SP #1

[JAMES IGNOTUS POTTER]

■ ■ james sirius potter. [7th]
■ ■ sirius orion black. [7th]
■ ■ remus john lupin. [7th]
■ ■ peter ---- pettigrew. [7th]

■ ■ ---- ---- flint. [7th]
■ ■ ---- ---- montague. [7th]
■ ■ ---- ---- warrington. [7th]
■ ■ severus tobias snape. [7th]

Eight boys, two houses, one feud.

No one really knows where it began...although some say it was the sorting ceremony in 1971. At one end of the hall, to the far left- Gryffindor, a magnificent explosion of loud cheering, crimson, and gold. At the other end, to the far right- Slytherin, a regal crowd of raucous applause, emerald, and silver. It didn't take very long for the boys to each find one another. The hard part (the sorting) had been done for them. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew all sat in a little group at the part of the table nearest the teachers, looking to one another with excitement and nervousness and potential. FLINT, MONTAGUE, WARRINGTON, and Severus Snap were similarly situated, slowly getting comfortable with the idea of one another after years of their fathers' acquaintance. They would all be blood brothers, and their futures were intertwined, whether they knew it then or not.

But old rivalries die hard, and the stereotypes and hatred stemming between Gryffindor and Slytherin was at its peak. James Potter and his friends were filled with stories of the old times from their uncles and friends, as were the Slytherins. The mark of the lion or the mark of the serpent stirred something in all of them that couldn't simply be forgotten, something that created in their young minds a determination to have zero association with that of the others. Despite its size, Hogwarts is only so big. There was bound to be some friction...

Many say it truly began in their second year. Twelve year old Sirius Black was regaling a story to a group of young Gryffindors in the third floor corridor. The skirmish of which he spoke had taken place in that exact location, and James, Remus, and Peter all happily acted out the scene behind him as he chortled out the tale- James and Andrew posing as heroic Gryffindor soldiers, Peter being a pathetic recreation of a weak Salazar Slytherin. As classes were just switching, more and more students gathered around, including the four second year Slytherins. Although they took no pleasure in the completely tactless display, something stirred in FLINT (who's grandfather had recently perished in a skirmish between the Order and the Death Eaters), and he snapped. It took only seconds before FLINT had tackled Sirius to the ground, and only seconds after that before all eight boys were in a full on brawl. They all served months of detention for the public scene, and their hatred for one another went from unfounded to severe.

As soon as they were old enough for Quidditch, the rivalry thickened. Not all of the boys in each group were on the team, but enough. Quidditch was important enough for it to cause mayhem. Throughout their years at Hogwarts, Gryffindor and Slytherin matches were some of the highest attended in history, and there were more injuries to their players than had happened in decades.

They were leaders in their houses, each the group that younger students looked up to and older students were impressed with. It was ridiculous revering, but it was present, and it only got worse the older the boys became. You hated them or you loved them- there was no in-between. But it came to a head, a very dangerous one, in the beginning of the boys' seventh year...

MONTAGUE and Severus were wandering the grounds on the first Sunday of term, discussing something as they walked around the rim of the lake. James and Peter were out that night as well, exiting the forest after a long walk themselves. No one is really sure what transpired that night, only that all four boys were in the hospital wing for their first three days of classes. From their tower, some Ravenclaws described the flashes of light and yelling that erupted from the edge of the lake. The prefects on duty were sworn to silence, but there were whisperings that one or more had been knocked unconscious and that the others had to be magically restrained the entire way to the hospital wing.

The only people that know for sure are their closest friends and confidants. Tensions are higher than ever between the groups, but a quiet has come over them. Something is brewing; everyone can feel it. And it's not going to be good.

What happened between James, Peter, Severus, and MONTAGUE? Who instigated the fight? Did they happen across each other, or was this encounter planned? What does this mean for their last year at school? Will their friends rally behind them? What will ensue?