This time, Severus sticks close by her on the train. At King's Cross, they find an empty compartment and start talking about the essays they finished at the beginning of their break. They manage to keep up a light conversation the whole time while the scenery whips by their window.
There's still an uncomfortable wrinkle in the air when they're together, but it's better than watching him plot away with Mulciber and Avery.
During a lull in the conversation, Lily pinpoints one of the reasons the green fields give her a nostalgic pang in her chest. It's very likely their last trip on the Hogwarts Express in the direction of the castle.
Lily can't stop thinking about it.
Then, amidst large plumes of smoke, the train deposits them onto the platform in Hogsmeade station. For the sake of routine, she follows the rest of the Slytherins up to the castle.
Once they settle into the common room, the other Slytherins act like nothing has changed since December. Most of her assigned school work is done, but Lily opens her books along with them. It's good to get used to studying again, she tells herself. Their N.E.W.T. examinations and life outside of Hogwarts are that much closer every day.
When she goes up to bed, Lily realizes that she hasn't had a chance to make good on her question from her last note. She spent all of the train ride in one compartment and went along with everyone else to the common room. The day was mostly travel, so she's tired despite not doing much of anything.
Immediate thoughts of sleep are abandoned, however, when she sees a folded bit of parchment, much like the one she found on the train ride to London, sitting purposely on her pillow. Lily hurriedly snaps the door shut behind her and snatches it.
The handwriting is familiar and exactly what she expects.
It's what she needs without knowing it.
Although she'll absolutely deny it if Sirius ever asks, Lily goes to sleep with a smile at the corner of her mouth and the note under her pillow.
Things are, perhaps, not going quite according to Jamie's plan.
When Lily arrives at the appointed location at the appointed time, Sirius has his arm slung over Jamie's shoulders. He's trying to have an involved conversation, but Jamie keeps looking past him and down the hall.
Looking for Lily.
She bites her lip and ignores the new rhythm of her heart.
"Evans," Jamie says. She ducks out from under her best friend's arm and takes a step toward Lily. Jamie's hair is a little shorter than it was a few weeks ago, with the ends of her curls brushing her shoulders. She runs a characteristic hand through it, making her look like her usual, crooked grinned self.
"Evans," Sirius echoes, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Have a good holiday?"
"Potter, Black." She can't help it. She grins. Lily doesn't bother to hide her genuine happiness at seeing them. No one else has any reason to be in this abandoned stretch of corridor during a free period. "Mine was fine. I expect that you made good use of your time?"
"Obviously," Sirius replies. "Once Prongs actually decided to -"
"Weren't you supposed to be meeting up with Wormtail?" Jamie jabs Sirius meaningfully with her elbow. "Something about making sure Moony doesn't find out?"
Lily covers her mouth with her hand to avoid laughing.
Sirius rolls his eyes dramatically but takes the bludger of a hint. "Do you think the rest of the Slytherins are out of their common room, Evans? I should have enough time before the next class to -"
"Padfoot…" Jamie cuts him off again, her eyes flitting between Lily and Sirius. Lily notices her gaze drop to Lily's chest with a quick reversal and slight flush on Jamie's part. Lily suspects that the reluctance in her tone wouldn't entirely be there if Lily wasn't standing near them in her green and silver tie.
"You worry too much, Prongs," Sirius says, turning his back on them. "Have fun with Evans!" He calls the last part over his shoulder and disappears around the corner.
They let his footsteps fade before meeting eyes again.
She isn't sure how long it takes her to gather her courage. It could be a second or whole minute or another age entirely. She starts a few sentences in her head but stops before she manages to say them.
Jamie shifts on her feet, her fingers worrying the ends of her hair.
"I missed you."
It takes a full beat for Lily to realize that they said it at the same time.
The tension in her chest loosens. This time, she does laugh, and she doesn't lift a hand to hide it. Jamie matches it with a smile of her own and drops her fingers from her hair.
"I was hoping," Lily says, making an effort to keep her chin up, "things could be…"
"Continued?"
She nearly laughs again, now in relief.
"Yes," Lily replies. "That."
Jamie casts a quick glance over her shoulder. Satisfied, she takes a large step forward to close the distance separating them. Her lips touch Lily's, feather light and so fast that Lily doesn't have time to close her eyes.
"Meet me here tomorrow night? After Quidditch practice?"
