Chapter 8 – The Game

The morning of the Gryffindor-Slytherin match dawned bright and crisp. James ate breakfast hurriedly, ignoring Peter and Sirius who were chatting across him as if they hadn't a care in the world. Even Remus seemed cheerful, tucking into his sausages with uncharacteristic gusto. They were all excited, James knew, this game was a real opportunity for the Gryffindors to get one-up on the competition. There had always been healthy rivalry between houses but it was common knowledge that there was particular tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin – a tension that often led to very violent Quidditch matches.

The violence wasn't something that worried James, what was life without a little risk? However, the prospect of losing his first Quidditch match as Captain of the team was too much to bear. The thought of having to face Lucius Malfoy around school every day… James wasn't sure his ego could take it.

'Heads up, James,' Sirius interrupted his train of thought, 'look who just walked in.'

James' head snapped up in time to see a very flustered looking Frank Longbottom enter the Great Hall, his trunk in one hand and his broomstick in the other. He looked travel-worn and stressed.

'Well,' said Remus uncertainly, 'at least your seeker has arrived.'

'Looking like he hasn't slept in 3 years' James thought grimly.

'Shit.´ thought Lily. 'Shit, bollocks, cock with knobs on.'

Why had she let Marlene talk her into this?

No-one spoke much as the team got ready for kickoff. Frank looked particularly pale as he threw on his red-and-gold team kit.

James called them all over. 'Right everyone,' he began, trying to sound confident, 'this is it. The big one. If we win today I swear to Merlin I'll buy each and every one of you enough dungbombs to give Filch a heart attack!'

That drew a chuckle.

'We've got a stronger team than the Slytherins,' James continued, 'we've trained harder, worked longer.'

'Not to mention we're better looking.' Sirius grinned.

'I dunno,' Jenna Spinnet joked, 'that Mulciber isn't too bad.'

'Jenna, I swear to God, I will push you off the astronomy tower if you ever say that again.' Sirius replied, only half joking.

She whacked him with her Cleansweep Five, causing him to topple gracelessly into a spare pile of Gryffindor robes.

'Oi, knock it off you two! I don't need my bloody team bruised and battered before the game's even begun.' James mock-scolded, secretly enjoying the indignant look on his best friend's face.

The Gryffindor team left the changing rooms feeling considerably more cheerful than when they had entered.

Lily took her place right at the front of the stands alongside Marlene, Alice, Mary and a fierce-looking Ravenclaw called Emmeline Vance.

'I'm supporting Gryffindor.' She had announced matter-of-factly, shaking her dyed bubblegum-pink hair in a confident manner. Indeed, she had decided to join the girls in their latest escapade, even painting her face entirely red-and-gold for the occasion.

Lily leaned over to Emmeline. 'Are we sure this is a good idea? If McGonagall catches us-'

'We're just showing some school spirit, Evans.' She grinned wickedly.

'Besides,' Marlene chimed in, 'your boy James will certainly like it.'

Lily chose not to reply to that.

The Gryffindor team lined up, facing the seven Slytherin players opposite them. They certainly looked like an intimidating bunch; Andreas Nott in particular was about twice the height of James and at least three times as thick – perfect beater material. James noticed him taking in Jenna Spinnet's skinny arms, grinning nastily.

'Just wait til you see what the girl can do with them.' James thought with grim satisfaction.

'Captains shake hands.' Madam Hooch called.

James stepped forwards, coming chest to chest with Lucis Malfoy. They gripped hands tightly, each trying to inflict as much pain as possible. James didn't flinch.

'Good luck,' Malfoy sneered, 'you'll certainly need it allowing such… people onto your team.'

James knew exactly what he was talking about; looking back over his shoulder he eyed Tobias Wood – Gryffindor's muggleborn keeper.

'Why don't you shove your broom up your-'

'Captains to your positions please!' Madam Hooch called again.

Malfoy smiled nastily as he mounted his broom.

The whistle was blown.

James kicked off from the hard ground, feeling the wind ruffle his hair as he soared upwards. Quickly, he did a lap of the pitch – partly to get his bearings and partly to show off. The crowd cheered as he passed by, and did a loop-the-loop for the benefit of a group of third year Hufflepuffs who immediately began giggling. His eyes quickly swept the stadium, searching for a familiar shock of red hair, signifying a promise to be kept – however, he found nothing.

Focussing back on the game, he saw Madam Hooch throw the Quaffle into the air – signifying that that match had begun.

