The Boy who died - Ready for Anything

Complete confusion

POV of James Rivers

Suddenly, my euphoria was wiped away. Only now did I realize how reckless it had been of me to let myself be provoked by Malfoy like that. Hermione had, of course, been right that it inevitably led to us getting caught. It was bad enough not knowing what Professor McGonagall had planned for me as punishment, but the fact that Malfoy seemed to get away without any trouble bothered me even more. She hadn't spoken a single word to me yet, and since I was walking behind her, I couldn't see her expression. I couldn't tell if she was angry or disappointed. Finally, she stopped at a door and knocked. I was completely confused now. I had fully expected to be taken to her office, but this was definitely a classroom. After instructing me to wait, Professor McGonagall entered the classroom.

A few moments later, the door opened again, and to my surprise, she was accompanied by a brown-haired, stocky student. I estimated him to be about 15. He scrutinized me thoroughly and then extended his hand in greeting, which I took in surprise. 'I'm Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's Quidditch captain,' he introduced himself. McGonagall further confused me by saying, 'You can sort out the rest on your own, I have things to do,' and left. 'Was that your first time flying today?' Wood finally snapped me out of my confusion. 'Um... No, my father taught me.' 'Hmm... If you pulled off even half as spectacular a move as Professor McGonagall told me, then you must be really good! There's definitely more to it than just a bit of experience. I have a proposal for you, Rivers: McGonagall has given me permission to include you in the Quidditch team. We definitely need a good Seeker. We haven't had a good one since Charlie Weasley. The tryouts are next Saturday. Just come and show us that you've got talent, okay?' I nodded, and he bid me farewell to return to class.

Now I stood alone in the hallway outside the classroom, trying to organize my thoughts. I mean, I had expected just about anything when I followed Professor McGonagall, but I never would have thought she would secure me a place on the Quidditch team – or at least the chance for one. First-years never got into the house team and normally weren't allowed to own brooms. My friends would never believe what just happened!

Since I had no idea whether the others were still having class outside or if the lesson had ended early, I made my way outside on the off chance. However, I didn't get far. As soon as I turned into the next corridor, I heard a loud sing-song voice. Confused, I stopped and looked around, but couldn't see anyone.

'...students enjoying their free time's bliss, Peevesie must give them a watery kiss!' the singing ended abruptly, and before I knew it, I was soaking wet. Peeves, the poltergeist of Hogwarts, was floating above me with an empty bucket, grinning delightedly. Before I could recover from the shock of the icy water, Peeves dropped the metal bucket with a loud clang and disappeared through the wall. Great... My clothes were dripping all over the floor just because the famous poltergeist of Hogwarts was bored again. I decided it was better to head up to the dormitory to change clothes. On the way there, I hoped not to run into anyone, especially not Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts. It was said he didn't appreciate it when the castle corridors were soaked or otherwise dirtied. When I saw Mrs. Norris, his cat, patrolling the corridors on the sixth floor, I ran the last stretch just to be safe. You never knew how quickly she would fetch Filch.