A/N: So I like this posting twice a month thing… I think I'll keep it up. But now it's that reviewer shout out time again: Lauroxo, LiveLife, emandem, IAMSOAP. Thanks for your reviews!
I also have to point out that quite a few of you have been asking about Dorcas and questioning if she likes James. My answer to that is 'no comment.' Lol. I will eventually address that friendship but not at this point. Mean, I know. As for this chapter, a bit more Lily/James, and much more in chapter 36. Yay!
Who's To Say?
Chapter 35
Madam Pomfrey was shocked to see the group of ten arrive at the infirmary and even more distressed when she saw the physical state of the boys. Thorne told her about the incident as she began placing the teenagers in beds and gathering multiple bottles and potions together in an agitated manner.
"We don't need—" Mulciber initiated.
"Hush, Mr. Mulciber! You didn't need to start a duel but you did so anyway, and now you're in my care!" the mediwitch cut in sternly. He shut his mouth but glowered.
"Professor Dumbledore is on his way," the Defense professor mentioned.
"Right," Pomfrey nodded, "Well, a quick examination of all of you and then remedies. I'll start with you Mr. Avery… the right side of your face is obviously welling up. Tsk."
"Not a word from you lot until the headmaster gets here." Thorne notified, gazing at them disapprovingly.
Consequently, he arrived for to the Hospital Wing with McGonagall shortly thereafter. Dumbledore studied the eight wizards silently, appraising their appearance with critical stealth and they peered back nervously, albeit Sirius and Mulciber, both of whom continued to look furious.
"I was told by Minerva four of you were unexpectedly attacked and it seems that it was premeditated," he finally remarked in a steady voice. The eight boys all glanced at each other then at the headmaster.
"Er, yes sir," James began, raising a hand, "Sirius, Peter, Remus, and I were on the second floor, going to meet Professor McGonagall. We'd been told, and given a note, t-that she needed to see us."
"We were about to enter the Great Hall." Sirius revealed.
"Yes,, and when we were walking through the corridor it suddenly got dark, then… they attacked us." Peter added.
"Yes. Minerva showed me the message, of course," Dumbledore responded, taking the note from his robes, "This is not from Professor McGonagall, as she attested. Forgery is a grave offense at Hogwarts… do any of you four have an explanation?"
Everyone looked at the Slytherins and they recoiled slightly yet said nothing.
"No? No clarification?," the old wizard prompted. It was quiet still, "So as it stands, you sent the Gryffindors a fake notice under the guise of Minerva here in order to lure them to the second floor, correct? Solomon, Walton? And you did this so you would be able to harm them more easily, yes? Derrick, Severus?"
"But it didn't go as planned, did it?" grumbled Sirius.
"I am just very curious to know what guided you to intentionally assault these young men, since you likely knew it would not be prudent."
"You've already formed your opinion about what happened, sir, so why bother asking us these questions?" Avery inquired, frowning heavily.
"Because I find it exceptionally perplexing that you students seemingly do not hear a word I say and continue to engage in malicious acts," Dumbledore answered, hands behind his back and narrowing his eyes, "Enough victims are being targeted in the world and I will not see my pupils mirror that! I cannot repeat myself enough and eventually will stop; then I will be the one to act." The Slytherins appeared uncomfortable.
"I believe what the Gryffindors have said and fought back because they had no choice. However, this vicious feud between all of you young men has reached its limit and I am impatient," he reported briskly.
"What's going to happen, Professor?" Remus questioned.
"The Slytherins have lost their privileges for the rest of term. No Quidditch Final or last Hogsmeade trip and they've acquired weekly detention until school lets out. You have also abolished your House's chance of winning the House Cup for the year." Dumbledore explained. Gates looked shocked while Avery and Mulciber appeared aggravated.
"W-We're not in trouble, are we?" asked Peter.
"No, Pettigrew, but let it be a lesson." McGonagall answered. James and Sirius looked full of vindictive satisfaction.
"You eight will remain here until Poppy deems it necessary and will not even consider giving her trouble. I think, to prove this point, you need to be separated— a Slytherin next to a Gryffindor." Dumbledore notified. The teenagers all gawked at the headmaster.
"What?" Mulciber uttered.
