I'm back baby! I know I have a history of saying I won't be taking any more long hiatuses, but this time I am genuinely going to try and back it up. I have the next few chapters planned out, and I have a lot more time on my hands going into this fall.
Thank you for everyone who has stuck with this fic in the long term, and for any newbies I look forward to sharing more Marauders adventures with you going forward! Next up, a meeting with Dumbledore and some more Lily (I know she was rather absent this chapter, but I was trying to finish out James' quidditch arc).
Also, just for any old readers I did make a rather lengthy update to Chapter 27, adding quite a few scenes focused on Lily's struggles with muggleborn prejudice so feel free to check that out if you are looking for more content before my next update.
After spending an entire evening in her company, James approached his relationship with Lily with more of a spring in his step. He dared to wave to her in the corridors, offering her a coy wink as she shrugged him off as usual, albeit smiling back lightly. He flirted with her in their shared classes, and though she didn't flirt back, he was sure he caught her blushing at his antics. James considered for one shining moment that perhaps their burgeoning friendship could shift into the relationship he had long craved. That is why on the Thursday after their grand adventure he approached Lily in the library without considering the possibility that she would say no once more.
"Lily, I'd like to have a word if you don't mind." He said, forcing his most somber expression across his forever smirking face.
Lily looked up from her book at the serious nature with which James Potter approached her, assuming it must have something to do with their latest mission. "What is it, Potter?" She asked.
He transfigured a rose from thin air behind him, offering a confident smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he had let out a syllable a nervous voice interrupted the two of them.
"Lily, I'm never going to get this out if I don't do it now. I was just wondering if you have any plans for Hogsmeade next weekend?"
Bertram Aubrey, the muggleborn boy Lily had spent a few lazy afternoons with over Christmas, had stepped right in front of James, the magic rose wilting in his hand.
"Oh, no not really." Lily replied, smirking a little at the exasperated look on James' face.
"Well, would you maybe like to go with me then?" Bertram squeaked out nervously.
James tried to speak up, but he was cut off by Lily's enthusiastic "I would love to!" with a pointed look his way.
James' deflation quickly turned to fury, the rose bursting into flame in his hand.
"Mr. Potter, no magic in the library! Get out before I report you to your head of house."
James winced at Madame Pince's shrill voice as he clenched his fists, shoving past Aubrey who looked positively astounded at his good fortune. Lily, meanwhile, watched James leave with a self-satisfied smirk. She hardly glanced at the other boy as he began talking excitedly at her about his plans.
As James skulked back to Gryffindor tower, he ran into Sirius shoving his way through a tapestry which hid one of their lesser-known passageways. The other boy had been in a sour mood for almost a week now, quite a record even for him, and the sixth-year boys' dormitory had been like a powder keg while the two of them remained at odds.
"Padfoot." Sirius looked up at James, having not noticed him through his incessant brooding. "I know you're still mad," Sirius didn't reply.
He avoided James' eyes, but he didn't walk away. James took this as allowance to continue.
"Look, I can't tell you what we were doing last week, but I promise to tell you as soon as I can." Sirius didn't look up. "It's not my secret to tell, can you understand that?"
Sirius bit his lip, feeling rather foolish now that he had allowed James to state his piece.
"Yeah, I suppose so." He said.
"Great." James answered, that patented smile removing any of the negativity that Sirius still tried to project. "Now that that's settled, I have something planned that'll cheer you up."
Sirius brightened even further at those words, and it was no coincidence that later that evening Bertram Aubrey's head was expanded to double its original size.
"Come on Professor, he looks better this way don't you think?" Sirius said as McGonagall chewed them out issuing double detentions before James could speak up more on their behalf.
After his recent setback with Lily, as she did not find their prank on her upcoming date particularly amusing, James decided to focus on further repairing his relationship with Sirius. To do that, he and Remus needed to get an audience with Dumbledore. Unfortunately, the headmaster was a busy man, and after their third rejected request James began to think that he was avoiding them.
"We'll see him eventually; he can't keep blowing us off forever." Remus assured James, but Sirius was still chomping at the bit to hear the secret he had been keeping and for an impatient boy of seventeen forever and two weeks were often synonymous.
This discouragement left one place for James to focus his overzealous energy, Gryffindor's upcoming match with Hufflepuff. If they won this match, even with the substantial number of points lost by the Marauders over the course of that year, they would be back in the running to win the house cup. Every eye was on him, and the weight of his house's success was on his shoulders.
"William, you've got to hit that!"
James shouted furiously as another bludger slipped past the younger McKinnon's bat. Jane, James' co-captain in all but official pin, approached her partner with a stern gaze.
"James, let's take stock." She said, angling her broom downward, signaling for her captain to land, as William nursed his bruised ego.
