Title: Reckless Abandonment
Author: Nesma
Disclaimer: Not Mine.
A/N: Remember how claimed I wrote this fic years ago? That's still very true. I wrote this when I was a teenager and there were scenes in this particular chapter that made me cringe. Not because of the writing, but my perception of what was 'sexy' and 'romantic' was very off. While I understood why I wrote a particular scene the way I did, I didn't feel comfortable posting this chapter in its original format. Also, fair warning, this story has just been made into M. I thought I could get away with the T rating but that's not the case anymore. This chapter is the sole reason why the M rating was in place. If sexy scenes are not your cup of tea, I get it, feel free to skip this chapter. Or the majority of it. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Also, the next chapter may not come out for a while. I realized that there were some flow problems to it that I didn't like. So, I'll be taking time to add scenes to make sure that it makes sense.

"Did you see the film last night? It was brilliant!" Julie asked in a giddy fashion, as Mark slung his arms around her shoulders, beaming widely at Julie. Julie laughed a bit, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared expectantly across the table.

Lily and Steven exchanged tight smiles. Lily's arms were crossed over her chest, as her eyes were cast downwards. It was blazing hot day and the pool was tempting, but the couples were stuck inside one of the small restaurants that filled the streets. It was most likely the world's most awkward double date ever.

"No. I didn't – I had some things to do." Steven said condescendingly. His hands folded in his lap as he threw a quick look at Lily, communicating perfectly his dislike.

Julie wanted to double date, and Lily thought it would be a fun idea. So there they were, in this little restaurant where they've already eaten their food and were now just waiting for the bill.

While Julie seemed oblivious to the dirty looks that Steven was throwing, Mark was perfectly aware and was trying to whisper something into Julie's ear. Of course, she kept on shaking her head and muttering, 'Not now.' Julie was always one to look on the bright side, the glass half full type of people. It was no surprise to Lily that she was trying to view this date on a positive spin.

And for a while, at the start of the meal, it had been going well. They all ordered their sandwiches with chips, they all commented on how delicious the menu was. They even had a pleasant conversation about the weather. They talked about their past escapades throughout the summer. It was only when they had ventured into topics about what they were going to do in the future, plans for the rest of week, and school work did the date start to go horribly wrong.

Steven felt the need to brag in a haughty fashion about the heavy coursework that he was doing next year. He explained in extreme detail his study regime for the summer to ensure that he was prepared for the upcoming school year. Even Lily felt her stomach twist in guilt as she realized that she had hardly put in the effort to study for her N.E. for next year. And this type of conversation made Lily angry, furious at him for thinking that everyone cared about this subject manner and frustrated that she actually felt competitive against him.

Lily stared angrily at the waitress who was just dazing off. Fuck. She didn't want to be here, it wasn't her idea of fun, and why the hell is Steven just acting like a prick? She knew he didn't condone of Julie – but to make a face like that? It's his mate's girlfriend for Merlin's sake! Couldn't he be a bit more easy going and a lot less formal? Did he truly feel the need to prance around like a prize winning show animal?

Looking around again, Lily spotted the waitress slowly making her way across the restaurant with a jug of water. Not a hint of the bill in her pockets or in her hand. Though, she was making a beeline for the other table in the restaurant. Lily looked back at the table as she took some deep breathes in, feeling her hands clench in fists. Then, at the corner of her eye, she noticed the waitress just passing Steven…

Water spilled all over him, his hair, face, and pants were soaking while the waitress was sputtering wildly. Lily quickly darted out of her chair as she noticed the watering jug had snapped cleanly in two, releasing the water it contained all over Steven. Horrified, Lily covered her mouth with her hand.

Because Lily knew that water jugs don't naturally split in half. They only do that when they're around emotional teenage witches who haven't learned how to exactly control their anger when it gets close to the edge.

"I'm so sorry!" The waitress cried shrilly, as she picked up half of the jug off of the floor and placed the two halves on a table behind her. She pulled out a rag from her pocket as she offered it to Steven, who snatched it savagely away from her – dabbing at the wet spots.

"Can we just get the check?" Mark asked quickly, noticing the angry red blotches on Steven's face as Lily went to shock.

Magic. Underage magic. Without a wand she was clear, she couldn't get in trouble since emotions tend to act in radical ways. But it still made her stomach weigh in guilt as Steven slammed the money he owed on the table as the manager was apologizing sweetly to the table while throwing nasty looks at the waitress, who just stood bubbling on the side, pulling out napkins and additional towels to clean up the mess.