'AAAAND IT'S SLYTHERIN'S POMADORA PARKINSON WITH THE QUAFFLE,' came the familiar voice of the commentator, Jemima Jordan, 'PARKINSON PASSES TO GREEN, WHO PASSES TO ZABINI, WHO PASSES BACK TO PARKINSON. PARKINSON STREAKS HER WAY UP THE PITCH, IT LOOKS LIKE SHE'S GOING TO SCORE – AAAND IS HIT IN THE FACE WITH A BLUDGER FROM JENNA SPINNET!'

Grinning with relief, James dived back into the game intercepting the Quaffle that Pomadora Parkinson had dropped. He dodged both Zabini and Green, who tried to attack from both sides, sending them crashing into eachother.

'JAMES POTTER STREAKS DOWN THE PITCH TOWARDS THE SLYTHERIN GOALS, DODGING MULCIBER'S BLUDGER LIKE IT'S A FLY. AND WHAT A LOOKER THAT BOY IS, REALLY, IT'S A SHAME I DON'T SWING THAT WAY – sorry, Professor McGonagall, sorry!'

James ducked and weaved between players, speeding towards the goalposts and the Slytherin keeper, Rabastan Lestrange. He quickly aimed the shot and fired it straight into the third goal, Lestrange's gloved fingers missing it by inches.

'YEEESSSS! POTTER SCORES! TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!' Jemima screamed, punching the air.

Lily grinned in spite of herself as James took a celebratory lap around the pitch, showing off his skills unnecessarily.

'When are we doing this?' Alice called over the roars of the crowd.

'Soon!' Marlene replied. 'When the game's really got going!'

Lily felt a tap on her shoulder and turned round to see Remus Lupin seated behind her.

'Hello Lily,' he smiled, 'enjoying the game?'

'Y'alright Rem? Yeah, James is good – I mean the whole team is good!'

He laughed knowingly. 'Yeah, the team can be an arrogant toetag sometimes but the team is a bloody good player!'

'Shut up!' she laughed. It was quite surprising to see Remus like this, actually, he seemed energised – excitable even. 'I didn't know you were a Quidditch fan!'

'Yeah, I love it! My dad and I used to go and watch it all the time… not so much anymore though.'

'Why not?'

'Oh he's… busy.' Remus replied vaguely.

'Have you ever considered trying out for the team?' Lily asked.

'Ah – no, no I wouldn't be right… anyway, I prefer watching.'

Just then screams erupted from the crowd. Frank Longbottom, who had been idly hovering by the goalposts looking out for the snitch had gone into a dive his arm reaching out. Lucius Malfoy saw this and was on his tail in a heartbeat, covering more ground on his superior broom. It was evident who had gotten more training over the past weeks, Malfoy sped forwards while Frank began to waver as they hurtled to the ground. Malfoy grabbed at Frank's robes, pulling him backwards and tightening the neckline of Frank's shirt into a chokehold. The Gryffindor seeker began to choke but Malfoy held on, desperately trying to get to the snitch first.

CRACK

The sound of wood hitting flesh resonated through the grounds as Sirius, seeing what was happening, threw his beaters bat straight at the back of Malfoy's head causing him to topple the last few feet from his broom.

'AND GRYFFINDOR'S SIRIUS BLACK UTILISES, ah, RATHER UNCONVENTIONAL TACTICS IN ORDER TO STOP THE BLANTANT STRANGULATION OF A FELLOW TEAMMATE.'

'Jemima you have to be objective!' McGonagall could be heard scolding the girl.

Madam Hooch was furious. 'We never use beater's bats as weapons in Quidditch, Black, you know that!'

'But he was trying to kill Frank!' Sirius argued hotly.

'Don't be so melodramatic!'

In the end, the snitch was lost and both teams were awarded a penalty.

'Wait for it…' Marlene whispered.

Pomadora Parkinson took the penalty for Slytherin, but the goal was easily blocked by Tobias Wood, who seemed to have an incredible knack for sensing exactly where the Quaffle was going to go before it went there.

'Ha! Take that you racist bastards!' Emily Bell yelled. Nott aimed a bludger at her. She dodged it easily and poked her tongue out at him.

James lined up to take the next shot. The crowd held its breath collectively. Green had managed to sneak one goal in while Lily had been talking to Remus, so the score stood at ten all – anyone's game. James took his time, hovering before the goalposts, Lestrange eyeing him carefully. Then, quick as a wink, his arm shot out sending the Quaffle sailing through Rabastan's outstretched fingers.

