CHAPTER FOUR
Quidditch Day
January 7th, 1978

"Pandy, for Merlin's sake!" Daphne exclaimed as Pandora Malfoy tapped her shoulder to catch her attention.

"I'm sorry, Daphne," she started, taking a long pause. "I didn't think I'd scare you. I'll think about it next time," she assured, sitting down next to her.

It was actually normal to see Pandora wandering in the Slytherin common room, after all she'd be everywhere—maybe it was a Ravenclaw trait, to be so mysterious and spaced out. Not that Daphne minded, of course not. The Malfoy did though, Lucius never spoke about his little sister nor did Narcissa. Giving Pandora a look, she patted the place next to her on the sofa as the Ravenclaw sat down gracefully next to her.

"What is bothering you, Pandy?"

Pandora grimaced, "Have I ever told you how much I loathed this horrendous nickname?" Daphne chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. "Do I look troubled?"

"You do," she replied, closing her notebook and turned her body so she was fully facing her. "You can tell me what is going on, we are friends."

"Just...family, I presume," she sighed softly, smiling. "Have you seen my brother lately?"

"You mean Lucius?" Pandora bowed her head quickly. "He was at here for Christmas with Narcissa, I haven't talked to him though. You know how much I hate the arsehole."

Despite her state, she chuckled, "I know," she replied, then cleared her throat as she stood on her feet. "Thank you for being a friend, Daphne. Oh, and beautiful necklace you have there."

Her eyes widened a little as a hand reached for the necklace James had given her. Pandora walked away wordlessly, and Daphne let her eyes linger on Pandora until she was out of her sight; hoping to be finally alone so she could concentrate on her last essay but, instead her little bother showed up and sunk into the sofa. Daphne cleared her throat, looking back at him.

"Are you feeling better, Daph?" Evan asked, handing her a cigarette. She took it and put it between her lips. "So, you're smoking again eh?" He teased.

Daphne grunted, "Sod off," she muttered, lighting it before taking a long and needed drag. "I shouldn't smoke, I've been trying to stop."

It was true, Daphne had been trying to stop smoking ever since her mum had caught her and Evan with a cigarette. Besides, it did not help with Quidditch, her endurance was just lower than usual and she hated it. But, tonight she needed to smoke; needed to not overthink what Pandora had said about the necklace nor the match for tomorrow. And, it would be a stupid lie to say she hated it.

"Ready for tomorrow, eh?" Evan asked and she cussed at him silently. "Oi! What has gotten into you? You look like you're not here at all," he added.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I'm ready for the game. The team and I have been training a lot—"

Before she could continue, Evan cut her off, "Oh, I know that. Regulus sometimes complains about it," he snorted.

Daphne laughed, taking her time to look around the common room. Half people were away from her as though she had a terrible desease, "Why are they so away from us?"

"Oh, that," he muttered softy, scratching the back of his neck. "They know about the mark and all, I just think they're scared," he admitted.

Daphne could get angry because they had nothing to fear from her, but she stopped herself from doing it, "Fair enough," she sighed loudly before rising on her feet. "Night, Ev," she muttered, kissing his cheek as she strolled to her dorm.

Pushing the door, she noticed Rebecca was already there and she decided to close it back so she could head somewhere else. Daphne didn't want to spend time with her at all, nor sleep in the same bedroom—she needed to get a good night of sleep so she could be at her best tomorrow and with Rebecca's eyes constantly on her, she'd struggle to do so. Thankfully, no one noticed as she passed the secret passage from the common room and started to head towards the seventh floor, where she knew she'd be at peace. It was a sure thing, Daphne could do the path with closed eyes at this point—she didn't even realise how much she used it. Flinch was never on that side of the castle, his cat either so it was always very peaceful.

Reaching the Room of Equipements, she felt a hand on waist and immediately drew her wand to point it at whoever was behind her. To her surprise, no one could be seen.

"James, enough," she whispered as she reached in front of her and grabbed the invisibility cloak. "How did you know I'd be here?"

James shrugged innocently, "The map," he confessed, flushing.

Wordlessly she entered the room and was meet with their secret place, only theirs and no one else. Closing it behind her, James trailed behind her and folded the cloak as he put it on the couch.

"I saw you on the map," he started. "Well, I saw you on walking to what I think was your dorm because Rebecca was in it, then you turned back the other way and came to the seventh floor so I knew you would be here," he confessed, clearing his throat as she simply looked at him. "I thought you would need someone before the match, I tend to get very nervous."

Daphne arched an eyebrow, "Er, thank you," she breathed out with a small smile. "It means a lot."

He took a step closer, putting his hands on her waist, "I missed you," he admitted, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. "And this," he whispered against her lips.

