"To get information," James said, meeting her eyes. "I wasn't getting anywhere with him until I said- what you heard." He didn't know if he could repeat it. He gave a little, mirthless laugh; more a release of tension than anything else, and he dropped his hand from his hair. "You scared the living hell out of me showing up like that, Lily. Not that I'm upset about- that's not what I meant. Anyway, it worked, I- we got him to talk. But I'm sorry you had to see that."
He gave her hand a squeeze, and gave her a wry smile. He didn't know exactly what else she needed explained, because he didn't really know whether she was mad at him for it, or whether she considered it justified for the reasons he'd given.
"Dumbledore was the greatest man I've ever known," he added ruefully, real sadness suffusing his expression. It was hard to think about Dumbledore, especially right now; all the emotions surrounding his death felt raw, vulnerable at this precise moment. "I hate that I needed to- well, do that, but I had to find out what was going to happen to his legacy. I think, I hope he would have understood why."