Gryffindor vs Slytherin

'HILL, MEADOWES, HUNTLY, POTTER, BLACK, BLACKETT AAAND RANSOM!'

Sanderson Thomkins, a Huffepuff Seventh Year, usually known as Sandy, was commentating as seven red figures flashed across the pitch. Typically, James rolled as he went past the Gryffindor stand to a roar of appreciation; taking the lead of the team lap around the pitch before he landed to wait for the Slytherins.

'LOSSARO, COMPTON, THRESHER, BLISHWICK, AVERY, RADGE AAAND BLACK!'

The seven Slytherins dispensed with the introductory fly-by and immediately landed. Ivor Compton the team captain strode across to James and shook hands, firm but not forceful was Compton's grip and James wondered if Compton was going to stick to the rules this time. He had been right; the storm had blown out in the early hours of the morning and now the air was bright, still and sunny.

Then the whistle was blowing and they were off into the air, James intercepted the thrown quaffle before the Slytherins could reach it and was away, a distant voice telling the crowd that Gryffindor had possession.

The whole school was out to watch the match; Slytherin-Gryffindor was one of the highlights of the year as both teams manoeuvred for possession. Already Remus could see Wilkes in the opposite stand, swearing at the referee; Madam Hooch. Luckily for Wilkes the teacher couldn't hear him from playing height.

'POTTER TO MEADOWES TO- THRESHER INTERCEPTS AND IS AWAY!'

Remus could only groan as Tam Thresher intercepted a slow pass and was shooting in the opposite direction, only to drop the quaffle as Sirius hammered a bludger for his head. Thresher avoided it, and Sarah Huntly caught it, passing it to James who looped Compton and dummied it back to her before sending it Dorcas' way.

'OOOHHH!' the crowd groaned as the three Slytherin Chasers descended on her.

But somehow James suddenly had the Quaffle and he was away, only the Slytherin Keeper, Lossaro to beat and-

'GRYFFINDOR SCORE! THEY TAKE A TEN POINT LEAD!'

In the short celebration Remus was one of the few people other than Sirius and Hannah to see both Slytherin Beaters smash bludgers up at Ransom. Tommy rolled out the way though and Sirius raced after them, to send them down to where Blishwick had taken the quaffle.

Remus had warned James that Compton would try last year's tactics of taking out the Seeker, and Sirius had the situation well under control as Avery only just managed to duck the second bludger that was returned to him.

'SLYTHERIN SCORE!' came the next cry and they were back on even.

Then Ransom seemed to momentarily freeze before plunging for the earth; Remus came to his feet, searching the bottom of the Ravenclaw stand for a flash of gold. Regulus Black followed him into the dive, then there an awful crash as a bludger collided with Black's chest. Both were knocked off course and Black almost spiralled out of control, clearly winded and barely hanging onto his broom.

Sirius, who had hit the bludger, shot past his brother as Tommy pulled out of his dive, shouting, 'Better luck next time, Reg!'

Remus heard it and remembered James saying he was going to take the fight to Slytherin rather than waiting for his players to possibly get injured. But with Sirius occupied with dealing with his brother, Compton and Thresher played an excellent dummy reverse and hooked the quaffle past George Hill.

'SLYTHERIN SCORE! TWENTY-TEN TO SLYTHERIN!'

Remus groaned, but James simply picked up the pace.

Lily looked down at her watch, the match had been on for an hour now and Gryffindor were leading one hundred and thirty to eighty as James, Dorcas and Sarah pulled off move after move. The Slytherins were good though and every time the quaffle seemed certain to go in, Lossaro or even Compton somehow managed to intercept it.

Suddenly the whole crowd were on their feet as Tommy Ransom dived for the second time that day, the first having been a rather nasty feint.

He was streaking for the Gryffindor goals, rolled first one bludger, ducked the second from Adrian Radge. Regulus Black was gaining on him though and Lily glanced across to see something shimmering near Hill, the Gryffindor Keeper.

Ransom didn't have as fast a broom as Black though and Regulus was gaining as they sped across the pitch, losing height as the dropped towards the goals. At the last minute Black pulled ahead, stretching out in front of Ransom on his slightly faster Oakshot and then WHAM.

