The Marauders: Year Seven Part One

The New Gryffindor Seeker

"Very good, Potter," Lily said, winded.

"Yes very good," came Ali Prewitt's voice, and James turned to see that a good deal of Gryffindors had arrived in response to his call for try-outs, which he'd posted on the bulletin board the moment he'd arrived at Hogwarts. "Glad to see you're somehow still in top form after being a layabout last term," she teased, elbowing him good naturedly.

James laughed, "Just imagine if I'd played through how good I'd be."

"Imagine!" Ali replied, "Might have been scouted by now. I heard there were National League scouts at a couple matches last term. Frank actually got an offer, but he turned it down."

"TURNED IT DOWN?" James asked, nearly falling over.

Ali nodded, "Said there was more noble things to be done than Quidditch at the mo' - with You Know Who taking lives and all."

"Still..." James murmured. "Quidditch."

Ali flushed, "He said he wanted to make it a safer world so that he wouldn't feel so guilty with starting a family when the time came." She moved her hand and the ring Frank had given her glinted in the morning sun. "I told him it'd be awhile, we've not even started planning the wedding or anything yet, kids are a far sight in the future, and he said that's the way it ought to be, seeing as this world ain't fit for'em yet."

Lily nodded, "Exactly. It's more important the world be safe for'em before any of our generation go about making them. It isn't fair to have children we haven't got the means to protect."

"Here, here," came James's voice.

"But there ain't a thing stopping us from practicing so we're dead good at it when the time comes," added Sirius, who had woken up and was now stretching and looking much more like himself than he'd done before. He grinned at Lily. "Right, Evans?"

Lily said, "Well it isn't as though you and Rey are making any - so there's no point in you practicing quite as hard as you do, is there?"

"On the contrary, it means we ought to practice all the harder," Sirius grinned.

Lily shook her head. "There are wee ones present," she said, waving at the second and third years that had come to try out.

Sirius looked aghast. "I'm not the one that started the conversation!" 

"Potter, why don't you start the try outs so this one will hush?" Lily asked.

James said, "You've not been around him long enough if you think me getting started with hush Sirius Black, but alright." (Sirius grinned wickedly at Lily.) "Welcome to try outs everybody. I hope you all have your own broomsticks, but if not, there's a load of them in the shed over there and I'll get one for you --" a couple of younger students raised their hands indicating they needed one of the school brooms, and James accio'd them over for them, who looked mesmerized as the broomsticks flew across the pitch from the shed at his command.

"Summoning charm - I'm just excellent at summoning charms," came an arrogant sounding voice from the back of the crowd of students as a boy with tousled blonde hair turned to a girl next to him, grinning widely.

"Oh shut it," muttered Wally, rolling his eyes.

"Who the fuck is that?" Sirius asked, nudging Dexter as he was squinting over toward the boy.

"Oh that's the changed student."

"The what?"

"Exchanged," corrected Macy, "He's exchanged. From Beauxbatons Academy." She glanced over, "Gilderoy or something."