Closed Familiar Faces

[Acacia Dunn]

Breakfast at Hogwarts was pleasantly familiar, but also a little samey-samey. Acacia was starting to feel settled for the new year, but also a little bit isolated. As proud as she was of her friend, it hurt a tiny bit that Emilia had been chosen to lead Heta Omega over her. And now Acacia's best friend was busy so often, and it was hard not to be bummed about it. Eating breakfast alone took Acacia back to her miserable first couple of years here, where all she had wanted was to fly back to Ilvermorny, and she found herself thinking about it again now. She was starting to love New Zealand, and there was no question she loved her friends here, but with Emilia, Analei, and Maggy all nowhere to be seen right now, part of Acacia was really starting to feel that loneliness. What if she had been allowed to stay in the US? If she had gone to school with her friends? Her parents had hoped Hogwarts would be strict enough to help her grades, but she was doing just as badly as Cedar had in Ilvermorny. And school was boring anyway. At least if Acacia had stayed with her friends she wouldn't have had to learn to fit in in a whole new country. Prodding at her eggs with a fork, Acacia sighed as she daydreamed about her home and the people she had been forced to leave behind.

 

[Brittany Taylor]

Breakfast was a complicated issue for Brittany. While on one hand the large banquet hall was always filled to the brim with chatting students, delicious baked goods, and all the morning meats you could imagine. However, it was also a bit carb-heavy. After all, Brittany wasn't hoping to "totally bust-a-gut" during this year. She just wanted her morning buddha-bowl.

So while she casually looked over the Hufflepuff table looking for something satisfying but not bloating she happened upon a familiar face. She gasped, "Oh! My! God! Acacia? Is that you?" She let out a little squeal as she rushed over to hug the other girl.

"So this is where you've been the past few years, people seriously thought you fell off the planet! How long has it been, like five years?"

 

[Acacia Dunn]

Acacia was so absorbed in thoughts of home that when she heard a familiar voice, for a moment she thought she had imagined it. It took her a moment to look up, eyes widening in awe as she really processed what she was seeing. "BRITT!" Acacia squealed in delight, opening her eyes wide to hug her long-lost friend. "OMG! What are you DOING here?!" Acacia jumped up and down a little in excitement, overjoyed to finally have some contact with her home again. Staying with Cedar was nice, but Brittany was here! "Yeah! Cedar's grades at Ilvermorny were crap, so my mom and dad made me go to a "stricter" school, like I somehow wasn't gonna get horrible grades here too." Acacia rolled her eyes recounting her parents' logic, but then a grin split her face again as she looked back at Brittany. "What are you doing here though? Oh my god, it's been so long! We have so much to catch up on!"

 

[Brittany Taylor]

"[colour=mediumvioletred]Ugh, your parents have serious damage.[/colour]" Brittany sympathized after hearing about how Acacia was essentially banished to New Zealand. She moved to take the seat beside Acacia on the table. "[colour=mediumvioletred]Like, I can't believe they just abandoned you here, but also I'm going to count my blessings. In terms of why I'm here. Well... Do you want the long or the short version? Who am I kidding? I'll tell you everything![/colour]" She began to speak faster and faster as the sentence carried on, not even pausing to let Acacia answer during those final questions.

"[colour=mediumvioletred]So, I met a boy, he was really cute, really nice, really funny. We've been dating since I was thirteen and I thought we were like... final. You know, very Cleopatra and Mark Antony. And on, what is to this day, is the most mortifying day of my life he dumped me in an OWLRY![/colour]" Her voice went especially shrill during the final word. "[colour=mediumvioletred]No warning at all! Anyways, I came here to get some distance and just become a little more zen. Y'know?[/colour]"

Brittany did a big sigh of relief upon concluding her story. She stared right into the eyes of her old friend. "[colour=mediumvioletred]But the best part of moving here has been without a doubt seeing you![/colour]" She went in for another hug. "[colour=mediumvioletred]Ohmygoodness can we please yoga on those cliff tops it looks stellar there! And I totally spaced while sharing my drama. Did you snag someone with an accent to die for?[/colour]"