As all four of them walked out, Lily paused at the door an turned around. She saw the manger screaming at the poor girl as she hung her head low. Looking at Steven, who was speed walking, Lily snuck another look back to see the waitress pulling off her apron, giving it to the manager, and walking towards the back where she disappeared from sight. The high ponytail was swinging as she moved to the backroom.

Lily turned her head around, as full fledge guilt rammed into her by surprise. The waitress was out of a job because of her, because of her freakish ways that made everything so much more complicated then they were.

All Lily could think about is what that girl will have to do. That girl and her future, if it's bright or not, or filled with waitresses jobs that kept getting snatched from her because witches and wizards who can't control their emotions. Perhaps Petunia was right about her freakish ways.

"What a fucking idiot – as if the jug snapped in two!" Steven snarled, as Lily just realized that he had been venting the entire time, his hands ridged as he kept making various motions. Lily nodded her head along, stuffing her own hands in her pocket. Hoping that the conversation would soon pass.

"Well, it sure looked like it…" Julie said nervously, as she shot a look at Lily, her eyebrows were knitted in concern way and Lily knew she was trying to find a way to save the waitress. At least one of them was trying to be the hero.

Steven just rolled his eyes, "Julie, things don't just snap in half. I bet she broke the jug over my head or something, just because-" Steven muttered angrily, his eyes rolling as Mark's frown deepened, and Lily realized she could see the teeth he was baring underneath his snarl.

"Just drop it Steven! It was just water, nothing big. Look, I have to take Julie home – but I'll see you tonight, right?" Mark asked quickly. Steven gave a curt nod in his direction before the two couples split off.

Lily took a deep breath as she looked over her shoulder to see that Mark was quick to tug and Julie's hand. Julie immediately bumped into him, resting her shoulder on his before she moved a bit way from him. Their fingers were interlocked as the moved down the street. Lily snuck a look at Steven whose own hands were balled into his pockets. He was muttering a bit under his breath and his nostrils kept on flaring. Lily felt completely at a loss of what to do in the moment.

"You alright? I bet it was annoying-" Lily started, her hand reaching for his shoulder. She thought it would be a comforting gesture. Instead, Steven shuffled away from her touch as if he knew that she was the cause.

Lily had to remind herself not to be a completely paranoid.

"I'm fine!" He snapped angrily at her and Lily shut up. Lily bit her bottom lip, shoving her own hands back into her pockets, her eyes staring down at the sidewalk, hoping that his anger would dissipate. After a few minutes, Steven stopped in front of his house. Lily followed his lead. He turned around to face her and he took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. That was really rude of me." Steven said quietly, his eyes staring down a bit before moving up to meet Lily's gaze.

"It's alright." Lily said, smiling up at his face as he sheepishly grinned down at her. Leaning down, he gave her a soft kiss, Lily was about to respond when he pulled away quickly. "Not here." He muttered, as if it was Lily who started the kiss.

Lily pulled at his hands, a glint in her eye as he smiled down at her. Steven quickly bounced up the stairs and Lily nearly giggled, hoping that she could just live in the moment. Steven produced a key and pushed the door open. After yelling for his parents, and quickly realizing that they were still gone from their errands or trip, he tugged on Lily's hand as they walked down to the living room where the couch laid.

Steven wrapped his arm around her waist and stared down eagerly at Lily. He tighten his grip around her, pulling her closer to him. Lips attached, Lily wrapped her arms around his neck as she stood on her tip toes to gain better access to his mouth. Steven opened his eyes to stare down, detaching his self from her lips he muttered, "We can't have that now…" he said huskily, his lids hooded as his hands wandered over her lower back.

Lily smiled shyly to herself, feeling her heart beat in excitement as they stumbled over to the couch. Both intoxicated with one another, though, Lily had the idea to escape from Steven's grip and to shove him onto the couch. Steven obliged, his own mouth turning into a smirk as he leaned forward on the seat as Lily stared down at him. She took her time to straddle his hips, and then she took hold of his head and laid a kiss on his lips. Deepening the kiss by prodding her tongue into his mouth, his hands wondered down her back and he boldly stuck his hands down the back of her pants. Lily bucked her pelvis into his, enjoying the gasp that escaped his lips as he scooted to cause a little more friction.

Lily let out a soft moan that drove him crazy, his hands disappeared from her back side and quickly slipped under her shirt and covering her breasts. She arched her back as his mouth left hers and went for her neck, nibbling softly.

