chapter i entirely made over

***

THE DAY FOR AVERY CARMICHAEL TO STEP ONTO THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS FOR what would be her final year at Hogwarts arrived in an array of hell-bent kiosk cues and the clatter of clumsy footfalls. Hell, it felt bittersweet, all of it; the tracking of the trolley's wheels, dragging unevenly across the grime-ridden floor, the smell of pungent fuel passing through as steam out of the train engines, the familiar busy atmosphere suffocating the entirety of the train station.. it felt bittersweet, knowing that would be the last time she would be doing through this. Goodness, would she miss this place and everything to do with it. (Perhaps even the exhausting train journey from Thankerton to Glasgow Central to King's Cross that she was bound to take every year, only to have to take a train back to Scotland — though it's a magically concealed part — it's still Scotland nonetheless.) Unfortunately, this nostalgic walk through Kings Cross station had to include her older brother supporting her luggage trolley from beside her with a vice-like grip. For heavens sake, it was like the 21 year old couldn't trust the now-Head Girl with a bleeding trolley!

"Do you have to hold onto the trolley with me? I'm not that much of a disaster, you know." Avery groans, while Jeremiah merely chuckles, using his free hand to smooth his near-caramel hair to the side.

"You cannot be trusted, dear little sister," He quips casually, "If I move away from the trolley I bet you will make some sort of event in your name."

"Oh, yeah? Try me." She challenges, and Jeremiah sidetracked himself from the trolley muttering a 'suit yourself'. Desperate to prove herself, Avery holds onto the trolley bars strongly and despite her willingness to move with precision, it didn't stop the collision of her trolley with a passing workman, who'd unfortunately been too engrossed in his watch to notice his whereabouts. As a result, the man walked gut-first into the trolley, wearing an expression of sheer shock from his sudden collision. The cage containing Avery's owl Oban shook, making her immediately reach a hand out to steady her owl.

"I am so sorry, Sir!" She apologises as the man collects himself.

"Not at all, pal. My fault, sorry. I should watch where I'm going." He says, his face reddening while he straightens his suit, before walking away. She turns back to Jeremiah, who was at her side wearing a very pointedly smug look, grinning to Avery.

"Don't look at me like that! It was his fault! I was walking in a perfectly straight line!" She says, scowling when Jeremiah said nothing but smirked and took a hold of the trolley again. They got through the platform, one that Jeremiah had plenty of experience walking through having left Hogwarts four years ago, and faced themselves with many old and new faces of families and students alike. "Besides, what are you even doing here? Usually Mum is the only one to drop me off." She asks, nodding momentarily behind them to Valerie, who trailed behind her children, flicking through a pamphlet she'd snatched on the way.

     "Is it that bad I want to drop my baby sister off for her final year at Hogwarts?" He asks sullenly, holding a hand to his heart, only to perk up moments later. "Nah, I wanted to embarrass you by announcing your new Head Girl position to everyone in the station." Seeing the deathly stare Avery gave him, he rolls his eyes. "I'm kidding, Aves. Not like they wouldn't already know. News travels fast at Hogwarts. It's a wonder you've still had no idea who the Head Boy is."

"I know. It's been two weeks since the letter came yet still no one has managed to find out who he is. Well, maybe they do, yet no one thought it would be helpful enough to tell me." Avery sighs, her eyes searching the platform for a familiar face. Back in Thankerton, she'd been growing restless at the fact she still hadn't found out who the Head Boy was. She didn't know what to expect when she'd eventually see him!

"I like it. It adds a whole mysterious element to it all. You know, seeing as you'll be living with the Head Boy this year." Jeremiah adds, as Avery, who thought she'd heard him wrong, widens her eyes in surprise.

     Sharing a room? Why on earth would she have to share a room with the Head Boy? Would she not just stay in the Ravenclaw Tower, like she always did—?

"What did you just say—?"

"It doesn't matter." Jeremiah interrupts. "Dominique's coming, look." Before Avery even had the chance to retort back at her brother, he'd nudged her shoulder in the direction of a pretty redhead sauntering her way through the crowd, and jumped right into Avery's arms.

Jumping away from the hug after a shared moment, Dominique Hawthorne stared her best friend with a gleeful expression that managed to chase away Avery's doubtful feelings from her previous conversation with her brother.

"Hi!" Dominique smiles, holding Avery by the shoulders. "Or should I say, hello, Head Girl? I am so proud of you!" Dominique's loud voice carried through the station, so much that she'd thought her brother's plea for her to be embarrassed wouldn't go undone after all. Because, in declaring her pride, Dominique had also managed to turn multiple heads at the word 'Head Girl'.

"Shush, Dom! People are staring!" Avery says, her voice hoarse.

"Let them stare! You are the Head Girl, after all!"

