Chapter 5

(A/N) No, there's nothing that goes on between James and Lily… that part just acts as a stepping stone to another part in the later part of the story, which is a stepping stone to another part, which is a stepping stone to… Eh, you get the idea. Thanks to all my reviewers! And sorry for how long this took!

NOTE TO READERS: James is a chaser, as J.K. Rowling said in her interview, but the movie said he was a seeker. I decided to go with chaser on this story.

Disclaimer: I own the plot.

*~*~*~*~*

As told, Lily did fall, and James did catch her…

But they both jumped apart like the mere sight of each other was poisonous.

Not that other students didn't try to form a more favorable outcome, such as they fell hopelessly in love with each other, but that obviously wasn't happening, so they gave up on it. Instead, the two acted normally to each other…

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily," Bella rolled off the bed, and sat upright as her friend entered the dorm, "Do you know how many girls in this school would love to be in your place?"

"Erm… no," she replied, spreading her textbooks out on the desk.

"All of them!" Evelyn exclaimed, joining in the conversation. "Every one of those poor, desperate, souls would give anything to be caught by James Potter!"

"Don't remind me," Lily rolled her eyes. "Besides, I'm writing an essay on the forms of punishment Zeus used on his subjects, then I have to finish up on my other one about Hera, from Pandora to Prometheus, from Echo and Narcissus to Hercules…" she trailed off, starting her essay and drifting off into her own world of studying.

Knowing it was hopeless, the other two girls sighed and resumed chattering excitedly about the Ball.

*~*~*~*~*

"I hate mistletoe," Lily muttered the next day, in the Great Hall.

She was referring to the mistletoe bunches drifting about above their heads. The mistletoe of Hogwarts was a strange and rather bizarre thing, as all things in Hogwarts were. Unlike normal mistletoe, which common, sensible muggles hang, the magical mistletoe hovered above their heads, and stopped at a random person, and stuck there until someone kissed them. They always disappeared at a set time, usually around Christmas night.

Dumbledore was only testing them for a few minutes, as in every bunch, one always seemed to find a spoiled one, which stuck to one person, or would go to high, so no one ever noticed it, or perhaps it would go to low and hit someone on the head. After detecting three duds and four that just didn't work, he clapped his hands, and the mistletoe disappeared.

"Owl post," she announced. As usual, she only received her subscription of the Daily Prophet.

"My mum's sicker," she heard James announce to his friends.

*~*~*~*~*

It was a little more than a two weeks before the Ball, and the teachers were growing annoyed by the petty disputes that broke out between the Head Boy and Girl, over a large multitude of subjects, ranging from the music selection to the designs on the tablecloth.

They were both giving it their full effort, of course. Professors didn't deny that they had never seen two students working so hard to organize a perfect Ball. Neither did they deny that they had never seen two students who disagreed so strongly on each others ideas. It was quite common to see a passing professor clucking their tongue, or shaking their heads in disapproval as James and Lily began yet another verbal battle against each other, over quite frivolous things.

*~*~*~*~*

It was a Saturday morning, before breakfast. Barely anyone else was awake, aside from Lily and James, who were both in the Great Hall, looking extremely composed and calm for two students who had woken before the crack of dawn.

"Which box was it?" James asked, as the two surveyed the large pile of boxes and crates of ornaments and decorations stacked neatly against the back wall.

Crouching down to hang a glass star at the bottom of the tree, Lily twisted around long enough to say, "The farthest one to the left."

"Your left, or my left?"

"It's the same left," Lily sighed, but pointed out the box anyway.

"I knew that," James said, as he lifted it and placed it on the ground next to them.

"Done with this one," she said, closing the now empty box that once held the decorations. "Open that one."

James frowned. "Holly?"

"Yes, holly. What's wrong with holly?"

"Well, isn't it a bit… boring?" he asked, adorning the tree with a crystal poinsettia.

"Holly isn't boring," Lily said, as she hung up a candy cane on the tree. "It's traditional. Normal, in other words. I suppose, though, it would constitute as boring to you, now, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," James replied bluntly, as he reached for the candy cane.

"Don't even think about it," she said sharply. "You are not eating the decorations… besides, it's probably stale."

"Spoil sport," he muttered under his breath.

"What time is it?" Lily asked, checking the enchanted ceiling above them. It appeared to still be dark.

"Er… Five-thirty on the dot," James said, checking his watch. "So we've been here for about… forty-five… fifty… fifty-six minutes."

"I thought so," she said, mid-yawn, stifling it with her hand. "I woke up around four-fifteen."

"Morning person, are you?"

