Year 4! Please enjoy, and remember: reviews are greatly appreciated!


However, James did not relent in his pursuit of Lily Evans. The more she turned him down, the more he came back for more. Frankly, Lily Evans intrigued James Potter. She was beautiful, with her shining red hair and sparkling emerald eyes, she was smart (the top witch in their year, but second over all, James being best student), and she was kind, at least to people who weren't James. However, what intrigued James most was that she was one of the few girls who wasn't lined up to let him snog them senseless.

All through 3rd year James pursued her, asking her out even when there wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend. Lily would always start by trying to control her temper, but ended up exploding at him anyways. What confused James most of all was that Lily as completely uninterested in his common public displays of his skills (usually on other students). The only reason she came to the Gryffindor Quidditch games was because Leila was one of the chasers. James would always make especially spectacular catches these games, but she never seemed to care. In fact, they seemed to only infuriate her more. Again, this only pushed him to ask her out more often. Lily Evans was a challenge, and a Potter never turned down a challenge.

We join James and Lily at a Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch Championship. The sun is shining brightly and there is a slight breeze; perfect Quidditch conditions. James and the Gryffindor team are just about to head out of the changing room onto the pitch.

"OK team, here's the plan." Said Gryffindor captain, chaser and 7th year Steven Bell. "Sirius, you and Mark keep the bludgers away from the Slytherin beaters. I've heard that they plan to take us out one by one." Sirius and Mark Bennett nodded, picking their beater's bats up from the bench. "Leila, you and I have been working on the Sloth Grip Roll. That may come in handy today." Leila nodded. It was very well known that the Slytherin wished nothing more dearly than for Leila to be pounded flat by bludgers, thanks to their chaser Regulus Black, who believed that girls shouldn't be allowed to play Quidditch. "Tommy, you stay open at all times. We need an escape route if they corner us." Tommy Johnson nodded. "Now, James. We need this game. We need to win. Please, please keep your eyes on the snitch!" James nodded, blushing slightly as Leila and Sirius burst into a fit of laughter. More than once, James had been caught watching a certain redhead instead of the game.

'Game time, team! Let's make those good-for nothing Slytherins wish that they'd never been born!" Wood hollered. The team cheered and started off towards the pitch. Upon their entry on the field, they mounted their brooms and took a high-speed lap around the pitch as Remus, the commentator, announced their names and positions. Landing in the middle of the pitch, James watched as the Slytherins took their entry lap, amidst a very loud chorus of booing. When the green-clad players landed in the center of the field, Madame Hooch came onto the pitch carrying a wooden crate under one arm and a broomstick in the other.

"Captains, shake hands!" She barked. Steven stepped forward to shake the hand of Slytherin captain, 7th year and chaser Boris Flint. They appeared to be attempting to break each other's fingers. Madame Hooch had them mount their brooms and set up for the toss-up of the Quaffle. Regulus and Leila glared at each other as they readied themselves. Madame Hooch released the bludgers and snitch, them picked up the Quaffle. "I want a good, clean game." She barked, then lifted the whistle to her lips. She blew the whistle and tossed up the Quaffle.

James soared up as Remus's voice roared through the stadium. "And it's Phillipa with the Quaffle! Tough luck, Black, that girl can fly!" James chuckled to himself. Remus was a bit biased when it came to Quidditch commentating.

"Phillipa passes to Wood, back to Phillipa, now to Johnson, back to Phillipa-FOUL!" ¾ of the stands screamed their protests. It seemed that Regulus had purposefully sped in front of Leila, causing a collision and almost knocking her off her broom. "It's a foul to Gryffindor! Phillipa sent for a free shot- AND SHE MAKES IT! 10-0, GRYFFINDOR!" The crowd screamed. James soared around the pitch, searching for the snitch as the game continued beneath him. At about an hour and a half into the game, the score was 120-150, to Slytherin. James needed to find the snitch, and he needed to find it quickly.

All of a sudden, James caught sight of something gold glinting near Slytherin seeker Lucius Malfoy. Squinting, James realized that the snitch was just above Malfoy. Thinking quickly, James pulled into a spectacular dive. "What's this? Potter has seen ths snitch!" Came Remus's voice. Glancing over his shoulder, James saw that Malfoy was whizzing close behind him, under the impression that he had, indeed, seen the snitch. The ground was coming closer by the second. Soon, they were barely 50 feet from the field. It was coming closer still. At ten feet from the field, James pulled into a swift upward spiral, pushing his Nimbus 1000 as fast as it could go. The THUD and roar of the crowd confirmed that James's plan had worked out perfectly. "THAT'S A WRONSKI FEINT FROM POTTER! EXCELLENTLY PLAYED!" Remus shouted. James looked up to see the snitch around the general area of where it had been before. Leaning forward, James set off at top speed at the gold ball that was now zooming away in the opposite direction. Out of the corner of his eye, James saw a bludgers coming his way. However, Sirius soared by and whacked it back in the direction it had come from. Leaning dangerously forward and pushing his broom faster yet, James reached out-and felt his hand close around the fluttering snitch.

'HE'S GOT IT! JAMES POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Remus shouted, his voice ringing over the pitch. Raising his fist in the air, grinning with all his might, James's eyes searched the Gryffindor crowd. They rested at last on a redhead that seemed to be only an inch tall form the heights. She appeared to be hugging the brunette girl on her right. However, James's observation was interrupted when he was almost knocked off his broom by Leila and Sirius, who both collided with him at the same second, cheering and screaming. James embraced them both, considering that day one of the best ones of his life.


cowers under desk I know this wasn't very relevant to the story, but I wanted to put Quidditch in the spotlight. Please don't hurt me! However, reviews are good!