Something about the way Dominique was grinning was enough to quieten Avery's pleas; her happiness was contagious, and although being appointed Head Girl was the last thing Avery wanted to be congratulated on, seeing the smile Dominique wore was enough to make one crawl upon Avery's face.

"How are you coping with the aftermath of your Barbados fling, Dom?" Jeremiah goads, smirking. Dominique looks between her best friend and her older brother, a look of disbelief on her face.

"You told him?" Dominique asks Avery with widened eyes, who shrugs helplessly with a weak grin.

"And me," Valerie quips, peeking out from behind Jeremiah's tall figure.

"Oh, hi Miss Carmichael!" Dominique greets Avery's redhead mother, her previous feelings dissipating.

"How many times have I told you, call me Val! That name makes me feel old."

"I mean..." Jeremiah trails off with a shrug, looking at the floor, earning a backhanded smack on the chest from Valerie.

Valerie narrows her eyes at her son. "Shut it, Jeremiah. I'm only 39. I still have a life to live."

     "If it makes you feel any better, I think you still look 20." Dominique says, an affirmative smile on her lightly-freckled face. Valerie grins self-assuredly, a hand on Dominique's shoulder.

     "See?" She directs to Jeremiah, who was leaning with his back to a rock-hard pillar and his arms folded loosely. "Dom should've been my firstborn!"

"If you say so.." Jeremiah says as he begun to silently cackle, dodging another rapidly approaching smack from his mother.

"Right. Before I smack him again, you girls will probably best be off going on the train. It'll be leaving in ten minutes, anyways."

     "Got it. Bye, Mum!" Avery says, embracing her mother. Valerie hugs Avery close to her, smoothing down Avery's strawberry blonde tresses. Avery could sense the way her mother was trembling from under her grip. "Do not cry, Mum. We've been over this every year for the past seven years!"

     "I know, I know... but it's different this year! It's your last year, you're Head Girl..." Valerie says, her voice tremulous, wiping away a leaked tear. She smiles wearily at her daughter.

     Avery sighs, pulling away from the hug. "I know, Mum. It's okay. I'll see you at Christmas.  I love you." She gave Valerie another hug, before looking to her brother, who'd been in conversation with Dominique.

     "I'll see you at Christmas, Jem." Avery reaches up, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck.

     "Bye, Aves." Jeremiah replies, breaking the hug. "Enjoy your last year. Enjoy being Head Girl. Stay away from boys. Oh, and try not to burn down the school and tarnish the Carmichael name for me." He adds, grinning.

     Scoffing, Avery smiles at him. "As if I would do that. Enjoy Copenhagen."

     "Will do." Jeremiah smiles. He looked over at Dominique, who'd just hugged Valerie goodbye. "I hope you get over your holiday heartbreak, Dom." He smirks cheekily, and the seventh year redhead rolls her eyes from beneath a begrudging grin.

     "Very funny, Jem. I'll see you later." Dominique replies, giving him a swift embrace. Breaking away from it, she stood inline with Avery who'd just loaded her trunks onto the train, and began to walk towards one of the entryways.

     Glancing at the rouge locomotor, Avery smooths a strand of sunkissed hair behind her ear. This would be the first time she would step onto the grain as Head Girl and the last time she would have to make the journey forward. Her hair was tied up loosely in a half-ponytail, mid-long in length. She wore a crisp white blouse with exuberant sleeves billowing out in baggy fashion on top of the blue skinny jeans accompanying them, along with her yellow plimsoles. Excitement danced within her glistening fern eyes, lined thinly with a coating of mascara, similarly with her pursed lips adorning a smooth magenta from underneath her freckle-dotted nose. Adjusting the hold she had on her patchwork bag, Avery looks out at her mother and brother once more with a wide smile. "Bye!" She exclaims, before stepping aboard the train with Dominique in front.

     "I'm sure they'll be somewhere here — I saw Hannah earlier on and she told me she'd grab a compartment for us..." Dominique spoke mindlessly as the two seventh years navigated their way through the cramped locomotive in search for their Ravenclaw friends.

     "Yeah... oh, I just remembered." Avery spoke, and Dominique turned her head to Avery so she could continue. "I'll need to go to the Head's carriage almost right away — apparently McGonagall wants me and the Head Boy to get started on our duties right away."

     "Oh, yeah!" Says Dominique, weaving her way through the train. "Do you know who the Head Boy is yet?"

     "No, but according to Jem, he said something about us–"

     "—Good graciousness, it's the Head Girl!"

     Avery's head shot back abruptly as she focused on what, or who, had interrupted her with their massive yell — one which had many people focusing their gaze on Avery herself, much to her dismay of wanting to not attract any attention onto herself. But, as much as she wanted to throttle the person who did so, that plea near enough dissipated when she recognised the person standing in front of her who'd shouted at them so exuberantly.

