If I thought life at Hogwarts was good earlier, it was even better now. Between homework, friends, and spending time with Sirius, the month of November seemed to fly by and in no time at all, we were almost to the first Quidditch match of the year.
The closer we got to the match, the more pressured I began to feel. It was as if I was trying out for the team all over again, which didn’t help my self-confidence at all. We were soon having practices up to four times a week and cramming strategy sessions in between classes and during free hours.
I was surprised by the intensity of the conduct regarding Quidditch here at Hogwarts. At Beauxbatons, Quidditch was merely a novelty entertainment that no one took seriously, with a handful of exceptions. It seemed to me that everyone, non-athletes included, cared about the outcome of the match. Gryffindors who were friends with Ravenclaws were constantly getting into arguments in the corridors about which team should win. Luckily, nothing too bad happened and no real duels ensued. The worst thing, in general opinion, that came from the tension was Micky breaking up with her Ravenclaw boyfriend, Troy, who she had been dating since the Ball. The two had been avoiding the subject for a long time, knowing it wouldn’t go over well if they discussed it. Eventually, the topic did come up and Micky got sick of him insulting our players and dumped him on the spot. According to Lily, this wasn’t unusual. Apparently Micky’s relationships were always reasonably short, due to her love of the dramatics.
Day by day, the match drew closer. It was as if it were a cloud looming over us, even considering that the late November weather was usually not the best. It was a really odd feeling; spirits were both soaring and sinking at the same time, making it a miracle to finish any homework.
The week leading up to the Saturday afternoon match seemed to crawl by, and after several tough practices brought on by James, it was finally game day.
To say that I was nervous that morning at breakfast would have been an extreme understatement. I managed to nibble a few bites of toast, but that was all Lily could get into me. By the time Sirius and James arrived, I was in quite a state. My stomach felt like it was going to dispense itself of the little food I had eaten, and my brain seemed to have gone numb.
At the sight of Sirius’s beaming face, my spirits perked up a little. I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked as he slid in next to me, slipping an arm around my waist. His hair was a beautiful jet black and, as usual, it swept over his face. His perfect lips were pulled into a heart-melting grin and his grey eyes seemed to glow with excitement.
“You OK?” he asked me, grin fading a little.
I shrugged. “Never been better.” My tone contradicted my words.
“What’s wrong?”
It was Lily who answered his question. “She’s nervous. I could hardly get her to eat anything.”
James, who had plopped down next to Lily, looked suddenly worried. “Amelia, you can’t play on an empty stomach.” He glanced from me to Sirius.
My boyfriend nodded seriously, reaching across the table and grabbing a biscuit. “He’s right, Amelia. Eat it or I’ll disown you.”
I laughed nervously, taking it from him. “Fine.”
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. “Now she decides to eat…”
Sirius laughed merrily and tweaked my ear as I took a bite of the biscuit. I gave him a small shove.
“Don’t worry, Lily, you just don’t have the charm,” Sirius joked, causing Lily to grin weakly.
I shook my head. “Yes, your charm has really gotten you far in life, hasn’t it?”
Sirius leaned close and whispered loudly into my ear, “It got me you.”
I let out a heavy sigh and laid a hand over my face as James snorted into his pumpkin juice.
“What?” Sirius demanded.
I smiled at him, and at the sight of his confused face, broke into a fit of giggles. “You’re so weird.”
He was about to say something when Haylie pranced into the Great Hall. She flew down the aisle and threw herself down on the other side of Lily.
“Hey everyone!” she greeted us enthusiastically before piling food into her plate and stuffing it into her mouth.
“Um… Haylie, are you alright?” Lily questioned.
“Don’t worry,” James assured her. “Haylie likes to cram in breakfast on the morning of a match. Why she does this, I’ve never figured out.”
Haylie glared at him. “I have to get out to the pitch immediately!”
“Why?” I asked. “The game doesn’t start for a few more hours.”
“I need to check the conditions and take a few warm up laps. I also should probably add some drills in as well,” Haylie explained between mouthfuls. “If I’m going to make it as a professional Quidditch player, I’m going to have to get used to the system sooner or later.”
A few moments later she declared herself full and took off for the pitch.
