Author's Note: Here it is… the big dramatic moment! Hope you enjoy. Sorry for the delay—I didn't get it posted before I moved in, as I had hoped. Thank you all who reviewed – merdarkandtwsty, Violet Strawberri, Loumia, ISNAS, bellibella, LadyMageLuna, the ghoul in pyjamas, wallflower1208, cutelilbunnyfufu4ever, dancegirl232, Tor Mathin and tric1220hp.
PassionatelyFeline: You are the only one who wondered what would have happened, and for good reason. Would Scorpius have actually kissed Lily? No. He was being a little tease. Maybe he would have kissed her cheek. And as for Scorpius' siblings… Sorry, he's an only child. I know where you got that idea from though; I had a very tough time with wording that sentence. James was talking about how Scorpius is two years older than Lily. No father wants his baby daughter to date an older man. Haha. As for Draco's wife, Astoria… you'll just have to wait and see!
Chapter 10: The Revenge
March blurred into April. The rain finally let up and a chilling, grey mist settled over the castle. The students couldn't see Hagrid marching across the grounds until he was right up on them, at which point, it was almost too late to get out of his way.
Lily stopped worrying about the boys and began to focus on her schoolwork. Emily gladly joined her every night in the library to start studying for exams, and Olivia only reluctantly followed. More often then not, the three girls would go to the library and Olivia would excuse her for the "bathroom" twenty minutes into studying and not return until the library was about to close.
The one thing that did distract Lily was the Quidditch match. After her Easter break (which it rained on, as well) and as their exams were dangerously close, Gryffindor and Slytherin faced each other in an eagerly awaited match. Gryffindor needed to win by at least fifty points in order to take first place, something Slytherin was trying to desperately prevent by targeting Albus. The pressure was on him to ultimately prevent the three very talented Chasers from scoring. All week, he had been surrounded by at least three other team members. Rose had even started to carry around her beater's bat as extra protection until Professor McGonagall made her put it back in her dorm.
Lily awoke on the day of the match to the sun shining brightly through her window, the first time, Lily felt like, in months. Olivia and Lily dressed hurriedly in red and gold and eagerly went to breakfast while Emily followed them. She seemed slightly more excited for this match; she wore some red and wasn't grimacing when they sat down to eat.
The Gryffindor team entered to loud cheers from three of the four tables. The Slytherins hissed and booed as the team passed. James, easily the most relaxed person in the crowd, responded by mooning them. Lily shakily covered her eyes as the remaining students catcalled him.
"Wow," Olivia said. "Hey, Emily, is his arse as dreamy as his eyes?"
"Shut up," she growled, whacking Olivia on the arm. Olivia laughed gleefully, her eyes twinkling.
James sat down next to them, grinning widely. Jesse sat with him, shaking his head. Albus sat across from Lily, looking mortified, as the rest of the team grouped around them.
"Why do I always have to see things I really don't want to see?" Al groaned. Emily turned red.
"So," Lily said loudly to cover the awkward silence that fell. "Are you nervous, Al?"
"Yeah, isn't it coming down to you to make sure you guys stay fifty points ahead by not letting Slytherin score? You know, their Chasers are really good," Olivia pointed to him with her fork, her egg barely hanging on. Al turned green and didn't respond.
Lily whacked Olivia on the arm.
"What?" Olivia asked, indignantly, rubbing her arm where Lily and Emily hit her. Both girls glared at her. "What did I do?"
---
The first foul happened three minutes into the game. Madame Hooch's whistle cut through the game like a knife.
"Foul! You can't attack the keeper when the Quaffle is not within scoring range."
"Penalty shot for Gryffindor," Jesse Jordan called. "And Miss Ashby is the one to take it,"
Race pulled up in front of the Slytherin goal. She tossed her long, dark ponytail over her shoulder. She grinned widely and wiggled her fingers at the thick green Keeper. He scowled back at her. She took the Quaffle and raced off towards the goal, hurling the ball towards it with one powerful swing of her arm. The ball was a blur as it zoomed through the Keeper's arms and into the center goal. The sea of red and gold erupted into loud cheers.