     "Shush, Julian! You're so loud!" Avery hushes the smiling blonde constricting their path, who reached out to embrace Avery amidst the restricted corridor.

     "Could you be any less obvious, Julian?" Dominique says with a roll of the eyes as she also received a side-hug from said blonde.

     "Hey, Dom." Julian Windsor grins, "We were wondering where you two went. I drew the short straw and had to find you." Julian began leading them down the corridor to a compartment, as he says to Avery, "So, how's it like being the Head Girl?"

     Avery sighs. "Stifling. So. Much. Attention. So many people have been staring at me — I have no idea how they've all found out when I don't even know who the Head Boy is."

     Chuckling, Julian holds a compartment door open for the two girls. "It's only the start, Young Carmichael. You are in for a ride."

     "Tell me about it." Avery says with an exasperated breath, as the train begin to move away from the station. She walked into the compartment behind Dominique, and was instantly greeted with five other beaming faces - their friends. Juliet Rhodes, Hannah Liu, Eric Feng, Benjamin Kipton and Rowan Hamilton. And before Avery could count to three, they'd all pounded her with hugs and congratulations for getting Head Girl. Not like she'd needed any more.

     "Thanks, guys." Avery laughs as she was finally permitted to take a seat in the compartment — with the knowledge that she'd have to leave again in five minutes to the Head's compartment. Not wanting to have to address any other comments on her being Head Girl, she asks, "So, what's new?"

     They all grin in the direction of Rowan Hamilton, a Muggle-Born with short blonde hair who plays as a killer Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

     Rowan squeals. "I've been made Quidditch Captain!"

"Oh my god, Row!" Avery exclaims, cupping her mouth with her hands. "That's amazing!"

"I know! I have so many plans for the team this year. Complete makeover. There's gonna be a tryouts, most of the team will be replaced and I'm gonna really make sure that we beat all the other houses. We need to get all the amateurs off."

"You know.." Eric Feng says, smirking. "I've been wanting to get on the team for ages! Now's my chance. The last captain hated me for some reason."

     "I remember!" Juliet Rhodes laughs, pointing a finger at him. "You set a bludger on him in third year quidditch tryouts!"

     "That was an accident! That's absolutely no reason to hold a grudge over, and for three years?"

     "Whatever." Rowan says. "Sorry Eric, but I am holding no bias whatsoever over any of my friends. If someone gets a place on the team it'll be because they've earned it!"

     Eric grins. "We'll see about that." He says, to which Rowan rolls her eyes at. Most of the group had gotten used to Eric's long-term crush on Rowan and how he was always trying to impress himself in front of her — this was yet another attempt. But nonetheless, Avery was really happy for Rowan. She was one of the most talented people in her year, both grades-wise and Quidditch-wise, but she was at uneven odds with so many others due to her Muggle-Born status. But Rowan never let that dim her potential; she knew she could do something, and she did it. And now she was Quidditch Captain!

Avery smiles. She really did love seeing all her friends again. If it weren't for this bunch, she wouldn't have enjoyed Hogwarts as much as she would've. "Erm — I think I'll be seeing you guys in the Great Hall, then? I have to go to the Heads' compartment.." She says, somewhat hesitantly. And so it begins, Avery thinks to herself. Time to be the Head Girl.

"We get it." Hannah smiles gently. "Duties call, or whatever the Muggles say."

"Yeah. I'll see you guys later."

Just as Avery was about to exit the compartment she'd seeked short refuge in, she heard a distinct voice yell, "You go get 'em, Head Girl." She turns back shortly to see Benjamin grinning mischievously, and lets out a helpless chuckle before going to change into her robes and heads straight away to the designated compartment.

You have no choice, Avery. She tells herself, inhaling excessively as she wanders through the cramped compartments. Maybe it won't be so bad. It's not what I had in mind... but all may not be lost yet. You have to do this. Make everyone proud.

Avery stops outside the Heads' compartment, and takes a final deep breath, her hand clasped around the handle. Pushing it downwards, the door clicks open, only for Avery to stumble straight into a figure upon entering, crashing to the ground.

What an amazing first impression, she thinks as her eyes blink open. She already wishes this year wasn't happening. Rowena, the embarrassment she felt! But she tries looking ahead to see who'd walked into her, and saw an outstretched hand towards her. She takes it automatically, using it to pluck herself off of the ground and comes face-to-face with the red hair of Charlie Weasley.

What's Weasley doing here?

"I'm sorry," He says with an apologetic frown. "Are you alright?"

Avery brushes some non-existent dirt off of her robes, facing him with a thin smile. "It's okay, Weasley. I'm fine."

"I'm glad." Charlie smiles. "It's Avery, yeah?" Avery nods. It was pretty clear she already knew who he was, so introductions were in order. Things grow silent between them, both stood half in the doorway, until Charlie takes notice of the gleaming blue badge pinned upon Avery's black robes.

