Sanctuary

Chapter 87

Sunday, 6th May 1973

As the time ticked closer to midnight, Peter watched from the commentator's box as groups of students strolled out onto the pitch, congregating in the middle. The Slytherins had been the first to arrive, but they were soon joined by the Ravenclaws (who had made it without being caught this year), and the Gryffindors had barrelled in a few minutes later, James, Sirius, Dorcas, and Marlene among them, so they were only waiting on the Hufflepuffs to put in an appearance. But if they didn't hurry up, Peter would be forced to start without them.

The stands were filling up too. They were nowhere near as packed as they were during a Quidditch match, but there were a decent amount of students turning up just to watch the competition, and seeing them all was making Peter's anxiety bubble over. He had to go out in front of all those people and speak without messing up and saying the wrong thing. It was definitely going to go badly. He was going to make a complete fool of himself.

Or maybe it wasn't the talking that would be the problem. He also had to fly one-handed while casting spells from the back of his broom. Maybe he'd fall. His heart, which was already racing, picked up speed even more as he watched the Hufflepuffs filing onto the pitch. Everyone was there and he couldn't wait much longer, but he could spare another minute or two while he tried to calm his nerves.

James glanced up at the commentator's box briefly and then leant in close to Sirius, whispering something. Sirius nodded, and a minute later, Peter heard his voice in his head. You've got this, Bubbles.

The words brought a smile to his face, and with one last deep breath, he mounted his broom, checking his pocket for the miniaturised brooms they'd collected in case any competitors didn't have their own, before taking off and flying down to the pitch.

It had taken a lot of practice to get used to flying in Polly's body. She was much taller and slimmer than him which affected the way he needed to hold himself to stay balanced, but he'd got the hang of it after a few low-altitude tumbles onto the grass, and he made a perfect landing in front of the waiting crowd, dismounting and giving them a cheerful wave.

'Hi, everyone. It's great to see all the Houses made it this year,' he said, earning a few chuckles, which helped to boost his confidence. 'Alright, first things first. Does anyone need to borrow a broom?'

A few hands went up, and Peter returned the brooms to their original size before handing them out. Once everyone had the necessary equipment, he announced the first event, casting the spell to bring the magical rings into being, and reciting the instructions he'd memorised, causing the students to take off and fly to the starting position for the race.

There were no surprises regarding who won. Though Marlene gave him a run for his money, James was back in top form since the return of his magic, and he beat her by a foot. The ring marking the finish line was mere inches above the ground, and they both went tumbling onto the grass, one after the other after soaring through it at top speed as they'd fought for first place during the final dive, neither of them willing to decelerate despite the approaching ground.

'You're a fucking maniac, James,' Marlene declared once she'd caught her breath.

James climbed to his feet and reached out a hand to help Marlene up. 'Look who's talking.'

'You're both insane,' Sirius said, joining them with laughter in his eyes. He'd come in third, having actually slowed down when he was getting close to the ground. 'I thought for sure you were going to be pancakes.'

James' personal combination of slight build and utter recklessness gave him an advantage in most of the flying events, and if he wasn't first, he was second. While James was busy showing off and having the time of his life, Peter worked through his mental list of spells and speeches with barely a hiccup in the proceedings. As the night wore on, he kept an eye on the sky. It was too dark to see much of anything, but the lack of stars gave away the presence of clouds, and something in the air was telling him they were the kind that carried rain.