Lily shook her head, glancing at James. “It never ceases to amaze me how seriously she takes this sport.”
“Lily, family pressures are always tough,” Sirius said, a dark expression crossing his face. “Trust me, I know. If her entire family is made up of Quidditch players, she has to work extremely hard to live up to the family name.”
I looked at him for a long time. There he went, mentioning his family again. His tone was so quiet, almost bitter, and I wondered, not for the first time, what his family was like. Ever since the first time he mentioned them at the Halloween Ball, my curiosity about his home life had increased. It amazed me how much I really didn’t know about Sirius. He obviously wasn’t on very good terms with them, but what had happened? I knew that the best way to answer my questions was to ask him, but if I did, how would he react? Would he tell me, or would he get upset?
I knew that my alternate option would be to ask Lily, who always knew things, but didn’t spread them around like Micky always did. When we had all finished eating, James and Sirius decided to go to the pitch and check if Haylie had managed to kill herself doing some impossible drill. I knew that this was my chance to ask Lily.
“Hey, Lily, I was wondering something…” I trailed off.
“What?”
“Well, it’s about Sirius.” My face flushed. “I don’t really know if I can talk about it with him, so I thought I’d ask you.”
Lily’s green eyes were puzzled. “What do you need?”
“Well,” I put my hands in the pockets of my robes. “I’ve been wondering… what is his family like?”
Lily did her best to conceal a grin as she linked her arm with mine as we strolled out of the Great Hall. “Why? Did he already ask you to come meet them or something?”
I shook my head, feeling my cheeks grow even warmer. “No, no, it’s nothing like that! He’s just mentioned them a few times and he doesn’t seem to… like them very much. I’m his girlfriend now, and I feel really bad not knowing anything about them.”
“I understand,” Lily said. “I don’t know a lot of the Black family history myself, but what I do know is that Sirius had some sort of falling out with them a few years ago. I know that they’re a very strict pureblood family; all of them have been in Slytherin for decades. However, Sirius had always been… a bit different than the rest of them. He surprised them all by being the first Gryffindor ever in the family. Like I said, I don’t know the details, but I figure that he had some sort of fight with his parents, and that caused Sirius to move out.”
“You mean he doesn’t live with them?” I asked.
Lily shook her head. “No, he’s been living with James for years.”
I silently took note of the tiny grin that crossed her face at the word ‘James’.
“Huh,” was all I could think of saying. Obviously, Sirius, like me, had had a somewhat rough childhood. Our situations were ironically opposite, though, for I had the most loving and the largest family that anyone could ever hope for, yet when it came to schooling I lacked friendship and was often lonely. Sirius, on the other hand, had grown up in a cold family and had found companionship at school. It hurt a little to think of Sirius going through those sorts of things at such a young age. Usually, you run into the typical pureblooded Slytherin types when you entered school. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to come from a home like that.
“You did know,” Lily interrupted my thoughts, “that he has a younger brother, right?”
I stopped dead in my tracks; a younger brother? Sirius Black has a younger brother? My face burned with embarrassment and shame. Some girlfriend I was turning out to be. Sirius had had a brother all the months that I’d known him, and I’d had no idea.
Lily, being her usual extremely observant self, immediately noticed my shame. “Amelia, don’t feel bad. Sirius hardly ever mentions Regulus. Half of us, myself included, didn’t even know that he existed until he started school himself. Even then, people were oblivious to the fact that they’re brothers. You would never be able to tell that they’re related. I’ve only actually seen them speak to each other once, and that was in the middle of some argument about their mum back in fourth year.”
I sighed. “I still wish I had known.”
“Hey, look, there’s Regulus now.” She spoke the last sentence in a hushed voice as she motioned to a passing Slytherin.
Regulus Black was almost an identical clone of his elder brother. My first thought was that I didn’t understand why Lily had told me that you wouldn’t easily spot the relationship. As I looked more closely, however, I noticed several significant differences. The first was the most obvious: Regulus may have looked like Sirius, but he was far less handsome and didn’t have the same charming bounce in his step. His eyes were the most notable physical difference: they were a few shades lighter and had a much colder air to them. The other difference was also obvious: he was wearing Slytherin robes. The last thing I noticed as he walked past was a mix between the first two. Something in the way Regulus walked and spoke with his classmates in passing just didn’t seem right. He seemed to be showing off in his stride, although not in the way you would expect. It seemed as though he was trying to live up to something… maybe he was trying to show the world that not all the Black offspring had gone in the ‘wrong direction’ that Sirius had.
