Disclaimer: see previous chapters.
WOW! Can I just say that? WOW, you guys, I don't even know what to say. I
guess a simple thank you would do just fine! Thanks soooooo much! We made
it past 120!!!!!! Yeah!!!!! I am seriously so happy you all have no idea! I
love all you guys! I couldn't ask for better readers! Ok, I'll stop now...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~* September 19, the morning of the ball...
Diana and Lily heard an impatient knock on their bedroom door. Diana chose to ignore it but Lily jumped up out of her dreamless sleep. Then she looked at the clock. It read 4:30 am. Lily groaned, then she heard the knock again.
"Evans!! Renton!!" It was James. She couldn't figure out what he could possibly want.
She got up slowly and walked over to the door in a drowsy, unpleasant mood. The incessant knocking continued. She opened the door quickly and forcefully.
"What!" She said, in a groggy, raspy whisper. James was wide awake and leaning against the doorframe.
"We have a game today Evans." He said. He had a look on his face of nervousness and excitement. "How could you not be up?"
"Huh? It's four thirty in the morning! It's still dark for heaven's sake!" she yelled, her voice clearer.
"Yea, and?" he said, folding his arms. He clearly didn't get why she was making such a fuss.
"Are you insane? Well, clearly you must be." She said, slamming her hand about two inches away from his head. "Did you wake me up to tell me that?"
"No." he snorted. "We need to practice. Get your robes."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" They heard Diana say. "I've only been sleeping for two hours." She whined.
"Not my problem Renton." James said, unfeeling. "Now get up, everyone else is already on the field. We HAVE to win today, do you understand that?"
"Listen, Potter. Us practicing this early is not going to make one bit of difference whether we beat Slytherin or not. You're just going to tire us out." Diana said, yawning and getting out of bed.
"She's right. Don't you think you're taking this a bit far?" Lily asked.
"Oh, I'll wait for you. We don't have to start until 5." He said, thinking he was helping. What he got in return were two angry glares. Lily was speechless at his ignorance, but then he smiled at her, and she buckled.
"Fine." She said.
"What?" Diana asked, dumfounded at how quickly she gave in. Lily shushed her.
"We'll be ready in five minutes." Lily said. "Just, wait outside." She said, closing the door.
Diana huffed and then pointed to the door. Lily held her hand up to silence her, as she got ready. Diana shook her head and started muttering under her breath. She was very unpleasant in the morning, especially after such a rude awakening. Lily got dressed quickly and grabbed her robes, and her new Silver Arrow that Diana's mother had sent her.
"Hurry up." She told Diana as she opened the door. Diana nodded as she watched her join James in the hall.
"Ready?" he said, crouched on the floor.
"Mmm hmm." She said. As he got up he leant out his arm to her. She found this amusing.
"Chivalrous." She said, sarcastically.
"Oh sorry. For a minute there I thought you were a girl. My mistake." He said, shoving his hand in his pocket.
"Hey. No, it's just that I can make it to the field without your assistance." She said, walking ahead.
He caught up with her and they walked down to the field together, side-by- side, and speaking of nothing. When they got to the field everyone was there, and exhausted. Katrina was asleep on the benches while Frank was leaning against his broom. Sirius was sitting on the ground with his arms folded; his chin was perched on his fist.
"Alright you lot! Let's get to it." he said, annoyingly energetic. In about a minute they could see Diana running with her robes on carrying her broom. She was panting when she got to the field. James nodded when he saw her and they spent the next two hours practicing every defense in the book.
By 7:00 am they were all exhausted more than they were to begin with, and now they were achy. They shuffled to breakfast and plopped down on the benches, still in their playing robes.
Remus, Nicole and Peter came down and sat beside them, yawning.
"I am so tired." Peter said, rubbing his eyes. They all just looked at him, even Remus, with annoyed looks on their faces.
"You just woke up. We have been up for hours." Katrina spat, trying desperately to concentrate on her cold cereal.
"Coffee." Diana said, running her hand through her hair.
"I second that." Lily said, yawning.
"I'd like some." James agreed. They all looked at Sirius, who was buttering a roll.
"What?" he asked.
"Get us coffee." Diana ordered.
"Hell no, get it yourself." He answered. "It's all the way on the other side of the table."
"Please?" Diana exhaustedly asked.
"Pretty please?" Lily asked, smirking.
Sirius glared at her. "Oh alright." He got up and walked to where most of the second years were sitting. He grabbed a few cups and they watched him pour coffee into them. There was milk, honey and sugar where they were sitting. Somehow, he managed to carry all the cups in one trip. He handed them to everyone, and they looked eager to receive them.
"I don't know how you guys take it so-" he began.
"No, Black's fine." Diana said. "Just the way I like it." she said, not looking at him. Lily looked at him briefly, but he ignored it and resumed eating. Then, without anyone realizing it someone walked over to their table and tapped Diana on the shoulder. She jolted, but smiled at the site that met her.
