Chapter 11
It was the day of the last Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, the match everyone was intensely waiting for. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs weren't very friendly with each other the whole of that week. Ravenclaws didn't know who to cheer on, while Slytherins weren't on anyone's side.
"Boy, I'm nervous," Lily said, wringing her hands as they sat in the room all Gryffindors went to before the game. She was wearing Quidditch robes that fit very loosely on her, as they were James's. They couldn't find any robes that fit her, seeing as she was so small. Sirius clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned down at her.
"Don' worry, Evans. Just catch the Snitch and we'll be ok." His voice was calm, but yet a bit nervous. Lily could tell he wasn't sure if she could actually win the game for them. She was a bit clumsy on a broom, but her eyesight was the best on the Gryffindor team. Lily sighed, trying to keep from shaking out of nervousness.
"I sure hope I can," Lily mumbled beneath her breath. With a deep breath in, she dug in the pockets of her robe to find a hair tie, in which she did. She pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, making sure that every last strand of hair was secured by the band. Sirius shook his head, over hearing her nervous reply.
"Nah. Don't hope. Know you can get it and you will." Those words were somewhat comforting in Lily's ears. Sirius had never spoken words of wisdom around her, but if there were a time for firsts, this was surely it. With a grin, Lily stood up. "Thanks Sirius."
Lily stood with the rest of the team members, clutching a broom at her side. Sweat was already pouring down her face as she wiped it from her eyes. The day was scorching hot. Patil was already mumbling something about being surprised if everyone didn't drop dead from heat stroke. Lily snorted at that.
"What a fine day for Quidditch!" Jordan's voice rung over the crowd, receiving rounds of applause all over the stadium. Lily's hand tightened around the broom handle. "Two wins for both teams that are here today, yet only one will walk away with the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup!" Yet another shriek of applause echoed through the field.
"And now, introducing the team that had gotten far this year, the Hufflepuffs!" Boos came from the Gryffindor side, but were drown out by the claps and whistles that came from the Hufflepuff stands. Lily glared out onto the field as she saw Cessily fly out ever so gracefully and take position above the rest of the team.
"Yes, yes, the Hufflepuffs are a real well-off team. But now! The team that has lost a great player, but has gotten an even better one, Gryffindor! Get well James, you go Lily!" Lily laughed to herself at that as she kicked off on her broom and swerved, pulling herself into position directly in front of Cessily.
"We're going to win whether you like it or not, Evans," was the cold hiss the girl said while grinning menacingly at her opponent. Lily cocked an eyebrow, her mouth pursed together tightly. "You only wish, Hues," Lily replied in an equally deadly voice. They weren't even paying attention to the crowd or announcements.
"And the Bludgers are released, followed by the Golden Snitch! Now, remember, folks, the Seeker that catches the Snitch ends the game and awards their house one hundred and fifty points. They also win the cup for their house," Jordan said, his voice just barely cutting through the noise in the stadium. "Quaffle's up – And the game begins!"
Lily and Cessily pulled themselves around, taking off to opposite ends of the field to search for their prize. Lily's emerald eyes were hard at searching for the walnut-sized orb. "Yek!" Lily flipped over, narrowly avoiding a Bludger that was aimed for her head. "Watch out for those, Lily, they hurt," was Jordan's mock sentence. Lily looked back at him to stick her tongue out at him.
"And Black has the Quaffle, but it's intercepted by Diggory who passes it to Bones . . .But! Prewett intercepts it again and scores! Leading Gryffindor ten to zero." Lily grinned, leaning over on her broom to look for the Snitch. Her eye caught the crowd, seeing Hestia standing by James. Both their faces were bright, but it did good to see James with a hopeful look expressing itself on his features. This gave Lily an extra boost of confidence.