"Yes, Albus," Pomfrey nodded, inspecting Remus, "I'll have them move as soon as I've checked them all."
"I hope tomorrow is a better day for you all. I will see you then," the old wizard bid.
"And Professor Slughorn will know of this." McGonagall attested, gazing coldly at the snakes. The three instructors and Filch then left the infirmary while Sirius threw his head back on his pillow and groaned.
"This is going to be a night in hell!" he commented.
"Merlin… so much for Quidditch practice at seven." James mumbled, shaking his head.
The night was notably rough for the eight enemies, and it was the entire night— the nurse decided they needed to be tended to overnight and would be released in the early morning.
"You can only blame yourselves. You did a number on each other!" she scolded.
The physical discomfort only made being housed next to a rival worse and they laid in tense silence unless Pomfrey was not in sight, at which point insults and threats were thrown about. (They had had their wands confiscated).
"It takes significant cowardice to do what you bastards did!" Sirius growled.
"We could've done so much more had Lupin not cried for help like a sobbing git." Gates retorted.
"Shut up." Remus demanded through gritted teeth.
"And of course Dumbledore and McGonagall came to save the wee bitty Gryffindors!" Mulciber mocked.
"Save us? But yet you berks are in the Hospital Wing too." James gruffly remarked.
At some point the wizards closed their thin hangings so they would not have to see the person closest to him and waited for Friday to dawn so they could leave their medical prison.
Pomfrey awoke the sixth years at 6:45AM so they would have some time before the first class of the day at 8AM. She gave them their respective wands and potions and sent them on their way, warning them to keep away from one another. The eight teenagers glared hatefully at each other once outside the infirmary's door.
"Better luck next time, I reckon," mentioned Sirius.
"We'll make sure of it." Snape assured.
"Blah blah blah. Same old story! Come on, mates." James stated, walking away.
"I can't wait until I see them outside of Hogwarts and Dumbledore's protection." Mulciber snarled, narrowing his eyes.
The Marauders returned to their dormitory before heading to breakfast 30 minutes later where they saw their female counterparts. Frank had been in the room when they entered and they filled him in about their seeming disappearance the night before, which thoroughly surprised him.
"Where have you four been?" Marlene pondered when the five roommates sat down at the table.
"Yes, you were nowhere to be found yesterday night!" Dorcas said.
"You had us right worried." Alice noted.
"Well, perhaps you were right in that— we were in the Hospital Wing overnight." Remus revealed.
"Why?" Lily questioned, sounding incredulous.
"Because we got in a duel with… oh, you know who I'm going to say!" Sirius responded resignedly.
"They planned our attack." Peter commented. The four then recounted the incident for the witches.
"Please tell me they're getting expelled!" Dorcas heatedly remarked.
"No. They now have the same punishment as me but they also ruined Slytherin's chance at the House Cup," the Black boy replied.
"Well they need to be expelled! They're dangerous! This is habit for them!" Alice vocalized as Marlene nodded.
"It is." Mary uttered.
"Are you lot all right?" wondered Lily, gazing at the Marauders.
"As fine as we can be, Lily love! Poppy is a miracle worker." James half smiled.
"Yeah, but my abdomen and left knee have to remain in bandages for another two days." Peter sighed.
"Avery tried to practically sever my leg in two." Remus observed sourly.
"And Jamesy and I have arm problems! Won't get all of the feeling back in my right arm for three days and my wrist was broken. We returned the favor to those wankers, though." Sirius reported. Frank opened his mouth to speak but Dorcas rapidly cut across him.
"Arm problems? What'd they do to you, James?" she sharply posited.
"Snivelly's second curse. I fell and hit my shoulder; dislocated it something awful. It's righted and there's no pain but I have to be careful for the next week," he commented, nodding at his left arm.
"So you can't use that arm?" Dorcas questioned.
"No fully, but at least it's not my wand arm."
"What about Quidditch!"
"Don't get me started," the Potter boy half whined, half growled.
"You can't fly or play correctly with only one arm to use!," she continued, "The team is going to go complete nutters when they find out!"
"Speaking of which, did you lot have practice yesterday?"
"No! We were preoccupied and worried with the disappearance of our captain!"
"Damn it! I'll have to ask Crimps about booking time for Sunday, then…" he muttered, appearing reflective.
