"Not interested."
"I only want to -"
"Save your breath."
The girl continues up the stairs, not looking back at the boy trailing in her wake. Her dark red hair blows loosely in the wind as she seeks out a better view. She's decked out in a green and silver striped sweater, scarf, and hat for the occasion.
As the breeze increases, she pauses. She pulls her robe tightly against the November wind that makes the flags on the top parts of the stands snap.
The boy stops for only a moment to look up at her retreating back before scurrying up a few stairs. His dark hair skims the scarf hanging loosely around his neck. His robes that match hers in color whip around his legs in the wind.
"Lily," he says, trying to catch up to her. "I think you should consider -"
"I'd like to consider nothing you have to say right now, thank you." At the landing, she stops, though she doesn't look down the steps to the boy attempting to talk to her. She glances around and takes a few more steps before leaning against the railing and looking out at the field. "I don't have the patience for your Death Eater talk right now. Leave me alone, Severus."
A frustrated sigh and the last few pounding steps make him appear on the landing too. There's a pause, but then she feels the presence of someone walking closer to her. Her whole body tenses, her shoulders raising closer to her ears and her fingers gripping the bar in front of her.
He's impossibly close to her when her message has been perfectly clear. She can tell that he's fighting to keep his voice measured. "Give me two minutes and -"
She's given him almost seven years, so she cuts him off. "The game is starting." Her voice isn't all edges and hard lines, but it's also not an invitation.
Lily faces determinedly forward and watches fourteen players, half in blue and half in green, march onto the field and stand across from each other. The referee shouts, but they're high enough that she can only hear that the ref is talking and none of their individual words.
"The game's not important," he says.
"It's important to me."
The stands behind them, a mass of nearly uninterrupted emerald and silver, let out a collective cheer when a red ball is thrown into the air and fourteen brooms take flight. Lily's eyes follow the players as they toss the quaffle back and forth, zigzagging down the pitch toward the hoops at the end.
"Lily." Severus puts a hand on her arm, instantly pulling her attention away from the game. Lily's first instinct is to jerk away from his clutches, but he holds tight. His pale fingers circle her thin wrist, and she wants to run. "Just stop and listen -"
"I don't think Evans wants to talk to you, Snivellus."
Lily spins toward the new voice, the breath knocked out of her like a bludger tried to knock her from the sky.
Severus drops her wrist like it burned him and takes a step back.
She crosses her arms, both to make a point and keep them out of reach of the boy standing beside her. Lily fights to keep her facial expression neutral and cool, though she can't deny the relief that comes from getting Severus to move away from her. "I don't need you to save me, Potter."
Jamie grins, ruffling her dark hair and standing defiantly in her red sweater against a sea of green. "Just trying to help, Evans. I know it can be hard to get rid of grease stains."
Severus lets out a breath through his nose, fists clenched at his sides.
"I wasn't aware you were hanging around with people like that, Lily." Although he addresses her, his eyes don't move from Jamie. "You forgot about your friends and moved on to Gryffindor's big Quidditch hero."
Lily's fingers instinctively catch the end of her scarf, twisting the yarn. "I wasn't aware it was your business who I hang around with anymore, Severus," she answers sharply.
She can only deal with one of the people in front of her at a time, so she picks the more pressing issue.
His lip curls as he turns his gaze from Potter to Evans. "So you are running around with people like that. Prats and show-offs and were-"
"Snape," Jamie cuts in, giving a good show of looking bored, though her hazel eyes flash. She takes a step forward. "No one wants you here. Can't you bugger off already?"
Apparently, he's seen or heard enough, because Snape turns, pulling his robes close to him and taking slow, deliberate steps up the stairs of the stands. He slides into the seat next to Mulciber, who leans over to tell him something. He faces away from Lily, so she can't make out what he's saying, but she isn't sure that she wants to know.
When she looks over at Jamie, she sees that her eyes are still on Severus and have a hard edge Lily isn't used to from her. In the few seconds that Lily watches her, Jamie's shoulders relax and her eyes soften. It's almost like she's coming back into herself. Jamie tosses her hair over her shoulder and winks toward Lily when she catches her looking.
Lily turns back to the game and leans against the railing again, as if nothing strange has happened. As if she has been able to watch the game in peace and feel completely at ease in the section of the stands that is supposed to feel like home. As if she didn't have to confront her former best friend and only get him to leave with the arrival of the permanent thorn in her side.
Jamie Potter has never been one to let something go, though, so it shouldn't surprise Lily when she leans against the railing next to her. They don't say anything for a moment or two, watching the players trade the quaffle down the field.
When Jamie speaks, her voice is barely loud enough to be heard over the noise of the crowd. "You don't have to stay here, you know."
"I'm cheering for my house's team, and this is our section." Lily replies with more force than she feels, not looking away from the game.
Jamie makes a sound that's halfway between a sigh and a laugh. "I can guarantee that you'd have more fun with the Gryffindors, Evans," she says. "Even if you are cheering for Slytherin."
