Almost The End (See Them Again Sequel)

7. Changes

Sorry it's been a while

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Eva's eyes opened slowly, almost as if they were resisting having to face the day and the looks she knew she would receive from her friends. The light that was peeking through the curtains indicated that it was around the time she should start getting up and with that she swung her legs over the side of the bed in order to creep into the bathroom before Roxy got up. She closed the door behind her and approached the sink with the intention of doing her teeth – dental hygiene was something her mother had instilled in her at a very young age. Wiping her mouth with her flannel to get rid of any remaining toothpaste, Eva tried to paste a smile on her face which she only sort of succeeding in doing.

"You can do this Eva," She whispered to herself, "You can ask to move dorms and you can get through today and- and then-" She swallowed to stop her voice from breaking again, "and then you can get through tomorrow and the day after that." She gave herself a small smile. "And then it'll be a piece of cake. Just don't let them get to you and eventually it'll be fine." She took a steadying breath and looked herself straight in the eyes imagining her dad telling her to be brave. "Mask on Snowflake." She told herself as she tried to smile but just ended up grimacing at the grimace that appeared instead before turning to face the shower.

Eva actually sat through breakfast in the Great Hall for the first time in a while, something which felt almost unfamiliar despite the years she'd been doing it on a daily basis – admittedly she was sat at the far end away from her friends who were happily joking around in the middle. Happy happenstance meant that she finished the chapter of her book just as she ate the last bite of her pain au chocolat, the elves in the kitchen sure knew how to nail their pastry. Looking at the watch on her wrist she realised that there were only a couple of minutes left before she'd have to leave for Alchemy, so she quickly gathered up her stuff and started to head towards the staff table. As she passed her friends they all stopped their chatter and glared at her, fuelling her resolve to see this through even though it would mean sharing a room with Castilla.

"Professor Spots, sorry to bother you but could I chat to you please?" She asked by way of greeting her head of house.

"Of course," He responded as he stood up to talk to her in the corner of the room so that they could have some privacy. Leopold Spots was a tall and lithe man, radiating an aura that commanded respect and warned those that one should not mess with him. He was also one of the best Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers that Hogwarts had ever seen. He was fast, graceful and very lethal with the upmost control of the most difficult of spells which made him perfect at teaching so that his students excelled. "Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked, leaning against the wall.

"I was wondering if it was still possible for me to join the sixth year girls' dormitory? Professor Longbottom said that it was an option but that was a while ago." She explained.

"Any particular reason why you're asking now?" He asked gently.

Eva hesitated as she weighed the answers in her mind, not wanting to cause more grief between her and her former-ish friends. "Not really, I guess I just want to get to know the girls in my new year a bit better." She paused to add a slight element of truth to her answer, "And I don't want to add to any tension with the fifth years."

"There's tension?"

"No!" She said quickly to reassure him, "It's minimal, but knowing certain characters things would likely get tense if I stayed so I just want to create a bit of distance."

He looked at her for a long minute as she desperately hoped he wouldn't pick up on the fact there was already tension. "Alright, you can move dormitories, however I want you to let me know as soon as anything starts to go south with your old classmates."