Friday 16th December 1977
7.36 am.
Lily jerked up from the couch in the common room the moment she saw James coming down the stairs from the boys’ dormitories that Friday morning. He stood with his arms crossed and his expression bitter, but Lily certainly cared little. She intercepted him and grabbed his arm, dragging him to a corner of the common room in an angry tone.
Sirius and Remus came down the stairs a bit behind James —Sirius wore the same frown and downcast expression that his best friend—, they noticed how Lily dragged him away from the rest of the group, but didn’t give it much importance.
“Look, maybe he would rather tell Evans his little secrets than us,” Sirius said bitterly, turning to the front to keep walking. Remus rolled his eyes but said nothing.
James was being dragged by Lily across the common room, “What the heck are you doing Evans?!”
“Can you explain me...!” Lily said, once she reached the corner of the room, turning around and facing James with a frown. She realized that she was speaking too loudly, and lowered her voice for only James to hear, although she did not lower her tone of anger. “Can you explain to me what the fuck were you doing with Sirius’s brother last night?”
James looked surprised; He looked at her with his mouth open and his brow furrowed; Lily rolled her eyes and pulled the blank scroll that was the Marauder’s Map out of her backpack, slamming it against James’ chest.
“Peter gave it to me last night,” she explained, crossing her arms, “He says you asked him to make sure that no one saw the map; especially Remus and Sirius,” she continued, accusingly. “Can you tell what the hell is there between you and Black?”
James looked at Lily helplessly, grabbing the map and squeezing it between his fingers, crumpling it. “Are you going to tell Sirius?” He asked, almost begged, as if asking her not to.
Lily rolled her eyes. She looked James up and down for a few seconds before huffing and shaking her head. “Of course not,” she said. “But at least I’d like to know why the fuck am I lying and looking like an idiot in front of my friends.”
James closed his eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths. He shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, not making eye contact with Lily. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” he muttered, “I didn’t imagine Sirius was going to react like that; I would’ve taken the map if I knew.”
Lily gave a one-shouldered shrug, shaking her head. “Again, what is there between you and Sirius’s brother?”
James shrugged as well, looking down. “We are- Acquaintances.”
“Acquaintances?” Lily repeated, her tone sceptical. “James- I know you have this weird obsession with trying to see good in everyone,” she started tentatively, “But- Not everyone has good in them, y’know? … I didn’t want to say anything about it, but I honestly think you’re making a mistake.”
James shook his head.
“And I know how these things work better than anyone,” she continued, “He, somehow, has managed to make you like him-” James seemed to want to interrupt Lily, but she kept talking before he could. “And I know it seems that ... I don’t know, that there’s hope for him, or that maybe... He says things that might make you think that he- That he is not like the others.”
Lily looked hurt saying those words.
“But it’s not worth it because- Because even his brother has given up on him... Even Sirius knows there’s no hope for him anymore, and I know that you have a good heart and that you like to help people, but I think you should listen to the reason for once.”
