"I don't know what I did, Remus," James said with a sigh. "All I did was
mention Lily's mum and she went ballistic, telling me never to talk about
her mum again, and now she's cross with me...again."
James and Remus were lying around in the Gryffindor common room talking about Lily's reaction to the conversation that she had had with James. Remus had been trying to read his book, but then James had come in and starting pouring out what had happened with Lily earlier that day. It was raining heavily now, and everyone was inside the castle.
"Well, James, maybe you should talk to her about it," Remus replied. "Try to find out why she got mad at you so you don't do it again." He shrugged.
"Yeah, but she told me never to talk about her mum again," James pointed out. "Moony, can't you just tell me what's wrong with her? I mean you guys patrol the hallways all the time together as prefects. Please, please, tell me. I really want to know."
"What makes you think she ever told me about it?" Remus asked, rolling his eyes at James. "Yes, we talk about things while we patrol, but her mum was never a subject brought around for discussion. If you really want to know why she got so upset with you, why don't you ask her about it? And yes, she told you never to speak about it again, but how are you supposed to find out if you never bring it up again?"
"Yeah, that's what I'll do," James said, nodding his head. "Thanks, Moony. You're a genius. I'll go speak to Lils about her mum right now."
Remus shook his head. Oh what simple suggestions made James happy.
James found Lily sitting at her favorite table in the library, nearly falling asleep behind her History of Magic book. He pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, jolting Lily from her sleep-like state, causing her head to fall on the table. James raised his eyebrow as she glared at him and rubbed her forehead.
"What do you want, Potter?" she snapped. When he simply shrugged, she continued, "Well, you must have come here for something. So what is it?"
"I wanted to talk about your mum, actually---"
"I told you to never to talk about my mum again, Potter. What part of that didn't you understand?" Lily pushed her chair back from the table, snatched her book from the table and tried to storm out of the library, but James blocked the door.
"Come on, Lily. I'll quit being a nuisance to you if you just tell me what I did to make you cross in the first place. And how do you know that I won't understand? You haven't told me yet."
"And what makes you so sure that you will understand?" she countered. "The way you say yet makes me think that you think that I'm actually going to tell you about it, which I'm not. So just get out of my way. Please."
"Why don't you just tell me? You never know, it might make you feel better." He stuck out his bottom lip in a vain attempt to convince Lily to tell him about her mum. "Please, I'm dying to know about---"
"Don't say that! Just stop talking about it all together! I don't want to talk about it, can't you see that? So just...just drop it." She made a move to get past him, but he just shifted so that his body blocked the entire door.
"Why won't you tell me, Lily?" James demanded.
"Because I don't want to talk about it!" Lily cried in exasperation. "How many times am I going to have to tell you? What part of this aren't you getting? I already told you: you with your perfect life wouldn't be able to understand, which is why you're refusing to let the matter drop. You can't understand why I don't want to talk about it, so what makes you think you can understand why I don't want you talk about my mum?"
"I'll stop bothering you if you tell me," James repeated. "Promise."
"Get out of my way, Potter." Her voice had suddenly gone from being high- pitched because she was angry to a cool, stony voice that he thought he had never heard her use before.
James shook his head. "Not until you tell me why talking about your mum makes you act like this. I can stand here all night, if I have to, and you know I will. I'm stubborn like that." He folded his arms across his chest and refused to budge.
Lily sighed and rubbed right between her eyes as if she had a headache there, which she did. He was such a pest sometimes it was unbearable. There would be no way to get out of this, as far as she could see. She would have to tell him about her mother, and then he'd go and start feeling sorry for her. She loathed being pitied. He'd probably even run his mouth off about it onto someone else, and then the Slytherins would get a hold of the information and start teasing her. As if being one of the only muggle-borns in the school wasn't bad enough. She'd never hear the end of it, so long as she was at Hogwarts. She could really kill James right about now and not feel guilty at all. He was impossible! He was like one of those pug dogs; once he got a hold of something, he positively refused to let go of it.
"Fine. You'll be standing there for a long time." Lily pressed her lips together, message clear: "I'm not going to be talking about it anytime soon."
"What could it possibly be that could make you this mad?" James mused aloud. "Clearly it's something terrible. Anything less wouldn't get to you this way at all. Maybe your parents got divorced or something. Maybe---"
With a loud CRACK, she slapped the side of his face so hard his head snapped to the side. He looked at her, shock showing visibly in his eyes and on his face, where a bright red mark was forming. This wasn't the kind of smack that she had been giving him since their first year, but something much more meaningful. James just wished that he knew what that meaning was.
"Don't you ever make assumptions about my family again," she whispered, lip trembling. Without warning, she began crying, and, pushing past James into the entrance hall, she flung open the doors and disappeared into the rain.
