Previously: Lily and Remus are the only second years to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break. Remus brings Lily to meet Hagrid, and she's embarrassed when Hagrid says James talks about her. However, she and Hagrid still get on pretty well, and as she's telling Hagrid about herself, Remus understands that what's he's hearing is stuff that Lily would rather keep private. This includes: Lily's sister, her constant worrying over her blood status, and her strained friendship with Snape (although she doesn't tell Hagrid Snape's name, Remus knows that it's Snape she's talking about). James and Sirius raided Mr. Potter's office for anything about animagi while James's parents were at the annual New Year's Eve Ball. Lily celebrates her thirteenth birthday.


Chapter 29: Going for the Win

"Mate, you look terrible."

"Mm-hm."

"Really – you look like you're either gonna pass out or throw up any second."

"Mm-hm."

"You need to eat something."

"Mm-hm."

"Lily Evans just professed her love for you to me and wants to know when you're next available for a nice snog."

"Mm – wait, what?" spluttered James, jerking out of the near-trance he had previously been in. He jumped away from the wall he had been leaning on as if it had suddenly shocked him, and he gaped open-mouthed at Sirius, who was expectantly looking at him with one eyebrow raised as if waiting for him to finally pay attention to what he had been saying.

Sirius shrugged, not the least bit apologetic as he said, "That got you to listen, didn't it? Now, does Peter need to fetch Mama Poppy again, or are you not going to throw up and pass out?"

James, still a little miffed by the near-heart attack his best friend had just given him, shot Sirius a dirty look before leaning back against the wall, staying there for a little bit – Sirius must have been right about how he looked because James did feel like he was about to pass out. It was a feeling brought about by an emotion he had never really felt before.

Nervousness.

Today was the championship game for the Quidditch Cup, and it was Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Normally James was supremely confident in his abilities as a Chaser, but the pressure of this game … well, it was starting to get to him to be honest. This would soon be the biggest game of Quidditch he had ever played, and it also happened to be his first championship game. Riley had spent the last two months relentlessly drilling the team with everything from Transylvanian Tackles to Dionysus Dives, and when they were not on the field, she would interrogate every single player on practically all of their possible plays. His captain's own anxiety over the upcoming game had not helped in the least to lessen James's.

"James, the rest of the team will be right past those doors, eating breakfast – now get in there and show them just how little you have to worry about Ravenclaw."

Sirius tried nudging him towards the doors of the Great Hall, but James did not budge from his spot. He was not sure if he could handle walking through those doors.

"But even I'm worried, Sirius," said James uneasily.

"James, you guys did beat Ravenclaw last time," reminded Remus, joining the conversation at last. While he was not like Sirius, gung-ho on lifting every concern he had about the game, Remus did sound like he did not think James had much to be apprehensive about.

"Exactly!" agreed Sirius enthusiastically. "C'mon, mate, you're James Potter for Merlin's sake – and you're gonna remind the Ravenclaws of that too."

James let out a deep breath. Remus did have a point after all – it was not anything he and the rest of the team had not faced before. Sure, the Ravenclaw Chasers were good, but James had found that he, Riley, and Zach worked together almost flawlessly. And while Josh Newman, a Beater and Captain of the other team, was a force to be reckoned with, Harper Johnson was in a class all on his own. Then there was the little fact that Alexandra had yet to lose to the Ravenclaw Chaser, Hazel Jefferson.

Was he really nervous about that?

Of course not.

"Okay," said James. "Let's do this."

Both cheers and boos met James as he and the other Marauders entered the Great Hall. All at the Gryffindor table and a couple of Hufflepuffs clapped and whistled at him as he approached where the rest of the team sat, barely touching their food. The loudest boos came from the Slytherin table, which was to be expected, and most Ravenclaws were either scowling at him or sizing him up.

James ignored them.

"You all look like you could do with some of Pomfrey's potions," said James as he plopped himself in between Kingsley and Zach. "What's got all your wands in a knot?"

The rest of the team stared at him like they could not believe how chipper he was, and Alexandra asked rather bluntly, "You do know that this game determines the Quidditch Cup, right? The real question is why your wand isn't in a knot."

