House: Ravenclaw
Class: Charms
Word Count: 1068
Prompts: [Restriction] No female characters
[Action] Playing a ball game.
Warnings: N/A
A/N: AU!Muggle School
Friendly Game of Dodgeball
"Oh please, James! Stop your whining! You and Sirius are always together, you two can survive being on separate teams for one afternoon!" The gym teacher rolled his eyes as James Potter, once again, asked to change teams for the P.E. game. He shook his head and his graying hair shifted slightly with the movement. "I thought you both would like to be captains of your own dodgeball teams."
"That's not how it works!" Sirius chimed in, his gray eyes staring defiantly into his teacher's brown eyes. "James is supposed to be the captain, and I have his back! That's how it's always been!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Sirius, you have enough leadership skills to be the captain of your own team," the gym teacher reassured the teen. "You can't always be with your friends, you need to broaden your horizons."
"Like hell I do!" Sirius barked.
The teacher glared. "One more outburst like that, and you will be heading straight for Principal Dumbledore's office," he warned.
James ruffled his messy black hair and adjusted his glasses. "It's fine, Sirius. It's just for today." James sighed in defeat.
The gym teacher smiled in satisfaction. "Excellent! Now, may we get started?" All of the boys, except Sirius, returned a nod. "The captains of both teams will take turns selecting who they want to be on their teams. James, you will pick first, then Sirius will pick. Any questions?" The room remained silent. "Good. James, pick your first teammate."
"I pick Sirius." James stated, a grin curling on his face. Most of the class laughed.
"And I pick James!" Sirius declared, attempting to conceal his smile.
"Boys." The gym teacher tried to get their attention.
"Wait, which one of us gets Remus? And who gets Peter?" James asked, genuinely curious.
"We may have to take that to court. It will be a glorious custody battle!" Sirius joked. The majority of the class erupted in laughter. Remus pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment as Peter shuffled nervously on the side.
"Boys." The teacher's tone changed, warning both of the best friends to stop.
"Ok, fine." James huffed, his face still red from laughing so hard. "I'll take Peter."
Peter Pettigrew's eyes widened in surprise. He had never been picked first for anything, especially not a sport. "O-OK." Peter stuttered as he moved to stand by James.
"Then I'll take Remus." Remus looked up as Sirius called him and, without saying a word, shuffled over to his friend. "That wasn't as glorious as I thought the custody battle would be." Sirius chuckled.
"I don't understand what you mean by 'custody battle'. I'm not your child." Remus muttered. Sirius's only response was a wink, which Remus struggled to decipher.
One by one, James and Sirius each picked which of their classmates they wanted on their team. Lastly, there were two remaining students. Severus Snape and Avery. Two students neither Marauder would want on their teams. Snape hated James and Sirius almost as much as the best friends hated him. Both Snape and Avery were interested in illegal activities outside of school, which James despised. The gym teacher clapped his hands. "Come on, boys. Let's finish getting the teams together so we can play!" he stated impatiently.
James rolled his eyes. He decided he wanted a chance to pelt Snape during the game. "I'll take Avery."
"And that leaves me with Snape, I guess. The last one to be picked." Sirius smirked at the last comment as he watched the anger rise in Snape's eyes.
James's team took the right side of the gym while Sirius's team took the left side. "Now remember, this is meant to be a friendly game," the teacher explained as he began rolling a large cart full of red rubber dodgeballs out of the storage room and onto the gym floor. A few students helped him line some of the balls on the centerline, and the rest were thrown randomly around the gym. Both teams readied themselves near the walls of the gym and with the sound of a whistle, the game began, the fastest students sprinting to the centerline to grab and throw the first dodgeball.
Peter hid in the back to avoid being hit while James sprinted forward to grab one of the dodgeballs. He scooped it up in one swift motion and hurled it towards Snape. Snape effortlessly leaned to the side and avoided getting hit as the ball hit the wall behind him with a loud thud! Snape retrieved the ball and aimed for one of his classmates near the line that divided the teams. He waited until his prey wasn't paying attention and threw the ball. The ball crashed into its target. "One down. You're next, Potter!" Snape shouted as he concentrated on the teen that had been mercilessly bullying him.
One by one, teammates on both sides got hit and were out of the game. Remus got ambushed by two players at the same time, Peter couldn't dodge the ball fast enough, and even Sirius got too cocky and left himself open for Avery to pelt him in the chest. The final players standing were James and Snape, everyone else cheering from the sidelines.
James, ball in hand, cautiously watched Snape pace back and forth. James knew he was far more athletic than Snape, but he knew he still had to be careful. James saw Snape pause briefly and chose that moment to make his move. James sprinted forward and threw the ball. Snape pivoted to the side and narrowly avoided it. "Missed." Snape taunted him.
James rushed to grab another ball and, while his back was turned, Snape launched his ball at James. "James, behind you!" Sirius shouted from the sidelines. James, within a split second dipped down to scoop up another ball as Snape's flew over his head.
"You'll pay for that one, Snivellus!" James hollered as whipped the ball wildly at Snape. Then, the room fell eerily silent. To the entire gym's surprise, Snape reached out and caught the ball effortlessly with one hand. James's hazel eyes widened in surprise behind his glasses. He had lost.
The gym teacher blew the whistle. "Game over! Sirius's team wins! Excellent job everyone!"
James merely shook his head. "Not good enough." James mumbled.
"Don't worry, mate. We'll make him pay for that." Sirius said with a mischievous smile.