Challenge from the Gringotts Thread in the Hogwarts Online forum which was given by Katy (Bad Mum)
Characters: the Marauders and Snape; Lily if you like
Quote: "Maybe he's not quite as bad as we thought" (NOT to be said by Lily, must be one of the boys!)
Prompts: a Snitch, a ripped piece of homework, Professor Binns
was supposed to be drabbles (even tho Katy said it's not a strict rule) .. I dunno what this is tho.
and also, SORRY, sorry if my grammar is horrible because I don't use a beta for this. Enjoy! :)
Maybe...
"What do you want now???" Lily said through gritted teeth.
"Nothing really… We're just going to Charms class like you. So this is not necessarily called 'following' as in 'stalking', is it?" Sirius grinned.
"Oh you think I'm that stupid I didn't see you two hiding something? I've known you both long enough to not fall to any tricks you got in store for me." Lily snapped back.
"Apparently so." SIrius said mockingly. "Don't we, James?" He turned to his best friend, who had been unusually silent.
"What? Oh yea, yea we do." James said, rather abruptly. Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius smirked.
"Aah, here's our dear friend Snivellus." Sirius' attention was suddenly focused to a figure walking towards them. "So where is it?" Sirius demanded, to Lily's confusion.
"H-Here it is." The figure, who was none other than Severus, the rather lonely Slytherin. Sirius took the piece of parchment Severus handed him.
"What is this??" Lily snatched the parchment from Sirius' hands.
"Oi! That's MY parchment!" Sirius bellowed while trying to take the parchment from Lily. James tried to get a firm grip on Sirius, but Sirius was just struggling too much.
"Stop it! Stop it I said! Sirius!" he said. "And Lily, give that parchment back to him!" James tried to be equal to both sides. "Oh and Snivellus, there's nothing to see here, thank you." Severus gave him an odd look and then disappear into the hallways.
"You made Severus do your Charms Homework?!" Lily shrieked.
"NO! He borrowed mine!" Sirius tried to match Lily's voice, but failed.
"Nonsense! I would know Severus' handwriting anywhere." Lily stated.
"Well I guess you're wrong this time." Sirius said, with James still struggling to keep Sirius still, well to keep his hands form reaching his wand at least.
"I guess so." Lily said confidently. "But just to be sure…" she proceeded by ripping Sirius'Charms homework. Srius and James gasped. "Let's just hope Professor Binns will still give you an A for that, shall we?" Lily gave her arrogant face.
Sirius cursed.
Charms Class was an awkward experience for James. He was paired with Lily, and all she could talk about is if Sirius has always been that annoying, and how in the world can he keep up with him.
"I don't get how you can be his friend, I mean look at him." Lily whispered.
"Lilly he's really nice inside, you just need to get to know him better."James whispered back, quite uncertainly though.
"Nice? I don't believe it." the red haired girl frowned. James kept on telling her the good sides of Sirius, but a after one or two reasons he gave up, since he can't seem to find the right reasons to convince Lily. In fact, James ended up complaining about Sirius' attitude to Lily. After all, who else would listen?
"I can't believe your girlfriend did this to me." Sirius was still furious when he and James at last reached the dormitories.
"First of all, she's NOT my girlfriend, Padfoot! And second, you an't blame all this on Lily. It was, after all, Severus who came without he wrong timing." James, clearly, is trying to defend Lily.
"Oh pssh…" Sirius laid down on his four poster bed, and James can see Remus and Peter smiling.
"Don't worry too much, have a Gryffindor-Slytherin match tomorrow. You'll need all the energy you can get to make the Slytherin crouch in the corner from the stands!" James lightened up the aura. Sirius was already fast asleep.
"Morning, Prongs." Sirius greeted James as James woke up from a dreamless sleep. "Morning Moony, morning Wormtail."
"Morning, Padfoot." James grinned.
"Morning." Remus and Peter said in unison.
"Ready for today's game?" Sirius said, as he get dressed.
"Yeah, ready." James confirmed.
"Let's head to the Great Hall then, first you need to greet all your adoring fans." Sirius winked. I gave him an odd look.
