Disclaimer: Yes, yes…they aren't mine. And never will be. But a girl can
dream, right?
Bring on Chapter 5! ^-^ Enjoy!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A couple weeks later, Lily was released from the Hospital Wing and things started heading back to normal at Hogwarts. Snape and Thomas served their detentions diligently, while giving James, Sirius, and Remus dirty looks in the hallways. There wasn't much fighting between the two groups for a while.
Throughout that ordeal, Quidditch tryouts and practices had begun. Anton and James recruited some new beaters and chasers onto the Gryffindor team, and after a few intense practices had perfected their teamwork to an art. James had a big feeling that the Gryffindor team would perform exceptionally well this year with their talented and dedicated group of players.
That dedication was put to the test when their first game was scheduled in the middle of October. It was the first game of their season, and it was bound to be a good one. Hogwarts students from all houses attended the upcoming game of Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.
That day, James was a mixture of nervousness and excitement. After a long grueling month of school, he was anxious to return to the Quidditch pitch for a fast-paced, thrilling game. His enthusiasm was evident in his constant fidgety habits the night before the game.
Sitting in the Common Room with Remus, James was attempting to play a game of chess.
"Prongs, if you don't stop squirming, I swear I'm gonna take off my tie and strap you to the chair." Remus said with mock agitation, understanding his friend's emotions.
James sighed, "I'm sorry, Moony. It's just that I can't wait for the game. It's going to be awesome tomorrow. I cannot wait to be on my broom, sailing around for the snitch." James continued to move his rook, trying not to fidget, for Remus' sake.
An hour passed by, and Remus began to yawn. The pair had been playing for a while, and it was getting time for them to go to bed. James cleaned up the chessboard as Remus pushed the table away from the fire back against the wall. As they turned around, they saw Sirius and Lily enter through the portrait hole.
Lily waved to James and Remus and said, "Hey guys. Good luck at your game tomorrow, James. You'll do a magnificent job. You always do. Good night everyone." She left the three guys and headed up the stairs toward her own dorm.
That night, James laid in his bed, not sleeping for a while. Finally, when his tiredness prevailed, he dreamt a phantasmagoric mix of golden snitches, chess pieces, and dancing lilies.
~*~
In the changing rooms the next afternoon, none of the Gryffindor Quidditch players said very much. James pulled on his scarlet Quidditch robes over his t-shirt and jumper he was wearing for warmth from the cold. Anton gave a few words of encouragement and strategy to the team before leading them out of the door and into the stadium.
Clutching his broom tightly, James stared at the gigantic stadium around him, looking around for his friends. He took in again the immense size of the stadium as he gazed around the crowd, finally catching the eye of Sirius and Remus. Juliet and Lily were sitting with them, in the middle of the giant crowd of cheering Gryffindors.
The Gryffindors sat toward his left, decked out with flags and banners of scarlet. Behind where James was entering the pitch were the Slytherins, decked out in green, their own house colors. They seemed to be booing both the houses taking part. The Hufflepuffs were at the far end of the pitch. There was a variation of colors in their stand. Some people were holding up yellow flags, the color of Hufflepuff, and yet many were holding up flags of blue and scarlet to support either the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws. The Ravenclaws themselves were seated on the right hand side, a enormous mass of blue. The large crowds were almost overwhelming to James as he entered the pitch.
James could see the Ravenclaws entering the pitch on the far side, from the Hufflepuff end. Anton walked to the center of the pitch and shook hands with Kurt Pnin, the Ravenclaw captain and Seeker. Madam Hooch, who was to be refereeing the game, was decked out in her black Quidditch robes, and had the trunk of balls under her arm. When the captains had shaken hands, Madam Hooch released the balls, and blew shrilly on her whistle. They were off. The fans were screaming.
James kicked off quickly and all fleeting feelings of nervousness disappeared immediately. He was suddenly confident. He spotted the Quaffle hanging as though waiting in midair, and watched the new Chaser William Hansler speed towards it. He noticed a Ravenclaw Chaser do the same. William succeeded to put on a sudden spurt of speed, and managed to grab the Quaffle before the Ravenclaw. He flew into the air, dodged a Bludger, and sped off towards the Ravenclaw goalposts.