Lily swallows. "I can't talk about this here."
Jamie shrugs and shifts so their shoulders bump against each other. "All the more reason."
Immediately, as if Jamie's shoulder is scalding, Lily steps back and catches herself on the railing. "What are you -" She breaks off and glances up at the top of the stands. Thankfully, Avery and Mulciber have pulled Severus into some kind of serious discussion, because none of them are looking at the game or her.
Her eyes harden along with her resolve.
"All right, Potter. Let's go."
That's enough to light a spark of mischief in Jamie's eyes. "Aye aye, captain," she answers with a mock-salute.
Lily tugs her scarf up to hide her smile. "Aren't you actually a captain?"
Jamie laughs as she takes Lily's hand and tugs her down the stairs, toward the pathway to go up the other side of the stands. Lily snatches her hand back halfway down the staircase. She shakes it off to hide the shiver that goes up her spine when the other girl's hand touches hers.
If it bothers her, Jamie doesn't show it. She ducks behind the stairs as soon as her feet touch the ground, and Lily follows without prompting. "I've got a secret," Jamie says in a stage-whisper, once they're both hidden from view. "It'll make getting out of here easier. You in?"
Lily nods. Before she knows what is happening, Jamie pulls something out of her pocket and throws it over them both. She presses herself against Lily's side and adjusts the cloak so their ankles won't show when they walk. Without asking, she knows that it isn't an ordinary cloak. It has the weight of something else - something like magic.
Of course, it is magic, Lily reminds herself. They go to a school for wizards and witches. She's been in this world for nearly seven years, since she was eleven. One day, new magic might not surprise her so much.
"This is how you get into so much trouble!" Lily exclaims as best as she can while keeping her voice down. She flicks the cloak back and forth by her foot so she can see the toe of her boot go in and out of sight.
"No, Evans," Jamie says patiently, though Lily can hear a smile in her voice. She puts her hand over Lily's wrist. "This is how I don't get caught."
The rest of the students on this side of the stands are stubbornly in their own house's colors or wearing something blue, hastily thrown on to show who they are purposefully not supporting. To her credit, they're on the other side of the field, up the stairs, and sliding into the seats next to Jamie's friends when someone finally notices that there's a flash of green among them.
"Prongs!" The shortest boy in their group greets them, the first to notice they've been joined by new arrivals. His eyes flicker a bit nervously to the flying players, but he's smiling when he looks back at them.
Jamie leans over to clap their hands together and stows the cloak in the pocket of her robe. "Haven't missed too much, have I, Wormtail?"
"About time," another friend complains, pulling Jamie into the seat next to him. He swipes his hair away from his face with unpracticed elegance. Lily can't help but notice how some of the eyes in the crowd linger on him instead of the game. "I thought you were going to waste the whole game playing savior and chatting up Evans."
Jamie shoves him, but he pushes her back without any hesitation. "Shut up, Padfoot."
"The snakes have already -"
Whatever he was about to blame on the Slytherins goes forgotten when he looks past Jamie's shoulder and his eyes widen.
"Hello, Lily," Remus adds pointedly, nudging Sirius in the side with his elbow.
"What's she doing here?"
Although Lily wasn't anticipating a welcome, she flinches at the accusation in Sirius' tone.
Jamie shrugs and turns her attention to the pitch. As if that will be enough to stop her best friend's tendency for dramatics. "Watching the game."
"What?" Sirius stops staring at Lily long enough to glare at Jamie. Like he can't believe the conditions he's forced to live with, like his best mate has broken down a sacred wall of trust between them. "You brought a bloody snake into the Gryffindor section, Prongs. I don't care if -"
"Black." Lily straightens her back and tries to make sure Sirius doesn't rattle her. "I heard Ravenclaw was supposed to be your biggest competition this year with their new seeker. Shouldn't you be cheering against them?"
He snorts, but it's better than not responding at all. "You're never going to convince me to cheer for Slytherin, Evans."
She shrugs and settles into the other seat next to Jamie. "That's fine," Lily answers. "Wouldn't be sports without a few unshakeable grudges here and there, would it?"
Remus coughs to hide a shaky laugh. Sirius tries to glare at him, but he doesn't reach his eyes. Lily takes that as a victory and pulls her hat down to cover her hair, which is a little frizzy from shuffling under Potter's cloak.
They're all pressed together on their bench, closer than she's ever been to anyone on the Slytherin side, with Jamie's hip against hers and Remus' elbow knocking hers on the other side. Still, she feels more at ease here, the only green in a crowd of red, even with Sirius' initial hostility, than she did with Avery and Mulciber glaring a hole in the back of her head.
She gasps along with the crowd when it looks like Regulus Black, Slytherin's seeker and - though neither of them would like to acknowledge it - Sirius' brother, sees the snitch. He turns his broom sharply and lays almost flat as he takes off, picking up speed. The Ravenclaw seeker looks around wildly, trying to find whatever caught Regulus' attention.
As quickly as he started, Regulus pulls to a stop. Slowly, the realization trickles through the crowd in a wave of sighs and disappointment. It was only a trick of the light.
