Author's Note: I think I have a new favorite chapter. : D
Dedications: A request becomes reality.
For Laura Johnson, who wanted a longer chapter.
Chapter 13: Liberation
Peter returned to the dining room to find Sirius seated among the others at the table. They all chatted as they ate their breakfast, even Dinah, sounding merry and lively as they shared stories, jokes, and gossip. He glimpsed Dinah inconspicuously feeding bacon scraps to Max; a fluid sensation of cold washed over him when his eyes trailed upward to Lily's half-empty orange juice glass.
She had, indeed, sat herself in the normally empty chair on James's right, just as Peter had surmised.
"Oi, Pete!" Sirius's call from the far head of the table jerked him from his worried, guilty thoughts. "You going to come join us or stare at the wall all day?"
Peter, though embarrassed, forced a grin and a chuckle. "Sorry. Still asleep, I guess." He sat back in his seat, hands trembling so slightly only he noticed. He spooned some scrambled eggs into his mouth to busy himself.
"How's your mum?" James asked.
Peter swallowed. "Much better. She'll be out of Mungo's in a few days, most likely."
"Mungo's?" gasped James and Sirius in unison, surprised. James continued, "It was that bad?"
"She had a temperature of 40.5," said Peter, and the eyes of those present expanded. "What else were we to do?"
"They fixed her up right quick, then?" asked James, looking hopeful.
"Of course," replied Peter, a real smile on his face now. "Healers are miracle workers."
James grinned at his friend's statement. "Too right, Peter."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Such an obsession!" Remus, too, smiled.
Lily looked around at the boys, puzzled. "Obsession with what?"
"Healers," answered Sirius, mock scathingly. "I'm surprised you didn't know, Lily. James has wanted to be a Healer since he was four."
"I don't know if green suits you, James," smirked Lily.
He stuck his tongue out at her. "What do you want to do?"
Lily shrugged. "Haven't given it much thought."
"It's not that difficult to decide," James told her. "Take Moony for example:"--he indicated Remus--"he's good at--and enjoys--explaining things to people and misses being at school like mad--teacher." He switched his focus to Peter. "Wormtail, on the other hand, would lead students into failure if he tried teaching." Peter blushed and took a huge gulp of juice to hide his face. "But he's good with animals and decent in Transfiguration; he might take a job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." He now gestured to Sirius. "And Padfoot is brilliant in Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms, so he might become an Auror, or something."
Sirius snorted. "Fat chance, Prongs. Did you happen to see my Potions N.E.W.T.?"
"You never showed me your N.E.W.T.s," James reminded him, sipping at his juice.
"There wasn't one," said Sirius bluntly. "I got a P on my exam."
"Told you to study," remarked Remus. "Maybe one day you'll take me seriously."
"Oh, stuff it, Mum." Laughter danced about the room.
"You can re-take it through the Ministry," suggested Peter. "That's what Mum's making me do."
Lily hefted an eyebrow. "What were your grades?"
Peter reddened. "Well, I..."
"Leave the boy alone, Lily," said James, noticing his color. "So what if he didn't manage as many N.E.W.T.s as you." Peter returned to his usual color, grateful to James; Lily's face now resembled a fire engine.
"I didn't get that many," she protested.
Sirius tittered. "Right, Lily. You're Remus with lils and you expect us to believe yours and Peter's grades were equal?"
"Sirius!" she cried, turning redder. "I never said...h-how...." She gave up at the boys' sniggers and slurped defeatedly at her juice.
"Oh!" cried Sirius suddenly, whacking the table with his fist. "I forgot to tell you lot about the present I bought myself a few months ago!"
"You've had it for months and you haven't told us?" James gaped. "Who are you? Where is Sirius?"
Sirius pulled a face. "I kept quiet because Arthur and I could get in a load of trouble if the wrong people find out about it."
"Arthur?" asked Remus. "Arthur Weasley? The one with the heap of children?"
"Yeah," confirmed Sirius. "He's experienced with charming Muggle objects to fly and...well...." He trailed off in a grin.
"What did you do, you barmy git?" demanded Lily.
He dug through his robe pockets and removed a photograph which he handed to Lily. A large motorcycle on which Sirius sat, gripping the handlebars and grinning, gleamed in the sunlight. In the background was a tall, unstable-looking building--a house--with several little red-haired boys' faces pressed against the first-floor windows, craning for a good view of the bike. They'd shove each other about when one took up too much space and Sirius would glance over his shoulder and laugh. He smiled and waved at Lily when he saw her.
