Disclaimer: I do not own HP

A/N: I know this may be slightly shorter than usual, but I couldn't go on. Sorry.

Chapter 11: After The Match

"Argh!" Lily hit her head against the table. "Why on earth would anyone want to do Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

Sarah looked at her friend with a slightly amused expression on her face.

"You did." She pointed out. Lily glared at Sarah.

"That is completely beside the point." She snarled.

"Then what is the point?" Rebecca wanted to know. Lily rested her head in her hands for a moment and thought before speaking.

"The point is, I can't do this! If only Joy were here, she'd be able to help!"

"Hey." Sarah said, finally showing some sympathy. "I would love to help, you know I would. But I can't do D.A.D.A."

Lily shrugged resignedly, turning back to her attempts at the Patronus.

"Expecto… Patronum…" She hissed. A silvery gust of mist shot out of her wand and disintegrated.

"Need help there, Lily?" A voice sounded from somewhere above her head. She twisted her head around and looked up into James Potter's voice.

"What do you want?" She asked rudely. James raised his eyebrows and held his hands up in surrender.

"Nothing… it just looked like you needed help."

"Oh." Lily replied, feeling stupid. Of course he would offer to help: they weren't enemies anymore, after all. Not that they were friends yet – it would take quite a long time for them to reach that stage. Lily gave it five years at leat.

"Well, do you?" He asked again. Lily looked at him.

"Are you any good at D.A.D.A.?" She asked. James looked sheepish for a moment.

"I try." He said with a faint ghost of his usual cocky smile. Lily looked at him imploringly.

"Would you please help me then? I need to master the Patronus by Thursday, and I'm really out of my league here – I have practically no idea how to do it, and it's urgent –"

James held up his hands soothingly.

"Look, Lily, don't panic. It's okay, I'll help."

As James began coaching Lily patiently, they were watched by five pairs of eyes.

"What do you think, Moony?"

"Looks promising… looks promising…"

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"Hey Lily?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you going to watch the Quidditch match?"

"I don't know… it's never been entirely my scene, James…"

"Well… consider it? Please?"

"I'll think about it."

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The roars of the crowd in the audience filled the air. Red and gold banners flew high in the air, and snakes emblazoned on flags were waved.

"The captains shake hands, they mount their brooms, and there's the whistle and they're off!" Chris Bagman – relative of Ludo Bagman

High in the air James Potter looked back at the ground, smiling at the screaming girls in the crowd. This was back he belonged after all. Below him the Gryffindor Chases seized the Quaffle and put it past the Slytherin Keeper. James cheered along with the other Gryffindors.

"Why hello there, Potter." A familiar sneering voice reverberated beside his ear.

"Malfoy." James said coldly, not bothering to turn to face his rival Seeker. He scanned the air for the faintest glint of gold. Malfoy laughed: a dismissive, jeering sound.

"Don't bother, Potter. We all know that I'm going to get the Snitch."

"You wish, Malfoy." James said shortly, before putting on an extra burst of speed.

From Rebecca's point of view in the stands, everybody had gone mad. First James had suddenly gone into a dive that made him look as though he was going to hit the ground, and now Lucius Malfoy, her cousin, was ploughing after him.

"They're going to crash!" Sarah shrieked piercingly into Rebecca's ear.

"Oh, hush up." Rebecca snapped. But in truth, she was as tense as everyone else.

"They aren't!" Sirius bellowed from her other side. Rebecca glanced at him for a split second. She had absolutely no idea how he had gotten there.

"Yes they are!" Sarah screamed back.

"Malfoy is!" Rebecca yelled, suddenly joining in the spirit of things.

"Who cares?" Sirius snarled.

But Rebecca was right. At the last moment, James pulled out of the dive and Malfoy crashed into the ground below him. As Madam Hooch blew the whistle for time out, Rebecca caught a brief glimpse of her cousin's face, contorted in an unbecoming mixture of fury and pain.

