The Memoirs of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Padfoot on Prongs:

James Potter, Jay, Jimbo, Jamsie, Jim-Jam, Potter, Pothead, Potbrain, Pottie, Jam, or just plain Prongs if you like is an extraordinary Quidditch player.

There is absolutely no doubt about it.

Currently I am sitting high up in the stands on the Quidditch Pitch watching James zoom around the pitch, he's in training for the last game of the season- Gryffindor versus Slytherin, the fateful game that determines who wins the Quidditch Cup. Winning the final game means everything to James, it's his final and last game that he'll ever play at Hogwarts, he's been training every night for the past three weeks along with his team, but he tends to stay out much later than his team mates, training sometimes even until midnight or until McGonagall herself marches down to the pitch and tells him to 'get inside this instant'.

Not that Prongs needs to train, he's the best Quidditch player that I've ever seen, and I'm not just saying that because he's my best friend. Basically the whole school agrees with me, except for the Slytherins of course.

But they wouldn't know the difference between a good chaser and a fly if it flew in front of them waving flags and yelling 'Slytherins are idiots'.

Sometimes I hate it that James has all the talent on the Quidditch Pitch, he's the best flyer that Hogwarts has seen in centuries, and sometimes I wish that I could have that talent as well, I play Quidditch sometimes at James' place but I am nothing compared to him, it's hard to keep up with Hogwarts' best Chaser.

James is something of a hero at Hogwarts. He wants to win this game not only for the glory of the House Cup but because he wants to prove himself, he wants to show the world what he's capable of.

I think the only reason why he stays out flying on his broomstick so late is because this could possibly be the last time that he plays Quidditch, ever. He loves the feeling of being up in the air, with his worries slowly dwindling away; if he could he'd fly around all night.

I know he feels this way because he's described it to me countless times. It's exhilarating to hear him talk of flying, like there is nothing else in the world that matters to him at that moment except for getting on a broom and flying as high and far as humanly possible, without a care in the world. That's one of the things that I admire about James, when he's passionate about something, he's extremely passionate about it, nothing ever stops him from achieving it, and nothing can stand in his way, he's extremely resilient.

James has goals and morals that he's set in life and he will go that extra mile to achieve them. He gives everything he's got, the whole of himself and he won't stop until he's achieved it.

Although this is a great trait to have, sometimes it can get extremely frustrating. James just never gives up, like when Snivellus once challenged James to a duel in the middle of the night at the start of the year. James still wanted to go through with it, knowing perfectly well that he would be caught by Filch or McGonagall, he just didn't care as long as he didn't give Snivellus the satisfaction that James had been too scared of getting in trouble for him to go. In the end Moony had to threaten to tell McGonagall about it. It worked and James didn't go but his pride was surely hurt. The only reason James cared about Moony telling McGonagall was because James is Head Boy and his being Head Boy means that you have to act accordingly, so if Moony had told McGonagall about the duel then James would have been in danger of having his badge taken away. They take that sort of stuff very seriously here.

Another instance of when Prongs just wouldn't give up, is, of course, Lily Evans. James has liked Lily for ages, we've had to put up with him talking of Lily non-stop for four solid years now, and believe me, it is extremely annoying. Over the years we've done everything in our power to stop James going after and liking Lily, but nothing seemed to work; we even payed girls to seduce him in 5^th year, and that failed miserably. We tried setting up dates for him with every girl imaginable, that didn't work either, we brewed love potions, they only worked for a week or so, and then wore off. No matter how hard we tried to change James' mind, he was in love with Lily, and nothing could sway his mind. As much as I love Jamie, it is extremely boring hearing about some girl non-stop for four years, and it is also annoying when he just doesn't give up on things when they're a danger to his pride. Sometimes he's just too proud for his own good.

His dad told me once that when James was five he got on his broomstick and tried to fly to the moon, not having any idea of the endless amount of space that he'd have to fly through to get there, not to mention the loss of air as you get higher up. I have no idea why he'd want to fly to the moon, when I asked him about it he got all embarrassed. Quite amusing really. Maybe he thought that the moon was made of cheese. He's always had a particular taste for cheese.

It's kind of sad to think that our days here at Hogwarts are slowly drawing to a close. Some of our best times were spent on these very grounds.

Neither James nor I know what we're going to do after Hogwarts but I doubt that James will ever fulfil his dreams of becoming a professional Quidditch player, because with the fight against Voldemort we want to be helpful to the good side. We want to fight the good fight. James hates the Dark Arts; he always has, especially since his close family friends died at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He wants to seek revenge.

It's so easy; the way people's lives can just end. One minute they're there, the next, they're gone for eternity. We're going to do everything we can to stop this happening to more innocent people.

"Hi", a voice interrupted my thoughts; I looked over to the source of the voice. It was Lily Evans. Standing there in her black school robes, cheeks slightly pink and her thick red hair tied in a ponytail, she looked down at me with bright emerald almond shaped eyes, then looked back up to watch James.

"Hi," I replied.

