The action packed month of April soon passed them by. Slytherins were quelled, the Marauder's Map was still confiscated and the Prefects' Bathroom was once again off limits to Kirsty and Sirius. For once, all seemed harmonious amongst the group of friends. Apart from the very real exam panic. Their N.E.W.T.s were now mere weeks away.
It was now the beginning of May and things were hotting up at Hogwarts; and it wasn't just the weather. Not if Sirius had anything to do with it anyway. The group had once again commandeered their favourite spot by the fire and Kirsty and Sirius were currently entwined in a tangle of limbs on a single armchair and all that could be heard from their vicinity was sloppy kissing noises.
"I think I preferred it better when they weren't kissing…" confessed James, looking somewhat disgusted.
"You're just jealous," teased Lily.
James furrowed his brow. "Of Sirius or of Kirsty?"
"Depends which one of them you'd rather be kissing," quipped Emma.
"Ewww, gross."
"That's not what I meant," said Lily, throwing an annoyed look over at Emma. "I meant that you're jealous because we're not in that stage of our relationship anymore."
"What stage?"
"The passionate, can't keep your hands off each other stage."
James stared at her, mouth agape. "You take that back, Evans." He then lunged at her, knocking her off the arm of the sofa where she had been perched and proceeded to snog her senseless.
Everyone giggled.
"Yeah, we're not the new couple anymore," sighed Hayley, leaning back against Remus' legs. Remus was sat on the other armchair and Hayley had been sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. He dipped his head forward and gave her an upside down kiss.
Watching all his other friends, Peter gripped Heather's hand and pulled her in for a peck on the lips.
Emma, too, had been watching all these displays of affection between her friends. She turned to Sam, who was cuddled up on the sofa beside her. "Kiss," she demanded, pointing at her lips.
"Oh yeah, because that's so romantic." But he was not one to refuse a lady's request.
"Eurgh, seriously, guys, show a bit of decorum," came the disgusted voice of Sirius as he and Kirsty deigned to join the group.
Every single person in the group uncoupled from their partner and glared at him.
It soon became that time of night where Hayley had to decide whether she would spend the night crashing in the girls' dorms or whether she wanted Remus to walk her back to Ravenclaw Tower. Tonight, she decided, was a Ravenclaw Tower kind of night.
She felt bad as Remus stepped out of the portrait hole behind her. She supposed it wasn't fair to always drag him out of the warm and cosy common room to accompany her back. It was nice though, it gave them a good opportunity to spend some alone time together.
She knew she really should spend some more time in Ravenclaw Tower; she could sense the disapproval from her fellow Ravenclaws when she moseyed in late every night and she knew Matt Higgins wasn't impressed, especially with the upcoming Ravenclaw vs Gryffindor Quidditch Cup match in a couple of weeks' time. He kept trying to get her to do some secret reconnaissance to try and learn what tactics they might employ, but Hayley refused. Plus, she knew James would never fall for it, and James had already banned her from the common room once before in the name of Quidditch rivalry.
She and Remus walked through the corridors hand in hand. "It doesn't bother you does it?" he asked, somewhat conversationally.
"What?"
"Not being the newest couple anymore?"
She giggled softly. "How daft would you think I was if I said it did bother me a little?"
"Not daft at all."
"I am happy for Kirst and Sirius obviously, it took them long enough to get here. But I am a bit sad that things aren't all new and shiny between us anymore."
"Is this the point where I am supposed to do a James and leap at you passionately?"
"I'm not averse to any leaping." She blushed slightly and gazed at Remus out of the corner of her eyes. Things had always been romantic between them and she had seen sparks of Remus' passionate side appear every now and then, but mostly he was gentle and caring —which she loved. That was Remus down to a tee, always considerate, making sure she was alright. There was obviously passion, of course there was, but when she looked around at the other couples in the group she couldn't help but compare her relationship to theirs. Sirius and Kirsty were very passionate — too passionate. So much so that it usually resulted in them having arguments and fallouts. James was spontaneous with his passion, always catching Lily off guard with some hugely romantic gesture or other, and Emma and Sam seemed to have struck up a good balance between romance and passion — if the noises she had heard coming from behind Emma's closed four poster hangings were anything to go by.
Maybe she had just read far too many romance novels.
"Duly noted," said Remus, looking serious, but she could have sworn she saw the ghost of a smile on his face.
