Chapter 13 - Lily's big match
Lily's flying lessons with James were going really well. Lily was no longer scared to sit on a broom and do tricks with James, but the hardest bit was to come. She now had to do them herself, and she was terrified.
"It's different with you," she said at one lesson "you know what you're doing so I know now that I won't fall off, but when I have to be in charge of a broom then I'm likely to cause myself an accident."
"OK, so how about I get on with you, then if I see that you're likely to fall I can take over and make sure you don't." Lily was quite pleased with that suggestion, it seemed to her like the perfect solution. In this way she learned to control the broom and gradually lost the fear that she had until, by the end of the lesson she had the courage enough to attempt a solo flight. James flew with her on his own broom, keeping close enough to her to give her confidence but space enough to give her the chance to fly properly, to do a few tricks, to get used to the wonderfully exhilarating feeling of flying. James was sure that if Lily just got over her fear of it then she would love it just as he did, just as he thought everybody should.
In fact, it wasn't long before Lily was ready to take up her place as seeker. It was about time too, in James' opinion, as they were starting to lose any hope they had of winning the Quidditch cup that year. Unless they somehow managed to pull off a win against Slytherin in the next match they would be out of the running, and that would make it the first year in about fifteen that Gryffindor had failed to make it into the final. James certainly didn't want that to happen, not in his first year on the team.
The day of the match against Slytherin dawned bright and clear, fairly good Quidditch conditions. James was exhausted, he'd barely slept a wink with nerves and the thought of breakfast was already making him feel sick. He got up and dressed quietly, hoping that none of the others were awake. He didn't feel like talking, he wasn't sure his mouth still worked. Fortunately there was a soft snoring coming from all the beds in his dormitory and so he safely slipped downstairs and sank gratefully into a soft armchair.
"Nerves got to you too?" James started at the sound of the voice. He looked up to see Lily looking back at him. She looked awful, pale with bags under her eyes. She clearly hadn't slept either.
"Yep, hardly slept a wink." They left each other alone after that. Neither of them had the energy to speak, and so they just sat, each understanding what the other needed, silence and companionship.
James didn't go to breakfast and neither did Lily. They couldn't see the point. Neither of them felt they could eat anything. Instead, when the common room had emptied they walked slowly down towards the Quidditch field and the changing rooms to get ready for their match.
The atmosphere in the changing room was tense, each player was preparing for the upcoming match in their own way. Sirius was being overly jovial, telling every joke he knew and then laughing heartily on his own in a forced kind of way. Lider was pacing the room; James could see him mentally running over plays in his mind. In fact, the only person around not making a sound or moving a muscle was Lily. James couldn't blame her, after all, this was a very big day for her, she was understandably very nervous, and dealing with it in her own way. He wanted to do something for her, to make her feel better, but he had no idea what he could possibly do. He went over to her and sat down next to her with his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled weakly and he joined her in silence and stillness. He found it oddly comforting, alone with his thoughts. It was actually a very good way to focus; his mind went blank and then filled with Quidditch until it was all he could think of, and when Lider said,
"Right, let's go!" James was ready to go.
Even if James hadn't been prepared before he went out the first moment of flight, the take off, the rush of cold air on his face would have been enough to chase away all his fears. It always had been the only way to really wake him up.
