The following Saturday was one of those rare exceedingly mild days for January. "It's perfect for a Quidditch match," Lily told Beth as they walked to the pitch. "Normally we have to huddle freezing in the rain and wind this time of year."

Beth had never seen a Quidditch match. She asked Lily the rules, but Lily just laughed and said she would try to explain during the match. "Not that I'm the best teacher," she grimaced.

The stands were packed with students, calling out to each other and laughing in the pre-game excitement. Lily and Beth found seats in the Gryffindor section. "Here," Lily handed Beth a pair of binoculars. Before Beth could look through them, something large whizzed by in the air above them making her almost drop the binoculars. The rest of the Gryffindor team followed James to the pitch and began circling in the air, throwing strange looking balls at each other as they warmed up.

Beth gawked at them. "Holy shit," she breathed. "They really can fly fast!"

Lily laughed. "Yes, it's a crazy sport. Kind of brutal, too. I get nervous every match that James will be hurt."

Beth looked through the binoculars and found Sirius. His face was set in concentration as he swung with an easy grace at the balls hit towards him by James. He moved on his broom with the confidence of a natural athlete and Beth kept her binoculars trained on him the entire warm-up. She saw that he looked towards her in the stands frequently and she finally gave him a thumbs up signal and saw his smile flash in return.

From the moment the match began, Beth sat mesmerized, her eyes glued to the action. Lily gave her a basic explanation of the rules but readily admitted she knew next to nothing about the strategy and what plays they used. Obviously, they were executing those plays quite well as they demolished Ravenclaw by hundreds of points to the delight of the screeching Gryffindor section.

Once their seeker ended Ravenclaw's misery, the Gryffindor crowd went crazy. The team took a victory lap around the pitch and when James flew over their section, he slowed down and dropped what Beth now knew was called a Quaffle to Lily with a wink. Lily laughed and blew him a kiss as she caught it. "That's become a tradition this year when we win," she told Beth as the Gryffindor section cheered.

"How many matches have you won this year?" Beth asked.

"All of them." Lily said proudly.

Beth and Lily headed to the field with the rest of the House of Gryffindor. Lily had no idea what Beth was thinking, but she remembered all too well how she confused she had been after her first Quidditch match.

They found James and Sirius near the locker rooms. James slung his arm around Lily as soon as she got near. She leaned up to kiss him. "Great game, James." He grinned and pulled her into a tight hug and laughed when she squealed. "You look way too neat and clean, Lil. You need a little sweat rubbed off on you." Lily laughed and swatted at his chest but soon gave up and hugged him back.

Sirius shook his head at them and then opened his arms to Beth. "Where's my congratulatory hug?" he asked, grinning. Beth surprised him by leaping into his arms with zeal, laughing.

"Well played, Black," she said her lips close to his ear. Sirius squeezed her tighter before pulling back enough to see her face. He tilted his head towards Lily who was chatting to James. "Did Lily tell you the rules?"

Beth nodded. Sirius gave her a quizzical look. "All of them? Lily's never really taken to Quidditch."

Beth smiled at him. "So I gathered."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "What did you think? Did you and Lily spend your time chatting instead of watching the match?" He liked the feel of her in his arms and he kept holding her long past the friendly hug stage.

He was shocked when her face lit up. "No way! I loved it. That is the best sport ever—well, next to football and water polo that is."

Sirius' mouth dropped open and his arms tightened around her. "You're kidding, right? You actually liked it? Did you understand it?"

"I'm sure I don't get all the intricate details of the games' strategies, but I understood enough. Like that play when James and Katie screened Ravenclaw's defense so you had a clear shot of the goal. That was awesome." Beth's eyes were bright as she looked up at his face.

Sirius shook his head, reluctant approval in his eyes. "You worked that out during your first Quidditch match? There are players from the Hufflepuff team that still haven't figured that play out."

Beth grimaced. "Idiots," she stated succinctly. "Hey, what was that play you ran to get the final goal?"

