Shaking her head, Lily gave up on the question of Potter’s behavior and went to find her friends. Just as Andy said, their compartment was near the back of the train, just a few doors down from the Marauders’ compartment. As soon as she slid open the door, she met excited cries from her best friends.
Meredith Reed was the first to leap up from her seat and give Lily a bone crushing hug. She was about average height, around 5’5”, but had a determination about her that was powerful and sometimes intimidating. Once Meredith released her, Lily could see her three best friends more fully. She remembered that Meredith had been to the coast with her family and had a nice tan to show for it. This contrasted nicely with her sparkling blue eyes and shoulder length, caramel colored hair which was tied back in a loose ponytail.
“So how was your summer, Lils?” asked Meredith, eagerly.
“It was probably better than average, considering my past experiences with Petunia,” Lily admitted. “How were your summers?” she asked, her gaze falling on Kelly Hamilton and Andy Wolf, who were sitting next to each other and who had been quiet so far.
“Mine was pretty good. I missed you all,” said Kelly, smiling as she got up from her seat to hug Lily.
Lily smiled back at her other best friend. She had known Kelly for six years and had always been the kind and thoughtful one of the group. She was not as outgoing as Meredith but shy and sweet. Lily released Kelly from the hug and examined her friend. Kelly had grown over the summer and had finally developed a slight feminine figure to compliment her beautiful chocolate brown curls and warm brown eyes.
After Kelly sat down, Andy got up to give Lily a one armed hug.
“My summer was good too,” he said, giving her a smile.
She reached up to rumple his dirty blonde hair and smiled knowingly as he sat back down next to Kelly. She had a feeling that he fancied Kelly. Andy appeared to have changed a lot over the summer, too. He looked as though he had gained another inch or so in height, making him about 5’10” now. His weeks of Quidditch training during the summer with his older brother seemed to have paid off, Lily thought as she glanced at his muscular arms.
“So, Meredith,” said Lily, turning on Meredith, “what is this huge and exciting news you mentioned in your letter but wouldn’t tell me?”
“Oh my gosh! I completely forgot!” Meredith jumped up from her seat excitedly and clapped her hands together ready to tell her story.
“Okay, so you know how I love Quidditch?” Meredith began.
The other three nodded. Each knew very well that Meredith was a tomboy and loved Quidditch with such a passion that was unknown to Lily and Kelly. In all her years at Hogwarts, however, Meredith had never been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She claimed that she had never had a fast broom which prohibited the captains from seeing her full potential as a Chaser. But even so, Meredith had tried out for the team each year, confident that she would make it, but only to come back rejected. Her claim at having an inadequate broom was partially true; Meredith’s father was a Muggle and her mother didn’t especially value Quidditch as much as her daughter did. Lily knew in her heart, however, that although her friend loved the sport with all her heart, she did not have the talent that was needed to secure a spot on the team.
“Well,” said Meredith unable to contain the excitement on her face, “I got a Cleansweep Five!”
Andy’s jaw dropped. Lily and Kelly on the other hand, merely looked at each other in bewilderment.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Do you know how much those cost? That’s the newest model out there!” exclaimed Andy.
“I know! I finally talked my parents into it and I’d been saving for a while and I finally earned enough money to buy it this summer! But do you know what this means? I’m going to be on the team now! Even if I play terribly, they won’t reject a Cleansweep!” she continued animatedly.
“And this year should be the best yet,” Meredith said more to herself than anyone, gazing out the window, “because James is captain.”
At this, Lily and Kelly exchanged looks. It had always been known to the two girls that Meredith had had secret feelings for Potter since fifth year which she tried unsuccessfully to hide, especially since Lily had a huge grudge against the boy. But Lily understood deep down that these feelings were one of the main reasons for her friend’s persistence to become a member of the Quidditch team even though James Potter only seemed to recognize Meredith’s existence because she was friends with Lily.
Lily turned her gaze from her friends and looked out the window. In a few hours, she would be able to catch a glimpse of the tall towers of Hogwarts through the trees in the distance and this left a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. With Potter as her co-head and Meredith harboring secret feelings for him in addition to all the extra N.E.W.T work she was bound to have, Lily felt that she was in for a long last year at Hogwarts.
When the train finally arrived at Hogwarts, Lily and her friends were one of the last to leave the train. They had rushed to change into their robes and as a result there were no empty carriages left to take them up to the school. Lily stared in disbelief at the last two carriages that still had some room left. One belonged to an obnoxious looking group of second years and the other, of course, just had to belong to the Marauders.
Kelly saw the look on Lily’s face.
“Aw, come on, Lily. They’re not that bad,” she said reassuringly.
“That’s what you say now,” said Lily, rolling her eyes as they approached the boys’ carriage.
More than Meets the Eye by lilybobily7
Chapter Notes: Disclaimer: I don't own this world, JKR does.
Enjoy chapter 3!
Chapter Endnotes: So...what did you think?