Avoiding The Marauders

That's Where You're Wrong

I came out of the strange room that I had never seen before and realised that Dumbledore hadn't even known what it was either, or didn't think I should know. It still amazes me the secrets that this castle holds behind its thick stone walls.

Shoes skidded behind me and I spun around to see James sliding to a stop and then running at me. My eyes went wide and, before I could do anything to stop him, he had me folded in his arms and was breathing very deeply. That's when I realised just how much taller than me he was because he had his hand curled in my hair and his chin easily rested on my head.

"Oh, Merlin, Lily," he breathed. "I was so worried. You just left and I couldn't find you. You weren't on the map and I didn't know what to think."

I pulled away from him quickly to glare. I realised that the hair in my ponytail was all falling out, so I grabbed the band and yanked it out, letting my hair fall down. "What the hell does that mean, Potter? And what do you mean I wasn't on the map?"

James stood there, silent for a while. He seemed to be searching for words. He let out an annoyed sigh. "How am I supposed to focus when you do that, Lily?" He exclaimed.

"Do what?" I yelled back.

"That," he jabbed at my head. "what you just did with your hair."

I threw my arms up in the air. "For Merlin's sake, Potter! You can either tell me what you want or let me pass because, I swear, I will curse you!" I grabbed my wand and held it in my hand as evidence.

He ran a hand through his hair and all I could think was that he wasn't the only one that can't focus. I pulled my eyes to his face to resume my glaring.

"I wanted to explain," he said and I raised an eyebrow as if to tell him to go on. "I was sitting in my compartment and Ella came in, she was the girl I went to the dance with, and she wanted to know why I was spending more time with you than with her," he was staring at the ground, looking at his shoes as if they were the most amazing things he's ever seen. "But I told her that there was nothing going on between us," I drew in a silent breath at that and he glanced at me. I wondered if he had seen my reaction. "I mean me and Ella. I told her that I had nothing with her and that she'd spent most of the dance with the other guy anyway."

He looked right at me now, making his words clear. "I told her I had no feelings for her," he rubbed his jaw awkwardly. "And then she just sort off pounced on me. When you saw me, I had just managed to pull back. I swear, she had like this death grip on my neck." He let out a little chuckle.

I didn't find it so funny.

"I see," I replied bluntly.

He frowned at me and made to move closer. I didn't move away. "So, does this mean that we can be friends again?" He asked it like it was a life and death question, but all I heard was one word. Friends. I felt it like a shot through the heart and I knew that Dumbledore was right, I did like him more than I had thought. I'd just been the last to know. Then I looked at James and thought, maybe second to last.

I just stared at him and frowned. This seemed to make him angry because he took a stride back and ran a hand through his hair again, but more fiercely. "I don't get it!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "It's not like you-"

"Like I like you?" I yelled, finishing for him. "But that's the thing James! That's where your wrong!"

I didn't let the words sink in, I just turned and ran the hell away, thinking that if he feels the same, he'll follow.

***

He found me in the Common Room, sitting in a ball, hugging my legs, by the fire. I ignored him at first and stared into the dancing flames and he approached me like he wasn't sure if I was real or just an image that would break if he came to close.