It was the day of the Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor match, and the Gryffindor common room was buzzing. The students were decked out in their house gear, hats, and all. James and Sirius could barely contain their excitement for the game. Both of them left early for practice and debriefing before the match. Remus and Peter were left together. Peter was an avid fan of Quidditch, and he had been upset that he hadn't been able to make the team. He just wasn't coordinated enough, Peter was a great flyer, but he couldn't do two things at once. Remus had always loved the idea of playing Quidditch too, but it just wasn't possible with his condition, so he just chose to enjoy the sport as much as he could.
Remus and Peter headed down to the pitch a little earlier as they wanted to get the best seats for the game. Peter had brought along his camera to take as many photos as possible of the game. He knew that both James and Sirius would want them. They chatted happily together before more and more students gathered. Even the Slytherins had come down to watch the match; Gryffindor and Slytherin were mortal enemies when it came to Quidditch. Every year it came down to those two houses. Marlene, Lily, and Frank joined the boys. Only for Lily to leave when she spotted Severus.
"Sorry, I'm going to sit with Severus." She stood up, scrambling past the other students on their row. "I don't know how she can be friends with that slimy git," Marlene muttered to Remus, who let out a howl of laughter. The two continued sniggering until the whistle was blown, indicating that the match was about to start.
The whole stadium went quiet; as Madam Hooch walked up to the trunk, she set the balls loose, and the players were off. The match was exhilarating; Sirius and Elizabeth were unstoppable. They were probably the best beaters across all the houses. Everyone watched with wonder as the two worked hard to protect their teammates, and more importantly, knock the other players off their brooms. It was a great game, both teams worked hard, but it was evident that Gryffindor was the superior team. The two Beaters were known for their unusual move, the Dopplebeater Defense. The blows that the move inflicted were devastating, and the two Gryffindor beaters had broken the opposition player's arms on a multitude of occasions.
The match had gone for over an hour and a half. Gryffindor was down one chaser while Hufflepuff was down two chasers and a beater. The points stood at 100-230. Gryffindor was in the lead, but that could change if Hufflepuff were to catch the Snitch. The spectators looked on in awe as both Seekers saw the Snitch at the same time; they bumped into each other as they attempted to grab it. Remus held his breath as he watched James remove both his hands from the broom to catch the Snitch. At that moment, the Hufflepuff Beater had sent the Bludger towards James. Beside him, Peter had shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable hit James was about to receive.
Nobody expected Elizabeth to throw herself and her broom in front of James to take the hit, while Sirius hit the other Bludger back towards the Hufflepuff player. The sound that the Bludger made as it made contact with Elizabeth's arm caused all the students to shudder. The impact had broken her arm, but she didn't care. In the exact moment, the Bludger made contact, James had been able to catch the Snitch. The Gryffindors roared in celebration. With the remaining members of the team doing circles around the pitch. Even Elizabeth joined them, her good arm holding onto the broken one, her eyes welling up.
Remus watched as the players all landed back in the middle of the pitch, shaking each other's hands. Both teams had taken quite the beating. Remus and James set off down towards the pitch, as did the rest of the Gryffindors. The two boys enveloped James and Sirius in a bone-crushing hug, "Padfoot, you were unreal. And James, you were fantastic." Remus gushed over his friends. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Marlene rushing towards a figure slumped over. James and Sirius whipped around and legged it towards the figure.
Elizabeth was hunched over, the pain was almost unbearable, but she was still running on adrenaline. "Elizabeth, you idiot, why did you do that?" Marlene rushed over to her, supporting her; the boys followed after. She stumbled towards the two boys and gave them a pained smile. "We did it, boy's…Jesus Christ!" She hissed. James gave her a warm smile, "It was all down to you." Behind the boys, Remus watched as Elizabeth fell to the floor, letting out a sharp scream. Madam Pomfrey pushed past him to attend to the wounded yet elated Gryffindor. "She is an interesting character." He thought; his attention was soon turned back to his friends. The Marauders all walked towards the changing rooms. Remus and Peter sat on a bench near the changing room, "I bet you 50 galleons that Ravenclaw will win against Hufflepuff." Peter spoke up, looking Remus dead in the eye, "Alright, I'll bet you two months' worth of my chocolate stash that Hufflepuff will win." Remus knew for sure that Hufflepuff would win. Last year Ravenclaw had been the weakest team, and it seemed that the members for this year had remained the same. He was a sucker for money. With 50 galleons, he could get his mum a nice Christmas present.
