Unexpected Things

KeysCanHurt: . =)) Well Dirk has his uses :)) or would he have had other reasons for helping Scorpy? /:) HAHAH, I was thinking of another couple, but yeah, it IS very much like Ron and Hermy :)) Hmm, I could do that for ya :P and I'll think up something for the twins to do =))

crazy-wee-cat: Yeah... I am very much enjoying Rose and Raph as well xD Hmm... what about Scorpius? Maybe I'll fix it. The twins have become very popular, I see xD

MalfoyMaiden: Haha, okay :)) Hmm... maybe I'll cut down on it in the chapter :P

J. R. Lewis: That's a pretty accurate way to view Dirk. Hahah, well history gets repeated once in a while doesn't it? xD

yellow 14: Alrighty then ;) I'll come up with those. Hahah, yeah, Dirk is odd... but maybe useful. lol

LoveyouLuke x: Thanks :) And definitely, I've got something planned for Raph and Rose now xD

Guess Who!: Hmm... I'll think about the ferret scene :))

Chapter Nineteen

Quidditch

Things were looking up. There were still the rumors and the crazy theories and questions, but most of them were happier than they had ever been in the two months that just passed.

Raph and Rose were happy, Al could see that. Although Demelza told him that they still haven't kissed and jokingly said that maybe it's because they're both bad at it.

Scorpius told Al and the twins that he and Jacqui already kissed. It was good to have Scorpius back, and noticeably, he was much happier. Jacqui was too. That pair made each other happy, and Al could see that they cared about each other.

Theo and Tom hadn't changed, still the usual pranks and craziness.

Lily's ferret, Cookie and her babies were well. Rose and Lily visited them often. Al went there once in a while, but he often paid more attention to Thorntalon than the ferret. Rose and Lily already told him which baby ferret to give to Scorpius. After looking at the little creature, and Al had to admit it was cute, he agreed that Scorpius would love it-- him.

Oh, and Hagrid finally got the paint off the Thestrals and they were back in the forest, invisible.

Hugo still hadn't told Uncle Ron what his House was. And admitted he was scared of the Christmas break, when he might finally tell his father. Hugo said he already told Aunt Hermione, and she was fine with it and that she would help Uncle Ron understand.

James and Paula were doing well too, though Al wondered how the upcoming Quidditch match, the first of the season, would go. Both of them were Quidditch players, both Chasers.

Al noted that Demelza wasn't so happy.

In fact, she wasn't as hyperactive and cheerful as usual. She still made jokes and laughed once in a while, but Al could see that something was bothering her. She was depressed, and he wasn't sure why.

Even if the girls that Al now had to spend time with couldn't cheer him up when he could see Demelza upset.

Lily was nervous.

No, nervous was the wrong word.

She was terrified!

She wanted to faint!

She wanted to hide somewhere, anywhere! Even the Forbidden Forest, right about now, looked like a much safer, comfortable place compared to the Quidditch pitch

Earlier that day, she visited Cookie, and Cookie had nuzzled her affectionately, almost like she was comforting Lily. Lily was comforted.

But it had worn off.

Right now, she would rather be going to sit and watch, in her usual black school robes, waving a red flag and cheering for Gryffindor House. She didn't feel ready. The scarlet Gryffindor robes seemed to be weighing her down, the broom in her hand seemed to whisper threats to her, telling her all about how it would buck her off when she was really high in the air. The locker room felt like a prison, the walls closing in on her.

Lily could feel herself shivering.

"What if I mess up? What if we lose?" She heard her own voice coming out two times more high-pitched than it usually was.

"Don't worry, Lily." James winked at her. "If we lose, I'll hex you."

"WHAT?" Lily gaped at her brother in horror and backed away from him, bumping into Rose as she did so.

Laughing, James ruffled Lily's red hair. "I was joking!" Why did James take pleasure in messing up other people's hair and making it look as much of a bird's nest as his did? She saw him do it to Al a lot.

Unlike James, Al often tried to flatten his hair. James tried to make his messier.

Lily kept hers neat.

"I won't hex you, my little sister!"

He was just joking around, he meant no harm.

But still…

It didn't help.

She was still scared and unconvinced.

Her heart wouldn't stop galloping.

Her body wouldn't stop trembling.

"Lily, don't worry." Rose put a hand on her shoulder. "Just do your best, alright? You'll be fine! And we won't be mad if Gryffindor loses."

"Okay…" Lily swallowed. "But I'm scared… of messing up."

Rose gave her a hug. "It's fine! You're a Gryffindor, Lily. We face our fears! I was just as terrified on my first game. It's okay to make mistakes, what matters is you tried."

"Thanks, Rosie."

"Don't fret, little Lily!" Fred put an arm around Lily's shoulders, pulling her close. "You just concentrate on getting the Snitch, we'll knock out anyone who'll get in your way or hurt you. Okay? You'll be safe!"

"Okay…" She'd be safe.. She was going to be safe.

The team captain, Parvati Thomas walked over to Lily. "Just relax, Lily. Don't panic, keep calm and think that it's just like we practice. You're excellent during training. You'll be great!"

Lily smiled. "Okay… yeah… okay! Thanks."

"The score now is fifty to thirty, with Ravenclaw in the lead. Come on, Gryffindor! Although… I must admit, the Ravenclaws have some very handsome players! Those great looking guys would make a perfect picture holding the Quidditch Cup in their hands…"

"Miss Weasley…"

"AH! But Gryffindor is great too! Gryffindor should win! Gryffindor is Gryffindor and they should win!"

"Miss Weasley, as commentator, you're supposed to just say what's happening! Fair and with no bias."

"I know! And I am!"

