Chapter 13
The next day was when everything blew up. Sirius was feeling slightly more happy since he spoke with James the night before. He was comfortably laughing with the marauders about something Peter had misunderstood in History of Magic about the 1911 Gargoyle Strike, when an owl carrying a large crimson envelope flew down from the windows. It was as if the owl’s spread wings were flapping in slow motion. Reminiscent of the year before, Sirius stood his ground. Though this time, he did not look at his friends but stared down at his plate as the Howler landed in front of him. The owl dropped it and flew away as if it was about to burst. Burst it did and Sirius flinched as Walburga’s voice screamed,
“SIRIUS. IT IS CLEAR YOU WILL GO TO NO END TO DISRESPECT THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK AND YOUR ANCESTRY. YOUR BROTHER IS FOLLOWING TRADITION. I WARN YOU DO NOT GET IN THE WAY OF HIS SUCCESS! I WILL DEAL WITH YOU AT CHRISTMAS.”
Almost everyone in the Great Hall was silent. Still. Sirius’s mouth tasted bitter. He cleared his throat, picked up a piece of toast and took a bite, hoping he seemed anything but how he felt. Like puking.
“Ominous,” he said, falsely cheerily. He desperately wanted everyone to continue eating and ignore him. Pretend he didn’t exist. And he wanted least of all to see Regulus across the Hall.
As this thought crossed his mind, there was a shuffle from where James was sitting. Everyone turned toward him and Sirius looked up. James was walking swiftly across the Great Hall, around the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, to the Slytherin table. Right up to Regulus. No. Remus, sensing this was dangerous as well, made his slow way over to James. Trying, unsuccessfully, not to draw attention to himself. Sirius sank further into the bench under him if that was even possible.
“Look,” James started, voice echoing slightly around the Hall, as Sirius’s gut twisted, “I don’t exactly know every moment of yours and Sirius’s relationship, but I know he cares about you. And you’d be an idiot not to care about him. It is so low to tattle on him to your mummy like a two year old–”
“Who are you?” Regulus was trying his hardest to sound tough but gave himself away, at least to Sirius, by the way his eyes flickered from James to Remus to Sirius. He looked embarrassed and slightly petrified. Sirius could tell he’d already looked James up when he’d showed up with Sirius on the first day.
“Oh, James Potter,” James, being James, introduced himself, “Sirius’s best friend…so are Remus and Peter,” he gestured to Remus and Peter in turn. A murderous look flashed in Regulus’s eyes.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he snapped.
“Actually, it does. When Sirius is upset, I’m upset. You created that. It’s your problem,” James became even more serious and leaned over the table to face Regulus from close up. Multiple younger Slytherins shuffled down the table at this.
“I didn’t do anything,” Regulus said, his hands in fists on the table, the sole clue he was feeling any kind of emotion, “I don’t know what he’s told you–”
“Don’t lie. It was an honest mistake. He’s obviously sorry. I don’t understand why you can’t just forgive him,” James said, getting more and more heated as he spoke.
“Of course you don’t understand. Because it has nothing to do with you,” Regulus spat carefully, rising to his feet. James stood up straighter at this. Remus stepped forward, trying to deflect a fight before it started or at least before any professors took notice. Pulling James by the arm, he led him out of the Hall. James let Remus tug him to the double doors, his eyes still rooted on Regulus’s face. Peter scrambled up and Sirius followed his lead. Near the end of the Gryffindor table, he heard what sounded like a fifth or sixth year muttering,
“These first years really have some shit going on.”
But most of the students had already decided there wouldn’t be an entertaining tussle and lost interest.
When Sirius and Peter joined James and Remus at the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall, Regulus was leaving the Great Hall with Barty Crouch and Evan Rosier as well. He kept his head down, hands in his trouser pockets, probably clutching his wand. Sirius could see anger bubbling up in James beside him, until he finally called furiously,
“When your best mate comes crying to you about his brother not speaking to him, I swear to Merlin you’ll understand!”
“C’mon,” Remus gripped James’s arm again and nodded to Sirius and Peter to usher him up the stairs. Sirius watched Regulus long enough to see him blink but then turn around.
