The Marauders: Year 2

"Why do you two look so... smug?" Remus asked three days later as they headed towards Herbology.

James opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut immediately, jabbing Sirius in the ribs and pointing to the boy trudging through few inches of snow that lay on the ground out to the greenhouse.

"Concentrate on the bush, Remmy," Sirius said, with a wicked grin on his face and a quick glance at Peter. "Old Snivellus is about to get some company."

"Snivellus?" Remus asked and then quickly figured out who he was referring to. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

A moment later as Severus Snape walked passed a bush just beyond the castle, a very small, brown object toddled out after him.

"Hug me, Sevvie!"

"I wuv 'oo, Sevvikins!"

"Play with me, Sevvie, play with me!"

Snape spun around, looking completely and totally befuddled. Behind him was the teddy bear that James had hauled into the Common Room several weeks earlier. Snape glared at it, raised his wand and said an incantation that the Marauder's couldn't hear. The bear flew twenty feet up in the air and landed hard behind Snape.

The sallow skinned boy continued on his way to the greenhouse as the other Slytherins catcalled 'Hug me, Sevvie!' and 'I wuv 'oo, too, Sevvie!' Severus merely lowered his head to stare at the ground and trudged on. He nearly made it to the greenhouse door when the bear managed to toddle back up to him.

"Hug me, Sevvie! Hug me, Sevvie! Hug me, Sevvie!"

The bear continued to repeat the one phrase over and over while it's little stitched face contorted to look unbearably sad.

This time Snape didn't even bother with his wand, in a move that would've made any Muggle born football fan proud, he whirled around and punted the soft bear back towards the castle. The incident only caused the Slytherin catcalls to increase and for some of the Gryffindors to join in.

Snape quickly let himself into the greenhouse and the rest of the class trickled in after him, smirking in his direction.

Professor Sprout made was about ten minutes into her lecture when the entire class was interrupted by a very loud, "I wuv 'oo, Sevvikins!"

Turning an alarming shade of red, Snape peered down under his desk to where the bear was happily perched on his shoes, barraging him with feel good sayings.

"Mr. Snape, if you'd please put your teddy bear away," Professor Sprout admonished with a confused tone, as though that were the last thing she'd ever expected to say to Severus Snape.

"I... but... it's not mine, Professor," Snape said loudly. The bear suddenly burst into loud wails.

"It does appear that the bear doesn't agree with that assessment, Professor," Rebecca Longbottom commented, trying to hide a grin behind her hand.

"Mr. Snape, ten points from Slytherin and you must control that bear this instant," Professor Sprout stated, her hands on her hips and her toe tapping impatiently.

"It's not mine! And I don't... I mean, I've no idea how to make it be quiet," Snape sputtered.

"Oi, Professor," James said. "I think I've heard about these kinds of animals. It Snape cuddles it on his lap, it should be quiet for the rest of the class session."

"Well then, Mr. Snape, do take care of that bear. We've leaping toadstools to discuss."

"I but-" Snape looked around panicking.

"No buts, Mr. Snape. Do shut that bear up, or it'll be one hundred point from Slytherin and a week's detention. There's no excuse for bring a stuffed bear to Herbology class... I've no idea what would possess you... anyway, time is ticking, Mr. Snape." Professor Sprout wore an expression that left no room for discussion on the subject.

The entire class watched as Severus Snape bent under his desk, picked up the wailing bear as though it were diseased and plopped it into his lap.

The wailing stopped immediately.

Professor Sprout finished up her lecture and the class split up into groups of four to work on the leaping toadstools. For a moment, Snape ventured to put the teddy bear down and it immediately began its mushy tirade again. "I wuv 'oo, Sevvikins! Play with me! Hug-". Snape snatched it up quickly and slammed it angrily back into his lap as he began to dig in the dirt, averting his eyes from the rest of the class.

An hour later, the bell rang across the grounds, signaling the end of class. As they piled out, the Marauder's watched as Snape violently chucked the bear into the nearby bushes. After taking about ten steps though, the bear managed to extricate itself and began to toddle after Snape, calling out pitifully to him. All it succeeded in getting out though was "Play wi-" before the angry Second Year whirled around and set the entire bear on fire with one quick wand movement. The bear was reduced to a pile of ashes. Snape leered at the pile for a moment and then stalked off towards the castle, his fellow Slytherins still jeering after him.

"Poor Snivellus," Sirius said his most innocent expression upon his face. "I think he needs a hug."

James and Peter burst into hysterical laughter and even the sides of Remus's mouth quirked upwards, despite his attempt to look stern.

~~*~~

"What is it with this fixation you've got on that girl, Sirius?" James huffed. "A girl! Who cares about girls, you lunatic, we've got better stuff to do."

Sirius just shook his head at his friend as his eyes followed the form of Madison Bell as she walked towards the lake with two other Gryffindor First Years. "You just don't understand, my friend. She's..." He shook his head at a loss for words to describe her.

