Hello readers. Please do not comment making corrections on the Quidditch Team positions of any characters such as James Potter, Sirius Black, Oliver Wood, etc. As this is a fanfiction, canon facts are changed/adjusted to better support the fanfiction main character. Thank you.
THE QUARTET WAS seated in the Great Hall, among the few others that had decided to get breakfast before the first Quidditch match of the season. Harry and Lily, being precedents as first years on a Quidditch in a century, were quite a bit nervous at the standards they had to meet. Professor McGonagall clearly had her hopes up with them; she was convinced that they were all her house team needed to sweep the floor with the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Many others hoped for that outcome, as well, including Hermione and Ron, who sat at the Gryffindor house table early that morning. Lily was watching them attempt to convince Harry to eat something; he was boycotting eating anything before their first ever Quidditch match. It would be quite embarrassing if he were to empty the contents of his stomach on the field before the eyes of everyone.
The mere thought of it made Harry's eggs seem all the more revolting.
"Take a bit of toast, mate." encouraged Ron as he picked up a piece of toasted bread from his plate, "Go on."
"Ron's right, Harry." agreed Hermione.
"Holy crap, they actually agree on something." remarked Lily sarcastically, earning eye rolls from both.
Hermione disregarded her friend's comment, "You're both going to need your strength today."
"I'm not hungry." frowned Harry, pushing his plate away.
As he had said that, Professor Severus Snape walked up the aisle between their table and Hufflepuff's table and stopped behind Ron and Harry. Ron tensed visibly; he found Professor Snape very intimidating. The hook-nosed looked between Harry and Lily and did not bother to infuse any faux enthusiasm into his cold voice.
"Good luck today, Potters." he paused momentarily, "Then again, you've proven yourselves against a troll so a game of Quidditch should be easy work..."
His arrogance annoyed them.
"...Even if it is against Slytherin."
As he walked away without another word, Fred and George Weasley snuck up behind Harry and shouted out, scaring him. Harry choked on the orange juice he had finally convinced himself to have and defeatedly set it back on the table with a frown. It was not like he was starving. At the Dursley's, he almost went three days without dinner after he had made Dudley [fake] cry.
"Sorry, Harry." They apologized.
"So, are you two ready for the match today?" asked Fred.
Lily shrugged, "Not if it's anything like I've heard."
"Don't worry, you two will be fine." George reassured upon seeing Harry's nervous expression.
"After all, our job is to make sure that you don't get bloodied up too badly!" said George cheerfully, then his expression darkened in the slightest, "Can't make any promises, though. Rough game, Quidditch."
"Brutal game, Quidditch." nodded Fred, "But no one's died in years. Someone will vanish occasionally but they'll turn up in a month or two!"
They saw Harry pale and Lily scowled at them, "Boys."
Hermionie glared at the third-years and look at the Potter twins, "You have nothing to worry about. It's in your blood."
They all exchanged curious glances and she only responded to their confusion with a smile, "Follow me."
Hermione stood and they followed her down the aisle, soon exiting the Great Hall. The remaining students that lingered in the halls all began making their way through the courtyard in pursuit of the Quidditch Field, as the match would start in an hour's time.
"Where are we going?" queried Lily.
"Just come on." She led them through the east corridor and just as Ron was about to be the next one to ask where she was leading them, Hermione slowed in the step and paused in front of a grand showcase. It was posted on a light-wooden podium and at least a dozen gleaming golden awards were put on display behind the glossy glass.
Harry beamed at it and Lily, who's expression mirrored her brother's, looked at the plaque right beside their father's. It read the name of another Gryffindor player of the same year as James Black.
"Who's Sirius Black?" questioned Lily. Hermione shrugged.
"Did she just-...DID YOU JUST ASK WHO SIRIUS BLACK IS?!" George exclaimed. Lily was taken aback by his sudden outburst but nodded slowly.
"YOU DON'T BLOODY KNOW WHO SIRIUS BLACK IS?!" Fred exclaimed.