James and Remus were lying around in the Gryffindor common room talking about Lily's reaction to the conversation that she had had with James. Remus had been trying to read his book, but then James had come in and starting pouring out what had happened with Lily earlier that day. It was raining heavily now, and everyone was inside the castle.
"Well, James, maybe you should talk to her about it," Remus replied. "Try to find out why she got mad at you so you don't do it again." He shrugged.
"Yeah, but she told me never to talk about her mum again," James pointed out. "Moony, can't you just tell me what's wrong with her? I mean you guys patrol the hallways all the time together as prefects. Please, please, tell me. I really want to know."
"What makes you think she ever told me about it?" Remus asked, rolling his eyes at James. "Yes, we talk about things while we patrol, but her mum was never a subject brought around for discussion. If you really want to know why she got so upset with you, why don't you ask her about it? And yes, she told you never to speak about it again, but how are you supposed to find out if you never bring it up again?"
"Yeah, that's what I'll do," James said, nodding his head. "Thanks, Moony. You're a genius. I'll go speak to Lils about her mum right now."
Remus shook his head. Oh what simple suggestions made James happy.
James found Lily sitting at her favorite table in the library, nearly falling asleep behind her History of Magic book. He pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, jolting Lily from her sleep-like state, causing her head to fall on the table. James raised his eyebrow as she glared at him and rubbed her forehead.
"What do you want, Potter?" she snapped. When he simply shrugged, she continued, "Well, you must have come here for something. So what is it?"
"I wanted to talk about your mum, actually---"
"I told you to never to talk about my mum again, Potter. What part of that didn't you understand?" Lily pushed her chair back from the table, snatched her book from the table and tried to storm out of the library, but James blocked the door.
"Come on, Lily. I'll quit being a nuisance to you if you just tell me what I did to make you cross in the first place. And how do you know that I won't understand? You haven't told me yet."
"And what makes you so sure that you will understand?" she countered. "The way you say yet makes me think that you think that I'm actually going to tell you about it, which I'm not. So just get out of my way. Please."
"Why don't you just tell me? You never know, it might make you feel better." He stuck out his bottom lip in a vain attempt to convince Lily to tell him about her mum. "Please, I'm dying to know about---"
"Don't say that! Just stop talking about it all together! I don't want to talk about it, can't you see that? So just...just drop it." She made a move to get past him, but he just shifted so that his body blocked the entire door.
"Why won't you tell me, Lily?" James demanded.
"Because I don't want to talk about it!" Lily cried in exasperation. "How many times am I going to have to tell you? What part of this aren't you getting? I already told you: you with your perfect life wouldn't be able to understand, which is why you're refusing to let the matter drop. You can't understand why I don't want to talk about it, so what makes you think you can understand why I don't want you talk about my mum?"
"I'll stop bothering you if you tell me," James repeated. "Promise."
"Get out of my way, Potter." Her voice had suddenly gone from being high- pitched because she was angry to a cool, stony voice that he thought he had never heard her use before.
James shook his head. "Not until you tell me why talking about your mum makes you act like this. I can stand here all night, if I have to, and you know I will. I'm stubborn like that." He folded his arms across his chest and refused to budge.
Lily sighed and rubbed right between her eyes as if she had a headache there, which she did. He was such a pest sometimes it was unbearable. There would be no way to get out of this, as far as she could see. She would have to tell him about her mother, and then he'd go and start feeling sorry for her. She loathed being pitied. He'd probably even run his mouth off about it onto someone else, and then the Slytherins would get a hold of the information and start teasing her. As if being one of the only muggle-borns in the school wasn't bad enough. She'd never hear the end of it, so long as she was at Hogwarts. She could really kill James right about now and not feel guilty at all. He was impossible! He was like one of those pug dogs; once he got a hold of something, he positively refused to let go of it.
"Fine. You'll be standing there for a long time." Lily pressed her lips together, message clear: "I'm not going to be talking about it anytime soon."
"What could it possibly be that could make you this mad?" James mused aloud. "Clearly it's something terrible. Anything less wouldn't get to you this way at all. Maybe your parents got divorced or something. Maybe---"
With a loud CRACK, she slapped the side of his face so hard his head snapped to the side. He looked at her, shock showing visibly in his eyes and on his face, where a bright red mark was forming. This wasn't the kind of smack that she had been giving him since their first year, but something much more meaningful. James just wished that he knew what that meaning was.
"Don't you ever make assumptions about my family again," she whispered, lip trembling. Without warning, she began crying, and, pushing past James into the entrance hall, she flung open the doors and disappeared into the rain.