Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 42: Flobberworms and Quidditch
That morning was the first Care of Magical Creatures class. The Gryffindor students trudged out of the castle onto the wet grounds. The early morning shower had left the ground soggy and muddy. As they approached the location of their first class they groaned when they saw who would be joining them for this elective: the Slytherins.
Lily was excited about the creatures she was to learn about. She had grown up hearing fairy tales that included unicorns and was delighted to hear from Alice that they in fact existed. Her thoughts were interrupted by some chuckles to her right. Lily looked over and noticed that the Marauders had their heads together and were sniggering about something they found quite amusing.
Alice followed Lily's gaze and said, "What do you suppose they're up to?"
"I don't know, but whatever it is we should probably keep our distance or risk becoming innocent bystanders of one of their pranks," said Marlene.
Before any more comments could be made they heard the voice of their professor shushing the students so he could begin the first lesson. Professor Kettleburn was a tall thin man in his late forties. His left arm was tightly bandaged and held in a sling.
"Good morning, class," he started. "I am Professor Kettleburn. The lesson I originally planned for today has been changed due to the injury I received gathering the creatures in question. Instead we will be focusing on flobberworms for the next few weeks." He proceeded to explain what flobberworms were and their importance in the world (that explanation was very short). He instructed the students to form groups and to take a bowl of flobberworms. They were to study the characteristics of the worms and feed them from another bowl which contained slimy, rotting lettuce.
The hour went by slowly, as there wasn't much to observe when the flobberworms just lay there in the bowl, only moving when offered some lettuce. At the end of the hour Professor Kettleburn instructed one student from each group to stay behind to clean up. As Lily was checking to make certain each flobberworm was still present in her bowl she heard a 'BOOM' and a cry of disgust. She turned around and saw Severus Snape, pale-faced and shocked at having pieces of rotting lettuce stuck to his face and robes. There was a cloud surrounding him that could only have come from the detonation of a dungbomb.
Lily felt a pang of sympathy for the Slytherin. Even though Severus had never been kind to her, he had never been openly hostile toward her, unlike his friend Lucius Malfoy. Lily turned to see Potter standing several feet away, trying to hold in his laughter. Lily felt irritated at him. How could he target someone like Snape who had been minding his own business? How could he find humor in his humiliation? By this point Potter was openly laughing.
Even though Lily made it a habit of ignoring Potter her sense of justice and fairness overwhelmed that habit and forced her to take action. She stormed over to him and with each step felt her anger grow. By the time she was standing in front of him her face was flushed with annoyance and she spat, "You did this!"
James was taken aback. It had been some time since Lily had addressed him directly. He was also in unfamiliar territory. During first year they had been close. During second year she either ignored him or spoke in dismissive tones to him and only when he had pursued her. Now she was angry with him, and he noticed her flushed skin and flashing green eyes, though they still didn't quite meet his own hazel ones. Part of him was hurt that she had yelled at him, but a larger part of him couldn't help but enjoy that she was speaking to him again. If he couldn't get her to speak to him in civil tones, then at least he could get her attention this way - it was better than nothing.
"Ah, Evans," he said with what he hoped was his most charming grin, "it was just an innocent prank."
Lily turned to look at Severus, who was trying to wipe the slimy lettuce off of his face, leaving trails of gooey brown liquid. In his haste to get the goop off he slipped and fell into the mud, sending James into further hysterics. Lily narrowed her eyes and turned back to James. "Potter, there was nothing innocent about that prank. Severus did nothing to you and you decided to humiliate him!"
"What do you mean he did nothing to me? He's a Slytherin!" replied James.
"And you are an bullying prat!" yelled Lily.
James was about to retort when Professor Kettleburn interrupted. "Mr. Potter, 20 points from Gryffindor for setting off a dungbomb in class. You will serve detention tonight - report to Professor McGonagall at 7 pm." He turned to Lily and said, "Miss Evans, would you mind assisting Mr. Snape in cleaning up? Mr. Potter, please proceed to your next class."
James glanced at Lily one last time before heading back to the castle, his thoughts surrounding a red-headed Gryffindor girl who was beautiful when she was angry.
Lily hesitantly approached Severus, who had turned a grayish-green color at having the scent of rotting lettuce and dungbombs surrounding him. Lily pulled out her wand and pointed it at Severus, who noticed and stepped back, pulling out his own wand.
"It's okay," she said. "I'm not going to hex you."
He eyed her with caution, and seeing the sincerity in her eyes, lowered his wand.
"Scourgify!" she incanted. The slimy substance that still adhered to Severus disappeared, as well as the foul smell that surrounded him.
