Recap: Sirius' birthday, he gets Mr. Potter's watch

Chapter 48: The Quidditch Final

James' POV

I sat in the stands, remembering my first time here. I saw the Pitch and knew it was everything my dad said it was. It absolutely took my breath away. I could already see myself flying in it, practicing, being on the team. At first it was the sheer joy of flying that I first fell in love with, but as I started playing Quidditch, I quickly fell in love with that, too. It was a whole new world and took flying to a completely new level. The thrill and exhilaration became my favorite feelings. Quidditch became one of things I loved most. While the rest of the boys in my year were out on dates and snogging their girlfriends, I fell in love with flying and Quidditch even more. Of course all of this was only accomplished because of Lily; she was the only girl I paid attention to, the only one I wanted to go out with, and she didn't exactly like me at the time. I used to mope here a lot because of her and how things were going badly with her.

Sometimes, I'd even come here when I lost hope in becoming an Animagi. Just flying around helped me bounce back. The Pitch became like a second home to me. Even being in its presence somewhat calmed me. Simply flying around let me think, or sometimes, when I didn't want to think at all, I could concentrate solely on flying and completely lose myself in it. It was therapeutic. Of course it could never completely heal me, only time could do that, but it cleared my mind, calmed me, and I felt like I'd gone through a mental bath after I flied.

"You know," Lily said, speaking for the first time since we sat here, "When I hated you, back in our earlier years, I also envied you, and still do, really. While I sat in the Library doing homework, and learning, and reading, you were always flying. You think I didn't notice that you never went on a single date in our third, fourth, or fifth years? I wasn't stupid enough to believe it was because of me, as you always claimed. I knew you loved flying and playing Quidditch and I secretly envied you for it. There were times when I wished I had an actual hobby then. I mean, sure I loved reading and learning more than the average nerd should, but I wished it was more carefree and innocent than reading. It was too mature for me at that age.

"Of course now, I'm completely satisfied with it, but sometimes I wonder, what would I be like, had I decided to maybe try Quidditch? Or even anything else? Would I have had more friends? Another thing I've always envied you for was that bond you had with the other three. You four seemed so close to each other, like you could trust each other with anything. After I found out about Remus, I realized exactly why that was, and I was happy he found people like you three, because if there's anyone who deserves it, it's him. I'd lost all my close friends, one by one, people who I thought I could trust walked out on me." She fell silent, and I pulled her close to me.

"I didn't know you felt like that." I said quietly. I didn't know she actually envied me, even the slightest.

"You're going to miss this place, aren't you?" She asked, repeating the same question to me that I had asked her only last night. I replied the same way: with only a nod. I'd go crazy, not being able to fly. But I guess I'd be occupied enough with the Order. "It's almost time for the game." She said. We stood up. "Enjoy yourself. Play well. Good luck." She hugged me, but I barely registered it as I looked out to the Pitch and realized it was my last game. Ever. It's my last time here. I'm never going to play here again. I won't ever feel the thrill of a game and competition again. I felt Lily pull away. "James? Hold it together!" She said with a sense of urgency in her voice. My heart started to speed up. My breathing quickened. Lily started going out of focus. I felt like I was falling backwards. I felt Lily's hand take mine. Suddenly, she came back into focus. My quick breaths were now controllable. "Are you alright?" She asked worriedly. "I think you almost fainted." I had to try not to look at the Pitch.

"Yeah." I said, trying to find solace in her eyes and her voice instead. I put my hands on both sides of her face and stroked her cheek.

"Do you need to be take to-" She started.

"No, no. She might not let me play. The match is going to start soon. I need to go to the team." I insisted, letting go of her. She looked so concerned. I smiled at her, but I knew it came out shaky. "I'll be fine." I said, not really believing myself. It seemed go enough for her, because she gave me an encouraging smile. "Thank you." I said, giving her a one-armed hug. It was half-hearted, but I wouldn't want to leave if I had her in my arms. I jogged back to the Locker Rooms to get my heart pumping and changed as fast as I could. Everyone was sitting there already, quiet and nervous. I stood in front of them, in my usual place.

