WHEN WE WERE YOUNG : marauders era

04. quidditch rules

"So are you guys into quidditch?" James asked eagerly.

"Sort of," Juliana replied.

"Which team do you think will win this year?"

"The Holyhead Harpies of course."

"No way! The Tutshill Tornadoes are much better!" James exclaimed.

"Puh-leese. Both of you. The Chudley Canons are going to leave the other teams in the dust this year. I just know it!" Sirius said with his hands raised in the air as though to signal the end of the discussion.

The three of them continued their bickering, each listing each and every advantage their team had over the others as Remus and Mareena looked on with amused expressions.

"What about you Mareena? Who are you supporting?" James asked and all three of them looked at Mareena as though her answer will settle their dispute.

"Forgive me but I'll pass. I'm not really into quidditch," Mareena said with a light laugh.

"Ree flies quite impressively though," Juliana said with a grin.

"Ree?" Sirius asked, looking amused.

"Yup. That's my nickname," Mareena replied with a 'any- problem-with-that?-kind of look'. "And I do like flying but I don't really keep track with all the teams and stuff like that. Still, it doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to our house matches. That'll be quite entertaining, don't you think?" She added with an excited look.

"Exactly!" James said enthusiastically. " I can already feel the House Cup in my hand as we win the Championship this year."

"It might have escaped your notice James, but we don't have quidditch tryouts in our first year," Juliana said with a smirk.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I can't be chosen now, does it? I mean I'm brilliant!"

"We'll see about that mate. During flying lessons," Sirius remarked.

"Sure. You'll see."

"What about you Remus? Are you into quidditch?" Mareena asked as James and Sirius continued bickering playfully and Juliana played moderator among them, rolling her eyes every now and then.

"Not exactly," Remus said as he looked up from his book.

Mareena gasped.
"That's one of my favourite books! Sherlock Holmes is just so clever. It's by a muggle author isn't it? What was the name again? Oh yeah. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! Excellent read, that is."

"It's one of my favourites too! His other books are equally good," Remus replied as he put his book back in his bag, smiling at the phrase 'muggle author'.

"I haven't read his other books," Mareena said sadly. "It's very difficult for us to buy muggle books since we don't exactly know how to use muggle money. My uncle got this for me ages ago for my birthday."

Then her face lit up into a smile as a thought struck her.
"Hey you're not muggleborn are you?"

"No," Remus said with an amused smile. "I'm half-blood. My mom's a muggle though."

"Blimey that's great! I've always wanted to know all about muggles. Fascinating aren't they, living without magic? Julie and I have searched our entire library for information on muggles but there's not enough. I just hope we find something in the Hogwarts library."

"I'm sure you will. The Hogwarts library is supposed to contain information on almost any subject. At least that's what Hogwarts: A History says."

"You've read Hogwarts: A History too?!"

"Yup. Read it a million times; cover to cover."

"Same here. Who can blame us? It's a brilliant read after all."

Remus nodded with a smile.

"Hey Mareena. I've just realised we haven't heard your house choice yet. Where are you hoping to be in?" Sirius asked. They seemed to be done with their bickering.

"I'm okay with anything honestly."

"Even Slytherin?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"Yup. Even Slytherin. Our family's for some of the best Slytherin witches and wizards. And they're all very nice, mind you."

"I don't think the same can be said about my family though," Sirius said with a sigh. "By the way, what's your take on blood-status? Do you think it matters?"

"It's all rubbish to me," James said. "Don't see why it matters to people so much."

"Exactly," Remus agreed.

"I quite agree. Most purists consider our family 'blood-traitors', so that should give you an idea on how we view muggleborns and half-bloods. Our family's probably got more muggleborn friends than purebloods." Juliana said with a laugh.

"Un-huh. My family talks about yours quite often honestly. You're on the top of their list of blood traitors," Sirius said as he rolled his eyes.

"Im not surprised. The Vasilios and the Black families don't get along very well. You seem..," Mareena said as she looked at Sirius, trying to find an appropriate way to say it.
"...not very fond of your family Sirius."

"Can never be," Sirius replied with a shrug.

"Hey! Imagine if we're all in Gryffindor. That'll be great!" James exclaimed excitedly as he patted Sirius on the back.

Sirius grinned and nodded.
"I'm so ready to break the tradition."

Remus smiled encouragingly as they all gave each other high fives.

"How about we all stick together? I think that will be awesome!" James suggested.

"Er...us too?" Juliana and Mareena asked together.

"Of course. Unless you already have other friends...." James replied.

"No we don't," Mareena admitted. "Thanks guys."

Mareena and Juliana smiled at each other as the boys planned the things they would do together.
They had just made some really great friends and they couldn't believe it.