Heartbeat

by lilyheartsjames

How far will James Potter go to win the heart of Lily Evans? Very far. Very, very far. This is the tale of that mental Quidditch stud and that clever redhead, and how they went from Lily thinking of James as yucky gum on her shoe, to hookline and sinker in love. 6th/7th year fic.

Rating
PG13
Ship
Lily & James
Canon
Books 1 - 6
Genre
Romance
Status
In progress
Length
5,015 words in 2 chapters
Published
11 Dec 2005
Last updated
17 Dec 2005

From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/5491/

1. Uno



Uno

“Operation Eliminate Oscar will begin in five, four,” Sirius Black began to count. His arm was raised, ready to give the signal for their prank to begin. Nearby were his partners in crime, the other Three Marauders.

Remus Lupin crouched down behind the nearby dumpster in the alleyway, with the Marauders Map of Hogsmeade in his hands; he was carefully watching the dozens of tiny dots with the lit tip of his wand. The moment he spotted trouble he was to send the Marauder signal and the others would cancel the operation.

“Three,” continued Sirius, his gray eyes set on the restaurant window.

Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, inched a little closer and caught the eye of Sadie Miles. The moment he got the signal from Pad he'd alert Miles and the operation would take its course.

Upon catching his eye, Sadie nodded and turned her back to the short and stocky Marauder. Instead she herself winked to another boy, one taller than the other, and much more striking.

James Potter looked down at the teacup in his hands, checking the color of the supposed “tea”. It looked all right. According to his Advanced Potions book no original shades of the potion should be seen; this was the case. At first or second or even third glance you'd be unable to tell it wasn't just a normal, simple cup of tea.

“Two,” Sirius said, his voice hushed yet clear. He swallowed and then the final word came out of his mouth, “One.”

The moment Sirius gave the signal, Wormtail waved his arms in the air to catch Sadie's attention. The stupid witch was too busy flirting with one of the customers! She had her arms crossed with a toothy grin on her face as she laughed and chatted with some seventh year Hufflepuff.

Peter clapped his hands and continued waving his arms in the air but she seemed to be writing down something on the palm of this bloke's hand. Letting out a growl, Peter picked up a nearby pebble and tossed it hard at the restaurant window.

That caught her attention because she jumped a little, and smiled apologetically.

Sadie purposely walked over to the farthest table in the corner where a man sat with a bowler hat and his face hidden behind the restaurant menu. She stopped at this table and James Potter lowered the menu to look up at Sadie.

“It's time for more tea?” he asked mysteriously.

“Sure is. Do you want a little more sugar in your cup this time?”

“I do. Take this one back. It's…bitter.”

“Gotcha,” replied Sadie, taking the full cup of tea and placing it onto her waitress tray. Blowing a bubble and popping it, she winked and turned away, heading right toward the kitchen doors. She walked through the `in' door and entered the steamy inside of the kitchen. There she picked up another cup of tea, this one not bitter, and two plates of pumpkin pie.

It was hard to balance the large, round tray in her hands as she exited through the `out' door, and headed directly for a table right in front of the huge restaurant window; through this window where the restaurants name was painted on, you could see the streets of Hogsmeade; as of this moment they were dark and lit by the streetlamps. It was late in the evening.

“Here you go, you two,” Sadie said as she set down a plate of pumpkin pie and tea in front of Lily Evans. She turned to the boy sitting across from her, a boy by the name of Oscar Macmillan and set down another plate of pumpkin pie. She lifted the teacup full of the bitter tea and placed it directly in front of Oscar.

“Thank you, Sadie,” Lily said, smiling. “That was quick. Maybe you'll get a tip.”

Sadie smiled at them and repressed a laugh.

“That'd be wicked, Lily,” she said, winking. “Enjoy your dessert.”

And with that Sadie Miles turned away and headed back into the kitchen to continue her job. On her way to the `in' door she passed right by the table where James Potter sat in a bowler and face hidden behind the menu, and she gave him a thumbs up and a grin.

James nodded and pulled his wand from his cloak pocket. He charmed the streetlamp just above his best mate to flicker on and off, sending him his signal.

From where he sat he could see Sirius nod and turn to Wormtail.

James' eyes went back to the couple sitting far across the restaurant room.