"We were worried you weren't going to come or something." Gibson said, looking calmer than anyone else. She was like a robot, that one.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything." I said simply. I paused for a moment. "We've been working at this for two years. This is the best team Hogwarts has seen in years. We know each other so well, we're practically family-" I was interrupted by an uncomfortable cough from Gibson. She started going out with McLaggen, the Keeper, recently. "Well, uh, we know each other really well." I fixed quickly. "And it's been a pleasure working with all of you. I'm proud to call myself captain of this team and I whole-heartedly believe we can win this." I finished as everyone nervously smiled at me. I was momentarily reminded of the Captain before me. He'd been much less sentimental, but the point got across. We could do this. I sat down next to John, no doubt the most nervous. "Nervous?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said, taking slow, long, deep breaths.

"It's okay," I assured him. "I am too."

Far too soon, it was time for the match to start. My last one. I took a breath as we all stood in formation. I was standing next to John.

"Hey?" He looked up at me, even more nervous than before. "Good luck kid." I said.

"You too." He replied. I felt another wave of nostalgia. When my old captain said that to me before his last match, I'd replied the same way.

"And the Gryffindor team!" I heard Remus call out. The doors in front of us swung open. I could see part of the crowd, and it was purely red and gold, which made me feel a little better. "The captain, James Potter!" I flew out to greet the loud cheers, and suddenly, I felt better, not nervous at all. As the rest of my team was called out, I slowly flew by the Gryffindor side, located Lily, and winked, something I did every match. I finished my introductory lap around the Pitch and met up with my team in the middle. We were facing the same Slytherin team from last year.

I faced Black in the middle. He looked a lot like Padfoot. We shook hands, and I was careful to enough to put extra force into it. By the look of contempt he gave me, I could tell it hurt. I smirked back at him. He flew back so that Flint, his best chaser, could come forward for the Quaffle throw. The Quaffle was thrown up, and I almost jumped off my broom completely to get to it. I pushed the Quaffle towards Gibson. I turned around in time to see a bludger come in my direction. I ducked and saw Hoot hit the bludger towards one of the other Chasers. I rode away from the area, and dodged a bludger coming at me from the side.

"POTTER! DUCK!" I heard Levy scream. I shot downwards as fast as I could and looked up to see Hoot hit the bludger towards Flint. It connected with Flint's hand, and he dropped the Quaffle. I flew as fast as I could to get it, dodging yet another Bludger in the process. I hated how there were two of them. None of my chasers were in front of me yet so I took a quick glance back. Another bludger was heading my way, and so was the other Slytherin chaser, Higgs. He flew up next to me, and I moved towards the left. Higgs followed, but he must not have seen the Bludger, because it connected with his arm. I heard his grunt of pain, and took this opportunity to fly towards the goals. I flew to the center of the scoring area, a few feet away from Zabini, the Keeper. I faked right, dodged a bludger, faked left, faked center, dodged another bludger, faked left again, and threw it in the right. I was momentarily distracted by this, and a bludger to my left arm told me I had to concentrate. The score was only 10-0. The match had just begun.

I flew out of the scoring area, and another bludger came my way. I zigzagged downwards, and shot up, taking Bletchy, who had the Quaffle, by surprise. I reached out to take the Quaffle from him, but a bludger skimmed over the top of my right arm, and I pulled back. Bletchy rode past me as I was trying to dodge another bludger. Where were Hoot and Levy? I looked around, and found Hoot flying towards the one that just missed me, and Levy was flying towards the one that just hit me. Hoot hit his at Black and Levy hit his at Bletchy, who still had the Quaffle, and was now almost at McLaggen. Both bludgers were intercepted before they even got close to their targets, and my stomach dropped when I saw both heading towards me. Bletchy scored a goal. I groaned as I flew up high and called a timeout. I huddled with the team, and everyone was breathless.

"Those bastards are targeting you!" Gibson growled.

"Excellent observation!" Murray, our fellow chaser said sarcastically. This was the most bitter I've seen him, and it surprised me.

