lovesick || r. lupin

²⁵late night flights

It was eleven at night when Grace and Ayla snuck through the castle to the Quidditch pitch.

Ayla was gripping her Beater's bat tightly, along with her broomstick with nerves while Grace poked her head out to check if Filch was nearby. Ayla wondered if maybe sometime the Marauders would let her use their map. It would be mighty handy during times like these. But the map was rather fancy and she didn't want to ruin it so she wasn't sure if she would trust herself to.

Grace turned back around to Ayla and nodded without a sound and the two girls frantically rushed to the front doors, making sure to not make a peep. They silently pressed open the doors and flowily swept through, then closed it behind them.

Grace grinned and playfully whacked Ayla's arm. "We did it! I see that you're finally loosening up a bit. Last year you would never have even dared to sneak out!"

Ayla shrugged, trying to hide the smile that was showing. "I'm not as much of a goody-goody as you may think."

"I see the Marauders have worn off on you," Grace teased. Ayla had told her about her encounter with the four boys, including the map (but of course not the part where Sirius nearly lost his mind because Grace was merely a foot away from his brother). Ayla didn't think the boys would be upset if she told her best friend; surely they would tell theirs if something crazy happened. But Ayla couldn't help but feel guilty as if she done something to cross them. Maybe she did...

But before Ayla could think much more about her decision of telling Grace about the invisibility cloak and map and funny group name, a loud, familiar holler was heard on the pitch. Both girls had a hunch of who it must be, having heard it too many times.

"I swear if they're out here... Never can have some time to ourselves these days..." Grace complained under her breath. She began to stomp forward, fast as could be, towards the Quidditch pitch. Ayla scrambled to keep up with her.

And to no surprise, Ayla and Grace saw James Potter whooping as he did loops on his broomstick and his three friends below him, watching him spin around. However, what did surprise the girls was that Lily Evans was there too, rolling her eyes but continuing to stare at the boy flying about. Lily Evans? Out after hours? With the Marauders? A rare sight, to say the least.

"Oi!" Grace shouted, getting the boys attention, as well as Lily's. Her and Ayla continued to rush onto the pitch.

"Vale!" Sirius called back, grinning wickedly and deviously. "See that you've come into the habit of following us to the pitch! Love to know the reason."

Grace scoffed, "You think I got a reason? Maybe I just like having time to practice alone. Seems you never can give me that, saying how you're always up in my business."

"Well-" Sirius began but Remus gave him a look and the darker haired boy shut his mouth and folded his arms to pout.

Remus looked at both the girls but his eyes lingered a bit longer on Ayla. Ayla didn't notice though, being a bit too busy admiring how nice his hair looked right then. "Pardon my friend," Remus apologized, setting his hand on Sirius' shoulder and giving it a tight squeeze in warning.

James dropped down beside Sirius and muttered something along the lines of "are you flirting or starting a fight?" into his ear. Sirius stomped on James' foot.

"What are you two doing out here?" Peter asked curiously.

"What do you think, you germ-"

Ayla pinched Grace's arm to stop her from insulting Peter more. She looked at Remus, "Pardon my friend."

Remus's lip quirked.

Ayla cleared her throat. "Me and Grace just thought it'd be smart to get in extra practice before games start," she explained.