“He’s nothing like Sirius,” I commented quietly.
Lily nodded. “I know. It’s kind of weird, isn’t it? I guess in lots of cases, people turn out much different than their family, and their siblings don’t approve. I can relate to Sirius on that one.”
I knew that she was referring to the fact that she was a Muggleborn. Naturally, Lily had filled me in on the atrocities of her older sister, but I honestly didn’t believe half of it. “Is Petunia really that bad?”
“Yeah, she is.” Lily paused before adding, “Just wait until you meet her. Then you’ll understand what I mean.”
We continued on our way in mindless chatter. The issue of Sirius’s family situation had been pushed to the back of my mind; there was no use thinking about that when there was a Quidditch match to be played.
It was soon early afternoon, and so I bid my friends goodbye and headed down to the pitch. As I hurried across the lawn, I took note of the slightly overcast sky. It certainly didn’t look as though it would rain, but one could never tell in a climate like this one.
My nerves were now as bad, if not worse, than the ones I’d had on tryout day. It felt as though my legs and arms had turned to jelly and a swarm of butterflies were dancing in my stomach. Even my brain was a fuzzy mess.
I gazed up at the Quidditch stadium that had become so familiar to me. A lone figure soared above the seats. If Haylie had any nerves at all, her flying didn’t show it.
As I paced out onto the grassy field that lay in the center of the pitch, I noticed the figures of James and Sirius watching Haylie, along with observing the conditions.
“Overall, it doesn’t look too bad,” James was saying. “Naturally, some sunshine would be nice, but at least it doesn’t look like rain any time soon.”
Sirius nodded. “Remember the match against Slytherin back in fourth year?”
“Who can forget that one? Merlin, the weather was absolutely brutal,” James agreed. “You weren’t on the team then, were you, Padfoot?”
“No, that was the year I tried out for Beater,” Sirius replied with a shrug. “That was a really memorable match to watch, though. It’s a miracle that we pulled through and won.”
“Yeah, with all those high winds,” James added.
“Arnold was Seeker for that game, wasn’t he?”
“No, he had to fill in for Suzy Button, who had been at the wrong end of a Bat Bogey Hex, or something like that. I’m pretty sure that was Haylie’s first match,” James said, glancing up to where Haylie was now weaving in and out of the goal posts.
“She caught the Snitch, didn’t she?” Sirius asked.
“Naturally,” James replied with certainty. “Haylie Burch always catches the Snitch. At least, she has every time I’ve played with her. She’s an excellent Seeker, probably one of the best that Hogwarts has seen in years.”
“Her brother was a Beater, wasn’t he?”
“Yep, and ever since that gale of a match, Haylie has been the Gryffindor Seeker,” James continued, almost disregarding Sirius’s question.
“I didn’t know that,” I commented.
The two boys turned around in surprise. Sirius’s face lit up as he immediately joined my hand in his own. The butterflies that had been fluttering in my stomach died down a little.
“Amelia, there you are! Are you almost ready for your first game?” James questioned.
I nodded. “I’m a tad nervous, but nerves aside, I couldn’t feel better.”
“Just what I wanted to hear!” James nodded, glancing to the sky. “Hey, Burch!” he shouted to Haylie. “You might want to get down here, team meeting is in ten minutes!”
Haylie did a steep dive and in mere seconds, she was standing next to us on the ground.
“What did you say, James?” she asked. Her cheeks were a bright pink from excitement.
James grinned. “Team meeting, ten minutes in the locker room.”
Haylie nodded, “Gotcha,” and took off again.
Sirius and I headed together into the locker room. When we got there, Donyal, Micky, and Maria were already there and dressed in their bright scarlet team robes.
“Hey, there’s our favorite couple!” Donyal burst when she saw us. “Finally decided to get out of the broom closet and join the team, eh?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes, but failed to keep my face from flushing. Why did it always do that? Even when there’s nothing to blush about, it turned red!