Real-life Sirius grinned. "What do you think, Lily?"
"A motorbike," she said flatly. "You bought a flying motorbike. Illegally, I might add!"
James choked on his juice. "A flying motorbike?" He snatched the picture from Lily. His eyes wandered in awe over the image; Lily rolled hers. Remus and Peter stretched their necks and wriggled in their chairs, trying to see the photograph from across the table.
"Padfoot," beamed James, handing the photograph to Remus, "that bike is wicked. Do you have it already?"
Sirius grinned again, wider. "Got it last night. I was going to ask you to come see it at my flat, but you were...occupied."
James and Lily made brief, embarrassed eye contact. Remus and Peter exchanged raised eyebrows. Lily expected a disgusted comment from Dinah's end of the table, but it didn't come. Her eyes flickered over Dinah's empty chair and she rose to her feet in a flash, startling the others and nearly overturning her chair.
"Dinah's gone!" she cried.
"Calm down, Lily," implored James. "She's still inside."
"How do you know?"
"Mum would never let her roam around outside on her own, and she'd have to pass by her to get to the backyard. Mum and Dad sit together and read the paper on the porch every morning."
Still, Lily's newly-acquired mother instincts begged her to be sure of Dinah's safety. "I'm going to check."
James pushed his chair from the table. "I'll come with you."
"You don't have to," blurted Lily, waving her hand dismissively. "Your friends are here."
Peter stood as well and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "I have to go anyway. Lost track of time. Dad's waiting for me at Mungo's to visit Mum." He had only lied by omission. He was going to visit his mother in the hospital, but afterwards he'd make up an excuse to leave and rush home to owl Maison Serpent; he needed to inform Voldemort that he had carried out his end of the plan.
"See you later, then." "'Bye." "Tally-ho!" "Laters."
"We'll be back in a few minutes," said James to Remus and Sirius, and he left the room with Lily.
Halfway down the hallway, James touched Lily's arm and they stopped walking. She sank into his open arms and he drew her to his chest, inhaling the faint scent of hotel shampoo and soap that clung to her.
Lily giggled. "I wondered why you wanted to come."
James chuckled, nuzzling her neck under her hair. He nibbled her warm skin with his lips and a sensual chill crept its way downward.
"James," she moaned.
He rested his forehead against hers, smiling, and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her cheek. His warm breath, dripping with desire, tickled her chin and neck. For the first time Lily could remember, she felt lustful. A powerful, heated emotion sprung up within her chest, spreading gradually throughout her body. It made her want to cling tightly to James, push herself as close to him as she could manage, meld their bodies. Her audacity came as a surprise, and he nearly laughed aloud from pure, startled joy when she sandwiched him between the wall and herself, trailing voracious kisses from his collarbone to his ear, at which she nipped playfully with her teeth.
She was free of her fear, she ascertained, free as a swan glissading over a rippling pond, as an eagle soaring high above the mountaintops. There was, of course, no wind rushing through her ears and hair as the image came to her, but she wouldn't have known. Lily would tell you that she was the eagle gliding and dipping through the air, buffeted by a cooling wind, laughing as she went. The kind of laughter that warms you from your cheeks to your toes, brings tears to your eyes, and creates an all-over sensation of tingling, pulsating excitement, ecstasy, and avidity. Adrenaline filled her to the brim, coursed through her, empowered her.
As her lips latched onto James's, a sob forced its way from her throat, disguising itself in a sound resembling a laugh. Her overpowering emotion yelled for its release and beat against her ribcage, ensuing a feeling almost orgasmic in strength. She breathed heavily, a puzzled heave, urging each breath outward. She had never experienced such emotion. Never had she the desire to sob uncontrollably when she felt so light--so free! Perhaps it was nearly a year's worth of bottled-up emotion pushing against the smothering door of its imprisonment. A person wasn't built with the capacity to feel such vigorous emotion at once.
"Lily!" James took her face gingerly between his palms and brushed away her falling tears. She linked her arms around his neck and buried her face in its crook.
"What's wrong?" asked James, soothingly rubbing her back. "Is it something I did?"