"Yeah…" Lily trailed off, and picked up a small, glowing object. There wasn't a particular shape, as it seemed to be made entirely of the golden light. It did, however, appear to be a spherical shape, but upon closer inspection, there were tiny wisps of the light bouncing off the surface. "What is it?"

"Seven years in the magical world, and you're still learning," James said, obviously pleased that she, for once, didn't know the answer.

"I'm sure that if seven hundred years passed by, I still wouldn't know all there is to know," Lily replied. "Who would? Now, I repeat my question: What is it?"

"It's a Fairy's Torch," he said, taking it away from her. "I personally think the name is just too obvious, but that's what it is."

"A Fairy's Torch," Lily breathed. "What does it do?"

"Not much. They say that it's the spirit of a great fairy, and blesses those who can see within the depths of it… That's what my grandfather told me, anyway. I was seven… or maybe six… I don't remember. Anyway, you're supposed to look at it and try to see beyond the surface, and you'll see something of personal significance, or something like that. Sort of like the Mirror of Erised."

"The what?"

James drew a breath. "Are you always this interrogative in the morning?"

"Perhaps…" Lily shrugged as she picked up an enchanted candle and placed it next to a dove on the tree. "Why?"

"No reason. Just that you seem more… tolerant."

"Tolerant?" she frowned. "Tolerant? Well, would you prefer me to be intolerant? Perhaps I should hurl a crate at you. Or, I could chuck a few ornaments across the room."

"Er, no thanks," James said, taking out a fragile star. "Just wondering. Anyway, what was your earlier question?"

"Um… something about a mirror."

"Or, right. The Mirror of Erised, it's some fabled mirror that show's you your heart's desire, or something like that. It's not even for sure that it exists. A Fairy's Torch would show a perfect world, or the happiest seconds of your life."

"How… pleasant," Lily said, as she handed him a bit of tinsel.

"Pleasant?"

"Never mind. How is it an ornament?"

"Give it to me," James offered. "Watch closely."

"Why?"

"It's an interesting thing. Now, stare into the light."

"Why?"

"Just do it," James said. "See anything?"

"Light," Lily replied blankly.

"Look deeper," he said, as Lily moved closer to the glowing ball of light.

"Okay… I see a lake… a moon… a gazebo… I sound so cliché," she murmured. "Um, now I see myself, I'm looking at the lake, and there's someone next to me… I can't see his face… that's it."

"Make a wish," James said simply.

"Sounds like a fairy tale," Lily laughed.

"Right. And I'm your fairy godmother. Make a wish," he said.

"Okaaay… now what?"

"Blow on it, with your wish in mind."

Lily did as instructed.

The small ball of light seemed to whirl around for a second, then it levitated itself near the top of the tree, glowing brighter.

"That's an interesting way to hang ornaments," she said, tilting her head back to see it.

"Fascinating," James said sarcastically.

She missed the sarcasm. "Right. What time is it now?"

"Five forty-six."

"Great. Hand me the angel, would you?"

*~*~*~*~*

About an hour and a half later, students began streaming in through the doors for breakfast, and were greeted by a big surprise. The center tree was highly decorated, appearing to be almost finished.

Everyone seemed to be happy, discussing Christmas gifts, sending owls home, smiling at any passing students, and everything seemed to be aglow.

Neither Lily nor James took any part in the holiday cheeriness.

With the upcoming quidditch match, James and his team were too wrapped up on their practices to notice the seasonal atmosphere. Lily was busy studying Transfiguration, though it didn't seem to improve her skills at all.

And soon, the day flew by like seconds, until it was the morning of the quidditch match, a little more than a week from Christmas.

*~*~*~*~*

"Introducing… the GRYFFINDOR TEAM!" Loud cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands. The team was already marching to the quidditch grounds.

Lily had the best seat, perfect view, next to the commentator, some fifth year prefect. She didn't want to be there. It was a Sunday morning. She could be anywhere but there.

Before being appointed Head Girl, she had spent her time in the library on quidditch days, when no one was there to bother her. She couldn't do that anymore, as it was some sort of "school spirit" idea that someone had come up with.

Whoever came up with that idea obviously wasn't Lily Evans.

In her opinion, she was fine with school spirit. Excellent role model, participated in all school events, model student, helped organize any holidays ever since being a prefect… So why did it matter that she just had to go to this quidditch match? Would the world suddenly stop turning if she didn't attend?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the announcer saying, "Now… It's a bird, it's a plane, it's-"

"An egotistic idiot," she muttered, as the commentator shouted, "Team Captain, and one of the best chasers we've seen since twenty years ago, James Potter!"

*~*~*~*~*

James waved at the cheering crowds.

Well, they were either cheering or booing, as was the case with the Slytherin crowd.