"Don't talk to her like that!" McLaggen said, rounding on Murray.

"Never mind that! What are you two doing? You might as well be sitting out, you're not doing anything!" Gibson said, glaring at Hoot and Levy.

"ALRIGHT!" I yelled, successfully getting their attention. I took a pause to let them all think about what they said. Immediately, Murray and McLaggen looked sorry. Gibson was always harder to crack. "This is not the time for fighting amongst each other." I said, glaring at my other two chasers and McLaggen. "We need to stick together. Apologize. All three of you." I demanded. Murray, going back to being the usual person he was, apologized to Gibson, and McLaggen apologized to him, and finally Gibson sucked up her pride and apologized to Hoot and Levy. "Okay, new plan." I told them all. "I'm going to be the distraction. Don't pass to me unless I'm in the scoring area. Hoot, Levy, you've read the Beater's Bible?" I knew they read it; I made them read it five times when they got on the team. They nodded. "Then you know what to do, 'Take out the Seeker.'" I told them, quoting my favorite line, even though I was previously a seeker myself. They grinned at each other.

"Wait, isn't that what they want, though, you not playing?" Gibson asked, before I called back into the game.

"Yeah, but they don't now that you and Murray are perfectly capable of handling those three." I explained. "Good job so far, all of you."

We flew apart and the game began again. I flew towards the Slytherin chasers in hope that I could use them as shields if any bludger came my way. I flew behind Bletchy. Unfailingly, a bludger came my way, from behind, and at the last possible second, I flew up, and it connected with Bletchy's back. Idiots, how did they not see that coming? Hoot flew under Bletchy and shot the bludger towards Black. I looked towards Black while keeping an eye around me. It hit him! It seemed our new tactic was working quite well.

By the end of an hour, the score was 100-70, us. Black was probably bruised pretty badly and I'd only been hit a few times, and I even managed to score another goal. And the Slytherins were playing surprisingly fairly. We'd only gotten three foul shots so far, but we'd given them one. However, it also seemed that Gibson and Murray were getting tired; their moves were clumsy and sluggish and they weren't able to score anymore goals by themselves. I just hoped that Black would give up his strategy soon enough, so that I could get back in the game and we could finally finish it off with the correct amount of points. After McLaggen saved another goal, Black called a timeout. We all huddled together again.

"I think they're going to give up that stupid strategy now." I told them gratefully. "Pass to me again. We're going to use our latest tactics." I told them all excitedly. John's eyes widened. "You'll be okay." I assured him. "Whenever you're ready. You know the signals." I said.

"We bruised Black pretty badly." Hoot said encouragingly, patting him on the back. John seemed frozen to his spot.

"Great job, all of you. We need to wait for the right margin of points before we end this, and I think with our formations, we should be able to get that." I told them all. "We should be able to end this quickly." I told them all, unsure if I actually wanted this match to end. It was, after all, the last one I'd ever play. We flew apart at the sound of the whistle. I took possession of the Quaffle and John gave me the signal. I was glad they stopped attacking me with bludgers. I didn't have to be paranoid any more. It was getting annoying.

We went into our triangular formation around Flint, their best chaser. I flew above him, and below Flint, were Gibson and Murray, the three of us forming a triangle. A quick glance above and behind me told me that Hoot and Levy had things under control there. We flew in our formation, a spin on the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, rotating our spots and passed the Quaffle underneath a confused Flint. It was working! Hoot and Levy were successfully keeping out the other Chasers, too! As we got closer to the goal, I heard Moony shout that a seeker had spotted the Snitch. That was my cue. I took advantage of Zabini being distracted and made a goal. A groan through the crowd signaled that they found out John had been faking. I made a quick thumbs-up at John and he smiled back at me.

