The Marauders' Memories

Chapter Two:

Memories of a Golden Snitch and an Apple Pie

"I can't believe you still have that," James said, looking somewhat dazed. Lupin handed the tiny, golden ball to James, who took it and held it in his palm as if it were a priceless treasure. The merry flames of the fire glowed against it, making it shimmer happily in James' hand. "How did you get it?"

"After the game that day, we hung out in the common room all night, remember?" replied Lupin. "But you forgot about the Snitch and I saw it glinting under the couch, so I kept it in my box."

"That was one of the best days of my Quidditch career," James smiled, still gazing at the Snitch. "I could've played for England if I didn't grow up chasing Death-Eaters."

"I could retell this story as if it happened yesterday...."

***Flashback***

The Snitch

James sunk nervously in his seat, staring blankly at the piece of toast in front of him. The Great Hall was drenched with the excited voices of people supporting their favorite House teams, but James sat there with an empty expression, feeling as sick as the day he tasted a blood-flavored lollipop at Honeydukes.

"James, buck up," Sirius said, hitting him boyishly in the back. "It's gonna be a fun game, I can feel it."

When James still had his head in his hands and didn't respond, Lupin got worried. "You have to eat something or you will fall off your broom in the middle of the game."

"I don't see how we're going to win," James said nervously, his voice surging with tremors. "We need at least two hundred points to beat Slytherin. It's my last chance at the cup, and we need two hundred--."

"Stop thinking about that," Sirius commanded, shaking James by the shoulders. "The only thing you need to do is bide your time. Only catch the Snitch when you're team is at least fifty points ahead of Slytherin. If you catch it before then, you'll win the match, but lose the cup."

"Catch the Snitch," James repeated, sounding as dead as a ghost. "Who says I'm going to catch the Snitch? And the Chasers on the Slytherin team are really good...."

"You will catch the Snitch," Lupin said confidently. "You are James Potter. You were born to fly on a broom. You will catch it."

James' nerves were still trembling fiercely. Gryiffindor had never been so far behind since he had joined the team. This was his last year at Hogwarts, his last chance to win the Quidditch Cup for his house, and his last official Hogwarts game ever. Frightening thoughts popped up in his head one after another. They said things like "You're last game has to be great...don't ruin it." They wouldn't stop ringing in his ears.

"If you don't catch the Snitch, the Slytherins will never let you live it down."

"You could get hit by a Bludger and get knocked off your broom."

"Who knows what dirty schemes are up those Slytherins' sleeves, you've got to be extra careful."

"Don't embarrass yourself in front of the school...in front of Lily Evans...."

Lily's name lingered in his head, repeating itself over and over again. James shook his head a bit, and started to turn dangerously green.

"How're you feeling, mate?" Sirius said, trying to comfort James. "You've just got to relax and have fun."

"Yeah...have fun...." James repeated, half-believing Sirius. His stomach tightened even more with every minute of time he spent staring at his toast. He was trying to remember all of the plays that the team worked on during their grueling practices, but every single time he tried, a certain emptiness filled his head and his stomach just got worse.

"C'mon James, you only have ten minutes left to eat," Lupin said as he passed him a bit of orange marmalade. James ignored it and wished there was a way to slow time.

"You'll feel better if you eat. You've been pacing around the dormitory since before the sun was up." Sirius said, pushing James' toast towards him. James broke off a corner of his toast with his trembling fingers and swallowed it dryly, the marmalade on it settled uneasily in his stomach.

"That's not enough, James," Lupin said with an accusing tone. James, however, swallowed deeply and a thoroughly disgusted look came over his face.

"What happened?"

"Aww sick!" he said, sticking his tongue out. "I totally just threw up in my mouth!"

Sirius started laughing. "Eww, gross, man! You must be nervous!"

"Alright, that's it, I give up," James announced. He pushed his toast away, finished up his orange juice, and left his friends at the table. Sirius took James' toast.

"We wouldn't want this to go to waste," he said, spooning large globs of marmalade all over the bread. Ten seconds later, a red-haired girl approached them.