"James." Dorcas began, gazing at him intently.
"And for future reference, always continue with our practices! I don't care if they find me dead in the Forbidden Forest."
"Oh yes, because serious injury is a trifle thing, really!"
"When there's a final coming up, yes— it is." James responded.
"Well what's the point in competing if you can't play?" she questioned.
"Dorcas, Pomfrey said I just have to be careful for a week. Don't panic."
Someone then coughed loudly a few times and the Chasers looked up, stopping the verbal exchange. Their friends were studying them.
"Sorry, but that could've gone on for decades," grinned Sirius.
"It was entertaining, though!" Mary offered.
"You two sounded like an old married couple." Frank chuckled. Alice and Marlene giggled at this while Dorcas gaped at the Longbottom boy before quickly busying herself with waffles, red beginning to color her cheeks.
"Quidditch is a matter of life and death, you know this," stated James, ruffling his hair. Lily smiled, not having seen this dying trait in quite some time.
"Yes. We know!" Remus assured.
"I like how the conversation went from the awful attack to Quidditch." Marlene noted, smiling.
"Yeah, well, who wants to spend much time talking about the Slytherins anyway?" Sirius quipped.
Mary's birthday was two days later on the 12th. James had his rescheduled practice at noon (during which he mostly instructed), but afterward her Housemates commemorated the day by having a nice picnic by the beech tree since the weather was so pleasant and inviting. In the morning, she had a bouquet of daisies from Remus waiting for her along with the rest of her gifts and it made her noticeably happy; she wore one of the flowers in the her hair for the rest of the day. The picnic was quite enjoyable and the ten teenagers spoke candidly with one another, only leaving the comforts of outside when the sun had begun to set. At a certain point the giant squid was brought up when they saw one of its tentacles.
"Hey, it's the squid! Would you still rather date him than Prongs, Lily?" Sirius pointed out. She looked at him, slightly surprised, while the others laughed.
"That may have been the funniest way you ever turned him down." Alice smiled.
"Well!," Lily started, struggling not to blush, "The squid is a nice bloke! But to answer the question, no— I would not pick him over James anymore."
"Finally!," the Potter boy grinned, "It only took six years! Well, if that's the case, Lily, d'you mind me asking you to go out with me?"
It was evident he was joking as he sat with his right arm resting on his right knee and his lopsided grin on his face. Yet he was gazing at her intensely like he had done so often in the past, and Lily found that it was causing her to blush as she peered back. In the end she had to look away first, least she turn as scarlet as her House's color.
As Madam Pomfrey had predicted, James was able to fully use his left arm again one week following the duel with the Slytherins. He told her he desperately needed both arms for practice so was happy to have the go ahead. The captain also had a scar on his neck from Snape's slicing spell that could only be seen in direct light; it notably upset him, as he knew it would likely never fade, and served as a reminder of the fact that his feelings toward Snape would also likely never change.
Lily found that as the days of May came and went, she found herself thinking about James more and more amongst the professors' growing frenzy of trying to wrap up for the end of the school year. The Muggleborn liked being in his presence— she reasoned it was as simple as that. He was very funny and clever and his constant good mood seemed to be contagious. The red head questioned why she had not seen these qualities before, like others had, and felt truly sorry about it. She looked at him a lot more, even when they were not talking to each other, and she was usually smiling when they occupied the same vicinity. The Muggleborn had even had an intimate conversation with him until half past midnight one night, and she found herself wearing her orchid pin quite often. All of the Marauders were enjoyable as she had come to pleasantly discover, and Lily thought that perhaps she was coming to feel the same affection for James as she did for Remus. Of course, she had liked Remus from day one but… the Potter boy was a special case, and one that had taken over very quickly.
Besides, they were friends and friends were permitted to feel this way about one another— encouraged, in fact! It did not matter if the female friend recalled the exchange near the portrait hole, in which the male friend had wanted her in his bed, more than was necessary. It did not matter that she thought about it so much that it bordered on obsessive because thinking about it did not mean anything; they were just thoughts! (Albeit thoughts that would cause her to shiver if she focused on them for too long). It also did not matter if the female friend had her breath taken away and butterflies erupt in her stomach on certain occasions by the male friend from endearing grins or unplanned touches, although she did not fully understand why this was her reaction.
