James walked into the Great Hall; his racing broom over his scarlet-clad shoulder. A few girls waved and winked to him as he walked by, which he brushed off with simple nods of his head. He took his seat next to Lily and kissed her thoroughly enough for the other girls to sigh. He gently tugged the necklace around her neck. Lily chuckled and started eating, lacing her fingers into James’s.
The Great Hall’s occupants were decked out in their supporting colors, as usually happened during for a Quidditch match. The Gryffindors, in their red and gold, were eagerly (and loudly) talking about the merits of their House team. Banners and flags were rolled up next to a few people. The Ravenclaw flyers sat amongst their House mates, their bronze and blue clothing, scarves and hats looking somber and smart. About half the Hufflepuffs were wearing Gryffindor or Ravenclaw colors over their own black and yellow. Naturally, the Slytherins were completely clad in green and silver and snarling at the other two tables.
The rest of the Gryffindor team gradually joined their Captain in the Great Hall, taking breakfast heartily but still around conversations with their friends. When the time came for the teams to leave the Hall, James stood up and beckoned to his team members. The rest of the Gryffindors cheered and shouted as their team walked with heads held high out of the Great Hall. The Ravenclaws stood next, and were cheered on by their own house. After they left, everyone else followed the two teams out of the Hall.
Out in the pitch, Lily and the rest of her friends took their seats in the second row of a stand in the middle of the stadium.
“Welcome, ladies, gentlemen and teachers to the second to last Quidditch game. This will determine which House”Gryffindor or Ravenclaw”will go on to face Slytherin in the Cup. Good luck to all teams, and here come the Gryffindors now! Always first, aren’t they?” called out the commentator, Noah Lee. “And out come Captain and Chaser James Potter! Stay away girls, he’s taken, and very happy!”
“LEE!” shouted McGonagall from behind him. Lee chuckled into the microphone and went on introducing the players.
“And following, Chasers Antoine Wood and Joshua Spinnet, Seeker Autumn Lai, Keeper and Spinnet’s girlfriend Cory Firion, and second year Beaters Luke and Melissa Cosi! And now, here come the Ravenclaws! Captain and Chaser Rimma Sheldon; Chasers Audrey Hashburn-Smitty and Catherine Johansson; Seeker Daniel Hughes; Keeper Caleb Brent and Beaters Stephanie Williams and Natasha Hodges. I wonder how Hughes and Brent feel being the only guys on the team. They must not mind; those are some very attractive girls.” Once again, McGonagall called out to Noah, and he chuckled.
“Out onto the pitch steps Professor Mindy. The teams line up, Potter and Sheldon shake hands, and there goes the Quaffle. Potter takes off with it, with Sheldon and the rest of the Chasers following him closely. Potter throws to Spinnet. Ooh, he narrowly missed that Bludger with a great roll, and oh dear, he dropped the Quaffle. Thank goodness Wood was right there to catch it. Great job. Wood throws...and yes! Ten nil to Gryffindor. There goes Sheldon with the Quaffle. Whoa, that girl must’ve gotten a new broom this Christmas. I don’t think the Gryffindors were expecting that, but no matter. Ouch! That had to hurt! She was just hit by a Bludger from Cosi”the girl. That girl is feisty. Whoever gets her as a girlfriend better watch out.” McGonagall called out again, but Lee was too preoccupied with ducking to make a retort. Melissa Cosi had flown by the stand with her bat held out. If Lee had been a few seconds slower, he would’ve woken up in the infirmary with quite a bump on his head.
“Oi! That girl’s got fire, and I wonder if that was illegal? No matter. Hashburn-Smitty takes possession of the Quaffle... and yes! She got it past Firion! Great work, Smitty! Score’s now tied at ten. There goes Spinnet with the ball. Throws to Potter, throws to Wood, back to Potter, back to Spinnet. Rolls again to miss another Bludger from Hodges. He shoots”it’s stopped by Brent. Quaffle take over by Sheldon and she’s barreling down the pitch. Oh, the Quaffle is taken by Potter, and he throws it to Spinnet. Wow! Potter just jumped off his broom and over Beater Williams. Nice job, Potter. He retrieves the Quaffle from Spinnet and shoots”yes! 20 to 10 with Ravenclaw trailing.”
And then game went on. Gryffindor would score, Ravenclaw would miss, Gryffindor would miss, Ravenclaw would get a goal... Both teams had to bring in reserve members; Gryffindor’s Joshua Spinnet had been hit in the head by a foul Bludger (James got the Quaffle Spinnet dropped, and later the point) and went unconscious five feet above the ground. He was substituted by Lauryn Ross, a sixth year. Ravenclaw’s Catherine Johansson was also hit with a Bludger and forced off her broom. Thankfully, it was only four feet above the ground. She had a broken rib, and the reserve Chaser Marty Flyn was brought it. Both members had scored points for their team. Finally, the Seekers started to get into the game.