Eager, Lily shifted her pelvis and her breaths turned into pants as she noticed him thrusting back. Lily pulled his face from her neck to her mouth, her hands going straight to his hair where they were short and silky, soft to touch.

Their mouths were hot and their tongues were battling out. Her hands were trailing down his neck as his hands roughly grabbed her lower back and pushed her further into him. Wanting to cause the friction, start the excitement and the panting, Lily sneaked her hands down the front of shirt. She enjoyed feeling his skin against her hands, she enjoyed tracing over his heart and felt utterly excited once she reached the front of his pants. Though, she did pause, realizing that they were never as bold as before to go this far. There was no real conversation. The only one they had was the fact that they would be potentially open to sleeping with one another towards the end of the summer.

Lily wasn't sure if this was the end of the summer or not yet.

At once, Steven dislodged himself from her, his eyes were dark and hooded. His hands resting on her backside. His eyes flickered over her as Lily felt herself grinning.

"Do you want me to?" Lily asked, nervous yet excited.

He gulped as he looked down to where her hands laid, "Yes, please." He said eagerly, as his mouth reattached itself to her neck.

And it was the way he said 'please' that shook Lily a bit back to reality. As if this was a formal affair. It brought her a bit back to the surroundings that she was on a couch, with her boyfriend. The boyfriend that could hardly survive a double date because he felt the need to be condescending. That he found her friends loud and rude while he felt he was clearly above the rest of them. Lily was never sure why the please made her so aware of the situation as it did, but it certainly was enough to make her pause a second longer than she anticipated.

"Here" He said, pushing her off his lap and getting up. He pulled a blanket out from the couch as Lily watched him nervously, he laid the blanket on the floor and sat down on it, looking up at Lily expectantly.

Lily lowered herself down, sitting across from him. She instantly reached over and started to kiss him, trying to get the spark, trying to rid herself of her guilty conscious. But the scene with the waitress kept coming up, and she really didn't want to think of that in this particular moment.

They laid down on their side, each shifting awkwardly so that one arm doesn't get smashed or laid on. He moved closer to her, pressing his pelvis against hers and Lily was reminded of exactly what she wanted to do with him. After all, she did want to enjoy this aspect with him.

Lily's hand undid the top button of his bands, and pulled the zipper down. Not even looking, closing her eyes tightly while her mouth was on his, she plunged her hand down his boxers, feeling where the hair ended.

She felt self-aware all of a sudden, as she gripped him, moving her hand up and down, Steven's mouth went off of hers and on her neck. Moving her hand faster, he bucked against her hand and his tongue was lazily pressing against her neck.

Lily looked down on him, his eyes were closed and his face contorted. He let a few whimpers and his pants were loud against her ears. Closing her eyes and pressing her face against his neck, she let her hand keep on pumping as she kept wondering if this was it as far as heated moments go.

"You can stop now" He whispered, as he put his mouth over hers, shifting her a bit so that he was on top of her. Lily, gladly complying yet confused, kissed him back – her hand retreated from his pants and onto this back. He gently pressed his pelvis against hers which caused her to grin into the kiss, her brain temporarily turning off as she pushed her pelvis against him.

Fuck. She was eager, desiring more of the friction she kept pushing against him. Her knickers getting wet but she didn't care, she didn't mind that she was here with Steven. Suddenly images of them doing it filled her mind and she found herself getting excited with the prospect.

Because she could easily imagine him discarding her clothes. She could see herself pulling down his pants. And to her, there was nothing hotter than that.

She felt him shift his body, taking advantage, she pushed him on his back as she straddled him again. Bucking her hips once and twice, catching her own breaths as he moaned. Leaning over him, Lily kissed him feverishly, wondering where the date would lead them.

And suddenly, his hands were at the waist band of her pants. His hand was hot against her belly, he pulled his mouth away from hers and she was ashamed that she was practically panting.

"Do you want me to?" He asked.

Lily nodded. "Yes." She whispered, aware that she was practically panting with desire as his hands paused on her stomach.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to say yes because you're too aroused to make a logical decision…" He said in a quite normal tone, as if he were above being aroused or lustful. And Lily groaned in frustration.

"Yes." She whispered again, and Steven was quick to undo her pants and to stick his hands down her knickers.

In that particular moment, Lily wished it was mandatory for every male to understand the anatomy of a women. To really get that there were multiple ways of pleasing women that did not involve going straight towards the main attraction.

Lily hissed suddenly as she felt his fingers pump in and out of her. Though she wanted it to feel good, it felt slightly painful. She tried shifting her hips a bit, but he took it that she liked and pumped in and out of her a bit faster.

