The next day, Lily unusually joined Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Susan for breakfast rather than eating breakfast with Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria.
Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Susan didn't question this. Lily was welcome to join them at any time, no ifs, ands, ors, or buts.
However, throughout the meal of blueberry waffles, sausage links, and Sunny Delight, Harry noticed that Lily had a very sad look on her face and noted that she did not talk during this meal. Being the observant boy that he was, Harry also noticed that Tracey looked equally sad as he peered over at the table where Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria were sitting.
When the meal was over, Harry asked Lily, 'Lily, may I please speak with you in private one on one?"
"Yes, Harry," said Lily wearily, "Talking may be the most therapeutic thing for me right now."
"Let's go to Classroom Eleven then.," said Harry urgently, "That's an unused classroom that no one ever goes into."
"Okay," agreed Lily simply.
Harry and Lily walked into Classroom Eleven and Lily shut and locked the door and proceeded to retrieve her wand from her right hand pocket with her right hand and perform Privacy spells on the room.
"No sound can get out," explained Lily.
'Lily, what's up?" asked Harry seriously, 'You usually eat breakfast with Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria. Furthermore, you were as quiet as a church mouse during breakfast, and you had a sad look on your face the whole time. I also noticed a sad look on Tracey's face throughout breakfast as I peered at the table she sits at."
"My friendships with Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria are in the rear view mirror," sobbed Lily, looking as broken hearted as she felt.
"Why?' inquired Harry, "I promise confidentiality unless you give me permission to speak about what we talk about in this room."
"There was an incident in the Slytherin Common Room last night in which Tracey yelled at me. She was spewing and venting at me for something that wasn't my fault. I therefore have made the decision to end my friendship with Tracey. Because of their long standing friendships dating back to when the three of them were babies, Daphne and Astoria have understandably chosen to remain friends with Tracey. My longest running friendships at Hogwarts are dead and my heart is broken. It's also a case of history repeating itself. I had a best friend from kindergarten through fourth grade that I had to end my friendship with just before fifth grade because there was an incident in which she yelled at me. I am even more gut wrenched because of the whole lightning striking twice thing. There was no misunderstanding and no disagreement. It was clear cut what happened and Tracey herself would admit that."
Privately, Harry felt degusted with Lily. He suspected that she was telling the truth about Tracey yelling at her for something that wasn't her fault. However, Tracey had gone out of her way to befriend Lily when she had realized that Lily was sad and lonely on her first night at Hogwarts. Lily herself had told Harry to his face on more than one occasion that the support she had received from Tracey and Daphne had helped her through a difficult time when she was homesick and missing her parents. Harry knew that this support had made Lily feel at home at Hogwarts and greatly eased her transition, making her feel at home. It went against Harry's moral code to throw away a friend like that over one mistake. However, Harry had enough sensitivity to know that this was not the moment to critiize Lily.
"I am sorry to hear this, Lily," spoke Harry softly, "I honestly believed that you were going to have lifelong friendships or at least Hogwarts years long friendships with Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria."
"I thought so myself, that's why I'm such a broken girl right now," acknowledged Lily, "With Tracey and Daphne went out of their way to befriend on my first evening ever at Hogwarts because they knew I was sad about missing my parents and needed friends, I was SURE it was the start of special long term friendships. Alas, it was not meant to be. And I don't know where to go from here. Joining your group for every meal, not just dinner, is perfectly fine as far as having meal buddies. However, without Slytherin friends I'm facing some lonely evenings in our common room and some lonely days during class. I will have to make some new Slytherin friends now, but I don't how to go about it."
"May I go speak to Tracey?" Harry asked Lily.
"Yes," agreed Lily, "It's only fair that she gets to tell her side of the story."
So, Harry left Lily in Classroom Eleven and tracked Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria on the sloping lawns.
"Hey, Tracey, may I please have a word in private with you?" requested Harry.
