Chapter Fifteen:
Petunia awoke with a start the next morning, and for a minute was unable to remember where she was. She glanced to the right, where her mother and father were still sound asleep. The walls of the visitor wings were cheerful and bright, and the whole room had a sense of comfort and welcome. She stared up at the ceiling, recollecting everything she had seen ever since she stepped into Hogwarts last night. Everything was so different and, as much as she hated to admit it, cool. It was like a completely different world. . .a world that excluded Petunia, and only allowed her to peek into from the outside. Petunia had never felt this jealous in her life. And the fact that her sister had the privilege of going to school with the best looking boy on the planet made her even more envious.
"And today I'm going to see him play Quidfish!" Petunia grinned. She did not have the slightest clue as to how the game was played, but frankly she did not care. The thought of seeing James Potter doing anything was enough to make her feel simply ecstatic.
A few hours later, Petunia walked downstairs into the crowded Great Hall with her parents, her long neck craned in hope of getting a glimpse of James.
"Oh, I wonder where Lily is!" Mr. Evans said brightly, feeling quite content and amused by his surroundings. Petunia opened her mouth to make a rude remark about her sister, but felt her breath catch in her chest before she could do so. Seven students were walking towards them in some kind of uniform that Petunia recognized as the Gryffindor colors. And the line was headed by James himself.
"The Quidfish team!" Petunia said dreamily, gazing at James.
"Quid-DITCH!" Mr. Evans corrected her, quite excited at the thought of finally being able to see the game that Lily had told him so much about. Petunia felt her heart leaping as James came closer and closer towards them. Mr. Evans, however, did not share her elated feelings. He was still suspicious of James, and still quite shaken by what he had seen last night in the Head common room. Mr. Evans became suddenly interested in a painting behind him as James approached them.
"Hello Mrs. Evans," James smiled, stopping for a moment. Petunia whipped her head towards her mother wildly, her mouth open in shock.
"Why hello, James! Good luck on your match!" Mrs. Evans beamed, kissing an embarrassed James on the cheek. Petunia's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. She stood there gaping as the Quidditch team walked away, while her mother turned to look for her husband.
"MUM!" Petunia finally shrieked, staring at her mother.
"What it is, dear?" Mrs. Evans asked worriedly.
"Do. . .how. . .do you. . .do you KNOW that boy?" Petunia stammered incredulously. Mrs. Evans laughed in surprise.
"Of course I do, Pet," she began, "he's L. . . Lily!" Mrs. Evans suddenly rushed forward towards her other daughter. Petunia continued to stare as her mother hugged Lily.
"Sorry Mum, Professor McGonagall was talking to me about something for the Halloween Ball." Lily explained as she and Mrs. Evans walked back to where Petunia and Mr. Evans were standing. "You should've started breakfast without me!" Lily smiled at her father, and led them to one of the tables.
"No dear, we wanted to wait for you." Mr. Evans said kindly, helping himself to a rather large serving of scrambled eggs.
"Well we better eat fast. The Quidditch match will be starting soon!" Lily said. Though still very confused, Petunia grinned at this news, and began quickly gulping down her breakfast.
"Alright team!" James began enthusiastically, standing in front of his Quidditch teammates in the team room, "this is what we've been practicing so hard for!"
"Killing ourselves for is more like it," Kailyn muttered. Sirius suddenly pulled out a bottle of Firewhiskey from his bag.
"Let's make a toast!" he exclaimed excitedly. The team eyed him in disbelief.
"Er. . .no," James said slowly. Sirius's wide smile faded for a moment, before he shrugged pleasantly and put the bottle away. He shot a sly grin at Kailyn, who was looking at him disapprovingly.
The noise coming from the Quidditch field was growing larger, and the applause was becoming thunderous. Suddenly Madam Hooch's voice boomed over the field, and the crowd silenced in anticipation.
"Okay," James began, his voice edged with slight nervousness, "you all know what to do. Just remember, we're the best team Hogwarts has ever seen!"
"Arrogant little bugger, isn't he?" Sirius whispered to Kailyn jokingly, as James strode past them.