"Nah," grinned James, helping himself to some bacon. "We already beat them once before, and we can do it again. Seriously, Alexandra, you haven't lost to that chick Hazel yet, have you?"

He directed his focus to Alexandra, who looked rather surprised that he was able to come up with an adequate answer.

"Well, no …" she said slowly. "But that doesn't mean –"

"And Harper," interrupted James, turning to the hulking Beater, "Wasn't it you who managed to hit that poor bloke Sebastian Bossley with a Bludger from over a hundred yards away?"

Harper chuckled, and his deep voice carried like it always did as he said, "Poor bloke indeed. That's always going to be a fond memory."

"And for Merlin's sake, Riley!" said James, and while Riley did not start at her abrupt inclusion in the discussion, she did raise an eyebrow. "Who's spent a bajillion hours perfecting each play? Who's been pushing everybody at practice to improve on every single Quidditch tactic ever thought of? Who's combed the books for all those little details to help us specifically for this game? You!"

At the end of the speech, James felt slightly breathless and rather impressed with himself. The little monologue must have worked because Riley took a deep breath, just as James had when Sirius and Remus were encouraging him, and looked around at each member of the team, a determined gleam in her sharp eyes that would have sent the Ravenclaw players running scared if they had seen it. Others on the team had a similar look, and James exhaled with satisfaction.

"You heard him," said Riley, her voice once again the strong and confident tone that she usually possessed. "I don't need to say anything else – now let's get out there and kick ass!"

More cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, only this time the Quidditch team was involved, making it that much louder. With renewed hope fluttering around inside James, he grinned and swiftly rose with the rest of the team as they prepared to head down to the Quidditch pitch. Others in the Great Hall, mainly the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws, gave the Gryffindor team dirty looks as they and their supporters cheered with anticipation, but James ignored them.

He had a game to win.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"So are you going to come?"

"Maybe."

"What? You have to come – Marlene! Tell her she has to come!"

"Fine – you have to come, Lily."

Lily sighed into her pillow, not wanting to leave the comfort of her own bed. It was the morning of the Quidditch final, and considering some of the strategies Alice used to get her out of bed for a regular Quidditch game, Lily highly doubted Alice would be able to sit by quietly while Lily slept through the game – though that had not stopped Lily from hoping.

"I said maybe."

"Maybe's not good enough," insisted Alice. "It has to be a yes."

Lily groaned before saying, "Are you ever going to just let me sleep, Alice?"

"Probably not," admitted Alice unapologetically.

At least Alice was honest about it, but that did nothing to soothe Lily, who tried to ignore Alice by simply rolling onto her other side – which was a mistake.

Alice somehow interpreted that as an invitation to hop onto her bed, which she did as loudly and with as much bouncing as possible. Lily groaned as she felt herself bouncing up and down with Alice and pulled her blankets closer. Alice responded by leaning over her so she could see her friend's face, and Alice's grin was so wide that she looked identical to the Cheshire Cat – though Lily doubted that the Cheshire Cat would ever be this determined to get her out of bed.

"Go away, Alice."

"Please, come with us, Lily? Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!"

"Maybe."

"Nope! That's not good enough. You have to say yes. Come on, say it with me: why, yes, Alice! I will come with you to the Quidditch final where we will have lots and lots of fun!"

Alice moved Lily's jaw like a ventriloquist while she did her best to mimic Lily's voice – Lily was certain she was not that high-pitched when she talked.

"I would love to come with you, Alice. I know how much you want –"

"Alright, alright! I'm going, I'm going," muttered Lily, and she once again was left to bounce along with the bed as Alice jumped off it, pumping her fist into the air.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"And here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for! Yes, my young wizards and witches, it's … the Quidditch final!"

Vallender's magically amplified voice was met with a roar from the crowd, but what encouragement his friends had given him this morning quickly melted away as James stood behind the doors with the rest of his team, anxiously anticipating when Vallender would finally announce the teams.

"Today's game is Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor, both of whom are tied for the Cup right now, which means that whoever wins this game wins the Quidditch Cup!"