She always wondered if he was afraid to get too involved in the moment and hurt her. She was pretty sure he would have inherited an innate wolfish strength from his affliction.
While she walked along in her reverie Remus' grip on her hand tightened. Then it really, really tightened and he pulled her into a small alcove hidden in the wall.
And he kissed her. Really kissed her. With even more intensity than he had done during the downpour when they'd finally recoupled. One of his hands cupped her face and the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him. The kiss was so fierce that she was struggling to catch her breath.
"How am I doing?" asked Remus, finally pulling away to look at her, breathing heavily. "I may not win any competitions against Padfoot and Prongs, but I feel I may have picked up a few things over the years."
Hayley licked her lips, playing for time as she tried to get her breathing under control. "From kissing them or from watching them?" she joked.
He gave a slight growl and shut up the giggle that emerged from her throat with another kiss.
"Although I doubt I'll ever compete with any of the leading men in those damn books of yours," he jokily grumbled as they pulled apart again.
"You are the only leading man for me," she breathed, this time bringing him in towards her to kiss him again.
"I don't want you to go," she whinged half an hour later when they'd finally made their way over to the Ravenclaw common room. She had her arms draped around his neck, clinging onto him and refusing to let go.
"I don't want to go either, but it's getting late."
"Stay."
"What? Out here? All night? Wouldn't be very comfy," he observed dryly.
"No," she scolded teasingly. "How do you fancy spending the night somewhere that none of the Marauders have seen?"
"I'm listening."
She loved the competitive Marauder side to him. It didn't emerge all that often, but when it did it made her fancy him even more. Remus Lupin had a devilish side to him and it was very sexy.
"Why don't you spend the night here? In Ravenclaw Tower?" She willed him not to say no.
"I don't think the boys would like me invading their dormitory."
"With me."
"Oh." He looked at her slightly taken aback. "In that case," he murmured, coming forward to give her a lingering kiss on the lips, "lead the way," he instructed, saying the last words against her lips as he drew back from the kiss.
She took his hand and led him over to the door with the bronze, eagle-shaped door knocker.
"At what point do you think we should get worried about the lack of a Remus?" queried Kirsty. The rest of the group were still awake back in Gryffindor common room.
"See, if we had the map I would just be able to open it up, find mini Remus and check where he was and that he was alright. Ergo, Filch can't confiscate it, it's a matter of security!" exclaimed James.
"You're still not allowed to go in there and steal it," reprimanded Lily.
"He's obviously just staying the night with Hayley," said Sirius with a role of his eyes.
"Or he's dead," said Emma matter-of-factly. "In which case we can't do much anyway."
"The ever compassionate want to be Healer, everybody," joked Sam.
"Not dead then?" asked Sirius upon seeing Remus at breakfast the following morning.
"Just dead tired I expect," added James, coming to sit down beside him with a wink.
"A bit."
"So, are our deductions correct then?" asked James.
"The Ravenclaw common room's huge," said Remus, somewhat noncommittally.
"Yes!" exclaimed James and Sirius together, high-fiving over the top of Remus' head.
"And what are the dorms like?" continued Peter with a grin.
"Perfectly comfortable."
"I bet they were," laughed Sirius.
"So at what point in the week is it customary for us to stop speaking?" asked Kirsty, nonchalantly twiddling her quill between her fingers as they waited for their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson to start.
"What?" asked Hayley from the seat beside her. Kirsty had taken to no longer sitting with Sirius during this lesson as she had deemed his antics against MacIntosh far too embarrassing. So she was now sitting next to Hayley with Remus and Sirius at the desk in front.
"You know, inter-house rivalry and all that. We can't be friends on the pitch. I think we will need to put a pause on our friendship at approximately eleven p.m. on Friday night. Friendship will resume at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. As long as you don't beat me. If you beat me then we can never be friends again — obviously." Kirsty turned to her with a grin.
"So Gryffindor is now employing emotional blackmail as a tactic, are they?" Hayley asked her in amusement. She wasn't going to lie though, she was getting increasingly nervous about the upcoming match. It was difficult being the only Ravenclaw player in a sea of Gryffindor players and supporters.
"Blame James. As far as he's concerned you're the enemy. You even wear little devil horns in his training diagrams and everything."