The boys waited about 20 minutes before the others joined them. The boys talked like crazy about the game. Peter spoke enthusiastically about the picture he took, stating that James and Sirius were terrific players, which naturally inflated their already huge egos. Remus smiled fondly at his friends. He was lucky to have them. They all made a detour to the infirmary to see the wounded players. The Gryffindor Chaser was passed out in one of the beds. He took a nasty ball to the stomach, and the infirmary was packed with visiting teammates and friends, and the genuinely sick students. On a bed in the back sat Elizabeth with Marlene, the two girls laughing like mad. Elizabeth's arm was up in a sling.
"Liz, you're an absolute lifesaver," James said, hopping up onto the side of her bed; she smacked him with her good arm, wincing as she jostled the bad one. "The broken arm was worth it. Hufflepuffs Beater owes me ten galleons now. That being said, Skele-Gro tastes bloody awful, but it was worth it." She stuck her tongue out and winked, "I'm not going to throw myself in front of you again, though. Breaking your arm is bloody painful. Genuinely thought I was going to throw up on the pitch." They chatted for a little longer before they decided to head down for lunch. They were all starving after the game.
After lunch, the boys headed back to the common room. They commandeered one of the sofas and spread out; Remus had a chocolate bar in hand. James and Sirius were planning their next trip to Hogsmead, and the student that had currently caught Sirius's eye. Remus and Peter were discussing the book they had both read recently. For once, the four friends weren't loud and obnoxious. Remus looked up from the book he had in his hands and glanced at his friends. He felt so happy to have made friends that would do anything for him, literally anything. He'd never had a friendship like that in a long time.
A few weeks after the Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw game saw Remus 50 galleons richer thanks to Hufflepuffs win over Ravenclaw and a somewhat downtrodden Peter. The boys had only landed themselves in detention a couple of times, at least for Remus, that was. The same couldn't be said for the others. On a Thursday evening, Remus was studying by himself in the library. Sirius and James had Quidditch practice, and Peter was studying up in the common room where Frank Longbottom was helping him with herbology.
Remus stretched out; he was stiff after being hunched over the desk for the last hour. Elizabeth was making her way towards him; he noticed the History of Magic book in her hands. He gave her a warm smile and beckoned her over faster. She smiled brightly and dumped her books on the table across from him. "Hope you don't mind, I could use your opinion about my History of Magic essay. It's not finished yet, but if you could check what I've done, that'd be nice." He grabbed the parchment from her hands and unfolded it. He noted how neat her handwriting was; he hadn't picked up on it the first time. She sat quietly as he read through it, studying his face.
"This is great!" she was surprised, "You've got almost all the details in there; just be careful not to mix up the dates." Remus replied, handing her back her parchment. She flipped her book open and pulled out her quill. The two worked away in silence, "Buggar!" Remus looked up from his Potions textbook to see Elizabeth with her finger in her mouth and a spot of blood on her parchment. She began to rummage through her back before sighing and leaning back in her chair. Remus reached into his bag and pulled out some plasters; tearing one-off, he handed it to her. "An old friend of mine said to always carry plasters with you in case you get hurt." Remus smiled. Elizabeth looked surprised before smiling at him and accepting the plaster, "Your friend is brilliant." She wrapped the plaster over her paper cut, shoving the rubbish into her pockets. The two went back to studying. Remus was re-reading over the chapter on Draught of Peace when he could feel Elizabeth looking at him. He met her gaze; she smiled but shook her head before staring back down at her book. Remus couldn't help but find her a little strange.