"She's eleven!" James muttered. "Isn't that illegal?"

"To look at her?" Sirius glanced at his friend. "No, I don't think so and as that's all I plan to do... I think I'm good."

"I have told you the Gryffindor Five are up to something... still looking for revenge from that joke back in September, I'd wager. Tessa and Alice seem like the types to hold a grudge for a long time and Mel and Evans probably think if they wait long enough, we'll let down our guard."

Sirius snorted and finally turned his attention away from Madison.

"What?" James asked him.

"Evans. With all the other girls you use their given names," Sirius observed.

"Fine then," James huffed. "Smith and Maris seem like they'd hold grudges and Watts and Evans seem to think we'll let our guard down, better?"

Sirius just snorted again and then looked up to the sky, "You know, I suspect you might be right about that. I caught Rebecca-" He paused to smirk and give James an amused glance "-I'm sorry, Longbottom, sneaking honey out of the kitchens yesterday. They've been stockpiling honey for nearly three months, is it? What does one do with that much honey?"

James gave him a mystified glance then shrugged. "Where are Peter and Remus?"

"Honeydukes. I think they were going to stop in at Zonko's, too," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Peter said he 'needs a sugar rush like a niffler needs galleons and gold watches' and hauled Remus out of the Common Room." Sirius clucked his tongue. "At any rate, I think Remus could use the trip, that last change was pretty brutal on him."

James sighed. "I know. Well, we've all finally got both of those two primer spells down... this ruddy third one though. What does that have to do with animagus transfigurations?"

"Got me, mate," Sirius grumbled. "I know, I hate the ruddy thing too. And if we can't do it, how're we going to teach it to, Pete? I was hoping we'd be able to bound up to Remus in our animagus states a week after we opened those books."

James nodded in agreement and then grinned for a moment, "What do you think you'll be?"

"A lion. I'm going to be a lion," Sirius said proudly.

"A what?" James stared at him as though he'd gone mad.

"A lion. You know, roar, grrr and all that," Sirius animatedly acted out the sounds and swiped his hands in front of him like claws.

"You're mad," James said, his face a mixture of horror and utter amusement, as he stepped back from his friend. "You bloody well better not be a bloody lion, because I'm sure that wouldn't look conspicuous to everyone." He began to pantomime looking out a window. "Oh, look there Professor McGonagall, it's a lion on the grounds." He shook his head. "No, that's not obvious at all."

Sirius just looked at him. "I'm going to be a lion," he repeated.

"Mad. Nutters. Absolutely loony," James muttered.

"Fine, Potter. And what exactly are you going to be?" Sirius groused.

James cocked his head to the side for a moment and then turned to look at his friend, "A duck."

"A duck. A duck?" Sirius sputtered. "And I'm mad? Nutters? Absolutely loony, was it? At least I'll be able to keep a werewolf in check, you prat. If I were a wolf, I'd be inclined to think duck would make a far better meal than friend."

"Mock it all you like. I think I'd make a smashing duck. At least I'd blend in here, Black," James said. A moment later a wicked smile crossed his face. "I suppose though, there is a small chance I could be... a cow."

Sirius's jaw dropped as James burst into laugher and ran for the castle, Sirius taking off after him a moment later.

Halfway there, James, still laughing madly, called over his shoulder a very loud, "Moooooooo."

~~*~~

"Oh bloody hell, Peter," Remus groaned, looking at the dozen coconuts sitting on the table. "I don't know how to fix this."

Peter echoed his groan. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Remus said, rubbing his head. He could feel the throbbing beginning as it often did when he had to tutor Peter in transfiguration, never his best subject to begin with. He repeated, "I know."

Peter cautiously prodded of the coconuts with his wand, sending it rolling across the table.

"Ah, coconuts!" A cheery voice said.

"Sirius," Remus cried out happily. "James! Fantastic. Fix this." He gestured to the coconuts.

"Er... what is this? Coconuts definitely weren't part of the homework," James said, glancing at the table full of the round, brown fruits.

"No, it wasn't," Peter moaned, slumping in his chair. "I hit them accidentally. I didn't mean... well, what I mean to say is that we really need our texts back."

"Your texts?" Sirius asked, picking up a coconut and tossing it from one hand to the other.

"Would you mind, Sirius? If you drop that and break it, one of us will need to get a new book," Remus snapped as James quickly snatched the coconut from his possession in midair and peered at it.

"Hmmm," the bespectacled boy murmured. "Herbology, I think. If you look closely you can make out a few of the letters on the fruit." He shrugged and muttered a countercharm. A moment later, the thick green textbook was in his hand. "Nothing unfixable, Pete, never is."

Peter gave James a grateful smile as the other boy went about turning all the coconuts back into textbooks.

"I thought you lot went into Hogsmeade today?" James asked, lowering his voice as he did.

"We did," Peter confirmed. "We got back about an hour ago. There's a sack of stuff under Remus's bed. How was your detention?"