Sirius casually laid his arm across my shoulder. “Oh yeah, Donny. We really had some fun in there.” I sent him a shocked look, causing him to burst out laughing. “I’m just kidding!”
I smiled. “Good.”
It only took a few moments to change into my pair of robes. A few practices before the match, James had gotten out a box of Gryffindor team robes, and we had fitted them for everyone. The rest of the team was made up of returning members, so they simply found their robes from previous seasons. In my case, I had to find one that fit and got Micky to unstitch the ‘Parks’ that had been engraved in gold letters on the back and re-stitch it to say ‘Jordan’.
We all chatted amongst ourselves quietly until our captain, flanked closely by Haylie, made his way into the locker room. By the looks of it, James was ready to give a pre-game speech. He nodded to us and we all took our seats as he marched to the front of the room.
“Well,” he began. “We’ve all trained pretty hard for this. With Haylie’s help, of course, I’ve been able to drill this game into the back of your heads. Our Seeker is in the best shape she’s ever been. Our Beaters are ready to kick some arse.” Donyal let out a loud whoop at this. “We Chasers are as together and synchronized as it is possible to be, and we have a brand new Keeper whose amazing skills kept Tanaka Reeves off the team this year.” We shared a laugh at this. “So, without further ado, let’s get out there and win this thing!”
We all cheered, and I felt my spirits rise. I was starting to feel the pre-game adrenaline that always kept me strong during a match.
There was a sudden slamming noise and we all turned to find a surprised Lily, who was obviously shocked by the loudness of the shutting door. Her wide green eyes swept over us all.
She had changed clothes from what she was wearing earlier, with a light grey sweater underneath her school robes. I thought I noticed a touch of makeup on her face as well, which was odd because Lily usually didn’t usually wear any. Over it all she wore a Gryffindor scarf.
Her eyes instantly met James’s and she blushed deeply, glancing at the rest of us. I pinched my arm to see if I was dreaming. What was going on with her? She was completely normal this morning.
“Oh, sorry.” Lily mumbled. “I didn’t realize you’d be getting prepared this soon…”
“Um, Lily?” I asked quietly, not knowing quite what to say.
“Well, I should probably let you guys prepare and stuff.” She looked up again and her eyes collided instantly with James’s hazel ones. I could almost see something pass between them. It wasn’t physical or mental. In fact, I’m not really sure what it was, but it was as if something had been decided between the two of them in that moment.
Lily smiled faintly as she pushed the door back open, her eyes never leaving his. “Good luck, James,” was all she said before slipping away.
I gaped at the spot where she had stood not even five seconds before. Her words echoed through my mind. There was no, “You’ll do great, Amelia!” or, “I’ll have my fingers crossed that you’ll get the Snitch, Haylie!” Just, “Good luck, James”.
I let my eyes wander to where James stood at the head of the small room. His eyes, behind the usual bent and crooked glasses, were also glued to the door. His hands and arms were limp at his side and an expression of surprise and delight was etched onto his face. He glanced quickly down at his feet, ran a hand through his already messy hair, and sat down, grinning as if Christmas had come early.
I glanced at Sirius and we shared a look. Maybe our ‘get James and Lily together’ plan wasn’t such a bomb after all.
With a sudden movement that made me jump, James leapt to his feet. “All right,” he shouted, voice filled with renewed energy. “Ten minutes until we have to be out on the pitch. I can hear the school filling the stands already. How about some shouting to boost our spirits?”
The team let out a loud cheer, myself included. My head had momentarily gotten out of the game due to Lily’s odd appearance, and some good quality shouting of cheesy phrases was just what I needed.
“Who are we?” James yelled.
“Gryffindor!” we replied.
“Who are we gonna beat?”
“Ravenclaw!”
“Again!” James yelled, his voice getting louder. “Who are we?”
“Gryffindor!”
“What was that? I don’t think I heard you!” James taunted us as we all got to our feet. “Who did you say we were?”
“GRYFFINDOR!” I screamed it with all my might, feeling my spirits soar. This was what being on a team was all about.
