The Friday before the Quidditch final showed Hogwarts looking like an asylum. There were students running around everywhere. Some were trying to secure dates for the end of the year ball in only three weeks and needed to coordinate outfits, others were studying, and then there was the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James hadn't seemed to stop them practicing for anything.

Hermione and Lily were watching them from the beech tree next to the lake, charms books laying forgotten in front of them. They didn't need them anyway. If anyone was going to ace their exams it was the two sixth year Gryffindor girls.

There were also two very fit and mostly (sometimes) charming boys that adored them trying to impress them up there.

Hermione was smiling at Lily who looked frustrated beyond words. She was picking at the grass in front of her like each one personally offended her as a person.

"I mean it's not like I'm blind," she started, "I have eyes. I know what he looks like." As she said it both girl's eyes drifted towards the Quidditch pitch. James had the team in the air running some kind of drill. It was easy to see why he was made the first sixth year Captain. Even from their spot next to the lake they could hear the way he led his team.

"McKinnon, tilt your broom to the right more to stay tighter in formation. Yes! Exactly." Marlene's hair was everywhere but she was like a laserbeam on the Bludger. James knew this. "Sirius, bat speed mate!" Sirius choked up on his bat and hit the bludger harder than before. Whatever critique James made - he had a solution.

"And what does he look like?" Hermione prodded. She was genuinely curious. It was hard to believe anyone wouldn't find James Potter attractive but he just looked too much like Harry - albeit a much taller and more filled out Harry - than she was comfortable with.

Lily sighed and threw down a dandelion. "He's bloody fit is what he is. He's a giant pain in my arse but he is probably my favorite thing to look at, especially after practice," she said pointing up at him. The admission seemed to deflate her somewhat. Hermione chuckled a little and grabbed her shoulder. James, who happened to be looking over at them when Lily was pointing, nearly fell off his broom.

"Then why are you -"

"I don't know!" she started angrily, pushing up off the ground and holding onto her hair. "Because it's James and no matter what he may look like he is still the insufferable prat that used to charm birds to follow me around at all hours of the day to 'sing to me.'"

"Well that's sort of romantic," Hermione started, remembering her own bird incident. Lily rounded on her.

"They were woodpeckers and bats." Hermione slapped a hand to her mouth.

"A bat isn't even a bird."

"I know," Lily deadpanned, "Charms was not his best subject at the time. My hair was in such a mess I had to cut six inches off." The images were truly terrifying. "So that's just it. I don't see him as the Quidditch captain, top of his class, pretty boy all-star. He's the boy that picked on my red hair until I cried when I was eleven and hurt my best friend." Hermione could understand that, thoughts drifting back to Ron and a night at the Burrow. Lily looked like she could cry now and Hermione looked back up at the pitch. The team was now flying laps, diving whenever James instructed. They looked amazing.

"I understand Lily." She turned red rimmed green eyes up at her. Hermione wanted to tell her everything, confess every single horrible and amazing thing she had ever done. Tell her that she was doing literally every single thing for her. Hermione sighed. "I used to date this boy named Ron. We were friends for, oh Merlin, years. He was horrible to me when we were younger but then when I started showing interest in someone else he got jealous. It took me showing interest in someone else for him to actually acknowledge out loud that I was a girl."

This made Lily laugh and Hermione smile.

"So, of course I didn't pursue anything. He dated other people and I studied." Hermione looked up at the Quidditch pitch. Remus blocked shot after shot. "He was a Keeper too, actually."

"Too?" Lily said, just a little watery. Hermione realized her mistake just a little too late. Hermione sighed loudly again.

"Yeah," she told her. "You know, when Ron started dating this girl I didn't like, I used that bird spell I showed you in transfiguration to attack him." Lily's eyes widened before she started laughing. Hermione did too. "It was probably the most vindictive thing I've ever done but I loved him. I still do. I mean, it never would have worked and would have ended horribly but he was my family."

"Was?"

"He died." It was so simple. Two words. Six letters. Fucking crushed. "So that's why I hold back Lily because I like him. I really, really like him."

That was enough for them to pick their textbooks back up. They made study guides, talked about school work, deciphered difficult texts but didn't breach the boy subject until it was staring them in the face.