Daphne tip-toed, kissing him so harshly that he stumbled back a little, "Me too," she confessed, kissing him again. His back hit the wall as she let her hands trail down his chest. "What can you do to make me less nervous, eh?" She teased as he smirked.

"A lot of things," he whispered, his eyes locking with hers. "So many things, Daph."

"Good."

The rest of the night had been pleasant, more than pleasant if Daphne was honest. It had ended with both of them falling asleep, Daphne on her side as James held her closer to him. He had kissed the back of her head before whispering a soft goodnight and fell asleep. On her side, Daphne had stayed awake a little longer—she didn't overthink it though, she knew it was because of the match but thankfully James' snores had rocked her to sleep rather rapidly.

James had opened his eyes, a little before seven and he knew he would have to wake her up soon. There were a lot of things he had learned about Daphne the last few months; she was as passionate as him for Quidditch, she was also a good captain (more than he liked to admit), she was a heavy sleeper too—it took him a great time to wake her up most of the times. He was sure that the list was longer but he couldn't bring himself to think of more. James was pretty sure that he knew her better than anyone else, maybe not as much as her brother—Evan. She always spoke so highly of him, meaning they shared a good relationship and everyone could notice it outside. They were always glued together, even James found himself eager to experience such a close relationship, though he did see Sirius as his own family now.

"Daph," he whispered, kissing her cheek softly then continued to kiss her face. Daphne let out a small puff of air, stretching. "Morning."

"Morning," she smiled.

He'd do anything to wake up by her side every morning.

"How would you sleep?" She continued, running a hand through his hair.

"Perfect," he confessed lowly, letting himself capture her features. "How did you?"

Daphne showed him a toothy smile as she felt his finger grazing on her collarbone, "Left marks?"

"Er...I may have left some, yeah," he said apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't think."

Daphne chuckled, sitting up as she held the sheet to her chest, "Don't apologise, love," she reassured, standing down to walk in front of the mirrors. Looking at herself in it, she laughed softly. "You did leave some."

He rose on his feet, hurrying himself to circle her waist with his arms and rested his head on her shoulder, "I can try to make them go away or hide them," he muttered.

"I don't think I really want to hide them," Daphne replied gently, turning around to kiss his lips. "I do have to go get dressed. I'll see you in the bleachers, yeah?"

James hummed, nuzzling his head in the crook of her neck, "Promise," he told her. "Though, don't be surprised if I cheer for Ravenclaw. Can't risk anyone to see me eager for you lot to win."

"I know," Daphne answered. "I'll see you later, lover boy," she added, giving him one last long kiss and headed outside.

It didn't take long for James to sneak back into the common room, he had thought of his excuse throughout the walk from the Room of Requirement to the Gryffindor common room. He released a breath before barging into the common room and to his surprise, Sirius was already waiting for him.

"I was wondering when you'd be back," he said simply, lifting his head to look at him. "Had a good night, then?"

James sighed, "Pads..."

"No, don't worry. I won't ask who she is, I just want to know if you had a good night of sleep—or not," he teased with a smirk. "We won't leave until you admit you were with her."

James rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, "You're the weirdest person I know!" He argued. "Why do you need to know?"

"Because I'm your best mate, James! And you don't tell me anything lately," he snapped him and James could feel that he had been bottling this for some time. "I guess we—" he took a long pause, motioning between the two of them. "I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other."

He has a fair point, the small voice in James' mind reminded him.

"I'm not trying to keep secrets from you, Pads," he started nervously. "If I tell you, she will kill me. Literally," he continued. "But, if you're okay with it I can talk about her anonymously?"

Sirius hummed, suddenly feeling ridiculous to have caused a scene, "I would like that," he told James as he smiled.

"How about we go watch those lame snakes and I'll tell you about her after?" James proposed and it seemed enough to put his friend in a good mood again. "I'll take that as a yes."

They walked out of the portrait and hurried themselves to the pitch—James nor Sirius wanted to miss the beginning, both of them were dying to watch a certain person today. Sirius would secretly attend his brother's match, so he could criticise him more but all the group thought he sometimes missed Regulus; which was of course fair. James was here for Daphne, though he had hidden this by saying that as Captain of the team, he had responsibilities and one of them was to 'spy' on the enemy.

As they tried to find seats, his eyes settled on Lily Evans who was smiling widely. Lily Evans watching Quidditch? He knew for a fact that she hated it, she found it violent and juvenile. He wished he was lying but he still recalled vividly when she threw those exact words at her face. But before he could even ask Sirius, he was already being dragged to the red-head he had spent years obsessing over.

"Hello you two," Lily cheered loudly over the yells and claps. "Want to sit next to me?"

Sirius smiled, "Please."

