Fifteen minutes after my run-in with Julia, the first people returning from dinner enter the common room. I shake my head to try to clear my head and stare down at the mostly blank parchment in my lap. What was I trying to do again? I stare at the lone arc across the page that had been the beginning of a play I had been trying to make up, but remarkably, the desire to create one had just vanished. I crumple the wasted page and throw it into the fire.

What was the point even trying to think straight right now? My brain is all worn out from thinking non-stop for days. My run-in with Julia definitely didn't help matters. What did she even mean when she said that about Mer's reputation?

The portrait hole is now letting in a steady stream of students and the quiet of the common room has changed to a dull roar as they fill the empty seats.

"…should be back soon. Lily said that she was going to owl home, so hopefully we'll know before too long." Rose enters the common room with her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her and wringing her hands, apparent absorbed in her own thoughts. She is followed by Lorcan, Lysander, Roger, and Phillip who all seem to be at their wit's end. "But it couldn't be that bad, right?" Rose continues out loud to herself.

Lysander has spotted me and his kill-me-now look has been replaced with a thank-Merlin-it's-James-so-we-don't-have-to-listen-to-Rose-anymore look. I guess that could be called 'relief'. "Nothing really happened and if it did we would have heard about it. I hope he's not suffering from PTSD or-"

"Relax, Rose. He's sitting right there," Lysander says cutting her off. Rose looks up in surprise and runs forward, hugging me tightly around the middle.

"You know you sounded like Nana just now, right?" I mutter to her frizzy red hair.

"Oh, bugger off," she responds and squeezes me tighter as I chuckle.

"James!" Fred appears behind Phillip and Roger who are doing our stupid victory dance again and smiling like the idiots they are. "I'm so happy you're back!"

I cock an eyebrow at him. "That's a little sentimental for you, don't you think?"

Fred smirks. "Not at all, cousin. I'm just happy that we'll actually have a chance to win our first game, now. Long's good, but he just doesn't have the experience."

"You just love me for my talent?" I ask sarcastically.

"Well, that's all you got."

Laughter erupts around me from bystanders. Apparently we've been putting on quite a show for the people closest to us. I smile, looking around the room. It's good to be back.

My eyes cross the entrance and continue, but I have to do a double take. There, just across the room, is Meredith. I'm not sure how long she was standing there, but she has a funny expression I can't place (odd… I usually do so well at reading her expressions) before she realizes I've noticed her.

I stiffen. What if she's still angry? Is she about to go off on me again? I must have really blown it.

Rose, who is still latched around my midsection, looks up and follows my gaze to Meredith. Her eyes dart back and forth between us quickly before she releases me and steps back. This all has only taken a few seconds, and my teammates are only just noticing Mer's arrival.

There's an awkward silence that falls on the group. Do they know about our row?

I decide to break the silence. "Hey, Mer."

Without even saying anything, Meredith runs forward and throws her arms around my neck. My eyes grow wide as she hugs me closer. This was unexpected.

I can tell a good amount of the room is watching us, but I don't really care. I return her embrace. Rose, Phillip, Roger, and the twins settle down in the seats nearest the fireplace and Fred smiles knowingly (oh, bullocks) and leaves to go up to our room.

"I'm sorry," Mer's voice says from my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, James. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I don't know what came over me." Her voice is thick and I can feel a damp spot developing on my shirt.

"It's okay," I say, gently rubbing her back. "I'm sorry, too. It really wasn't my business."

"I was so angry… I didn't even know you had been interrogated until yesterday morning." Mer takes a deep, shuddering breath. "What kind of friend am I to do that?" Her voice drops to a whisper. "I've missed you so much."

My heart is pounding. I don't think we've ever hugged like this. "You could have owled me," I manage to say. She is really close. I can feel every breath she takes and her chest…

Meredith pulls back before my thoughts can go too far. "I didn't think you wanted to talk to me." She is ducking her head and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

I grab her hand and she looks at me, her eyes still full of tears. "I could never not want to talk to you." Her beautiful face is still moist. I am suddenly struck by the urge to kiss her.

She stares at me for a second, then smiles and ducks her head again. The sounds of the busy room around me return to me and make me realize what an idiot I almost was. Meredith continues wiping her eyes.

"Will you do something for me, though?" she asks in a whisper.