"GRYFFINDOR SCORE! Gryffindor's newest Chaser has just set a new twenty- second record! Congratulations to William Hansler!" James could hear the Gryffindors below screaming their hearts out, but he focused on the game. A Ravenclaw had the gained possession of the Quaffle; one of the Gryffindors needed to get behind him. Suddenly, a Bludger came pelting straight at James. He had to twirl over in mid-air to avoid it. He flew graceful circles, keeping his eye out on the snitch. He loops and turns managed to confuse and distract Kurt, the Ravenclaw Seeker, from his own quest from the snitch.
Back in the stands, all of the Gryffindors except for James and the other members on the team were hanging on the edge of their seats, watching every moment. They were enraptured by the excitement of the game.
"He's brilliant," said Remus breathlessly. "I've never seen anyone fly that well."
"Ooh, I can't watch," said Lily, as James dove down to check out something that flew by his ear.
"And this time, Anton Avery has the Quaffle, the Ravenclaw Keeper comes out to meet him – Anton squares it – GRYFFINDOR SCORE! That play was nicely assisted by Carrie Anne Smyth." Anton and James high-fived in mid-air. Anton high-fived Carrie Anne too. The Ravenclaws were looking stunned. Kurt Pnin began bellowing harsh words at his Chasers.
"How does he manage to stay on?" said Lily, looking at James, who had just rolled over in mid-air to avoid a Bludger.
"He's a natural," said Juliet from behind her. "And I just thought he was clever."
"You learn something new every day," said Peter pensively.
After another hour, Gryffindor had pulled ahead by eighty points, but there was no sign of the Golden Snitch. The Gryffindors had managed to score five times, and the longer they played, the more they were enjoying it. The Ravenclaws were starting to pick up the pace, however. Their Chaser Andrew Ritter had already scored twice, and it was a close match between who could catch the golden snitch—James and Ravenclaw's seventh year, and team captain, Kurt Pnin.
"C'mon mates!" Sirius roared, as Anton put the Quaffle through the Ravenclaw hoops again. Suddenly, James saw something that made his heart stop. The Snitch was fluttering down by the Gryffindor goalposts, and Kurt Pnin was much closer to it than he was from his position in the middle of the field. Luckily, Kurt had not spotted it yet. As great as a Seeker James was, he knew it would be a very hard task to out-fly Kurt with his great skills and Kurt's new high-tech broom.
'The only way to do this safely is to fake Kurt out,' he called as he streaked past his teammates, and, faking a look of concentration, sped back towards the Ravenclaw goals. It did the trick. Kurt, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, soared after him. When James looked back, the Snitch had disappeared from the Gryffindor goals. He was looking cautiously around when Madam Hooch's whistle rang out. Somebody – a Ravenclaw – had been hit with a Bludger and had collided with William Hansler. Both players were lying on the ground, and Kurt and Anton had both called a time out. James glided slowly back to the ground, along with the other Quidditch players from both teams. Madam Pomfrey was standing over the two injured players. Anton flew over to where James was resting.
"Beautiful flying, James," he said, his eyes gleaming. "We're beating the 'Claws in points right now, and I have utter faith that you will get the snitch. You always do." Anton patted James on the shoulder.
"Right," said James. "Ha, it looks as if Kurt isn't feeling so great right now." He nodded over to where Kurt Pnin was berating his team again. Anton laughed.
"C'mon, I think we're back on," he said, as Madam Hooch blew her whistle again.
Once the whistle was blown and the game continued, Chasers for both sides increased their efforts. Soon, the teams were getting close to the same score.
Everyone turned to watch the two Seekers getting back down into a low, fast dive, obviously seeing the snitch near the ground. Kurt was ahead and was gaining on the Snitch every second. He bent low on his broom and shot down towards the snitch, which was sailing parallel to the ground. James was directly to Kurt's right, inching closer and closer to the snitch also.
Suddenly the snitch moved to Kurt's left, further away from James, but continued to sail forward close to the grass. Kurt leaned over on his broom and tried reach for the snitch, but it was still a couple inches away from his grasp. James, on the wrong side now, was trying to lean over and get the snitch too. After throwing nasty glares to each other, the two Seekers were still teased by the quick-sailing snitch that was just beyond their reach.