      He grins. "Uh — Professor McGonagall told me that you're the Head Girl. That means we're gonna spend loads of time together, because I'm Head Boy."

Avery's head shot back in shock. She was not expecting that. "Oh," she says, "Y—you are? Wow I — I mean, I'm surprised — not, not in that way, I mean, you seem like a good enough student, I just — wow. Can you tell I'm not ready for this?" She finishes, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips.

Charlie smiles. "Don't worry. It'll take some getting used to. But it's why there's two of us. Makes everything easier, yeah?"

"Erm — yeah, I suppose." Charlie begins walking back into the compartment, and Avery follows suit, but remembers he was coming out of the compartment in the first place. Why on earth is he going back in when he was already coming out? Weird, Avery thinks. Still, Charlie seems nice enough to be around. She goes into the main area of the compartment, finding it much larger than the 8 person-at-a-time compartments she'd been going into her entire time at Hogwarts. Of course it's bigger, it's for the Heads of the school. Namely, me.

"Ah, good to see you, Miss Carmichael." A voice calls out. Avery directs her head to the source to find Professor McGonagall smiling sternly at her. Avery smiles back. "I trust Mr Weasley found you?"

So that was why he was coming out of the compartment! Makes sense now...

Charlie clears his throat. "Actually, I sort of ran her over." He grins bashfully, "Sorry, again."

McGonagall narrows her eyes at Charlie. "Alright. Congratulations to you both for being made Head Boy and Head Girl. You two stand out amongst all the rest of the students, and me along with the rest of the professors here believe you two are the right candidates for the job."

Okay, Avery thinks, how on earth do I stand out compared to any other person in my year? She still believed she shouldn't have been made Head Girl, but she lets the fact linger in her head as McGonagall continues.

"The prefects will be coming in a small while, and you two will give them their instructions. They will patrol the train corridors and then once we arrive at Hogwarts you two can assist the fifth year prefects in helping the first years onto the boats." She hands Avery a stack of parchment, which she sees to be the Hogwarts night-patrol schedules. "You'll also hand out these schedules for them, and should you have to change the rotas, I assume you will be able to sort that out yourselves."

Avery nods in comprehension, though it still felt like never-ending information was getting catapulted onto her face.

"And finally," McGonagall says, "since you two are the new Head Boy and Girl you'll be sharing the Heads' dormitory."

"Come again?" Avery says, her eyebrows shooting to the topmost edge of her forehead. Heads' dormitory?

"Surely you knew the Head Boy and Head Girl shared a dorm?" McGonagall states blatantly. Avery shakes her head, looking positively alarmed. I'm meant to share a dorm with Weasley?

"I did," Charlie pipes in, beaming, "Bill told me all about what it was like when he was Head Boy."

"Oh." McGonagall's stare went blank. "Well, you're no longer in the Ravenclaw dormitory, Miss Carmichael. Your belongings will go straight to the Heads' dorm located on the second floor, guarded by the portrait next to the statue of the mermaid. Is that alright?"

Avery inhales. "Yeah. Of course." She says, because what else could she say? That she didn't want to be Head Girl? In that case she'd be considered an absolute lunatic, but she also didn't want to be rude.

McGonagall smiles. "Well, in that case you two will be free to do your duties. I'm sure you both will make an excellent team and again, congratulations." Avery presses her lips into an acknowleging line to thank McGonagall, and watches as she exits the compartment into wherever it was the teachers went to. Avery didn't know! She places her bag down onto a nearby seat, and scans over her rota, a sigh escaping her rose-painted lips.

     "How do you feel then? About being Head Girl?" She looked up, where she saw Charlie smiling from beneath his red hair, leaning against the window pane overlooking the landscape rapidly passing by the train.

     This is him being nice, or — ?

     Avery plays along. With a shrug, she scrunches up her nose. "Not exactly my cup of tea, but it is what it is? Can't exactly sit like a moping sack this entire year. I have to do something, you know?"

The reply Avery hoped to get didn't come, and she looked at Charlie to see him staring sideways at her. Almost in a trance. What the hell? She looked back, raising her eyebrows, hoping she hadn't seen what she saw.

     Charlie realises she looked at him, and shakes his head out of his absent state. "No, you're absolutely right." He says. Weasley's weird, Avery thought. He starts grinning. "You'll have a right handful dealing with my younger brothers. They've come up to Hogwarts this year, Fred and George."

     Avery's face drops. "Two brothers?"

