Unrequited

3

As she headed back into the castle, hoping Faun was still in the library, an angry Gryffindor stormed past her and almost knocked her to the floor.

Asphodel rubbed her bum as she got up, only to see that the angry face had turned into a guilty one. "I'm sorry!" Lily said and rushed over to Asphodel. "I should have been watching where I was going it's just that this stupid Potter boy- I mean um, are you okay?"

"I'm totally fine. It wasn't a major fall." Asphodel laughed it off, but Lily was still concerned.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the Hospital Wing? It seemed like it hurt." Lily's brows furrowed.

"No, really. Please do stop worrying." Asphodel said. "It seemed like you were a tad angry earlier so I'll just leave you alone." And with that she started off again, not wanting Lily to take extreme measures over a measly fall.

Asphodel had completely forgotten that Lily didn't know who she was, but she knew who Lily was. Obviously, by the way James came to her every so often saying that Lily Evans was the embodiment of perfection. As much as Asphodel had her flaws, Lily had some too.

Faun was still in the Library. The bookshelf wasn't lying on the floor anymore and Faun had started to place the books back on the shelf, trying to remember the order they had went in before. She smiled when she saw Asphodel come towards her. "Ah, so I see you haven't found much to occupy yourself."

"Not really, but I had some interesting things happen to me on the way back." Asphodel shrugged. "It was one of those, 'wrong place, wrong time' moments."

"Is James a part of this story?" Faun asked and placed a random book on the shelf. Asphodel shook her head.

"I talked to James' two friends when I tried to ask where he was. And Sirius kept calling me 'Asphalt.' Then, I ran into Lily. Actually, Lily ran into me. She thought it was such a serious injury when I fell down that she kept saying she needed to take me to Madam Pomfrey. I quickly ended the conversation before she could do anything." Asphodel laughed nervously.

"Eventful." Faun grinned.

"Do you think James will forget about me, Faun?" Asphodel knew this question was coming out of the blue, but she couldn't help to not ask it.

"That would be impossible." Faun handed a book over to Asphodel. "I mean, unless some spell was cast on him, but I highly doubt it."

"Right." Asphodel played with the book Faun told her to hold, tossing it back and forth between her left and right hands. "We just seem to be getting more distant. Over the summer, we barely hung out. Well we did, just not like we used to." Asphodel handed over the book to Faun. "But it's not only that. He can't think straight. Not when his mind is always thinking about Lily. Doesn't he see that he might get hurt by her? Like mentally."

"Then you need to confront him about it before it gets worse, right? If you don't want to tell him how you feel yet, that's fine. But maybe if you make an effort to try and talk to him more, then you might feel comfortable with it later on." Faun said. Suddenly, with a pile of books stacked on her arms, she sneezed.

"Uh oh." Asphodel laughed a little before kneeling on the floor to pick them back up.

"Don't get side-tracked, Asphodel." Faun looked at her seriously and Asphodel can't help but be reminded of her mother. "You can't keep telling me how you feel and then not do anything to help the situation get better."

"But-" Asphodel starts to argue.

"No buts. James can't help what he doesn't know."

"I don't want to hurt his feelings!" Asphodel countered. "He'll probably get mad at me for making up things."

"Yes, he'll get mad at you for 'making up things' because James and Lily are totally acting." Faun said sarcastically. "And you don't have to dive in on the matter right away. You're his friend so just act normal until you think it's the right time. Or maybe everything will unfold on its own."