"Hi, Charity." Replied Lily, as she sat herself down at the table, opposite Charity.
"Quidditch match today, Gryffindor versus Slytherin!" Said Charity excitedly. "If we win, we'll overtake Slytherrin, and we'll be in the lead for the House Cup!"
"Yea, we'll kick Slytherin's butt." Agreed Lily unenthusiastically. Charity didn't notice the tone of her friends voice, she was too excited about Quidditch.
"Oh, I don't know, Lily." She said. "Slytherin's got a good team, It'd take a fool to think otherwise."
"We've got a good team too." Argued Lily, a little more enthusiastically now.
"Yea, we've got Potter as Seeker, he's a good player." Commented Charity, not noticing the slight blush that came to Lily's face at the mention of James Potter. "And we've got Sirius Black as Keeper, but he's not as good as the last Keeper, you have to admit."
"Yea, and we've got Benjy Fenwick as a Chaser, he's brilliant!" Said Lily. She was, for once, quite amazed at her own knowledge. Lily wasn't very sporty.
"Yea, Lil, you're right! We will kick Slytherin's butt!" Said Charity happily, helping herself to more cereal.
"Um, Charity, have you seen James this morning?" Asked Lily.
"James Potter? What do you want him for?" Asked Charity in reply. Lily hadn't told anyone that she was going out with James tomorrow. Better to keep it to herself until she knew if it was going to work out with James.
"Erm, I need to ask him about our, um, Defence Against The Dark Arts homework." Said Lily. Charity was quite gullible, so there was no problem in getting her to believe things.
"Just about the only class he's any good at." Commented Charity.
"Yea, but have you seen him today?" Asked Lily again.
"Nope." Replied Charity. "He's probably off getting ready for the game."
"Damn Quidditch." Muttered Lily under her breath, not loud enough for Charity-The-Quidditch-Enthusiast to hear.
"Oh, Lily?" Said Charity. "I have a friend in Ravenclaw, she's in fifth year who needs someone to tutor her through Potions, and I said I'd ask you. Will you do it?"
"When would I have to see her?" Asked Lily.
"Saturdays." Replied Charity. "She's on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and they practice Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and she's in the Duelling Club, which meets on Thursdays, and she says she always has too much homework on Tuesday nights, and she wants Sundays to do what she wants so Saturday's the only day she can do it."
"Sorry, Charity, but I can't do it on Saturdays." Said Lily. "Most Saturdays I'm going to have, erm, plans."
"What plans? All you ever do on Saturday is go to the library and sit outside if it's a nice day." Argued Charity.
"Look, Charity, I just can't do it, OK?" Said Lily irritably. "If she needs a tutor for Potions, tell her to go ask Severus Snape, he's a genius at Potions."
"She's Muggle-born, she's scared the Slytherins will call her a M.U.D.B.L.O.O.D." Said Charity, spelling out `Mudblood` in whispers. "And Snape called you one, so don't say he wouldn't."
"I have to go get something from my dormitory before the game starts, so I'm going to go now." Said Lily firmly, standing up and walking off without another word to her friend. She walked through the corridors in silence, angry at Charity for insulting Snape, though, she wasn't sure why. He had called her a Mudblood, and she hadn't spoken to him since, but it was Severus who had seen her in the park that day seven years ago, and told her that she was a Witch and told her about Hogwarts and magic and Diagon Alley and all sorts of magical creatures. Snape had been her best friend. Now she wasn't sure what he was to her. She was now standing outside the portrait hole to Gryffindor Tower.
"Password?" Asked the Fat Lady.
"Devil's Snare." Said Lily absent-midedly. The portrait did not swing open.
"Are you alright, dear?" Asked the Fat Lady.
"Yes, I'm fine." Snapped Lily.
"Manners don't cost a penny." Said the Fat Lady.
"Sorry, I'm just a bit annoyed at my friend." Said Lily. "I didn't mean to snap at you."
"That's alright, dear." Said the Fat Lady, smiling. " You always were a nice girl, one of the few students who would stop and have a chat with me every now and again. I'll miss you when you leave at the end of this year."
