A Cup Affair

Chapter Twelve

Hi, guys!!! How did you like last chapter?

Well, this one is special. It's one of the first chapters I thought of back in 2018 when I started this story amidst Russia World Cup. It was fun to write James on this, and fun to write how it devolves. I won't say more to not spoil it so... here we go!

If you can, leave a comment :)

"How are you feeling, Remy?" Lily asked when she joined the rest of them at the table of the hotel lounge.

"I'm better, thanks to your potions," Remus replied quietly. Lily looked to James, who shook his head slightly.

"Rem, don't be like this..."

"Lil, had it not been for you, who knows what might've happened to James?" he muttered, clearly angry at himself.

"Absolutely nothing, because he wouldn't have turned back human to send me away," Lily retorted with a smile. Remus opened his mouth to try to argue, but ultimately said nothing and returned to his food.

"Is it alright if I go to practice today, James?" Marlene asked. James grinned and winked.

"The more, the merrier, Marls!"

They finished eating quickly and all of them ended up going to the training – as Remus was feeling better, he could watch the practice with the others.

Lily used the path to talk to Remus about the previous night, trying to alleviate the guilty feeling he sported. She knew he always felt responsible for every bad thing that happened around him, and Lily never got tired of saying that he was not even remotely correct.

When they were making their way to the stands, Lily felt a slight pull on her ponytail and turned to identify who wanted her attention.

"Hey, Red," James greeted with a smile, stepping to her side.

"Shouldn't you be down there, Potter?" she replied, raising an eyebrow and pointing to the field in front of them.

"Back to last names, are we?"

Lily narrowed her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips, and she turned forwards, away from him.

"Actually I should be down there, but I had to thank you for...well, not letting me die yesterday, really."

"It wasn't me who saved you, James," Lily disagreed.

"But you got someone, and you didn't take me to St. Mungo's."

"If I hadn't shown up..."

"Lily, just say 'you're welcome'," James chuckled. Lily rolled her eyes, but the timid smile grew.

"You alright?" she chose to ask.

"Yeah. My back's bothering me a bit, but I've been through worse."

"I'm sure you have," Lily agreed.

"I'll be fully recovered for tomorrow's game, so no need to worry about the future of your country in the World Cup."

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. James smirked and winked, running to the field. It was impressive how much energy he had after so little sleep; he looked infinitely more excited than half the team.

"So now we can flirt with him, eh?"

Lily didn't even look at her friend, who occupied a seat directly behind Lily and pulled Lily to her side.

"I'm not flirting with anyone, Marls," Lily replied instantly.

"Oh, but I think you were. Y'know, I've seen you flirting enough to identify-"