Lily swallows and tries to arrange her thoughts into something coherent again. "Want to make a bet on the next match?"
"Maybe." Jamie doesn't hide the way her eyes move down to Lily's lips again. "But I was thinking about other plans."
"Yeah," Lily agrees quietly. Their eyes meet again. "Tomorrow."
In the midst of their brief reunion, Lily and Jamie didn't really pin down the particulars.
Lily realizes this when her knees start to burn.
Jamie's suggestion of 'after Quidditch practice' told her to wait for a little while after dinner, but she didn't know exactly how long. She wasted some time doing homework in her common room, but it wasn't enough. She kept catching herself glancing out of the windows and waiting for the mermaids to do something interesting.
She could only watch them trade pebble necklaces for so long.
When Lily couldn't stand it anymore and it had to be getting late enough to be dark, she closed her books. She packed everything away and made excuses to be with her thoughts. She took the winding path to the abandoned corridor from yesterday. Anyone who caught her out would interpret her wandering as what she called it - an aimless walk with only the purpose of giving her some time to be alone.
But now it's tomorrow and she wants things to be continued.
In their agreed upon location, she's more than a little impatient. For what has to be the last hour but feels even longer, she's ducked to stay hidden whenever a set of footsteps come near her. It isn't quite curfew, but that doesn't stop her from hiding behind one of the suits of armor when it sounds like someone might be coming.
Finally, a hurried set of footsteps makes her peek through the knight's legs.
"Evans?" comes a whisper.
Well, she did keep her waiting.
Jamie lets out a quiet sigh. From her hiding place, Lily can see dried mud on her trainers. She leans back and props one foot against the wall with her. She shifts as she shoves her hands in the pockets of her practice uniform. Lily moves to see Jamie better, but the suit of armor rattles.
She freezes.
Standing up again, Jamie is alert. "Hello?"
Lily counts the seconds, but not even a minute passes. Jamie settles back against the wall, but maybe she's not quite as relaxed as before the fumble. As much as she wants to give Jamie a taste of her waiting, she also can't.
She's wanted to be near Jamie for too long. Wasting time when they could be together, when they could be closer is torturous.
"Potter," Lily says, side-stepping out from behind the suit of armor. "I've been waiting for you."
Jamie's hand jumps to her hair. Her smile is a little sheepish. "Practice ran long. The beaters weren't getting the -" She stops, her eyes going wide. "Just some practice plays."
Adorable, Lily thinks fondly. Jamie's commitment to keeping what happened at practice from a house rival is adorable. It makes Lily glad that she swapped her green jumper for a cream one.
"We're not meeting to swap Quidditch secrets."
"Good," Jamie says, recovering. "Not even you could make me spill."
"I have a different kind of secret in mind," Lily offers. "A Head Girl secret. Though you might know about it too, since it's also a Quidditch captain perk."
Jamie looks at her curiously. A glimmer in her eye makes Lily think that she might have already caught on to her plan. "What are you up to?"
Glancing down the corridor both ways, Lily sees no one. They're inching closer to curfew, so there should be fewer people around to catch them. The people still out, however, have the power to give them detention. "Think you can get us to the fifth floor?"
"Evans," Jamie says, a note of mock offense in her voice. "I can get us anywhere."
With one smooth motion, Jamie throws her cloak over their heads. She chuckles by Lily's ear and puts an arm around her waist. It makes walking slightly more difficult, but Lily likes the warmth of Jamie near her. She can feel a heartbeat between them and she wonders if it's Jamie's or hers.
From their escape at the first Quidditch match, Lily knows they can both fit under the cloak without this closeness, but she doesn't protest.
They shuffle down the corridors, taking care to be quiet as well as unseen. They stick close to the walls in case someone rushes by in an attempt to beat curfew. For most of the trip, they're alone. As they continue, Lily can practically feel Jamie getting emboldened with every step.
When they make another turn, Jamie moves to her side. At first, Lily thinks it's a maneuver to keep them under the cloak. She ducks slightly, like that will give them the extra room they need.
Jamie doesn't need more room, though, because she presses herself closer. Lily's back hits the wall as her chin raises. Their eyes meet. Lily is highly aware of every place where Jamie is touching her.
She knows what is going to happen only a split second before it does.
Jamie kisses her slowly at first. Once Lily responds in kind, Jamie's fingers move to the nape of her neck. Their last kisses on the train might not have aligned, but these do.