"Anything."

"Will you leave…" she pauses and takes another shuddering breath. "Will you leave Travis alone?" She looks up at me, her beautiful deep blue eyes pleading. "I actually really like him, James. Please don't ruin this."

Hearing her request, my stomach drops slightly and the elation I felt at our reunion is annoyingly dampened. I take a breath and squeeze her hand tightly. I can't say no to her. "Of course, Mer."

"Ugh. I must look awful." Meredith's face is red and her eyes are slightly puffy. The little makeup she routinely wears is smudged.

No you don't, I think, automatically.

"Thanks, James, but we both know how I look when I cry." My heart feels like it stops. Did I say that out loud? "Ugh! This is why I hate crying." She gives up on wiping her eyes. "I need to go clean up. I'll be back." Mer starts walking towards the staircase to the girl's dormitories and I feel like I should tell her something…

Oh yeah. "Julia's up there right now," I warn her. Meredith turns to me and rolls her eyes.

"I've dealt with Julia for over six years, now," she says, bringing a smug smirk to her face. "I can handle her."

As I watch Meredith disappear up the stairs to the girl's dormitories, Rose pops up on my left. "What was that about?"

I feel the heat in my cheeks as she stares at me. "What was what about?"

We are going unnoticed by my teammates who are currently wrapped up in an argument about which female professional Quidditch players they would go for. In other words: not interested in my conversation with my cousin.

"Don't act daft," she said slapping my arm with the back of her hand. I stare at her blankly, hoping she'll drop the subject. "The gentle embrace. The soft words. The googly eyes." She says this last one while batting her eyes dramatically.

"I don't know what…" I trail off as she looks at me skeptically.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, James." I avoid her eyes. Damn it, Aunt Hermione. Could you have just given this brainy stuff to Hugo, instead? "You fancy Meredith."

"I don't!" I shout. My voice is embarrassingly high. The guys glance over at me briefly before shrugging and returning to their previous conversation. "I don't," I say again, more evenly, but even I can tell this lie isn't convincing.

I wish Rose would drop this. I, myself, have hardly come to terms with how I feel. Why does everyone want to know anyway? How would that change anything? Mer is dating Travis Bloody Corner. Mer said just now that she really likes the git and if she finds out how I feel, it's just going to ruin things between us. I already had to deal with a few days of thinking that she hated me and I almost lost it. Having to deal with it longer than that would be the end of me.

Merlin, I am being dramatic.

"And you just had what appeared to be a mushy make-up because she's just your friend?

I turn and look Rose full in the face. "Will you drop it? You Weasley women really are insufferable."

"James," Rose begins. She's about to go into lecture mode.

"Rose, please. You're the third one to pry into my life, today. I just want to relax and enjoy being back before having to go back to my classes tomorrow." I walk away and pretend to join the conversation my mates are still having.

My heart's just not in it.

I should be happy right now. Meredith doesn't hate me. I've got my mates around me. I get to play Quidditch again. I should be happy.

My mind wanders back to my conversation with Julia. A new bubble of hatred forms as I think about her. Her reputation has been in tatters since the beginning of term. It's nothing less than she deserves, to be sure. She did almost ruin my future with that bloody Felix business… not to mention the cheating.

Everyone says I'm lucky, but I don't consider myself lucky at all. Lucky would be seeing Meredith break Corner's nose instead of snogging his face off. Lucky would be having the sense to find a better girl than Julia before it was too late. Lucky would be never dealing with the frustrating problems that I've faced over the past month or so.

I'm starting to believe there is no such thing as luck. People put so much into thinking there is luck and chance, but even Felix Felicis doesn't really work on luck. According to Dad, it gives the best solution to any problem that is faced.

I snap out of my depressing inward rant when Rose sharply pinches the soft skin my arm. "Ow!"

"Grow up! I need to talk to you alone, James," she whispers.

"I told you, drop it."

"It's not about that, I promise."

Taking a breath, I nod and follow her to an empty area in the common room. I stare intently at the pattern on the gold and scarlet wall.

"So…" she starts, "Meredith and Corner…"

"Yeah. So?" I definitely don't want to think about this anymore. It's been on my mind since I saw them together and I'm sick of getting that mental image. It literally makes me feel sick.