It isn't possible to describe James without mentioning Lily Evans- the current love of James' life. Or rather, the only love of his life. He's liked Lily ever since the first time he laid eyes on her. It started out innocent enough, we thought it was just an innocent crush that regular teenagers have on each other when they're young, little did we know that we'd be hearing about how beautiful her 'gleaming hair' and 'striking green eyes' were every night for the next four years.

And little did James know that Lily would hate him with a passion.

Until now, that is. Lily had always despised James for hexing people just because he could and thinking he was cool, as a matter of fact, when he used to ask her out she replied that she'd rather go out with the giant squid than James. Then, this year, everything changed, Lily started to get along with James, because he pulled his head in a bit and started to act more mature. Surprisingly enough Lily actually started to tolerate him; mainly because they were forced to since Lily is Head Girl and James is Head Boy. Then James did something really sweet for her, I'm not sure what, he didn't tell me, and he asked her out, she said yes, and now they are mad about each other. The rest is history.

"How long has he been out here?" Lily asked, looking up at James as she sat down.

"A couple of hours," I replied as I watched James flying around the goal posts, doing impressive stunts.

"I don't know how he does it," Lily said, still staring up at James.

"What?" I asked.

"How he can stay up there for so long, just flying."

"That's James. That's what he does."

Lily didn't reply, instead she gazed up at James with a wistful look in her eyes. I needed no more proof. This was genuine love.

After a while, Lily stood up and said bye, she left without another word.

James was still flying high up in the air, oblivious to everything around him; it was like the world had stopped for him. He doesn't notice anything when he is up on his broom, and yet, he notices everything. If that makes sense.

I guess by now you're probably wondering 'What the heck does this James Potter look like anyway?' Well, for one thing, he has extremely messy jet-black hair, it never lies flat, (no matter how much of Sleekeasy's Hair Potion you put in it, believe me, we've tried it. Many times). He likes his messy hair though, he has a habit of mussing it up every time Lily's around, I think he thinks that it makes him look 'cool', you know that 'I-Just-Got-Off-My-Broomstick look' (I'll never understand the ways of James Potter fully). James has hazel eyes, a thin face and black-rimmed glasses. He's also skinny and tall, (but not as tall as me of course).

It's not possible when describing James not to mention the fact that he's really intelligent. In fact, I think he's one of the smartest people at Hogwarts, (excluding the teacher's and myself of course!) Nah, actually, he's probably smarter then me, not that I'd ever tell him that. That's probably the main reason that he was chosen to become Head Boy, that and the fact that he's actually matured since he started at Hogwarts. The teachers see something in James that not many other people have.

All the teachers basically love James because he always gets top marks in all the subjects, especially Transfiguration. McGonagall really favours him, not that she'd ever admit it, because he gets top in transfiguration and he brings Gryffindor glory every time he walks onto the Quidditch Pitch. He's only ever lost a single game, and he had a good reason for it.

James' best subject is of course, Transfiguration, his wand is made for it, and he had to be good at it to become an Animagus, he was the first out of himself, Peter and I to achieve becoming Animagi, (shortly followed by myself, of course), Prongs' Animagus form is a stag obviously. I can still remember the day when James found out that his Animagus form was a stag; the conversation went something like this:

"I'm..... I'm.... a stag!" James said suddenly and excitedly.

"A stag? You mean a deer? The ones that live in the forest and stuff?" Peter asked.

"No the one's that live in igloos, of course they live in forests idiot," James said impatiently.

"The ones that frolic and prance around?" I asked teasingly.

"Shut up Sirius, deer don't frolic, they cavort, and anyway, it's a stag not a deer," said James quite insulted.

"Oh really? I thought they were the same thing, and that they frolicked around, you know, being deer and all," I teased.

"Shut up, you don't even know what you're form is yet, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a slug or something equally hideous," James grinned.

Yes, the conversation went something like that, (did I mention that I have an extremely good memory?), no, the first questions when we found out that James knew his Animagus form were not "How do you know that?" "Why a stag?" It was something totally in a marauder tradition, some smart-arsed comment about James being a frolicking deer. That's just the way we are. I think that people aren't your friends if you can't make fun of them, not seriously teasing them, just having a laugh at them.

I really have no idea why James is a deer, I guess it's as Moony says, it's like an extension, a reflection of a person's character, it's like the wand chooses the wizard, it's the same with Animagus, the Animagus form chooses the person, not the other way around, the person doesn't actually have a choice as to what form they are.

So I gather that James likes frolicking.

No, okay, seriously, I don't know what stags are like, but I think it's because they come across as noble, respectable and decent. Which is exactly what James is. So it is in a way, an extension of his character. He is decent, even if he may not come across that way to some, he is decent to those whom are decent to him, he is respectable, and he has enormous loyalty and respect for people that are his friends.

If James had to choose between saving his own life or saving his friends lives I know that he'd without a doubt choose the latter. Just like any of us would do for each other.

I admire Prongs, perhaps more then anyone in my life, he's the only one who's made a real impact on me; he's made me realize things about life that no one else could have possibly made me appreciate, he's showed me precious lessons about life that I'll never forget, ever. He's taught me the true meaning of friendship, something that no one else could have shown me.