"Good morning Renton." Lucius said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She blushed.
"Good morning Lucius. What can I do for you?" she flirtingly said.
"Well, I was just wondering if you had any plans for this evening. Tonight is the ball after all, and I was curious if you had an escort."
She turned fully around to answer him.
"Well, no." she said, crossing her legs.
"Would you like one?" he asked, smiling.
She pretended to think. "Hmm. I don't know. I planned on going alone tonight. I don't want any obligations." She whispered.
"Understandable." He said, not losing his demeanor in the slightest. "I wouldn't want to force you to do anything. Splendid. I take it I will see you there then?" he inquired.
"Certainly." She replied.
"Alright, see you around." He sexily stated, and walked away casually. Then she swooped around and continued to eat.
"What was that?" Lily asked, playing dumb.
Diana smirked. "Nothing."
"Oh look Padfoot, Renton's in love." James joked, and started laughing. Diana reached across Lily and playfully slapped him.
"Ow, harshness." James answered, pretending to be hurt.
"Stop it you two." Lily said. "So, is he going to 'see more of you'?" she asked.
Sirius coughed. "Um, bless you?" Diana questioned. "And I don't know Lil. He's just so.. so, charming, and a little mysterious. I just like him, a lot, and I don't care what any of you say. He's not really like that-"
Sirius cut her off by grunting and then chuckling. She glared at him and folded her arms.
"Do you have something to say to me?" she asked staring until he would look up.
"Nope." he said, still not looking at her.
"Bullshit. Spit it out, I can take whatever mundane comments you throw at me. I am impervious to your criticism." She said, getting defensive.
"My don't we have a vocabulary when we're angry." He said, condescendingly.
"You know what, forget it. I am just, so tired, so tired of this. Why can't you just, for once, be a decent human being?"
"What?" he asked, confused by her change in mood.
"Never mind let's drop it. You make me physically ill." She said, taking a sip of her coffee. Lily and James looked at each other, pity in their eyes. Sirius got up from the table abruptly and walked out. No one followed; they wouldn't know what to say if they did.
"Diana.." Lily said. "That was mean."
"Don't talk to me." She said. "He had the audacity...forget it." then she too got up and ran upstairs. Lily and James were next to each other, close but not noticing.
Nicole was next to Remus and he actually put his arm around her shoulder. She had let him. They were no longer shy. Even the past few days had brought them closer, since they both knew their feelings of attraction were mutual.
When Lily and James noticed their closeness, they let out nervous laughs and Lily pushed herself away. Breakfast had ended and they each went to their respective classes. Remus, Nicole and Peter went to Divination while Lily and James walked to Aritmancy together. Professor Vector gave them a free period in honor of the Quidditch match and Ball that evening. James had pulled up his desk next to Lily's to talk more about the game.
"So what we're going to do is-" James enthusiastically started.
"Potter." Lily sighed. "Relax."
He laughed. "No. I want to discuss it again." He childishly commanded.
"Don't you think we have talked about it enough?" she asked, chuckling at his mannerisms. He is so cute when he's impatient, she thought. Then she shook her head. Stop it Lily, she thought.
He smiled. "I guess." He said, pretending to be disappointed. "Listen, I can't tell you how great it is to have to and Diana on the team." He said.
"Wow, that's a nice thing to say. I never thought I would say that about you Potter." She chuckled.
"I know. You know what Evans?"
"What?" she asked, curiously.
"You're not as vile as I thought you were." He spit out, slightly against his will.
"And you're not as pretentious as I thought you were." She said, looking down.
"Well thank you. So I guess I'm not an asshole huh?" he joked.
"Well...I guess you've thawed. So am I still an ugly whore? That was always a favorite of yours." She quipped back.
"No. Definitely not." He said, smiling. Oh my god, am I flirting with her? He asked himself.
"So." she began trying to end the awkward silence. "Um, how's.Narcissa?" Great job, Lily, bring up the girlfriend, she scolded herself.
"Oh, um." James thought. He had completely forgotten about her. He was so preoccupied with Quidditch and classes..and...Lily? He couldn't believe it but he had actually dedicated precious thinking moments to her, and he was shocked at himself.
"She's ..uh.good." he blurted out. She nodded. Then the bell rang, after what seemed like five seconds of class. They were each sorry it ended, and they sort of didn't want to leave.
"Well um." James began, getting up.
"I'll see you this afternoon at the game." She said, lightheartedly.
"Right." He said, smiled and left the room. When he was out of sight Lily grabbed her hair in frustration and let out a loud sigh. Damn him, she thought. Damn him for his silent torture methods. She acknowledged then that she had a bit of a crush on him and she was profoundly disappointed in herself. I'm just like one of them, she thought. Those brainless twits, those shallow tramps, she was in league with them, and she hated it.