Lily saw Cessily swerve down, and immediately did so herself. But her eyes searched in front of the girl as she dived to the ground. She's feinting, Lily told herself. The Snitch was nowhere to be seen. As Cessily pulled up, Lily saw that she was angered that Lily didn't fall for it. A smirk bore itself on Lily's lips.
"Oh, that's got to hurt!" The crowd hissed and Jordan announced. Lily looked down to see Sirius clutching his hand. A Bludger had come by and slammed full force into it, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands. Diggory was now going to score a goal. His aim was true, giving Hufflepuff ten points, making the houses tied.
"The score is ten to ten, Gryffindor now with the Quaffle. Might want to get some ice on that after the game, Sirius," Jordan pointed out. Lily searched the field yet again and didn't see a thing. Cessily flew past her a few times, just to intimidate Lily. Replying to that, Lily kicked the girl in the shin as she flew by once. When she received a glare, Lily pointed to a Bludger nearby.
The game went on as usual, Gryffindor now leading by thirty points, making the score seventy-to-forty. The Snitch was nowhere in sight, which clearly made both Lily and Cessily both mad and anxious. They wanted the game to end, but on different terms. Lily wanted to win, as did Cessily. Either way, the girls would still hate each other.
As the game progressed, Gryffindor lost the lead, just as it had during the match against Ravenclaw, but the Hufflepuffs weren't playing fairly at all. Bludgers were aimed at heads, chests, and even backs. Some bats had collided with someone's head at one point. Lily groaned. "They've been taking lessons from the Slytherins, I swear."
Then, all at once as the score was one hundred thirty to one hundred ten, Lily saw it. A small hint of gold was floating in the center of the Quidditch field. Lily looked up to see Cessily still scanning the field. Diving, Lily headed towards the Snitch. "And it looks like Lily Evans, replacement for Gryffindor Seeker, has seen the Snitch!" Jordan's hoarse voice boomed. "Damn it, curse him for breathing," Lily muttered as she saw Cessily head towards the Snitch in the same pattern Lily herself was.
"Give it up, Hues, you'll never reach it!" Lily growled, yelling over the noise of cheers and boos. "Me? Ha! You're the one who's not going to make it!" The high-pitched voice was icy. Cessily and Lily nearly ran into each other until the Snitch decided to rear upwards, turning both of the girls skyward.
"You'll never win, you stupid girl!" Cessily shoved Lily in the shoulder, knocking her off course. But Lily regained her posture and did the same, only harder, knocking Cessily completely out of line. Lily's arm was outstretched, reaching for the golden sphere that was only just out of her reach. Then it took a dive.
By the time Lily was near the ground, still chasing the Snitch, Cessily had gained on her again, a glint of evil piercing her otherwise kind eyes. A sound swished past her ear and Lily ducked as a Bludger aimed at her head just barely missed again. Cessily moved to the side to let the thing pass.
"C'mon Evans! Potter would've caught the stupid thing by now! You'll never live up to his potential!" Cessily laughed coldly, pulling up beside Lily as the Snitch dove beneath the field. The wooden beams would pose a problem here for Lily, as she didn't know how to avoid them one after another.
"Oh yeah? Well, you couldn't live up to anyone's potential, as you're so incompetent that you have to go out with a slime ball!" This seemed to anger Cessily enough to scream as Lily pulled up out from beneath the field after the Snitch. They were now hovering just a few feet above the field.
"You'll pay for that one, Evans!" The screeching banshee behind her had come up along her side again. This time every bit of hatred spilled out of Cessily and onto Lily into the form of an elbow jabbing itself into a ribcage. Lily gasped, sucking in air, as all of hers was lost. Water filled her eyes, blurring her vision. Now she didn't care if she lost. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.
"Foul! That was foul!" Jordan's voice screamed over the crowd as he stood up in his box. A teacher pressed him back into his seat, though. Lily pulled over to the side, clutching her ribs. Sirius dove down, seeing she needed help. "You alright, Lily?" His voice was full of concern, but not that of which Lily needed to hear. "Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, heading off in a swift movement towards the Snitch and the idiot that was following it.
