The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Six

"Don't be so melodramatic silly," Lily said as she nudged her with her elbow and shot her a smile, "you'll be absolutely fine. Think how fantastic you were in the match against Hufflepuff and how much training you've been doing."

"Plus it's not like you're the Seeker," Mary added from around her mouthful of toast. "I mean, if I were you, I'd be more worried for Tallie."

"Yeah the Slytherin Beaters are vicious Cass; watch out. I'd rather you didn't have to go to the Hospital Wing," Alice teased.

"Hear hear," Lily said with a laugh. "It's so much effort to have to play the worried friend by your bedside for days at a time."

"Thanks guys, I'm glad to know that you all care about me so much," Cassie said sarcastically, half rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her orange juice. "Aren't you going to wish me luck?"

"No, I don't think so," Lily answered.

"Of course... bad luck Cass," Alice replied.

"Bad luck?" Cassie questioned, confused.

"You didn't specify whether you wanted good or bad luck," Alice said simply. "It was supposed to be funny."

"Oh dear," Cassie muttered as she shook her head. At that moment the Marauders walked past and Potter stopped to talk to Cassie. "Coming Jones?" he asked, his voice sounding surprisingly pleasant. "Morning Fortescue, Macdonald," he said, greeting them all in turn with a little nod of his head as Sirius, Remus and Peter waited for him, Peter's eyes shining as he watched the conversation. When James reached Lily he smiled and subconsciously rumpled his hair up saying, "Morning Evans."

Lily inclined her head towards him slightly but didn't say anything while Sirius tried to drag James away; as the four of them walked away James stole one last long glance at Lily, his hazel eyes roaming her indifferent face before the surging crowd of students swallowed them up and Cassie stood up to leave. "Bye guys," she said with a smile, "see you all at the match."

"Good luck Cass; you'll be fantastic," they chorused, waiting a few minutes before heading up to their dorm to put some more layers on.

As they climbed the stairs to the common room, Lily looked out of one of the windows; beyond the panes of glass was a white swirl of snow, flurrying and hurrying to and fro in the wind, little eddies twirling this way and that. Lily's heart sank instantly; they would be playing in the worst possible conditions for a Quidditch match.

Emerging half an hour later into the snow, wrapped up so tightly that barely an inch of their skin peeped through, they fought their way through the Arctic conditions and towards where the towers, their bright colours concealed by the milky whiteness of the clouds, speared the sky, joining the river of students that streamed towards the pitch, their voices whipped away by the wind.

Not even the exhilaration of the Quidditch match could prevent the supporters from feeling the relentless bite of the cold, their noses running and fingers freezing in their gloves. However much they jumped up and down and shouted, their cries lost in the howls of the wind, they could not keep themselves warm, so it was with particular relish that the Gryffindors retreated to their common room, welcoming the warmth with the eagerness which the worsening weather engendered. Their already high spirits, pleased at being back in the warm, were buoyed by their elation at having beaten Slytherin, raucous shouts rippling across the room as music pounded through the air and everyone celebrated with wild abandon. The team were exalted by the cheering Gryffindors, each one seized by the entire house as people clamoured to congratulate them and hug them; as she chatted to Alice Lily saw Potter holding court amongst the giggling girls and Tallie could hardly move for the ecstatic boys that surrounded her, congratulating her heartily on her fantastic catch.