Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me. The title for this chapter was respectfully ripped off from Tolkien's book.
Chapter 32: The Return of the King of Pranks
Over the next few weeks James tried several times to speak with Lily. She either disappeared before he could get to her or she barely paid him any attention. James' sullen mood was not improved by the lack of his best mate. Sirius had still not shown up at Hogwarts. James, Remus, and Peter all owled him several times however none of the letters were answered. It seemed as if he would never come back. That thought seemed like fact when James realized there were now only four beds in their dorm room - for himself, Remus, Peter, and Frank.
Remus and Emm were able to bring Lily back into their study group, since she was still coming to the library. Lily seemed more determined than ever to focus on her studies. James was a bit jealous that Remus was able to spend time with Lily. Remus suggested James join their group. When James and Remus met Emm in the library one evening Lily never showed up. James gave up, saying he would just return to the common room and help Peter finish his Transfiguration homework.
When he returned to the common room he saw a group of students huddled around the message board. He approached the crowd and nudged his way forward until he could see the announcement:
QUIDDITCH TRYOUTS ON SATURDAY
OPEN TO STUDENTS 2ND YEAR AND OLDER
POSITION: SEEKER
James smiled, feeling he had finally found a way to take his mind off of his problems for a little while. He had practiced all summer and had greatly improved his already stellar flying abilities.
When Saturday came around, he woke up with a nervous flutter in his stomach. As confident as he had been earlier that week he suddenly wondered if he was fooling himself. After all, there were sure to be other students, older students, trying out for Seeker. As he went to his trunk to pull out his old Comet 130, he paused as he saw the polished handle of his Nimbus 1900 peeking out from underneath his robes. He hadn't been able to bring himself to try it out yet, but as he sat there he realized he needed all the help he could get if he was to stand out over all the other competitors. With resolve, he pulled out the shiny new broom and headed outside to the Quidditch pitch.
It was still early and most of the students were either asleep or at breakfast. James studied the broom and really began to admire the streamlined shape. As he prepared to test it the handle vibrated and jumped to his hand, anticipating the first flight with its new master. James mounted the broom and gave a forceful kick, sending the broom soaring up into the air faster that he was prepared for. He nearly slipped off the back of the broom when, with a quick adjustment of his hand the broom leveled out.
James sat there, midair, impressed at how well the broom had responded to his commands. He realized that it would take considerably less effort with the Nimbus 1900 than with the Comet 130 to follow his commands. He spent the next few hours trying the maneuvers he had mastered over the summer. In no time flat he was even perfecting the dives that had given him difficulty at home.
When he finally decided to land he noticed he had quite an audience watching him. Some had their mouths open in awe and some were applauding as James sped toward the ground and pulled up at the last moment, landing softly. Feeling their eyes following him James turned back to the group of people and with a crooked grin, made a grand bow. The students cheered and a tall boy with short dark hair approached him. To James it looked like the boy had tears welling in his eyes. It reminded him of Professor McGonagall when Gryffindor had won against Hufflepuff the previous year. She had been so overwhelmed by the win that she had to bury her face in her Gryffindor flag.
"You there," called the boy. James recognized him as Carlton Wood, a fifth-year Gryffindor. Now that Arthur Weasley had graduated Carlton was the new Gryffindor captain and played the team Keeper.
"Yeah?" asked James.
"Where did you learn to fly like that?" he asked, not even trying to disguise the awe in his voice.
"I learned a lot growing up, but I did a lot of practicing over the summer," replied James.
"How much did you practice?" quizzed Wood.
"Several hours every day," James said.
Wood looked like Christmas had come early. "Wow! That's dedication for you!" He glanced down at the broom James was holding by his side. "What kind of broom is that?"
"A Nimbus 1900," James proudly replied.
Wood snorted. "Yeah, right! I read the Quidditch magazines. Everyone who does knows those aren't due out until next year."
"Well I have one." James lifted the broom in front of Wood so he could read the 'Nimbus 1900' painted across the handle. "It's one of the prototypes."
Wood couldn't believe his eyes. "A prototype?! How in Merlin's name…."
Before he finished James said, "So when are tryouts going to start?"
Wood had to tear his eyes off of the broom before saying, "Tryouts? Oh, yeah…I guess now." He started to walk toward the rest of the team when he paused and turned, "You ARE trying out, right?" James nodded, and Wood let out a sigh of relief.
Tryouts lasted only an hour as only a few people signed up. Several students had made their way to the field to try out only to see James' spectacular flying or to hear about his amazing broom. They felt the competition was too much and sat to watch the tryouts instead. At the end of the hour the team huddled for only a few minutes before Wood announced that James would be the team's Seeker.
James finally felt like something in his life was going right. As he grabbed his broom to walk back to the castle Remus, Peter, and Frank caught up with him.
"Way to go, James! I knew they'd choose you," said Remus. "I knew you could fly well, but wow!"
"Yeah, James," said Peter, dripping with admiration. "I've never seen anything like it, and what a broom!"
"Can I try it out sometime?" asked Frank.
"Uh…we'll see," replied James nervously. He hadn't forgotten how many school brooms had met a rather shaky fate at Frank's hands the previous year.
