A/N: Hey everyone! I know it's been like…a long time since I last updated so I apologize sincerely and hope you enjoy this fun chapter:)
Disclaimer: yeah, sadly I own don't own anything Harry Potter related…
"Potter has the quaffle. He passes it to Longbottom; swings around a bludger hit by Ferguson, past Cradshaw…Longbottom throws to Spinnet, who does a turn around and passes back to Potter. Potter's going to score! Wait, he fakes it passes it to Spinnet who throws it in…AND TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!" cried the very excited announcer, Mr. John Henderson of Hufflepuff. John had been the commentator of the Quidditch games since second year because of his extreme knowledge of the sport, and his poor execution of it. Most of the Quidditch players had felt quite guilty about not having him play, especially the Hufflepuffs, and so they had come up with this ingenious idea: he would commentate. Probably a better role for him, and he certainly enjoyed it much better than he had ever enjoyed Quidditch in the first place.
James was currently trying very intently to drown out John's voice. It's very hard to concentrate on what you're doing and how the rest of the game is going at the same time. However, he had mastered the skill of tuning out long ago.
James had been on the Gryffindor team since second year. He loved the sport; he was an expert flyer and chaser, although he admired more the position of keeper. He was also a great team player, and usually never scored. After all he was much better at setting up his fellow chasers for the shot. That didn't mean, however, that he didn't make an excellent point every now and again…. He was unofficially the official co-captain of the team. It was something the captain, Arabella Figg, had come up with. Why wait until you're captain? Start preparing ASAP, was her theory. Therefore, she chose James, as he was the best candidate for the position, to be her co-captain, and to help prepare him for when she left her post.
"Looks like Ravenclaw has the ball! Cradshaw is off! Hurtling down the field with quaffle in hand! Right along side her, her teammates, Patil and Freeman are setting up a magnificent…oh but wait! Looks like Figg and Morrow have worked their magic again!"
The 'magic' he was referring to was what everyone had begun to call Arabella's and Jackie's method of play. As anyone who knows anything about the game of Quidditch the beater position was usually filled by your strongest players. Thus, boys almost always beat girls out in that position, because boys are physically stronger than girls. (Damn that testosterone!) Gryffindor's team broke that stereotype. Ok, well maybe they didn't break it; they just found a way around it. Jackie and Arabella were definitely not the strongest people on the team, but it was common knowledge that women were sneakier than men. (hehe) So Arabella's and Jackie's approach was much more planned and took a lot more skill than some guys hitting a ball when they saw a chaser or seeker or keeper or whatever needed some help.
Jackie had joined the team in third year. She was exactly what Arabella needed. Together they developed their fool-proof method of play, as I mentioned before. Arabella would circle in one corner of the field, and Jackie would circle in the other. They would take themselves far enough out of the way of the game to clearly assess their situation, but not far enough so they couldn't fly up out of no where and help out the chasers/keeper/seeker. From their position they would pass a bludger (they always immediately found at least one) back and forth, like tennis, hitting the opponents that got in the way of their game. Every now and then they would see one of their teammates in danger of being hit by another bludger, or the other chasers able to score; then the closest one to the 'scene of the crime' would swoop down and take care of it. At least that's what they did when they weren't executing one of their plays, but that, alas, is top secret information.
"And it looks like Black has done another spectacular save for Gryffindor, and Potter's snagged the quaffle!"
Sirius Black had been on the team, like Jackie, since third year. He had tried out for chaser, but had made keeper, something James had been slightly jealous about. He had the perfect build for a keeper: very agile and quick thinking when a ball was flying toward your goal. He would do just about anything to stop the quaffle, especially when it was very hard to stop. Once he had almost jumped off his broom, but luckily for him, he had been able to move fast enough to get it before it went in. He became a whole different person when he was in the game; a person you really wouldn't want to mess with…
"Nice save, Sirius!" Lily screamed from the stands.
Lily Evans was a very devoted fan, who knew only a little about the game, but loved to scream and cheer. She didn't love Quidditch by any stretch of the imagination, but she did love to cheer her friends on, it was the most exciting thing for her. She had tried playing Quidditch with James once (he had begged and begged) and decided she stunk, but he was great, so she'd just be sure to yell for him, or whatever good players there were. She had a good eye for talent.