"Ten points for Gryffindor! Zero for Slytherin," Jesse yelled over the cheering.
At seven minutes in, the Slytherin beater, a fifth year named Selick, went flying towards Gryffindor beater Everett Winchcombe, who was about to hit the Bludger. Selick pulled back his bat and swung, not at the Quaffle, but at Everett, whose nose promptly broke and began gushing blood. Rose hurried to help him but Everett, in a bloody rage, swung his bat and missed hitting Selick and instead hit Rose in the mouth.
"Foul!" The Gryffindors roared. Madame Hooch's whistle blew again.
This time James took the foul shot. He pulled up and pretended to flip a ponytail over his shoulder like Race. He wiggled his fingers at the Slytherin keeper and exaggeratedly batted his eyelashes.
"Take the shot, you pansy!" Race called from her broom. James grinned at her and threw the ball
The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos as the ball soared through the goal.
"Gryffindor, 20, Slytherin nil!" Jesse called.
No one scored in the next half hour. Slytherin fouled twice, both times by attacking Albus. Race missed one shot, while Clint Jackson missed the second. Gryffindor fouled once when James slammed into Scorpius trying to catch the Quaffle, and Scorpius nearly fell (Lily's heart nearly jumped out of her mouth when he slid off the broom). After he missed his foul shot, he angrily threw himself into the game. Once in possession of the Quaffle, he scored three times in a row, making it a Slytherin lead. Albus paled, his eye already blackened from an "accidental" punch from the Slytherin beater.
In the end, after an hour and fifteen minutes, Luke Plymton took a spectacular dive after playing defense as soon as Gryffindor reached fifty points ahead. James alone scored ten goals, six of them foul shots. The crowd came to its feet as Luke flew closer and closer to the ground, the Slytherin Seeker right on his tail. Both seekers went crashing into the ground, dirt and grass flying up into the air. The crowd held its breath as the two boys lay feebly on the ground. Finally, his face still stuck in the mud, Luke held up his right hand, the snitch grasped tightly in his fingers.
The Gryffindors screamed, jumping up and down. Lily was sure she was screaming the loudest as she took off on to the field, leading her fellow Gryffindors, where Albus was being lifted on to everyone's shoulders; the final score was two hundred and fifty to fifty, Gryffindor.
Albus successfully saved almost all the goals and won the game for Gryffindor. Al grinned at his sister as she stood admiringly beneath him, the Quidditch Cup held tightly in his hands, held high above his head.
"Hey, Lily!" James called, as he too was raised on to someone's shoulders. "Ready for the best party you will ever attend?"
Lily grinned.
---
A tall, hulking figure hurriedly shuffled down the dully-lit corridor. His hair was cut short to his head; the muscles of his arms were practically bursting out of his robes, the seams of which were screaming in protest. He slowed as he reached an intersection, creeping along the wall and hiding in the shadows. He pulled out his wand and slowly peeked around the corner. Down the hall, he could see the Head Boy, August Davies, patrolling the corridor.
"Confundo," He whispered, his voice low and gravelly. August stopped, a puzzled look crossing his face, and promptly turned around and walked the other way.
Quickly crossing the corridor with a snicker, the man stopped in front of the second door on the left. Knocking in a specific pattern, he waited until the door opened for him.
"You're late, Higgs," a voice drawled.
"Sorry," Higgs replied, scowling.
"Well, now that we're all here, finally, we can begin,"
Higgs entered the room and took a seat. It was an old, unused Potions room that sat at the very back of the school. Old torches burned to life and cast flickering glances across the four other guys' faces. One face in particular jumped out.
"What are you doing here, Nott?" Higgs sneered. Nott was only a fifth year; the rest of them were sixth and seventh years. Nott scowled back.
"I was invited by Avery,"
"Well, if you're done interrogating everyone, Higgs, I want to begin," Avery said. Higgs closed his mouth, giving Nott one last withering look, before scooting his chair closer to Vaisley on his other side. Silence fell between the five boys. The silence stretched from seconds into minutes, as the four boys looked cautiously at each other and their leader.