"Um...where's James?" She asked. Sirius was too busy licking sticky crumbs off his fingers to respond.

"Hey Lily. He just left," replied Lupin. Lily's eyes drained of their nervous enthusiasm. "He looks like a total nervous wreck," Lupin added, shaking his head.

"Oh, no," Lily said sadly. "Is he okay?"

"He's about to throw up!" Sirius said with an immature tone.

"Thanks for that, Sirius, but I should go find him," said Lily. She seemed worried as she turned and left the hall at a fast pace, her shoes clanking softly as she ran.

James was almost out the door when Lily's voice echoed into the entrance hall.

"James! James!" said Lily's voice. She ran into the hall and caught up with him at the door. When he heard her voice, he stopped his depressed waltz and turned half-heartedly towards Lily, his eyes looked as tired as if he had stayed up all night. Lily stood in front of James, looking up at him, and seeming a bit short of breath herself.

"I just wanted to say," she said, gazing into his deep brown eyes, "Uh...good luck today...and I'll be watching...." She too began to look a bit nervous.

"Er...thanks, Evans," said James, turning to face Lily.

"And I know how nervous you'll be getting out there and all that," Lily said, now looking a bit pale, "But...well, you'll do great." Her perfectly manicured hand reached out and grabbed James' hand. She kept looking confidently into his eyes, and he looked worriedly into hers, but something happened the second her hand touched his that made Quidditch seem extremely unimportant. As a matter of fact, at that moment, he suddenly didn't care if he won the cup. He knew that the one girl he really, truly loved was watching him, and that's all that mattered to him right now. All of his worries and the echoing sounds in his head died, and the doubtful mist in his head turned into thoughts of Lily watching him as he heroically caught the Snitch, her face shining with pride and admiration...and maybe even love....

She let go of his hand after that moment, and whispered a last "Good luck," and left as quickly as she had come, leaving the stunned figure of James in the entrance hall. He stood in the same spot for a few seconds and sighed. He opened the doors to the grounds. Squinting in the bright sunlight, he was swallowed into the warm, breezy morning as he walked to the Quidditch pitch.

The wind ruffled his already tousled hair when he walked towards the changing rooms. He left his broom in there the night before so he wouldn't have a desire to stare at it in his dormitory and ride it in the middle of the night. Feeling somewhat relieved, he walked through the tumbling air and into the changing room. He took out his broom and walked towards the light-engulfed stadium.

He mounted his broom, and taking a last, deep breath, he kicked off and soared into the air. Immediate relief spread through his body. Flying was one of his favorite things to do. He began doing laps around the pitch, swerving in and out of the goal posts and practicing sudden, dangerous dives now and then, pretending to fake out the other team's Seeker. He looked towards the stands a few times, looking to see if Lily was watching, but of course, she wasn't.

"Potter! Oy! Potter!" a voice called underneath him. He looked down and saw his Quidditch captain, Micheal Wood, calling to him from the shining grass. James dived a last spectacular dive and landed on the ground with an exaggerated hop.

"You nervous?" asked the captain.

"Yeah a little bit," James lied, "But it's no big deal. I'll get over it."

"Good because there are a few things we have to go over."

"You said that yesterday, Micheal," James said, waving his hand dismissively. "I know about everything that you're going to lecture me on. Only catch it if we're over fifty points up."

"That's not all I wanted to say, Potter."

James' doubt was visible in his eyes. "Oh?"

"No pressure."

"Yeah right," thought James as he plastered a fake smile on himself and started walking towards the changing rooms with his captain.

A few of the players were already changing and talking about new strategies. They were all smiling and buzzing excitedly as they pulled on their uniforms and took out their brooms. Of course, they were all a bit nervous, but they would always come through for Gryffindor, especially after all of those practices. None of them, however, looked as nervous as James.

He sat on a bench, dropped his broom down next to him, and buried his head in his hands with his elbows trembling on shaking knees. He wouldn't look up or speak to anyone. He hoped that nobody would speak to him, fearing that if he opened his mouth, he would throw up. He tried to seem invisible, but knowing that he couldn't do that without his Invisibility Cloak, he wished he had it with him.

