A/N: Welcome back! I've had a slightly stressful week but this story is like my salvation.
I'm overwhelmingly flattered by the reviews of this story and I hope I keep up with your expectations!

Enjoy :)

Chapter 10: The Try-outs

Marlene and Lily headed down to the Quidditch pitch early on Wednesday evening. One carried a well-maintained, clearly loved broomstick over their shoulder whilst the other clutched a small stack of books. They had just eaten dinner and were well fed for the events that would follow over the next hour. The air was cool and still, though a light September breeze did ruffle the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. It was a peaceful night, with only the occasional bird disrupting the scene as it accidently landed on the Whomping Willow and was unceremoniously thrown off. Only when they reached the Quidditch Pitch did the real chaos begin.

Alongside the stands and the 6 high goal posts were an alarmingly large crowd of hopefuls milling on the freshly cut grass. Lily's well-trained wary eyes spotted the Marauders almost a second after they entered the pitch and directed Marlene to the back of the crowd so as to avoid any unnecessary tension before the try-outs had even begun.

'And d'you know what that wanker wants us to do?' Marlene had been complaining all the way to the pitch about her Divination teacher, Professor Quinn; he was a small quietly spoken man with wispy white hair and rather absentminded-looking silver eyes. 'He wants us to do a fucking project about people's dreams! How much free time does he think I ruddy have? I've already got our fucking Agony Aunt to do!'

'I'm sure it'll help in the long run.' Lily reasoned and was immediately met by a glower from her counterpart. 'Y-' But her speech was cut off by James, who had decided to commence the try-outs. 'Good luck.' she said to Marlene and made her way to the stands where she found a seat with a good view and was shortly joined by Remus and Peter.

'EVERYONE GET INTO GROUPS OF 10!' James bellowed at the crowd of hopefuls. There was a sudden scrambling as everyone rushed to follow orders; the Head boy (and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain) had a steely glint in his eye which clearly indicated he was not to be trifled with. Once in the groups of 10, James had the candidates fly a lap around the pitch which soon ridded an alarming number of candidates as they did not possess the ability to fly. There were also a few giggling girls, who perhaps could fly but gave no indication towards this ability as they were too busy admiring the athletic figures of both James Potter and Sirius Black. Lily's insides squirmed irritably but she had little time to dwell on the unexpected emotion because her eyes noted Edward evoking a more pressing feeling of discomfort. He locked eyes with her for the briefest of moments and then he turned away with his jaw set and a slight swagger in his walk. Meanwhile, Lily tried to ignore the churning of her stomach that was making her feel sick.

The Chasers were chosen first and James put the candidates through their paces flying to-and-fro at breakneck speed. Although the two he chose were of an exceptional skill, Lily thought in spite of herself, they did not possess the same natural brilliance of their Captain. Her stomach paused momentarily in its personal attempt a regurgitate every meal she'd ever eaten to flutter as he glanced in her direction. She looked away as Remus coughed and her stomach returned to its previous state. Edward caught Lily's eye once more as James called forth the potential Keepers. His swagger became even more exaggerated and Lily kept her mouth clamped shut for fear she might throw up over all the seats in front of her.

Each Keeper was given 6 attempts to save the Quaffle and those who saved the highest amount were then put against one another. Edward managed to make it to the final two where he was up against a burly 5th year named, Stewart Andrews; Stewart saved 6 out of 6 goals and Edward 5. There was a rather tense moment when James declared Stewart the new Gryffindor Keeper as, in the background, Edward could be seen hitting his broomstick repeatedly against the grass. As the possible Beaters were made to hit Bludgers at the Chasers, who were darting around the pitch, Lily could barely watch she felt so unwell. Marlene whacked a Bludger so hard it began pelting towards Edward, who was still having a small tantrum, and collided with his broomstick, splintering it completely.

'McKinnon, you're on the team!' James announced gleefully, doubling over on his broomstick. Sirius soon proved his aim and skill also and the two returned Beaters from the previous few years joined the fraction of the Gryffindor team that had already been chose. Lily gave Marlene a thumbs up before excusing herself and hurrying back up towards the castle. The first-floor bathroom was nearest and she rushed into it, barricading herself in the closest cubicle and promptly vomiting into the toilet. Kneeling down before it, Lily braced herself for the inevitable second upchuck reflex. When it came, it felt as though her throat was screaming in protest so she unlocked the cubicle and made her way over to the wall of sinks. Most of the mirrors were cracked so as Lily conjured a glass, filled it with tap water and glanced at her reflection she was met by at least 12 pasty faces looking back at her. Taking long, steadying sips, she closed her eyes.

