CHAPTER 8 – A Match and A List

The common room was bustling with eager students and Lily was not one of them. Today was the quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. It was Gryffindor's first match of the year and although it was not against the greater of the teams it was something to look forward to. The enthusiasm was catching like fire and it was found on the lips of every student that morning. Lily stood patiently waiting to go to breakfast with Amelia and Braxton before the big game. Braxton was currently talking strategy with James and Sirius while she tapped her foot impatiently. Amelia descended the girls' staircase in her quidditch robes and smiled weakly. Lily knew how she was.

Most of the time Quidditch matches were something she did indeed look forward to but today she was feeling aggravated. The fact that James was the cause of this aggravation may not have been surprising but the reason was. She felt guilty about their conversation. Her opinion was in-line with James but this part of her just felt the need to contradict him. She knew it was completely mental and she could not seem to forget about it. She glanced over at James, he didn't look angry.

"You need something to eat to keep your strength up now let's go," Lily practically dragged a limp Amelia out the portrait hole as soon as she saw her bound down the girls' staircase.

A horde of Gryffindors followed suit. They were becoming rowdy, all wishing the Quidditch team luck. This only further annoyed Lily. Today would be a long day. Upon reaching the Great Hall the Gryffindors quieted at the prospect of breakfast. This did not deter most of them from throwing glares in the direction of the Hufflepuff table – and in one case, a blueberry muffin at Hufflepuff's captain.

Amelia took a seat next to the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Lily followed her a little reluctantly but today was not a day to fuss. It was obvious the entire team was eagerly waiting for their first game of the season to begin. The Great Hall was more alive than it had been for weeks. Many of their fellow students voiced their wishes for luck.

"I'm not worried," James grinned, "It's only Hufflepuff."

"We'll slaughter them," Sirius agreed raising his fist in enthusiasm, causing half the Gryffindor table to cheer.

Lily watched the two Marauders across from her. She couldn't deny they were glowing in anticipation. The delight that they were emanating was very contagious. Lily couldn't help smiling back at them, catching the eyes of the ever observant James Potter. It seemed as if yesterday was a thing of the past. He didn't seem to be holding any anger toward her. She felt suddenly relaxed and her mood continued to improve. She even joined in when the Gryffindor table began to clap and chant, "Gryffindor! Gryffindor!"

A hand rested on Lily's shoulder and she turned with surprise. Terrence Steele was standing behind her looking rather nervous about approaching the Gryffindor table. He flashed her a toothy smile.

"Looking to join the Gryffindors Terrence?" Lily teased.

"Er…well that depends. I was actually wondering if you would like to watch the match with me. I'd like to talk," He shrugged putting his hands in his pockets.

"With . . . the Ravenclaws or Gryffindors?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow.

Although the Houses sometimes mixed during quidditch matches Gryffindor always came together for their own. Lily couldn't imagine abandoning her fellow house mates for a bunch of Ravenclaws.

"I'll leave that to you, or I have somewhere other than the stands we can watch the game."

"That would be great Terrence," Lily stood apologizing to her friends before leaving the Great Hall with him.

"Prick," Braxton muttered, loud enough for his teammates to hear.

"What was that Brax?" Amelia questioned.

"I said prick. It's our first game of the season and he wants to pull our friend over to the Ravenclaw side?"

Amelia shrugged, seeming to understand, "I find him very attractive."

"Evans seems to think along those lines then?" Sirius chimed, "Guess you missed your chance Moony."

Three of the four marauders seemed to think this was hilarious. James said nothing, his face expressionless. It was obvious his friends were digging for a reaction out of him and that he did not plan to supply them with one.

"No worries, mate. I'll wager he is taking her up one of the Quidditch towers. That's where I took that seventh year last year…er…Holly? I think it was Steele who caught us. She was a great snog," Sirius smirked.

"Oy! Not something I want to picture right before our game," Amelia cringed.

"What does he want with Evans anyway? He bloody well left her alone at Hogsmede," James said staring out the entrance of the Great Hall.

"He did not leave her, she left. You can hardly blame him for what happened," Amelia shot at him, "Besides, he is very nice."

James did not respond but Sirius knew how to handle it, "Let's go stomp out some Hufflepuffs!"

