The tension in the stands was palpable as Remus squeezed past Peter and took his seat beside him. Remus made no effort to hide the fact that he was not exactly what anyone would consider a fan of Quidditch, which frustrated James and Sirius no end. He had never felt he fully understood just what it was that made James, in particular, so passionate. He had only ever known James to speak fondly of two things: Quidditch and Lily Evans. No, Remus suddenly corrected himself, his thoughts interrupted by the way that Peter was twitching anxiously beside him; that wasn’t fair.
Remus’ eyes scanned the faces of the exited Gryffindors around; some were clutching enchanted banners, others were wearing badges. Some were simply shouting themselves hoarse. All were wearing the familiar colours of red and gold. Remus tightened the scarf about his neck; the first chills of winter could be felt keenly in the air as they slowly approached the end of October. Yet as he blinked up at the sky he couldn’t imagine more perfect conditions for Quidditch; the air, though cold, was devoid of wind; and the pale, autumn sun touched everything with its mellow rays. Remus closed his eyes, his head full of the cheers around him, and exhaled deeply. Even Remus Lupin, a boy who cared nothing for Quidditch, could not help but feel exhilarated at such moments.
“Could it be that Mister Lupin is actually getting excited over a Quidditch match?” A familiar girl’s voice broke the moment and Remus opened his eyes and smiled at the red-haired Gryffindor girl who was sat beside him. Lily smiled back, her green eyes dancing with the joke, a light wind whipping up her hair. The more time Remus spent with Lily, the more he grew to understand why James had been obsessing about her virtually since their first year at Hogwarts. Lily Evans was not your typical sixteen-year-old girl. Of course, she possessed that naive charm that Remus so appreciated in some of the girls in his year; but Lily seemed to be able to use this to make friends, and to see the best in people…even in people like him.
“Well…” Remus said quietly, his lips curling into a sardonic smile, “I have to keep the children happy somehow.” A ripple of laughter escaped her and, as she leant forward to look past him to Peter, Remus could once again appreciate the unique beauty that was all her own.
“Hello, Peter.”
Peter turned and blinked as if he hadn’t seen her, his eyes snapping away as hoots from the other side of the pitch signalled the players making their way into the air. Sure enough, when Remus looked over he saw the teams swoop out onto the pitch; the Ravenclaw team dressed in blue and bronze, clearly distinguishable from the Gryffindor team, who were now flying over to the stands. The Gryffindors cheered; Peter jumped to his feet and waved frantically to James who did not even acknowledge him. Instead James’ eyes were fixed on Lily and he winked. Lily turned away as if she didn’t care, and said something to Remus, but she wasn’t quick enough; Remus saw the blush that had suddenly sprung into her cheeks. Before he could tease her about it, his attention was caught by the commentator.
“Well, it looks like perfect Quidditch conditions today for the first match of the season: Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor.” Remus recognised the voice as that of Crispin Thompson, a third-year Hufflepuff boy who had famously cried in his first year when Peeves dropped books on his head. “Both teams have been training since the beginning of term and it looks like they are both in excellent form. We could be in for a close match this afternoon…I see that the Ravenclaws have found themselves a new Seeker. But will Nathaniel Starkey be enough to stop James Potter?”
“Not bloody likely!” Peter shouted. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. The players had moved into their starting positions and Remus could clearly make out the figure of Sirius, his eyes firmly fixed on the Quaffle that was yet to be released by the referee. Directly opposite him, Remus saw Eleanor Figg, her blonde hair scraped up out of her face, her eyes, like Sirius’, were fixed on the Quaffle. Remus gulped as he watched her from this distance, the sunlight illuminating the look of concentration on her face. He was so transfixed that he nearly jumped out of his seat when the whistle blew, the stands erupted into cheers, and the players stopped hovering gently and suddenly sprung into action.
“And they’re off! Ravenclaw take possession of the Quaffle straight away. Gaunt passes to Figg; narrowly missing a Bludger…looks like the Gryffindor Beaters have been practicing their technique. Althrop attempts to intercept the Quaffle but is blocked by Gaunt. Are Ravenclaw going to take the first points of the match?” Remus craned his neck and saw Eleanor halt in front of the rings, and, with what seemed like great ease, throw the Quaffle through the tallest one. “Eleanor Figg scores! Ten points to Ravenclaw!” The Ravenclaws cheered. Peter buried his head in his hands and muttered something under his breath.
“Gryffindor take possession. Althrop has the Quaffle and appears to be looking for Black to make a pass…Oof…” Remus winced as he saw the Bludger hit Anthony Althrop, a Gryffindor Chaser, squarely in the chest. Althrop doubled over, his face red, the Quaffle slipping out of his hands.