'Just a couple inches further,' muttered James to himself, as he was reaching for the snitch over Kurt. Some of the crowd seemed to notice what he was doing, and the noise increased substantially, but James couldn't hear. He was just concentrating on getting the snitch. Kurt was inching closer and closer to the snitch when James heard over the intercom that Ravenclaw just scored again with the Quaffle, putting them ten points ahead of Gryffindor. Thoroughly upset now, James concentrated deeply. The next few moments between Kurt and James practically happened in slow motion. James pushed himself off his broom and threw his body over Kurt and his broom toward the snitch. His hand went straight for the little gold ball as he hit the ground from the fairly low height of three feet. A split second later, Madam Pomfrey blew her whistle. James was rolling around frantically on the ground, but he clearly had the Snitch in his hand. The crowd was now screaming themselves hoarse, and slowly, it dawned on the players.
"GRYFFINDOR WIN!!" Sirius and Remus screamed. Everybody turned to look at the scoreboard. Kurt Pnin's face fell as he watched his once larger score become diminished once James caught the snitch. The Gryffindors pulled ahead and won the game.
"You guys did it! We did it!" James was screaming.
"Well played," said Anton, cuffing James on the back, once he got up off the ground.
"That was quick thinking," said Carrie Anne, grinning from ear to ear. "I can't believe you jumped over Kurt on his broom for the snitch."
The Gryffindor supporters flooded onto the pitch, and James and the team were lifted onto people shoulders. Sirius was still happily shouting the score. Ravenclaw, which was ahead of Gryffindor, was now 140 behind them. James' catching of the snitch at the end had secured the Gryffindor victory. The Ravenclaws were looking completely shocked. They beat Gryffindor last year. James just grinned broadly as he was carried over to the changing rooms. He spotted Remus, Frank, Peter and Lily near the back of the crowd, beaming. He waved to them, as he was put onto the ground.
"Wow," said a voice from behind him. It was Sirius. "You've never sailed over another Seeker before. Those were some awesome tactics there, Prongs. Where'd you learn the new moves?"
"Naah, just some little talents I keep hidden ," said James, grinning. "Among other things." He winked, and Lily rolled her eyes. James laughed.
As James walked back up to the castle surrounded by his friends, he couldn't have felt happier. He'd shown those Ravenclaws what he was made of. Everybody was congratulating him on his superb performance. James did have to admit to himself that he'd flown pretty well today.
"C'mon lads," said William, sticking his head round the Entrance Hall door. "Party in the common room!" Gryffindors didn't require much of a reason to throw a party, and since they were now on their way toward winning the House Cup, nobody thought twice.
~*~
The party went on long into the night. Nearly every person in Gryffindor house had congratulated James on his performance at least twice.
Lots of food was brought up from the kitchens, as well as an endless supply of Butterbeer. Music was blasting loudly from a player and people were dancing, eating, and chatting the night away. Sirius, Remus, Juliet, and Anton were eating and talking with each other.
"That was a great game you played today, Anton. Good job with all those stellar plays, man." Said Remus to Anton, patting him on the shoulder. "If this is only the first match, I can't wait to see how awesome the team with be after couple more!"
Anton smiled. "Yeah, the team's awesome this year. Lots of new plays and strategies, and lots of new talent. Definitely the right ingredients for winning the House Cup."
Sirius turned and said, "Yeah, was it planned that James was going to distract Kurt from the snitch? I mean, he would get the snitch anyway, but he told me about his 'fake dive' trick he pulled." Anton shook his head.
"That was all of James' idea. Great plan, if you asked me. Totally threw Kurt off. James has a lot of great plays. He designed half of the plays created this year." Remus spoke up next.
"Hey, where's James? I haven't seen him since he arrived from the changing room in his robes." Remus and Sirius looked around for James.
Juliet pointed and said, "He is over there with the rest of the Chasers near the music." Anton waved goodbye and went to speak with some other Gryffindors. The friends all turned to find James in the crowd.
Over near the fireplace, where the player was set up, lots of people with congregating with Butterbeer. The music was a particularly fast tune, and many people were dancing to it. James was dancing with Lily, in the middle of the crowd, to the fast beat. They were swaying really close together, with his hands on her hips. Things became even more interesting when Lily returned the gesture by placing her arms around his neck.
Sirius, Remus, and Juliet were sitting there with their eyebrows raised.
Peter walked by and asked, "Whoa, is that James and Lily?"
Sirius nodded and replied, "Yeah, and if you ask me, I think things are starting to heat up over there. Do you think something's going on that they are not telling us?"
Juliet smirked and said, "Are Prefects even allowed to DANCE like that?"
Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever. If you ask me, it's a good thing. They are really good friends and would go well together. But it's their business, not ours." He tried to divert everyone's attention away from James and Lily back to the party. He took Juliet's hand and asked if she wanted to dance also, since most of the people began to dance as well.
Juliet smiled. "I would love to." They joined James and Lily, as they left Sirius and Peter.
"What do you think, Wormtail? Think something's going on under our noses?" Sirius asked Peter, whom in turn shrugged in confusion.
"Uh, I dunno…I mean, Lily and James hang out a lot together at Prefect Meetings and during and after class, so I guess something could have happened. But as Moony says, it's no one's business but theirs." Peter turned to grab another sandwich from the platter.
Sirius sighed and grabbed a sandwich too. "That's true, but something has happened alright." He took one final gaze at a laughing James and smiling Lily before screaming a primal yell and joining them on the dance floor. The friends laughed, talked, drank, and ate for the rest of the night. The party could be heard from all parts of the castle and went on until the wee hours of the morning. It was one of the best nights they ever had at Hogwarts.
~*~
A/N: Yep, end of chapter five. That was a toughie…trying to write a Quidditch match. Anyway, got some romantic developments occurring now, but I'm still taking it rather slowly. Gradual build-up, if you must, of love between L/J. It also gives me more to write about in other chapters too. ^- ^
Finally on Spring Break now…woo-hoo! Bio test over with and my Hon English Research Paper has been typed and turned in. Rejoice! Freedom! I'm just staying home and sleeping. Uggh, totally sleep-deprived.
Anyway, thanks for reading my story! Reviews are not necessary, but definitely appreciated! ^-^
Take care, ff.net readers!
~ Stellar
A big "thank you" to my awesome reviewers also:
Kimmy Larisa: Thanks for reviewing…I'm glad you liked my last chapter! I'll write some more!
Iluvjosh79: Thanks a lot of the review! I'll update as soon as possible!
Seshat: Ahh, my faithful reviewer. Thanks so much for all your input. I really appreciate your reviews. Did you get my email? Yep, things are starting to "heat up" in the L/J department now…but nothing too serious just yet. I'm just taking my sweet time… Very happy that you liked the chapter and I'll start Chapter 6 now!
Princess Tangawine: Thanks for reading my story and reviewing! It means a lot to me! I'll write as fast as I can!
VIELEN DANK!
Bring on Chapter 5! ^-^ Enjoy!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A couple weeks later, Lily was released from the Hospital Wing and things started heading back to normal at Hogwarts. Snape and Thomas served their detentions diligently, while giving James, Sirius, and Remus dirty looks in the hallways. There wasn't much fighting between the two groups for a while.
Throughout that ordeal, Quidditch tryouts and practices had begun. Anton and James recruited some new beaters and chasers onto the Gryffindor team, and after a few intense practices had perfected their teamwork to an art. James had a big feeling that the Gryffindor team would perform exceptionally well this year with their talented and dedicated group of players.
That dedication was put to the test when their first game was scheduled in the middle of October. It was the first game of their season, and it was bound to be a good one. Hogwarts students from all houses attended the upcoming game of Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw.
That day, James was a mixture of nervousness and excitement. After a long grueling month of school, he was anxious to return to the Quidditch pitch for a fast-paced, thrilling game. His enthusiasm was evident in his constant fidgety habits the night before the game.
Sitting in the Common Room with Remus, James was attempting to play a game of chess.
"Prongs, if you don't stop squirming, I swear I'm gonna take off my tie and strap you to the chair." Remus said with mock agitation, understanding his friend's emotions.
James sighed, "I'm sorry, Moony. It's just that I can't wait for the game. It's going to be awesome tomorrow. I cannot wait to be on my broom, sailing around for the snitch." James continued to move his rook, trying not to fidget, for Remus' sake.
An hour passed by, and Remus began to yawn. The pair had been playing for a while, and it was getting time for them to go to bed. James cleaned up the chessboard as Remus pushed the table away from the fire back against the wall. As they turned around, they saw Sirius and Lily enter through the portrait hole.
Lily waved to James and Remus and said, "Hey guys. Good luck at your game tomorrow, James. You'll do a magnificent job. You always do. Good night everyone." She left the three guys and headed up the stairs toward her own dorm.
That night, James laid in his bed, not sleeping for a while. Finally, when his tiredness prevailed, he dreamt a phantasmagoric mix of golden snitches, chess pieces, and dancing lilies.
