After school on Monday, I'm still angry with James, even though he's apologized a couple times. The thing is, I know he doesn't really mean it, and he only says he regrets it because it ended up hitting Lily, who by the way isn't even talking to him. I know that if given the chance, James will attack Snape again. They hate each other.
But the thought of beating Deighton in tryouts is still too tempting, and sitting at dinner I've already made my decision, I just like seeing Potter beg.
"Please, Cassidy?" He asks as I munch on my potatoes and stare straight ahead, unbothered and hiding my amusement, "Pretty please? With a cherry on top?"
"God you sound pathetic," Dorcas comments, smirking along with all the others as they enjoy James in this unnatural state.
"I don't think I've ever seen him beg like this," Alice says through a mouthful of peas, "It's uncanny."
"James Potter doesn't beg," James says, and I quickly turn my gaze to him, raising a challenging eyebrow, "Except for now. Cassidy, I'm begging you to tryout."
Everyone chuckles as I cross my arms, putting my fork down and tilting my head in thought.
"Uh oh," Sirius says, pointing at me with his knife, "I know that look. She's scheming. She had the same face on when we were plotting our prank on Deighton."
"Okay, I'll come to your tryouts tonight on one condition." I beckon for his ear to whisper in, and his eyes widen as I tell him what the terms are. I lean back smugly as he looks conflicted, seeming about to argue as I stuff some chicken down my gullet, "It's that or nothing, Potter."
He groans, running a hand down his face before reluctantly standing on the bench and then stepping onto the table, nudging away some plates with his feet so he can stand. He picks up his glass along with a knife and loudly clanks the two together, successfully silencing the Gryffindor table and then the rest.
My friends glance from me to him as he clears his throat shakily.
"I just wanted to say, that . . ." He looks at me and clears his throat again, "that I am a dirty, dirty little girl."
I raise an eyebrow, and he sighs, slapping his own ass as everyone bursts into roaring laughter. Even a few of the teachers stifle their smiles, and I see McGonagall chuckle as James turns beet red and sits back down next to me.
"Oh my god!" Marlene cackles as Mary begins crying tears of joy, leaning so far into Alice that they go tumbling off the back of the bench. Sirius doubles over wheezing as I wink at Lily, who is grinning in satisfaction at James's punishment.
"Holy shit," Sirius says as Dorcas hands him two sickles, laughing too hard to even care about losing the bet.
"That's going down in history," Remus says once his own howling laughter has died down. James buries his face in his hands, and I pat him on the shoulder.
"See you tonight, Jamesy."
I get up off the bench, all of my friends clapping as I give them a bow and a salut before leaving the Great Hall, giggling softly to myself as I head back to the Common Room.
I spend the next half hour mentally preparing myself for what's to come, convincing myself that I won't fall off my broom the minute I get on.
Soon enough, I'm walking with Dorcas, James, and a girl named Emmeline Vance who is trying out for Keeper.
"You guys nervous?" She asks, tying her blonde hair back from her bony face.
"No," Dorcas and James say while I remain silent. They don't seem to notice my lack of reaction, and for that I'm thankful.
Another thing I'm worried about is if I do make the team, playing Slytherin will be hell for me. I know that Mulciber is a Beater, and his crude drawing flashes behind my eyelids every time I close my eyes. I can only imagine how much more lethal Mulciber is when he gets his hands on a bat.
The crowd that shows up at the pitch is exactly the same people that were on James's list, no more and no less. I see Marcus, and he waves me over, pulling me away from where he was talking with Don McLaggen and Caradoc Dearborn.
"Cass," he whispers, "I so badly need you to beat Deighton. We had him on the team last year, and he's good, but he's unbearable."
"Okay," I say, "Well how do I beat him then?
"Okay guys!" James says, and we all gather around him as he grins, "First tryouts of the week! Hopefully it will be pretty clear what the team will be at the end of today but if it isn't then we'll have another tryout on Wednesday. For now I want you all to do basic warmup, and I'll call you down when we get started."
"Will do, you dirty girl!" Caradoc answers and Don McLaggen smacks his own ass as we all burst into laughter and James rolls his eyes.
"Listen," Marcus says as we head into the air, me taking a deep breath and trying not to look at the ground, "Deighton is strong, so when he hits, he hits hard. But he isn't fast or agile, and his aim is shit. As long as you hit more people than him, then I'm sure Potter will put you on the team."
