The Marauders: Year Two | #Wattys2016

The Story of an Ickle Third Year

Text Size The Story of an Ickle Third Year

"Potter! You should've had that one!" Derek sounded disappointed. He frowned up at James from below as James twisted his broom about. He'd narrowly missed catching the Snitch but it had outsmarted him by flying into the sun and escaping his grasp by a mere inch. Derek sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"I'm sorry," James said, his head hanging, "I'm really sorry."

Derek looked around at the others. "Everyone take a break and get some water for a minute, alright?" he asked.

Isaac Horan scowled, "Are we seriously taking a break so the ickle little second year can have a good cry? Why don't you just get the Ravenclaw Seeker and be done with him?"

Derek glowered at Isaac, "Bloody take a break or I'll be looking for a new Beater. Don't give me an excuse to put Bilius Weasley in your place." Isaac didn't push it further, the tone of Derek's voice showed he meant business, so Isaac flew off to the clubhouse, where the others had all gone. He flew up to where James was hovering, his head hanging to his chest, hair in his eyes. "Alright, Potter," he said, "What's going on?"

James sighed, "Maybe Horan's right, maybe you should get another Seeker."

Derek raised his eyebrow. "You're telling me that after all that bloody warning you've done for the last two years about being a Seeker, you're going to back out first chance you get because you've had a couple of tough practices?"

"I'm rubbish," James replied.

Derek shook his head, "You're not rubbish. What's got you down?" He flew closer and lowered his voice a bit, "Is it your dad you're worried about?"

James bit his lip. "Well... sort of. I just - see, my dad can't come to the tourney. Because of what's happened. And..." He let his words trail off, feeling stupid.

"He's your quidditch buddy, isn't he?" Derek asked knowingly.

James nodded.

"So your heart's just not in it?"

"I s'pose."

"Well bloody hell, get your heart into it, Potter!" Derek said, his tone suddenly changing from gentle to stern. "This is a huge game! Witches and wizards from two continents are going to be in attendance and the Quidditch commissioner, too. You have dreams of going pro one day, don't you?"

James nodded.

"Then you've got to play this game, and you've got to give it 100% of yourself. This game could literally set you up a whole career!" Derek said, "You can't back out over your dad not being in the crowd. He'd want you to play it your best."

"Yeah," James agreed tentatively.

Derek looked him right in the eyes, "Now listen to me, James, I'm going to tell you something that someone told me recently that literally changed my entire life, alright? Don't live in fear. I know it sounds stupid because literally everyone is afraid right now - it's what happens when there's a Dark Lord running amuck on the country, but fear and pain are what he's trying to cause."

James looked up at Derek.

"He wants us all to be scared and weak by the things he does. You-Know-Who doesn't want you to be happy. Well, I say don't let him win. He killed my sister and my parents, and I was in a very dark place for a long while... I didn't know how to get myself out. I felt like I was drowning everyday, no matter what I did or where I went, I was being pulled under this thick dark weight and it just kept pressing on my chest, like a great elephant had sat down on me. I felt two-dimensional. But you know what? We can't live like that. We can't grow like that. We just die from the oppression. And that's what He wants, isn't it?"