INSTEAD, james potter [1]

Chapter Fifteen

Quidditch season was far too long, far too boring and far too cold for Lyra to be interested. She had gone to the Gryffindor vs Slytherin just because she was forced to support her own house against their most bitter enemies. 

Why she had been forced to sit through a Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match, she didn't know. All she was certain of was that she had gone to leave breakfast when Sirius snatched her Slytherin scarf, stuffed it in his bag and pulled her away. 

He had said it wouldn't really make her fit in where they were going. Lyra wasn't blind, so she had seen people preparing for the match, including James Potter's loud battle cry from the Gryffindor table that lost him ten points. 

Therefore, she had a feeling about what Sirius wanted her to join, so she tried to fight against him. But when Remus saw what he was doing, he decided to grab her and help him drag her to the Quidditch pitch as Peter trailed behind awkwardly. 

The thing that scared Lyra most, though, was the idea of any of her friends (or enemies, for that matter) from Slytherin noticing she was standing in a crowd of Gryffindors, not rooting for Ravenclaw like all of them did. 

"I can't believe you made me come out here," Lyra muttered, squeezed between Sirius and Remus in the stands. She tried to hide her face under her cap, wrapping her coat tighter around herself to keep the cold out.

She had been offered a Gryffindor scarf by both Remus and Sirius, but she would already be in enough trouble if someone saw her, and it would only get worse if she wore one of their accessories.

"Stop being so dramatic. It's just a Quidditch match, which you're watching with your favorite person..." Sirius trailed off and glanced at Remus who grinned at Lyra. He narrowed his eyes at the interaction. "Oh, and Remus."

"Oh, but Remus is my favorite person," the blonde teased, reaching out to pinch the tall boy's cheeks. He swatted her hands away, snickering. "Come on, look at this handsome face. Who could ever resist?"

As she shivered, Remus raised his eyebrows at her, concerned. "You sure you don't wanna borrow my scarf?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," she nodded, wrapping herself even tighter in her outerwear. "I can't afford for anyone to see me in a Gryffindor scarf. I can't really afford for anyone to see me here at all when I'm with you."

"Not to worry, Lyra dear. As long as you're sitting with me, nobody will even think to look at you. I'm sorry but you know I got the good looks in the family," Sirius teased, grinning to himself even when he was elbowed in his side. 

"Oi, it's starting!" Peter exclaimed from Sirius's other side. They all looked out onto the pitch to see Madam Hooch preparing for the match as the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams walked out, prepared for the match of a lifetime.

Madam Hooch released the balls, and one of the Ravenclaw chasers was quick to grab the quaffle, much to James's obvious chagrin. Still, it only took a few moments before the ball miraculously ended up in his arms. 

The keeper, Gryffindor's team captain, kept trying to take charge of the match, trying to make his teammates do specific things, but it was clear he was Captain in name only. The one who truly lead the was James, who did it effortlessly. 

It was almost incredible how fast the Gryffindor team had gotten the upper hand as James and his fellow chasers threw the Quaffle through the hoops time after time, even if one of them was obviously better than the others. 

After an especially impressive throw, the game and its crowd stopped for a moment just to applaud James. Even the Ravenclaws couldn't help but clap, even if it was obvious they didn't want to.