6

Chapter 5: Decisions (Part 2)

"Hey" whispered Sirius. "Harry. You need to stretch out the 'o' in the incantation as you flick your wand. Go on give it a try"

Harry did as he was instructed and to his surprise, the teacup had turned into a lizard. 'Well in the loosest definition of a lizard I suppose' Harry thought wryly. 'It's the first lizard that I've ever seen that has a teacup handle for a tail!' Harry turned slightly to smile at Sirius in order to thank him for his help and was taken aback at the difference in Sirius' whole demeanour when he grinned back at him.

"Thanks. Still, it's nowhere as good as yours is. Mind you, you could hang the lizard up on the wall. Could be an interesting wall decoration I guess" murmured Harry.

"You haven't been listening to Sirius here, have you?" interrupted James. "He's not bad at his stuff, but he hasn't a clue how to explain anything. Shouldn't listen to him Harry, you never know what he's upto!"

"Hey, I can explain! Besides Jamie-boy, you're the picture of innocence yourself!" retorted Sirius.

"Of course I am! Everybody loves me. Why wouldn't they!" replied James, puffing his chest out as he spoke.

"James, James, James" said Sirius while shaking his head slowly. "I don't know how to break it to you mate, but you're not. Firstly, there are all those detentions you've had over the years…"

"Sirius! Some of us are still trying to do the work here" hissed Remus.

"Hey! You're no angel yourself! We've both had our fair share of detentions" James retaliated with a good-natured smile.

Sirius carried on as if his friends had not interrupted him. "Secondly, Evans is still holding out on you mate. You got to admit, you're not doing all that well".

"Ha! Smirk all you want Sirius, but I shall prevail!" muttered James quietly.

Harry heard a small snort of disgust from his other side and turned to throw a small grin at Lily. He allowed the bantering between James and Sirius to become background noise as he contemplated the situation he had been dropped into. 'It's definitely a lot different from what I saw in Snape's pensive, thank Merlin for that! Remus told me stories about what they got upto but it's nothing compared to actually being here. Sure Lily's not too keen on James yet, but it's not too bad. Sirius is so … alive, I suppose. Carefree? Remus seems a lot happier as well, I don't see that look in his eyes. The one that tells people he's seen too much death and horror. They all seem to be … even Pettigrew, so innocent. In their experiences, in life. Then again, I wouldn't want them to go through the kind of things I've seen, especially not considering what they'll be facing in a few years time'.

Harry let out a soft sigh but was brought out of his musings by the bell ringing, signalling the end of class. He quickly packed his bag and with a quick goodbye to Lily, he followed the Marauders to the Great Hall for lunch. Taking a seat next to Remus, he served himself a portion of soup and began to eat.

"Harry?" asked James, who was sitting opposite Harry and Remus. "I don't mean to nag…"

A smirking Sirius interrupted. "Gets it from his mother does James".

"Shut up Sirius" retorted James. "Look Harry, it's just … well, maybe you should have some more to eat. You look awfully thin. As if you haven't had a good meal in months".

"He's right you know" agreed Sirius as he looked over Harry with a critical eye. "You need a bit more weight on you. I bet I could see your ribs if you took off your shirt right now".

Harry blushed at the attention he was receiving from the teenagers. "I'm trying" he explained. "It's just that right now, I've got used to eating smaller portions than normal and I'm sure that if I try to eat more, I'll end up being sick". Deciding to change the subject before the others could delve too deeply regarding his eating habits, Harry asked, "I noticed that the tryouts for the House Quidditch team are on tonight. Someone pinned a note up in the Common Room".

"That would be James. He's the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and one of the Chasers. Sirius on the other hand is one of the Beaters for the team" explained Remus. "Those two" he said, waving a hand in James' and Sirius' direction "are Quidditch fanatics. Once you start them on the subject, you won't be able to stop them" he moaned but the small grin betraying him.

"Remus! We're your best friends. Surely you should be more understanding than that!" complained Sirius, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.

"No, I don't think so. Now if you'll excuse me Harry, I need to visit the library and check out a book for some research. I'll meet you outside the DADA classroom in a bit" said Remus, before picking up his bag and leaving the Great Hall.

"You know? Remus would make a great beater", James said with a resigned sigh. "It's a pity he refuses to try out". A sudden thought seemed to occur and his face transformed as a mischievous smile graced his lips. "Of course, one of the positions open this year is for a new Beater. I best be careful who I pick, right Sirius? After all, I can't pick someone you dumped or current boyfriends of your ex's I suppose. They might decide it's more satisfying to aim the Bludger at you rather than the other team's players and we can't have that now, can we!"

An indecipherable look passed across Sirius' face as his eyes moved down the table, passing over several faces including Harry's for a few seconds before he turned to glare at his best friend. "Ha ha. Very funny James" he replied, punching James on the shoulder to divert the focus away from him. "You're a real funny man, but I wouldn't give up the day job if I were you".