"Come on Remus, Peter, Gwynne help me cheer!" she cried, looking back at the two remaining Marauders and bookworm.
Remus Lupin, contrary to Lily, loved Quidditch. He was a mediocre player, but probably could have been just as good a chaser as James, had he been able to play. Unfortunately, by doctor's orders, although no one seemed to know why, he wasn't allowed to. That didn't mean he didn't stop by at a few practices every now and again…
"Why can't you just sit and enjoy the game in peace?" Peter asked her.
"Because it's just so much fun to cheer!"
Peter Pettigrew had an extreme dislike for Quidditch. Why? I don't know, and he probably didn't know either, but if I had to guess, it would most likely be because his father had always wanted him to play it; the only other thing Peter hated worse than Quidditch in this world was his father. Why? I couldn't even begin to guess. Of course, his friends had no idea of his intense dislike of the sport; he would never have thought about telling them. Sometimes you just have to have your privacy, and he knew if he told them they'd want to know why. If Peter knew one thing, he knew that asking why only led you to things you didn't want to hear.
"I just don't understand this game," Gwynne said, looking up the book she had been reading.
Gwynne Smith, being half and half, new all about Quidditch, but didn't understand any of it. She had never really gone to a game before, because she had no reason to. Lily had begged and begged her to come to this one, so she wouldn't have to be up in the stands with just Remus and Peter. So Gwynne had come, but she had brought a book, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, because she knew she wasn't going to be paying any attention to the game itself. Although Lily did make it very hard to concentrate on Anna's troubles with Vronsky while she was screaming 'Go Gryffindor' every five seconds.
"Oh, it's a very easy concept," Lily said and began to explain. When she finished Gwynne just looked at her.
"Riight…I'll go back to the love affair…" Gwynne said resuming her former position.
"Walker is making a dive! She must see the snitch! But Harris is coming up on her fast! She's leaning forward and…YES! GRYFFINDOR WINS 200-50!"
"Ooh! Yay!" Lily said as she, Gwynne, Remus and Peter headed down to meet their Quidditch playing friends. "We're going to Hogsmeade tonight!"
"Why is that?" Gwynne asked. Being new to their little group she had no idea what Lily was talking about.
"Oh, that's right, Gwynne's never been to an after game celebration," Lily said, "Ok, and well I think it began in third year, when Jackie and Sirius joined the team. After every Gryffindor win, and there are a lot of them, we go to celebrate at the Three Broomsticks and at the end of last year, because James and I had discovered that wonderful thing called alcohol over winter break, we went to the bar down the street. That was so much fun; we've got to do that tonight."
"Wait, how exactly, do we get into a bar? Don't they check ID?" Gwynne asked.
"That's the beautiful thing about magic, Gwynne," Lily said slinging an arm around her friend, "You can make wonderful fake IDs," then turning her attention to Remus, "So do you think we'll go?"
"We probably will, it being the first win of the season. I imagine James will want to bring Elizabeth, too," Remus answered while they battled their way through the crowd.
Ah, yes. Elizabeth Moore, the fifth year Hufflepuff, James's most recent girlfriend, and the girl he had alluded to when he and Lily had had their talk on the Quidditch pitch. It was a nice, or bad depending on whose perspective you looked at, surprise to find out that they were going out, but not because she the girl for him. She was pretty, nice, quiet, but not shy, intelligent, all of that, of course. But what was really surprising was that James couldn't find anything wrong with her.
You see, James, Lily had found, seemed to choose girls to date that were perfectly normal, but in his mind, completely wrong for him. They were either too smart, too dumb, too pretty, too nice, too mean, didn't care enough, cared too much, too talkative, too quiet, etc. Yes, James was a sickeningly picky person when it came to girls, at least girls he was dating.
So when James came into the common two weeks ago and announced they were going out, it was quite a shock to his friends that he had not been able to find one thing to complain about since they started dating.
Needless to say Lily had had a few confrontations with the green-eyed monster christened Jealousy.
"Don't you guys think they look just so cute together?" Gwynne asked not realizing that that was the last thing Lily wanted to think about.
"Uh…" Remus began.
"As guys, I don't think we'd better answer that question," Peter finished for him.
"What about you Lily?" Gwynne questioned.
"Oh, sure. They look just adorable."
Maybe I shouldn't go to Hogsmeade tonight…
!
