Being a Greengrass after all should sound pretty serene.
But being a part of "the Emeralds" should not, especially when hearts become entangled with the infamous Regulus Black.
Goodness, lawfulness, or evilness. Which path will they tread in the ti...
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September 28th, 1976
"Miss Greengrass,
I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of dinner in my office along with the other members of the Slug Club at seven o'clock this evening.
Sincerely, Professor H. E. F. Slughorn"
Avery stared at the invitation for a long moment before letting out a quiet, thoroughly unladylike curse. The owl blinked at her, entirely innocent.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she muttered. "It's not your fault."
Dinner with the Slug Club members sounded pleasant enough, but it also meant navigating an evening of polite conversations and possibly enduring the relentless charm offensive from them. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table as she sat up straight on her bed. It was already past 7:50, which meant she overslept — leaving her little time to prepare.
The bathroom door creaked open just as she dragged a hand through her tangled hair. Pandora stepped out in a cloud of steam, wrapped in a towel, blonde curls damp against her shoulders.
"Oh, you're finally awake," she teased lightly. "Good morning, darling."
Avery sighed, setting the invitation aside and rubbing her eyes. "Morning, Panda."
While Pandora moved around the dorm getting dressed, Avery stumbled toward the shower, still half-asleep and entirely irritated. The hot water helped marginally — until she squeezed her shampoo bottle and only a pathetic few droplets slid into her hand.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
She rummaged through the cluttered basket of toiletries with increasing frustration before finally finding a tiny travel-sized packet shoved into the back corner.
A few minutes later, Pandora knocked softly on the bathroom door. "Ave? I'm heading down for breakfast before they run out of waffles. I'll save you one, alright?"
Avery rinsed the shampoo from her hair and called back over the spray of water, "Yeah, thanks, Panda!"
By the time she stepped out, wrapped in a towel, she was rushing against the clock. She dried her hair as quickly as possible before dragging a brush through it, wincing every few seconds whenever it snagged against another knot. Honestly, shaving her head and being done with it altogether sounded more appealing by the second. Probably her mother's temper talking.
After wrestling her hair into submission, Avery applied the bare minimum of makeup: a thin layer of foundation to hide the exhaustion under her eyes, mascara, lip gloss. Enough to look alive.
When she finally reached the Great Hall, Pandora and Barty were already seated at the Ravenclaw table. True to her word, a blueberry waffle sat waiting on a plate beside Pandora, who immediately began piling more food onto Avery's plate the moment she sat down.