Harry could not help himself. He chuckled quietly at the embarrassed blue-eyed teenager. Luckily, Sirius did not notice his mirth since he was currently glaring at Pettigrew who had been laughing at James' words. Harry watched with a morbid fascination as Pettigrew shrank under the force of the glare and with quiet amusement when the mousy-haired boy moved to concentrate on his lunch and avoiding Sirius' gaze.

"So what positions are available this year then. Apart from a Beater of course" Harry asked curiously. He privately wondered who the Quidditch Captain was back in his time. McGonagall had suggested over the summer that the position would in all probability have been offered to him, but since that wasn't an option anymore. 'Probably Katie. She has been on the team the longest so it's the most logical choice'.

"We're after a new Seeker as well. The last one left a lot to be desired. In all honesty, the only reason we won the Quidditch Cup at all was because our Chasers were bloody brilliant!" replied Sirius. "Why? Do you play? What position?"

Harry looked up from his soup to meet three curious gazes. He wondered how much he should reveal. 'It's probably a good idea to try to keep a low profile' he reminded himself. 'But I really miss playing Quidditch! Especially after the ridiculous ban I received from Umbridge. Really, what harm could it do? Besides, I've always wondered what it would be like to fly with my dad. After all, everyone keeps on telling me what a great Quidditch player he was'.

Still undecided, Harry finally replied, "I don't know. I did play Seeker for my old team though" he said, distorting the truth only very slightly. "I'm a fair bit out of practice though. I don't know if I'll have time to practice much this year either. Besides, I'm sure that there are other people who'll be trying out as well".

Harry did not miss the look of envy that passed across Pettigrew's face but the look had disappeared with a blink of his eyes, so fast the he thought he may have imagined it. Harry absently fiddled with his spoon as James and Sirius looked at each other, obviously having a silent conversation. A moment later they seemed to have come to an agreement.

"Tryouts are at 6.30 on the Quidditch Pitch if you want to try out" offered James. "You should come down and have a look, see if you want to try out for the team. It'd be great to see you there". Harry nodded in reply before the four teenagers returned to their lunch.

Harry found himself impressed by the DADA teacher in this time-period. 'Mind you' he thought to himself, 'almost anyone would be an improvement on Umbridge'. After everybody in the DADA class had sat down in their seats, Steelfield had announced that she would be duelling each student in an attempt to gauge their level of competence and discover what areas they, as individuals, would need to concentrate on to further improve. The duels between the students and Steelfield had not been going that well, but then Harry privately admitted that he had little or no frame of reference.

Strangely enough, Sirius and James had fared little better than many of the others in the class. Harry frowned as he recalled how the duels had played out. It was obvious that both James and Sirius were knowledgeable in the area of hexes and jinxes, but had obviously not come across opponents who knew how to defend themselves as successfully as Steelfield had. From his year teaching the DA, Harry could tell that with practice and training, both James and Sirius would be formidable opponents in a real duel.

Pettigrew, on the other hand, did not perform quite as well as his other classmates; not that Harry was all that surprised. In all honesty, Harry was amazed that Pettigrew would eventually possess enough magical potential to successfully perform the Killing curse, after all Barty Crouch Jr had told him that it took an advanced wizard to perform that curse. However at this point in time, Pettigrew had been disarmed by Steelfield less than 30 seconds after the duel had begun.

Remus, however, performed better than many of the other students in the class, including his fellow Marauders. Harry had watched the duel, which lasted just over 5 minutes, with great interest. It was apparent that Remus had planned his offensive and defensive spells much more effectively than the others had. Instead of attacking outright, he had waited for Steelfield to attack first.

Harry had personally felt reasonably pleased with his duel against the DADA Professor. He had outlasted every student in the class, although Snape had come very close Harry noted with a small amount of disgust. He agreed with Sirius, Snape was an oily greasy-haired slimeball, but he did know several interesting curses it seemed. Luckily for Harry, the previous years' experience in leading the DA, as well as the extensive reading he had done over the summer, had prepared somewhat for the duel with Steelfield. Harry privately admitted that it was a lot harder in practice. Overall, Harry was pleased with his performance in the class and happily accepted the praise he received from the Marauders, who were extremely thankful that a Slytherin hadn't managed to best a Gryffindor.

By the end of the lesson, Steelfield had duelled with each student in the class. As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, James and Sirius disappeared through the classroom door. Harry on the other hand started to walk back to Gryffindor Tower with Remus, discussing the shield charm that he had used in his duel with Steelfield. The two boys were waiting for one of the corridors to move when Lily caught up with them.

The trio began to discuss the duels they had watched, including Steelfield's plans to practice their duelling techniques, as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Harry could see the Professor in the teenager before him, the way Remus' amber eyes brightened as he discussed the benefits of a particular jinx when compared to a different charm. When Lily suggested perhaps they could use various Charms as defensive spells during a duel, Harry was reminded of how Dumbledore had transfigured the statues in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic to block several spells sent by Voldemort. Being careful not to mention that incident, Harry suggested the use of Transfiguration during duels and the three quickly became engrossed in the possibilities it would create.

