Marauders to the End: Year One, Chapter Sixteen
TITLE: Time Flies
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Andromeda Black, OCs
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: It's time for another Quidditch match and tension is high.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: This was the chapter that earned the PG-13. I made one reference to Jimi Hendrix and my editor threw a fit until I agreed to change the rating.
With everything that had been happening, it was a shock to realize that it was already March. Peter didn’t understand where the time went. It seemed only yesterday that they’d gotten back from Christmas.
He hadn’t quite gotten used to the spontaneous mischief James and Sirius got up to, or the revelation that Remus was a werewolf. But despite all that, or maybe because of it, Hogwarts was easily the most wonderful place he had ever been. Excitement tended to hang around the little group of boys, and the only thing that could out do them for energy was the upcoming Quidditch match.
“Saturday,” James kept muttering to himself like a mantra. The Gryffindor team was constantly practicing, and Remus was always checking his notes over something. Gryffindor’s chances of making the finals were very narrow, although it all depended on the points. Peter didn’t quite understand how this system worked, although it had been explained to him several times, most recently in History of Magic when they were supposed to be taking notes over some dead guy’s wand.
“Look, Peter,” Sirius whispered. “It’s quite simple. Against Slytherin, we lost by seventy points. Slytherin lost to Hufflepuff by eighty. Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff by a good hundred. So, if we want to get to the finals, we have to beat Ravenclaw by at least thirty points. Either way, we’ll be playing Hufflepuff, but we won’t know what the point margin has to be until Saturday. If we beat Ravenclaw by thirty points, we’ll have to beat Hufflepuff by over a hundred. If not, it really doesn’t matter. However, if we beat Ravenclaw by more than fifty points...”
It simply gave Peter a headache. Math was not one of his best subjects.
“Energy, energy, energy!” Remus hissed, pouring over his notes. “Better flight plans... the hell?!..”
“It’s about height,” James told him. “If they can fly higher, it will be easier.”
“Easier to break all their bones when they fall,” Remus muttered. “Speed... flexibility...”
Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
Finally, finally, the match came. Tensions were higher than the late Jimi Hendrix, the Gryffindors were not looking forward to another defeat, and the four boys were all adrenaline, even Peter. At ten o’clock, the irritatingly cheerful voice of Henny McKenny rang out across the field.
“And here we are again, at the Quidditch match! This is Henny McKenny, your Quidditch commentator! Let’s see what we have today! Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, the match of a life time, ladies and gentlemen! And here are the Gryffindors: Black, McDowell, Jenkins, Longbottom, Tonks, Wilkins, and Baily! And the Ravenclaws are Bagman, Dagworth, Peters, Henderson, Patil, Cadwallader, and Fernesse!”
Remus was already scribbling. How he could take notes on team rosters he already had, Peter wasn’t sure. Other than what the Ravenclaw team looked like, there wasn’t anything interesting.
“And they’re off!” McKenny called over the field. “And it’s Black, once again, Black of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, approaching Keeper Eric Fernesse, but she’s intercepted by Peters of Ravenclaw, and it’s Amy Peters flying downfield, and she’s... hit by a Bludger, which came of its own accord, and the Quaffle is caught by Lucy Jenkins of Gryffindor...”
“That Bludger didn’t come of it’s own accord!” James yelled. “Tonks hit it!”
“Jenkins ducks Henderson, and is almost there... Bagman hits her with a Bludger, that was Ludo Bagman, everyone, the most promising talent on this field! And Jenkins drops the Quaffle, and it’s caught by Dagworth.”
“Bagman, hard swing, good aim... why can’t we have someone like that on our team?” Remus asked.
“Because I can’t have my own broom till next year, and Bagman’s a little show-off,” Sirius answered.
“And Henderson has the Quaffle, and she’s almost there...”
“Come on, Wilkins,” Remus muttered through clenched teethe. “I spent the last two months writing this program, now just make it work...”
“And- WILKINS SAVES IT, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time on record! Gryffindor back in position, and McDowell has the Quaffle...”
The Gryffindors sat shocked for a moment, then started cheering. The final show of Wilkins’s talent was worth more than the Snitch to them.
The match was getting faster. Now that Wilkins had proven he could save the easy goals Henderson, Peters and Dagworth had been practicing, Ravenclaw was having to work, which didn’t suit them at all. However, they managed to score four times.
Anny was swearing. Gryffindor had only scored three. Wilkins had improved, yes, but there was still a long way to go before he could match Ravenclaw’s best.
