September First

Plans and Overreactions

"So when are we continuing our tryouts?"

James glanced up from his breakfast with a grin, welcoming his friend as she dropped down into the seat beside him "I'm head boy Vix, we can continue tryouts whenever we like."

She had rolled her eyes at his statement, teasing him as he dropped the head boy card while she piled her plate high with breakfast goods.

They planned as they spoke (James using cutlery and condiments to portray different players, making them move around the table as he showed her his tactics). Geller and Green, the two beaters Daxia had tried out, matched both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw beaters (surpassing the Hufflepuff beaters) in speed, strength and technique. The potential Gryffindor keepers James had tried out needed work in different areas but made up for it by excelling in others, making it extremely difficult to choose between them. They had started the year concerned (they'd had a right; half the team had graduated) but now all they felt was enthusiasm.

"So," Sirius's tone caught their attention as soon as he sat opposite them, rolling his eyes at their Quidditch talk "Where did you two go last night?"

Confusing Daxia James simply shrugged as he turned back to his breakfast "Nowhere."

Sirius frowned, suspicion clouding his eyes as he looked between his best friends, repeating "Nowhere?"

Attempting to hide her confusion, as James kicked her beneath the table, Daxia nodded a confirmation "Right. Nowhere." Before she glanced between the two boys, the looks on both of their faces telling her they had already shared a similar conversation.

Why was this so awkward? She thought to herself with a nibble on her bottom lip. Why didn't James want Sirius, his best friend-brother-practical same person, to know they had been spying on the Slytherin tryouts? He hadn't been this secretive with Sirius since the few weeks following the incident with Snape and Remus the previous year.

Across from them their mutual best friend was picking at his food with a scowl on his face, stabbing at the eggs on his plate as though they had offended him. Daxia sent James a questioning look; he shrugged and smirked.

"So are you actually going to show up to the first SlugClub party this year Remus?"

James's back straightened as Lily spoke, arriving to the Gryffindor table with Remus, Adiya, Mary and Peter (God knows where Benji was; probably sleeping off the alcohol the Marauders had swayed him into drinking the night previous). Daxia sent him yet another look.

"I doubt it," Remus was replying as the group sat down beside their friends. There was nothing he found more boring than the parties put on by their potions professor for his 'most promising students'.

"How about you two?" Lily asked hopefully as she turned to the two others in their group who were regularly invited along by Slughorn; Daxia and James. She was unsure why she even bothered; Marauders stuck together so if Sirius and Peter weren't going James would be planning something else for them to do instead. Daxia, on the other hand, had been tricked by Lily into going a few times, hated it and usually spent the time with her guy-friends.

Yet her eyes were on James almost hopefully, the feeling was back as much as she hated to admit it to herself but he had backed off and she barely saw him! It felt like the end of summer all over again when he had left her to her boredom – and all she wanted was a joke, an eyeroll...anything.

Instead, without answering Lily's question, James stood "I'm going to head to Defence," he mumbled referring to their first lesson of the day; Defence Against the Dark Arts as he pushed his half eaten plate away from him.