Chapter 7! Enjoy!
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James and Lily: A Match Made in Hogwarts
Chapter 7
When James woke up the next morning, Lily wasn't lying in her bed above him. Startled, James jumped up, looking around the room for her. "Lily!" he called out. No answer. Snape didn't come after her again, did he? James checked the bathroom. "Lily?" But no one was in there. He walked out to the common room. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was sitting in one of the armchairs, with a book on her lap. There was a plate loaded with eggs, bacon, and toast on the table beside her. She looked up and smiled.
"Good morning, James!" she said pleasantly She closed her book and put it down on the floor and set her hands in her lap. "Did you sleep well? I've got you a spot of breakfast. You've got that Quidditch game at noon, you know. Here, come eat."
James sat down in the chair next to her as she handed him his plate. "Wow, you didn't have to do this, Lilith. Thanks!"
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. I wanted to thank you for rescuing me from Snape last night. I really don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come when you did." She said.
"Really, Lily, it's all right. You don't have to keep thanking me." He said through a mouthful of bacon. "Don't worry about it."
"It's going to be so awkward when I see Snape. He won't remember what happened or what he planned to do, but I will. I hope he doesn't try to do it again, though." She shuddered
"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him, if you like. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He said determinedly.
She gave him a small smile. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
They continued to smile at each other for a minute, caught up in each other's eyes. James tried to take a bite of his toast but missed his mouth entirely and dropped it on his lap. He blushed.
Lily let out a giggle and stood up. "Well, if you're done eating, we should go down to the Great Hall. I've got to find my friends. I'm not going to tell them about what happened, please don't tell yours either." She gave him puppy dog eyes.
"It'll be our secret, Lily." He said solemnly.
"Thanks…well, come on, lets go."
They set off for the Great Hall together. When they were about to go in, Snape and his little gang of Slytherins came out. Lily froze and reached for James's hand.
"Don't look at him," James whispered. Lily clutched his hand tighter.
Snape gave them a fleeting look and walked over to them. Lily backed away.
"I know you two had something to do with me waking up in the hospital wing. When I find out what you did, you'll be sorry." He glared at them, then walked away, but turned around and said "oh and Potter, good luck against the Slytherins today. You'll need it." And with that he swept away.
"See? He has no idea." James said to Lily.
"That's good." She let go of his hand. "There are my friends, good luck at Quidditch!" she kissed him on the cheek and looked up at him. Her cheeks blushed slightly but she grinned at him. She turned and made her way to her friends. James's eyes swept up the Gryffindor table until he saw his friends. They were staring at him with their mouths hanging open. They had obviously seen Lily kiss James on the cheek. Sirius broke into a huge grin and he flashed James a thumb's up sign. James grinned sheepishly and also made his way over to them.
"What happened?" Remus demanded. "Do my eyes deceive me? Or did Lily Evans just…kiss…YOU?"
James simply nodded.
"All RIGHT, JAMES!" Sirius cried, triumphantly "You finally got Lily to like you!"
"Wait, I don't think she likes me. I just helped her out with…something. She was just thanking me, that's all…..at least, I think she was just thanking me." James said uncertainly.
Sirius said "Yeah, sure. I'd like girls to thank me like that." He winked at James.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah it's not a big deal, you idiot." James smacked the back of his head.
"Stop it, you two! Why can't you act more like dear Wormtail here," he gestured beside him to Peter, who was stuffing his mouth with kippers. He looked up. "Wha-?"
The other three Maruaders rolled their eyes. When Peter finished stuffing his face with food, they left the Great Hall and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. They sat around for a few hours until 30 minutes before the Quidditch game was supposed to begin. James stood up and stretched his arms up above his head. "Well, I'd better head down to the pitch. See you after the game."
He made a quick pit-stop at his tower to grab his robes and broomstick. Lily wasn't there. "Probably in the Library." James thought. He made his way to the Gryffindor team locker room, where all the team members were sitting in there uniforms waiting for him.
"Where have you been, James?" Carly shrieked. "You told us to be here an hour early and you're late!
"I…uh..I got held up." He lied "I'm going to go put on my robes and when I get back we'll discuss tactics for today's game."
He quickly ducked into the boy's changing room and pulled his robes with the captain's badge emblazed on his chest on.