As they touched down, Jane spoke to James in a quiet tone so as not to alert the other team members: "You need to relax, we're working hard, we're all prepared. This match is going to go off without a hitch."
"Whitticker is good, Jane, and experienced. I don't know if Ellie can beat him."
"Ellie has found every snitch you've thrown at her. Whitticker doesn't stand a chance." She said, familiar by now with James' frustrations being acted out against the team.
"Yeah, but we need more than just 150. It's not just about quidditch, if we lose this one or win too early…"
"You and your mates cost us the house cup on two fronts?"
"I figured I'd make the points back this weekend, but if..." Jane once again cut him off.
"Your poor planning is no excuse to take it out on all of us. If you kept yourself out of trouble, we wouldn't have to worry about racking up points in this final match. I'm not going to push our seeker to wait so you can keep on scoring."
"That's fair," James replied.
He thought for a moment, blowing his whistle to call the rest of the team down to the ground.
"Alright everyone, we're going to finish up early today. I know there's been a lot of pressure on you coming from all sides, especially from me." He looked sheepishly towards William by way of apology, receiving a good-natured wave of the hand from the disgruntled beater.
"The good news is that Hufflepuff plays fair, so it comes down to the fact that we are better than they are. Don't worry about the scoreboard, especially you Ellie. We're here to win a match, and if we happen to pull Gryffindor up in the House rankings that's great too. If you see the snitch, catch it. Chasers, for the sake of the match and our house, I'm not gonna tell you not to score." There were a couple of whoops from Susan and Olivia. "And Jane, if the quaffle makes it past William and Alex," he shot a pointed look at his beaters standing across the pitch,
"Knock it out of the sky and back to you?" Jane predicted.
James smiled wide at that. "Precisely. Good job everyone, and I'll see you Saturday."
The group put their hands in, shouting together "1, 2, 3, GRYFFINDOR!" to finish off the uneventful practice.
James let the others head towards the castle, taking a couple extra laps around the pitch until they had all become specks in the distance. He then wandered towards Hagrid's hut at the edge of the forest, leaning his broom against the building, transforming into a distinctive stag and galloping off into the wood. Clearing his mind with a solo jaunt as Prongs was not something James did often, but this evening it felt right. Unfortunately, not for the first time and certainly not the last, that impulsive instinct steered James wrong. The first of three match-altering events resulted from this hasty nighttime adventure, for when James returned to Hagrid's hut to collect his broom and sneak back into the castle, he found that his brand-new Nimbus, on the market for just three months, paid for with more galleons than Remus or Peter's family would see in a year, was missing.
"Stop moping Prongs and let's go meet Moony." Sirius said as James remained intently focused on a certain name that was stubbornly remaining in the Slytherin common room whenever possible.
Even between classes, Severus Snape was nowhere to be found, slinking back to the dungeons like a ghost in the night before James and Sirius could pounce. He had stolen James' broom, the boy was sure of it, and without his Nimbus, James was unsure if he would have the speed necessary to bring Gryffindor back into the running for the House Cup even if they did take the Quidditch crown. He and Sirius were almost wholly responsible for the dismal amount of rubies in the Gryffindor hourglass, and this is why James had insisted on confronting Snape in private. As a result, those twitchy hours spent watching the other boy throughout their shared classes could not be utilized to take him down, and as previously stated, the boy was an expert at the disappearing act when he wanted to be.
James removed his eyes from the map reluctantly, throwing the cloak over himself and Sirius, crouching to account for his height, and grabbing hold of Wormtail's rat form waiting patiently atop the dresser.
The boys followed their usual routine, using the map to sneak around any nosy prefects or professors out late prowling the halls. They opened a side door off the greenhouses, exiting the castle with relative grace. They did have a close call when Peeves, who was bouncing down the hall, came upon them, thankfully missing their invisible forms by inches as he leapt from floor to ceiling. Once they arrived at the willow, Sirius and James followed Peter's example, turning into their own animal forms. They watched as Wormtail pressed the knot on the tree, and Prongs and Padfoot snuck through the tight passageway to coax Moony out of his cave.
The boys stuck to the Hogwarts grounds this month, deciding that risk-taking in Hogsmeade was not worth the lecture they would receive from Moony come morning especially if anyone got close. Unfortunately, palling around with a full-grown werewolf on a Friday night has a risk factor of its own. Thus, the second match-altering event occurred as the group chased each other around the forest, wrestling with Moony who made excited, yipping noises as he took a nasty bite out of Prong's back leg. Padfoot acted quickly, pushing the larger creature off with a deep growl, and the ashamed werewolf retreated to a corner of the woods where he bit his own leg rather hard in a show of solidarity. Wormtail scurried onto Prongs' back as Padfoot continued to growl, keeping Moony at bay. Meanwhile, Prongs limped towards the shores of the Black Lake, where he transformed back into a pale-faced and still-bleeding James Potter. Peter followed suit, checking James' leg with an anxious expression.