In the Great Hall, the pair spotted Lily's group of friends (quite easily as they'd recognize her red hair anywhere). In return, the group of girls also recognize the two boys as soon as they are within sight. Sirius and James were almost immediately surrounded by students (mostly Gryffindors, but some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are also joining all the hype) who are busy trying to wish James and some other Gryffindor Quidditch members good luck. But James couldn't help but realize Lily was not a part of all the congratulating. He frowned, but decided to ignore it.
"Where's Thompson?" Sirius bellowed.
"Thompson?" some other students echoed.
"Where's Thompson?" James copied Sirius, only a little louder.
"He-He cannot play today." A young, possible a first year, Gryffindor squeaked.
"But he's the best seeker we've got so far! I told him he shouldn't stay up all night yesterday." James talked more to himself.
"I'm not that bad of a seeker myself." Lily suddenly said, quite confidently, after all that silence.
"What??" A group of Gryffindors and a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs questioned Lily's statement. Peter squeaked.
"I don't mean to be rude, but are you sure, Lily?" Remus said professionally.
"Yes, Remus, I'm quite sure of that. In fact, I've practiced for it on my own." Lily haven't lost her confidence. James was going to interrupt when Sirius said,
"Well, in that case, prove it." He twisted his lips.
"Thank you, Sirius." Lily said, almost in a whisper.
The big game was about to start, and Lily looked as pale as ever.
"I knew you shouldn't offer yourself as a substitute, how would you ever bear Sirius' reactions if you let us down?" James honestly said, while coming over to sit next to her."You have never even practice."
"You know I couldn't let you guys win." Lily joked. James raised an eyebrow, but was secretly happy seeing other than the stern and bossy side of Lily. "Besides, I'm the seeker, I don't need to cooperate much with the others, and I use strategy and agility--something I don't lack too much." Lily smiled.
"Good luck, Lily." James' lips curled into a smile.
"You too." Lily raised her hand half-heartedly waving James, who's going to see what the other teammates are doing, off. She sighed. She herself don't even know why she volunteered, for she know others might be better, and even if she sometimes played Quidditch with her own group of friends, and she does it pretty well, she wouldn't be able to take it if she made the team lost. Lily can feel her heartbeat steadily getting faster, and her hands getting colder.
"Merlin's pants. I should've never spoke up." Lily thought.
"Come on, seeker!" A fellow Gryffindor who's also on the Quidditch team (whose name I constantly forget about, and who I suppose doesn't remember mine either seeing that he called me 'seeker').
"A moment!!" the red haired girl panicked.
"Better hurry up; Slytherin's being arrogant on the pitch, we need to show them what we got."
"Yes yes." Lily said, as she stood up and walked towards the pitch.
The crowd roared, but a wave of doubting whispers spread almost immediately after as they see the red haired girl steps awkwardly into the Quidditch pitch.
"Psst… James, now I'm not really sure about this." Lily whispers nervously.
"Now you're saying you don't want this? Oh Lily, now all you can do is smile and wave." James smiled while waving towards the now, once again, cheering crowds. Lily sighed, once more.
"Mount your brooms everyone!" the coach bellowed. Lily mount her broom (which used to belong to the previous seeker, Thompson, much to Lily's disappointment, as Thompson isn't very careful with his properties, for instance, his broom), she was unsteady for a while, but managed to not fall down in the first moments.
After one hour of Quidditch, Potter scored yet another goal. It was a lucky day for the Gryffindors; the score was now 230 for the Gryffindors, and 70 for the Slytherins.
But suddenly, the beater from the Slytherins sent a bludger flying towards the Gryffindor chaser with the Quaffle--badly injuring the said chaser. The opposing chaser catches the Quaffle and scored 10 more points, leaving a 150 gap between points of the two teams. Another chaser gave yet a quick attack, scoring again for the Slytherins.
Now all the Gryffindors are relying on their untrained seeker Lily, who currently is still wandering around the pitch wondering where in the world could the golden snitch be.
Then she spotted it; in the corner of the pitch, fluttering endlessly, gleaming so wonderfully in the sunlight.
Too bad Lily focuses to much she lost a bit of her balance. The Slytherin seeker was far too intelligent to miss this and soon enough he saw what Lily was previously looking at; his key to victory.
Lily desperately lunge for the snitch, now that it's not a secret she should keep anymore, as she can clearly see in the opposing seeker's eyes, and in the way he's darting towards the snitch.
