Rising

Chapter 3

"Bet I can beat you Padfoot." Amelia taunted. Her Beater's bat sat steadily in her hands, a confident smirk settled on her face.

"I bet I can bludger your chances of beating me." Sirius replied in the same mocking tone.

"Would you say Captain would let us?"

"Oi, Potter!" Sirius yelled, causing James to look up at the two through his fingers. "Mia and I are racing, you're our hooter."

James shook his head, but climbed on his broom, flying up beside the three goal posts.

"Three... two... one, go!" Sirius called, darting off. Amelia sped up beside him, slowly accelarating her broom's speed.

"Amelia won!" James shouted, as Amelia and Sirius rocketed past the goal posts. Sirius could be heard cursing loudly from nearby.

"Thank you Prongs." Amelia said with a nod, getting off her broom once she reached the ground.

"Mia!" Lily called, walking down to meet her friend. "It looked like you have just been to a fancy salon instead of racing at a hundred miles an hour!"

Amelia grimanced. "Veela genes."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I am not stupid, I figured that one out. Come and sit down, Sev and I-"

"I am not sitting down beside Snivellus." Amelia stated, stepping back several steps. "Not now, not ever."

"Anelia." Lily chided. "What did Severus ever do to you?" Amelia glowered darkly.

"I would tell you, but by time I would be finished, I would be working." Amelia responded.

The annoyed red-head sighed, almost defeatedly. "Between you, and James-"

"What?" Amelia exclaimed. "You just- Oh Merlin, I knew it!" she squealed, running off in the opposite direction. Lily stared after in confusion, before turning back to Severus.

"Prongs, Potter, James, I have news." Amelia told him, taking a long breath of air. "Lily, she said-"

"Evans said what?" James asked excitedly. "Did she admit that I am the best-looking man in the school?"

"I would say she was thinking more along the lines of the most arrogant, over-confident, narcissistic boy in the school." Amelia muttered. "But that isn't the point! She referred to you as James - not arrogant toe-rag, or Potter - she called you James!"

"This is a development." Remus added. "Maybe she will look at you next year."

"No, December, I'd say." Peter told them eagerly.

"That would be a Christmas miracle." Amelia joked.

"Like you beating me in that race." Sirius interrupted. "James here probably said that you won so you would get him some intel on Evans."

"Firstly Sirius, that makes it sound like James and I are stalkers. Secondly, there are so many other things wrong with that statement!" Amelia protested.

"I demand a third-party." Sirius said grumpily.

Amelia grinned sweetly. "What better than one's brother?"

"But you don't have any brother- Amelia, don't." Sirius began to reply. All the colour had drained from his face as he watched as Amelia approached his little brother.

"Hi Black." Amelia greeted. "Your presence is needed."

"My presence?" Regulus questioned. "What do you want me to do?"

"Be our non-biased third-party." Amelia answered sweetly. "Your dear brother is a stubborn, over-confident moron who cannot accept defeat. You saw our race."

Regulus was dragged over by the petite girl unwillingly. Sirius glared at his brother, James glared at his best froend's brother while Remus and Peter remained in a confused silence.

"So, who won?" Amelia asked impatiently.

"Hale did." Regulus replied in a bored voice. "May I go now?" Amelia inclined her head as Regulus left hastily.

"Since when did you have Slytherins doing your every beck and call?" Remus asked accusingly.

"Debts." Amelia responded simply. "Surprising as it may seem, Slytherin does have some good qualities."

Sirius scoffed in disbelief, but Amelia stopped him with another glare.

"Good qualities for Death Eaters more like." Sirius muttered darkly.

"They value friendship. Ambition, a trait I share with them. Not all Slytherins are prejudiced gits, think of your cousin Andromeda Sirius." Amelia continued.

"You did happen to have a very outspoken prejudice git ready to serve you though..." James said thoughtfully. "What did you do with them?"

"Apart from gut them?" Amelia questioned. "I just warned them about that bucket of gunk you had lined up for them. That was cruel."

"You were the one who snitched?" Peter cried incredulously. "Why wpuld you do that to your friends?"

"It wasn't like I told McGonagall." Amelia stated annoyedly. Peter really was beginning to annoy her. "Do you need a dictionary to learn the definition of a snitch Peter? Of a rat?"

Peter didn't reply. Remus looked at his friends pleadingly. Why did they all have to be such stubborn mules?

While Remus did agree with Amelia on the fact that not all Slytherins are gits, he didn't want his friends to disband because of a Slytherin.

Eventually, he gave up on trying to be the peace keeper.

"Work it out yourselves." Remus said tiredly. "I have better things to be doing."

"See you Moony."

The minute Remus left, all war broke out. Five, maybe ten, minutes later, it ended up as a fight over who had snogged who.

"Sirius snogged that Nott girl! Aren't the Nott's prejudiced Sirius?"

"Hey Mia, let's not forget Taler, you definitely-"

"I am pro-Slytherin you idiot!"

James and Peter stood there helplessly as the two - affectionately named Mule One and Mule Two by James - yelled at each other. Soon, both of their voices were raspy as they whispered accusations at each other.

"Dirwin, that was his name! James and I saw you two on the map." Sirius accused hoarsely. His words were barely coherent.

"That's not to mention Nora Little, Remus and I caught you!" Amelia accused, her voice not as hoarse as Sirius', but still hoarse.

"It was that one time!"

"It is like my grandparents fight." James said to Peter conversationally. "You did this, you did that." he mimicked.

Peter sniggered. "Yeah." he muttered in agreement.

"An old couple, married with a hundred years, trapped in the bodies of teenagers."

"Bodies? Mindsets too."

It was when the 'old couple, married with a hundred years' turned around and gave the spectators a death glare did Peter and James gulp nervously.

"Run."