Stolen • Ilvermorny & Harry Potter Next Generation

Begrudging Forgiveness

"You see, for me, memories are difficult. Very often, they hurt. A curious thing about grief is the way it takes your entire life, all those foundational years that made you who you are, and makes them so painful to look back upon because of the absence there, that suddenly they're inaccessible. You must invent an entirely new system."

― Casey McQuiston, Red, White, and Royal Blue 

Amira

'I would say 'I can't believe you said yes,' but I knew you would, so I can't"

Chloe whirled on Amira, the dress she held spinning after her. "That was very confusing," she pointed out. "You knew Fred was going to ask me to Hogsmeade?"

"Maybe," Amira said slyley. She was sitting on the bed in their dorm room while Chloe panicked about what to wear for her date with Fred (who she definitely didn't have a crush on). Amira hadn't been certain, but she'd guessed that Fred was going to ask Chloe to Hogsmeade and she knew if he did Chloe would say yes.

Chloe glared.

"Okay, okay. I didn't know. I just had a feeling. I'm practically a daughter of Aphrodite with the way I can tell who people are in- I mean, who people have crushes on. It's one of my many talents." Amira quipped, waving her hands in the air for effect.

Chloe laughed. "Okay. Does one of your many talents include helping me decide what to wear to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" She put the dress she was holding back into her wardrobe and sat on the bed next to Amira.

"Um no? I have zero fashion sense. I'm pretty sure I wore jeans and a t-shirt to my first date."

Chloe raised her eyebrows.

"But I was fourteen," Amira admitted. "I do like to think I'm better than that now, but I still suck at helping people pick out clothes. I'm extremely indecisive."

"Well we're not asking Melinda," Chloe frowned, "or Makayla, she probably would just say yes to anything we showed her."

"Do you want to go get Jessie? She's got the best fashion sense of anyone I know, though you'll have to be careful she doesn't make you wear something too absurd. She's known for that."

"I wouldn't dare," Chloe laughed. "Come on, let's go."

"Alright, but we should get Kiko on the way. She won't want to miss out."

The two girls slipped on shoes and headed out of Ravenclaw tower. They interrupted Kiko in the middle of a drawing but she promised to join them when she finished.

Collecting Jessie took much longer. Amira and Chloe had to wait nearly fifteen minutes for Jessie to join them. Eventually she joined them, coming up the stairs from a boys dormitory, her hair mussed and her cheeks pink. Amira groaned to herself, and then explained to Jessie what the dilemma was. Jessie happily said she'd join them after stopping by her dorm to grab a few blouses and some hairbands. Amira and Jessie went to join Chloe who was talking to a fourth year girl whose name was Cecille. Jessie seemed to instantly like Cecille, and Amira had to practically drag her away so they could get back to Ravenclaw common room before Kiko.

In the end Jessie and Chloe picked out a patterned skirt with a white sweater that belonged to Jessie. Once the outfit situation had been sorted out, the girls played a lively game of exploding snap, and Jessie and Chloe went to steal food from the kitchens.

Eventually the other girls had to leave, and Amira and Chloe wound up sat on the floor leaning tiredly against Amira's bed. They weren't talking, but it wasn't awkward. Amira found that strange. She had only known Chloe for about two months, but somehow they were already at the stage of friendship where silence was comfortable.