"NO!" she responded mockingly, "I DO NOT BLOODY KNOW WHO SIRIUS BLACK IS!"
As they went on with their shouting, Harry stared, with a smile on his face, at the plaque that read their father's name. James Potter, if he was a Seeker and won an award for such, Harry could be carrying on his legacy.
"WELL," continued Fred, "HE'S JUST ABOUT A PRANKSTER LEGEND ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE MARAUDERS WHO WENT TO HOGWARTS!"
"The what?"
"The Marauders, just about the best pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen." George repeated in a calmer tone, rubbing his ears as his brother had shouted in his ear. "Anyway, Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend. They were two known legends in Hogwarts. They pulled the best pranks ever!"
"Yeah." nodded Fred, "We plan to break their outstanding record."
But Lily had stopped listening and became lost in her own thoughts. Harry had a nick for Quidditch, for being a Seeker, in his blood as his father had passed down the quality. Although she was a Keeper, Lily supposed that she may have gotten the gene, as well, since she had also made the team. Hermione seemed content with the smile on Harry's face, as there was no longer a sign of much nervousness. Before she could inform them of the time, Professor McGonagall beat her to it as she scurried through the corridors towards them.
"Yes, yes, the awards are very pretty. Shiny, too, I might say." she said, "Maybe it will motivate you to win for our house today!"
Ron and his brothers glanced at each other and shared their little chuckled at her yearning for success against the Slytherins. They could not blame her, though. If anyone thought most of the regular Slytherin students were nasty, they had not had the misfortune of meeting the few on the Slytherin team.
"You'd all best get ready. The match will start within the hour." McGonagall proceeded to turned towards Lily, who had managed to pry her eyes away from her father's Quidditch plaque. "Miss Potter, would you care to take a walk?"
Confusedly, Lily nodded and bid her friends farewell. After reassuring Harry that she would make it in time before the match, she followed after the wise professor and matched to her pace. Today, McGonagall sported her velvety dark-green robes that swept behind her and wore a pointed witch hat to match. They began to take a longer route to the Quidditch pitch where the team would be preparing.
"Are you nervous, Miss Potter?"
"I was." responded Lily honestly, "Until I saw our dad's plaque."
McGonagall smiled, as if remembering a distant memory. But she did not bring it up again and instead, changed the subject to a far more interesting one. "I caught word that you and Professor Snape exchanged conversation this morning at breakfast.."
"Oh," I laughed nervously, "You did, did you?"
"Yes. I heard about the mishap in class the other day as well." she continued, "I would like to tell you something that can only stay between you and I, Miss Potter."
"Call me Lily, Professor. "
"Alright, Lily." The corner of her lips twitched upwards, "I wanted to say...well done."
"...Well done?" That definitely was not what she was expecting to hear.
"Oh, you heard me correctly. You see, you are the first student to ever stand up to Professor Snape. His own Slytherin students wouldn't dare to do so. That takes blind courage that your father had and clearly, he passed it down to you." continued McGonagall, "And if I must say it, I'd have half the mind to say it myself, especially after this morning."
"I can see you very much want to win."
"Well, of course I would like to win!" She exclaimed, "But it's more complicated than that, you see. When I was a student here in my seventh year, I was competing in the final Quidditch match of the season. It was the championships for the House Cup, of course."
She recalled the memory and Lily could see it still remained vivid to her, "I suffered a nasty fall because of a foul during made by the Slytherins in the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match. The fall left me with a concussion, several broken ribs and....a lifelong desire to see Slytherin crushed on the Quidditch pitch."
"Wow. That's...rough."
"Yes, yes. Anyway, I noticed how he did not come up with a remark in reply or deduct any point for your witty cheek, which leads me to believe he has a particular liking for you. And the only other student that I know of whom he may like is his own Slytherin student, Draco Malfoy."
It was impossible, but it was true. The words had actually left McGonagall's lips and it was clear she believed in what she was saying. She always did.
"This will be our little secret, Lily..." McGonagall smiled slightly, "You must not tell anyone."
"What secret?"