By that evening the news of James' acceptance onto the team had made its way around the school. It was rare for a 2nd year student to beat the older students onto a house team. During dinner Remus chuckled as he noticed several girls whispering and watching James. James seemed oblivious to the attention as he still had a certain redhead on his mind. On his way up to the common room he saw Lily giving the password to the portrait.
"Lily!" he called out.
She turned and gave him a quick glance. "Yeah, Potter?"
"So," he said with a hopeful grin. "I made the house team - I'm the new Seeker," he said proudly. He remembered about the first flying class the previous year and how he had saved Lily from falling after Frank's broom had gone out of control. That had been when she first became friendlier with him. He only hoped his talent for flying would impress her again.
Lily nodded and said, "Yes, I know," before turning and walking through the portrait hole.
James followed her and said, "Never thought they'd pick a 2nd year student. It hardly ever happens. I hope I'll see you at the games," he added hopefully.
Lily said, "We'll see," while scanning the common room hopefully. Seeing Alice and Marlene, she quickly made her way to join them leaving James behind feeling frustrated.
"No luck, mate?" asked Remus from behind him.
"No. I just don't know what to do to get her attention," James said. He marched over to the staircase to the boys' dorm and with one last glimpse at Lily he made his way up to his room. When he opened the door he almost fell over in shock at what he saw.
There, standing in front of a fifth bed stood Sirius Black unpacking his trunk. When James walked in Sirius turned to him with a wink and said, "Miss me, Jamsie?"
"SIRIUS?!! What-? How in the bloody hell-?" stammered James.
Remus walked in behind James and gasped. "I don't believe it! WHERE have you BEEN?!"
"Nice to see you too, Remus," chuckled Sirius.
James stood there shaking his head. "We didn't think you were coming back. You never answered our owls-"
Sirius' grin faded into a quick scowl. "What are you talking about? I wrote to you guys. I never received any letters back!"
Remus shook his head, "I never received any letters, either, and I DID owl you several times."
Sirius started pacing around the room slamming his fist into his open hand. "That hag! That mean, old, ugly HAG!"
"Who?" asked James.
"The creature who calls herself my mum, that is, when she's not trying to disown me," he replied. "She kept me confined to my room for most of the summer as punishment for being a Gryffindor and consorting with 'blood traitors'. She put a locking charm on my door and windows and disconnected my fireplace from the Floo network. I was stuck. The few times I was almost able to escape I tried to owl you but she must have intercepted the letters - including the ones you sent me."
"So you've been locked up until now?" Remus asked.
Sirius shook his head. "No. Toward the end of summer I started to look forward to returning here. My mum even started to ease up on me, saying that the family was going on a trip. I thought that was better than being cooped up in the room so I decided to bear with it until my return here."
"Where did you go?" Remus asked.
Sirius gave him an impatient glance and said, "I'm getting there, let me finish. My parents told me we were going to visit some family in Eastern Europe. Turns out it was all a big trick to force me into Durmstrang. My parents had decided that Hogwarts was being a bad influence on me. BAD!" scoffed Sirius. "Can you believe it? If anyone is going to be the bad influence it will be ME, not some school," he said sarcastically. "I was forced to stay there. My parents had enrolled me, hoping the Eastern European influence would knock some sense into me. Boy, if ever there were a group of dull, bland people it was there. Picture a thousand Professor Binns' and you'll start to get the idea."
"That doesn't explain why you're here now," James pointed out.
Sirius smirked. "Well, you know me James. Even if I was tricked into going there and forced to attend classes, I was not going to take it sitting down."
"Oh no…you didn't!" chuckled James.
Sirius sprawled on his bed with his hands behind his head and grinned broadly. "Oh, yes, I most certainly did!" he cheekily replied.
Remus looked at the two boys in confusion before asking, "What exactly happened?"
Sirius raised his left eyebrow and said, "I simply got myself expelled."
"Somehow I don't think there was anything simple about it," muttered James, trying to suppress his laughter. "Two weeks, Sirius. You got expelled within two weeks! That's got to be some kind of record."
Sirius gave a mock frown. "I'm surprised you have such low expectations of me, James. Two weeks! That's for five-year olds! I got expelled in 8 days. After all the detentions I was able to earn last year, did you honestly think I could not wreak enough havoc to earn myself an expulsion in practically no time?"
James gave a deep dramatic bow and said, "I apologize most humbly. I should have remembered the damage you could cause." He paused, appearing to be in thought. "Actually Sirius, I would have expected 2 days. What took you so long?"
"The food was good. Oh, to have another baklava," he drooled.
"Wait," said Remus. "Does that mean that, by getting himself expelled, Sirius chose us over food?"
James grabbed his chest, feigning a heart attack. "It can't be possible!"
"Ha ha…" deadpanned Sirius.
"Are you going to tell us how you got yourself expelled?" inquired James.
"Ahh, James, if I told you I'd have to kill you. Needless to say, Durmstrang is going to be pretty chilly with the holes that were blown through the walls of a few classrooms. The teachers, especially, will have a hard time of it since their clothes mysteriously disappeared," replied Sirius.