Classes were a blur for James. For some reason unknown to him he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. Well, his attention was easily distracted, especially in Potions. He was staring at Lily every minute, and trying not to make it too obvious. He ignored Narcissa, who seemed boggled by his behavior. She's just so pretty, James thought. Why haven't I noticed before? He also noticed she had grace and poise. This was mostly from Quidditch, however. She was a great flyer.
Finally the game commenced at 3:30 in the afternoon. The entire school was excited and the players, especially the Gryffindors were increasingly nervous. They had practiced hard and hoped it would pay off. James was pacing back and forth until the five-minute call.
"Ok guys, ladies. We are going to go out there and kick some serious ass. You ready?" James said, trying desperately to convince he as well as the team that they were unstoppable. It was his first year being captain, and his first game, so he was a little jumpy.
They flew out onto the field as their names were being called. Thaddeus Jordan announced all the players. James, of course, got the most applause.
They gathered around each other, the Slytherin team announced as well. Then Madame Hooch proceeded to the middle of the field to referee.
"Alright! Malfoy, Potter! Shake hands!" she said briskly. Malfoy was the Slytherin captain, and it disgusted them both that they had to engage in even the slightest physical contact. They did it quickly without looking at one another.
"Good enough." She said, satisfied. "Now! Mount your brooms and on the sound of my whistle..three-two-one!"
The players of Slytherin and Gryffindor shot up into the air and circled swiftly around the field. The crowed cheered with excitement as the Quaffle was released. Jordan announced the commentary:
"The Quaffle is released with Gryffindor immediately in possession. Lily Evans has grabbed it strait away without, it seems, a moment's hesitation. She is speeding towards the goal posts with incredible determination. But- oh no-Warrington and Flint are on her tail-they're gaining from both sides and----OH!" he flinched. "Lily Evans has been rammed hard by the Slytherins, but she hasn't dropped the Quaffle. She's alright!"
There is an uproar coming from the crowd as she straitened herself on her broom.
"There she goes! Faster and faster towards the keeper! She is circling him with excellent speed. He looks dizzy. She swoops past him and-YES!! TEN- ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily circled and saw the team punch the air with excitement.
"Slytherin in possession, keeper Goyle passes the Quaffle to Malfoy. He is almost there, swerving, left, and right-Yes! Excellent Bludger work by Frank Longbottom, Malfoy drops the Quaffle and it is incercepted by James Potter! Come on Potter!" he cheered, the crowed going wild for their captain. "James Potter successfully swerves past Warrington, looking good- WHAM! Oh no!" A Bludger had run past James' head and startled him, causing him to drop the Quaffle. "Wait, yes! Caught by Evans! She and Potter speed towards the opposite side and-joined by Spinnet-WOW! They seem to be forming an arrow, heading strait for Goyle. Evans throws to Potter and EXCELLENT!! TWENTY TO ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"
Another roar from the crowd erupts as the game continues. Lily blocked Jordan's commentary out of her mind during the game, for it was quite distracting. The only thought that was going through her mind was speed, agility, bludger, quaffle, keeper, go! She and James worked brilliantly together, passing and distracting the opposing players. Her eyes were glued to the Quaffle, and by the end of a half hour the score was fifty to zero Gryffindor. She was tired, they all were.
Diana exercised the finest keeper techniques while never losing sight for a second. She was a machine, a wall. She could see the trickles of sweat forming on the frustrated brows of the Slytherins, and she relished it.
Malfoy was embarrassed by his team's lack of scoring ability. He was so horrified at one instance where she had caused another chaser to smack strait into a goal post that he grabbed a beater's mallet and hit a bludger strait at Diana. She dodged it, luckily, only to have the infuriated Sirius Black smack it right back at him. to his distress it hit another chaser, Derrick.
The crowd booed the Slytherins but cheered Black as they saw the chaser fall of his broom.
The other Gryffindors were shouting obscenities at the Slytherins and protesting that the point shouldn't count.
"That's cheating!" Katrina yelled, pointing at Malfoy. The game was temporarily halted as Madame Hooch took to the field.
"Quiet!" she yelled although no one listened. "Malfoy, stick to your position, and Black, keep your eye on the game!" they both shrugged it off and the Quaffle was put back into play. The point counted, regardless.
While Katrina listened intently to Jordan's commentary, she spotted the snitch on the far end of the filed, in between the left and center Slytherin goal posts. Without a thought she shot through the air towards it. Not more than five seconds went by when Montague, the Slytherin seeker was on her tail and gaining rapid speed. When she was almost there the snitch flew off, south at first then swerving left towards the crowd. They followed it, each trying to knock the other out of the way. Jordan's commentary was muffled but the rest of the team continued to handle the Quaffle, though they were aware.
