The second Hogsmeade visit of the year was scheduled on 14th February.
"Beware of James, Lils," said Mary on one day leading to Valentine's Day.
"I am tired of him!" said Lily angrily. "Him and Black! Did you hear that they hexed Bertam Aubrey with an illegal curse yesterday?"
"James told me about it, Aubrey was trying to use a Leg Locker on Peter," said Marlene.
"That's their excuse."
"They don't lie," said Alice.
"They're dreadful. But there's one thing that puzzles me. Don't you think that Black's total disinterest in girls is a little disconcerting?" asked Lily.
"What?" asked Marlene, Alice and Mary together.
"I mean, Potter always enjoys a bit of attention from girls—"
"Especially yours," said Marlene.
"—but Black's so much better looking, and more than half the female population of our school swoon on him, and he never looks at a girl."
"To think Lily Evans is thinking in such lines!"
"No...those Marauders are mysterious..."
Indeed, they were mysterious, they thought, when James didn't ask Lily out for that trip. He didn't say a word to her on Valentine's Day.
"Wonder what's wrong with him?" asked Alice.
Lily chose to ignore it.
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They had one surprise that day. Hufflepuff 6th year Reginald Cattermole, for whom Mary had been harbouring a secret liking since the beginning of the year, asked her out.
"Only you and me left, Marl," said Lily, seeing her best friend's sad expression. She did not dare to ask Sirius, who could say very hurtful things when he wished to.
"You've got a willing date. Why don't you go out with her?" James asked Sirius in Hogsmeade that day.
"Got better stuff to do, Prongs."
Remus caught Sirius' eyes and winked, though he didn't really approve of Sirius' method of getting back at Lily.
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Gryffindor's first two matches of the year were both played in March. As usual, Gryffindor won both of them safely. They had never lost a single match since James joined the team years ago.
The second last match of the season was Gryffindor vs Slytherin. The entire school was expecting Gryffindor to win and claim their 5th consecutive title.
The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were actually a little inclined to back a Slytherin victory this time, because they had neither forgotten nor forgiven the clown ribbon incident.
Fifteen minutes into the match, Gryffindor was leading forty-ten. Then Frank and Marlene, Chasers of their team, advanced to score another goal. Slytherin Beaters Montague and Zabini were at the other end of the field.
Above the cheers of the spectators, there came the sound of two Bludgers being hit very hard and they sped towards James, also near the other end, from behind. The Bludgers hit James with inhumanly high speed at the back of his head.
James was knocked out for a moment, and the next second he was freefalling towards the ground.
Frank and Marlene let go of the Quaffle and hurtled toward James along with Sirius and John Creevy. The spectators sat in a horrified silence and stillness, all except Remus who dashed to the front and yelled, "MOLLIARE!" just before James hit the ground.
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The Ghosts of the Past (The Marauders' Story)
Fanfiction"We're friends. We're the Marauders. We stick together, remember?" "Yes, Moony. I remember." One of them was mischievous and brave and had the perfect life. Another of them was reckless and loyal and desperate to leave behind his family name. The th...