"Where's the dittany from last time?" Peter asked, preparing to run back into the castle and retrieve it.
"I brought it," James wheezed, pulling the vial he'd pilfered from his pocket and dripping a too small portion of the remaining amount on his bloody leg.
"Finish it off," Peter said, trying to force James to heal his leg to full.
"We might need it again. Just needed to stop the bleeding." He winced as he tried to stand on his leg, which although not critically injured, still had a rather deep gash.
"What about quidditch tomorrow?" Peter said, the first time he'd mentioned the game to James since the recent unpleasantness with both his role on the team and the Christmas holidays.
"I'll be flying not running, I'll manage." James said with his usual confident façade.
However, inside James' mind was reeling. With no broom and one leg, what chance did he have at making up enough house points to pull Gryffindor from the depths of the hole the Marauders had dug?
Despite the lack of sleep and importance of the match that morning, the boys still made time as always to check in on Remus in the hospital wing before breakfast.
"James, how's your leg?" Remus said, pale and shaking, eyes rimmed red with tears.
Not even Sirius teased the distraught boy as James leaned by Remus' bed, pulling up his pant leg to reveal the gash, covered in a bandage but with no blood seeping through.
"Just a flesh wound Moony, I had dittany on standby."
Remus breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at James' ears and teeth along with his face, full of color, and determining that he was not only safe but also not cursed with Remus' affliction. They'd done their research of course, but Remus couldn't help but worry that somehow the infection would seep through the animagus enchantment which protected his friends.
"I'm sorry."
"It's no big deal Moony, honestly James was being a melt about the whole thing."
"Was not" James said, shoving Sirius who kicked his injured leg (lightly but aiming for pain all the same).
"Ow, damn it, you're such a prat Padfoot." James said, checking obsessively to make sure the scab hadn't burst from Sirius' careless attack.
"See?" Sirius said while Peter snort-laughed beside him.
"Besides just because this month was a wash doesn't mean we can't make up for it next full moon." James said as he stood up, finally satisfied that his sore leg was not going to cause him to bleed out anytime soon.
"Yeah," Remus said, eyes growing dark, "and then it's back home, down in the cellar." Remus shuddered at the thought of being alone once again.
"Maybe we could sneak you out over the summer?" Sirius said, that glint of mischief in his eyes.
"Absolutely not, Mum and dad won't let me finish here if we pull that. She checks the door like a hundred times a night, just sits outside of it and listens."
"Well, that's bloody depressing." Sirius replied.
However, the group didn't get much time to ponder on their desire to rescue Mooney from "cruel and unusual punishment" as Sirius put it before Madame Pomfrey came through to tell them it was time to go.
"Alright, boys, you've had your ten minutes. Now, your friend needs rest, out with the lot of you."
They said their goodbyes, promising to come back after the match, and the boys walked to the Great Hall to grab a spot of breakfast, although James didn't have much appetite.
They were sitting together at the Gryffindor table, making light conversation, Sirius and James teasing Lily and Marlene somewhat effectively when a voice called out:
"Potter, get over here now!"
James abandoned the conversation upon hearing the unfamiliar note of distress in Jane's voice.
"What is it?"
He asked, immediately catching sight of the reason for her tone, the third and final match altering event before him. Ellie Taylor, the Gryffindor team's prized seeker, was lying unconscious on the ground right beside her usual spot at the Gryffindor table. She sat with Jane in the mornings, being her roommate, and the aforementioned keeper was paler than James had ever seen her, distressed beyond simple worry for their odds on the quidditch pitch. He kneeled down, feeling for a pulse and breathing a sigh of relief when it became clear that Ellie was still breathing, and her heart was beating, albeit slowly.
"Renervate" James tried, but the countercurse had no effect.
Ellie hadn't been stunned; no, this was something else, and so James found himself pacing the hospital wing floor for the second time that morning as Madame Pomfrey examined his teammate. She finally turned to them and gave her diagnosis with a neutral expression.
"A sleeping drought?" James said as Pomfrey nodded, not looking nearly as concerned as the rest of the team.
"Yes, and a bloody strong one at that, she'll be out for hours."
"You can't rouse her, force feed her a Pepperup Potion, something?" James said, much to Jane's disapproval. She was clearly just relieved to hear her friend was ok.
Pomfrey pursed her lips at that. "It would be inadvisable Mr. Potter. Most people who take a sleeping drought aren't looking to wake up so soon. Better to just let her sleep it off."
"But the match Madame." James protested.
"That's enough about quidditch young man. You've got your reserve players, call up one of them."