Sirius grinned and set Beth down, keeping one arm wrapped securely around her. "'The Lily'? That's our newest play!" Sirius spoke loudly in his enthusiasm. "Marcia drops down and flies low after passing me the Quaffle. James is flying behind me at an angle where their keeper can't see him. Marcia moves into a scoring position to the left so the keeper has to watch both her and me." He was gesticulating as he spoke, showing her the movements of the players. "Then I fake a pass to Marcia, pull into a quick spin to the right and flick the Quaffle behind my back to James. James has an amazing move—no one else can do it—where he spins and uses the momentum as he's still turning to throw the Quaffle before the keeper can recognize the angle it's coming from. If we block the keeper's view of him until James is in that position, he always scores."

"Wait, what?" Lily and James had stopped talking and she was listening with a confused expression. "Did you call that 'The Lily'? Why is there a Quidditch play with my name?"

Guilt swept over Sirius' face. He looked at James with a clear apology on his face.

"It was Marcia's idea to name it that," James protested. He was glaring at Sirius as he spoke. "We came up with the play together but she named it. I told those arseholes to quit calling it that."

Sirius blanched. "I only use that name because that's how everyone else knows it when I call the play. I keep forgetting the real name for it."

Lily stared at him. "Again, why is it named 'The Lily'?"

Neither James nor Sirius spoke. Beth caught Sirius' eye and her face turned red as she worked out the likely reason. She bit her lip and looked down, trying to avoid Lily's glance.

Lily frowned at James who was squirming guiltily. Sirius chose to stare off in the distance, watching groups of Gryffindors laughing and chatting. "Somebody better start talking," Lily's voice was clipped.

"James," Matthew hollered from behind them. He was standing by the door to the locker room. "We have to get together for our post-game meeting right now. McGonagall's here and she only has a few minutes. She wants to talk to the whole team."

Clearly this was not who Lily wanted to start talking, but Sirius dropped his arm from around Beth and started edging towards the changing room. James grimaced, torn. "Is it okay if we talk after the meeting, Lil? I'll be out in just a little while." Lily nodded despite her impatience to hear the story. They had just won the game that qualified them for the semi-championship match. James needed to be with his team when McGonagall congratulated them. James cast another worried look at her and kissed her quickly and then left. Sirius gave Beth a wide-eyed look as he followed James. The other Gryffindor Quidditch players followed, still celebrating their win.

Lily turned to Beth, her gaze narrowing suspiciously. "Do you know why that play has my name?"

"Um, I have a guess." Beth wondered if it would sound better coming from a neutral source. Was it her place to tell Lily?

"Which is?" Lily's face was grim, her tone guarded.

"I think its called 'The Lily' because the play is designed so that James scores," Beth said quietly.

Lily's face turned as red as a beet as the double entendre sunk in. "Shit!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to kill James and all those arseholes! What were they thinking? How fucking insulting is that?"

Beth bit her lip. "It is rude," she agreed. "But they probably just wanted to have an inside joke. You know how teams like to bond over weird personal stuff. My water polo team has a lot like that." Her voice trailed off uncertainly when she saw Lily's glare.

Lily stomped her feet. "Marcia is my friend. How could she do that? How could James let her?"

"It doesn't sound like James let her," Beth pointed out. "I think they call it that without his approval. He probably was trying to protect you by not telling you."

Lily was silent, her face averted. Beth watched her carefully trying to gauge her feelings. Lily was one of the nicest people Beth had ever met, and she felt awkward and troubled that Lily's feelings were hurt.

"Let's go sit down," Lily finally spoke and Beth nodded and followed her to the player's bench on the pitch. Lily hung her head, staring morosely at her feet. The minutes ticked slowly by and the pitch grew quiet as most of the students headed back to the castle.

Lily raised her head. Beth was relieved to see her face no longer looked upset. Instead her expression was calculating. "I think I know why Marcia did this," she started slowly. "I'm the Captain's girlfriend and I don't care much about Quidditch. Last month, James was half an hour late to an early morning practice. It was cold and rainy and they were all down here without him. It was my fault, he was with me in the Room of Requirement. I turned his alarm off before he woke up and then I forgot to wake him and dozed off." Her lips twisted. "Sirius told me later the team was furious. Marcia wouldn't talk to me all day."