"All right team!" he began his pre-game speech. "We've got this game in the bag! As always, Slytherin is going for size rather than skill. Their Beaters are two great lumps of wasted skin. When I past them, they were hitting each other over the head with their bats." He turned to the Chasers, Carly, Monica, and Dillon. "You shouldn't have any trouble scoring. Their Keeper tends to stay in the middle hoop and not move. Try to score in the left and right hoops." He turned to Rachel, the Keeper. "They're Chasers are pretty good, but you're better. Just keep your mind on the game and your eyes on the Quaffle and you should be all right. Their Seeker is good, I'm kind of worried about him, though."
"Don't." Monica said in her thick Irish accent. "You're the best Seeker in the school, everyone knows that. They don't stand a chance!"
"Monica's right, James!" Benjamin piped up. "We've got this game!"
Carly stood up on the bench. "Goooooooo Gryffindor!" Carly was known for in-taking large amounts of sugar before her Qudditch games. She started dancing up and down the bench. "Gryffindor! Gryffindor!" she chanted over and over. The rest of the team joined her. They all were pepped up now. "C'mon team!" James shouted. They swung their brooms over their shoulders and jogged out onto the field. The Slytherins were already waiting at center field with Madam Hooch. She was holding a large crate under her arm. James glared into the eyes on the Slytherin captain and Keeper, Andrew Brenner. He glared right back at James.
"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch barked.
James and Brenner gripped each other's hands. They both tried to crush the other's fingers.
"Mount your broom!" she barked again.
Fourteen players clambered onto their brooms and waited for the whistle.
Madam Hooch set the crate down and opened it. She let the two bludgers out and unleashed the golden Snitch. James watched it until he couldn't see it anymore. Madam Hooch mounted her own broom and tucked the Quaffle under her arm.
"On my whistle." TWEEEEEEEEEEET She threw the Quaffle into the air and Carly charged forward and grabbed it.
"Aaaaaaand there off!" cried the Hufflepuff commentator. "For Gryfindor, its Heckert, Walltrip, Keller, Riley, Peterson, aaaaaaaand Potter!" Boos from the Slytherin side, cheers and girl's shrieking from the Gryffindor side.
"For Slytherin, its Moore, Dullrey, Parrish, Elkinson, Towner, Aberfoyle, aaaaaaand Brenner!" Boos from the Gryffindor side, cheering from the Slytherins.
Carly had seized the Quaffle and was streaking to the Slytherin goal. The Slytherin Beater, Towner, hit one of the bludgers at her and it knocked into her arm, she dropped the Quaffle. But, Dillon, who had been flying below her, caught it and passed it to Monica. She flew down the field to the Slytherin hoop. The Slytherin Beaters were preoccupied with one of the Bludgers, leaving the other to attack their own Chasers. Brenner was flying in front of the middle hoop, just as James had said he would. Monica shot for the right.
"She shoots!" the commentator cried. "and scores!" he added 10 onto the scoreboard. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindors.
"All right, Monica!" James called.
Brenner seized the Quaffle at once and threw it to Aberfoyle, who after he caught it, got a face full of bludger that Reese Walltrip had hit at him. Aberfoyle tried to pass it to Moore but was intercepted by Carly. Everyone streaked back to the Gryffindor hoops. Carly shot for the left hoops and scored.
"Another goal for Gryffindor!" the commentator added 20 to the scoreboard.
James had been so into watching the action below, he forgot what he was doing. "Focus! Look for the Snitch!" his eyes scanned the crowd. His heart leapt at what he saw. Lily was sitting with her friend, Isabella and the other Marauders. They were holding up a large banner that said, "Go Potter and Peterson!" the colors clashed in Gryffindor colors and the lion on the banner looked so realistic. It was moving around and roaring into the crowd. James beamed at this. Lily was screaming, her pale cheeks were red in the cool weather. James had never seen her so excited over a Quidditch game before. A piece of homework maybe, but never Quidditch. But she was really into it, she was following Carly with her eyes and was cheering her on. She looked up at James, who was hovering above her. She smiled up at him and shouted encouraging words that James couldn't here over the roar of the lion on the banner. He continued to watch her until a flash is gold zoomed behind him. He caught a glimpse of it and chased after it. Cheers from the Gryffindors told him that one of their Chasers had scored again.
