That afternoon, potter stepped grudgingly into my office, which so happened to be in the dungeon. "You're late," I sneered, delighting at the look of fear that flitted quickly across his face. "Hurry!" I snapped. "We haven't got all day you know. I would like you to scrub the tubeworms off all the desks, without magic, of course." He shot me a look of pure hatred, the way his father had always did so many years ago. But unfortunately for potter, I was his teacher. "Wipe that look off your face. NOW." I snapped, and he, of course had no choice but to obey.
I cast a satisfied look at the reincarnation of my greatest enemy scrubbing and gagging at the worms, and smirked. James, if you had known that I would treat your son like that, would you still have bullied me all those years ago? I thought inwardly. After about an hour or so, the sun was so bright that the sunlight showered the floor in golden rays, and I could see potter gazing at it longingly. Ah, quidditch, of course. "Sir, can I go now? Please?" Potter pleaded. I nodded my head, which surprised us both, but potter swiftly bolted from my dungeon and headed up to the bright, sunlit world above head.
Why had I given in so easily, I wondered. Did I not want to punish potter and make his life a living hell to the best of my ability? After all, he was the perfect opportunity to take revenge on James potter, that miserable father of his. "Ah," but a little voice said in my head, "Is he not Lily's son too?"
I stepped into one of the pools of sunlight on the cold floor of my dungeon and looked into the dazzling brightness. Lily would have loved a day like this. After all, she had loved Quidditch, and the bright sun was a perfect opportunity for a game. We had used to race each other on our broomsticks, round and round the field, until James' jealous face, watching from the sidelines, blurred from view while Lily's excited squeals echoed in my ears. When we got down from our broomsticks, dizzy from the speed, we would steady each other, and even under my robes I could feel the electrifying touch of Lily's hand on my elbow, trying to keep me upright. Sometimes, I thought with a smirk, I would even pretend to stumble more, just so I could feel Lily's touch for an even longer time.
From my first year, I had always dreaded broomsticks, not to mention Qudditch. Just the mere thought of racing sixty miles an hour through the air on a broomstick was frightening enough, and that was before you threw in bludgers, whose sole mission was to knock you off your broomstick. Even now, I shuddered involuntarily just thinking of that. But Lily had always thought that Quidditch was fascinating, asking me to exlplain the rules over and over again, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Oh, don't be such a baby, it's not scary, it's fun!" Lily had said playfully when I hinted that I was scared of Quidditch.
I had dreaded our first flying lesson at Hogwarts, while Lily was delightfully anticipating it, ticking off boxes on her calendar with a flick of her wand. Every tick of a box meant one day nearer to that dreadful lesson. While my insides twisted more and more with fright with each nearing day, Lily's smile just got brighter and brighter.
The day finally dawned, sunny and cheery, and Lily pelted into the great hall and sat besides me. "Isn't it lucky the Slytherins and Gryffindors have flying lessons together?" she chatted happily. Actually, it was my worst nightmare. I had had no desire to make a fool of myself in front of Lily. "Sev," Lily said, finally quieting down a little, as though finally noticing the pale sickly shade of green my face had turned. "It'll be okay, just trust me." I nodded hesitantly, but what could I do. It was a lesson after all, and I had to attend it.
After breakfast, Lily bounced happily down the steps leading to the quidditch pitch. I barely noticed the string of encouraging words she gave me along the way. I barely even noticed how she was walking right besides me, with the Slytherins shooting her murderous glares. "Now, look at your broomsticks and say, "Up!"" Madam Hooch, the quidditch referee instructed once everyone was lined up properly, with lines of ancient broomsticks on the grass around us. I looked around me and as it turned out, only Lily got her broomstick to fly straight into her hand. Even James had trouble, and his broomstick lay motionless on the grass. At least my broomstick twitched a little...I thought. Madam Hooch gazed around her in disappointment. "Okay, let's try again," she said. I gave Lily a weak smile, and she returned a dazzlingly bright one. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.
But by the end of the lesson, only Lily had managed to get on her broomstick without falling off. Mine didn't even fly into my hand. So much for that false hope that maybe flying lessons wouldn't be that bad, I thought desparingly, dragging my feet back into the great hall, thoroughly discouraged. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Lily was showered with praises from the Gryffindors, and James was sitting next to her, complimenting her loudly on her flying skills. I felt a twinge of annoyance. My face must have showed it though, for Lily noticed my mood and came over to me, surprising the Gryffindors. "Sev, maybe I could teach you how to fly...or maybe just get on your broomstick..." she started shyly. The prospect of getting back on the quidditch field didn't really appeal to me, and I was almost going to reject the offer when I caught James glaring at me. Suddenly, I had the vision of me superseding James at quidditch, and spending more time with Lily certainly wasn't a bad idea. "Of course!"I agreed enthusiastically. "See you down at the quidditch pitch after dinner!" Lily called as she headed back to the Gryffindor table. My stomach was doing somersaults and I struggled to keep my face expressionless as a grin of elation was creeping onto it. Don't you hate flying? I thought in disbelief to myself.
That night, I bolted down to the quidditch pitch, only to see Lily there already. "So you've finally turned up! I thought that maybe you had chickened out!" she winked at me, and my heart gave another thump that had nothing to do with broomsticks. Wow, Lily only had been on a broom once and she already was so confident, I had thought to myself in amazement. "Accio school brooms!" Lily pointed her wand at the shed where the brooms where kept and two came whizzing out. "You just need to be confident, and don't worry too much..." Lily said brightly. Hmmm...and what happens when you don't have confidence? I thought sarcastically. All the same, I had done as Lily instructed and in no time at all, I was on the broom. "Lily! Lily look! I did it, I'm on!" I let out a whoop of joy. She had giggled. Probably the only time she had seen me so excited, i thought. "That's cos I'm such a brilliant teacher," Lily winked again, and my heart skipped a beat. Really, she needed to stop winking so much, otherwise I was going to have a heart attack, i thought. "I saw a quidditch practice before," Lily had said thoughtfully, almost to herself. "I think i kind of know how to fly..." And right in front of my eyes, the muggle-born who hadn't even been on a broomstick the day before was gliding along on her broomstick, as she had flown all her life. "Well, why don't you try. It's easy, really," Lily said, her cheeks pink with exhilaration. "I...I don't think i can..." I backed away nervously. Getting on a broomstick was one thing, actually flying it was another. "Oh, come on Sev, just try. For me?' she pouted. Lily really did know how to get things her way! Even all these years later, I still smiled at that memory. "Ah...alright then..." I said somewhat reluctantly. "But if I fall off my broomstick and break my legs, it'll be your fault," I said in mock-seriousness. "Oh please, it won't happen," said Lily rolling her eyes. "One, Two, THREE!" Lily shouted and I knew i couldn't back out. "Up!" I shouted to my broomstick and i mounted it, my stomach churning nervously. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily giving me an encouraging smile. Somehow, that was all I needed. Kicking my legs back just like Lily had done, I suddenly jerked forward. I was so shocked that I almost fell off, but somehow, I gained momentum, and gradually increased my speed. "Oh Sev! You did it!" Lily's triumphant shouts fueled me and I had raced faster and faster, somehow forgetting all fright, which suddenly seemed laughable. All of a sudden, I realized Lily was besides me, on her broomstick. "Bet I can beat you to the goalpost!" She said, and sped ahead, her hair blown back, obscuring my vision for a moment. But somehow, i didn't mind. Not in the slightest bit.
I glanced over at my broomstick in the corner of my dungeon. I hadn't gone near it since Lily was killed. What was the point, I sighed, if she wasn't around to race me anymore?