The Calm Before the Storm (The Scored Savior Prequal)

Chapter Three

~~Last year~~

"Mr. Potter I am worried about your slipping grades," Professor Flitwick told him. Worry was etched into the small professor's face. "You used to have all O's in my class and now your barley passing with A's. Another mark down and I'm sorry but I'll have to talk to Professor McGonagall about removing you from quidditch so you can focus on your work."

Devastation was the only way to describe James' expression after that. "Cutting me from Quidditch won't do anything," he admitted earnestly. The only thing making him smile right now as in fact quidditch, the war was getting bad, and his mother was always fighting on the front lines. He was worried every day that she would fall. Quidditch was his distraction, the only thing that could distract him in fact. 

Flitwick sighed; he knew all about Euphemia she was a very famous, very talented Aurora. She was the head Aurora in fact. He could only imagine the fear that ran though James every day when she left for work. "I'm away Mr. Potter but it is procedure, especially for a drop this dramatic in such a short amount of time." 

"What can I do?" He begged. 

The shorter man bit his lip and thought for a moment, "There is a student in my Hufflepuff and Slytherin fifth class, she is a year younger than everyone else, but she excels in just about every class. We've been discussing moving her up a grade.  I'll see if she can study with you, perhaps then your grades will improve." 

"Thank you, professor," James said with a sigh allowing himself to be dismissed. 

He met his friends outside by the black lake, Sirius Black, his best friend, held a flame at the end of his finger and lit a cigarette he had pinched between his lips. Wandless wordless magic was a feat not many could accomplish as an adult, btu they were all prodigies with promising futures. They liked to use magic to laugh and play, but their version of laughing and playing was disturbing and downright worrying to others. Sirius' Hexes were second to none, and his jinxes were nothing to sneeze at the boy was strong and a strong wizard is a dangerous wizard.

Regulus Black, Sirius' little brother, was laying back hoping that the sun would darken his alabaster complexion. Regulus was just as smart as the rest of them, but now in school subjects. He excelled in blood rituals, necromancy, and dark magic. He was so in tune with that side of lady magic that anytime he got angry his eyes would darken from silver to black. Regulus always had a dark streak that was expected as a Black, but he was never as self-destructive as Sirius who looked like he wanted to kill himself at every given moment.

Remus Lupin was reading a book rifling through a bag of berries. Remus was a great friend with a terrible secret. A secret the other three found out all on their own. He was a werewolf. His kind was highly discriminated against in their society for being mindless dangerous beasts. But James, Sirius and Peter always just thought of it a furry little problem that they would do all in their power to help him with. Remus was never ashamed of who he was though, he hid it because he was told to, but he loved who he was. The pain was minuscule compared to the rush of running through the woods, ripping into whatever animal he got his hand on with his fangs and claws, he remembered everything when the morning came, and he awoke in tattered clothes with blood splattered across his body. Remus was a lone wolf they usually don't survive but Remus lived purely off spite, they told him he would die so he lived and found his pack.

Then there was Peter Pettigrew who was currently playing with the tentacle of the giant squid in the lake. Peter was smaller than the rest of them, he had a squeaky voice, and he was afraid of just about everything. He had very little family and no on that really loved him. He was smart and was just as skilled as the rest of them, but he was not drawn to the darkness like the rest of them, how they had attracted him they would never know. Yes, Peter was always an odd one, but it was never like James to turn the other cheek to someone in need of family, in the years to come he would realize that he probably should have.