Lily and Oscar were immersed in their conversation, each seeming to enjoy their pumpkin pie. It was obvious Oscar hadn't tried his tea yet. Lily had; she took a few sips from hers and continued with her chatter. James' hazel eyes narrowed jealously as he wondered what they were talking about.

“We should start a club about it, you know,” Lily was saying, sipping yet again from her tea.

Oscar set down his fork and put his hand to his chin. “You're right, Lily. That actually sounds like a pretty good idea. I don't think many more people besides you and I would join, though.”

“Hmmm…I know I could get Madeline and Caroline to join.”

“I could get Rodney Perkins.”

“That's five. Five is better than two,” Lily chuckled.

“Good point,” Oscar said, picking up his teacup and bringing it to his lips.

James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and even Sadie all watched in suspense as the cup came to his lips and he prepared himself to take a drink. Just when they all took in a deep breath he didn't. He set back down the teacup as he snapped his fingers.

“I've got an idea! What if we get Sprout involved. She'll support us; she cares a lot about the environment being a Herbologist and everything.”

Lily's eyes widened. “Oscar, I could just kiss you! That's so brilliant!”

Oscar beamed, delighted that Lily sounded so proud of him. Now he brought the teacup to his lips and took a drink. He set down the cup and went to pick up his fork when it happened. His ears, which were normally a tad pointy, enlarged to about ten times their normal size and went hairy.

Lily's eyes were widened again, but this time for a different reason.

“Um, Oscar,” she began, but it didn't stop there.

There was a poof and a muffled bang, and a second after those two noises his face was gone and replaced by a mass of hair, bulging eyes, and large teeth.

“Oscar!” Lily exclaimed as outside the shop Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew burst into laughter and high fived each other. She stood up from the small, round table in alarm and looked around for help.

Oscar Macmillan was turning into a llama. Right before her round emerald eyes his Muggle clothes burst for they no longer fit him, and he grew hooves where his feet and hands were, and the rest of his body was covered in black fur.

Everyone in the restaurant was watching in both utter shock and horror, or amused entertainment.

“Oh my! Oscar, are you all right?” Lily shrieked, her hands on her face.

Oscar merely bah-ed a reply and licked the fur just above his hoof. Lily wanted to faint. This couldn't be happening to her in the middle of her long awaited date with Oscar Macmillan, seventh year activist!

James could no longer resist the laughs that were begging for release. He burst out into loud laughter, his bowler hat falling and the menu slipped from his grasp without him even realizing it. His eyes were closed as he wanted to cry tears of mirth, but when he opened them he discovered a livid redhead standing before him.

Smack!

Lily Evans smacked James Potter across the face, her eyes so narrowed they were thin, thin slits.

“You,” she spat furiously, “You! It was you, wasn't it, you buffoon?”

James' cheek was rosy from where she had slapped him and he touched it as he thought of something to say.

“Evans, what are you talking about?” James asked innocently. He held up the restaurant menu. “I'm simply here to have a nice dinner.”

“Shut it! You're here to turn poor Oscar into a llama!”

“A llama!? Do you know how mental you sound? How dare you accuse me of such things, Evans? I'm an innocent bystander. I just happened to be in the same restaurant as this Oscar fellow and you when he, for some inexplicable reason, transformed into a llama. It's a coincidence, really. A funny, funny coincidence.”

“That's why Sirius and Peter and Remus are all lurking outside!” Lily shouted, pointing to the window. “I can see Remus behind a dumpster, Sirius nearby in that alley between those two shops and Peter across the street! I cannot believe you, Potter! I cannot believe you've turned my date into a llama!”

“At least he's an adorable llama,” James said, shrugging.

Lily wanted to smack him again, but she exercised that self-restraint her mum had always been telling her about years ago when she'd get into scuffles with neighborhood boys. Instead she let out an enraged growl and stomped her feet.

“You're pathetic, Potter! PATHETIC! For the billionth time I'll never ever, EVER go out with you! And for the billionth time I hate your guts! Get that through your thick, Quidditch-obsessed skull! UGH!”

“Soooo…is that a definite no???” James called after her.

Lily stared at him as if she couldn't believe her ears.

“YES, YOU IDIOT! IT'S A DEFINITE NO!”

“Oh. Well…after all this trouble,” James said, sighing and crossing his arms.

Lily rolled her eyes, too aggravated and infuriated for speech.

