“Prongs? Prongs are you in there?” Someone was banging on James’ door, awaking him from his sleep.
“Whuzere?” James mumbled. He fidgeted in his bed. He threw the covers off his body and sat up. The sun wasn’t even up yet. What kind of moron would be up at this time?
“What is it?” he called out again.
“Quidditch practice, you dumb-butt!” Sirius yelled. “The whole team is in the common waiting for you.”
James awoke immediately, swore, and hurried into his red quidditch robes. He grabbed his broomstick and several sheets of parchment, with new maneuvers and tactics written on them.
He ran out of his room, knocking Sirius, who was also dressed in scarlet robes and holding a beater’s bat, aside and met up with his team. Julianne, the keeper, was lying on the floor throwing the Quaffle up into the air and then catching it. Frank Longbottom, also in James’ year, was letting a golden snitch fly around the room. Two fourth years, one a beater and the other a chaser, were talking together quietly.
“What kept you, James?” Julianne asked. She was the only girl on the team, but the best keeper Hogwarts had seen in years.
“Er… I had to do patrols last night at I came in kind of late. Let’s go, team.” He headed to the portrait and his team followed.
“That didn’t stop Lily. She’s already in the library working on her head-girl duties.”
James felt a pinch of regret. He would be having fun while Lily was hard at work with the issues of Hogwarts.
Before they left, he tacked up a notice for Chaser Try-Outs on the bulletin board. Frank caught the snitch and left the room, too. Julianne and Sirius walked on either side of James.
~
On the quidditch field, James explained his new ideas and then they were in the air. James zoomed around the quidditch field just for the fun of it, before Sirius smacked a bludger in his direction.
“Alright, alright, Padfoot!” James laughed. “Release the Quaffle!” The fourth year beater threw the quaffle in the air, and then boarded his broom and joined the practice.
James managed to slip the red ball pass Julianne most of the time, but that was because she seemed distracted.
Sirius and the other 4th year beater, Michael Roberts, were whacking bludgers at each other. Sirius almost killed Michael by whacking both bludgers at him at the same time. Michael yelled as the deadly, metal balls zoomed after him as he sped around the Quidditch field.
“Lower the strength a bit, Padfoot,” James commanded, watching Michael dive down and almost collide with the ground because the bludgers were still after him.
“Give me that bat, Black,” someone behind Sirius ordered. Sirius spun around on his broom. Julianne was floating right behind him with her hand outstretched.
“What?” he asked. “You couldn’t hit a bludger for your life!”
Julianne tossed her brown hair back. “But I can hit a bludger to save HIS life!” She beckoned at Michael, who was bobbing up and down in the air, trying to shake off the bludgers.
“Fine… but don’t make me come down and help you both!” Julianne snatched the bat out of his hands and flew down at Michael.
“They’re going to crash!” Frank Longbottom shouted.
“Go up, Michael!” Julianne yelled when they were a few feet away, zooming at each other. The 4th year chaser nodded and skyrocketed upwards. The bludgers almost smashed into Julianne’s nose, but with one mighty swing, she threw the bludgers off course.
Now they were headed in Sirius’ direction.
…
After an hour, the sun began to rise and everyone changed back into school robes and headed to breakfast.
James was way ahead of everyone. He was had checked the map and Lily was heading to the Great Hall, Peeves’ visiting spot last night.
The Great Hall entrance was only a turn away, when he heard water colliding with the floor and shrieks.
James peeked around the corner and saw Peeves laughing madly and Lily’s face as red as her wet hair.
“PEEVES!” Lily roared. She threw curses and foul words at him that James would have never heard her say, but the malicious ghost only doubled up harder.
“Ooh… little red-head is having a temper-tantrum!” he cackled. He threw another water balloon at Lily. She turned and it exploded on her back.
“SHUT UP, PEEVES!” She reached to the table next to her and threw a small glass ball at him. It missed him.
“Ha, ha, ha! Miss Pumpkin-Head thinks that she can take on Peeves!” Peeves shook with laughter and a water balloon fell out of his arms.
“You’re just like James Potter!” Lily snarled. James swallowed and though, “Am I really like that in her eyes?”
Lily grabbed another one and shot it. This one went straight through his head.
“HA HA! I GOT YOU, PEEVES! TAKE THAT!” Lily had a mad grin on her face.
Peeves looked bewildered for a moment. No student had ever managed to throw anything that actually made contact with Peeves, not even James Potter, Hogwarts’ legendary Chaser.
James silently admitted that to himself.
Lily should try-out for chaser, he thought.
Peeves spun around Lily and threw a balloon to her back. Lily turned and it splashed on the top of her face. Water poured into her eyes. She was wiping water out of her eyes, so she did not see students rounding the corner, eager for breakfast, or Peeves hovering over her with a large bucketful of water, or even James Potter running to her.