This cat and mouse game was dragging and Katrina felt they weren't getting anywhere. Once the snitch seemed to be out of sight for both of them, she hurled toward the ground with breathtaking speed, hoping Montague would follow. He did, for he had thought she saw the snitch. It was merely a distraction because she saw the snitch above Diana's head but she took no notice. It was none of her concern after all. While Montague still searched below she hurdled towards Diana and grabbed the snitch inches above her head. Diana almost fell off her broom. She was so startled. Then she saw the snitch and high fived her in triumph.
"GRYFFINDOR WINS!!!!" shouted an ecstatic Jordan as the roar became almost deafening to the players on the field. "Katrina Miles does an absolutely superb rendition of the Wronski Feint and Gryffindor wins the game at two hundred points to ten!" Jordan commented.
All of the Gryffindor players flew down in a daze, unable to wipe the smiles off their faces. Lily spotted Remus, Nicole and Peter in the stands and waved to them while they were jumping up and down in excitement.
Madame Hooch and McGonagall was congratulating James while the rest of the team went upstairs to the common room. There they were net with more cheers and pats on the back. The girls and boys spent a good twenty minutes talking to the other, eager students of the common room. James entered, some minutes later, energized and excited. He received cries of worship from the underclassmen as he walked over to his team.
"That was fantastic!" he yelled. "Honestly, everything I wanted, happened it was bloody amazing!" then he grabbed Lily and Diana, and actually hugged them as tightly as he could.
"Girls, girls!" he cried, laughing. "Wonderful, perfect, sublime! I could kiss you both right now-"
"Alright Prongs, calm down a bit would you." Sirius chuckled. He too, had end of the match fever.
"Oh shut up Padfoot. How could you not fall in love with these girls? They are hard and ruthless, and aren't afraid to beat the crap out of anything!"
"Yes, because that's what makes them truly feminine." Frank said, laughing.
"You know, I don't care what you just said Frank and do you know why?" James said. There is a pause. "Because we won! We won!" James said, dancing like a fool. "Now if you all would excuse me, I have to take a shower." He announced, running up the stairs to the prefect's bathroom. When he left they all erupted into a roar of laughter. Lily and Diana were clutching her stomachs.
"Hey Lil, I'm going to start getting ready ok?" Diana said, tearing up and out of breath.
"Alright, I'll be up in a minute." She said, in between chuckles. Diana skipped up the stairs and shut the door to their dorm. Frank went up too, because Sarah had rushed in and dragged him upstairs. Katrina was talking to Spinnet, and Lily and Sirius were left.
"See you tonight Black." She said, unusually chipper.
"Wait Evans, hold on." He said.
"Yep." She said, turning around. He motioned her closer. She shot him a strange look and walked toward him. "What is it?"
"I need to ask you something?" he whispered.
"Alright." She replied, folding her arms.
"I don't have a date tonight." He said, really quickly.
"Is that a question?" she couldn't quite hear him.
"Listen. I don't have a date tonight for the ball. Go with me." He said, but was stopped by Lily's sudden laughter.
"Are you kidding?" she asked, clutching her stomach once more. He sighed.
"Forget it." he said and proceeded to walk away.
"Hold on." Lily said, restraining herself. "Why the hell would you ask me that?"
"Because I know you don't have a date either." He said with an attitude.
"You don't have to snap at me, I know this." She answered, defensively. "Why don't you ask someone else, Black, because I'm not going to sleep with you-"
"No! Eww I don't want to sleep with you!" he shot back.
"Thanks." She said, a tad insulted.
"That's not what I meant." He tried correcting himself. She was about to walk away when he pulled her back. "Listen. It's just that, well, like you said I have to keep up my reputation. And I think it would help us both if we went together."
"What, like business partners?" she laughed. "And how would me going with you help me in the least?"
"I think you know." He blurted.
"Excuse me. Know what?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's written all over your face. I'm surprised no one else has noticed." He nonchalantly said.
"Noticed what?" She was losing her patience.
"Oh nothing." He smirked, and began walking towards his dorm. She was left perplexed standing there. Then at the bottom of the stairs he turned around. "It's just that, well." he lowered his voice and she had to walk over. "You really should pay more attention to your facial expressions, especially with James around." He said, and she widened her eyes at him in surprise.
"Bastard." Was all she could say. She was at a loss for words.
"And goodbye to you too Lily." He said, chuckling to himself. "I'll pick you up at eight!" he said, enthusiastically. She was running over a million things to say in her head but nothing came out. She simply huffed and ran upstairs.
"Is that a yes?" he called to her, she stopped at the top and turned.
"Fine!" she mouthed and walked annoyed and frustrated to her room. She threw open the door and slammed it shut.