Lily could have sworn that she saw McGonagall smirk, but did not get to see her entire face as she had entered the locker room where everyone on the team had gathered. She quietly grabbed her Quidditch uniform from her wooden cubby beside the rest of the empty ones and walked into one of the changing stations. She drew the curtains and began to strip her day attire to dress into the uniform and Oliver Wood went over the techniques they had studied and practiced.
Lily slipped on her over her shoulder guards and proceeded to slip on her arm and shin guards. As she stepped out, Harry and Fred helped her put on her chest gear and headgear on. As she just finished clipping her Gryffindor cape on, everyone began to take their ranks. Lily took her place in between Fred and George in the pitch and as the doors opened, allowing the warm sunlight to hit their faces, Harry gave his sister a nod and the team kicked off into the warm air. As they circled the field dramatically, Fred and George came up on either side of Lily with grins on their faces.
Fred shouted out, "Are we on for the first part of the Triple Malfoy Prank later?!"
"You bet!"
Trumpets were being played the players of both teams were cheered on by fellow students teachers who clapped and whooped for them. The two teams stopped in the center of the stadium, lingering in the air, facing each other as they waited for further instruction from Madame Hooch.
"Good luck." whispered Lily to Harry.
"You, too." he replied, "Please, don't get hurt."
"I should say the same for you."
"Alright!" began Madame Hooch, "Now, I want a nice, clean game!"
After a momentary pause, she blew her whistle and the first Quidditch match of the season began. Lily raced over to her position in front of the three goal hoops gripped her broom, ready to block any incoming shot. Once the balls were released into the air, the game immediately became as intense as Fred and George had described earlier. A Slytherin boy, a Beater, with a nasty grin hit the Bludger with his wooden bat and it shot towards the lowest hoop.
Lily swept down on her broom and deflected it with her arm, making the Bludger rebound and head in the opposite direction. It was their first attempt at scoring at she had blocked it; the game was starting out well. Everyone began to cheer as Lily blocked another attempt, and then another. Just as the Potter girl was growing confident in herself, the game took a turn and the Slytherin team began to find loop holes that allowed them to score without them being considered cheaters.
After Lily blocked the shot of one of the older Slytherin Beaters, the other one swept over with a nasty grin and teamed up against her. As the Bludger went soaring back to them, the other Beater hit it and it went flying towards her. As she hit it again, the first Beater took his bat and struck it into the left hoop, earning the team ten points.
Lily was indignant.
In the near distance, she could see Professor McGonagall sitting on the edge of her seat in the teacher's stadium, silently cheering her team on. With a newfound determination to prove herself worthy of her position and to make McGonagall proud, Lily soon managed to work around their tricks and blocked them from scoring two more times. Despite this, Slytherin was already ahead of them by fifty points and although the game would go on until the Seeker from either team caught the Golden Snitch, they were lacking behind.
Much to the team's dismay, a Slytherin Chaser raced Fred to hit the Quaffle and rammed into him in attempt to throw him off of his broom. Fred almost lost his grip, but as George whizzed past him and knocked the other boy off of his broom for attacking his twin, he regained his balance.
"Alright, Freddie?!" called George.
"Alright, Georgie!" called back Fred. Slytherin had scored fifteen points during that distraction.
As a few more moments passed and Slytherin scored and missed a few more goals, the game seemed to drag and just as Lily figured it would be mellow from then on, Harry caught her attention a little ways away. His broom, which was the same model as the rest of the team's, began to jerk out of control beneath him. The Potter boy began to sway up, down, this way, that way and around while he could only hold on with a tight grip.
"Harry!" shouted Lily as she blocked another Bludger, "What's happening?!"
"I don't know!" Something definitely was not right.
Harry was tossed off of his broom suddenly and was only hanging onto it with his hands, suspended a few dozen feet into the air. Lily searched the crowd for Hermione and Ron, but it was not hard to spot them as they sat with Hagrid their giant friend. Hermione turned and pointed at the teacher's section of the bleachers. She followed her gaze and as she skimmed over the crowd, her eyes landed on Professor Snape, who seemed to be muttering something under his breath. Lily blanched in disbelief; she could not believe it may have been Snape that was jinxing her brother's broom.