Reserve players, James had some confidence in Roger Bowen, a nimble 4th year who was lined up to take Ellie's spot when she graduated, but he had been working Ellie to the bone the past few weeks. Bowen had been sitting on the sidelines, observing, but not much else. James had no idea whether he was up to the task and knowing that Ellie was safe and would be up and ready to compete in just a few short hours was agonizing given the match's schedule. Of course, that was the intention. The Slytherins had had enough of James' relentless pranks, and it was only fitting that they would get even. James pushed aside any guilt he might have felt, focused on the task at hand.
"What do you want to do captain?" Jane asked, mind clearly focused more on Ellie than quidditch at the moment.
"We play as planned. It's all we can do. Call up Bowen."
Following that order, James moved upstairs to Gryffindor tower to grab Sirius' broomstick, not as preferable as his Nimbus but still the latest model of the Shooting Star, an acceptable replacement given the circumstances.
He took a deep breath, staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, trying to instill a feeling of confidence that didn't meet his eyes.
"Here goes nothing," he thought to himself, switching his glasses for quidditch goggles and rubbing the tap of their sink three times for luck, a superstition that he made sure to do alone ever since Sirius caught wind of it.
The Gryffindors made their way to the pitch as a unit, catching up to the Hufflepuffs along the way. The teams walked side by side in silence, both determined to take the other down, both needing the points that this match would bring them to bolster their house's chances at the glory of the House cup. A younger student, third year it looked like, sprinted up behind the group when they were about halfway along the path, whispering something in the ear of Samuel Whitticker, the Hufflepuff team captain. He frowned, glancing at the Gryffindor team, and noticing their missing member for the first time, as well as James' light limp.
The teams filed into the arena, both moving to their respective locker rooms for a pre-match meeting. The Gryffindors' spirits were low, and James was determined to set aside his own anxieties to bring them up.
"Alright, we've all heard of the elephant in the room by now."
"Dirty cheats." William muttered under his breath.
"This wasn't Hufflepuff," Susan replied darkly.
She might not know about the attack on Lily, but she had noticed the increase in Pureblood and Muggleborn hostilities, largely from the former side of course. The group thought about this, and Ellie's muggleborn status made them all tense up in fury against the people who had done this to her.
"I agree, which means it's only fair if we don't take our anger out on people who don't deserve it. The Slytherins will get theirs, I'll make sure of that." James said, and the group was silent at the unfamiliar anger that rose in their normally carefree captain's eyes. "Roger, we're all counting on you to step up today. Can you handle this?"
Roger, cocky in his own right, that's largely why James liked him, stepped forward at the question. "I won't let you down, captain." He said.
James' stoic countenance morphed into an elated grin.
"Then let's beat these bastards. Come on then." He jerked his head, the team following him out of the locker room towards the center of the pitch to start warming up.
Whitticker approached James as he stretched his muscles in preparation, getting ready to mount his broom to run a few drills before the match in 20 minutes.
He glanced at his fellow captain and said: "What's up Whitticker?"
"I've just heard. That was a dirty trick someone pulled, and I would bet a thousand galleons it wasn't a Hufflepuff." He said.
James just grunted in response.
"That said, I've talked to the others, and we're willing to wait, at least until Ellie wakes so it's a fair match."
"What are you chicken? Too afraid to lose with our reserve seeker in play?" James taunted, unsure of exactly why when Whitticker was sabotaging his own chances just to play fair (as was the Hufflepuff way).
"You Gryffindors are always so foolhardy. Just take the win, Potter." He said.
"I intend to." James replied, limping towards Sirius' shooting star as Whitticker just shook his head.
Stubborn as an ox, James was not one for Hufflepuff's definition of fairness. He was a Gryffindor, and even with a busted leg, missing broom, and reserve seeker, James' pride couldn't allow Whitticker to win by giving them a fair shot. They would win with all the odds against them, taking the Quidditch and House cup all in one sweep.
As the stadium began to fill in, James and the others grew increasingly nervous. He gave Roger a thumbs up, and Roger nodded. As much as his cocky persona rivaled that of James Potter, Roger was just as focused as his captain when it came to quidditch. He wouldn't let his arrogance get in the way, something that could not be said for James most of the time.
"Good afternoon Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Everybody welcome to the final match of the season." A familiar voice rang out, magically enhanced to reach every corner of the substantial pitch.
There were some glares shot Sirius' way from the Hufflepuff team who still had a match two weeks out against Slytherin.
"Ok, the final match that matters." Sirius clarified, but this didn't help.
The Hufflepuffs looked as determined as ever to take the haughty Gryffindor team down a peg, no matter their seeker's unfortunate circumstance.
"Alright, so let's get started. I want everyone to give a warm round of applause to the lovely, the beautiful, the alluring Madame Hooch!"
