For astralsymphony's birthday :)
"Evans, Gryffindor needs you," James Potter tried to explain as he chased one Lily Evans down the corridor, "Without you, we'll lose the cup for sure!"
"Well, I doubt that," she said, "I'm sure you can find someone willing to play for the greatest time at Hogwarts, though from what I hear, you're good enough to win the cup all by yourself."
James stopped for a moment, surprised by what he had heard, "Who'd you hear that from?"
"You."
He had to jog to catch up with her. Luckily, his legs were longer and he made up the distance in just a few quick strides. "Well, I am pretty good. But Hufflepuff's Keeper is all but a brick wall, so we're going to need a top Seeker."
"So you want me, of all people, to replace Karen Hayes?" She had stopped walking and was now staring at him incredulously. "Can't McGonagall manage to move her detention?"
"'Fraid not, we've tried. But she has detention because she showed 'unsportsmanlike conduct' at the last game so Hooch is pretty adamant about her not playing."
Lily smirked as she remembered watching Karen steal a Beater's bat and throw it at the Slytherin Seeker after some exchange between them. At sixteen, she was the oldest and most experienced player on the team, she should have known better, but she was not known for her level head. Karen wouldn't talk about what had happened.
"That still doesn't explain why you want me to play. I've never played a Quidditch match in my life!"
"That's a lie," James responded, "I've seen you playing with your roommates. You're a natural Seeker." Lily began to object, but James cut her off, "Karen picked you herself, so can't disagree that you're the best option we have."
Lily sighed in defeat, "I haven't even got a broom. You can't expect me to play on a school broom, can you?"
The entirety of James's face lit up, "Luckily, I have an extra."
"You have an extra racing broom. Of course you have an extra racing broom," Lily said more to herself than to him.
"So you'll do it then?"
"Am I going to be hated by the whole of Gryffindor if I fail miserably and we lose all chances of winning the cup?"
"Maybe."
"Alright, but only once. Don't think I'm going to join the team when Karen graduates or anything. And-"
"Practice is at seven tonight!" James yelled as he began walking away.
After several days of long and intense practices, Lily felt comfortable enough with her skills that she was sure she wouldn't make a complete fool of herself. And, albeit grudgingly, she had James to thank for it. He had spent extra time during and after practices drilling her on speed, agility and her reflexes. By the end of the last practice before the match he declared, "You'll do all right, Evans."
Despite his faith and her subtle confidence, she was still extremely nervous before the big match. She knew she wouldn't fail horrendously, but she wanted to win and it was very possible that the responsibility would land on her shoulders. She tried to conceal it, but it seemed James was more intuitive than anyone would give him credit for.
"Nervous?" he asked.
"Nah," she shook her head.
"Well, that's good," he replied, "You've got nothing to worry about anyway."
"I didn't think so,"
"I mean, you're going to win it all for us anyway, right?"
"Absolutely, and when you catch the Snitch it will be icing on the cake."
"But I-"
"What? You're worried about catching it before I get a chance to shine? How thoughtful of you." She smiled at him. "Now let's go. It's time to line up."
She took her spot next to the Keeper, Lenore Horan, and mounted the borrowed broomstick. On the whistle, the entire team took off in unison and circled the pitch while their names were announced. "Horan! Evans! Lynch! Pitchford! Foster! Cooper! And your captain POTTER! Now they're a young bunch, folks, Potter, Evans and Lynch are the oldest and just fifteen and Evans has never played a day in her life. They're up against Hufflepuff, the most experienced team here at Hogwarts. In a normal line-up I'd say they were evenly matched but with Gryffindor's Hayes out of the running there's no telling what could happen. Hufflepuff's defense is superb and it's all going to rest on Evans for Gryffindor to take it! We'll see what's she's got hiding up her sleeve…"
Lily did her best to ignore the commentary. Instead, she did just as James had told her to do, perched herself high above the rest of the action and began watching patiently for the Snitch. Unfortunately, the Hufflepuff Beaters were not on board with this plan, and Lily found herself having to avoid Bludgers every time the Beaters got close to them.
She thought about signaling James to do something about this, it was obviously illegal, but she would not be seen as the rookie who complained about a little rough play. Instead, she did the best she could to watch for the snitch, and began moving around the pitch constantly to avoid the Bludgers. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings, but only through the bits of commentary that leaked through her focus.
"HUFFLEPUFF SCORES!"
"GRYFFINDOR TAKES THE QUAFFLE!"
"GRYFFINDOR SHOOTS… AND IT'S SAVED!"
"IT'S FIFTY-TWENTY TO HUFFLEPUFF! GRYFFINDOR'S GOTTA PICK UP THEIR GAME!"
Another Bludger came flying toward Lily and she shot downward to avoid it. She moved quickly and hardly took in her surroundings, but there it was, a tiny glimmer right in front of her. Quick as a bullet, and without even thinking, she reached for it…
"AND GRYFFINDOR GETS THE SNITCH! IT'S A VICTORY FOR GRYFFINDOR!"
After they've landed, James attacked her with the biggest hug she had ever received. It only lasted for a moment, a short lapse in judgment, before they quickly pulled apart. It didn't do to hug a bloke you weren't dating; it would only lead to rumors. And though they had got on well enough while training, that was all there was to it. There simply couldn't be any more to it, because Sev hated him, and the enemies of your friends are your enemies too.
It wasn't long before the rumors started anyway.
"Did you hear? Potter fancies you!"
"I think he's going to ask you out!"
"Are you dating?"
There was, of course, no truth at all to these statements. They had hardly talked at all since the match, and James had been even more obnoxious than usual lately. And even if James did fancy her, she didn't fancy him so it's not like it mattered anyway. Which is exactly what she told Sev when he brought it up.
The worst of it was it wasn't even true! Here she was, in another row with her best mate over some stupid rumor. Until the rumors turned out to be true and everything in her life turned upside down.
James walked into the kitchen of the flat he shared with his girlfriend of nearly 18 months, releasing an old Golden Snitch briefly before catching it again.
"Oh, not that again," Lily rolled her eyes.
James smirked, "You were always annoyed by this, weren't you?" he released it again and let it fly a moment longer before catching it. "I couldn't tell if it was because you thought I was showing off or because you were jealous of my Seeking skills."
"Definitely the former," she said, "But I did always wonder why exactly you felt the need to show off your Seeking when you played Chaser."
He let go of the Snitch and captured it again. "I wasn't showing off," he said simply, "I was having fun."
"Sure you were. And all the attention you got because of it had nothing to do with it at all."
"Not really, no." Release. Capture. "It never worked anyway. The one person I wanted attention from wouldn't even look my way."
"I'm not sorry," she said, "You deserved it."
He sighed, "I did," he nodded. He released the Snitch and caught it again.
Lily rolled her eyes, "Where did you even get it?"
"I knicked it from Madam Hooch." He continued his release and catch pattern. "It was used in a match, and they have flesh memories, so they can only be used once anyway. She never missed it."
"Well that's good to hear at least."
"Actually," he continued. He released the Snitch again and this time made no move to catch it, "It's from the match you played. It's your Snitch."
"Is it?" She caught it midair. She was startled as she felt the Snitch open between her fingers, nervous for a moment that she had somehow broken it. She fumbled with it a moment, and while her attention was elsewhere, she did not notice James change his position. When she finally regained her composure, she looked down at the open gold container in her hands, which held a silver diamond ring. She gasped for a moment, and looked up, only to find that James had bowed to one knee in front of her.
He began to speak, but she cut him off before he could really start, "Yes!"