"Stop. It hurts." Lily whispered, and was pleased that he complied. His hands darted out of her pants and went straight to her lower back. Lily was quick to throw a leg around his waist, and pushing her pelvis against his, realizing that it did produce the spark that she was so craving. Steven, in turn, seemed to enjoy this particular movement as well as his breathes became ragged.

Unfortunately, it was then that they started to hear the tell-tale signs that the parents were coming back to the house. At once, the two stared in each other in horror and quickly started pull up their zippers and smooth their hair. Pushing away from one another, Lily jumped to the couch as Steven hastily folded the blanket and threw it over the arm of the couch. Steven threw a quick look towards the stairs before reaching over to turn on the TV, his fingers working furiously at the dial before it came to normal channel for them to be watching.

Lily was pulling her hair back into a ponytail, hoping that it wasn't completely obvious in what position she was on the floor. Steven sat down next to her, and placed his arm over her shoulder, his head resting on her shoulder. Soon, they heard footsteps down the stairs, and Steven's mother poked her head in.

"Hello! Just came in and wanted to make sure everything is okay." The mother said, grinning widely before turning to glance at the TV. Once satisfied at the scene, the mother turned on her heel and walked up the steps slowly.

M*A*S*H was on TV, and Lily was staring at it while her stomach twisted and turned. Steven's mouth was suddenly nibbling on her ear. "That was fun, we should watch M*A*S*H more often." He said jokingly, as he pulled his head away from her shoulder.

Lily smiled and nodded. "It was a fun day." Lily said, smiling a bit to herself (it felt sort of forced, but she was sure that was normal) as Steven grinned happily at her. "I know! I mean, the double date part was really awkward…" Steven rambled, even laughing to himself as Lily's grin fell off her face.

"Why?" She asked, biting a bit down on her tongue as Steven glanced around the room, as if hoping to find the right words to explain his exact thoughts.

"Well, Julie just kept talking and I know she's your friend but, she says some really stupid things. I mean, I was just sitting there thinking, 'What the hell do you do with your life?' She's so… shallow. No offense or anything." Steven said, patting Lily on the shoulder, as if he merely pointed out a minor mistake rather than insulting one of Lily's oldest friends.

Lily's blood boiled. While Julie could be shallow, she had a heart of gold. She was kind and sweet. And it was perfectly acceptable if Julie's interest laid outside of the ones that Steven deemed 'acceptable.' Steven felt the need to go on the rumours he heard about Julie rather than the interactions he held with her.

And Lily was frustrated by Steven's double standards. How he often criticized his friends, mostly his female friends, for partaking in deeds that he viewed… well, unacceptable. Yet, was quick to do them himself without any sort of harsh judgment. Lily knew that he hardly looked down on himself for doing these acts since he was aware of the moral implications. Lily often rolled her eyes when he talked like this, it was easy to tune it out after a while.

"What were you doing last night?" Lily asked, realizing that she forgot to ask at lunch. Curious to see if he did do anything interesting the night before as the dialogue in the background faded away.

"Oh. I was studying, I know the courses I'm taking so I might as well have a head start. I just, don't have that much time to go watching movies and such. I just study." Steven said, shrugging his shoulders. As if it were completely normal for teenagers to spend their summers studying away rather than enjoying their days of freedom. Though, Lily was fine if one choose to study… she did resent the implications that he was better than others just because he spent his free time studying versus having fun with his friends or girlfriend.

"Oh." Lily said, wild thoughts going through her head. "Did you catch the news last night? Things in the Middle East are getting heated-"

"No. I studied. Remember?" He said testily, his eyes focused on the screen as Lily grew sicker by the second. "It'll be worth it though, I'll get a good job with the amount of work I'm putting in. You should really start doing that too Lily, studying the books and the courses you'll take – you'll be way further then your friends…" He said, as if he was smart enough to give her this sound advice.

Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had been studying and doing her homework. Though, she hardly liked to brag about it. It was so dull. Reading the detailed recipes for potions, learning the theory behind transfiguration, and even charms had its dull moments.

The problem is, she could hardly tell Steven the truth. Instead, she watched the episode with Steven as they laughed at the right moments and stayed silent at the rest. Steven's arm was around her shoulder and the both waved goodbye as his parents left the house for the second time.

As soon as the parents left, Steven's hand went straight to her thigh. And though Lily would have been excited an hour ago for this prospect, she felt tired and slightly irritated now. Hardly the moment to be experimenting.

