"At some point, these laughterless days have started bothering us
There's nothing I can do now, it's all shut away
When we ride this blue wind beyond the clouds
Let's fly away and forget everything."
-(translated) Tsubasa no Keikaku, Do as Infinity
Chapter Seventeen
James learned to stick with Peter if he wanted a decent night's sleep when they were practicing dueling in the Auror classes. But aches and pains aside, the Quidditch season was fast coming to a close and Gryffindor's game against Ravenclaw was edging closer and closer. James had made a deal with Frank that he could skip an Auror class a week, so that he could continue with his practices, and they held them for a few hours on Saturdays and all day Sundays.
Even though he had found out that Lily didn't much mind to him being gone, and him being gone seemed to help his cause a bit, James didn't want this entire week to be a waste of time. So he decided to bring up the subject of sports with Lily during one dinner.
"So, Lily, coming to the game this weekend?" he asked her, very nonchalantly.
"Probably not," Lily replied. Emmeline sniffed and gave James a scathing look.
"That's because Ravenclaw is going to flatten you," she said, raising her eyebrow. James laughed.
"In your dreams, maybe."
"Don't be mean, James," Lily scolded. Emmeline was one of the first girls that she had ever had a connection with and she didn't want James Potter screwing it up for her.
"It's just a bit of friendly house rivalry, Lily," he said, not taking his eyes off of Emmeline. "So would you wager a bet on this?"
"Betting is illegal," Lily reminded him. He gave her a tired glance and then sat back.
"All right, all right. But we're still going to win."
"Why is this so important?" Lily asked.
"Because, this is the game of the season!" James insisted. "Whoever wins this is the Quidditch champions!"
"And why do we care so much?" Lily asked, looking at the two fo them. Emmeline coughed and adjusted her robes.
"Right," Emmeline said. "Because Ravenclaw's still going to win the House Cup. Why, we're ahead in the House Points-"
"But Gryffindor's going to win the Quidditch cup," James retorted. "That will put us over the top."
"Well, that's why Ravenclaw's going to win," Emmeline said.
"Are not."
"Are too."
"Are not."
"Oh my GOD," Lily rolled her eyes.
"Not a fan of Quidditch, Lily?" Emmeline asked.
"No," she said.
"Lily thinks that all sports are dumb," James mimicked.
"I most certainly do not."
James couldn't resist. "Do too."
"Impossible!" she cried.
However Lily tried to escape Quidditch the next week, it was all anyone could talk about. There had never been this close of a tournament in years. The Slytherins, ready to ally to any opponent of Gryffindor, stood by the Ravenclaws (who weren't all that thrilled to have such a back- stabbing ally), and the Hufflepuffs, not really ones to take sides, chose to side with the Gryffindors, though were still friends with the Ravenclaws (but never with Slytherins because they teased them too much).
Much to her chagrin, the name that was all over people's conversation was James Potter. Last year, against Slytherin, their Seeker had 'accidentally' hit James square in the face and broke his glasses. In the instant that he had stopped to protect his eyes from the shards of glass, the Seeker had caught the Snitch. It was still a very sore spot with James and another reason why he hated all Slytherins. That was James' first year as Captain. Now, he was itching for the Quidditch Cup on his mantle and he was only upset that Slytherins didn't do better this year. He was telling everyone that he was going to show Slytherin just what they would have expected if they had advanced to the cup.
Not only was he all Lily heard about when she was awake, but dreams of little Snitches on boxers had been plaguing her dreams. And James had been up to his old tactics of asking her every day to come see his game. He'd even gotten Sirius and Peter in on the act, and it was driving her up the wall.
"I suppose you aren't going to ask me to come to Potter's game?" Lily asked Remus one evening just as they were leaving Auror classes. He looked at her seriously and then said,
"Are you going to Potter's game?" He couldn't hold up the serious face for long and the broke out into a smile. She rolled her eyes.
"You four are incredible," she laughed. "So I suppose that James has been getting advice from you on how to be a nice person."
Remus looked at her sideways as they turned a corner. He didn't fail to notice the way she changed from 'Potter' to 'James.' "No, actually. I am boycotting helping James in any way right now."
Lily laughed. "Why?"
"Because-" Remus stopped and cleared his throat. "Because I can't tell you why. Sacred Marauder secrets, you know, strictly hush-hush and all that jazz."
"I see," Lily said. "He must be doing something terribly horrible, then?"
"No, it's just something that I do not approve of."
"Would it have anything to do with me?" Lily asked. Remus shook his head without waiting a beat. Though he didn't like what James was doing, he wasn't going to blow his cover.
"No."
"I see," she said. "But what do you think about all of this change in him?"
Remus sighed and looked out at the moon, half full. "He's making an honest attempt. He really does fancy you, you know."
