The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

An Absolutely Brilliant Captain

An Absolutely Brilliant Captain

"Miss. Evans."

Elphinstone Urquart cleared his throat. "Miss. Evans?"

Sirius snickered and balled up a bit of parchment, leaning forward around James, who was bent over his textbook in deep concentration, and chucked the parchment at Lily's face, laughing as it bounced off her forehead and fell onto the floor beside her desk. She stirred and looked around in confusion, blinking. James glanced at Lily's confused expression, then back at Sirius with a raised eyebrow, and then back to Lily, whose face was scarlet red. He made a face at Sirius. James got the feeling he'd missed something, and Sirius's eyes sparkled brightly with the knowledge that when he'd thrown the ball of paper, he'd caught Lily Evans staring dreamily at the side of James Potter's head.

"Miss. Evans!" Professor Urquart said, and Lily finally looked up at him, her eyes still a bit dazed. "Well then! Look at this - we've been deemed worthy of your attention!" He smirked.

James turned back to his textbook.

"Welcome back, Evans," Sirius said loudly, grinning at Lily over James's hunched up shoulders, "Where've you been? Anywhere enthralling in your day dream, darling-deer?"

Lily shook her head and James glanced back at her again and Remus elbowed Sirius, muttering what's the matter with you?

Professor Urquart continued on with his lesson, and Lily tried to pay attention to something besides the way James was itching his chin with the tip of his quill.

November was cold already. Possibly the coldest month that the Marauders had yet experienced at Hogwarts ever. It was as though Mother Nature was trying to get revenge for the unusually hot summer they had all enjoyed by sending sheets of icy rain over the grounds and ribbons of frost over their windows. For the first Quidditch game, Sirius wore two jumpers layered over one another as well as his Quidditch robes. Remus had practically his whole wardrobe on, and Sirius's ridiculously long Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck in several loops. "Look at him, James," Sirius said, shaking his head as he hovered with the Captain over the pitch, "He's a shivering blob of werewolf. And he's here just to see us play."

"Just to see you play, more like," James said. "I doubt Rey would be braving this cold just to watch me on a broomstick."

Sirius grinned. Then he pointed, "And there's Evans."

Lily was sitting a few seats away from Remus, bundled up with earmuffs and mittens, hugging herself and patting her arms to keep warm. She was staring up at James and, when she realized the two boys were looking her way, she turned quickly and started a conversation with McKenna, who sat beside her.

"She's definitely not here for me," James said, laughing, "Not Evans. Reckon she'd sooner throw the quaffle at my face than brave the cold to watch me play. No - I reckon she's here for you or Frank or someone." And before Sirius could react, James had flown off.

Sirius glanced at Lily, then swept after him.

Midway through the game, the air was so cold that Meg Johnson was complaining that she couldn't bend her fingers. "I almost had the snitch a couple minutes ago - down by the Slytherin Keeper's knee there, and my fingers are so bloody stiff I couldn't bend my fingers 'round the thing to catch it!"

James peeled his gloves off his hands, "Here, Meg," he said, "Wear these. They'll help keep you warm."

"What about you?" she asked.