(no subject)
Title: Licorice Sticks and Aniseed Balls
Chapter Title: Beating Back
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Pairings: Hints at Lily/James.
Chapter Summary: Harry lets James and Sirius’ taunts get to him, and he tries out for the Quidditch team.
Notes: None.
Previous Chapter
Chapter 8: Beating Back
Harry looked up from his homework as James stood up in front of the portrait hole and clapped his hands, bringing the room to attention.
Lily snorted and rolled her eyes in disdain. ‘What does he want now?’ she muttered to Harry and Alice.
‘Quidditch tryouts have been scheduled for this Saturday,’ James called out, causing many exited whispers to break out around the room. ‘The only open position is Keeper, but we’re also looking for a new reserve Beater. Thank you.’
‘Wow,’ Lily said dryly as he moved over to sit with the other Marauders, ‘he actually said “thank you” this time.’
Grinning, Harry turned to her and said, ‘You know you like him really,’ he said, ‘or you wouldn’t spend so much time talking about him.’
Alice snickered slightly as Lily opened her mouth to object, and then closed it again, her cheeks reddening. ‘Do you fly?’ Alice asked, drawing the conversation away from Lily’s apparent attraction for James, much to the redheaded girl’s obvious relief, as she leapt on this question enthusiastically.
‘I used to play Seeker,’ Harry told the two girls. ‘But Fred and George - my best friend’s older brothers - were always trying to teach me to play Beater when I stayed at their house.’
‘Were you any good at it?’ Alice asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
‘I was okay, I guess,’ Harry replied modestly. He’d been good, though not in the same league as the twins.
‘Then it’s decided,’ she said, hearing his answer and sitting up straight, excitement showing in her inability to stay still. ‘You’ll come down to the pitch with Lily and I on Saturday, and try out for the team.’
Harry began to object, but was cut off by Lily, who placed leaped to her feet, patted him on the head in a condescending manner, and then packed up her work and headed up to the dormitories, followed shortly by Alice, who called back, ‘Be there!’ before she left.
-------
‘What was that about? With Evans?’ James asked Harry as soon as the younger boy entered the dormitory to get ready for bed.
‘Alice wants me to try out on Saturday,’ Harry said, assuming that that was what they meant, in an unconcerned manner.
‘She was blushing - Evans, I mean. Why was she blushing?’ James demanded, glaring furiously at Harry.
Harry gave him an odd look, and raised one eyebrow. ‘I told her she was being obvious,’ he answered.
‘About what?’ James now wanted to know.
‘Her crush.’
‘Crush? Crush on who?’ James was looking slightly dubious now.
Harry frowned, getting tired of this line of questioning. ‘What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?’ he snapped. ‘Just leave me alone, why don’t you?’
Looking rather stunned at the little outburst from the usually calm and collected Harry Blackmoon, James didn’t object as Harry pushed him to the side and strode over to his bed, promptly collapsing on it, fully prepared to go to sleep, until he was interrupted by Sirius’ disbelieving voice.
‘Quidditch? You?’
Harry sat up, feeling rather insulted. ‘I’m not that bad at it,’ he said. ‘And besides, I’m not going to try out, anyway.’
A malicious glint in his eye, Sirius said, ‘Why not? Scared you’ll embarrass yourself in front of your little girlfriend, Blackmoon?’
‘I don’t want to, dumbarse. Did you understand that, or do I need to use smaller words?’
‘Ooh, the snake has a backbone,’ James laughed, looking delighted at this new, deeper rift between Harry and Sirius.
‘I’m sure,’ Sirius said sarcastically, in response to Harry’s earlier comment, and ignoring the jibe at his intelligence. ‘I’ll bet you’re scared, aren’t you?’
His eyes flashing angrily, Harry denied the accusation furiously, only to be caught when Sirius said only a beat later, ‘Prove it, then. Come to the tryouts on Saturday and prove you’re not a coward.’
‘Fine!’