"It could've been worse. It was definitely worth it to see all those levitating Hufflepuffs. Nackle didn't seem to appreciate my using up the rest of his billywig stingers and all... but I collected enough to replace his stores," James said, rubbing a sore spot on his hand where he'd accidentally imbedded a stinger.

"I still can't believe that madman sent you out into the snow to find billywig stingers," Sirius said, shaking his head. "I'll still never figure out how you found them under three inches of snow..."

James grinned and looked at Remus, who replied, "Revealus."

"Huh?" Sirius asked, his confused expression matching Peter's.

"It's a simple charm," Remus said. "For instance, Revealus Billywig Stingers allowed the snow to disappear over them. James just had to look for the holes in the snow. Nackle would probably die if he figured out how quick that detention was... it was supposed to take hours." The two boys chuckled.

Suddenly the portrait hole burst open and five very loud girls stumbled in, all yelling at one another, with Frank Longbottom trailing at a safe distance, shaking his head.

"Bloody hell, Mel, what were you thinking, and you Tessa?" Lily yelled. "Sorry, stupid question, were you thinking? No." She cut them off without giving them a chance to answer. "I thought not. You irresponsible, childish-"

"How could you tell her?" Melissa had turned on Tessa. "What idiotic notion could possess you to tell Lily about this? I swear-"

"It's not her fault," Alice yelled, jerking her thumb towards Tessa. "Lily tricked us and forced us to-"

"Yeah, right, you great bit sodding prat," Rebecca hollered at Alice. "As though the two of you couldn't fight against a Befuddlement Charm of Lily's, they're her weak point. You know she-"

"This is not my fault. It was that bloody Befuddlement Charm!" Tessa protested loudly. "And who knew a rooster would do that if you put it in a-"

By now the entire House had stopped what they were doing to watch the five of them go at it. They continued to cross over towards their own dormitory and stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"I didn't even know there was a rooster until this morning. I mean really, how am I supposed to keep a rooster quiet in class?" Tessa continued to rave. "You're a mental case, you do know that, Mel, right? A bloody rooster-"

"- I know I never said you shouldn't take a rooster to Charms, just why you didn't let me put the bloody Silencing Charm on it first, I'll never know, really," Rebecca hissed. "But that's besides the point, the point is, Lily Evans-"

"Would you just shut the bloody hell up?" Alice screamed over all of them, stamping her foot for emphasis. The other four girls fell silent immediately, and even Frank took a step farther back from the girls, his face showing utter shock.

"Er... yes, Alice?" Tessa ventured cautiously.

"Oh, you're all impossible," the plump, blonde girl cried and then burst into tears, as she ran up the steps to the girls dormitory.

"Now look at what you've all done!" Lily hissed and quickly scrambled up the steps after her.

"All that we've done?" Melissa shrieked indignantly. "I think not. This is all Lily's fault. I'll be damned if I'm going to go to a month's worth of detentions because of her stupidity." She glared crossly up the steps, "No, I think not." Then she stormed back to the portrait hole and out into the castle.

"Oh hell," Rebecca muttered and collapsed onto a nearby sofa. "I don't think this is very good."

Tessa shook her head in agreement, "No, I don't think so either." Her face suddenly fell completely as she turned to Rebecca, "You know this isn't either of their faults. They're both just so worried about... well-" she lowered her voice to just above a whisper, "you-know-who."

"Ack," Rebecca made a disgusted noise, "Just say his bloody proper name, would you? Vol-de-mort."

The four boys leaned in closer to listen to the conversation.

Tessa lowered her head into her hands and said quietly, "Sometimes I think her mum is nutters. Mel should not know why it was the McGonagalls. I mean... Lily's fear is sort of justified, but Mel's... sweet Merlin, I'd be ready to explode all the time, too."

James and Remus exchanged excited looks. The three Marauders (being Muggle born had left Peter slightly out of the information loop) had spent a better part of the summer trying to figure out why it had been them.

Rebecca, though, just shook her head, "They need a better way to work this stuff out. I mean, there hasn't been another killing since June. And there's no proof it was him, you know? Maybe it was a fluke and Mrs. Watts is wrong."

Looking up slowly, Tessa replied shakily, "I really hope she is, Becca. I really hope she is."

~~*~~

"What was that all about?" Remus mused, looking at the other three Marauders.

Before they had a chance to reply, Frank Longbottom had slumped into a chair right across from them. "Have I ever mentioned that girls are insane? Because I really, truly believe that they are."

"That Alice of yours has some mouth on her," Sirius commented, the corners of his lips quirking up.

Frank went red, "She's not mine."

"Mmhmm," Remus muttered in a disbelieving tone. "I'm sure she's not Frank. Do you know what that was all about?"

"Oi vey," Frank murmured. "Some sort of disagreement. Didn't get it all... I know it involves something about that rooster incident in Charms class and Lily and Melissa being abnormally strung out, although for Lily that doesn't seem odd."

