I'm really sorry about the wait! I got sick right after I posted the last chapter and then I had prom and then my teachers actually gave me homework! I haven't been able to write anything and it's been so awful! Isn't my life just one big woe? (Sarcasm, in case you're wondering)

Anyway, once that was all out of the way and I was ready to post last saturday, FF wouldn't let me. Apparently a lot of people had this problem though, so...good job FF!

I still don't own Harry Potter or any part of the franchise, though I would love to. If any of you can help accomplish this, drop me a line.

Chapter 12: A Match to Remember

James' POV

Needless to say, Lily dragged me all the way to the Hospital Wing, and Sirius pushed me. I was still in a state of shock or denial or whatever and kind of just went along with it. The others followed behind us obediently.

Madame Pomfrey was confused when our entire entourage came in, and she eyed us all nervously, looking for injuries. Her eyes settled upon Lily holding my arm, the sleeve still mostly pushed up.

"James' arm looks like it's infected again," Lily said, gently dragging me forward. Madame Pomfrey came over and took my arm gently. She pushed my sleeve up again and gasped.

"Sit down James," she said, dropping my arm. I sat on the edge of a bed. She bustled over to her store of magical remedies.

"What could have caused it to do that?" Peter asked aloud. I shrugged. Whatever it was had happened yesterday. But it was fine when I went to sleep. It was when I woke up after the nightmare that it hurt.

Could it have something to do with my nightmare then?

Madame Pomfrey came back over with a potion that I had to drink and then some concoction that she rubbed on my arm.

"James, what was your nightmare about last night?" Lily asked, sitting behind me so she was out of Madame Promfrey's way.

Merlin! How does she put these things together so fast!

Everyone's head swiveled to look at us. I took a deep breath.

"What would the dream have to do with anything?" I asked, trying to brush it off. Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"James, it could have everything do with this," he said. I sighed. The others all took up positions around me on various beds. All of them made sure they were out of Madame Pomfrey's way.

"You can figure it out," I told Sirius quietly. He closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I can. One question though: Did one of them reopen your arm in your dream?" he asked.

It was so quiet in the room you could have heard a pin drop to the ground outside.

Slowly, I nodded. Sirius cursed.

"Damn Dark Magic," he said, looking at the wall like that was the cause of our problems.

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" Remus asked.

"Due to my less than pleasant childhood experience, you all know that I know a lot about the Dark Arts, right?" Sirius started, looking around at all of us. We all nodded. Madame Pomfrey glanced at him. "Well the one thing that was very popular among the Black family was the Dreaming Curse."

He paused.

"I don't think I like where this is going," Marlene said. Sirius let out a short laugh.

"You shouldn't. As long as you have the blood of your victim, doesn't matter how much, you can send them any kind of dream you want. And the truly skilled witch or wizard can cause harm in that dream."

Silence reigned in the hospital wing.

"Let me guess, Bellatrix knows how the Dreaming Curse is performed?" Remus said. Sirius nodded.

"But why only James? Why not you as well?" Mary asked.

"You can only affect one person at a time, and it drains you like nothing else," Sirius said. I took a deep breath.

"Is there any way to protect yourself against it?" Lily asked. Madame Pomfrey began wrapping my arm in a tourniquet.

"Not that I know of," Sirius said.

"But why wasn't it opened completely again?" I asked. Sirius shrugged.

"Depends on what Bella wanted to do."

"And it almost was last night," Lily said. "Maybe she healed the surface damage on you, but left what was under it?" she suggested. I shrugged with my left shoulder.

"And what exactly did she do?" Remus asked. I shook my head in confusion.

"That's just it. She didn't do anything. Raston's the one that reopened it. And all he did was simply take a knife and drag it along the path already there," I said. Sirius frowned.

"It's possible Bella manipulated the dream that way, and it's also possible that Raston can do that to," he said. He shuddered. "Merlin, I hope he can't do it too."

"That would be bad," I agreed. I felt oddly calm, considering the situation. The Death Eater's faces kept floating in my mind, but instead of being terrified like I normally was, I felt…I don't know. Indifferent, almost. Prepared, maybe? Ready to face them and end it for good?

"I'm getting Dumbledore," Madame Pomfrey said, speaking up for the first time and proceeding to run out of the wing. I raised a brow.