"For Circe's sake, don't act like it doesn't bother you! You know as well as I do how much of a tosser Corner is. Why Meredith can't see it is beyond me."

I cross my arms and scowl. Bloody Corner.

"I could have sworn she fancied you," she continues, "but when I asked her about it, she laughed in my face." I pale at her last revelation. Meredith doesn't like me. I hadn't realized I had still been holding out hope for a chance with her, but that felt like the last nail in the coffin.

Rose doesn't notice my reaction. "I think that she's fooling herself. I mean, you know she's had terrible experiences with boys. She seems to only attract the worst kind of guy."

This isn't false. Mer's last relationship ended not long before I started dating Julia, and it wasn't pretty. Patrick Nicola still ducks whenever she pulls out her wand. From what I was able glean from Meredith, he absolutely deserved it. She doesn't much like to talk about her exes, though.

"You know about Patrick Nicola (the bloody wanker) and Greg Patton before him (the guy who tried to make her stop hanging out with you). They were just from last year. The year before, she was seeing a few guys, but only dated Brenden O'Toole, and I know you are familiar with that name."

O'Toole. That name sounds really familiar. My brow furrows and I tilt my head, trying to place the familiar name. Rose ducks her head and raises her hands in disbelief "… he got suspended that year…"

"Right!" I yell as the memory comes to me. "I remember! He attacked some girl in a bathroom and…" Rose nods her head and gives me a meaningful look.

"Not just 'some girl', James."

"Meredith…" I say softly. Rose nods her head in affirmation. The recent event in the locker room after Quidditch trials comes to mind.

***"Come on, then," Phillip urges. "Who's the boyfriend?"

"Listen, guys: he is not my boyfriend. I've just met him a couple of times. That's all." Meredith's blush is complete. She's avoiding eye contact.

"Stop dodging the question, woman," Roger puts it, the edge of a tease in his voice. "Who is it?"

No! Please… I don't want to know.

"Shut it, all of you. I'm not telling. I know you guys are just going to have a go at him and I won't let you do that unless he becomes my boyfriend."

"Just don't let him mess you around, yeah?" Phillip says with a laugh.

He meant it jokingly, but Meredith's eyes narrowed and she finally looks him in the eye, saying scathingly, "Thanks, Phil. I'll keep that in mind," before stalking out and slamming the door behind her.***

Well, that makes a lot more sense.

"It was her. O'Toole was cheating on her and she found out. When she confronted him about it one evening, he… attacked her. Neville was at the school late that day, thankfully, and stopped him before he hurt Mer. She didn't want to tell you and the other guys because she didn't want you to worry. You know how independent she is." I go back to staring at the wall; I try to let that information sink in.

"I'm scared for her, James. I know she's your friend, but don't forget: she's my friend, too. Travis Corner is no good." I nod firmly in agreement. "Look, I know you care for her a lot. As a friend… and more than that." I open my mouth to object, but she raises her hand to stop me. "She respects your opinion and you're the only one her stubborn head has ever listened to."

Rose is right. Even if it is only because of being Quidditch Captain, it has been what gained Meredith's trust. My row with Mer comes back to my mind. "I don't think anything I say is going to make a difference in this situation, Rose."

"And why is that?"

"Do you know why we had to apologize to each other just now?" This stops Rose. She hadn't thought of that. "The day Nott questioned me I caught her and Corner snogging. We had a rather unpleasant shouting match resulting in her calling me a self-absorbed sod and storming away." Rose's eyes are wide and her mouth is hanging slightly open. "I just went mental seeing them together. I didn't handle it very well and said some things that, had I been thinking, I know Mer would murder me for. But she snapped! It was the first time she had ever seriously had a go at me."

Rose frowns, furrowing her brow and crossing her arms across her chest. "She knows I hate Corner," I add, "but it doesn't seem to make a difference."

"This is worse than I thought," Rose finally says while shaking her head. "Alright, do you want to know what I think?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway."

"I told you before that I could have sworn Mer fancied you."

I nod and say, "But you said that she doesn't."

"No, I said she denied it. Much better than you did, for your information."

"So, what? That just sounds like semantics to me."

"She's confused, James. She's been hurt and she's paranoid she'll get hurt again. I think that's what took her so long to make it official with Corner." I grimace. "Her row with you probably accelerated that process, actually."

