The Marauders and the House of Black

Chapter Nineteen: The House Cup

One of James and Sirius' proudest achievements to date was their acceptance onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Something that made that accomplishment even more impressive to them was that Gryffindor had advanced to the Inter-house Quidditch Cup. The game was going to be played against Ravenclaw, which had a fairly impressive season, managing to beat the Slytherins at their game despite Slytherin's affinity for playing dirty.

This game was one of the most important ones they'd play, not just because it was the 'final' of sorts, but also because it would determine who won the House Cup as well. Largely because of the frequent tomfoolery by the Marauders, Gryffindor was not quite in the lead as far as points go.

Each time the Marauders were in the Great Hall, they could see the gigantic enchanted hourglasses which displayed the points by houses. This year, the hourglass of rubies was looking a little lacklustre, whereas the sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds which marked their competitors rarely faltered. The boys almost began to regret how much they had goofed off until recalling that they could be awarded 100 additional points for winning the House Cup.

That 100 points could put Gryffindor in the lead, having them win the entire house cup, but without it they were likely to take 3rd place. Currently, Slytherin was in the lead with 515 points, Ravenclaw had second at 475, Hufflepuff in third at 465, and Gryffindor last with 430. It was the closest the Cup had been in years according to the upper years the boys had talked to, and because of that it was essential they won their next quidditch match.

At Hogwarts, the Quidditch Cup was awarded based on the total amount of points won over all matches played, rather than the number of victories, but the outstanding number of points won by both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor put them so far ahead of the other teams that they were the only two houses with a chance at winning. Ironically enough, they were also the only two houses left who had not played each other this season meaning this final game was going to be the most interesting, and most important, game of the entire season.

Because of the significance of the game, James and Sirius have been practicing with the team non-stop. Perhaps more frightening than the physical work was the fact that Stan walks by each player every single meal to ensure they're "getting enough protein". It was starting to majorly get on the boy's nerves.

"More eggs on that plate, Black. You need to get your strength up with more protein."

"Stan will you just go sit down, you're stressing yourself out," James pleads.

"Bold words from you, Potter, but I'm not leaving until you grab another slice of toast, you need to increase your carbohydrate intake."

"If I eat another slice will you go away?" James asked. Stan looked hesitant, but gave a curt nod. James had never grabbed a piece of bread faster in his life, he took a huge bite and made direct eye contact with his teammate until he went away.

"Thank god," Sirius said dramatically. "I thought he'd never leave."

"He'll be back at lunch," James asserts. "He's such a control freak."

"Well at the very least you'll be well fed," Remus joked. "That way you'll be too full to steal my chips at dinner."

James gasped, jokingly. "Why, I have never."

When lunch came around, Stan indeed came back and forced more fruit and vegetables on their plates muttering something about macronutrients and vitamins. Sirius swore he could not eat another pea until Stan switched his focus onto another player who'd opened a packet of crisps rather loudly a few feet away.

About halfway through lunch, both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams had to leave and get ready for the big game. The locker rooms were void of their normal hustle and bustle, however, because every member of the team was far too nervous about the game. The implications of their win– or more frighteningly, the potential of their loss– was enough to stifle any chatter.