She spun on her heel and stormed from the restaurant, which was silent even after she left. A second later, however, she returned, blushing slightly as she conjured a leash and put it around Oscar's neck. He bah-ed some more and she had to pull him away from knowing on the tablecloth. He then began chewing on the hem of her sweater instead, apparently liking the material better, bahing as he did.

She slapped him and tugged on the leash to get him to follow her out of the restaurant.

James had to bite his bottom lip to stifle his laugh; he could see Sadie snickering silently from the distance, and he knew at least Sirius and Peter were still laughing hard.

Lily left the restaurant, tugging on Oscar's leash and fighting with him to leave her sweater alone, and she disappeared into the shadows and lights of the streetlamps on that late autumn evening.

Afterwards as the customers in the restaurant began to chat again, mostly about the scene that had just occurred before them, Sadie walked up to James' table just as Sirius, Peter and Remus all entered the restaurant.


”Would you say that operation was successful?” she asked.

James shrugged, looking caught between a particular answer.

“I'd say a `yes',” James said. “Lily Evans touched me!”

Sirius and Peter exchanged incredulous glances.

“Mate, she slapped you.”

James nodded, saying, “And yet I'm still satisfied. As long as her skin is touching my skin I'm utterly happy, I tell you.”

Sadie put her face into her hands, nodding her head disbelievingly. It was the same kind of disbelief that was on Sirius and Peter's faces.

“Mate,” Sirius sighed, clapping James on the shoulder. “You're pathetic. All in capital letters, might I add: PATHETIC.”

“I'll have you know a year ago she was telling me to `sod off' and giving me death-glares, now she's slapping me!” James looked ecstatic for some reason no one else could quite figure out but him.

“Mate,” Sirius croaked.

“I'm telling you,” James sighed dreamily, “I'll never wash this cheek again.”

& & &

A/N: Thank you for reading, now please review with your thoughts. Feedback is appreciated. I don't know when the next update will be; I'm still in search of a BETA reader. Have a nice day. =]

2. Dos



Dos

“Pathetic.”

“Truly pathetic.”

“Really, truly pathetic.”

“Terribly, really, truly pathetic.”

“ENOUGH! I think we all get the idea,” Lily screamed in annoyance.

Madeline and Caroline looked at each other and shrugged.

“If you say so,” they said in unison.

“Yeah, well, I do say so! Poor Oscar was a llama for a whole two hours! Whatever potion Potter used was so well crafted Slughorn couldn't figure it out, and McGonagall couldn't transfigure him back! It was awful. Dear Oscar, he ate three sweaters and Slug's toupe.”

The twins sniggered at the memory of Oscar the llama chewing on Slughorn's toupe.

“James Potter made one good point, though,” Caroline said, smirking.

“…Oscar was an adorable llama,” Madeline finished, also smirking.

Lily sighed and put her fingers to her temple.

“Why must everyone think everything that that git does is brilliant? Why can't you see the many flaws of James Potter? And when I say many, I mean a huger than huge amount of flaws!”

The two girls shrugged.

“We happen to think his “flaws” aren't flaws at all,” Madeline explained simply.

“He's funny,” Caroline said.

“And charming.”

“And handsome.”

“Ohhh, and don't forget he's so athletic,” Caroline said, practically drooling as she daydreamed of James Potter flying on his Silver Phoenix 390 Quidditch broom.

“Those are all bad things. Is he kind? NO. Is he mature? NO. Is he concerned with anything but Quidditch and how bloody windswept his hair looks after getting off his broom? DEFINITELY NO. See, I just proved right here and now how bad of a person he is,” Lily ranted, hardly pausing to take in a breath; she was turning red from lack of air.

“Lily! Lily love, breathe. That's it…breathe,” Madeline said, holding up her thumb. “Good job! You deserve a pat on the back.”

Lily rolled her eyes.

“He makes me so ruddy mad, that's all,” Lily growled. She folded her arms and glared out the dormitory window. “He's so infatuated with me it's so utterly pathetic and aggravating! He's jinxing my dates into llamas! Don't you think this has all gone too far? I've tried to convince him I'll never, NEVER return his feelings! What more does the stupid bloke want from me?”

“Marriage.”

“To spend the rest of his life with you?” Caroline answered as if this weren't a big request at all.

Lily growled again, this time muffling her growl into her pillow.

“Well, it's too bad!” she shouted. “I only go for gits that actually care about important things! Like Oscar. And James Potter isn't Oscar. He's the exact opposite and he always will be.”