"I won't tell you what Matt says about you lot then."
"Pfft, Matt," exclaimed Sirius from in front of them, clearly listening in on their conversation.
"Will you just get over it already?" retorted Kirsty.
Hayley raised her eyebrows but before she got chance to question this weird outburst further the professor arrived.
"Good morning, all," he announced as he swept into the room. "Today we are going to get some practice in for your practical exam. As I am sure you are aware, you will not know what you will be facing in this exam. Therefore, today we are going to practice reacting to the unknown." He went over to his desk, dipped his quill in an ink pot and scribbled something on a piece of parchment. After examining what he had just written with interest, he walked back to stand in front of the class once again, parchment and inkpot in hand.
"Mr Black, if you could please just hold this for me a moment."
Sirius, somewhat reluctantly, held onto the inkwell, looking at both it and MacIntosh with suspicion.
"Ready yourselves, on the count of three I will wave my wand and you must all deal with whatever comes at you. Three, two, one."
The inkwell in Sirius' hand sprang out of his grasp and squirted ink all over him before sprouting sharp, pointy legs and fixing itself to his face. The sudden onslaught threw Sirius off balance, sending both him and his chair to the floor with an almighty crash. The inkwell remained undisturbed and latched tightly onto Sirius' face.
"As demonstrated by Sirius here, the first piece of advice I can offer you is to always be ready to fight off your foe. You mustn't misplace your wand, always have it to hand and not somewhere hard to reach. And certainly don't have it stuffed away inside your robe, Mr Black. Miss White, perhaps you would be so kind to save your boyfriend before the inkwell suffocates him."
Sirius 4. MacIntosh 4.
The Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match came up far too quickly for Hayley's liking. It was Saturday morning and she was up in her Ravenclaw dormitory alone and feeling quite queasy. So queasy that she was wondering whether it would be a good enough excuse to get her out of playing.
Before her first two Quidditch games she had been nervous of course; it was only natural. But she was a naturally competitive person and the urge to win won out over her nerves as soon as she kicked off from the ground on her broom.
Today felt different though. It was not a nice feeling to be competing against her friends and to be going head to head directly with Kirsty. She did want to win. As much as some of her Ravenclaw contemporaries sometimes doubted her allegiance to her house she was proud to be a Ravenclaw and would do her utmost to bring the Quidditch Cup home for her house. She wasn't going to go easy on her friends just because they were her friends.
She was worrying about what would happen if Ravenclaw won though. Worried about how her friends would react. She knew how competitive Kirsty, James, Sirius and Sam were when it came to Quidditch. Hopefully they wouldn't be annoyed at her just for beating them at some game. They had (supposedly) jokingly banned her previously when Ravenclaw had beaten Hufflepuff after all.
Knowing she wouldn't let her team down, no matter how worried she was, she shouldered her broomstick, gave herself a stern look in the mirror and headed out the door.
"Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Gryffindor Vs Ravenclaw. Our last match of the year as these two teams go head to head for the Quidditch Cup. Ravenclaw have the point advantage, having beaten both Slytherin and Hufflepuff, so they'll be wanting to catch that Snitch as soon as possible. Gryffindor need to do their best to stop their goals and score as many as they possibly can."
"That was good," praised Emma, "you actually sound like you know what you're talking about. I think I even learnt some stuff."
Sirius, however, didn't seem to paying her any attention, his eyes were following his Seeker girlfriend as she mounted her broom. "No catching that Snitch too early, Kirst." In response, Kirsty shot him a thumbs up and he responded by blowing her a kiss.
Boos echoed around the stadium from the female population of Hogwarts at seeing this romantic gesture.
Sirius scowled slightly at this reaction and said, obviously in an attempt to provoke his fangirls even further, "But even if you don't catch the Snitch you're already a winner. You have me, after all."
Even more boos sounded and the previous booers got louder.
"You could say she's already made quite a catch."
"Hey, an actual Quidditch pun, well done, Em."
"For the last time, Mr Black, that podium is not a platform for your relationship triumphs and tribulations. We're here to see Gryffindor win."
"Careful, Professor, we can't be too biased now can we?"
She gave Sirius a stern look before cheering herself hoarse as the Gryffindor team flew up in the air. Madam Hooch had released the balls. The game was on.
"Go Gryffinclaw!" shouted Emma.
