The Marauders' Future

26| Cheer Up, Harry!

The last chapter question was answered (correctly) by AvrieStylinson and AnnieDiAngelo1237!!

***

As soon as James entered the Quinditch pitch, he was pulled into a huge bear hug.

"Woah, what's up," Looking down at the girl, his eyes widened. James looked around, only to see that the Weasley twins were gone. From far away, he saw Hermione smiling and nodding furiously. He looked away. "Er- Lily?"

"Don't you ever go away like that, you idiot," she said between her sobs, her voice stiffled because of her face being on his chest.

On. His. Chest.

Panic flared through James. He took a deep breath and pushed the feeling down.

"Okay," James said, stupefied in a way only Lily could. She sobbed one last time and moved back, quickly wiping her tears.

"I'm sorry," said Lily.

"Don't be!"

She smiled, her eyes still red and turned to walk away.

"Wait," James said catching her hands (and immediately leaving it). "Do you... want to like, uh..."

Lily bit her lips, "Yes, James?"

James shut his eyes, "Do you want to spend this Hogsmeade weekend with me!?"

Lily's eyes widened and she smiled widely. For the millionth time, James marveled her beauty.

When James was young, he used to have a dog. One day, the dog got infected with a deadly disease. The days that followed were very hard. Waiting for the return of his lovely friend was one of the worst days of his life.

The record had now been broken. Every second felt like a million centuries.

James waited open-mouthed for Lily's reply.

"It- it's okay if you uh.. don't,  I-" James spoke quickly but then, Lily interrupted him.

"Yes!" She surprised James one more time by going forward and hugging him hard. Lily smiled at him one more time after which she turned and skipped away.

What happened next to James' dog (or James) is history...

***

"Mate, you asked her out!?" Hermione exclaimed.

"It's not a date!" James protested.

She laughed making James blush even more. "Let's just watch the match, alright? Look, they are shaking hands!"

Just then, Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain.

“Mount your brooms . . . on my whistle . . . three — two - one —” Madam Hooch said briskly.

James watched as Harry kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom.

"Wait, he got his broom back?" James asked excited.

"Yes, he sure did!" Lavender grinned.

James turned to Hermione, "Did they forgive you, then?"

"Yeah, about tha-" She was interrupted when there was a great “Ooooooh” of disappointment from the Gryffindor supporters. "What just happened?"

"Uh, other than Lee Jordan fangirling over the Firebolt, Harry was about to catch the snitch but a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, came pelting out of nowhere; Harry veered off course, avoiding it by an inch, and in those few, crucial seconds, the Snitch had vanished." A Griffindor boy sitting behind them ranted.