Either way, Lily deduced all of her feelings were merely the result of being eager about a new friendship.
James was relentless during the last week of Quidditch practice and changed the sessions to two hours, but his teammates did not gripe since they also wanted to win the coveted Cup. (The captain now had extra motivation to defeat their rivals due to their brash assault on him and his friends). Conversely, before the final game arrived the last trip to Hogsmeade for the term came on the 18th. Remus was spending his time with Abigail so Peter and James convinced Frank to hang out with them, which left Alice to merge with Lily and Mary. Marlene was with Bruce, naturally, and Lily had turned down a date offer from Paul, which had not been as easy as she hoped, but Dorcas was not permitted to go for a failure to turn in two consecutive Divination homework assignments. The Gryffindors did meet up as a group for drinks toward the end and when they returned to school it was only to find out that Jeena Armstrong had stayed behind to spend time with Sirius. His dorm mates inquired about her at dinner and he happily answered their questions. He had approached her first, she had not seen anyone since December when she broke up with Dante Bruss (a lion seventh year), and she was planning to work in the Department of Mysteries after graduation.
"We've only talked a handful of times but I really like what I hear," the Black boy grinned, "She's intelligent, perceptive, bold, and has this flirty side that's making me mental!"
"Sirius and a Gryffindor! This hasn't happened since fifth year!" smiled Frank.
"What was right in front of me, yeah?"
"She's pretty." Peter remarked, looking down the table at her.
"I'm very aware!" Sirius replied. Jeena was a biracial witch, a white mother and black father (both wizards), with very curly dark brown hair and an alluring smile.
"Don't botch this one up," smirked James.
"Yeah. Anything will be better than Fiona!"
The following day James became single minded with thoughts of his favorite sport since the final was the succeeding day (Monday the 20th). He did not speak much unless it pertained to Quidditch, he pestered his teammates on a frequent basis with questions and scenarios, and he glared at the Slytherins whenever he saw one. Yet the Potter boy was not the sole person heavily weighed down by anticipation—countless students were anxious to witness the game. Sirius had yet to watch a match as Padfoot but he told the Marauders tomorrow would be the exception because it was too important to miss. James escaped the common room that night to walk the castle to help rid of his agitation and he ended up on the first floor staring at the House point hourglasses. Slytherin had the least amount of gems present courtesy of its sixth years but Gryffindor was not greatly above; the lions were the second to last since Sirius' actions in January had cost his House as well. Gryffindor was not going to win the House Cup for the year so James was putting all his stake on winning the Quidditch Cup to even things out. It was all he wanted.
The sun shone brightly and fully on Monday, as if welcoming a sporting event. The final was scheduled at noon and no one on either team could focus on anything but Quidditch that morning. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sent their son an enthusiastic good luck letter at breakfast while students in the hall made bets on the outcome of the match. Peter himself had placed a five Galleon wager with a Hufflepuff fifth year.
"Ready to win a championship, Potter?" Edmund Priatt grinned at one point.
"More than ever," he answered.
Noon came rapidly and the Gryffindors were encouraged noisily by their Housemates and other supporters as they exited the Great Hall.
"Be careful, all of you! Dorcas, James!" Lily deemed, her hair in two braids with gold ribbons.
"You'll be smashing, Mitch! I know it!" Marlene said, a small lion painted on her cheek.
"Can't wait!" winked Sirius.
"Kick arse, Dorcas!" Alex mentioned.
Coombs was ready to commentate as the 14 players faced each other on the pitch and Crimps stated the brief formalities.
"Right, then— let's go!" she declared after James had shaken hands with Hollenback. They all shot up on their brooms following her whistle and the cheers began.
"I'm already on edge!" Peter observed in the stands. Remus nodded his agreement, tight lipped. The full moon was the following night so he was showing signs of illness.
"We haven't had the Cup since third year! Come on, Gryffindor!" Marlene remarked.
"And the Quaffle is snatched by Slytherin Chaser Boon! He flies, determined, to the opposite side of the pitch with his fellow Chasers! But here comes Gryffindor Beaters Flores and Welps, pelting those Bludgers like madmen! Oh! they manage to hit a Chaser but Boon flies overhead out of their path, and is coming up on the goalposts! He palms the ball, raises his arm, and… no good! Boon's try at the first goal is thwarted by lion Keeper Elizabeth Green!" Coombs reported avidly.