Lily stood up quickly, the hand falling away. "I have to go, my parents will worry." She said, the excuse sounding fake in her ears. Steven got up and grabbed her purse. Smiling, Lily took the purse, but not before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hungrily on his lips. Grinning, Steven pulled away and whispered, "Let's watch M*A*S*H again soon, okay?"

Lily nodded before making way from the door. Taking long strides, Lily nearly ran to her house and opened the door. Thanking the gods that her parents nor sister was home, she ran up to her room and threw her purse on the ground.

Sitting on her bed gingerly as images of the day flashed through her mind. The waitress, the magic, the kiss, the hands. She squeezed her eyes shut as guilt raged through her body. She pushed to be on her back, as she tried to think about the day and how she felt about it.

While she wanted to so those acts with Steven, his thoughts on some matters annoyed her. She was mad how judgmental he was towards Julie and the waitress. She was frustrated with the amount of work he put into his schoolwork and used it as an excuse to be the town's jerk. She was just frustrated that she was starting to lose the boy that she liked.

The one who came to door with flowers for her mum. The boy who could talk about interesting items, like books and science. She missed the dates that he made her laugh. She missed the walks when they would hold hands and marvel at the beauty that surrounded them. She missed the boy she fell for.

Suddenly, she heard voices of her family and the main door opening and closing loudly. Quickly opened her eyes to see her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were wide with fear and her face was paler than usual. She felt her mouth go dry. She pulled the book from her bedside table, opening to the page, and started falling into the story.

She played the part well when her parents walked into the room to see how her day went.

Dear Lily,

I miss you terribly. School is a joke, I fall asleep in Biology class and still ace those tests, at least if you were there it would be more interesting. I could fall asleep on your shoulder. But then, I have those annoying classes like Physics where the teacher is just insane. She always picks on me, and yells all the time. And she's so nit picky with her answers on tests, like on one, she refused to count my answers correct because I didn't do it her way. How dumb is that? And I totally got it right too! So frustrating.

Also, I've been hanging around my dad's offices more. It's a great place to work, it's challenging and everyone can respect a banker. Dad has hinted that there is a possibility that I can get a job there once I'm done with school. Can you imagine? That would be great!

Anyway, I'm thinking about you every day and I hope things at school are doing well. I'm proud of you for getting to be Head Girl. I wish my school did something like that, but we just have student council which is pretty much a popularity vote.

I can't wait to hear from you.

Love,

Steven

PS. I can't wait for you to come home so we can watch M*A*S*H.

Lily gave a sigh, as she brought her legs underneath her, as she let her head hit the back of the arm chair, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she tried to gather her thoughts and feelings for Steven.

She was currently huddling up in the Heads Common Room, reading the letters from home. Her parent's letter was short and simple, wishing her a good school year. There was of course some fluff, like how Petunia's wedding is going, how Steven talks a lot about her, and their excitement for next year.

Furrowing her brow, she reread the letter from her boyfriend. There was nothing but arrogance and pride. There was nothing but envy and greed. There was nothing that made Lily want to stay with him, nothing at all.

Pulling the coffee table closer to her, she opened her ink bottle and grabbed a quill. Within an half an hour, plenty of spelling errors, and one major ink catastrophe: Lily had her letter for Steven.

Dear Steven,

I'm really sorry for the start of your school year. I know it's frustrating to have teachers against you for stupid prejudices – but you have to keep on working. Don't let them get you down! I know you're smart and will be able to make it through the school year.

Wow! A job at your dad's bank? That would be amazing! Like father like son! Plus, that means you won't have to travel far from home, from me.

I miss you terribly. I miss our long walks and our talks. I miss our times while watching M*A*S*H and I just miss being around you. I can't wait for Christmas break – four months though… it's so long!

School here is fine, the train ride up was alright. Head Girl duties aren't that difficult, my fellow Head Boy is helping me out a lot, which is great. Right now, I have to go watch a friend try out for the football team! I'll write more later!

With all my love,

Lily

Rereading the letter only once, Lily hastily stuffed the letter in an envelope. Then, she separated the mail that had to go out from the ones that had to stay. Placing the quills and ink bottles in one of the cabinets, Lily grabbed the incoming mail and chucked it into the fire. And she headed off to the quidditch fields, hoping to have some real fun.

"Where were you?"

Lily walked straight into her dorm room, passed Alice's bed, and rifled through her own trunk to find some sweat pants or easy jeans that she could wear today. "Heads Common Room and then I mailed some letters. I was behind on my letters. What's the time?" Lily asked, as she ruffled through some broken items at the bottom of her trunk.