She shook her head and lifted it to look him in the eyes, a soft smile playing at her lips. "It's over, James. The--the curse is over." She hugged him tightly and pecked his cheek. James beamed and pulled her in for a second embrace. "I feel so...liberated!" Her expression became serious. "I'm sorry about last year." She tottered on her feet, her nervous mannerism. "It's not like I didn't want to talk to you; I was just so paranoid about everyone. Like, er...who's that Auror, again?" A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Alastor Moody? He's always on the alert for Dark wizards."
James smiled for an instant, then grasped Lily's hands in his own, wearing a solemn expression. "I forgive you. It was my fault too, anyway. I should have tried to find out what was bothering you instead of getting angry each time you disappeared into a crowd."
She looped her arms loosely around his neck. "We have each other now."
He grinned. "We do."
A teeny Scops owl crashed into Lily's head, intruding on their kiss. Its letter fell from its beak and it dove for it, but James got there first.
"Load must've been too heavy," he mumbled. The owl hooted in annoyance, snapping at James's fingers; he brushed it away and it landed on Lily's forearm, clearly pissed.
Lily stroked its feathers. "How did the owl get inside?"
James, who had been reading the envelope, pointed to an open half-circle above the front door where a window should have been.
"It's charmed. Only owls can pass through. Mum was ticked last time we had a delivery at a window; bird chipped the glass pecking at it with its beak. Receiving mail is much easier this way."
Lily peered curiously at the envelope. "Who's that for?"
"Doesn't say. Probably Mum, though."
"Does it say who sent it?"
"Nope. Only says 'Here's the file you were looking for. Hope it's of help to you.'"
Lily furrowed her brow. "On whom would your parents need a file?"
James shrugged and stuck his finger underneath the flap. "Let's find out."
The owl squawked and sliced James's fingers with its desperate attempts to steal back the letter. Lily subdued it with a spell and together she and James read the file:
Golly, Maynard
Full Name: Maynard Alair Golly (Wzd. Dec.)
Ex-spouse: Deirdre Nenet Elamain (Mgg. Dec.)
{One child: Dinah [none] Elamain (Wtch.)}
Parentage: Durand Leonard Golly (Wzd. Dec.), Juna Gwynifar Johnson (Wtch. Dec.)
(Former) Position of Employment: Magizoologist under M.O.M. Dept. for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
Minutiae: Enjoyed watching Quidditch matches, growing gourds, researching exotic animals, and listening to the Beatles.
--Team Leader: Project Sanare--E.A.
Team of Magizoologists arranged and employed by M.O.M. working to cure Pardus Morbis ("Leopard Sickness") in East African peoples. The team worked daily in the Nundu lab, experimenting with the virulent breath of the Nundu itself, an animal wreaking havoc in East African villages.
Team aim: to create a counter-potion for Pardus Morbis.
Ministry officials terminated Project Sanare--E.A. just weeks after it began. Following the death of the team leader, team members grew wary of the project and no longer desired to participate.
A handwritten note was attached to the back and Lily plucked it off and read it to James.
"'The Ministry's report of the project doesn't go much in-depth. They didn't like the real reason Project Sanare--E.A. was called off, and therefore refused to add it to both Maynard Golly's file and the file for the project itself. But I've spoken with a member of the team who knew more about the situation than the Ministry would like. Death Eaters murdered Maynard Golly. Possession of a powerful, deadly beast such as the Nundu appealed to Voldemort, and when Maynard refused to hand the creature over to them, they retaliated. One night after hours, they tampered with the supply of Nundu virus in the lab, filling the room with it. Of course, because he was the team leader, Maynard was the first to arrive the next morning. I'm sure you don't need an explanation to guess what happened. Ministry surveillance equipment found his body the next morning, thankfully, before another team member entered the lab.
The team member to whom I spoke overheard the Death Eaters'--two cleared Ministry employees--conversation with Mr. Golly. He assured me that if he had known that his team leader was in need of assistance, Maynard Golly would be alive today. The conversation, he said, ended on a disappointed though seemingly friendly note. Wasn't the brightest fellow.
--Albus Dumbledore.'"
Lily half-grinned, half-gaped at the letter. "Dinah's a witch!"
James looked relieved. "Good thing. I dunno how I would've taken it if her Hogwarts letter never came."
"But why would your parents pull up a record on Dinah's father?"
"They're curious like that," he explained. "They did the same thing to Sirius, Remus, and Peter's parents when we first became friends."