     "Yep. Twins. Pranksters, too. They will be... trouble." Charlie laughs, trying to lighten the mood. Avery looks away, feeling perhaps a bit out of place. She wasn't meant to be Head Girl. She couldn't deal with all this! Charlie seemed to notice this, and smiles sympathetically towards her. "Hey, I know you weren't a Prefect at all and that you're probably feeling really overwhelmed about being Head Girl already.. if you want, though, I can talk to the Prefects? I was a Prefect the last couple of years and know about all the rules and what should be said, so if it assures you in any way?"

     "Oh," Avery says. Her eyes soften, and she felt slightly touched by this gesture. She had never once had a proper conversation with Charlie, but he seemed nice enough and wanted to help her out. Why deny the offer? They would be working together that full year, so they should be able to pull off a professional acquaintance between each other. "Erm — sure. That's great, thanks."

Charlie grins. "Don't mention it. Look, I think the Prefects are beginning to come in now." Charlie was right. As he walked over to the door, Avery getting up and following behind him, holding open the door Charlie passed to her in order to let the piling up prefects into the cabin. They enter, and Avery has to suppress a breath at seeing all these people she was responsible for and Rowena, she was beginning to feel overwhelmed again. But a few of them take note of Avery in the room, piecing together that she's the Head Girl, so she smiles at them. She might not want to be Head Girl, but she doesn't want people to hate her either.

     "Hi everyone!" Charlie says as all the Prefects had arrived and settled themselves down on the chairs. Avery was glad Charlie was doing all the talking — she didn't even think she had the guts to hardly nod. "Uh — welcome back, I suppose? To those of you already Prefect, and well done to any that have been chosen this year. I'm Charlie, the new Head Boy and this is Avery, the new Head Girl."

     Charlie goes on to motion a hand in Avery's direction next to him, and Avery smiles lightly at them all and makes a small waving gesture. He starts off on a massive speech about duties and regulations, and Avery zones out, though she probably should have been listening. Charlie eventually gets Avery to hand out the patrol schedules, which she did without comment.

It wasn't long until the train pulled up at Hogsmeade and Avery longingly watched people ride back to the castle, but she stayed back on the pretext of staying loyal to her Head Girl duties. The boats were awaiting to be occupied by newly arriving first years, and to be launched across the glistening Great Lake, the stars twinkling in the darkened waters, opaque ripples trailing after released boats. Together, she and Charlie had loaded most of the first years on their side onto the boats, until at last, the final boat to load came with an intrusion. Or rather, two.

     Two unfamiliar faces to Avery had stopped both she and Charlie from proceeding to the boat in the starry night sky, yet they donned the red hair Avery's partner wore with such ease. These must be the identical twin brothers Weasley mentioned. They wore their robes just like Avery and Charlie did, but the ties were black and did not bear a school house, so they were first years like Charlie said.

     "Hi, Charlie!" They both exclaim at the same time, grinning wildly.

     "Thought we'd come say hi!" The one on the right says.

     Charlie sighs with exasperation, though is smiling nonetheless. He turns to Avery, a hand outstretched to the twins, "Avery, these are my brothers. Fred," the one on the right — Fred — waves cheerily, "and George." The one on the left makes a similar movement. Charlie turns back to his younger brothers. "I hope you two won't go causing that much trouble? I don't suppose you'd want one of Mum's famous Howlers to come your way?" He says sternly but with lightheartedness.

     "Who do you think we are, Charlie?" Fred scoffs incredulously. Avery can't help but smile. She would love to have a younger brother. She still loves Jeremiah, nonetheless.

     "Yeah! But it's not like you'd snitch on your own brothers, right?" George says innocently.

     Charlie chuckles. "Get out of here. Don't make me catch some snitches before Quidditch season's even started."

     Both twins give them one last cheesy grin and yell a 'See you later Charlie and Avery!' before allowing themselves to be whisked away by the boat.

     Turning to Avery in the dark of the night, Charlie gives her a lopsided grin. "Well... that's them." He says while they hop onto a carriage with a few other prefects. "They're a handful."

     Avery smiles slightly. "They seem... charming."

———

"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME AVERY STILL HAS A DEATH WISH?"

     The Great Hall of Hogwarts was engulfed with the chatter and bright faces of students and teachers all around, tucked into the well anticipated Feast after a rather boring sit-through of the Sorting Ceremony. But though many seventh years found it boring and extensive, they would miss it knowing that'd be the last time they'd hear the Sorting Hat's scrawly voice. The four tables designated to each house followed a long trail of silver platters carrying dishes, accompaniments and sundries of all sorts, followed by an atmosphere consisting of voices and students impatient to discuss their holiday tales and stories, in-depth discussions about such summer camp scandals and boring family-induced internships.

"You are most certainly correct, Eric," Dominique answers her friend, eating a forkful of chicken. "Avery does in fact still have a death wish. She got accepted to that Magizoology programme in Norway for next year."

"That is so cool, though," Juliet pipes in, grinning opposingly to Eric's frown. "She'll become a proper badass animal rescuer and shit, you know!"

