The inevitables

I used Marlene’s lap as a pillow as I laid on the quidditch stands bench. The grounds were too crowded so we decided to relax here. The stadium looked so bizarre with no one there. It was like it was abandoned and monsters would make it their home. I had only been here a few times this year and every time it was either packed or full of Gryffindors.

“I wonder if Lily found Remus yet.” Mary said as she ate more crisps. We brought our lunch from the great hall out here.

“I hope she’s not looking for us.” Marlene sighed and waved a crisp in front of my face then ate it. I lightly hit her and she gave me one.

“This would probably be the last place she’d look.” Mary gave me another crisp, “especially for you.”

“Fair.” I shrugged. I didn’t have to like quidditch, James liked it enough for the both of us.

Before any of us could say anything, a blob of black flashed past us. It was going faster than anything I’d seen before. James was lightning on a broom but you could still see his face, this was faster.

“Holy broomstick…” Marlene breathed.

“Is that..?” Mary started. I sat up and looked closer at the blob. Red clothes, black hair, pale skin.. could it be?

“Sirius Black.” I saw his face and it was definitely him.

“Why is he flying like a maniac?” Marlene asked, “did you tell him you love him?!”

“No but do you think he would freak out like this if I did?” Mary asked, Marlene and I looked at each other. Marlene looked like Mary just said the sky isn’t real.

“Anyways..” I redirected the conversation. “Marlene can you catch up to him?”

“Of course!” Marlene spoke as if the challenge was insulting to her. She ran off the to the broom closet while Mary and I watched Sirius.

I had seen Sirius self destruct but this was bigger than ever. He twisted and turned and almost did a loop. He went faster and higher than I’ve ever seen him before.

“What’s wrong with him?!” Mary yelled.

“Well.. last day of classes.” And he goes home tomorrow. It wasn’t my right to spread gossip about Sirius’s home life. I didn’t even know the whole story, all I knew was that it was bad.

Marlene shot up after him. Her path was a lot straighter than Sirius’s so she got to him in no time. The two of them circled around each other, I could tell they were talking but I didn’t know what they were saying. Sirius seemed to be mad and careless which is not a bad combination. Marlene was exactly the calmest most reasonable person out there either.

Suddenly the two of them jolted downwards. They both flew down, the only odd thing was that Marlene was smiling, so was Sirius.

“They’re racing.” I said, I couldn’t believe their idiocy. No wait I could. I watched them fly down, neither of them pulled up. I watched them get closer and closer still neither of them backed down. “They’re going to crash.”

“Shit.” Mary and I raced off the stands and onto the field. By the time we got there, the two were about ten feet from the ground. Still no one pulled up.

“Levicorpus!” Mary and I said at the same time. The two brooms crashed into the field as our friends hung in the air. We slowly lowered them to the ground.

“Have you lost your mind?!” Mary ran to Marlene and hugged her. “You could’ve died! Splat you’re dead!” Marlene rolled her eyes but she hugged Mary back.

“Want to tell me what this is about?” I asked Sirius.

“Not here.” He said. I tilted my head away from my friends and we walked away.

“That was very dangerous.” I told him.

“Thank you for not marrying me.” Sirius blurted out. My face showed my surprised and I raised my eyebrows.

“What?”

“I- I mean… thank you for always being there and being honest to me.” Sirius didn’t look at me, just at his feet. We didn’t walk fast, but no one was around anyways.

“What’s going on?”

“I uh.. I’m not sure my parents will send me back to Hogwarts.” He confessed. I understood why, after everything he pulled this year they were having him married. Sending him away didn’t seem any crazier.

“If they do, you better owl us right away! My parents, they can get you out of there and send you to Hogwarts with us. We can help you Sirius.” I tried to smile but I think it came off as more pitiful then helpful.

“I know, thank you Heppy.” He smiled a little sincerely, a little not.

“Of course Sob.”

****

I sat next to James on purpose during dinner. Remus and Sirius sat on our side; Peter, Lily, Mary, and Marlene on the other. I noticed Lily held an umbrella under the table and grinned at Remus.

“What a wonderful year it’s been,” Dumbledore stole my attention. The boys were bouncing with every word, Sirius was practically out of his seat. “I am immensely proud of all of you, of course. Now we are all well fed, I have a few words I would like to say congratulations once again to Ravenclaw-“

“Now!” Sirius slammed his fists on the table.

“-winning this years house-“ Dumbledore was cut short to the screams of Ravenclaw students. Every goblet at the Ravenclaw table shot red and gold bubbles to the ceiling then sprayed back down onto the students.

James gave me an umbrella and I opened it. In a matter of seconds, the three other house tables had the same fate as the Ravenclaws. Lily and the M’s ducked under Lily’s umbrella, the boys watched their mess unfold in glory. The red and gold stuck to kids clothes and hair and the tables and pretty much everything. I was pretty sure once I removed my umbrella it would be stained red and gold instead of black.

“Omnistratum!” Dumbledore calmly stopped the madness. The bubbles stopped and vanished. Lily and I closed our umbrellas and put them back under the table. The four of us seemed to be the only students in the hall that weren’t red and gold. “Scourgify!” All of the red and gold from the room disappeared by the headmasters command. Everything was normal again.

“Aw.” James whined as his minute of glory disappeared.

“An excellent way to celebrate Gryffindor’s victory on the quidditch pitch this year,” Dumbledore paused as the students went back to their seats and stopped panicking. A few of them were eyeing the boys like they were lucky this was the last day or else they would get revenge tomorrow. “And while I welcome and encourage displays of house pride, I would like everyone to remember that true sportsmanship lies in the ability to gracefully cede victory. Please join me in raising your glasses to Ravenclaw, winners of the Hogwarts house cup 1973.”

We applauded as the feast was over, tomorrow by this time we would all be home and relaxing. The boys were smiling like they won all the candy in the world. I caught up to Remus as all the houses were leaving.

“Last club meeting of the year.” I whispered and he nodded. We broke from the path and stayed in a corridor.

“What’s up?” He asked but I hugged instead of answering. He hugged back after a few moments of shock.

“I just wanted to say good luck this summer without magic. And I know what Lily gave you so I expect you to write and if you need magical ails or potions just let me know and I’ll have my mum make it and owl it to you alright?” I let him go. He looked at me like he was both overwhelmed and confused that I cared but also happy than I cared so much.

“I promise I’ll write.” He held up his hands and smiled.

“Good. I’ll miss you moony.” I smiled.

“It’s only three months.”

“Yes, but hanging around the marauders without you is like hanging around someone who lost all of their common sense.” I laughed and he did too. Two years over but this club was still going strong.