14 January 1977
"Lily?"
"Hmmm?" Lily says, looking up from her Transfiguration book (which she is far busier doodling James' name on than actually reading) to see a rather worried expression on Glynis' face. Lily closes the book and sits up a little straighter.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Glynis asks. She glances back over her shoulder to the other side of the room, where Perdita is doing a terrible job of pretending to read a magazine. "In private?"
"Yeah, of course," Lily says, with an effort to keep her own worry off her face and out of her tone.
Because there are any number of things Glynis could want to talk to her about but not discuss with Perdita. It's just that most of the ones that present themselves to Lily's brain fall squarely into the category of Not Good: illnesses, family crises, observations about the monthly cycle of one Remus Lupin ...
"Yeah," Lily says, again, standing. "We'll be back," she adds, casually as she can, to Perdita.
There aren't a lot of places in Hogwarts to have a truly private conversation on a Wednesday evening. Lily's initial thought that "in private" was a polite way of saying "not in front of Perdita" is proved wrong when Glynis heads straight across the common room and out the portrait hole without so much as glancing around to see if there are any free seats.
Lily frowns, following her.
They're not really out of bounds, and it's not too late for them to be out, and even if either of those things were true, Lily is still a prefect, but this is not typical Glynis behavior, and whatever it is must be very serious indeed.
They wind up in the Astronomy classroom. Glynis paces back and forth for a moment, while Lily sits on top of one of the desks in the front row. Finally, Lily says, "Glyn? Is something wrong?"
"No," Glynis says. "Well, maybe. I don't know. I don't think so, but ... "
"What's ... ?"
"Jeremy asked me out," Glynis says, and it comes out too fast and almost like it escaped from her.
"What?" Lily blinks, because she'd been half-expecting Glynis to tell her she's dying of dragon pox at this point, and boy-related angst is ... surprising.
"Jeremy asked me out today," Glynis says, more slowly. "After Ancient Runes this morning."
"Jeremy? Jeremy Flourish?" Lily asks.
"Well, yes, of course," Glynis says. "He's the only Jeremy in our year, isn't he?"
"Yes, but there's Jeremy What's-His-Name in seventh year."
Glynis looks faintly horrified. "Witte," she says, "and he's in Slytherin. Why would a Slytherin be asking me out?"
"Fair," Lily says, "but ... well, Jeremy Flourish doesn't exactly seem to warrant this level of your looking upset."
"But he's your ex-boyfriend," Glynis says. "And you just don't go out on dates with your friends' ex-boyfriends."
Oh, that's what this is about. Lily just barely keeps from sighing with relief, and turns her attention to taking the actual problem (such as it kind of isn't) as seriously as possible.
"Is that what you told him?" Lily asks.
Glynis sighs and sits down on the desk next to Lily. "I told him I'd give him an answer tomorrow."
"All right," Lily says, "so ... d'you want to go out with him?"
"He's your ex-boyfriend," Glynis says again.
"Yeah, key part of that phrase being 'ex'," Lily says. "Look, Glyn, I broke up with Jeremy after dating him for a handful of weeks nearly a year ago, and I'm going out with someone else now. I don't have any claim on him, and I don't want any claim on him. It's very kind of you to check with me, but if you want to go out with Jeremy, don't let me be the reason you don't."
Glynis nods.
"So ... d'you want to?" Lily asks.
Glynis' cheeks turn faintly pink and she nods again. "I really do."
"Then you should," Lily says. "He's sweet and he's smart and he's got gorgeous eyes and he's one of the few boys in this school I think could even close to deserving you."
Glynis laughs, just a little. "And you really don't mind?"
"I really and truly don't mind," Lily says. "I promise."
Glynis nods. "All right."
"Now if James had asked you out," Lily continues, in a mock-thoughtful tone, "then we'd have a problem."
Glynis shakes her head. "That would never happen. I don't think James Potter even sees the rest of us when you're around."
It's Lily's turn to blush slightly. "Well, we're not here to talk about James," she says. "So, tell me everything ... "
Glynis and Jeremy Flourish.
Not a pair Lily would exactly have expected but ...