Sitting heavily back in her seat, Lily lets out the breath she started holding when it looked like Regulus might win them the game.
"Was I right? Is it more fun to watch with the Gryffindors?"
Lily looks over at Jamie. Even though she asked the question, probably with the intention of getting a response, the smile teasing the corners of her lips indicates that she's arrived at an answer of her own.
Lily catches herself watching Jamie's mouth for a beat too long.
"Everyone's bound to be right eventually," Lily answers quickly, eyes darting up to meet Jamie's and words tripping over each other in her haste to say something that even hints at being clever.
Jamie shrugs one shoulder, that damn smile making Lily's heart rate erratic. "As long as you're having a good time." She leans closer, filling Lily's senses with the sharp scent of peppermint and making it hard to think about points or keepers or quaffles. "This is nothing, they tell me, compared to a Gryffindor game. Then, we're the best crowd and -"
"Can you two stop flirting and watch the game?"
Jamie jumps at the interruption from her best friend, almost causing her glasses to slide off her nose. She pushes them up hurriedly, making a show of turning back to the pitch and pointing out a play to Peter. Finally, that hint of a smile that makes Lily sweat under a knitted scarf despite the bite of the air is gone. Lily's heart pounds furiously. She pulls up the scarf as if the cold is getting to her nose, but it's more to cover her burning cheeks.
When Regulus makes a second shot for the snitch, Lily looks in front of him and can actually see the glint of gold that has both of the seekers pushing their brooms as fast as they can go. They're coming from opposite directions, so it's difficult to see who is pulling ahead. Both of the seekers reach their hands out and swipe for the snitch.
The sleeves of blue Quidditch robes whip around the arm that holds the struggling snitch triumphantly. Half of the stands, including everyone around her, bursts into a loud cheer that feels like it shakes the earth beneath them.
"Take that, Evans!" Sirius calls, though the grin on his face and playful shove to her shoulder take away any of the malice of his words.
Lily laughs. It's hard to be grumpy, even when her team loses, when the students around her are slapping each other's backs and exchanging details about celebrating. It's hard not to be swept up in their excitement.
She looks toward Sirius. "Bet we'll still make the final."
Sirius looks at her for a long few seconds and drops his grin before one side of his mouth quirks up toward a genuine smile. "You're on, Evans."
"Five galleons?"
Sirius rolls his eyes. "Make it ten or it's not worth my time."
"Fine." She makes a note to herself that she'll have to start watching her spending money on the off-chance that she loses. Lily sticks out her hand. "Deal."
"Deal," Sirius replies, shaking her hand and pulling her forward in the process.
She stumbles, but Potter happens to break off her conversation with a teammate just in time to notice and catch her. Potter's arms go around her waist, using her trained reflexes and practiced balance to keep them both standing.
When she regains her footing, Lily draws back. Her breath catches in her throat with their faces so close together, closer than she's ever been to Jamie Potter. Lacking any grace, she straightens quickly, making Jamie withdraw her arms.
"Sorry," Lily manages, unable to ignore the streaks of pink that she knows are covering her cheeks. "I didn't mean -"
"It's fine," Potter says, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder to make sure she's steady. "All right, Evans?"
"Yeah," she says distractedly. "I'm all right." Her eyes skip over Jamie to Sirius, who tugged on her arm halfway through their handshake and now stands behind Jamie's shoulder. He looks far too satisfied for a person who only made a bet and hasn't won it yet.
Damn him.
"Thanks." Lily thinks Sirius might wink at her, but she looks back at Jamie before she can be sure. "For letting me… Thanks."
Jamie puts a hand on her hip, back straight and projecting confidence. "Anytime, Evans. Don't let the Slytherins get you down."
"Don't get too full of yourself now." She laughs, the sound grating her own ears and feeling as forced as it is. She has to get out of there before she can let Sirius do anything else foolish. "Have a good weekend, everyone."
Remus waves, and Sirius doesn't drop the smirk that says he knows something. She steals one last glance at Jamie, who has her hand buried in her hair, and turns away. Lily slips between the crowd of bodies to make her way down the stairs, dodging in and out to blend into a group of Slytherins, and joins the flood of students going back up to the castle.
For the walk back, she lets the river of people guide her. What she feels is relief, she tells herself, at sitting with people who aren't waiting to judge her every move. Even if Sirius can be a prat, he isn't preparing to pounce on her the second she makes what they consider to be a mistake. Sirius is teasing and mostly harmless, liking the reactions he gets more than anything else.
She can still be a proud Slytherin and sit with other houses sometimes. Red and gold surrounding her won't change her allegiance or make her forget who she is.
It's just a Quidditch game. It isn't any emotion more complicated than enjoying something different. Lily follows the rest of the Slytherins, letting a few in front give the password to let them into the common room. She determinedly doesn't think about the way Sirius grinned like he knew a great secret and Jamie's arms at her waist made her heart thump loudly.
It's just a Quidditch game.