'Too slow, Padfoot,' yelled James as he swerved on his broom to avoid his friend's attempt at blocking him. He soared towards the hoops and threw the Quaffel neatly through the centre one. 'Hah, 80 to 20! Didn't I tell you that you had no chance to beat me, you mangy mutt?'

'Yes, you are bloody star-chaser,' said Sirius, rolling his eyes. 'But I have decided that we need to switch this up to find out who of us is better at Quidditch. You are a chaser after all, so it's no wonder that you are better than me at handling the Quaffel. Naturally, I am a much better beater than you are. We have to choose neutral ground to get a proper result.'

'So, you want one of us to play keeper and the other to do penalty shots?' asked James. 'Then we could see who lets on more of them. It's fine with me, I am going to trash you anyway.'

'Too complicated,' said Sirius. 'Let's just get one of the practice Snitches and see who catches it first. You should be happy to try that, you used to play seeker after all.'

'That was five years ago,' said James. 'And I was on the bloody reserve team to boot. I only got to play a match because Connor got himself into detention. Bloody fool. Everybody knows that you don't prank anyone close to an upcoming match. I switched to being a chaser in third year, so my experience as seeker is negligible.'

'Are you backing out?' asked Sirius. 'Afraid that I will best you after all?'

'No way, you are on,' said James. 'Get the Snitch out of the box, will you? We give it a minute to scatter and then we will see who gets if first.'

'Better prepare for getting disappointed,' said Sirius as he sped off towards the crate of Quidditch balls lying on the ground below.

James just rolled his eyes. He really should be inside and work on his upcoming and rather nasty potion essay, but this was more important. It was all Marlene's fault, really. She had made an offhanded comment about James being the best Quidditch player in their year and had thereby set Sirius off. He had obviously expected her to pick him as the best player as she was his girlfriend after all. Being the rather dramatic person he was, he had immediately challenged James to a one on one match to see who of them was the better player. Naturally, James had had no choice but to accept the challenge outright. Remus had rolled his eyes at their antics, but had refrained from commenting on it. Lily on the other hand, had told James that he was being silly and should do his homework rather than goofing off with Sirius. James had ignored her of course, much to her annoyance. She had not pressed the issue too much as they were still keeping their relationship under wraps and it would have been overly suspicious if she had been too pushy. James grinned at the thought. The last month dating her had been wonderful. James knew that it was still way too early to see if their relationship was going to be successful in the long run, but he was glowingly optimistic nevertheless. He just wished that they did not have to sneak off just to spend time with each other. He was having "head duties" so often these days that the excuse was becoming unbelievable. Marlene had just commented yesterday that they seemed to increase the number of their meetings every day and had asked them what they were working on. Fortunately, Lily was used to boring everyone to tears within minutes when she talked about head duties, so she had been able to deflect the question with ease. Still, James supposed that they should try to think of something else in the future. It was a relief that he had told the other Marauders, because James doubted that he would be able suppress the elated look on his face when he returned to the dormitory after a long round of "patrolling" with Lily. His friends had stopped commenting on it after a week or so and currently only Sirius was sometimes teasing him for his delirious happiness. He was so used to Sirius ribbing him about Lily that he hardly noticed the barbs anymore.

When Sirius returned with the Snitch, James felt a familiar jolt of excitement. It had been a long time since he had hunted for the elusive golden ball and he was eager to test just how well he could still do it. Granted, he had played around with his trusty stolen Snitch almost every week since fifth year, but that hardly was the same as hunting for it on a broom. Still, he was not overly worried about Sirius beating him. James made the necessary arrangements and then let the Snitch flutter away. Sirius and he waited for a minute before kicking off and starting the search for the little ball. James was not surprised that Sirius started tailing him almost immediately.

'Search for yourself, you lazy mutt,' James bellowed at him, but Sirius just smiled in response. James suppressed the desire to do elaborate manoeuvres to shake him off. It would only give him a few minutes respite at best and that would do him no good unless the Snitch would reveal itself just in time. No, he was going to ignore him for now and only try to outfly Sirius when he had spotted the Snitch.