“And the score is now 130 to 110, Ravenclaw leading. Both teams are doing really well this game, I wonder how long they can keep it up?! It’s nearing one in the afternoon; games been going on for about four hours. Wood’s got the Quaffle, and he throws to Ross, swerves around Smitty. Ouch! There goes Sheldon. That had to hurt. The poor girl has been hit with a Bludger in her back. She’s touching the ground. Nice hit, Cosi! And a quick flick of a wand and Sheldon’s back in the game. Good going! She’s back with a renewed vigor; let’s go, girl! Ooh, she’s taken the Quaffle from Wood and there she goes! Intercepted by Potter and he goes flying down the pitch. And he shoots...ten points to Gryffindor. Score’s now 130 to 120, Ravenclaw. What’s this? Lai dives...and Hughes follows. Did Lai see the Snitch? No. She was feinting. Hughes just managed to pull out of that one. They’re back to opposite ends of the pitch. Ooh! Hashburn-Smitty now grabs the Quaffle and yes! She’s gets another ten points for her team. And Flyn gains possession of the Quaffle. He was just brought in and has managed to score a few points, but”Whoa! That made up for it. He swerved pretty tightly around Luke Cosi and then jumped over Potter and now he’ll shoot...and Firion misses it. Ravenclaw’s been doing really good this game. Giving Gryffindor a run for their talent. Haha. Someone had to!”
Surprising, the Slytherins cheered at that jeer at the Gryffindor’s cocky manner.
Noah Lee continued commentating: “Ross’s got the Quaffle, passed to Potter, back to Ross, who shoots and gets it got past Brent. Score’s 150 to 130, Ravenclaw. And there goes Hughes! Has he seen something? Yes, I do believe he has! Lai’s right next to him! Careful; watch out for that Bludger! Ouch, they both got a piece of that, and the Snitch disappears again. They’re gonna have bruises from that hit. It hurts when my girlfriend pinches me, I can’t imagine”sorry, Professor! And there goes Lai off to the west, rotating her shoulders, and Hughes goes off to the east, holding his side. Hope there’s no broken ribs. Oh! There goes Potter once again, making for the hoops”and yes! He gets ten points! 150 to 140, Ravenclaw’s still in the lead.
“Oh man! There goes Lai again and I think she’s seen”yes, she has! There goes Hughes! Watch out for that Bludger from Hodges...good job, Lai; swerved past that one. And she’s still speeding toward the Snitch. Hughes and Lai are neck and neck”Ravenclaw just got ten more points, good job Sheldon”and Lai and Hughes are getting closer. Just don’t bump into the walls guys, that wouldn’t be too nice. Great job Ross! 160 to 150 stands the score, and there goes Lai... she’s stretching... and yes! She’s caught the Snitch! Ooohh! Foul, Hughes! He went and pushed her into the wall and she’s down. Hope she’s doin’ all right...yes; she’s sitting up, holding her wrist. Captain James Potter’s flying down to her. What a great captain, eh guys? Takes her on his broom for the traditional victory lap! Great job, Ravenclaw; you kept that the closest game ever. Very nice! Gryffindor will go up against Slytherin for the House Cup. The teams shake hands once again and head off for their dressing room. Game to Gryffindor; 300 to 160 and it’s nearly two in the afternoon. That was a pretty long game, teams!” Lee stopped commentating as everyone starting leaving the stands.
Lily met up with James and threw her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his back.
“Oh, you weren’t arrogant at all! I’m so proud of you!” Lily hugged him fiercely as he laughed heartily, turning in her embrace to hug her properly.
Josey went up to Antoine and hugged him swiftly before pressing her lips against his. He stumbled backwards, but managed to keep his arms around his girl. When they separated, he asked, “What was that for?”
“I’m not allowed to kiss my boyfriend after his victory?” she said, smiling coyly up at him. (She really was quite a few inches shorter, so the pairing was amusing for those watching… which was nearly all of their friends.)
He smirked, muttered, “I daresay you are,” and kissed her back with quite a bit of gusto.
Nikeia held in her laughter while Lily held her forehead in her hands at her friend’s passion.
Not about to be undone by some upstart Quidditch player, Sirius bent his head down to kiss Nikeia. Naturally, James couldn’t resist kissing Lily, though it was a soft kiss. Then, Frank and Alice just had to complete the quartet. How could they not?
