Closed Better Late Than Never

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah wasn't exactly hiding from her family but she did hang back from the rest of the crowd as everyone greeted their family and guests. She was trying to savor the last few moments of peace before she was forced to be the center of attention. She knew she deserved it. She had graduated after all but that didn't mean she had to like it. If she was really being honest with herself she was also hoping to run into a certain someone. She had spent the whole year slowly trying to build up the nerve to talk to Ana Sophia without internally panicking every time, but Delilah had never quite figured that out no matter how hard she had tried. Now they were graduating and she had to wonder if she had missed her chance completely with the other girl. Who knew if they would ever see each other again after today? The thought made her stomach twist uncomfortably and she felt herself involuntarily hold her breath as she scanned the crowd for the Hufflepuff.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Truth be told, Ana Sofia was more keen on finding her friends after the graduation ceremony than she was about spending time with her dad and sister. She had headed over for a minute and appreciated their congratulations, but she was around them a lot. Would still be around them a lot. She just needed to make sure she'd make the same deal with her friends. Especially since she wasn't even completely sure where they would be going or what their exact plans were for after graduation. Perhaps she should've paid more attention, but the prospect of NEWTs had made her be a little absent this year. Ana looked around for a sign of any familiar faces, not just her best friends. Chances were, if she spotted Oscar she'd find out where Rose was. And she still wasn't sure what was going on between Essie and Sawyer but she wouldn't be surprised to find them together. But instead of finding who she was looking for she passed some people and ran into another friend, someone she could hardly walk by without at least offering her congratulations. "Hey," Ana smiled at Delilah, apologising as she made her way past another pair of parents. "Congrats!" She nodded towards Delilah's diploma. "Can you believe we're actually leaving this place? Feels a bit strange after seven years."

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah was startled when she heard a familiar voice greet her and she anxiously searched for words as her mind started to race. "Hi." she said smiling. "Congrats to you too." she said earnestly. NEWTs had been as brutal as everyone had said and getting through those alone felt like an accomplishment. She nodded in agreement about it feeling strange and she sighed a bit wistfully. "It felt like forever but I'm not sure I should be allowed to be an adult yet." she joked even though she wasn't sure how much her life would really change. She would be working at the same place and living at home, and she had to wonder if it would just feel like an extended holiday break. "So what does the future hold for you?" Delilah asked and was genuinely curious.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

"Same." Ana Sofia giggled at Delilah's joke. Yet she wondered if all of it was a joke. Personally, she couldn't help but to feel that graduation was such a strange process. They went from being at school, having to follow rules and be under the constant watchful eye of professors and staff to being send out into the world to fend for their own. Suddenly there was no curfew anymore. No not being allowed to wander outside after a specific time. They'd be deciding all of those trivial things for themselves. "I'm not sure," Ana replied with a small shrug. "I'd like to find a place where I can be creative or start something for myself, but I'll probably resort to helping take care of my dad's creatures back at home untill I've got that figured out." She explained honestly before turning the question back on Delilah. "What about you? Any grand plans?"

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah smiled as Ana laughed at her joke, something that still felt like an accomplishment. "I have a hard time imagining you taking care of creatures." she laughed, but she would be the first to admit that there was probably a lot she didn't know about the other girl. The thought was exciting and she wanted to know more but the newness of all of this made the question that was on the tip of her tongue get stuck there for now. "Nothing that grand." she admitted with a shrug. "I have my job at Ollivander's that I'll probably stick with for a while but after that..." she said and let her thought trail off before shaking her head. "But I guess that's what I get to figure out now."

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia gave an innocent shrug when Delilah couldn't seem to imagine her taking care of creatures. She guessed that was fair, she didn't exactly look like she could handle anything big or strong. "It's easier when you know what they're like." She offered in response. She knew exactly which creatures she could and could not handle. Especially since she had been around magical creatures ever since she was little. And she knew her dad had a friend that helped out with the bigger creatures. She'd just take some work off of his hands with the smaller ones. "Right, yeah. Guess that's busy season coming up soon enough." Ana smiled when Delilah mentioned Ollivander's, only then realizing the other girl already had a job lined up. At least for the moment. "I reckon there'll be plenty of time for that." She added. After all, they had all the time in the world now.

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah felt silly when she remembered who Ana Sophia's father was. Obviously that explained that and she laughed. "Oh right, I forget you probably know how to handle yourself." she said a little embarrassed that it had slipped her mind but her defense she had never taken Care of Magical Creatures. At least the topic of Ollivander's was familiar. "Yeah, it's hard to think about anything else when it hits." she said with a fond smile. "But it's worth it." It was hard to explain that days spent on her feet running around a cramped shop could be fun but it was.

She could feel their conversation winding down as the small talk topics were slowly crossed off and could practically feel the pull of their families that were probably looking for them. But Delilah didn't want to go. "Right." she said with a nod of agreement. They might have all the time in the world to figure out their future but for her she felt like time was running out. The sudden sense of urgency made her brave and she cleared her throat. "But speaking of time." she said and nearly winced at her own awkwardness. But it was really now or never. "If you ever wanted any help, you know figuring things out. Or if just wanted to hang out. Um, maybe we could meet up sometime. To talk. Or whatever." she was rambling now and was probably digging herself into a hole she would never be able to recover from. But the question was out there now and all she could do was wait to see Ana's reaction.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia giggled softly when Delilah seemed to remember who her dad was. At least it was good to know not everyone had constantly thought of her as professor's kid ever since he started teaching. She knew her sister had some more unpleasant interactions regarding the fact. "Must be nice seeing those faces light up when they find their wand." She smiled, remembering very well how nervous her eleven year old self had been when she had first stepped foot into Ollivander's.

Ana started fidgeting with the diploma in her hand a bit as she noticed some of her friends a bit further down. She wanted to head over and see them before they disappeared, although she didn't think they would without at least saying goodbye for now, but she didn't want to be rude towards Delilah. Plus, she quite enjoyed talking to the other girl. It felt nice. She cocked her head a little when Delilah added to her mentioning they had all the time in the world, curious about what was to come. Ana wasn't sure what she had expected but her stomach fluttering at Delilah's words was more surprising than what was actually said. "Yeah, uh, for sure We should do that." Ana smiled in response. She wasn't entirely sure what that flutter had meant but she was keen to explore and find out.