However, there was one person there that wasn't booing him, nor cheering him on, but was obviously looking at him with the look of intense dislike that even Snape would find hard to match.

Of course. Lily Evans.

All the while, Thomas Creed, the cousin of one of the team's chasers, was announcing the names of his team.

"And… SLYTHERINS!"

James grinned as the Gryffindors began a unanimous booing. Except for one.

Of course. Lily Evans.

She was impartial on the choice of team captains, disliking both Malfoy and him, but he knew that she'd never actually cheer for the Slytherins. Though she might have seriously considered it, just to spite him.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily scoffed as James waved at the crowd, as if he had just been crowned king of England.

She, most definitely, would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cheer for him. He would just love that, no matter how much she insisted that it was out of loyalty to the Gryffindor house. So, she could do nothing but fix him with a glare that would have made anyone else run in the opposite direction as fast as they could.

James Potter didn't show any effect to this, though several on his team flinched.

"And… SLYTHERINS!"

Lily rolled her eyes as the Gryffindors began to boo.

A childish act, in her opinion. She didn't see why the competition between Gryffindors and Slytherins was so intense, though it was clear that they were a rather disagreeable crowd.

She didn't join in on the booing.

It wasn't very dignified, and if she had ever learned a thing from that long chain of Charm Schools her mother and father had made her attend before Hogwarts, it was to always appear dignified and sophisticated- no matter what the circumstance.

She wouldn't cheer, either. She was a loyal member of the Gryffindors, after all. She did seriously consider it, just to spite James.

*~*~*~*~*

"Aaand… The snitch is off! Let the games begin!"

James watched as a fellow Chaser tried to take the Quaffle away from Malfoy. Just then, a bludger pelted past him.

Bludgers and Quaffles were, of course, two of the important elements to quidditch. The scarlet Quaffle was passed between the chasers, and used to score. The Bludgers, to be blunt, were used to knock players off their brooms, by Beaters.

"FOUL!" a whistle blew, as Malfoy shoved the chaser, Theresa Beudeavere off her broom and grabbed the Quaffle as she fell.

Madame Hooch, who was serving as referee, gave Gryffindor a penalty shot as Thomas Creed shouted out his opinion to everyone in the stands through coarse language.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily frowned at the lack of sportsmanship on the Slytherins' behalf.

She didn't need to know much about quidditch to realize the wrongs in pushing a girl traveling over eighty miles an hour off her broom, over fifty feet above the land.

There was a glint of gold in front of her, making a light buzzing noise.

Making a swipe at it, she found, in her hand, the Golden Snitch.

*~*~*~*~*

"TIME OUT!!!!!!" Madame Hooch shouted, blowing her whistle hard. "I said TIME OUT!!!!!!" she repeated, as the Slytherin beater tried to knock out James as he took a penalty shot.

Ducking the bludger, James descended easily onto the ground. Lily was standing behind Madame Hooch, apologizing for no particular reason that was evident to anyone else.

"Something irregular has happened," Madame Hooch said, pacing between the two teams. "A member of the audience has caught the snitch."

"I am so, so, soo, sorry," Lily said. "It was just in front of me, and I couldn't quite see it, so I thought it was an insect. Then, well…" She opened her palm to reveal the familiar Golden Snitch.

Malfoy seemed to take this as an opportunity to spite Gryffindors. "Madame Hooch, Evans didn't need to take the snitch. The Gryffindors should be forced to forfeit, as only the Seeker is allowed to catch the snitch."

"Well…"

She was interrupted by the entire Gryffindor team's shouting.

*~*~*~*~*

After a long debate outside in the snipping cold, the students returned to their Common Rooms, as the match was postponed until the next month.

According to Dumbledore, a befuddling charm had been placed on the snitch, so that it would only go for crowds. Though there were no confirmations, rumors ran that the Slytherins had rigged it so that the Gryffindors would have to forfeit.

James found the rumors silly, as the Slytherins didn't exactly need to cheat; as much as he hated to admit it, they were quite good.

However disappointed he and his friends were over the match, every cloud did have its silver lining. Unearthing his Invisibility cloak, one of his most prized possessions, James joined Sirius and Peter outside, to find Remus. The boy would certainly be in need of the cheering up, as he had been depressed at the prospect of his going through his monthly transformation into a werewolf alone. James suspected that Remus had even gotten the idea in his head that the Marauders were abandoning him subtly, because it was too dangerous and risky, or some foolish reason like that.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) I'm DONE!!! With the chapter, I mean. I know, I know, there wasn't very much conversation in this chapter, sorry. And yeah, there wasn't Gilderoy. He's coming. Be patient. Please review!

To Come: Gilderoy Lockhart (No promises, though. I keep on cutting him out), more decorating and plans.