~
Water had splashed into Lily’s eyes. She was in the process of clearing them out when she heard a nastily familiar voice shout, “Lily! Watch out!”
Someone collided into Lily’s side and knocked her a few feet from her original spot and onto the floor. Lily outstretched her hands and stopped her head from crashing into the stone bottom.
She heard the sound of water pouring, but didn’t feel any wetter. Daringly, she turned over and looked up at a second soaked figure.
“Unh! That’s cold! Ugh!” James Potter gasped, shaking his head and little droplets of freezing water flew everywhere. James took out his wand and chanted, “Waddiwasi!” A shard of glass from the ball that Lily had thrown flew straight into Peeves’ right nostril.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Peeves shrieked shrilly. “GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! GET IT OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!” Lily covered her ears, as well as James. Some other students in the front of the crowd also protected their ears from Peeves’ screeching voice.
The marauding ghost fled. He zoomed through wall, into portraits and out, flew into student, and flipped upside down. Soon, his wailing was only an echo, bouncing off the sides of the school.
Laughter erupted from every student. Lily used this opportunity and grabbed her bag. She stood up and strolled into the Great Hall and sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, filling her plate with pancakes and syrup.
“I am going to KILL, Peeves!” Lily vowed under her breath.
“Well, good luck with that, Evans. You’re going to need it. I’ve never killed a ghost before.” Lily’s head whipped around and her green eyes met Potter’s hazel ones. She swallowed.
“What do you want, Potter?” she snapped. Peeves’ water balloon attack had put her into a horrible mood. Having Potter share her humiliation of being wet embarrassed her even more. Besides, since the train, he was always saving her. First the dementor, and now Peeves. What next?
“Do you mind if I sit here?” he asked, indicating the spot on the bench next to her.
Lily sighed. Even if she did say no, James would sit across from her. Anyway, she needed to show him her plans for the school.
So, she shook her head, grumpily, and James plopped down next to her and began serving himself waffles, French toast, pancakes, buttered toast, scrambled eggs, and things Lily didn’t know the names of.
“Are you really going to eat all that?” Lily questioned.
~
“Most likely not,” James admitted, mouth halfway full of waffle. “But at least I have an objective.”
He took a sideways glance at Lily. He thought he saw a little smile play across her face. He assumed it was safe and that her mood had been lightened.
Sirius entered the Hall sat down next to James.
“You just totally killed Peeves back there, man!” Sirius clapped his hand on James’ bruised shoulder… again.
“Don’t hit me there, Padfoot!”
Remus sat across from James and Peter sat next to him. Sirius banged the bottom of his beater bat on the table and barked, “Grub!” He began stuffing his face with eggs and pumpkin juice.
“Did you really have to bring that with you, Sirius?” James groaned, staring at the bat.
“Yes!” Sirius answered indignantly clutching his bat harder. “What if I need it!”
“For what?”
Sirius sighed, annoyed that James had not understood. He nodded his head to the Slytherin table, which was gradually filling with student wearing green and silver badges.
“Oh no your not!” James hissed, “Not with a BAT, Padfoot! No!”
“Only if I need it!” Sirius insisted.
“You won’t.”
Sirius grunted and ate some more. Peter, Sirius, and Remus began talking about, in an extra-low whisper, about what to do for full moon tonight, so no one would overhear. Julianne, Amy, and Maya ran into the hall and surrounded Lily.
~
“Oh my god, Lily,” Amy gasped, “Are you O.K.?”
“They should really kick the little demon, Peeves, out!” Julianne argued. “He’s SO cruel!”
“I didn’t foresee this!” Maya groaned, clasping her hand to her head. “I could have stopped it if I tried looking just a little bit harder!”
“Its alright, Maya,” Lily comforted, “No one blames you.”
“I do!” Amy blurted out. Even though Amy was very good at classes and at studying, she did have her “blonde moments.”
Amy sat next to Lily and Maya sat on the other side of Amy, discussing Peeves and deciding what to do about him.
Julianne took a quick glance at the seat across form Lily and just noticed Remus next to it. She groaned in desperation but decided to sit there anyway.
Breakfast passed and Lily had discovered that her Head-Girl plans had been soaked by water, as well as her other supplies for school.
She was about to shove her things back into her bag, but James grabbed her arm.
“Wait…” he said. He tapped all of Lily’s things and whispered something that Lily could not hear. Suddenly, everything dried up.
“Wow,” she said, impressed, “How did you do that?”
James just smirked and twirled his wand. “How do I not slip off my broomstick on rainy Quidditch days?”
Lily sighed. James had said the word. The word that always annoyed her whenever he said it. James just HAD to drag his Quidditch skill into this.