James snorted.

Frank shrugged and sighed and then looked under the table with a confused glance. He disappeared below for a second and when he righted himself, he was holding a brown orb.

"I was wondering where my Charms text went," Peter exclaimed, reaching for the coconut and then passing it on to James.

Frank shook his head at the two boys, stood up and retreated into the dormitory.

"Like he's never seen a textbook turned into a coconut before," Sirius scoffed with a bit of a grin.

"It's not really an everyday occurrence, Sirius," Remus observed.

"Nothing here is an everyday occurrence, Remus," Peter replied, grinning at James as he handed him back his book. "Anyway, I've got to go and return some of these to the library. Madame Pince is still in a foul mood about that book I blew up last term."

Gathering up his books, Peter tossed a sheepish grin over his shoulder and left the other three to work on their homework. After depositing the library books into the hands of Madame Pince, who did indeed give him a challenging glare, he turned to go back to the Tower.

"Hey Peter, I hate to admit it, but I think you were right about that broom closet."

Peter turned towards the voice and grinned. "Hello Mel."

She gave him a small smile back.

"How'd you figure it out?"

She looked at him appraisingly, "Up for a bit of a run?"

"Excuse me?"

"I figured out the pattern it runs on. However, with a bit of experimenting, I came to the conclusion that while it does run on a particular pattern, it can deviate from it when it deems necessary."

"The closet deems deviating from its pattern necessary? That sounds mathematical," Peter grumbled.

"Yeah, I suspect if I knew more arithmancy, I could figure out the pattern and how to forcefully deviate it, but... I rather like it the way it is now. So, are we running then?" She grinned mischievously. "Come on, I've forever of detentions coming up... I might as well do something, even as small as running in the corridors, to earn it."

"Well... alright. Where to then?" Peter looked around and thought that Remus would've made a far better running partner for her.

"Right around the corner. This is one of its regular stops, we can pick up that pattern from there," Melissa started off briskly around the corner.

The two waited patiently in front of an area of wall for a few minutes until a

wooden door appeared slightly to their right.

"Come on," Melissa said, and started to run towards the Entrance Hall.

Nearly two hours later, both Gryffindors were thoroughly winded and standing near where both suspected the Ravenclaw Common Room was.

"Thanks, Peter," Melissa huffed, her hands on her knees.

"For what? Thank you. It really helps that I understand that thing," Peter wheezed back at her.

"I was kind of annoyed when we met up before. All this running helped." She straightened up and pulled her knee socks up, grinning at him. "I'll race you to the Common Room."

Peter's face mangled into one of horror and exhaustion immediately and she burst out laughing.

"I was kidding, Peter. Kidding."

Peter rolled his eyes, but allowed a relieved grin to appear on his face and with that the two Gryffindor Second Year's leisurely strolled back to the Common Room.

~~*~~

"Let me get this straight," Sirius sighed. "You've spent nearly six months working on a single closet? One closet? And you still haven't mapped out even just one floor of the castle?"

He was hovering over Peter, who'd just sketched out the pattern the broom closet tended to follow.

"Er... yes?" Peter looked up cautiously.

"How do you ever expect us to map the entire castle by the time we graduate then?"

"Well, if it bothers you so much, why don't you try to do some of the mapping?" Peter sighed and tossed down his quill. "Anyway, I've got to go meet Remus down at Hagrid's Hut, we've got detention."

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked, amused. "And what did you two barmy old codger's get up to?"

Peter glared at him. "Actually, nothing. It seems someone felt that the hedgehogs in Transfiguration needed to 'feel the fresh clean air as free hedgehogs'... that is, if I recall your words correctly."

"McGonagall collared the two of you for that one? I was sure she'd grab that Hufflepuff? You know, the one with the really light blonde hair? She's always going on about cruelty to animals or some such nonsense," Sirius chuckled.

"Remus and I were discussing your latest act of stupidity, Umbridge overheard us and ran to tell McGonagall. That hag," Peter made a face.

"McGonagall or Umbridge?"

"Umbridge? Ugh. What in the name of Merlin are you two discussing?" James had entered the room and was now crossing over to sit on Peter's bed.

"Nothing, I've got to go," Peter replied crossly and exited quickly.

"What's under his skin?" James asked, sprawling out across his friend's bed, his head on Peter's pillow.

Sirius followed suit, kicking off his shoes and lying across from his friend, propping up his feet next to James's head.

"The hedgehogs."

"Don't tell me he actually cares about the hedgehogs?"

"Nah, he and Remus got stuck with my detention for it."

"Do you ever get caught?"

"Quite often, but you should know that as you're often with me."

"That I am, hey look at this! I got the third one down!" James brandished his wand and managed to change the glass of water on Peter's night stand into a bird and then back into a glass of water.

"Nice," Sirius nodded approvingly. "Peter figured out some route of some closet for the map."

