Scars 🗝 F. W.

1. A new beginning

"Constance," "Constance wake up".

Constance shifted in her bed, her dark hair spilling across her bedsheets as she rolled around.

"Come on Constance," came the voice again. She rolled around groggily opening her eyes and blinking trying to banish the haze that came with sleep and sudden light filtering through her lashes.

"Yes, sorry I'm getting up," Constance offered as she sat up in bed rubbing her eyes still trying to blink out the sunlight as she took in her surroundings, there standing around her was Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Hannah all staring down at her with expectant faces.

"Come on hurry up and get dressed," said a flustered Ginny walking around to her bedside and grabbing Constance's arm, pulling her up with a strength that never failed to impress her.

She yawned and followed Ginny who's hand was like a vise clamped around hers as she surveyed the room trying to figure out what was going on--or what she'd forgotten. After a few minutes of her standing and the girls all looking at her, she popped the question. 

"I--ugh what are we doing today?" she scratched the back of her head sheepishly as she watched Ginny walk across the room muttering to herself, Ginny didn't normally get this stressed normally it only occurred around exams, Had she forgotten an exam?!

Dread filled Constance as she stared at the girls silently begging them to hurry up and spit it out.

"Your so forgetful sometimes Constance," said Hannah breaking the unnerving silence while opening up her wardrobe, she riffled through Constance's clothes and opened her mouth to comment something but was interrupted by a still flustered Ginny.

"Constance, Hogsmead. We are going to Hogsmead," she pinched the bridge other nose and started pacing.

Constance bit the edge of her lip suppressing herself from letting out a noise of surprise. Hogsmead of course. Then she had to suppress a sigh of relief as she realised she hadn't missed an exam.

"Right sorry--Must've forgotten my alarm," she said while heading towards the bathroom, still relieved she hadn't missed a test.

"Again...." interrupted Luna in her distant voice "That's the third time this week."

"I won't be a minute," Constance shouted while quickly hopping in and out of the shower when she came out the girls were all sitting on the beds murmuring amongst themselves as they waited--somewhat patiently.

Constance pulled her damp hair from beneath the jumper where it rested, she held it against her head preventing it from dampening her jumper further as she headed to her bedside table.

"They have some good bookshops in Hogsmead," broke the silence again her voice cheerful, some of the others wouldn't be super happy about it but she knew that she and Hermione would spend hours sorting through all the books if they had the time.

She slipped Her locket off her bedside table trying not to show how much she hoped for the streets to be lined with bookshops.

"Really?" she asked, slipping her locket over her head, "do they have many book shops in this world?" she added thoughtfully letting her hair fall back onto her jumper.

Hannah giggled slightly "why do you always call it, 'this world?'" she had a slight mocking lilt to her voice but it was consumed by curiosity. 

"Because" she started shrugging as she slipped on a pair of moon-shaped gold-rimmed glasses, "this is a whole world just hiding underneath another one, hidden from what I thought was my reality."

They all gave her small smiles, she could tell some of them were holding back from laughter.

Constance Swallow was no ordinary eighteen year old, she was a muggle-born but her Hogwarts letter was accidentally skipped (so they say), and she only found out she was a witch months ago, in fact only a few hours before the war she'd never been aware of ended. But the even more peculiar thing was she didn't need to be put in the first year she was put in the correct year for her age, her final year, and exceeded good grades through hours of studying. But as smooth sailing as it seemed to turn out, she hid things, as everyone else did--but these things were no small things, she knew whoever she told would never stop looking at her with pity, when she spoke to anyone pitty would remain in their eyes and she never wanted to be known as the pitied one.