Lily made an indistinct noise. James sighed quietly. She had been treating him with cold contempt for over two weeks, ever since she had caught them after hours, AND she hadn't given him back his Invisibility cloak. James found her behavior irritating and felt that Lily was overreacting. It had been the only time he'd been out after curfew! The only time that Lily had caught him, he meant.
Lily personally found this as a perfect excuse not to talk to him. There was less of a chance for attachment and affection. And he was a git who simply deserved silence.
"I have an idea!" James said suddenly, smiling brightly. "Let's play Truth. Make rounds more interesting."
"What's Truth?" Lily asked stiffly, slightly curious in spite of herself.
"Well," he said eagerly, "We ask each other questions and whoever is answering must tell the truth, the absolute truth, no matter what. If you can't or won't answer a question and pass, you lose the game. But in order for the other person to win, they must be asked one final question. If they answer truthfully, they win. Get it?"
"That sounds like a game my friends and I used to play at slumber parties, James," Lily said with slight amusement. "Did you think this up?"
James' face clouded briefly. "My sister used to play it with her mates at their overnighters," he said. "Used to cause massive hell, but it was hilarious to listen to. Want to play?" he asked Lily.
"Erm..." Lily hesitated, not entirely sure she liked the sound of this Truth.
"I just thought," James said quickly, sensing Lily's hesitation, "it would be a good way for us to get to know each other better. You know, Head to Head, Gryffindor to Gryffindor, person to person-"
"Okay, okay, I get your point," Lily interrupted before James could ramble on any farther. "I...I guess we could play. We've got an hour to kill."
"Alright!" James said, grinning excitedly and rubbing his hands together. "Do you want to start? Ladies first, after all."
"Okay..." Lily thought for a second. "What's your favorite color?"
"That's all you've got?" James said incredulously. "You have to make it at least slightly challenging, Lily!"
"I'm going easy on you!" Lily protested. "Besides, I'm not sure you can handle anything too intense."
"Hey!" James exclaimed, surprised at Lily's uncharacteristically playful behavior.
"Aren't you supposed to actually answer the question?" Lily asked him, smiling at the mildly astonished look on his face. "Is there a time limit?"
“No,” James said, eyeing her. Lily seemed very open and loose tonight. What’s wrong with her? James thought amusedly. “And my favorite color is green.”
“Mine as well. Your turn.”
“What’s your favorite subject?”
“So much for challenging questions.” Lily muttered. “Potions,” she told him. “What happened to your sister?”
Taken aback, James’ steady gait temporarily faltered. Lily’s serious question startled him slightly, as their conversation had been so easy and light. Just the word ‘sister’ brought on many bad images…
“Um…” He swallowed. “She…she was murdered. Tortured by Voldemort.”
Lily gasped. She had never known that. Of course she had heard rumors, but she had never known for certain what had really happened to Bett Potter.
James plunged on before she could speak, his mouth seemingly beyond his control. “I was there when she died. You know that my father works for the Ministry?”
“Yes,” Lily said slowly, not understanding where this was headed. “He’s an Auror?”
James nodded, looking straight ahead. “Apparently Voldemort has been trying to recruit Ministry members, people of power. People on the inside. He wants to take over the Ministry so that the country will collapse. I guess my father was considered to be a valuable asset to the Death Eaters. They came to our house last summer. My mother wasn’t at home. My dad, sister and I were.” James was now speaking very rapidly, as if he didn’t get the words out quickly enough, they would disappear into thin air. Mental images of people in dark hoods and masks…”They Full-Bodied me. I could do nothing. My father wouldn’t join Voldemort, so Voldemort tortured him.” His father writhing on the ground, screaming, his eyes rolled inside of his head. James struggling against the spell that held him in place. James’ voice shook slightly at this point, and Lily noticed that his face had gone very white. They were now stopped in the middle of a corridor, right next to a pair of windows. The half-moon shone down upon the two of them standing in the dimly lit corridor. “It was horrible. I was frozen there: I had to watch, had to listen to him scream.”
Lily shifted, wanting to reach out to him, offer him some comfort, but she too seemed to be frozen in place, not wanting to distract him.
“My sister was tortured as well when my father told Voldemort that he would never join his cause.” Bett swinging madly from the rope as she twisted and shrieked…Voldemort laughing, his wand on the child…Tears poured from the eyes that were white, rolled toward the ceiling from which she hung. “The Cruciatus Curse works wonders,” James said bitterly, shutting his eyes tightly to block out the scene playing out in his mind’s eye. “My father broke down. That wasn’t enough for Voldemort. He had wanted immediate enlistment. To punish my father for his lack of support and ‘enthusiasm for the cause’, Voldemort murdered my sister in front of our eyes.” Bett hung from the ceiling, mouth opened in an eternal scream no longer heard by those in the room, the snakelike rope now wrapped around her lifeless neck. His father sobbing on the floor beside Bett. Voldemort smiling cruelly at James before Disapparating with his Death Eaters. James turned toward the window, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “So, brutally, mercilessly, painfully, Bett was taken from us. My father is a traitor, my mother is broken, and my only sibling is dead. And that’s what happened to my sister, Lily.”