Beth nodded. She didn't know what the Room of Requirement was, but this didn't seem the time to ask.

Lily's eyes narrowed as she continued. "It seems Marcia and I are overdue for a little chat. I may just have to—" She was interrupted by the arrival of James, rushing over. Marcia was a half-step behind him, perceptibly lagging, her eyes downcast. Sirius strode behind her, looking like a pirate ready to prod his victim to walk the plank if she slowed down too much.

James' eyes were anxious as he searched Lily's face. "I see you figured out why the play was named for you."

Lily nodded, gesturing to Beth. "Thanks to Beth, who apparently is the only one here capable of speech." Her gaze flicked between James and Sirius who both looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Lily," James apologized. "I guess I should have told you when I found out what they were calling that play."

Marcia stepped up closer to Lily, shaking her head. "Shut-up, James." She twisted her hands together. "James had nothing to do with this. He told us immediately to change the name. I kept calling it that behind his back to be funny. I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to hurt you. It was just a joke."

Lily stared at her. "I know," she finally conceded. "It's humiliating though. You understand that, don't you Marcia?"

Marcia flushed. "I didn't mean it to be!" Her voice was shaking a little. "I'm so sorry, Lily. I'll change the name and make sure no one calls it that again."

Lily nodded. "We'll talk later," she told Marcia ominously. Marcia nodded, her expression still scared and backed up a few steps before she whirled around to go to the locker room. Lily still looked offended but she smiled at James when he came to take her hand and reassured him. "I'm okay, James. You can go take your shower."

James and Sirius left, though Beth thought James was more likely to get injured walking to the locker room while watching Lily over his shoulder than he was playing Quidditch. At least he mostly looked where he was going when he flew. Beth wordlessly put her arm around Lily's shoulders and Lily rested her head against her for a few minutes. "Sometimes girls can be dicks too," she finally said and Lily laughed.

Sirius draped his arm around Beth as they started up towards the castle a few minutes later. "Thanks for telling Lily." His arm was friendly, he told himself. He was not at all feeling protective and warm when he cupped her small shoulder and she angled towards him.

Beth nodded. "I was hoping it would be easier if she had some time to digest it before you guys came back."

"It was my fault for forgetting the real name of the play.' The Lily' just sticks with me and it slipped out. I didn't realize she might overhear." Sirius glanced uneasily at the backs of Lily and James walking in front of them. James was leaning down to talk quietly in Lily's ear and she was laughing. He was relieved to see her mood lighter. "Lily is one of my best mates. I didn't mean to insult her."

"You might want to remind her of that," Beth told him carefully. It really wasn't her place to get involved but she knew Lily's feelings had been hurt by Sirius' part.

"Yeah, I will." Sirius sighed and then turned to squint at her. "You're a natural peacemaker, aren't you?"

Beth nodded. "I hate it when people are upset because they won't just talk to each other. It's such a waste." A look of regret passed over her face and Sirius frowned uneasily.

Sirus squeezed her shoulder. "You should have seen James during that meeting. He could barely talk to the team. He was a sodding mess over worrying about how Lily must be feeling."

"I'm surprised Marcia is the one who came up with that name." Beth complained. "It's really sexist. Why do we only say that guys score? It makes it sound like all guys want from girls is to sex. Clearly that's not the case with James and Lily."

"You got that right. James has been hankering after Lily for years. He's crazy about her and wants to settle down young." Sirius laughed. "Not like me. I'm all about having a good time."

Beth started and looked at him shrewdly. He was attempting to act nonchalant, but Beth knew the message had been meant for her. The words made her heart sink, but in all honesty it was what she expected. She decided to reassure him that she was not expecting a serious relationship, but she put a little bite in her words. "Yeah, you're way too much of a player to worry about that now, right?"

Sirius' smile hid relief at the casualness of her words, but he wasn't sure of the American slang. "What's a player?" he asked.

"A guy who wants to have sex with girls but doesn't want commitment," Beth explained.

Sirius couldn't argue that but he didn't like the sound of it coming from Beth. He steered her across the Entrance Hall towards the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. Beth understood. He wasn't sure why he felt this dissatisfied about it.