The crowd went wild.

'NOW!' Marlene screamed.

The four girls stood up, dropping the warm cloaks they had been wearing up til that point.

James felt elation seize him as he circled the pitch once more, grinning from ear to ear. Sirius zoomed up behind him, pulling him roughly into a one-armed hug.

'Knew you could do it, Prongs!'

James laughed. They were beating Slytherin by a margin of ten points, good but not good enough. He flew over to Frank.

'Listen, mate,' he instructed, 'don't catch the snitch until we've got at least 30 more points than them. I don't wanna leave this to chance.'

Frank nodded absently.

'You alright, Frank?' James asked worriedly.

'Yeah… just didn't get any sleep on the way back.'

Before James could reply, he heard chanting. Looking down he noticed a group of Gryffindor girls; moving in for a closer look, his eyes widened in astonishment. The girls were dressed in miniscule outfits – tiny red mini-skirts with gold edges and matching cropped tops. They were all chanting the same mantra:

'We're Gryffindor,

Hear us roar!

We're the ones you want,

What you turned up for!'

They then continued to chant the names off all the players on the team:

'Potter, Bell, Prewett, Black, Spinnet, Wood, Longbottom!'

James suddenly realised who it was bouncing around before him. Marlene McKinnon, Alice Prewett, Emmeline Vance and – EVANS! In her hands she held a pair of bright gold pom-poms and was waving them around with gusto; catching him staring at she winked cheekily, causing James to lose feeling in his lower region for a few seconds. He was so caught up with staring at Evans' décolletage; he forgot that he was meant to be playing a game. It was only when Sirius flew up and smacked him on the back of the head that he remembered and was forced to fly off to re-join his teammates.

Soon the whole of the Gryffindor crowd, and many of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff spectators, were chanting the mantra along with the girls. This served to spur the Gryffindor team on and enrage the Slytherins further. Each team scored a goal apiece within the next five minutes, bringing the score up to 30-20 to Gryffindor. They needed 2 more goals before Frank could start searching for the snitch.

'AAAAND POTTER NICELY INTERCEPTS A SLYTHERIN PASS, SENDING THE QUAFFLE STRAIGHT TO BELL.' Jemima Jordan began again 'PERHAPS IT'S THE THRILL OF A NEW SEASON OR THE THRILL OF SEEING THOSE GRYFFINDOR CHEERLEADERS, BUT JAMES POTTER IS ON FIRE TODAY!

BELL PASSES TO PREWETT, WHO PASSES TO POTTER WHO PASSES BACK TO BELL, WHO GETS HIT BY A NASTY BLUDGER FROM ANDREAS NOTT AND DROPS THE QUAFFLE. NOT – er drops the Quaffle, which is then picked up by Green who serves to er drop it again.'

The Gryffindors had all picked up the rhyme quickly and were screaming at the top of their lungs. In her peripheral vision, Lily saw Remus and Peter jumping up and down in excitement.

Lily's eyes drifted to Frank Longbottom, who was staring intently at the Slytherin goal, evidently waiting for something. Suddenly shape appeared behind him, wielding a beater's bat. Poor Frank never saw it coming as the huge figure of Nott smashed a bludger into the back of his head from less than 2 metres away. Frank dropped like a stone and landed with a nasty crunch on the pitch. He didn't move.

Alice screamed. A whistle was blown. Time out was called.

James zoomed down to the grassy pitch as fast as he possibly could, throwing aside his broom hastily in order to get to his seeker. Frank lay very still on the ground, blood pooling from the back of his head.

Sirius landed next to James but wasted no time dropping to the floor to see what had been evident from the air – Frank was out cold. As Madam Pomfrey bustled onto the pitch, Sirius whirled around and stalked up to Nott, who was grinning like an idiot.

'YOU FUCKING TWAT!' Sirius yelled, getting right in Nott's face. 'YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO SOMEONE, YOU COULD'VE KILLED HIM!'

'Relax, Black,' Nott grinned smugly 'your little seeker should be able to take a beating by now.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Well let's just say your cousin Bellatrix has taken a personal liking to pushing little Frank around a bit.'

Sirius' eyes seemed to deaden. His hand clenched into a fist.

'Padfoot, NO!' James cried, but it was too late. Sirius fist smashed into Nott's jaw with force that sent the larger boy tumbling to the floor, clutching his face.

Sirius moved forward to continue to assault but James grabbed him in a backwards bear hug, pulling him away from all members of the Slytherin team.