"Emma, you can't cheer for both sides."
"Who says I can't? If you can go out with two Seekers in one day then I can support two Seekers in one match."
"But you're a Gryffindor."
"It's called being unbiased."
McGonagall coughed pointedly.
"Yes, right you are, Professor. Potter has the Quaffle, passes to Chase, back to Potter who zooms up the pitch, missing the first Bludger hit of the game. He throws and… yes, it's in, Ravenclaw Keeper and Captain Matt Higgins was nowhere near it. Not the only thing he'll get nowhere near again either. Bad luck, Matt. Gryffindor take an early lead."
A gasp went up from the crowd. The Seekers had spotted the Snitch. It was far too early in the match for Kirsty to catch it, but she had to somehow make sure that Hayley wouldn't. They were both at opposite ends of the pitch and the Snitch was flitting around near the stands in the centre, close to the ground. Both Seekers put on a spurt of speed; hurtling towards each other head on. Kirsty went rocketing forwards, but she didn't seem to be heading for the Snitch, she was heading for Hayley. She was trying to scare Hayley into pulling up and away from her head on collision and therefore up and away from the Snitch. Kirsty had the power and the speed of the two Seekers but Hayley was slighter and therefore nimbler with more finesse of movement. But right now that didn't seem like much consolation when you had a Kirsty barrelling towards you.
Remus could see the determination on her face from where he sat. She didn't want to have to pull out of her dash for the Snitch. But the Snitch seemed too far out of her reach, and Kirsty was now only a few feet in front of her so Hayley had to pull up. Kirsty shot underneath her at high speed, soon occupying the space that Hayley had been mere seconds before.
"Ooooh, impressive display from both Seekers there. White leads an aggressive counter charge. Proving that friendship means nothing when on the pitch."
"Haaayleeeey. Kiiiiirsty," sang Emma alternatively hoping from foot to foot, waving her mini Ravenclaw flag every time she sang Hayley's name and her Gryffindor flag when she said Kirsty's. She was not the only one who was torn between her two friends. Remus sat in the stands on tenterhooks. Of course he wanted Gryffindor to win, he wanted James' captaincy to be a success and for Kirsty and Sam to also be victorious. But his boyfriend pride also wanted Hayley to thrash them all.
He watched as Sirius took the Ravenclaw flag out of Emma's hand and crushed it under his foot.
"Where are your shoes?" asked Emma as she looked down at her demolished flag.
"I took them off. I've learned my lesson by now. You almost hit Rosier in the head and ruined his shot at goal in the Slytherin-Hufflepuff match."
"It's not my fault that he's a git and deserved it."
Boos went up from the Slytherin end of the crowd.
"Yes, but my shoe didn't deserve it. He Reductoed it to smithereens and I had to walk back with only one shoe in the rain."
"Come here," shouted Emma, suddenly lunging at Sirius.
"What? Why? What are you doing, woman?" yelled Sirius from his sprawled out position on the floor.
"I just need…your…sock… got it! Go Ravenclaw!" She waved Sirius' sock, which, as luck would have it, was a dark blue one, around on the end of her wand and it served well as a replacement for her destroyed Ravenclaw flag.
Sirius reappeared at the commentator's podium, looking heavily dishevelled and glaring at Emma. "Oooh, something's happening," exclaimed Emma, pointing at the pitch and hoping to distract her co-commentator from serving up a punishment.
The three Gryffindor Chasers were zooming up the pitch in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation and the Ravenclaw Chasers could do nothing but barrel roll out of their way. Tyler scored. When Matt Higgins threw the Quaffle back into play James immediately caught it. The Gryffindor team were on fire; every one of them determined to win the cup.
Hayley suddenly dived, only just missing the Quaffle that James had thrown to Tyler. Lesley beat a Bludger her way but it didn't knock her off course. Kirsty was at the opposite end of the pitch with no chance of getting near Hayley or the Snitch in time. Hayley pulled out of the dive and levelled off. Remus spotted the glint off gold by her left ear, but as Hayley made a swipe for it the Snitch spiralled up and away from her.
There was a groan from the Ravenclaw supporters.
"Close miss for the Ravenclaw Seeker there. Better not let her anywhere near it again, Kirst!"
Remus had his fingers tightly crossed. He still wasn't entirely sure which outcome he was crossing his fingers for. But he was crossing his fingers nonetheless.