"Hues!" Lily shouted, slamming into the girl. Cessily was wearing an evil grin that made Lily shudder. Something didn't feel right. Then, a Bludger landed squarely in the center of her back. With a yelp, she bolted forward, ignoring the pain that was searing throughout the middle of her back. Blinking back tears, she closed her hands around the small struggling ball that was the Snitch.
"NO!" Cessily screamed, slamming her feet into the ground. Her halt was near fatal, as she hadn't slowed down enough. The girl was sent tumbling to the ground, nearly breaking her neck in the process. Lily looked over to her, landing softly and running over to the girl. "Cessily, are you alright?" She said, trying to be helpful. "Get away from me you – you Mudblood!" Lily was taken aback. Never had she heard a Hufflepuff utter that word, let alone anyone outside of the Slytherin house. Stepping back, Lily watched as Madame O'Reily and a few other Hufflepuff team members carted the raging girl off.
"Lily! Lily you did it! We won the cup!" Gryffindors poured onto the field like rain during a thunderstorm. Hestia's voice was among many of the others. Sirius landed beside her, giving her a giant but friendly hug. Hestia did as well. "You both were excellent! Brilliant! I've never seen anything in all my life that exciting!" Lily smiled.
"Lily! By Gods, you're better than me!" James was standing behind Hestia. Lily only saw him when Hestia went off to congratulate Sirius. Lily smiled up at him, then looked to the sky. The Snitch that was clutched in her hand flew free as Lily threw it into the air happily.
"That was one of the best games of Quidditch I've ever seen, Lily," James stood in front of her, a smile tugging at his lips. Lily had never seen a smile upon his face. A smirk, sure, or maybe even a grin. But never a smile. "I could never take your place, James," Lily said, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. James squeezed her back. "No, I could never take your place, Lily."
Lily and James stood there amongst the crowd, holding onto each other as if their life depended on it. As they broke apart momentarily, they both stared into each other's eyes, Lily into hazel, James into emerald. A smile broke out onto Lily's face. As if nothing else mattered, they both pulled themselves back together, but this time somewhat differently.
They were off in their own world then, Lily and James. It was like the time after James broke his leg, only with more feeling as the lips of both touched. This time, it wasn't just Lily. It was both she and James. When they broke apart, Lily's face reddened when all of the Gryffindor team as well as everyone else in Gryffindor broke out into whistles and applause. It seemed that they were waiting for that as long as Lily and James were.
"Well," Sirius said with a grin, his hand wrapped around Hestia's waist. "This isn't the time or place to be having a snog session, James. Nor you, Lily." Hestia giggled at his side. Lily rolled her eyes and James shook his head. Sirius snorted at the expression of both. "Party in the Common Room!" he shouted, and all of Gryffindor yelled 'Aye!' in return. It was only Lily and James left on the field after that.
"Well, that was a bit unexpected," Lily said, looking down. The ground had suddenly become interesting to her eyes. James blinked and put a hand on her shoulder. "Not really. As it were, it happened before Christmas, too, if you don't remember," Lily looked up at his face, telling he was serious about that. "I remember."
"So, err . . .What does this mean? Are we together or what, because I don't want to – " But James was cut off by Lily's lips upon his again. She giggled when he shook his head, pinching himself to see if it were a dream. "Stop asking questions that you already know the answer to."
"So, that means it's a no?" James said, his spirits dropping as well as his expression. Lily sighed. "No, it means yes, James." The saddened expression was dropped like a hot potato and replaced by one of pure happiness. James swept Lily up into his arms as she clung onto his neck so she wouldn't fall. "To the Common Room!" He announced loudly.
Lily snorted and hugged him tighter, though not in fear of him dropping her. "Y'know, I thought this year would be a total waste," she whispered. "Was it?"
"Not at all."