Lily blushed. "I know."
"And, from what I can tell, you fancy him back." Remus looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was beet red.
"If he can stop tormenting Severus Snape, then I'll consider it."
Remus let out a short bark of laughter. "I'm sorry Lily, if that's what you're waiting out for-"
"No, I'm not waiting for it," Lily corrected. "I'm just...Remus, I don't know anymore."
"What do you mean?" Lily shuffled her feet and sighed.
"I mean, when we left for the winter break, I knew what James Potter was to me. A selfish, mean-hearted person who cared only for Quidditch and girls. Now...now he's a nice person, even if it is just a facade."
"No, Lily. James is a nice person," Remus defended. "He just gets...carried away sometimes. You really should give him a chance."
"I thought that you weren't going to help him," Lily grinned. Remus cleared his throat.
"Well, I figured that one or two comments won't be held against me. He is, after all, my friend."
"Yes." Lily looked down at her hands. "Does he really fancy me that much?"
Remus nodded. "To be fair, since I know your sister embarrassed you about that jacket of his, he didn't let it go once we were on the train either."
James paced the locker room in sheer anxiety. He wanted this cup so badly that he could taste it, but his attention had been so divided lately, what between his regular classes, Lily, his Auror classes, Lily, the full moons, Lily, and meetings as Prongs, he'd barely had time for his beloved sport. But, nonetheless, he had a good team, and he was ready to take on whatever the Ravenclaws brought.
As he stepped out onto the pitch with the rest of his team, he looked up into the roaring stands and immediately looked for his fan-section. It wasn't hard to miss because Sirius always put up a giant sign that said 'James Potter's Fan-Section!' and had a stick figure with black spikes for hair zooming around on a broom. He noticed that his faithful Marauders were directly under the sign, cheering along with the rest of the crowd.
Was that a flash of red next to Remus? His heart beat faster. But he couldn't get a good look because the teams were meeting. He shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain and then took to the air when Madame Hooch blew the whistle.
James' first destination was his fan-section, where the roar was coming the loudest. His heart stopped in his chest. There, sitting next to Remus and watching him with happy eyes, was his own Lily Evans.
She waved at him and he grinned goofily back, then, when a Bludger almost hit him upside the head, he put his head back in the game. Knowing that Lily was there watching him, cheering for him, made him fly faster and better than he'd ever done.
His team took their cue from their captain and flew remarkably well too. His three Chasers were performing flawlessly in every move and scored goal after goal. His two Beaters were just having a good old time with the Bludgers (it had been one of his Beaters who had hit the Bludger at him at the beginning of the game). His Keeper had let only two goals through so far, but had been saving them left and right.
Finally, James saw the Snitch (he had a thought of when Lily called it the 'Snatch' and he had to laugh) fluttering on the other end of the field. The Ravenclaw Seeker had seen it as well, but she was much closer. He glared at her and put a move on his broom, making it go faster. They raced neck and neck, until they reached the left goalpost, where the Snitch was fluttering. The Ravenclaw Seeker, seeing that they were about to careen into an iron pole, moved out of the way, but James kept going and at the last second, dipped under the loop and grabbed the Snitch.
The roar of the stadium was deafening. James made a victory lap and circled three times above his fan-section, where Sirius and Peter were doing a victory dance. He swallowed hard because Lily was grinning broadly at him and clapping along with Remus.
After everyone had started heading back to the Common Room, the Gryffindor team went to the locker rooms to get changed. James felt like he was going to explode. Lily had come to his game! Lily had come to his game! And she had been cheering!
He came out of the locker room to find another shock, there she was, waiting for him with a shy smile on her face.
"Hey," he said, putting his broom over his shoulder.
"Hey, great game," she grinned. "I mean, I'd never paid attention before, but that catch you made was amazing."
"Yeah, I was afraid that I was going to hit the pole," James admitted. "I'm so glad that you came."
"Me, too," Lily grinned. "I probably would have been branded a traitor by my own dormmates if I hadn't come."
"Nah, I'd still like you." James realized what he'd said too late and he felt a healthy blush rise to his cheeks.
"James, how does it work?" Lily asked, timidly.
"What?"
"Your broom."
"Haven't you ever flown before?"
"Well, first year, but I never did that well-"
"Do you want to take a ride?" James knew that he was going off on a limb here.
"Now?" Lily looked around. The Quidditch pitch was empty and the sun was setting out to the west.
"Sure, why not?" he grinned.
"But, won't you miss your party?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Once you've been to one Quidditch victory party, you've been to them all."
"But what if this is your last party?" Lily asked. "What if you never, ever win a game for the rest of your life?"
"Don't jinx me, Lily!" James hissed and then cleared his throat. "But it won't matter. I'd rather take you flying anyways."