"James! Watch out!" Monica cried out.
A bludger was flying towards his head. But out of nowhere, Dillon flew in and smashed it with his bat, sending it pelting towards the Slytherin Seeker, Elkinson, who had obviously not seen the flash of gold James had.
'Thanks!" he called quickly to Dillon. When he looked at the bludger, he had lost sight of the Snitch. It had disappeared again.
He flew around the field, above everyone else, looking for the Snitch.
More cheers from the Gryffindors told him again that they had scored. A few minutes later, the Slytherins cheered, Dullrey had scored.
Gryffindor was up 40-10. James really needed to find the Snitch. He continued to look for 15 minutes. The score was now 70-30. If James didn't find the Snitch, Slytherin would win.
He saw a glimmer of gold above the Gryffindor stands. He charged towards it. Elkinson had also seen it and was flying towards it.
Once again, Towner saw what was happening and hit one of the bludgers towards James. Benjamin was ready though, he flew between James and the bludger and hit it away. Elkinson couldn't stop his broom on time and the bristles of it smacked Sirius right in the face. He jerked it back and Elkinson fell off his broom, right onto Peter's lap. Sirius grabbed Elkinson's broom and dropped it into the pitch.
TWEEEEEEET! "Penalty to Slytherin!" Madam Hooch cried out. "Gryffindor fan interfered with the game!"
Everyone around Sirius patted him on the back. Elkinson gave him the look of death and waited for madam Hooch to bring him his Broom from the ground. He mounted it quickly, but managed to kick Sirius in the jaw.
Siriius leapt at him as he flew away, but Remus grabbed him round the neck and threw him back into his seat. "Piece of rubbish." He muttered.
"Look, Look!" Lily cried. "James is still chasing the
Snitch!"
James was still chasing after it, dodging in and out of the Chasers and Beaters. His hand was stretched out, trying to grab it. Moore came out of nowhere and braced himself in front of James. Before he could swerve out of the way, James's broom hit Moore's and began to turn somersaults in midair.
"OH! He's going to fall off!" Lily cried, her nails dug into Isabella's arm.
James's arms were flailing, but his hand enclosed around the fluttering Snitch. The crowd hadn't noticed.
When he grasped it, his other arm let loose and James slid off the end of his broom. He fell to the Earth from about 20 ft. up. He landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. But he was fine. He threw up the hand that clutched the Snitch and waved it in the air.
"James Potter has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor WINS!" the commentator cried.
A loud cheer erupted throughout the stadium. The Gryffindor
team swooped down on James and began to cheer. "We won, we won!" The Marauders,
Lily and Isabella joined in the celebration. Sirius high-fived James and said "Well
done, Prongs!"
Remus cried, "That was excellent, James!"
"Thanks Moony!" They were shouting, they could barely hear each other over the cheering.
Lily ran up to him and threw her arms around him in a quick hug. She pulled back and kissed him on the cheek. "I thought you were hurt! I was so scared!"
He grinned at her. "I'm always all right! I never get hurt!"
"Well, just the same-" she broke off. He couldn't even hear her anymore. Reese and Benjamin had lifted him onto their shoulders and carried him back to the locker room, banging on things, and cheering the whole way. When they finally calmed down enough to let him down, James shouted, "Hit the showers!" The girls headed off to theirs and the boy's to theirs.
James was the last one to change and leave. He pulled on his regular school robes again and left the locker room. The Marauders, Lily, Isabella, and Carly were waiting for him.
"Great game, Captain! We've taken the lead in the House Cup!" Carly cried.
James grinned at her, "Thanks. You didn't do so bad either, 60 points! Not bad!"
Lily watched him suspiciously. "Wow." She thought. "James isn't claiming all the glory for himself! He really has changed, after all."
James caught her eye. "Something wrong, Lilith?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Something's just occurred to me, that's all."
They all set off towards the Gryffindor common room, where they knew a victory party was beginning to rage.
***
*Whew* Chapter 7! This is turning long, isn't it? lol! In the next chapter, I think I'll make it Christmas. I'll have some kind of ball, so there will be tension over dates, etc etc. Sound good? If you haven't caught on yet, *just kidding* I add a new chapter every day! So Chapter 8 is on the way! Thanks for reading!
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