"Way to go, Lizzie." James mumbled under his breath.
As it turned out, Slytherin did get the first goal of the game several minutes later but Gryffindor followed suit not very long afterward. The first injury of the match happened when a Beater's bat made rough contact with Amy's right arm, allegedly a complete accident. After this incident, a snake received a Quaffle to the face, James was hit in the neck, Hollenbeck had his wrist sprained, and all four Beaters had conspicuous lumps. Accidentally, of course.
"The next person to cause an 'accident' is OUT!" Crimps notified the players.
During the 20 minutes in which the injuries were sustained, more scoring was accomplished: the lions had 40 and, their rivals, 50. Elizabeth had stopped a good handful from going in.
"And Slytherin is currently up by one goal! Chaser Dunesfield is now in possession of the ball and is holding on tight! The Slytherin players start to move in and she… passes it to Meadowes on her left! Meadowes streaks off to the right as her Beaters fly in to scatter the snakes. She's clear and moving fast, with the goalposts in mind no doubt!" Coombs relayed.
"Go Dorcas!" Alice urged.
"She— oy! And a Bludger is hit right at her! Meadowes swerves up to avoid it but drops the Quaffle… and Gryffindor captain Potter is there to catch it! He secures it from underneath!"
"Yes! Good save, Prongs!" Remus muttered, clenching his fist.
"Potter takes up where Meadowes left off and Dunesfield is right behind him. Slytherins Gafalda and Hines come in from the right but Potter speeds up, crouching low! He throws it back to Dunesfield… who passes it off to a recovered Meadowes, who shoots it back to Dunesfield— well, it looks like the ladies are playing hot gobstone here!," Coombs announced, "And the ball's now thrown back to Potter, who looks set to aim at the goals! He hurls the Quaffle, and… it goes in! The score is now tied 50 to 50!"
The lions cheered merrily while the snakes booed loudly, and Mary hailed the captain's goal along with Marlene. Conversely, in the next moment, the Snitch had zoomed into view and everything changed.
"And not even forty five minutes into the match the Snitch comes out, everyone! Its capture will bring this final to an end and identify a winner!" Coombs energetically stated.
"This is it, Mitch!" James shouted hoarsely, his Seeker already in pursuit.
"You're better than Black!" Rodrigo yelled.
"Yeah, we'll see!" a Slytherin Chaser sneered at them.
Mitchell's heart pounded in his chest as he drove his broom to its potential, his eyes only on the Snitch. He could see Regulus in front of him by a hair. He had to get the winged ball— had to. He had to bring his House its first victory in three years, had to win James' first year as captain and his as Seeker. Mitchell then propelled himself up and over the other Seeker, not hearing anything but the "must win" mantra in his head. Regulus glanced up in surprise for a second, pondering what was the Gryffindor's objective, and in the following instant Mitchell sped up before diving straight down and snatching the Snitch on his way.
"And that's it— that does it! With a dive bomb move by Seeker McKinnon, GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP! 200 to 50!" Coombs screamed.
Regulus gawked in astonishment as the lions started to go wild with joy, joined in by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. James flew in a circle grinning uncontrollably and pumping his fist, crying out in elation. Frank and Alice were hugging each other tightly while smiling as Lily and Marlene clapped and cheered; Peter and Remus were jumping up and down, shouting. The Beaters waved their bats and yelled as the Chasers and Keeper all descended upon Mitchell and crushed him into a hug, with Elizabeth and Amy crying happily. After two minutes of celebrating in the air, the Gryffindors bypassed the thoroughly stunned Slytherins and landed on the ground to the sound of continued glee from their supporters. Kirby and Rodrigo hoisted a grinning Mitchell onto their shoulders as James pulled Amy and Elizabeth into a three way hug, laughing. When he turned to Dorcas she was positively beaming, and before he could do anything she moved and grabbed the front of his robes, pulling him down to her level and planting a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm… I'm sorry! I didn't mean— I'm just happy!" she vocalized right afterward, turning red. James initially looked at her in surprise but a grin soon overtook his countenance.