To his surprise, the golden ball showed itself only a few minutes after the beginning of their game. James spotted it close to the opposite goal hoop, glinting in a singular ray of sunlight which broke through the early November sky. He sped up, but Sirius had seen the Snitch as well and sped after him. However, James had the slightly faster broom and was at least ten kilos lighter. The distance between them grew and James was sure that he was going to win in just a few seconds. Sirius had other plans. Before James could get out of reach, Sirius rammed the end of his friends broom with his own. Both their brooms spiralled out of control briefly and by the time James had steadied his flight again, the Snitch was gone.

'You are a bloody cheat,' he shouted at Sirius.

'That kind of move happens all the time during matches,' said Sirius unapologetically. 'It may be a foul, but it is used nevertheless. Feel free to take your penalty shot, though.'

'I was going to go soft on you,' said James heatedly. 'But that does it. The gloves come off now, Padfoot. Are you sure you are ready for this?'

'Quite whining and get a move on,' said Sirius. 'Feel free to bring whatever you have, Prongsie. This should be a proper competition after all.'

Cursing under his breath, James sped off again, determined now more than ever to win. Sirius may be his best mate, but Quiddtich was more important than friendship after all. He zoomed along the playing field at top speed. To his annoyance, Sirius more or less managed to keep up with him. He was slightly slower, but if he spotted the Snitch first, James would be hard-pressed to catch up.

Suddenly, Sirius dived sharply and James followed him on instinct, frantically looking for the Snitch in the process. As the got lower and lower to ground and he had still not spotted the little gold ball, the word 'feint' blazed through his mind. Did Sirius really dare to try a Wonski Feint against him? In what was little more than a fun match? Yes, it was exactly the kind of crazy thing his friend would do. But what if he had really seen the Snitch and James had just missed it? No, that was impossible. He would have spotted it himself by now. Determined, James pulled out of the dive when they were still more than five meters from the ground. Sirius had not yet noticed his move and so James had some time to look for the Snitch unhindered. He rose again and suddenly the gleam of gold far above the ground caught his eye. He could not believe his luck: The Snitch was flying high over the centre of the pitch and Sirius was far below him. Much too far away to catch up with him. James sped off and chased after the little ball which was already on the move again. He heard Sirius shout something far below him, but his brain was too focussed to properly register the words. It did not matter anyway. There was no way Sirius would be able to catch up to him. He only had to worry about catching the Snitch and he would be fine. Unfortunately, the Snitch seemed very intent on not getting caught. It zig-zagged wildly through the air and James had to summon all of his concentration to keep up with it. Finally, he was close enough to make an attempt to catch it. He stretched out his right hand and made a grab for the ball. His first attempt missed as the Snitch chose this moment to reverse directions again. However, his second attempt was true and his fist closed about the fluttering little ball.

'YES!' he shouted, stopping in mid-air and raising his fist in victory. He looked around for Sirius and was surprised at how close he was. His advantage must have been smaller than he had thought.

'Hah, didn't I tell you that you had no chance?' he asked as soon as Sirius was close enough to understand him properly. 'But I have to admit that you have courage. Trying that feint on me was bold. I am impressed, Padfoot.'

'I had you fooled for a moment, hadn't I?' asked Sirius. 'What gave it away? I wanted to see you face once you realized that I had tricked you. You might have even crashed in to the ground.'

'Well, I looked for the Snitch and couldn't spot it anywhere,' said James. 'Then I decided that you must be bluffing, because there was no way I could keep missing the ball if you had in fact seen it.'

Sirius barked with laughter.

'You are so full of yourself, it is unbelievable,' he said, with a smile on his face. 'Oh, it is a pity that Evans is not here. Did you know that she told me yesterday about how you had matured and deflated you head? I wonder what she would say to your arrogance today.'

'It is only arrogance if it is not true,' said James dismissively. 'Do you finally admit now that I am the better Quidditch player? Or do you want to come up with yet another competition which you will lose as well?'