They approached the snitch at exactly the same speed, exactly the same moment, and by when they reached it, it fluttered away innocently--leaving the two seekers colliding badly. Although the strong, well-build Slytherin seeker seems to bear no harm, Lily fell down of her broom, though luckily she managed to hung on to it, and expertly getting back on it. She lost a few seconds, but that doesn't seem to stop her. She skillfully flew on her broom (most likely to be encouraged by the tense moment), passing everyone in the way and soon enough flying again side-by-side with the Slytherin seeker, eyes still on the snitch. She moved around for a bit, tricking the opposing seeker to change directions, following hers. She immediately swoop down heading to the real snitch, leaving the Slytherin following her quite far behind.
Lily's jaws clenched, she can clearly feel her heartbeats. She was inches from the Snitch, she narrows her eyes, she put out her arms, reaching for the snitch. Lily reached the snitch and it had touched her for a fraction of a second or so, right when she close her palms tight! She slowed down and looked at her palms, ready to hold her hand up high, but she sees nothing. The snitch has slipped out in the last moment. She frantically looks around her for the snitch, and just when she was going to pursue the snitch yet again, a bludger flew straight to her back, hurting her badly. She was really hopeless, forced to doing nothing--except for trying not to fall out of her own broom-- by the pain, while the Slytherin seeker reaches for the snitch.
To a lot of people's dismay, the Slytherin got hold of the snitch. But not before the Gryffindor scored yet another goal, making the points even.
The crowd gasped. They stood up to have a better look.
"I got it! I got the snitch!!!" the Slytherin exclaimed, to the disappointment of the other three houses.
"But the score is even now!" a Hufflepuff screamed from the stands. James raised his shoulders towards to coach. The coach raised his eyebrows, then proceed by reading his notes.
"A TIE!" the coach declared, followed by mild applause from all the houses, except for the Slytherins--who booed the coach in the top of their lungs.
The Gryffindor team huddled up, and a few patted Lily on the back.
"I'm sorry guys." She mumbled.
"It's okay, could've been worse." The keeper smiled
"Good job, Lil." James beamed.
"But I don't even win the game…" Lily stared at the floor.
"You almost fell off your broom, you got hit by a bludger, and you still, at the very least, even up the scores." A chaser raised his eyebrows toward her.
"Well yea but-"
"Don't worry, come on let's go back to the common room." James interrupted her.
"Sure." Lily managed a smile.
"Hey!! Great game earlier." Sirius winked at James way. James chuckled. "And your new seeker, not bad…" Sirius continued, twisting a smile towards Lily. Lily blushed.
"Maybe he's not quite as bad as we thought" James jokingly said to Lily.
"Hello? I'm still here, you know." Sirius frowned.
"Well, I guess I'll be off to bed then." Lily stood up from the couch by the fireplace.
"Hey -- wait." James stopped her on her tracks.
"Hm?"
"D-do you mind if you be our substitute seeker next time Thompson can't play?" His voice sounds so warm to Lily, accompanied by the lights of the fireplace.
"Sure." She smiled before turning away. "Oh but I will need more practice." She turned back once more.
"Yes, you will." James said while plopping himself back on a couch. Sirius smiled. "What?" James said in confusion, and he can swear he heard Lily chuckle.
"She's pretty nice after all, eh?" Sirius said casually, while pointing his finger at James.
"What? Who? --OHH! Huh?" James' cheeks redden.
"I mean she can be pretty sweet if she wants to."
" Uhh… yeah, guess so." James absentmindedly flip through the pages of a book titled 'Love Potions and You'. "Ew, what IS this book?" and as he read the title he blushed furiously. Sirius chuckled.
"I wouldn't mind if you go out with her, really."
"Padfoot…" James complained.
"I mean, after all, you do fancy her do you?"
"Sirius…"
"Thank you for admitting it, James." Sirius stood up and left the common room, James just rolled his eyes.
But deep inside, he's thinking, does he really love Lily? Because like what a lot of people said, love is a very strong word, sometimes too strong to describe something you don't even understand yourself.
so how was it? hope it's good enough...:/ sorry again for the bad grammar. also, I'm thinking about making a sequel sometime later.. since the ending kinda puts the feel that it will have something else to it. what do you think? in the mean time I'll label this as un-finished.