James was finally practicing for Quidditch again.
He had been on the bench for nearly a month now, and now that he was finally healed, they had a month to train for the next game against Slytherin. He had enjoyed spending his free time with Lily, but he was more than excited to get back to playing.
As he exited the locker rooms, ready to get on his broom, he felt at home once more. His teammates had welcomed him back, and he fell into the routine right away. The captain, McLaggen, had gathered all of the players onto the Quidditch field.
"Now, I know Potter's been out for a bit, but that's no excuse for you lot to slack! I expect everyone's best work if we want to beat Slytherin next match. On my mark!"
When his hand signaled, all of the players mounted their brooms, and the chasers proceed to do drills with the keeper. As James waited for his turn to practice the drill, he looked over to the stands. There were the usually 4th year girls who giggled and cheered whenever he scored a goal (which Sirius called the 'Prongs Fan Club'). And then there was...Lily? James did a double take. Sure enough, there was her flaming red hair and green eyes looking up at him. She waved lightly, and James waved while smiling warmly at her.
Finally, his turn had come. He weaved and swerved, and managed to get the ball into the hoop past their keeper. Again. And again. When he had finally finished, he heard his 'Fan Club' cheering and giggling. He heard their calls of, "Hey, James!" and "Over here, James!", followed by more giggles. Lily's face looked as if she tasted something sour.
Practice went on for another half an hour, until McLaggen called, "Break, everyone!". James came back to the ground and grabbed his water. Now only meters away, James saw all the girls giggling even more. He saw Lily coming down the stands now.
"Didn't know you had such dedicated fans," called Lily, and James could tell she was less than pleased with all of the attention these girls were giving him.
"Ahh, they keep my ego up," James joked. "Enjoying watching me practice, Lils?"
She was down on the bench by now. "I'm not just watching you, I come to see the whole team."
"C'mon, you know you just want an excuse to watch me working out. Can't stay away from these muscles." James flexed his arms, and heard the girls in the stands swooning and giggling even harder.
Lily briefly peered over her shoulder, and then turned back around to James with a playful look on her face.
"Or maybe I'm just here to distract you. Throw you off your game." Her hands moved up his shoulders, and were pulling on his neck.
"You're doing a bloody good job at that," James exhaled, before Lily was crashing her lips onto his, and his hands had gripped her waist. The kiss was short but passionate. As Lily pulled away, she waved behind to the group of girls, who were now the ones with sour looks on their faces.
James laughed aloud. "Never thought you to be the jealous type."
Lily rounded on him. "I am not jealous! I just-"
"Don't like those girls gawking at me?" James finished for her. "Want them to know I'm yours?"
Lily smiled sweetly. "Exactly."
"Hate to break it to you, but that's called jealousy, Lils."
Lily hit his chest. "Oh, hush up. I should be getting back to studying for Transfiguration. I'm already behind."
"Well, I'd be happy to join you after practice. You know, to study" James said with a smirk.
"Right. To study," said Lily with her lips curving to a smile. "I'll be in the common room."
"I'll be back soon," said James. Lily gave him a peck on the cheek, and then made her way up to the castle. James looked on in her wake, lovestruck and in awe of someone so perfect. He was thinking of Lily until McLaggen's voice brought him back to reality.
"Oi, Potter! Get back on your broom! Still got an hour left on the field!"
James groaned. No hour had ever felt so long.
As James made his way back up to the castle, he hurried to the common room, hoping to still catch Lily studying. She was in the common room, but appeared to have finished her work. James noticed the girls from the field had simply migrated to a corner of the common room. Their faces lightened up as James walked by, but very soon looked timid as they saw Lily on one of the chairs. James pulled Lily onto the couch, so they could both sit. She snuggled up to James and whispered,
"Do they ever go away?"
James chuckled. "That, my dear, is The Quidditch Life."
Lily groaned, but laughed as she buried her face in James' chest. He could smell her hair, which was scented lavender. From her shampoo, he figured. He decided that was his new favorite scent.
Eventually, the girls left, and James and Lily were alone in the common room.
"Didn't I come back to study?" asked James. His hand made it's way to the small of Lily's back.
"Right. To study," muttered Lily, but her eyes said that she had other plans than studying.
"Of course," James interjected. "We don't have to study right now."
Lily seemed to favor this idea. "Right. It's healthy to take breaks. Make sure you aren't studying too hard."
Not many more words were said for the next few minutes. James hoped that no one walked in, because there was no way they would believe he and Lily had been studying. After they both pulled away for breath, Lily whispered, "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"You know, jealous you is pretty hot, Lils," James whispered back.
Lily rolled her eyes as she snuggled up to James.
He truly was the luckiest man in the world.
A/N: Hey all! Finally figured out how to add an author's note. Thank you so much for reading! I've been trying to pick a consistent day to update, and I think I've settled on Wednesdays. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you on Wednesday!