"We all are, Dorcas!" he assured.
The rest of Hogwarts' students then began to pour onto the field in order to be closer to the winning team when the headmaster presented them with the Quidditch Cup, and as the proud captain continued to laugh and smile, he thought he heard a dog barking somewhere in the background.
There was a party that night, of course, and someone made a scarlet cape to go with Mitchell's crown. Sirius had put the house elves on standby in case Gryffindor won and he ran to the kitchens to give them the go after dinner that evening. Every lion was ecstatic and treated the seven players as royalty. James usually had a few, dedicated swooning girls at his feet but that night there were even more crowding the captain's space. Amy expressed her excitement at winning her first year on the team but sadness that she had just participated in her last Hogwarts Quidditch game, for which her teammates were also despondent. Remus enjoyed the party but not in the same blatant way as the others, sitting for most of the time he was present, and he was one of the first Gryffindors to retire for sleep.
"It's an early start tomorrow since I'm going to visit Mum. I need to call it a night," he told his Housemates, standing up.
"Oh! We wish you could stay down here longer with us," pouted Lily, standing next to James, "But we understand."
"Sleep well, Remus." Marlene mentioned.
"Yes, good night." Mary bid, touching his arm.
"Thanks everyone. Ruddy great job today, James," the Lupin boy said, giving a small smile.
"Why thank you, Moony!" the Potter boy remarked.
"You'd better not be snoring when we get up there," advised Sirius, holding his fourth bottle of butterbeer. Peter chuckled as Remus waved him off, walking away.
"Let's get back to partying, shall we?" Dorcas offered.
"We shall!"
"So did I tell you your plaits make you look 12 again?" James inquired, turning to Lily and smirking as he touched one flippantly.
"Shut up! I wore them to support your team!" she responded, trying not to smile as she swatted his shoulder.
McGonagall ensured the festivities ended at 11PM that night since it was "a Monday, after all" and her disgruntled students had to consent, yet as James went up to his room along with everyone else he could not help but feel spectacular. His sixth year had turned out to be amazing so far. He had passed every OWL, become Quidditch captain, learned to Apparate, came of age, befriended Lily Evans, and, now, won the Qudditch Cup. What more could he ask for, besides a carefree full moon with his friends the next night?
Sirius was spending more time with Jeena Armstrong and there seemed to be a growing attraction there.
"She's only got a few more weeks left here— the term ends next month!" Peter pointed out during the last week of May.
"I know! Why didn't I pay more attention to her sooner!" the Black boy commented as the four strolled the grounds.
"You can keep in touch with her over the summer, and even when we come back in September." Remus revealed.
"Yes."
"Then it'll be our last year," mused James, quietly. They all peered at him. It was true yet strange to hear.
"Oy, James! Are you trying to depress me even more?" Sirius questioned, furrowing his brow.
Since the second term was winding down to a halt the pupils had much work to complete and the three upper years were shown no mercy whatsoever. The fifth years were lost in books preparing for OWLs, the sixth years had multiple essays and projects to keep them busy, and the seventh years were losing hair and sleep studying for NEWTs. Many kids formed study groups that met diligently in order to help one another with their workload and the sixth year lions were a part of that. Quidditch was over, the last Slug Club meeting was in June, and Dorcas' Defense lessons with Peter were through so much more time was freed up.
On one particular night of one of these "study snores", as Sirius had labeled them, Lily was grouped with Alice, Frank, James, and Marlene for Potions. When questioned about joining them Sirius had replied his brain needed an evening off from work and they had not seen him much since then.
"It's not normal working this much!" he grumbled, stalking off.
That had been hours ago and it was now half an hour past midnight. Lily sat, languidly tracing the letters on the front of her book with her quill, slouching over a bit. Frank and Alice had gone somewhere over ten minutes ago, claiming they would be back shortly, and so she was waiting for them. Marlene had dozed off to sleep during their absence, already appearing groggy before they left the table. Lily was also tired and apparently so was the rest of her House; the only other people in the common room was a huddle of seventh years near the empty fireplace. Lily traced her last letter and glanced to her right: James was asleep as well. He had his face flat on the pages of his textbook and was using his right arm as pillow support, mouth closed. The red head let her quill drop as she looked at him, somewhat drowsy herself. She remembered a joke he had told earlier that day in Transfiguration and how he kept repeating the punch line when it was least expected or during silence, causing his Housemates to laugh. The memory brought a faint smile to her face now.
