Happy New Year!
There comes a time in every seeker's life when their team is losing badly when they spot the snitch. And so the seeker is faced with a dilemma. To catch the snitch or to not catch the snitch? If the seeker successfully catches the snitch the team will automatically lose. If the seeker does no and they divert attention away, the game will continue and the chasers will have a chance to get themselves out of the three-hundred-point-ditch they got themselves into. This is a possibility, but very unlikely. Either way the seeker suffers the consequences.
If the seeker were to catch it, said seeker will look like an idiot for catching it at that time and for admitting loss. If the seeker didn't catch it, the loss will be even worse. Both ways you lose. In one scenario the other team will end the game and in one you will. There is the possibility of waiting, but that is turn made the losing worse as the other team continued to rack up points. So here's the question again. To catch the snitch or to not catch the snitch?
Li was making another decision. Either way she was going to be forced to go to the wedding with a date and she was going to have to be polite. In one situation Narcissa would pick the guy. If Narcissa did, Li could save face and protest that Narcissa made her. The down side this to this was that Narcissa would be the one to pick. You were required to sit next to your 'date' all throughout dinner and you had to dance with them.
If Li picked her own date, at least she could make sure that person was half-decent, but Lucius and Severus would never let her hear the end of it if she brought a date on her own. Now time was at a stand still. Did she lose by Narcissa's terms and save her reputation, or did she lose by her own an admit defeat?
Li tried to relate her situation to Quidditch. This always worked. If what would she do if her team was losing and would lose if she caught the snitch? Li decided that in real life she would go for it because a capture is a capture is a capture.
"Li, Li, earth to Li," James shouted into her ear successfully bringing Li back to the present.
"Stop shouting, I can hear you," Li argued back.
"If coach found you were spacing out during practice…"James trailed off. He smiled evilly.
"You wouldn't," Li snarled.
"I would too," James replied. His face was a perfect copy of the trademark Li smug smirk(TM). "Tell you what, I won't tell coach if you play me in a game of Quidditch, just one on one," James said. Li opened her mouth to protest. "Here the rules first before you protest. We'll have a regular one on one with scoring with the Quaffle. Then we'll have a race for the snitch after someone reaches fifteen goals. Sound fair?"
"Let's make it more interesting, if I win you have to do a favor for me, within reason of course. If you win, I'll do the same, deal?" Li asked. This was the perfect opportunity to catch that 'snitch' and win on her own terms. She would have to take James, but he was a half-decent bloke.
"Deal," James confirmed.
"Potter! Evans! You want to pay attention? I think your 'ladies' talk can wait for later," the coach yelled at them. He was currently going over strategies with the whole team and little did he know the part truth in his statement.
"Sorry!" James yelled. All the other players chuckled a bit and went back to attempting to stay awake. "After practice?"
"You're on," Li informed him quietly. The person next to them gave them a 'Shhhh.' The person was evidently trying to read and didn't want to be caught because of the talking between the other two. Li shot him her death glare. James cringed for the guy who happened to be the team's keeper, Josh O'Rilley. Josh was a rather stocky fellow and tented to impose fear in many people's hearts. He also looked rather stupid but could confuse the hell out of people while talking about the mechanics of just about everything. It was strange to see this tall, stocky and smart wizard quivering with fear because of what Josh thought to be a short, slim, red haired man. Li was actually quite stocky as well for a woman and slightly on the tall side, but while passing for a man she seemed rather small. James knew that 'The Look' from Li was almost worse than Avarda Kedarva. (A/N I really don't feel like looking that up how to spell it.)
The lecture about formations in which the teams should play and moves to be used dragged on. It ended with Josh correcting the coach on how brooms were made and how they worked. The two of them got into a lively discussion leaving the rest of the team free to talk and stop compulsive fidgeting.
After the practiced ended, Li and James went outside to the field.
"You sure you want to do this?" James asked. The two rose in the air. James held the quaffle in his hand. Li smirked.
"Bring it on," she said softly but confidently. James smiled and feigned to the left. Lily with her catlike reflexes went right and stopped James before he had time to think about what he had done.
"So you want to play tough?" he asked. "I'll give you tough." James quickly did a quick loop de loop and threw the ball in a downward diagonal. This was his stop ball. The one no one could catch once he threw it except him. It was kind of like the one Maniac experienced in the Town of Hector. It was a straight throw. It went down at a forty-five degree angle. The opponent would speed back expecting to keep on going, but suddenly it would stop in the air catching the opponent unaware. James who would have lowered himself in the air and now be in a straight line with the ball, would fly straight in and therefore over the person's head and go behind them to an open goal.
Li as predicted flew back and positioned herself to where the ball should be. She saw the ball in her mind's eye. She pictured the snitch and poised herself for it's change in direction, then she remembered this was a ball that didn't have a mind of it's own and so waited for gravity to continue it's course. The ball stopped suddenly, right in midair. It didn't even begin dropping now that it had stopped. Li registered her amazement to her brain and switched direction to compensate. She raised her hand to grab it but it was swept out of her reach. James sped to the goal like there was no tomorrow and scored. He did a little victory dance and retrieved the quaffle. Once he had come back to where Li was hovering in the air he addressed her.
"Wasn't too bad, you actually reacted, most people can't do that," James informed her. Li 'smug smirked.' The two continued. Li lost twelve to fifteen. The two released the snitch and closed their eyes for a minute. James opened his eyes after the allotted time. Li still had her eyes closed; the snitch was flittering right next to her ear. She sat perfectly still. James sped forward. Li's hand moved as quickly as lightning and before anyone could say 'wow' it was in her hand.
"I guess I won," Li said. She smiled evilly.
"I claim it wasn't fair but someone's got to be a gentleman and that falls to me so I'll concede honorably," James replied in a formal voice.
"Wow, concede, isn't that a big word for you?" Li chuckled. James shot her an evil glare. "Anyway," Li said quickly, "I have to go to Lucius' wedding on Saturday and Narcissa told me I need a date. Since you lost you have to come." James groaned. Lishot him her death glare. Li flew to the ground quickly, that took care of that, but Li feared Severus and Lucius would never let her live this down.
Hi! Happy New Year all Jewish people! I hope that you too have been invaded by annoying family who crawl out of their hold at this time of the year simply to be an annoyance. Can you tell that I've been invaded?
Anyway, I might have to write a squeal for this one too, it's going to be insanely wrong and I'm already working on what happens after they get married. No Lily is not suddenly turn into 'Lily Potter.' I actually found somewhere that I can't find right now but it's the whole list of characters and the traits usually shown in fanfics. When 'Lily Evans' becomes 'Lily Potter,' she becomes very maternal. People usually ignore Lily Potter and she usually is ok with this. She has a 'funny feeling' about Peter that no one else has and she 'thinks they should trust Remus.'Of course we all want Lily to be REALLY cool, but she can't change personality cause she gets married. Cici can vouch for this, but MY Lily Potter, is temperamental, CERTAINLY NOT A DOORMAT, stubborn and everything this Lily is.
Cici, sorry I'm not sending this to you to check over before I publish, I just really want to put it up right now.