"I'll miss everything about this place." Said Lily. "Um, I'm in a bit of a hurry, could I please get in now?"
"Of course, in you go, dear." Said the Fat Lady, swinging forwards to reveal a doorway. Lily ran inside, but stopped dead when nshe got into the common room. James was sitting on the sofa beside the fire, with a book open in front of him and some bottles of different couloured liquids sitting on the table. He looked up when he saw Lily.
"What are you doing?" Asked Lily suspiciously.
"Hello to you too." Said James.
"What are you doing, Potter?" Asked Lily again.
"I though you'd given up on calling me Potter since you agreed to go out with me." Said James.
"Potter, what in the bloody name of Merlin are you doing?" Asked Lily.
"Goodness, mind your language, Miss Evans." Said James. Lily took a few steps forward so that she was an arms length away from James.
"I'll ask you once more, James, what the hell are you doing?" Said Lily firmly.
"Lily, what you don't know won't hurt you." Said James.
"Thats's it." Said Lily, jumping forward and taking the book from James. She looked at the page he had been reading, and laughed out loud when she read it. "Beautifying potion?" She exclaimed, laughing her head off.
"Stop it, Lils." Said James, his face going red. "Peter asked me to make it for him, I swear!"
"Yea, right." Said Lily. "I know you too well, James, you were going to drink that just before we went to Hogsmeade so that I'd fall head over heels for you."
"Erm..." Said James.
"I don't go for looks, James, I go for what's on the inside." Said Lily, still laughing. "Why else would I have gone out with Frank Longbottom for nearly a year?" James couldn't stop himself laughing out loud at this.
"Longbottom's not much of a looker, is he?" Said James.
"Don't insult Frank, we're still good friends." Said Lily, playfully shoving James.
"Sorry." Laughed James. Their laughter died down after a minute or so, and then came the awkward silence. None of them had anything to say, so James just stepped forward quite out of the blue and pulled Lily into a hug.
"You should probably go get ready for the big game." Said Lily into James' shoulder.
"Yea, I should." Agreed James, letting go of Lily. "I'll see you later, OK?"
"Meet me in the Three Broomsticks." Called Lily, as James ran off out the portrait hole. She listened to the footsteps going down the corridor, and headed upstairs to her dormitory once they had died away. To her surprise, Hestia was in the dormitory.
"Hi, Lily." Said Hestia, a cheeky grin on her face.
"You heard, didn't you?" Asked Lily, internally cursing herself for not checking to see if anyone was listening before she talked to James about their date.
"You didn't tell me you were going out with James Potter!" Said Hestia.
"I didn't tell anyone." Said Lily. "Please don't go telling half the school. Please?"
"Your secret's safe with me, Lil." Replied Hestia. "Now lets go watch your boyfriend win us the game!"
"He's not, well, we haven't-" Began Lily, but Hestia cut her off.
"If you're going out with him, he's your bofriend." Said Hestia firmly. Lily just laughed, grabbed her Gryffindor scarf, and ran after Hestia, who had left the dormitory and was probably in the common room by now. She ran down the stairs and found Hestia waiting for her at the portrait hole. They ran out to the pitch together, in hysterical laughter for no apparent reason, as teenage girls just do.
"There you are, the game's about to start!" Said Charity as Lily and Hestia found her sitting in the stands.
"COME ON GRYFFINDOR!" Yelled Hestia. Some third-years in the row behind had made a banner, and cheered and waved it about as others began to follow Hestia's lead. Soon, everyone was chanting `Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor!` all at once, so that Lily's ears were ringing. She looked over at the mass of green and silver banners and scarves and saw Sverus Snape in the second row up, waving his scarf around and cheering along with his friends.
"Everyone give a big cheer for the Gryffindor team!" Cheered Nymphadora Tonks into the microphone, as she was doing the comentry for the match. "Here they come! Potter, Black, Fenwick, Longbottom and Johnson!"
"Go Gryffindor!" Screamed Lily, though nobody would have herard her over the screams and yells of the complete Gryffindor house.