"Too fucking early in the morning" Came the muffled voice of Marlene.

"Good morning to you too." Lily said sarcastically, as she pulled off her pajamas, and replaced them with a pair of jeans and her yellow blouse. Lily grabbed her beat up sneakers from under her bed and hurriedly placed them on.

Going straight to her mirror, Lily rifled through her make up. She quickly put on some mascara and eye linear. Then, she placed her hair in a messy pony tail. Pleased with her results, Lily grabbed her robe. "Sleep tight!" She told her room mates, in which Marlene swore loudly at her and threaten some hex; but by the time Marlene had finished her threat, Lily was already on her way out, grinning slightly with the prospect of the morning.

"Didn't expect to see you here."

Lily smiled down at Remus, as she walked towards, avoiding the slick spots on the bleachers.

"Well, I thought it would be fun. I've never been to the try outs though, are they always open to the general public?" Lily asked, as she tugged some stray hairs behind her ear.

"The try outs are open viewing only if you are in the particular house that is trying out. Last year was the last year that other houses could come to other people's try outs – too many cat calls and insults being thrown about." Remus said, shrugging slightly as his eyes were trained onto the field.

Nodding slightly, Lily just gazed at the figures on the pitch. Half of them seemed to be doing the appropriate thing, by flying and warming up. The other half seemed to be giggling on the pitch, talking, or just standing around. The only odd thing was the amount of people on the pitch…

"Remus?" Lily asked questioningly, doing a quick count of the amount of people on the fields with brooms slung over their shoulder.

"Hm?"

Lily hesitated for a second, "Are there really… that many Gryffindors?" Feeling slightly worried if she was truly off by the amount of people in the House. After all, she was Head Girl.

Remus smiled to himself, laughing a bit before getting an answer out "No, no. Not even close. Ever since James became captain, he keeps on getting various versions of his own fan club at the try outs. If you look closely enough, you can recognize some faces from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses."

"That's ridiculous!" Lily cried out, staring down on the pitch disbelievingly. She could understand if one or two 'fangirls' from other houses snuck onto the pitch to try out – but really, when more than two or three is a little excessive.

"It's the only reason why I come down to the try outs. It's hilarious seeing them fly, last year was the best when one of them crashed into the bleachers-" Remus said, clutching his stomach as he started to laugh at the memory. Lily just stared at him in horror before gazing back down to the pitch, hoping that no one would fly into them today.

"Oh my god…" Lily trailed off, clutching her stomach. She scolded herself for being 'muggle' in front of Remus and then had the thought that eating eggs and sausages before try outs was probably not the smartest idea.

Remus looked at her strangely, "Are you the type of girl who gets squimish at blood and fights?" He asked, his eyebrows raised as Lily took in a shaking breath breath.

"Sometimes…" Lily trailed off, trying to remember the last time she really needed to be concerned with blood and gore. She vaguely remembers watching a horror film with Steven, but they quickly stopped playing it once they realized how atrocious the plot was and how bad the actors were in the film.

"Then, why did you come?" Remus asked, "After all, try-outs are known for the injuries. The amount of people who come and can barely fly around the field without crashing… Well, you certainly need to have a stomach for it." Remus trailed off, staring back to the pitch.

Lily looked down at her shoes, her hands shoved deep into her robe pockets, trying to find the right words. "I've never been to one of these before. It's different and someone told me it would be fun. Besides," Lily grinned happily at Remus, "If I ever get scared I have my knight in shining armour right next to me!" She jokingly said, as she wrapped her arms around Remus's waist, lying her head on his shoulder as her and Remus laughed at her antics.

"Oh look! They're starting!" Remus said, as Lily detangled herself from him. She noticed that the figures were circling James. She could tell that he had his wand pulled out, confused, she stared down trying to find the sparks or some hint that there was magic occurring. Then, he started to talk and his booming voice echoed around the stadium.

"First off - I would like to thank everyone who came down here today. I realize that it takes a lot of courage to come down to this pitch today. So let's give everyone a round of applause!" James cried out enthusiastically, as scattered applause took place.

"There's one group of people though, who I feel deserve a special recognition, and those are the young students here, like the first and second years. You see, at eleven years old, I was this scrawny git who just dreamed on being on the team. I couldn't wait for the day that I became chaser. But I would have never come down to the pitch during my first years. So, for that, let's get all of the first years up front!" James cried out excitingly.

