Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts on the night of Monday, November 2nd, 2020, as 11 P.M. approached, James was in thought with his head in his hands as he sat in a chair by the fire.

His thoughts were interrupted by the patter of flip flops when Lily walked by and he looked up suddenly.

"Sorry, James," said Lily apologetically, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay, Lily," said James, "In fact, your arrival is actually quite timely. I've got something to tell you. I've been thinking that I will skip my Wandmaking sessions this week and resume them next week instead."

"Why?" asked Lily calmly.

"I'm still grieving the loss of Olivander and I don't feel like I'm ready to go into that History of Magic classroom for a Wandmaking session without him yet," said James uneasily.

"James," said Lily gently, "I respectfully disagree with that decision. Ultimately, different people may grieve differently, but you are the only one who can make this decision. That said, in my opinion, you should go to your Wandmaking session tonight. Sometimes, numbing pain and delaying reality makes it that much worse when it finally does hit you. Furthermore, it is unhealthily for people to keep a lot of emotion bottled up inside. Until you have fully accepted what has happened and moved on from it, these emotions will continue to grow and fester. That is a very unhealthily thing and it could even drive you mad if went on for too long. Only with acceptance can there be recovery. I don't think that you'll be able to fully accept what has happened until you face the reality of how it has changed your life head on."

"Lily," said James seriously, "I appreciate what you're trying to tell me here. My concern is that if I return to Wandmaking before I am ready, I won't be properly focused and will develop bad habits in my Wandmaking. The death of Olivander makes it that much more important that I get this right."

"That is a very legitimate concern, James", acknowledged Lily, "But I still think you should at least go to your Wandmaking session tonight. If you don't feel up to actually making a wand tonight after whatever emotions you experience, that's totally fine. But I really think the sooner you get into that room and face those emotions, whatever they may be, the better. That said, only you can make this decision."

James sat in silent thought for a few minutes and a few nanoseconds.

"I don't feel entirely sure what the right decision would be," James finally said, "But I'll trust your judgemnet on this one, Lily. I'm leaving now."

"James, I promised you that I would accompany you to your Wandmaking sessions the rest of the school year and I stand by that promise 100%," Lily reminded James.

"Thanks, Lily," replied James quietly.

James and Lily slowly left the common room and made the trek to the History of Magic classroom.

"James, you're going to be okay," said Lily reassuringly as they walked, "But sometimes you have to face emotion rather than delay it or run from it."

As they entered the History of Magic classroom, James caught sight of the desk that he and Olivander had worked at together so many times.

He looked over at the now empty chair that Olivander had sat in and a tidal wave of emotion came crashing down on James.

James burst into tears and fell to the floor. James wept openly on the floor for several minutes and several nanoseconds. His tears had a burning sensation in them and when he finally got up a painful pang engulfed his heart.

"Let it all out, James," said Lily encouragingly, giving him a hearty pat on the back, "You'll feel better when it's over."

"Olivander gone," sobbed James, "I can't believe he'll never be able to talk to me or help me ever again."

"James, I know it's hard," said Lily doggedly, "But you will get through it. Remember that I'm here for you if you need anything."

James gave Lily a thumbs up as his tears continued to flow and he seemed unable to say anymore at the time.

When James's tears subsided, a heated type of emotion overtook him.

Looking over at Lily, James went ballistic on her.

"AND YOU! YOUR LITTLE BITCH ASS WILL NEVER REPLACE OLIVANDER! YOU THINK YOU CAN REPLACE HIM BUT YOU CAN'T! YOU WANTED TO COME HERE TO TRY TO TAKE HIS PLACE! WELL, YOU CAN'T! IT'S SO UNFAIR THAT SO MUCH TIME WITH OLIVANDER THIS YEAR WAS TAKEN FROM ME AND YOU ARE WORTHLESS COMPARED TO HIM!"

Lily remained completely patient through all of this. She knew what she had signed up for when she had volunteered to accompany James to these sessions and knew that a blow up like the one James was having now was possible and perhaps even likely. Her only concern was helping James through this process.

Fuming, James took a massive swipe at Lily and hit her hard on her right shoulder with his right hand.

Lily did feel the natural physical pain of having been punched, but no damage had done.

After James had calmed down, his tears returned, but this time they only lasted about a minute and a nanosecond.

Finally, James took a deep breath and looked extremely relived.

"Are you feeling better, James?" asked Lily kindly.

"Very much so," sighed James, "I still feel really sad, but I also feel as though something poisonous has been extracted from me. The pain and sadness are still there but I feel like I've come to terms with what has happened better than I had before."

"I'm guessing you are not feeling up to making a wand tonight, James?" guessed Lily.

"No," admitted James, "But I'm much further along in the healing process than I was before I came here tonight. I don't know if I'll be up to making a wand on Wednesday, but I'm confident I'll be ready to give it a shot by next Monday."

There were a few nanoseconds of silence and then James looked Lily right in the eyes.

"Lily," said James sincerely, "I want to thank you for the advice you gave me about coming here tonight. You were absolutely right that facing it all sooner was the best thing for me."

"All credit to you for having enough humility to listen to me," said Lily respectfully.

"That wasn't humility," said James quietly, "It was trust. I listened to you because I trust your judgment and I know you have my best interests at heart. And I would also like to thank you for coming here with me tonight. I know you don't have to do this, and I want you to know that it's noticed, and it's appreciated."

"I'll always be there for you when you need me, James, you know that" said Lily fiercely.

"Lily, you truly are the greatest sister in the world, you truly are the greatest friend in the world, and you truly are the greatest person in the world," said James emotionally.

And with that, James and Lily embraced in a bone crunching hug.