"I have a problem," Avery finally began softly. He was leaning against the old desk, his arms jauntily in his pockets, looking at the door. "Slytherin lost the Quidditch game,"
The four boys glanced at each other, again.
"To Gryffindor," Avery elaborated. "Which means, we've lost the Quidditch Cup, to Gryffindor, and most likely, we've lost the house cup, too, to Gryffindor,"
Avery fell silent again and there was a tense fear bubbling in the room. Vaisley shifted nervously. Higgs and Bletchley were stock still, staring at Avery, while Nott was leaning forward, eagerly drinking up everything he was saying.
"Who is in Gryffindor?" Avery shouted suddenly. Vaisley leaned away.
"Race Ashby? She scored a lot of goals today," he croaked out.
"Race? That little slut? I don't care about her, unless it's for a good romp in the field," Avery and Higgs snickered. "Who else?"
"Potter," Nott said, his voice ringing in the silence. Avery stared at him.
"Exactly," he whispered. "Potter. James Potter scored how many goals today?"
No one answered.
"Ten. Ten goals. And how many did Albus Potter block? Almost all of them! How did Gryffindor get so many House points? Because the teachers adore them, the sons of bloody Harry Potter. They can do no wrong,"
"Excuse me," Vaisley said, his voice low and cold. "But haven't we always had a problem with the Potters since James first came to Hogwarts? He's always been a Chaser, he's always been pranking us. The other one has always been a little know-it-all,"
"Yes, Vaisley. We have always had a problem with them. But something is different this year. Anyone know what that is?" There was a silence as Nott's stomach twisted in excitement.
"The little brat," he breathed, his eyes shining. Avery smiled at him; it was terrifying.
"Exactly why I invited you, Nott. James and Albus Potter are smart. You can't deny they are talented and it has never been in our favor to attack them. The 'Chosen One' must have taught them a thing or two. But now they have a little sister that they adore here at school. A dim-witted, weak little girl,"
"Who tried to attack Scorpius," said Bletchley. He leaned forward out of the shadows. He had sat in silence, letting Avery work himself up, and successful terrify and impress the newcomer, Nott. That was Avery's style after all; he liked to impress with appearance and words. Personally, Bletchley was not one for show; he meant business. Avery stared at him and nodded.
"Nott," he asked, "Who did you see in the Owlery?"
"Malfoy and little Potter!" He exclaimed excitingly. Avery nodded again. "They seemed to be almost friends,"
"I tried to talk to Malfoy, see what he was up to, make sure he understood what he was forsaking. Our families are very close. Unfortunately, he told me to bugger off," Avery sniffed. Bletchley smirked.
"Luckily, I know how to change Malfoy's mind. I've talked to him." his smirk widened. "He loathes James Potter. He agreed,"
---
Lily, Olivia and a reluctant Emily arrived at the Pitch the weekend after the Quidditch game in the late morning. A few other students were already lounging under trees as the sun was warming the grounds, enjoying the sun before exams started on Monday.
Lily spun around happily, her arms outstretched. "It's so beautiful out. It's a perfect day for flying," She sighed, content. "I haven't flown in forever,"
Olivia nodded but Emily merely grumbled and glared as the three girls approached the broom shed, an old, rotting wooden shack, with its door hanging crooked.
"Aha!" Emily said, pointing to the door handle. "Let's see you get past the lock!"
Lily rolled her eyes, reached forward and pulled on the handle: the lock flopped open and revealed the pile of broom leaning in the corner. Emily's face fell as a broom was shoved into her hand.
"You're not getting out of it, Em," Olivia grinned, clearly enjoying Emily's discomfort. She threw her one leg over the broom; Lily had mounted hers already. "Let's go, Em,"
Pouting, Em stepped onto her broom.
"Hey, Olivia, I'll race you!" Lily said.
"You're on!"
The two took off immediately, speeding off towards the far goal post. Emily sighed, and pushed off, shakily rising a few feet before following her friends at a normal pace.
"We should be studying for Transfiguration on Monday!" She called after them.