*(Yea I know I said this would be that ball but I and to get the game in and it was getting too long. The ball will be updated tomorrow so that I don't' have 30 page chapters. Just hold tight, its only 24 hours. It is mostly written already anyway. And again, thank you, thank you! :)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~* September 19, the morning of the ball...
Diana and Lily heard an impatient knock on their bedroom door. Diana chose to ignore it but Lily jumped up out of her dreamless sleep. Then she looked at the clock. It read 4:30 am. Lily groaned, then she heard the knock again.
"Evans!! Renton!!" It was James. She couldn't figure out what he could possibly want.
She got up slowly and walked over to the door in a drowsy, unpleasant mood. The incessant knocking continued. She opened the door quickly and forcefully.
"What!" She said, in a groggy, raspy whisper. James was wide awake and leaning against the doorframe.
"We have a game today Evans." He said. He had a look on his face of nervousness and excitement. "How could you not be up?"
"Huh? It's four thirty in the morning! It's still dark for heaven's sake!" she yelled, her voice clearer.
"Yea, and?" he said, folding his arms. He clearly didn't get why she was making such a fuss.
"Are you insane? Well, clearly you must be." She said, slamming her hand about two inches away from his head. "Did you wake me up to tell me that?"
"No." he snorted. "We need to practice. Get your robes."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" They heard Diana say. "I've only been sleeping for two hours." She whined.
"Not my problem Renton." James said, unfeeling. "Now get up, everyone else is already on the field. We HAVE to win today, do you understand that?"
"Listen, Potter. Us practicing this early is not going to make one bit of difference whether we beat Slytherin or not. You're just going to tire us out." Diana said, yawning and getting out of bed.
"She's right. Don't you think you're taking this a bit far?" Lily asked.
"Oh, I'll wait for you. We don't have to start until 5." He said, thinking he was helping. What he got in return were two angry glares. Lily was speechless at his ignorance, but then he smiled at her, and she buckled.
"Fine." She said.
"What?" Diana asked, dumfounded at how quickly she gave in. Lily shushed her.
"We'll be ready in five minutes." Lily said. "Just, wait outside." She said, closing the door.
Diana huffed and then pointed to the door. Lily held her hand up to silence her, as she got ready. Diana shook her head and started muttering under her breath. She was very unpleasant in the morning, especially after such a rude awakening. Lily got dressed quickly and grabbed her robes, and her new Silver Arrow that Diana's mother had sent her.
"Hurry up." She told Diana as she opened the door. Diana nodded as she watched her join James in the hall.
"Ready?" he said, crouched on the floor.
"Mmm hmm." She said. As he got up he leant out his arm to her. She found this amusing.
"Chivalrous." She said, sarcastically.
"Oh sorry. For a minute there I thought you were a girl. My mistake." He said, shoving his hand in his pocket.
"Hey. No, it's just that I can make it to the field without your assistance." She said, walking ahead.
He caught up with her and they walked down to the field together, side-by- side, and speaking of nothing. When they got to the field everyone was there, and exhausted. Katrina was asleep on the benches while Frank was leaning against his broom. Sirius was sitting on the ground with his arms folded; his chin was perched on his fist.
"Alright you lot! Let's get to it." he said, annoyingly energetic. In about a minute they could see Diana running with her robes on carrying her broom. She was panting when she got to the field. James nodded when he saw her and they spent the next two hours practicing every defense in the book.
By 7:00 am they were all exhausted more than they were to begin with, and now they were achy. They shuffled to breakfast and plopped down on the benches, still in their playing robes.
Remus, Nicole and Peter came down and sat beside them, yawning.
"I am so tired." Peter said, rubbing his eyes. They all just looked at him, even Remus, with annoyed looks on their faces.
"You just woke up. We have been up for hours." Katrina spat, trying desperately to concentrate on her cold cereal.
"Coffee." Diana said, running her hand through her hair.
"I second that." Lily said, yawning.
"I'd like some." James agreed. They all looked at Sirius, who was buttering a roll.
"What?" he asked.
"Get us coffee." Diana ordered.
"Hell no, get it yourself." He answered. "It's all the way on the other side of the table."
"Please?" Diana exhaustedly asked.
"Pretty please?" Lily asked, smirking.
Sirius glared at her. "Oh alright." He got up and walked to where most of the second years were sitting. He grabbed a few cups and they watched him pour coffee into them. There was milk, honey and sugar where they were sitting. Somehow, he managed to carry all the cups in one trip. He handed them to everyone, and they looked eager to receive them.
"I don't know how you guys take it so-" he began.
"No, Black's fine." Diana said. "Just the way I like it." she said, not looking at him. Lily looked at him briefly, but he ignored it and resumed eating. Then, without anyone realizing it someone walked over to their table and tapped Diana on the shoulder. She jolted, but smiled at the site that met her.
"Good morning Renton." Lucius said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She blushed.
