Great Expectations

[Pia Morales]

Being made head girl was as much of a shock to Pia as it seemed to be to the rest of the student body because she transferred in only two years ago and mostly kept to herself since then. She was quiet and preferred to be left alone to her thoughts which conflicted in Pia's mind. She believed the expectations for head girl were to be outgoing and overtly friendly in order to embody the leader she was supposed to be. She felt that acting such a way was important, but at the same time she felt that changing would be pointless when the professors clearly saw something worthy in her that she couldn't see herself. They must have believed she made a good head girl in spite of her quietness and if she changed it would seem fake, as if she was trying too hard to be liked due to the position. But the decision of how she should act was still confusing to Pia. Acting like herself and acting differently for the sake of everyone else seemed to have an equal amount of pros and cons and she simply could not decide what to do.

These thoughts weighed heavily on Pia's mind as she entered the great hall for breakfast that morning, feeling paranoid that the students nearby were staring at her and judging her every move because at a first glance she definitely did not appear like a head girl. At least not naturally beautiful and kind like the previous head girl seemed to be. It made her too nervous to eat so she instead poured herself a generous cup of coffee and pulled an issue of the daily prophet lying on the table closer so she could read it while sipping from the cup slowly. It was the only thing she could stomach and she hoped it would be enough to fill her up before her day began.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

The transition from Hogwarts Scotland to Hogwarts New Zealand wasn't too much different at all, apart from the fact that Calum already knew a couple of the people there. Thankfully, he wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw with them and stayed in Slytherin where he knew he belonged. At least here he was able to be in close proximity of Pia who he knew he had developed a closer relationship with during the holidays. She had definitely lifted his spirits whenever she was around and to know that they would be in some of the same classes was definitely something to look forward to now that he was at a new school, only if it was for one year until they graduated.

That morning, the seventh year pushed his way into the great hall with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground watching his feet as he walked. He didn't care about the potential bruises he might have given the people he had pushed past and only cared about getting something into his stomach before he became too hangry to concentrate for the day. As he looked up to navigate himself around the hall and to find his house table, his eyes lay on Pia as she poured herself a coffee. It was amazing how delicately she did it, without spilling a thing. Calum found himself walking towards her at the Ravenclaw table. "Hello there, pretty lady." he said with a smile as he sat down, grabbed himself a plate and started dumping whatever he could reach onto it. There was never enough food in the world to feed a hungry teenager like himself.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia immediately recognized the voice that spoke to her, but that didn't stop her from jumping slightly at the volume. Luckily not enough to spill the precious coffee in the cup between her hands. So caught up in her thoughts and her need to forget how on display she felt as the new head girl, she hadn't heard Calum approach her until he spoke. Her heart fluttered slightly at the shock of it, but soon calmed down as she looked up to him and smiled, swallowing a mouthful of coffee. "Oh, hey." She said. Calum told her the news of his transfer during the holidays, but now that school had started she realized his presence was going to need some getting used to. Calum was rough at the edges but he did mean well and most importantly, he was her friend. She was glad to have him around despite how difficult she knew it would be to juggle time between both him and Kylie. Shaking such a thought from her head, Pia placed her coffee cup on the table, pushing the paper she was reading away as she turned slightly towards Calum to show off the head girl badge on her uniform. She was yet to break the news of her title to him and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. "Notice anything different about me?" Her eyebrows raised expectantly as she waited for Calum to answer her question.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum couldn't help but smile slightly when Pia greeted him back. He was already fitting in at his new school now than he was at his old one and he was glad that Pia seemed almost as happy to see him as what he was to see her. The Slytherin began to stab his pancakes with his fork and started eating. Not long after, he swallowed abruptly when he saw the head girl badge Pia began to show off. She was head girl and Calum didn't know how to react to that. Obviously he was very happy to see her in a head position but did that mean they wouldn't be able to spend much time together with all of the important stuff she had to do? He smiled at her again, this time showing his large teeth and nodded. "Head girl! Congratulations for getting on the professors' good sides." he said, feeling genuinely happy for her but unsure how to show it. There weren't many times when Calum felt proud of people and this just happened to be one of them. "Does that mean I won't be able to see you around much from now on?" he asked wearily as he shoved more pancakes into his mouth.

 

[Pia Morales]

Calum's toothy grin and words of congratulations was definitely what Pia needed to hear that morning. "Thanks" She said, matching the grin while she picked up her now lipstick stained cup of coffee and sipped from it. Her gaze momentarily returned to the issue of the daily prophet she had been reading, then snapped back to Calum when he asked if it meant they weren't able to see each other often. She pursed her lips slightly, shaking her head in response. "No, we can still hang out. There's new stuff I need to do but it shouldn't be too crazy if I keep up with classes." Pia intended to do just that. To keep up with classes and the newfound duties she had as head girl so she could still spend time with her friends and make what was her final year at school memorable. Pia wanted to say more about her plan but then realized Calum wasn't likely to care about it. She instead nodded to his plate of pancakes, changing the subject as she sipped again from her coffee. "Looks yummy. I wish I wasn't too nervous to eat."​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