The three girls were enjoying themselves immensely, even Emily. A few more students had joined them, enjoying the day and sitting in the stands, watching the first years. After a dispute over who got to the goal post first, Emily agreed to fly higher than twenty feet and sit at the goalpost to judge their race around the pitch. It was hard to really race, as the school broomsticks were older than dirt with branches sticking out in every direction from its tail. But both Olivia and Lily were stubborn and competitive and wanted a rematch.
"Are you guys ready?" Emily called from the inside of the goal post. Lily and Olivia were poised just behind the farthest post. "We're only doing this once, okay?"
"Okay, okay, just say when!" Olivia cried irritably.
"Fine," Emily muttered before saying loudly, "On my mark… get set… GO!"
The two took off, a red blur followed by a dark one. Emily thought that the race could be unfair, as Olivia seemed to have a more broken broom, but that didn't seem to matter. As the two girls went around the curve to the other set of goalposts, Olivia pulled ahead and sped ahead of Lily.
And that was when things started to go wrong.
Lily had been winning, barely ahead, but winning. Olivia was very, very fast and Lily was sure that she couldn't keep ahead much longer when suddenly, as she went around the curve, her broom slowed and Olivia passed her. Frowning and cursing the old broom that seemed to have given out, she sat up. The broom was still slowing and came to a standstill directly behind the middle post.
"What the… ?" Lily loosened her grip just as the broom came to life, shuddering and groaning.
All of a sudden, it went directly sideways, full speed, and Lily, who had barely been holding on, gripped tightly as the broom slammed her directly into the goalpost with a sickening crack.
"Oh!" Pain, warm and sharp, filled her side where she had hit the pole. She was sure she had broken a rib or two.
"LILY!" Emily screamed. Olivia, who hadn't looked back in the race, stopped a few feet short of her goal and looked across the field to watch Lily get smashed into a post.
"Oh, my god," she breathed, wide eyed. Emily took off unsteadily to Lily and Olivia followed.
"Em, careful not to get to close!" She cried after her. "That broom is jinxed!"
Lily's broom pulled back out and slammed her sideways into the goal post again, once, twice, three times, each time loosening her grip as her broken side was battered again and again. The back of the broom dipped down, causing Lily to grip tightly again as she started to slide down the back. By now, she heard Olivia cursing, Emily shrieking, and screams from, she assumed, the spectators in the stands.
The broom stopped tipping backwards, and now she sat awkwardly clutching the broom as it pointed diagonally back. The top pulled back, a bat to some invisible batter, and swung, causing Lily's head to crack across the metal, making her retch in the air and stars appeared before her eyes as she let go completely with her hands. Shaking her head slowly as if to get rid of a bug flying about her head, she clutched tightly to the broom with her legs as it dived downward, flipping in the air, allowing Lily to grab the handle. Something hot and sticky was pouring steadily down the side of her face.
She shot off uncontrollably through the goalpost towards Olivia and Emily, who were grouped together.
"Watch out!" She called but she sounded wrong; her voice sounded far away, she was slurring, and couldn't get the words to come out quick enough. But either way, the two scattered as she shot through them. She heard Emily scream and Olivia cry her name, and in the corner of her eye she saw Emily's figure rush by. She tried to turn to look but a pain shot from the top of her head and down her back, resting somewhere in pelvis. She had more pressing things to worry about, praying Olivia could handle things, as her broom jerked this way and that, shooting upward, downward and even a few flips. It climbed steadily higher and higher and Lily tried to stay awake because really, all she wanted to do was sleep, just sleep, please. Quickly, it pointed downward and began to dive. Halfway down, it pulled up and spun sideways, finally succeeding in throwing her off her broom.
As she fell downward, she heard the screams grow louder. Turning over in the air to face down, she saw the spectators running out of the stands and towards the ground but she knew they were all too far away. She saw him just before she hit the ground, half-hidden behind a post. He stood there, his wand trained on Lily as she fell, anger marring his handsome features, his mouth moving quickly and furiously. Even as she hit the ground hard, pain flooding her features, and began to welcome the darkness that creeped over her, the most dominant feeling was shock.
Scorpius Malfoy had jinxed her broom.
Author's Notes: Don't kill me! It had to be done. As always, please review.