As Harry, Lily, and Remus walked into the Gryffindor Common room, his thoughts were drawn back to Ron and Hermione. It was a strange feeling, walking through the corridors of Hogwarts with Remus and Lily, almost familiar. 'I miss Ron and Hermione. They've always been there with me. What I wouldn't do to be able to talk to them, but just now … it was strange … but good. I don't know … normally Hermione has to almost force me to work and Ron's always around to make sure I have fun, but here, it's as if I don't mind. It's all in one … is this because of the Prophesy? Damn it all, it's just confusing!' Harry stopped his train of thought, it wasn't the time or place to be having them, but vowed to consider the situation at a more appropriate time.

Lily's next question caught Harry off his guard. "Hey Harry? I thought I heard you were thinking of trying out for the Quidditch team. Aren't you missing the tryouts?" she asked.

Remus frowned as he turned his attention on Harry, who blushed slightly under the attention. "I didn't know you were going to try out. What position? Shouldn't you be down on the Quidditch Pitch rather than sitting here?" he questioned.

"I don't know if I should" Harry responded. He was still unsure if he would change the timeline by joining the Quidditch team. "I'm sure there's a decent Seeker in whomever is trying out though. They won't need me I bet!"

"I wouldn't depend on that" was the cryptic reply from Remus.

"You should at least try out Harry" Lily encouraged. "Even if you don't make the team, at least you know you tried your best, and that's all anyone can ask for".

Harry could not help feeling equal amounts of pride, sadness, and embarrassment. Pride knowing that his mother would have been proud of him whatever he did … whatever happened. Sadness that she didn't have the opportunity to witness what he had already accomplished in his life so far and embarrassment that he was dithering regarding the Quidditch team tryouts.

With Lily's words in mind, a slow smile started to form on Harry's face as he rose from his seat. Harry ran up the stairs to the boy's dorm, the bemused gazes of Remus and Lily following him. Once he reached his trunk, a birthday present from Moody, Harry grabbed his Firebolt, a gift from Sirius in his Third Year, his broom for the past 3 years.

'Woah! Wait a minute' he suddenly realised. 'Forgetting the fact that Sirius was the one to buy me my broom, it's a Firebolt! The best broom on the market in 1996. What am I supposed to do? I can't buy a new one, I don't have the galleons for it, and the school brooms will be too slow. What do I do? What if … if I use the Firebolt, but not fly at its top speed. Would that work? Maybe I could pretend it's a custom-made broom if anyone gets too suspicious. Damn it, if only things would go smoothly for once!'

A few moments later, Harry ran back down to the Common Room with his Firebolt, where he met the amused looks of his two friends.

"Looks like you're going to try out then?" asked Lily, a knowing smile teasing her lips.

"Yup! Want to come and see?" offered Harry with a grin.

Remus and Lily looked at each other before turning back to Harry. As one, they agreed. "Sure!"

The next few minutes found three teenagers racing through the corridors and grounds of Hogwarts. Eventually, they arrived at the Quidditch pitch and they looked around before finally noticing Sirius, who was standing close to the stands, at the far end of the pitch. Harry's former enthusiasm started to sink as he realised the tryouts for the Gryffindor team had already ended.

Harry noticed that Sirius' attention seemed to be directed at someone in the air and so he coughed as he approached the taller boy. "Looks like I'm too late", said Harry, green eyes dimming with the realisation.

"Hey Harry, Remus … Evans? What are you doing here?" a bemused Sirius greeted.

"It's nothing to do with you Black, but Harry asked if I wanted to come and watch. After all, I did manage to persuade him to come and try out for the team" she retorted, green eyes flashing.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at Lily before turning to smile at Harry. "Technically" he said, "tryouts have ended. We did manage to find a new Beater, but the three who tried out for the Seeker position … well, the less said the better. They managed to lose the snitch!" he explained, shaking his head in disbelief. "Still, James isn't a bad Seeker I suppose. Currently it looks like he'll end up having to play that position on the team. It's a real pity though, he's our best Chaser and that's where we need him".

Harry moved to look at James, who was currently circling the Quidditch pitch looking for the snitch. It didn't look like he was having all that much luck either. Automatically, Harry's eyes also began searching for the small golden ball. Sirius continued to speak to Harry, not noticing that he had become distracted. "I've no idea what James plans on doing though. We can't let the Slytherins win the Cup and Ravenclaw House have a decent team this year as well. Hey! Harry, where…"

Harry did not hear the rest of Sirius' question. Instead, he flashed the dark-haired Beater an apologetic grin before mounting his broom and kicking off. Harry looped around the pitch once, relishing the feeling of flying once more. Harry had missed the sensation of the wind against his face and he absently noted that his Firebolt was as responsive as ever. Harry could not contain his excitement at being back in the air, his mouth beginning to ache from the large grin on his face. He started to make a second loop before swerving to where James had been hovering.