'Not pregnant, are you?' a delighted voice asked, causing Lily's eyes to snap open.

'Hello, Myrtle.' Lily greeted, turning around and surveying the ghost of a rather ugly looking girl. She frowned slightly. 'No, no. Just nerves.'

'That's a shame. It would've been excellent gossip: The Head girl pregnant.' She pushed her thickly rimmed glasses up her nose and did a loop the loop in the air. 'Imagine how they'd tease you and make fun of you. Your reputation would've been ruined!'

'You've put a lot of thought into the outcome of such a rumour.' Lily said, still examining Myrtle shrewdly. Her gaze seemed to unsettle the ghost slightly.

'Yes.' Myrtle sniffed and picked at a pimple on her chin. 'Well, no one would belief a rumour like that about you anyway.'

'I suppose not.' Lily agreed, pushing up the sleeves of her school robes. Myrtle eyed the Head girl badge on Lily's clothing.

'I wanted to be Head girl.' she said mournfully, flying straight at Lily and poking the badge so that a part of her chest suddenly felt like ice. 'I was only a Prefect.'

'I'm sure you were a great Prefect.' Lily replied sincerely but Myrtle eyed her with suspicion.

'Are you being sarcastic?' Myrtle asked snappily and Lily shook her head. This didn't seem to reassure her at all as her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. 'I'll have you know I was the best Prefect in my year!'

'I never said you weren't.' Lily defended and vanished her glass of water. 'Well, I'd better be going. See you around, Myrtle!' She waved at the sour-faced ghost and departed. It made little sense to return to the Quidditch pitch because she guessed, correctly, that try-outs had likely ended during the time she'd been in the girls' loos with Myrtle. So instead of heading out into the grounds, she began making her way back to Gryffindor Tower. The corridors were mostly quiet and void of any students but every so often a few people would pass her on their way back from the library or somewhere similar. As she walked she hummed to herself and thought about how close the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was. Marlene had already been asked by several people but each one had received the same slightly jumpy rejection. She was still, understandably, stressed about the situation with Sirius and the Amortentia potion and had begun completely ignoring the existence of her so-called soul mate. Although Lily hoped she would eventually make peace with him, she had to admit that ignoring Sirius was an improvement from the panic attacks she had had every time he came near her.

The sound of raised voices brought Lily's humming to an abrupt halt as she strained her ears to follow the source of the shouting. The voices seemed to be coming from a corridor or two away from where she stood so Lily began making her way in their direction. As she neared them they became more distinguishable and she thought they might belong to two males.

'Send my love to mother, why don't you?' one of the voices sneered. 'And tell her to stick her wrinkled head up her fat arse!'

'Mother?' the other scoffed. 'You haven't been her son in a long time.'

'That's such a shame.' the first voice snapped. 'I can't stand her and her shit.'

'You can't stand her? More like she can't stand you but looks like a lot of people can't. I mean, you're adopted parents didn't exactly stick around.' There was a loud thud and a grunt of pain.

'YOU TAKE THAT BACK!' they snarled and Lily recognised the voice to be that of Sirius Black. She had reached the corridor and her eyes widened at the scene before her. Sirius stood holding another boy, who looked very similar to him, by the scruff of his robes and pointing his wand threateningly at the boy's throat. 'I SAID-'

'Black…' Lily's voice was quiet and nervous but the addition of a new speaker to the situation made it carry across the corridor. 'Black, don't do something you'll regret.'

She was astonished more than anything that he actually listened. Sirius slowly let go of the boy and stepped back as Lily moved towards the two of them. It was then she noticed the boy had a broken nose which was bleeding and covering his mouth in red liquid.

'Stay there.' she instructed Sirius, who had made to leave the scene. 'I want a word.' Then she turned to the boy, who was analysing her. 'I can mend your nose.' she told him and as he took in her red hair, his expression became a haughty sneer.

'Well, go on, Mudblood,' he commanded, 'heal it.'

'You might want to try a please.' Lily suggested softly as she threw out a hand to stop Sirius, who had stormed forwards once more. The boy's face changed to one of shock.