I nod, trying to process his information as we begin flying laps around the pitch. I close my eyes, but after the initial shock of being in the air, I find that it's not so scary. It's refreshing, actually. I forgot how much I love flying and playing. It all comes back to me in minutes, and soon Marcus and I are racing around, weaving through people and laughing as we try and knock one another off our brooms.
***
"Holy shit Milton!" Marcus high fives me as we walk off the pitch, sweaty and tired from tryouts as the sun leaves the sky, "No mercy! You've got this spot in the bag."
It's true. Deighton had probably the worst tryout of his life, and maybe it was because I kept taunting him from across the field, or maybe it's because he's just a bad player. Either way, James could hardly contain his grin as I hit Richard with a bludger for the eighth time, and he nearly fell off his broom. I was a little rusty, sure, but after we began playing, I quickly got into it. The look on Deighton's face when James had the Beaters all do a drill that focused on aiming (hitting the bludgers through the hoops) was priceless. Marcus was right, the only thing Richard has going for him is his strength, and it was clear that James was purposely avoiding drills that revolve around that trait.
I sit down on the bench and grin as Marcus laughs with joy and Dorcas stifles her smile. Suddenly, Richard walks in, looking furious as he just marches through the changing area and out the other side, heading towards the castle.
The rest of the team trails in behind him.
"Is he gone?" Emmeline asks, and I nod.
Then, they all start cheering, and James runs towards me in glee, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder as everyone hoots and hollers.
"Thank god that asshole won't be on our team anymore," Caradoc says, patting me on the shoulder with a wide grin as his strange yellowish eyes squint with joy. I squeal as James spins me around, grinning like an idiot as everyone chants my name.
"You showed his ass!"
I laugh as James puts me down, Don McLaggen leaving the tent along with John Abbott, who are the other two that didn't make the team. It's not like James has made a set decision, but it's obvious.
"Well, I guess this is the team," James says, his arm around my shoulders as we all cheer in response. Suddenly, Caradoc and Marcus leap forwards, lifting me onto their shoulders as we all leave the tent.
"This is the best team we've had in years," Marcus says, ruffling the hair of Dasher MacDonald, who's Mary's little brother and the youngest on the team.
"That cup is ours!" James exclaims, and we all cheer, me keeping my hands on the two boy's shoulders as they carry me up to the castle.
My heart warms with joy as I finally feel like I belong in this house. Everyone on the team treats me as one of their own, and there's only a few Gryffindors that are still unaccepting of me. Being a Slytherin seems like a distant memory, and I know that this is my true house. I've always known, but now it's certain.
I finally feel like I'm in the right place.
***
"And then Cass hit every single target, and guess how many Deighton hit." James leans forward in his seat as he tells everyone about tryouts, both of us with damp hair from our showers. "Six! He only hit six out of ten!"
He bursts into laughter, and I grin, shaking my head in amusement as he babbles on about the team.
"So who's on the team then?" Remus asks, shoving a piece of chocolate in his mouth as he sits with Alice on the rug by the fire. I think the two have a thing going, but it's hard to tell since they're both decently timid.
"Me, Dorcas, Emmeline, Mary's brother, Cass, Marcus, and Caradoc." James counts off of his fingers as Sirius takes a sip of his bottled butterbeer and nods.
"That's a good team. No assholes."
"Marcus is an asshole," Marlene grumbles.
"Everyone's an asshole to you, Mar." Sirius rolls his eyes and she scoffs, crossing her legs and arms at the same time.
"Do we know the other teams yet?" I ask, grabbing the bowl of chips that Mary and Marlene stole from the kitchens. It's just nearing curfew, meaning Lily will probably be returning from wherever she and Snape were hanging out. The cut on her face has healed well with whatever potion Madam Pomfrey gave her, but a light scar is still there, much like the one on my face from third year.
"Nope. Slytherin tryouts are tomorrow after school, and then Hufflepuff after dinner." James snatches the bowl from me and stuffs a handful into his mouth, "Ravenclaw was today after school, but they had loads of people trying out, so I'm not sure that they've made a set team yet."
"Does this mean we're gonna catch you outside hiding in the bleachers while the others try out?" Remus asks and James shakes his head, leaning back on the couch and stretching his arms out.
"I'm not worried."