The door creaked open and Peter and Remus crept in cautiously, looking from Sirius and James’ smug expressions to Harry’s own beetroot-coloured face. ‘Is there something going on up here? Because we could hear the yelling from the common room.’
‘No,’ Harry said sharply, shooting one last glare at his father and godfather, and then jerking his curtains closed and flopping back on his bed, determinedly ignoring everything he could hear the Marauders discussing on the other side of them.
-------
The first match of the Season was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Harry, decked out in the red and gold of the Gryffindor Quidditch uniform, watched the match from the bleachers, waiting for either Sirius or Sam Howell - a fifth year - to be injured, in which case he would take their place in the game.
James, Alice and Judith Lippanser, a fourth-year, were scoring goals left, right and centre, and the Ravenclaw Keeper was struggling to keep up with the three of them. The new Gryffindor Keeper, Elspeth Jenkins, was playing a sloppy game, though, and despite the disorganisation of the Ravenclaw Chasers, the two teams were evenly matched. The game was now turning into a war between Seekers.
Spotting the snitch hovering near the grass by the Ravenclaw goalposts, Harry looked on in disbelief as Thomas Greene shot off towards the other end of the pitch, followed shortly by the Ravenclaw Seeker. There’s no way he could’ve not seen that, he thought, glancing between the bewildered Seekers and the badly hidden snitch, which seemed to be damaged, considering that it wasn’t going nearly as fast as it did in his time.
Alice scored again, sending cheers up through the Gryffindor stands, and then the Ravenclaw Seeker sped away again, this time heading towards the right-most hoop, where the snitch was. Harry looked up at the two players eagerly, hoping that Anna Thornley’s choice of direction wasn’t just fluke - a fear that was proven to be baseless as her hand closed over the snitch and was then raised in triumph.
The final score was 310-170 to Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaws cheered, the Gryffindors groaned, and James was fuming as he screamed at Greene.
Harry, tiring of this, clapped Alice on the shoulder and congratulated her, then went into the locker rooms to change back into his school uniform.
Next Chapter
Chapter Title: Beating Back
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Pairings: Hints at Lily/James.
Chapter Summary: Harry lets James and Sirius’ taunts get to him, and he tries out for the Quidditch team.
Notes: None.
Previous Chapter
Chapter 8: Beating Back
Harry looked up from his homework as James stood up in front of the portrait hole and clapped his hands, bringing the room to attention.
Lily snorted and rolled her eyes in disdain. ‘What does he want now?’ she muttered to Harry and Alice.
‘Quidditch tryouts have been scheduled for this Saturday,’ James called out, causing many exited whispers to break out around the room. ‘The only open position is Keeper, but we’re also looking for a new reserve Beater. Thank you.’
‘Wow,’ Lily said dryly as he moved over to sit with the other Marauders, ‘he actually said “thank you” this time.’
Grinning, Harry turned to her and said, ‘You know you like him really,’ he said, ‘or you wouldn’t spend so much time talking about him.’
Alice snickered slightly as Lily opened her mouth to object, and then closed it again, her cheeks reddening. ‘Do you fly?’ Alice asked, drawing the conversation away from Lily’s apparent attraction for James, much to the redheaded girl’s obvious relief, as she leapt on this question enthusiastically.
‘I used to play Seeker,’ Harry told the two girls. ‘But Fred and George - my best friend’s older brothers - were always trying to teach me to play Beater when I stayed at their house.’
‘Were you any good at it?’ Alice asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
‘I was okay, I guess,’ Harry replied modestly. He’d been good, though not in the same league as the twins.
‘Then it’s decided,’ she said, hearing his answer and sitting up straight, excitement showing in her inability to stay still. ‘You’ll come down to the pitch with Lily and I on Saturday, and try out for the team.’
Harry began to object, but was cut off by Lily, who placed leaped to her feet, patted him on the head in a condescending manner, and then packed up her work and headed up to the dormitories, followed shortly by Alice, who called back, ‘Be there!’ before she left.