"You must be excited," said a voice. James reluctantly looked up and saw his fellow teammate--a Beater--who also happened to be a friend.

"Yeah, excited," James lied again.

"Did you stay up all night again?" asked the Beater. James blushed and turned his head back to the floor. "It's okay. It'll be all you out there, so have fun."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Meanwhile, back in the Great Hall, Lupin was trying to get Peter and Sirius to go to the Quidditch pitch.

"Get up now!"

"Hang on, Moony! There's just so much glorious orange marmalade...." Sirius said, still spooning glob after glob onto a third piece of toast.

"You can eat toast tomorrow...Sirius, don't do that...that's disgusting...."

"Hey! I wanted to lick the spoon!" Peter said with an expression of anguish and defeat.

"You snooze, you loose. You got to lick it last time."

"Fine. I get to drink out of the syrup bottle."

"Fine! I already finished half of it!"

"James is counting on us to be out there right now," Lupin said, trying to lift one of Peter's heavy arms. He clung to the table, and eventually Lupin gave up and sat down next to Sirius. "Did I mention you two have just about the worst table manners I've ever seen?"

Sirius didn't hear Lupin because of his marmalade preoccupation.

"I guess I'll just go down there by myself," sighed Lupin.

"No, no, I'm done. I'm coming," Sirius said, throwing down his spoon and rising, making sure his syrup-and-marmalade-covered fingers weren't touching anything.

Peter licked hungrily at his own fingers, following his friends out of the hall.

"Uh oh," Sirius said suddenly, stopping and looking down.

"What's wrong now?"

"My hand is sticking to my robes...hold on...."

Lupin let out an exasperated sigh, rolled his eyes, and continued walking towards the pitch while Sirius followed, yanking his hand over and over again without any luck.

By the time they had reached the Quidditch pitch, the game was about to start. The excited voices of the students had multiplied hundreds of times. They joined the rest of the scarlet-covered Gryffindors just as the names of their team players were booming overhead.

"MICHEAL WOOD!"

A large roar erupted from the stands. Micheal flew into view and circled around the pitch.

"MADDISON BURKE!"

Another cheer followed. An athletic girl flew into view this time and circled the pitch faster than Wood. Other than looks, she was known for speed.

"JAMES POTTER!"

James exploded into the pitch looking like a scarlet blur. A thunderous cheer arose from three sections of stands. The Slytherins' "boos" were drowned out completely. He dove into his position, and anxiously glanced over at the stands hoping to see Lily, but he couldn't find her.

The captains had already shaken hands. A sharp whistle blew. James kicked off and soared into the air, wrapped in his free feeling. He looked for the other team's Seeker.

"Don't count on ending up the hero, Potter," a voice sneered behind him. It was the Seeker.

"Don't be so sure," he said with a charming smile. He dove skillfully, and the Seeker followed him close. James turned left and right randomly and expertly, never loosing his balance or missing a beat. The Seeker tried to block him a few times, but James would simply fly above him or dive beneath him without staggering or looking the least bit surprised.

After swiftly dodging a well-aimed Bludger, James saw something that made his heart race--a glint of gold hovering in the middle of the pitch. He dove instantly. Behind him, the Slytherin Seeker was following close.

The Snitch was darting around rapidly. James had to lose the other Seeker. He dove again, heading straight for the ground. The Seeker followed. James was almost totally vertical...he was about to hit the ground....

He suddenly pulled out of his dive and headed straight up. The other Seeker was so near the ground that he didn't have enough time to do the same. Instead, he crashed, smashing the front end of his broom to pieces and hurling him five feet into the air.

James didn't have time to see what happened. He was soaring fifty feet above the scene, looking around desperately for the Snitch. It was zooming away from the place where it was. James' heart raced. It was on the other side of the pitch! Suddenly, it began to fly higher. James attempted to follow it. He flattened himself against his broom. His face was contorted with concentration as he speedily flew after it as quickly as if he were a Snitch himself.