"Did he? He's been working on it for quite a bit. Oh, I meant to tell you two, there's another passageway to Hogsmeade."

Sirius sat up, looking excited. "Really? Where?"

"Under the Whomping Willow," James replied calmly.

The other boy sank back into the bed, "Fat chance of getting under that thing alive."

"Actually, it's quite simple if you know where to poke, which Remus does."

"What?" Sirius shot back up. "How does he know?"

"It's where he does to change," James told his friend.

"To Hogsmeade? That can't be safe... is he alright there? Where does he go?" Sirius looked concerned as he mulled over these points.

"To the Shrieking Shack," James replied.

"Excuse me? They put him in the most severely haunted dwelling in all of Britian? No, I think we need to have a word with Dumbledore, James, really," Sirius had jumped up midway and begun pacing.

He's insane, James thought with a smile. Four months ago, he was ready to chuck Remus to the curb and now he wants to fight with Dumbledore over werewolf rights.

"You know, Seer. I'm pretty sure this isn't such a bad arrangement... besides the fact that Remus told me that the reason it's considered the most haunted dwelling is because of him."

"He's the one making all that noise?" Sirius asked, his face falling. He paused for a moment, "Do you... I mean... it's a horrid noise... do you think it's that painful? The change and all for him? I never really thought about it."

The realization hit James like a ton of bricks as he suddenly realized he'd never thought too much about it either. "I... I guess it is that bad then." He winced.

Sirius also winced and the two boys sat and stood in silence for a long moment.

"Alright then, Potter... show me how to turn that ruddy glass of water into a bloody bird."

James broke into a mild grin, "Language, Mr. Black."

"Oh, shut up, Tessa."

James chuckled and the two boys passed the rest of the evening learning the third and fourth primer spells for animagus transfigurations.

~~*~~

"What the bloody hell was that?" A very angry Remus Lupin growled as he pulled his bed covers over his head.

"Huh?" Peter, sounding as awake as Remus felt, muttered.

Remus heard rustling from across the room as someone pulled their curtains back.

"A rooster?" A thoroughly bewildered Frank Longbottom asked.

"A rooster," James Potter confirmed, although he sounded as perplexed as Frank.

Remus listened as the thud of someone's footsteps echoed across the room.

"What the bloody hell is all..." Sirius trailed off. "Sweet Merlin..." Then he burst into laugher, as the rooster continued to crow.

The other four boys slowly stuck their heads out of the feet of their beds to look into the dormitory. Sirius Black was standing about a foot away from his bed, peering intently at his hand and then at the room around him.

"This must've taken them hours," he murmured.

"Who? What? Huh?" Peter looked even more confused.

"Oh, whatever the hell it is, just get rid of that rooster, Sirius. We can deal with the rest later," Remus growled again, beginning to curl back into bed.

"There's honey in my slippers," James muttered in disgust. "And... my wand... covered. What the hell?"

Sirius burst into laughter. In between gasps of air, Remus managed to make out, "Whole... bloody... dorm... covered... mate..."

With this, Remus pulled open his curtain violently and shoved his feet into his slippers as he stood up.

"Oh ew..." he muttered as his feet were covered in the mushy, sticky substance. "Pete, don't put your feet-" he managed to mumble before he heard Peter.

"Honey? In my slippers?" Peter sounded very confused.

Remus shook his head slightly.

Remus grabbed onto part of his bed to steady himself and found his hand covered in the same mushy, sticky substance. He recoiled and, unsure of what to do, licked his hand.

"I'm going to assume," Frank said groggily. "That this has something to do with the four of you... so I'm going back to sleep. G'night."

The rooster crowed again.

"And shut that bloody thing up, would you?"

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter all looked at one another, then at the rooster, then back to one another.

Suddenly, Sirius's face lit up in recognition, "The girls!"

The other three boys immediately recalled the stockpiling of the honey. James looked around the room, appearing faintly impressed.

"Our dorm is covered in honey," he said stupidly.

"Yes, I think we've figured that out, James," Remus replied dryly.

The rooster began to crow, but Remus cut him off in the middle of a particularly loud go. "Silencio."

"Good one, Remmy," Sirius replied. "Any ideas about the honey?"

Remus shook his head and glanced at the other two. Peter quickly shook his head but James hesitated and then pointed his wand at a patch of the floor.

"Scourgify." A small portion of the wood appeared, clean and shiny. "Oh Merlin, this'll take us until breakfast to clean," he moaned. "If only the ruddy spell were stronger."

Remus shrugged, "Well, we'd best get started. Frank was right, if this was the girls, it's our fault." He trudged to the other side of the room to begin cleaning it, pausing to pull at his slipper twice when it got stuck.

"But then it's not your fault either, Remus," James said, trudging over to a different area. "You weren't there."

Remus just shrugged again and pointed his wand, "Scourgify." He managed to clear a space about the same size as James.

