Disclaimer: The characters you can recognize are JK Rowling's and the characters you can't recognize are mine. There. A short and sweet disclaimer.
~~~***~~~
A cool breeze blew against Lily's face as she climbed the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch and sat down next to Remus and Peter.
The Quidditch match was about to commence.
Lily was in high spirits. She had just spoken to Lance and he had been very understanding about her canceling their date.
~~~~~Flashback~~~~~
"Err… Lance, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our date on Sunday due to certain circumstances that have just risen," Lily had told Lance apologetically.
She had been quite surprised at the reaction that she had gotten from Lance. She had not expected him to be so… relieved.
He had had the decency to attempt to look sorry, but the relief had been there. Of this Lily was quite certain.
"Oh. That's alright, really. I understand," Lance had replied absent-mindedly before he had run off to reserve a seat beside Selina Blunt of Ravenclaw.
So Naomi had been right, Lily mused. But then again, Naomi was usually right.
~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~
Sarah Higgins of Hufflepuff, who was doing the commentary for the match, jolted Lily out of her reverie.
"Hogwarts, welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!"
Cheers filled the air as the two teams made their way onto the pitch with their brooms.
The two captains shook hands and Madam Cust blew her whistle.
From her position in the stands, Lily could see James rise high up into the air and snatch the Quaffle. He shot it through the tallest hoop and earned 20 points for Gryffindor.
Lily tore her eyes away from James and focused them instead on her best friend, who was also playing for Gryffindor.
Naomi was sitting quite still on her broom, scanning the pitch for any sign of the Snitch.
* * *
James could feel the wind in his hair as he sped around the Quidditch pitch.
What a feeling.
James had always loved to play Quidditch for as long as he could remember.
It allowed him to forget about all his problems and a certain redhead.
In the background, Sarah Higgins was hollering something about Andrea Caldwell scoring 20 more points for Gryffindor, but James could only hear her vaguely.
It was as if he was in another world altogether. A world full of Lily Evans and nothing else.
Lily Evans. And Lance Morton. James could not bear even the thought of them together.
Why was life so unfair? He had been chasing Lily for a date for three whole years and she had yet to agree when Lance Morton simply came up and secured a date with her.
The last thing James remembered before he felt an intense pain at the back of his head was Sirius shouting, "Prongs! Look out!"
And then he plunged into blackness.
* * *
Lily frowned. Everything had been going well on the Quidditch pitch so far, Gryffindor leading Ravenclaw by 60 points.
However, James was behaving strangely. One minute he was racking up the first 20 points for Gryffindor, the next minute he was sitting quite tense and still on his broomstick, staring into space and oblivious to his surroundings.
The game was still going on quite well without him, of course, but Lily felt somewhat uneasy. It was not like James to behave like this. He loved Quidditch. Normally, he would be speeding around the pitch, shooting the Quaffle into the hoops at any chance he got.
A gasp from Remus interrupted Lily's thoughts.
She looked up just in time to see a bludger hit James at the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.
And the Snitch chose that unfortunate moment to make its appearance.
Lily could see that Naomi was torn between seeing if James was alright and seizing the Snitch.
After a few shouts of "Andrews! Get the Snitch!" from a fellow teammate though, Naomi sped like an arrow towards the Snitch.
After her fingers finally closed around the Snitch, Naomi sped to the ground. Sirius had caught James and had prevented him from plummeting to his death just in the nick of time. They were now on the ground of the Quidditch pitch, Sirius calling urgently for Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.
Lily had apparently run all the way from the stands to the Quidditch pitch and was now kneeling beside James, her face white. Remus and Peter were standing on both sides of her, trying, but failing, to comfort her.
"How is he?" Naomi asked Madam Pomfrey softly after she had examined him.
"Bad knock at the back of his head," Madam Pomfrey said briskly. "He'll be residing in the Hospital Wing for some time yet."
She then beckoned to Sirius and Remus to help carry James to the Hospital Wing.
Lily felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Naomi.
"Lils? You alright?" Naomi asked worriedly.
"Yeah. Why shouldn't I be?" Lily asked Naomi in a broken voice.
"The extreme sadness shows in your eyes, Lils" Naomi let Lily know she was not fooled one bit.
"I never can fool you, can I, Nom? You're right. I'm not alright. I feel so sad, it's scary, Nom," Tears trickled down Lily's cheeks.
* * *
"Where's Lily?" Sirius asked Naomi as he and Remus climbed in through the portrait hole later in the afternoon.
They had just finished the important task of carrying James to the Hospital Wing.
"She's upstairs, sleeping. Don't you dare disturb her. She cried for hours on end before finally falling asleep, exhausted." Naomi sighed. "How's James?"
"Madam Pomfrey says he'll be alright in a few days' time." Remus replied as he sat down beside Naomi on the couch.
"Lily cried for hours for our ickle-Jamsie?" Sirius asked with interest as he plopped himself down on an armchair.
"Make fun of Lily and die, Sirius. I swear I saw real grief in the girl's eyes," Naomi put an emphasis on the word 'grief'.
"Grief, eh? Like this? 'Intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one'. A five-letter word." Remus glanced down at the ninth clue of the crossword puzzle that was lying conveniently on the table.
"Yes. Exactly like that." Naomi said tiredly.
Grief. Grief is the agony of an instant, the indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.
~~~***~~~
Another chapter finished. And posted. Just like I promised. Who says I don't keep my promises? * Grins *
Oh, and review, please! I'm churning out the next chapter and it should be on its way soon! :D
Just a little side-note: Lily only canceled her date with Lance a few minutes before the commencement of the Quidditch match. She planned on telling James what she had done only after the match. Just wanted to clear this little fact up to avoid any confusion.