"And here come the Slytherin team!" Said Nymphadora Tonks, though with slightly less enthusiasm. "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery and Carrow!" There was a deafening cry of celebration from the Slytherins. They had a good team, there was no denying it. But, hell, so did Gryffindor!
"And the Quaffle is relesed, and there goes the Snitch!" Said Nymphadora. "Gryffindor beaters Fenwick and Johnson are off after the Bludgers, and the Slytherin chaser Avery is off after the Quaffle, as is Longbottom of the gryffindor team."
"We're gonna score!" Screeched Hestia, as the Quaffle was thrown nearer and nearer to the hoop that would give Gryffindor points.
"Come on, Longbottom!" Lily screamed, though Hestia had a good pair of lungs on her and was undoubtably louder.
"Slytherin Seeker, Lucius Malfoy is now heading very fast around the pitch, he must see the Snitch! And James Potter of Gryffindor is off in the same direction, come on Potter, get the bloody snitch!" Screamed Nymphadora.
"Miss Tonks, please keep your undiserable language for when there is not a microphone in front of you." Said McGonnagall, and the microphone just managed to pick it up.
"Sorry, Professor, got lost in the excitement of the match." Said Nymphadora, quite obviously trying to stop herself from laughing. "Anyway, back to the game. Malfoy and Potter are both chasing something, obviously the Snitch. Meanwhile, the Quaffle is near the hoops, and, wait for it, GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"
"Why's she so excited that Gryffindor's winning? She's in Hufflepuff." I shouted in Hestia's ear so she could hear me over the deafening roar of Gryffindor celebrations.
"`Cause Hufflepuff's last in the laugue, they haven't got a hope of winning the cup." Shouted Hestia. "And Ravenclaw's not much more ahead of them, so it's more than likely either gonna be Gryffindor or Slytherin that wins, and everyone hates Slytherin."
"The Bludger's gonna hit Malfoy!" Screamed Tonks.
"RESULT!" Cried Hestia, to a disaproving look from McGonnagall, who happened to hear.
"Merlin, the Bludger's knocked Malfoy off his broom!" Screeched Nymphadora. "Come on, Potter, there's nobody else trying to get it, keep your eye on the ball!"
"Miss Tonks, you are supposed to be unbiased, that is why you were selected for comentary, because you are in neither of the competing houses!" Said McGonnagall.
"Sorry, Professor." Said Tonks. "Oh Merlin, Potter's reaching out! He's gonna catch it!"
"COME ON JAMES!" Screamed Lily, as loud as her lungs could manage. Just then, James reached out just a little to far and fell head-first off his Nimbus 1,000.
"No!" Cried Hestia and Lily together, both standing up to get a better iew of what was going on.
"Potter, is he Ok?" Said Tonks into the microphone. The Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stands were now deathly quiet, yet the Slytherin stands were full of jubilant cries of celebration.
"I saw him clench his fist before he fell, maybe he caught it?" Whispered Charity, who had brought along a pair of Muggle binoculars.
"Why gives a damn about the Snitch?" Whispered Lily in reply. "He fell from a good thirteen feet, he could have broken his neck." Then, like a miricale, James tried to stand up. He appeared to have hurt his leg, and had to grab onto Madam Hooch, who had just got to him, so as not to fall over.
"Oh, thank God!" Exclaimed Hestia. The stadium was full of sighs of relief. Except for the Slytherin supporters, of course.
"Too bad he didn't catch the Snitch, though." Commented Charity. She looked through her Muggle binoculars, and her mouth dropped at whatever she saw. "He's got something in his hand!" She said.
"What?" Screamed Lily, grabbing the binoculars off Charity to see for herself. "Good merlin, he has!" Just then, James seemed to realise he was holding something, and looked at whatever was in his hand. Through the binoculars, Lily was a glint of gold. James held it up, and it was the Snitch.
"Potter caught the Snitch!" Screamed Nymphadora. "GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
"That was the best catch I've ever seen!" Yelled Hestia. Lily looked down to the pitch, and saw James limping off the pitch, assisted by Madam Hooch.
