AN: Sorry for the late update! To make up for it, I've made this chapter extra-long. Hope you like!

Idea #5: Written in the Stars

James's eyes snapped open. It was the day of the match, the match he'd practiced so hard for. He leapt out of bed, feeling suddenly very energetic.

"What's got you so perky?" Sirius groaned as he poked his head out from the curtains of his four-poster bed.

"It's the day of the match," Remus explained, yawning as he clambered out of bed.

"Ohhh. You had better win, Prongs! I refuse to see us lose to Slytherin, alright?"

James nodded. "I will win."

The Marauders hurried down to breakfast. The Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor tables greeted James with cheers and encouragements.

"That means you really have to win. Or the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs will have something to say about that," Remus commented.

"I will win already! I promised someone," James retorted.

"Ohhh." Remus and Sirius grinned knowingly at each other.

"And I have something planned for after we win the match."

Remus and Sirius frowned worriedly.

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Unbeknownst to the Marauders, a Slytherin was in a quiet corner very near them.

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The Slytherin Quidditch team snuck into the broom shed.

"Where's Potter's?" the team captain asked in a low voice.

"Right here," one of the Chasers hissed.

He passed a broom to his Captain.

The Slytherin Captain grinned. "Excellent."

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James donned his Quidditch robes, feeling a flutter of nervousness. The match would begin in a few short minutes. He could already hear the crowd outside.

James felt the most pressure of anyone when it came to matches against Slytherin. Not only was Gryffindor relying on him, but so were Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

"Don't look so worried, James," one of his fellow Chasers assured him.

"Slytherin doesn't stand a chance," their Keeper agreed.

James smiled at the encouragement. "Thanks! Let's rock and roll."

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The stands were packed. Cheers and screams and boos rang out. Lily, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were sitting together, anxious.

"I can't help having a bad feeling about this," Lily muttered.

Sirius and Remus remembered James's plan for after the match.

"You may be right," Remus replied grimly.

A flash of dark-brown hair and blue scarf swept down beside Lily.

"Nicole!" Lily exclaimed, happy to see her friend. "What brings you here?"

"To hang out with you guys," the girl replied. "I'm so worried for James."

Remus noticed with surprise that Sirius had whipped out a comb and was fixing his hair.

"I agree," Lily said. "When it comes to talent on the field, Slytherin hasn't a prayer, but when it comes to dirty tricks, no one beats those slimy gits. They might jinx Potter's broom to chuck him off or something."

"Prongs can handle it," Sirius interjected. "He's way too good to be incapacitated by something like that."

The players from both teams then zoomed out onto the field. James looked very focused and determined as he came face-to-face with the Slytherin Captain.

"You're going down," the Slytherin snarled.

James did not retort, but kept his face rock-steady.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

Swooshes filled the air as the match officially went underway. James had the Quaffle under his arm, expertly dodging the Slytherin Beaters. Before anyone could react, he scored a goal.

Cheers erupted.

The Quaffle exchanged hands once more, a quickly as a bullet. The teamwork of the Chasers was amazing. The Slytherins were having difficulty figuring out who to guard now. While James was still the star on the field, the others were also formidable threats.

"Oh gosh!" Lily cried, grabbing Remus's hand as the now-enraged Slytherin Captain charged James, intending to take the Gryffindor Chaser down by himself.

"They're going to crash!" Nicole cried, clutching at the nearest hand, which just happened to be Sirius Black's. Without anyone noticing, he had managed to squeeze into a spot beside the pretty Ravenclaw.

"Prongs!" Remus cried.

At the last moment, James swerved. His pursuer, not anticipating this move, was the one who crashed instead, unable to react in time.

"Whew," the four Gryffindors and the Ravenclaw breathed.

Nicole released Sirius's hand, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't cut off your circulation, did I?"

Sirius flashed his suave, specially-for-flirting smile. "You did make my heart skip a couple of beats..."