“What a catch by Black!” Sirius had pre-empted the drop and had positioned himself underneath in order to catch the Quaffle. “Black is really moving down the pitch now. The Ravenclaw Beaters can’t seem to reach him. Doesn’t look as if he’s looking for a pass…looks like he’s going straight to goal.” Sure enough, Sirius had flown straight past Althrop and Frost, and was headed straight for the hoops “ but he found his way blocked by Eleanor, who had stopped swooping alongside him to pull up in front.
“Black doesn’t seem put off by Figg’s obstruction. Is he really going to attempt a long goal?” Peter was on his feet expectantly. Sirius pulled up and paused for only a moment before throwing the Quaffle in the direction of the hoops. All the Gryffindors held their breath as they watched it fly through air, before erupting into cheers as the Quaffle went in.
“Wow! What a goal by Sirius Black! Ten points to Gryffindor!” James had flown to Sirius and was patting him on the back.
“Looks like there’s a little trouble between the Ravenclaw Beaters.” Remus looked up and saw a blonde boy and a fourth year boy with curly black hair shouting at each other down at the end of the pitch. “Arielle Rochelle seems to be trying to smooth things out, but at great expense to the Ravenclaw team. Gryffindor are back in possession.”
Above their heads, Remus could see the three Chasers of the Gryffindor team gliding along beside one another, Sirius in the centre of their formation with the Quaffle in his hand. “Althrop learns from his mistake and narrowly avoids the Bludger…Roberts and Gilbert seem to have sorted things out…Ouch!”
Remus watched as one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, a short, foxy-looking sixth-year named Christopher Clearwater, was struck on the arm by a Bludger, and slumped heavily over his broomstick, howling in pain. Sirius didn’t seem to notice, however, his eyes once again fixed on the hoops in front of him, and on the Ravenclaw Keeper who was bent low over his broom, watching the approaching Chasers.
Sirius threw the Quaffle, but Eleanor zoomed in and intercepted it, grabbing and swiftly holding it against her chest as she nodded to Clearwater, who narrowly avoided another Bludger as he retreated back up the pitch. Eleanor threw the Quaffle with all her might and, to the horror of the Gryffindors, Clearwater caught it, raced straight past the Gryffindor Keeper and scored. If Remus had been able to see Sirius’ face he would have seen how black and dangerous it had become as he pulled his broom up sharply, and began to tail Eleanor, his eyes fixed on the back of her blonde head.
Remus gasped as he saw the way Sirius flew alongside her, his broom skirting closely against hers, their shoulders only inches apart. Sirius seemed to flash a twisted smile which she returned, with a dig of the elbow for good measure. For a moment their eyes were locked, and Remus breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them turn their attentions to the Quaffle, which was now plummeting towards the ground.
“Potter has seen the Snitch!” The excitement in Crispin Thompson’s voice caused Remus to turn his attention from the pair of Chasers to the two Seekers whipping their way in and out of the stands. Starkey’s face was pale with determination as he tried desperately to close the gap between them; but Remus knew that James was too talented a flyer to be easily caught.
Most of the Gryffindors were on their feet; Peter seemed to have been holding his breath since the first whistle had been blown, and was almost purple as he concentrated on the pair chasing the Snitch. Even Lily had stood up, her green eyes fixed on James, whose arm was stretched out in front of him, clawing desperately at the air. Even Remus could feel the moment seize him, could feel the excitement coursing through his veins as he silently willed James just to stretch that little bit further.
Suddenly James snapped back his arm, his broom wobbling slightly as he struggled to correct himself. Lily gasped and Remus couldn’t help but smile at this betrayal of the concern she would never admit to. The Ravenclaws seemed to already know that the game was lost and, sure enough, James held the Golden Snitch triumphantly in the air, and the whole of the Gryffindor stand shrieked with delight as Crispin Thompson said, “James Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor win!”
Peter yelled and clutched at Remus’ robes. Remus turned to Lily, expecting her to be smiling too - but she wasn’t. Instead, she had one hand clutched to her mouth as she pointed out once more onto the pitch. Remus gulped as she saw what she was pointing to; clearly seeing the form of Eleanor Figg, her nose bloody, slip off of her broomstick and fall heavily to the ground below.
The Ravenclaws yelled. Rochelle, the Ravenclaw Captain, descended at once, and ran over to the unconscious girl; the referee in hot pursuit. Even James had landed and, with one hand still grasping the fluttering Snitch, was watching the scene with concern. In fact, only one player remained in the air and as Remus raised his eyes to the sky he could clearly see the silhouette of Sirius against the azure sky, disappearing into the distance in a flash of scarlet and gold.
Without you, I'm nothing by Clare Mansfield
Chapter Notes: Thank you for reviews! They do matter xxx
Gryffindor's first Quidditch match of the season. Will the mysterious letter affect Sirius' playing?