"Hi, Hails."
Hayley turned as Kirsty drew up beside her for the first time that match. It was turning out to be a long game. The score currently stood at ninety-forty to Gryffindor. So Kirsty was now allowed to go for the Snitch, but the Snitch had evaded them both for the last hour. The Chasers on both sides were still scoring goals, but everyone was tiring. She knew that neither James nor Matt were likely to call this match to an end. So she was in this until either she or Kirsty got that Snitch.
"I nearly died when you almost got the Snitch earlier."
"Stop it, Kirst, you're not going to distract me."
"Just making conversation. Have to pass the time somehow."
Sirius' voice carried across the crowd, halting Hayley's retort. "Ouch! Potter is hit in the side of the head with the Quaffle. He seemed to…err… deliberately turn away from it. And now he's doing loop de loops in the air. Are you quite okay, Prongs?"
Hayley, along with everyone else in the stadium, was looking up at the Gryffindor Captain thinking he had gone quite mad. Hayley turned to Kirsty to share a small giggle at James' bizarreness —perhaps he had just got bored and was letting off steam. But Kirsty wasn't there.
"Sorry, Hails, got to go," she yelled over her shoulder and she shot off in James' direction.
The Snitch! It had to be! Bloody James!
Hayley kicked off too. Kirsty hadn't got that much of a head start, despite her captain alerting her to the Snitch's presence. As they headed towards James he stopped loop de looping and sped up the pitch after the Quaffle. Now Hayley could see it, the Snitch was fluttering in the air where he'd just been.
Hayley watched as Kirsty swerved out of the way of Geoffrey Bryce the oncoming Ravenclaw Chaser and then had to duck down as Lesley raised her Beater's bat to hit a Bludger Hayley's way. Hayley sloth grip rolled with ease, thanking her ballet lessons when she was younger for her effortless balance and timing. They were right in the middle of the match; it was literally an obstacle course with red and blue blurs flying everywhere. It was difficult enough keeping an eye on the Snitch in these conditions, never mind having to keep a lookout for a Chaser barrelling towards you.
Sam prevented Ravenclaw from scoring another goal by hitting the Quaffle away with his broom tail and it came soaring towards Hayley. She swooped down, losing height and Chase flew over the top of her catching it.
Kirsty was swerving this way and that, trying to track the Snitch's path as it happily fluttered by the ears and ankles of any nearby Quidditch player.
Hayley continued to fly a bit lower, it was a bit safer down here, further away from the frantic action above. It did mean she had to crane her neck upwards to keep an eye on Kirsty and the Snitch though.
The crowd suddenly groaned. "Oooh, nasty Bludger to the chin there for Higgins. He seems okay though. Hope it didn't disfigure that charming smile of yours, Matt."
"Maybe he needs someone to kiss it better," suggested Emma helpfully.
There were excited squeals from the Matt fans in the crowd.
Kirsty was doing a good job of mirroring the Snitch's movements while simultaneously dodging other players and balls and ignoring the digs currently being made by the Quidditch commentators.
Deciding that she could no longer avoid the fray, Hayley turned her broom upwards and bumped into Kirsty as they once again came side by side. They mirrored each other's actions as well as that of the Snitch as they each fought to gain the speed needed to catch up to the small fluttering object.
This was it. The Snitch was finally within arm's reach. Both Kirsty and Hayley held their arms out steady, hovering over the Snitch and waiting to swipe. Hayley planned her moment and closed her hand tightly over her target.
But all she could feel was flesh as she clasped Kirsty's own enclosed hand underneath hers. They looked at each, slightly stunned, and Hayley released her grip to reveal the defeated Snitch's wings caught in Kirsty's hand. Her opponent punched the air, signalling to the crowd the outcome of the match. The stalls erupted and Gryffindor banners and scarves were thrown up into the air in celebration.
Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.
Kirsty gave Hayley a comforting squeeze on her shoulder before shooting off to hug James, who was wiping his face with the sleeve of his robe, trying to hide his ecstatic tears.
"Yeeeees! Yeeeeees!" Sirius was screaming, his voice still magnified.
As the Gryffindor team did a lap of honour around the pitch Sirius signalled for his girlfriend to come over to the commentator's booth. He nearly pulled her off her broom as he brought her down for a mid-air kiss.