"Does she realize how easy it is for you to run right now?" Alice asked. I smiled. It would be very easy.

"But she's getting Dumbledore, and this is something we should tell Dumbledore about. He might have a way to block the dreams," Remus said. I sighed. Damn logic.

Sirius looked at me. I nodded.

"We'll tell him," I said. He took a deep breath.

"Not used to telling the authority," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. I nodded.

"Neither am I. We'll run after," I said, causing our friends around us to laugh.

"Hey," Mary said, causing us to drag our attention to her. "Isn't the opening Quidditch match between us and Slytherin this Saturday?" she asked. Odd question.

"Well, yeah. Where've you been?" Alice asked, turning a questioning glare to her friend.

"Madame Pomfrey isn't going to let James play with that arm," she said, pointing to my arm. All amusement left my face.

"Well damn," I said. I used my left hand to kneed my forehead. I was already thinking of possible replacements for my position as Chaser. "Remus, you up for it?" I asked him.

He sighed. "If you can't find anyone else. You know how I hate playing in the games," he said. I frowned but nodded. I looked at the girls in front of me. Mary played Keeper, but what about Marlene, or Lily?

"Marlene?" I asked. She fervently shook her head.

"I know the beaters on the Slytherin team. I've had a bad relationship with both of them. I go out there, I'll be killed!" she said. I took a deep breath and turned around to face Lily.

"You interested in playing?" I asked her. She tilted her head to think about it.

"You really think I'd be any good against the Slytherins?" she asked. I nodded.

"James here will make sure you are well prepared by the end of the week to handle anything those Slytherins may try," Sirius said. I smiled and nodded. I'd make sure my whole team was well prepared for anything those Slytherins may try.

"I can give it a try," she said. I smiled and leaned over to peck her on the lips with my own.

"Merlin! I'm never going to get used to that!" Alice exclaimed, causing me to pull away laughing.

Xx

I kept good on my unmade promise to make sure Lily was well prepared for the match. The night before at practice she was practically better than I was! Which Sirius made sure to point out over and over and over. Lily felt confident enough as well, and the whole team was supportive of her being my replacement. Especially when they saw her score an easy goal against our keeper, Ryan Hows. That's no easy task, mind you. Ryan doesn't make it easy to score.

The Slytherins will never know what hit them!

Xx

The day of the match was almost perfect weather conditions. It wasn't too cold or too hot, it was partly cloudy, and there was hardly any wind. A Quidditch captain can't ask for better conditions!

My whole team was stoked for the match. Lily was being referred to as the 'Secret Weapon', since we made sure no one even knew that I wouldn't be playing in the match. I tried to talk Madame Pomfrey into letting me play. That only resulted in her threatening to tie me up in the Hospital Wing. So I'd be watching from the stands.

And probably shouting orders the whole time when they don't do what I want them to do.

The team filed out onto the pitch, Sirius leading. He'd be acting as Captain today, since I was up in the stands with Remus and Peter. I haven't been up in the stands since first year. I felt eleven years old again.

"And here comes the Gryffindor team, consisting of Ryan Hows, Keeper; Elizabeth Gurtu, Chaser; Drake Hearts, Chaser; Lily….wait, does this say Lily Evans? Why is she on the list? And where's James Potter, the captain!" the announcer, George Clemens, exclaimed. Hehe. Not a soul outside the team knew!

"George, just read the list," Professor McGonagall said. Well, okay. She knew. We had to run this by her after all. She loved the surprise.

"Alright. Lily Evans, Chaser; Sirius Black, Beater and temporary captain? What in Merlin's pants happened to James?"

"George!" McGonagall shouted. The stands were all laughing, just as confused as George but enjoying his misery.

"Fine, fine. Black is the temporary captain. Victor Sasn, Beater; and last but not least, the lovely Miss Rebecca Bernstein, Seeker!" George concluded. The team down on the pitch was struggling to contain themselves. Sirius had his arm around Lily, who was outfitted in her own uniform, extremely proud of himself. He'd have to watch himself. "Well, I don't quite understand what's going on with the Gryffindor team since no one will explain it to me, but I hope this game will be one to remember!"

Remus clapped a hand on my shoulder. "I think they're enjoying the surprise," he said. I smiled wider and nodded.

"I just wish I could be down there."

"Get over yourself mate," Remus said, looking back down at the pitch as the Slytherin team came out.

