CHAPTER 4: TRYING AND TRYOUTS

As the days went by, Lily found herself sinking into a certain rhythm which she went by every day. She found she was rather comfortable with it. For all it was worth, Hogwarts was not an easy university to get used to. The campus was huge, and Lily might have got lost and was late for class a couple of times. Thankfully, not for Professor McGonagall's class. She did want her House head thinking that she spent every spare minute making out with James or any boy whatsoever.

On the other hand, as Snape had warned, she did face some prejudice from the other students since she was a scholarship student. Those pretentious pests weren't the most kind. Though Lily was perfectly capable of defending herself, Joe's presence by her side did deter them most of the time.

None dared to cross her roommate. Lily quickly learned that there were certain dynamics present in the upper society that she had joined. Joe was the sole heir to the Vhon estate and the high-profile political career that her father carried out. It was only after a few days of bonding that Joe admitted that she was majoring in Political Science as well. Her family was one of the richest in the country, and most of that wealth was old money. They were rivalled by few, the Potters and Malfoys included.
In a way it made sense why, which Lily thought was rather disturbing, no one wanted to get on her bad side. It was not just Joe. Few dared to anger James and the members of the Black family.

Lily didn't need anyone's help, but she was glad that she was friends with Joe.

Her very day started with her best friend belting out the lyrics to either Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez (Joe had threatened to punch anyone in the face if they dared to speak against the two artists. Had Lily mentioned that Joe was a champion in fencing and karate?). Her mornings usually consisted of rushing to the cafeteria for breakfast and somehow getting to class, where she was ended up being adopted by James, Sirius and their friends. She had often had lunch with Joe (and an uninvited Sirius). She spent the evenings in the library with Sev.

Joe wasn't the only friend she made. She befriended the sporty Marlene Mckinnon and the bookish Dorcas Meadows who were on her floor. Much to her delight, she made friends with her dreamy senior, Frank Longbottom. Sirius inserted himself into Lily's life, regardless of her own opinion. Sirius Black sat with her in class and happened to have lunch with her and Joe (for whom Black had a crush on, one that she was pretty sure was returned). It didn't take long for her to befriend Remus Lupin, who had an eye for everything. Remus shared many of her interests. She even befriended Peter, whose shyness only endeared him to her.

As for their famous black-haired friend, she wasn't so sure if she would call them friends. James struck her as aloof and indifferent. Though he sat near her during most classes, he never made an effort to make conversation with her. Where Sirius was, you could find Potter, but he was just there. Silent and brooding.

Not that Lily was complaining. It was easier to eye his incredibly good looks when he was staring vacantly into the distance. But apparently, he wasn't normally like this. At least, according to Joe, who had grown up with him. Their parents had been busy and friends, and thus, they had sought comfort in each other's company.

She enjoyed ogling Potter, but it did bother her sometimes. With the way, he sometimes refused to acknowledge her presence. She wondered if Potter was just like the rest of pretentious brats.

Sev insisted that he was. Her childhood friend had spent most of his time with her warning her off Potter. Honestly, she had no idea what he had against the guy.

She had decided to push the enigma that James Potter was, to the back of her mind. That particular decision didn't work out very well. Two weeks into the class, tryouts for the House football teams were announced. Each resident building represented a House, for which they competed against each other for the year. The competition was taken very seriously in Hogwarts - by both students and teachers.

Lily had elected to watch the tryouts with Joe, Remus and Peter. Unsurprisingly, Sirius and James were trying out.

The morning of the tryouts, the football stadium was packed with students - female students - likely eager to catch a glimpse of James Potter. Lily judged that James was far from the only mouth-watering male who was on the field that day. Sirius was running laps around the field, benevolently waving at the squealing female population. Frank Longbottom was just as glorious.

"That's Kingsley. He's this year's captain." Joe pointed to a tall man with dark skin. Was extremely good looking a pre-requisite for the Gryffindor football team?

"He's been captain since his sophomore year." Remus added, following their line of sight, "He's one mean player." Lily nodded, as her eyes watched Kingsley as he blew his whistle, demanding the attention of the hopefuls and silence fell among the spectators. She spied Professor McGonagall watching from the commentator's box.

They couldn't hear what was being said to the men, but they carefully observed as the tryouts began. Lily wished she had cherished the silence that Kingsley had temporarily brought. Once, the hopefuls began running around the field and as they progressively became drenched in sweat, the shouts and squealing intensified.

It got worse once it was James' turn.

"What's with all the fuss for Potter?" She spoke over the noise.

Joe and Remus shared a glance before the latter answered, "'Cause he's James Potter."

Lily's eyes didn't stray from James as he invaded the defenders on the field. He was good at the sport from what Lily could discern. Very good at it. "And that's supposed to mean anything?"

Joe snorted as she shook her head, "Anything? It means everything." Her eyes followed Lily's. Potter was nearing the goalpost.

"You may think my family is filthy rich. It is, but the Potters are even more filthy rich. His parents had trouble conceiving him, and he was born in their old age. He's heir to the Potter Co., and his mom is super influential in the Parliament. She's a well-loved MP, an ally of my father." James kicked the ball at the net, and it swiftly made its way past the goalie. The stadium erupted into deafening cheers.

"It's not just the family money,"

"Though it does have a lot to do with it," Remus interjected as he clapped his hands at James' goal.