Cheers met Vallender's comments, but that only served to heighten James's nerves. He listened, heart pounding in his ears, for Vallender to announce the teams, which he did with the same sense of style that he had always used.

"Oh, look, I see the Ravenclaw team is making their way onto the field – they have got to be really nervous that they're facing Gryffindor for the Cup. I mean, I don't mean to brag or anything, but last time Ravenclaw went up against the might that is the Gryffindor Quidditch team, they ended up getting their asses handed to them so bad that – right, McGee, continuing with the introductions. Let's see, we have … that one bloke, another guy, that one right next to him, two more chaps carrying a couple of bats, some chick, and … another chick –"

"Foster, Cringle, Gridley, Newman, Lovell, Norris, and Jefferson!" interrupted McGonagall's annoyed voice.

"Are those their names now?" responded Vallender with faked earnestness. "Hmm … I can't even – hey, look at that! The Gryffindors are coming out now! First there's Wallows, who's put together a really excellent team this year, followed by Ryans! Potter! Shacklebolt! Johnson! Wood! Aaaaannnndddd… Hopkirk!"

Vallender joyously introduced them with much more enthusiasm than he had used with the Ravenclaw team.

James soared through the air with the rest of the team. All around him, the crowd was roaring, either with encouragement or with boos. As much as he wanted to respond, he forced himself to pay attention to Madam Hooch, who was walking out into the middle of the field, a broomstick in one hand and a giant crate in the other. His team members hung in midair on both sides of him, and the Ravenclaws hovered opposite the little half-circle the Gryffindor team had formed.

"Captains, shake hands," ordered Madam Hooch.

Riley shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain, Joshua Newman. While there was none of the hand-crushing that usually accompanied games against the Slytherin Quidditch team, both of the captains were obviously much too focused on winning to actually offer up any friendly gestures.

When the two captains had returned to the air, Madam Hooch kicked open the crate, and suddenly the two struggling Bludgers rocketed out of their places and into the air. There was a brief flash of gold, and James knew that the Golden Snitch had also been released – Alexandra and the Ravenclaw Seeker, Hazel Jefferson, stared at the Snitch, not even bothering to watch anybody else. There was one ball left in the crate, the Quaffle, which Madam Hooch grabbed.

"It goes without saying that I expect you all to play fair," she said with a firm voice, though she clearly was not as strict as she had been when it had been Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

And with that warning, she tossed the Quaffle into the air.

Zach was the first one to the Quaffle, weaving in and out of the mass of flying bodies with a precise expertise that could only be gained through years of hard training. When James was confident that Zach had a firm hold on the Quaffle, he shot forward to the other end of the pitch just as they practiced during the training sessions.

"And it's Ryans with the Quaffle. He swerved to avoid a couple of Ravenclaws coming his way, and they both miss him – clearly, Gryffindor is the superior team on the pitch right now."

Both laughs and boos met Vallender's comments, but James blocked them out as much as he could. Zach was zipping down the field while Harper hovered over him, bat ready to beat back any Bludgers the Slytherins tried to aim their way. Opposite James, he could see Riley streaking down the field to complete their V formation, which briefly broke when Matthew Lovell, one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, tried to force Zach off course, but a neatly aimed Bludger from Kingsley quickly put an end to his plans.

"Ryans is – WATCH OUT, ZACH! YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER RAVENCLAW BEHIND YOU!"

There was indeed one more Ravenclaw, Milo Foster, trying his best to catch up to Zach. However, James broke from their V formation to pull up right in front of Foster, blocking him from his teammates Zach easily tossed the Quaffle to Riley and looped around James, but Foster was not so lucky – he barreled right into James. Thankfully, James had braced himself for impact and spiraled up into the air only a couple of times before righting his broomstick and shooting toward the goalposts.

"Ha-Ha!" laughed Vallender as Jugson quickly tried to stop his tumble through the air. "Serves you right – thinking you can go up against Gryffindor and all. It's Wallows with the Quaffle now. She passes it back to Ryans, back to Wallows – BLUDGER ALERT! BLUDGER ALERT, RILEY!"