"It's so dangerous!" Eric huffs. "I keep telling her about how my uncle, the specialist in Hippogriffs, nearly had his leg ripped off once. What does she do? Asks to get in contact with him! Any sane person would take it as their cue to, I don't know, become a secretary or whatever!"

"Not our Avery," Julian says, laughing incredulously after swallowing a mouthful of mashed potato, "Could you imagine her sitting at a desk and arranging meetings for a living? It's like asking for the stars to sing!"

"But the stars do sing?" Hannah adds, looking at Julian with her eyes squinted disapprovingly.

     Julian scoffs, rolling his eyes.

     "Don't look at me like that!" She scolds, "The stars all have their own personality! They're just like us! Surely being friends with me this last seven years has at least taught you that?"

"Sorry, Han," Benjamin apologises, shrugging innocently from beneath a goblet of pumpkin juice held to his lips, "Your obsession with stars is cute and all and may get you far in Astronomy, but none of us really.. care about stars?"

"You guys really are missing out," Hannah glares as she grabs the pot of gravy from a nearby stand, perhaps a bit too forcefully in display of her temper.

"Where did Avery go?" Rowan asks, crunching her teeth down on some salad leaves. "Shouldn't it be fair that the topic of conversation is present?"

"Dumbledore wanted to talk to her," Dominique says, "Probably about her getting Head Girl or something."

"Ah, of course. Eric—!" Rowan abruptly smacks her hand out across Eric's, who was in the midst of plating himself a Yorkshire Pudding. Eric's mouth drops open, looking between Rowan and the Yorkshire Pudding laying limply on the wooden table, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Rowan!" Eric exclaims outragedly, "You — I —What was that for?"

"I can't have you eating like that when quidditch trials are in a few weeks!" She says, excusing her actions. "You yourself said you wanted to be on the team this year!"

Eric was still fuming, and gazing at the discarded Yorkshire Pudding a few inches away from him with longing. "When we're married," He starts complacently, sighing, "I'm gonna eat as many Yorkshire Puddings as I want to eat, no matter what you say!"

Rowan rolls her eyes, ignoring the chuckles from around her. "When we're married, you're gonna be in your bed dreaming about me in a wedding dress because to hell am I wearing a dress to my wedding!"

"What are you gonna wear then?" Juliet asks curiously.

"A tuxedo!" Rowan grins.

"Tuxedo?"

"It's like a muggle suit but way fancier and they're so classy. And dresses are overrated and uncomfortable, so a tuxedo for me it is!" She says happily.

"Suits me," Eric says casually, "You'll still look good in a tuxedo at our wedding, anyways."

"We are not getting married!" Rowan shouts.

"That's what you think," Eric says, grinning mischievously.

"You know," Hannah says to Rowan, smiling innocently, "The stars think you and Eric should get together."

"I, for one, agree with Hannah and her stupid stars!" Eric cheers. Hannah glares at him, and Eric sinks sheepishly into her seat. "Er — sorry Han," He says, "Your stars aren't.. stupid."

"Okay. Enough about us getting married and the stars," Rowan sighs exasperatedly, "Avery's coming."

Rightly so, Avery was sauntering down the length of the Great Hall to where her friends were, her strawberry blonde hair breezing above her shoulder blades. Her blue Head Girl badge was visibly pinned to her black robes, gleaming off of a refracted light ray from the enchanted night sky high above. She smiles as she takes a seat in between Dominique and Juliet.

"Hi!" She greets, helping herself to some of the Feast laid out in front of her. "What were you guys talking about?"

"You." Juliet says nonchalantly, making Avery perk up an eyebrow in confusion, "And Hannah's stars, and Eric and Rowan getting married." Juliet smiles innocently, with hidden mischief decrypted within.

"Oh." Avery says bluntly, "Well, Hannah's stars are.. interesting, I guess? And we're all waiting for the day Rowan and Eric get married. But.. what exactly about me?" She cocks her head to the side in curiosity, glancing at all of her friends.

"Your death wish," Julian replies, a similar manner of odd casualness preceding him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Eric remarks, dropping his fork harshly onto the silver plate, the clatter sounding loudly to nearby eardrums, "You're going to Norway! To study all these terrifying creatures!"

Avery looks at him in confusion, "..Yeah? So what if I am?"

"You're gonna die!" Eric asserts a bit loudly, making people around draw their attention to him. He slumps sheepishly into his posture, still looking at Avery with livid concern.

She chuckles. "No, I'm not. Eric, you're sweet." She says, pouring gravy over her plate. "A few lumps and bruises, but what's the harm?"

Hannah grins. "The stars think Avery's gonna do absolute wonders in Norway."

"No one cares about your bleeding stars!" Eric expresses, his frustration evident. Hannah shoots a burning glare his way.