James is my brother. Well the only brother that I'll ever have. We've shared our best and worst moments with each other, he's been there for me when I've needed it most, he's the one I always turn to whenever I've needed something, he's never turned his back on me, we've had small trivial fights, but every time we make amends our friendship is all the more stronger for it. Most people will agree that it is rare to see James and I separated, we are always with one another, no matter where we are, or what we're doing, we are always together.

When I needed somewhere to go when I ran away from home James' family took me in, they treated me like a second son; they gave me the kind of family affection that my family would have never given.

They are my real family, and I'm extremely grateful for it.

Though I love James' family, there is one thing about his family that annoys me. Now don't get me wrong, I love and appreciate James' family as much as the next person (well more then the next person, actually), but to me, it seems that they are almost too perfect. James has the perfect, loving affectionate parents, and his parents have the perfect son. Though the problem with this is that they hide their feelings, they make out that they're the happiest family in the world but behind what you see and how they act you can never know what they're actually feeling. James is like that sometimes, he doesn't want to show that he's been hurt, or that something's hurt him because he's too proud, he hides his feelings to most people, and also to me. That's what annoys me, sometimes I wish that he'd tell me about what he is feeling but he doesn't because that would show people that James is just like the rest of us, and that he can be hurt as well. He doesn't want people to see this, because he sees it a weakness, he isn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so to say. I guess a lot of people are like that, Moony is definitely like that. But it still annoys me.

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm jealous of James' family. There, I said it. That's what really irks me, I hate it that James has the perfect family and I don't. He has loving parents; I have parents that'd slam the door in my face if I ever knocked on their door. I wish I could, just for one day, have parents like James, I wish I had parents that loved me for who I am, not hated me because of who I wanted to be. I'm grateful that James' parents took me in as a second son, but they aren't my real family, I wish that my own parents could be more like James'. Most of the time I really don't care that my parents hate me, in fact, I take pleasure in knowing how much they must despise me, but sometimes I wish that they could have loved me, that they could accept that I didn't want to be like them, that they could have been more loving and affectionate. But I guess that would be asking for a damn miracle.

James is probably the most popular guy at Hogwarts; he has everything that anyone would want; immense talent on the Quidditch Pitch, classic good looks, enormous courage, and he's one of the smartest people I know.

That's exactly why Severus Snape, (Also Known As Snivellus) is his worst enemy. Snape is envious of everything that James has become, and they both hate each other with a passion, ever since they laid eyes on each other they've loathed each other.

Its quite amusing actually to see James hex Snivellus right into next week, although James doesn't often do it just because he can; he does it because Snape can't just simply walk past James in a corridor and leave him alone, he can't resist cursing James any chance that he gets, so really, James is only defending himself. You can't really expect Prongs just to lay down for Snape and let him hex and curse the crap out of him. Snape is a little oddball that's up to his eyes in the Dark Arts, I remember when James and I first met on the Hogwarts Express and my cousins tried to introduce me to Snape, he knew more curses in his first year than all the sixth years put together. That's the main reason James hates Snape, James absolutely hates the Dark Arts and dark wizards so it's only natural that he would hate Snape, a freak whom immersed himself in the Dark Arts, as well, the feelings mutual for both of them.

"Hey," my concentration was interrupted for the second time, and I looked up to see James standing in front of me still wearing his Quidditch robes and a hand clutching his broomstick.

"Finished?" I asked as James sat down next to me.

"Yeah, I guess so," James said, wiping down his face on his robe sleeve, "what was Lily doing?" he asked.

"She came to watch you fly for a bit."

"Oh. I can't believe it's the last game tomorrow, it's almost too hard to believe," James gazed over the dark pitch with a poignant look in his hazel eyes.

"Yeah, James Potter's last flight."

"You know all these years we've been complaining about school, now I don't really want to leave."

"I know, I'm definitely going to miss Hogwarts, it seems like the only safe place around anymore," I replied.

"Yeah." We sat there in silence for a while, reminiscing, "Padfoot,"

"Yeah?"

"I've never really told you how much I appreciate... this..."

"What?" I asked, looking at James.

"This," he gestured around him, "you, just sitting there, waiting for me while I do my thing, and how you're always there for me, your the best friend that I've ever had, and I appreciate it," James looked at me with appreciation.

"Aw Prongs, don't go all sentimental on me now, we can't have our best Chaser crying his eyes out tomorrow," I mocked. I just couldn't keep serious in serious situations.

"Haha very funny, I'm not crying. But I do mean it. I appreciate you being there all the time, you're like a brother to me," James said.

"James, we are brothers, I don't have any other brothers except for you and the guys." I said, this time seriously.

James looked over at me and smiled, "Well what's Regulus meant to be then?" he asked sounding amused.

"Regulus? Who's that?" I asked with a feigned bewildered look on my face, James and I sat back and laughed. Of course Regulus was my brother, not by choice, but by blood, I don't really classify him as a brother though.

It doesn't matter that James' blood is not my blood, blood isn't even important when it comes to something like friendship; all that matters is that we share the same thing that has kept us together for all these years- the unbreakable bond of eternal friendship.