Hooch rolled her eyes at Sirius' antics, but she waved to the students all the same to substantial applause. She opened up the trunk which held the four balls required for a quidditch match, releasing the bludgers first, followed by the snitch, and finally she grabbed a hold of the quaffle and nodded to the teams. The group lifted off, hovering in the air at the center, James staring intensely at Jill and Colin, the two strongest Hufflepuff chasers, determined to win the tip off. He nodded to Susan, who offered him a confident smile.
Madame Hooch followed the students into the air, quaffle in hand.
She looked between James and Samuel, stating her typical piece: "Now, I want a nice, clean game from all of you."
The boys nodded, neither one intending on playing dirty. That was reserved for Slytherin matches after all.
"On my whistle," she said.
The tension was palpable as Madame Hooch counted down from three, throwing the quaffle up at the same time the whistle blew. Susan darted forward, grabbing the ball just before Jill could snatch it. She curved through the other chasers, ducking below a bludger shot at her by Harry Hughes, one half of the twins who made up the Hufflepuff beaters (his sister Helen being the second). She tossed the quaffle to Olivia who caught it effortlessly, and within the first thirty seconds of play Gryffindor had scored its first ten points.
"Off to a great start, ten points to our lovely lions." Sirius spoke up from the commentator's bench. "Prongs, I hate to be a nagging Peter," Peter, who had taken Remus' usual place at Sirius' side, frowned at that but didn't say anything, "but Susan is absolutely crushing you in points scored this year. I'd really like to see our captain step up sometime today."
"I'll show you Padfoot," James muttered under his breath, shooting William a pointed glance and watching as he shot an expert bludger at Jill, causing her to drop the quaffle into James' waiting arms.
He shuffled around the other chasers, hardly hindered by his leg as he had expected, tossing the quaffle between himself and Susan while the Hufflepuff chasers worked to grab it from the air in a nasty game of keepaway. They scored easily, continuing the strategy on the second run after William once again knocked the quaffle from Colin's hands, Olivia catching it this time.
"And look at that teamwork, now the Hufflepuffs are living up to their name. If you guys need a breather, feel free to take five. The way Prongs is playing you'll only be down a few goals anyway."
It was after that snarky comment that James made it past the Hufflepuff keeper for the second time that match, bringing Gryffindor's score up to 30. This process continued, Jane making some spectacular saves in the interim while the Gryffindor chasers brought their score up and up. Meanwhile, Whitticker was nervously scanning the skies, hoping to end the match early before James could pull his team out of snitch range.
"Ooh, and another ten points for Gryffindor. That brings it to 70-Nil I believe, is that right Wormy?"
Sirius muttered "Sonorous" at Peter. The timid boy gulped, a noise which was magnified for the whole stadium to hear which produced quite a bit of laughter, but he managed to stutter it out "Th-that sounds right."
"Th-Th-Th-Those badgers are all bark and no bite if you ask me." Sirius mocked, Peter shrinking even further into his seat as the stadium laughed at his expense.
He paused for a moment. "What sound do badgers make anyway, Hufflepuffs over there call out your best badger impression!"
The stadium filled with a variety of noises, distracting Hufflepuff's third and weakest chaser Artie Price, and allowing Susan to strip the quaffle from his hands and score for Gryffindor once again.
McGonagall, to her credit, muttered the counter charm upon Peter and said "Mr. Black, I hasten to remind you that your commentary is meant to be informative, not distracting and certainly not bullying."
"I apologize Professor, I was only teasing my good buddy, isn't that right Wormy?"
He clapped Peter on the side, but Peter was not laughing along. Sirius cleared his throat nervously, and he stayed uncharacteristically tame for the remainder of the match. A goal here and there, including a few by Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor remained relatively far ahead. James was still intently focused, knowing that the whole match hinged on pulling his team up 150. Just five more goals and they would be safe, even if Bowen wasn't up to scratch. However, his sore leg was getting stiff from remaining rigid in the air, and Sirius' broom was not even close to the speed of his Nimbus.
"Oh, and another ten points to Hufflepuff!" Sirius' grating voice filled the air as James received the quaffle following Hufflepuff's most recent goal.
Six goals now. Without his handicap and with a faster broom, he would have no concerns about bringing them there within even two minutes, but now he wasn't so sure. James shook the thought from his head; "Focus on what you can control," he thought to himself. He faked a pass to Susan, choosing instead to pull a streamlined dive towards the hoops, faking again with a throw to the left before tossing the quaffle to Olivia who managed to throw it through the center.
"And Gryffindor scores! Great going Prongsy. You could say I've been too harsh on you this season but look at how you've improved. And what's this, I think our seekers have seen something!"
Indeed, the snitch had been spotted, and James couldn't help but stop play to glance towards Roger in fear. He needn't have worried too much; the stadium was in an uproar as Whitticker and Bowen caught sight of a flicker of gold above the Hufflepuff section of the stands. They were neck and neck, shoving into one another, each pushing their broom to the limit to reach the fabled ball. James let out a sigh of relief and continued play, scoring once more for Gryffindor as Bowen began to pull ahead.
