Senior Year: First Game of The Season
Lily
"We have to go!"
"No."
"We HAVE to go!"
"No means no Lily."
"REMUS," I whined. "Everyone is going!"
"So," Remus droned.
The first week of school had gone by quickly, and within that week, me and Remus became inseparable. Remus only talked to me, unless it was a witty comeback pointed at some douche who made a shitty comment about his appearance. It was obvious that the guys were jealous because he had won all of the girls' hearts without even trying. He was the new, hot, mysterious boy. Potter and Black were all old news, and Remus was the shiny, new toy. Girls basically threw themselves at him, but Remus was either oblivious or amazing at acting oblivious.
"If they win," I started with a mischievous smile, knowing that what I was going to say next was gonna change his answer, "There'll be a party with alcohol afterwards."
Remus pondered what I said for a while, then finally answered "Do we have to go to the game right as it starts?"
I rolled my eyes, "Alright I'll see you at my dorm at 5?"
"Maybe," he said with THAT stupid smile. The smile that made my heart skip a beat and my stomach feel butterflies. The smile that made everything in the room feel so distant, like it was just me and him. The stupid, lopsided grin that made him the talk of the school.
Realizing I was staring for too long I returned the smile and turned on my heel, heading to my dorm. The first varsity boys soccer game was tonight, and almost everyone at Hogwarts was going. The team was known for being outstanding. They were unbeatable.
I twisted the key to my room into the lock, and yanked open the door. Dorcas was sitting on her bed reading some gossip magazine.
"So, did you ask him to go to the party with you?" Dorcas asked, looking up from what she was reading.
"Yes," I managed to get out before Dorcas began to squeal, running to embrace me.
"Ah! I'm so proud of you Lily! I knew he liked you, I mean he only talks-"
"We are going as friends" I cut off Dorcas. So maybe I was planning on REALLY asking Remus to the party, but hey, going as just friends was okay. It was a starter.
Dorcas looked stunned for a second but quickly changed it back to excitement. "Well that's okay, cause maybe you'll show up to the party as friends, but when you leave tonight, you guys are gonna be a little bit more than friends" she said with a wink.
"Ew fuck off," I laughed "butttttt... could you my hair?"
__
At little after 5, a knock came to my door. Dorcas had already left for the game with Marlene, so I took a calming breath and walked over to the door.
I flung open the door, "Hey!"
"Hey Lily! You look great," he smiled. I knew I looked good tonight. I wore my favorite outfit tonight, a cropped, cream, turtleneck sweater under a black, plaid pinafore dress. Dorcas had braided my hair into two Dutch braids, tied with silver ribbons.
"Thanks, ready to go?"
"Not really."
James
My legs burned. My lungs burned. Everything hurt, but I never felt more alive. The score was currently tied 2-2 with 5 minutes left in the game. Durmstrang was better than we had expected and we were playing sloppily, but I knew we could still beat them.
Moody, or as everyone on our team called him, Mad Eye, stripped the ball from Chris Barley and dribbled back up the sideline headed for our goal which was protected by Sirius. His usually handsome face was scrunched into a look of concentration. The bright pink mouth guard he wore was peeking out between the open space between his lips.
Mad Eye expertly dribbled past the defenders, taking a shot on goal. Sirius dove right, blocking the ball from crossing the white line painted between the goal posts. He picked up the ball and quickly threw it over to Kenny Lin, our best defender. Kenny passed the ball to me. GO TIME.
I sprinted down the field with the ball hearing Sirius yell "Two minutes!" from somewhere behind me. I was now nearing the goal. Viktor Krum loomed ahead of me. I shoved past one defender, the other one got distracted by Barley running down the other side of the field, waving his arms manically in hopes I would pass him the ball. I was NOT going to let that stupid freshman steal the glory making this shot would provide. It was now or never. I aimed at the left corner, swung my leg back, and kicked.
The Hogwarts crowd screamed, the Durmstrang crowd booed. I did, I won Hogwarts the game! The next thing I knew I was being crushed from all sides by sweaty bodies.
"Yes James!" one voice rang out.
"Atta boy Potter!" another said.
I couldn't stop smiling. I really fucking did it. Not like I had any doubts or anything. Heh. When my teammates began to release me from the crushing group hug, I was attacked by Sirius. He pulled me into another hug and planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek.
Sirius pulled out his mouth guard. "I knew you could do it Prongs!"