"Well, it seems like this team decided to stick to the roster," George said bitterly. "The team is Mike Ryvek, Beater and Captain; Billy Rovira, Beater; Andrew Palmer, Seeker; Kevin Krasnicki, Keeper; Josh Dunham, Chaser; Scott Gandy, Chaser; and last but not least, Kenny Rubin, Chaser."

Notice how there were no girls? Yeah, that's Slytherin for you.

Sirius and Mark shook hands, nearly crushing each other's fingers. But they just brushed it off and mounted their brooms with everyone else. Lily looked around nervously into the stands, either searching for someone or surveying the audience, I couldn't tell. She kept her face in a mask of cool indifference.

"And they're off!" George yelled as the fourteen players kicked off from the ground. Ryan and Kevin went to their respectful posts. He usually does a bad commentary so I tuned him out, much more focused on the game itself than his personal opinion of Rebecca Bernstein.

When the Quaffle was thrown into the air, Lily surprised everyone watching and playing by being the first person to seize it. She sped off down the field, the other five chasers hot on her tail. Drake Hearts overcame her and she passed it to him, dropping altitude a bit to avoid a bludger that I didn't even know she'd seen. Sirius chased after the bludger and hit it at Dunham, who was trying to overtake Drake. Dunham had to swerve to avoid the bludger, giving Drake the chance he needed to score the first goal.

Cheers rang out around the stands, including my own. I have the feeling Gryffindor is going to party hard tonight.

I glanced over at Rebecca, who was diving to avoid a stray bludger. No sign of the snitch yet.

Elizabeth had gained possession of the Quaffle, and she passed to Drake as they made their way up the pitch. Drake tried to pass to Lily, but a combination of an aimed bludger and Gandy interfered. Lily wheeled around to chase after it, a hard determination on her face. That is not a good look to be on the receiving end of.

Gandy had just thrown the Quaffle at one of our posts when Lily tipped it with her fingers, causing the ball to stray off course and into Ryan's waiting hands. Clearing herself of Gandy, Lily caught the pass from Ryan and began weaving her way back up the pitch. And I mean that literally.

"Come on, Lily, come on," I muttered.

"James, you're muttering," Peter said. I didn't even spare him a glance as Lily closed in on the goal posts. I think all of Gryffindor held their breath as she faked right, spun around and shot left. Krasnicki was still right and never had a chance.

Score two for Gryffindor!

And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game. Drake, Elizabeth, and Lily scored a total of 120 points before Rebecca caught the snitch in a dramatic chase against Palmer that ended with the two Seekers plowing into the ground. Don't worry, they were fine. Rebecca immediately stood up and displayed the snitch in her hand for all to see. Palmer kind of pouted on the ground.

The Slytherins scored twice. The entire game. And Ryan sat on his broom and watched lazily as those two goals sailed past him, giving the chasers a thumbs up when they made it.

It was hysterical.

We all met the team down on the pitch after the game. Lily was being mobbed by Gryffindors who hadn't even known she could fly.

"Oi! Back off!" Sirius shouted, waving his beater club around. That caused people to back up a few feet. I walked past them. Lily gave a million galleon smile when she saw me. I pulled her into a strong embrace.

"Good job," I said in her ear before capturing her lips in my own. When I pulled away her face was as red as her hair, but she was still smiling.

"Thanks," she said.

"Alright, this calls for a major celebration!" someone in the crowd yelled. Sirius and I looked at each other and smiled.

"They are absolutely right," Sirius said.

"I couldn't agree more," I said. We both looked discreetly at Lily, then back at each other. He nodded.

With a practiced skill, Sirius and I lifted Lily onto our shoulders, holding her above the crowd. She gasped and grabbed a fistful of our hair at first, but then eased up when she was steadied.

Sirius and I paraded Lily up to the castle again, somehow managing to get her up all seven flights of stairs to Gryffindor Tower. The crowd stayed with us the whole way, even those who weren't in Gryffindor. But hey, when have intruders ever stopped our Quidditch celebrations before?

I'd been right in my earlier prediction. Gryffindor partied hard that night!

End Chapter

I hope I made up for the wait with this chapter. I'm going to try not to let that happen again.

Please review! I'm not kidding when I say they make me write faster! I get enthusiastic when you're enthusiastic! So review! Please!