The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

Tornado

To say that tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin and never been higher would have been a bit of an understatement. In three weeks, Gryffindor would the competing in final Quidditch match of the first part of the season…and of course, they would be playing Slytherin.

Already in the past week, somebody had hexed Rick Vance so his eyes wouldn't open and all of his blond hair fell out; Ed Hughes ingested a large dose of vomiting potion, which left him stuck in the hospital wing; and James and Sirius were dodging curses and jinxes every time they left the common room.

But that only hardened their resolve.

"Let's go, let's go," James ordered the team like a troop of soldiers. "You know the drill: follow Marlene through the forest and try to keep up."

"Today, we will be doing three miles," she began.

Everyone except James groaned.

Marlene's blue eyes narrowed on them as she straightened her long blond hair into a ponytail.

"Look, you pansies, we are playing Slytherin soon. Not Ravenclaw, not Hufflepuff, Slytherin."

"We know, McKinnon," Sirius rolled his eyes as he leaned against a nearby oak tree.

"So I'm going to need you guys to be in good shape," Marlene continued as if Sirius didn't interrupt her. "After three miles, we're going to do drills."

"Prongs," Sirius moaned pathetically, giving his best puppy dog expression. "Can't—"

James sighed, "Shut it, Padfoot. Marlene's in charge of fitness, so all of you, fall in."

After a collective sigh of irritation, they all did as instructed. James had an air of authority to his voice. It wasn't always there, but once James started playing with Marlene he naturally fell into the leader role, a role he had never really shook.

The seven Gryffindor stomped through the treacherous forest. Everyone was crawling in his or her skin to be so close to the deadly creatures; only Sirius and James felt perfectly at home sprinting in the winding, branch-lined path. They almost reached the beginning of the forest, when Sirius's ears perked up as he heard someone sneaking through the edge of the forest. In an instant, Sirius's snatched his wand out of the waistband of his shorts and shot a spell into a bush. In a flash Sirius dragged a frozen fifth year Slytherin out of his hiding space and over to the others. His face was dripping with sweat, and his dark black hair was stuck to his face, curling from the amount of moisture on skin. The look of rage and contempt was clear; James stepped forward and put an arm out to stop him before Sirius could say a word.

James flicked his wand and unfroze the Slytherin.

"Now I don't suggest you do a whole lot of moving, or my friends here will probably injure you far worse than I will."

The boy yelped, his pale brown eyes pulsing in fear.

"I…I was just…"

"Spying on us, so you could pick which one of us you could hurt," Sirius finished for him coldly.

"Who was your target?" James sighed, the disappointment evident on his good-natured face, as he squatted to be eye level with the boy. "Just tell me, so I don't have to drag you to a professor and make them get it out of you."

He bit his thin bottom lip; shakily, he looked at the ground and muttered, "The girl… They wanted me to hurt the girl."

Marlene's face paled, and Sirius immediately moved in front of her, followed closely by Rick Vance. James's throat tightened, and flashes of anger passed in his eyes as his wand went into the boy's chest.