~*~
In the changing rooms the next afternoon, none of the Gryffindor Quidditch players said very much. James pulled on his scarlet Quidditch robes over his t-shirt and jumper he was wearing for warmth from the cold. Anton gave a few words of encouragement and strategy to the team before leading them out of the door and into the stadium.
Clutching his broom tightly, James stared at the gigantic stadium around him, looking around for his friends. He took in again the immense size of the stadium as he gazed around the crowd, finally catching the eye of Sirius and Remus. Juliet and Lily were sitting with them, in the middle of the giant crowd of cheering Gryffindors.
The Gryffindors sat toward his left, decked out with flags and banners of scarlet. Behind where James was entering the pitch were the Slytherins, decked out in green, their own house colors. They seemed to be booing both the houses taking part. The Hufflepuffs were at the far end of the pitch. There was a variation of colors in their stand. Some people were holding up yellow flags, the color of Hufflepuff, and yet many were holding up flags of blue and scarlet to support either the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws. The Ravenclaws themselves were seated on the right hand side, a enormous mass of blue. The large crowds were almost overwhelming to James as he entered the pitch.
James could see the Ravenclaws entering the pitch on the far side, from the Hufflepuff end. Anton walked to the center of the pitch and shook hands with Kurt Pnin, the Ravenclaw captain and Seeker. Madam Hooch, who was to be refereeing the game, was decked out in her black Quidditch robes, and had the trunk of balls under her arm. When the captains had shaken hands, Madam Hooch released the balls, and blew shrilly on her whistle. They were off. The fans were screaming.
James kicked off quickly and all fleeting feelings of nervousness disappeared immediately. He was suddenly confident. He spotted the Quaffle hanging as though waiting in midair, and watched the new Chaser William Hansler speed towards it. He noticed a Ravenclaw Chaser do the same. William succeeded to put on a sudden spurt of speed, and managed to grab the Quaffle before the Ravenclaw. He flew into the air, dodged a Bludger, and sped off towards the Ravenclaw goalposts.
"GRYFFINDOR SCORE! Gryffindor's newest Chaser has just set a new twenty- second record! Congratulations to William Hansler!" James could hear the Gryffindors below screaming their hearts out, but he focused on the game. A Ravenclaw had the gained possession of the Quaffle; one of the Gryffindors needed to get behind him. Suddenly, a Bludger came pelting straight at James. He had to twirl over in mid-air to avoid it. He flew graceful circles, keeping his eye out on the snitch. He loops and turns managed to confuse and distract Kurt, the Ravenclaw Seeker, from his own quest from the snitch.
Back in the stands, all of the Gryffindors except for James and the other members on the team were hanging on the edge of their seats, watching every moment. They were enraptured by the excitement of the game.
"He's brilliant," said Remus breathlessly. "I've never seen anyone fly that well."
"Ooh, I can't watch," said Lily, as James dove down to check out something that flew by his ear.
"And this time, Anton Avery has the Quaffle, the Ravenclaw Keeper comes out to meet him – Anton squares it – GRYFFINDOR SCORE! That play was nicely assisted by Carrie Anne Smyth." Anton and James high-fived in mid-air. Anton high-fived Carrie Anne too. The Ravenclaws were looking stunned. Kurt Pnin began bellowing harsh words at his Chasers.
"How does he manage to stay on?" said Lily, looking at James, who had just rolled over in mid-air to avoid a Bludger.
"He's a natural," said Juliet from behind her. "And I just thought he was clever."
"You learn something new every day," said Peter pensively.
After another hour, Gryffindor had pulled ahead by eighty points, but there was no sign of the Golden Snitch. The Gryffindors had managed to score five times, and the longer they played, the more they were enjoying it. The Ravenclaws were starting to pick up the pace, however. Their Chaser Andrew Ritter had already scored twice, and it was a close match between who could catch the golden snitch—James and Ravenclaw's seventh year, and team captain, Kurt Pnin.
"C'mon mates!" Sirius roared, as Anton put the Quaffle through the Ravenclaw hoops again. Suddenly, James saw something that made his heart stop. The Snitch was fluttering down by the Gryffindor goalposts, and Kurt Pnin was much closer to it than he was from his position in the middle of the field. Luckily, Kurt had not spotted it yet. As great as a Seeker James was, he knew it would be a very hard task to out-fly Kurt with his great skills and Kurt's new high-tech broom.
