One month later.
"Alright, we've got some great conditions today, although it's a little windy so keep that in mind," said James, looking around at his Quidditch team.
James was preparing his team for their first match. They were playing Ravenclaw, who were expected to be quite a challenge this year.
"Clark, Benjamin, remember what we worked on at practice yesterday. Keep those techniques in mind."
James was speaking to Gryffindor's Beaters, who were not only strong, but were also able to place bludgers with uncanny accuracy. They were well-known and well-feared amongst Quidditch players of other houses.
"Lily, take advantage of your speed. You're small, and you know how to fly that broom. You're one of the best fliers out there. Once you get around who you need to get around, you'll make it every time."
Lily, who played as a Chaser for Gryffindor, was fairly timid and had trouble with keeping the quaffle once she got it. However, she had inherited her mother's accuracy, and as James said, once she got around the people in her way Lily would score nearly every time.
"And remember, if you're not sure what to do, you've got Jack and me for help. The worst possible thing you can do is panic."
James was also a Chaser, along with Jack, a seventh year.
"Albus, Sam, we all have faith in you both. Albus, I know you're going to catch that snitch today. And Sam, I know that you're not going to let any stupid goals in. If the quaffle goes in, it was a hell of a shot."
There were several cheers after this last statement to the team's Seeker and Keeper. James looked around at his team one last time.
"Alright then. Let's do this."
The Quidditch stadium was packed with students and staff. Talk of this match had been going around for a while, and no one was quite sure who would win. No one wanted to miss it. As both teams marched onto the field, the stadium erupted with cheers.
"Captains, shake hands."
James still couldn't get used to being called "Captain." He loved it. He'd never heard his father so proud of him before telling him the news. Harry and Ginny couldn't make it to James' first match, but in a way he was happy for this. It gave him a chance to get used to being in charge and responsible for his team before his dad could critique him.
"Aaaaand they're off!"
Albus couldn't help but smile as he glanced at the commentator's booth and saw Hugo. While hovering above the pitch, searching for a glint of gold, Albus stole a few glances at the match. It was an extremely close game. One team was rarely ever winning by more than ten points before the other team came back.
"And Potter has the quaffle! Lily Potter, that is. I guess I ought to use first names for them, seeing as there's three of – GOAL! That's ten points for Gryffindor thanks to Po-Lily! That keeps Gryffindor in the lead, 80-60," said Hugo over the roar of the crowd.
"And there's another from James! 90-60, Gryffindor!"
Albus continued to listen to Hugo's commentary as he looked around for the snitch.
"And Ravenclaw bounces back with a goal! 90-70, Gryffindor!"
And there it was. A tiny glint of gold, hovering just above Sam's head as he dove to save a shot by Ravenclaw. Albus dove as fast as he could toward the golden hoops that Sam was protecting. He could feel Ravenclaw's seeker behind him, but knew better than to look back. It would only slow him down. All sounds were slowly escaping Albus. He could only hear the wind in his ears. No longer could he hear the crowd's cheers, Hugo's commentary, or any of the players. All of his senses were focused on the golden snitch, which was now just a few feet behind the middle hoop.
Crack!
Albus' shoulder was walloped by a bludger, and he was sent spinning sideways. Albus grunted in pain as he tried to redirect his broom toward the snitch again. Ravenclaw's Seeker had passed him, and was reaching for the snitch...WHAM! Benjamin sent a bludger straight to the Seeker's head, and Albus flew past him. His right shoulder was throbbing, so Albus reached for the snitch with his left hand, barely able to stay on his broom...
"And Potter has the snitch! 150 points to Gryffindor! Gryffindor wins, 240-70!"
The crowd roared. Albus was all smiles and began to congratulate all of his teammates as they all flew into a crazy midair huddle on Gryffindor's end of the field. Albus looked toward the other end of the field and saw Lily hand the quaffle to the referee before flying toward the huddle. She was beaming until Albus saw two flashes of red light hit her directly in the chest.
Both teams watched has Lily's smile slowly faded, her eyes closed, and she began to fall.
"LILY!"
Forgetting everything, Albus dove. He flew faster than he'd ever flown in his life. All around him, there was nothing. Nothing but his little sister, who was falling faster and faster toward the ground. Albus gripped his broom with his right arm despite the excruciating pain, as fear gripped him more than any other pain possibly could.
