Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

The first semester of the year was already nearly at an end, and the idea that Geo wouldn't be attending another Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson for a further eight months was wearing on her mind. She knew it was ridiculous, but every time she thought of a particular Professor she felt more inspired and more nervous than she ever had before. After finding out earlier in the year that he was capable of more than just teaching students in class, Geo had known she wanted to seek him out, and ask him exactly what she needed to do to learn the same. It hadn't been intentional that he was the one who knew the facts, and Geo would have wanted to approach anyone for the information, but since she needed to talk to her favourite Professor at the same time, she wanted to make the effort too.

As she sat on the top floor of the IC room, Geo was fixing her hair, a small mirror propped up on the floor. She was sat on one of a few rugs that decorated the bottom of the room she and her friends called their home, and glad that after nearly three years no one else had managed to stumble across the abandoned store cupboard, Geo knew it was a pretty safe bet if she wanted to prepare herself for her meeting here. She was a little apprehensive about the event, but if she wanted to be the best Auror she could be then she would need to know more than just what she was taught in her classes.
​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie had been fuming and mentally going over her latest conversation with Isaac for a while now, and it just made her more and more irritated. She couldn't tell if he had been oblivious to what she had wanted to ask him, or if he had known entirely too well and had reacted the way he did because it was the last thing he wanted from her. She wasn't sure which option was worse, though the second one was definitely more humiliating.

The IC room, as they called it, hadn't been in use as often has it had in their first year. Their friend group felt like it was drifting apart a little bit, with Leila and Jess often hanging out together. Geo and Elly were still around often enough, but that was mostly in classes. So when she passed the room, she wasn't expecting to see anyone as she peeked inside. To her surprise, she heard noises. As she stepped inside, she soon found Geo on the top floor. Sophie's eyebrows raised to her hairline. "What are you doing? Can't you just ...magic your hair the way you want it to be?" She asked her friend, tilting her head. "It looks fine as it is, by the way."

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had almost finished fixing her hair when she was trying to decide whether she should leave it blonde or not. Usually she wouldn't care, pink was her thing after all, but what if he thought she was trying too hard? She was settling back on pink when the third year heard footsteps ascending the staircase, and assuming it would be one of her friends she didn't bother to look away from what she was doing. At the sound of Sophie's voice, Geo wasn't sure whether she was upset. It wasn't unusual for the tone to seem unimpressed, especially about something as trivial as hair. Glancing up at her best friend, she stopped what she was doing for a moment, "I could, but what's the fun in that?" she asked her, secretly glad that Sophie still had no idea of the mess she'd caused by transfiguring herself round her sister two years ago. She would take the word fine as a compliment from the Ravenclaw, glad that she'd even noticed at all. Geo loved Sophie but she knew not all their interests matched, and while that would never be something that caused Geo to not talk to her, she thought it best to move on with the conversation.

"Shouldn't you be with Isaac or something?" she asked, knowing full well Sophie had never mentioned the Ravenclaw to her. After Elly had briefly mentioned something about her friend spending time with another boy in their house, Geo had been curious to know who he was. She'd seen him around here and there but it wasn't as though he made an effort to get to know anyone else. "Oh hey, have you spoken to Jess or Leila recently?" she suddenly blurted out before waiting for an answer to her previous question. After the incident in the halls, Geo had remained worried about her Gryffindor friends, but since neither of them had tried to seek her out, she wondered if she'd just been blanked now.
​

 

[Elizabeth Chatwin]

Everything Elly needed at the moment was a quiet place to study and clear out her mind. All of her friends seemed to be doing things with boys and Elly was kind of left out. Not that Sophie was very interested currently, but it still made her feel bad. Elly knew that the IC headquarters was usually pretty empty, since the group was drifting apart. That wasn't a good thing, but the IC headquarters was a lovely place to study.

Elly walked to the door and it seemed to be open already. She pushed the door farther open and walked in. Elly walked up the tiny stairs and spotted her two best friends. It was funny to see them together. Elly would give her life for them and she hoped they would also do it for her as well. ''Hey you two, doing something secret without me?'' Elly smiled. It was so easy to be around them, although they were totally different.