The game was fast paced and furious, James lost count of how many times the Quaffle was in and out of his hands. Slytherin were leading by a hair, but Gryffindor were keeping the pressure on and there was never more than twenty points between them. James knew that there was no way the chasers could win this match alone, Lily needed to catch the Snitch, and she needed to do it soon. He only hoped that her confidence would be sufficient to catch it before the other seeker. The pressure was mounting, Slytherin pulled ahead by thirty points, then Gryffindor pulled back, and then ahead, and soon, thanks to a spectacular goal from James and a Slytherin broken nose from the bludger courtesy of Sirius the Gryffindor team had a fifty point lead, and it didn't look as though they were about to lose it any time soon. It was definitely time for Lily to pull something out of the hat, to prove to everyone that James had been right and that all of his teaching had not been in vain. A two hundred point victory would put the lid on what had been a remarkable match for the Gryffindors! Then suddenly James got his wish and Lily was diving, diving like she'd never dared dive before. Since that time when Lily had slapped him he hadn't dared to try and get her to perform another dive, those green, flashing angry eyes had terrified him, but this dive was almost as steep as the one he had performed with her that first lesson, and he was very worried about her, what if she wasn't able to pull up in time and ended up ploughed. If she got hurt it would be completely his fault. He shook himself out of his reverie, realising that he had completely stopped playing, fortunately everyone else was too busy watching what was now both seekers streaking down the middle of the pitch heading towards a tiny glimmer of gold low to the ground near the Ravenclaw spectators stand. Finally, after what seemed like an age he saw Lily pull up from a point only inches away from the ground, her fingers closed in a fist, and that fist raised in the air in victory. A huge cheer erupted from three of the stands, everyone wanted Slytherin to lose, and this victory meant that for the first time in about ten years the Slytherin team would not be in the final. As the team descended, the noise was deafening, everyone was shouting and cheering. James wanted to speak to Lily, to congratulate her, but he didn't stand a chance, he had been one of the last players down from the air, and Lily was surrounded by the other members of Gryffindor house, not to mention a fair few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws too. James was so pleased, not just for himself and the team, but for her, he knew how happy she'd be that all her hard work had paid off, and, of course, James couldn't resist a feeling of pride in the knowledge that this was at least partly his doing. It wasn't until later in the evening, after the initial jubilance of the victory party had died down and the crowd around Lily had somewhat diminished that he could get in to say anything to her. He didn't know what to say though. They were friends, but their friendship had never been a public one, or even an acknowledged one, and James suddenly didn't know how to act in front of all those people. Fortunately Lily saved him from his dilemma and ran up to him and flung her arms around him, "Thank you so much! I could never have done that without you. It was the best feeling ever and it was all thanks to you!" She said all this in a voice so happy and with eyes so sparkly that James couldn't help but smiled, despite the fact that he was incredibly embarrassed. He caught sight of Sirius, Remus and Peter smirking at him in the corner and started to glow bright red. He pulled away and murmured something about it not being a problem and shrank back to his friends, who by this time were sniggering behind their hands. James glowed an even brighter red and escaped up the stairs to the dormitories, his face hot and his ears ringing with the sounds of his friends' laughter.
Lily's flying lessons with James were going really well. Lily was no longer scared to sit on a broom and do tricks with James, but the hardest bit was to come. She now had to do them herself, and she was terrified.
"It's different with you," she said at one lesson "you know what you're doing so I know now that I won't fall off, but when I have to be in charge of a broom then I'm likely to cause myself an accident."
"OK, so how about I get on with you, then if I see that you're likely to fall I can take over and make sure you don't." Lily was quite pleased with that suggestion, it seemed to her like the perfect solution. In this way she learned to control the broom and gradually lost the fear that she had until, by the end of the lesson she had the courage enough to attempt a solo flight. James flew with her on his own broom, keeping close enough to her to give her confidence but space enough to give her the chance to fly properly, to do a few tricks, to get used to the wonderfully exhilarating feeling of flying. James was sure that if Lily just got over her fear of it then she would love it just as he did, just as he thought everybody should.
In fact, it wasn't long before Lily was ready to take up her place as seeker. It was about time too, in James' opinion, as they were starting to lose any hope they had of winning the Quidditch cup that year. Unless they somehow managed to pull off a win against Slytherin in the next match they would be out of the running, and that would make it the first year in about fifteen that Gryffindor had failed to make it into the final. James certainly didn't want that to happen, not in his first year on the team.
The day of the match against Slytherin dawned bright and clear, fairly good Quidditch conditions. James was exhausted, he'd barely slept a wink with nerves and the thought of breakfast was already making him feel sick. He got up and dressed quietly, hoping that none of the others were awake. He didn't feel like talking, he wasn't sure his mouth still worked. Fortunately there was a soft snoring coming from all the beds in his dormitory and so he safely slipped downstairs and sank gratefully into a soft armchair.
"Nerves got to you too?" James started at the sound of the voice. He looked up to see Lily looking back at him. She looked awful, pale with bags under her eyes. She clearly hadn't slept either.
"Yep, hardly slept a wink." They left each other alone after that. Neither of them had the energy to speak, and so they just sat, each understanding what the other needed, silence and companionship.