“Yeah, James is actually attractive.”

& & &

“So how badly are you two in trouble?” James asked as he and his Marauder pals walked slowly to Advanced Potions.

Peter shrugged. “My mum doesn't really care. She says she's given up.”

“Welcome to the club, Wormy, `cept my mum's cursed me to hell and called me the biggest disappointment of her life. But it's more or less the same, right?” Sirius said, shrugging.

They entered the classroom and settled down at their table (the Marauder table) far at the back. No one else was allowed to sit here during their period but them. As James passed the table where Oscar Macmillan usually sat, he pulled a folded piece of paper out and set it down right on the desk.

He and Padfoot shared a secret grin before taking their seats.

“Look at him,” James whispered to the other three, his hazel eyes fixed on Oscar as he entered the dungeon with his friend Rodney. “He still looks like a ruddy llama. And that's without the potion.”

Peter snickered. “Brilliant, Prongs!”

Oscar took his seat and stared curiously at the folded piece of parchment in front of him. He looked to Rodney, but Rodney merely shrugged, so he picked it up and unfolded it slowly.

It was a drawing of a llama (Oscar the llama specifically), and he was chewing on a sweater hungrily. Just above the drawing the words, “Macmillan, fancy some sweater?” were scrawled.

Oscar turned to the back of the class where three of the four Marauders were all laughing loudly, Sirius even wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. Oscar turned a bright red, but little did the poor bloke know that his torture wasn't over yet.

“What are those jerks laughing about?” Lily growled, sighing and rolling her eyes.

“Probably more jokes about Oscar,” said Caroline, opening her book bag.

“Yeah. They won't leave him alone `till you two stop dating, you know,” Madeline said simply.

“Well, I'll have to punch Potter in the face next time!” Lily said angrily.

“He'd love that.”

“I'll never throw these broken glasses away for as long as I live!'” Madeline imitated in James' dreamy voice.

Caroline and even Lily couldn't help a small laugh, as they both knew it was perfectly true; if Lily ever were to punch James in the face he'd treasure his broken glasses for all of eternity and more, as pitiable as that was.

“Good morning ladies and gents!” Slughorn barked to the class.

He set down his leather briefcase and turned to the blackboard. He lifted the screen from the board, and what was drawn beneath it made the whole class explode into laughter.

It was Oscar. And he was in his llama-form. His eyes were wide and starry-looking, giving him an insane appearance, and his long and sopping tongue was between his giant teeth as he stupidly attempted to chew on it and eat it.

Oscar sunk so low in his chair only the very top of his red forehead was visible.

“What's this?” Slughorn asked over the loud laughter ringing through the dungeon.

Below the drawing on the blackboard in messy scrawl that was unmistakably James Potter's, “What Oscar Macmillan REALLY looks like.”

“Oh! Haha, genius!” Slughorn exclaimed once he recognized the handwriting. He laughed for a short while before he cleared his throat and realized he was the teacher; he had to call order. “Ahem! Attention! Attention, class! Yes, yes, it's hilarious, but it's time for class to begin.”

“Can you believe this?” Lily whispered to Caroline and Madeline.

“I never knew James drew so well,” Caroline replied thoughtfully.

Lily let out a sort of frustrated snort, putting her hand to her forehead. Was she insane? Was she the only one that saw James Potter as nothing more than a complete and total arse? Or was she the only one that was bothered that he was?

Once the bell rang, James was first up his seat, purposely walking right past Oscar's desk before he could get up.

“Macmillan,” James said as he stopped right in front of him. “I think you know what we want you to do. And soon or else you may find yourself chewing on more sweaters than you ever believed you would.”

Oscar said nothing; he merely made a gulping noise and looked down at the floor.

James winked and grinned, and continued to the doorway of the dungeons.

“James!” Slughorn said, hurrying over to one of his favorite students. “Excellent artwork! Good luck at the opening Quidditch game of the season! I have betted four Galleons on you! Shhh…don't tell, I am the Head of Slytherin, you know.”

Slughorn winked at James Potter, simply simpering as he got that greedy look in his eyes.

“Well,” James said, turning to look at the other three Marauders. “This has shaped up to be a good day already, hasn't it?”

“Oh Prongs,” chuckled Sirius. “When the four of us are together, it's always a blast.”

& & &

“Can you two not swallow each other's faces? It's pretty disgusting,” Peter said, a sickened look on his face.