"James!" he shouted. "Sirius tells me you lost a snitch!"

"Yes! Seeker tryouts didn't go that well and they managed to lose the snitch. I don't know what to do", he said, shaking his head. "We can't play the other Houses without a decent Seeker and I much prefer to play Chaser. Anyway, I don't suppose you can see where the snitch is, can you. Let me know if you do and I'll go grab it so we can get back to the Tower".

"I don't suppose you mean this?" Harry asked, holding out his hand. In it lay the golden Snitch.

Harry chuckled as he saw James' jaw drop. His heart filled with pride and happiness. The emotions he was feeling, it was like … everything was perfect. How he had always imagined he would feel with his parents. He could not help feeling slightly smug at the fact that he had managed to catch the snitch while James, the star Chaser, smei-Seeker, and all round Quidditch star, had not.

"Let it go again!"

"What!" Harry exclaimed.

"Let the snitch go" repeated James. "Give it a minute head-start and then we'll start searching for it again".

Harry shrugged and did as he was told. A minute later found James and Harry circling the Quidditch pitch, looking for the elusive Golden Snitch. They spent several minutes searching the darkening sky for the telltale glimmer of gold. Suddenly Harry spotted it at the far end of the pitch, hovering in front of the centre goal hoop. With a quick look to check on James, who was a few meters in front of him but facing in the opposite direction to the Snitch, Harry swerved to the left, as if to circle him. As he passed James, he changed directions again and flew towards the far end of the pitch. He was vaguely aware that James had noticed his diversion and was now following him in the chase for the snitch.

Harry was careful not to fly at the top speed of the Firebolt, but fast enough to remain slightly ahead of his opponent. As he neared the goalposts, the snitch decided to move and was diving towards the ground. Harry followed, angling his broom into a steep dive. The world around him contracted as he solely focused on the small snitch flying in front of him. He was not aware that James had stopped following him, but was instead watching him go after the snitch. Nor did he hear Lily's screams as he flew towards the ground or Sirius' shouts of encouragement. He inched closer and closer to the snitch and to the outside observer, it looked as if Harry would crash.

Instead, to their shock, Harry pulled up at the last moment as his fingers came into contact with the snitch. He straightened his broom, feet skimming the grass before he rose slightly and flew back to where Sirius, Remus, Lily, and now James were standing. As he neared them, Harry finally noticed the small figure of Pettigrew approaching from the stands.

As soon as Harry had dismounted, Sirius, who seemed to be vibrating with excitement swept him into a hug. As soon as he was released, Harry found himself in another rib bruising hug, this time by Lily, whose face was paler than normal.

"Harry Granger!" she shrieked in a tone reminiscent of Hermione. "Don't you ever do that again! I thought you were going to crash!"

"Harry! That was bloody fantastic!" James shouted, ignoring the glare he received from Lily.

"You had James totally beat! He didn't even bother trying to follow you! How come you didn't tell us you were that good?" Sirius asked.

"Yes" agreed Remus. "You were giving us the impression that you weren't that good a Seeker, but wow … I mean, just look at you! What were you thinking, saying you didn't think you were good enough to get on the team!"

"You know something Jamie-boy?" Sirius shouted.

"No, what?"

"We are going to win the Cup this year! We're going to trounce all the other teams! Especially those slimy Slytherins" he exclaimed having grabbed Harry and James in another exuberant hug.

May hugs and congratulations later, Harry eventually found himself returning to the castle. Internally he was a mess of giddiness and nerves. He had always wondered what his parents, especially his father would have thought about his flying and now he knew. It was a feeling that filled his soul with happiness.

The group of six students approached the doors to the Entrance Hall, where Professor McGonagall met them. James called out to his Head of House. "Professor! We've chosen our new players".

"And pray Mr Potter, who may they be" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"Well Jonathan Holmes is the new Beater and Harry here is going to be the new Seeker!" he announced, hazel eyes shining with pride.

McGonagall turned her gaze onto Harry and seemed to consider something before smiling at her Gryffindor students. "Congratulations" she said. "Well Mr Potter, I hope to see the Quidditch Cup grace my office again this year. I expect you not to let the House down, after all, it seems to have become a bit of a permanent feature hasn't it?"

"Yes Mim, Professor Sir!" saluted James with a cocky grin at McGonagall.

McGonagall frowned at the nickname and opened her mouth to chastise James. "Mr Potter…"

"Sorry Professor. Summer habit. Hard to break, you know how it is" explained James to the older witch with wide, innocent looking eyes. "I'll try not to do it again!" he called out before running off down the corridor.

McGonagall shook her head at his behaviour, but the gleam in her eyes betraying her amusement. She dismissed Remus, Peter, and Lily; Sirius having already left, running after his best friend. A curious Harry followed McGonagall as they made their way to her office, wondering why he had not been dismissed along with the others. He did not have to wait long for his explanation.

"Congratulations" she said after she had sat down behind her desk, beckoning Harry to take a seat. "You fly just as well as your father, although I'm not sure that even he would have tried that dive".

