Hello (after a long time),
REVIEWS are like hugs. And I could use a few of those :).
It's just a product of me overanalysing those characters, but I hope someone enjoys it!
Besos xx
Disclaimer 1: I down't own anything.
Disclaimer 2: My English might have gotten a little rusty, please forgive me any possible mistakes.
'You feel sorry for him.'
She's observing him, her eyes sharp and focused on his profile. She's reading him like she always does. Sometimes it makes him feel so vulnerable, so bare, he almost can't stand this. He's been raised to be proud, to be sure of himself. He's never felt so unsure as now under her gaze and he's terrified.
He's only just realised that, of course, she's right.
'Yeah, I do' he admits quietly, finding it hard to let the words escape his mouth.
'You are capable of such a compassion, to everyone around you, yet you find it so difficult to bear when it comes to him. Why is that, James?'
There's a prolonged moment of silence between them until he finally mutters, stubbornly gaping at the wall: 'He loves you.'
It takes him another moment to gather his courage and risk a glimpse in her direction. She's sitting huddled on the couch, so close to him he can feel her breathing and now she's the one staring in the distance, contemplating his words. There's a desperate 'I love you' on the tip of his tongue, as unspoken as ever.
This is not the right moment. It never is.
'I don't think he understands love…' she starts then hesitates. After taking a deep breath, she continues: 'There is so much space for love in Severus' heart. At least there could be, I know it. You and I got lucky, James. We've received so much love during our lives and we were taught how to give it back. He - he just wants not to feel powerless, but he doesn't get the fact that he could gain much more power if he let himself love and be loved, rather than blindly follow his ambitions.'
Devouring her with his eyes, all of her captivating features, the soft curves of her lips, the glow of her pale skin, the pattern of ginger freckles across her tiny, snub nose, James realises that he doesn't fully understand love either. In this very moment he feels so much and he's so overwhelmed and he knows he would sacrifice his life if it meant he could express it all to the girl without fearing her reaction.
Yet, when Dumbledore talks about the power of love, he doesn't get the true meaning behind those words. But this tiny figure beside him, this weird hybrid of a delicate, vulnerable seventeen-year-old girl and a powerful, wise witch - she seems to get it. And that, James ponders, is perhaps both the most captivating and terrifying thing about Lily Evans.