Chapter 11
A couple of days had passed since the snow fight. It was the last couple of days before the Christmas holidays and everyone was starting to wind down and relax. All apart from the Gryffindor quidditch team who were being pushed to their limits by the captain and Arianna's brother, Kallum Wood,
The team consisted of me and Fred as the beaters, James as the seeker, Kallum as keeper, Tyrell and Aiden Finnegan as chasers and Lily as the last chaser. We had already beaten Hufflepuff that year but were up against Ravenclaw the day before the end of term which happened to be tomorrow. We needed to win this game to secure our place in the finals. Kallum had us out on the pitch every evening practicing in the snow. We would trudge in each night shivering and dripping wet. I asked Ari to talk to her brother and get him to ease up but there was no stopping him. I think he would happily work us until our hands froze around the brooms.
"Rory if you don't stop eating soon, your broom stick won't be able to lift you" James joked as I finished my second bowl of pasta that night before practice.
"Oh shut up, I need my strength! Plus you can't exactly talk!" I said back pointing at range of discarded bowls that surrounded James.
He didn't answer so I guessed he had given in. I quickly finished the last of my pasta before grabbing James' hand and dragging him out the hall. Once he caught up with me he swung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close as we walked. I sighed in contentment and put my arm round his waist as we carried on the winding journey up to the Gryffindor tower.
We climbed through the portrait hole and stepped over the numerous bodies spread around the common room. James gave me a quick peck on the cheek before we went our separate ways to get changed.
In my dorm room Ari, Olivia and Frankie were all squeezed into one bed for warmth. They all looked up from their magazines as I walked in and shouted their greetings.
"Have you got quidditch now?" Ari asked as went to pull off my jumper.
"Mmmhhmmm" I replied getting my head stuck in the hole.
"good, can you pass this letter on to Kallum please, the stupid owl gave it to me instead and I haven't had a chance to see him since it came" she said pulling out a letter from her bedside table and brandishing it in front of my now free face.
"Sure" I said massaging my ears that had been caught in the head hole.
After that I quickly went about pulling as many layers of clothes I could and still be able to balance on a broom. Once ready I grabbed my broom and beaters bat and walked towards the door.
"You better not wake us up when you come in bitch!" Frankie joked. I stuck up my middle finger at her as I left and they all laughed.
I met James in the common room and we grabbed Fred who had fallen asleep on the leather sofa before walking out the portrait hole. The castle corridors were always deserted near Christmas. Students were too busy huddled around the fire keeping warm than roaming the freezing halls.
Our feet made eerie sounds on the old flooring and all the portraits seemed to be watching us. The creepiness soon disappeared as we neared the great hall where people were still eating and studying. We walked straight past the large doors and into the entrance. Gasping as the doors open and the cold air hit us we stepped out of the warm and were instantly engulfed by about 2 foot of snow making it nearly impossible to walk.
After many attempts to get through the snow we only ended up cold and wet. I usually love snow but this was just pissing me off. Then the idea struck me.
"Err guys, you do realize we are holding brooms" I shouted to James and Fred over the howling wind.
"Yeah, mines annoying me! It keeps dragging in the snow" a tired looking Freddie answered.
"Oh Merlin you two are stupid! Why don't we just fly to the pitch?" I shouted flailing my arms about and nearly smacking James with my bat.
"Shit! Watch it Ror" he said ducking quickly "and yeah that's probably our best option otherwise we will be stuck walking for hours" he said mounting his broom and pushing off.
Fred looked at him then at me. He saw I was doing the same and copied. Soon we were flying over the grounds and laughing at the rest of our team below us who were trudging towards the changing rooms at a snail's pace. They all looked up and saw us. I watched Kallum smack himself on the head before mounting his broom and flying after us with the others following.
After we all reached the warm of the changing rooms we sat down and discussed tactics. We decided we had the advantage if it was still snowing on the day of the match seeing as our red kits stuck out more than Ravenclaw's blue ones. Kallum went over what he wanted the chasers to do. Lily was trying to look interested but failing epically. The Finnegan twins kept swapping places when Kallum wasn't looking so he got very confused and James and I were getting a little too cosy for Kallums Liking so he soon got fed up so sent everyone out to do laps before we started.
3 hours later everyone in the team was limping and trailing through the castle leaving wet patches on the floor as we navigated our way in the darkened corridors back to the Gryffindor tower. I was on the way to the hospital wing since Fred had accidently thrown his Beaters bat at my shoulder and it had swollen up like a balloon. I don't blame him, it's not fault he swung with such force that it slipped from his hand and buried its self like a bullet into my shoulder! Kallum had a fit! Ranting on about the game tomorrow and if I couldn't play he was going to throttle Fred. I was pissing myself at him to say the least.