"Good morning Lucius. What can I do for you?" she flirtingly said.
"Well, I was just wondering if you had any plans for this evening. Tonight is the ball after all, and I was curious if you had an escort."
She turned fully around to answer him.
"Well, no." she said, crossing her legs.
"Would you like one?" he asked, smiling.
She pretended to think. "Hmm. I don't know. I planned on going alone tonight. I don't want any obligations." She whispered.
"Understandable." He said, not losing his demeanor in the slightest. "I wouldn't want to force you to do anything. Splendid. I take it I will see you there then?" he inquired.
"Certainly." She replied.
"Alright, see you around." He sexily stated, and walked away casually. Then she swooped around and continued to eat.
"What was that?" Lily asked, playing dumb.
Diana smirked. "Nothing."
"Oh look Padfoot, Renton's in love." James joked, and started laughing. Diana reached across Lily and playfully slapped him.
"Ow, harshness." James answered, pretending to be hurt.
"Stop it you two." Lily said. "So, is he going to 'see more of you'?" she asked.
Sirius coughed. "Um, bless you?" Diana questioned. "And I don't know Lil. He's just so.. so, charming, and a little mysterious. I just like him, a lot, and I don't care what any of you say. He's not really like that-"
Sirius cut her off by grunting and then chuckling. She glared at him and folded her arms.
"Do you have something to say to me?" she asked staring until he would look up.
"Nope." he said, still not looking at her.
"Bullshit. Spit it out, I can take whatever mundane comments you throw at me. I am impervious to your criticism." She said, getting defensive.
"My don't we have a vocabulary when we're angry." He said, condescendingly.
"You know what, forget it. I am just, so tired, so tired of this. Why can't you just, for once, be a decent human being?"
"What?" he asked, confused by her change in mood.
"Never mind let's drop it. You make me physically ill." She said, taking a sip of her coffee. Lily and James looked at each other, pity in their eyes. Sirius got up from the table abruptly and walked out. No one followed; they wouldn't know what to say if they did.
"Diana.." Lily said. "That was mean."
"Don't talk to me." She said. "He had the audacity...forget it." then she too got up and ran upstairs. Lily and James were next to each other, close but not noticing.
Nicole was next to Remus and he actually put his arm around her shoulder. She had let him. They were no longer shy. Even the past few days had brought them closer, since they both knew their feelings of attraction were mutual.
When Lily and James noticed their closeness, they let out nervous laughs and Lily pushed herself away. Breakfast had ended and they each went to their respective classes. Remus, Nicole and Peter went to Divination while Lily and James walked to Aritmancy together. Professor Vector gave them a free period in honor of the Quidditch match and Ball that evening. James had pulled up his desk next to Lily's to talk more about the game.
"So what we're going to do is-" James enthusiastically started.
"Potter." Lily sighed. "Relax."
He laughed. "No. I want to discuss it again." He childishly commanded.
"Don't you think we have talked about it enough?" she asked, chuckling at his mannerisms. He is so cute when he's impatient, she thought. Then she shook her head. Stop it Lily, she thought.
He smiled. "I guess." He said, pretending to be disappointed. "Listen, I can't tell you how great it is to have to and Diana on the team." He said.
"Wow, that's a nice thing to say. I never thought I would say that about you Potter." She chuckled.
"I know. You know what Evans?"
"What?" she asked, curiously.
"You're not as vile as I thought you were." He spit out, slightly against his will.
"And you're not as pretentious as I thought you were." She said, looking down.
"Well thank you. So I guess I'm not an asshole huh?" he joked.
"Well...I guess you've thawed. So am I still an ugly whore? That was always a favorite of yours." She quipped back.
"No. Definitely not." He said, smiling. Oh my god, am I flirting with her? He asked himself.
"So." she began trying to end the awkward silence. "Um, how's.Narcissa?" Great job, Lily, bring up the girlfriend, she scolded herself.
"Oh, um." James thought. He had completely forgotten about her. He was so preoccupied with Quidditch and classes..and...Lily? He couldn't believe it but he had actually dedicated precious thinking moments to her, and he was shocked at himself.
"She's ..uh.good." he blurted out. She nodded. Then the bell rang, after what seemed like five seconds of class. They were each sorry it ended, and they sort of didn't want to leave.
"Well um." James began, getting up.
"I'll see you this afternoon at the game." She said, lightheartedly.
"Right." He said, smiled and left the room. When he was out of sight Lily grabbed her hair in frustration and let out a loud sigh. Damn him, she thought. Damn him for his silent torture methods. She acknowledged then that she had a bit of a crush on him and she was profoundly disappointed in herself. I'm just like one of them, she thought. Those brainless twits, those shallow tramps, she was in league with them, and she hated it.
