James
I am waiting for Lily by the statue in the corridor we're supposed to meet in.
"So," Padfoot says, "You finally cracked her shell." I don't turn to face him, I simply stare at the open door, waiting for a stunning, happy Lily to burst through the doorway, excited to go with me to Hogsmede.
"Don't talk about it like that, Padfoot," I grumble at him, "It makes it sound like I'm using her." Sirius chuckles.
"Okay, James, whatever. Did she ever call it a date?"
"No, she called it a 'cordial I'm-going-to-make-an-effort-not-to-hate-you bonding experience.'"
"Wow," Padfoot laughs, "She sounds really excited." I scowl.
"Well...," I say, searching franticaly in my mind for a reason why she actually would want to come with me, "She was in fact cuddling with me in the hospital wing."
"Well, my friend, you were dying you know."
"I know. But you don't cuddle with someone unless you like them. It's the number one rule of liking and cuddlery."
"I'm sure glad that you're an expert on cuddlery. And liking. Especially because you've never had a real girlfriend."
"Hey! It's not like I haven't had my first kiss or anything, at least I don't run around shagging girls like someone I know..."
"Aw shut up, James. You're first kiss was only to get Lily's attention."
"Padfoot," I say laughing, "I bet if it was you going out with Lily today, you'd kiss her. On the first date."
"Why not?" Sirius says, chuckling, "Ladies like a man who's confident in themself."
"See, I wouldn't do that. It's not becoming of a gentleman to kiss a lady on their first date."
"Give it a rest, Prongs," Sirius says, laughing.
And a second after Padfoot says that, a disheveled looking Lily bursts into the room.
Her usually soft, shiny red waves are in a frizzy mess, her clothes have been torn, and there's a smear of blood across her face. Her green eyes are wild and scared. She still looks stunning, despite the fact that she looks as if she's been assalted by a rampaging herd of drunk hippogriffs.
"They attacked me," she says, her voice breaking on the word 'they', "His friends."
"What?!?" I say, briskly walking over to her and touching the blood on her face.
"Sev's friends. They attacked me," she whispers, "They yelled at me, threw spells, called me a 'mudblood', and told me I wasn't even a witch. Who the hell does that, James? Who? What kind of person...," she says, then breaks down into tears.
Nobody has any right to hurt the girl that I love, whether it be Snivellus, or Dumbledore, NOBODY hurts Lily without getting it from me. NOBODY.
"Who," I growl between clenched teeth. She looks up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, and I reach out a finger to gently wipe them away.
"You know, Bella, Lucius, that crowd."
I make a mental note to beat Lucius up next time I see him.
"And they say you're not a witch," I say in disgust, smoothing her hair and lifting her chin up, "What makes them any more of a witch or wizard than you if they can't bear to share that title with those millions of miles ahead of them?" She smiles and gently winds her fingers into mine like she's weaving a beautiful tapestry.