Lily was so taken aback by that comment that she followed James out to the pitch without so much as a peep. She only began protesting when he told her to climb on in front of him. She put up her hands and shook her head.
"No, I've changed my mind," she said, taking a step back. James kicked off the ground and swooped by her, picking her up in his arms. She gasped and held on to him, as if she was going to fall. She could hear him chuckling at her.
"What?"
"We're about three feet from the ground, you aren't going to die," he reminded her. Sure enough, her toes were skimming the ground. She didn't hear what he said because she was concentrating on how his Adam's Apple vibrated in deep, rich tones when he talked. Then, she felt her stomach drop as they went zooming up higher and higher.
"James!" she cried, clinging tighter.
"Come on now," James chided her. "I'm not going to drop you, Lily."
"I know, but who says I won't fall?" she was eyeing the grass below them with longing. "A broomstick isn't that big, you know."
"Yes, but...hold on," he shifted her around so that she was on the broomstick properly and so that he could put his hands on the handle of the broom and get a better grip; trying to maneuver with her caddy-wompus in his arms would not do. But to get a good grip, his arms came under hers and his head rested ever-so-lightly on her shoulder. She was holding onto his wrists tightly and had her back pressed against his chest.
"There," he said, directing the broom in a few loops to test his handle on this new position. "Now, you wanted to learn how to fly, didn't you?"
Lily somehow felt safer in the position she was now in and nodded. James reached up and took her hands and placed them on the broom, then put his over hers.
"Now, the basics of broomstick riding lie in the body language."
"Body language, Potter?" Lily teased.
"Yes, body language," he pushed down on the broom and they went into a dive and then pulled back up. "The best brooms react to the touch of the owner. My father's Silver Arrow was so acclimated to his touch that he barely had to tap it for it to do what he wanted."
"I see. And where does one get your amazing Quidditch skills?" Lily asked.
"Ah, you see those cannot be taught," he zoomed over to the pole where he'd made the spectacular save earlier and mimicked the move, causing Lily to gasp with the quickness of the moves.
"I see," she laughed. She became aware of how small she was against him. His shoulders were encompassing hers completely and that perfectly-lined chest was a nice feel against her back. Which reminded her...
"James?" she asked.
"Mm?" he said, absentmindedly. He was off in his own little world of Lilies and broomsticks.
"Do you wear those Snitch boxers often?" she asked. James looked at her and she turned her head a little bit to look back at him.
"Did you like them?" he flirted back.
"I found them a bit distracting, to tell the truth." she smiled and was suddenly worried sick for her breath and worried sick for herself for worrying about her breath in front of James Potter.
"Yes, well, my mum thought they were cute," he said. Lily laughed a little bit as they circled around a stand that once held the 'James Potter Fan-Section.'
"James?" He made a sound. "What happened to my flying lessons?"
"Oh yeah..." he smiled. "Why don't you steer for a while?"
"What?" Lily said. He took his hands off of hers and put them around her stomach. She went to pull her hands up, but ended up pulling the broom upwards. She let out a gasp of surprise as they went higher. James laughed a little and moved his hand from her stomach and steadied her hand.
"You're doing fine," he said, putting his hand back on her waist. Lily saw out of the corner of his eye that he had closed his eyes. She grinned maliciously and then pressed down. James came sliding even further onto her and had to grab the broom to keep them from slipping off. He was pressed hard against her and her heart started racing for some odd reason. He was the first to recover, brushing it off.
"One more move like that young lady, and you'll be grounded," he said, using a mock-stern voice.
"Oh no," Lily laughed. She turned her head to look at him and her breath caught in her throat. He opened one eye and saw that she was staring back at him and her eyes kept darting down to his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he moved forwards-
When he felt a drop of wetness hit him squarely on the top of the head. He turned his head and realized that the afternoon sky, which was once bright and cheery, was now dark and stormy. He opened his mouth to tell her that they should go in when the clouds opened up and poured right on top of them.
As quickly as he could, James landed the broom and the two of them bolted towards the sanctity of the castle. Once inside (and sopping wet), they had a good laugh at each other.
"Well," Lily grinned, flicking a piece of James' plastered-down hair, "I guess you can't mess it up, can you?"
In response, James ran his hand through his hair, spraying her with water. His hair stuck up in the back. "It doesn't go down, I'm telling you." He took a look at her hair, which was drying a bit already and curled it around his finger. "What about you? You've got curly hair."
Lily blanched and tried to straighten it out. "It's a terrible mess when it's curly."
"Wear it like that on Monday, please?" James asked. Lily blushed and shook her head.
"No, I can't, It's horrible-"
"Please?" James asked, looking deep into her eyes.
"O-ok," Lily finally relented.