I pulled on the hem of my sweater, attempting to get it to touch the waistband of my too-tight skirt, it wasn't happening. No matter how much I tugged on the fabrics and tried to rearrange them, a small portion of midriff was exposed. I spent another five minutes in front of the mirror before giving up and throwing on a pair of Petunia's old bellbottoms and one of James' practice jerseys that he'd left in my dormitory. It was nowhere near my Sunday best, but with a thick cloak, hat and scarf, no one would even see my outfit. After a final once-over in the mirror, I headed for the quidditch pitch.
The nausea in my stomach as I searched the crowded stands for Sirius, Remus, and Peter had nothing to do with the upcoming match. Although that too was causing me some anxiety. It was James' first match of his last season, and it was against Slytherin. James had taken the team so far last year as captain, but not far enough. There was a lot of pressure on him now, and I knew the news I had to tell him was not going to help.
"Lil! Lil, over here!" A lanky boy with a pale, scarred face stood up and waved from the very top row of the Gryffindor section of the bleachers. Oh gosh, that would be a hike.
After several minutes of "excuse me's" and gentle shoves, I finally made it to the seat my friends had saved for me.
"Oi! Where've you been Lilly? The match is just about to start and Remus' been calling for you for nearly five minutes before you spotted us!"
"Well I'm here now 'eh Padfoot. All that matters hm?" I climbed over him as I asked and nearly fell in the process. Luckily Remus was as quick as Sirius was strong.
"Oi, Lilly, what's that about?" Sirius asked as he sat me firmly between him and Re.
"Just uh… off today, that's all."
"Everyone has their off days Lil." Remus' eyes told a deeper story than the slight smile he shared with me.
"Ha! You'd know 'ay Moony?" Sirus's playful smile was just enough to lighten my mood. The next best thing to James was his friends; Moony and i had a special friendship and Padfoot never passed up an opportunity to tease me. And then there was Peter. We had never really connected over the past 11 months James and I had been dating. Even now, he sat silently staring intently at the pitch while the rest of us laughed and enjoyed each other's company.
The match was close, which kept it interesting. But finally, it was over. James caught the snitch and crashed triumphantly, and somewhat dramatically into the ground. Me, Sirius, and Remus all stood on our benches screaming and cheering. It took Peter a moment to realize that the game had ended, before he too joined in our celebration.
"Oi! Nice one James!"
" 'Ata boy, Prongs!"
I could only imagine the glowing grin that was stretched across my face. Out of all the people cheering for him, James' eyes were locked only on me. It gave me butterflies, or maybe I was just nauseous. Apparently it was the later because before I had time to give the boys an explanation, I was running down the bleachers and into the closest locker room which, thankfully, was decorated with red and gold.
I was still kneeling on the cold stone floor when there were two sharp knocks on the stall door. I brushed off my knees and flushed the toilet before opening the door. It was Remus.
"You okay Lilly?" He had concern etched into his scarred face.
"Oh, uh yeah Re, I'm fine thanks." I tried to support my statement with a smile but Remus wasn't buying it. "Really, I'm okay. I must've eaten something spoiled." I pushed past him towards the sink to rinse out my mouth.
"Do you want me to find James?"
"No! Oh, no I'm fine Moony, really. I promise."
He looked at me skeptically for another moment before reassuring; "See you in the common room then?"
"Yeah, of course. Just gotta congratulate James. But I'll meet you there." I smiled, genuinely this time to ensure that he would stop questioning me. He nodded and left the locker room just as the team started flooding in.
They were too absorbed in their own private conversations and the glory of the win to notice me standing there, except James. He didn't immediately tear into the dressing rooms like the rest, instead he continued in towards the loo, towards me. " Babe, what are you doing in here? You okay? One minute you were in the stands but I looked away for a second and you were gone." He gave me a once-over as if to double check that I was okay. He even brushed the few fiery strands that had escaped my braid, out of my face.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. I must've eaten something bad at breakfast that upset my stomach." I smoothed down my winter cloak to ensure that said stomach was not poking out.
" Feeling better now though?" I nodded and smiled at his genuine concern, so different than the James Potter I thought I'd known for the first five and a half years I'd spent at Hogwarts. "Good." He said pushing his forehead to mine So our noses were also touching; " 'cus I'm gonna fuck you so hard tonight." Oh, there was the 'old' James.
I was speechless, he hadn't talked to me like that in so long. Not since the first week of school, not since quiditch training had started. So all I could do was stand there with a goofy grin on my face, a scarlet blush through my cheeks, and a dozen butterflies in my stomach. "Mmm . that's what I thought baby." He planted a soft kiss on my lips. "See you at the party hun." He pinched my chin like a father would his pouting daughter and he headed to the dressing curtains calling; "Oi! Settle down, the party hasn't started yet!"
He was so proud of his team, how could I ruin his day with this news?