A few fouls and goals later, we were ten points away from our margin. Our latest tactic, the one Lily made, was the one we were planning to use at the very end, while John was on the chase for the Snitch. That way, the Slytherins couldn't make another goal and try to win the match back. I made a signal towards John, which told him it was time to find the Snitch. After a few more minutes, he made the signal to me. I felt butterflies in my stomach. This is it. I took possession of the Quaffle and quickly flew in a small circle twice. It confused the opponents, but my Chasers knew what it was for. Gibson and Murray were next to me in seconds, and Hoot and Levy were flying in circles around us, hitting any bludgers coming our way. Only one came our way, every so often, so I was really hoping John could hold his own. I told Levy to go protect John. He flew off, leaving only Hoot circling around us. I heard Moony yell about the Snitch again.

"This is it!" I told Gibson and Murray, and passed the Quaffle to Gibson. We all flew forward, keeping our formation that Flint, Bletchy, and Higgs couldn't break. I flew below everyone. Gibson entered the scoring area and flew above Zabini with the Quaffle. She inched towards the left hoop and he took the bait and turned in her direction. Quickly, she threw the Qauffle to Murray and left the scoring area. Just as quickly, Murray passed it towards me. I flew straight up, almost knocking into Zabini, but at the last second, he moved away, and I threw the Quaffle in. I turned my broom around to see if John had the Snitch yet. He was falling off his broom, trying to get the Snitch. We were too early! What if a bludger went and hit him? But he leaned a little forward and caught the Snitch! I breathed a huge sigh of relief and hugged my fellow Chasers.

"WE DID IT!" Gibson yelled. We flew down to the ground and formed a huddle, congratulating each other. I put John on my shoulders, and he was still holding the Snitch like he couldn't believe it. I smiled up at him, and then put him down when I saw Lily running my way, with Padfoot and Wormtail not far behind.

"You did it!" She laughed, and hugged me. "Great job!" She said again, kissing my red cheeks. I smiled at her and tried to move towards Padfoot and Wormtail, but found myself unable to move my bottom half at all. I looked around and saw a bludger coming my way. I pushed Lily towards Padfoot and Wormtail, and she looked at me confused. Her eyes widened, and I looked towards the bludger again, but it suddenly fell to the ground. I looked back at Lily and her wand was out. Everyone in the vicinity was staring at me, Lily, and the bludger on the ground.

"Thanks." I said to Lily. She looked at me, stunned.

"Why didn't you just move away?" She asked.

"I can't." I explained, gesturing my legs. "I can't move my bottom half at all."

"Idiots!" Padfoot growled not-so-quietly. "Happens every time!" He muttered angrily.

"Yeah, it does, now how do I get unstuck?" I asked, trying to move my legs myself, twisting my torso in the oddest directions.

"Allow me, Mr. Potter." A gap appeared in the crowd, and Dumbledore came, towering above everyone. With a flick of his wand, I found myself able to move again. He took the Cup from his robes and held it out to me. I grinned and called the rest of the team and McGonagall over.

"Thank you." I said, unable to believe it. I grasped the cold metal and held it up with the rest of my team, probably all smiling like idiots. I brought it down and gave it to McGonagall. She had tears in her eyes and looked happier than I've ever seen her.

"Well done, Potter." She said, looking at the Cup proudly.

"Thanks Professor." I grinned back. I felt Lily's arm around my waist and I put an arm around her shoulder. I watched McGonagall look at the Cup with sheer happiness. Finally. Two years of hard work paid off. Two years of working with the same team through rain, snow, sleet, sun, and we were finally rewarded. It was a great way to end my last Quidditch Match, I had to admit. And scoring the last goal, I knew, was something I'd remember forever.

"You did well. Party in the Common Room tonight?" Padfoot asked.

"Of course." I grinned. The crowd starting clearing up and I let go of Lily to lead my team to the locker rooms again. It was quiet and that was probably because they were all so shocked, just as I was. We entered the lockers rooms and started taking off the various protective gear.

"We did it." McLaggen said quietly. "We actually did it."

"Yeah, we did." I said, smiling at all of them. I stood up to give my last speech to them as Captain. "You've all done great. I'm so proud of each and every one of you. Not just for your performance today, but for your dedication to this team and your performance since Day 1. I couldn't ask for a better team. We did great these past two years, and I wish I had more time with you. Good luck to the next Captain." I said. I didn't know who it'd be, but I had a strong feeling it'd be Gibson or McLaggen. I liked Gibson better, though; she was tough and knew what she was doing. And next year, when Gibson left, it would definitely be John, that I was sure about.