Shortly, all four boys became engrossed in cleaning off patch after patch of floor as Frank snored from his bed. The boys were finishing up the bathroom, where the girls had managed to completely fill the sinks and the toilets with honey, when the sun just began to peek through the windows.

"Alright, we need to come up with a revenge strategy," Sirius said, as he finished up the last sink.

"No, no, no. No more crack of dawn roosters thank you very much," Remus muttered as he crossed the room. "I'm going back to bed. Wake me on Monday."

"Does he really plan to sleep away the entire weekend?" Peter asked, looking at his friend.

~~*~~

"Do we need to clear out the bathroom for you, Jamesy boy?" Sirius chuckled, a bit later that morning.

Remus growled incoherently from his bed, but Franks sat straight up.

"Slytherin today, isn't it? If you lot win, we'll have a chance at the Quidditch Cup."

James glanced over at Frank as though to say 'thanks for the reminder'.

Frank smirked, "But no pressure, mate."

James rolled his eyes, "I'm fine. I'm going down to meet with the team for breakfast. See you all out at the stadium."

"Knock 'em dead, Potter," Frank called out.

"Especially before they knock you dead, they are Slytherins after all," Remus advised groggily.

James chuckled, tossed his broom over his shoulder and headed down to the Great Hall. When he entered, he could see most of his own team down at the far end of the Gryffindor table and noticed several of the Slytherin team members sitting closer to the doorway to the Great Hall. He walked past them to sit with his teammates.

"Where are Em and Marlene?" he yawned as he put his broomstick in the middle of the table next to Beamish's.

"Overslept. I imagine they're being rudely awakened by the lovely Ms. Bell as we speak," Alan replied. "Now if Peter would just calm down and let us sleep in on days when there are matches..."

Peter Bell cut him off, "Can it, Beamish, or next match we'll get up at four to practice."

"Provided we make it to the finals. We've got to beat Slytherin today to do that. Have you seen their new beaters? A couple of human bludgers themselves!"

James craned his neck to look at the Slytherin team and then burst into laughter, "Crabbe and Goyle? They've got the combined intellect of a dead niffler. We're going to be fine."

"Well, let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best," Emmaline Vance muttered as she slid into the spot next to James, plopping her broom down in front of her.

Peter narrowed his eyes, "Vance, tell me you did not just quote the motto of a team that hasn't won a victory in nearly eighty years."

Emmaline rolled her eyes right back at him, "It's a decent motto."

"No, it's not. If we're quoting Cannons, the motto we'll live by is 'we shall conquer', understand?" Peter was beginning to turn red and rave. The entire team realized it would be far more beneficial for all involved if they could curtail his ramblings until they reached the locker room.

"Oh course it is, Peter," Margaret replied quickly.

"Although, let's just cross our fingers and conquer kind of has a ring to it," James smirked. Marlene tossed a roll at his head.

"It's too early for your mouth, Potter. I don't know how your dorm mates stand it."

James looked up in time to see Peter staring at him, "Sweet Merlin, Peter, what? I was just kidding. We will conquer, alright?"

"Eat, Potter."

"I'm not hungry."

"I assure you, you don't want me to forcefully cram this toast and jam down your throat."

James eyes widened for a moment as he realized his captain was serious.

"Who knows how long this match could go on, you need nourishment. Now."

James opened his mouth to protest, but Rebecca cut him off quietly, handing him a piece of bread. "Shred it and eat a few bites, then put the rest of the shreds on the sausage plate. He never notices when I do that," she whispered under her breath.

James shot her a grateful smile and proceeded to follow her directions. Most mornings before a match, the team was very quiet, but today was a bit different. Although Marlene and Emmaline were yawning and trying not to fall asleep in their porridge, which was rather normal as neither one was a morning person until they were flying through the air up on their brooms, Margaret, Alan and Peter were deep in tactical conversation and even Henry Wood and Nathan McDonald were discussing strategy.

"Ready, Potter?" Rebecca asked him as she glanced at her watch.

"Almost time, is it then?" he replied, his eyes moving towards her watch.

She nodded and grinned, he grinned back and sure enough, a moment later, Bell told them all to gather up their brooms and head out to the equipment shed.

The nine Gryffindors trooped out of the Great Hall and over to the Quidditch Stadium.

"We've got half an hour until we have to give Slytherin the field to warm up," Bell shouted at them. "Let's make the most of it! Everyone on your brooms."

The nine went through the paces and before they knew it, time was up and they were sitting in the locker preparing for Bell's pre-game speech.