What she said at their last meeting was honest. Lily did miss her. She missed the way their lips meet. She missed Jamie's fingers and their ability to make her skin tingle. Lily can feel pleasant heat travel all the way to her toes.
Two things happen at once.
The hand that isn't in Lily's hair moves to her waistband. The brush of Jamie's finger against her stomach makes her whole body shiver. Their clothes, which didn't feel like too much of a problem a few minutes ago, are suddenly barriers to what she wants.
The realization hits her quickly.
She wants more.
At the same time, a sound from down the corridor registers. Her mind is moving through thick fog, so it takes an extra second to recognize what it is.
Someone is down the hall.
"C'mon," Lily whispers. "We should keep going."
Jamie groans against her mouth. Lily feels the vibration rather than hearing the sound. The hormones pumping through her bloodstream scream that anything that stops this is a mistake. Her brain reminds her that getting detention might be a bigger mood killer.
"This," Lily says, accenting the word with a short kiss, "will be more fun if we don't get caught."
Her reply is to press Lily's back more firmly against the wall and capture her lips again. Jamie moves in, close enough that her foot is between Lily's instead of in front of them. The motion flattens them against the wall, making the cloak nearly brush the ground.
Lily's head spins wildly. Why would she ever want to move away from this? The firewhiskey at the Gryffindor party has nothing on the other thing she found there.
"Jamie…" she says, voice caught between a whine and whisper.
"We won't get caught," Jamie insists, moving her lips across Lily's cheek. She pauses by her ear to add, "It's an invisibility cloak, Evans."
"I had a plan," Lily whispers.
Lily can feel Jamie's chuckle against the sensitive skin of her neck. "Lily Evans and her plans." Slowly, Jamie uses her kisses to trace the line of Lily's neck like she's trying to memorize it. Her hand moves across Lily's back, pulling her closer and pushing aside the fabric in her way.
In what is starting to feel like second nature, Lily's fingers move into Jamie's hair. She twists them into the strands, holding onto the girl in front of her and whatever thoughts she can still grasp. Keeping her mind focused on something other than what she wants Jamie to do to her is a herculean task.
"You'll like this one."
Teeth nip a new spot, somewhere she's never felt those kinds of nerve endings, and Lily nearly melts on the spot.
"I like this one too," Jamie says.
Lily does too, but she doesn't say that out loud. Not that she has to. It isn't as if she's being subtle with her hand in Jamie's hair, head tipping back, and hips against hers. It's dizzying and impossible and terrifying and also wonderful that Jamie can make her feel like this.
It might be easy to let this fire burn.
She could meet Jamie with kisses and hands to let her know that she's been thinking about her all of Christmas break. She could let her snog her against a wall with a cloak as their only defense. She could muffle any sounds with a fierce kiss and go back to her common room with these memories.
They would be good memories. They would keep her warm while the wind and snow blow outside their windows.
But her plan is to get back to where they were in that broom cupboard.
Her heart races just thinking about it. Their goodbye on the train wasn't the time or place, but this could be. That confusing and awkward encounter doesn't do anything to temper her desire.
That's what this is, even if it's hard to call it that in her own head.
She wants to chase this fire. She wants to continue where they left off and see if Jamie can help her produce new flames.
She remembers how, even when Jamie's back was against the door in that cupboard, it felt like she held all of the power. Lily tries to channel that now.
"Jamie," Lily says again with more authority in her voice. She tugs on Jamie's hair, gentle enough that she won't hurt her but firm enough to get her attention. "We need to get to the fifth floor. I want things to be continued. Alone. With you."
Jamie's eyes meet hers, pupils wide.
Lily grins. The need in Jamie's gaze makes her weak in the knees, but it also makes her strong. It proves that she isn't the only one who gets lost in their kisses. She presses another soft kiss to the corner of Jamie's mouth and leans their foreheads together. "Let's go?"
"Let's go," Jamie agrees in a rough whisper.
The cloak was apparently enough to hide them from whoever was at the end of the hall. While Lily's mind was filled with Jamie, whoever might have caught them left without noticing two girls snogging by the wall.
Lily puts a finger by her lips to remind Jamie to be quiet, just for good measure, but she nearly ruins it a moment later by almost giggling.
