Chapter 9
"Oye, Hestia, you coming to the game t'day?" Sirius questioned, wrapping his arm around the girl sitting at his side. With a giggle, the girl nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for my life!"
It was yet another Quidditch game. Unfortunately, Hufflepuff had defeated Slytherin in their previous match. Gryffindor was against Ravenclaw in this one, but the winners would face off.
"I just hope we win," Lily said thoughtfully from her place beside the fire. James, who'd still been thinking about that time before Christmas, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, gotta kick Hufflepuff's a – " "JAMES!" "What?" James asked innocently, looking over at Lily's laughing face.
"Yep. Chaser's got the better job, though," Sirius grinned to James, but he just shook his head. "Nah, Seeker does. They get all the attention," He said slyly. Yes, he was back to his old, arrogant and egotistic self after the holidays.
Hestia sighed and stood up. "I'm just glad we've gotten this far. Ravenclaw's gotten good this year. Did you see how they whooped Slytherin the other day?" She whistled a dieing note. "Break a leg, eh, James? Get the Snitch before they do or else we'll lose the Quidditch Cup this year."
James grinned, then looked at Lily. "Will you be there, Evans?" Lily rolled here eyes and spun around on her end. "Of course I will be. Do you really think I'm going to miss Gryffindor get to the top? Didn't think so," she added when James shook his head. Yawning, Lily stood. "Well, I'm off to go study. Must hit the books sometime, you know," She snorted, exiting the room.
Sirius shrugged and went back to muttering things to Hestia that made her either elbow him or giggle like a mad woman. James shook his head to the two and set his mind on other things. Like mistletoe and what to do when you like someone more than ever . . .
"Well, today is a beautiful day! For Quidditch, that is!" The voice echoed above many others as maroon streaks hit the field on one side. Navy blue struck the other. It was time for the game to begin. "And the Bludgers are released, following up comes the Golden Snitch. And the Quaffle is up – And the game begins!"
Lily and Hestia sat the closest, watching the two boys, Sirius and James, fly around the field swiftly. James took his position high above the field to look for the Snitch while Sirius dove around and stole the Quaffle from one of Ravenclaw's Chasers, Ling Chang.
"And Black has the Quaffle! He take aim – But the Ravenclaw Keeper knocks it away to Chang!" Jacob Jordan yelled, leaning back in the box he sat at rubbing his head. As a loyal Gryffindor, he commented better on Gryffindor's side, of course. "Chang tries aiming at the goal – Save it Patil!" A groan was heard from the Gryffindor section as Aaron Patil, the Gryffindor Keeper, failed to save it. Mumbling curses for everyone to hear, Jordan continued, "And Ravenclaw leads Gryffindor, ten to nil. And Chang has the Quaffle again . . ."
The Quaffle was passed around several more times. Ravenclaw was up by fifty points already, leading by seventy-to-twenty. Sirius couldn't make any shots because none of the Chasers were able to get the Quaffle on the Gryffindor team.
A groan came from Lily. "Hestia, you weren't kidding when you said that Ravenclaw got better, now were you?" Hestia was pulling her hair and growling in frustration. "If they would only give Sirius an opening, Lily! One! That's all I'm asking . . ." Hestia grumbled as she leaned over the side of the box to see the action a bit closer.
"What's this? Ravenclaw's Seeker Davies has seen the Snitch! James, you better hurry up and get your butt over there!" As the Ravenclaws cheered, the Gryffindors held their breath. Indeed, the Snitch was seen fluttering a few feet in front of the Ravenclaw Seeker. James was high on his tail.
Davies swerved a couple of times to shake James off, but in doing so, they both lost the Snitch. "Well," Lily said with a sigh, "At least we're up a bit." Jordan had just announced Gryffindor gaining on Ravenclaw by thirty more points. Now it was eighty-to-fifty, Ravenclaw still in the lead, though not by much more. Sirius had scored twice in the amount of time it took James and Davies to loose the Snitch.
"Oye, this game's going to be long," Hestia muttered beneath her breath as Ravenclaw made another impossible goal. The score soon became one hundred-to-fifty. Gryffindor couldn't possibly win this one. Ravenclaw was just too damn good this year.
