"Bloody hell, Sirius, did you see her? Her-her hair…it was…long, and beautiful, and wild. Her eyes, everything…she is so gorgeous Sirius," Remus said, looking pained as he paced around his kitchen, "she's so beautiful and I want her…but she hates me." Sirius nodded, running a hand through his hair, "I don't know what to tell you, mate, except…grovel, you know? Apologize, show her that you're sincere about it…woo her, or something," he said. Remus looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, "woo her? And how do you suppose I do that?" he asked. Sirius shrugged, "I don't know, mate, I'm not the expert on women," he said, drinking his tea as he listened to his friend talk. He shook his head slightly, biting his lip as he looked down at the ground, "well, I'm outta here," he said quietly, walking toward the door. Sirius stood up and walked toward him, "we have an Order meeting tonight, you can't just quit showing up when she returns," he said, looking at him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "stay here, we can try and figure out what you can say to her after the meeting." With that he led him back into the kitchen and they talked for a while until the meeting.
Slowly people started to show up to the meeting, gathering around the table and taking their usual seats. Meredith was the last to show up, her previously messy and wild hair was tamed, pulled into a low side ponytail and then braided. She sat in between Bill and Charlie and picking up a glass and pouring some firewhisky in it.
Snape droned on as usual, acting as though what he was doing was the most important thing to the Order ever. And what he was doing was a big deal, but Meredith couldn't stand hearing him talk like he was the most important person in the world. "Megalomaniac, much?" she muttered to herself as the meeting ended and people dispersed. Sirius heard her comment and laughed, shaking his head and walking towards Arthur to talk to him. Meredith sat at the table still, just looking around at everyone and observing them. She had been gone for only about five months but it felt to her that she was gone an eternity—everyone looked as though they had aged years. Then she realized that she, too, must've looked the same as them, for she had sustained the same amount of stress and worry. As she observed her friends talking she hovered about on the edge of the group, staying to herself. Occasionally she'd catch the eye of one of them and they'd smile at her, but behind the smile she swore she could see a hint of distrust and suspicion, like they thought she was a spy or something. Meredith shook it off, and eventually joined in a conversation with Arthur Weasley. Remus, meanwhile, was trying to distract himself with the other people there, but his eyes always drifted back to Meredith. He took note of the scar on the side of her face, no doubt a souvenir from Greyback, and despite that he thought she was still beautiful. He was so in love with her, even after she left, but he didn't know what to do.