Oak Trees

Dinner in the Great Hall.

James threw his bag down at the Griffyndor house table with a huff. He plopped next to Lilly, and Remus sat beside him. Peter Pettigrew was across from Lilly, and Sirus sat beside him.

"Where have the lot of you been?" Lilly asked, nudging James.

"McGonagalls office. Got detention." He huffed. Sirus and Remus looked equally as huffy.

"Oh dear, what did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything!" James snapped defensively. Lilly and Peter both pulled back. "Sorry..." he said quietly.

"Really though, we didn't. We hadn't even gotten to Snape yet when we just... magically, uhg!" Sirius groaned and smacked the table. "Someone leg bound him and disarmed me. I had to fish my wand out of the lake! Thankful it was nearly washed to shore... should I put it in rice...?" He pulled out his slimey, waterlogged wand.

"I don't know... try to cast something!" Peter said, making an attempt to be helpful.

"Lumos!" Sirius said with the flick of a wand. Instead of lighting up, it flickered and spit lake water across the table at James, who grunted in disgust. "Sorry. Yeah I uh... I'm gonna put it in rice to dry it out tonight."

"So, you two found Snape?" Remus asked. James and Sirius realized he was late to take discussion with McGonagall.

"Yes!" Sirus said. "We were walking up to him, he was sitting in that oaktree out by the edge of the grounds. But then, out of nowhere, magic just happened. And McGonagall saw and hauled us off to her office for dueling."

"Magic doesn't just happened, Sirius." Lilly said flatly. "Someone must have cast it."

"Well, it wasn't sniveling Snape." James huffed. "He told McGonagall that his wand was in his bag. But I mean— we were looking right at him. We would've noticed him waving his wand. And McGonagal chewed us to bits over the frog thing. Even made a point of asking that slytherin prefect if he could do it."

"James, you really don't think it was possible that the girl that was walking away from Snape did it?" Sirius asked.

"There was a girl?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, a right pretty one, too." Sirius said, propping his chin up on his hand.

"Oh, you couldn't even see her face, with all that hair!" James laughed. "But no, she's a hufflepuff. She wouldn't strike unprovoked."

"Hufflepuff... hair in her face..." Peter was muttering... "Oh! Riley Culver!"

"Oh yeah! Sweet girl, I've never seen her use magic outside of class. Haven't even really heard her talk, either. Teachers sorta just stopped calling on her last year." Lilly said quietly, as students began to fill the halls. "I agree. I don't think she would do that."

"Isn't that her, right there?" Peter Pettigrew nodded to Riley, who's hair was back down in its usual position as we walked into the hall with the quidditch team. She had changed out of her uniform and into a sage green sweater and tan corduroys. She wasn't speaking, just smiling cheerfully.

"Oh yeah- I forgot she was on the quidditch team. A chaser, I think."

Remus smirked. "Well, Sirius, atleast our detention gives you an excuse to talk to her."

The group laughed as Sirius' long face turned pink.

"What's your detention?" Lilly asked.

"We've got to run the game. Help inspect the broomsticks and balls beforehand, take tickets," James explained.

"James is keeping the scoreboard," Remus sounded bored.

"And McGonagall said she didn't know which one of us was going to do the announcements. Just knows it won't be James. He'd have too much fun." Sirius chuckled, looking rather nervous. "I don't want the whole school to hear me making a fool of myself..."