Once in the hospital wing I was tended to very roughly if I do say so. Madame Palmer hates me. I think it has something to do with all the people I send to the hospital wing due to pranks or my legendary beater skills! Although she was rough on my shoulder she did fix it well. The bruising and pain was completely gone so luckily I could play tomorrow. Kallum was so happy you would of thought he'd been smoking mushrooms from the forbidden forest!
The next morning I woke up still sore from the night before but excited for the match none the less. I danced around the room pulling on my clean Quidditch uniform and singing a little song to myself.
"SHUT UP RORY!" Ari shouted from her pile of blankets "I know you have to be down there early but we don't so let us sleep in!" there was 2 other murmurs of agreement from the other beds so i shut my mouth and went about my getting ready humming instead of singing.
After a large breakfast James, Fred, Lily and I made our way to the entrance and readied ourselves for the quick flight to the changing rooms.
"Are you guys ready?" Tyrell said to us after him and Aiden emerged from inside.
"Sure am" I said before mounting my broom and flying through the cold crisp air. Everyone laughed at my eagerness before pushing off and joining me in the air.
I could feel the air buzzing in excitement as I stood by the changing room doors ready for them to open and for us to emerge. The crackle of the loudspeaker sounded as Sonny Jordan the resident commentator took to her place ready to introduce the teams.
The cheers intensified as Ravenclaw flew into the arena. I could hear the sound of their names being shouted out but I couldn't take in the names. I was too focused and all they were at the moment were opponents.
Suddenly the doors flung open and one by one we flew out into the cold.
"And here they are the Gryffindor side!" screamed Sonny into the speaker. "Team Captain, Keeper and son of legendary Puddlemere united Keeper Oliver Wood, its Kallum Wood! Next out is daughter of the boy who lived and the youngest Gryffindor seeker ever, its Lily Potter as one of the three chasers! The other 2 chasers are two incredibly good-looking Irish twins! Its Tyrell and Aiden Finnegan" the crowd screamed even louder. It seemed the twins had a fair few admirers. Sonny waited until the cheering died down before she carried on. "Next is one of the many Weasleys at Hogwarts, he's an amazing beater who definitely lives up to his name sake, its Fred Weasley II! Gryffindor's seeker is the eldest son of the boy who lived and he obviously takes after his dad in the seeker department, give it up for the amazing James Potter II! Lastly but certainly not least it's the gorgeous girlfriend of James, she's an amazing beater and holds the record for the most injuries caused. It's Aurora Hastings!"
The crowd cheered louder again as the last person was mentioned and I took that as my cue to follow the others and zoom out onto the pitch. Making my way to the center I positioned myself correctly and waited, swirling my beaters bat around for the bludgers to be released. As I waited I surveyed the opposite team. I saw the captain Nick Groves pointing from his beaters to me obviously signalling that they should try and take me out first. I smiled as I saw them glance at me wearily. If anyone was going to be taken out it will be them.
The whistle blew and the bludgers, quaffle and snitch were released. James immediately took off following the golden blur leaving the Ravenclaw seeker in his dust. Lily caught the quaffle and passed it neatly to Tyrell who dodged 2 players before throwing it straight past the keeper. "And Gryffindor's Tyrell Finnegan scores in the first minute! What a great start!" Sonny was shouting. I saw a bludger heading towards Lily and zoomed towards it. I got there just in time and smacked it towards Fred who saw it coming and managed to aim so it hit one of their chasers brooms. It snapped in half and they fell towards the ground. I didn't see what happened when she hit the floor as another bludger came hurtling towards me and I swung my bat hard causing it to hit another chaser and make them drop the quaffle into Aiden's arms.
2 hours and 55 minutes later Gryffindor were winning 240-60. I hadn't stopped; these bludgers seemed to be in a pretty fast mood. So far I had put one of the beaters out the game and smashed a bludger straight into the seekers back. They hadn't fallen off but were now all crooked which made James' game a bit easier.
I had just smashed a bludger away from Lily and everything looked clear so i sat back and looked about. I spotted James doing the same. He winked at me and made me laugh. His gaze moved from my face to just above my head, I looked up and hovering above me was the snitch. I so badly wanted to grab it but knew we would be disqualified so just moved slightly forwards so James had more space to fly over.
The Golden orb flew higher and higher until only James who was hot on its trail could still see it. After a while James was only a dot in the air, suddenly he started to fall. At first I thought he had fallen of his broom and gasped but as he got lower I saw that he was in a near vertical dive.
You could hear the gasps from the crowds as he dived until he was about 15 meters from the ground. You could tell people thought he would crash. "James!" I screamed. Luckily he just pulled out the dive and flew straight towards the crowd his right hand raised high in the air.
"James Potter has caught the snitch, Gryffindor win!" Sonny shouted excitedly and the whole of the red and gold tower were on their feet. James did a few victory laps before joining the rest of his team on the floor. He landed and we jumped on him. The crowd was still roaring and I could see the Ravenclaw team looking sullen in the background.
