Disclaimer: Yeah. I don't own Harry Potter. But I DO own tickets to the Deathly Hallows Part 1 midnight premiere! I'm so excited!

I am beyond sorry that I haven't updated in a month, so I am going to try to get two, if not three, chapters in today. So, without further ado, I give you Chapter 6.

Chapter 6: The Quidditch Fiasco

James has gone back to waiting on me before going down to breakfast. He happens to be waiting on me right now. I'm up in the bathroom brushing out my hair. It's Sunday morning, and James and I have pretty much gone back to normal. Well, normal as of the day we made our truce. One of the best parts of us making up, other than having my friend back, was Snape's face when he saw James and me on the Quidditch field yesterday.

James was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I finally came down around 9 o'clock. His face split into a grin when he saw me.

"Good morning, Lily," he said. "You want to go play Quidditch with Sirius, Remus, and me? We're going down to the pitch after breakfast."

I'm just going to say this before I finish this little flashback. I'm one of the clumsiest people in the world. I often trip over my own two feet. Across flat surfaces. So Quidditch isn't one of my natural-born talents.

Back to the flashback.

"Um… sure. Yeah, I'll play Quidditch with you guys," I replied, inwardly praying I wouldn't fall off of my broom or fly into one of the goalposts. That would happen to me.

A grin flitted across his face, and he grabbed my hand. He led me out of the portrait hole and ran down the marble staircase. He slowed down once we entered the Great Hall, but he kept my hand. I followed him to where his friends sat eating their breakfast.

Remus and Sirius, who didn't yet know that James and I had made up, stared at us in shock. Sirius's eyes flitted down to my hand in James's before his face split into a smug smile.

"So, I see you two've worked things out," he said, raising an eyebrow at James. "Way to go, Prongsie, you got her back."

James blushed very slightly, but waved off Sirius's comment. "She's joining us for Quidditch after breakfast."

This time, Remus looked surprised. He knew about my unfortunate clumsiness. He'd never seen me on a broom before. "She will?" he asked in a wary tone that offended me.

I frowned indignantly and fixed them both with a glare. "Yes, I will. And we're going to beat you. Guaranteed."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, right. We're going to cream you. I bet you've never managed to stay on a broom for more than a minute!"

I narrowed my eyes, but I didn't say anything. He wasn't quite right. I've stayed on a broom for at least five minutes.

James's arm snaked around my waist, hugging me protectively. "She'll be fine," he said, sounding so sure of himself that I almost believed him. I smiled up at him, grateful for his confidence in me. Sirius snorted into his eggs. I turned back to him, scowling again. James poured some pumpkin juice for me, and we continued breakfast in peace.

Snape wasn't at breakfast, but I didn't know that until later.

James dragged me down to the Quidditch pitch around ten o'clock with Remus and Sirius. Peter was in Remedial Potions, so he couldn't join us.

I walked out onto the pitch for the first time this year and looked around. The stands, towering a hundred feet above me, were draped in the corresponding House colors. The three goal posts standing at either end were waiting for us to begin. Sirius and Remus carried the heavy brown trunk with ease to the middle of the pitch. I eyed it apprehensively.

James followed my gaze and smiled, nudging my arm playfully. "Come on Lily," he said, "you'll be fine. I won't let you fall."

"If I fall there won't be anything that you can do about it," I replied, turning to him.

His eyes grew very soft and caring as he looked down at me. He smiled slightly and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. He said quietly, "I'll catch you."

I wasn't aware of the smile spreading across my face until Sirius ran over to us, clapping James on the shoulder.

"Come on, Prongs, it's time to start!"

My eyes widened in fear as Sirius led me to my broom for the day. James explained that it was his old Silver Arrow 560. Knowing the name of the broom didn't make me feel more secure about riding it.

Remus, Sirius, and James mounted their brooms and turned their eyes to me. I still hadn't gotten on mine.

"Lily, you'll be fine. Trust me," James said. "I won't let you get hurt."

Sirius laughed. "Come on, Evans, you can't be that bad."

Remus was still watching me warily. "I don't know if this is the best idea," he said quietly.

It was his words that reminded me that I had something to prove. I glared coolly at him and swung my leg over the broom. I looked up at James, who was smiling proudly at me. He alone seemed to have confidence in my broom-riding abilities. I grinned back, although I was still nervous.

Sirius kicked open the trunk and the Bludgers exploded out, happy to be free of their bindings. Remus picked up the Quaffle, and we kicked off from the ground. I held onto my broom very tightly, hoping against hope that I wouldn't fall. James flew up beside me.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm… I'm fine. I just haven't been on a broom in quite a long time." I then made the biggest mistake of that day: I looked down. The ground was dozens of feet below me and getting farther away with each second. I took a few deep breaths, willing myself not to hyperventilate. James reached over and rubbed my arm consolingly.

"You don't have to do this, Lily. Really, we can land now and go back inside," he said.

I shook my head at him. "No, it's fine. I want to play. Let's go."