"He'll be going to the hospital wing, won't he?" Asked Lily.
"Yea, probably." Replied Hestia. "Go see him, Lily, he'll be fine. He obviously didn't break any bones if he can still walk, so Madam Pomfrey'll have him mended in the blink of an eye."
"You're right." Agreed Lily, running off. "I might see you in Hogsmeade later, Hest!" She called over her shoulder. Lily ran the whole way to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey was standing at the door.
"Hello." She said, as Lily stopped in front of her.
"Is James Potter in there?" Asked Lily.
"Yes, dear, but there's no point in visiting him now, he's under a sleeping potion while the mixture that will fix his leg does its job." Said Madam Pomfrey.
"Please, I was meant to be going into Hogsmeade with him today." Pleaded Lily.
"Oh, alright, but be quiet." Said Madam Pomfrey. "He's over there." She pointed to the bed that was pushed up against the wall at the far end of the Hospital Wing. Lily hurried over. There was a chair at the end of his bed, so she dragged it over and sat down next to the bed. lily reached out and took James' hand. As if that was some kind of signal, James woke up.
"Lily?" He said in a quiet voice.
"James?" Replied Lily. "You OK?"
"Yea, just a bit boggled." Said James, laughing at himself.
"How's your leg?" Asked Lily. "Fine, Madam Pomfrey worked her magic on it." Said James, sitting up a little. "I reckon I'd be fine to go to Hogsmeade, if Madam Pomfrey will let me go."
"James, if we go to Hogsmeade, we won't get peace." Said Lily. "You won us the game, ou're like some hero."
"Shut up." Said James teasingly. "And I think it's time I let you in on a little Marauder secret."
"Oh God, do I really want to know?" Asked Lily.
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad." Said James. "You ever heard of invisibility cloaks?"
"Of course I have." Replied Lily.
"Well, I've got one." Said James proudly.
"Where did you get an invisibility cloak from?" Asked Lily.
"Oh, that's another story." Said James, laughing. "But my point is, there's this little place in Hogsmeade, Madam Pudifoot's, and there's hardly ever anyone in it. We could go there, me under the cloak, and it would look like you were on your own, so nobody would follow you."
"As much as I hate to think what you and your friends would do with an invisibility cloak, I have to admit it is coming in usefull now. I like the plan." Said Lily, smiling and squeezing James' hand.
"Now we just have to convince Madam Pomfrey to let me out of here." Said James. "Hey, Madam Pomfrey?"
"Yes?" Replied the School's Healer.
"I feel absoloutely fine now, can I go?" Asked James hopefully.
"Well, yes, I suppose. If you can walk with no trouble, that is." She said.
"Sure, my leg's totally good as new." Said James, swinging his legs out from under the covers and shoving his feet into his shoes, which were lying next to the bed. He stood up, and I noticed him wince, but he hid it and Madam Pomfrey didn't see. He took a few steps forward and then looked at Madam Pomfrey expectantly.
"Alright, Potter, you may go." She said, turning to attend to a small first year boy who had been hit with a stray Engorgement charm, causing his front teeth to grow to an alarming size. They were nearly back to normal now, though he may be left a little buck-toothed.
"Are you sure you're OK?" Asked Lily as they exited the hospital wing.
"Yea, just a bit stiff." Replied James. They walked together up to Gryffindor Tower, where they both went up to the boys dormitory to get James' cloak.
"I've never been up here before." Commented Lily.
"Yea, the girls can get into the boys' rooms, but we can't get into the girls' rooms? What's up with that?" Said James.
"The founders of Hogwarts thought girls were more trustworthy than boys." Said Lily. "Now come on, get your cloak and let's go." James delved into his trunk, and pulled out his invisibility cloak and shoved it into the inside pocket of his robes.
"Ready, Lils?" He asked, just as they reached the portrait hole.
"Ready, James." Replied Lily. They stepped out into the corridor together, setting out for Hogsmeade.