Delicate | James Potter

1.01

~

"What is it dear? Why the long face? I thought you were excited to go back?"

Mrs Winters was a warm, welcoming, friendly woman, who wore a smile like a trophy- it was no surprise her daughter was the same. What differed between the two, however, was Alice's magical abilities. When she was eleven, she received a small, peculiar envelope with her name and address written in cursive writing. She, along with her parents, thought it was some strange prank from one of the girls who had been nasty to her in primary school ("If her dad wasn't the headteacher she would have been kicked out back in year one!") at first. However, when letter after letter arrived explaining this was no joke, nor prank, it began to feel a little more real, especially when some of them arrived via owl. It was only when an old man in a pointy hat and a lacy dress showed up at the door, holding a delicately engraved stick, that the Winters family finally were convinced. Apparently he was supposed to be the one to tell them what was happening in the first place, and the letters had simply been an accident; it was all a bit bizarre. And then, Alice was off to Hogwarts.

The teenage girl, definitely taller than she had been at the beginning of the summer of 75', was staring down at her letter in disappointment. Usually it was the highlight of the end of August, but she wasn't smiling now. Now she was frowning, though trying hardest not to. "It's...it's nothing."

"Well it clearly isn't just 'nothing'." Her mother raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips, trying to peer over to get a glimpse of the words on the paper.

"I just thought...I hoped..." She paused as she read the list over one last time. "Professor McGonagall told me I'd make a good prefect. I thought it might have been a hint, or something, but apparently I was wrong."

"Oh darling," Her mum pouted and rubbed her arm gently. She knew the feeling of disappointment all too well. "It's okay. There's always next year?"

"They usually keep the same people on." Alice deadpanned.

"Well then make the most of all the extra time you'll get from not having to do all that extra work." She pulled the younger girl into a hug. "Besides, what's so good about being a prefect anyways."

It was a rhetorical question, clearly, but Alice had an answer in her mind. Being a prefect would have given her at least a little boost in the wizarding world of work, or at least half counteract the minus points she had for being muggleborn- something she was reminded of at nearly every corner of Hogwarts. But it was fine, because she loved it there, it was home away from home.

"I guess."

"Come on, moping isn't going to get you anywhere." Alice laughed a little at the woman's words, but she couldn't deny it was the truth, so she nodded and let a smile claim back her face. "There's that golden smile."

A mumbled "Stop!" came from the girl as she tried to dodge her mum's hands pinching at her cheeks like she were a baby.

"If you say so darling." Wendy Winters rolled her eyes at the dramatics of her daughter. "Now how do we feel about congratulations pizza?"