I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner! But my computer had a virus that didn't allow me to go on the internet for more than a couple minutes at a time. Also, thank you a billion to all the reviewers, and I am so sorry that I didn't get a preview to you, due to the damn virus. Anyways, you all get a preview of the next chapter, along with anyone who will review this chappie here. So…chapter six. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Sigh. J.K. Rowling does.
Chapter Six
Lily's Point of View
Great, I thought bitterly. This is just great. This is home all over again.
I believed that if I went to Hogwarts, all my problems would be solved. I wouldn't have my father to deal with; my transformations would be kept secret, and I could have friends.
But no. Because I have the suckiest life out of anyone here at Hogwarts, I just had to be the one who gets abused by the weirdo who knows I'm a werewolf. I didn't have to wonder how he knew it- Petunia probably told him. She, most likely, was the one who put him up to this.
I'm not really surprised about the maliciousness of her behavior- she actually enjoys watching me get hurt. How sick is that?
Oh, shit, I'm late for Potter's flying lesson, I thought. Gingerly, I got to my feet. Pain exploded in my ribcage, making me slip to the ground again, gasping and clutching at my throbbing torso. That kid broke something, I'm sure of it.
Now, how the hell do I repair it? I questioned myself. I don't know any healing spells, and I can't go to Madam Pomfrey- she'll be sure to ask how I got them.
Eventually, I decided that I'd go to Potter's flying lesson and try not to hurt myself further, then when I got back to the dormitory, I'd casually ask Alice how to heal broken bones. The plan defiantly had flaws, but it was the best I could think of, so I had to try it.
I got to my feet again. This time, I was expecting the blast of agony in my upper body, so it wasn't as intense, but it still hurt immensely.
Finally, after ten minutes of slow limping, I reached the Quidditch pitch. For a moment, no one was there, and I thought that maybe Potter had either forgotten or had better things to do, but then I heard a voice call, "Oi! Evans! Over here!"
Pivoting on my heel, I was faced with Potter and his best friend. Perfect, I groaned silently. If I make a fool of myself, Black is never going to let me forget it.
"You're late, Evans," Black smirked. I narrowed my eyes at him but said nothing. I didn't want to accidentally spill what had happened to me before I got here.
"Okay, well, you're here now, so we can start. So, you already know that there's a Keeper, three Chasers, two Beaters, and a Seeker. Young Padfoot here," he gestured towards Sirius, who gave a little bow, "is a Beater. I'm a Chaser. Anyways, we'll try you out on all of the positions and see how well you play them." I nodded, but I was wondering internally how the hell I would be able to pull this off.
"So, first of all, get on the broom." Potter motioned towards the sleek broomstick to his right. I gave him a questioning look. He rolled his eyes and showed me how on the spare one next to mine.
Hesitantly, I picked up the handle and swung my legs around it. Shutting my eyes, I pushed my feet off the ground and waited to fall.
I never did. The broomstick stayed aloft, holding me in midair. Finally, something that felt good, that felt right.
"Great," James said enthusiastically. "You're doing great. Okay, so now I'm going to throw the Quaffle," he indicated the large red ball he was holding under his arm, rather like a Muggle football, "into one of those hoops, and you're going to try and stop the ball." He flew upwards, and I followed easily. Flying wasn't hard at all, and it didn't pain me to do it.
I was able to save three out of the five shots, something he said was pretty good for a first try. I could tell, though, that I wasn't a natural born Keeper.
Beater was up next. Potter thought that Black would do a better job explaining, since it was his actual position.
"Okay, so hold the bat like this," he demonstrated with his own hand, "and in the air, you have to hit Bludgers at the other team's players and away from ours." After I had shown that I understood, Potter let the struggling balls loose. They raced around the field for a second, then came rocketing back to us. The first went to Black, who reared his right arm back and took a good whack at it. The Bludger flew in the other direction.
The second one was mine. I tried to copy Sirius's motions, but I simply wasn't powerful enough to send it very far. Both boys didn't seem surprised. I wasn't incredulous I wasn't any good at this, either- I'm not exactly very muscular. I wish I hadn't even tried to do this, though- my muscles screamed in protest, and I screwed up my eyes and had to bite down on my lip to keep from crying out.
I was actually pretty good at Chaser- I got the Quaffle past James sometimes, but then again, he isn't a Keeper.
My real talent was Seeking.
"Okay," James said brightly, still enthusiastic, even though I'd pretty much failed at everything except the last position. Sirius had left, claiming he had to 'study'. Yeah, right. He never studies. Snogging girls in broom closets would probably be a more accurate description. "We'll try you out as Seeker next. This little gold ball," he held up a shining yellow sphere with fluttering silver wings, "is what you need to catch in order to end the game, plus you earn your team a hundred fifty points. This little bugger is fast, though," he warned me. "It's hard to see it, and even harder to catch."