Well, why not?
"Hmmm?" Lily says, looking up from her Transfiguration book (which she is far busier doodling James' name on than actually reading) to see a rather worried expression on Glynis' face. Lily closes the book and sits up a little straighter.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Glynis asks. She glances back over her shoulder to the other side of the room, where Perdita is doing a terrible job of pretending to read a magazine. "In private?"
"Yeah, of course," Lily says, with an effort to keep her own worry off her face and out of her tone.
Because there are any number of things Glynis could want to talk to her about but not discuss with Perdita. It's just that most of the ones that present themselves to Lily's brain fall squarely into the category of Not Good: illnesses, family crises, observations about the monthly cycle of one Remus Lupin ...
"Yeah," Lily says, again, standing. "We'll be back," she adds, casually as she can, to Perdita.
There aren't a lot of places in Hogwarts to have a truly private conversation on a Wednesday evening. Lily's initial thought that "in private" was a polite way of saying "not in front of Perdita" is proved wrong when Glynis heads straight across the common room and out the portrait hole without so much as glancing around to see if there are any free seats.
Lily frowns, following her.
They're not really out of bounds, and it's not too late for them to be out, and even if either of those things were true, Lily is still a prefect, but this is not typical Glynis behavior, and whatever it is must be very serious indeed.
They wind up in the Astronomy classroom. Glynis paces back and forth for a moment, while Lily sits on top of one of the desks in the front row. Finally, Lily says, "Glyn? Is something wrong?"
"No," Glynis says. "Well, maybe. I don't know. I don't think so, but ... "
"What's ... ?"
"Jeremy asked me out," Glynis says, and it comes out too fast and almost like it escaped from her.
"What?" Lily blinks, because she'd been half-expecting Glynis to tell her she's dying of dragon pox at this point, and boy-related angst is ... surprising.
"Jeremy asked me out today," Glynis says, more slowly. "After Ancient Runes this morning."
"Jeremy? Jeremy Flourish?" Lily asks.
"Well, yes, of course," Glynis says. "He's the only Jeremy in our year, isn't he?"
"Yes, but there's Jeremy What's-His-Name in seventh year."
Glynis looks faintly horrified. "Witte," she says, "and he's in Slytherin. Why would a Slytherin be asking me out?"
"Fair," Lily says, "but ... well, Jeremy Flourish doesn't exactly seem to warrant this level of your looking upset."
"But he's your ex-boyfriend," Glynis says. "And you just don't go out on dates with your friends' ex-boyfriends."
Oh, that's what this is about. Lily just barely keeps from sighing with relief, and turns her attention to taking the actual problem (such as it kind of isn't) as seriously as possible.
"Is that what you told him?" Lily asks.
Glynis sighs and sits down on the desk next to Lily. "I told him I'd give him an answer tomorrow."
"All right," Lily says, "so ... d'you want to go out with him?"
"He's your ex-boyfriend," Glynis says again.
"Yeah, key part of that phrase being 'ex'," Lily says. "Look, Glyn, I broke up with Jeremy after dating him for a handful of weeks nearly a year ago, and I'm going out with someone else now. I don't have any claim on him, and I don't want any claim on him. It's very kind of you to check with me, but if you want to go out with Jeremy, don't let me be the reason you don't."
Glynis nods.
"So ... d'you want to?" Lily asks.
Glynis' cheeks turn faintly pink and she nods again. "I really do."
"Then you should," Lily says. "He's sweet and he's smart and he's got gorgeous eyes and he's one of the few boys in this school I think could even close to deserving you."
Glynis laughs, just a little. "And you really don't mind?"
"I really and truly don't mind," Lily says. "I promise."
Glynis nods. "All right."
"Now if James had asked you out," Lily continues, in a mock-thoughtful tone, "then we'd have a problem."
Glynis shakes her head. "That would never happen. I don't think James Potter even sees the rest of us when you're around."
It's Lily's turn to blush slightly. "Well, we're not here to talk about James," she says. "So, tell me everything ... "
Glynis and Jeremy Flourish.
Not a pair Lily would exactly have expected but ...
Well, why not?