He always tried to see the best in everybody.
He really, truly did.
It was, of course, much easier when he actually liked the person. Like Remus Lupin (kind of a stick in the mud, but with a killer wit), or Sirius Black (a bit conceited, yes, and selfish, but stupidly loyal), or Peter Pettigrew (definitely a pushover; that made him pretty easy to have fun with).
When it was stupid people—Avery, Mulciber, Snivellus—he sometimes had to grit his teeth, had to count down from ten in his head, before he found something.
Good hair. (Not as good as his.)
Straight teeth. (Surprising, considering how inbred his blood supremacist family was.)
Stellar in potions. (Cowardly, blood supremacist, good-for-nothing, ungrateful…)
Just because you see the good doesn't mean you have to ignore the bad. Merlin, was there a lot of bad sometimes.
So far, in all of his six years Hogwarts, there was only one person—one damning, singular person—who he hadn't managed to find any upsides to.
He aims to find upsides in the personality, but if he doesn't know a person very well (or they're an abominable excuse for magic life), he will try to find something physical about them to like.
A list of things he considers when searching for the best in everybody:
Their skin. (Far too many freckles.)
Their hair. (It was so…red. Too red.)
Their eyes. (So green, they gave him vertigo.)
Their height. (Not very short, not very tall—the tip of their head about level with his mouth.)
Their beliefs. (Sure, they agreed on the big things, but did they have to me so damn moral?)
Their dedication. (They'd argue until Dumbledore died if they didn't need to sleep.)
Their intelligence. (Neck and neck in every. Class. He was better in Charms, they killed him in Potions.)
Their honesty. (Did they really need to tattle every time he snuck down to the kitchens after dark?)
Their loyalty. (Bad taste in friends. Not all of them. But some.)
Their sense of humor. (Was it funny to them, rejecting him every time?)
They were so hard to find a positive in, and it was positively killing him.
"Mate..." A voice said from over his shoulder. He crumpled the parchment quickly, but when turned to find the glint in Sirius's grey eyes, he knew he was caught. "This is getting sad, even for you."
"Sod off, I'm trying something new." He defended with a smirk.
"Tired of getting rejected by the same girl, the day before every Hogsmeade trip, every single time since we were thirteen?"
"I haven't asked her for the past two trips."
"Do you want a gold star?"
"Is it so hard to believe that I could be over her?"
"Yes." Sirius gave him another teasing look, but by then the moment had passed. "I'm going down the kitchens. Want anything?"
"Won't she tell on you?" He tried to be casual with the question.
"She actually likes me." The joke is a bit harsh, so his friend winks to soften the blow. "Plus, she told me one time that she likes the way your face turns red when she busts you."
He doesn't know how to interpret this, but he does start to grin. "Just bring me a butterbeer or two, I guess."
Sirius salutes, leaving the dorm to begin his excursion. Before he gets to the door, though, he says one more thing: "You could just wear the cloak, y'know."
"I like the challenge!"
"The only challenge you have is her, Potter." With that, he leaves.
Once he's alone, he uncrumples his list, folding out the parchment as best he can.
Maybe, James Potter thought, There's some bright sides to Lily Evans, yet.
Why didn't anybody warn me about The Life and Times? I almost cried when I realized it was incomplete. But hey, I've never been too into the Marauders until now, so maybe it's not all bad.