"Lily," said Harry in a crystal clear voice, looking her straight in the eyes, "You are being a huge fucking bitch to end your friendships with Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria."
Lily had a shocked look come upon her face, but she kept her composure and said, "I readily admit that the situation is unfair to Daphne and Astoria. They are innocent victims who are caught in the middle here. But as for Tracey, it's her own fault our friendship is over. You even admitted that Tracey admitted that she was the one in the wrong. Ultimately, the reality of the matter is that Tracey failed to meet my standards for friendship. That's the long and the short of it. It sucks for me too and even more so because of the whole lightning striking twice thing. But it is what it is. The thing is, there was no misunderstanding and there was no disagreement. You know that Tracey admitted to you that the fault is hers. The loss of these friendships breaks my heart, but Tracey failed to meet my standards for friendship."
"You responded calmly and matter of factly, " observed Harry, "But I noticed a shocked look come across your face when I called you a huge fucking bitch."
"I've been called a huge fucking bitch precisely once before in my life and that was by my mom when I was in kindergarten. Mom was absolutely in the right in the situation in question and it taught me an important lesson early on in my life."
"Then I hope history is about to repeat itself," said Harry briskly, "But what did do you do wrong in kindergarten that caused Daisy to call you a huge fucking bitch?"
"I asked my mom if I could have a birthday party at my house on my birthday. Nothing unusual about that. Mom then asked me who I planned on inviting. I told her that I planned on inviting all of the girls in my class."
"Only the girls?" inquired Harry, actually shooting Lily a very disgusted look.
"Yes," confirmed Lily, "And that's exactly the problem my mom had with it. She would have been okay with it if I just wanted to celebrate my birthday with only my best friend. She'd have been okay with it if I just wanted to invite two or three friends. However, she told me that I was being a huge fucking bitch to exclude half of my class on the basis of gender."
"And she was right," said Harry decisively, "There are no boys or girls. Only people. The only difference between a boy and a girl is the pronouns used to refer to them."
"Mom would hug you right here and now on the spot if she heard that quote," piped up Lily, "Mom went on to give me a stern talk about sexism and inclusiveness and explained to me in no uncertain terms how wrong gender segregation is. "
"She was right," agreed Susan, "It's no different that if a white child wanted to invite all of his or her white classmates but none of his or her black classmates."
"Mom gave me one spanking for intending to engage in gender segregation and gave me an ultimatum," continued Lily.
"Let me guess," said Luna confidently, "The ultimatum was that you would invite the whole class without exception, or you wouldn't have the party."
"Right in one," confirmed Lily, "I did go on to invite the whole class without exception and we all had a blast at my birthday party."
"That's called nipping a problem in the bud," declared Dennis.
"Gender should play zero role in friendship formation and friendship dynamics," said Harry clearly, "And if gender is playing more than zero role in friendship formation and friendship dynamics then something is very seriously wrong."
"The only appropriate thing in that situation was to invite the whole class," said Luna bluntly, "Harry just summed up the role gender should play in friendship very well and that is that it shouldn't play any role."
"That's an important thing for people to understand," piped up Susan.
"It is," agreed Colin, "I think Harry should now explain to Lily why she is being a huge fucking bitch right now."
"I'll cut to the chase on it," said Harry quickly, "On Lily's first night at Hogwarts, when she was feeling sad and lonely because she missed her parents, Tracey and Daphne went out their way to befriend her. And it was Tracey's idea. Daphne easily agreed to it, but Tracey was the one who actually got the ball rolling on it."
"Remember too," interjected Ginny, "That Lily was in an unenviable position as a muggleborn Slytherin and Tracey and Daphne helped put her at ease."
"An excellent point," smiled Hermione, "Tracey and Daphne showed great kindness and compassion towards the lonely muggleborn girl they'd just met."
"Tracey had been lifelong besties with Daphne and Astoria," added Colin, "They didn't have to allow Lily into their circle. They could have easily ignored Lily and kept their own small group going and they would have been totally happy had they done so. I know they were happy to befriend Lily, but I am just pointing out that they didn't need her to be happy. Lily needed them way more than they needed her."