"Hang on, Harry!" yelled George.
Lily saw Hermione slip away from her seat in the crowd and knew she was up to something, "Hermione has a plan!"
Just as the Potter girl said that, a few people in the professor's bleachers shouted, "FIRE!" and Lily knew it was Hermione's doing. Professor Snape was stepping on his robes to put out a fire, with Professor Quirrell and Professor Flitwick on either side of him stepping away in caution. Snape looked back up at the game once his the fire was put out and his eyes fell upon Harry as the boy regained control of his broom and mounted it again.
A sneaky Slytherin tried to use the distraction as a chance to score, but Lily skillfully blocked it with a newfound desire to defeat the Slytherin team. Even though Lily put her head back into the game and deflected more shots than missed, the opposing team was still in the lead with twenty points more than them.
When he heard the score, Harry scanned the field for the Golden Snitch which would make the end of the game. A little ways away, near Oliver Wood, the tiny auspicious object fluttered teasingly in the air. In a second, Harry was racing the other Slytherin seeker for the Snitch and Wood narrowly missed being hit by them. Harry, determined to make this his shining moment, rammed into the boy first and the Slytherin seeker rammed back into him with gritted teeth. As Lily kicked the Bludger away from going through the bottom hoop, Harry and the Slytherin seeker dove towards the ground in pursuit of the Snitch with incredible speed.
Many people in the crowd gasped and stood to get a better view of the action while Lily already knew her brother could make it. The two boys glanced at each other and then Slytherin seeker looked at the spiraling ground with fear of crashing. A second later, the boy reared up and Harry followed only a few seconds later, just missing the ground. Immediately, cheers erupted from the crowd as Harry began to gain on the Snitch. He slowly started to stand on his broom as it unsteadily flew forward, apparently determined to kill himself. It was then that everyone froze; the crowd, the players, everyone.
Only Harry Potter and the Golden Snitch existed in that moment.
Carrying out his dangerous stunt, he leaned forward to grab the fluttering ball, but narrowly missed it and sent him flying off. He fell off of his broom and landed on the grassy field, rolling down into the dirt. He managed to stand but as he did, he clutched his stomach as if to be sick. Hermione raced out from behind the bleachers just in time to see the scene play out. Just as Lily had decided to fly down to him, Harry coughed up the Snitch into his gloved-hands.
And when it spread its fluttery metallic wings, Jorden Lee, the spokesperson for the game, shouted out,
"HE CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! HARRY POTTER RECEIVES ONE-HUNDRED-FIFTY POINTS FOR CATCHING THE SNITCH!" he cheered, "GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
The first person Harry searched for was his sister, who was flying down to the pitch along with the rest of their team. The crowd roared victoriously, aside from the Slytherin who sat sulkily. Harry held the Snitch up to Lily, but she shook her head with a sour face.
"Yeah, no." she chuckled, "That needs to be cleaned first."
He rolled his eyes and chuckled and while the rest of their teammates clapped him on the back and congratulated each other on their first win of the school year. Fred and George, who lingered idly in the air a dozen feet above her head, beckoned for her to join them. She mounted her broom and flew up to them
"We've got a surprise." said George.
"Oh?"
"You know, just in case we won the first game of the season." grinned Fred.
"Well, let's see it then."
George produced three small firecrackers from his pocket and gave the other two to Lily and Fred.
"The three of us, grab and pull on three!" instructed George.
"ONE..." began Lily.
"TWO..."chimed in Fred.
"THREE!" finished George.
In unison, they set the firecrackers off and with loud POPS! and SNAPS! they erupted into fireworks in the colors of scarlet and gold. From her seat, McGonagall smiled gleefully at their little show; it was clear she very much approached of their emphasis on their win. Headmaster Dumbledore, who sat beside her, smiled as well.
