Chapter 11 – Last of the summer

"Ah Lillian, nice of you to join us. Please have a seat next to the most hansom person in the room." Sirius stood up and pulled out the chair next to him, and motioning for Lily to take a seat.

"Most hansom person in the room? Then I think I should be sitting next to Remus. Wouldn't you say?" Lily had a smirk on her face as she pulled out the chair from next to Remus and sat down. Looking over at Sirius's and James's shocked faces, Lily let out a small laugh, then looked at the wizards chess game that Remus and Sirius were half way through playing. "Well you gonna finish playing then?" Lily asked now looking at Sirius with an innocent sweet look no upon her face.

"Yeah." Sirius said begrudgingly, and sat down and watched as a pawn went moving across the board.

Lily was looking around the games room; the walls were a deep red with specs of gold glittering in the sunlight that was streaming in through one of the large bay windows. There were shelf's of games, none of which Lily knew how to play other then the wizards chess set in front of her, and the exploding snap cards laying on a table by the window. On the walls there were pictures of famous Quidditch players wearing orange robes and zooming around in their picture frames. Lily sat watching one picture where the player zoomed down, so it looked like he was going to hit the ground but pulling up quickly before hitting the ground below. Over the far side of the room was to Lily's surprise a large pool table. This was one of the last things that Lily had expected to see in a wizard family's house.

James had noticed Lily's look of disbelief as she looked at the pool table.

"My parents brought it for me a couple of years ago for Christmas, thought it would be something, umm different." James said looking over at the pool table. "Not that any of us know how to play the game, you would have thought that it would have come with instructions, and putting the thing up was terrible, I really don't know how muggle's can use those how to guides." Lily let out a laugh at the thought of James and his parents sitting down trying to put up a piece of furniture without magic, and then after all the hard work not even knowing how to play the game.

"If you want I can teach you, my dad taught me how to play when I was younger." Lily said now looking at James who was shooting looks of dislike towards the table still.

"Really, yeah it will be great to actually be able to use the damn thing." James said now getting up from his seat and walking across the room.

Lily got up from her seat and walked over to standing next to James who was leaning on the pool table.

"Right first of all we need to set up the game, where's the triangle that came with the table?" Lily asked scooping up the balls, which were all over the table.

"Ummm, triangle, triangle." James walked over to a cupboard muttering to himself, rummaging around James pulled out a plastic triangle. "Here ya go." James handed Lily the triangle and watched as Lily started to put the yellow and red balls in the triangle in a specific order, before moving it to a specific spot on the table and putting in the black ball.

Walking to the other end of the table Lily put the white ball on the black line so that it was directly in front of the triangular set of balls at the other end.

"Right here's how you play, basically you hit the white ball with the end of the cue towards one of the coloured balls. Once someone has potted the first ball they then become their coloured ball and the other play gets the other colour. If you hit the wrong ball, or don't hit any balls then the other person gets two shots. Only one when you're going for the black. Right you got all that?" Lily asked picking up a cue, which was leaning against the wall and putting chalk on the end.

"Yup sounds easy enough." James replied

Sirius and Remus had now finished their game and were heading over to the pool table.

"Your not actually learning to play this game prongs!" Sirius exclaimed, watching Lily as she lent over the table and hit the white ball towards the set of balls. Balls went rolling all over the table, before stopping randomly all over the table.

"Well good luck Prongs buddy I think you've lost this before you have began." Sirius said this looking at the table and patting James on the back.

"It can't be that hard." James waved his hand taking the cue from Lily and hitting the white ball towards a red one, which was sitting next to the centre pocket.

"You missed! How could you miss that?" Remus asked laughing as the ball rolled away from the pocket.

"I would like to see you do any better!" James pointed his finger at Remus before handing the cue over to Lily who straight away potted a yellow ball, followed by another, followed another before missing and handing over the cue to Remus, enjoying the looks of surprise on the guys faces.

"Well if that's the best you've got Lils." Remus smirked before hitting the ball and shooting a red ball straight into the pocket. But by looking at the surprised look on Remus's face Lily knew that he hadn't expected to get any balls in what so ever. Taking another shot, to Lily's surprise another red ball went into the pocket, followed by another before Remus missed and smirked handing the cue back.

