As thunder rumbled and lightening flashed, James and Lily hurried down the path to the Shrieking Shack and into the village. The street was crowded with people milling about in the rain and they were quickly getting soaked. Lily’s own robes were sticking to her and her hair was drenched. James, she noticed, did not look too much better.
“You look like you just fell in the lake,” Lily commented to him as they made their way through the crowd.
“You do, too,” he replied with a smile. “I have an idea. Follow me.”
Before she could answer, James grabbed her hand and pulled her off the road into Honeydukes. “Why are we going in here?” Lily asked. “I thought ””
“Shh,” he said, holding a finger to his lips. James navigated through the crowd of witches and wizards to the back of the sweet shop. He glanced around before opening a door, which Lily noticed led into the cellar.
Once they descended the staircase, James let go of her hand and crept over to a large pile of boxes.
“Could you help me move some of these, Lily?”
“Sure, but why””
“It’s a secret passage.” At her bewildered look, James smiled. “Haven’t you ever heard of Hogwarts’ secret passages?” he asked, lifting a box of Honeydukes specialty chocolate out of the way.
“Well, I’ve heard of them, but I always thought they were just rumors.”
“Lily, Lily, Lily,” James said shaking his head, pretending to be disappointed. He pushed a large box of chocolate frogs out of the way and stepped aside for Lily to see the trapdoor on the floor. It blended in so well with the dirt surroundings that at first she did not see it.
“What do you think of that?” he asked, beaming proudly.
Before she could respond, James bent down and lifted the trapdoor which revealed a small, dark hole.
“You think we can get back to Hogwarts by means of this rabbit hole?” Lily asked incredulously.
James nodded. “I know we can get back. My friends and I discovered these paths during our first year…with a bit of help from Filch of course.”
He looked at Lily’s doubtful expression and reached for her hand again. “Come on, it’s not that bad,” he said reassuringly. “You’re with me. What could possibly go wrong?”
James descended a flight of stairs that led into the hole, leading Lily by the hand behind him. Once they were fully in the passage, James shut the trap door leaving them in complete darkness.
“James,” Lily moaned. “Are you sure about this?”
“Positive,” he replied. “Lumos.”
Following suit, Lily lit her wand as well and saw that they were in a very narrow, earthy passage. The air around them was cold and dank and walls made Lily feel claustrophobic. She kept a firm grip on James’ hand until finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking, the path gradually began to rise and they reached a stone trapdoor.
James pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket, examined it, and the pointed his wand at the stone.
“Dissendium,” he said. The stone instantly leapt aside, forming a fairly large opening. James climbed through first and turned around to offer Lily a hand to help her out. Gripping his arm tightly, Lily clambered out of the hole, but in her haste she slipped and fell into James’ arms.
“You okay?” James asked, helping a blushing Lily to her feet.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks,” Lily answered as she quickly brushed the dirt from her robes. She tried to act graceful about her fall, but an abrupt growl from her stomach ruined the effect.
“Hungry?” James said with a smile. “Shall we go downstairs for dinner?”
“Umm, sure, that would be great,” she replied with a nervous laugh.
The two headed down the corridor and towards the Grand Staircase. Just before they entered the Great Hall, however, Lily turned to James.
“Let’s go in separately,” she suggested quietly. “My friends already think we’re an item and I don’t want to encourage them anymore.”
James hesitated for a moment before replying, “Sure, if that’s what you want. I can wait a few minutes.”
“Thanks, James,” Lily said, giving him a smile before going into the Great Hall.
Halfway down the Gryffindor table, Lily spotted her group of friends. “Hey, Lily,” said Andy as Lily sat down. “How was your day in Hogsmeade?”
“It was okay. What about you”hey, where’s Meredith?”
Andy and Kelly exchanged glances.
“Well, after you left, we went to Honeydukes and…well, Meredith started talking with Sean Macmillan. She told us to go on without her and as far as we know, she spent the rest of the day with him.”
Kelly glanced over at the Hufflepuff table and Lily followed her gaze. Meredith was sitting with Sean Macmillan, laughing at something he had said. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and would occasionally run her hand through her hair before resting her hand on his.
“Looks like she got over James fast,” Lily commented.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Kelly replied. “She may just feel lonely now that the object of her affection pays no attention to her and she’s avoiding her best friend. But who knows? She may really like Sean.”
Lily shrugged her shoulders and turned back to her meal. About fifteen minutes later, after Lily was almost finished eating, James finally entered the Great Hall. To Lily’s dismay, though, Olivia Brooks and a couple of other girls were trailing behind him. When James sat down across from Lily and her friends, the girls began to pepper him with questions.
“James, can I come to your practice? I would absolutely love to watch you play.”
“James, I’m afraid I will never be able to pass my O.W.L.S.! Could you tutor me in Transfiguration? I hear you’re brilliant.”
Waving off the girls, James caught Lily’s eye and gave her a pleading look.
“James, you’re hair looks so good when it’s tousled,” Olivia added, reaching over to play with James’ hair. “I’m sure it will look great when you go to Slughorn’s Halloween party. You can go with me, of course.”
Before James could reply, the other two girls protested and pleaded for James to go with them. Fed up with the petty fifth years, Lily finally blurted out, “He’s already going to Slughorn’s party with me.”
The table went quiet and everyone looked at Lily in utter amazement. Kelly’s jaw dropped and Andy raised his eyebrows, but their reactions were nothing compared with James’s.
“W-what?” he asked with wide eyes. He was in complete shock and appeared unaware of anything else in the world besides her.
Lily felt her cheeks burn and cast her eyes down at her empty dinner plate. She had no idea why she said that. She had not even been planning to ask James to Slughorn’s party let alone attend the party herself. In the past, she had gone with several boys who had invited her but never had a good time. Last year, to Slughorn’s dismay, she had not attended a single one of his get-togethers. Why had she suddenly decided to go now?
Looking up again, she saw that Olivia and her two friends were scowling. Then she met James’ eyes and knew her answer. Inviting James to Slughorn’s party did not mean they were a couple or that anything would happen between them. They would just go as friends.
She repeated her intentions to go with James to the party and watched in satisfaction as the three girls turned away and stormed off.
James looked at her incredulously, still in shock over Lily’s statement. “Are you sure about this?” he asked cautiously.
“We’ll just be going as friends,” Lily said quickly as she got up from the table. “Right?”
“Right,” James replied, watching her leave the Great Hall. “Friends.”
More than Meets the Eye by lilybobily7
Chapter Notes: Sorry it's been so long since the last chapter.
Hope you enjoy chapter 9!
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR.
Chapter Endnotes: Feel free to leave me a review. I would love to hear what you think about the story and any suggestions you might have!