'Please,' he mocked but Lily seemed satisfied, 'Mudblood.' he added nastily as Lily's hand reached out to hold his face straight. She surprised him with how gentle she was despite the fact he had just insulted her and a second later his nose was as good as new.

'You'll have to clean it yourself.' she informed him. 'You can go.' As the boy left, she turned to Sirius, who stood behind her with his eyes still flashing with anger.

'What d'you want, Evans?' he snapped. 'If you're going to dock points and give me detentions just get on with it.' Sirius tapped his foot irritably but Lily didn't respond – rather she studied his face. 'Come on then. Get on with your goody two shoes stuff.'

'What happened?' she asked. Her question clearly had been the last thing he'd been expecting as he looked at her sharply.

'Storing this up to tell McKinnon, are you?' Sirius asked scathingly. 'Needs new material to insult me with, does she?'

'No.' Lily's short reply was firm and seemed to change Sirius' mind about her intentions.

'I was arguing with my brother.' he said after a long silence between the two of them. The two of them moved towards a wall and sat down against it. Lily didn't speak, sensing that Sirius would elaborate of his own accord and didn't need prompting. 'I guess I should start at the beginning. It won't make sense to you if I don't.'

'Maybe I should get P-'

'Evans, you wanted to know what happened and I've decided to trust you so don't try back out of it now.' Sirius interrupted impatiently and waited a moment to make sure Lily had fallen into an attentive silence. 'You know that I'm pureblood, right?' She nodded. 'Well, I come from an old pureblood family who hate Muggle-borns, think anyone who isn't pureblood shouldn't be allowed in the Wizarding world and all that bullshit. I was raised that way and when I turned up at Hogwarts I was kind of the same but then I became mates with the rest of the Marauders and realised all that pureblood rubbish was…well…a load of rubbish. My parents weren't happy about me being sorted into Gryffindor but they coped with it until I started telling them they were wrong about Muggle-borns. They freaked out and every summer I'd go home and listen to them try and "correct" me.' Sirius shuddered slightly at the thought of it. 'But last summer I had enough and I moved out. James and his parents took me in – they were already like my adopted family.'

'Right.' Lily turned to face him and saw his face wasn't angry anymore.

'Anyway, Reg, my brother, agrees with my parents and loves to taunt me about it. He doesn't usually get to me but…today he made fun of… He hates me but I just wish he'd see sense.'

'It's okay…' Lily said comfortingly. 'Maybe one day he'll come around.' Sirius laughed hollowly. 'And even if he doesn't, there's nothing wrong with caring about him. I should know…'

'Really, Evans?' Sirius asked, his voice slightly lighter. 'You know about your sibling hating you?'

'Yes, I do.' she responded, looking away from him. Sirius waited expectantly. 'But that's for a day when I decide to trust you.' It wasn't an insult just a statement. But Sirius comprehended and he stood up before offering her a hand up, which she accepted. They walked in silence back to Gryffindor Tower but there was a strange understanding between them which didn't have words to explain it.

'Thanks, Evans.' Sirius said as they reached the Fat Lady. He held out a hand for her to shake which she shook with a smile. 'You stopped me losing it back there.'

'You're welcome.' Lily replied. 'Benevolence.' The portrait hole was revealed as she said the password and they climbed in together before heading their separate ways. Lily spotted Marlene working by the fireplace and walked over whilst Sirius made his way to where James, Remus and Peter sat playing gobstones.

'Prongs, mate,' Sirius began, plonking himself down in a free chair. 'Promise me you'll marry Evans. She's a pretty cool bird.' And James beamed, though not for long as he was squirted by the foul-smelling liquid from one of Remus' gobstones.

The next day brought with it a torrent of rain so that the 7th years on their way to Herbology were drenched from head to toe. Lily and Marlene conjured umbrellas while they waited for Professor Sprout to open the door Greenhouse 7. The Marauders were messing about trying to push one another onto the muddy ground and Marlene scowled at the sight of them.

'You know if he,' Marlene had taken to referring to Sirius with pronouns only, 'didn't exist, I wouldn't be in all this shit.'

'We need to hand in our article to Professor McGonagall.' Lily said, completely changing topic. 'Are you free after dinner?'

'I am but you're not.' Marlene answered. 'You've got patrol duty with Potter.'

