Disclaimer - Yeah... Not mine.

Chapter 70

As the end of April drew close, stress was increasing exponentially. Exams were just over a month away – O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s for the fifth- and seventh-years respectively. Additionally the egg task was still underway. Even with the watching and preparing, it had escaped the Gryffindor's care after a mere two weeks. Still, so far that was a record holding time. It continued to be shuffled around from house-to-house. Then, of course, there was all of the work that needed to be done for the other classes.

When the last quidditch match of the season – minus the Cup – came around, it was a much needed distraction for everyone. The game was Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw, and the cup was still well within anyone's reach. If this was a high-scoring game, both teams would make it to the Quidditch Cup. Because Ravenclaw had such a strong offense, and points were important in this game, James ordered the beaters to stay defensive, acting much like half-backs in a field hockey game. They could help the offense, to a point, but they were to hang back in case the quaffle suddenly changed direction and was headed back toward the Gryffindor goals.

His strategy worked, too, for the most part. Ravenclaw had trouble scoring goals. But with the lack of protection on the Ravenclaw side of the pitch, the Gryffindor chasers had to make sure they were hyper-aware of their surroundings, so as not to be hit by the bludger. In preparation for the match, James had taught his chasers several defensive rolls and how to properly break on the broom. Still, Andy Johnson was nearly knocked off his broom at one point when a bludger came at him from behind. It hit him on the left shoulder and he was pushed forward, but he maintained his grip and kept playing. His left arm was pretty useless after that, so he acted more as a distraction to the other team than someone who could actually score.

The game went on for nearly five hours, exhausting the players, who were not used to such extended play. The snitch only made a few brief appearances and neither seeker seemed able to keep track of it. Jules, the Gryffindor seeker, finally caught the snitch, ensuring Gryffindor would be in the Quidditch Cup. But the game had gone on so long that Ravenclaw had amassed enough points to ensure they were also in the Cup. The Gryffindor team groaned at the news, not looking forward to another long match like the one played today.

Johnson was attended to by Madam Pomfrey once he reached the ground, but the entire team dragged themselves to the showers, completely worn out. When they arrived at the common room, the party was already underway. This managed to energize most of the team, but not for long. After about an hour of partying, two of the younger team members had fallen asleep and Jules gave up all pretense, heading to her dorm room to sleep there.

James stood up on one of the tables and whistled to get everyone's attention. "I want to say thank you for the party, but right now my team needs to rest. Continue celebrating, but," with this he turned his attention to his teammates, "team – to bed!" There was some complaining from various students, but James held up his hand. "We'll be back tonight to do this up right, but for now we need rest."

James made sure all of his teammates made it to their dorms. He was convinced to stay by his adoring fans, which was perhaps a mistake. He too ended up falling asleep, his head resting on the soft lap of one very happy sixth-year girl.

"Do you think we should wake him?" Remus asked Sirius.

"Nah. He needs his sleep. Besides… he looks so comfortable," Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, but…" whatever Remus was going to say, Sirius didn't find out.

"Potter!" An annoyed Lily had just walked up and prodded James – hard – to wake him.

Though James sat bolt upright, he was obviously dazed. "Wha?"

"If you're going to sleep, do it in your dorm, like the rest of your team."

"Oh, Lily," the sixth-year girl, who had been running her fingers through James' hair so it was now oddly flat and smooth on one side while sticking up wildly on the other, began to protest. The look Lily shot her shut her up immediately, however.

Without missing a beat, Lily continued, "Or are you better than them? Does the mighty captain get fed grapes by hand?"

Lily's words were lost on the half-awake and now muscle-sore captain. "Mmm, grapes…" James replied sleepily, causing Lily to roll her eyes in frustration.

Shaking his head, though smiling slightly in amusement, Sirius stepped in and pulled James to a standing position. "Come on, mate." He shoved James gently in the direction of the stairs, chuckling quietly as he watched the groaning James stumble up to the dorm.

"Remus, you really should have made him go to the dorm," Lily turned on her fellow prefect. "You know that's considered inappropriate behavior."

"He fell asleep, Lily – after an exhausting match. I really don't think it was intentional," he replied quietly. Remus couldn't help but wonder if this was really just about rules. He knew of Lily's reputation for thinking James was an arrogant berk, but Gillette had hinted on more than one occasion that she thought there was more behind Lily's behavior. He wondered now if Lily was jealous. Additionally, he knew it was an accident. James would never do anything to potentially hurt his chances with Lily - not that it mattered much, since she wouldn't give him the time of day. A bit of indignation arose in Remus on behalf of his friend.