Lily let her eyes roam over James' slumbering form. His glasses were pushed up his face due to his position and she vaguely wondered if she should correct them, but decided against it since it would likely wake him up. She peered at his hands, the right of which was clutching a quill, and observed that his fingers were slender and long, much like the rest of his body. As Lily let out a yawn her gaze came to rest on his hair, his perpetually messy, signature hair. The prefect had never seen James' hair tamed in any way and wondered if it was possible for it to lie flat. She thought its unruliness matched its owner's personality perfectly and recalled how often he had purposely made it even more disorderly. Lily had seemingly detested this habit of his from day one and, as she slowly gazed at his pitch black locks, she knew that a part of it was because… she had always rather… secretly liked James' hair.
This fact had never been admitted to anyone and it had taken her a very long time to admit it to herself, for what business did she have liking an attribute about someone she used to dislike? But that was in the past and Lily could now admire his hair without conflict. She had also always pondered what it felt like since it looked utterly chaotic.
You can touch it now— he's asleep, a voiced notified.
The witch frowned, questioning from where that had come. She could not just touch his hair like that; it would be weird! And James was asleep! Apart from feeling like an invasion of his personal space, the action might wake him!
Not if you feel the tips, you know.
That was true, but… but what in the world! Lily could not do that, as though she were pouring a cup of tea!
Why not? He's touched you in the past and this is just hair! Only for a few seconds. Go on— you can do it. He won't even know.
The Muggleborn glanced at his head again before firmly shaking hers. No. The voice was crazy. She would not do it. Lily picked up her quill preparing to start back up but in the next instant she dropped it. Her eyes flew back to James' hair.
Well… what was the harm, really?! No one would see, it would not disturb his sleep, and it would satisfy her curiosity. Her hand appeared to lift of its own accord and move carefully towards the captain's head as she stared intently. Would it be soft, thick, slip through her fingers easily?
"Oy," someone suddenly stated, very close at hand. Lily literally jumped in place and yanked her hand back as if she had been burned, turning swiftly with wide eyes to see whom had spoken.
Frank and Alice were back, approaching the table. The red head's heart was pounding in her chest from nasty surprise and the two month old memory of James asking her to keep him company in bed shot rapidly through her mind. Why did that damned memory always replay?!
"You're back!" Lily said, heart still beating away while she looked at them.
"Yeah. We're thinking of calling it a night. What d'you think? Everyone's out of it anyway." Frank explained, indeed appearing sleepy.
"Er, yeah… yeah! I think that's best."
"We'll finish another time." Alice revealed, walking around to wake Marlene.
"James— wake up, mate," the Longbottom boy remarked, leaning over the table and prodding him in the forehead.
"Wha'? Whas up?," he mumbled, lifting his head up suddenly and staring blearily at Frank, "I'm awake, I'm up!"
"We're going to sleep. Enough studying."
"Oh thank Godric." James yawned, stretching his arms as Marlene stood up and collected her possessions.
"Lily held out pretty well!" Alice half smiled.
"Uh, I suppose," the red head chuckled faintly. She willed herself to not look at the Potter boy.
"Ready, Lily?" Marlene posited, standing near Alice.
"I, erm, think I need a minute to... finish things up."
"Okay. We'll see you upstairs," the Waite girl mentioned as they began to leave.
"Good night girls, Lily." Frank bid.
"Yeah— night, Lil." James muttered, preparing to walk away with his things. He placed a lazy hand on her shoulder in farewell before he joined Frank for the boys' staircase.
The Evans girl initially froze when she felt his touch on her shoulder, and when her classmates were gone she exhaled loudly and put her head in her hands. What was wrong with Lily? Touching James' hair for goodness sake! The urge had been very strange and clearly meant she was sleepier than she thought if she was being propelled to do outlandish things.
A/N: I hate writing Quidditch scenes. Gah! They're too difficult! Thankfully I don't have to worry about that for a while since the season is over. And might I just add that I really think you all are going to like the next chapter, very, very much!