There was a little chaos, as all of the little creatures crawled up to the front. Each of the younger ones were beaming widely at James, their broomsticks thrown over one shoulder to mimic James' movements. James stared to clap which got the people in the stands to start clapping too.

"Now, since I have all of you amazing folks upfront in my memory, I want you to scamper off. The Quidditch teams do not allow any first years, therefore, I cannot allow you to try out. But please come out next year, you'll certainly be eligible then." James said happily, as the first years quickly lost their grins and muttered darkly under their breaths. Slowly but surely, the first years walked off the pitch.

"Alright then, let's do some laps around the pitch!" James said confidently, as he hopped onto his broomstick and flew high into the air, giving him a bird's eye view of the pitch.

Lily thought that this was quite a wise thing to do, as a good quarter of the students trying out barely had control over the broom, one boy almost crashed into the stands – which led James to quickly dismissing all of those who couldn't fly.

Then, James noticed that there were some Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw girls trying out, in which, he threaten to take away house points. Instead of quivering in fear, the opposing houses of Gryffindor ran away, giggling loudly.

"Quite a fan club, huh?" Lily said jokingly.

Remus snorted. "You have no idea. Some of those girls can get really crazy."

"Oh goody, are we talking about James' fanclub? I thought I saw them running away…" Sirius trailed off, as he plopped right next to Remus, handing him mug of steaming hot chocolate, Sirius threw an annoyed glance towards Lily who tried her best to ignore him.

"Sorry Lily, I didn't realize that you had gotten the stick out of your ass long enough to know what fun was- " Sirius muttered, bringing his own mug to his lips.

"Shut it Black." Lily muttered darkly, as she stared straight ahead. She watched with amusement as one of the girls trying out to be a beater, miserably failing of hitting the buldger.

"What are you doing here again? Really, I expected that you'd be in the library or doing some studying." Sirius made sure that his tone expressed disgust, Lily started to get angry.

"I was invited here and I was curious. Just because I'm Head Girl doesn't mean I'm some boring, old hag." Lily snapped, leaning a bit over Remus to fully talk to Sirius.

"I beg to differ." Sirius said darkly, his eyes focused on the pitch. Lily was about to open her mouth to retort when Remus cut her off.

"Would you two please shut up? Watching the Keeper try outs is fun." Remus snapped, turning his head at both of them.

Lily rolled her eyes and stared straight ahead, not speaking a word to Sirius for the rest of the try outs.

"Why didn't you say you were going to the try outs?" Complained Marlene at lunch time, as she plopped some of the shepherd's pie into her plate.

Lily sighed, as she poured some more pumpkin juice. "Because it was early. And it honestly didn't occur to me to invite you guys."

"Good to know where we stand. I love you too by the way." Marlene said lightly, getting laughs from the group of friends.

"No, no, it wasn't like that and you know it. But the try outs were done by lunch time and it was too early to wake any of you lot, so I let you sleep." Lily said, as she happily shoved some food into her mouth.

"Well. Was it fun?" Alice asked, cutting a bit into her steamed vegetables.

"It was. I mean, I hung out with Remus and we chit chatted here and there. But it was amusing to see some of the flyers, even I could have flown better than some of them! But, Black decided to come along and be a complete jerk-" Lily ranted, hardly noticing the looks of shock and horror from her friend's faces.

"Thank you Lily. You look so gorgeous and pretty today, must be with all of the compliments you keep handing out to me!" Sirius said sarcastically, as him and Peter passed the group of girls.

"Stupid git." Lily muttered under her voice, resisting the urge to throw the plate at Sirius. It would mess up his hair, causing himself immense distress. And then there is the added bonus that he could actually pass out…

"Hey Lily, think you can help me out with my potion's homework today? I'm totally lost in that class…" Marlene trailed off, as she roughly shoved her food around on her plate.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I haven't finished but I can definitely help. Library? After lunch?" Lily asked, taking another bite from her meal as she felt the wave of anger pass.

"Sounds great! Thanks Lily!" Marlene said happily.

An afternoon in the library was quite dull, a few quiet conversations, the ruffling of pages, and the harsh voice of Madame Pince's voice was all that could be heard. Yet, for two hours, Lily and Marlene worked diligently on their potion homework. An occasional gossiping session took place but nothing more.

"Thank Merlin that were done with that blasted homework. Who assigns that much homework? Complete nuttter!" Andrea ranted, a spring to her step.

"I know! But it's not much better than McGonagall's homework load…"

"Ugh! I'm not going to even look at her homework until tomorrow…" Marlene trailed off, her bag swinging slightly.