Obviously this was something Sirius had dealt with before. Remus, sitting nearby, looked like he wanted to say something but decided against it. James needed to pull himself together and focus on the game even though Remus knew Lily was not going to care how well James flew. James nodded his head, stood up and pushed his breakfast away.

"Let's get to the pitch," James said, smiling widely.

The team began making their way out of the castle. The air was frigid and each breath caused a white puff engulf their heads.

"Paddock!" Amelia spun around at the sound of her surname.

The rest of the team continued on, not paying attention, while she looked for the owner of the voice. Standing alone beside the castle wall was Severus Snape. His gaze seemed to pierce Amelia, she shivered.

"What is it Snape? I have a quidditch match to get to," She said crossing her arms.

"Where's Lily? I need to have a word," He looked slightly panicked.

"I'm not Lily's keeper, I'm a quidditch keeper," she smiled at her cleverness.

"Funny. I need to speak with her, its important." He did not look amused.

"Look Snape. She forgave you, you're a Slytherin, she's a Gryffindor. End of story. What would your mates do to her if you were still friends? Think about it and stop being so jealous," Amelia scolded, getting irritated.

"Jealous?" Snape looked confused but Amelia had already left him standing alone.

"Bloody Gryffindors, think they know everything," Snape grumbled stomping off to the pitch to find Lily.

The stands quickly filled with professors and students, cheering and chattering. Lily looked over the edge of the tower, she had no idea you could even get inside the towers let alone climb to the top and watch the games. She had to keep her eyes focused on the wooden stairs as they ascended. She had never been fond of heights. Terrence stood beside her smiling and looking at all the students.

"It's unfortunate. That we're all so divided by our houses," He stated.

"Well yes, I suppose that's true but I imagine it would have happened naturally regardless," Lily thought aloud.

"How so?"

"The hat sorts us by our traits. Slytherin is ambitious; Hufflepuff loyal, Ravenclaw clever and Gryffindor is brave. Those aren't our only qualities but you're drawn to people that are like you," Lily stated.

"What about the whole 'opposites attract' theory?" He asked genuinely.

"Maybe. Sometimes. It's obvious that the people we surround ourselves with influence us. I think we have the same goals and hobbies the more alike people are. It's just natural. Easy," She looked out onto the field.

"I like to consider myself ambitious, brave, loyal and intelligent," Terrence muttered staring out with her.

He was standing so close that his arm brushed hers and she could feel the heat radiating from him. She smiled, but felt a little more uncomfortable with him than she was used to. Terrence was a very nice boy. She realized she was completely alone with him and that he said he wanted to talk. The horn sounded and the players on their broom sticks began to zoom around the field.

"You said you wanted to talk," Lily reminded him.

"Right. Well, it was about Hogsmede. I wanted to apologize. If I had followed you or-"

"Terrence, if you had followed me I would be less keen to speak with you again. You would not have done that. There was nothing you could do. Anyway, I was safe but I put myself in an unsafe position. It was my choice. It's been weeks. I'm getting over it."

"I've just felt guilty. Like I could have done something."

"GRYFFINDOR SCORES! TEN POINTS!" The crowd cheered and Lily returned her gaze to the pitch.

Amelia blocked a Quaffle headed to the right hoop and tossed it back to a team mate. Gryffindor had possession, then Hufflepuff, the Gryffindor, the Hufflepuff, then – score! Hufflepuff scored, earning ten points for themselves. They had improved since last year but it was still apparent that Gryffindor was the better team.

"Who are you backing?" Lily brought up another subject after thirty minutes of silence.

"Hufflepuff actually. It's just better for my team that way," He responded casually.

Lily's eyes flicked to the Slytherin crowd, booing Gryffindor. Severus had always opposed the Gryffindor team but always stating after that quidditch was nothing but a waste of time. Brooms were not meant for sport, he said. He probably was not even in the crowd.

Lily would have been surprised to know that Snape was not only at the game but circling around the Gryffindor crowd, looking for her. His daring turning to worry, he could not see a flash of dark red hair or a glimpse of deep green. He needed to find her. Before it had been about their friendship, now it was much more. Now it was about the list.