"Ah, such team spirit!" remarked the man. and I high-fivedthe twins.
"Well, the day isn't over yet!" smirked Fred.
"I believe it isn't!" responded George and they landed on the ground and walked towards the dug out to change out of their uniforms.
As they walked into the dug-out, Lily spotted the familiar platinum-blonde haired boy sulking angrily among his friends; Draco Malloy was not the least bit happy about losing to the Gryffindor house team. They reached the sight out and Lily put her broom away, before beginning to change out of her Quidditch attire.
"Yes, boys." said Lily, "I do believe we have some very important work to do."
And that was when the three youngsters, soon to be known as infamous pranksters, began to plot their first prank together.
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Lily Potter sat among her small group of friends -- Hermione, Ron, Harry, and the Weasley twins -- in front of the lit fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. The fire, which casted orange hues upon them, warmed their skin after the chilly day they had spent mostly outside for Quidditch. Hermione had just finished explaining what she had done during the match to set Professor Snape's robes on fire.
Of course, barely anyone else was in the common room as they had all gone down to dinner early in hopes of getting the best seats. Personally, Lily was trying her best to deny any possible indication that Snape had actually tried to injure Harry; she did not want to believe he would do such a thing. Sure, Snape was capable of doing such, but Lily wished to see the good in him.
Just like her mother, she would later discover.
"Why do you think he did it?" queried Harry.
"Why, to win, of course!" answered Ron, as if he thought it were common sense, "Not to mention the fact that he doesn't like you one bit."
"Snape doesn't like anyone." objected Hermione, "Why is Harry any different?"
"Aye, that isn't entirely true." said George, who the turned towards Lily.
The Potter girl, who had stayed silent during most of the conversation, looked from him then to the others. "Why're you looking at me?"
"Snape likes you, in a way." shrugged Fred.
"How do you suppose?"
"Well, he hasn't given you detention or any warnings for speaking out at him." Ron pointed out.
"Yeah. He only took three points away from Gryffindor for that first time in class." nodded Hermione, "And I have to admit, he could have deducted a lot more points than that."
"Alright, say he does have a fondness for me....why would he try to harm Harry?" Lily thought aloud, "He's my twin brother, for goodness sake."
"That's true, too." muttered Harry with furrowed eyebrows, "But do you think Snape really wanted to win the match that badly?"
"I don't know, mate." shrugged Aron, "But he did jinx your broom."
Hermione nodded, "We have to keep an eye out for him."
"Snape's a Hogwarts teacher and clearly Dumbledore trusts him enough, but I hate to say it, maybe you're right..." Lily pinched the bridge of her nose and looked from the dancing orange flames in the fireplace to her brother, "If he does have ulterior motives, maybe is after whatever that three-headed dog is guarding."
Harry nodded in agreement as they pieced the theory together, "That would explain the blood."
Fred looked at all of them, "What are you talking about?"
"Blood?!" The Weasley twins were happy to see that even Hermione did not know what hey were talking about.
"Listen, two nights ago, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that three headed dog." explained Harry, "But, he got himself bitten or scratched; Lily and I noticed it after we knocked out the troll in the girls bathroom."
"That's why he's limping." added Lily.
"Well Georgie, its official." began Fred amid the thoughtful silence, "They've had much more excitement than us in our first year."
"A troll?...A three-headed dog?" George rubbed his temples, "Im
getting a headache."
"But why would anyone go near that dog?" Ron disregarded his brothers' comments.
"The day I was at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults." said Harry, "He said it was Hogwarts' business, very secret."
This was news to Lily.
"Whatever it was, it was in a small burlap sack that could fit in the palm of my hand. I wasn't supposed to say anything, but Hagrid was supposed to bring it back here, to Hogwarts."
"So you're saying...?!" began Hermione. Her eyes glistened as the gears in her head worked, piecing together the puzzle from the pieces that Harry and Lily had laid out before them.
"Whatever Hagrid took out of that vault...that's what the dog's guarding." nodded Harry, "That's what Snape wants."
If only they knew.