“Who are we gonna beat?” James roared.
“RAVENCLAW!”
“Alright, now it’s just a few minutes until game time. “James said, his voice still merry, but with a serious undertone. He was grinning like an idiot. “Last words, anyone?”
“Just go out there and get it done,” Haylie said firmly. “Remember the things we worked on in practice and just do your ultimate best.”
“Let’s get out there and have some fun!” Maria chimed in.
“Kick some arse!” was all Sirius had to say on the matter.
Donyal was the last to have some input. “If they play dirty, don’t be afraid to fight back. They may be in the smart-people house, but Gryffindor’s symbol is the lion for a reason!”
To all this advice, James nodded approvingly. “Well, Gryffindors,” he grinned wickedly, turning towards the door. He paused to inspect us one final time. “To the skies.”
We trooped out onto the field in a single file line. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in robes of bright blue, awaited us at the center. I glanced up at the stands. The newly hatched nervous butterflies rolled with the crowds that now filled the entire structure.
The crowd itself was a sea of blues and reds. I had never played before so many people before. Quidditch wasn’t as popular at Beauxbatons as it was here. It seemed that the entire school had shown up to watch the match. Even the teachers had their own box; I could see Slughorn’s enormous belly all the way from over here.
Suddenly, an all too familiar voice drawled loudly, echoing into every corner of the stadium. The crowds slowly fell silent.
“Welcome, Hogwarts School, to the first Quidditch match of the season! Today the house teams from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw compete in a battle of skill and tactics to work their way to achieving the Quidditch Cup. As you know, both teams have been training very hard leading up to this event.”
I squinted up at the commentator’s stand and once again, my stomach seemed to drop. I was all too familiar with that brown head of hair and those large expressive hazel eyes.
“I’m Tanaka Reeves and I shall be commentating today’s match. Captains Eliza Landon of Ravenclaw and James Potter of Gryffindor, please shake hands.”
James stepped forward and did as he was told, adding a nod and a “Best of luck,” to the tall, stocky Ravenclaw.
“Keepers Hollanich of Ravenclaw and Jordan of Gryffindor, please take your positions at the goal posts.” Tanaka spat out my name, treating it as if it were some vulgar phrase she would be punished for using. Tanaka hadn’t really been much of a bother these past few months, but she had obviously not gotten over me beating her for the position on the team. As I flew up and took my place at the goal posts, which I realized were the same goal posts I was at during the tryouts. I couldn’t help but feel that Tanaka might try some sort of trick against me. No, I told myself, she wouldn’t dare pull anything now. Not with the entire school and teachers watching.
When Tanaka announced each player’s name, their supporting team would burst into loud cheering and whooping. I used that to help drown out the snobby voice of Tanaka, my rival.
“And lastly, playing Seeker for Gryffindor, Haylie Burch!” Tanaka’s voice was lost to the applause. “Players, at your positions,” she continued dramatically.
I glanced across at my opposing Keeper. Shay Hollanich was supposedly very good, but I was sure that our Chasers would be able to penetrate him.
Down on the field, the Chasers formed a circle in the center of the pitch. The Beaters, armed with their bats, and the Seekers were scattered along the outside of the ring.
“Let the match begin!” Tanaka shouted and the players were off.
The sudden flash of blue and scarlet momentarily blinded me. Concentrate, Amelia, concentrate! I told myself.
“And it’s Sirius Black with the Quaffle, he passes it to Potter, now to Micky Lee. Ohh, nice bit of broom work there!” Tanaka’s voice was no longer snobbish. She seemed to be completely enthralled by the match. After all, Quidditch was her passion. “Micky passes it to Black, back to Potter, to Black again, he goes for the shot”“
There was a loud groan from the Gryffindor supporters as Shay Hollanich easily caught the Quaffle.
“Ravenclaw takes possession of the Quaffle!”