"Go Moony! Go Moony!" James and Sirius were swinging their hips in circular movements and moving their arms in large circular movements in front of their chest. Acting as Remus's cheerleaders.

Lily took the cue from Remus's hand and potted another yellow ball, before missing and the yellow ball, which she had lined up.

"Bad luck Lils. Go on Padfoot show her how it's done." James threw an arm in the air in front of him as Lily walked over and hit James on the arm. "What's that for?" James asked in a high-pitched voice.

"You should be nice to me!" Lily said in an equally high pitch and glaring at James.

"Ummm nowhere does it say that I must be nice to you. Especially when I'm competing against you!" James exclaimed looking over at Lily who was now pouting, but turned away and looked at Sirius as he potted a red ball before hitting the white ball at the wrong angle, and it went flying off the table towards Lily and James. Lily and James moved out of the way just in time.

"Ah ha, 2 shots to me! Two shot to me!" Lily said loudly in a singsong voice grabbing the cue from Sirius and leaning over the table getting ready to pot a yellow, unfortunately the white ball missed and went bouncing around the table before rolling into the top left-hand pocket.

"I do believe that's two shots to us now." James smirked walking next to Lily who was still leaning over the table, looking shocked that she missed her ball. "Lily you have to hand over the cue." James said laughing. Lily stood up and handed the cue over to James, still looking a little shocked at still missing, not only her own coloured balls, but every ball on the table.

James placed the white ball on the table before hitting it towards a red one and potting it, before lining up once again and potting another leaving only the last of lily's yellow balls and the black ball. Lily was standing their in shock, not only was she being beaten by three guys who only learnt how to play the game half an hour ago, she was being beating still having three balls on the table.

"Prongs, let me finish Lillian here off." Sirius was jumping up and down, with his hand in the air. "Let me! Let me!"

"Chill padfood, I'll let you take the shot. But I thought you said that I was doomed from the start!" James laughed handing Sirius the cue who started to line up the shot.

"Yes but that was before you had the talents of Moony and I. Right cross your fingers boys." Sirius said as he hit the white ball towards the black,

"Miss! MISS! MISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" Lily was screeching as she watched to her horror the white ball hit the black and watch it roll into the pocket. "NO WAY!" Lily said horror struck.

"WE WON! WE WOOOON! O. O. O. WE WON! O. O. O. WE WON!" the boys started chanting and doing the conga around the games room.

"It was an unfair game. There were three of you against me." Lily said in a high-pitched voice, and the three boys stopped their conga line.

"You what?" Sirius laughed.

"I'll tell you what you can have Prongs here. We all know he fluked the last couple of shots." Remus laughed now looking at the betrayed look on James's face.

"I see trade me off." James said this with a mock look of hurt in his eyes.

"Wait! I get your left overs that's not fair!" Lily said flapping her hands in the direction of James.

"Why who would you choose then?" Sirius asked.

"Umm…well – I guess ummm. Anyone but James!" Lily ended lamely, to the laughter of Remus and Sirius.

"Oh I see how it is! Rejected by my friends, fine. Fine." James still had the betrayed look in his eyes and strutted out of the games room. Leaving the three in the room looking bewildered not expecting that to happen.

"Lily you go after him." Sirius said pushing Lily towards the door.

"What. Why me, I don't know where he would have sulked off to. You should go you're his best friend." Lily reasoned looking at the door.

"How about we take a vote. Who thinks that Lily should go?" Sirius asked. Both Remus and himself raised both hands into the air.

"Well looks like your going Lily!" Remus said looking from him to Sirius.

"And he'll either be in his room or on the swing seat." Sirius said pushing Lily lightly out of the door.

"Or maybe down at the Quidditch pitch, or sitting on the table and chairs in the garden." Remus added.

"Wanna narrow that down anymore?" Lily asked walking away from the games room and across the ballroom, making her way up the stairs to start her search in James's room.