Hayley flew to the ground and hopped off her broom. She was met by Matt who gave her a conciliatory pat on the back.
The party in the Gryffindor common room that night would certainly go down in history as one to remember. The Marauders, as usual, had pulled out all the stops and there was food galore, sourced from the House Elves in the kitchens. They had exhausted their supplies of Butterbeer, Firewhisky and Mead and congratulatory banners were draped all over the common room.
A gramophone had been rigged up and was belting out all the Wizarding hits; everyone was dancing and singing badly. The Gryffindor team kept draping their arms around each other and hugging at every opportunity. Sirius was constantly flitting between kissing Kirsty passionately and enveloping James in a tight brotherly hug.
James eventually called for quiet and the music was turned down and the chants of 'Gryffindor' ceased. "Firstly, a huge thank you to the House Elves who never fail to provide an amazing feast. Thank you to all of you guys for supporting us and cheering Gryffindor to victory." The Gryffindor chants started again along with some celebratory banging on the table. "Thank you to our two Gryffindor commentators for providing far too much entertainment and more distraction than was necessary in a Quidditch match." Everyone laughed and Sirius and Emma took a bow; Sirius wriggled the toes on his still bare foot to much applause. "Lastly, thank you to the people who got us here, the Gryffindor team. I couldn't have asked for better teammates and better people to captain. It has been a pleasure playing with you all and, more importantly, bossing you around for the last nine months. We rock; I love you all!"
The team then rushed forward and enveloped him in a huge team hug before Sam hoiked him onto his shoulder and the crowd cheered for their captain.
McGonagall came in around midnight to ask them to please keep the noise down or they would keep the rest of the castle awake. "However, please feel free to celebrate as long as you want — quietly. Well done, Gryffindor." She even consented to join them for a piece of cake before she left.
James, Lily and Remus had been unfortunate enough to miss this out of character behaviour by their Head of House as they had all left the party an hour earlier. James and Remus had each had their own more important matters to attend to.
Remus crept along the corridors, keeping to the shadows so as to not run into a teacher or Filch. Although, as a Prefect, he had more freedom to be roaming the castle later than other students.
He felt bad for not enjoying the party as much as he should have. Of course he was pleased for James and the team and he was happy that Gryffindor had won, but he was also feeling sorry for Hayley.
For obvious reasons she had not joined them in the common room that evening and he felt guilty at the thought of her being all alone, wallowing in her defeat, while he and the rest of the group partied and celebrated. That was why he was on the way to Ravenclaw Tower to see her.
He eventually reached the door knocker and took a deep breath. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to achieve this. He very much doubted that the Ravenclaws would want to see a Gryffindor intruder in their common room today of all days. But he had to try and see her.
He rapped the knocker. "I am black when clean and white when dirty. What am I?" it questioned.
Remus barely needed to pause to think as he answered, "A chalkboard."
The door swung open to allow him entry.
"Have you taken a wrong turn, Lupin? I believe your common room is inside a different tower." It was Matt Higgins sat at the table nearest to him. The rest of the common room was fairly deserted, it was late after all and no celebrations were happening in here tonight.
"Evening, Matt, sorry to intrude. I just needed to see Hayley."
Matt looked him up and down, seemingly sizing him up. Remus had always had a fairly decent rapport with his fellow seventh year. "I'm surprised you're not still enjoying the celebrations."
"Yeah, well, not really my thing. I'd rather be here. Well played today, by the way, sorry you lost."
Matt nodded. "Thanks, it was a close game."
"Remus?" Hayley walked over to them from the far corner of the room. She looks tired, noticed Remus. "What are you doing here?"
Matt had the courtesy to leave them in peace and headed up what looked like the staircase to the boys' dormitory.
"I wanted to see you. You left far too quickly after the match for me to talk to you."
"Yeah, sorry."
"I'm sorry that you lost." He came forward and rubbed her arm.
"It's fine, just a bit deflating you know. I bet you guys are throwing one hell of a party over there." A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Yeah, it was getting pretty raucous when I left. I wish you could have joined us."
"Would have felt a bit weird I think."
"Oh, I know, but I didn't want you to miss all the fun which is why…" he paused, producing the bag from behind his back, "I have brought some of the party to you." He opened the bag to reveal some bottles of Butterbeer, sandwiches, crisps and cake amongst some other items pilfered from the Gryffindor buffet. "I didn't want you to be on your own."
