AN: Sorry that this took so long; I was at camp for a while and then FanFiction was having issues with me logging on... So I will reward you with two chapters at once!! Yay!
Chapter 11: "Have a Chat"
Lily's POV:
I waited patiently throughout the rest of the day, not saying anything to Sirius yet. Once in the common room, however, I told him to come with me; I wanted to "have a chat."
I decided on an empty classroom. For a minute, I just stared at him, studying his expression, his mood.
"So, love? What was it you wanted to talk about?"
I snapped out of my analyzation and looked into his face.
"Well, Sirius, I think I need to bring up the argument."
He sighed. "Lily, love, please, not this again. It's getting boring."
"I'm serious."
"No, I'm Sirius," he said jokingly, trying to get me off the subject.
I glared at him.
"No, really, you need to talk to James."
"Why do you honestly even care?"
I glared more intently. This time, I would answer.
"I care…" I stumbled for words until the words that had always gone through my mind surfaced, "I care because you don't even notice your best mate anymore! Doesn't it bother you that he hasn't smiled in ages, that you haven't talked to each other since the middle of fifth year, that he's obviously wasting away? Don't you even care about James at all?" By the end, I was screaming at him, tears flowing freely down my face.
A look of surprise crossed his face, "Lils, I- I didn't kno-"
"Well, of course not! You're too caught up in your own little world to notice how anyone feels! I didn't think I'd say this, but you're worse now than James ever was!"
Then, on impulse, I went up and slapped him. He looked at me, stunned, as I ran from the room sobbing.
Sirius' POV:
It was as if Lily's slap had lifted something from me, from my mind, that had been telling me what to do. Had I been Imperiused? Or some other spell? I wasn't sure. But as soon as this feeling of being free reached me, the rest reached me as well.
James was depressed, if not dying. Moony couldn't look me in the eye anymore. Lily was as caring as ever, and I was stunned at what I had said in every argument: Why do you even care? Of course she would worry about James.
I felt in my pocket until I found the enchanted mirror that I still always carried around. I hoped that James did too.
I paused before saying anything, but after a moment, I whispered "James Potter." The mirror clouded for a moment, but then James' face appeared.
"Hey, er, James?" I asked.
He looked surprised to see me, but quickly settled back into his haunted look that was all I had seen for the past couple years. "Yeah."
"Will, you, er, get detention with me tomorrow?"
He looked startled for a moment, then agreed, with almost a smile in his eyes, though not on his face. "Sure," he said, "What shall we do?"