James didn't go to breakfast and neither did Lily. They couldn't see the point. Neither of them felt they could eat anything. Instead, when the common room had emptied they walked slowly down towards the Quidditch field and the changing rooms to get ready for their match.
The atmosphere in the changing room was tense, each player was preparing for the upcoming match in their own way. Sirius was being overly jovial, telling every joke he knew and then laughing heartily on his own in a forced kind of way. Lider was pacing the room; James could see him mentally running over plays in his mind. In fact, the only person around not making a sound or moving a muscle was Lily. James couldn't blame her, after all, this was a very big day for her, she was understandably very nervous, and dealing with it in her own way. He wanted to do something for her, to make her feel better, but he had no idea what he could possibly do. He went over to her and sat down next to her with his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled weakly and he joined her in silence and stillness. He found it oddly comforting, alone with his thoughts. It was actually a very good way to focus; his mind went blank and then filled with Quidditch until it was all he could think of, and when Lider said,
"Right, let's go!" James was ready to go.
Even if James hadn't been prepared before he went out the first moment of flight, the take off, the rush of cold air on his face would have been enough to chase away all his fears. It always had been the only way to really wake him up.
The game was fast paced and furious, James lost count of how many times the Quaffle was in and out of his hands. Slytherin were leading by a hair, but Gryffindor were keeping the pressure on and there was never more than twenty points between them. James knew that there was no way the chasers could win this match alone, Lily needed to catch the Snitch, and she needed to do it soon. He only hoped that her confidence would be sufficient to catch it before the other seeker. The pressure was mounting, Slytherin pulled ahead by thirty points, then Gryffindor pulled back, and then ahead, and soon, thanks to a spectacular goal from James and a Slytherin broken nose from the bludger courtesy of Sirius the Gryffindor team had a fifty point lead, and it didn't look as though they were about to lose it any time soon. It was definitely time for Lily to pull something out of the hat, to prove to everyone that James had been right and that all of his teaching had not been in vain. A two hundred point victory would put the lid on what had been a remarkable match for the Gryffindors! Then suddenly James got his wish and Lily was diving, diving like she'd never dared dive before. Since that time when Lily had slapped him he hadn't dared to try and get her to perform another dive, those green, flashing angry eyes had terrified him, but this dive was almost as steep as the one he had performed with her that first lesson, and he was very worried about her, what if she wasn't able to pull up in time and ended up ploughed. If she got hurt it would be completely his fault. He shook himself out of his reverie, realising that he had completely stopped playing, fortunately everyone else was too busy watching what was now both seekers streaking down the middle of the pitch heading towards a tiny glimmer of gold low to the ground near the Ravenclaw spectators stand. Finally, after what seemed like an age he saw Lily pull up from a point only inches away from the ground, her fingers closed in a fist, and that fist raised in the air in victory. A huge cheer erupted from three of the stands, everyone wanted Slytherin to lose, and this victory meant that for the first time in about ten years the Slytherin team would not be in the final. As the team descended, the noise was deafening, everyone was shouting and cheering. James wanted to speak to Lily, to congratulate her, but he didn't stand a chance, he had been one of the last players down from the air, and Lily was surrounded by the other members of Gryffindor house, not to mention a fair few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws too. James was so pleased, not just for himself and the team, but for her, he knew how happy she'd be that all her hard work had paid off, and, of course, James couldn't resist a feeling of pride in the knowledge that this was at least partly his doing. It wasn't until later in the evening, after the initial jubilance of the victory party had died down and the crowd around Lily had somewhat diminished that he could get in to say anything to her. He didn't know what to say though. They were friends, but their friendship had never been a public one, or even an acknowledged one, and James suddenly didn't know how to act in front of all those people. Fortunately Lily saved him from his dilemma and ran up to him and flung her arms around him, "Thank you so much! I could never have done that without you. It was the best feeling ever and it was all thanks to you!" She said all this in a voice so happy and with eyes so sparkly that James couldn't help but smiled, despite the fact that he was incredibly embarrassed. He caught sight of Sirius, Remus and Peter smirking at him in the corner and started to glow bright red. He pulled away and murmured something about it not being a problem and shrank back to his friends, who by this time were sniggering behind their hands. James glowed an even brighter red and escaped up the stairs to the dormitories, his face hot and his ears ringing with the sounds of his friends' laughter.