"Well hello, beautiful ladies." Half the Gryffindor team was smiling down at them, uniforms in various states of undress. "Care if we join you?"

Before either of the girls could argue Marlene, Sirius, Remus, and James threw themselves down on the grass beside them. Hermione had to stop herself from melting into Remus' side. Neither one of them had acknowledged their conversation in the kichens and Hermione found herself wondering if she crossed a line.

"What did you think?" James asked, "think we're ready?" Lily shrugged.

"You're alright." He looked at her with an offended glare.

"Alright?" he demanded outraged. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means you'd be better if you told Rucker to pull up just half a second later on his dive, tried a V formation with a fake release reverse, and Remus got an assist from the rings," Hermione said, not looking up from her book and coming up with Harry's Playbook from his Captain year. Everybody looked at her but said nothing. Eventually she raised her eyes. "What?"

"I'm sorry can you run that by us one more time," Sirius requested in what may have been the most polite voice she had ever heard from him. Hermione repeated herself and hoped that whenever Harry was he wasn't cursing her to pieces for giving his plays away.

"Holy shit," James said suddenly. "I have to go!" Without thinking, because if he was there is no way in hell he would have done it, he jumped up and dropped a kiss on Lily's head before sprinting back up to the castle, talking to himself and moving his hands in all sorts of ways. They all turned frightened eyes on her.

"Did he just-?" she asked, pointing in his direction. They nodded.

"Sure did babe," Marlene confirmed.

"Oh God," she groaned, falling back onto the grass. Hermione knew that her walls were starting to wear down and that wasn't something that Lily was thrilled with.

"It'll be okay Lilykins," Sirius told her patting her knee. She opened one venomous eye. "Maybe not," he said. "We're just going to go check on him." He stood up grabbing Remus by the collar and dragging him up.

"See you later, guys," Marlene said, accepting the kiss Sirius gave her on her lips. Remus smiled gently at Hermione.

"Bye honey."

oOoOo

It was Gryffindor versus Slytherin for the Quidditch final because what else would it be. The morning of, James wasn't half as nervous as he was for the Ravenclaw match which made Hermione smile. When they came down to breakfast, it was all swagger and confidence.

"I hope you are all ready to get drunk tonight!" Sirius declared, "because there is absolutely no way we aren't bringing home the Cup today!" Remus clapped him on the back, sliding into his permanent seat next to Hermione.

"As if you need an excuse to get drunk," Marlene said, patting him on the cheek. He smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders, kissing her in an entirely inappropriately way over breakfast.

"Enough you two," James yelled, throwing a biscuit at them. They didn't make any motion that they had heard them. It was unsightly really.

"Are you actually going to have fun tonight or are you just going to study?" Remus asked, suddenly very close to hear ear for the first time since that night. The atmosphere of the day seemed to loosen everyone up. She could hear the smile in his voice. This game they seemed to be playing was starting to become torture. She turned to face him and realized that they were only inches apart.

"I'll have you know sir, that I have fun all the time." He grinned, all clear blue and charming.

"You'll have to prove it to me." She shivered. 'Prove it' had to be the sexually charged phrase in the English language.

"You two are going to be the death of all of us," Sirius said suddenly. Hermione and Remus turned towards him, suddenly beet red and pulled out of their own little world. Peter was laughing openly at them.

"I don't know what you mean," Hermione scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest… and her legs.

"I'm sure you don't," James said with a grin that was far too Fred and George like. "Come on team, let's get down to the pitch. Kiss for good luck Evans?" he asked, hopefully. Lily looked thoughtfully for a moment and then turned and kissed the top of Marlene's head.

"Good luck, team!" he tried to scowl at her but rolled his eyes good naturedly instead. He would take any good will he could get.

"How about you, honey? Kiss for good luck?" Hermione could have killed him but the goofy lopsided smile that he was giving her stopped any no that she could have come up with. She reached up and kissed the side of his scarred face. His hands rested lightly on her hips, the few layers of clothing between them suddenly very apparent.

There were a bunch of whistles before Hermione was so embarrassed that she sat herself firmly back down and let Remus follow his team out the door – swagger almost as arrogant as James'.

"You guys are too much," Lily said with a smile. "Come on let's head down. I for one, want to see if James uses any of Hermione's suggestions."