The team mounted their brooms and flew onto the pitch. The applause was so thunderous that Madam Hooch's voice was barely audible. Petunia was leaning so far over the rail that she was capable of falling over any second. Her parents and Lily were standing and cheering next to her. Once or twice Petunia thought she heard the word "James" come out of her sister's mouth, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Her sister hated James. . .she wasn't likely to cheer for him. The match began, and Petunia's jaw dropped open in shock. She had never seen anything so amazing in her life. She giggled as the players zoomed past her on their brooms, the brisk air tickling her face. She had her hand clamped firmly over her mouth because every two seconds someone would do something so daring. . .so breathtaking. She looked at James, who was lounging on his broom, watching the other players on his team intently. But he also seemed to be looking for something else. . .waiting for something else. Petunia let her gaze rest on James, forgetting about the rest of the match. He was so intriguing to watch. She loved how his hair was even messier now because of the wind. And she loved the look in his eyes. . .like he was on top of the world. Petunia stared at him for what felt like hours before gasping as James suddenly jetted off on his broomstick, flying faster than anyone else on the pitch. Her heart seemed to stop beating as he flew closer to where she was standing. And then, Petunia felt everything else disappear as James winked at her before hurtled down towards the ground. She screamed as he sharply pulled up just inches before hitting the ground, his hand closing over a small golden object. The audience was suddenly screaming and cheering so loudly that Petunia was sure she would become deaf. But at the moment she didn't care. All that mattered was James flying towards his teammates with a triumphant grin on his face that was enough to warm Petunia's soul.
"Amazing!" Mr. Evans yelled, "The other team didn't even get to score once!" Petunia beamed with pride as she watched James and his teammates do victory laps around the pitch, before dismounting and heading towards the team room. She heard Lily telling her mother something before slipping away somewhere, but she did not pay too much attention. Her thoughts were preoccupied with replaying everything she had just seen.
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"Brilliant!" Sirius shouted, "That was bloody brilliant!" The Gryffindor team were in the team room, clinking together glasses of Sirius' firewhiskey.
"Three hundred to zero! That's definitely a record!" Brian Finnigan remarked.
"I guess you will be going down in history after all, James!" Sue Ryce grinned. James laughed, his face shining with happiness and pride.
"I think it's safe to say he'll be even cockier now!" Kailyn joked. James turned to her and smiled.
"You were incredible today, Kailyn," he said proudly. Kailyn frowned, angry that proud tears were swelling in her eyes. James almost never complimented her.
"I. . ." she began, feeling a lump in her throat. She gave an annoyed laugh before hugging James. Then she turned and kissed Sirius, ignoring all the catcalls and whistles. James raised his eyebrows and smirked at his best friend. Sirius laughed and threw his arms around Kailyn and James.
"Now it's time for a wicked party!" he grinned, leading them out of the team room. He started discussing the menu and program for the party, when James suddenly noticed the girl who had been standing with Lily's family during the match. He abruptly left Sirius and Kailyn and jogged over to the girl.
"Hi," he said. The girl turned to face him, her eyes growing wide and her mouth slightly opening.
"H. . .h. . . hey. . .hi. . .hello," she stammered, her face turning bright red. James fought back the urge to laugh.
"I'm James," he said politely. The girl stared at him.
"P. . .Petunia," she finally said.
"Are you Lily's sister?" James asked. Petunia considered saying no. For if he knew she was Lily's sister, he might hold something against her. Because surely he could not like Lily if all she did was badmouth him. But then she realized that he probably saw her with Lily and their parents.
"Yes," she said hesitantly. James nodded and smiled. Petunia was skinny, and lacked the sexy curves that Lily possessed. She looked a lot less feminine than Lily did, and her facial features were rather plain. Her eyes were a dull brown, and her face was pale. But James supposed it was just because in his mind, Lily was a goddess.
"We're having a party in the Gryffindor common room. You should come," James suggested. Petunia's eyes wandered over every inch of his face. She felt mesmerized. And the fact that he was inviting her to a party made her feel like she was floating.
"Okay," she croaked.
"Alright, well I'll see you later, then," James smiled. Petunia nodded weakly. She watched James walk away, her eyesight suddenly becoming fuzzy, and her mind spinning in a daze.
A/N: Hope you liked it! Review please!!!