Lily frowned. "You think they would've shown this to us if we hadn't intercepted the owl?"
"Probably," said James. "I mean, we are her parents now."
Parents. The term sounded foreign when applied to her and James, especially as a unit. It made her feel grown-up to hear him refer to them as such.
"I can't believe her father was murdered," she commented after a moment's pause. "I guess that's another thing we have in common, Dinah and I--both of our fathers were murdered by Death Eaters."
James tipped her chin up, offering her a promising smile. "You've still got family, love. Your own--you're lady of the house now." Lily smiled. "I'm sure your dad would want you to remember him happily; don't cry."
"I wasn't going to cry," replied Lily indignantly. Her eyes fell to the letter again. "Deirdre," she whispered, tracing the letters with her finger. "Her mother had such a lovely name."
"'The sad one,'" said James. "Her name means 'the sad one.'"
"Certainly fitting," conceded Lily. "Deirdre had a hard life. But it was her fault."
"What'd she do?"
"She made the choice to use drugs, to date dead-beats, and to kick out her perfectly good husband....She killed herself as well, all because she spent herself into debt."
"Dinah's got a better home with us," said James. "Definitely."
"I do," came an attuning voice from the end of the hall. Dinah walked closer to Lily and James, Max-less for the first time since she'd rescued him.
"Where have you been?" asked Lily. "And where's Max?"
"He's out in the garden," said Dinah, "playing with the gnomes."
"You have gnomes in your garden?" asked Lily keenly to James.
"Dad tries to get rid of them, but they always come back no matter what he does. Mum's threatening to borrow the neighbor's Jarvey, but Dad thinks that's too cruel."
"Can we go out back?" asked Lily, grinning.
"What're you so keen on gnomes for?"
"I like magical creatures," she enthused. "I don't have gnomes in my garden." The mention of creatures made her remember the owl and she tucked the letter back into its envelope, sealed it with a spell, and returned it to the harassed looking messenger. It dug its claws purposely into her arm as it took off.
"Max likes to chase them," grinned Dinah. "Me and him chased them all around the garden."
"He and I," corrected Lily. Dinah rolled her eyes.
"How 'bout we all go out back, then?" suggested James. "I'll get Sirius and Remus and meet you two in a few minutes."
"No brooms," Lily warned as she and Dinah set off down the hall.
James grinned slyly at her over his shoulder. "We'll see."
- - -
The letter was suspiciously absent from sight, Lily noticed, when she and Dinah entered the porch. Either Mr. or Mrs. Potter had probably hidden it at the sound of approaching footsteps. Snowflakes from the ceiling fan sprinkled over them as Mrs. Potter bid her good morning.
"Good morning," she replied to both of them.
Mr. Potter extended his hand. It was callused to the touch. "Gregory Potter. You must be the Lily Evans my son talks so much about." He sat back in his chair and surveyed her, as though checking for damages, over the rim of his glasses. "I've heard you're raising Dinah with my son?"
Lily felt herself go festively red and started tottering. "H-he just...he's helped me out by adopting her. I'm too young...."
"Are you two, erm....?" He cycled his hand, hoping she'd understand without his having to finish the sentence.
"Dating?" she squeaked, hoping he meant dating. "Y-yes."
"You are?" said Dinah, surprised.
"You don't have to be so nervous, dear." Mrs. Potter placed a hand on her arm, giving her a kind smile. "We're glad to have you with us. James always speaks so well of you."
Lily relaxed, some. "What does he say?"
Mr. and Mrs. Potter exchanged amused glances. "'Lily's so wonderful, Mum!'" mocked James's father (good-naturedly) in falsetto. "'She ate breakfast with me twice last month, Mum! And I made her laugh! Oh, Mum, she's so gorgeous!'" Lily went, if possible, redder. "'Wait till you see her! Her hair's just like yours and her eyes are as green as...oh, I dunno--something really green. You know what else, Mum? She came to my Quidditch matches all season! I was so surprised when she agreed to come! Mum, I really like her!'"
"He...said all that?"
Mrs. Potter was still smiling. "Wrote it, actually. I don't think I've received too many letters from him without your mention."
Lily hadn't spoken of James to her family at all. Petunia could care less, anyway, and her rape had occurred before she ever thought of bringing James up to her parents. Though despite her rosy cheeks, Lily experienced a warm, cozy affection at learning how often she was mentioned in the Potter household.