Classes were a blur for James. For some reason unknown to him he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything. Well, his attention was easily distracted, especially in Potions. He was staring at Lily every minute, and trying not to make it too obvious. He ignored Narcissa, who seemed boggled by his behavior. She's just so pretty, James thought. Why haven't I noticed before? He also noticed she had grace and poise. This was mostly from Quidditch, however. She was a great flyer.
Finally the game commenced at 3:30 in the afternoon. The entire school was excited and the players, especially the Gryffindors were increasingly nervous. They had practiced hard and hoped it would pay off. James was pacing back and forth until the five-minute call.
"Ok guys, ladies. We are going to go out there and kick some serious ass. You ready?" James said, trying desperately to convince he as well as the team that they were unstoppable. It was his first year being captain, and his first game, so he was a little jumpy.
They flew out onto the field as their names were being called. Thaddeus Jordan announced all the players. James, of course, got the most applause.
They gathered around each other, the Slytherin team announced as well. Then Madame Hooch proceeded to the middle of the field to referee.
"Alright! Malfoy, Potter! Shake hands!" she said briskly. Malfoy was the Slytherin captain, and it disgusted them both that they had to engage in even the slightest physical contact. They did it quickly without looking at one another.
"Good enough." She said, satisfied. "Now! Mount your brooms and on the sound of my whistle..three-two-one!"
The players of Slytherin and Gryffindor shot up into the air and circled swiftly around the field. The crowed cheered with excitement as the Quaffle was released. Jordan announced the commentary:
"The Quaffle is released with Gryffindor immediately in possession. Lily Evans has grabbed it strait away without, it seems, a moment's hesitation. She is speeding towards the goal posts with incredible determination. But- oh no-Warrington and Flint are on her tail-they're gaining from both sides and----OH!" he flinched. "Lily Evans has been rammed hard by the Slytherins, but she hasn't dropped the Quaffle. She's alright!"
There is an uproar coming from the crowd as she straitened herself on her broom.
"There she goes! Faster and faster towards the keeper! She is circling him with excellent speed. He looks dizzy. She swoops past him and-YES!! TEN- ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily circled and saw the team punch the air with excitement.
"Slytherin in possession, keeper Goyle passes the Quaffle to Malfoy. He is almost there, swerving, left, and right-Yes! Excellent Bludger work by Frank Longbottom, Malfoy drops the Quaffle and it is incercepted by James Potter! Come on Potter!" he cheered, the crowed going wild for their captain. "James Potter successfully swerves past Warrington, looking good- WHAM! Oh no!" A Bludger had run past James' head and startled him, causing him to drop the Quaffle. "Wait, yes! Caught by Evans! She and Potter speed towards the opposite side and-joined by Spinnet-WOW! They seem to be forming an arrow, heading strait for Goyle. Evans throws to Potter and EXCELLENT!! TWENTY TO ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"
Another roar from the crowd erupts as the game continues. Lily blocked Jordan's commentary out of her mind during the game, for it was quite distracting. The only thought that was going through her mind was speed, agility, bludger, quaffle, keeper, go! She and James worked brilliantly together, passing and distracting the opposing players. Her eyes were glued to the Quaffle, and by the end of a half hour the score was fifty to zero Gryffindor. She was tired, they all were.
Diana exercised the finest keeper techniques while never losing sight for a second. She was a machine, a wall. She could see the trickles of sweat forming on the frustrated brows of the Slytherins, and she relished it.
Malfoy was embarrassed by his team's lack of scoring ability. He was so horrified at one instance where she had caused another chaser to smack strait into a goal post that he grabbed a beater's mallet and hit a bludger strait at Diana. She dodged it, luckily, only to have the infuriated Sirius Black smack it right back at him. to his distress it hit another chaser, Derrick.
The crowd booed the Slytherins but cheered Black as they saw the chaser fall of his broom.
The other Gryffindors were shouting obscenities at the Slytherins and protesting that the point shouldn't count.
"That's cheating!" Katrina yelled, pointing at Malfoy. The game was temporarily halted as Madame Hooch took to the field.
"Quiet!" she yelled although no one listened. "Malfoy, stick to your position, and Black, keep your eye on the game!" they both shrugged it off and the Quaffle was put back into play. The point counted, regardless.
While Katrina listened intently to Jordan's commentary, she spotted the snitch on the far end of the filed, in between the left and center Slytherin goal posts. Without a thought she shot through the air towards it. Not more than five seconds went by when Montague, the Slytherin seeker was on her tail and gaining rapid speed. When she was almost there the snitch flew off, south at first then swerving left towards the crowd. They followed it, each trying to knock the other out of the way. Jordan's commentary was muffled but the rest of the team continued to handle the Quaffle, though they were aware.