Avery smiles at Eric, putting a hand on his arm, of which was shaking roughly above the table. He narrows his eyes at the gesture. "Eric, I appreciate it. But I'm not going to Norway for another year! Your biggest concern at the moment should be these quidditch trials."

Eric does nothing but rip his hand away, folding his arms stiffly. Such a kid, Avery thinks. But she appreciates her friend and his discontent at her safety.

"At least you'll have someone to talk about your animal thing with!" Juliet says, veering the topic away slightly. Avery looks at her with confusion. "You know, since Charlie Weasley's Head Boy! We all know about his dragon obsession, I'll be damned if he doesn't go on to be some kind of dragon tamer after Hogwarts."

"Oh," Avery spoke, "That. Yeah."

Dominique raises an eyebrow at her best friend. "What? Something wrong with Weasley?"

"Not exactly..." Avery begins, "He's perfectly lovely, and all kind and gentlemanly, but it's so overwhelming. Head Girl, and all these duties, and now suddenly having to become roommates with Mr Perfect... I have no idea what the teachers had in mind by making me Head Girl."

Benjamin raises an eyebrow, chuckling derisively. "Of course you would find something wrong in being Head Girl, Aves."

"What's that supposed to mean, Ben?" Avery asks, narrowing her eyes at the dark-skinned boy in front of her.

"I'm just saying.." Benjamin says, "You have this habit of seeing things not for what they are, but what you want them to be. Like, you force yourself to see things for what they aren't. Like your own perfect little reality. You don't give yourself a chance on new things. And it's unfair on you. Because I know for a fact that you will enjoy this Head Girl experience, even if it doesn't seem like it." Benjamin smiles tenderly, before adding, "You should give it a chance."

Avery sighs, zoning her eyes onto the intricate patterns plated delicately into her reflective goblet. "It seems to me that you would be a better Head Girl than me, Ben." Even after Benjamin gave her a final sweet smile, and the dessert arrived (with Rowan eyeing Eric very sternly as he reached out for a slice of chocolate cake), and Professor Dumbledore signalled them all to bed, as Avery started guiding the first years towards their common rooms, Avery couldn't stop reminiscing over the words Benjamin told her. To give the Head Girl thing a chance. To not be so closed about it. But she didn't know if her somewhat wise friend was right or not.

That's the thing: Avery might be so automatically opposed to being the Head Girl, but there was a reason. Avery has always faced one constant in life, and that was the expected. Now, that's all changed. She's dealing with the unexpected. In more ways than one. Being Head Girl. Moving dorms. Charlie Weasley.

And about Charlie Weasley, she wasn't sure. He seemed an absolute gem of a human being, and he seemed to want to become friends with Avery, but Avery felt like that would just be one change too many. She didn't know if she was ready to become friends with Charlie, or if that would be an overload to all these new things she was dealing with. She didn't know if she could handle it.

Perhaps it won't be as bad as Avery thinks. Perhaps Avery will end up enjoying her Head Girl routine, the dorms, perhaps even becoming friends with Charlie Weasley, if it ever came to that. But she didn't know right now. She didn't know a lot of things at the moment, especially if she had what it took to dive headfirst into this new and unfamiliar lifestyle.

She rounds off the last of the first years she was guiding away to the Ravenclaw common room, yearning to be comforted by the bed that had done so for the last six years. But, no. Her bed awaited her in the Heads' dormitory, and so did Charlie Weasley. Her new roommate. (yay! she thinks, mentally preparing herself for what was to come) She walks up the stairs from the Entrance Hall and onto the second floor, like McGonagall told her to. She finds the statue of the turquoise mermaid, brandishing her pointed spear viciously. And rightly so, the portrait is right beside the fragile statue, encasing a picture of a knight galloping wildly upon his gallant horse, outlined in an intricate, ornate and heavy golden frame.

     Then, all of a sudden, the knight brandishes a sword and points it abruptly at Avery, taking her by surprise. Her head shoots back as if the sword could actually reach her, which she mentally smacks herself for. (It's a portrait, Avery, you daft idiot, she tells herself)

     "Are you or are you not the Head Girl Avery Cesar Carmichael that Professor McGonagall informed me of?" He demands. "Speak now or forever hold your peace!"

     "Erm—" Avery says, not sure to how approach talking to this knight. She did not find it necessary for him to make full use of her entire name. Nonetheless, she nods her head. "Yeah. I am. You are?"

     "I am Sir Cadogan!" The knight — Sir Cadogan — informs. He exaggerates his sword movements, trying to come off as threatening to Avery (who wasn't in the least bit threatened right now). "Will you, on this beautiful starry night engage with me in a duel, or are you too weak to do so?"