James, Remus, and Sirius appeared in the porch doorway wearing--to Lily's great disappointment--Quidditch apparel. Remus directed a chunky wooden box into view with his wand; Lily knew it held a set of Quidditch balls.
"James, my boy!" said Mr. Potter with the kind of cheekily cheerful greeting that screams 'We've just made a fool of you to your girl.' "We were just talking about you!"
James went suddenly pink. "Were you?" he responded, aiming for a casual tone.
"We sure were," his mother chimed in, grinning. "We thought Lily should hear some of the wonderfully flattering things you've said about her in your letters."
James was now distinctly red. Remus and Sirius hid their snickers behind the floating Quidditch equipment.
"How much did you tell her?" he demanded.
"Nearly all of it," declared Mr. Potter with a grin. "The particularly embarrassing bits, anyway."
"Wouldn't you have rathered the baby books, love?" teased Mrs. Potter.
James growled in crimson frustration and marched from the porch into the spacious back yard.
"Oh, he's secretly glad we told you," whispered Mrs. Potter. "He'd probably be too shy to tell you those things on his own. He only likes pretending he's cross with us."
"Budge along, Lily, love." Sirius, smirking, led her by the shoulders to the porch door. "It's time to play Quidditch."
The intensity of the sun's gleam blinded Lily when she stepped outdoors and she held her hand like a visor against her forehead to lessen it. James squinted down at her from his seat on his broomstick twenty feet above them; the glint created by the sunlight reflecting on his glasses pained her eyes.
"Get the brooms, will you, Padfoot," called James and he cut the distance between himself and the ground in half.
"Aye, aye, captain," joked Sirius, saluting him, and he set off for the shed near Mrs. Potter's garden of giant pumpkins.
"James," whined Lily. "I wanted to come out back to see the gnomes, not to play Quidditch!"
Remus clapped Lily on the shoulder. "They force me to play, as well. Don't worry, I'll help you out."
Lily smiled at him.
"Right, Moony--'force you to play'!" called James. "You always end up having fun."
Remus possessed far too much pride to admit this out loud.
"Here you go!" grinned Sirius, shoving brooms into the arms of Lily and Remus. Dinah looked disappointed not to be given her own.
As Sirius swung his leg over his broom, James shouted, "Sirius! We don't have nearly enough players! Get Dinah a broom!"
Dinah grinned, vowing to treat James just as nicely as Lily from now on.
Once Dinah had a broom and was sitting wobbily atop it--Lily flinching every moment--they were ready to dish out the player positions. And by they, I mean James and Sirius.
"Do we really have to play?" tried Lily desperately once more. "There are some lovely gnomes right--"
"Lily," James cut her off. "The nearest tree"--he pointed to the forest some two hundred feet in the distance--"is over there. Just steer clear of them and cut the whining." He gave her a half-smile to show his jest.
"He always gets like this when we let him be captain," hissed Remus to Lily.
"How do I work this thing?" asked Dinah, staring down at the broomstick as though it were a terribly complicated puzzle.
Sirius swerved beside her. "Use the handle like a steering wheel." He grabbed onto hers. "Pressing downward"--he demonstrated--"flies you to the ground. Pulling upward"--he lifted the handle and she 'oh!'ed in surprise--"brings you up. And side-to-side"--he showed her and she giggled--"takes you left and right."
Dinah tentatively tried what Sirius taught her, daring only to fly a few inches out of place. Lily smiled, basking in a proud-mother moment, and fleetingly wondered when she should tell Dinah about her being a witch.
"All right." James clapped his hands, snapping not only Lily and the others but also himself out of a reverie. He'd been watching Dinah with the same pleased grin as Lily. "We'll have a Keeper, two Chasers, a Seeker, and a Beater since we're short on players. Obviously, we're not playing for points or anything, just having a good time and converting Lily."
Lily harrumphed indignantly.
"I'm one of the Chasers, of course." James fluttered his eyelashes and pretended to blush, playing up on the arrogant prat image Lily'd painted around him in fifth and sixth years. It was a running joke of theirs.
"Me too," said Sirius. "I'm sick of being Beater."
Remus groaned. "What am I stuck with, then?"
"Depends," considered James. "Dinah can't handle playing Beater; she'd get hurt. And she's only just learning to fly; it wouldn't do for her to play Seeker."