This cat and mouse game was dragging and Katrina felt they weren't getting anywhere. Once the snitch seemed to be out of sight for both of them, she hurled toward the ground with breathtaking speed, hoping Montague would follow. He did, for he had thought she saw the snitch. It was merely a distraction because she saw the snitch above Diana's head but she took no notice. It was none of her concern after all. While Montague still searched below she hurdled towards Diana and grabbed the snitch inches above her head. Diana almost fell off her broom. She was so startled. Then she saw the snitch and high fived her in triumph.
"GRYFFINDOR WINS!!!!" shouted an ecstatic Jordan as the roar became almost deafening to the players on the field. "Katrina Miles does an absolutely superb rendition of the Wronski Feint and Gryffindor wins the game at two hundred points to ten!" Jordan commented.
All of the Gryffindor players flew down in a daze, unable to wipe the smiles off their faces. Lily spotted Remus, Nicole and Peter in the stands and waved to them while they were jumping up and down in excitement.
Madame Hooch and McGonagall was congratulating James while the rest of the team went upstairs to the common room. There they were net with more cheers and pats on the back. The girls and boys spent a good twenty minutes talking to the other, eager students of the common room. James entered, some minutes later, energized and excited. He received cries of worship from the underclassmen as he walked over to his team.
"That was fantastic!" he yelled. "Honestly, everything I wanted, happened it was bloody amazing!" then he grabbed Lily and Diana, and actually hugged them as tightly as he could.
"Girls, girls!" he cried, laughing. "Wonderful, perfect, sublime! I could kiss you both right now-"
"Alright Prongs, calm down a bit would you." Sirius chuckled. He too, had end of the match fever.
"Oh shut up Padfoot. How could you not fall in love with these girls? They are hard and ruthless, and aren't afraid to beat the crap out of anything!"
"Yes, because that's what makes them truly feminine." Frank said, laughing.
"You know, I don't care what you just said Frank and do you know why?" James said. There is a pause. "Because we won! We won!" James said, dancing like a fool. "Now if you all would excuse me, I have to take a shower." He announced, running up the stairs to the prefect's bathroom. When he left they all erupted into a roar of laughter. Lily and Diana were clutching her stomachs.
"Hey Lil, I'm going to start getting ready ok?" Diana said, tearing up and out of breath.
"Alright, I'll be up in a minute." She said, in between chuckles. Diana skipped up the stairs and shut the door to their dorm. Frank went up too, because Sarah had rushed in and dragged him upstairs. Katrina was talking to Spinnet, and Lily and Sirius were left.
"See you tonight Black." She said, unusually chipper.
"Wait Evans, hold on." He said.
"Yep." She said, turning around. He motioned her closer. She shot him a strange look and walked toward him. "What is it?"
"I need to ask you something?" he whispered.
"Alright." She replied, folding her arms.
"I don't have a date tonight." He said, really quickly.
"Is that a question?" she couldn't quite hear him.
"Listen. I don't have a date tonight for the ball. Go with me." He said, but was stopped by Lily's sudden laughter.
"Are you kidding?" she asked, clutching her stomach once more. He sighed.
"Forget it." he said and proceeded to walk away.
"Hold on." Lily said, restraining herself. "Why the hell would you ask me that?"
"Because I know you don't have a date either." He said with an attitude.
"You don't have to snap at me, I know this." She answered, defensively. "Why don't you ask someone else, Black, because I'm not going to sleep with you-"
"No! Eww I don't want to sleep with you!" he shot back.
"Thanks." She said, a tad insulted.
"That's not what I meant." He tried correcting himself. She was about to walk away when he pulled her back. "Listen. It's just that, well, like you said I have to keep up my reputation. And I think it would help us both if we went together."
"What, like business partners?" she laughed. "And how would me going with you help me in the least?"
"I think you know." He blurted.
"Excuse me. Know what?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's written all over your face. I'm surprised no one else has noticed." He nonchalantly said.
"Noticed what?" She was losing her patience.
"Oh nothing." He smirked, and began walking towards his dorm. She was left perplexed standing there. Then at the bottom of the stairs he turned around. "It's just that, well." he lowered his voice and she had to walk over. "You really should pay more attention to your facial expressions, especially with James around." He said, and she widened her eyes at him in surprise.
"Bastard." Was all she could say. She was at a loss for words.
"And goodbye to you too Lily." He said, chuckling to himself. "I'll pick you up at eight!" he said, enthusiastically. She was running over a million things to say in her head but nothing came out. She simply huffed and ran upstairs.
"Is that a yes?" he called to her, she stopped at the top and turned.
"Fine!" she mouthed and walked annoyed and frustrated to her room. She threw open the door and slammed it shut.
*(Yea I know I said this would be that ball but I and to get the game in and it was getting too long. The ball will be updated tomorrow so that I don't' have 30 page chapters. Just hold tight, its only 24 hours. It is mostly written already anyway. And again, thank you, thank you! :)