'No, there is no point denying it any longer,' said Sirius, grudgingly. 'You have won, fair and square and who am I not to admit defeat like a gentlemen?'

James snorted at that.

'You are a lot of things, Padfoot, but you are not a gentleman,' he said. 'Anyway, I need a smoke after all this excitement. Do you want one as well?'

'Sure,' said Sirius. 'But don't have any with me. Marlene was all out, so she stole the packet I carried after lunch. You should be glad that Lily does not smoke. It is bloody annoying having to share all the time.'

James extracted his wand as well as the package of cigarettes out of his Quidditch robes.

'You know you are hooked, when you carry your fags during Quidditch,' commented Sirius dryly.

'Shut it,' grumbled James good-naturedly, as he passed him a cigarette. 'You are smoking as least as much as I am.'

'Probably more,' said Sirius, lighting up the fag with James's wand. 'I always smoke after a shag after all.'

'Of course,' said James, rolling his eyes. 'I really don't want to know what Marlene and you get up to. So far I have stifled my urge to hex you for dating her, but you should not tempt me too much.'

'Speaking of shagging,' said Sirius. 'How's your progress with Evans in that regards? Have you done the deed yet?'

'Since when are you interested in my relationship with Lily?' asked James. 'Last time I checked, you hated the very thought of me dating her.'

'Yes, and I still do,' admitted Sirius. 'But I am interested in how much of a prude she is. It would shatter my opinion of her as a stuck-up killjoy if she would let you do whatever you want to in bed.'

'You could really try to get to know her better,' said James. 'I think that is the best way to correct the image you have of her. And I am not going to tell you anything. I don't kiss and tell, after all.'

'Really? Since then?' asked Sirius. 'You have told me plenty in the past, including some stuff about Amber! Why are you shy out of a sudden? Is Evans too much of a special snow flake?'

'No, the main difference is that you either did not care about my past girlfriends or you liked them like Amber,' said James. 'You only want to learn more about Lily, so you can use it as ammunition to make fun out of her. And I am not going to help you with that, sorry mate.'

'Ah, you know me so well,' said Sirius. 'Fine, just keep it to yourself then. However, my instinct tells me that you did not go all the way with her yet. I think your happiness would be enough to intoxicate the whole school otherwise. You have been happy as of late, but not that happy. And I am quite sure that Evans will not be an easy bird to shag. According to Marlene, she is still a virgin and virgins are notoriously hard to crack after all.'

'So, you and Marlene have been talking about what Lily and I get up to in bed, then?' asked James, rather surprised at that revelation. 'I am a bit surprised that Marlene talks about Lily's virginity to you. She must know that Lily would not appreciate you of all people knowing about her chastity.'

'Well, I have Marlene wrapped around my little finger mate,' said Sirius, grinning wolfishly. He took another drag of his cigarette and blew out the smoke in a neat ring. 'Marlene likes to talk, as you know, so it was not too difficult to get it out of her. Nevertheless, I think it is good news for you. That means that Snape never got his slimy fingers on her. I was worried about that. They had been so close in the past that I have always wondered whether Evans ever let him have his way with her. I mean, it is obvious that Snape wants her after all.'

'It really is,' said James, grimacing. 'Well, to anyone other than her, apparently. I made some gentle probing comments about him a few weeks ago, as he has been glowering at me even more than usual. I think he is suspecting that we are dating. Anyway, she told me that she Snape only was a former friend and that whatever grudge he was currently harbouring was only because he does not like me and not because of any jealousy.'

'She is delusional if she really believes that,' said Sirius, shaking his head. 'Snape was not as obvious in his advances as you were, mate, but everyone with a functioning brain, can see that one of the reason Snape hates you is because he wants to keep Evans for himself. Do you really think that she is telling the truth about this? Maybe she just wants to hide the fact that she hooked up with Snape, because she knows that you will go ballistic about it.'

'I doubt it,' said James. 'Lily is not a very good liar and I am quite sure that she is a virgin.'

'Quite sure?' asked Sirius, raising one eyebrow. 'You know that there are ways to tell if she isn't, don't you?'