We all laugh at how in character his statement is before I look up at the portrait hole and Lily walks through, looking as though she just stepped out of a dream.
"Woah!" I say to her as she approaches, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you just got your first kiss. But I do know better, and Snape is kind of a pussy."
Her cheeks tinge pink as she sits down between Marlene and Mary, "It's not like that."
We all make noises of disbelief, and she stifles her smile as I nudge her face with my foot and laugh.
I glance at James, whose grin had already fallen and had been replaced with the same scowl that he always gets when Snape is mentioned.
"You could do better, Evans," Sirius says, likely also noticing his best friend's mood change, "Snape is a slimy git."
"He is not!" She argues, "I don't know what you guys have against him!"
"He follows us around everywhere trying to bust our asses!" Sirius argues, "He's a little freak."
"It's not his fault you guys choose to spend your free time breaking the rules."
"That doesn't make it his business."
Lily scoffs, crossing her arms and blowing a strand of red hair out of her face.
"Does everyone here have a problem with Severus?" She asks, and we all avoid her gaze, finding interest in things like our cuticles or the pattern of the carpet, "Seriously?"
"One time he called me a slut," Marlene says pointedly.
"Who hasn't called you a slut, Mar?" Sirius asks smugly, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, you're one to talk!" She fires back angrily.
"We are not listening to this argument again," Alice says, putting a hand on both of the two's shoulders, "you guys are both sluts."
I laugh as they scoff, ready to argue before Alice cuts them off again, turning to Lily, "Snape's just a little . . . unpleasant, that's all."
"He isn't once you get to know him," she answers, "He's really nice if you give him a chance. And he's smart, and funny, and he—"
"Can you shut up about that kid already?" James suddenly snaps, and everyone falls silent, Lily looking slightly offended before raising an angry eyebrow.
"You know, I didn't think Sev was right, but he is," she says accusingly, "You are jealous."
"Of him?" James scoffs, as if such a concept is as far-fetched as landing on a gas planet, "No way. I'm just waiting for you to realize that he's a scumbag who has way too much interest in the Dark Arts. Have you ever taken a glance at his notebook? Do you know where he's gonna be in four years? My bets are he's gonna be killing Muggles and Muggleborns right alongside Vol—"
"Dude!" Marlene smacks him upside the head, shutting him up mid sentence as Lily looks shocked and angry.
"I cannot believe you would say something like that!" She stands up, "Not every Slytherin is evil, but you can't see that because your mind is narrower than a strand of hair."
"Is she right, Cassidy?" James turns to me, still angry, "Are there any good Slytherins out there?"
I think about it, trying to recall a time where I sat in the Common Room and there was a kid who disagreed with everything people like Avery or Dolohov said. I try and remember a time that someone said 'hey, that's not right'.
Everyone is staring at me, and I shrug, "I mean I was a Slytherin."
"And you got transferred," James says, as if that proves his point, "You see, Evans? Slytherin is a place of snakes. Half of those kids are gonna grow up to be murderers! They tried to drown Cass for Pete's sake!"
Lily glances at me, and I give her an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Lil." I shrug, "But when kids would be talking about killing Muggleborns, Snape wasn't exactly speaking against the concept."
She still looks surprised, but more so after my last statement hangs in the air.
"Wow." James leans back in triumph, "How about that? Snivellus wants to kill Muggleborns. What was your blood status again, Evans?"
She gives him a blank stare, and for a second I think I can see tears in her eyes, but then she's glaring at James.
"You're an immature, arrogant toe rag, James." She shakes her head, "Why can't you just accept the fact that Sev is my friend, and move on?"
"Where are you going? It's past curfew." Marlene asks as she walks away from us and towards the portrait hole.
"I'm going to patrol the halls. Prefect duty." She speaks tersely as she exits the Common Room, and James stands up angrily, huffing as he heads up to the boy's dormitories.
I sigh, not even caring as Sirius takes the now empty seat next to me, not so subtly putting his arm on the couch behind my head as everyone rolls their eyes at James's theatrics.
"I'm calling it now." Marlene stuffs a handful of chips into her mouth, "Those two are ending up together."
"What, are you crazy?" Dorcas asks, "All they do is fight."
"Exactly," Marlene says, "They're practically married already."
"Hogwash." Mary shakes her head, and we all laugh lightly at the concept of James and Lily being a couple. When the stars align, maybe, but none of us are counting on it.