He turned away from her abruptly, but not before she saw a solitary tear slide down his pale cheek.
Lily was hurting, aching for James, who was obviously in so much pain. She had never seen him like this, and it deeply affected her. How could something like this have happened to James Potter, the popular, happy, perfect Head Boy? Lily was so moved, so deeply touched by his profound grief that, before she could check her actions, she found herself enveloping James, pulling him close. A need arose within her, and she held onto him tightly, wishing with all of her heart that she could help him, share his immense, heart-tearing pain. James wrapped his arms around Lily, holding on for dear life as tears poured down his face, wetting Lily’s shoulder. He bit his lip, fighting off the sobs, the crying out that his soul longed to do. His choking was muffled in Lily’s hair as the writing, suffering creature in his chest battled to escape. He had never discussed Bett’s death with anyone else since she had died, not even the Marauders. Telling it all to Lily felt great”actually, it hurt like hell”but he had done it, and his overwhelming grief seemed to have lessened ever so slightly.
They stood there like that for a long time, their bodies pressed together in the corridor lit from the silver moon shining through the window. Lily’s heart was pumping madly; she was sure that James could feel it. He had stopped crying, she was sure, and now she was just holding him until he got himself together. Finally, James broke their embrace, but kept his hands on Lily’s shoulders. He looked her straight in the eye and said, “Thank you.” His voice was slightly scratchy from the containment of his scream, and his eyes were red and puffy, but he was one of the most beautiful beings Lily had ever seen.
She looked back into his hazel eyes, suddenly and completely captivated by their beauty. Their light brown was speckled with gold, as if tiny rays of sunlight were shining through them. Long, delicate lashes surrounded his eyes and his spectacles reflected the light from the moon behind Lily. She tried to tear herself away from those eyes, knowing that if she didn’t do so soon, she would drown, be utterly lost in those pools of auburn, raw emotion. She couldn’t break eye contact, no matter how much she willed herself to do it. She was lost.
James was experiencing the same dilemma, feeling exposed by looking into Lily’s piercing emerald eyes. They were gorgeous, shining like jewels. He felt as if he could see into her heart, see all of her bottled-up emotions, through her eyes. He got the feeling that she was letting him in, ever so slightly.
A sound at the end of the corridor made them both jump. It was just Mrs. Norris, the new caretaker’s blasted cat. James’ hands left Lily’s shoulders, the places where they had been slightly cool as his warmth was removed. Lily felt strangely disappointed. She looked at her watch.
“We should go. There are only five minutes until curfew.” Lily told James.
“Right,” James said, not taking his eyes off Lily’s face. They turned and walked briskly through the corridor. Lily had heard stories about the punishments of the new caretaker, Mr. Filch, and had no desire to find out if they were true.
“Down here,” James said suddenly, pulling Lily after him through a shortcut. They broke into a jog, not stopping until the Fat Lady’s portrait came into view a few minutes later.
“Phoenix song,” James told her, panting slightly.
The portrait swung open and James and Lily stepped into the common room, James still grasping Lily’s hand.
Lily stopped, pulling James to a halt as well. “James, about tonight-“ Lily began, but James interrupted her.
“Yeah, about that,” he said, once again turning his piercing gaze upon her face. “It’s my turn next time.” And he left it at that.
Lily just looked up at him. Obviously he was trusting her not to mention what had happened to anyone else. She had no intention of doing so, of course. It would remain between them. It’s strange, Lily thought, to share a secret with James Potter.
She just said, “Good night, James,” and as if the night’s events had not been strange enough, Lily found herself on her tiptoes kissing James softly on the cheek. He stiffened, caught off-guard by Lily’s display of affection. Lily herself was mortified beyond belief at what she had just done. He had no real feelings for her; he must think her an incredible flirt. But she hadn’t meant it like that…She stepped back from him and hurried off toward her dormitory, afraid to look back at him.
“Lily!” James called, finding his voice at last. Lily turned, her cheeks burning. She waited for him to speak. James looked like he was struggling to find words, but all he said was, “Good night.” Lily turned on the stairs as James walked off to his own dormitory. As she trotted lightly up the stairs, she realized that she was beginning to understand that she would never be able to distance herself from James Potter again.
A/N: Lily and James' game of Truth was 'borrowed' from Sarah Dessen's book entitled, "The Truth About Forever". A very good book, and I strongly recommend reading it!