'Yes, I know,' said James. 'How could I not with virginity being that important in pure-blood arranged marriages? But I don't know the spells and I don't think that she would appreciate me casting them on her.'

'Well, you can still just shag her and see if she bleeds,' said Sirius, crudely.

'You are very helpful, today, Padfoot,' said James, rolling his eyes. 'And watch how you talk about my girl. I may have to defend her honour if you keep it up.'

'Alright, don't get you knickers in a twist,' said Sirius. 'Just remember that there is a difference between girls you shag and girls you date. I have no problem with shagging a slag like Rosie O'Donnell, but I would never ever date her. I know that you are serious about Lily, so you should make sure that the goods match the advertising. Maybe Palmer got lucky before you and while that would be a lot better than Snape, it would still be a bit of flaw.'

'Palmer is a wanker, I don't think he and Lily ever got very far,' said James. 'But let's change the subject, I am not comfortable thinking about Lily's sexual history.'

'Quite understandable,' said Sirius, as though he was a therapist giving James some slack. 'She is your special girl after all.'

'I guess there is no point denying that, is there?' asked James, tossing away his cigarette butt. 'You know, I thought it was going to make things easier, but I don't think it does. In fact, I think it is even harder with Lily than with other girls.'

'How so?'

'Well, for one, I have to prevent myself from getting overly romantic,' explained James. 'I have chased her for so long that sometimes I feel like I have known her for years and that we have dated for quite a while now which obviously is not true. I am afraid of scaring her away. You know how birds get. Show them too much affection and they drop you like a hot Quaffel.'

'I have heard of that problem, but I never had it myself,' said Sirius smugly. 'After all, Sirius Black does not chase anybody.'

'Right, I had forgotten about how wonderful you are,' said James, rolling his eyes. 'So on the one hand, I have to prevent myself from moving too fast with her and on the other hand I feel like every little flaw she has is ten times as worse as it would normally be. I had pictured her as this perfect being in my head and now that I am actually getting to know her, reality cannot live up to the fiction.'

'And what flaws are this in particular?' asked Sirius. 'Don't tell me, she does not put out at all. If that is the case than I am seriously worried about your sanity, mate. You could get off with almost every bird in this castle after all.'

'It is not that,' said James, impatiently. 'For example, she is downright nosy sometimes. After the last full moon, she badgered me about why I was so tired. When I told her that we had been out, she started asking me all kind of questions about what we did. Naturally, she also berated me about how irresponsible I was sneaking around in the night, especially because I was Head-boy.'

'Sounds like her usual spiel,' said Sirius. 'And did you tell her?'

'Tell her that I am an illegal animagus that spends every full-moon with his werewolf friend? Of course I didn't! Are you mad? Do you have any idea how she would react if she learned that I have actually broken the law? She even goes ballistic over breaking school rules for Merlin's sake!'

'Good, looks like you are still sane, after all,' said Sirius, flicking away his own cigarette. 'I was worried for a second that you would be foolish enough to spill the beans to Evans.'

'You are mad,' said James, shocked at the suggestion. 'I may have a serious crush, but I am not insane! And my loyalty to Remus and the rest of you is bigger than anything I could feel for Lily! We go back for years, and I have been only dating her for a few weeks after all. And if I remember correctly, I am not the one who has trouble keeping a secret.'

'Alright, alright,' said Sirius, raising his hands in surrender. 'I was just a little worried. She is your special girl as I said. And while we are on the subject of wonder girl: Do you have any plans of making things public finally? You two have been rather subtle, but sooner or later people are going to figure out why you get along much better by now. I think all this secrecy is a bit silly. So what if it pisses offs the purists and causes some girls to cry and hate her? Annoying junior Death Eaters is always the good thing and upset girls are what I prey on. You could do something for me for once and spill the beans. Comforting all these girls because they can't have the school Quidditch star is going to keep me occupied for quite a while.'