Our team dispersed to shake hands but I pulled James back. "You scared the shit out of me git! What were you thinking pulling a stunt like that?" I shouted at him more terrified than angry.
"I'm sorry babe" he said looking at his feet.
"It's okay, I'm glad you're all good" I said pulling him closer.
"Thank Merlin I didn't die, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this" he said leaning in.
I giggled like a little girl before following his lead and leaning in as well. Our lips connected and more cheers erupted along with some Awws. The kiss was sweet but a bit too public so I pulled back.
"Later" I whispered to him before turning around and walking off.
That night the Gryffindor tower was alive with celebration. Some of the pupils in the higher years managed to smuggle in some fire whiskey and to say the atmosphere was jolly would be an understatement. There was cheering and singing and dancing! Everyone seemed to regret we had to be up early the next day to catch the train home. I had decided not to drink much since I have no control over myself when I did. I started to get bored of the party so searched the room for James. He was standing in a corner with Fred and some of his other buddies. I strutted over.
"Excuse me gentlemen but I need James" I said taking James' hand and leading him away. I heard the calls and whistles behind but I ignored them and continued to pull James away.
"What's up buttercup" said a slightly jolly James.
I laughed "I just wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend, is that so bad?" I said innocently whilst putting my arms around his neck.
"Hmm okay" he said staring into my eyes "do you want to go somewhere else?"
"Where?" I asked my eyes trained on his lips. He led me towards the stairs to my dorm.
"How drunk are you James you know boys aren't allowed up there" I said rolling my eyes.
"But I know a secret" he said taking out his wand and causing a layer of ice to appear on the steps.
I stared at the stairs for a bit "does that actually work?" I asked. He nodded. "Oh you cheeky bastard" I laughed slapping him on the arse and pulling him with me up the stairs.
We walked into my dorm room and I plopped down on my bed. James stood above me nervously. I looked at him questionally. He shook his head as though to shake the thought from his mind before sitting down next to me.
We sat there in silence for a while, him leaning against the backboard me leaning against chest and his chin on mine. He then started to kiss my neck. It felt so good, I couldn't take it anymore. I spun around and straddled him forcing him to kiss my lips instead of my neck. The kiss was hungry and passionate. His hands were rubbing up and down my thighs and my hands were tangled in his hair. Things were really getting heated and I could feel how much he was enjoying it.
His hands gripped the hem of my top pulling it up and off leaving me there in my bra. I did the same with his top marvelling at his perfectly toned body. He leant back and flipped us over so he was on top of me and I was lying back on the bed. Still kissing him and reached down and unbuttons his jeans pulling them straight off. He was still enjoying it a lot.
He started to get annoyed when he couldn't undo the zip on my skirt. I laughed against his lips and reached down to do it for him. Once that was off we were laid there in only our underwear. We were still kissing furiously when the door suddenly burst open.
"Rory! Are you in here?" I heard Lily shout "oh shit! Fuck my eyes are burning!" she screamed and we looked up to see her with both hands clamped over her face. I laughed but still turned a bit red. James scowled and jumped up reaching quickly for his trousers.
"Every fucking time" he grumbled pulling them on quickly. I grabbed a large hoody from the floor and pulled that on.
"It's alright Lils, we are decent now" I said laughing at James' pout
"Thanks Merlin, I think I've just been scarred for life" she said cringing a bit "anyways, the rest of the team want you downstairs"
"Fine we will be there in a second" I said pulling on some trackies and slipper uggs. James put unwillingly put his top back on still pouting.
"So close" he mumbled.
"Naww bub" I said giving him a quick kiss "now come on, our public awaits us" I said and with a quick curtsey I was out the door and heading down to the common room.
The next morning I woke up late as usual. Everyone was bustling around packing bags for the holiday's last minute. I looked at the time and was so glad I had packed days in advance. It was 8 o'clock meaning the train was leaving in a hour. This Christmas my family was staying with relatives in Australia so said I could stay with James and the Potter. Of course they didn't know we were together then but I'm definitely not going to tell them now. Although we are going to have to officially tell James' whole family and I can't help but feel and bit nervous about that.
I jumped out of bed and pulled on my jeans and James nice smelling hoody I had stolen from him a couple of days ago. It was starting to lose its smell so I decided I would swap it when I get to his. Once I'd finished getting ready and dressed I sat on my bed and laughed as i watched Liv, Ari and Frankie rush around frantically packing for home.
Finally everyone was ready so we all picked up our bags and walked whilst chatting enthusiastically towards the carriages ready to take us to the train. We met up with James and Fred by the hall and were soon joined by the various other members of the Weasley/Potter clan.
We all walked towards the carriages together. Everyone was buzzing in their own way for this holiday. I was just excited I would get to spend more time with James. Everything at the moment is perfect!
A/N – hey guys, this is a fairly long chapter for my standards. I hope you like it and remember to review as reviews make me happy and inspire me to write more!
Thank you, Love Maddie xo