From a young age, Leonora Potter had discovered that she was quite different from the rest of her family. After getting sorted into Slytherin, her relationship with the Potter's crumbled, and she was forced to find family in other places. Perhaps th...
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December 15, 1978 - Friday
Leonora had barely taken two steps into the common room before a wave of expensive perfume hit her like a curse, lingering thickly in the air. She paused for a moment, blinking against the sudden haze of florals.
While her eyes searched the room for Barty, she watched as groups of girls, draped in rich fabrics and glittering diamonds, roamed around the room, some arm in arm with their dates, while others eyed the entwined arms in jealousy. Her nose twitched in distaste at the sight.
It reminded her too much of the New Year's Eve parties she dreaded every year, minus the snobby parents prowling around seeking out betrothals for their children.
"Do you reckon we're a bit underdressed?" Illyria whispered, her gaze sweeping the room as her shoulders began to curl inwards, her body shrinking in what Leonora could only assume was self-consciousness. "I feel as if we look awfully...plain, compared to everyone else."
"Compared to some of these walking chandeliers," Leonora joked, "We look perfectly reasonable. Better, even." She glanced down at her friend, providing her with a cheeky smile.
"Some of them do look pretty ridiculous, don't they?" Illyria remarked as she eyed the outfits more closely, a faint smile tugging at her lips. She stood up a bit straighter. "They're dressed for a gala rather than a school ball."
"Hello, ladies," a new voice suddenly spoke up nearby, interrupting their conversation and making them flinch in surprise.
"Regulus," Leonora breathed, her tone a mix of recognition and annoyance. She turned to face him, meeting his grin with a sharp glare. "Why do you always sneak up on me like that?"
The boy's smile only deepened at her glare. "I wouldn't say I snuck up on you," he said, his tone light. "You just happen to startle very easily." Illyria nodded subtly in agreement with the boy, so subtly that Leonora hadn't even noticed. "Anyways, I saw the two of you looking completely lost over here, so I figured I'd come to the rescue."
"Come to our rescue?" Leonora repeated, her eyebrows raised. "How gentlemanly of you."
"We're trying to find Barty," Illyria spoke up, nodding her head towards the crowd. "Have you seen him at all?"
"Barty? He left for the Great Hall a couple of minutes ago." He paused for a moment, catching the confused look on Leonora's face. "He said he was going to meet you there. I had assumed you already knew, but maybe he intended for me to be the messenger."
Leonora sighed, though not out of anger or annoyance, but something softer. "He has seemed rather nervous all day. He was fidgeting with his quill throughout all of Transfiguration. I suppose it probably slipped his mind to tell me."