However, the younger boy grew distracted in his cockiness, smiling flirtatiously at a young Gryffindor across the pitch when one particularly aggressive shove from Whitticker caught him off guard, the broom spinning in a sort of backwards spiral and knocking him from his mount. He managed to just catch hold of the edge of his broomstick with his right hand, dangling precariously in the air. James, quaffle in hand on the way to score another goal for Gryffindor, saw this and dropped the ball in an instant to assist his fallen teammate. Whitticker, just ahead, turned as well helping James to pull Bowen back onto his broom. James glanced at his fellow captain, and he felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his chest.
A winged ball of gold was struggling to escape Whitticker's gloved hand as he finished making sure Bowen was firmly seated on his broom.
"And unless my eyes deceive me, which they haven't unlike Prongs', Whitticker has gotten a hold of that snatch he is so famous for." Sirius didn't cease his colorful commentary, but the disappointment was evident in his normally upbeat voice. "Hufflepuff takes the crown, 190-150. We'll see you Badgers again in a couple weeks, and you better knock Slytherin out of the running or the next boilgate will find its way to your table."
McGonagall was not amused by that, so Sirius followed it up with a: "Only joking professor, relax."
The Gryffindors in the stands were heartbroken of course, but they all shrugged the loss off with the knowledge that it was better for Hufflepuff to take the crown than Slytherin. They all planned to attend the match in two weeks and pray that, at the very least, they could watch their rival fall. However, the Gryffindor players were not in such good spirits as their housemates.
Susan and Olivia were comforting Jane who had landed roughly below her goal posts with tears in her eyes. Her last match at Hogwarts had slipped through her fingers, her last chance to bring her house glory, and she would have to tell her best friend that it was partially due to her absence through no fault of her own. Ellie would blame herself certainly. William, for his part was complaining loudly to Alex Harding about how the snitch rule should be adjusted.
"150 points is ridiculous, we scored 15 times to their 4. It should be 30 bonus points for the snitch maximum, maybe none at all. Ending the match is one thing, but that massive bonus makes it impossible to win, gives the seeker far too much power…"
Alex, although not the smartest of blokes where school was concerned, had emotional intelligence in spades. He caught sight of Roger Bowen's stricken expression and elbowed William hard indicating he should shut his mouth. William glanced guiltily at the younger boy, approaching him and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't sweat it mate. For being called up day of, you were brilliant. Make up for it next year, yeah?"
Roger nodded, although he still looked miserable and winced as a couple of Slytherins passed by mocking him with a loud chant of, "Wobbly Woger fell off his bwoom," followed by hearty guffaws. William reached for his wand, but Alex grabbed his arm, motioning towards McGonagall who had a sharp eye on the Gryffindor team in expectation of such a stunt. William shoved his teammate off, disgruntled, and kicked at the turf as Roger stared at the retreating Slytherins' backs, their mocking tones repeating in his head.
James Potter was the worst of them all, not landing with the rest of his team, but staying in the air by the Hufflepuff side, just staring at those hoops as if he could somehow throw in five goals in a row right now to save Gryffindor from loss.
If he hadn't been so arrogant, going forward with a reserve seeker when the other team offered to wait…Worse yet, if they hadn't have thrown that party, losing a whopping 70 points for the entirety of Gryffindor house they wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. If they had just caught the snitch, with the goals they'd already scored, they would have 82 extra house points to work with, nearly equaling Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff in totals. At least they were still ahead of Slytherin, but only just, and if Slytherin beat Hufflepuff in their next match, Gryffindor would be the only team with a losing season. How was James going to earn 105 points in just over a month without the quidditch bonus? He could certainly lose that many, and he'd done it before, but earning all those points from correct answers and brownnosing was a Herculean task that even James Potter saw no chance to muster.
"Potter!" Jane called to him from the ground, kicking off to meet him in the air.
She had composed herself, receiving ample support from Olivia and Susan, and reassurances that they had done all they could. Catching sight of her morose captain, Jane had decided it was best to set aside her own feelings for the moment to check in on her younger counterpart.
"You're a bloody brilliant captain, James. We got outplayed that's all. If Ellie had been here…"
"She could have been." James said without thinking, not looking at Jane's expression, expecting the worst.
He waited for the scolding to come, but after a pregnant pause, he was surprised to feel Jane's hand on his arm in a supportive gesture.
"You think I didn't see their captain come up to you before the match, overhear what he offered?" She said. "Look at me, Potter."
James turned to his co-captain in all but title, and he was surprised to find no pity nor anger in her eyes, just the resigned expression of a player defeated.