This might be something I could be good at. I can fly very well, according to James, and one of my few strengths is being very aware of my surroundings.
"Okay, let's do this," I told him, setting my jaw. James released the ball.
His eyes followed it for ten seconds, at the most, but then they lost sight of the object. Me? My eyes tailed the Snitch, going left, down, right, down, left, and so on.
Urging my broom as fast as it would go, I bent low against the handle and squinted my eyes. The Snitch, almost as if it knew I was right by it, darted towards the ground. I raced behind it, knowing it would stop sooner or later, or else it'd hit the ground.
But the little ball didn't seem to want to stop. It kept diving towards the grass and mud, and then at the last second, it pulled upwards. I gasped. During the descent, I had gained too much power…it seemed like I was for sure going to crash…unless…
Throwing the full weight of my body against the broom, I yanked the front of the handle back so that it nosed upwards, only centimeters from the ground. It hurt my back like hell, but I knew that it would have been a lot worse had I crashed.
The little golden ball was hovering by the left goalpost. Again, it seemed to sense me going after it, but I was quicker this time. Wheeling my broom in front of it, I grabbed the Snitch and held it triumphantly in the air above my head.
James flew up to me, an almost…awed expression on his face. And he was doing it towards me.
"I-you-how- I thought you had never played Quidditch before!" he said to me, his voice slightly raised.
"Um…I haven't. That was just instinct. I didn't want to crash, so…" I replied, puzzled.
"But you just did a Wronski Feint!" he yelled. "Well, not exactly a Feint, 'cause you actually did see the Snitch…but still!"
"Okay…I have absolutely no idea what you just said," I told him, still bewildered.
"Evans, my flower," I scowled at him, and he smirked while mussing up his hair, which annoyed me greatly, "you have some serious talent. Show up for tryouts-I'm sure you'll make it." He winked at me. I rolled my eyes at him, even though I was kind of internally sighing a bit. What? He was…attractive. Physically. I don't…fancy him…at all. It's just physical, which I can't help.
"Sure. I'm going in…are you coming?"
"No, I'm going to practice a little…see you later, princess of flowers, oh queen of my heart-"
"Shut up," I called over my shoulder, already going towards the ground.
Quidditch was defiantly not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I loved it. The only flaw was that Potter and Black were exceptionally good.
I scowled. Potter's going to be showing off whatever chance he can if I make the team, I'm sure of it.
When I reached the ground, I was planning on putting my foot flat, but it just didn't work out that way. The toe of my shoe skidded on the ground, unbalancing me and making me fall.
It was almost as bad as getting tortured. My wounds from that evil boy opened up again, and the injuries I sustained from being a werewolf stung agonizingly.
A scream of pure pain split the air, coming from my mouth- I hugged my knees to my chest while attempting to make the burning ease.
"Evans!" I heard Potter yell. Air whooshed beside me, but I barely noticed it, because I was halfway in the world of dreams.
"You bitch!" I heard my father's cruel voice snarl. "Get your ass over here!" I couldn't exactly see him yet, but I felt the pressure and the stinging of his leather belt as it ripped against my side.
"No! Stop! Please!" I screamed. Then, I fell fully into unconsciousness.
This time, that boy that abused me before Quidditch and my father were both taking turns hurting me, whether it be whipping, kicking, punching, or a spell. Petunia watched, a malicious smile playing on her horsey features.
A voice jerked me back to awareness.
"Lily, damn it, answer me! God, what was that spell again? Enn…enn something….damn it, Evans, wake up!" it was screaming frantically.
My eyes flew open to meet the anxious, worried, hazel ones of James Potter. When he realized that I was awake, his anxiety melted into relief. I turned my attention to the ground- his gaze was piercing, almost like I was being x-rayed…and I didn't like it. I had too many secrets to hold.
"Evans, what the bloody hell was that?" he asked, helping me to my feet. I winced- my sides still hurt a little.
"Umm…I just tripped, and I guess that I hit my head. No big deal." I tried to blow it off, but Potter wasn't having that.
"You were screaming," he told me suspiciously. Damn, I cursed.
"Uh...I was in pain?" The sentence that was supposed to be a statement came out as a question. I looked hesitantly into his face to see if he was buying it.
It didn't seem like he was, much, but he could also sense my reluctance to answer his interrogation.
"Okay…but….if that happens again, we're going to Madam Pomfrey," he told me uncertainly. I nodded gratefully, but my mind was racing.
If I wanted to keep all of my secrets safe, I had better be more careful.
Terrible ending, I know, but I promise next chapter will be up soon, because the dumb virus is off. So….review, please!