The four seconds it took Albus to reach Lily was just barely enough time. Lily was about ten feet above the ground when Albus quickly gripped her arm with all his strength and tried to yank her body towards him. As he did so, he felt something pop in Lily's arm.
"Shit!"
Albus lost control of the broom. He fell the remaining distance to the ground faster than Lily, so he was able to grab her and cushion her fall as he landed directly on his back. His back didn't hurt at all, but he cried out as he felt a sharp, shooting pain in his shoulder. Still holding onto Lily, he opened his eyes just in time to see James fly past them on his broom.
James was not far behind Albus after he dove. It all happened so fast. Lily fell, Albus dove, then they were both on the ground. James had every intention of stopping, but then he looked up and saw two hooded figures flying away on broomsticks. He began to pursue them as fast as he possibly could.
James probably would have caught up to the hooded figures if one of them had not turned around. The face under the hood looked vaguely familiar, but James didn't have enough time to see many details before the hooded figures shot off faster than before.
To make things worse, the two figures began shooting curses behind them. This only made James angrier as he continued to pursue them. He reached into his pocket for his wand, but soon remembered that he didn't usually bring his wand to Quidditch matches. What was he going to do? The second they made it to Hogsmeade, they would be able to disapparate. Looking up, James realized that one of the hooded figures was turned around slightly.
Suddenly, the figure shot a spell directly at the roof of a small cottage James was just about to fly over. There was no way to dodge it. The tiled roof exploded underneath James, and he felt immediate pain all over. He could just barely see the two black blurs watching, so James willed himself to continue. Just one last dive would do it. James shot forward, but the hooded figures noticed just in time. James' fingertips were millimeters away from one of their cloaks when they disapparated.
James, losing consciousness, flew through the space that the two figures had just been occupying, and hurtled straight to the ground.
Albus was in pain. His shoulder was broken and completely out of place. He sat in the hospital wing with his cousins right next to him.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Rose asked him.
"I'm fine. It's fine. What's wrong with Lily?" Albus asked for nearly the tenth time since he'd arrived in the hospital wing.
"Don't lie to me! And...I don't know yet. I don't think anyone knows yet," replied Rose.
"What spells were they? Did you see them? Please tell me you saw," said Albus.
"I did see it. I'm no expert though..." Rose trailed off.
"Yes you are! You're an expert at everything! Just please tell me what you thought it was, because I know you'll be right!"
"Well...judging by the color, trail, and force of the spells, it looked to me like they were both stunning spells," said Rose.
"But how can that be right? She should wake up soon then, shouldn't she?" asked Hugo.
Rose shook her head and said, "It's different. If it had been one little stunning spell, then yes, you'd be correct. But, these were two, extremely powerful stunning spells which she took directly to her chest. And she's..." Rose trailed off again.
"She's what!?" asked Albus, looking worriedly at the other side of the room where Madam Pomfrey was examining Lily on the other side of a curtain.
Rose looked frightened and said, "She's just so young, and so small. When someone her size takes a hit like that..."
There was silence. No one wanted to finish the end of that sentence. Suddenly, the door burst open, making all three of them jump. Albus winced in pain.
Professor McGonagall walked into the room briskly, followed by Harry and Ginny Potter.
"Albus!"
Harry and Ginny both rushed to their son.
"Mom, Dad – Lily, she-she was flying, and then-" Albus was near tears when his mother cut him off.
"We know what happened, honey. We are so proud of you. You saved Lily from a lot by catching her," said Ginny, kissing Albus on the forehead.
Harry smiled and said, "You caught the snitch and that just wasn't enough, huh?"
A tiny smile formed on Albus' frightened face.
The temporarily lightened mood plummeted when Madam Pomfrey began to walk towards the Potters.
"I don't want to move her until I'm sure of what's going on. I'm bringing in some Healers, they'll be here soon. She's breathing alright and that's the most important thing, so we can afford to wait for them to get here," said Madam Pomfrey.
"How long will it take?" asked Harry.
"A half an hour or less."
Harry nodded and turned to Professor McGonagall.
"Where's James?"