There was a lot of laughter as Sirius continued the tale of his antics at Durmstrang, finding ways of getting himself kicked out. He brushed over his parents' reaction though James and Remus were pretty certain it had not been pleasant for Sirius. It turned out that Hogwarts was the only place where Sirius could still be enrolled. Durmstrang had warned a few other schools about Sirius' reputation and they turned down his parents' applications. Having determined their son to be a hopeless case, his parents gave up and sent him back to Hogwarts.
James and Remus filled Sirius in on the latest events at Hogwarts, starting with James' new position on the Gryffindor house team. Sirius howled, proud for James yet openly jealous, especially when he laid eyes on the Nimbus 1900. James was able to appease his friend with the promise of letting him borrow it for a ride the next day.
Remus later ran down to the common room to grab some books he had left down there. That gave Sirius a moment alone with James. Sirius approached his friend with a more sober look about him. James had a feeling he knew what was coming.
"Look, James," he said. "I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you after you found out about your dad. I tried to get to the memorial service but my mum left a sticking charm on the door in addition to the locking charm."
"Forget about it, really," replied James.
"No, I should have been there. Your dad was a great guy. He allowed me into his home and treated me better than my own dad ever did. I'll say this once since I get the feeling you aren't ready to talk about it, but I feel it has to be said. I'm really sorry that he's gone. If you or your mum ever need anything…well, you know where to find me."
"Yeah," James said. He smiled. "NOW I know where to find you. Now be honest. Was it really 8 days?"
"Well," said Sirius, "more like 8 ½, but don't tell Remus. He'll never let me live it down. Come on, let's go find Peter. It'll be fun to see his expression at my return if I jump out and startle him!"
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The next morning at breakfast Lily was nibbling on a muffin trying not to laugh as Marlene silently teased Alice. Ever since the beginning of the year Frank Longbottom had been following Alice like a lovesick puppy dog. He made no exception that morning as he rushed to sit next to her. In his haste he accidentally knocked over a glass of pumpkin juice, spilling its contents all over Alice's robes.
"Oh no, Alice!" he moaned. "I'm so sorry! I'll walk you upstairs so you can get another set of robes."
Alice helplessly gazed at the sticky mess on her robes. "There's no time. I'll be late for class. You know how Pilon gets if a student's late."
"Scourgify!" Alice's robes suddenly became spotless and the group all turned stunned faces toward Lily, who was placing her wand back into the pocket of her robes.
"Lily? How did you do that? We aren't supposed to learn that charm until later this year!" said Marlene.
Lily shrugged her shoulders and said, "I've been reading ahead."
Marlene, Alice, and Frank all exchanged glances. "Lily," started Alice, "there's a difference between reading about charms and performing them. You had the wand movement down and everything!"
"Yeah," said Frank, very impressed. "You must be quite a talented witch!"
Lily blushed and shrugged again. "Maybe we should get to class. Like you said, we don't want to be late."
Marlene smirked and said, "Yeah, Professor Pilon seems to need somebody to pick on now that Black isn't around to get detentions. Have you guys noticed how quiet it's been since he's been gone?"
"Ahhhh, do my ears deceive me?" came an amused voice from behind Marlene, who turned around shocked to see Sirius standing behind her. "Did you miss me McKinnon?" he asked with a smirk, sitting down and throwing an arm around her shoulders.
At first Marlene was too shocked at his sudden appearance to reply. Then she realized where his arm was and remembered why she disliked him. "You egotistical pig!" she yelled, shoving away his arm. "Thinking that I would actually miss YOU?! If there's anything to miss about you it would be your absence!" She stood up, grabbed her bag and stormed out of the Great Hall.
Sirius chuckled and turned to see Lily sitting in front of him. His face settling from a wide grin to a pleasant smile as he said, "You okay, Evans?"
Lily smiled back and said, "Alright here, Sirius. Yourself?"
"I'm great, now that I'm back," he said.
Lily noticed James approaching them and quickly grabbed her things, standing. "I'd better go catch up with Marlene. Coming, Alice?"
Alice looked at Sirius and gave James a sympathetic look before following Lily. Frank stumbled after them, trying to offer to carry Alice's books.
Sirius had noticed the timing of Lily's departure and turned to his friend. "So I take it things haven't improved with Lily since I've been gone?"
James shook his head and dejectedly said, "It's like I don't exist to her. Every time I try to talk to her she either ignores me or finds the fastest way out of the conversation."
"Tough luck, mate," said Sirius.
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A/N: Yeah! Sirius is back! I had fun with this chapter - finally something a little lighter than the past several chapters…
So what did you think about Sirius' return (and his story)?
Thanks to the latest reviewers: MysticalMacaw, DobbyGrl, Golden Phoenix, Remus'sweetie (x2), sweetie513, and urSweetiemSmia. I was inspired by the quick reviews to edit and post this chapter tonight, forgoing the sleep I probably need instead.
Once again - James is a Seeker in this story, NOT a Chaser. I know all the arguments about him being a Chaser, but he will stay a Seeker for this story.
Next chapter: The Marauders come up with an idea - one people have been asking me about for some time…can you guess?