     Avery inhales. So now she'd have to spend an entire year listening to this strange knight too? Rowena, rescue me. "I'm too tired, sorry." She answers, scratching at her temple. "Can you let me in please?"

     Sir Cadogan frowns angrily. "So you are a coward, then! You may enter. I will ask you again tomorrow to see if you may have grown in bravery overnight." His portrait enters to reveal the tiniest of passageways in length, darkened by its enclosure, and before Avery walks through, Cadogan's voice stops her. "The password for future reference is Spintwhistle. Though if you beat me in a duel you need not make use of it!"

      Avery narrows her eyes at the portrait, before remarking, "Thanks, Sir Cadogan. Tempting offer, but I'll pass. Goodnight." She steps through the small entryway, finding a door in front of her.

Pushing it open, the apparent Heads' Dormitory is revealed, holding within it everything she imagined and more. The sitting area was fairly large. In the very centre was a maroon sofa surrounded by a small grey rug atop the marled carpet, with a coffee table resting in it's place in front. There's a large fireplace in front of both sofa and coffee table with — and what Avery is shocked to see — a glass pot containing unmistakeably Floo Powder. So we have access to the Floo Network? Kind of awesome... Avery thinks. The back wall behind the centrepiece of the room is bare, and left corner is presumably an in-built box-like kitchenette. There's a desk to one side, its mahogany wood decorated with a stack of tinted parchment, complimented with a finely-pointed quill and a small silver pot of ink. On the walls either side of the sofa were two doors, and the only variable present told Avery those were her and Charlie's rooms. Her perception was correct, for Charlie came out of the door at Avery's left, grinning broadly.

"Hey," He says, taking a few steps towards Avery. "This place is so cool, don't you think?"

"Yeah," She replies, her voice a mere zephyr. She rubs her lips together and glances around the room she would be calling home for the next year. It is cool, she thinks. She may not want to be Head Girl, but it's no doubt the luxuries were abundant. She looks back to Charlie with a pressed smile, "Is — uh — our trunks? Are they—?"

"Yeah! The trunks are here." Charlie answers with enthusiasm. "The rooms are also designated to us, see?" He points to the room he previously came out of, and rightly so there was a red placard, depicting the name Charlie Weasley. Avery couldn't read from far away, so she had to take the blue placard on the opposite door as hers, despite not seeing the name.

"This is.. different?" She says. Avery couldn't lie, even though she was highly opposed, she was intrigued. By everything. The room, her new life as Head Girl, and especially her incredibly enthusiastic roommate. He was still smiling brightly at Avery.

"Yeah, tell me about it!" Charlie exclaims. "Listen, I think I might head to bed. It's nearly eleven and I'm exhausted. It's been a long day, yeah?"

Avery found herself inextricably agreeing with the vibrant-haired boy facing her. "Yeah, definitely," She says, rubbing a hand absently over her face, "Night, Weasley."

Charlie smiles. "Goodnight, Avery." He bids, before walking over to his designated door and disappearing from Avery's sight.

She's left to make her way across the sizable 'common room', and over to the door brandishing the royal blue placard. Like she suspected, it said Avery Carmichael, and as she turns the doorknob over and steps into her room, she hardly takes notice of the room's notability, sleep preceding her and all, but makes out a few details. A padded loveseat, a blue bedsheet-enrobed double bed, and her trunk, lying at the foot of said bed. Before long, she's dressed in her pyjamas and allowing herself to succumb to a well-anticipated nights' sleep, pushing her dreads of the upcoming year and the overload of changes to a less sentient side of her mind.

Avery and change aren't the most welcoming of companions, and to say Avery had trust issues was a bit of an understatement. She didn't trust change, particularly because it was complex, unpredictable, and uncertain, and Avery didn't like that. She liked everything to be simple. Absolute. She, most certainly, was not a simple being, what with her countryside life, ambitious career ideals and the rambunctious group of friends she held dearly to her heart; but they were certain. And that's what she liked. That's what she trusted. Avery didn't know if she could trust this whole new lifestyle, this change, trust Charlie. But perhaps she could change. She had a whole year ahead of her, and maybe in this year, she could face the thing she so deeply disliked. Maybe she could become more trusting. Maybe she could stop painting over things that were set, painting them to her own desires. Maybe she could become better. She didn't know if she could, but perhaps she'll even surprise herself.

***

there's chapter one! I hope you guys liked this, it took me absolute AGES to get it written, I kept procrastinating with this one LMAO. but I did it whoop whoop <3 charlie is a sweetheart🥺

also with the sir cadogan thing ik he was like the interim portrait for gryffindor house in prisoner but we didn't know where his original portrait was so i thought it would be fun if he was the portrait of the heads dorm????? yeah ok but he makes me laugh so like,, sir cadogan bants HERE WE GO

I hope you guys liked it! thank u for supporting me xxxx