"All the more reason," Lily replied.

"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll just let everyone else do what they want since I am to be solely in charge of James," Remus countered.

"That's not what I meant, Remus," Lily sighed. She looked at him for a moment, but decided not to say anything else and walked away.

Sirius had rejoined Remus and the few other Gryffindors sitting by the fire. "What's with her?"

Gillette, who had been sitting on the couch with Sirius before he had gotten up to get James upstairs, answered, "I think she just didn't like seeing James with someone else."

"I still don't know why you think she's got a thing for Prongs," Sirius said to Gillette. The sixth-year, whose lap had been recently vacated, huffed and got up to sit with another group of students.

Gillette scowled at Sirius. "I wish you wouldn't say that so publicly, Sirius. She had a really nice time over Christmas, you know. But, I think she's frustrated by… all the attention James is receiving."

"Attention? We all get attention. Even Evans gets her fair share of attention. I mean… How can she not know James likes her? He doesn't ask for the attention. And he'd gladly give his to her…" Sirius was also frustrated on his friend's behalf.

"I know… but… Well, he is a little cocky, isn't he?"

Sirius barked out a laugh. "'A little'?"

Remus said, "Pot."

"Kettle," Peter added.

"Black," Gillette finished with a grin.

"I am not cocky." Sirius took that moment lift his hand once in a lazy wave, nod, and wink at a group of girls across the room.

Remus shook his head, while Gillette said, "Riiight."

"That's not cocky. That's charisma," Sirius grinned back. "Anyway… What were we talking about? Oh… Prongs and Evans."

"Right. Lily just doesn't want a cocky man."

"Why? Does she like to be in control?" Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Gillette giggled and playfully hit his shoulder. "No. But… Cocky men tend to treat women as… disposable. A conquest."

Sirius frowned, but it was Remus who responded, "She can't honestly think James is like that."

"James has been on how many dates? With how many different girls?"

"Yeah, but they were just for fun. He hasn't even kissed any of them."

Gillette's eyebrows rose on her forehead. "Really?" Sirius nodded. "Wow! That's… huh." She thought about this for a minute. Then turning a curious gaze to Sirius, she asked, "What about you?"

"Well… I've not found my Evans, have I?" Gillette cast a look upon him that he couldn't read. "What about you?" he asked, trying to get the focus off of him.

Gillette cleared her throat and blushed. With a nervous chuckle, she said, "Well, let's just say I don't think any of us, here, are as innocent as James."

Remus snorted. "Did I just hear 'James' and 'innocent' in the same sentence?" Amicable laughter spread through the small group. After a few minutes, Remus stood. "Well, I'm going to visit with Aden until the party tonight."

Around supper time, Peter took orders from the Gryffindors and went to get food from the kitchens. Sirius recruited Gillette to help him get butterbeer from Hogsmeade and a few party supplies from Zonko's. By the time they returned, Remus was also back and had dug out the wizard wireless. The common room was filled with music and laughter and cheering. James was once again center stage, with fans listening to his quidditch tales – the rest of the team sitting around adding comments here and there. As the night wore on, groups of students broke off. There was some dancing, milling, story-telling, and snogging. A few of the more studious fifth- and seventh-years excused themselves early to study in their dorms – Lily, Gillette and Remus among them. The others stayed another hour or so, but the party was definitely winding down, and by the time Lily made rounds, all that remained of the celebration were a few half-filled cups of butterbeer and some crumbs from pumpkin pasties.

- - - - -
A/N - Huh. I've had a couple of short chapters, here. Sorry about that. Maybe they're like bon-bons. Small but satisfying. Except, I don't like bon-bons. Anyhoo...

Thank you once again for all of the wonderful reviews! Thank you to my wonderful betas - Mom, mei mei, and J.A. Carlton. Love.

Nonair - Welcome back, Sweetie! Thanks again for your wonderful words. I really did try to keep Snape as intelligent and crafty, yet, honestly, cruel as he was in the books. At least, that's how he came across to me. Hee. I'll take it as a compliment that Remus was particularly ambitious with his career. Maybe he thought he'd be working alone a lot and in danger, so his lycanthropy wouldn't work against him so much. I figured Peter would want to do something safe. And muggles are very safe. But, you know, someone else pointed out to me that working with muggles was a bit of an odd choice for a future Death Eater. So, maybe if I had it to do again, I would pick something else, but it kind of works, too. Hopefully. Anyway, other than that, glad to see I seem to be on track with the characters. Thanks again.