"Or Monday morning?" Lily teased, bumping her shoulder into Marlene's.

Andrea shoot Lily a teasing look, "Hm, Monday morning does sound tempting... But! This year, I've vowed on being a better student." She said proudly, keeping her head up high.

Lily snorted, "Excuse me? Doing homework on time then?"

"Exactly! Not only getting homework done on time but not procrastinating and not waiting till the last second to actually study…"

"Weren't these the same goals you had last year?" Lily asked, grinning to herself as she heard Marlene make a lofty sigh.

"Lily, I was a naïve sixth year then, I couldn't even do magic in my own home! But now, I'm a seventh year. Much more wiser then last year, full of life experiences that have taught me the errors of my ways…"

"Right…" Lily said, a teasing smile lingered on her lips while Marlene ignored the sarcastic tone of Lily as well as Lily's smile.

"Any guys catch your fancy?" Marlene asked, after a few moments of silence of their walking.

"I have a boyfriend, remember?" Lily said quietly, confused by the question.

Marlene just waved a hand, "Still, it's a long distance relationship, I doubt it's going to work out. No offense Lily." Marlene said quickly, turning around to face her friend with a petrified look in her eyes.

Lily gave a sigh, "No, don't worry, a lot of my muggle friends said the same thing. But he won't cheat on me… he's a good guy." Lily said.

Plus, no one would want to be with him anyways… Lily thought darkly to herself.

"And you Lily, is little miss perfect. You won't cheat on him either. Perfect match!" Marlene said happily, turning around and walking.

"Right. What about you though? And boys?" Lily asked, looking up to see Marlene's eyes light up with excitement.

"Nah, though there is that Ravenclaw kid… Ian McDonalds." She said dreamily as Lily looked at her with utter horror.

"He's a fifth year!" Lily exclaimed, nearly laughing at Marlene's nonchalant expression about this piece of information.

"So? He's only two years younger!" Marlene argued quickly.

"You're quite the cougar, you know that Marlene?" Lily said teasingly, as she quickly muttered the password for the Gryffindor Common Room.

"So? He's cute!" Marlene said happily, walking into the common room.

Lily just shook her head, "Oh Marlene, I thought you learned the errors of your ways. Remember Mark last year? He was a fifth year too…"

"Ew. Don't remind me, sloppy kisser, no manners, but I can just tell that Ian is different." Marlene said, a happy look crossed her face as she plopped onto the couch. Most of the younger years were working on their homework out the outside of the seats clustered closer to the fireplace.

"Whatever you say…" Lily said happily, as she sat on the armchair next to Marlene.

"Where have you two been?!" Emmeline asked, jumping on to the couch, her eyes gleamed in the fire's light.

"Library, why are you so excited?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"I'll tell you where I haven't been… I have not been in the boys dorm rooms where Alice might be hanging out with Frank…"

"Do not need to know about this!" Lily said, as she covered her face with her hands.

"Still, better then the potions classroom…" Emmeline trailed off, laughing mirthlessly at Lily's flushed face.

"Em! I do not need nor want to know about where Alice and Frank snog!" Lily said, her words mumbled behind her hands.

"Well, now you know where not to look when you patrol!" Emmeline said happily. "Since Frank and Alice are there, you don't need to worry about tonight!"

"That'll be nice" Lily said, instantly reminding herself that she did not need to worry about doing patrols tonight since she wasn't on duty.

"Speaking of which… don't you need to patrol soon?" Emmeline asked, her head tilted to the side as Lily frowned at her.

"No, what are you talking about? It's barely three!" Lily stated, confused to the fact why everyone thought that she was patrolling all the time.

"Right. But don't you always need to patrol the halls? You know, you have some free time, so you'll go marching around in the halls, upholding the ancient rules of Hogwarts; ensuring that the young ones know the difference between right and wrong…" Emmeline said gleefully, a large smile on her face.

Lily just laughed at her friend's silliness. "If I did that, then I would have to deduct points from you for causing a 'disturbance in the common room'."

"Fine then. If you truly see my motivational speech as a 'disturbance' then I'll be as quiet as a mouse. Starting… now!" Emmeline said in a goofy way. She pretended to zip her lips, as she sat back on the couch. Her lips were trembling and Lily knew she wanted to burst out in laughter.

Lily giggled, earning a disapproving look from her silent friend.

It was moments like these, that Lily was entirely grateful for Hogwarts.

AN: Love it? Hate it? Review it!