Harry blinked.

McGonagall carried on speaking as if she had expected that very reaction from Harry. "The Headmaster thought to inform me of … certain facts regarding your past and how you came to be here. I shall be helping him where possible in researching a way to get you back to your own time, though not in my particular area of expertise" she explained. "It is also beneficial for you. If circumstances occur such that your situation is discovered and you are unable to find the Headmaster, you are to come and tell me. I hope that we can smooth over any difficulties that may occur with you being from the future. Now, I believe you should be returning to your Tower soon, I expect there will be some sort of celebration, especially if Mr Black and Mr Potter are involved" she finished with a sigh. "I shall organise a set of Gryffindor Quidditch robes for you".

"That's alright Professor" Harry replied. "I already have a set".

"So Mr Gra- … Mr Potter" she corrected with a small smile. "How long have you been playing for your House team?" she asked.

Harry remained silent for a moment as he considered his answer. "For 5 years Professor" he decided to answer.

"But, but that would have meant that…" began McGonagall. Her eyes widened with the realisation. "First years are hardly ever appointed to their House Quidditch teams. My word, there hasn't been anyone for over…"

"A century" Harry finished. "You yourself made the decision. Trust me, it was a shock to me and my friends as much as to anyone else".

"Well Potter. You are full of surprises, just like James" she announced. Surprise and pride openly displayed on her face as she considered the revelation.

"Professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering, if you don't mind me asking that is. How is it that my … that James knows you so well. It was just something he said and I was just … wondering" he managed to ask, a blush starting to form as he realised how inappropriate his question was.

McGonagall looked slightly surprised by the question, but nevertheless answered. "I'm well acquainted with Mr Potter's parents, that is your grandparents. I've known James Potter since he was a baby and he grew up knowing me as a family friend rather than a Professor at Hogwarts. Were you not aware of that?"

Harry's blush deepened as he explained. "No Professor. I grew up in the Muggle world due to certain circumstances. I never knew" he explained, his tone indicating he did not want to discuss it further.

Luckily, McGonagall took the hint and after a few more words, she dismissed Harry from her office. Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower and found that a party was already in progress to congratulate the new members of the Quidditch team. He spent some time with James, Sirius and Remus as well as meeting the other members of the Quidditch team. Nor did he forget to thank Lily for persuading him to try out. It was late when the party finally wound down and Harry trudged up the boys' staircase and tumbled into bed. That night, Harry did not dream of Cedric, Sirius, or Voldemort. Instead, he found himself flying through the air on his Firebolt, over land and sea, enjoying the experience of complete freedom.

The next morning Harry woke up feeling refreshed. The lack of nightmares the previous night ensuring his good mood. That was until he realised that his first lesson that day would be the one he most dreaded … Potions.

Remus on the other hand, was warily approaching Sirius' bed. He called out to the sleeping teenager several times but when that garnered no visible reaction, Remus took a hold of the blanket covering his body, fully intending to whip it off in an attempt to wake Sirius up. To Remus' shock and the other boys' amusement, the blanket instead enveloped the werewolf, who then lost his balance and fell to the floor with a loud thump. The indignant muffles from the entrapped teenager were drowned out by the laughter from the other three boys in the room.

This noise combined with the lack of a blanket woke Sirius from his slumber. His face was filled with confusion until his sapphire eyes found the source of the amusement. His mouth quirked into a grin at the rapidly reddening werewolf, whose attempts to extricate himself from the charmed blanket were completely unsuccessful.

"Remus!" Sirius managed to choke out. "What are you doing down there?"

Remus stopped struggling with the blanket and glared at Sirius, who was leaning over the end of his bed, unabashed at the fact that he was only wearing his boxers. Remus twisted his head and shoulders until his face was free from the confining blanket and narrowed his eyes at the amused teenager.

"What do you think I'm doing Sirius?" he snarled. "I was trying to wake you up so we could get down to breakfast. But no, of course not, you idiotic fool! You just had to go ahead and charm the bloody blanket to do this!"

"Uh oh!" James sang. "Sirius mate. You know better than to piss off Remus before he's had his first two cups of tea!"

His only answer was a low growl from the direction of the blankets.

"Yes" squeaked Pettigrew in agreement, as he sat grinning on his own bed, wearing red pyjamas with moving lions. "Remember you don't want to get Remus mad. You'll end up paying for it come the-"

"SIRIUS!" shouted James, cutting Peter off abruptly. "Come on now, be a nice chap and let Remus go!"

"Oh but Jamie. Look at him. He looks all warm and cuddly. We wouldn't want to part him from his new security blanket" Sirius replied.

Harry was, much to his embarrassment, giggling. He could not help himself. The scene playing out in front of him was just too funny. 'Remus never told me about this!' he thought as wrapped his arms across his aching sides. 'Mind you, I can understand why. I never realised that he could turn such a deep shade of red!'