"You want my side of the story about why Lily is no longer friends with Daphne, Astoria, and me," guessed Tracey, "I don't mind talking to you here. I don't need privacy. The end of my friendship with Lily is entirely my own fault and I take full responsibility for it. Last night in the Slytherin Common Room, I yelled at Lily. I spewed and vented at her for things that weren't her fault. She understandably has chosen to end her friendship with me. It is never easy to lose one of your closest friends, especially suddenly, but I was in the wrong and it's my own fault. Plain and simple."
"We hate choosing between Lily and Tracey," admitted an uncomfortable sounding Daphne, "But as we've been close to Tracey since we were babies, our greater loyalty had to be to her."
"It sucks, but it is what it is," lamented Astoria, shaking her head.
"Let me be clear," emphasized Tracey, "There was NO misunderstanding or disagreement. I spewed and vented and yelled at Lily for something that was indisputably not her fault."
"Can you tell me what you were yelling about then?" Harry asked Tracey.
"I dipped my hands into undiluted bubtubber pus by mistake because I thought the bowl in question was filled with essence of murtlap. I was mad at myself, not anyone, but I spewed and vented in the heat of the moment. It is my fault and my fault alone. Lily is an innocent victim here."
"Well, Tracey," said Harry honestly, 'You were in the wrong, but I also sympathize with you here.
"Having ruined a great friendship group is a scar and a burden I will bear for the rest of my life," rued Tracey, "It's my Dark Mark."
"No, it's not," said Harry firmly, "Lily is being a huge fucking bitch to throw you away like wilted salad over one small mistake after everything you've done for her. You were the one who noticed how sad and lonely Lily was when she first arrived at Hogwarts and got the ball rolling on yourself and Daphne befriending her. Your friendship and support really helped Lily through one of the most difficult times of her life. You deserve better from Lily. One mistake should not erase years of friendship. I will confront Lily at lunch and convince her to reverse her decision to end her friendships with you three. I am going to go talk to her again now just to reaffirm my support for her as she is very upset right now. However, I think she'll be calmed down by lunchtime and if she is I will confront her and convince her to reverse her decision."
"Thank you, Harry," said Tracey gratefully as Daphne and Astoria nodded.
"Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean your deserve to lose your friendship," said Harry firmly, "In fact, you deserve better from Lily after everything you've done for her and I will make her see that. Lily has a right to feel hurt and upset and I don't blame her for wanting to get away from you last night. If this is the end of the friendship, and I'm sure it won't be, then that reflects far worse on Lily than on you. Lily needs to learn that if she continues set her standards for friendship too high, she will end up with no friends left. You three deserve Lily's continuing friendship after everything you have done for her and I will make her see that."
Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria all quietly nodded as Harry walked away and returned to Lily in Classroom Elven.
Lily was still crying, and it dawned on Harry that this was much harder on Lily precisely because Daphne and Astoria chose Tracey over her. Tracey still had Daphne and Astoria. Lily's Slytherin friendship circle was totally broken.
"Tracey told me the truth and admitted that she was the one at fault," Harry told Lily, "At least she still has Daphne and Astoria whereas your Slytherin friendship circle is totally broken."
"It hurts, it really hurts, and the DeJa'Vu makes it worse," said Lily in a gut wrenched voice.
"Lily," Harry told her gently, "I'm not going to say it's okay because I know it's not. After speaking with both you and Tracey, the emotional pain you are both experiencing is palpable. I'm aware that you're hurting and I am sensitive to that. Just know that if you need someone to hug, it can be me. If you need a shoulder to cry on, it can be mine. "
"For years," sobbed Lily, "Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria were the wind beneath my wings. I am largely grounded now without them. I am not optimistic about making new Slytherin friends. I'll have to try of course, but having been burned twice makes me hesitate to play with fire again."
But Harry knew differently. He knew that in mere hours, he would be convincing Lily to stay friends with Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria after everything they had done for her.
There were two things in play here: The first
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