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It was moments before dinner when Fred, George and Lily had decided to perform the first act to the Triple Malfoy Prank. After Lily had retreated to her dormitory and changed into something warmer, she let Caspian out of his cage. Her tawny owl swooped out of the window as she opened it and spread his wings freely into the chilly air; she would not see him again until morning when mail was to arrive.
Halloween would be approaching soon and personally, Lily was excited to see what sorts of festivities would take place in the castle for it. And besides on April Fools day, Fred and George were known to play the best tricks on Halloween. And just as the Potter girl thought of the red-headed devils, she heard them call her from outside her door.
"Ohhhh Liiiillyyy!" called one of them in a singsong voice.
"It's tiiiimme!"
Lily chuckled and opened the door to reveal the two grinning boys.
"Alright, so we're doing George's prank first, right?"
Lily took it as confirmation when George grinned and produced two Puking Pastilles from of his pocket. People would soon learn not to mess with the Weasleys or their friends.
"Well then, let's go."
They exited her dormitory and after leaving the common room, they soon found themselves entering the Great Hall, trying with immense effort to mask the smirks on their faces.
"Act casually now." whispered Fred.
Lily spotted her other group of friends as they set themselves down at the Gryffindor table. Ron met Lily's gaze and waved at her, but soon froze as he saw Fred and George's expressions. He nudged the other two and then all three of them were watching Fred, George and Lily questioningly.
"Follow my lead, boys." she muttered and walked down the aisle between the Slytherin house and Ravenclaw house table.
Lily quickly spotted Crabbe and Goyle's plump and pudgy forms and George followed her gaze. He sped up his pace and discretely crushed the Puking Pastille over Malfoy's plate of food. Malloy was standing a little ways away, bothering a Ravenclaw girl wth a sneer on his face. As the three resumes their pact and made their way towards their own house table, Malfoy returned to his seat.
"What did you three do?!" interrogated Ron, who's suspicion was apt as he knew of his brother's antics more than anyone. Harry and Hermione also looked at them expectingly.
"Something awesome." grinned Fred.
"Something amazingly awesome." smirked George. Ron looked at his best friend, knowing that although his brother's would not peep, she might, "So? Are you going to say or are you going to be as discreet as they are?"
"Will it get you in trouble?" asked Hermione.
"If we are caught." said Lily nonchalantly, "Quite possibly."
Harry nudged her, "Tell your secrets, Grasshopper."
"Watch Draco." The six Gryffindors all turned their gazes towards Malfoy as the insufferably boy raised a forkful of food to his mouth. A few seconds after he had swallowed, his expression turned into one of disgust and a greenish tint rose to hide cheeks. He gagged, his cheeks puffing out, and then in a matter of seconds he was fleeing from the Great Hall, warning a few more stares. The three pranksters laughed and exchanged high-fives as Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned along with them, content that the boy had gotten a taste of his own medicine.
"Part one, complete." said Fred.
"So, you've teamed up to prank Malfoy?" said Harry as he began to pile food onto his plate.
"You bet we did." nodded George, clearly happy with the arrangement.
"Yep."
"But let's not forget that we have two more parts of the prank to complete." Fred pitched in.
"Wow, probably for the first and last time, I feel bad for that bloody git." Ron remarked, taking a bite out of a chicken leg.
"What's the next part of your prank?" asked Hermione with curiosity that surprised even Ron and Harry.
"Let just say, it won't be a broom that Malfoy will use to fly in on."
"But the only other way someone can fly without a broom is a levitating spell, they ride on a winged creature or--" began Hermione, but then she paused, "--or if they have wings themselves."
Lily, avoiding her friends' hungry looks for answers, directed her gaze to the ceiling of which was bewitched to look like that of the night sky. Fred and George, amid their cackles, began to whistle with mock-innocence and even clueless Harry, Ron and Hermione could not help but laugh along with them again.
It was that very night, the night of their first joined prank, that everyone knew Lily Potter and the Weasley Twins would prank, joke and and spread their laughter until the very end.