I zoned Tanaka out, putting my full attention on the swirling Chasers. I traced the Quaffle with my eyes, fingertips ready for anything. They zoomed closer and closer… they were almost to the goalposts…
“We come to the new Gryffindor Keeper’s new test of skill. Amelia Jordan, one of the Beauxbaton transfers, overcame startling odds to reach her position in a somewhat rigged tryout, let’s see if it paid off…”
Her voice was drowned in a series of boos from the Gryffindor crowd and cheers from the Ravenclaw one. My face flushed. I was right; Tanaka was going to do all she could to keep me from playing well. Her commentary about me was completely unnecessary and caused a nice little distraction, helping Ravenclaw score.
James had flown over to the commentator’s stand and was shouting furiously at a smug- looking Tanaka. “I DON’T want you messing with my players, Reeves! You may be still upset about not making the team yourself, but you should have thought of that when you cheated. We have all moved on, so do your job and commentate, not screw with my players!”
“Potter, that is quite enough!” came the strict voice of Professor McGonagall.
James gave Tanaka one final glare before returning to the field of play. In the process, he gave Donyal a nod. She began smiling wickedly.
From that point onward, the game grew more intense. The Ravenclaws seemed to be playing fairly, but we Gryffindors were in it to win. Chasers tossed the ball from person to person, the Beaters mercilessly whacked Bludgers at our opponents, and Haylie scanned the skies for the snitch.
It wasn’t long before James put Gryffindor on the scoreboard with an excellently shot goal. The Ravenclaws struck back with two goals of their own. They had been thrown with enough accuracy to make Haylie proud, for they were of the kind that appears to be going one way, and then the end up going the opposite direction. I did my best to save these, but they slipped through my fingers. I knew I would get a talking to after the game because of those goals, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.
Our Beaters grew more and more ruthless the longer the game played out. Maria managed to whack a Bludger at Don Anderson, the Ravenclaw Seeker, and hit him flat in the ear. This caused him to black out for about five minutes and gave Ravenclaw a penalty shot, which they made.
What was wrong with me today? Why couldn’t I save anything? It was probably Tanaka’s comments earlier that had bashed my concentration to bits.
Gryffindor soon scored two more times, courtesy of Micky and Sirius, and we were now only behind by ten. Ravenclaw scored again within a few minutes, but Sirius eliminated that point with another Gryffindor goal.
Troy, Micky’s ex-boyfriend and Ravenclaw Beater managed to nail a Bludger on Micky’s hip, but thankfully she was fine. “That’s for breaking up with me!” he had shouted right before hitting the bludger at her.
Micky glared at him. “Don’t be such an arse! Is that your best excuse for hitting a girl? You’re pathetic! My grandmother can think up a better line than that!”
I hardly had any time to watch this amusing exchange, for before I knew it, we were back in play. I had a few good saves after that, but so did Shay Hollanich. Ravenclaw then scored a few more times and Shay made another save. Oh, this wasn’t going good! James is going to kill me! I needed to step things up badly, and if Haylie didn’t catch the Snitch soon, we would lose the game for sure! This build up helped me make several good saves while Micky and James both scored for Gryffindor. It was still 70-80, though. They were ahead by ten…
A scarlet streak caught my attention. Haylie was zooming forward on her broom, followed closely by Anderson. I faintly felt the Quaffle pass through the goal next to me and heard Tanaka announce that we were behind by twenty, but it didn’t matter if Haylie caught the snitch. Anderson was gaining fast, but Haylie (most likely due to the fact that she came from a family of Quidditch players) had a faster broom. With a burst of extreme speed, she pulled from the dive. Something small was struggling in her fist.
“Haylie Burch catches the Snitch! Gryffindor wins 220 to 90!” Tanaka’s enthusiastic voice boomed through the stands.
The Gryffindor supporters were all on their feet and screaming. We had won!
I flew down to the field where Haylie stood proudly, the Snitch still clutched in her fist.
“Yes!” I screamed. “Yes!”
The Chasers and Beaters joined us and we all formed a large circle around Haylie.
“We did it!” Sirius shouted, wrapping an arm around my waist. I gave him a quick enthusiastic hug that was interrupted by my inability to stop jumping in happiness.
“We won, we won, we won!” Micky sang, linking arms with Maria and spinning in a circle.
Suddenly, we were surrounded by Gryffindors. Everyone was there, Leah and Remus stood hand in hand, and Lily looked excited but slightly nervous.