"We all know that Slytherin plays dirty, so be prepared," he spoke in calm, even tones, that managed to unnerve the team more than his usual screaming did. "They've got two new beaters this year, big oafs it seems. They always did go for bulk over skill, but that said, McKinnon, Vance, be on your guard, they'll do anything to knock you clear off your brooms and they are three times your size. Vindictus has a tendency to resort to skinning when things aren't going his way, so watch out for that Chasers. Beamish, you've got to watch out for haversacking. Bode and Avery try it every game and they rarely get caught." He whirled and faced the two reserves. "And you lot, be prepared to go in at any moment, the Slytherin's won't think twice about putting any of us in the Hospital Wing for a week if it means they'll get their ten points." His voice began to raise and his normal manic pitch returned, "We will win, because we're the better team. We've got three of the greatest Chasers in the history of Hogwarts, a smashing Keeper and a pair of Beaters who are human bludgers themselves!" He dropped his tone for a second, "And I do mean that in the nicest way, ladies." Then he returned to his fevered pitch. "We need to edge them out by at least twenty points, understood? The Cup is riding on this game! Don't let me down. We will either win, or die trying." He paused and took a deep breath.

The rest of the team was sitting back, taking this all in calmly. After their first Bell pep-talk, they were accustomed to bouts of insanity and death threats that usually preceded a game.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there," he yelled. The team scrambled for their broom and prepared to walk out onto the pitch.

Waiting just inside the corridor leading out to the field, the team waited for their names to be announced, as Slytherin was being called out at the moment. James chanced a look over at Emmaline who gave him a cheeky smile and crossed her fingers, hoping for the best, he assumed. He grinned back and crossed his fingers in return. Marlene caught on and did the same, with a similar cheeky grin.

"And now, a roar of a welcome for the Gryffindor Lion's Quidditch Team! Beamish, Vance, McKinnon, Potter, Bell, Longbottom, and their captain Peter Bell. In reserve, we've got Beater Henry Wood and Keeper Nathan McDonald."

The nine Gryffindors exchanged final glances of nerves and grins and then rushed out onto the pitch to the deafening roars of the Gryffindor House, along with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

"Madame Hooch walks out onto the pitch and... there goes the Snitch. Bell and Vindictus step forwards to shake hands. I certainly hope you've got some good soap back in your dorm Bell."

"Chubb!"

"Right, sorry Professor. Anyway, the players are all mounting their brooms and their up. And there's the Quaffle! The game has begun. Bode is in possession, he passes to Vindictus who drops- oh sweet Merlin, that was a perfect Porskoff Play, fantastic! Avery is in possession, closing in on the Gryffindor goal posts and- Better luck next time, Beamish. Slytherin scores the first goal of the game and the score is now ten, nothing Slytherin."

James shot forwards to catch intercept the Quaffle from between Avery and Bode and glanced around to find Rebecca and Margaret. The two were set up to try the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, but Goyle was in his way. A moment later, James burst into a grin as he saw Emmaline smash the Bludger right at Goyle, who wasn't paying attention. The heavy iron ball smashed into his stomach and nearly knocked him off his broom, leaving a spot for James to drop into position for complete the formation. The three Chasers shot down the field to the Slytherin goal posts and as the last moment hurled the ball to Rebecca, who shot it effortlessly through the hoop.

"Longbottom scores and the teams are now tied!"

James burst into laughter as he heard Frank's voice scream from the stands, "That's my sister!" He glanced over and saw Rebecca beaming with pride and raised a hand with his fingers crossed to her. She laughed and flew off after Vindictus. A Bludger sailed his way, causing him to roll on his broom. He dropped the Quaffle and Rebecca grabbed it, tossing it to James who managed to shoot it right past Derrick Zabini in the goal.

A moment later, James felt a heavy object slam into his back and he nearly somersaulted off his broom. Marlene and Emmaline both shot over to him, Marlene sending the Bludger flying back from whence it came, and Emmaline grabbing onto his to keep him on his broom.

"Alright then, Potter?" she yelled.

He winced and rubbed his back, "Alright then, Vance. Go."

She nodded and was off again before he could blink. Before he had much of a chance to recover, Margaret sent the Quaffle flying his way. He caught it, tucked it under his arm and set off, flying straight at the Slytherin Keeper. He feinted at the last moment and scored through the left ring.

"Bode's in possession and he's heading straight for the Gryffindor Keeper. Come on, Beamish, don't be such a ninny, catch the bloody thing!"

"CHUBB!"

"Right, sorry Profes- YES! Beamish made the save. The Quaffle's back in play and Avery has it, he's passed to Vindictus, who's passed it back to Bode, he shoots- There's a whistle. Madame Hooch is calling a foul. Good eye, Madame! Bode is called on haversacking. Penalty shot to Gryffindor, Potter's taking it. He lines up, shoots and it's fifty- ten Gryffindor!"

The stands erupted and the other three houses easily managed to drown out the boo's from Slytherin.

James took a moment to glance through the crowd and quickly found Sirius, Remus and Peter sitting in the stands with Frank. Well, not necessarily sitting. Frank and Sirius were pressed up against the front of the box a hair's inch from toppling right out as they screamed insults at the Slytherin team and encouragements to the Gryffindors. Peter was seated and watching half heartedly and James had to bite back a laugh when he realized that Remus was reading a book. He was shocked back into reality when a Bludger whizzed past his head.

