A Magical Roleplaying Experience 

 #18053  by Meiriona Davies
Location: Hogwarts Express • Date: September 1

Meiriona settled back on the bench in the compartment she had chosen, sighing contently. It had been a nice, long, relaxing summer for her, one where she had been able to clear her head after the turmoil of the previous year. After receiving her (excellent) grades from her OWL exams, her parents had even bought her a brand new broomstick, one that would serve her wonderfully in the coming Quidditch season.

All in all, she was in a good mood. Sixth year was going to be her year, she could just feel it. It was time for her to branch out and do things she wanted to do, without worrying about a certain... attractive... Gryffindor...

Last edited by Meiriona Davies on 23 Sep 2018, 21:41, edited 1 time in total.
 #18054  by Lily Evans
Lily hummed to herself as she walked along the train, searching for Marlene. She was looking for someone else, too, although she wouldn't admit it to anyone. Despite all of the letters that had been exchanged over the summer holidays, it was still weird to think that she was now someone's girlfriend, especially someone who only two years ago she had sworn to hate for all eternity. In fact, it had been hard enough to convince Marlene, and she wasn't entirely convinced herself. All she knew was that nothing had ever made her feel the way his letters had over the summer, and especially nothing more than the kiss at the station in June. Unfortunately, they had missed each other at the station today, however.

As she walked, Lily turned her head and noticed a seemingly empty compartment. Thinking it would be nice to sit for a minute before resuming her search for her best friend (under the pretense of carrying out her Head Girl duties, of course), she opened the door and stepped inside.

Except the compartment wasn't empty.

And the person inside was someone she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to see.

 #18055  by Meiriona Davies
Meiriona was in the middle of trying to purge all thoughts of her ex boyfriend from her mind when the door to her compartment opened. She glanced up, ready to say hi - a conversation would be helpful to distract her - when she realized exactly who was standing there. Her face fell.

There wasn't much that phased Meiriona, but clearly, seeing the girl James had dumped her for was on that list. With a heavy sigh, she folded her hands together on her lap.

"Hey, Lily," she said, sounding entirely unenthusiastic, "Good summer?" That was dangerous. That was opening up for the Gryffindor girl to start talking about going on dates with Meiriona's ex, and exchanging letters, and everything. That got her wondering - did Lily even know what she had done back in the spring?
 #18057  by Lily Evans
Lily bit her lip, trying to recover her composure. It wasn't easy with the way Meiriona was speaking, as though she wanted nothing more than for Lily to leave her alone. She still felt guilty about how everything had happened, especially since she had never, ever wanted to be the cause of a breakup.

"Hi, Meiriona," she replied, her voice slightly stilted. Lily raised a dainty hand to lean against the door jamb, trying to look casual even though she could feel her heart racing. "It was a nice summer, yeah," she answered, choosing her words carefully, "but I'm happy to be heading back to school..."

Did that sound too much like she was eager to see James? She quickly added, "because it's always weird spending my summer around muggles. I'm looking forward to being able to use magic again."

Hopefully Davies bought it.
 #18060  by Meiriona Davies
Meiriona nodded slowly, watching Lily with her hands clenched together so tight her knuckles were going white. "Right," she said simply, biting down on the inside of her cheek. "My summer was alright, too. I was in Paris for a week. We went to the Salabim Dinner Theatre there, and got to see the show up close. That was really cool. Now I'm just looking forward to a quiet, uneventful year." The last part had a bit more of a bite to it than she had originally intended. "You looking forward to graduating?"
 #18063  by Lily Evans
Lily couldn't help but feel massively uncomfortable with the entire situation. She hadn't missed the subtle jab, after all. Forcing a pleasant smile on her face, she nodded.

"That sounds really nice. I've always wanted to go see one of those shows, but never had the chance," she said, taking a half step forward. "Do you mind if I...?" she gestured towards the seat opposite Meiriona. Maybe if she forced herself to stick around, it would feel less awkward. It was worth a shot.
 #18065  by Meiriona Davies
The moment Lily made to move forward and asked if she could sit, Meiriona's jaw clenched along with her entire body. She drew in a sharp breath through her nose, and let it out slowly, trying to stop herself from snapping at the older girl.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," she muttered, staring down at her lap. She hadn't realized how much being around the other girl would bother her, but apparently it was the last thing she wanted. "Look, nothing against you, but... I know you're with Potter now, and I really... I don't know if I'm ready for that to be in my face," she said, finally, lifting her gaze to meet Lily's. It hurt, because she remembered two years ago when she had needed help with Potions and Slughorn had introduced her to, in his words, a potions prodigy. She had admired Lily Evans, up until she realized she was losing James to her.
 #18066  by Lily Evans
Lily flinched. She hadn't realized how bitter the younger girl was, although she supposed it made sense. "You know... Meiriona, I never... I didn't want it to happen like this, but he..." she started, until she was interrupted.
 #18067  by Meiriona Davies
"Cut the crap, Evans," Meiriona snapped, blinking back tears she hadn't realized were building in the corners of her eyes. "You're not innocent in this either, so don't pretend. Look, I respect you, but... I really don't want to be around you. Could you please... not be here?" she asked, trying to mask the pain.
 #18068  by Lily Evans
Lily wrapped her arms around herself, an expression of hurt written all over her face. "If that's what you want," she whispered, taking a step back. She almost recognized the bitterness, remembering how she had acted towards Severus after that fateful day, and knew that it wasn't worth it to continue trying. It was best to leave Meiriona be and hopefully she would come around eventually. "I'll see you around, Meiriona," she added, her voice soft as she slowly backed out of the compartment, closing the door.

After that encounter, she knew she needed to find Marlene, and fast. She needed a friend.