"Ravenclaw was a push-over this year," Jackie said as the group sat down at their usual table in the Three Broomsticks.
"Well, they did have to get a lot of new players; half their team graduated," Sirius pointed out as he sat down next to James.
"Plus, you guys played great!" Lily said sliding into the booth next to Jackie. Remus took the seat beside Lily, and Peter scooted in beside Sirius.
"Yeah, at least from what I saw, but then, I'm not really the best judge," Gwynne added.
Just then a waitress came up to take their orders.
"Hmm…I think we'll have butterbeers all around, right?" Remus asked looking around at all the nodding heads.
"Alrighty, I'll be right back then."
"So, Lily, James, will there be any dances this year?" Elizabeth asked trying to start a conversation.
"Hmm…the heads are thinking about it actually, but then, Professor Dumbledore said something about a tight budget," Lily informed.
"That doesn't mean we won't keep pushing for it, though. It's only fair, as half the student body, meaning all the girls, want to have one," James added.
"That's gender-biasism," Gwynne said.
"Excuse me, but is biasism even a word?" Remus asked her. He seemed to be dealing pretty well with his rejection, especially as Gwynne had been apart of their little group for the past month or so.
"That's beside the point," Gwynne said.
"The point being…?" Sirius asked. Gwynne sighed.
"Nevermind, go on, finish discussing the dance…"
"Wouldn't it be great if there was one though?" Jackie asked to continue their conversation after that dead end.
"Oh yes, the out come would be great, but the work behind it: that would be hell," Lily said. She knew from experience that planning a big social event was a hectic affair, especially when your parents don't plan anything and you have to plan around their schedule.
"But it would all be worth it," Elizabeth said, "I think it would be wonderful if there was a dance. We hardly get any other form of entertainment. Well, besides Hogsmeade weekends, and sneaking out to Hogsmeade of course."
"Perhaps that's what we need," James said as if he suddenly had a great idea. Upon seeing the others had no idea what he was talking about he explained, "We need another form of entertainment. Dances are great for being formal, but what about something casual…"
"Ooh, I see what you're saying! We'll have to bring that up at our next prefect meeting," Lily said excitedly.
Before they could continue the conversation, however, their butterbeers arrived and so the topic was lost. They continued to chat about this and that like friends do, making a very interesting conversation to look back on. Finally, when everyone had finished drinking, Sirius brought up the question he, and Lily though she acted as if she didn't care, most wanted an answer to.
"So, who's up for going to the bar?"
"Ah yes, what better things have we got to do than get drunk with you guys?" Jackie asked.
"Nothing, that's why I know you'll come," Sirius answered.
"It was a rhetorical question."
"It was a yes."
"Very well then."
"Anyone else?"
The rest agreed to come, and so they followed a very delighted Sirius out the door after paying their tab.
!
"Come on, Gwynne! Why aren't you dancing?" a drunk Jackie Morrow asked the girl who was trying to not be noticed in the corner of the music pounding bar.
As Lily had told her, they had all magically made fake IDs that had worked extremely well in getting them into the bar.
"I don't dance," she answered over all the noise. She was feeling incredibly uncomfortable in this place. Her friends had noticed, but hadn't worried anything about it telling themselves it was most likely her first time in a bar. While it was that, it was not only that. The bar wasn't what was making her nervous: her nervousness was caused by all the alcohol filled people.
"Whoo, I better sit down with you. I have a feeling tomorrow isn't going to be a very happy day," Jackie said as she slid into a chair rubbing her temples. She could already tell they were all going to have killer hangovers the next morning.
"Are you alright, Jackie? Do you think you should head back to Hogwarts?" Gwynne asked worriedly.
"No, I'm fine. You really should go out there and dance," Jackie advised.
"But I don't know anyone…it would be weird," Gwynne said scanning the dance floor.
She saw that Lily seemed to be having a blast, dancing with some strange hottie. Lily was the type of person, Gwynne supposed, that was comfortable under almost any circumstance. Even when drunk and dancing with a guy probably ten years older than her, she seemed to have everything under her control.
James and Elizabeth were not only dancing, but making out on the floor. Gwynne was pretty sure they were both pretty drunk, and probably, if they weren't broken up soon, things might start getting a little hot and heavy in some back room…
Remus, who Gwynne had thought wasn't the party type of person, was having a drink, but before he had been dancing with Jackie. Jackie had told her earlier that she and Remus were always dancing partners for some reason or other.