None of the marauders spoke as they made their trek up to Gryffindor Tower. Once they had all entered the dorm, they separated. Sirius felt James’s eyes on his back as he brushed his teeth, and when he was pulling on his pyjamas, James sat on his four-poster, already dressed, hands clasped tightly. Sirius knew he was worried that he was upset about everything he had said to Regulus. Possibly because it had been rude or embarrassing. But Sirius, truthfully, felt no anger toward James for any of it. He felt sort of ill, but not angry. So Sirius tucked himself up in his friend’s four-poster, James still seated at the edge. Eventually James crawled over to sit beside him, back against the bed frame.
“Should I not have done that?” James whispered.
“It made me feel ill but…it was really wicked.” said Sirius, rustling the duvet around his legs.
James nodded, breathing out,
“Sorry,”
“S’okay. Reg deserved every word you launched at him,” Sirius added. James chuckled and sunk further down to lean his head on Sirius’s shoulder. There was someone who was looking out for him. How did that happen and what did Sirius do to deserve it? He had to irritatedly blink away tears threatening to fill his eyes. Why was he always crying?
“Would it make you feel better if we messed with Snape tomorrow? I’ve got an idea…”
So in Herbology, the first class of the day on Thursdays, Sirius, James, and Peter sat huddled together, giggling. Remus rolled his eyes, glad they were back to their usual conspiratorial selves.
At the end of class, as Severus exited greenhouse one, Sirius pointed his wand quickly muttering,
“Ligatura,” as James, whose turn it was to cause the diversion, made sure Professor Sprout was occupied answering questions about Mandrakes.
Severus’s untied shoelaces snuck up to each other and quickly tied together. Sirius stifled a shout of joy and nudged Peter just in time to watch Severus tumble down the two steps onto the grass. He grunted loudly and jerked about to find the culprit. Sirius and Peter immediately turned to feign being invested in Professor Sprout’s answer to James's question.
“All right, all right,” the young professor shuffled them out the doors, “That is quite enough for today.”
Strolling up to the castle, Sirius had to avoid James’s gaze so as not to bust into laughter at the sight of Severus tripping up the lawn. Lily, a very worried look on her face, carried both their book bags and grasped at Severus’s arms. Though Severus kept stumbling away from her attempts to help, especially when he caught sight of them. Sirius was sure it was one of the most hilarious things he had seen in his life. James thought so too, apparently, because he let out a choked laugh. Then Lily saw them and what seemed like rage burned in her face and posture,
“You’re a prat, James Potter!” she yelled, stomping her foot. Peter suddenly burst into laughter, and that set Sirius off. The three of them ran like their lives depended on it up to join Remus, who had refused to be involved, in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Sirius, James, and Peter were still buzzing from the stunt with Severus during the last class of the day; Transfiguration. Sirius was hoping to get Remus in on the next one. All he had said this time was,
“You lot have too much fun with that,”
James opened his mouth to retort but McGonagall said something about Quidditch, his head snapped up to her at the head of the room and speech died in his throat.
“Quidditch is an integral part of Hogwarts school spirit,” she said to the Gryffindors in the classroom, “Trials for the Gryffindor team this year are on the weekend of September twenty-third and twenty-fourth. I hope many of you will try for the team. Three players are no longer in school this year, so you have a good chance. I expect to see some of you at trials,” her gaze flickered over the marauders quickly before continuing the lesson on revising the avifors spell from last year.
“I’m on that team,” James stated, determinedly, on the way through the corridors down to lunch. Nobody doubted it.
Sirius thought deeply about whether he should try out for the Quidditch team. He did want to and flying many times a week seemed like the best thing that could happen that year, if James was on the team too that would be even better. It sure would show his parents something. But, then again, it would make whatever was waiting for him at home worse. And was he even good?
“Marlene!” James called, waving his arms to grab her attention as she entered the Great Hall, “Are you trying out for the Quidditch team?” She ran over and shook his hand across the table,
“May the best man win, Potter,” she said, before hurrying back to Mary and a still disgruntled looking Lily.
In the end, Sirius decided not to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, much to James’s dismay. He thought maybe later on in his school years he might have a chance, if some things could change he would be overjoyed. But he had to find a way first.
“Merlin, I’m nervous,” James said, breathing a little heavily, as he got ready in the dorm for the first group trials.
“You’ll be great,” Sirius assured him, “And we’ll be there watching the whole time.”
“Actually,” Remus grimaced from where he was perched on his trunk, pulling socks on, “I can’t stay to watch.”
“Why not?!” James cried. The tryouts were to be spread throughout half the day. One round in the late afternoon, one in the evening.
