A/N: Iris charm, don't worry. Lily is not refusing on account of a. being a banshee/werewolf/vampire, b. 'cause she's mourning her dead parents, and c. because she doesn't feel like it.
Lily opened her eyes and yawned. She looked at the clock next to her bed and sighed. She'd woken up later than usual…thanks to the events of last night.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we've just found our new Chaser."
She sighed and got out of bed. It wasn't that Lily didn't enjoy playing Quidditch, she loved it. But…
Being in front of all those people…and Sirius…I can't do that. I just can't.
As stupid as it sounded, Lily hated being the center of attention. And the thought of choking and messing up in front of the school and the boy she-well-fancied-scared her to death. The simple truth was that Lily just wasn't brave enough to face the disappointment of everyone when she choked out there. Also, Lily really wasn't interested in becoming involved in the fierce rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, which had only gotten more heated following Slytherin's terrible defeat to Gryffindor last year.
Arabella had reluctantly agreed after Lily had pointed out her reasons for not trying out. "After all," she had pointed out, "if you made the team, you'd have to spend time with Sirius Black. Ugh."
Lily had just smiled; refraining from saying that spending time with Sirius Black was something she wouldn't mind at all.
As Lily brushed her hair, she hoped that the team had forgotten about what they'd seen last night.
Somehow, she doubted it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The first clue Lily got that things just weren't going to blow over was when Nearly Headless Nick, the kindly Gryffindor ghost, stopped her on the way to breakfast.
"Hello, Nick," she said politely.
Nick was wearing a frown on his usually cheerful face. "Miss Evans, what's this I hear about you refusing to play for the Gryffindor team?"
Lily's jaw dropped. "Wh-how on earth did you find out about that?"
Nick shrugged. "It's all over the school. By all accounts, you're a brilliant Chaser…and yet you're refusing to play. Good Lord, have you no Gryffindor pride? The Bloody Baron'll never let me hear the end of it if Slytherin wins the House Championship…"
As Nick babbled, Lily rubbed her temples and tried to think clearly. Everything had happened only last night…so how could it have gotten around so quickly?
But when she'd posed that question to Nick, he shrugged. "Simple," he replied. "Arabella Figg and Sirius Black are arguing about it right now in the Great Hall. Last I saw, they looked ready to kill each other-now about the team-"
Lily hurriedly thanked him and ran off towards the Great Hall.
Oh, this is not good. Not good at all…~*~*~*~*~*~*~
To Lily's horror, Nick had been perfectly correct. Her best friend and the boy she had liked for almost a year were going at it, hammer and tongs. Frank was standing next to Arabella, while the Gryffindor team was grouped around Sirius. The rest of the school was watching eagerly, some people even standing on tables and chairs to get a better view. Meanwhile, the teachers were trying to break it up, with little success.
"It's none of your damn business!" Arabella shrieked, her face an unhealthy shade of red at this point.
"Of course it's our business!" Sirius bellowed back. "The girl's brilliant at Quidditch and she won't play-it's a bloody outrage!"
Frank, who looked calmer than Bella but no less irritated, broke in. "Look," he said, annoyed, "if Lily doesn't want to join the team, then you'll just have to accept it and move on-"
Rebecca interrupted, hissing like an angry goose. "We're not going to accept it, are you mad? She's fantastic but she won't play-and you're telling us to move on-"
"We're dead if she doesn't play!" Matt wailed.
Arabella glowered at him. "You're dead if you don't drop it right now-"
"Don't talk to him like that!" Melissa said, finally losing her temper. "He may be an annoying pipsqueak, but he's our annoying pipsqueak!"
"Yeah-hey, wait a minute!"
"She has to play!" Adam insisted. "It's her duty as a Gryffindor-"
"I am not going to let you-maniacs hound her into something she doesn't want to do-last night's interrogation was bad enough but this-"
Lily had heard enough. So, apparently, had James. He carefully stood up on the table, avoiding the plates and goblets, and roared, "QUI-ET!"
Everyone fell silent and stared at him.
"Thank you," James said in a more normal tone of voice. "Now, as Evans has kindly joined us-" all eyes turned to her at this point-" I think that I should discuss this with her-alone," he added hastily, noting the murderous look on Arabella's face.
James hopped down and walked over to her. "Sorry 'bout that," he said carelessly. "I swear we're not that insane usually." His chocolate brown eyes twinkled. "Come on," he said, taking her arm and leading her out of the Great Hall. In a daze, Lily let him, acutely aware of the fact that everyone was watching her.
James took her to an empty classroom and ushered her in. As Lily walked through the door, she could only think one thing:
And I didn't even get to have some breakfast…