"You made the right call. It wouldn't have been fair to delay the whole match even with Ellie out of commission, and if we had still lost Slytherin would never let us hear the end of it. We went forward with what we had, with pride, and we lost. But we can't say we didn't try. Sucks that it's my last year, though. If you lose this for us again next year, Potter, I will personally return to Hogwarts to tear you apart, you hear me?"
James found himself smiling as if against his will. He was so going to miss Jane.
"Don't worry Walsh. I've got a whole new regimen planned for our new keeper. They're not gonna let a single goal through that left hoop, I can promise you that."
The light teasing ended with Jane darting at James on her broomstick, nailing him hard on the arm with the end. They laughed as James kept his balance, leaning forward to return to the ground and the rest of his defeated team. He saw Whitticker being lifted by his housemates by the stands, and he turned his back on them to address his comrades.
"We can't say we didn't do our best today. I am so proud of each and every one of you, and next year believe me those Hufflepuff blokes won't know what hit 'em. And as for Slytherin," William and Alex cracked their knuckles at that, "Anyone who wants to help me out with a little revenge plot, meet me in the common room."
James turned around at that, leaving his team cheering behind him, at least somewhat after his promise of revenge. James felt a tap on his shoulder and glanced over to see Whitticker, who had left his cheering housemates behind as they made their way up to the castle for their afterparty. The boy stuck out a hand, and James took it.
"Good match, Whitticker. Take Slytherin down for us, would you?" James said and Whitticker nodded, a determined look on his face. "You'd better watch out next year though. I'm gonna drill Roger until he doesn't recognize anything but gold."
"Game on Potter." Whitticker said, turning away to follow his housemates up the lawn towards the castle.
James turned towards his aforementioned teammate, still pale and miserable in his internal shame of having lost the match for everyone. He approached the younger boy, forcing an easy-going smile across his face.
"You were distracted." He started off, and Roger nodded, the shame manifesting in a red heat on his cheeks. "Happens to the best of us. You were watching our match against Slytherin, right?"
Roger nodded again.
"I was so focused on making sure Peter didn't mess it up that I cost us that match. He shouldn't have even been in the game, but I was too much of a melt to tell him he was bollocks at quidditch."
Roger didn't say anything, not wanting to upset his captain by insulting his friend though he privately agreed.
"That's my job as captain, to win the match no matter what tough choices have to be made. I failed this team Bowen, not you. Doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you next year."
"You're not gonna drop me?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice.
"I don't give up on people. That includes you. Now, chin up, and make sure and practice loads this summer, yeah? Don't fall off on me."
Roger nodded enthusiastically, giving off promises and assurances that he wouldn't let James down ever again. James believed him. He was a good kid, and with a little more experience under his belt, he could have beat Whitticker, but that was not how the cards played out.
"Prongs! You coming or what?" Sirius' voice called out to him, and James saw him and Peter standing together at the edge of the stands.
James walked towards them, accepting Sirius' light punch on the arm and Peter's condolences.
"We'll work it out Prongsy, bribe Minnie with a promise of two months off from messing with the Slytherins or something, eh?" Sirius said, referring to their current house points predicament.
"Yeah, no big deal," James said, and the boys made their way up to the hospital wing to visit their fallen fourth member.
Upon their arrival, James was both relieved and devastated to see that Ellie had woken up from her slumber.
"Just a sec Remus," he said.
His friend saw the disappointment across all three boys' faces, and he made an assumption as to the results of the match. He hadn't been able to hear much of Sirius' commentary from the hospital wing, although he did catch a loud groan towards the end, though he couldn't tell from which side.
"Ellie," James said, approaching his seeker with guilt laced across his face.
"Potter, what happened with the match? I'm so sorry, one minute I was eating a bite of toast and the next…"
James held up a hand.
"It's not your fault, Ellie, and we're going to hunt down whoever did this to you." James paused before delivering the heartbreaking news, "Roger flubbed it and we lost. I'm so sorry."
He noticed her brimming tears, and he pulled the girl in for a tight hug, allowing her to cry into his sweaty uniform. The sound of a cleared throat from behind broke the embrace, and he saw Jane along with the rest of the team standing together before Ellie's hospital bed.
"We brought you something." Jane said, holding out a golden snitch, which only made Ellie feel worse.
"The snitch from the losing match?" She said, disbelieving.
"No, no," Jane laughed, "from your last match."
Normally, the snitches were kept under lock and key to save for posterity at Hogwarts, but occasionally Madame Hooch was willing to make an exception and allow the seeker to hold onto the snitch they'd caught. Given the circumstances, she had not hesitated when Jane had requested the snitch from their match against Ravenclaw. Ellie reached out and grabbed the object, startling when it opened up to reveal a tiny photo within. The photo in the snitch was of the Gryffindor quidditch team for the 1976-1977 season, the group immortalized in magic forever waving at Ellie. She teared up a bit, sniffling to get rid of the pesky emotion, and she turned to her team who were all smiling looking much like their counterparts from the photo taken earlier that fall.