Lily scooted next to, Liam O'Connel, if he remembered well and muttered a quick apologise before gesturing at Sirius and James to sit next to her. Unfortunately or fortunately (he couldn't tell yet), he found himself between her and Sirius. Months before he would have made her uncomfortable by asking an awful amount of questions but today she seemed more than relaxed at his side. Part of him wondered if something had clicked within her, and she had finally understood how much of a good person he was.

"So, Evans," Sirius started, catching her attention and she offered him a soft smile. "How come you are here?"

James couldn't help himself but chirp in, "You've told me you hated—no, loathed Quidditch," he added.

"To see Daphne," she notified both of them. "I always come see her. It's a thing we have since she made it to the team."

Sure, he knew Lily and Daphne were friends but he definitely didn't except them to be so close. Daphne rarely talked about the red-head, he had mentioned a few times that Snape had introduced them back in first year but that was it. Glancing at Sirius to see if he was shocked by the piece of information she had just told them, he was happy to notice that he was as shocked as James was.

"You and Daphne?" He repeated slowly, as though he had misheard. "How?"

Lily shrugged shyly, "Sev—Snape introduced us back in our First Year," she explained, a nostalgic look on her face as she looked at the Slytherin players on the pitch. "We've been friends ever since. Daphne is—she's a good person, Sirius."

"I know that," he replied firmly. "I just didn't picture you as the type to be friends with snakes, well except for Snape," he added, turning his attention back to the game and James swore he had felt her stiffen next to him.

James nudged, "I think it is great that you two are friends," he stated, giving her a smile as he hoped it'd make her feel better. It wasn't long before Lily thanked him and smiled.

Then there she was, James felt his breath stopped for a mere second as his eyes settled on her. He only had eyes for her the whole match and he genuinely hoped no one had noticed, or he—they would be fucked up. But, he couldn't help himself. She was definitely a better chaser than anyone else in the school and he really hated himself for thinking that, because James always thought he was the best. His smile grew wider as they announced her scoring another goal, but was rapidly snapped out of it by Sirius' complains about how good his cousin actually was. If he had been brave enough, which he wasn't, he would have agreed with his best friend but instead let it go.

As the match reached its end, he had mentally noted things to say to her. To be honest, it was a mix of compliments and advices—hoping it'd make her happy. Loud cheers from the Slytherins echoed and James snapped out of his thoughts.

"And Regulus Black has caught the snitch!" Yelled the voice as Sirius scoffed. "Which means the Slytherins win 150 to 100! Congratulations!"

James knew it'd be a lost cause to actually try to get her alone, knowing they would be celebrating their much deserved win. He must have dreamed because there was no actual way that Daphne Rosier was coming their way, was it? Oh, she was really coming. Their eyes locked briefly and she returned hers to James' side, that was only now that he remembered with who he actually was.

"Hey Lils," she breathed out. "Potter, Sirius," she added more seriously, then returned her attention to Lily. "You came."

Lily smiled widely, "Of course I did. I did promise it to you, didn't I?"

"I just thought—" she took a pause, sighing. "With everything that happened with Snape, I just thought you wouldn't want to come see me anymore."

The red-head rolled her eyes playfully, wrapping her into a tight embrace and Daphne seemed to have let down her walls as she melted into it, "You were brilliant, Daph."

"Thank you," she flushed, pulling away.

"You really were," added Sirius, to everyone's surprise. "Though, Reggie was absolute shite," James didn't turn around but he could already see Sirius rolling his eyes.

"So shite that he caught the snitch, didn't he?" Teased Daphne and Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but she was faster. "Let me guess, just luck?"

"Definitely."

James sometimes wondered if Sirius didn't leave in denial most of the times, he could openly admit that Regulus Black was an amazing Quidditch player. As far as he could remember, most of the Blacks he knew were extremely talented—Narcissa, for that matter, she managed to play so gracefully and perfectly that James had been scared of her the few times he had seen her on a broom. Sirius was...he was spectacular, James had never seen such a devoted player. Then, Regulus—he was extraordinary too, fast and well balanced on his broom which made him almost invincible and an amazing seeker.

"Yeah, you were bloody good," James finally blurred out and immediately widened his eyes, looking down at his feet. "Uh, I guess Sirius and I will head back. See you later, Evans."

"See you later, James," Lily spoke up.

She had said his name. She had called him James, not Potter and somehow he didn't feel a thing. He smiled at her, then gave Daphne a gentle look as though he was trying to say: I'm proud of you, you were amazing and I love you. Thankfully, she had seemed to catch it and gave him a quick wink before focusing back on Lily.

—————
authors note, i'm sorry the chapter is SLIGHTLY shorter than the others but i thought it was quite an okay ending!

also daphne and james being the cutest/hottest couple? yes :) AND can we appreciate lily attending daph's match?!??!? bc i do appreciate VERY MUCH