1Disclaimer: JKR - what a genius.
A/N: Well... my first semi-chapter story. Be proud. I've been inspired to write thanks to - I'll Take It Shaken, Not Stirred. Go read that story. NOW. It's ah-maz-ing, and you can find it in my Favorites section. Mhm.
This "chapter" fic will be about 3-4 chapters long. Possibly two, but it's doubtful.
Flying Lessons: Not a one-shot - hooorah!
Fly. Fly fast. Fly powerful. Fly high. But most of all, fly hard.
-----
Flying lessons. Every first year had taken them - it was required. The exceptional, quidditch crazed flyers tried out of the Quidditch Team. The others just flew around for fun. And then, the ones who couldn't even get on a broomstick completely forgot about the fact that such things even existed, and went on with their lives.
Lily Evans did not fit into any of the two categories. Alas, she was not quidditch crazed (although she loved the sport), and she didn't "fly for fun". Hell, Lily didn't even own a broomstick.
Unfortunately, Lily wasn't that great at flying. She was mediocre, and had a slight fear of heights; her flying lessons had been wasted in first year because she hadn't cleansed her paranoia of heights and was still getting used to the Wizarding World. But Lily had natural athletic ability, hence the reason why she didn't fly as horribly as people thought - that was, until three weeks ago. No, three weeks ago the Head Girl's infatuation with the art of broomstick riding had driven her to do something completely out of character: to take flying lessons. Again.
Now, it wouldn't have been such a big deal if Lily had just asked one of her friends to teach her. Her good friend, Ezra Duncan, played quidditch for Gryffindor - a beater. But Lily wanted flying lessons from someone else. The best person she could think of, but the most infuriating (well, she was a little less annoyed with him from the Tuesday nights they had spent together over the course of three weeks, and the Head meetings and other work they had...), in her opinion. Lily, apparently out of utter stupidity or utter desire, had chosen the very Gryffindor Quidditch Captain himself:
James Whatever-his-middle-name-was Potter.
Lily had, of course, mentally kicked herself many times, but she wanted this, and the damage was already done - no amount of James-Potter-hating could change it.
"Evans? You want flying lessons from me" He had smirked in Transfiguration class in late April.
Lily had blushed in embarrassment. "Well you're always going on about how bloody GREAT you are," she snapped scornfully, and then paused long enough for James to mumble in a sarcastic "Ha, ha,".
"So," Lily had continued, "just so you know, I actually do agree with you for once. I'll admit it: you're bloody amazing, which is why I need your help."
James had shaken his head in awe. "Wow..., I'm touched, Lily." He snorted and went back to his in-class assignment.
"W-wait, aren't you going to help me?"
"Help you with what?"
She rolled her eyes, "Quidditch, you twat! C'mon, James, please?"
He had stared at her long and hard, trying to memorize her pretty face. "Mmm... no."
Lily's green eyes widened as she had tried to swallow despite the lump that was forming in her throat. "Fine."
However, despite what James had said, the Head Girl had found a note in her school bag that evening:
Freckles, we'll meet every Tuesday night around nine o'clock on the pitch from now on. Okay? - JP
p.s. you owe me
Lily couldn't hide her happiness. Flying - she was finally going to learn how to fly properly. She would finally understand the rush and excitement and glorious feeling that Ezra had described to her countless times.
----- Three Weeks Previously -----
"McLaggen has the quaffle, speeds towards the Gryffindor goalpost - OH NO! INTERCEPTION BY JAMES POTTER, WOW THAT WAS A NICE ONE - sorry, professor...!"
The Gryffindor supporters screamed their approval as James Potter sped away with the quaffle, and then did five loops in the air.
Lily Evans rolled her eyes as she stared, mouth agape in awe, through her binoculars. Potter could be such a show off sometimes, but she had to admit, he was an amazing flyer. Truly amazing.
"POTTER SCORES!" the voice of Jeremiah Dragonfield filled the air and the whole stadium was filled with cheers and boos, yet again. "Gryffindor, seventy to twenty."
Amos Diggory, the Hufflepuff Captain, swore loudly as he sped around James.
"He plays really amazing, doesn't he, Lily?" Kera Johnson, a good friend of hers, whispered.
"Yeah... he does," she muttered begrudgingly, and followed the Head Boy through her binoculars. He had just scored yet another point for Gryffindor, and was currently doing a quick victory lap around the pitch.
Lily's eyes glazed over as she tried to fathom how in the world Potter did all of those amazing tricks.
Kera cast her a knowing look, "A pureblood, Lils. It's in his blood - I'm sure his dad taught him early on."
"I never realized he was so... fantastic - oh - and tell him that and you're dead!"
She nodded. "Mhm. But why are you bringing this up now?"
"Um, maybe because we're at a quidditch game."
"Yeah, but you normally want nothing to do with Potter - let alone complimenting him."
"I'm just stating a fact. Everyone else knows it, and lately I've developed an obsession with flying - it's actually really beautiful, y'know?"
Kera didn't look convinced, and she told Lily so by raising her eyebrows curiously. "Whatever you say..."
However, Kera's words were drowned out by the extreme shouting of the crowd. Students and staff alike began stampeding off of the stands - Logan Larson had caught the snitch which meant that Gryffindor had won the match!
"Lily - where are you going??" Kera cried as the redhead jumped off the last step and ran towards the exit of the pitch just as the Gryffindor team - and the crowd - raised both Potter and Larson into the air and carried them, cheering.
"I - er - um - library!" Lily gasped, "I'm going to the library - see you later!"
"Crazy..." she muttered, and went to join the crowd.
