TM Prompt 189 - Conversation
I learned, quite a long time ago, that saying exactly what was on my mind wasn't always the best course of action.
No, it's best to think your words through, to say what you ought rather than what you want. Things go far more smoothly that way, and if you're seen as agreeable, well, it's easier to make friends. It's easier to be trusted, to be liked, to be accepted.
Sometimes, of course, it isn't true. Sometimes...
"A bully. She thinks I'm a bully!" James had been pacing around our dormitory, muttering under his breath. Sirius managed to look both amused and sympathetic; I, naturally, was concentrating on a book and pretending not to notice. The same I'd been reading when they tormented Severus, in fact.
"I don't show off." At Sirius' raised eyebrows, he amended, "Well, maybe a little, but there's nothing wrong with it. Wormtail likes it, right?" Peter nodded earnestly, of course, he'd never disagree with James.
"And I don't just hex random people. Well, not badly, and they deserve it anyway." Yes, James, anyone who treads on your toes or stumbles over a spell deserves to be humiliated amid a hoard of students.
"I don't see why you're so worked up," Sirius said idly; he was sprawled on his bed, twirling his wand in his fingers. "It's a bit pitiful."
James glared at him, before looking at me.
"What do you think, Remus?" My eyes widened as I looked up, as if caught off-guard.
I could have said that yes, James, you do act like a bully sometimes, and Lily has every reason to be disgusted with you if that's all she sees. You are, in fact, quite smug, and you look dreadfully silly always mussing up your hair. You care entirely too much about how you come across - of course, that bit might have been hypocritical.
I could have said he should leave Severus alone, stop heckling the younger students, stop showing off and start showing who he really was - who I was honoured to have as my friend, and embarrassed to see acting so beneath himself.
I could have risked losing his acceptance by telling the truth, by standing up for someone else.
"She's completely wrong about you, James. I'm sure she'll come round."
No, it's best to think your words through, to say what you ought rather than what you want. Things go far more smoothly that way, and if you're seen as agreeable, well, it's easier to make friends. It's easier to be trusted, to be liked, to be accepted.
Sometimes, of course, it isn't true. Sometimes...
"A bully. She thinks I'm a bully!" James had been pacing around our dormitory, muttering under his breath. Sirius managed to look both amused and sympathetic; I, naturally, was concentrating on a book and pretending not to notice. The same I'd been reading when they tormented Severus, in fact.
"I don't show off." At Sirius' raised eyebrows, he amended, "Well, maybe a little, but there's nothing wrong with it. Wormtail likes it, right?" Peter nodded earnestly, of course, he'd never disagree with James.
"And I don't just hex random people. Well, not badly, and they deserve it anyway." Yes, James, anyone who treads on your toes or stumbles over a spell deserves to be humiliated amid a hoard of students.
"I don't see why you're so worked up," Sirius said idly; he was sprawled on his bed, twirling his wand in his fingers. "It's a bit pitiful."
James glared at him, before looking at me.
"What do you think, Remus?" My eyes widened as I looked up, as if caught off-guard.
I could have said that yes, James, you do act like a bully sometimes, and Lily has every reason to be disgusted with you if that's all she sees. You are, in fact, quite smug, and you look dreadfully silly always mussing up your hair. You care entirely too much about how you come across - of course, that bit might have been hypocritical.
I could have said he should leave Severus alone, stop heckling the younger students, stop showing off and start showing who he really was - who I was honoured to have as my friend, and embarrassed to see acting so beneath himself.
I could have risked losing his acceptance by telling the truth, by standing up for someone else.
"She's completely wrong about you, James. I'm sure she'll come round."