Under Jamie's guidance with their fingers interlocked, they duck into a passageway and end up by the statue of Boris the Bewildered only a few minutes later. For the last few steps, Lily leads the way. She finds the correct door, chances a knock to make sure they won't have to share with anyone, and whispers the password.
As soon as the door clicks behind them, Jamie pulls off the cloak. She casts it aside like a worn secondhand piece instead of the nearly priceless family artifact it is. It puddles on the floor. Jamie's hair is wild and matches the spark in her eyes.
If Lily wanted to say something about how Jamie treats her things, she doesn't have a chance.
Jamie's mouth is on hers again.
Jamie's hands go to her hair. Lily's head tilts back to meet her. They're close in all the right places but want to be even closer. Together, they find all the familiar spots on each other's bodies and want more.
This kiss is frantic.
Now that they're here, they don't have enough time to do everything they want. Every second that they aren't kissing is wasted. Lily doesn't have enough hands to put everywhere that she wants to touch Jamie.
Lily fumbles for the lock.
Jamie's hands are under her shirt on the bare skin of her back. Their hips align as Lily moves against her. There's a delicious friction between them that snaps like electricity. Lips move down Lily's neck and press hotly against her collarbone.
Nothing else matters as much as where they're going to go next.
Lily hopes that she managed to turn the lock into place.
Unlike during the slow discovery in the broom cupboard, Jamie's fingers easily find the clasp on her back. With a nod from Lily, she undoes it. She arches her back when Jamie's slightly callused fingers find skin she hasn't before explored.
"Lily," Jamie whispers, her breath warm. "Can I…?"
"Yes," Lily answers, content to spend the whole night or several days or maybe forever right where she is. "Yes."
Her time over the next few weeks fills quickly between keeping up with her Slytherin housemates, ensuring that her schoolwork gets done, and following up on Head Girl duties. Her meetings with Jamie become more hurried, shorter, and separated by more days each time. Jamie is busy too and can't save all of the gaps in her schedule for sneaking off into broom cupboards or abandoned classrooms.
The weeks slip by too quickly. When it's time for another Quidditch match, Lily hasn't seen Jamie nearly as much as she would like. When they do see each other, it is little more than quick glances across the Great Hall or during class.
On Saturday morning, she doesn't want to waste time in the Great Hall. "I'm going to get a headstart," Lily says once she's finished her breakfast of toast and eggs. "It's so nice out, and I've been stuck inside all week."
"If you want," Severus starts, though his plate still half-full, "I can -"
Lily waves vaguely. She even offers him the suggestion of a smile so he knows that she isn't upset. "Eat. I'll see you in the stands."
"See you there." Mulciber takes another bite and says something else, more quietly, to Severus. It gets him into a conversation, so Lily lifts her hand in a small wave and makes her exit.
She was right in knowing what she needed this morning, since the fresh air is refreshing. Despite the fact that it's early for a Saturday morning, she feels awake and alert. It's a good change of pace from the sometimes stuffy air of the stone castle. Birds call to each other over her head. A faint breeze ruffles her hair. The sun is out, and she can feel it on her face.
There's still some time before the game, so only a few other students are outside with her. The teams are already in their locker rooms, preparing for the match. Almost everyone else is finishing breakfast or getting ready to watch.
"Hey!"
Lily ignores the voice at first, sure they have to be talking to someone else.
"Evans!"
Lily stops this time, looking over her shoulder.
A girl with loose blonde curls jogs down the slope of the grounds. A red pin closes the front of her robes. She catches up to Lily and flashes her a smile. "Hey," she repeats.
"Hey," Lily echoes.
She knows of the girl, Mary Macdonald, since they're in the same year, but they haven't spoken much. They share some classes, like all seventh years. Still, their interactions have been limited, likely due to the emerald of Lily's scarf that contrasts with Mary's crimson.
"I saw you at the Quidditch party after our first game," Mary says. She falls into step beside Lily. "Sirius says you're fun for a Slytherin."
Lily's first instinct is to deny it, but a voice in the back of her mind disagrees, stopping her. Why should she be ashamed? In times like these, with the world outside the school getting darker and tenser, they shouldn't be building up silly lines between them. They should be finding who they can trust and forging goodwill where they can. They should stand united against the rising darkness.
Isn't that part of her job as Head Girl? She should stand as an example for the rest of the school to show that they don't need enemies based on a school house. They all need to know who the real enemy is and stand against them.