Joe nodded and continued, "There's no denying he's hot." She pointed to James' glorious abs that he had put on display after he ripped his shirt off after his feat. Lily gulped as she tried not to stare. Joe was right there was simply no denying. She had trouble following what Joe was saying next with her attention focused somewhere else. "James was named Sexiest Teen of the Year. He's done his fair share of modelling. He's smart, down-to-earth, and honestly, a good person."

Joe caught Lily's ogling and smirked at her, "Tell me, Lils, isn't that enough?" Lily quickly averted her eyes, turning them to the bright sky. Though she didn't see the blue sky or the clouds that littered it. The image of James Potter's naked torso was seared in her brain.

Remus answered for her, "Plenty."

They decided to spend the rest of the evening in the Gryffindor common room, they were seated at one of the studying tables. James at across him, while Peter and Sirius sat beside him. The latter two were too busy playing Mini Militia on their phones, and James was drinking tea. Remus had caught on to the habit of his friend's. The two of them started having tea in the evening.

When Remus thought about it, it sounded rather pretentious. Honestly though, who cared?

Usually, he and James joined Sirius and Peter in Mini Militia, but Remus had some writing to do, while James was spending his precious time staring at something over Remus' shoulder.

After about fifteen minutes, Remus decided to find out what was up with his friend. He looked over his shoulder to find Lily playing chess with Marlene as Joe was scribbling furiously on some notepad. He looked back at James and back again, he narrowed his eyes as he released James was watching Lily, who was grinning with glee as she took out Marlene's rook.

As far as Remus was aware, James had not been exactly close to Lily, unlike the rest of them.

He turned to James, his eyebrows buried beneath his sandy brown curls. "Whatcha looking at James?"

James broke out of his reverie, running his hand through his curls before shooting a startled grin at Remus, "Nothing, just thinking."

Remus hummed unconvincingly, "About Lily?"

James, who had been sipping his hot tea, choked on the beverage. Sirius looked up from his game and starting hitting James' on the back. A lot harder than necessary from the way James was wincing.

"I'm fine, Sirius." James shrugged Sirius' hand off his back as he coughed, "I'm fine."

Sirius smiled innocently at the pair of them as he exited his mobile game and turned to the pair of them. Peter followed his lead. "What's up with Jamsie?"
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' nosy nature, "He's been staring at Evans for an amount of time that exceeds innocent."

Sirius glanced at James in question, "Evans?"

James was turning red, "I wasn't." He insisted.
Remus studied James, wondering why he was lying? James Potter did not ever make an effort to hide his conquests among the female population.

"She and Vhon were talking about you during tryouts."

James bit the inside of his cheek and looked as though he wanted to ask something very badly, debating with himself if he should.

"Did Vhon happen to mention moi?" Sirius interrupted. Remus shook his head, not taking his eyes off James. Sirius sank back into his chair, pouting at the answer. Remus didn't understand why Sirius didn't just ask Joe out. He was almost sure Joe would say yes.

"What did Evans say?" James blurted out, focusing his gaze on the lights on the ceiling, careful to appear disinterested. Remus knew better than to fall for that. Sirius was carefully observing their conversation, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He too, likely interested in finding out why James was so interested in Lily.

Remus shrugged in response, "She couldn't get many words out with her mind too preoccupied with your very shirtless self."

Remus swore he saw a smile flash on James' face. It was gone as quickly as it came. He wasn't the only one who noticed.

"What was that?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

James carefully arranged his face into one that appeared bored, "What was what?"

Sirius' lips stretched into a wide grin, sharing a glance with Remus. It did not go unnoticed. James shook his head, "It's not what you think."

Sirius feigned innocence, "Jamsie, do tell. What am I thinking?"

James opened his mouth and closed it. "I.." He looked like a deer caught in headlights. Remus did not get the chance to prod even more as Joe came over to them, plopping herself on the seat next to James. Sirius sat up, brushing his hairout of his eyes.

"To what do we owe the pleasure, Vhon?"

"Fuck off, Black." She shot at him, though through a poorly concealed grin.

"Keep breaking my heart, Vhon." Sirius exclaimed dramatically, his hand covering his chest, "It's all yours." Joe rolled her eyes at him as she turned to James.

She slapped his shoulder. "What is up with you?" She questioned, exasperated.

"Ow." James rubbed his shoulder, mock glaring at Joe. "What was that for?"

Joe pushed her dark curls out of the way of her sight and sighed, "You're acting weird."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." James replied, "I'm not acting weird. Right, Sirius?"

Sirius glanced at James sheepishly, "Sorry, mate. You have."

Joe flashed a smile at Sirius for which he answered in full force. "You're not being you. You're so quiet these days." She ran a hand through his hair, "Where's the James Potter I know and love?"

James opened his mouth to protest, but likely thought better when he caught sight of Joe's glare. He sighed, running his hand tiredly through his messy hair.

"Riddle has been giving dad some trouble lately. It's just..." Silence fell upon them for a few moments.

Joe sighed, "It's not just your dad. Riddle and his cohorts have been after mine."

Sirius slapped his hand on the table, "Don't let that bastard let you down, Potter." Remus glanced at Sirius' expression. Furious and forbidding. Remus often forgot all of Sirius's dark family history.

"I know. I know. But it's been taking a toll on my parents."

Joe rubbed James' shoulder, trying to comfort him. "James. Riddle isn't anywhere near where he wants to be."

They didn't say anything for a while.

"You know what? You guys are right." James finally said, breaking the silence. "I'm haven't been me."

He downed the rest of his tea as though it were shot of tequila, "Let's not deprive Hogwarts of James Potter."