𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 \\ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗷. 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝑋𝐿𝑉𝐼.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙮-𝙨𝙞𝙭

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

IT WAS OCTOBER 6. It was Caroline's fifteenth birthday. It wasn't a secret among Gryffindor House that Caroline's birthday was upon them, as Caroline used to be ectastic for the day every single year. This year, her family was dead, missing and ill, and most everyone in the school thought she was a wretched liar. What made matters impossibly worse was that Caroline Taylor-Jones shared a birthday with her younger brother. Or rather, she used to.

      Caroline was quiet that morning at breakfast, pretending to be reading a novel so her friends wouldn't talk to her. Ron made a plate for her, he and Hermione giving her small presents in hopes of boosting her spirts. Fred, George and Ginny had all wished her a happy birthday in the common room, Ginny offering Caroline a gift and the twins filling her bag with large armfuls of sweets.

      Dean and Neville ignored their friends's harsh words and approached Caroline in the Great Hall, giving her their wishes. Harry kept a hand on Caroline's scared hand, rubbing it gently during breakfast to give her some comfort. He had a gift he would give her in private. Outside of those few people, no one wished Caroline a happy birthday, and instead continued to make snide remarks towards her, talking loudly so she could hear it.

      Caroline pretended that the comments didn't hurt her, and moved on with her day, barely eating her breakfast. She was exhausted from her lack of sleep, but she hid it as best as she could. The soft hold Harry had on her helped immensely. "Carol, do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked, ignoring the shove she got from Ron and the look Harry gave her.

      Shaking her head, Caroline pushed her curly hair over behind her ears. "Not at all. It's just a normal day, that's all." Caroline said, her brown eyes meeting those of her friends across from her. Her bouncy curls laid against her shoulders, moving with every breath she took.

      Hermione made no further comments, and Caroline left her friends at the Great Hall's entrance and went to her astronomy class, and then proceeded to charms, meeting her friends there. Caroline moved quietly through the day, frowning as it rained on the way to Transfiguration. Maybe her parents and Jacob had gifted her a terrible sky because she was so terribly sad. She hoped it was them, and that they were caring for her.

      Harry walked ahead of Ron and Hermione out of lunch with Caroline at his side. She held a letter from Remus, and Caroline wasn't sure if she wanted to open it. She knew what it would say. "Lana, I know you don't want to, but I think you should open the letter. It could be important." Harry said, gently nudging Caroline.

      Caroline shrugged. "Maybe later. Is Marie staying in your dorm tonight?" she questioned, failing to remember whose turn it was to house their shared cat.

      "Why don't you take her tonight?" Harry offered as they reached the classroom, and Caroline nodded. In Professor Umbridge's horid class, Caroline stoped paying attention to the woman's words. Instead, she quietly opened the letter her godfather had sent her. She smiled at its contents.

      "Miss Taylor-Jones, I really think it rather rude that you are reading a letter, instead of paying attention to my class." Professor Umbridge said, walking over to Caroline, who was seated beside Hermione. When she saw what Caroline had been reading, Hermione didn't dare tell her to put it away.

        Caroline looked up at Umbridge, fear flashing in her brown eyes. Harry had a trained gaze on her. "I'm sorry, Professor. I'll put it away." Caroline said quickly, attempting to fold the letter and photograph she held.