Sirius and Sadie Miles broke apart from their long and wet snog, and looked over to Wormtail.

“And it's not disgusting to snog a pillow?” Sadie asked, her left eyebrow high.

Peter's cheeks blushed.

“That was only once!”

“Liar!” Sirius snorted, laughing. “I caught you last week snogging your pillow in the dark! And you may have been doing some other things, too. I dunno…frankly, I was too afraid to find out.”

James and Sadie burst out into uncontrollable laughter, as Peter looked too embarrassed to ever speak again; Remus said nothing, he only turned a page in the book he was reading.

“Yeah, but you know what? I do kind of agree with Petey,” James said, after he calmed himself. “I don't much fancy seeing you and Sadie trying to scarf down each other's faces.”

“Prongs! You're one to talk. Remember Caitlin Timberlake? Holly Daniels? Yeah, `cause I do. And I remember you-”

“All right, all right. Shut your gab. I see your point,” James interrupted sulkily.

“Do you want me to fix you a date with Cady Patil? You'd love her. She's just your type,” Sadie asked.

“Are you kidding? He still hasn't washed his bloody cheek!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Hey, Padfoot, I told you I'm considering it!” James said defensively.

Sirius and Sadie both nodded their heads before they continued with their long game of tonsil hockey.

James turned his head, realizing Peter was very right. It wasn't exactly delightful to sit next to a couple making out while you were trying to eat a nice little lovely lunch.

“See! Now who's feeling guilty about teasing me about the pillow incident!” Peter squeaked.

“Peter, shut up! You snogged a ruddy pillow!” James cried in disbelief.

Wormtail blushed yet again. “It was only once, Prongs.”

James's eyebrows rose.

“Okay, okay. Twice. Maybe three times, possibly four. But that's all, I swear!”

& & &

“Welcome to the opening match of the season! The ever classic Gryffindor versus Slytherin!” Ian Hooper cried into the magic microphone. He held the microphone in both his hands as he continued, “But down to it it's Potter versus Flint, the two seekers! Who will win? DUN, DUN, DUN! Though it better be Potter `cause I put a whole Galleon on him and I'm bloody broke!”

“Hooper! Please stick to simple commentary, no need to discuss your gambling on school grounds, which is illegal!”

“Oh. Really, it's illegal? Well, professor Slug's been taking bets all week and - I mean, erm, back to the match, yeah! The balls have been released and the players are off!”

James shot up high into the air, the crowd clapping and cheering, as he impressed them with some spins and flips and other skillful tricks he knew.

“Isn't he brilliant?” asked one fourth year girl, sounding as if she wanted to swoon.

Lily rolled her eyes, tempted to gag. She hadn't even wanted to come to the game; Madeline and Caroline had made her. Now here she was stuck high up in the Quidditch bleachers watching Potter the fool be idiotic.

“Yeah, isn't he brilliant, Lily?” Madeline asked teasingly in the same sort of dreamy voice as the fourth year.

“Shut up.”

“Don't you just want to kiss his lil' nosey?”

“No. Break his “lil' nosey” is more like it,” Lily replied angrily.

James hardly ceased with the tricks. The crowd was going wild for him, most of the girls paying more attention to his dazzling efforts than to the actual game. The Slytherins were beginning to become extremely annoyed, particularly Flint who everyone seemed to ignore.

“And the score is thirty to ten!” Ian announced after twenty minutes of the game had gone by. “But I have to tell you, Potter and his tricks are much more interesting. All the girls go mental for him, anyway. But hey, if I were a girl I'd definitely take a run at him. Ahem, moving on.”

“Yes, please, please do, Mr. Hooper,” McGonagall said, nodding her head.

There it was, the golden Snitch. James' eyes widened as he grinned smugly and immediately dove for it. A single split second later Flint had spotted it, too, and he was diving as well.

“You can't beat me,” James muttered arrogantly, his hands tight around his broom handle as he continued to dive. “Dives are my specialty, you idiot!”

Just as both seekers came in close proximity of the golden Snitch it swerved and spun upwards, shooting straight towards the Gryffindor bleachers. The crowd was wild and crazy now, most people on their feet as they jumped and cheered.

James pulled upward on his handle, stopping midway through his what-would-have-been spectacular dive, and he followed the Snitch back up, towards the high bleachers. Flint, however, had much more trouble. He tried the same thing as James, only he pulled a little too hard and spun upside down.

