Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
[Season 7] - Round 1
Team: Chudley Cannons
Position: Chaser 3 - "The Holy Grail" King Arthur is challenged to a duel by the Black Knight, who promptly loses all of his limps. The Black Knight then decides to call it a draw. Write about a canonly stubborn character faced with insurmountable odds.
Prompts:
4. (word) telescope
12. (creature) niffler
13. (character) Hagrid
(Thanks to insertcleverandwittytitlehere for betaing)
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I had to look up the word 'insurmountable' before starting this omg.
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"Oi, Evans," James quickly abandoned his friends to follow the beautiful red-head, Lily Evans, whom he had fancied for years now. Though it didn't seem as if she was falling for his charms, he knew she would sooner or later. Apparently, she was choosing later.
Evans turned around knowing he wouldn't leave her alone before she hexed him. Hazel eyes met her beautiful green ones and for a moment James forgot what he was supposed to say.
"Get to the point, Potter, or I'll hex you."
Even when she was threatening him, her voice was like a phoenix song.
James ruffled his hair nervously and gave her the smile he had been practising with Sirius. It didn't seem to have the desired effect as she simply raised her eyebrow.
"Uhm…" he took a deep breath and prepared for his speech (which he had not been practising in front of the mirror). "I suppose you have heard we won the Quidditch match earlier today? Don't you want a date with the coolest guy in the school?"
Evans cracked a smile and James relaxed visibly. He couldn't believe she was actually going to say yes. After all these years. Finally. Should he be nervous? He probably should. This is Lily Evans after all, no one is as perfect as her, despite what Sirius says.
"Where is he?"
His smile fell.
"What?"
"You promised me a date with the coolest guy in the school," sarcasm filled her voice. "So, where is he?"
He blinked a couple of times. "It's me."
"Really?" she sounded annoyed. "What makes you think you are the coolest guy in school?" she demanded. "No wait, let me guess; It's because you are Quidditch captain, it's because you are the best flyer in the whole school, it's because you are oh so handsome."
"Uhh, yeah?" James didn't understand why she was using that tone when she talked about all his best qualities.
"You are unbelievable," she rolled her eyes and stormed off leaving James confused behind her.
Why was she so mad? Surely it couldn't be because of what happened last year by the lake? Evans couldn't honestly still be mad about that, she wasn't even friends with Snivellus anymore. Why did she have a thing for overreacting every time he asked her out?
Peter, Remus and Sirius slowly approached him. Of course they had seen the whole thing, how many other people had as well?
"Better luck next time, Prongsie," Sirius clapped his back friendly.
"Was it a rejection? Because she technically said yes to go out with the coolest guy in school," James stated eagerly and turned to face his friends who looked much more sceptical.
"She also said you weren't the coolest guy in the school," Remus pointed out.
"But she called me a good flyer and handsome."
Remus rolled his eyes. "How can you be so dense?"
"Says Mr Sirius-Black-Flirts-And-Cuddles-With-Me-But-Does-He-Like-Me?"
Remus blushed and Sirius tip-toed to kiss his lips. Their love was so good and pure, it left a nice feeling inside of James to see them happy. He wanted what they had with Lily.
"I'm gonna go for a walk" he announced and strutted towards the doors that led outside. The others knew not to follow him when he said it like that.
It was twilight outside. The purple mixed with blue and black, a few stars started to appear on the bare sky. James had planned to take Evans for a walk towards Hogsmeade where they would get butterbeer and look at the stars together. After that, they would sneak towards the school again through one of the hidden passageways (though not the one through the shrieking shack), perhaps they could have kissed before going back to their own dorms.
He kicked the grass out of frustration. Why didn't Evans want to go out with him? A lot of other girls wanted him, so why not her?
Sometime later a sudden yell made him jump.
"Watch out for the niffler!"
Not long after he heard a loud thump and quickly walked towards the sound to find Hagrid laying flat on the ground with a little niffler in his big hands. As if nothing happened Hagrid sat up and gently patted it.
"Oi hello James. What you doin' out here?"
"I just needed some fresh air," he shrugged his shoulders and looked up into the man's eyes. Even when Hagrid was sitting, he was taller than James.
"What's botherin you?" Hagrid asked, easily seeing through the excuse.
"It's Evans!" he exclaimed and sighed immediately after. "She won't go out with me and I have tried everything." There really should be some kind of guide to charm witches, or a specific guide to charm Lily Evans.
Hagrid smiled wryly. "Follow me."
With slight hesitation, James followed Hagrid towards the school again. Usually, the thousands of windows made it look like the school was glowing in the dark, like it was a star itself but seeing as it was after curfew, everything was dark with only a few exceptions.