She came forward and kissed him. "Thank you."
"There should also be enough if anyone else wants to join us." Remus looked up pointedly at the other stragglers that were left in the Ravenclaw common room.
"I think just us would be better. Come on, all the other girls will be asleep by now." She led Remus up to the girls' dormitory, ignoring the surprised looks they received from the other Ravenclaw students.
They sat on her bed and arranged the food before them like a picnic, drawing the hangings around them and casting Silencio so as not to disturb Hayley's sleeping dorm mates.
"Cheers," said Remus, clinking his Butterbeer bottle against Hayley's, "to a match well played."
They sat for a while enjoying the food, sipping their Butterbeers and reminiscing about that day's match. Then Remus delved in his robe pocket. "Oh, before I forget, James made me promise to give you this." He handed her a mirror.
"I don't get it," she said, turning it over in her hands in puzzlement.
"You'll see. Padfoot, are you there?"
"Moony, about bloody time," came the slightly slurred speech of Sirius. Hayley jumped slightly in shock as Remus turned the mirror so it faced both himself and Hayley to reveal a slightly cross-eyed Sirius staring back at them.
"Haaaayleeeey," squealed Emma. Appearing over Sirius' shoulder in the mirror, looking very merry and somewhat red in the face.
"Hayleeeeey," cheered three other voices and Kirsty, Peter and Sam also squished up next to Sirius to be seen in the mirror.
She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of them all.
"We loooove you," exclaimed Kirsty.
"Wish you could be here, Hails, we miss you," said Sirius.
"Come back soon, you're always welcome in our common room," added Peter.
"A true Gryffinclaw," observed Sam.
"Hey, that's my phrase!" shouted Emma.
"I love you guys too," said Hayley, laughing slightly at them all.
Remus smiled too at both his friends in the mirror and at the smile they had brought to his girlfriend's face. "Enjoy the rest of the party, guys, see you in the morning."
"Bye, Remus, we loooooove yooooouuu."
"Are you sure about this?" Sirius had asked James as they slunk away from the party and up to their dormitory.
"Never been more sure in my life. You'll keep the party going?"
"Of course!" scoffed Sirius.
"Try and make sure I'm not missed too much."
"Don't worry, Prongs, when I'm in the vicinity no one is missing you."
"Oh thanks."
Sirius placed his hands on his friend's shoulders and gave them a slight squeeze. "Are you sure you've got everything?"
James felt around his person, doing a final check. His hands clamping around the item in his robe's pocket more than once, checking it was still there. "I think so."
"Then go get her, Prongs." He clapped James encouragingly on the shoulder blade.
"Hey, Lil, come with me." James leapt down the last few stairs on the staircase and landed in front of a surprised Lily. He then beckoned her to follow him outside the portrait hole.
"But, the party?" she stammered, following him, looking unsure.
"They won't miss us."
"I think they might miss their captain."
"Nah, we've finished with all the mushy stuff now. Everyone just wants to eat and get drunk. Come on." He grabbed her by the hand and led her out of the common room.
"Quick, get under this," he commanded, pulling the Invisibility Cloak out of the bag he had with him.
"What are we doing?"
"Sneaking around," he replied with a grin.
"If you hadn't just won the Quidditch Cup I'd be pretty mad at you right now," answered Lily as she allowed James to drape the cloak over them both.
Lily didn't resist as he pulled her along through the corridors, jumping down staircase steps two at a time, in a hurry to get to their destination.
He heard her give a little giggle as they slipped through the large oak door and into the grounds. The thrill seeker inside her had been awakened, helped along somewhat by the few swigs of Firewhisky she had knocked back with Sirius at the party.
There was a slight chill in the air and James took his time to shut the great oak doors as quietly as possible behind them.
He led her across the grounds in the near darkness. "James, where are we —? She asked as he walked her past the most obvious Hogwarts Ground landmarks.
"You'll see."
It didn't take them long to arrive at the Quidditch pitch, mainly because James was pressing along at some speed, impatient to get Lily to their destination and get things started.
"Because we haven't spent enough time here already today," quipped Lily as she finally realised where James was taking her.
"Shhh," he whirled her to a stop and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Now, go in here and don't go anywhere until I come and fetch you." He chivvied her into the changing rooms.
