A month later
Logan was irritated. Somehow it was Potter back again this month. She was sure he had arranged it specifically to see them. Or Harry, more like.
Lily seemed to tolerate his presence remarkably well. She mostly ignored it, and Logan was relieved not to have walked in on them making out again. That was a much too disturbing experience to repeat ever again.
At the moment, Logan was coming back from detention with McGonagall. Apparently, enlarging people's heads was not an appropriate response to being asked out, in the Transfiguration teacher's opinion. Logan was fairly sure the Weasley, whichever one it had been, would return to normal with a little help from Madam Pomfrey.
She glanced over when the door to the Defense classroom opened.
"Logan," Potter said, poking his head out the door. "Could you come in here for a minute?"
She glared at him, hoping he'd get the hint. Of course, why would he oblige her in something like that?
"I just want to have a short conversation with you. Then I promise I won't try again," he said.
She sighed, slouching over to him. He had better keep his word about this.
"Right," he said, wiping his hands on his robes. "Thanks for agree –"
"Can you get on with it please?" she snapped. "You said quick, and if you waste your time on pleasantries I don't care about, you'll never get to your point."
He nodded. "Yeah," he said, scrubbing his hands through his hair. "I'd just like to ask you to give me a chance."
"No," she said, shrugging and turning to leave.
"Will you tell me why you're so determined to hate me?" he asked. If he hadn't been a dick to her mum, she might have felt bad about how upset he looked.
"I heard you guys talking," she said. "That first night. I know you told her she wasn't good enough for you."
He closed his eyes. "Listen, Logan," he said, but she cut in before he could continue.
"There's nothing you can say," she said. She could feel tears shining in her eyes. "My mum is absolutely the best person on the planet. Do you have any idea what all she's done for me? For Harry? What she's given up to keep us safe? And somehow you think she isn't good enough for you. There isn't anyone on the planet better than her, but certainly not you."
James nodded. "I'd agree with that," he said.
She looked up, surprised, but didn't say anything.
"I won't pretend I know her, or know what she's done over the past seventeen years, but I never doubted she was better than me," he said.
Logan stared at him. "Then why would you treat her like that?"
"In fairness," James said. "I don't think I told her she wasn't good enough for me. I believe I said she wasn't the sort of girl I'd bring home to my mum."
"Well that's much better," Logan snapped, turning to leave.
"It is actually. It had more to do with our relationship than her," he said. "We weren't exactly dating, and I don't think mostly people would bring a girl they've been shagging home to meet their family."
Logan turned slowly around and glared at him. "So she was good enough to fuck, but not good enough to date."
James shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that. It wasn't a matter of good enough. I never thought about it like that. She was a Slytherin, and I was a stupid teenage boy caught up in . . ." he shrugged. "Being a Gryffindor," he said. "And what I thought that represented. I honestly never considered dating her."
Logan hissed at him. "Clearly you didn't have such a big problem with her that you were unwilling to have sex with her."
"We shared a common room," he said, rushing on when gave a humorless laugh. "And she's beautiful. She always was. Of course I wanted her. And I liked her, for that matter. Maybe even loved her. I've certainly never gotten over her."
"That's the biggest load of shit I've ever heard in my life," Logan said. "You don't love one girl and shag another."
James sighed. "You do if you're an idiot." He shook his head. "I'm not trying to say she should forgive and forget all that. I'm not stupid enough to think she'll want any sort of a relationship with me." He looked at her, pleading. "But I don't think it's fair for my worth as a father to be judged on my actions as a seventeen-year-old student. I can admit I was worthless then." He lifted both hands, palms up. "All I'm asking for is a chance to prove to you I'm not now."
"Look," she said, feeling bad for him for the first time. This really would be a lot simpler if she could just tell him he wasn't her father. "Harry's willing to give you a shot. Why don't you just-"
"I'm grateful for that," he said immediately. "And I love spending time with him and getting to know him, but that doesn't mean you matter any less. I have two children. I want to be a father to them both."
She closed her eyes. Why couldn't he have been a complete deadbeat? There was no good way to handle this. If she said no, he would be hurt. If she said yes, he would believe they had a relationship they didn't have.
"I'll think about it," she said, feeling even worse when he seemed delighted with the answer. Maybe Voldemort would come back and kill her before she had to deal with Harry's father again. She sighed. A girl could only hope.