Severus looked down at his robes which were back to their pristine condition. He even noticed that a pumpkin juice stain from the previous year had also disappeared. He looked up at Lily and studied her appraisingly. "Why did you do that?" he asked.
"Professor Kettleburn asked me to help, and I didn't think you would want to attend class looking and smelling like you did," she replied.
Severus shook his head. "No, not that. Why did you yell at Potter like that? I thought you liked him."
"He was acting like a prat. He shouldn't have done that to you," she replied.
"Even if I'm a Slytherin?" he asked.
"Nobody deserves to be singled out like that and humiliated," said Lily. "I don't recall you ever being purposely cruel…except maybe for when you've called me a Mudblood."
Severus' eyes met Lily's and though his face was impassive she could sense a feeling of guilt behind those dark orbs. He looked down and muttered, "Sorry." Before Lily could reply he asked, "Do you really think Potter is a prat?"
Lily looked at her feet and replied, "He is when he pulls stuff like that on you, and he's doing that a lot. So…yeah, he's a prat."
The corners of Severus' mouth almost twitched upward into a smile, but Professor Kettleburn approached and said, "Thank you for your assistance Miss Evans. I've sent a note to your Charms professor that you will be late. Same for you, Mr. Snape, I sent one to your Transfiguration professor. You had better be off before you are more tardy."
Lily and Severus made their way to the castle and as they were about to part Lily said, "Bye, Severus. See you in Potions."
Severus watched her walk away and in a voice barely above a whisper said, "Bye…Lily."
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"How did it go?" asked Sirius as James took a seat next to him in the Charms classroom.
"Hilarious! He was covered head-to-toe in the slime," answered James with a grin.
Sirius barked in laughter and said, "It was only fitting to christen a grease-ball like Snivellus with slimy, rotten lettuce!"
"Got caught, though. I have to serve detention tonight," said James.
"Ah, well- you've served enough detentions by now to do them in your sleep," said Sirius.
"Too true, Padfoot," replied James.
"I'll call you on the mirror sometime. Maybe you'll be able to sneak away and we can raid the kitchens," said Sirius.
"I'll be sure to take my invisibility cloak," said James.
Professor Flitwick stood on his desk and quieted the students. Class began and he proceeded to discuss the topics for the upcoming year. About 10 minutes into class Lily walked in and took a seat by Marlene. Professor Flitwick nodded toward Lily to indicate he had received word from Professor Kettleburn about Lily's reason for being tardy.
Sirius noticed James' gaze focusing on Evans for the remainder of class. When they were leaving the classroom James purposely timed his exit from the room so he and Evans would bump into each other while walking through the door. She flashed him a look of annoyance and stormed away with Alice and Marlene.
Suddenly something occurred to Sirius. "Uh, Prongs? How did you say you were caught pranking Snivellus?"
James grinned and shrugged. "Evans forced a confession out of me. She was rather angry, but at least I found a way to get her to speak to me."
Sirius raised his eyebrows and tried not to laugh. "You want her to yell at you?"
"Better that than pretending I don't exist," replied James. He noticed that Sirius was contemplating his sanity, and decided to change the subject. "So are you ready for tryouts this weekend?"
The subject change worked, as Sirius immediately focused on his strategy for obtaining one of the two open Chaser positions on the Gryffindor team. "I hear that Newman is planning on trying out, and after seeing him practice I figure he's a shoe-in for one of the spots."
"Don't worry, mate," said James. "I've seen you play and you will be a shoe-in for the other spot. Wood would be crazy to select anyone else!"
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On Saturday there was a general murmur of excitement and anticipation during breakfast. Quidditch tryouts were that day for all houses. Some students were looking smug as they sat down to eat while others looked on the verge of tears from nervousness.
As Sirius and his friends walked to the pitch they were surprised at the number of people who showed up for tryouts. James looked around noting that there were about 20 Gryffindors on the field about to try out, including Gerald Newman, a sixth-year who was likely to snatch up one of the Chaser positions.
As James scanned the stands he was shocked to see Lily sitting with Marlene. He wondered what had caused her to show up and silently hoped she had come to watch him fly - that is, until he noticed Alice Lyons among the Gryffindors waiting to try out.
Carlton Wood approached the group of Gryffindors and said, "The Slytherins will be taking the pitch first for tryouts. Since they only have two positions to fill it will take them approximately an hour. We will go second and then we'll be followed by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I hope that each and every one of you is serious about the position you're trying out for. We do not take our team's responsibilities lightly, especially after last year's Quidditch Cup win…" there was a general cheer among the Gryffindors. "There will be several hours of practice per week. Just because we won the cup last year does not mean we can lay back and enjoy ourselves. I suggest that any of you who are having difficulty in your studies reconsider trying out as you will have considerably less time for studying."