"But, James, only players are allowed in the changing rooms," she laughed, mimicking the telling off he'd given her a few weeks ago.
"Quiet, you." He gave her a playful pat on the bum as she acquiesced to his request and went inside.
James quickly entered the pitch itself and tried to set everything up as quickly as he could, while at the same time making sure it was perfect.
"Come on," James said quietly to Lily, holding his hand out to her. She had been sat patiently on one of the benches when he entered. He took her through the players' tunnel and out on the pitch. She couldn't stop glancing around her, clearly finding it interesting getting to see the Quidditch Pitch from a player's perspective.
"Sit here," he asked her gently, pointing over to the centre of the pitch.
Lily gasped. "Oh, James, this is amazing." Her eyes swept over the tartan picnic blanket laid out on the central circle with a wicker basket at one end. James watched as she took in the candles floating in the air around it.
They sat down in the middle of the blanket and James busied himself by laying out some food in front of them.
"So, what are we doing here? Why did you want to be here instead of at the party?"
James stopped what he was doing. Lily was laying back on the blanket looking up at the goal hoops and the starry sky. He laid next to her, propping himself up on his elbow. "This will be my last time on a Quidditch Pitch and I wanted to spend it with you."
"I know how important this place is to you. I'm glad you brought me here. It looks beautiful like this."
They were quiet for a while, staring at the Quidditch Pitch in all its glory. "I fancied you the first time I saw you play, you know," Lily admitted.
"Oh really?"
"Oh yes, I was very much in danger of becoming a James Potter fan then and there, loads of girls swooned over you that day. But then every time I saw you afterwards you were acting like an arrogant berk so I steered clear and the attraction wore off somewhat."
"Until now."
"Until now," she agreed. "Thirteen year old Lily Evans would be thrilled if she knew I was having a date on the Quidditch Pitch with new, cute Quidditch player James Potter."
"I don't need to tell you what thirteen year old James Potter's reaction would be."
"Yeah, I imagine it hasn't changed much," she laughed.
"Champagne?" he asked, proffering her a bottle and two flutes.
She gave a shocked laugh. "What are we celebrating?"
"You. Me. Us. Life." He gestured vaguely around them. "Being here, winning the Cup, being the happiest I have ever been in my life."
"Me too. Very happy. Couldn't be happier."
"Are you quite sure about that?" James shifted, seizing his moment. He nestled the champagne and glasses into the grass and shifted so that he was crouching down in front of Lily. "Here," he said, handing her the object that he had been hiding in his pocket.
Lily took it. "A Snitch?" she asked, looking confused as she stared at the motionless golden ball.
"Open it."
Lily dug her nails into the groove that ran across the Snitch's middle and the top flipped open. She gasped and when she looked up at him again he had dropped down to one knee.
"Lily Evans, will you marry me?"
A tear rolled down her cheek and a sob escaped her as she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. "Yes," she cried, laughing through her tears.
He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her. His heart hammering with excitement and love for this beautiful creature before him – his fiancée.
They moved apart and James gently took the Snitch from her hand and carefully extracted the engagement ring from inside it. Taking her left hand he slipped it on her ring finger and clasped her hand in his. "I love you."
"I love you too. More than you'll ever know." And she kissed him again. When they broke apart she was smiling. "What would you have done if Gryffindor had lost? Would you have still proposed?" she asked, laughing slightly.
"Of course! I may have just been a bit sulkier. And you saying yes would have made it the best day of my life either way. The Quidditch Cup is just something extra."
"So today has been a day that James Potter's dreams are made of."
"And Lily Evans' dreams now too I hope."
"Definitely. Although I imagine Lily Potter will be substantially harder to please."
"I like a challenge." They tumbled to the ground, kissing passionately and wrapped in each other's arms. Lily's new engagement ring glistening in the candle light.
I am so happy that they're engaged! I got goose bumps writing it. That's also my last Quidditch match, which is a bit sad :(. The seventh year at Hogwarts is slowly coming to an end. Go go Gryffinclaw! I hope you enjoyed, reviews would be absolutely fantastic and would make me hugely happy right now! So if you're new to this story and have been on a reading binge, or you're an old fan returning to see it finished I'd love to hear your opinions – good or bad. Thank you for reading!