“Henderson back in possession, and she’s going, she’s going... she’s almost there, and... RAVENCLAW SCORES!”
“BLOODY-!”
“James, shut up, I need to concentrate!”
“You can take notes another time, Remus! I need to vent!”
“Vent in the Common Room. Henderson’s hook shot, hard right, good faint to the left. See that Wilkins gets fainting training.” Remus scribbled notes frantically. “Henderson too small to keep track of on field. Work on eyesight.”
“And Gryffindor’s back in position!” McKenny called. “Jenkins with the Quaffle, and she’s heading downfield... intercepted by Dagworth, who turns it around... WAIT! The Seekers have seen something! Alice Baily and Henry Cadwallader are racing towards a small glint...”
A roar went up from the crowd. “COME ON, ALICE!” James and Sirius screamed as one. “COME ON!”
Remus was still taking notes. The score was only 50-30, Ravenclaw’s favor. Whoever caught the Snitch would win by a substantial amount. The Seekers were neck to neck...
Cadwallader knocked Alice’s hand out of the way, and he caught the Snitch.
“REMUS LUPIN!” Anny screamed. “WE SPENT THE LAST FOUR MONTHS ON THIS NEW, IMPROVED, CUP-WINNING GUARANTEED PROGAM OF YOURS..!”
“I never said it was guaranteed! I merely presented it as a physics theory!”
“YOU TOLD ME IT WOULD IMPROVE OUR TEAM!”
“It did!” Remus breathed heavily but did not back down. “Look, before we started this program, Wilkins couldn’t have saved the six goals he did. And why are you shouting at me? It was your Seeker who lost, and you’ve worked her harder than anyone. Your problem, Andromeda, is that you work everyone too hard.”
“My problem is that we lost, Lupin,” she snarled. “We lost by a hundred and seventy points.”
“If you hadn’t used this program, you would have lost by more than that,” Remus snapped. “Look, I’m sorry it didn’t work, but keep working and maybe we can beat Hufflepuff. Small victories, right Anny?”
“Small victories,” she muttered, striding away to bitch at Alice. “I’ll show you small victories.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Remus,” Sirius said. “She gets like that when she loses. It’s genetic.”
“Really,” James said. “Then let’s hope you never lose.”
“I haven’t yet,” Sirius said. “Not quite.”
FANDOM: Harry Potter
CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Andromeda Black, OCs
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: None
SUMMARY: It's time for another Quidditch match and tension is high.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY: This was the chapter that earned the PG-13. I made one reference to Jimi Hendrix and my editor threw a fit until I agreed to change the rating.
With everything that had been happening, it was a shock to realize that it was already March. Peter didn’t understand where the time went. It seemed only yesterday that they’d gotten back from Christmas.
He hadn’t quite gotten used to the spontaneous mischief James and Sirius got up to, or the revelation that Remus was a werewolf. But despite all that, or maybe because of it, Hogwarts was easily the most wonderful place he had ever been. Excitement tended to hang around the little group of boys, and the only thing that could out do them for energy was the upcoming Quidditch match.
“Saturday,” James kept muttering to himself like a mantra. The Gryffindor team was constantly practicing, and Remus was always checking his notes over something. Gryffindor’s chances of making the finals were very narrow, although it all depended on the points. Peter didn’t quite understand how this system worked, although it had been explained to him several times, most recently in History of Magic when they were supposed to be taking notes over some dead guy’s wand.
“Look, Peter,” Sirius whispered. “It’s quite simple. Against Slytherin, we lost by seventy points. Slytherin lost to Hufflepuff by eighty. Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff by a good hundred. So, if we want to get to the finals, we have to beat Ravenclaw by at least thirty points. Either way, we’ll be playing Hufflepuff, but we won’t know what the point margin has to be until Saturday. If we beat Ravenclaw by thirty points, we’ll have to beat Hufflepuff by over a hundred. If not, it really doesn’t matter. However, if we beat Ravenclaw by more than fifty points...”
It simply gave Peter a headache. Math was not one of his best subjects.
“Energy, energy, energy!” Remus hissed, pouring over his notes. “Better flight plans... the hell?!..”
“It’s about height,” James told him. “If they can fly higher, it will be easier.”
“Easier to break all their bones when they fall,” Remus muttered. “Speed... flexibility...”
Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
Finally, finally, the match came. Tensions were higher than the late Jimi Hendrix, the Gryffindors were not looking forward to another defeat, and the four boys were all adrenaline, even Peter. At ten o’clock, the irritatingly cheerful voice of Henny McKenny rang out across the field.