The Gryffindor students found seats in the stands while they watched the Slytherin students gather to try out for Seeker and one of the Beater positions. James was interested to see who wanted to become Seeker. He had to do a double-take when he saw Severus Snape in the group of Slytherins trying out.
"Hey, Snivelly thinks he can try out!" laughed James.
Sirius peered toward the group of Slytherins and laughed. "I don't see how he can make the team. He is too skinny to be a Beater, and I doubt he can see past his abnormally large nose to find the Snitch."
"Malfoy's trying out, too," said Peter. This caught James' attention.
They spent the next hour watching the Slytherin tryouts. Snape didn't crash his broomstick like James had hoped, however he wasn't very skilled on a broomstick, either. At the end of tryouts, the Slytherin captain announced that the Beater position had been awarded to Goyle, a second year student who looked large enough to be fifteen. The Seeker position had been awarded to Malfoy. James couldn't wait for the first match against Slytherin. He was looking forward to stealing the Snitch from under Malfoy's nose.
Carlton Wood motioned for the Gryffindor team and hopefuls to approach the field. First each person would take a turn aiming the Quaffle through the hoops, without a Keeper to block the throws. Wood would instruct which hoop to toss it through.
After each student had taken a turn Wood announced the people who were to stay for the next round, which was almost everybody. Frank Longbottom had to return to the stands since his broomstick had tried to throw him through one of the hoops. As he walked toward the stands he smiled at Alice and wished her good luck.
The next step in the tryouts involved throwing the Quaffle through the hoops, but this time with Wood there to block the shots. Most students were unsuccessful, since Wood was a superb Keeper. There were a few shots that were able to pass. At the end of this phase about 6 students were picked to remain for tryouts.
The final step in the tryouts involved a fake game. Two of the hopefuls were to go at a time with the rest of the team. They were to make their way across the field passing the Quaffle to each other and getting it past Wood through the hoops, while trying to dodge bludgers and avoid running into James and he zoomed back and forth in search of the Snitch.
James kicked off of the ground and sent his Nimbus 1900 soaring into the air, enjoying the feel of the air as he took a lap around the pitch. The first two students joining them were Alice and Sirius. They smiled at each other, Sirius winking at Alice in hopes of getting her flustered. She grinned back and kicked off the ground as soon as the Quaffle was tossed into the air. She was the first to grab it and started soaring across the field. As she approached Wood she tossed the ball to Sirius. The three Chasers zigzagged across the field tossing the ball back and forth, expertly dodging bludgers.
While James was impressed with Sirius, he had to admit that Lyons was good. She caught the Quaffle before performing a maneuver that involved veering off one direction and turning around 360 degrees, which would thereby confuse the opposing teammates. After finishing the maneuver she hurled the Quaffle successfully through the left hoop. As James continued to watch the group he silently cheered as Sirius successfully scored a goal.
After each group had taken a turn they returned to the ground to await Wood's decision. Wood gathered the team together to hear their thoughts. The group was torn between Newman, Sirius, and Lyons. Finally, Wood said he'd made a decision and approached the group of hopefuls.
"I'm impressed with all of you. If you didn't make the team this year I encourage you to try again next year. I've made my decision. The first position will be awarded to Gerald Newman." There were cheers from the sixth-year Gryffindors in the stands. James grinned at Sirius before Wood continued, "I was torn about who to award the second position to, but in the end I felt this person had the most skill on the field. The second Chaser position has been awarded to Alice Lyons."
James' grin dropped as he stood in shock. He knew Lyons was good, but how could Wood have chosen her over Sirius? Sirius stood to the side with an angry scowl and watched with disgust as Marlene and Lily rushed onto the field to give Alice a congratulatory hug.
James slowly approached Sirius and said, "Tough luck, mate. I was certain it would be you."
Sirius took a deep, calming breathing before plastering a smile on his face and replying, "Yeah, well, you heard what Wood said. I'll have to try again next year. Actually, I don't really fancy being a Chaser - seems to be a girly position anyway…" As he said this Gerald Newman, who was standing nearby, scowled at him. "I would rather try out next year for Beater," Sirius continued.
James nodded and grinned, upset for his friend, but realizing that the position of Beater would suit Sirius well.
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A/N: So now Lily isn't exactly ignoring James anymore - just telling him off. And no, Sirius was not meant to be on the Quidditch team this year. Alice made the team. She has the Quidditch genes, after all - if you read back she had told Lily that her mum used to play professional Quidditch.
Thanks to the latest reviewers: Golden Phoenix, Anonymous (x7), lilly flower, hpfreak, mrs. padfoot, and Alicia. Replies are in the review section.
Next chapter: The Marauders continue to work on the Animagus transformation. We see more of the DADA professor.