Delicate | James Potter

1.02

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The first feast of the year was always a grand spectacle. Dorcas called it tacky, but Alice thought it marvellous. The Great Hall was always made extra special, just for that first evening, floating candles and sparkling banners hung up everywhere, not to mention the wonder that was the ceiling. For the Gryffindor girl, it had never been quite as beautiful as it had been that very first night, though perhaps that was a little bias. Still, it never failed to amaze, and her eyes widened at the sight of the galaxy above her.

She felt her heart sink a little as she walked through the large wooden doors, as now she was over halfway through her time at the school, but she tried her best not to dwell on the feeling. Alice was going to make sure her last three years were the absolute best they could be, no matter what. Even if exams were on the horizon.

As she walked to her table, above which was hung a colourful tapestry of a lion, she let her eyes drift to the table opposite. She didn't lay eyes upon Dorcas until right at the end where her friend sat alone with what almost seemed to be boredom. The girl instantly perked up, however, when her eyes met Alice's, and she playfully winked.

"You okay?" The golden haired girl tried to mouth, but it was hard when students kept coming between them. It was almost comical the amount of tries it took.

Eventually Dorcas understood, and shrugged and mouthed back. "Yeah. Just hungry."

Alice tried to contain her laughter at the large gestures she was doing to get her point across, but it was difficult. She rolled her eyes and gave her a wave, but made sure to sit in a position where her friend was in her direct eyeline. They had invented a game last year during the sorting, whereby they'd try guess the house of each new student. They'd only been right maybe twice, but it was hilarious nonetheless.

"Alice!" A bubbly redheaded girl took a seat beside the teen laughing to herself. "How was your summer?"

Lily Evans and Alice Winters, despite clicking instantly on their first train journey to Hogwarts and being assigned the same dormitory, never really became all that close. They were friends, and talked quite a lot, but not in the same way she would with Dorcas. "It was great actually. What about you?"

"I moved house, so it was a little stressful." She scrunched up her nose, but smiled all the same. "But it was fun all the same. I have my own bedroom now, and a whole bookshelf to myself. It means Petunia will finally stop complaining about our textbooks being on display."

Petunia Evans was someone Alice had heard quite a lot about. On one particularly restless night during second year, she had heard Lily crying to herself. It was the first night back. The others were asleep, and Alice couldn't live without making sure she was okay, so she asked her what was wrong. The upset twelve year old had been a little hesitant at first, but she finally spilled all her troubles and worries to Alice, who had jumped across beds and offered her the chocolate frog she had left over from the train. They sat knee to knee, and the blonde listened to everything Lily had to say, all about her sister and how she was jealous and how Lily herself felt guilty she couldn't do anything about the fact Petunia did not have magic. They went to Dumbledore first thing that morning, inquiring if they could have her attend Hogwarts too, but no such luck. The love Lily held for her sibling was unmatched, however Alice knew it must be difficult for her. She once wished for a sibling herself, perhaps not anymore.