Lily giggled. Dominique was so funny sometimes. Her cousin enjoyed checking boys out, and it was amusing when she did.

From where she hovered on her broom, just above the other players, to the side of the field, she could see most of what was happening. Ravenclaw's Seeker was across from her, also searching for a glimpse of the Snitch.

"Potter of Gryffindor has the Quaffle, passes to Rose Weasley and she passes it to Luke Jordan. Jordan shoots and-- Chua of Ravenclaw grabbed it! Chua's flying over the Gryffindor side. Very lucky girl. She's dating the handsome Scorpius Malfoy. I told you people so! Didn't I say he'd be good looking if he got older? He's improved, and he'll continue to! He's somewhere among the audience. I think he's cheering for his pretty girlfr-"

"WEASLEY!"

"What, Professor Longbottom?"

"Allen of Ravenclaw scored!"

"She did?"

"YES!"

"But Chua had it!"

"CHUA PASSED IT TO ALLEN! Do your job properly or I'll have you replaced!"

"SOR-RY! Sheesh! Loosen up, Professor." Lily could imagine Dominique rolling her eyes and flicking her hair back. "Anyway. As I and… er… Professor Longbottom were saying, er… Gryffindor is now in possession of the Quaffle. Jordan dodges a Bludger from Dunstan Inglebee, who's very attractive. Dunstan, not the Bludger. The Bludger is… well… actually, the Bludger is a cute looking ball… but whatever! Boys are hotter than balls."

"Miss Weasley…"

"Wait… that… that sounded wrong! Balls. By balls I meant… you know the ones that they're scoring, the Quaffle, or like the ones their hitting, the Bludgers… or… that Snitch… Yes, that's what I meant. Not… you know… Not the-"

"GRYFFINDOR SCORED! The score is now sixty to forty, with Ravenclaw still in the lead."

"Professor, I'm supposed to do it!"

"THEN DO IT!"

"FINE!"

Lily spotted it! A gleam of gold near James's wrist as he waited for a chance to steal the Quaffle from a Ravenclaw boy.

Leaning forward, Lily sped towards the gold.

"LILY!" James's eyes widened, and he dived out of her way. "Are you mad?"

Embarrassed, Lily realized that it was James's watch. "I saw the Snitch." Then she hastily added. "It got away."

"Don't let it get away next time then." James sped towards the Ravenclaw when the boy threw the Quaffle towards Paula Allen.

"Hello, beautiful!" James caught the Quaffle before Paula got it. "Mind if I steal this?"

"Be a gentleman and give it to me."

James laughed, leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Not now."

"Potter flies towards the Ravenclaw side, he shoots, and--- GRYFFINDOR SCORES! Sixty-fifty, with hot Ravenclaws still in the lead!"

Lily clapped and cheered.

"Allen has the Quaffle, she passes to Chua, who SCORES! Ravenclaw has seventy points while Gryffindor has fifty. Weasley takes the Quaffle and-- she's hit by a Bludger by Ravenclaw Captain Leonato Quirke. Rose, are you alright? She's alright. But Stanley Ackerley has the Quaffle now. Leonato is amazing! His jaw, I love the structure! And his muscles! That Quidditch Captain is WONDERFUL!"

"Rose, are you hurt?" Lily asked her older cousin.

Rose nodded. "Bruised but alright. Don't worry about me, Lily. Concentrate on finding the Snitch, alright?"

"Okay."

"Parvati Thomas sends a Bludger at Ackerley, so he drops the Quaffle. Parvati is a good Beater, a rare girl Beater! She originally played Chaser, then she gave Beater a try, and so she turned out to be pretty good! Anyway, Potter has the Quaffle now and he shoots-- Stretton saves! Robin Stretton, he's a handsome one, he's amazingly smart too! I wish I could go out with him."

"Miss Weasley, that's not a diary for you to talk to."

"Yeah yeah yeah. Allen of Ravenclaw has the Quaffle, she passes to her teammate Ackerley, who drops the Quaffle. I think he was hurt by that Bludger… poor boy. Oh… he looks angry. Chua grabs it, she shoots and… RAVENCLAW SCORES."

The Ravenclaw Seeker was flying, looking like he saw the Snitch. She couldn't let him catch it! Lily shot towards him.

"Potter has the Quaffle, Allen of Ravenclaw steals and passes to Chua. Chua shoots-- RAVENCLAW SCORES! The hot young Ravenclaw Seeker Iago Blair dives! Lily Potter's close behind him."

Lily leaned forward on her broom, trying to overtake the Seeker, whose hand was outstretched to catch the Snitch. She couldn't let him get it! She had to win this! Her father, Harry Potter caught his first Snitch on his first match. Lily had to do the same! She had to! She really had to!

Then all of a sudden, he pulled out of the dive.

Lily realized she made a mistake. It was the Wronski Feint.

Terrified of crashing, Lily just barely managed to stop in time. Panting, her initial reaction was relief.

Then she felt irritated. How could he? He tricked her! She glared at the Seeker, a brown-haired boy with blue-grey eyes. Lily was tempted to yell insults at him.

The boy winked. "Sorry, lassie. If I knew whut a pretty Seeker you were, I wouldn' have done that! Wouldn' wanna ruin yer nice face now."

Lily stared at him.

He was…

What the heck?

"Awww! Iago and Lily look like they're talking. He's kind of old for her… he's fourth year and she's a first year… but they look really cute, don't they? Oh, and Gryffindor scored again. The score is a hundred for Ravenclaw and seventy for Gryffindor."

"A firstie, eh?" He chuckled.

As he was talking, Lily spotted the Snitch behind him, over his shoulder.

Lily shot past him and towards the Snitch.