"Do you know who the next Captain will be?" Hoot asked fearfully. He should be scared, if it was Gibson. The slight glance he gave her confirmed my thoughts.

"No, but I have my guesses." I grinned evilly. "And I'm not going to tell you those either." They groaned. "But whoever it is, be sure to tell me." I told them all.

"Alright, but we want invitations to your wedding." Gibson said, smirking. I turned red.

"W-what?" I stuttered, looking to make sure Lily wasn't anywhere near here.

"Please, we know you're going to propose to her at the end of the year." McLaggen said.

"Alright. All of you can leave now." I said quickly, trying to change the subject. They snickered. Murray, Hoot, Levy, and John did as they were told and waved bye before leaving. McLaggen and Gibson stayed behind.

"Nice job." Lily said, entering the Locker Rooms. I was glad the conversation ended when it did.

"Thanks." Gibson and McLaggen said in unison. I was momentarily worried she'd heard some of it.

"Glad to see you did implement my idea." She told me.

"It was good." I told her.

"I haven't seen McGonagall that happy, ever." She said, leaning against the wall.

"That's because you don't know what goes on between us after school hours." Padfoot smirked, coming in and leaning on the wall like Lily. I laughed.

"That's gross.' Gibson groaned.

"Such bad images." McLaggen shuddered.

"Sirius, go away." Lily teased.

"Why, so you and James can have some alone time?" He asked, winking at me. I walked to Lily and put my arms around her.

"So what if it is?" I asked.

"Then you'll have an audience. It seems McLaggen like those images. Why, not giving him any action yet, Gibson?" Padfoot grinned at them and wagged his eyebrows. Both turned bright red.

"That's disgusting!" Gibson said, getting up to leave. On her way out, she punched Padfoot on the arm.

"Ow!" He groaned, rubbing the spot where she hit him. "Feisty woman!" Padfoot called after her.

"That's how I like 'em." McLaggen said. Padfoot high-fived him.

"Same with Prongs." He said, winking at us.

"Shut up." Lily said sharply, and glared at him. He stepped back in fear. She rolled her eyes in response. "Do you two want to go down to Hagrid's before the party?"

"Sure." I said. I missed Hagrid. "Let me go change. I released her and took out another shirt and pair of pants from my bag.

"No, I should get that party ready." Padfoot said after some thought. "Bye! Don't be late!" He called over his shoulder. Lily turned back to me, but I wasn't wearing a shirt. I smirked as her eyes ran over my upper body.

"W-we should go to H-Hagrid's." She said, but it came out as more of a question. She wasn't even looking at my eyes.

"I don't think you quite want that right now." I whispered, walking towards her. She was already against the wall, and I pushed her into it even more. "Do you?" I said in her ear. I smirked when I heard her breath catch in her throat.

"James…" She groaned, half-whispering. She put a warm hand on my chest and looked up at me. I was about to bend down and kiss her when she started drawing circles on my chest. She lowered her gaze to my chest and started to slowly run her hand down my upper body.

"Lily," I groaned, closing my eyes, and I almost whimpered. I reopened my eyes when she stopped. She was smirking at me.

"Put your shirt back on." She told me quietly. Instead, I put my hands on both sides of her face and kissed her. I pulled away quickly and went to go put on my shirt. "Good boy." She grinned once I did, and ruffled my hair.

"Lily-flower, I'm the dog, remember?" Padfoot said from the door way. We both froze. "Oh, yes, I did see quite a lot." He added casually. Lily turned red and he just laughed.

"W-We should get going." Lily said to me, glaring at Padfoot as we left the Locker Rooms. "That's the second time, Sirius!" She called over her shoulder.

"And it won't be the last!" He called back to us. "Don't worry, I'll never ask to join, she's all yours, mate!" He said. Lily's face scrunched up in disgust.

"He's gross." She huffed.

"I know. You'll get used to it." I smiled.