'You are off the market, remember?' said James. 'I doubt that Marlene would appreciate it if you went chasing everything in a skirt again. Also, I doubt that any girl heart-broken about the end of my single life would numb the pain with you of all people. You are the heart-breaker after all, while I am the presentable potential cool boyfriend. That's something else entirely.'

'Yes and it means that you have to work twice as hard for everything that I get handed on a silver platter,' said Sirius smoothly. 'I never have to wait for a girl to spread her legs and here you are still without access to Evans's best parts after more than a month. If I remember correctly things went a lot faster with Amber.'

'Amber and Lily are completely different types of girls in different situations, so you cannot really compare them,' argued James, but Sirius's comment got him thinking nevertheless.

Why had things progressed so much faster with Amber than with Lily? Was it because Amber's primary goal had been to have some fun, so she could distract herself from her looming marriage? Had he acted differently with her because he had not been as emotionally involved as he was today? Maybe they had just been a better match than Lily and he. He pushed that thought away immediately. It was too painful to think. He must not glorify his past relationship, just because Amber was forever out of reach! It would do him no good and it hardly was fair to Lily. Still, there must be something there. He would have to think about it some more. Or maybe the secret was to think less and just act on impulse? A wave of frustration rose through him. He had not been that confused about girls for a very long time.

'Birds are birds,' said Sirius dismissively. 'Of course you can compare them and they are more or less all alike anyway. Think about it for a while, James. You will see that I am right.'

'You are so wise today, Padfoot,' said James sarcastically. 'Have you been spending time with Dumbledore lately? You sound just like him.'

'You may sneer, but our dear Headmaster was a Lothario just like me back in his youth,' said Sirius with a perfectly straight face. 'Oh, yes, quite the lady killer our dear Albus was. The Grey Lady told me about him. Moved through a girl a week, he did. And back then girl were not as impressionable as they are today. I am sure you that he would agree with me if he knew about our little discussion. You can ask him if you like.'

James could not contain his laughter any longer. The mere thought of asking Dumbledore about how to best get into a girl's knickers was hilarious. Sirius was making this all up, of course, but his made up story was probably a lot more entertaining than the dull reality. Finally, Sirius lost control of his facial expression and started laughing as well.

'Well, Prongs,' said Sirius, after both of them had regained their composure. 'I am going to head back up to the castle now. Marlene will be waiting for me. She says she requires some help with her Defence essay. We can probably get quite a bit of studying done before dinner if I get back now.'

'I know the kind of studying you do, Padfoot, and I doubt it will help Marlene finish her essay,' said James. 'You go ahead, I am going to do some more flying drills, before heading up to the castle. I need to stay in shape after all.'

'You are seriously mad about Quidditch,' said Sirius, shaking his head. 'You know, you should really go pro after school. Otherwise all these precious hours of training at school will be wasted.'

'Rubbish, after all my training allowed me to kick your ass a few minutes ago, ' said James.

'Yeah, well, it got to be good for something,' said Sirius. 'I will see you later, Prongs.'

Sirius grabbed his broom and went back to the castle. James got back on his broom and started his training. He had just finished working on his Sloth Grip Rolls, when he heard a voice calling his name. He looked down and spotted Evan Rosier waving at him up from the ground. A sinking feeling appeared in his stomach. He was not at all pleased to see Rosier. Since the attack on Hogsmeade, James had gone out of his way to avoid the Slytherin. He doubted that Rosier was overly pleased with him. After all, James had tried to stop the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade and had asked Peter to tell the teachers about the upcoming attack. Still, he hardly could pretend not to have seen Roisier and just ignoring him was childish at best. Fortunately, he was alone and James had his wand with him, so he was in no danger of getting hexed by the Slytherin.

James lowered himself back to the ground and got off his broom. Before he could say anything, Rosier had already started the conversation.

'You have been avoiding me Potter,' said the Slytherin, his face impressively passive.

'I have,' said James, not bothering to deny it.

'Why?' asked Rosier. 'You have nothing to fear from me.'

Haven't I?' asked James back. 'You seem well connected to rather dangerous people and I don't want to get caught in the crossfire of your little war.'