It was the day of the last Quidditch match of the year. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, the match everyone was intensely waiting for. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs weren't very friendly with each other the whole of that week. Ravenclaws didn't know who to cheer on, while Slytherins weren't on anyone's side.
"Boy, I'm nervous," Lily said, wringing her hands as they sat in the room all Gryffindors went to before the game. She was wearing Quidditch robes that fit very loosely on her, as they were James's. They couldn't find any robes that fit her, seeing as she was so small. Sirius clapped a hand on her shoulder and grinned down at her.
"Don' worry, Evans. Just catch the Snitch and we'll be ok." His voice was calm, but yet a bit nervous. Lily could tell he wasn't sure if she could actually win the game for them. She was a bit clumsy on a broom, but her eyesight was the best on the Gryffindor team. Lily sighed, trying to keep from shaking out of nervousness.
"I sure hope I can," Lily mumbled beneath her breath. With a deep breath in, she dug in the pockets of her robe to find a hair tie, in which she did. She pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, making sure that every last strand of hair was secured by the band. Sirius shook his head, over hearing her nervous reply.
"Nah. Don't hope. Know you can get it and you will." Those words were somewhat comforting in Lily's ears. Sirius had never spoken words of wisdom around her, but if there were a time for firsts, this was surely it. With a grin, Lily stood up. "Thanks Sirius."
Lily stood with the rest of the team members, clutching a broom at her side. Sweat was already pouring down her face as she wiped it from her eyes. The day was scorching hot. Patil was already mumbling something about being surprised if everyone didn't drop dead from heat stroke. Lily snorted at that.
"What a fine day for Quidditch!" Jordan's voice rung over the crowd, receiving rounds of applause all over the stadium. Lily's hand tightened around the broom handle. "Two wins for both teams that are here today, yet only one will walk away with the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup!" Yet another shriek of applause echoed through the field.
"And now, introducing the team that had gotten far this year, the Hufflepuffs!" Boos came from the Gryffindor side, but were drown out by the claps and whistles that came from the Hufflepuff stands. Lily glared out onto the field as she saw Cessily fly out ever so gracefully and take position above the rest of the team.
"Yes, yes, the Hufflepuffs are a real well-off team. But now! The team that has lost a great player, but has gotten an even better one, Gryffindor! Get well James, you go Lily!" Lily laughed to herself at that as she kicked off on her broom and swerved, pulling herself into position directly in front of Cessily.
"We're going to win whether you like it or not, Evans," was the cold hiss the girl said while grinning menacingly at her opponent. Lily cocked an eyebrow, her mouth pursed together tightly. "You only wish, Hues," Lily replied in an equally deadly voice. They weren't even paying attention to the crowd or announcements.
"And the Bludgers are released, followed by the Golden Snitch! Now, remember, folks, the Seeker that catches the Snitch ends the game and awards their house one hundred and fifty points. They also win the cup for their house," Jordan said, his voice just barely cutting through the noise in the stadium. "Quaffle's up – And the game begins!"
Lily and Cessily pulled themselves around, taking off to opposite ends of the field to search for their prize. Lily's emerald eyes were hard at searching for the walnut-sized orb. "Yek!" Lily flipped over, narrowly avoiding a Bludger that was aimed for her head. "Watch out for those, Lily, they hurt," was Jordan's mock sentence. Lily looked back at him to stick her tongue out at him.
"And Black has the Quaffle, but it's intercepted by Diggory who passes it to Bones . . .But! Prewett intercepts it again and scores! Leading Gryffindor ten to zero." Lily grinned, leaning over on her broom to look for the Snitch. Her eye caught the crowd, seeing Hestia standing by James. Both their faces were bright, but it did good to see James with a hopeful look expressing itself on his features. This gave Lily an extra boost of confidence.