Ransom pulled up and away and Regulus once again veered off course, holding onto his broom with one hand, the other arm clutched to his chest. Thomkins, the commentator, tried to explain what Lily couldn't see properly.

'MR HILL, YOU CAN'T HANG YOUR WATCH THERE! I THINK MADAM HOOCH WILL BE HAVING WORDS… YES, HERE SHE COMES; PENALTY TO SLYTHERIN FOR GRYFFINDOR'S KEEPER DELIBERATELY DECEIVING THE SEEKER.'

The Gryffindor stands groaned as James arrived to argue with Madam Hooch, a few seconds later he shrugged, clapped Hill on the back and was flying away with a grin on his face despite the penalty.

Compton took it, but George Hill, with his incredible reach glanced the quaffle round the edge of the left ring. Lily turned to Alice and Frank beside her and asked, 'What happened? I couldn't see…'

Frank grinned rather bloodthirstily and replied, 'Hill hung his watch off the ring at the start of the match; no one really noticed until Tommy dived for it. Of course, Tommy knew from there he'd never beat Black's Nimbus, but he didn't want to. Black saw the glitter off the watch and probably assumed it was the snitch; at that speed you can't see properly and when he stuck his hand out for it, all he hit was the post. Which is what Tommy wanted.'

Lily gasped at the rather underhand tactics and turned just in time to see Dorcas take a bludger in the kidneys. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

An hour later the match was heating up as the snitch was nowhere to be seen and the competition between Chasers and Beaters was becoming a little more than heated.

James ducked a bludger that whistled past his ear and dropped several feet to avoid Blishwick, knowing Sarah was three feet down on his left he passed the quaffle behind his back and dropped even lower. Sarah went over the top of him as he veered left, the quaffle landing in his hands once more as Thresher went after Sarah. He broke away upwards and rolled to avoid another bludger, flicking the quaffle out towards Dorcas who caught and sent it straight on to Sarah.

Sirius flashed past him and suddenly Lossaro had to duck as both bludgers came for him, the quaffle landed once more in his hands and James punched it through the hoops.

'GRYFFINDOR TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY: SLYTHERIN ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY!' Thomkins roared as James did small, celebratory loop. Everyone was getting tired and the Slytherins were taking advantage to rebuild their score; Tommy still hadn't seen the snitch.

James returned to the centre of the pitch and Sarah seized the quaffle from Compton, haring off up the pitch and WHAM.

James had to hang on to his broom as he rolled off course and the whistle blew, 'Sorry, Potter, didn't see you there…' Avery drawled, hefting his Beater's bat once more. James' upper arm was numb and Dorcas took the penalty, but she was shaking so hard with anger that she missed. James tried to massage feeling back into his arm but a bludger appeared and he had to duck again.

Suddenly the score was Gryffindor; two hundred and fifty, Slytherin; two hundred and thirty. James was obviously hurt and he kept dropping catches he should have made. George Hill was suffering too from multiple bludgers to his chest and stomach, but was playing on gamely, hunched against the pain.

Sirius was beginning to lose his temper as well; Compton had now just 'accidently' just punched Sarah in the face, claiming he was going for the quaffle. Sirius was trying to keep an eye on Hannah as well, who Avery and Radge seemed to be targeting currently; she was having trouble defending herself as both bludgers came after her. Then Radge leant forward and grabbed her broom, forcing her into a roll as yet another bludger careered towards her; Sirius saw red.

He shot forward as the next bludger came in, dropped a foot and swung.

The bat swung just too early to clip the bludger that flew past Hannah and Sirius ducked as he deliberately missed; he was right on target.

'ARGHH!' Radge's nose burst in a spray of red droplets.

The whistle went, but Sirius didn't care; Radge got what he deserved. James scored a penalty, awarded for Radge's blagging and Hill saved Compton's for Sirius' deliberate swing at Radge.

Slytherin retaliated immediately; Compton grabbed Dorcas' head instead of the quaffle as he went past her and slammed it into her broom handle.

Lily was screaming.

The play was getting worse by the second; George Hill, instead of attempting to even save the shot, grabbed Compton and bodily swung him into the goalpole. Dorcas was wobbling on her broom and Sirius had a black eye where Avery had punched him.