A few times, James feinted, Davies following after him, but not crashing into the ground like Cessily had during the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match. At last, the Snitch was seen by Davies again, who didn't think about shaking James off.
"Go James! Oh, please win!" Lily clenched her fists so tight that her knuckled turned the white color of flour.
James rammed into Davies a few times, trying to knock him off course, even though it didn't work. The Snitch aimed skyward, obviously, as the boys flew up high in a twister like fashion. Davies crashed into James as a Bludger was hit in his direction. James's jaw tightened as he followed the Snitch still.
Suddenly, a Ravenclaw Beater flew beneath James and smashed his knee in with the bat she was carrying. A cry emitted throughout the now hushed stadium. Before James took a fall that most would die of, he closed his fingers around the struggling ball of gold painfully. His eyes, watery with tears of pain, he looked into the crowd where Lily stood, horror stricken.
Then he blacked out.
"James? James! Oh, good, you're awake!" A weight crashed onto his stomach.
"Lily?" He said groggily, sitting up.
The girl was bent over him, her eyes red. Hestia was sitting in the corner, chewing her nails like she always did when she was nervous to the point of near death. Sirius was beside her, clutching his hands together in a knot.
"James, the fall you took . . ." Lily's voice drifted off and he buried her face in the sheets again. James gave her a questioning look. Hestia stood up and both her and Sirius made their way to James's side.
"James," Sirius said with a tone of one who wasn't joking, "You fell from fifty feet in the air. Your leg was completely broken when Madame O'Reily got to you." Sirius motioned to the Hogwarts nurse who bustled about ticking her tongue. "But on the other hand, we won."
James blinked, then thumped his head back against his pillow. Broken leg. Psh. Now how was he supposed to win against Hufflepuff? Gryffindor would have to forfeit just because of him! Lily seemed to look up at that point, rubbing her eyes. It was late, but not later than dinner.
"Oh, and Hues got her memory back," Lily muttered defeatedly. She was hoping the girl would just stay without a memory. Either way, she was stupid. "So the Hufflepuff match is still on. They say we'll need a new Seeker, seeing as you won't be able to fly until a month. And the match is next week." Sirius nodded, agreeing with Lily.
"So I guess we'll have to be without you, Mate," Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and sighed. Hestia stopped biting her nails long enough to speak as well.
"They're going to have try-outs tomorrow. Sirius says it is a bit soon, but they need time to train the person," she said, cutting herself off to go back to gnawing on her already stubby nails.
"Alright," James said, sighing. "Just tell me who you get, ok? I don't want it to be someone completely clueless as to how you play the stupid game." Lily looked around, then spoke. "I heard Madame O'Reily say that you might be able to walk next week, though. With a cast, of course. You know, one of those Muggle things." James nodded. "She said that she ran out of the liquid you need for a full recovery, but you will be able to walk."
"I hear you," James nodded.
"Out, out! I will not have my patient bothered! He needs sleep, if he'd going to go about healing the Muggle way!" The shriek of Madame O'Reily was heard. Sirius, Hestia, and Lily all bid their good-byes as they were shooed away.
"See you tomorrow," all three of them said.
The next morning was a bright one. James's owl brought him the Daily Prophet and he exchanged it for a few galleons to pay for it. His leg was still feeling very painful, but much less so than the day before. At least he could wiggle his toes. This Muggle 'cast' thing didn't seem so bad.
"Oh, hey, Sirius," James grinned, putting on his glasses and sitting up in bed. Sirius was out of breath and in his Quidditch robes. Sweat was pouring down his face, but a grin was tugging at his lips. "What's up?" James said, putting down the Daily Prophet. Sirius sure wanted to get here in a hurry, it seemed. Wonder what for . . .
"James, Mate! We found us a new Seeker!" Sirius panted, wiping his forehead.
"That was quick! It's only about eight in the morning," James said, trying to suppress a shocked expression but failing.
"Yeah! We put up little posters all around the Common Room last night after we got shoved out of here," Sirius nodded. "About twenty people showed up. But none, and when I said none, I mean none, could compare to the one we found, James." Sirius's grin was now scaring James half to death.
"Sirius . . .Who'd you get?" James said, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"Lily Evans, James, Lily!"