Hanging from his broom by one hand, he was saved by courteous Madam Hooch, who flew up and helped him back onto his broom.

“Here I come!” James screamed, full of adrenaline.

“Look, the Snitch is coming this way!” Caroline shrieked, pointing at the golden ball.

“And so is your sweet Potter, Lily,” Madeline mocked.

Lily sighed, folding her arms as she too watched Potter chase after the Snitch headed their way.

“Give me that!” Flint roared, elbowing his own Beater. He grabbed the bat from Goober and hit the moving Bludger as hard as he could, sending it soaring Potter's way.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle but it was too late; the Bludger was on its way and it was going to hit James right in the back of the head!

“HAHA!” Flint hooted, as did all of the other dozens of Slytherins.

Everyone took in a breath as they watched in suspense; most were ready to cry out in concern if James were to get hit by the awry Bludger.

“Sweet Merlin, the Bludger's gonna hit James!” Sirius yelled, rising to his feet with Sadie, Peter and Remus.

Lily was on her feet as well, her mouth dropped and her eyes following the Bludger.

“POTTER!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “LOOK OUT!”

At the last possible second James swerved out of the way, escaping the Bludger and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

But the unfortunate set of events weren't over just yet. The Bludger was still heading straight for the Gryffindor bleachers! Everyone ducked and screamed in terror, and James turned right back around, to watch in shock whom the Bludger would hit.

“LILY, LOOK OUT!” barked James. He never remembered flying so fast. But the second he saw that the Bludger was going to hit Lily, as she crouched down on the stands, ignited a sort of wondrous power and determination inside of him. In almost a blink of an eye, James was level with the Bludger.

He went to grab it, to stop it, but he missed. He sped further and he did the only thing he could.

Praying he got it right on his first and only try, he hooked his arm around Lily's waist, pulling her along with him. She screamed, the Bludger missing her and exploding into a thousand pieces after a jinx finally caught it, and James swung her fully onto the broom right in front of him,

As Lily swung onto the broom she felt something collide with the palm of her hand. It was cold and round and it fluttered in her hand.

The whole crowd was wilder and screaming louder than anyone had ever heard it. James steered the broom to the ground; it was a difficult feat considering he was steering the broom from behind, and that Lily's long and thick red hair kept flying into his face.

Lily hopped off of the broom, as she opened her palm and realized she had caught the Snitch! The crowd erupted into even more cheers, and everyone hurried off of the stands and onto the field, carrying all of the Gryffindor Quidditch players above their heads.

“I caught the Snitch!” Lily exclaimed happily. She was smiling at James, realizing how handsome he looked with his Quidditch broom in his hand and his hair windswept. “And, you caught me, James.”

James grinned and nodded. “I did, didn't I?”

“You were spectacular, James,” she said in admiration.

James realized how close they were; so close their noses were almost touching.

“I was?”

“Yes.” Lily leaned in even closer, as if about to kiss him. “James,” she said softly. “Potter...”

James grinned goofily and replied, “Yes, Lily?”

“…Get your hand off my waist!”

James' eyes popped open and he realized he and Lily were on the ground, still on the broom and James' hand was still wrapped around her waist. He quickly withdrew it, going red, and realized he had imagined all of Lily's admiration for him.

Instead she was throwing him filthy glares, trying to fix her messy, windswept hair.

“Look,” she said, opening her hand. “I caught the stupid Snitch!”

“Ladies and gents Lily Evans has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!” Hooper announced to the crowd.

The Slytherins booed and hissed, and claimed the Gryffindors had cheated; Lily Evans wasn't on the team. Yet the boos and hisses were matched with cheers from the Gryffindors themselves, and even some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

“You caught the Snitch!” James said in surprise and disappointment.

“Yes, I did! And so what if I did?” Lily snapped. She released it from her grasp and said, “And never grab me like that again, understand Potter?”

She spun on her heel and marched off without another word.

“I was trying to save you!” James called after her. He took a few steps forward, tempted to go after her.

“Don't I at least get a slap this time?” he shouted hopefully.

She didn't reply and his shoulders slumped in dissatisfaction. He felt like an utter idiot, and this idiot knew one thing: his fantasy was a tad better than this!

& & &

A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback last chapter. Please review this one with feedback as well. Thanks and have a nice day!