'C'mon Padfoot, leave it. Remember what Dumbledore said!'

'Fuck you!' Sirius screamed at Nott. 'And tell my bitch of a cousin that next time she wants to assault my friends, I'll kill her!'

'Not if she kills you first!' Nott replied.

James dragged a heavily-breathing Sirius over to where Frank still lay on the ground. He seemed to have regained consciousness but looked dazed and confused.

'He's got a concussion.' Madam Pomfrey stated. 'He can't play any further.'

'We can't play without a seeker!' Jenna Spinnet cried.

'There's no-one else,' James replied. 'I can go in as seeker but we'll never win with only two chasers!'

'So what, we forfeit?' Sirius asked flatly.

'No,' came a voice.

James looked up. Remus stood before him, looking tired and battered but determined. 'I'll step in.'

Sirius shook his head. 'Mate, you don't have to do this.'

'I know why you had your reservations, Moony,' James continued from Sirius, 'I'd never put that on you.'

'You're not putting anything on me, James, I owe you.'

James was about to open his mouth to argue that Remus owed him nothing, but then he shut it. 'Merlin knows, I'm going to Hell for this.' He gave Remus a brusque nod and the boy picked up Frank's broom as he was carted off on a stretcher.

'Let's do this.' He said grimly.

Time out was over and both teams rose into the air again. Lily squinted through the crowd, trying to find out who they had found to replace Frank. She got her answer when Remus zipped through the air, smooth as silk.

'Oh my God.' She breathed.

The Gryffindor chant started up again quickly. There was more anger in it this time, though. The atmosphere was charged, everyone wanting revenge for the injustice done to Frank Longbottom. Indeed, Jenna Spinnet wasted no time sending a bludger flying at Nott.

'A beater cannot hit another beater with a bludger!' Madam Hooch scolded, but her heart wasn't in it. She wanted to see the Slytherin punished just as much as everyone else.

The game became increasingly more violent. Wood seemed to be the victim of a lot of Slytherin abuse; bluders, tackles and general violent attacks all seemed to be aimed his way. Plenty of times, he had to drop from in front of the goal just in time to prevent from being knocked off his broom. This meant that Slytherin managed to get a couple of sly goals in, without even having to worry about Gryffindor defence.

The game was getting dirtier by the minute.

However, for every goal the Slytherins scored, the Gryffindors would respond with power and rage. You didn't harm a member of the team and get away with it. James scored two more goals, Emily Bell scored three.

Soon they were ten points up.

Twenty.

Thirty.

'REMUS NOW!' James yelled, as he burst through a line of Slytherins trying to block his path. He quickly passed the Quaffle to Emily and zipped round to see Remus swoop through the sky like lightning, searching for the snitch.

'C'mon Moony!' James thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, James saw something shiny. It glimmered like a beacon of hope. The snitch.

'MOONY!' James practically screamed.

Remus whipped round and followed James' eye line. He blinked, seeming to forget where he was for a second. Then his expression focussed, his eyes seemed to blacken. For a second he was incredibly still, like a hunter – like a wolf.

Suddenly Remus put on a burst of speed and shot like a bullet vertically downwards. The crowd screamed, the team screamed, even Professor McGonagall screamed.

Remus hurtled to the ground, not slowing. Malfoy was on his tail now, gaining speed.

Remus' arm reached out. As did Malfoy's.

They were meters away from the ground.

Inches.

Centimeters.

Remus pulled up from his dive. Malfoy did not. He landed with a sickening crunch on the floor while Remus rose, rose, rose. His hand was clenched into a fist.

He had it.

He had the snitch.

The game was over.

Jemima Jordan was shouting. 'GRYFFINDOR WIN, GRYFFINDOR WIN! SUCK IT NOTT YOU CHEATING'- McGonagall wrenched the microphone out of her grip.

On the ground James ran over to Moony and jumped on him, Sirius followed, then the rest of the team. They landed in a sweaty pile on the floor.

The crowd ran onto the pitch, screaming and shouting.

James rose unsteadily, tears in his eyes and smacked Sirius on the back proudly. They hugged for a moment like brothers, and then Sirius released James from his grip, looking over his shoulder. James turned around.

There was Evans in all her scantily clad glory, grinning from ear to ear.

'You did it James!' she yelled 'I guess I should congratulate you!'

'So congratulate me.' He replied.

James Potter grabbed Lily Evans and crushed his lips to hers for the whole world to see. And, for once, she didn't pull away.