'The only way to do this safely is to fake Kurt out,' he called as he streaked past his teammates, and, faking a look of concentration, sped back towards the Ravenclaw goals. It did the trick. Kurt, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, soared after him. When James looked back, the Snitch had disappeared from the Gryffindor goals. He was looking cautiously around when Madam Hooch's whistle rang out. Somebody – a Ravenclaw – had been hit with a Bludger and had collided with William Hansler. Both players were lying on the ground, and Kurt and Anton had both called a time out. James glided slowly back to the ground, along with the other Quidditch players from both teams. Madam Pomfrey was standing over the two injured players. Anton flew over to where James was resting.
"Beautiful flying, James," he said, his eyes gleaming. "We're beating the 'Claws in points right now, and I have utter faith that you will get the snitch. You always do." Anton patted James on the shoulder.
"Right," said James. "Ha, it looks as if Kurt isn't feeling so great right now." He nodded over to where Kurt Pnin was berating his team again. Anton laughed.
"C'mon, I think we're back on," he said, as Madam Hooch blew her whistle again.
Once the whistle was blown and the game continued, Chasers for both sides increased their efforts. Soon, the teams were getting close to the same score.
Everyone turned to watch the two Seekers getting back down into a low, fast dive, obviously seeing the snitch near the ground. Kurt was ahead and was gaining on the Snitch every second. He bent low on his broom and shot down towards the snitch, which was sailing parallel to the ground. James was directly to Kurt's right, inching closer and closer to the snitch also.
Suddenly the snitch moved to Kurt's left, further away from James, but continued to sail forward close to the grass. Kurt leaned over on his broom and tried reach for the snitch, but it was still a couple inches away from his grasp. James, on the wrong side now, was trying to lean over and get the snitch too. After throwing nasty glares to each other, the two Seekers were still teased by the quick-sailing snitch that was just beyond their reach.
'Just a couple inches further,' muttered James to himself, as he was reaching for the snitch over Kurt. Some of the crowd seemed to notice what he was doing, and the noise increased substantially, but James couldn't hear. He was just concentrating on getting the snitch. Kurt was inching closer and closer to the snitch when James heard over the intercom that Ravenclaw just scored again with the Quaffle, putting them ten points ahead of Gryffindor. Thoroughly upset now, James concentrated deeply. The next few moments between Kurt and James practically happened in slow motion. James pushed himself off his broom and threw his body over Kurt and his broom toward the snitch. His hand went straight for the little gold ball as he hit the ground from the fairly low height of three feet. A split second later, Madam Pomfrey blew her whistle. James was rolling around frantically on the ground, but he clearly had the Snitch in his hand. The crowd was now screaming themselves hoarse, and slowly, it dawned on the players.
"GRYFFINDOR WIN!!" Sirius and Remus screamed. Everybody turned to look at the scoreboard. Kurt Pnin's face fell as he watched his once larger score become diminished once James caught the snitch. The Gryffindors pulled ahead and won the game.
"You guys did it! We did it!" James was screaming.
"Well played," said Anton, cuffing James on the back, once he got up off the ground.
"That was quick thinking," said Carrie Anne, grinning from ear to ear. "I can't believe you jumped over Kurt on his broom for the snitch."
The Gryffindor supporters flooded onto the pitch, and James and the team were lifted onto people shoulders. Sirius was still happily shouting the score. Ravenclaw, which was ahead of Gryffindor, was now 140 behind them. James' catching of the snitch at the end had secured the Gryffindor victory. The Ravenclaws were looking completely shocked. They beat Gryffindor last year. James just grinned broadly as he was carried over to the changing rooms. He spotted Remus, Frank, Peter and Lily near the back of the crowd, beaming. He waved to them, as he was put onto the ground.
"Wow," said a voice from behind him. It was Sirius. "You've never sailed over another Seeker before. Those were some awesome tactics there, Prongs. Where'd you learn the new moves?"
"Naah, just some little talents I keep hidden ," said James, grinning. "Among other things." He winked, and Lily rolled her eyes. James laughed.
As James walked back up to the castle surrounded by his friends, he couldn't have felt happier. He'd shown those Ravenclaws what he was made of. Everybody was congratulating him on his superb performance. James did have to admit to himself that he'd flown pretty well today.
"C'mon lads," said William, sticking his head round the Entrance Hall door. "Party in the common room!" Gryffindors didn't require much of a reason to throw a party, and since they were now on their way toward winning the House Cup, nobody thought twice.