Knocking on the door to James's room there was no answer, so Lily pushed the door open, to find the room empty, and as messy as ever, with clothes once again randomly thrown all over the floor. Letting out a sigh Lily turned around and walked back along the corridor, and making her way out into the garden.

Walking along the garden path Lily took a quick look in the rose garden to see if James was sitting at the table, but there was no sign of James anywhere within that section of the garden. Following the path straight Lily next came to the swing seat where once again James was nowhere to be seen.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Lily walked towards the Quidditch pitch. Never had Lily ever found it this hard to find anyone in her life. Even at Hogwarts Lily was able to find people who she needed, but James seemed to have the ability to hide himself well. Now approaching the Quidditch pitch Lily was looking up in the air to see if James was flying on his broom, but to Lily's dismay he wasn't there. Having a quick look around Lily didn't see James anywhere and was turning around getting ready to walk back up to the house in defeat, but in the corner of her eye, Lily saw a mess of black hair sitting on the ground.

Smiling Lily walked over to where James was sitting, and surprised to see that he was smiling himself when she reached him.

"Took you long enough to find me didn't it. Usually Sirius or Remus can find me within 3 minutes." James smiled as Lily looked down at him with a shocked look on her face.

"Well if you had a smaller house I would have been able to find you quicker!" Lily said pointing her finger at James. "Hold on. This was set up!" Lily said in a high-pitched voice, making James let out a laugh.

"Ahh you found him then, was gonna say come here first. Must have slipped my mind." Sirius laughed and throwing a broom towards James and Remus handed one to Lily. Lily took the broom by then just stood there looking at it, as if wondering what to do with it. Lily was so interested in just looking at the broom, that she did not realise that the other three had already mounted their brooms and were flying around in the air.

"You coming or just gonna stand there and look at the broom all day?" James yelled down to Lily.

Lily looked up into the air, racking her brains for an excuse, as to why she didn't want to go onto a broomstick, but in the end Lily decided that it would be better just to tell the truth, then at least they would hopefully let her stay with two feet firmly on the ground.

"Well, you see, I – I don't know how to fly. I have always believed that brooms are better for sweeping with, rather then flying!" Lily said quickly.

"WHAT!" all three exclaimed shock on all of their faces.

"I don't know how to fly." Lily repeated still looking up at the three boys in the air.

"NO WAY!" Sirius yelled, then let out a bark like laugh.

"YES WAY!" Lily yelled back, now thinking that the truth was possibly not the best policy.

James swooped down from the air and landed gracefully next to Lily, who turned to look at him, now feeling a little sheepish.

"Well I guess there is one way to go up in the air your gonna learn to fly." James said smiling next to Lily. Who now looked at him with wide eyes with a hint of fear.

"I'm not going up on one of these, last time I did I can flying off!" Lily said this panicky.

"Calm down, you wont fall off, plus you miss so much standing on the round, to being up in the air." James laughed, which didn't seem to help the situation as Lily turned round and hit him.

"Owch, what was that for?" James asked looking at the spot on his arm where Lily had just hit him.

"You lot laughing at me for not being able to fly!" Lily exclaimed.

"So I get hit for them to laughing at you!" James asked shocked.

"Well I can't reach them to hit, and you I can!" Lily reasoned with a smug look on her face, and hitting James on the arm again to enforce the point.

"Oi stop hitting me. We really have to do something about your hitting people you know!" James said as he mounted his broom. "Now come here." James said waving Lilly towards him. But Lily stood rooted to the spot shaking her head.

"Look you won't fall off, I promise." James reasoned looking towards Lily. Lily however still stood rooted to the spot. "Fine, we'll do this a different way."

James got off from his broom and made his way over to where Lily was standing, and picked her up around the waist and carried her over to where his broom was waiting to be mounted sitting down on the broom James put Lily in front of him and put his arm on the broom handle in front of Lily, before kicking off from the ground with a scream from Lily.

"James please put me down! Oh I'm going to die! Oh Please put me down!" Lily said this loudly with her eyes closed, Lily assumed that if she had her eyes closed then she wouldn't be able to see how far away the ground below her really was.

"Lily I hardly think your going to die." Remus laughed, sounding close by.