"Oye, Hestia, you coming to the game t'day?" Sirius questioned, wrapping his arm around the girl sitting at his side. With a giggle, the girl nodded. "Wouldn't miss it for my life!"
It was yet another Quidditch game. Unfortunately, Hufflepuff had defeated Slytherin in their previous match. Gryffindor was against Ravenclaw in this one, but the winners would face off.
"I just hope we win," Lily said thoughtfully from her place beside the fire. James, who'd still been thinking about that time before Christmas, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, gotta kick Hufflepuff's a – " "JAMES!" "What?" James asked innocently, looking over at Lily's laughing face.
"Yep. Chaser's got the better job, though," Sirius grinned to James, but he just shook his head. "Nah, Seeker does. They get all the attention," He said slyly. Yes, he was back to his old, arrogant and egotistic self after the holidays.
Hestia sighed and stood up. "I'm just glad we've gotten this far. Ravenclaw's gotten good this year. Did you see how they whooped Slytherin the other day?" She whistled a dieing note. "Break a leg, eh, James? Get the Snitch before they do or else we'll lose the Quidditch Cup this year."
James grinned, then looked at Lily. "Will you be there, Evans?" Lily rolled here eyes and spun around on her end. "Of course I will be. Do you really think I'm going to miss Gryffindor get to the top? Didn't think so," she added when James shook his head. Yawning, Lily stood. "Well, I'm off to go study. Must hit the books sometime, you know," She snorted, exiting the room.
Sirius shrugged and went back to muttering things to Hestia that made her either elbow him or giggle like a mad woman. James shook his head to the two and set his mind on other things. Like mistletoe and what to do when you like someone more than ever . . .
"Well, today is a beautiful day! For Quidditch, that is!" The voice echoed above many others as maroon streaks hit the field on one side. Navy blue struck the other. It was time for the game to begin. "And the Bludgers are released, following up comes the Golden Snitch. And the Quaffle is up – And the game begins!"
Lily and Hestia sat the closest, watching the two boys, Sirius and James, fly around the field swiftly. James took his position high above the field to look for the Snitch while Sirius dove around and stole the Quaffle from one of Ravenclaw's Chasers, Ling Chang.
"And Black has the Quaffle! He take aim – But the Ravenclaw Keeper knocks it away to Chang!" Jacob Jordan yelled, leaning back in the box he sat at rubbing his head. As a loyal Gryffindor, he commented better on Gryffindor's side, of course. "Chang tries aiming at the goal – Save it Patil!" A groan was heard from the Gryffindor section as Aaron Patil, the Gryffindor Keeper, failed to save it. Mumbling curses for everyone to hear, Jordan continued, "And Ravenclaw leads Gryffindor, ten to nil. And Chang has the Quaffle again . . ."
The Quaffle was passed around several more times. Ravenclaw was up by fifty points already, leading by seventy-to-twenty. Sirius couldn't make any shots because none of the Chasers were able to get the Quaffle on the Gryffindor team.
A groan came from Lily. "Hestia, you weren't kidding when you said that Ravenclaw got better, now were you?" Hestia was pulling her hair and growling in frustration. "If they would only give Sirius an opening, Lily! One! That's all I'm asking . . ." Hestia grumbled as she leaned over the side of the box to see the action a bit closer.
"What's this? Ravenclaw's Seeker Davies has seen the Snitch! James, you better hurry up and get your butt over there!" As the Ravenclaws cheered, the Gryffindors held their breath. Indeed, the Snitch was seen fluttering a few feet in front of the Ravenclaw Seeker. James was high on his tail.
Davies swerved a couple of times to shake James off, but in doing so, they both lost the Snitch. "Well," Lily said with a sigh, "At least we're up a bit." Jordan had just announced Gryffindor gaining on Ravenclaw by thirty more points. Now it was eighty-to-fifty, Ravenclaw still in the lead, though not by much more. Sirius had scored twice in the amount of time it took James and Davies to loose the Snitch.
"Oye, this game's going to be long," Hestia muttered beneath her breath as Ravenclaw made another impossible goal. The score soon became one hundred-to-fifty. Gryffindor couldn't possibly win this one. Ravenclaw was just too damn good this year.