And Sirius, yes he was definitely having a wonderful time. He was dancing now, but every ten minutes he'd go have a drink and start chatting up another girl. Gwynne was trying not to notice this, however.
"That's the best part about it! Alright, if you really don't want to dance with a stranger, hold on a minute," with that Jackie stood up and made her way through the throng of dancing people. A few minutes later she returned with a slightly tipsy Sirius Black.
"Jackie says you need someone to dance with," Sirius explained.
"Yes, she does, don't listen to her protests!" Jackie said hauling Gwynne up and handing her over to Sirius as Gwynne began to pour out excuses.
"Really, I don't want to… you don't have to…" she began, but it was too late. Sirius had led her out on the dance floor and she had no idea what to do.
"Just relax; dancing is supposed to be fun."
!
Lily was wasted, she knew. She knew why too. She had definitely been right at the game: she shouldn't have come to Hogsmeade tonight. Unfortunately she hadn't listened to the smart side of her brain.
At the Three Broomsticks all was well. James and Elizabeth weren't making out; in fact they weren't really touching at all.
Now, however, they were having a wonderful game of tonsil hockey. That's what had made Lily start drinking more than she knew she should. It's also what made her start dancing with that twenty-eight-year-old guy that had been hitting on her.
So when a crazy drunk guy started spraying water, from who knows where, at everyone, she did a lot of things she was sure she would have regretted…had she been able to remember them.
!
Indeed, the next morning was terrible for the members of the party that had been drinking, which included everyone, minus Gwynne. Gwynne was also the only one with a clear memory of the preceding evening.
"Geez, Gwynne, what did we do?" Lily asked her when they had all, with the exception of Elizabeth who was in her own common room, some how gathered in the Gryffindor common room, thanking the Almighty it was a Saturday. They were all sprawled out on some item of furniture or other while Gwynne brewed a hangover killer for them.
"I don't think you want to know. I know, and I'm wishing I was drunk so I didn't have to," Gwynne said.
"Was it that bad?" James asked from his position on the couch.
"Yes, it was, although I'm sure you all had a lot of fun. I did, at least until I got soaked, no I will not tell you how because then you would want to know more, and I wasn't even wasted. Now look! The potion's finished. I must warn you, it's going to taste exceptionally disgusting," she said as she poured some for everyone.
"We don't care," Remus said reaching for a cup.
"Just don't spit it out," she said as she watched them make faces as they swallowed the nasty purple liquid.
"Funny," Sirius began, "I always remembered it tasting much better."
!
About a week after the Quidditch game Gwynne was doing some late night reading in the library. She would have been in the common room, but it had gotten much too noisy for her tastes. So she had headed down to the library to try and finish Anna Karenina before the next day.
Two hours after she first sat down, she finally was able to shut the book. It was while she was hopping up and starting towards the door that she heard some people whispering behind the Restricted Section shelves.
"I still don't get why we can't do it now. We have access to her dorm," said a particularly whining voice.
"We can't do it now because if we just burst into her dorm and try to carry out the plan, someone would probably wake up, and then where would we be? Trouble. Do we want trouble?" answered a decidedly feminine voice.
"No, but do we really have to wait a month! That's ages away," the first voice asked.
"Personally, I think it's worth the wait. Lily Evans won't know what hit her," a third voice said. That voice sent chills up Gwynne's spine.
"We'd better go, before the library closes," the second voice said.
Gwynne, realizing they were gathering their things and that if she didn't move, she'd be seen. Quickly she slunk back in the darkness of one of the unlit rows of shelves, so she'd be able to get a good look at the girls, because their voices were definitely girls', who were plotting against her friend.
A/n: Well at least it was a long chapter, even if it did take some time to update on it! Oh yes, and I believe some thank yous are destined for this chapter…
But I'm very sad cause I only got 1 review for chapter six:( and 2 for chapter five:( so that means that I want a lot more for chapter seven!!!! Lol, ok any way I would really like to thank:
Freakyfronggurl22- thanks for thinking my story is so awesome, and I'm sorry for the long wait!
AND:
dr. z- thanks for thinking my story's original, it's nice to hear that considering how many l/j fics there actually are out there!
So now please REVIEW!
Beauty Full