Love's All a Matter of Quidditch

It was a clear night with beautiful stars twinkling in a sea of dark air. The full moon hung brightly in the sky, illuminating the forest for those outside. There was even a fresh spring breeze that rustled the leaves on the trees. The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were, for the most part, sound asleep in their beds. Every student in the Gryffindor fifth year girls' dormitory, that was, save Lily Isabella Evans.

She was in a rather interesting predicament, one she had never imagined herself to ever be in. Lily was outside Hogwarts in the dark Forbidden Forest, crouched beneath a tree, cold, hungry, and very, very tired. She was, also, of course, completely and utterly lost. It was after midnight; she was supposed to be back in bed hours ago. Luckily, she was a strong girl, and the dark hadn't scared her much at first, but now, with the situation looking worse than ever, she was beginning to become frightened of what lurked in the shadows of the forest.

How did Lily end up stuck in the Forbidden Forest that late spring night? That was a rather interesting story as well. She had been serving her first detention in five years of attending wizarding school, because she had caught the notorious DADA teacher, Derek Vector, in a foul disposition. She had walked into his office to ask him about an essay for class, but he hadn't been there when she opened his door. Normally, she would have been a good student and waited outside, but something on his desk had caught her eye--a red envelope. Of course, soon enough, her curiosity won over her integrity, and she left the door slightly open as she walked to his desk to examine it.

The envelope was open, and a letter was beside it. Lily hadn't read very much of it before she heard the office door slam. It was Vector, of course, looking enraged. He accused her of "invading his privacy" and promptly gave her a detention.

Luckily, she was assigned detention with the school gamekeeper, Hagrid, her friend since second year, when she found a wounded unicorn on school grounds. It was a night detention, but Hagrid promised not to keep her awake too long. She was supposed to help him and his kneazle, Puppy, check up on the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.

So she, Puppy and Hagrid had set out at 11:00 PM. Everything went fine for the first hour. The two young centaurs Chiron and Pan were found gazing upon Saturn, and old gray Janus was grooming himself in the moonlight near the lake. They had been traveling through a particularly dark part of the forest, searching for others, when the threesome heard a strange growling from the left. Hagrid frowned and told Lily to wait with Puppy. She was anxious about being left alone in the forest, but Hagrid assured her Puppy would keep her safe.

Therefore, Lily had been waiting with Puppy, who had decided to pass the time grooming himself, much like a housecat, when they both heard a chilling howl. Puppy's ears perked up, and Lily shivered, for once, not of the cold. Puppy stood up suddenly, watching the bushes to the left of the clearing they had been waiting in. Without warning, he turned and dashed away.

Of course, Lily panicked. She knew that kneazles could sense things she couldn't, so she was quite worried about him running away so quickly. She tried to run after Puppy, but he was too quick, and she soon lost sight of his speckled back in the dark shadows of he night. Lily stopped for a moment to take a breath, and knew she was completely and utterly lost, since there was no way she could catch up with Puppy. She had always been taught to stay in one place so it would be easier to find her if she got lost, so she sat down underneath a redwood tree, hoping Puppy or Hagrid would find her soon.

So this was where the story started. Lily had been waiting for what seemed like hours for somebody--anybody to find her. With her situation looking quite hopeless, she was feeling desperate, almost enough to start crying. She could search around the forest...but what if that just made her more lost?

Suddenly, the bushes rustled beside her, and her head perked up immediately. There, untangling himself from the bushes was a skinny boy. Lily could only faintly see his outline in the darkness. "Should've known," he mumbled distractedly, dusting his robes off. His voice sounded very familiar. She could almost place it...

"Potter?" she asked incredulously, standing up as she recognized the figure of the Gryffindor fifth-year she had despised for years, James Potter.

Maybe despised was too strong a word, but there were certain bad feelings between the two--at least on Lily's side. She wasn't sure how to explain it--it had started the first day of Hogwarts, when she had accidentally rammed her cart into him without apologizing. Lily knew it had been rather inconsiderate of her, but that day had been one of the worst in her life--she was attending a new school in an unfamiliar world with no friends, no family--no real support. Worst of all, this was when her best friend in the world had started hating her--her older sister Petunia. Petunia didn't like having "a freak" for a sister.

Well, that was the first year, anyway. James Potter and his friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew soon became the "coolest" boys at school, much to Lily's disgust, since most of what they did was hexing and bullying other unfortunate students, causing trouble and collecting detentions like most other people collect rocks. Well, perhaps that was a bit unfair; Lupin usually was better than that, but Lily though he should have the courage to stand up to his friends. Anyway, Potter was quite the arrogant git who felt nothing for others...Lily knew for a fact he came from a rich wizarding family and probably had been spoiled his entire life. He also played Quidditch, chaser until this year, when he finally made seeker position. Not that this improved his image any more in her eyes; she wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch.

