When James strode into the common room in full Quidditch gear, hair stuck up in all directions with a broom slung over his shoulder, Lily wasn't sure what to expect. In fact, she had supposed him to be at practice for another full hour and was quite settled into reading when she was interrupted by her boyfriend's arrival. She only noticed him once his looming figure cast shadows across her page.

"James," she said pleasantly, closing her book. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"I'm going to teach you how to play Quidditch." said James with determination.

Lily laughed. "But James-"

"No, I know what you're going to say," he interrupted, already shaking his head, "you don't like flying. But it's important to me, and I think you'd really like it if you gave it a chance. You enjoy watching the matches. Anyway, Quincey broke his nose so I had to cut practice off early, so the pitch is technically free." He placed the book on a table and pulled her into a standing position.

She laid a placating hand on his arm. "James, I understand, but-" Lily did not finish her sentence because James was already tugging her out of the common room.

"You're going to love it," he promised as he threaded his hand through hers, strutting away from the common room. "Quidditch is brilliant to look at, but even better to play."

Lily sighed, and then smiled. "I suppose it does sound like a nice way to spend an afternoon. It'd be a shame to waste the nice day."

"That's the spirit!" said James jovially.

Whether it was James's eagerness or Lily's impatience to get the endeavor over with, they reached the pitch in record time. James removed his hand from Lily's and laid down his own broom so that he could jog over to the broomshed. After some rooting around, he settled on a suitable broom.

"Here," he said to Lily, presenting the old-fashioned broom owned by the school, "this will do for today."

Lily pursed her lips, taking the broom in her grasp. "This is one of the brooms that first years use for flying lessons." she pointed out.

James shrugged. "Best to start off small, Evans. If we get you on a Nimbus 1001 right now, you could hurt yourself. We'll start with the Bluebottle and work our way up, yeah?" He grabbed a Quaffle from a large box and mounted his broom. He hovered a few feet above the grass. "Let's start by just flying around a bit."

Lily mounted her broom, kicking off the ground. Instead of hovering, as James was, she rose up until she was at least twenty feet above him. She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Coming, Potter?"

James laughed, flying upward. "Not bad," he praised her. "Let's see you do a lap around."

Lily huffed, but did as he said. She flew quickly around the pitch, coming to a halt in front of him. "Well?"

"You can fly fast, but can you fly high? Go higher up and try it again." James shot up into the air like a lightning bolt and glanced back to make sure Lily was following.

She rose slowly and did another lap, ending with a somersault to prove her proficiency at flying. "Are we going to play Quidditch or not?" she complained.

"Baby steps, Evans." said James, unperturbed by her annoyance. "How much do you know about the basics of Quidditch?"

More than some of your teammates, thought Lily. "I can follow a match well enough," she said instead. "There are Chasers, Beaters, a Keeper and a Seeker. The fouls get a little confusing but not even all the players know those."

James looked as if the implication he didn't know something about Quidditch was the pinnacle of insults. "Alright. The best role to start practicing with is Chaser, as it's straightforward and doesn't require more than the two of us." James took the Quaffle, which had been tucked under his arm, and held it out. "Try and take it from me."

Lily circled him, considering her options. There was the direct approach, grabbing it, but she was certain that wouldn't work. She could come from underneath but he would just fly upward. Then, flying around him, inspiration struck. She tightened the circle, going faster and faster. She waited until she was close enough to reach him without difficulty and took the Quaffle from his hand.

James looked surprised. His eyes only widened further when she moved further away from the goal posts and landed a shot through the centre hoop. He shook himself out of his stupor enough to retrieve the Quaffle.

Flying back up to her, he demanded, "How'd you do that, Evans?"

"In all your excitement to get me flying, you never actually asked if I could play Quidditch, you pillock." said Lily, grabbing the Quaffle and throwing it at his head.

James caught it before it could reach his face. "Oh," he said, looking abashed.

"Yeah, oh."

"Then why've you never tried out for the team?" asked James, looking confused. "I mean, your stance is a bit off but you've got a hell of an arm on you."

"There is such a thing as playing for fun, James. I play with Hestia all the time, when you're off doing mad things with your mates." She blew a strand of hair out of her face, looking frustrated.

"Matches are fun," James protested, but stopped at the look on her face. He glanced down at the Quaffle in his hands. "Does this mean I can stop going easy on you?" he asked, tossing the Quaffle between his hands.

Lily laughed. "Please, Potter. You were shocked when I got the Quaffle away from you so quickly."

James raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry Evans, but does your badge say Captain?"

She leaned in towards him, until they were only inches away from each other. "Bring it on, Captain." she told him, stealing the Quaffle midair. As soon as it was in her grasp, she started flying as far away from him as possible.

"If I win, will you call me Captain again?"

"No."

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