Lily saw Cessily swerve down, and immediately did so herself. But her eyes searched in front of the girl as she dived to the ground. She's feinting, Lily told herself. The Snitch was nowhere to be seen. As Cessily pulled up, Lily saw that she was angered that Lily didn't fall for it. A smirk bore itself on Lily's lips.
"Oh, that's got to hurt!" The crowd hissed and Jordan announced. Lily looked down to see Sirius clutching his hand. A Bludger had come by and slammed full force into it, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands. Diggory was now going to score a goal. His aim was true, giving Hufflepuff ten points, making the houses tied.
"The score is ten to ten, Gryffindor now with the Quaffle. Might want to get some ice on that after the game, Sirius," Jordan pointed out. Lily searched the field yet again and didn't see a thing. Cessily flew past her a few times, just to intimidate Lily. Replying to that, Lily kicked the girl in the shin as she flew by once. When she received a glare, Lily pointed to a Bludger nearby.
The game went on as usual, Gryffindor now leading by thirty points, making the score seventy-to-forty. The Snitch was nowhere in sight, which clearly made both Lily and Cessily both mad and anxious. They wanted the game to end, but on different terms. Lily wanted to win, as did Cessily. Either way, the girls would still hate each other.
As the game progressed, Gryffindor lost the lead, just as it had during the match against Ravenclaw, but the Hufflepuffs weren't playing fairly at all. Bludgers were aimed at heads, chests, and even backs. Some bats had collided with someone's head at one point. Lily groaned. "They've been taking lessons from the Slytherins, I swear."
Then, all at once as the score was one hundred thirty to one hundred ten, Lily saw it. A small hint of gold was floating in the center of the Quidditch field. Lily looked up to see Cessily still scanning the field. Diving, Lily headed towards the Snitch. "And it looks like Lily Evans, replacement for Gryffindor Seeker, has seen the Snitch!" Jordan's hoarse voice boomed. "Damn it, curse him for breathing," Lily muttered as she saw Cessily head towards the Snitch in the same pattern Lily herself was.
"Give it up, Hues, you'll never reach it!" Lily growled, yelling over the noise of cheers and boos. "Me? Ha! You're the one who's not going to make it!" The high-pitched voice was icy. Cessily and Lily nearly ran into each other until the Snitch decided to rear upwards, turning both of the girls skyward.
"You'll never win, you stupid girl!" Cessily shoved Lily in the shoulder, knocking her off course. But Lily regained her posture and did the same, only harder, knocking Cessily completely out of line. Lily's arm was outstretched, reaching for the golden sphere that was only just out of her reach. Then it took a dive.
By the time Lily was near the ground, still chasing the Snitch, Cessily had gained on her again, a glint of evil piercing her otherwise kind eyes. A sound swished past her ear and Lily ducked as a Bludger aimed at her head just barely missed again. Cessily moved to the side to let the thing pass.
"C'mon Evans! Potter would've caught the stupid thing by now! You'll never live up to his potential!" Cessily laughed coldly, pulling up beside Lily as the Snitch dove beneath the field. The wooden beams would pose a problem here for Lily, as she didn't know how to avoid them one after another.
"Oh yeah? Well, you couldn't live up to anyone's potential, as you're so incompetent that you have to go out with a slime ball!" This seemed to anger Cessily enough to scream as Lily pulled up out from beneath the field after the Snitch. They were now hovering just a few feet above the field.
"You'll pay for that one, Evans!" The screeching banshee behind her had come up along her side again. This time every bit of hatred spilled out of Cessily and onto Lily into the form of an elbow jabbing itself into a ribcage. Lily gasped, sucking in air, as all of hers was lost. Water filled her eyes, blurring her vision. Now she didn't care if she lost. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.
"Foul! That was foul!" Jordan's voice screamed over the crowd as he stood up in his box. A teacher pressed him back into his seat, though. Lily pulled over to the side, clutching her ribs. Sirius dove down, seeing she needed help. "You alright, Lily?" His voice was full of concern, but not that of which Lily needed to hear. "Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, heading off in a swift movement towards the Snitch and the idiot that was following it.