The thought of moving to Pia's school and not being able to see her that much was a bit disappointing. He wanted to be able to spend as much time with her as possible and even thought for a moment that he might be able to study with her. But even then, Calum was never a really good study partner and so he doubted that would be a good idea. He just hoped that her being head girl wouldn't change too much and that everything would stay normal between them. The Slytherin looked sideways at the red-haired girl as she spoke. "What do you mean you're nervous? What's to be nervous about?" Calum asked her, an eyebrow raised. The only time Calum was ever nervous was right before a big duel, despite the fact that he knew he was going to win every time. But even being nervous for that was silly and so Calum waited for her to answer as he poured himself some pumpkin juice, wondering if it had anything to do with the new badge or because he was there. He would have quietly preferred the latter.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia moved her free hand over her face as Calum asked why she was nervous. It was hardly a subject change despite that being her intention. It seemed she just could not get the shock and burden of being named head girl away from her mind no matter how hard she tried. That was probably a good thing seeing as she would need to constantly think about being a role model and filling her new responsibilities, but when Pia wanted nothing more than to drink her coffee in peace and make conversation with her newly transferred friend, it was anything but good. "I am just worried that everyone in this school is judging me now. I do not exactly think I am head girl material." After saying that, Pia shook her head and endeavored to properly change the subject this time. Moving her hand from her face, Pia looked to Calum again and asked "What classes are you taking this semester?" in the hope they would share classes as his presence would make some of her classes more bearable, if he wasn't too much of a distraction from the work.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum was never one that could easily cheer people up. If anything, he only made people feel worse. So when Pia told him that she doubted her position Calum frowned at her and kept quiet, wishing he could have done more. The professors had picked her for a reason and so he didn't understand why she was acting in such a way. Hopefully by the end of the week she would be used to it and Calum would have no cheering up to do. He sipped his pumpkin juice carefully as he listened to what she asked next. Truthfully Calum didn't care about his classes and so the knowledge of what he was going to be doing that year was really not there. "I suppose the same as last year." he said gruffly, obviously not caring much for his education. But Pia had asked and so he attempted to answer as he refilled his glass with more pumpkin juice. "Defence Against The Dark Arts, Potions, Muggle-studies..." He began to list them on his fingers. "Transfiguration... Well, that's just this semester. What about you?" He looked at her and waited for an answer in hope that some of the classes he said were hers too.

 

[Pia Morales]

Calum was evidently not an academic. Pia had learnt this early on in their friendship. The standoffish tone the Slytherin used when talking about his classes was further proof of such a fact. A lack of interest in school more often than not turned Pia away from people as they were less likely to challenge her mind without an equal amount of knowledge. Fortunately, Calum was an exception to this as he was knowledgeable in many other ways, specifically with dueling. Pia had learned more from him about dueling than anyone she had previously known and she was grateful for that. Pia was also exceptionally grateful that they were taking most of the same classes that semester. "I am taking Muggle studies, Defence against the dark arts and Potions too!" She exclaimed after swallowing another sip of her coffee, suddenly feeling more comfortable with the situation. "I am not taking Transfiguration, but my friend Orwell should be in that class. You should say hi to him." As she said this she moved one of her hands from her coffee cup, placing it affectionately on Calum's forearm. Sharing classes with him would make this semester all the more fun for Pia. She was furthermore eager for classes to begin than she had been before, due to this realization.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum knew that Pia was really on top of her studies, or at least she was way more than him. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings but he genuinely thought school was a waste of time. After all, he wasn't going to need to know anything about the goblin rebellion when he finally left so he didn't think learning about it was essential. Thankfully, Calum did not get a passing grade for History of Magic and so he was not doing it anymore. As the boy began to take another bite of his pancakes his eyes lit up when Pia said she was taking most of the subjects he was. He was a bit disappointed that she wasn't taking transfiguration with him and completely brushed off her suggestion to talk to her friend. He appreciated the thought, but Calum didn't like making new friends and he doubted that Orwell would want to talk to him - he was probably already associated with his own friend group to worry about making anymore.

Calum abruptly swallowed his food when he felt Pia place her hand on his forearm. It took him a while to comprehend what had happened but, when he did, he smiled a giddy smile, somehow feeling as if Pia cared about him more than what he thought and that nothing could be better. Was that a normal feeling when someone touched your arm? He wanted her to leave it there forever. It felt soft and gentle on his rough skin. He hesitated before opening his mouth, trying his best to change the subject before he became too carried away with his thoughts. "Uh, yeah... W-why aren't you doing transfiguration?" he asked, cursing at himself in his head for being so awkward. Why was a simple touch affecting him so much? He wanted to touch her back but didn't know how. Being so infatuated was beginning to make him frustrated.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia used her free hand to bring her coffee cup to her lips, sipping again before she placed it on the table and returned her gaze to Calum. His smile looked different than moments before and it startled her slightly as it was unusual for him (at least from what she noticed about him as they became closer friends) but she attempted not to show it, instead continuing to smile like she hadn't noticed a change as she answered his question about transfiguration. "It's just not a subject I enjoy as much as the others." She shrugged, not having any other explanation to why she wasn't taking the subject. Of course her grades at this point weren't adequate enough but even if they were, her knowledge was simply put to better use elsewhere. Though she did appreciate people who did take transfiguration, like Orwell, as it apparently required lots of practice and concentration. "This year is going to be a lot of work, don't you think?" She then said as more of an afterthought, moving her hand from Calum's arm to her coffee cup as she did so. The year would be difficult enough with her classes, let alone her new responsibilities as head girl but Pia was determined to make the most of it and divide her time equally between work and play so she wouldn't regret this year and forget to spend time with her friends.​