As it was way past curfew, James was surprised he didn't get detention for being out.
When they reached the doors, Hagrid stared at them with a puzzled look in his eyes, before an idea popped into his head and he suddenly handed the niffler to a startled James.
"Here, hold him" Hagrid ordered and stuffed the niffler into James' arms. Before James could realize the niffler was trying to get away, but he didn't get into the Quidditch team and become captain for nothing. With his quick reflexes, James easily got a tight grip around the little beast and gently stroked its fur to prevent it from jumping again.
Hagrid led him through the school. They got up many staircases and James wondered why they headed in the direction of the Astronomy tower.
With great difficulty because the stairs were narrow Hagrid and James finally reached one of the tallest towers in the school. Carefully Hagrid found a telescope and adjusted it. The niffler in James' arm had slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Look in there and tell me what you see" Hagrid smiled and gestured to the telescope.
Slowly and hesitant James neared it, still with the niffler in his arms, and looked through the lens. A single white star could be seen on the other end.
"I see a star" James stated confused when he looked up at Hagrid again.
Hagrid was still smiling. "Now look at the sky again and tell me what you see."
James turned and was now faced with all the stars on the sky. It was like a million little lights; almost prettier than Evans' eyes.
"I see a bunch of them."
"Some people are out there looking at all the stars to find the prettiest one, others -like you- have already found one and only have an eye for that."
James frowned. "What do you mean?"
Hagrid continued as if he hadn't said anything. "The only problem is that the stars don't know you are looking at them, and even if they did know, it wouldn't be special because it looks like you are looking at all the other stars too anyways."
"And…" James was confused but decided to play along. "How do we let them know they are the prettiest one?"
"You make them feel special."
"How do you make stars feel special?" James asked, becoming even more confused by the minute.
Hagrid eyed him and the niffler swiftly.
"What do you know about nifflers?"
"They look like a mixture between a platypus and a mole, hunt for everything shiny-"
"Exactly!" Hagrid exclaimed, but James was still confused. "They hunt everything and anything shiny, which means the one shiny thing isn't more special than the other."
"So I'll have to give the star my undivided attention?"
Hagrid frowned. "Not exactly. Doesn't matter if you give it your undivided attention if that attention is negative."
He was probably thinking of Snivellus. James often gave the Slytherin all of his attention because the guy deserved to be treated that way, yet the attention he gave Evans was completely different.
"But I do give Evans attention! All the time and I never date anyone else because they can't compare to her," James exclaimed, clearly frustrated. None of this made any sense.
Hagrid looked apologetic. "I saw your attempt with her earlier, where was your attention back then?"
"On…" James was about to answer 'on her' but it didn't seem like the right answer. Looking back, he hadn't said anything about her. James had only talked about how cool he was so he could convince her to go out with him.
"On me," he finished.
Hagrid smiled carefully and nodded.
That's what he had been doing wrong? Had he never told her what beautiful eyes she had? Or how much he loved her hair? How he admired that she wasn't just some whiny girl, but had a strong opinion and didn't care what anyone thought of her.
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"Oi, Evans," James quickly ran towards her before he could lose the courage that had been building up overnight. He thought a lot about what Hagrid told him and was determined to try it out.
"What now Potter?" she asked already annoyed.
"Uh…" he ruffled his hair nervously and took a deep breath. "Your eyes are pretty."
He smiled, but she seemed unimpressed.
"What's that for?"
"Nothing, I-"
"I swear Potter if this is some kind of stupid prank you and the others are making-"
"What? No!" James cut her off. "I just-"
Before James could finish his sentence and assure her that there was so prank (as if he would ever prank someone as pretty as her) she cast a hex at him.
"Vermiculus."
James let out a horrifying shriek as something was comparing itself to another something in his pants. He ran towards the bathroom and locked himself in the stall before taking off his pants to discover a hoard of worms where his boxers should have been.
He cast the counter-charm right before his friends entered the bathroom and he left the stall. Remus and Sirius were holding hands, Peter stood a few feet away from them and they all stared shocked at him.
"What happened?" Sirius asked with an amused smile. James was going to hear from the shriek he had let out.
"Something amazing," James exclaimed, a smile appeared on his face after he had gotten over the shock.
"What?" Remus asked confused, he wouldn't say that Lily's response was amazing.
"She hexed my boxers," James exclaimed as if it explained everything. "AND she transfigured them into worms. That means she is thinking of my boxers and what's underneath."
All three of his friends simply rolled their eyes and laughed at their friend. James began babbling about how they were perfect for each other and how he would marry her someday.
As if that would ever happen.
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Word count: 1827