A Reason in Madness

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness."

Chapter Six: And I Quote

Days went by and gradually turned into weeks. The weeks went by with signs of Lily and James becoming frie- ahem, maybe...relatively-friendly-people-of-the-same-age? Yes, that fits quite nicely. Lily still wasn't quite to the trusting point with James. Her attitude towards him suggested she was "PMSing at him" constantly. Well, perhaps not that bad...but you get the general idea.

On one occasion, Sirius had thought it would be hilarious to put a spell on James so that he spoke solely in quotes and couldn't stop himself from doing so. Of course, when Lily spoke with James that day, she was under the impression that he was trying to aggravate her...

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Lily tossed her quill haphazardly, annoyed with her Transfiguration assignment. After an "AUGH!" and an unceremonious throw of her hands, she looked to see where her quill had landed. A mere half-foot from the fire. Lovely. She retrieved it and sat back down with her essay. "I swear, I'm going insane," she muttered.

James who was sitting nearby, also working on his Transfiguration essay, replied, " 'Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy.'"

Following a snort, Lily said, "Yeah, thanks for that one. Now, no offence, but I really need to get back to work."

James looked up at her. " 'The more you study, the more you know; the more you know, the more you forget; the more you forget, the less you know... so why study?'" He groaned and smacked himself in the head.

"Okay, I give for tonight! I'll finish it in the morning! I don't get it any way," Lily said after a few more wasted minutes staring at her parchment.

" 'Give up for a second and that is where you will finish.'"

"Why are you talking like that? It's beginning to get rather annoying. Please, be quiet!"

" 'If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively.'"

"If you don't stop, I'll give you lively!"

" 'The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness, can be trained to do most things.'" After completing this statement, James's eyes grew wide and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

Lily looked at him oddly for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Never thought I'd hear that from you, but, goodness, that was great!"

" 'They all laughed at Albert Einstein. They all laughed at Columbus. Unfortunately, the also all laughed at Bozo the Clown.'"

Though her laughter, Lily said, "You've gone mad, haven't you?"

" 'There is always some madness in love, but there is also some reason in madness.'"

Lily abruptly ceased laughing at these words and her and James both just looked at one another like a cow looks at an oncoming train. Suddenly, James stood and looked at the floor. "Goodbye..." he said, and then screwed up his face as if trying to battle something within himself. " '...may seem forever. Farewell is like the end. But in my heart's a memory, and there you'll always be.'" He sighed and made his way up to the boys' dormitories, his head hung.

Lily continued to sit, staring at the space which James had previously occupied, wide-eyed.

Once again, she realized something: Goodbyes make you think. They make you realize what you've had and what you've lost and what you've taken for granted.