"Shut up and tell me how you got out of the punishment," said Sirius, who was very curious.
"There's no way that strict Professor McGonagall would let you off that easy. What happened?" asked Lupin. James had told them about Hooch taking them to McGonagall and McGonagall letting him off without any punishment.
"It must be because she's head of Gryffindor house," said Peter, but the others shook their heads. It was impossible for McGonagall to unfairly benefit Gryffindor just because she was head of the house.
"Technically, she does punish me, though for me it results in a privilege rather than a punishment," James replied, and everyone looked at him blankly.
"The punishment she gave me is to be the utility boy for the Gryffindor quidditch team. I have to be present at all practices and prepare and clean their equipment, also when matches are played," explained James.
"For how long?" asked Lupin.
"All year," James replied, keeping his smile.
Sirius, Lupin, and the others looked at each other, then looked at James, who kept his smile and still didn't understand.
"But... that's a punishment... you'll have to clean the team's dishes for a year..." said Peter, who for the first time disagreed with James.
"A year working for free," said Sirius, giving his friend a strange look.
"No, here comes the best part," said James, shaking his head, "For this year, members of the Gryffindor team will be coaching me personally!" he added with a wider smile.
"Really?!" they all exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes! I'll be able to fly and practice with them. McGonagall is already preparing everything. She will send a letter to my parents and they will send me my broom these days," said James, happy about this, even though he couldn't play the official matches, practicing with the team was enough.
"But, that means you already have a spot on the team secured, right?" asked Sirius, to which James nodded.
"Yes, the seeker they have now is a seventh year and will be leaving the team this year. In the tryouts they held they didn't find any substitute seekers, plus they haven't won the quidditch cup for seven years..." said James.
The Hogwarts Quidditch Cup is a championship that takes the form of a mini-league, with each house team playing each other throughout the year. Each team plays three games and there are six quidditch matches in total.
As there are a small number of such games, each one is highly anticipated and usually involves the whole school, including the teachers. Professor McGonagall is very interested in quidditch and keeps a keen eye for talent, as head of Gryffindor's house she wanted her house to win the cup.
So she approached James about the following: to be the team's utility boy for the first year while being coached by the team members. Especially the seeker, which is the weakest position Gryffindor has had in recent years and the reason why they haven't won the cup for many years.
However, it's not all rosy. The current team captain will send McGonagall a report on James' progress from time to time and inform her if he is good at his position. If the teacher and captain see him as insufficient, they will stop coaching him, and he will no longer have the privileges, but he must remain the team's utility boy.
"Hmm, I understand. If you don't show good results in practice, they'll kick you out," Sirius nodded.
"Wasn't it that first years couldn't be on the team?" asked Lupin with a strange look on his face.
"Well, yes...although technically, I'm not on the team. I'm just training with them and getting ready for next year, plus the teacher will pull some strings or something," replied James.
"By the way, is Toby back from the infirmary yet?" asked James.
They all looked at each other with some concern, "He arrived a little while ago, but he wouldn't say a word. He went straight to the room," Lupin replied. James stood up from his lazy position.
Toby's behavior was normal. He was an 11-year-old boy who was humiliated in front of the whole class. Worse in front of all the Slytherin first years.
"With such a fearful attitude he'll always get made fun of," Sirius said.
James frowned slightly. Sirius was right. Thanks to Toby belonging to his group he rarely gets picked on. And being a muggle-born in a school where there are several guys like Rabastan is a very juicy object of ridicule.
On the other hand, Peter is from a wizarding family, despite being just as fearful as Toby. He also seems to have a radar where he detects bullies, managing to save himself when he is not behind James or Sirius.
In the case of Lupin, who recently joined the group, and is not always with them, he has an attitude of few friends and always has a frown on his face, so he is not a victim of bullies despite being a half-blood.
Of Sirius, there is little to say. Heir to one of the noblest houses in the magical world shows great self-confidence, and is very outgoing, plus he's good at almost every subject.
"I'll go talk to him," James said as he headed for the dormitories.
James walked up the stairs and into his bedroom. Four of the five beds were with the curtains open, and Toby's bed was with the curtains closed. How the place was quiet he could hear Toby's faint breathing.
"Hey, Toby, are you okay? I heard from the guys that you came back," James said after a few seconds of thinking about what to say.
Silence reigned in the room. James listened as Toby breathed erratically. After a few seconds, he replied in a hoarse tone, "I-I'm fine..."
"Don't worry about that cretin Rabastan. Sirius and I will take care of him," James said.
"No need. Can you leave me alone? I want to sleep," said Toby.
"Yeah sure..." said James, scratching his hair. Before he left the room he noticed a picture on Toby's bedside table. It was the only decoration there.
In the picture, there were a lot of children, and in the center was an old woman with a kind smile. It took James a few seconds to find Toby among the children. The photo was static, different from the magic photos.
'He's from an orphanage...?' thought James as he stopped staring at the photo and left the room.
...
Over the next few days, Toby stayed away from the group despite James and Lupin's attempts to get him back with them. As for the prank, James continued his punishments in Slughorn's office, but the professor never left his office, so he couldn't steal the ingredients.
The second week of his punishment began. Owls flew around the Great Hall, as usual. Everyone's attention was immediately fixed on a long, thin package, carried by six owls.
James was surprised when the owls swooped down and dropped the package in front of him. As they walked away another owl dropped a letter on top of the package.
James under the watchful eyes of Sirius and the others opened the letter which read:
[The package contains your Nimbus 1001. Dumbledore has already given me the go-ahead for you to start your training today with the team. Team Captain William Turner will be waiting for you at the quidditch pitch at seven o'clock this evening for your first training session. I know you are grounded with Professor Slughorn from 5 to 6. I hope you will not be grounded any further.
Professor McGonagall]
James, knowing it was about his broom and he would be starting training today smiled broadly and passed the note to Sirius, Lupin, and Peter to read.
"A Nimbus 1001!" groaned Peter, who knew it was about the last broom on the market.
"I wanted to buy it, but my mother wouldn't let me because of all this stupid heir behavior..." said Sirius as he looked at the package with some jealousy.
"Is it such a cool thing?" asked Lupin, who didn't understand much about brooms and quidditch.
"Of course...!" said Peter as he started telling him all about the Nimbus 1001, making James remember the salesman when he bought the broom.
Many students had noticed the strange package James was holding in his hands. Some Gryffindor students managed to overhear their conversation and began muttering uncomprehendingly about how James had a broom when he was a first-year student.
"Open it," Sirius said.
"I don't know...everyone's watching," said James doubtfully.
"That's why you have to open it. Imagine the look on Rabastan and the other Slytherin boys' faces when they see you have a broom as a first year. They'll die of jealousy," Sirius said with a wide grin.
Sirius was very good at convincing people, and James began to tear open the package leaving his state-of-the-art broom in full view, very well cared for even though it was a few days old.
'Mum must have cleaned it,' thought James.
"The Nimbus 1001 t honors its name!" said Sirius in a deliberately loud tone for all to hear.
The gazes of all the tables were fixed on them. James and Lupin looked at Sirius with rolled eyes. The Slytherin's started a commotion at their tables, especially the first years.