Chapter 66

The door closed with a soft click and then:

“What the hell was that!?” Karen exploded, hands thrown open in disbelief, as if she had just watched a fire start out of nowhere.

“You’re self-sabotaging, Lily!” Mary said immediately, still staring at the door. “You stomped on his pride!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Lily said, turning toward her friends, her face caught somewhere between red and horrified. “I just… wanted to thank him in person! That was all!”

“Thank him!?” Karen repeated with a humorless laugh. “It sounded more like: ‘Thanks for the insanely expensive glasses that make me feel guilty every time I breathe near them, can I give them back for the tenth time?’”

“I did not say that!” Lily protested, grabbing her head with both hands. “I just mentioned they were expensive… I wanted to be honest.”

Rihanna crossed her arms silently. Her expression wasn’t aggressive, but firm, one of those passive judgements that hurt more than a direct insult.

Lily noticed instantly. “What? Are you also going to say it was my fault?”

Rihanna looked at her. Then turned her face back toward the window, slowly, as if that alone delivered her verdict.

“Oh come on, Rihanna!” Lily burst out. “Don’t look at me like that! You called him! You didn’t even know if I wanted him to come talk here. If you hadn’t opened that damn window, none of this would’ve happened!”

Rihanna turned her head back with meticulous slowness, and her response was dry:

“If you didn’t want him to come, you wouldn’t have frozen the second he saw you. And you wouldn’t have greeted him with that ridiculous ‘Hi’ voice you used. So don’t blame me because you said something that made him feel like he was begging for your approval.”

Lily opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Karen lifted a hand, like someone trying to restore order during a duel.

“Okay, okay. Enough. It’s nobody’s fault and everyone’s fault. He came in, sat down, joked with us, was charming as always… and Lily, darling, you said something that didn’t sound the way you intended. End of story.”

“But I didn’t say anything bad!” Lily burst out, half frustrated, half anguished. “I just, yes, I was repetitive. I admit it. In the letters I also told him several times before accepting the gift, and today… I don’t know, it came out again. I guess it’s hard for me to take something that expensive without thinking about what it costs. But then I told him I understood, that I didn’t owe him anything, that I loved them, and that I wouldn’t bring it up again. So now what? What else am I supposed to say?”

The three girls exchanged looks.

Mary was the first to nod, finally understanding her point.

“You’re right,” she murmured. “It’s not like you committed a crime. You didn’t insult him. You didn’t reject him. You were, Lily. Honest. Maybe too honest, and too repetitive."

Karen clicked her tongue. “And stubborn like a house-elf clinging to its servitude,” she added with a half-smile.

“Look…” Mary said, thinking, “You can’t apologize because you’re not the type to grovel, and you didn’t do anything that requires an apology. And he…”

“He has a massive ego,” Karen completed.

“And with good reason,” Rihanna added, not sarcastic at all. “Ryan knows his worth. He’s already created two innovative, super useful inventions… That new invention, those speed-reading glasses, he sells them for 70 galleons, and he still gave you a pair specifically for you, and custom-made. Do you know what that means for someone like him? They’re probably the first pair he’s ever gifted, besides to his family. And you, unintentionally, tried to return them more times than I can count.”

Lily swallowed hard. She didn’t say anything. But her expression said it all.

“You hit him right in the pride,” Rihanna concluded. “And you didn’t even realize.”

Mary let out a long sigh, like someone witnessing a natural disaster that could have been prevented.

“We went from a possible Hogsmeade date to a crisis situation in under twenty minutes. That has to be a record.”

Karen turned to Lily. “Not all is lost, my friend!”

“And what exactly do you suggest?” Rihanna asked skeptically, her arms still crossed.

“The gift,” Karen said, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world. “The one you said you prepared for him. If you give it to him, he’ll understand you made something with your own hands. That everything else, the glasses, the price, the whole mess, wasn’t rejection, just that you felt weird receiving something so expensive. A simple misunderstanding.”

“Mm… that makes sense,” Mary murmured, turning to Lily. “So what did you make in the end? Did you make it yourself or did you go buy something random without thinking too much?”

Lily, who had been silent for a moment, lifted her head and replied with a firmer voice:

“I made it myself.”

The three of them raised their eyebrows at the same time.

“Like what?” Karen asked, surprised.

“A scarf,” Lily said. “A Gryffindor one, with his initials embroidered. I sewed it myself.”

Karen and Mary exchanged glances.

“It’s nothing magical or expensive…” Lily added quickly, anticipating their reaction. “Just regular wool, golden thread, a lot of care and time. I embroidered his initials at the end. And, I also knitted a case for his glasses. So they won’t get scratched. I thought it’d be useful if he carries them everywhere.”

“That’s already adorable,” Rihanna murmured with a faint smile.

“Perfect. Then you’re going to give it to him when the train arrives at the station,” Karen declared, already strategizing.

“What? Why so soon?” Lily asked.

“Because at dinner you won’t be able to talk to him, and afterward with all the movement he might be with his friends or slip away in the crowd. Better to fix this as soon as possible,” Karen said, lifting a finger like she was explaining a tactical play. The other two nodded immediately.

“He left his trunk and his owl here,” Rihanna added, pointing upward, where Ryan’s things were still stored on the compartment racks. “He has to come back for them. So when the train stops, we get off quickly and you stay. When he opens the door to grab his things… you confront him. You give him the gift. And done.”

“And what if he refuses my gift after all?” Lily murmured.

Karen leaned toward her with a challenging smile. “Then he’s dumber than we thought. And honestly, he doesn’t seem like the type who would reject a handmade scarf with his initials.”

Mary added in a more thoughtful tone, “Besides, your relationship isn’t broken. There was no fight. It wouldn’t make sense for him to reject it. At most, he might act indifferent and that would be the worrying part.”

“But rejecting it outright…” Rihanna finished, shrugging. “That would be absurd. You still have his glasses. If he wanted to cut ties completely, he would’ve already asked for them back.”

Lily nodded. They were right. She was being far too pessimistic when Ryan himself hadn’t said anything definitive.

The train continued its winding path through the snowy landscape. The hours passed in silence, occasional glances outside, and scattered bits of conversation. Outside, night had fully fallen, covering the rooftops of Hogsmeade with a thin white layer that gleamed under the light of the enchanted lampposts.

When the locomotive began to slow down, a sharp whistle announced their imminent arrival.

“It’s time,” Karen murmured, standing up quickly.

Mary and Rihanna were already putting on their coats and getting their trunks ready. Between the three of them, they gathered their things and organized themselves as if they had rehearsed this moment a thousand times.

“Ready?” Rihanna asked from the doorway.

Lily nodded, though her stomach did not agree. The gift rested on her lap, carefully wrapped.

Karen approached, gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, and smiled. “Breathe. You’re Lily Evans. There’s no way this won’t have an impact.”

The three girls filed out, dragging their trunks with practiced efficiency. The door closed behind them with a soft click.

And Lily was left alone in the compartment. Sitting and waiting.