"Well, the party was fun," Lily says. "Glad I added to it, according to Black. Does Gryffindor have parties like that often?"
Mary shrugs good-naturedly. "The best one will be if we win the Cup," she says. Her smile hints at her teasing, and it makes Lily instantly want to know more about her. "We didn't get a chance to talk, but I wanted to. You were the only Slytherin to stop by."
"Yeah," Lily replies. She makes a little what-can-you-do face, trusting her impression. In every other interaction, the other girl has been nothing but civil to her, despite the tension between their houses. She even remembers being paired with her in Transfiguration a few times. "Slytherins aren't always the most… outgoing lot."
"Bet they had some opinions about you being there."
Lily laughs and is rewarded with a grin from Mary. "Absolutely."
"But, the real question is, will you be back?"
Mary's expression is open, her eyes clear and the grin still in place, telling Lily that it is a real question. It isn't seeking secret information or trying to get something to use later. She's actually asking and wants to know what Lily is thinking.
She had fun. More fun, really, than she can remember having in a long time. What happened on the staircase helped the whole night have a magical glow (of course), but it wasn't only that.
Sirius didn't treat her like a reminder of his estranged brother or family. For all his blustering about her house and the people in it, he didn't fix the label on her forehead and treat her accordingly. He treated her like anyone who was a bit too obvious about having a crush on his best mate. His teasing was more welcome than generic kind words.
If she can talk openly with Mary, joke with Sirius, and kiss Jamie, why shouldn't she go back to the Gryffindor common room if she's invited?
"Yeah," Lily answers, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "If people want me there, anyway."
The other girl flicks her wrist to wave her hand dismissively. She nearly rolls her eyes, but the motion isn't malicious. It's as if Lily is silly for doubting their approval of her presence for any length of time. "Of course we do. We need new people to keep things interesting."
A few more people have started to make their way out of the castle and toward the Quidditch Pitch. The wind gusts briefly like a set of hands pushing them toward the place where they're supposed to go. Both Lily and Mary follow it.
Without realizing it, Lily's posture straightens.
The conversation drifts from classes to Quidditch, to annoyances with their uniform to tips they've seen in magazines, and back again. Mary pauses to listen to what Lily has to say, but she isn't timid about jumping in with her point of view as well.
"I ducked out of Potions as soon as I could," Mary admits. "Sweating over a cauldron, fretting over getting everything just right, and shivering on the way down to the dungeon? No thank you."
"It's not that bad," Lily says. "Once you get a feel for it -"
"The brewing or the dungeon?"
"The…" Lily stops and weighs her answer for a second. She shakes her head, laughing. "Both, really. With the cauldrons or a fireplace, it's not that cold. Or maybe I'm used to it." She adjusts her scarf to cover her neck from the wind that builds as they get closer to the stands.
"You're Slughorn's star. I still remember our joint Potions lessons. You always answered his questions and managed to have the best brews in the class. You weren't afraid to give him a little cheek when he deserved it, either." Their shoulders knock together when the growing crowd presses them a little closer. "He'd be heartbroken if you gave it up."
Unlike the other times she's heard things like this, mostly from Severus, Mary's words don't have a sharp note. She's stating what she sees as facts, and there isn't something else lurking under her tone. It's not an accusation of undeserved favoritism or a ploy to provoke a compliment.
"I like Potions. It always makes sense."
In a world where people have opinions about her existence based purely on the magical inabilities of her parents, it's nice to have something straight-forward. If she makes a plan and sticks to it, at least in Potions class, she can always get the expected result.
"That's why I like Care of Magical Creatures," Mary says. "People don't always make sense, but animals generally do."
By now, more students have joined them. Bodies shift as friends catch up with each other and shout to get their attention.
The stands loom before them, presenting a physical divide.
"Where are you sitting?" Mary asks, coming to a stop.
"I'm not sure," Lily says. She twists the edge of her sweater around her finger and pauses beside Mary. "Some of my friends are in the Slytherin section, of course, but we aren't playing today, so -"
"Oi, Evans!"
Lily turns at her name but doesn't see anyone right away. A warm laugh comes from above her, somehow making itself heard over the growing mass of students, so she looks up toward it.
She's greeted with a tangle of dark hair and a set of mischievous hazel eyes.
Her demeanor changes in an instant as Lily crosses her arms and cocks her hip to the side. She can feel the corner of her mouth turning up, but she schools her expression to remain more serious. "Yes, Potter?"