"Well I'd bet anything that prongs is not got to just throw you off his broom." Sirius let out a bark like laugh zooming past, and stopping facing Lily and James who were now just hovering in the air.

"Lily open your eyes." James said softly in Lily's ear but in response Lily just shock her head, and closing her eyes if possible tighter. The idea of knowing how high up they were did not appeal to Lily; the fear of heights was now starting to come into play.

"Lily, I promise you wont fall off, here I'll keep a hold of you." James took one hand off the broom and put it around Lily's waist and holing onto her tight. For a moment Lily wondered why the hell was he letting go of the broom was he mad? But once his arm was around her waist Lily relaxed a little bit.

Lily slowly opened her eyes, noticing that they were about 100 feet in the air, to her left was Remus sitting on his broom smiling, and in front Lily could see Sirius sitting on his broom grinning at them.

"Right Lily welcome to your first maunderous flying lesson." James said grinning. "All I want you to do is to go forward, towards Padfoot." Lily looked at James alarmed for a moment, then slowly she steered the broom towards Sirius and started to move towards him, when Lily was about an inch from Sirius's broom James stopped the broom to the screech of Lily.

"I'm not that scary am I?" Sirius asked laughing.

"Did you have to just, just, sit there? Couldn't you have, I dunno moved out of the way?" Lily yelled towards Sirius who once again let out a bark like laugh.

"But I wouldn't have been as much fun, missing that worried look on your face!" Sirius exclaimed.

"It was a classic." Remus said now stationary in the air next to Sirius.

For the next ten minutes Lily was slowly making her way around the Quidditch pitch, James having to stop the broom every now and then when Sirius would decided it was much more fun to fly right in front of Lily, hearing her let out a scream, rather then playing one on one with Remus.

"I think I've had enough for one day!" Lily stated after Sirius had for the 6th time come zooming straight at her before suddenly turning missing a collision narrowly.

James let out a small chuckle before getting a mysterious glint in his eyes that only Remus and Sirius could see. Without warning James pointed the handle of the broomstick towards the ground at speed. Lily's eyes were wide, they were going very quickly towards the ground and Lily couldn't see how they were going to miss hitting the ground. Letting out a scream when it looked like a collision was sure to happen, but James pulled up on the handle, and they were now about 5 feet in the air, and slowly going in a straight line towards the bench.

"You did that on purpose!" Lily yelled at James once again hitting him on the arm once her feet were once more firmly on the ground. "That. Was. Not. Funny." After each word Lily hit James to emphasise her point.

"OOO looks like prongs is being beaten up by our little ol' Lilkins." Sirius shouted and both Remus and himself let out a roar of laughter, as they walked towards the two.

"Lily stop hitting Prongs here, you'll make him loose the rest of the brain cells that he has left." Remus laughed pulling Lily away from James.

"Ummm shall we go back to the house for some, um hot chocolate." James asked feeling relieved that Lily was no longer hitting him, and welcoming going back up the house hoping that Lily would calm down, and not hate him so much for scaring the living day lights out of her.

Everyone was sitting around the large dinner table with brightly coloured mugs full off hot chocolate. Lily was sitting next to Remus and every now and then still shooting glares across the table towards James. James's recent trick with Lily on the broom had now put her off flying once again for life. Lily was fine with the flying up until, the plummeting down towards the ground full speed.

"Can't believe summer is over nearly already!" Sirius exclaimed looking over at the calendar and realising that there were only two days left until it was time to go back to Hogwarts.

"I know, let the fun times begin." Remus laughed.

"Uhuh, gonna be a little weird with ol' Moony here being a Perfect and all that." Sirius said looking woefully over at Remus from across the table.

"Maybe he'll be able to keep you two in line for a change." Lily said looking from James to Sirius then back again.

"WHAT!" Both James and Sirius exclaimed at the same time, utter shock on their faces.

"We do not need controlling thank you very much!" James stated plainly, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"We are never out of line. We just like to test the boarder at times." Sirius let out a bark like laugh.

"Yeah, we all know that!" Lily said finishing off the last of her chocolate and putting the cup down on the table.