~*~
The party went on long into the night. Nearly every person in Gryffindor house had congratulated James on his performance at least twice.
Lots of food was brought up from the kitchens, as well as an endless supply of Butterbeer. Music was blasting loudly from a player and people were dancing, eating, and chatting the night away. Sirius, Remus, Juliet, and Anton were eating and talking with each other.
"That was a great game you played today, Anton. Good job with all those stellar plays, man." Said Remus to Anton, patting him on the shoulder. "If this is only the first match, I can't wait to see how awesome the team with be after couple more!"
Anton smiled. "Yeah, the team's awesome this year. Lots of new plays and strategies, and lots of new talent. Definitely the right ingredients for winning the House Cup."
Sirius turned and said, "Yeah, was it planned that James was going to distract Kurt from the snitch? I mean, he would get the snitch anyway, but he told me about his 'fake dive' trick he pulled." Anton shook his head.
"That was all of James' idea. Great plan, if you asked me. Totally threw Kurt off. James has a lot of great plays. He designed half of the plays created this year." Remus spoke up next.
"Hey, where's James? I haven't seen him since he arrived from the changing room in his robes." Remus and Sirius looked around for James.
Juliet pointed and said, "He is over there with the rest of the Chasers near the music." Anton waved goodbye and went to speak with some other Gryffindors. The friends all turned to find James in the crowd.
Over near the fireplace, where the player was set up, lots of people with congregating with Butterbeer. The music was a particularly fast tune, and many people were dancing to it. James was dancing with Lily, in the middle of the crowd, to the fast beat. They were swaying really close together, with his hands on her hips. Things became even more interesting when Lily returned the gesture by placing her arms around his neck.
Sirius, Remus, and Juliet were sitting there with their eyebrows raised.
Peter walked by and asked, "Whoa, is that James and Lily?"
Sirius nodded and replied, "Yeah, and if you ask me, I think things are starting to heat up over there. Do you think something's going on that they are not telling us?"
Juliet smirked and said, "Are Prefects even allowed to DANCE like that?"
Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever. If you ask me, it's a good thing. They are really good friends and would go well together. But it's their business, not ours." He tried to divert everyone's attention away from James and Lily back to the party. He took Juliet's hand and asked if she wanted to dance also, since most of the people began to dance as well.
Juliet smiled. "I would love to." They joined James and Lily, as they left Sirius and Peter.
"What do you think, Wormtail? Think something's going on under our noses?" Sirius asked Peter, whom in turn shrugged in confusion.
"Uh, I dunno…I mean, Lily and James hang out a lot together at Prefect Meetings and during and after class, so I guess something could have happened. But as Moony says, it's no one's business but theirs." Peter turned to grab another sandwich from the platter.
Sirius sighed and grabbed a sandwich too. "That's true, but something has happened alright." He took one final gaze at a laughing James and smiling Lily before screaming a primal yell and joining them on the dance floor. The friends laughed, talked, drank, and ate for the rest of the night. The party could be heard from all parts of the castle and went on until the wee hours of the morning. It was one of the best nights they ever had at Hogwarts.
~*~
A/N: Yep, end of chapter five. That was a toughie…trying to write a Quidditch match. Anyway, got some romantic developments occurring now, but I'm still taking it rather slowly. Gradual build-up, if you must, of love between L/J. It also gives me more to write about in other chapters too. ^- ^
Finally on Spring Break now…woo-hoo! Bio test over with and my Hon English Research Paper has been typed and turned in. Rejoice! Freedom! I'm just staying home and sleeping. Uggh, totally sleep-deprived.
Anyway, thanks for reading my story! Reviews are not necessary, but definitely appreciated! ^-^
Take care, ff.net readers!
~ Stellar
A big "thank you" to my awesome reviewers also:
Kimmy Larisa: Thanks for reviewing…I'm glad you liked my last chapter! I'll write some more!
Iluvjosh79: Thanks a lot of the review! I'll update as soon as possible!
Seshat: Ahh, my faithful reviewer. Thanks so much for all your input. I really appreciate your reviews. Did you get my email? Yep, things are starting to "heat up" in the L/J department now…but nothing too serious just yet. I'm just taking my sweet time… Very happy that you liked the chapter and I'll start Chapter 6 now!
Princess Tangawine: Thanks for reading my story and reviewing! It means a lot to me! I'll write as fast as I can!
VIELEN DANK!