With that, Jamie knows she has Lily's attention. Her teeth flash when she smiles, so big that surely someone else has to notice.
Sirius stands beside her, leaning against the railing with his hands hanging over it. His posture, as it so often does, contains a practiced ease that Lily doesn't think she'll ever achieve. He nudges Jamie with his elbow and doesn't bother to hide his smirk.
Jamie ruffles her hair, maybe a little embarrassed, and wraps her fingers around the ends of the sleeves on her jumper. "Aren't you going to sit with some decent people again?" Jamie calls.
"Yeah, I will," Lily answers. Grinning, she reaches back and casually loops her arm through Mary's. The other girl, thankfully, knows what to do. She tugs Lily back like this was all planned from the beginning. "I'm sitting with Macdonald. We were about to pick our seats, actually. Where does Fenwick sit again?"
Sirius lets out a sharp bark of laughter.
"All right, Evans," Jamie says, shaking her head. She doesn't completely drop her smile, though. "Sit with the Ravenclaws while you can, since they'll be losing to us in the final. I'm sure I'll see you in the Gryffindor stands for that one. Will you wish me luck?" Her eyes get a gleam that should really be illegal or, at least, inappropriate for younger audiences.
"You're so confident that you'll be in the final, Potter, but it's a long season. Who knows? Maybe you'll have to watch from the sidelines with me."
"That," Jamie says, "is the only way I'll watch from the sidelines."
"Gryffindor's going to do better than make the final," Sirius says. "We're gonna win it. Aren't we, Macdonald?"
"I hope so," Mary answers easily from beside her. "But that doesn't mean I can't show a little inter-house unity today. Evans and I need to scout the rest of the teams to make our bets on who else is going to make it to the final match."
Jamie says, "Well, my bet's always on Gryffindor."
"Isn't that your job?" Lily asks. "It won't be fun to beat a team if their captain doesn't even believe in them."
"Then I'll make another bet, Evans." Jamie pushes her spectacles up her nose, and her smile twists into a confident smirk. "I'll bet that I have something you can borrow for the game."
Sirius whoops in a way that she tries to ignore.
"Let's find some spots before the match starts," Mary says as her rescue. It lets Lily look over at her and ignore the way her cheeks might be starting to match her hair. She lifts a hand, covering her face temporarily. Maybe that hides the blush somewhat from the other girl.
"Lily!" someone else calls from the other side of the stands.
She looks up to see Cornelia with what appears to be an expression of welcome. Avery stands by her side, their hands linked together. "Are you coming?" She tilts her head to the side like a schoolgirl waiting for her playmate.
It's the angle of the sun, Lily tells herself, that adds a somewhat malicious edge to her smile.
Before she replies, Lily glances over at the girl next to her. Their arms are still linked. Lily recognizes a stubborn defiance in Mary's expression. It's one that she's seen in the mirror when looking at herself.
"Yeah," Lily answers. "We're coming." She lifts her free hand, pointedly looks to the other side of the stands, and gives Sirius and Jamie a little wave. She doesn't suppress the tick of her cheeks toward a smirk. "I have to go, but I hope you enjoy the match!"
Sirius roars with laughter.
Turning on her heel, Lily goes up a few stairs toward the group of seventh year Slytherins. Her boots make a hard sound against the metal.
Mary tugs on her arm so she can talk while they climb the stairs. She whispers, "You have to tell me more about that."
"There's not much to tell," Lily answers. "Potter -"
"Please," Mary cuts her off with a warm chuckle. "I know you can't talk about it with the Slytherins, but you can talk to me."
"It's not -"
"Give Lily and her friend a seat," Cornelia's voice interrupts. Cornelia nudges Avery to make him move down the bench farther and waves her hand over the newly empty spaces. Her smile is even sharper up close.
They slide into the seats at the end of a row with Lily between Mary and Cornelia. "Thanks," Lily says.
"You know," Cornelia says, putting a hand on Lily's arm, "I almost thought you were going to sit with the Gryffindors again."
Although she has a guess of what Cornelia wants her to do, Lily doesn't particularly feel like falling into it. They don't have to know what she did at the Gryffindor party or since then, but she won't act like talking to another house is the ultimate betrayal. There are too many important things happening to spend so much energy on school rivalries.
