..
James glanced up at Lily. She was covering her brow with one hand. It was hard to see her green eyes. They were slightly unfocused.
"...James Potter."
"Yes, Evans."
"First, let me tell you what I understand."
"By all means."
"That is, the Potters are... are a nice, open-minded family that is not at all prejudiced against my unfortunate circumstances."
"Yup."
"So, you can take your spouse based on her characters alone, regardless of her blood status."
"That's right."
"And you, having gotten confirmation of that from your parents, have come to propose to me happy-go-luckily, so all I have to do is accept gladly."
"Summed it up perfectly!"
"..."
"...Lily, is there anything else you want to ask me?"
Lily swiped at her face with her palm.
"...No. Actually, last summer my dad said something to me... I've been thinking about his words for a moment, Potter."
James blinked once or twice. That's right. Lily had parents... yes, of course she had parents.
Somehow, it was odd to hear a muggle-born remind him of her father, who is of course, a muggle. Do muggles also hold onto their children and nag them like his parents do?
"...Potter. This is just out of curiosity, just to make sure. But, what do you want to do for a job when you graduate?"
James smiled at Lily's interest.
A job, she said. So typical of Lily, a diligent, conscientious girl. Understandably, muggleborns wouldn't be very knowledgeable about this.
Of course, he could see himself getting a position at Wizengamot in the very, very distant future, but he wouldn't call it a job. Besides, 15-year-old James couldn't imagine himself becoming such an old, boring adult.
He corrected her misconception.
"I don't plan on having any particular job, though I could get any job if I set my mind to it, but, um... For now, I'm thinking of hunting down the Slytherin dark wizards, the bad guys."
"You mean like the Aurors?"
"They're just an official under layers and layers of bureaucracy. Take a bunch of complicated OWLs and NEWTs in Potions, Defense and such just to be an Auror? I think not. I study for my satisfaction, not for getting good grades and obtaining credentials. Besides, you don't have to be an Auror to catch villains. The Potter Heir taking a job, huh, that's kind of weird."
Lily took several deep breaths, then looked down at James, who was still kneeling in front of her. Her hands covering her face came down and were clasped in front of her, her exposed face completely expressionless. Her green eyes were cool.
"James Potter. First of all, I thank you."
James smiled softly. In the face of that smile, Lily's icy gaze remained unchanged.
"After more than four years in the wizarding society, and completely ignorant about the world. I didn't realize that I've been so sheltered inside a bubble that I've been a complete idiot, and I thank you for making me realize that."
"...Evans, what do you mean?"
"I wonder if you're familiar with Jane Austen."
"...Huh? Is she a British witch?"
"Not a witch, but a very famous author... No, never mind. What am I saying, in front of a precious pureblood heir?"
"Evans."
"About your courtship... My brain, right now... is completely blank, and I can't think of a proper response. So, I'll take the words of Elizabeth Bennet to be polite, to the best of my ability."
"Bennet? What's that, a wizarding family?"
"Mr. Potter. I should say that I am infinitely honored and grateful for your sincere appreciation and your undeserved praise of me, but I feel too creepy to express any of those things; and knowing your ego, I'm sure you'll get over the shock of my rejection in no time, so I'll spare you my insincere apologies."
James's lips half-parted. There was no anger at her refusal, just surprise. He looked like he hadn't ever considered the possibility of rejection. Lily swept a hand down her brow again.
"...I'm saying, you're an asshole. So get lost. Potter."
James remained on his knees, unmoving; and Lily didn't hesitate to turn and leave, slamming the classroom door.
James remained frozen into an ice statue for a while, then shattered.
To pieces.
"...Uhhhhh..."
After thrashing around a total of five times on the classroom floor, he finally managed to speak.
"...Tell me... What the hell went wrong..."
There was a rustle of fabric in the corner of the room, and three boys emerged, offering warm, heartfelt words of comfort to their despairing friend.
"Oh you complete idiot."
"I knew it. I could bloody see it coming."
"Suppose we publish a school newspaper? I've got a front-page story, and I've taken a nice picture, too."
"...Did you all throw your loyalty to the dogs? Your friend is about to die in despair and that's all you can say?"
The boys nodded solemnly to James Potter, who was bemoaning his betrayed friendship.
"Oh, the loyalty... If you say so, Evans, then, that idiotess."
"Woof-woof, I say, the loyalty tasted pretty good. Yummy."
"If not a school newspaper, then maybe a pamphlet? I've rather not waste a great photo. Let's just make a couple thousand copies and distribute them at the breakfast tomorrow."
"Pete, I'll kill you if you dare speak ill of Lily!"
The three boys sighed heavily.
"Completely gone off the deep end."
"Yup. Poor Jamie. And to think he was so bright! It's a tragedy, really."
"Lovesick, a terminal case. That's my diagnosis."
"Oh, fuck! You're not helping at all! Why did I even give you my cloak and put you there? If she says yes, you were to be the witnesses, and if, just if, there's any sign of hesitation from her, you were to observe her objectively and determine what the hell she was hesitating about! So tell me, why the heck did she reject me!"
"...Well... The angle of your knees seemed less than graceful."
"Oh, really? Siri, I've practiced this over ten times!"
"Cut the bullshit, mate. A kneeling angle? I told you Jamie, to take the bouquet of flowers I made. Girls fall for flowers!"
"...The bouquet you brought was mixed with a couple of buds from Devil's Snare and you know it, asshole."
Remus Lupin, the only student in the group currently equipped with a bit of a conscience, finally took pity on James and offered a glimmer of helpful advice.
"Um, that Jane Austen... person Evans was talking about."
"Yeah! What's that?! Was that a code? Was she secretly signaling 'I like you'..."
"Oh, shut your useless trap and listen. Have you ever heard of Pride and Prejudice?"
James scratched his head. He wasn't proud, or prejudiced: what did either of those words have anything to do with him?
Remus saw his expression and sighed heavily.
"It's the title of a book, you ignorant, uncivilized pureblood. Not a philosophy thesis, but a novel that girls like. I haven't actually read it to the end, but I think that's what Evans was talking about. My muggleborn grandmother loves Austen, so she's got the whole collection by the author. Do you want me to ask her to owl it for you?"
"Oh, Moony, my truest friend!"
James hugged Remus, feeling infinitely grateful for his half-blood friend. The werewolf boy pushed him away in extreme annoyance, but it didn't deter him at all.
..
..