We gathered in a circle before Remus threw the Quaffle high into the air. James caught it and streaked off to Sirius and Remus's goalposts. I hovered uncertainly near ours, but I decided to go after him in case he needed help.

James and Sirius were level with each other, Sirius trying to knock the Quaffle out of James's hands. I flew around them and hovered near Remus by the goalposts. James glanced my way and saw that I had a clear shot. He threw the Quaffle to me, and I caught it. I took aim quickly and launched the Quaffle past Remus's left foot and, surprisingly, through the goal.

"Wooooo!" James shouted, flying over to me. He gave me a high-five, grinning. I grinned back and looked over at Sirius and Remus smugly.

"Ha! Who said Lily can't play Quidditch?" James gloated to his best friends. Remus looked genuinely shocked, which offended me slightly. Sirius looked a bit angry, but he shook it off.

"Alright, Evans, you're not as horrible as I thought you'd be. Let's see you Keep," Sirius challenged.

Motivated by my goal, I flew back to our goalposts and held up one hand, beckoning him forward. His signature mischievous grin spread across his face as James handed him the Quaffle. Remus and Sirius streaked off up the field with James close on their tails. Sirius passed to Remus, who passed it back to Sirius seconds later. Sirius was getting closer and closer to me. I hovered in front of the goalposts, watching his every move. He passed it back to Remus. Remus soared up to be level with me in front of the goal on the far right. He took aim, but I didn't move. Sirius was hovering off to the side with a knowing expression. It was his expression that kept me in place. At the last second, when Remus threw the Quaffle, I veered left, towards Sirius. Sirius caught the pass from Remus and threw the Quaffle at the center loop. I was ready for him. I reached out and caught the Quaffle by the very tips of my fingers.

James cheered, punching the air. Sirius swore, and Remus shook his head, bemused. James flew up to meet me.

"Lily, you're amazing! How did you know they were going to do that?" he questioned.

I smiled, knowing it was just luck that I had successfully played Quidditch. "Sirius's expression gave it away," I said, grinning in Sirius's direction. He childishly stuck his tongue out at me. James threw an arm around me.

"Do you want to play anymore?" Remus asked. Sirius perked up, eager for a rematch.

"Sure, why not?" I said. I mean, I'd already proven that I could stay on a broom. What could go wrong?

We all mounted our brooms again, and James and I streaked off towards the other end with the Quaffle. Sirius flew up right beside of me and bumped into my shoulder.

"Hey!" I shouted at him.

"Sorry, Evans, that's the game!" he called back. He ducked suddenly, veering off to the right.

I watched him in confusion as I heard James yell, "Lily!"

The Bludger hit my broom handle, knocking me to the left. The broom spun out of control, spiraling nearer to the goalpost. I screamed and covered my eyes. I felt a tug on the back of my shirt, and the broken broom fell out from under me. I uncovered my eyes as I was pulled onto someone else's broom.

James put one arm around me, holding me in place. I flung my arms around his neck and held on for dear life. Tears started to flow from my eyes as it hit me that I could've been seriously injured. James directed the broom back to the ground. We touched back down, and he picked me up. He cradled me in his arms and murmured comforting words in my ear. I was dimly aware of Remus and Sirius landing beside us and wrestling the Quaffle and Bludgers back into the trunk.

"Shh, Lily, you're okay. It's okay, you're fine. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," James whispered. The sobs slowed as James held me.

When I was finally quiet, he set me down. I wrapped my arms back around his neck, and he continued to hold me.

"Thank you for saving me," I said weakly.

"I told you I would catch you. I wasn't about to break that promise," he replied.

Someone gasped. James and I looked up into the stands. Snape was sitting there, watching us. His expression was one of pure shock and disgust. James turned and called up to him, "What do you want, Snivellus? Didn't you hear? This is a No-Death-Eater Zone."

This didn't even bother me. I glared up at Snape with disrespect written all over my face. He met my gaze with pleading eyes. I just shook my head at him.

Snape's expression twisted into hatred. "Nothing, Potter. I'm just amazed that she is able to stand being within two hundred feet of you, let alone in your arms."

James laughed humorlessly. "Come on, Lily, let's go." He took my hand and began to lead me to the locker rooms. He wiped the tears from my cheeks and wrapped his arm back around me. Snape stood above us, glaring at me. The last thing I saw before going into the locker rooms was Snape's expression crumple to one of misery and self-hate.

It was quite the experience to almost be killed playing Quidditch. I wonder how James has managed to only be injured a few times. Maybe I'll ask him later.

I walk down the spiral staircase from my bedroom. He's waiting for me with a smile on his face.

AN: Again, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER. To those of you who reviewed my previous chapters, thank you. To those of you who might possibly be waiting on an update, I'm sorry, again. I have several excuses, but I won't list them because they don't make much of a difference. Alright, so that was Chapter 6! Review, please! I'm working on Chapter 7, and I hope to have it up this afternoon.

- Paris