James grinned triumphantly, scanning the air for the Snitch. The score was currently at fifty to Slytherin's forty. The Slytherin team was good… which was why he had to use all the time he could get to look for the Snitch. The Wronski Feint had been a risky move on his part, he thought idly, tuning the crowd's noise out. After all, what would have happened if Malfoy hadn't taken the bait? Ah, there it was. Keeping his eyes trained on the speck of gold, he tuned the crowd's noise back in.

"I'll get you for that, Potter." Malfoy hissed from somewhere below him. James didn't even bother to answer, opting instead to keep his eyes on the gold glint just above the Slytherin hoops. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and James kicked off.

"You can't fool me twice, Potter." Malfoy sneered as James flew past him.

Sarah watched James fly upwards. Surely he wasn't attempting another stunt? She watched as he darted between the Slytherin goalposts… what was he doing?

Joy frowned in confusion as James flew a wild, maniacal path around the Quidditch Pitch. Malfoy was staring after him, then suddenly chasing him. The Chasers and the Beaters were still playing… only the Seekers were playing Catch.

Beatrice leant against the wall, watching. She could see the speck of gold darting ahead of James, but it appeared that no one else could. It came from being a Seeker, she supposed.

James closed his hands around the Snitch and held it up to the crowd who went wild. For a change his mind wasn't on his cheering fanclub. It was on a certain redhead…

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"Nicely played, James."

James spun around at the voice he'd been looking for, breaking into a wild smile.

"Thanks Lily."

They stood there smiling at each other for a long moment. Then James looked away.

"I'm glad you came." He said.

"I'm glad I did as well." She replied. "I haven't been to a Quidditch match ever since you got into the team."

They laughed together, then James stopped, glancing at his watch.

"I'm really sorry, Lily, but I have to go."

"Okay." Lily stopped smiling. As she watched James' back retreat down the corridor, she called out. "Where are you going?"

"To get food for the party."

Lily only hesitated a moment

"Need help?"

James didn't hesitate at all.

"That'll be great!"

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"Tammy? Tammy!"

Sirius heard a voice calling on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He turned the corner and saw a girl in a cloak standing in the middle of the rain.

"There you are!" She bent down and scooped the cat up. Sirius smiled at the display of affection. The girl straightened up and Sirius saw that it was Rebecca. Her hair was plastered to her head and her cloak was soaked and she was shivering. Sirius hurried out to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked. "You're soaked!"

"That's because it's raining." Rebecca explained sarcastically. "Generally speaking, rain is wet."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's get you inside." He said, ushering her back undercover.

"Now how about you explain to me what this is about?" He asked as they started to walk back to the common room.

"Tammy ran out in the rain. So I went after her." She answered, shivering. Sirius noticed and sighed, taking his dryer cloak off and putting it around her shoulders. The cat in her arms mewed softly.

"Come on, we'd better get you back to the common room quickly. You'll catch your death of a cold out here."

Rebecca sneezed.

"Since when have you had such a motherly streak in you?" She asked, frowning slightly. Sirius shrugged. He had been considering that question himself.

They stood outside the Portrait Hole together. Sirius looked at Rebecca. Rebecca looked at Sirius. Tammy cleaned her whiskers.

"Rebecca… would you like to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend with me?"

Rebecca sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You probably won't let me into the Portrait Hole until I agree… so… I must be mad… but yes."

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"You're going out with Sirius Black?" Sarah shrieked bouncing up and down on Rebecca's bed.

"Yes… go away. I want to sleep."

The dormitory door opened and Pearl and Kahlia entered.

"Guess what?" Lily immediately asked.

"Oh hush up!" Rebecca threw a pillow at Lily.

"She's going out with Sirius Black!"

The two girls stared at Rebecca for a long moment before running to her bedside and joining Sarah in the satisfying activity of jumping on Rebecca's bed. Rebecca grumbled and sat up.

"I don't know what the fuss is all about… am I really that undatable?

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"Rebecca Garside agreed to go out with you?" James exclaimed, astounded. "How did that happen? I thought she hated you!"

Sirius smiled knowledgeably.

"Any guy can sweep any girl off her feet, he just needs the right broom." He said smugly. Then as an afterthought, he added. "And a cat and a lot of rain."

"A cat and a lot of rain? You have to explain…" James prodded Sirius. "Now tell!"

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