The Devils Wear Green (and Red) Quidditch Robes
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[A/N at the end]
Lily Evans watched in horror as her boyfriend's head was hit by a bludger. Her heart positively skipped a beat when he swayed on his broom, lost his balance, and fell sideways off of it. As he freefell towards the soft green grass at the bottom of the pitch; the entire stadium held a collective gasp of breath as they watched the Head Boy continued plummeting down to his impending doom.
And yet there was nothing that Lily could do. She was the brightest witch of her age, but her bones were paralysed as she registered Mary's voice screaming into her ear, and Marlene tugging at her arm, both of them pleading for her to do something.
But she didn't do anything. Because the only thing that went through her head was the fact that she was going to kill James when she saw him, ifthe ground didn't do it first. He has the audacity to spend six years trying to ask her out, and finally when she'd said yes, they go out for three weeks before he decides to kill himself by falling off his broom? What a bloody arse.
Tears streamed down her face as James continued falling and just as he was about to hit the ground, his body stopped in mid-air. He floated there for a few seconds, hair and robes blowing in the breeze before he was lowered onto the grassy pitch. Lily looked around the pitch frantically and thanked the heavens for Professor McGonagall's quick thinking.
As the whole school cheered with relilef, Lily quickly pushed her way out of the Gryffindor stands and hurried towards the middle of the pitch. Of course she was worried about her boyfriend, but she was also unbelievably miffed at him and was completely intent on giving him an earful. Halfway down the stairs, hundreds of angry shouts and 'boo's' erupted from the stands and Lily's anxiety kicked up a notch as she almost slipped on her loose shoelace.
The furious roar of the crowd grew steadily louder as she ran through the scaffolding under the stands and towards the entrance to the pitch where an infirmary bay was housed. As she walked through the archway, there was absolutely no way that she could've anticipated the gnarly sight in front of her.
Flashes of red and green flew in front of her eyes as she struggled to make out shapes and faces. Madam Hooch's bright pink head of greying hair appeared in the tangle of bodies every now and then. Meanwhile, Joanna Shacklebolt's – Kingsley's younger sister – excited commentary boomed over the kerfuffle of the violent fight happening in the middle of the Quidditch pitch; and Lily put the pieces together.
The red and green flashes of colour weren't spells, they were the robes of the Quidditch players as they brawled one another violently. Apparently they had begun brawling due to the Slytherins taunting the Gryffindors at how their captain couldn't even stay on his broom. Quidditch players generally had egos bigger than an average person's, which is why the fight was going on at all.
There were audible gasps, cheers, and slurs from the crowd as punches flew between members of the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams. Cassius Avery, the captain of the Slytherin's, was pulling his wand out of his robe before his entire body froze as a spell flew right past Lily's ear. It was the ugliest fight she had ever seen, and she considered herself an expert on those because she'd seen a lot of action movies with her dad.
She heard the footsteps before she could see the trio, and she knew that everyone involved in the fight was about to get hit by a real dose of reality for their disgusting lack of sportsmanship. Of course, this sort of behaviour was to be expected from a match between two rival houses, but usually it was just a bit of aggressive pushes, bludgers aimed at people's heads', and a healthy topping of verbal abuse. Nothing that was too out of the ordinary for the snakes and lions.
But as Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Slughorn strode towards the pitch – although Slughorn struggled to keep up with the other two, and he said a quick hello to her first before McGonagall glared at him out of impatience – the entire stadium hushed. The players, meanwhile, hadn't noticed a thing and continued throwing punches, kicks, and she could've sworn Mulciber was trying to bite Alice's wayward arm.
A few tense moments passed as the two Heads of Houses and the Headmaster stood in front of the scuffle, their backs to Lily. The silence was palpable and after a few final groans of pain, the warring Quidditch teams ceased their battle and quickly separated from one another. From what Lily could see, a fair amount of them were sporting black eyes, bloody noses, and nursing their hands. It didn't look pretty at all.
In the back of the group, Madam Hooch dusted herself off, splatters of blood – not hers of course – decorating her robes as she walked through the group and planted herself next to Professor Slughorn. Lily couldn't make out what was said as Professor McGonagall gestured wildly with her hands, her emerald tartan bonnet falling off her head as she raised her arms in exasperation. She could only just make out the words, 'disgrace', 'disappointment', and 'furious' being thrown into the wind, and she felt a pang of guilt for the team at the verbal beating they were receiving. Lily could see the Gryffindor team flinching every few moments as McGonagall continued her tirade before she took a step back and fixed her bonnet back onto her head.
