Editor's Note: Welcome to the Letters from Remus special series. This is
the third set of letters given to the Daily Prophet for publication. These
letters ran on 23 October, 30 October, and 6 November. Some letters have
been edited for content by the Prophet. Please be reminded that the
opinions expressed in these letters are the personal opinions of Sirius
Black and should not be accepted as fact. Thank you.
Back to Lily
So, you might ask, when did I fall in love with my best friend's girl? That's easy: right away. I don't remember a time when I knew her and didn't love her. Well, now I don't. It must have happened sometime in fifth year, right after she found out about you, Moony. But that's not the point. I was completely in love by the time she and James became a couple, but I tried not to let anyone notice. I swear, I tried so hard it hurt. But then dear old James started standing her up. Little things, like study sessions in the library. Informal dates in Hogsmeade. Things like that. When it happened, she would crying back to the common room and demand attention. What was I supposed to do? Things started so slowly I hardly noticed they were happening. I swear I never once pushed her. But soon enough we'd crossed the line from friendly into 'lock the door James is gone'. I had never been happier in my whole life. We were excruciatingly careful. (Lighter note: Aren't you proud of my vocabulary?) I don't think James ever really found out. At least, not that I know of. Here's the best part: At the end of seventh year, she told me she loved me. I have never fully recovered. It was, without a doubt, the best moment of my entire life.
About Marriage
It's overrated. Honestly. And another thing: Lily never did learn to say no. Maybe James really did love her. Maybe it was the fairy-tale ending every girl wants. Maybe it was just convenience, seeing as they already worked together. No matter the real reason, I still had to stand up there and watch the love of my life marry another man. It was horribly cliché, and it still hurts. To know for certain in that one instant that all of your chances with her are lost for good, that she doesn't really love you, and that you were never good enough for her. It hurt. And it still hurts, fifteen years later. But I didn't know what was coming next.
About Australia
It's a lovely, lovely place on the other side of the world. James, if you recall, spent almost a year there doing research in an area so remote you can't Apparate in or out of it. A bit like Hogwarts, actually. But back to the story. Lily, being young and newly wed, not to mention on You-Know- Who's hit list (I'll say the name, but I won't write it), was afraid to live alone for so long. And being newly liberated from home, she didn't exactly want to move back in with her mother and old Rotten Petunia. So James asked me to stay with her in Godric's Hollow. In a bedroom at the other end of the house. Once again, I swear I didn't do anything. At least, not on purpose. But there we were, in a house all by ourselves. Again I say, what was I supposed to do? There was just one problem: James, unfortunately, did come home eventually. And Lily had forgotten a certain charm one night when we were celebrating my birthday early. The rest, as they say, was history.
Back to Lily
So, you might ask, when did I fall in love with my best friend's girl? That's easy: right away. I don't remember a time when I knew her and didn't love her. Well, now I don't. It must have happened sometime in fifth year, right after she found out about you, Moony. But that's not the point. I was completely in love by the time she and James became a couple, but I tried not to let anyone notice. I swear, I tried so hard it hurt. But then dear old James started standing her up. Little things, like study sessions in the library. Informal dates in Hogsmeade. Things like that. When it happened, she would crying back to the common room and demand attention. What was I supposed to do? Things started so slowly I hardly noticed they were happening. I swear I never once pushed her. But soon enough we'd crossed the line from friendly into 'lock the door James is gone'. I had never been happier in my whole life. We were excruciatingly careful. (Lighter note: Aren't you proud of my vocabulary?) I don't think James ever really found out. At least, not that I know of. Here's the best part: At the end of seventh year, she told me she loved me. I have never fully recovered. It was, without a doubt, the best moment of my entire life.
About Marriage
It's overrated. Honestly. And another thing: Lily never did learn to say no. Maybe James really did love her. Maybe it was the fairy-tale ending every girl wants. Maybe it was just convenience, seeing as they already worked together. No matter the real reason, I still had to stand up there and watch the love of my life marry another man. It was horribly cliché, and it still hurts. To know for certain in that one instant that all of your chances with her are lost for good, that she doesn't really love you, and that you were never good enough for her. It hurt. And it still hurts, fifteen years later. But I didn't know what was coming next.
About Australia
It's a lovely, lovely place on the other side of the world. James, if you recall, spent almost a year there doing research in an area so remote you can't Apparate in or out of it. A bit like Hogwarts, actually. But back to the story. Lily, being young and newly wed, not to mention on You-Know- Who's hit list (I'll say the name, but I won't write it), was afraid to live alone for so long. And being newly liberated from home, she didn't exactly want to move back in with her mother and old Rotten Petunia. So James asked me to stay with her in Godric's Hollow. In a bedroom at the other end of the house. Once again, I swear I didn't do anything. At least, not on purpose. But there we were, in a house all by ourselves. Again I say, what was I supposed to do? There was just one problem: James, unfortunately, did come home eventually. And Lily had forgotten a certain charm one night when we were celebrating my birthday early. The rest, as they say, was history.