Potter looked at her, the full moon reflecting off his glasses to reveal hazel eyes. "Evans," he said, clearly surprised.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking up to him and holding her robes closer to her body to abate the cold.

"I was just about to ask you that," he answered, crossing his arms across his chest after checking the forest around them.

"Well, will you be courteous for once and grace me with an answer?"

He looked thoughtful. "I would, Evans, really, but I'm afraid it would have to be a lie."

Lily blinked. Why was he talking in riddles? "Whatever, I guess that's not really important, even though as a prefect, I should give you a detention for even being here. Anyway, would you happen to know the way out of this forest?"

He looked interested. "Are you asking me for help?" he asked, the corners of his mouth turning up into his own mischievous smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Perhaps. Will you give it to me?"

"Maybe." He uncrossed his arms and looked at her seriously, for once. "You really shouldn't be out here, you know. It's dangerous."

"You act like I want to be here. Look, are you going to help me or not? Because if not, I don't think we should waste our..."

A long, loud, chilling howl suddenly broke the night air. Lily exchanged a nervous glance with Potter, who looked alarmed. "Bloody hell," he whispered, looking behind him anxiously.

Lily asked, shivering. "What is that noise? I heard it before when I was with Puppy--" She stopped mid-sentence because he had grabbed her arm. "What...?"

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Potter said, tugging her arm.

"Why?" she asked, trying to pull her arm away.

"There's no time for that!" Just then, she pulled her arm out of his grasp. He glared at her. "Look, Evans, maybe you won't believe me, but there is a werewolf in the forest this very moment, and we have to make sure it does not find us."

Lily looked puzzled. "A werewolf? Codswallop! They wouldn't keep werewolves in the forest, it's too--" Once again, he grabbed her arm, and this time she was caught off guard. He pulled her along as he sped up. "Wait, stop! You can't be serious..."

Potter ignored her and kept on running. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Lily thought she could hear something behind them, so she decided not to say anything--for the time being.

Soon enough, they happened upon a dead end where the rest of the path was blocked by old tree stumps. Potter finally stopped and let her arm free. "Finally," she hissed, shaking her arm to let free some of the tension. She turned to look at him. "Now, what...?"

He was looking directly at her. "Can you climb?" he asked, motioning towards the tree in behind them.

"Yes..." she answered, giving him a strange look.

"Then, come on," he said, grabbing onto one of the lower branches and hoisting himself up. She watched him, bewildered for a few moments, and then sighed, following him. Maybe once they were up there she'd find some answers.

She found Potter sitting on a seat of branches near the top of the tree. "Lucky," he declared, leaning back on a branch lightly.

"And, why, pray tell, is that?"

"Because R--the werewolf," he corrected himself, "didn't catch us. I think that's pretty lucky."

"Are you still going on about that?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Didn't you recognize the howl?"

"Well, yes, of course...but that's ridiculous," she said, settling down in some branches opposite to Potter. "Why would Dumbledore keep werewolves in the forest? They're very dangerous creatures!"

"Not when they're human," Potter answered with a strange coldness. "And they are only dangerous to humans, ironically."

Lily thought he was acting strangely serious--she had not seen him like this in all the four years she had known him. "It still doesn't make any sense," she went on. "After all, first priority is the students' safety, and--"

The bushes suddenly rustled underneath the tree, and Potter's eyes widened. "Belt up," he whispered frantically.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't see why I should," she hissed. "Just because you don't want to hear me talk...and you really shouldn't be so rude..."

"Don't be daft! He's coming; he'll hear us!"

"Who are you on about? Considering the fact that you don't seem to know how to get out of this place," Potter was making frantic "quiet" gestures and watching the bushes below nervously, but she ignored him. " I think it's a good thing if someone hears us!" He had reached out to cover her mouth, but she pushed his hand away with her own. "You're acting very strangely, you know--"

So he shut her up in the best way a teenage boy knew how: with his lips. He took the opportunity when she pushed his hand away to lean forward very quickly and place his mouth over hers. Lily was, of course, taken completely by surprise. Once she regained composure, past Potter's head, she could see the figure a scraggly gray wolf pacing the shadows of the forest below them. She wanted to pull away, but seeing Potter's hazel eyes boring into her own, she knew there was no way she could move without the wolf noticing them. So, she clamped her mouth shut and held her breath, waiting.

The wolf sniffed the tree they were hiding in intensely, and even peered up into its branches before it slinked back into the darkness. Finally, Lily thought joyously. Suddenly, she felt Potter's hands move...almost like he was about to pull her closer...

But she didn't give him the chance. Not caring whether the wolf had left or not, she reached out and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"Ow!" he cried, clutching his cheek, which now sported a red hand imprint. "What was that for?"

"You randy bastard!" she hissed. "You asked for that. You so did, you..." she coughed and groaned. "I can't BELIEVE you did that!"

"I just saved your life!" he said defensively, still holding his cheek, although he had sort of a glassed over look in his eyes.

"I don't even want to look at you," she raged, lowering herself down from the tree.

