Chapter 66: Fourth Year: February
Chapter Text
James Potter was a much more complex person than he appeared at first glance.
Outwardly, he was happy, self-assured, usually kind (if a little bit arrogant), and generally popular with everybody. He got a lot of detentions, yes, but on the whole he got good marks, and most of the teachers were still quite fond of him. He made the most of being on the quidditch team - messing up his hair deliberately so that he looked like he had just finished flying, wearing his red robes at every opportunity. But no one could say that he hadn't earned the right - you only had to see him play to know that his big-headedness was not misplaced.
Above all, James Potter was loved. His parents spoilt him and instilled in him the notion that there was nothing he couldn't do; that no door would ever be closed to him. Sirius, Peter and Remus all looked up to him, appointing him leader in almost every venture, and all in all, he was admired throughout the school by everyone who mattered, and envied by everyone else.
Except for Lily Evans, of course. She was the thread that seemed to unravel everything else in James's life. Having grown up surrounded by love - freely given and carelessly accepted - James found it very troubling that someone he liked might not like him back. It was the reason he acted like an idiot whenever Lily was present, and the reason that he stopped talking to Remus for a week during the early spring of 1975.
He wasn't being nasty, or doing it deliberately - Remus knew James well enough to understand that. It was just that his feelings had been hurt and - as someone who had rarely experienced hurt feelings - wasn't sure how to handle it. At least Sirius blew up at you when you annoyed him, so that it could be quickly solved. Peter would sulk, and Remus would probably try to throw a punch. But James just went quiet .
"He's not angry with you," Sirius explained, when James went to bed one night as soon as Remus arrived in the common room. "He's just feeling sorry for himself."
"He does believe me, though, doesn't he?" Remus asked, anxiously, "I really didn't know it was a date, I don't like Lily in that way!"
"Well... I don't think he thinks you're lying, exactly, but... you are pretty close to Evans, aren't you? Always going around together."
"She's my friend ." Remus said, exasperated, "I go 'round with Marlene and Mary too, no one thinks I'm going out with them!"
"Actually," Sirius smirked, "There was a rumour last term..."
"Oh for god's sake!"
It was impossible.
As for Lily, she was being reliably mature about the whole thing. Remus assumed Marlene had filled her in on the situation, but she didn't press it, and they were able to continue as Potions partners as normal. James and Sirius, however, had moved their workstation to the back of the room.
By Friday dinner time, Remus was truly miserable. Unlike James, he had not grown up surrounded by love, and he found that his friendship with the marauders had become so important that he suffered deeply from the loss of it. He still sat with them for meals, but there was an uneasy quiet instead of their usual raucous banter. Sirius kept trying to turn the conversation towards the upcoming Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match, but that only seemed to darken the mood.
Making matters worse, Lily, Mary and Marlene had sat themselves close to Remus - they were feeling sorry for him, and, being girls, were trying to cheer him up by doing exactly the wrong thing.
"I'm looking forward to the match," Mary smiled, cheerfully, "All of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws I've spoken to are supporting Gryffindor too."
Lily sighed, heavily,
