1Lily was busy preparing dinner when James came in. He walked into the kitchen and kissed her cheek.
"Sorry about leaving you," he whispered in her ear.
She just smiled at him, "I'm fine, James."
James took all of his bags into his office and began dumping his work from Dumbledore onto his uber-organized desk. But he couldn't bring himself to get started on it yet, so he ambled back into the kitchen.
"Lily," he greeted enthusiastically, "it's almost Christmas!"
She smiled at his anticipation, "I really thought I'd have to cheer you up a lot more than this."
James smirked at her, "If you want to try to make me feel better then I'm not going to stop you."
"But you're okay," she asked quietly, hoping this wasn't a facade.
There was silence for a moment, and Lily thought he hadn't heard her. But he did eventually answer.
"It's strangely relieving. It's been tense in the locker room for a while, and I can't say that I wasn't expecting this. We all knew that there were major security threats. You never know what can happen out there, and I was worried about you when I was gone."
She quietly brought James a plate of food. She sat it in front of him, and turned to go get her own, but he grabbed her hand, looking her square in the eye.
"I'm going to be working for Dumbledore a lot more than I used to be, though. You're okay with that, right?"
She glanced down at him and shrugged, "Don't get hurt, James."
She turned to go, but he pulled her back again, "Lily..."
There was a lone pause.
"What is it?" she asked, sinking into the chair next to his and clutching his other hand.
"I just...things are getting worse," he was slumping a little, something James rarely did in all of his energy. "I want you to talk to Dumbledore about finding someone else to teach for you."
Lily let go of his hand slowly, and stood to her feet. She began to prepare a plate for herself, and didn't answer him until she sat back down.
"You're not generally a bitter person, James, and I'm utterly confused," she spoke, harsher than she intended.
His head snapped up at her, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I just mean that you're probably not Snape's best character judge," she softly retaliated. "You're a little biased."
"Why do you assume that's why I don't want you working?" he challenged.
"Well, if that's not it, then please enlighten me, because I'd not heard this request until Snape comes along," she whispered. Their conversation on the verge of becoming a fight. "You may not be prejudiced, but you sure are quick to allow some mistakes in a person's life to dictate that person's value."
"Not just anyone, Lily," he corrected. "Snape."
"James, I need to know what this is about," she struggled to keep her voice even. "I'd rather not digress back to fighting with you about this, but you're going to have to help me out."
"I trust Sirius," James told her. She was completely confused as to the jump in logic James was making. "I believe what he tells me. Lily, neither of us have ever been around Snape like he has, or anyone like Snape. Sirius was raised in it. He's a really good judge of people, especially when it comes to loyalties."
She gaped. Was he really mad because of Sirius' opinion.
"I never took you as a follower," she said before she could stop herself. She knew her next words would get her husband riled up, but she couldn't stop them, she had released the floodgates. "I see now that the four of you have one brain. That explains a lot. Thank you for clarifying."
James' head was pounding with indignation. Of course he had more reason's for not wanting Lily around Snape, and he wasn't really sure why he'd said it was because of Sirius. But he was struggling to find words of explanation.
She swept up out of her seat and made to leave the kitchen. But before she could leave, she heard his quiet voice.
"You," he said weekly. "You're it, babe. You're all I've got now. My family is falling apart and my friends are...well, Lily, Dumbledore says someone really close to us has been feeding secrets to the wrong people. I am worried that something might happen to you."
"What does that have to do with Snape," she asked cooly. "I'm safer at Hogwarts than anywhere else. I sometimes think that you believe Snape to be the ultimate evil. But he's not, James. I've spent a little time with him and I think he's trying."
James didn't respond.
"But I see," Lily continued. "You trust Sirius more than me. I've known that for ages, it just never really bothered me before now. Well, you and Sirius just go on your own crusade of insubstantial evidence, and when you're ready to come back to reality, I'll be in bed."
And she was gone, leaving James alone in the kitchen. He'd never been so unsuccessful in trying to talk to her...well... at least not since before they'd started dating.