He was getting closer and closer. He had his arm extended. Unexpectedly, the Snitch dived! James made a grab, but he missed, almost falling forward and off his broom. He wheeled himself around and saw that, in the few crucial seconds he wasted straightening himself up, the Snitch was hovering fifty feet from the ground, whereas he was about a hundred, and it was almost on the other side of the pitch...again!

A frantic thought crossed his mind. But was it too desperate? He had to try it. He checked the score. He was fifty points up. He had to do it now, or the Snitch might disappear.

He didn't dive for the Snitch this time. He flew towards the speeding Snitch, the same fifty feet above it. The Snitch suddenly stopped, darting wildly again. It was too far below. He wouldn't be able to catch it...unless....

He climbed and stood on top of his broom, holding his arms out, trying to balance. The Snitch was still there. He had to jump for it. He pushed the broom down with his feet and jumped off, aiming for the little gold spot. His broom was speeding downwards at almost the same rate he fell. He was falling closer to the ground, but he couldn't pull out of his dive this time. He extended his arm as far as it would go....

His fingers grasped a cold ball with madly fluttering wings. This wasn't the end of his troubles, though. His broom was falling too quickly. His heart skipped several beats as he tried to figure out what to do. He would crash if he didn't do something.

"Just pretend it's a Snitch...."

He extended his arm again. The tail of his broom was right in front of his hand. He desperately grabbed the sharp bristles, and was carried upward into the air. Climbing one-handedly onto his broom, he directed himself easily to the ground.

"POTTER HAS THE SNITCH! ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

James was knocked clean off his broom by his teammates. A monstrous roar burst from the stands along with a unanimous sigh of relief. Half of the audience was pale. Wood hugged James tightly, tears rising in their eyes. Maddison's face was white and relieved as well, and she handed a large, silver trophy to him. James took it. It was the Quidditch Cup.

His hands went numb and tears stung his eyes. It was his year at last. Half-believing himself, he was swallowed up by the rest of his team in a tangle of embraces. He lifted the silver cup above his head.

The rest of the Gryffindors embraced the team wildly. James was lifted into the air. The voices of the other three pale-faced Marauders found him and called up to him.

"I knew you could do it, James! Didn't I tell you? That was spectacular!" Lupin's voice cried.

"You did it, man! You pulled it off again! That was bloody brilliant mate, bloody brilliant...." Shouted Sirius.

"That was amazing, Prongs, really it was! Not to mention utterly terrifying...." Peter's voice squeaked.

"Yeah, James, Peter wet himself by the way."

James laughed heartily. As he was being carried around, he looked for a certain face. Just then, right beside him, it stood out. A girl's sparkling green eyes were shining with tears.

James leaped down from the arms of the gracious crowd and stood tentatively in front of Lily. He watched tears run down her face. She sobbed and ran at James, hugging him tightly. Staggering back a bit, he embraced her too. A moment later, she kissed him, and James kissed her back, taking full advantage of the moment.

Later, Sirius gave James another boyish slap in the back when they were partying in the common room.

"Looks like you won twice, eh, mate?"

* * *

Lily smiled admiringly at James. "You really did scare me that day, falling off your broom just to catch the Snitch."

James was still holding it, smiling broadly. "I became a legend that day. I hope Harry grows up to play for Gryffindor. It'd make me proud to see him on a broom."

"No doubt he will," agreed Lupin. "He's your son."

"Yes, your son," laughed Sirius. "I can see it now: Harry running around Hogwarts, blowing up random things and levitating toads on heads--."

"He won't be levitating anything on anyone's head, Sirius, grow up," Lily said sternly. Sirius laughed again.

"He's his son and my godchild!" Sirius lifted baby Harry and held him snugly in his arms. "We'll grow up together, won't we?"

Harry giggled as if he was agreeing with Sirius. Lupin searched through the box while James and Sirius watched. He eventually pulled out a golden teaspoon.

"Now you have to guess what this is."

"It's a spoon!" Sirius said triumphantly.

"Not just a spoon. I'll give you a hint: it's from fourth year."

"Is that from the time when we tried to make the world's biggest waffle?" James asked excitedly. "And when Sirius tried to seduce an apple pie?"

"Precisely."