," James said, laughing. "Now are you going to come over and have some fun or - er. Oh. Hi, Evans."

"Potter," Lily greeted, as she watched Remus slink away from them. She half wished he'd stay, as he was the only one of James' friend she was particularly good at holding a conversation with. "I just wanted to tell you that, you know, you weren't actually bad at the game today. You were - well, you did good."

"Oh," James said nervously, his hand moving to mess up his hair. "Uh. Thanks?"

Clasping her hands together in front of her, Lily nodded uncomfortably. "Well," she said, "that's all I wanted to say so I'll just -" she pointed backwards towards Mary and Benjy, who had been joined by a couple of other people.

Sirius arrived at James' side just as Lily made it back to her friends. "Evans eh?" he asked, surprised. "What was she after?"

"Quidditch..." James said, aware that he was staring at Lily as she crossed the common room.

Sirius waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Prongs."

"She said 'you did good'." James looked at Sirius, unable to stop himself from grinning. "I did good, Pads! That's the first time she's ever complimented me."

Sirius looked from James' ecstatic expression over to Lily, who was resolutely facing away from them. "Well done, mate," he said, trying not to laugh at how excited his friend was over a not particularly inspiring compliment. "Where are Moony and Wormtail?" he asked. "I swear I've barely seen any of you all night."

"Pete buggered off with some girl about an hour ago and Moony-" He stopped abruptly, noticing that Remus was not standing alone again as James had expected; instead, he was talking to a fifth year girl. She was twirling a lock of her hair around her finger and smiling at Remus, who was gesturing animatedly. "And Moony is also with a girl," James finished, raising his eyebrows at Sirius.

"Why is -" Sirius began, following James' gaze to watch Remus and the mysterious girl. "Never mind," he shrugged, turning away again when the girl giggled far too enthusiastically at something Remus said. "Evans being nice to you, Pete and Remus getting girls – the world has truly gone mad. Come on, let's get another drink."