"Hues!" Lily shouted, slamming into the girl. Cessily was wearing an evil grin that made Lily shudder. Something didn't feel right. Then, a Bludger landed squarely in the center of her back. With a yelp, she bolted forward, ignoring the pain that was searing throughout the middle of her back. Blinking back tears, she closed her hands around the small struggling ball that was the Snitch.
"NO!" Cessily screamed, slamming her feet into the ground. Her halt was near fatal, as she hadn't slowed down enough. The girl was sent tumbling to the ground, nearly breaking her neck in the process. Lily looked over to her, landing softly and running over to the girl. "Cessily, are you alright?" She said, trying to be helpful. "Get away from me you – you Mudblood!" Lily was taken aback. Never had she heard a Hufflepuff utter that word, let alone anyone outside of the Slytherin house. Stepping back, Lily watched as Madame O'Reily and a few other Hufflepuff team members carted the raging girl off.
"Lily! Lily you did it! We won the cup!" Gryffindors poured onto the field like rain during a thunderstorm. Hestia's voice was among many of the others. Sirius landed beside her, giving her a giant but friendly hug. Hestia did as well. "You both were excellent! Brilliant! I've never seen anything in all my life that exciting!" Lily smiled.
"Lily! By Gods, you're better than me!" James was standing behind Hestia. Lily only saw him when Hestia went off to congratulate Sirius. Lily smiled up at him, then looked to the sky. The Snitch that was clutched in her hand flew free as Lily threw it into the air happily.
"That was one of the best games of Quidditch I've ever seen, Lily," James stood in front of her, a smile tugging at his lips. Lily had never seen a smile upon his face. A smirk, sure, or maybe even a grin. But never a smile. "I could never take your place, James," Lily said, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug. James squeezed her back. "No, I could never take your place, Lily."
Lily and James stood there amongst the crowd, holding onto each other as if their life depended on it. As they broke apart momentarily, they both stared into each other's eyes, Lily into hazel, James into emerald. A smile broke out onto Lily's face. As if nothing else mattered, they both pulled themselves back together, but this time somewhat differently.
They were off in their own world then, Lily and James. It was like the time after James broke his leg, only with more feeling as the lips of both touched. This time, it wasn't just Lily. It was both she and James. When they broke apart, Lily's face reddened when all of the Gryffindor team as well as everyone else in Gryffindor broke out into whistles and applause. It seemed that they were waiting for that as long as Lily and James were.
"Well," Sirius said with a grin, his hand wrapped around Hestia's waist. "This isn't the time or place to be having a snog session, James. Nor you, Lily." Hestia giggled at his side. Lily rolled her eyes and James shook his head. Sirius snorted at the expression of both. "Party in the Common Room!" he shouted, and all of Gryffindor yelled 'Aye!' in return. It was only Lily and James left on the field after that.
"Well, that was a bit unexpected," Lily said, looking down. The ground had suddenly become interesting to her eyes. James blinked and put a hand on her shoulder. "Not really. As it were, it happened before Christmas, too, if you don't remember," Lily looked up at his face, telling he was serious about that. "I remember."
"So, err . . .What does this mean? Are we together or what, because I don't want to – " But James was cut off by Lily's lips upon his again. She giggled when he shook his head, pinching himself to see if it were a dream. "Stop asking questions that you already know the answer to."
"So, that means it's a no?" James said, his spirits dropping as well as his expression. Lily sighed. "No, it means yes, James." The saddened expression was dropped like a hot potato and replaced by one of pure happiness. James swept Lily up into his arms as she clung onto his neck so she wouldn't fall. "To the Common Room!" He announced loudly.
Lily snorted and hugged him tighter, though not in fear of him dropping her. "Y'know, I thought this year would be a total waste," she whispered. "Was it?"
"Not at all."