Remus, who had been walking with the prefect Kayla, looked at her and Peter and rolled his eyes. Kayla laughed.
“There’s so much sappiness swirling around that I must get out of here.” She threw her hands in the air and walked off, still chuckling. Remus and Peter followed her, eager to also be away from the couples.
They were half way to the castle when James and Lily, Frank and Alice, and Sirius and Nikeia met up with them.
“Josey and Antoine showed no sign of stopping , so we figured we’d let them be,” laughed Lily.
“We’re going to have to have a talk with that girl,” muttered Nikeia. She and Lily shared an understanding glance, and sighed deeply. James and Sirius shot each other quizzical glances, but shrugged before they could think on it anymore.
They had a party to plan.
That party wasn’t as rambunctious as the House Cup victory party, but it was still had the majority of Gryffindors in the Common Room.
James left for a while, returning only after he had seen to his teammates in the Hospital Wing. The Bludger blow to Autumn’s back had winded and bruised her, and that last shove into the wall didn’t help any. Her wrist had snapped when she tried to stop herself, but it was healed quickly. Joshua Spinnet was still out with a bump on his head, but James left a few Chocolate Frogs on his bedside table. He had a few stashed away in his trunk in his dorm for occasions such as this.
The Ravenclaw Seeker was in the Hospital Wing as well, with two broken ribs”mended in a heartbeat, but still very sore. James knew how it felt. The other Ravenclaw Chaser was sleeping in her bed, with the second case of broken ribs.
Madam Pomfrey let James walk Autumn back up to the common room after giving her a few potions, and waving her wand a few times. James uttered the password, called Antoine over, and together they easily lifted Autumn’s slight form onto their shoulders. They paraded her around the common room a few times, all the while smiling and laughing. Everyone congratulated Autumn on another great game, and the rest of the team got their fair share of praise.
James was just opening a bottle of butterbeer when Lily came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, and laid her head against his shoulder. He smiled, realizing that this was a favorite way to hug him.
He turned back to the table of treats, and was startled to find a girl only a few inches from his face. He backed up, luckily not trodding on any of Lily’s toes. It was the same sixth year who had approached Sirius before the Masquerade. A rather plain girl she was, with wavy brown hair held back with a flowered headband and brown eyes, but she was still pretty. Nowhere near as pretty as his Lily, though.
“Hey, James!” She greeted him in a bubbly voice, and smiled. “That’s was a great game today! You were wonderful!”
“Well, I’m not the whole team. Everyone else helped,” admitted James, and he took a drink from the brown bottle. He felt Lily squeeze his waist. James chuckled, and moved her to stand next to him. She kept her arms wrapped around his waist; he couldn’t help but feel like she was being protective. He loved the feeling. He caught Lily’s smile to Laila. The brown-haired girl’s return smile was tight, but it switched back to her bright grin when she looked back at James. “Well, whatever!” laughed Laila, placing a hand on James’s forearm. “It was still a great game. You really are a great captain.”
James just smiled, taking another swig of butterbeer.
“I came over because I figure now’s as good a time as any. I need help with this whole... thing we’re doing in Charms. I know you’re really good at it, so can you help me out? I don’t understand the wand movement.”
“Well, Lily’s actually better at Charms than me; why don’t you ask her?” asked James.
“Actually,” starting Lily, looking up at him. “I was just going to head the dorm. It’s late, and I have to study for a pop quiz tomorrow in Potions. But, I guess I can stay and help.”
“No,” Laila gushed, flapping a hand. “You go study. I have my own quiz tomorrow so I’d like to get this done tonight, without putting anyone else out.”
“Okay,” said Lily, before reaching up to kiss James’s cheek. She turned away, but James reached out to stop her.
“Wait, what quiz? Slughorn didn’t say anything about a quiz?”
“That’s why it’s a pop quiz,” explained Lily, slowly.
“But, how do you know there’s going to be a quiz, then?” asked James, confused. He noticed Laila was looking at them with an eyebrow carefully raised and her lips pursed in a slightly agitated manner.
“Slughorn always gives us a pop quiz after a game,” said Lily. “Come on, James. You should know that,” Lily said, chuckling as she started to back away again. James chuckled shortly and sheepishly. Lily winked and turned around, passing a kissing Josey and Antoine as she did so.
James turned back to Laila, who treated him with a simpering look. He smiled faintly back, and asked her the incantation with which she was having trouble. After a few moments explaining the simple charm, he was distressed to find that their impromptu tutoring session was taking longer than strictly necessary. He sighed and continued to explain.
.