A few times, James feinted, Davies following after him, but not crashing into the ground like Cessily had during the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match. At last, the Snitch was seen by Davies again, who didn't think about shaking James off.
"Go James! Oh, please win!" Lily clenched her fists so tight that her knuckled turned the white color of flour.
James rammed into Davies a few times, trying to knock him off course, even though it didn't work. The Snitch aimed skyward, obviously, as the boys flew up high in a twister like fashion. Davies crashed into James as a Bludger was hit in his direction. James's jaw tightened as he followed the Snitch still.
Suddenly, a Ravenclaw Beater flew beneath James and smashed his knee in with the bat she was carrying. A cry emitted throughout the now hushed stadium. Before James took a fall that most would die of, he closed his fingers around the struggling ball of gold painfully. His eyes, watery with tears of pain, he looked into the crowd where Lily stood, horror stricken.
Then he blacked out.
"James? James! Oh, good, you're awake!" A weight crashed onto his stomach.
"Lily?" He said groggily, sitting up.
The girl was bent over him, her eyes red. Hestia was sitting in the corner, chewing her nails like she always did when she was nervous to the point of near death. Sirius was beside her, clutching his hands together in a knot.
"James, the fall you took . . ." Lily's voice drifted off and he buried her face in the sheets again. James gave her a questioning look. Hestia stood up and both her and Sirius made their way to James's side.
"James," Sirius said with a tone of one who wasn't joking, "You fell from fifty feet in the air. Your leg was completely broken when Madame O'Reily got to you." Sirius motioned to the Hogwarts nurse who bustled about ticking her tongue. "But on the other hand, we won."
James blinked, then thumped his head back against his pillow. Broken leg. Psh. Now how was he supposed to win against Hufflepuff? Gryffindor would have to forfeit just because of him! Lily seemed to look up at that point, rubbing her eyes. It was late, but not later than dinner.
"Oh, and Hues got her memory back," Lily muttered defeatedly. She was hoping the girl would just stay without a memory. Either way, she was stupid. "So the Hufflepuff match is still on. They say we'll need a new Seeker, seeing as you won't be able to fly until a month. And the match is next week." Sirius nodded, agreeing with Lily.
"So I guess we'll have to be without you, Mate," Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and sighed. Hestia stopped biting her nails long enough to speak as well.
"They're going to have try-outs tomorrow. Sirius says it is a bit soon, but they need time to train the person," she said, cutting herself off to go back to gnawing on her already stubby nails.
"Alright," James said, sighing. "Just tell me who you get, ok? I don't want it to be someone completely clueless as to how you play the stupid game." Lily looked around, then spoke. "I heard Madame O'Reily say that you might be able to walk next week, though. With a cast, of course. You know, one of those Muggle things." James nodded. "She said that she ran out of the liquid you need for a full recovery, but you will be able to walk."
"I hear you," James nodded.
"Out, out! I will not have my patient bothered! He needs sleep, if he'd going to go about healing the Muggle way!" The shriek of Madame O'Reily was heard. Sirius, Hestia, and Lily all bid their good-byes as they were shooed away.
"See you tomorrow," all three of them said.
The next morning was a bright one. James's owl brought him the Daily Prophet and he exchanged it for a few galleons to pay for it. His leg was still feeling very painful, but much less so than the day before. At least he could wiggle his toes. This Muggle 'cast' thing didn't seem so bad.
"Oh, hey, Sirius," James grinned, putting on his glasses and sitting up in bed. Sirius was out of breath and in his Quidditch robes. Sweat was pouring down his face, but a grin was tugging at his lips. "What's up?" James said, putting down the Daily Prophet. Sirius sure wanted to get here in a hurry, it seemed. Wonder what for . . .
"James, Mate! We found us a new Seeker!" Sirius panted, wiping his forehead.
"That was quick! It's only about eight in the morning," James said, trying to suppress a shocked expression but failing.
"Yeah! We put up little posters all around the Common Room last night after we got shoved out of here," Sirius nodded. "About twenty people showed up. But none, and when I said none, I mean none, could compare to the one we found, James." Sirius's grin was now scaring James half to death.
"Sirius . . .Who'd you get?" James said, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"Lily Evans, James, Lily!"