“I just– don’t feel–” Remus started, stuttering. James’s eyes widened and that made Sirius realise what day it was. The twenty-third. Was that a full moon?
“No, it’s all right mate,” James said quickly, making Remus squint and jolt his head in confusion, “I’ll have Sirius and Peter. You watching today, Pete?” Peter looked up from where he was searching for something in his nightstand drawer.
“Huh? Yeah, of course,”
Sirius, James, and Peter said goodbye to Remus in the dorm, only to make it easier for him to sneak out of the castle.
“We haven’t talked about all of this yet,” Peter said, as they made their way to the small crowd near the Quidditch pitch, “You know, Remus being…being a– werewolf,” he said the last word under breath.
“I don’t know what there is to talk about,” James said, “It’s wicked, but I don’t know how we’d tell him we know.”
“How about; ‘hey, Remus, we know you’re a werewolf and think it’s superb,’” Sirius said, half joking. He really figured just telling him they knew would be preferable to anything.
“Shh!” Peter shushed warningly, even though they were far enough that no one would be able to hear.
Sirius and Peter wished James (clad in his Quidditch gear) luck and gave him encouraging pats on the back, then went to sit in the stands. They chose a spot close enough to the pitch so that they could see McGonagall and the Gryffindor captain gathering everyone who was trying out, but far enough so they had a clear view of the entire pitch for when they started flying.
There were roughly thirty students trying out in total. Mostly people trying for Chaser and Seeker since those positions had been filled by seventh years the year before. The few trying for Beater or Keeper were the younger students, as the older students knew from past experience that the original team was usually chosen. A larger crowd than Sirius had expected there to be, sat in the stands. There to cheer for friends or just watch the trials. Many girls, Sirius noticed, were there for the Gryffindor team captain. They would call out to him and blush when he waved meekly back. Peter mentioned that he recognized him as a new Prefect that year. Lily and Mary also sat in the stands, probably for Marlene, a few benches above them. Sirius couldn’t help but catch Lily shooting scathing looks toward himself, Peter, or James now and then. He was just glad she hadn’t brought Severus, and had a sneaking suspicion that that was because Mary and Marlene had deterred her. Or he hadn’t wanted to come.
First, the captain got everyone to fly around the pitch. To warm up, he said, and to get a perception of how everyone flew. Then, Keeper was the first position to be tried; that consisted of the captain flying around chucking Quaffles at each student trying out in turn. Beaters were next, though they were aiming to knock away bludgers McGonagall had enchanted to fly around. Throughout all of this, James sat chatting with Marlene on a bench, bouncing his leg nervously. Sirius and Peter played rounds of exploding snap waiting in the stands for James’s turn, which did not make Sirius’s afternoon any better as Peter kept winning. During a particularly difficult round, one Sirius was absolutely sure to lose, the possible Chasers were called up. Giving Sirius a reason to end the game.
There were twelve students trying out so they were separated into four groups and took turns playing against each other in their groups of three. Sirius watched James stride over, whizz off on his broom, and he wasn’t worried. In the entirety of the trial, James scored four times which seemed about right. And so did Marlene, who made that clear when they both joined everyone in the stands at the end of the first round of trials, sweaty but gleeful.
The second round was to be in the evening, so they went up to the castle for dinner. Sirius and Peter letting James talk the whole time, through mouthfuls,
“I think I did well…it seemed like I did at least. Did my form look alright? By the end there I was starting to get tired. I hope nobody could tell… I’m really gonna have to do my best for the last few trials though. Godric, I love flying… The captain, Frank Longbottom, is just incredible, isn’t he? He’s so good and everyone loves him. I hope he likes me…”
After dinner, a board was put up in the common room stating who had made it for round two of the trials. James went to check and came back beaming, so Sirius and Peter spent the following hours in the stands, very competitively playing with a pack of cards and flashing uplifting smiles at James.
On Saturday, there were the two final trials. James became quite anxious for these but Remus was back for the last one which made things a bit better. For the Chasers, it was down to four candidates. Out of the twelve, four had been eliminated the first trial and two more each time, until it was only James and Marlene and two fourth years. In Sirius’s opinion, James was the best of all of them. He scored seven different times during the last trial, Sirius, Peter, and Remus whistling and howling until their throats hurt. Later on that week, the results were posted up on the board in the common room. James and Marlene made Sirius check for them and sure enough, ‘James Potter’ and ‘Marlene McKinnon’ were scrawled next to ‘Chasers.’