Remus' response was to growl menacingly at the amused teenagers, which only served to increase the volume of their laughter. Harry missed the short hissed conversation between Pettigrew and James, as he was too busy watching Sirius' attempts to successfully utter the counter-curse in-between his laughing, to release Remus from his 'confinement'.

Eventually the Sixth year boys finally calmed down and were dressed in their robes, ready to face the day ahead. That is, after Remus had whacked Sirius on the head for his 'insurance policy'.

"You can damn well wake yourself up next time or just be late. See if I care" he had shouted at Sirius, who was still laughing, before storming off to the bathroom.

Luckily, Remus had calmed down by the time he had returned. Harry realised that this was an ordinary event in the lives of the Marauders and that Remus was not quite as irritated as he appeared to be. Of course, that did not stop Remus from ignoring Sirius for the next few hours, after all, he did have some pride.

After breakfast, Pettigrew scurried off to the North Tower for his Divination lesson while Harry and the remaining Marauders trudged off towards the dungeons for their NEWT level Potions class. The four teenagers walked in and sat down on the left-hand side of the room, James and Remus sitting at the table behind Sirius and Harry. Over the next few minutes, several other Sixth Years entered the well lit room, including Lily, a few Ravenclaws that Harry had been introduced to, a girl who looked remarkably familiar and accompanying her, much to Harry's disgust, was a 16-year-old Snape. Harry's groan went unheard because at that moment, James and Sirius started to complain about being in the same class as that slimy git.

"Why are you so peeved about the fact that Snape's in this Potions class. You didn't say much about it in the other classes we have with him" said Remus, his eyebrow raised in question.

"Because it's Potions!" stated Sirius, as if the reason was obvious to all.

"So?"

"It just is" replied James.

"He's always a smug bastard but especially so in Potions Remus, and you know it. He knows he can beat the lot of us and he always makes sure to gloat about it" Sirius sneered as he glared at the offending boy.

Remus countered. "And you two don't do the same in Transfiguration?"

"That's different!" said an offended James. "Besides, he's doesn't have that class with us".

"How is it different?"

"Remus, why are you defending that git?" Sirius asked, slightly annoyed at Remus'' questioning.

"I'm not. I just don't see the point complaining about it. He's in the class and we just have to put up with it" he explained. "Besides Sirius, you do just as well as Snape as it is. Maybe better if you put some effort into your Potions work. Why can't you just ignore Snape?"

"But where would the fun be in my life without torturing Snivellus!" James asked with a laugh.

Harry remained silent as he listened to the other three boys talk. He could not help feeling slightly upset at James' words and that perhaps Snape's opinion of his father was justified. 'He is acting like an arrogant bastard, but why?' Harry thought in despair. 'Remus and Sirius tried to explain after I looked in Snape's pensive, but it seems … different seeing it now. He's perfectly nice one moment and now … he's horrible. I can't believe it's the same person, but then James did grow up eventually. Remus made sure to explain during summer. James sort-of got over his ego problem but still, I wish I could change his mind. However, if he won't listen to Remus, what chance is there that he'll listen to the new kid!'

"Harry?"

"Harry!"

Harry turned around to face Remus who had been calling his name. "Hmm?"

Remus looked at him with a concerned expression. "You alright there? You seemed to zone off again. Mind you I can understand why, listening to these two moaning" he said with a small smile.

"Hey! I resent that!" Sirius replied. "I am a wonderful caring lovely person. I see no reason to moan unless I'm in detention with Filch or it involves Slytherins".

"Guys" Remus chastised. "Behave!"

"Remus is pulling his Prefect status on us! Help me Harry!" cried Sirius, grabbing Harry by the shoulders and pretending to hide from his friend behind Harry.

"Come on Sirius, Remus will promise not to hurt you" coaxed Harry. "Won't you Remus?"

"I suppose so" he finally agreed, after receiving a poke in the side from James.

Sirius looked at Harry with a lost puppy expression. "Will you protect me?" he asked.

Harry could not help but grin at the look on Sirius' face. There was no other way to describe it … it was just adorable. Harry snorted. Sirius … adorable? Who would have thought! Harry was stopped from replying by the arrival of the Potions teacher, Professor Phalin. Instead, they were quickly put to work in pairs to create a skin restorative balm.

"So really?" Sirius began to ask in a whisper as he went about finely slicing the Boomslang skin. "What were you thinking about?"

Realising that Sirius would not be put off from his questioning, Harry decided to appease him somewhat. "It nothing, really. I was just wondering what the teacher would be like. Potions is my worst subject that I'm taking at NEWT level and my last teacher … well, it's safe to say he loathed me" he said, his eyes unconsciously glancing at the younger Snape before meeting Sirius' blue eyes. "He would find the slightest wrong thing, any opportunity possible, to pick on me".

Sirius swore. "What a bastard! Sounds like he needs a good hex or two"!

"Oh I think he might have had a fair few when he was younger. That might have been the reason" Harry said. "Besides, if I did try to hex him … he would have definitely found some way to expel me, not that he hadn't tried several times already!"