Riley tried to get out of the way in time, but while the Bludger did not hit her, it did succeed in knocking the Quaffle out of her hands. The ball spiraled down to the ground, and just as James, who had dived to catch it before it hit the ground, stretched out his hand, something large and fast knocked his arm out of the way – Johnathan Gridley, one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, had seized the Quaffle just seconds before James did and sped down the field in the opposite direction.

"Damn!" swore Vallender, not bothering to censor his language. "It's Ravenclaw with the Quaffle now – come on, Gryffindor! Get him! Curse him if you have to, just – what? I was only joking, McGee! Sheesh – but really, get that Quaffle!"

James had swerved his broomstick and was now rocketing down the field, desperately trying to catch up to Gridley. Gridley was fast, but James was lighter and had a Nimbus 1001 at his disposal. The Ravenclaw was seconds away from the scoring area, but just before he could draw his arm back to aim the Quaffle at one of the hoops that Mark zealously guarded, James managed to push against Gridley's right side, knocking the Quaffle out of his hand.

"Yes! Potter manages to get the Quaffle away from Gridley. It's falling … Wallows with the Quaffle now. She ducks Jugson, Love Boy is – sorry, McGee wants to say that his name is Lovell. If you ask me, I think – right, McGee, moving on with the game. Lovell is coming up on Wallows now – wait! She passes it to Ryans – watch out! You got two Ravenclaws right on your tail – and he passes it to Potter …"

James was pleased that he did not fumble even given Zach's slightly off pass that he made right before Lovell and Newman managed to catch up to him. There was nobody in his path, as they had all been concentrating on Riley and Zach, so James shot up the field, urging his broom to go as fast as it could before the Ravenclaws wised up. His path was clear; only the Ravenclaw Keeper Chloe Norris remained in his way. He drew his hand back and threw the Quaffle, which soared beautifully through the left hoop – Norris was a second too late to block it.

"YES! GRYFFINDOR SCORES! That's ten points to us and … zero points for Ravenclaw," said Vallender happily into the microphone.

However, Gryffindor's brief victory was soon proven to be short-lived during the next thirty minutes because even though both Riley and Zach each managed to get in two more goals, somehow Ravenclaw had succeeded in squeezing in five goals. Cheers erupted from both the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws while groans could be heard from the sea of people clad in red and gold. Vallender's comments started to turn sour around the third goal, though they were still a far cry from the nasty things he came up with whenever Slytherin played.

"… so huzzah for Ravenclaw, I s'pose. Oh, well, they're bound to have good days, though I still stand by what I said earlier that – wait! Hopkirk just dived. Is that the Sni – that's the Snitch! Get it, Alexandra – go, go, go!"

Alexandra was not the only one who had dived for the little ball of gold, however. Hazel Jefferson had also seen it, and James realized with a jolt that Jefferson would get to it first. He made a split second decision to break from the newest formation he had been flying with Riley and Zach. Pushing his broom into a downward dive as fast as it would go, he sharply pulled up in front of Jefferson just as he had done when Foster tried to impede Zach earlier in the game.

While it was not a full, head-on collision like it had been with Foster, he had still forced Jefferson to pull her broom away in the other direction. He jostled a little when Jefferson's shoulder hit him, but that did not really matter because then he felt a gust of wind blow his hair as something else whizzed past him – it was Alexandra, and she had caught the Snitch.

"HOPKIRK CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! Final score is 180-50, Gryffindor – but who cares about that because WE WON, PEOPLE! WE WON!"

The only thing James would be able to remember of what happened next was a blur as crowds of Gryffindors screaming with joy poured onto the field. He alighted next to the rest of the team, and before he knew it, the crowd had swept him up onto his shoulders, throwing him and the rest of the team up into the air with joy. The only one who was not already bouncing alongside him was Riley, who was being carried over to where Dumbledore stood with the Quidditch Cup waiting in his hands …


Note: I'm sorry if some of the matches seem a little short, but I'd prefer to save the colorful commentary for the more important games. Also, while I won't write about every Quidditch final, I'll do some important ones and might reference a couple I didn't write about just to establish the trends in the Quidditch Cup winners during the time when Lily and James are in school.