'I forgot about that.' Lily admitted and Marlene snorted. There was a loud splat as James was pushed face first by Remus into the freshly created mud. Spluttering, he pushed himself up; he was absolutely covered in mud and as James stood up, Professor Sprout arrived.

'Right, chaps!' she said cheerily and was apparently oblivious to the clap of thunder which made all her students jump. 'Come in, come in!' As the class moved gratefully into the greenhouse, Professor Sprout signalled for James and Lily to wait. Once everyone else was inside she turned to them. 'Professor McGonagall wants a word with you two.'

'Now?' James asked blankly.

'Yes, Potter, now.' she replied impatiently and frowned slightly at the fact he was caked in mud before waving them off. Lily and James headed obediently back towards the castle but once they were inside, the Head girl stopped and once he noticed this, the Head boy stopped too.

'You're a mess.' Lily said and there was an element of disapproval in her expression as she gave him a once over.

'Tell me about it.' James agreed with a laugh. Her expression softened as she set about cleaning his robes with magic; there was also mud on his face so she conjured a cloth and stepped on her tiptoes to wipe the dirt off his face. Perhaps it was the fact that she held his hair back with her hand or the fact she could feel his warm breath on her nose or the fact that she was effectively stroking his face that made her cheeks burn scarlet. She promptly stopped and handed him the cloth.

'Um… Yes… There's still a bit left on your forehead.' Lily mumbled and hastily took several steps back. Once James was satisfactorily clean, they continued on their way.

'So, what're you doing for the Hogsmeade weekend?' James asked her casually.

'Nothing really. I don't think Marlene's going so I'll probably pick some stuff up for her.' she replied with a shrug. 'It'll be nice to get out of the castle for a bit.'

'Yeah, I dunno what I'm doing yet. Reckon I'll just look around… Pete's got a date with some Hufflepuff, Sirius has detention and Remus wants to study so I'll probably go alone.'

'Maybe we could meet up…' Lily suggested and then looked away in embarrassment as she realised what she might have insinuated. 'I mean,' she coughed nervously, 'we're both Heads so we could have a…a Heads' day out…'

'Sounds great, Evans.' James' features arranged themselves into a look of amusement as he regarded the female beside him. 'Meet you at 11 in the Entrance Hall?'

'Sure.' Lily smiled up at him as they reached Professor McGonagall's office and knocked. The office door didn't open immediately and Lily tied her hair up in a messy bun while they waited. James watched her with a smile of his own. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as the door opened and Professor McGonagall let them into her office.

'Forgive me. I had a rather urgent letter to reply to.' she said, seating herself behind her desk and indicating they sit also. They complied and waited for her to speak, though James kept shooting looks at Lily. 'Are you quite finished, Mr Potter?' Professor McGonagall asked, with amusement lacing her stern tone. 'I am quite certain Miss Evans will still be here at the end of the meeting. I do not believe she has the intent of running away.'

'Sorry, Professor.' James said, miming a salute and forcing himself to stop looking at Lily every five seconds. Lily fiddled with her sleeve but otherwise continued to pay attention to the Deputy Headmistress.

'I must apologise for pulling you out of your lesson but I wanted to discuss the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend. As Head boy and girl, you are expected to assist Mr Filch with checking Hogsmeade permission form and, in a new addition to safety regulations, searching students for any dark or dangerous objects. Mr Potter, you will be checking forms with Mr Filch a-'

'YES!' James cried in celebration and Lily smiled into her lap as Professor McGonagall fixed him with a particularly stern look. 'Sorry, Professor.' he mumbled.

'And, Miss Evans, you will be using a Secrecy Sensor to make sure no students are smuggling Dark objects out of the castle. In these times, your tasks are of the upmost importance and the safety of students is a priority. I shall also have to ask you meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall by 9.30 am and to try and to return to the school last out of all the students which should be around 8 pm latest.'

'Of course, Professor.' Lily said and both she and James nodded.

'Very well, you are excused.' The two Heads stood up and Lily fumbled in her school bag for a moment before pulling out a scroll tied with green ribbon.

'Professor, I have the first c-'

'Thank you, Miss Evans.' Professor McGonagall cut across her and looked pointedly at James. Lily understood and handed her the scroll. Then she left with James strolling next to her, talking about this and that, as they made their way back to Herbology and the torrential rain outside.

Please Review :)

Who loves McGonagall? I love McGonagall - I honestly think she's one of the best characters in the Harry Potter universe.