"Thanks Sirius!" I laughed, wiping his spit off me.
Then Sirius and I locked eyes. "You know what this victory means, Jamie my boy..."
"PARTY!" we shouted in unison.
—
I heard the base booming before I saw the bonfire. Some new trap song was blasting from Chad Ryan's speakers. Chad was known for being the "DJ" at every Hogwarts party, tonight was no different. Our victory party was being held in the Forbidden Forest that surrounded the school since the security guards didn't care enough to come check and our music couldn't be heard from the school.
As I approached the bonfire the smell of pot and wood smoke overwhelmed my nostrils. I spotted Peter by the drink table talking to some girl with black curly hair. She looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen her before. I knew she went to Hogwarts by the black and silver stripes painted on her pretty face. They looked deep in conversation so I didn't want to bother them. I scanned the party looking for Sirius who had left twenty minutes before me. I didn't see him anywhere, but I did see Lily Evans on the other side of the bonfire.
She was wearing a plaid dress over a white sweater, and a pair of black high top Converse. The fire light made her red hair glow like embers, and lit up her face perfectly. A tall boy stood with his arm around her and his head turned at an angle so I couldn't tell who it was. Lily laughed as the guy pointed to some couple dry humping on the beach near the lake that separated the school's perfectly manicured grounds from the dark Forbidden Forest. The mysterious boy then turned his face toward the fire. It was Remus. I hadn't realized they were friends. Now I HAD to go talk to them. I could woo Lily and befriend Remus at the same time, perfect!
"Evans, looking radiant as ever," I was now close to her and Remus. "And Remus, it's good to see you here, we haven't talked like all week."
"Hey James," Remus pulled out his phone, probably to avoid talking to me. Okay, that stung a little but I still had Lily to woo.
Lily rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you want, Potter? Don't you have enough girls fawning over you tonight?" This might be harder than I originally thought.
"I just wanted to say how beautiful you look tonight," I began. "Can I get you a drink?"
"I guess. Get me a vodka cranberry," she sighed. "Please," she added monotonically.
Yes! I thought to myself, Lily is totally into me.
At the drink table Chris was grabbing a beer, and to the left Kenny was doing a keg stand with the rest of the soccer team. How did they even get that I wondered. I poured vodka and cranberry juice into a red plastic cup, then set it aside while I grabbed one of the cheap beers toward the back of the table. With both drinks in hand, I walked back over to where Lily and Remus had been standing. Just as I rounded the fire, I saw it. Remus and Lily making out on one of the benches near the lake. The drinks fell to the ground as I stared at the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts tongue deep in the mysterious, new guy, Remus. Fuck my life.
I stalked back to the drink table, grabbing a half full bottle of Smirnoff vodka before walking away from the fire and deeper into the woods. I stopped at the base of a large oak tree and climbed up the low hanging limbs, one hand still gripping the bottle of Smirnoff. About 10 feet up, I sat on a thick branch and began to drink. When the bottle was only a quarter full I heard footsteps beneath the tree.
"James, is that you?" a voice called from below.
"No he's not here right now, can I take a message," I slurred.
The person didn't answer and I thought they must have walked away. Then a scratching of sneakers on bark and a face peeking over the branch. Fucking kill me.
"Hey," Regulus drunkenly smiled.
"Hey Reg, I guess you found me."
"What are you doing up here?" He pulled himself up so he straddled the branch facing me.
"Oh y'know, drinking, being an angsty teen," I replied.
He threw his beautiful head back and laughed, a gorgeous, carefree laugh that made my stomach do that stupid flutter thing.
I scooched closer and offered him the bottle. "Want some?"
Regulus wrapped his fingers around the neck of the bottle, his pinky finger grazed my thumb. He took a sip, making an awful scrunched up face at the bad taste of the vodka. "Ugh James, how do you drink this shit."
"Sorry, not all of us only drink Dom Perignon at parties," I joked.
He jokingly punched my arm, "Hey! That's my parents' thing asshole!"
We both erupted into drunken laughter. I then lost my balance and started to fall backward. Regulus reached out and grabbed my arm.
He pulled me back upright, not letting go of my arm, "James, be careful. It's like a 10 foot drop." His piercing gray eyes stared into mine. I was very aware of how close we were
"Are we about to kiss right now?" I laughed. Before I could say anything else stupid, his lips were on mine.