'Then why did you tell the teachers about my warning?' asked Rosier. 'I thought you wanted to help our cause or at least stay out of our way. That behaviour is bound to get you hurt or even killed.'

'I never told a teacher about what you told me,' said James truthfully. 'I don't know who told you that I did, but they are wrong.'

'Rubbish. You were the only one I told and the teachers knew about the attack before it started,' said Rosier. 'Otherwise, they never would have been able to react that quickly. I have heard that the aurors were tipped off by one of the teachers. It must have been you, Potter.'

'Well, it wasn't,' said James flatly. 'Someone else must have leaked that information. Maybe someone overheard you telling me.'

'I don't believe you,' said Rosier. 'And I have heard rather interesting rumours as well. I have heard that you were there in Hogsmeade. I have heard that you helped that Mudblood Lily Evans out of the collapsed Three Broomsticks. What do you have to say to that, Potter?'

'You should not believe everything you hear in the rumour mill,' said James, trying to remain calm, even though his heart was beating fast. He still remembered the letter his father had written him a few days after the attack on Hogmeade. Apparently, not only had McGonagall written a stern letter about James's recklessness, but Moody had dropped by the Potter mansion as well. James was not sure what the grizzled auror had told his father, but the letter he had received was a mixed bag. On the one hand, his father had congratulated him for his courage and determination to help others, on the other hand he had called his behaviour foolish and reckless. To James's surprise, his father had told him to stick to the original plan nevertheless. He still had hoped to remain out of war. So, James had little choice but to downplay his involvement in the defence of Hogsmeade.

'It would have been incredibly foolish of me to charge into Hogsmeade and trying to play the hero,' said James. 'After all, I am hardly qualified to duel with Death Eaters even if I wanted to. What makes you think that I would be that stupid? You warned me about the attack after all.'

'You are a Gryffindor, so I expect you to do daring and stupid things,' said Rosier, but James thought he looked a little less convinced than before. 'You are right though, there are a lot of stupid rumours flying around, especially regarding you and your friends. But it does not matter anyway. I am done doing you any favours, Potter. I am not sure what you are trying to achieve and whether you are friend or foe. Until you have proven your devotion to our cause, you are not going to get any special treatment anymore. Don't expect to receive a warning the next time the Death Eaters attack.'

'Understood,' said James. 'And what exactly do you have in mind when you say I have to proof my devotion? I am not going to walk around in a mask and curse Muggles and Muggleborns!'

'You have to earn the right to be a Death Eater, Potter,' said Rosier. 'We are going to keep a close eye on you. If we are under the impression that you could be useful to the cause and we feel that you are truly interested, then we are going to give you a little task or two. If you do as you are told and are reliable, maybe then you will get invited in our ranks.'

'So, I have to do your bidding, just to get the chance to get even more tasks?' asked James. 'I fail to see how exactly this is a boon. Sounds to me that you just want a useful idiot to do your dirty work.'

It was the wrong thing to say. Rosier's face darkened and he glowered at James.

'You listen to me, you arrogant prick,' said Rosier very quietly. 'It is an honour to be a servant of the Dark Lord! No matter how small your contribution is and how hard you work, the knowledge that you are taking part in building the future of our country should be enough reward for you! If you don't understand that, then you don't belong to us and are at best a neutral bystander! It is a pity that your blood is as pure as it is, because your heritage is the only reason why we even consider letting you join us. In my opinion, it is a waste of time as no Gryffindor will ever be a true servant of the Dark Lord, but sadly that matters very little to the people in charge. So, when the time comes for you to give something back to us, you are going to smile and happily fulfil your part. Otherwise, we will consider you an enemy of our cause and will treat you accordingly. Have I made myself clear?'

'Crystal clear,' said James, trying to appear unruffled at Rosier's anger. James had not expected the usually so collected Slytherin to lose his temper like that. He must be very devoted to Voldemort indeed.

'Good,' said Rosier, apparently in a much better mood already. 'I will see you around then, Potter.'

He turned around and strode away from the castle. James watched him go and shook his head slowly. Slytherins were crazy after all.