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"So she said she never loved you, but look on the bright side."
James looked up at Sirius through his tears, expecting him took to continue, but when Sirius remained quiet, Remus spoke up.
"What bright side, Padfoot?"
"Oh, I was expecting someone else to answer because I have nothing." He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the fireplace.
"Nice one mate." Remus sarcastically spoke, dashing over to James who, for the fourth time that night, burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, Prongs." Sirius sighed, taking the seat next to his best mate. "I know you're hurting right now, I really do...But James, you are this amazing guy, you're funny, you're smart and good looking - not in a weird way-" Sirius cringed making James chuckle while wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "And if Lily doesn't see it, then it's her loss, mate."
James breathed heavily, leaning on Sirius' shoulder. "Thank you," he mumbled. "I really appreciate what you said, but I can't help what I feel. I really do try and not love her, but-"
"But no matter what you do you still end up falling for her, even harder, every day." Sirius sighed, not noticing the quick glance sent by Remus.
"Exactly."
The three boys sat in silence for a while, not really wanting to talk. And then Peter entered the common room.
"I have bought snacks! And I even got one of the - What the hell is wrong with you three?" He stopped in his tracks, arms filled with various stolen food from the kitchen.
"We are feeling quite despondent, Peter." Remus gloomy spoke, leaving the chubby boy confused at his words.
"English, please."
"He means we are depressed, feeling blue, wanting to slit our wrists and bleed to death," James spoke overly-dramatically.
"I heard sweets make you feel better..." Peter muttered, walking up to him and offering him a chocolate ball.
And Peter was right. Though he was still sad, and now had a major headache from crying, James' spirits were lifted as he munched away on some jelly slugs.
"How do I fix this?" He questioned desperately. "How can I get her to stop hating me?"
"Well, first we find the reason for her hatred towards you," Remus said. "Then we find a way to make it up to her."
"Okay, so why does she hate me?"
"We bullied Snape for years before they got into that fight."
"You've asked her out over a hundred times."
"You kinda insinuated she shouldn't be friends with Lyra."
The three boys talked one over the other, making James roll his eyes.
"Okay, okay!" He yelled, waving his hands in the air "I get it, I'm an annoying controlling bully." He sighed. "What do I do?"
"Well, I might have an idea..." Sirius smirked.
***
"This is not going to work!" James yelled in a whisper as he entered the main hall the next morning.
"You want to get on Lily's good side, don't you?"
"Of course Padfoot, but I don't th-"
"Just do it!" Remus yelled, pushing him in the direction of the Slytherin table.
James nervously gulped, tugging at the hem of his robes as he approached the solitary girl. She seemed to be deep in thought, as it took her a while to acknowledge James' presence, so, he awkwardly coughed. Her head shot up, cheeks reddening as she realized who it was.
"I haven't seen Lily at all this morning if that's why you're here."
James sighed, taking the seat in front of her, ignoring the stares and glares from the Slytherins next to him. "Actually, I came to talk to you."
"To me?" Lyra spoke, not hiding the fact that she was quite surprised.
"Yes. I want to - um - I want to apologize for the other day. I wasn't my self and I-"
"-Okay."
He blinked a few times, taken back. "O-okay? You're not mad?"
"I never said I wasn't." She shrugged, crossing her arms over the table.
"So you're mad." He confirmed, slouching in his seat.
"Well, wouldn't you be?"
He stared at her grey eyes for a while, feeling his heart give a slight tug. She looked tired, broken even. The dark purple circles under her eyes told him she hadn't been sleeping well, and her pale face told him she hadn't been out much.
"I'm so sorry, Lyra. I was so caught up in my own thoughts and feeling, I never considered yours or Lily's feelings."
"It's fine." She sighed, reaching over to place her hand on his. He flinched, not expecting the sudden coldness, nor the weird tingling. She instantly pulled back, ignoring the lingering feeling on her fingertips. "I-I appreciate your apology." she smiled, pulling her black hair behind her ear.
A soft smile broke onto James' face, but she couldn't help but notice that although he smiled, he still seemed sad, making her heartbreak a little.
"Well, I should head back to my table." He awkwardly spoke, pointing behind him.
"Yeah, it seems like your friends are eager to know what we've been talking about." she nodded over at the three boys, who not so discretely had been staring at them, trying to listen to the conversation from the other end of the room.
"They're idiots." James chuckled, getting up. "Anyway, I'll see you around Edavane."
And as he walked away, Lyra couldn't help but think that maybe, at least from what she had seen, he was just as broken as she was.