"Colin has just hit the nail on the head about why you are being a huge fucking bitch, Lily, " growled Harry, "Tracey and Daphne, with it being Tracey's idea, went out of their way to befriend you, welcome you, and make you feel at home and at ease when they recognized how much you were struggling emotionally with the transition from home to Hogwarts. It was a friendship circle born out of their kindness towards you and compassion for you. And you're going to throw them away over one small mistake? Especially Tracey. I know you admitted that Daphne and Astoria are caught in the middle. But, focusing just on Tracey, you are being a huge fucking bitch to throw away the friend whose kindness and compassion for you made your transition from home to Hogwarts so much easier and created a beautiful friendship circle because she made ONE small mistake! Tracey deserves better. If these friendships end, that's a stain on you, Lily."
"It does suck," sighed Lily, "And it sucks for me too, especially because of the lightning striking twice part. Unfortunately, the simple reality is that Tracey has failed to meet my standards for friendship."
"That's part of the problem," said Harry more calmly, "Lily, if you continue to set your standards for friendship this ridiculously high, you will end up with no friends at all in the long run. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has heat of the moment reactions. No one is perfect. Your current standards for friendship are be perfect or get lost. Tracey deserves better from you. One heat of the moment blow up shouldn't be enough to erase years of friendship. This is particularly true when considering how the friendship was formed. After everything she's done for you, Tracey has proven that she is a true friend. Lily, your greatest strength as a person is your high gratitude coefficient. I now implore you to take a few minutes and a few nanoseconds to quietly think about everything Tracey has done for you since you came to Hogwarts. Feel it and allow apperception for Tracey to fill you up on the inside. Feel Tracey and what she has done for you within your heart. Once you have done this, it is my hope that you will reverse your decision and will continue to be friends with Tracey along with Daphne and Astoria."
There was total silence for the next few minutes and the next few nanoseconds.
Lily then broke down sobbing her eyes out, the emotion of the moment obvious.
Lily walked straight up to Harry and hugged him.
"You are smart and wise, Harry Potter," sobbed Lily, "Tracey has given too much of herself to me for me to throw her away. And I may also be able to rekindle my friendship with my elementary school bestie when I go home for Thanksgiving. My greatest weakness as a person is my low forgiveness coefficient. But you used my strength to help me overcome my weakness."
At this, Tracey's calico cat Swirl trotted over from the table where Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria were sitting. Swirl settled himself into Lily's lap.
Swirl then purred.
Lily petted Swirl and as she did, her tears subsided and eventually a glowing look came over her face.
Meanwhile, Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria came over from the table they were sitting at and chose seats at the table next to the one Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily were sitting at.
"Let's have some good come out this," declared Daphne, "Why don't our two groups just combine by using the tables next to each other from now on."
At this, Hermione retrieved her wand from her right hand pocket with her right hand and pointed it at the table she was sitting at.
"Engorgio!" cried Hermione and the table became big enough to hold twelve people comfortably. Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria now moved their chairs to this table.
"We still have room to add one more person to our group at some point in the future," said Hermione calmly.
"Harry," said Lily sincerely, looking eye to eye, "Thank you. You are The Boy Who Saved for me again, this time saving my friendships. You are sweet and kind, Harry Potter."
"I felt that your friends deserved better than to lose your friendship over small mistake after everything they have done for you," said Harry matter of factly, "But I also knew you would be happier by staying friends with them. "
"When I was reflecting on what Tracey, Daphne, and Astoria have done for me since I came to Hogwarts," acknowledged Lily, "It hit me like a truck into a brick wall how valuable the friendships I was about to lose are. Harry, thank you for teaching an important lesson about the value of friendship and the costs of setting unrealistically high standards for friendship. I'm going to try to reconnect with my elementary school bestie over Thanksgiving."
"I hope she forgives you and you two reconcile and I believe in my heart of hearts that will happen," beamed Harry.
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