Sirius grinned at Harry. "So, you're a troublemaker?"

Harry sighed as he stirred potion. "Not really. Even so, trouble seems to follow me wherever I go".

The two teenagers spent the next hour concentrating on the potion they were making. Sirius was, as Remus said, quite gifted in the art of potion brewing. It was quite a surprise to Harry, who had not known about this particular skill of Sirius'. Then again, there wasn't much use for it when on the run, Harry supposed. It also went some way to explain the possible hatred between Sirius and Snape, though Harry suspected that there was another, less Hogwarts inclined, reason as well.

The potion seemed to be going quite well and Harry grabbed a few leeches to add to the cauldron. His hand was over the bubbling concoction when a slightly bigger hand covered his own, causing Harry to jump at the sudden contact. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine and followed the hand that held his own to meet the bright sapphire eyes of Sirius.

"If you had added that" he said, moving his eyes to look at Harry's hand, "to the cauldron, it would have caused an explosion"

Harry paled as he realised what he had almost done before embarrassment caused his face to redden. Keeping his eyes on the worktop he put the leeches back from where he had grabbed them and studiously studied the notes he had made. He did not want to see the look in Sirius' eyes when he realised how pathetically bad Harry was at Potions. 'For Merlin's sake! How am I, the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, supposed to be the one who can defeat Voldemort! I'm supposed to have this power he possesses not and I can't even brew a simple potion!' he though angrily. 'What must Sirius think, having to work with me! Someone obviously dim-witted enough to almost cause an explosion!'

A soft touch on his arm brought him out of his chastising thoughts. Sirius spoke quietly into his ear. "Don't do that to yourself … it could have happened to anyone. It doesn't matter anyway. No harm done, no problem".

"I'm not doing anything" Harry replied.

"Yes you were" Sirius whispered fiercely. "You were thinking that you're useless and talentless. That you should be perfect and able to do everything that is asked of you. You were comparing yourself to other people and thinking that you'll never be able to compete"

"I wasn't" Harry tried to deny. "What makes you think that?"

A strange look came over Sirius' features. "Experience" was his only answer.

Harry's jaw fell as that simple word. 'Why would Sirius have ever thought he was useless, that he would not be able to perform some piece of magic?' Harry could not believe it, not of Sirius. 'The Sirius I knew … the older Sirius, and even this 16 year-old Sirius, just exude confidence. He even died with it'.

Harry was not given the chance to further question Sirius or to deny his accusations because the skin restorative potion was finally finished. He watched as Sirius filled a glass vial and sealed it. As Sirius magically cleaned the cauldron, Harry charmed the glass to be unbreakable. He had learnt the lesson the hard way the previous year and was not eager to repeat it. Harry handed the sample back to Sirius and began to clear the potion ingredients that were scattered across the worktop.

Harry kept a discrete eye on Sirius as he walked down the narrow aisle towards Phalin's desk when he was suddenly tripped. Standing at the table that Sirius had just passed, Harry saw the sneering face of a satisfied looking Snape. Sirius let out a shout as he twisted his body to prevent himself from falling to the floor but in the process lost his grip on the vial of the brewed potion. Harry moved from his table, intent on reaching Sirius but found his way blocked by several curious students. Harry fought his way through, followed closely by James and Remus.

Sirius had straightened and was now facing Snape, an angry expression marring his handsome face. Even from a couple of metres away, Harry could feel the tension and hate that hung around the two teenagers and his heart beat faster as he thought about what might possibly happen. Snape's black eyes glinted with satisfaction as Sirius' normally bright sapphire eyes had darkened with anger. Sirius whipped out his wand ready to curse the Slytherin and Snape's own wand appeared in a blink of the eye.

"What was that for Snape?" Sirius snarled.

"Just thought you should see the world from the perspective you've decided to associate yourself with" a sneering Snape explained. "Traitors and Mudbloods. It's such a pity, a Pureblood lowering himself to their level. How was the view?"

"Stuff it Snivellus! It's your types who are the traitors. Get back in the dirt where you belong" retorted Sirius. "You're just a pathetic greasy git who thinks, just because you're a Pureblooded wizard, the world should bow to your whims!"

"I would have expected better, what with your heritage" Snape sneered, before pointedly turning to look at Harry. Harry, who was confused regarding the meaning behind Snape's attentions, felt James and Remus tense behind him. Turning back to face Sirius, Snape continued in the same tone of voice. "Yet you still persist in associating with common filthy Mudbloods!"

Harry stiffened at the insult but somehow managed to stop himself from hexing Snape himself. It was at that moment when Professor Phalin suddenly appeared behind Snape, preventing Sirius from cursing the Slytherin into the Hospital Wing for a week.

"What is going on here?" she asked, eyebrow raised at the sight of the two wands pointing at each other. "Mr Snape, Mr Black? Care to explain why you have each other at wand-point?"