-----
The party that night was huge - but it would be far grander if Gryffindor one the final match for the Quidditch Cup; the match against Slytherin.
Interestingly enough, the Head Girl didn't make an appearance at the common room's party - well, at least not officially. She had come down for a glass of butter beer once or twice, but the rest of the evening was spent in her room, reading.
Despite that fact that there was no Lily Evans at the party, it was still a blast. Much to her detest, the Marauders had had the party in the Head Common Room.
"Lillllly!" Kera and her other friend who was on the quidditch team, Ezra, cried as the knocked on the door. "Come out!"
"Mmm... why don't you both come in?" she mumbled, not looking up from the book she was reading: Quidditch Through the Ages.
The door swung open, causing Lily to finally look up from the book, red hair falling into her face.
"Er, Lils?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you reading?"
"Uh... nothing..." She hastily shoved the book under the covers of her comforter, but the two other Gryffindors were too quick for the Head Girl.
Kera held Lily down as Ezra swiped the book out from under the covers and flipped it around so that she could read the front. The girl gasped, holding it up so that Kera could see.
"Lily Evans - the Lily Evans is reading a quidditch book?" Ezra sputtered, flipping through the pages. "Merlin..."
Lily nodded her head guiltily. "Well it's not like I'm reading a book on How-to-Become-a-Bloody-Death-Eater!" shesnapped, grabbing it back. "Maybe I'm just curious..."
Kera rolled her eyes and fiddled with her brown hair. "Mhm. So why exactly are you curious? Are you curious to learn about something that - hem - James Potter likes?"
She made a gagging sound. "Merlin, Kera, no! Nothing like - like that! Whaddyou think I am? Completely insane?"
"Yeah, pretty much..." Ezra mumbled, earning a kick from Lily.
"I've simply taken an interest in the art of flying - I told you this during the game, Kera!"
"Yeah -"
" - if you were interested in quidditch, why didn't you just ask me?" Ezra inquired.
Lily shrugged, "Maybe I wanted to learn about it for myself? I'm starting to realize why you guys talk about it so much."
Ezra nodded, and swiftly brushed back her dark hair. "I see. Well, if you're still going to stay cooped up in your room, then Kera and I are going to go actually enjoy the party - like normal people." she said, smirking, and then the two brunettes darted out of her room and disappeared.
Lily sighed and closed the book. She really was wasting the night..., but images of James - and all of the other players soaring around on their broomsticks - filled her mind.
It took half an hour for Lily to finally decide that she was going to come down to the party, and some fifteen minutes for her to fix her hair. Then, two minutes to bound down the stairs and one minute to realize that: everyone was gone.
Well, she decided, that's not entirely true... James Potter was there, along with two house elves.
"Oh, hey, Evans!" he grinned upon seeing her. "Care to help clean up?"
She snorted. "Not a chance in hell, Potter."
"W-why...?" he said, face falling.
"Because it wasn't my bright idea to have it here!" she snapped, and he glared at her.
"Well if that's how you feel about it..."
"Potter?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
James gave her a hurt expression as Lily tried to brush past him. She had realized as they were arguing that she was incredibly hungry.
"Potter, get out of the way."
The Head Boy had stepped deliberately in front of her, not permitting access for her to move on to the food table.
"Potter... if you don't..." She stepped to the left; James followed. "...get out of my..." He followed her to the right, "...way... I... will..." Lily side-stepped to the left, then right, then left again, but James didn't give up so easily.
"Help me clean up and I'll move, Evans." he sneered.
And that was the last drop of water that overflowed the cup.
With a sharp mutter of, "Bastard!" the starving redhead shoved him backwards; it was a mistake.
"...oops..."
James fell backwards into the refreshment table. It broke under his heavy seventeen-year-old-boy-weight, and he tumbled to the ground, food falling all over him.
"You. Are. So. Dead." he shouted, spitting out a handful or Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans and glaring.
Lily, however, didn't take this threat to heart. Instead, she burst into laughter and doubled over, clutching her aching sides.
"Oh my God, Potter! Y-you should s-see your f-f-face! Haha!" she giggled, clutching onto the back of her favorite armchair for support.
"Not... funny... EVANS!" James spat, taking off his shirt (Lily attempted to look away) and squeezing out the butter beer that had soaked it. "This is a brand new shirt!"
She stifled her laughs and walked over to him, patting him on the shoulder. "Awww, is wittle Jamesie Potter afraid of his shirt getting dirty?" He glared even more and she stooped down so that her lips were nearly touching his hear: "News Flash, Potter - you can use magic."
Lily stood up, drew her wand, and pointed it at him. At first he thought she was going to hex him to death, but then realized what she was doing. "Scourgify!"
"Er... thanks." he muttered, embarrassed. Lily could still read the fury in his eyes.
She sidestepped him and picked up a package of chocolate frogs that had fallen to the ground. "Mhm. You flew brilliantly today, by the way!" she muttered as a 'you're welcome', then tore open the package and started upstairs, popping the magically enhanced chocolate into her mouth.
Lily gasped when she read the Wizard Card that had come with the chocolate frog. It read:
Woody Gnarls
1950 - present
A keeper for the Cornwell Cornish Pixies quidditch team.
She smirked. This had to be a sign.
That night, when Lily crawled into her bed, she had an idea - flying lessons! She could ask someone to give her flying lessons and teach her the ropes. But who?
----- /End Three Weeks Previously -----
A/N: Re-re-re-re-re-re-REVIEW IF YOU LIKED IT! There shall be more to come soon ;D.
- Later.