Then Regulus Black was bent over his broomstick, as flat as he could be; heading for the bottom of the Gryffindor stand. Lily couldn't even see where Tommy Ransom was; Slytherin were going to win.

Then something dropped past her, not feet away from the edge of the stand. It didn't fly; it was quite literally dropping like a meteor: Tommy had his broom vertical.

Lily leant over the front of the railings as everyone stood up to try and see.

Tommy was pulling up, gold glittering in his hand when he clipped the Hufflepuff stand. He cartwheeled off his broom as Regulus Black pulled away, landing, bouncing and rolling like a rag doll.

The roars of victory suddenly turned to gasps and screams of horror.

Then James landed beside where the boy lay crumpled and, amazingly, Tommy groggily sat up, still clutching the snitch. James helped him unsteadily to his feet and the crowd roared appreciation.

'GRYFFINDOR WIN! FOUR HUNDRED AND TEN TO TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY!' Thomkins yelled into the microphone, 'NO ONE EXPECTED THAT ENDING, RANSOM NEARLY KILLS HIMSELF TO TAKE THE WIN FOR GRYFFINDOR!'

James was beside himself; they had just beaten Slytherin and now he was hugging Sirius and checking Dorcas was alright, as George swamped Tommy in a huge bear hug.

'Thank Merlin for that!' George rasped hoarsely, still winded from his last collision, 'I couldn't take any more of those sodding bludgers! I was just about to ask for time out.'

Tommy was shaken up and a little disorientated, but he grinned cheerfully and completely failed to pick up little Hannah Blackett and spin her round. They ended up in a sweaty heap as Remus appeared and punched James on the arm, 'You won!' he shouted cheerfully as James yelled in pain.

'You bastard! I think it's fractured!' he howled.

Remus looked a little abashed but grabbed Sirius in a manly hug, saying, 'I told you not to lose your temper, you idiot!'

'Yeah, but Radge will know to keep his bloody distance next time!' Sirius growled as the Slytherin team landed nearby; Radge's robes covered in blood.

'I think it's time for a party!' James called over the throng of arriving Gryffindors, 'Bring your little girlfriend, Padfoot!'

'To Tommy! Who sadly can't be with us!' James called to the Common Room, raising a bottle of butterbeer.

'Tommy!' almost eighty voices shouted back.

Lily couldn't help but smile and wonder. Tommy had been taken to the Hospital Wing after he passed out before he made it to the changing room, and Madam Pomfrey had diagnosed severe concussion.

James, Sarah, Dorcas, George and Sirius had all been patched up and sent on their way, though Sirius' brother was apparently staying in the hospital wing too; broken ribs.

Lily sank into a sofa beside Laura and laughed as Sirius started juggling butterbeer bottles behind his back. James appeared out of the crowd, glowing from a hot shower and his hair still damp, 'Alright, Lily!' he called, clasping three bottles of butterbeer in one hand and swigging from a fourth in the other, 'Here, catch!'

Luckily Laura caught both the bottles that flew out of James' hand, because Lily's catching wasn't great at the best of times. James was left holding one bottle between third and fourth fingers. Then he bounced down on the couch beside them, 'How's it going, ladies?'

'Congratulations!' Lily said brightly, smiling at him.

Laura frowned though and said, 'Where'd you get all the food and stuff from?'

James grinned devilishly and tapped his nose, 'If I told you that then I'd have to kill you.'

Luckily Remus arrived just before Laura could pursue her line of questioning. Laura turned to him, leaving James and Lily to talk.

'So, I was just wondering…' James began, hesitating abruptly as something flickered in Lily's eyes.

'Yes?' she answered suspiciously and suddenly James knew he was making a mistake; he was too full of excitement and glory after the match. He doubted his abrupt question and changed tack.

'Did you finish Jenson's essay?' he recovered brightly.

Laura turned away to talk to Remus and Lily's heart suddenly fluttered; she had kind of been waiting to see James all day. She turned to face him and smelt the soap he had used in the shower; his hair was still damp and hanging over his ears, strangely un-windswept after the match.

He looked oddly serious suddenly and the grin disappeared; Lily had the strangest feeling he was going to-

'So, I was wondering…'

'Yes,' Lily answered hopefully, feeling butterflies tingle around her navel.

Something in his shining eyes died and he finished with something Lily hadn't been expecting.