“And here we are again, at the Quidditch match! This is Henny McKenny, your Quidditch commentator! Let’s see what we have today! Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw, the match of a life time, ladies and gentlemen! And here are the Gryffindors: Black, McDowell, Jenkins, Longbottom, Tonks, Wilkins, and Baily! And the Ravenclaws are Bagman, Dagworth, Peters, Henderson, Patil, Cadwallader, and Fernesse!”
Remus was already scribbling. How he could take notes on team rosters he already had, Peter wasn’t sure. Other than what the Ravenclaw team looked like, there wasn’t anything interesting.
“And they’re off!” McKenny called over the field. “And it’s Black, once again, Black of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, approaching Keeper Eric Fernesse, but she’s intercepted by Peters of Ravenclaw, and it’s Amy Peters flying downfield, and she’s... hit by a Bludger, which came of its own accord, and the Quaffle is caught by Lucy Jenkins of Gryffindor...”
“That Bludger didn’t come of it’s own accord!” James yelled. “Tonks hit it!”
“Jenkins ducks Henderson, and is almost there... Bagman hits her with a Bludger, that was Ludo Bagman, everyone, the most promising talent on this field! And Jenkins drops the Quaffle, and it’s caught by Dagworth.”
“Bagman, hard swing, good aim... why can’t we have someone like that on our team?” Remus asked.
“Because I can’t have my own broom till next year, and Bagman’s a little show-off,” Sirius answered.
“And Henderson has the Quaffle, and she’s almost there...”
“Come on, Wilkins,” Remus muttered through clenched teethe. “I spent the last two months writing this program, now just make it work...”
“And- WILKINS SAVES IT, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time on record! Gryffindor back in position, and McDowell has the Quaffle...”
The Gryffindors sat shocked for a moment, then started cheering. The final show of Wilkins’s talent was worth more than the Snitch to them.
The match was getting faster. Now that Wilkins had proven he could save the easy goals Henderson, Peters and Dagworth had been practicing, Ravenclaw was having to work, which didn’t suit them at all. However, they managed to score four times.
Anny was swearing. Gryffindor had only scored three. Wilkins had improved, yes, but there was still a long way to go before he could match Ravenclaw’s best.
“Henderson back in possession, and she’s going, she’s going... she’s almost there, and... RAVENCLAW SCORES!”
“BLOODY-!”
“James, shut up, I need to concentrate!”
“You can take notes another time, Remus! I need to vent!”
“Vent in the Common Room. Henderson’s hook shot, hard right, good faint to the left. See that Wilkins gets fainting training.” Remus scribbled notes frantically. “Henderson too small to keep track of on field. Work on eyesight.”
“And Gryffindor’s back in position!” McKenny called. “Jenkins with the Quaffle, and she’s heading downfield... intercepted by Dagworth, who turns it around... WAIT! The Seekers have seen something! Alice Baily and Henry Cadwallader are racing towards a small glint...”
A roar went up from the crowd. “COME ON, ALICE!” James and Sirius screamed as one. “COME ON!”
Remus was still taking notes. The score was only 50-30, Ravenclaw’s favor. Whoever caught the Snitch would win by a substantial amount. The Seekers were neck to neck...
Cadwallader knocked Alice’s hand out of the way, and he caught the Snitch.
“REMUS LUPIN!” Anny screamed. “WE SPENT THE LAST FOUR MONTHS ON THIS NEW, IMPROVED, CUP-WINNING GUARANTEED PROGAM OF YOURS..!”
“I never said it was guaranteed! I merely presented it as a physics theory!”
“YOU TOLD ME IT WOULD IMPROVE OUR TEAM!”
“It did!” Remus breathed heavily but did not back down. “Look, before we started this program, Wilkins couldn’t have saved the six goals he did. And why are you shouting at me? It was your Seeker who lost, and you’ve worked her harder than anyone. Your problem, Andromeda, is that you work everyone too hard.”
“My problem is that we lost, Lupin,” she snarled. “We lost by a hundred and seventy points.”
“If you hadn’t used this program, you would have lost by more than that,” Remus snapped. “Look, I’m sorry it didn’t work, but keep working and maybe we can beat Hufflepuff. Small victories, right Anny?”
“Small victories,” she muttered, striding away to bitch at Alice. “I’ll show you small victories.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Remus,” Sirius said. “She gets like that when she loses. It’s genetic.”
“Really,” James said. “Then let’s hope you never lose.”
“I haven’t yet,” Sirius said. “Not quite.”