"I probably won't." She grimaced. She glanced down at our destination. "I haven't talked to him in ages." She said, taking my hand.

"I haven't either." I said regretfully.

"When we were still in our earlier years, I used to talk to him a lot. He's a great friend." She said. "I didn't know you talked to him."

"We did, a lot, actually." I confessed.

"But…after all the time I sat there complaining about you…he never mentioned…" She trailed off.

"You complained about me?" I asked, surprised.

"Oh, all the time. He used to be the only one who would tolerate it. Snape wouldn't let me talk about you, and Mary would always have this little evil smile whenever I talked about you. Hagrid usually remained passive." She shrugged.

"Funny, I used to ask about you a lot, because I knew you talked to him a lot. Of course Moony and Wormtail would glare, but he didn't seem to mind my questions." I laughed, remembering that one time when Wormtail actually silencio'd me for talking about Lily too much. "Padfoot always had a bit of a thing for Snuffy. I suppose it's the dog bond." I said, and she laughed lightly.

We walked in a bit of silence, and I remembered how once we began our fifth year, and we really started working on becoming Animagi and the Marauder's Map, our visits to Hagrid drastically lessened. We walked down the path to the door of his hut, and I realized how much I actually missed him. Lily knocked on the door, and in no time, Hagrid swung it open.

"Lily an' James! Nice ter see yeh!" He said, ushering us inside. I smiled and walked inside, the smell of various, unidentifiable things hitting me all at once. "I'll make some tea." He offered. I smiled, glad that he didn't offer anything else. Hagrid was a horrible cook.

"So how have you been?" Lily asked, looking around a little bit, and petting Snuffy. "Crazy things going on out there." She shook her head.

"I've bin great, glad ter have Dumbledore's protection, really." Hagrid confessed.

"Staying out of trouble I hope?" I asked. It was dangerous for Hagrid because it was rumored that Voldemort might start recruiting half-breeds like Hagrid, and the Ministry might not let him work here anymore because of that. They could think that he's working for him.

"I don' really have ter worry 'bout that. Dumbldore's bin great with handlin' them." Hagird said with a smile.

"Handling who?" Lily asked, tilting her head.

"Ministry's after half-breeds like me. They reckon we're all workin' for Voldemort 'cause he gives us better lives and opportunities." Hagrid said.

"Well, I can only imagine how they must all be feeling. It's awful to be neglected like that, and then Voldemort comes along, promising you that you could have wealth, power, and a relatively normal life again, so long as you help him." Lily said quietly, sipping the tea Hagrid set in front of us. When you put it like that, it made sense. The amount of compassion she had was amazing.

"I think, as long as yeh know what's righ', yeh wouldn' join him. Remus will be fine, if yeh're thinkin' 'bout him." Hagrid said. She nodded sadly.

"I am." She said. "Wait, how'd you know about Remus?" She asked, her head snapping up. He laughed.

"I'm the one who planted the ruddy tree!" Hagrid laughed. "An' as staff here, I get ter know, especially since I'm closest ter him when he transforms."

"That makes sense." She said, shaking her head at her silliness.

"Congrats by the way, I saw the match from here." Hagrid added to me.

"Thanks." I grinned.

"Wild party tonigh'?" He guessed.

"Of course." I smirked. "Well, not too wild." I added, catching Lily's stern glare. Hagrid looked between the two of us and chuckled.

"I remember when yeh were sittin' here complainin' about him, an' now look at yeh!" He chuckled. "An' he never stopped goin' on about yeh!" Lily looked at each other and laughed. We all looked out the window, and suddenly the air felt heavy. "Things are gettin' crazy out there. I'm scared fer yeh." Hagrid told us. Lily found my hand under the table.

"We're scare for us, too." She whispered.

A/N: Alright. 5,000 words. You all better be proud of me. And review.

I got in to Pottermore on Wednesday! I'm so happy :D

Also, I'm posting the start of a Lily-James story. The chapters are super short, the shortest being about 300, and the longest being 700, and there are 7. I'll be updating them along with this story every Friday.

Love,
SAM :)