"You couldn't even thank me, could you?" Potter asked, watching her from his perch in the tree. He sounded exasperated; perhaps even a little hurt.

Lily did not answer him. She was much too angry to care. Reaching the ground, she shivered and it took all six years of private elementary school training to keep her from spitting on the ground. She was just about to leave the clearing when she heard another rustle. She froze dead in her tracks, but to her great relief, a small speckled animal jumped out of the bushes next to her. "Puppy!" she cried, happily.

"Lily! There yeh are!" Lily could now see Hagrid's large figure approaching her. He was looking quite worried. "I'm glad Puppy found yeh. Can't believe 'e left yeh. I was worried about yeh..."

"I'm fine, Hagrid," Lily assured him, leaning down to pat Puppy on the head. "Puppy was scared." A chill ran though the air, not just because of the cold, and she stood up, addressing Hagrid. "Did you know there's a werewolf in this forest?"

Hagrid's eyes widened, and he looked up at the sky to see the full yellow moon smiling down at him. "Blimey," he whispered. "I'd forgotten. That explains--" he stopped suddenly, gulped, and looked at Lily. "Did you...did you see 'im?"

"Yes," a voice said, and Potter stepped out from behind the tree. "She did."

There was an awkward silence, and Lily sensed she was missing something. Hagrid looked very, very nervous and uncomfortable. Potter's expression was oddly serious...he was usually all pompous jokes, but not tonight....

"Well, we'd best be getting back ter school," Hagrid said finally, cracking a nervous smile. "Yeh too, James."

Potter nodded sullenly, and Lily noticed that Hagrid had not questioned him at all. Does Hagrid already know why Potter was out in the forest this late? She wondered. Does he do this regularly? Sounds likely...Thoughts of a few moments earlier suddenly crowded her mind and she shivered again, too disgusted to question Hagrid.

Puppy pranced up to Potter and licked his hand. Potter patted him lightly on the head as Hagrid turned around. "Come, Puppy."

Puppy's ears perked and he ran after Hagrid. Lily and Potter followed as well, but from a distance, and she did not speak to him, although thousands of questions for him were burning away in her mind.

Hagrid escorted the two to the dark Hogwarts castle doors and opened them. "Go to bed, yeh two," he said gruffly. "Especially yeh, James."

Potter hesitated. "Hagrid, I--"

"I already sent Sirius and Peter to bed," he said crossly. Potter looked sheepish; almost even ashamed. It was a very strange sight for Lily--the second one that night. Hagrid slammed the doors shut behind them.

She was starting to put the pieces together. As Potter started walking through the Great Hallway, she asked, "Is one of the students a werewolf?"

He stopped walking, and there was a pregnant pause. Finally, he answered, "Yes."

"Oh," Lily whispered, thinking to herself. There was still something that didn't quite fit. Potter always was with his friends Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin, but Hagrid hadn't mentioned the latter....

It all clicked, and she gasped. She knew he heard her, because he said softly, "Don't tell anyone, Evans. This is not something the whole school should know."

She could only nod dumbly. He started walking again, towards Gryffindor tower. Lily followed him somewhat closely, too shocked to speak. She realized everything she knew about the studious, sickly Gryffindor boy Remus Lupin fit perfectly with him being a werewolf, right down to the boggart DADA Professor Vector had brought in one day for experimentation--it had turned into an odd silvery orb when Remus was confronted with it, something she hadn't understood at the time.

Potter told the Fat Lady the password, "scarlet", and she let them both crawl through the portrait frame, and into the Gryffindor common room. The common room was, of course, completely empty save the furniture, and the still crackling fire in the fireplace.

Lily started for the stairs leading up to her dormitory, strangely knowing it would be no use to question Potter further about Remus. She heard Potter call, "Oh, by the way,"

She turned at the bottom of the stairs and looked at him, confused. He was at the top of the stairs, black hair unnaturally ruffled, looking down at her with his hands in his pockets, wearing his customary smug look.

There was a brief pause as he hesitated. Finally, he said, " You're not bad, Lily Evans."

Lily blinked, confused again, but suddenly she understood, and her rage was back. She knew he had said that only to make her angry; it was his typical behavior, and unfortunately, it always worked. She had almost forgotten about that, too. "You better not tell anyone," she hissed. "If you do, I'll--"

"Relax, Evans, I won't tell, provided that you don't let anyone know about what you found tonight. A bit of advice, though," he added, turning away. "Next time, don't close your mouth." He closed the door behind him, with almost a triumphant "thud".

Blazing, she stomped up the stairs and into her dormitory. Luckily, she remembered her fellow Gryffindors and did not slam the door, although she very much wanted to.

Astonishingly enough, it was not until she was seething in her bed that she realized something very important: she had not been kissed before tonight. James Potter had stolen her first kiss.

Lily Evans did not sleep at all that night.

That was the night Lily really started hating James Potter.

Ironically, that was also the night he fell head over heels for her.