-------
‘What was that about? With Evans?’ James asked Harry as soon as the younger boy entered the dormitory to get ready for bed.
‘Alice wants me to try out on Saturday,’ Harry said, assuming that that was what they meant, in an unconcerned manner.
‘She was blushing - Evans, I mean. Why was she blushing?’ James demanded, glaring furiously at Harry.
Harry gave him an odd look, and raised one eyebrow. ‘I told her she was being obvious,’ he answered.
‘About what?’ James now wanted to know.
‘Her crush.’
‘Crush? Crush on who?’ James was looking slightly dubious now.
Harry frowned, getting tired of this line of questioning. ‘What is this? The Spanish Inquisition?’ he snapped. ‘Just leave me alone, why don’t you?’
Looking rather stunned at the little outburst from the usually calm and collected Harry Blackmoon, James didn’t object as Harry pushed him to the side and strode over to his bed, promptly collapsing on it, fully prepared to go to sleep, until he was interrupted by Sirius’ disbelieving voice.
‘Quidditch? You?’
Harry sat up, feeling rather insulted. ‘I’m not that bad at it,’ he said. ‘And besides, I’m not going to try out, anyway.’
A malicious glint in his eye, Sirius said, ‘Why not? Scared you’ll embarrass yourself in front of your little girlfriend, Blackmoon?’
‘I don’t want to, dumbarse. Did you understand that, or do I need to use smaller words?’
‘Ooh, the snake has a backbone,’ James laughed, looking delighted at this new, deeper rift between Harry and Sirius.
‘I’m sure,’ Sirius said sarcastically, in response to Harry’s earlier comment, and ignoring the jibe at his intelligence. ‘I’ll bet you’re scared, aren’t you?’
His eyes flashing angrily, Harry denied the accusation furiously, only to be caught when Sirius said only a beat later, ‘Prove it, then. Come to the tryouts on Saturday and prove you’re not a coward.’
‘Fine!’
The door creaked open and Peter and Remus crept in cautiously, looking from Sirius and James’ smug expressions to Harry’s own beetroot-coloured face. ‘Is there something going on up here? Because we could hear the yelling from the common room.’
‘No,’ Harry said sharply, shooting one last glare at his father and godfather, and then jerking his curtains closed and flopping back on his bed, determinedly ignoring everything he could hear the Marauders discussing on the other side of them.
-------
The first match of the Season was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Harry, decked out in the red and gold of the Gryffindor Quidditch uniform, watched the match from the bleachers, waiting for either Sirius or Sam Howell - a fifth year - to be injured, in which case he would take their place in the game.
James, Alice and Judith Lippanser, a fourth-year, were scoring goals left, right and centre, and the Ravenclaw Keeper was struggling to keep up with the three of them. The new Gryffindor Keeper, Elspeth Jenkins, was playing a sloppy game, though, and despite the disorganisation of the Ravenclaw Chasers, the two teams were evenly matched. The game was now turning into a war between Seekers.
Spotting the snitch hovering near the grass by the Ravenclaw goalposts, Harry looked on in disbelief as Thomas Greene shot off towards the other end of the pitch, followed shortly by the Ravenclaw Seeker. There’s no way he could’ve not seen that, he thought, glancing between the bewildered Seekers and the badly hidden snitch, which seemed to be damaged, considering that it wasn’t going nearly as fast as it did in his time.
Alice scored again, sending cheers up through the Gryffindor stands, and then the Ravenclaw Seeker sped away again, this time heading towards the right-most hoop, where the snitch was. Harry looked up at the two players eagerly, hoping that Anna Thornley’s choice of direction wasn’t just fluke - a fear that was proven to be baseless as her hand closed over the snitch and was then raised in triumph.
The final score was 310-170 to Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaws cheered, the Gryffindors groaned, and James was fuming as he screamed at Greene.
Harry, tiring of this, clapped Alice on the shoulder and congratulated her, then went into the locker rooms to change back into his school uniform.
Next Chapter