Sirius Black loved James potter as if he was his own brother, but godric if he couldn't kill the bastard sometimes.
If he absolutely had to move Saturday morning quidditch practice up to 5:30, he could have at least had the decency to get ready for it quietly. But no, he just had to go and befriend the one person just as loud as him, so even if he wasn't on the quidditch team anymore he was still awake with the bloody sun listening to James' stupid trunk lid slamming or his stupid singing in the shower or his stupid clumsy arse hitting the floor as he tripped over his own feet. Really he was convinced it must be a conspiracy- wake him up with the racket and then persuade him that he might as well go with them to practice anyways. Honestly it was down right unfair Remus and Peter never had to deal with this- those two were dead to the world as soon as they hit the mattress and nothing short of the incredible volume of multiple alarms could wake them. Curse walburga black and his whole bloody family for making him such a light sleeper.
Returning to his most pressing complaint, James as usual convinced him to watch him at quidditch practice, which is how Sirius found himself sitting around the pitch, somehow still freezing under the heavy warming charms he'd applied to his robes, watching his best friend perform the same drills over and over. Really he wouldn't be surprised if James could do this is in his sleep by now. Speaking of sleep, if something interesting didn't occur within the next 30 seconds Sirius was going to just fall asleep here and now, quidditch drills, loud friends and Scottish cold be damned. He was probably half way to the land of dreams when he was quite abruptly startled out of his blissfully unaware state by the panicked shout of a young player from above.
He looked over expecting to see a dropped bat or perhaps a minor collision as was common at early practices where everyone's coordination was slightly off. It was a little bit comical how pressed the younger players got over such small mistakes. The poor lambs were really much too anxious about it.
And then nothing was funny, because James, his best friend, his brother in all but blood had slipped from his broom and was dropping down, down, down-
10ft from the ground -he ran down the stands-
5ft from the ground - he reached for his wand, a cushioning charm at his lips-
3ft - Marlene was diving, reaching out as though to catch him-
0ft, out of time, and James hit the muddy field with a sickening thud.
********
In James' (very humble, thank you Lily) opinion there was no better way to start the day than with quidditch. Feeling the wind through his hair and caressing his skin whilst he soared through the sky made him feel alive like nothing else. Even if most of these drills were second nature to him by now, you couldn't slack on the basics. His dad always said you need a solid foundation before you build on it ,and James found that applied to most things in life,especially quidditch. So he practiced his basic skills religiously in hopes he could ace the really cool stuff later.
He was practicing his reverse passing, trying to get them as accurate as possible when their new beater (only a third year but merlin the girl knew how to swing a bat) let out a yelp from across the pitch- he turned to ask if she was alright, and instead of a reply was met with a face full of bludger. Merlin,he thought, Kirke really did know how to swing her bat.
And then he was on the ground.
Wow, was the world always this, this- mobile? Everything spinning and swaying was giving him a killer headache. Some red blobs,birds? -merlin where were his glasses? Were hovering above him. Oh, the blobs were moving closer now-and speaking to him? Ok, so not birds then. Godric he really needed his glasses. And a potion for this bloody splitting headache.
When Olivia Kirke first landed next to her very much not lucid but definitely still breathing captain, her first thought was 'oh fuck' half relieved she hadn't killed him and half terrified because 'oh god they're going to expel me' or -much worse- 'They could ban me from playing Quidditch!'.
Luckily Marlene, always comforting in her unwavering confidence, was much more rational about the whole thing and directed her to the stands to sit and take a breath.
"James?",she asked- examining him with a close eye and determining the severity of his condition after the fall.
"Marley! Has your hair always been this fuzzy or did you style it different today?",for a man who just literally dropped from the sky he was much too chipper.
"Ok I think he's concussed : his pupils are all messed up, he can't focus, and his vision is even worse than usual. Sirius, you ask him questions and keep him awake",she directed, easily taking charge with her usual amount of cool confidence.
"Bones, you run up to the hospital wing and get Madame Pomfrey. I don't think it's a good idea to move him after a fall like that".
"Uh- James, 7×7?" Sirius asked, looking a little too pale and obviously still worried after seeing the fall, but following Marlene's lead without question.
Marlene scoffed,"Stuff he knows Sirius!, James what's Regulus doing today?"
Clearly that got his attention, one mention of his beloved boyfriend and he perked up like a dog offered a bone.
"Reggie's having a study day today ,going to the library, he was real happy 'bout having a quiet day, got all smiley and stuff." James began, with the face of a love sick puppy ( if said love sick puppy was concussed on a quidditch pitch and only half conscious at the time).
" Y'know, when he does that smile-the one with the teeth- and he gets this dimple in his cheek? But only on the right side (he doesn't have one on the left) and he looks so soft. Don't tell him I said that though, he'll get all embarrassed and do his angry face to hide it, even though it just makes him even more cute cause his eyes go all crinkled. Oh, his eyes" he sighed. Suddenly Sirius was looking less and less anxious and more peaky.
"They're sooooo pretty," James continued,
"They usually look kinda grey y'know, but then the light hits just right or he gets super excited -like when he catches the snitch or he reads a really good book and they just sort of light up and then they look almost blue-like, I don't know, like the ocean. But then in the dark they go so, so dark too and then they look black and he's so gorgeous. An-"
James was cut off by Bones' return, he was accompanied by a very unimpressed madam Pomfrey who clearly wasn't pleased to be exposed to the Scottish weather so early on a weekend.
Sirius had never looked so relieved to see the Mediwitch in his entire life. Who knew hearing your best friend gush over your little brother wouldn't be a thrilling experience. James was quickly checked over to ensure he had no serious injury, and subsequently levitated to the hospital wing, Sirius trailing not far behind with very little worry remaining and now a more perturbed (and just a smidge disgusted) expression on his face. Apparently he hadn't been aware of just how obsessed and infatuated James truly was with his little brother. Marlene only smirked at him, clearly she knew exactly what she was doing, the traitor. See if he ever leant her his fancy eyeliner again. Well, the day wasn't a complete disaster,if James was well enough to moon over his brother then he would probably be out and back in classes on Monday and would be fine for the next full.
For now, he was going back to his bloody bed, and sod anyone who tried to get him up before 9 on a weekend again.