"Oi, Potter," Bell screamed down at him. "Keep your head in the game!"

James reddened and shot off after Margaret and Rebecca who were volleying the Quaffel back and forth, attempting to get past the Slytherin Chasers. He saw Margaret suddenly drop the ball and grab onto her broom handle with both hands. A whistle quickly followed.

"Penalty shot to Bell for blagging. That'll teach you to touch a ladies broom without permission Crabbe," Agatha Chubb crowed from the announcer's box.

"Sixty- ten Gryffindor! Fantastic job, Bell, not that Zabini could stop that Quaffle even if it had an Impedimentia Curse on it to slow it down."

"Chubb!"

"Sorry, Professor."

"Young lady, if you intend to keep this job, then you'll have to shape up, you can't insult the players, you need to respect- WHAT IS HE DOING?!? Are you blind, Hooch? He was clearly cobbing, that slimey, little-"

"Exactly, Professor," the entire stadium could hear the laughter in Agatha's voice as they chuckled. "Another goal by Longbottom, seventy- ten, Gryffindor."

James happened to turn back to look at Emmaline just in time to see Goyle and Crabbe hit the Bludger at the same time, with all their force, and watched as it smashed directly into the back of her head. She forward off her broom and was probably unconscious before she even started to fall. As she plummeted to the ground, he could the blood pouring out of the wound in the back of her head. He was so shocked he didn't move. Fortunately, Peter Bell noticed a moment after him and dove, nearly vertical to the ground, to grab her before she smashed into the grass below. A time out was called as Madame Pomfrey rushed onto the field as magicked Emmaline off the field and into the castle. A moment later, the rest of the team landed.

Marlene looked paler than Sir Nicholas and Rebecca and Margaret both put their arms around her.

"Grab your broom, Wood," Bell managed through clenched teeth. His eyes following the path Madame Pomfrey and Emmaline were making towards the castle.

He looked each of them in the eye, "We're going to win this."

"Yes, Peter," Rebecca quickly agreed, the rest of the team following suite.

"They're playing dirty, but we're better. We'll beat them, and we'll beat them fair."

Overhead, James could head Agatha announcing, "Gryffindor Beater Emmaline Vance has been escorted off the field by Madame Pomfrey. Gryffindor will receive three penalty shots and the Slytherin Beaters have a ten minutes time out. And it looks like the time out is over. In for Vance is Henry Wood, new to the team this year, he's got an impressive record to live up to, his brother Hampton Wood was captain for three years until he graduated four years ago."

James kicked off and was soon up in the air with a new determination. Within ten minutes, Rebecca, Margaret and he managed to score six goals. By the time Crabbe and Goyle returned to the air, Gryffindor was in the lead one hundred and thirty to ten.

"What's this? Bell has seen the Snitch! He's shooting off towards the Slytherin goal posts and, what's this, no! It can't be! Zabini just snitchnipped! Penalty to Gryffindor. Bell takes the Quaffle. One hundred and forty to ten, Gryffindor!"

The crowd screamed with anger and James was certain he recognized the voice behind several choice words to be Sirius Black. He chanced a glance over at his friends again and his suspicion was verified. Frank looked just as red and angry as Sirius, even Peter was sitting forward in his seat. Remus was still engrossed in whatever he was reading.

James's eyes scanned for the Quaffle and he found it in Avery's hands. He shot after them, but the three Slytherin Chaser's reached the Gryffindor goal posts first. James heard Alan gasp as the Slytherin's stooged him. Bode and Vindictus knocked him so hard he flew right off his broom, as Avery shot the Quaffle in. James watched horrified as Alan plummeted to the ground and he could've sworn he heard the crack of bones when the Fourth Year boy landed.

A general outcry came from the Gryffindor section, quickly joined by the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

"Bloody hell!" Chubb exclaimed and for once Professor Sprout let her be. "Stooging! Another time out's been called, but Beamish still seems to be conscious. Gryffindor receives another penalty shot and, oh, it looks like Beamish is out of the game. Madame Pince seems to be helping him towards the castle. His reserve, Nathan McDonald, joins the team as they return to the air."

James received the Quaffle from Margaret and tossed it to Rebecca, where it was intercepted by Bode.

"Jenkins is off, he's spotted the snitch! Sweet Merlin, Bell, catch up, you can't let Slytherin win!"

"Chubb! Impartiality, how many times have I told-"

"Sorry, Profes- Jenkins has the snitch! The match is over. Gryffindor- one hundred and forty points. Slythering- one hundred and sixty." An audible groan came over the announcements. "Slytherin wins and is now in first place for the Quidditch Cup. But with Hufflepuff right on their tails, I might add. Now there's a game I'm looking forward to. Good afternoon everyone, this is Agatha Chubb, Quidditch announcer extraordinaire, signing off. "