Dumbledore and Slughorn made their remarks, before Madam Hooch expressed her disgust at their behaviour. After another few tense moments, the captains of each team stepped forward and begrudgingly shook one another's hands. From the look on Avery's face, James was trying his hardest to inflict the last bit of pain on his opponent. When they separated and stepped back to join their teams, Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at her throat and cast a spell.
"Madam Hooch, Professors Dumbledore, Slughorn, and myself, have decided to cancel this match. May we remind the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams that violence during school Quidditch matches is prohibited and will not be tolerated. If we so much as see a punch thrown, there will be severe punishments in place for those involved. As such, to set an example, we have decided to deduct fifteen House points from each player involved, and both the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams will serve two weeks' worth of detention."
A loud roar of rage and fury erupted from the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams at the realisation that they had just lost a large chunk of the House points they'd earned during the term. It'd be a fall from grace for everyone involved because they were generally the most popular people in the school, it would remain to be seen how they would cope with their newfound infamy.
As the four teachers walked past Lily and towards the castle, the Slytherins followed shortly after, pointing their glares at her. Mulciber was nursing a nasty gash on his arm, while Regulus had a swollen, and bleeding, eye. A few of them called her a mudblood, but she ignored them as she watched the Gryffindors amble towards her with their brooms slung over their shoulders. Lily smiled at Alice and told her they'd catch up later. Meanwhile, Sirius' nose was crooked as blood gushed out furiously. In classic Sirius Black fashion though, he winked at her as he walked past – but Lily didn't miss the way he flinched at the small action and limped behind Alice.
Finally, the person she had been waiting for stopped in front of her and refused to meet her eyes. In the span of fifteen minutes, James Potter had caused her more grief and panic than she had ever felt in her life. First, he had the audacity to fall off his broom, and then he followed it with a disgusting brawl; not to mention that he had also gotten hit by a bludger in the head.
And yet, she had expected no less from being the girlfriend of a Marauder, the chief one at that. He would probably always make her feel that way, because he was James Potter, and a quiet life was completely incompatible with his very being.
"Before you start telling me off, just know that I'm bruised, bleeding, and almost died three times today," he mumbled as he lifted his head and revealed the extent of his injuries. His lip was swollen and split in two places; a blood vessel had burst in his eyes; a nasty swollen bruise was forming on his forehead; and a deep gash leaked blood from his forehead. Lily had never seen him look so shitty before, and she earnestly hoped that Madam Pomfrey could work her Healer magic and get her boyfriend looking as fit as he had before. Otherwise, James would have to get used to the probability of her never snogging him again until his busted face was fixed up.
"You're a dirty rotten liar, James Potter," Lily said as the thundering footsteps of hundreds of students echoed behind her. An adorable look of utter confusion clouded James' features and Lily couldn't stop her heart from beating faster in her chest. "You told me you were the world's best Quidditch player, and yet here you are falling off your broom and getting hit by bludgers!"
James gave out a hearty laugh before he winced and wrapped an arm around his waist. Clearly, someone had punched him, and whoever it was, they were going to get a rather nasty surprise sometime next week.
"I am a fantastic Quidditch player, bu- " James swayed slightly on his feet and panic gripped Lily's heart as his eyes lost focus momentarily. He blinked a few times and grinned shakily as he regained his balance, his face pale. "Lil, I don't feel so great, do you mind if we could have this argument later?" He slurred as he pressed a hand to his bloody forehead.
Before he could become unbalanced again, Lily quickly stood beside him, wrapped an arm around his waist, and pressed her other hand on his stomach as he leaned his forehead against hers, and continued gripping onto his broomstick. James was probably concussed, after all, he had been hit by a bludger not long ago, and clearly the punches to his face hadn't done him any favours.
He smelled disgusting, and he looked like shit, but she had to give it to James – despite his inability to stand on his own, he was still the flirtiest bastard alive. And boy, was she mighty lucky to call him her boyfriend.
Author's Note
Word Count: 1,775
Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)
Assignment # 11
Subject: Notable Witches and Wizards
Task: 5, Write about a Quidditch related physical or magical fight breaking out
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