The Ravenclaw didn't catch the implication, though. She was training all her attention on the match. With a dejected sigh, Sirius did so as well.

James and his fellow Chasers had scored ten goals already. The Slytherin Seeker was quickly scanning the field for the Snitch, hoping to catch it now while he still could.

James scored Gryffindor's fifteenth goal.

By this time, the Slytherins were getting desperate. The Beaters cornered James. The Chasers cornered the other Gryffindor Chasers. James couldn't pass the Quaffle to anyone—his teammates were in the same predicament.

James took it upon himself.

Performing some of the most incredible aerial maneuvers Hogwarts had ever seen, James somehow catapulted himself over the two Beaters. He hurled the Quaffle at the goal...just as the Slytherin Seeker stretched his arm out towards the Snitch. As the Seeker's fingers closed around the golden ball, the Quaffle sailed through the hoop.

Silence.

Then it was as if someone turned the sound back on. There was a great wave of cheers. James's face broke into a great big smile as he saw the score: 160-150, in Gryffindor's favor!

"Go Potter!" Lily squealed happily.

James smiled as he gripped the handle of his broom. Now for the surprise. Pulling out his wand, he set a spark to the end of the broom, and zipped across the sky.

Gasps filled the air...which turned into laughter. James, baffled, turned to look at Lily.

She looked horrified, as were the faces of his best friends and Nicole Greenleaf.

He landed to see what he had written with his broom.

Lily Evans is beautiful as a giant, oozing flobberworm.

James's jaw dropped.

Lily smells about as good as the giant squid, the next line read.

Lily's hair is the color and consistency of Hagrid's pumpkins, the message concluded.

Lily had seen enough. She pushed her way out of the stands and back to the castle.

"Lily!" James dropped his broom and ran after her.

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He returned to the common room a while later, antlers sprouting from his head. "She really hates me."

AN: I'd like to thank all who reviewed! Wow, you are a lot!

Ella-Watson- Thanks!

Carmel March- Wow, if only I could go to Germany...

Californianchick- Thanks!

LadyofLightGaladriel- Thanks! I'm glad you think so

Annmarie Aspasia- Ouch for you... :D

CurlsofSerenity- Thanks! And true, that image is funny...

Mistress-Genari- I have nothing against Backstreet Boys, promise. They're a great band, and their songs are nice.

Dans-girl-4ever- Thanks! And well, I thought it was time I added a sweet chapter. And yay James! :)

James'Gurl215- Thanks for the reviews and the greeting! I'll answer your questions in order:

Personally, I'd think it was really sweet too. But let's just say Lily's different from other girls, which is why James likes her so much...

Yes, James will be saying 'she hates me' every time his ideas fail.

The smell of the chocolates attracted the ants and they invaded the box while Sirius and Remus were "guarding" it.

Hope I've answered your queries sufficiently! :)

Brilliant-author16- Nice to see you! And thanks for the suggestions! :) For the answers to your questions:

Mean of me, I know, but I try not to make Peter a big part of their lives in my stories. He'll be mentioned in a few small footnotes, but that's it.

And yes, I got the Greenleaf part from Legolas. My best friend, whom Nicole is based on, is a big fan of his, and for a good laugh, I put that in. :)

As for Almost Over You, I've been meaning to fix that problem—it gave me a headache too. I uploaded that back in the days when wee little me was new to this stuff and did not know how to do the paragraphs... :D But I will redo them, though it may take a while since I have to find time. :)

Alcapacien- Yeah, I thought poor Jamesie deserved a little kindness for once. :)

Corina (Mako) Borsuk- I decided to have Remus loosen up a bit in here. :) I know he's supposed to be more serious and reserved, but hey, a guy can have his moments. :)

CherryChick914- Thanks!

Remembrall- Thanks!

SnoopyViz- Thanks!

Invisible2u- Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! :)

Justdreem- Thanks! Glad I was able to tickle your funny bone... :)