"She's Keeper, then," said Remus, nodding. "I want Seeker."
Lily's shoulders sagged. "But I wanted Seeker. The Bludgers...well...make me nervous."
Remus sighed. "All right, all right. Beater again."
"So it's settled," said James. He gestured toward the wooden box which now rested on the ground below. "Padfoot, if you would be so kind."
Sirius flew to the ground and leaned to unlock the box. He tossed Remus his Beater's club and released the Snitch; it zipped off toward the forest and Lily swallowed anxiously.
Mr. Potter exited the porch and walked to the open box. "I'll release the Bludgers and toss the Quaffle," he said.
Lily scampered, urging Dinah along with her, over to the middle of the yard, away from the incoming balls. She spotted the three tall goal rings in the distance and nudged Dinah.
"Go on," she said, pointing to them. "You have to make sure neither Sirius nor James score."
"How do I do that?"
"Block the hoops," instructed Lily. "Fly in front of them and try to catch the Quaffle--the big red ball--when they throw it."
"Okay." Dinah, struggling a little, flew over to the hoops.
"Are you all ready?" bellowed Mr. Potter.
A chorus of 'yes' answered him. Mr. Potter unlatched the Bludgers' restraints, taking care to dart from their paths, and counted down from three before tossing the Quaffle high into the air.
Sirius snagged it before it had a chance to fall and sped off toward the goal post. Lily saw Dinah's eyes alight with terror, flicking around, unsure of what she should do. Lucky for her, James rammed into Sirius and the Quaffle tumbled from his arms; James dove and caught it in his own. Far off, near the edge of the forest, Lily saw Remus whack a Bludger in James's direction, snickering to himself.
Mr. Potter blew his whistle loudly. "FOUL! No blatching, James!"
James pulled his broom to a stop and tucked the Quaffle underneath his arm, rolling his eyes. "Dad, coach your own team. We're playing our way."
Mr. Potter made a face at him, but his amusement showed nonetheless. "Fine," he said coolly. "Have it your way, Captain."
James stuck his tongue out at his father. Though he had his back turned to them as he meandered back to the porch, it was clear that Mr. Potter was laughing.
"Resume play!" shouted James to his 'team', ducking Remus's Bludger just in time. Remus waved innocently at James from across the field and was given a rude hand gesture in return.
Before he could register, James was less a Quaffle and swore as Sirius took off up the field. He followed him in hot pursuit. Because of Sirius's considerable lead, he beat James to the hoops, tossing the Quaffle lightly because of Dinah; they were only competing against each other in possession of the Quaffle, otherwise it wouldn't be fair to Dinah.
"I caught it!" shrieked Dinah, thoroughly surprised and pleased with herself. She held up her prize to show off.
"Now toss it out again," ordered Sirius. "To me."
James crashed into him from the side, moving him back a few feet. "Don't listen to him. Toss it to me."
"Don't toss it to either of them!" cried Lily, hands cupped around her mouth. "They're trying to trick you!"
Dinah threw it to her right where neither of the boys hovered, and it hurtled toward the ground. This time James caught it and rather than zip off to the goal posts, he swerved past Sirius, away from Dinah's goal, preferring a game of Quaffle tag with his friend. Dinah used the opportunity to practice steering her broom near the goals.
Meanwhile, on Remus and Lily's end of the field, not much was happening. She hadn't seen sight of the Snitch since its release and settled for watching Remus smack the occasional passing Bludger at Sirius or James.
"It's really the only good thing about being Beater," he had told her.
With a rushing excitement, Lily saw the Snitch circling Dinah's broom handle as she tried to make a practice dive. Lily glanced at James and Sirius; they were deeply immersed in their own game of tag and weren't paying anyone else the least amount of attention. Leaning forward, Lily sped off toward the goal posts, a glimmer of hope balling up in her chest. She could win!
She'd gained so much speed by the time she reached the area that she had to jerk the broom to a harsh halt not to crash into Dinah.
"Lily, you loon!" she yelled, eyes wide. "You nearly killed me!"
She was about to say, "Don't speak to your mother that way," but the Snitch flew right in front of her face and she swiped it up. Remus whooped in the distance.
Grinning, Lily took out her wand and set up sparks to lure James and Sirius's attention.
"What?" they hollered together.
"I've got it!" Lily waved the Snitch high in the air. "I've got the Snitch! I win!"
O O O