"Ugh…" I grab my hair then slide my hands down my face. "I can't seem to do anything right," I mumble through my palms.

Rose smiles sympathetically. "You did a good job making Mer feel better just now."

Dropping my hands, I heave a sigh. "One thing out of a million."

"Pessimist," Rose says, sticking her tongue out.

I hear Phil and Roger shout a greeting. Meredith is walking towards the team from the staircase to the girl's dorms looking like the calm, confident, beautiful woman she always is.

"Did I say 'no, you don't' to Meredith before she went upstairs?"

Rose looks at me quizzically. "I don't think so. At least, not out loud."

My eyes snap over to her. "What do you mean by that?"

"It was pretty obvious that you were thinking it."

"Meredith noticed," I mutter, embarrassed.

"She didn't even blink. I don't think she was really realizing what was going on at the time." I turn back to watch Meredith. She's telling a joke, her face bright.

Phil, Roger, and the twins double up in laughter as Mer finishes the joke. She seems so happy right now. "I'm going to kill Corner if he hurts her."

"James, the whole point of talking to you was to tell you that you could prevent that from happening."

"How?" I ask exasperatedly. "And if she's happy, why should I ruin that?"

"James Sirius Potter!" Rose places her hands on her hips in a very Aunt Hermione-ish way. "Have you heard a thing I just said? Do you know anything about Travis Corner?" I duck my head. "Corner is the biggest prat in the entire school, and you know it! The chance that she won't get hurt in this relationship is practically non-existent. If you don't do anything, you're basically complicit in that."

"What about everyone else? What's stopping you from talking to her?"

Rose closes her eyes and sighs. "The only chance any of us have in attempting to avert this disaster would be through you." She opens her eyes slowly and looks at me full-on. "Remember, you're the only one Mer's ever listened to. If I'm right, and she does fancy you, you could save her a lot of pain."

I stare at the floor, ashamed. I know that she's right and she knows that I know that she's right, but I don't want to know that she's right. If I try to do something or say something, it's going to hurt Meredith, no matter if she fancies me back. And if I don't, things will just go bad with Corner and she'll get hurt anyway. It would kill me to hurt her and it pains me to even think about it.

We stand in silence for a few moments before I finally say, "Rose… I don't know. I'm going to have to think about this."

I walk away from her before she can say anything else.

I approach my mates and say, "It sounds like you lot are having too much fun around here." I reach the sofa being shared by Meredith, Lysander, and Roger and obnoxiously squeeze myself between Mer and Lysander.

"James, you fat arse!" Roger yells as he tumbles to the floor. As I slid into position, it caused Lysander to move over and Roger ended up being pushed out.

Getting up, laughing, Roger puts me in a head lock and throws me to the ground, roughly. I break his hold and put him in a half nelson. "I may be a fat arse, but at least that means I can easily pin a featherweight like you."

Suddenly, both of us are lifted in the air by our ankles. Meredith and Phillip are smirking evilly as they have their wands held out, holding us up.

"Come on, lads," Meredith says. "You know Muggle fighting is boring to watch."

"Now Mer," Roger responds cheekily from above, "Let's be honest here. Muggle fighting is good sport when there are a few girls in bikinis and a good bit of mud involved."

Meredith does not look amused and flicks her wand. With a startled yell, I come crashing down, painfully, on the floor below.

Meredith rushes forward with an apologetic face mixed with amusement. "Oh, James! I'm so sorry," she says, holding back a smile. "I totally thought my spell was on Roger."

Lorcan and Lysander are rolling around in fits of laughter. Roger is trying to undo the spell holding him on his own. I prop myself up on me elbows and look over at Mer. "How did you manage that?"

Meredith can't hold it back and laughs. Her brilliant smile and squinted eyes bring a smile to my face as well.

Roger somehow manages to undo Phillip's spell and falls on the floor, barely missing me. My mates start arguing about something, but I can't stop looking at Meredith.

What would it hurt to try to talk to her? If I have a bit more tact, I may even come out of it unscathed. Plus, best case scenario: she'll ditch Corner and curse his arse to Surrey. That thought almost seems too good to be possible.

I guess it's worth a shot…

***excerpt from Chapter 8 'Trial and Error'