"Thank you. I'm just sorry I missed the match." She noticed Roger standing sheepishly behind the group, eyes down in frustrated defeat. "Don't let us down next year, eh Roger?" She called out, and he met her eyes for the first time.
"I won't, not again." He said, and the group knew that despite the devastating loss, their new seeker had received a valuable lesson in being thrown in the deep end, a lesson he was not soon to forget.
"Undefeated season next year no doubt, I expect to see you in the stands at least once Taylor." James spoke up, "You too Walsh."
"We wouldn't miss it." Jane replied, the group taking a moment to take in the end of their season.
Two of their members were moving on after four years of service, and that loss was all the more bittersweet given the sour note that they would have to look back on. Comradery on the quidditch pitch was something built with blood, sweat, and tears, and as the group took each other in one last time, they felt the strength of a bond that would never be severed no matter how far and wide the group spread.
Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by Sirius shouting: "Oi Prongs, stop messing around with your quidditch wankers and help me carry Moony to the common room!"
"Padfoot, I'm not going."
"It's a party, Moonpie. They drink at funerals too, you know?" He said at James' frown at the suggestion of a celebration after their loss.
"I don't think so Sirius." Remus said, wincing a bit, still very sore from the full moon the night before.
"Alright, all of you troublemakers out. This isn't a day spa; these children need rest.
Madame Pomfrey's familiar scolding tones called out, and the group made their way back towards the common room.
In the end, the party was shot down due to the general lack of interest following a loss. Sirius shrugged, dragging Peter to the Hufflepuff common room in the hopes of flirting his way into their celebration. James remained alone in the dormitory, falling into a fitful night's sleep, waking early as usual seeing Sirius and Peter snoring softly in their beds having made it back at some point in the night.
On that lazy Sunday morning, James cracked his back and made his way out of the dormitory, looking to wander the castle grounds for a bit in an attempt to clear his head. He was surprised when he ran into Professor McGonagall on his way past the transfiguration classroom.
"Hello Professor," He said.
"Mr. Potter, I'm glad I bumped into you this morning, I actually have some news I'd like to share."
James was confused, trying to rack his brain for anything that McGonagall would need to tell him.
He settled on simply asking, "What's that Professor?"
"Professor Dumbledore has arranged for a meeting with you and Mr. Lupin," She answered.
"Really? He'll see us," James replied enthusiastically.
"The headmaster is a busy man, Potter. He did want me to tell you he's sorry it took him so long, but yes, he will see you." McGonagall said, a rare twinkle in her eye.
"Brilliant! When?" James spoke up, preparing to run to see Remus as soon as he'd received all the necessary information.
"This Thursday evening, so long as Mr. Lupin is recovered."
"He'll be ready to go. Thank you, Professor."
He said, preparing to take off towards the hospital wing.
"Of course, and Potter,"
James turned back, noticing the oddly sentimental countenance of the normally unreadable professor.
"You did a good thing this year for Pettigrew. Better to cost yourself a season of play than a friendship," she moved forward towards the boy, slightly shorter than him now that he'd grown into his full height, and yet still just as intimidating as the day he'd met her when she said, "but next year I expect you to crush those Slytherins like bugs, understood?"
James' mouth spread wide in another elated smile.
"You bet Professor." He said, turning around and limping towards the hospital wing with a massive weight lifted from atop his chest.
"And have Madame Pomfrey take care of that leg while you're up there!" She shouted.
McGonagall had noticed James' limp following the full moon, along with all of the boys' various injuries over the years. She didn't know for sure about the boys' nightime wanderings, and in her heart of hearts she didn't want to know. However, there was a part of her mind that thought back to two years before and wondered if she had made the right decision in assisting the boys with their dangerous task. None of them had been infected after all, and if they were providing Remus with some comfort in his loneliness, then who was she to stop them? McGonagall breathed heavily, eternally grateful that she only had one more year with this group of hoodlums, although a part of her knew what was coming following graduation, the war they would be thrust into. That knowledge made her wish that she could keep them locked up in these halls forever, regardless of the grey hairs and wrinkle lines they constantly forced upon her.
James told Remus of the coming meeting, and the boys were thrilled at their good fortune. They worked together on a strategy to get Dumbledore to see reason regarding their friends' capabilities. James managed to avoid being kicked out by showing Pomfrey his swollen leg receiving a litany of abuse for not coming to her sooner, along with a potion to mend it as it was already half-healed and too difficult to fix with a simple spell had he come to her earlier. That is how James Potter ended up in the bed next to Remus in the hospital wing that Sunday afternoon, allowing them to come up with their plan to get their friends inducted into what they referred to as Dumbledore's Army for the sake of clarity when discussing the topic.