"Maybe sometime," Lily replies. "It's nice to see the pitch from a new point of view."
Cornelia looks like she considers this for a beat. "I suppose so. Learn anything useful for the next game?"
"Careful you don't spill any Slytherin secrets, Burke," Mary says with a shrug. "You're all sitting with one Gryffindor today."
"I think of all of us, Lily probably knows the most about Quidditch. And the players. Don't you, Lily?"
Her thoughts immediately turn to Jamie, as she's sure Cornelia intends. Jamie throwing her hair over her shoulder when she dives for the Quaffle. Jamie directing her teammates from her broomstick while scanning for the next play. Jamie and the way her scarlet and gold Quidditch jumpers will sometimes show off a flash of her collarbone.
"You give me too much credit, Cornelia. I'm not an expert. Just a fan."
As if on cue, a noticeable ripple makes it way through the spectators. The cheers pick up in earnest when the yellow and black clad Hufflepuff players step out from their locker room and onto the field. They follow their captain in a line to the center of the field. The other half of the excitable crowd joins the yells with their own when the Ravenclaw team lines up to face them. The players mount their brooms in a simultaneous, almost choreographed moment.
From a box in the center of the field, the referee releases the bludgers, which start a wild series of zigzags over their heads. A second later, the Golden Snitch zips into the sky and quickly disappears from view. The referee throws the quaffle into the air and blows her whistle as fourteen brooms take off from the ground.
At first, the pace of the game is rapid. One of the Ravenclaw chasers steals the quaffle from a player in yellow and scores before the rest of the team even realizes that it's happening. The quaffle goes back and forth for the next several minutes, both teams evenly matched enough to keep everyone guessing about what will happen next.
The match continues like this with neither team having enough of an advantage to make a conquering victory. Hufflepuff counters when Ravenclaw advances, but they don't make it to the end of the field on most of their plays.
As the game drags on, the players aren't the only ones barely hanging onto their seats. Everyone is still on edge, thinking that the outcome could change at any moment, but attention spans and observation stamina only last for so long.
When Mary starts to sag against Lily's shoulder, she decides corrective action is necessary. Her remaining school Quidditch games are numbered, so she can't let this one sink into boredom. Lily stands abruptly and turns away from the game to look up at the rest of the Slytherin onlookers.
"Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff!" she shouts. Lily puts emphasis on each syllable to make the cheer into a chant. "Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff!"
Roused from their seats, a few people slowly start to pick it up and join. It's quickly contagious. The other students pump their fists in the air and stomp their feet, breathing life back into the pitch and the game.
Lily looks back toward the pitch in time to see a Hufflepuff chaser use the new energy to steal the quaffle and make two goals in a row.
"Ravenclaw! Ravenclaw!"
Lily whips her gaze away from the yellow and blue players above the field. The new round of cheering comes from the opposite stands, where Jamie's head rises above the sea of red jumpers. She stands on one of the benches, turning away from the game to cup her hands over her mouth and get the Gryffindors to try to overpower the Slytherins.
She laughs but determinedly projects her voice to raise the Hufflepuff cheer. The yells around her increase as her housemates instinctually resist being beaten by Gryffindors at anything.
"Hufflepuff!"
Even Mary joins in, swept up in the collective rush of being in a live sports audience.
Someone from the field gasps. That carries over every cheer. The crowd can sense when something important is about to occur. It instantly brings everyone's attention back to whatever is happening on the pitch.
Half of each team swings their brooms around to their seekers. Both are pressed flat on their brooms, chasing the infamous streak of gold that will end this challenge. Everyone leans forward in their seats, as if they're flying along with them. The chants drop off as they focus entirely on the two players who take off after a set of fluttering wings.
In what will go down in school history as one of the most impressive plays of the decade, Vincent, the Hufflepuff seeker with hair that matches her robes, makes a spectacular grab. The Ravenclaw seeker stops a second too early when her fingers only brush the target, not keeping it in her grasp. Vincent takes the opportunity and shoves past to close her fist around the snitch.
Vincent's cheer might be the loudest of everyone, as if she can barely believe that she caught the snitch. She takes a wide loop around the pitch, the snitch's wings still fluttering in her raised hand. Half of the stands shriek in delight while the other half lets out a combination of groans and muffled curses.
Quidditch is a magical healer, Lily decides, when Mary sweeps all three girls in a group hug and Cornelia lets her.