“Lily, we won!” I cried, flinging my arms around her in excitement. She smiled and returned the embrace, but I could tell it was half-heartedly. “Um… Lily?” I asked, following her gaze.
Naturally, they lead me to James, who was smiling so widely that I feared his face would split open. Is this why Lily was acting so weirdly? I was surprised that James wasn’t jumping around and shouting like a maniac like everyone else was. He just stood there smiling, in his own little world, accepting handshakes and claps on the back.
I looked back at Lily, the closest friend I ever had. I knew what she was deciding whether or not to do and wished her the best of happiness. It was about time for the drama between Lily and James to end for good.
I nudged her with my elbow, causing her to glance at me in confusion. “Go for it,” I smiled secretly. Lily raised her eyebrows at me as if she hadn’t heard me correctly. “You heard me,” I replied to the unasked question in her eyes.
Lily’s face broke into a broad smile, one that made her look even more beautiful than usual. She watched James, who was now talking to Sirius, for a long moment, as if debating to do the unthinkable, and then took off in a run.
“James!” She shouted and his head whipped around a split second before she flew into his arms. “Congratulations!”
By the dazed expression on his face, I figured that James was wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him or not.
“Wh-what?” He stammered, staring down at the flaming mess of Lily’s hair in pure disbelief.
Lily met his gaze without hesitation. “You won the game,” she said, completely stating the obvious. I laughed. The way she said it, you would think that the way she was acting was normal Lily behavior.
Sirius spotted me and I joined him where he was standing. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I think he won a little more than the game.”
Another laugh burst out of me. “You could say that again!” Sirius snaked his arm around my waist and I leaned against his shoulder.
Next to us, James still looked unsure of what was going on. Lily was starting to look a little bit exasperated.
“Are you that thick, Potter?” she demanded, resorting to his last name. “Do I always have to spell everything out for you?”
James smiled weakly down at her. “I don’t know… is there some odd meaning behind this or are you finally admitting that you like me?” All right, now he was flirting.
Lily caught onto this instantly and sighed heavily, failing to conceal a smile. “You tell me,” she said softly before going on her tiptoes and touching her mouth with his.
Sirius instantly let out a loud cheer and upon noticing the two kissers, the crowd was more than happy to join him.
Lily and James broke apart, both with huge smiles on their faces. They stayed like that for a long moment, completely oblivious to the cheers and lost in each other’s faces. The moment ended as quickly as it came and they finally noticed all the onlookers.
James grinned wickedly at Lily. “Lily Evans, I know I’ve been a bit of an arse to you pretty much since we met, and I know I haven’t made things easy for you, but you’re everything I’ve always dreamed to find in a girl, only ten thousand times better. I guess what I’m trying to say is something I’ve said to you a million times, but I’ve never meant it as much as I do right now. Will you go out with me?”
Lily’s expression softened and, not for the first time, I saw how much she truly had grown to care for him. “Of course,” was all she needed to say before kissing him again.
Over my shoulder, I heard a loud huff. Turning my head, I caught a glimpse of beautiful long blonde hair disappearing into the crowd. Obviously, Hollie was not at all pleased with the results of the match. She had sat on the sidelines and watched the two most sought after boys get taken. Something told me that she was going to fight to get even, but something else told me that it didn’t matter.
Sirius and I beamed at each other. Our work was now complete; we had successfully gotten out best friends together. Arm in arm, we turned to return to the locker room to change, leaving the new couple surrounded by a crowd of Gryffindor supporters and well-wishers.
A Girl Like You by Lady Alanna
Chapter Notes: I'm so so so so so so so so (insert the word "so" going on forever here) SORRY!! I haven't updated in almost half a year! School has been sucking all the creativity out of me and I haven't had much time to write and I humbly apologize. I haven't finished typing the next chapter yet, but I wanted to submit this before I got too far ahead of myself. You can consider it a Christmas apology gift. Thanks so much to Kiryn for betaing!!
Chapter Endnotes: Well, there you have it. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, the ending is one of my favorites. It was a very difficult chapter to write and I now see why Jo had such a hard time writing her Quidditch matches. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, so I won't make any promises. Hopefully, it won't be too much of a wait. Don't forget to leave a review, I love getting them!