Lily Potter (Harry Potter's Twin)

Chapter 16

Wednesday brought the prospect of my first Quidditch practice. As Harry and I approached the Quidditch pitch, I glanced at the mysterious Forbidden Forest, dark trees swayed in the wind almost rhythmically. The past few days, I had done a great job of ignoring Malfoy, with help from Fred and George. Either one or the other accompanied me to class and to the common room if I would have been alone otherwise. Harry showed me to the changing room, the whole team was there minus Angelina. 

"Alright, Lily?" asked George, winking at me. 

" 'Course," I said confidently.

"Ready to show us all up? " said Fred, emerging tousled-haired from the neck of his Quidditch robes, a slightly malicious grin on his face.

"Shut it," I said, blushing as I pulled my Quidditch robes on for the first time. Hermione had charmed Wood's old robes to fit me using spells from Sewing Made Easy.

"Okay everyone," said Angelina, entering from the Captain's office, already changed and ready to go. "Let's get to it. Alicia and Fred, you can just bring the ball crate out for us? Oh, and there are a couple of people out there watching bit I want you to just ignore them, alright?"

Something in her tone made me think the uninvited spectators were Slytherins. Sure enough, when we left the changing room for the bright sunlit pitch it was to a storm of catcalls and jeers from the Slytherin Quidditch team and assorted hangers-on, who were grouped halfway up the empty stands and whose voices echoed loudly around the stadium.

I gripped Ron's broomstick tightly as I saw Malfoy was part of them. Stupid prat, I thought.  Ron was lending me his broomstick until I saved enough to buy a Fire Bolt like Harry's.

"What is Potter number two riding? " Pansy Parkinson called. "Why would anyone put a Flying Charm on a moldy old log like that?"

Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson guffawed and shrieked with laughter, Draco smiled. I bit my lip,mounting the broom and kicking off from the ground, Harry following me.

"Ignore them," he said. "We'll see who's laughing after we play them...."

"Exactly the attitude I want, Harry," said Angelina approvingly, soaring around us with the Quaffle under her arm and slowing to hover on the spot in front of her team. "Okay everyone, we're going to start with some passes just to warm up, the whole team please--"

"Hey, Johnson, what's with the hairstyle anyway?" shrieked Pansy from below. "Why would anyone want to look like they have worms coming out of their head?"

"Spread out, then, and let's see what we can do..." Angelina raised the Quaffle with one hand and threw it hard to Fred, who passed it to George, who passed it to Harry, who passed it to me, and I past it to Katie, who pasted it to Alicia. Then the Quaffle went to Harry who passed to George...

"Hey Potty number one, how's your scar feeling?" called the Slytherin keeper. "Sure you don't need a lie-down? It must be, what, a whole week since you were in the hospital wing, that's a record for you, isn't it?" I laughed at the cleverness of the joke. Harry smiled, too.

Fred passed it to Angelina, who pasted it to Harry (who nearly missed it) and passed it quickly on to me, and I caught it easily.

I passed it on to Katie who passed it back to Angelina.

"All right," called Angelina, "Fred, George, go and get your bats and a Bludger. Lily go up to the goalpost, Harry, release the Snitch when I say so."

I flew up to the goal post, trying but failed to not feel uncomfortable about Draco's constant gaze.

A moment later, the Snitch and Bludger had been released. I focused in on the Quaffle, the distant yells of the Slytherins were meaningless...