"Snivellus here, tripped me over as I was going to hand in our potion sample" Sirius spat out in an explanation, all the while continuing to glare at Snape.

"It was merely an accident Professor" he replied, throwing a threatening glare back at the taller boy. "It's a pity that Black doesn't have any more of the potion" he said in a mocking voice. "I just suppose he'll have to fail the lesson. Just like the rest of your life, isn't it Black?"

"Fuck off Snape!" he snapped. At that moment, Harry did not want to do anything more than punch Snape right in his abnormally large nose. However, he was distracted by a glint of light from the corner of his eye. Looking closer, he noticed that it was their sample vial. Ducking under the table, Harry grabbed the vial, thankful that he had remembered to cast the unbreakable charm on the glass.

"Such crude language Cousin" a strange voice interrupted. It was the girl that Harry had noted seemed awfully familiar. "Auntie always tried to stop you but you never did listen, did you Sirius?" she said, looking down her nose at the taller Sirius. Harry was suddenly hit by the realisation of the identity of this new girl. It was Narcissa Malfoy, or Black at this particular time. "She tried her best, but you were always a disappointment … and you always will be" she said sadly.

Harry wanted to shout at her, to defend Sirius. He wanted to tell her the brave things Sirius had done, while her notable accomplishment was to bring the spawn of Lucius Malfoy into the world. Something the Wizarding community could have well done without. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn't. He couldn't defend one of the bravest, most honest and caring men in his life. Why wasn't Phalin doing anything to stop Snape and Narcissa Black? Harry glanced over to the Potions teacher and saw that her expression was slack with shock.

"Piss off Cissa. You're just like the rest of them. Too bloody concerned with the purity of blood to even see what people are really like. Thank Merlin at least Roma managed to get out when she did!" hissed Sirius in reply. Harry could feel the anger, the hurt, and hate emanating from the dark-haired teenager. His tanned face was red with anger and hand clenched tightly around his wand. "Thank Merlin I got out of that damned house as well! You have no right to tell me what to do Narcissa. I'll live my life how I want to, not how Mother and you think I should!" he snarled.

The small scene that was taking place had caught the attention of the entire class of students and one teacher and Sirius had to push past several students who had approached the table to better hear the argument. Harry watched, frozen where he stood, as black robes billowed behind Sirius as he stalked out of the dungeon, not once looking back at the Slytherins or his friends. There was a small disturbance behind Harry, before James also pushed past the students, running after his best friend.

Now that the spectacle was over, most of the students moved back to their cauldrons and began to clear up. Harry, still holding the glass vial, stood facing the door Sirius and James had just left through, Snape and Narcissa Black still in his line of sight. He could not believe Snape's audacity, how malicious he had just been. But then, was he really surprised? 'Snape did almost kill Sirius, wanting to hand him over to the Dementors at the end of Harry's Third Year, and there was that incident involving Remus at school'. Harry's mind went blank, unable to process the events that had just played out in front of him. It was Remus' hand on his shoulder that drew him back to reality. Harry tuned in to the shouts of Phalin, who it seemed, had recovered from her temporary state of shock.

"Mr Snape! Miss Black! I will not have a scene like that in my class. You will behave while in this room. 20 points from Slytherin each and 10 points will be taken from Gryffindor for Mr Potter leaving the lesson without permission!" Phalin ordered. "Now Mr Snape, I would suggest you collect your sample and clean up your work area". With that, she moved away from the two students and returned to the front of the classroom in order to collect the students' samples.

Snape glared at the Professor for a moment and Harry could easily discern the dislike in his black eyes. "Huh! How come Black didn't have any points taken off from Gryffindor for running off like a coward" he muttered quietly, yet still loud enough for Harry and Remus to hear.

Harry took a step forward, ready to shout at Snape himself but was stopped by Remus who whispered in his ear. "Stop! Harry think! He's just baiting you, trying to make us lose more House points. Don't give into him here".

The words managed to penetrate the red haze in Harry's mind and he flashed a grateful look at Remus. However, it seemed that Snape was not done. "Gryffindor favouritism! That's what it is" he muttered. Harry snorted. Snape, complaining about favouritism, what a joke! The slimy git couldn't wait to take points off the other Houses, especially Gryffindor.

"At least Sirius and that Potter-lookalike Mudblood with him don't have a potion Severus" murmured Narcissa, as she lazily flicked her wand at the table.

Harry brightened up considerably. In a loud voice, he said, "What? You mean the vial Sirius dropped?" Harry held the glass vial up so that the two Slytherins could clearly see the potion sealed within. "I suppose it was lucky that I thought to put an unbreakable charm on the glass. Otherwise it would have been a great pity, all that hard work with nothing to show" he said.

With a triumphant smile at the two glowering faces, Harry walked up to Phalin and handed her the sample Sirius and he had made. Remus, who had obviously grabbed their bags, met him at the desk. He took his own bag as well as Sirius' and the two of them hurriedly left the dungeon, intent on finding James or Sirius.