Chapter Four

The Quidditch Match

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, great Quidditch conditions. Lily and Sarah walked down Gryffindor table for breakfast. Lily sat down next to James, Sarah at her side.

"Listen James," she started, "I wasn't thinking, I should have told Nicole you could play. I'm sorry."

James looked for a minute as though he was going to except Lily's apology, but then thought better of it. Lily had betray him, she had gone off and taken all the glory for herself. James pretended like he didn't even hear her and turned to Oliver.

"Come on, mate, give her a chance!" said Oliver, "I mean, what would you have done? You can play seeker the next time Jamie gets hit in the head with a bludger!"

James stabbed his fork into his scrambled eggs, a little too hard. The eggs flew across the Hall and landed over at the Slytherin table; right on Malfoy's head! Malfoy pulled the eggs out of his hair, threw them onto the floor and stood up on his chair.

"Who threw these?" he sneered, "Who?"

James and Oliver sank low into their seats, trying hard to control their laughter.

"Mr. Malfoy!" cried McGonagall, who just happened to be walking by the Slytherin table at that very moment, "Sit down and behave yourself! Ten points from Slytherin! You should know better than to stand up in your seat and yell across the room!"

And that lifted James's sprits more than anything else.

Naturally, Lily had owled her parents that she was playing in match as soon as she was done asking James for his broom. Harry and Ginny were so proud of their daughter and were coming to the match to see her play; Bill and Molly were coming as well.

Now, as Lily stood in the locker room changing into her robes, she began to get really nervous. If she messed up, not only would the whole school she it, but so would her mum and dad, and Lily didn't want them to be disappointed in her.

All dressed, the team walked out onto the pitch to an enormous applause. Lily, squinting in the sunlight, immediately spotted her family. Both her parents were cheering loudly. Bill sat next to Harry, waving a Gryffindor flag and Molly was on Ginny's lap, clapping her hands and enjoying all the excitement.

"Captains shake hands," said Madam Hooch, and Nicole and the Slytherin captain shook hands. "Mount your brooms. On my whistle…three…two...one…"

She blew the whistle and everyone soared into the sky. Then, the commentator's voice started up; it was Joanna Weasley.

"And they're off!" she cried, "Due to an injury during practice yesterday, Captain Jamie Weasley of the Gryffindor team has been replaced by Lillian Potter. I think we are all surprised that the team would chose a first year as a substitute, not a very suitable choice…"

"Oh just ignore her, Lily!" said Nicole seeing the aggravated look on Lily's face. "Concentrate on catching the Snitch, you can do whatever you want to Joanna later!"

Lily nodded and soared up to the top of the pitch to scan the whole place for the Snitch; this was a tactic her father had taught her.

Out in the stands, Ginny turned to Harry. "Honestly, I love Fred, but Joanna could be a little nicer to Lily. They never really got along."

"Lighten up, Ginny," Harry replied. Ginny sighed and returned to watching the game.

Meanwhile, Lily was up at the top of the stadium keeping an eye out for the Snitch. In the past four minutes, Nicole had scored three goals so Gryffindor was leading thirty to zero. Lily wanted to catch the Snitch, but now, at the same time, she didn't. If she caught it, everyone would be proud of her and she would be the hero, but then James would be shunned into the shadows making him even more jealous of her than he already was. On the other hand, if she didn't catch the Snitch, everyone be mad and disappointed in her and she would be known as the stupid first year who lost the Quidditch match.

Then, Lily saw it. The Snitch was floating just below Joanna and her stupid commentator's podium. She made her choice and shot toward Joanna, her eyes fixed upon the tiny golden ball.

"Lily! I said leave Joanna alone until the match is over!" cried Nicole.

"She's coming right at me!" screamed Joanna, ducking under the podium.

Lily stretched out her arm and grasped the little ball. She hurled back the ground as the crowd began to shout and cheer.

"I don't believe it," said Joanna into megaphone, "Lily Potter has caught the Snitch, Gryffindor wins!"

The whole team surrounded Lily, screaming and cheering.

"I knew you could do it!" said Nicole.

"Very impressive," replied Holly.

Lily looked over Holly's shoulder to her family walking across the pitch.

"Great job, Lily," said Ginny, "Really great, I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Mum," said Lily.

"Hey, check this out!" said Bill. He opened his mouth into a wide grin, his two front teeth were missing. "And Molly learned to walk last week! You've missed so much!"

"That's great, Bill," said Lily, not really listening to him. Her mind was now focused on James, who was standing alone a good twenty feet from everyone else.

Lily broke free from the crowd and walked over to James.

"I'm really sorry, James," she said.

"It's okay," James answered, "Oliver was right, I would have done the same thing you did. I was just frustrated, that's all."

Lily smiled and pulled her brother into a hug.