The studying could wait, Elly her friends were way more important. Sophie was the first friend that had come to her house willingly. Not because Elly her dad had paid the kid to come over. ''How are we doing?'' Elly said while throwing her bag in the corner. It ended right below the drawing she had made in the first year. It was starting to tear on the sides.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie raised her eyebrows slightly, tilting her head to the side. "What? How is it fun at all?" She asked. Sophie didn't see the fun in messing with hair or makeup, nothing like that. She made her way over to Geo, a frown appearing on her face as the other girl mentioned Isaac. A small blush appeared on her cheeks. Had she been that obvious? As far as she could remember, she had never mentioned the boy to any of her friends, including Geo. She had worried too much about being teased for hanging out with a boy to do that, but apparently it hadn't gone unnoticed. A scowl made its way onto her face as she crossed her arms in front of her protectively. "No." She said shortly. "I don't think he'd want me to hang out anymore, anyway." The words slipped out, and she regretted it immediately. A part of her wanted to talk to Geo about this, as she knew Geo had already dated Jess and thus had more experience on this front. But it was also embarrassing. "Some stuff happened." She added, which didn't really clarify anything. The question about Leila and Jess made her shrug. "Not really. They seem sort of glued together, as usual." She commented. Before she could say more, about Isaac or anything else, she heard footsteps and turned to see Elly. Really hoping the other Ravenclaw hadn't listened too much, she waved. "Hi, no nothing secret." She shrugged. "Just asking Geo why she's putting so much thought into her appearance." It was easier to point fingers and put the attention on Geo than to explain what she had been talking about.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had to resist rolling her eyes at Sophie's comment. This was precisely why she hadn't lingered on the topic for too long. What she would be able to talk to her about however was her plans, and the reason as to why she was dressing up of sorts anyway. Geo frowned at her friend, wondering what had happened between them for Sophie to think they wouldn't want to hang out. Even she knew that Sophie didn't make friends that easier, but by the sounds of it she'd been spending a lot of time with Isaac, at least that's what she'd been hearing from other Ravenclaws. She didn't want to push her too much, but Sophie last passing comment stuck in the Hufflepuff's mind.

She was going to ask her what exactly had gone on between them, when another pair of footsteps came up to the first floor. "Hey Elly," Geo smiled at the girl, wondering whether there really were secrets between the group of friends these days. It didn't seem as though they were as close as they had been during their first year, and while it was normal for people to gradually part ways, Geo missed those she referred to her as her Hogwarts family. "Look, I've decided I want to learn Legilimency and Occlumency one day, and I thought I'd just you know, go and find out what I need to do." Geo explained, finally happy with the way she appeared. She hoped they wouldn't between them manage to twig on to who exactly she was going to see, but with only one person proficient in both skills at the school it was hardly a challenge to figure out who she meant. She did feel a little relieved though that she wasn't the only IC member who felt outcast from the Gryffindor partnership, and she could only hope they'd be able to patch things up sooner rather than later.
​

 

[Elizabeth Chatwin]

Elly smiled when Sophie told her it was nothing secret. Geo could be a bit vain sometimes. Her appearance was important, except for Halloween times then Geo didn't care to look like a complete idiot. Elly giggled and dumped herself down on the pillows that were stacked in one of the corners. Lately she had been a bit lazy and sitting down was lovely. ''Ah that sounds cool Geo!'' Elly paused for a bit ''Do you have a mentor already?'' Elly wondered if she would tell her secret as well. It wasn't a secret, but then again no one really knew what she was doing. ''I am going to train to become an animagus'' Elly paused ''I actually began it already'' Her cheeks turned bright red.

She hoped her friends didn't think of Elly doing things behind their backs. It was all so new and scary already. ''Are you doing something extra Sophie?, except for being the most awesome artist in the universe'' Elly said with a smile on her face. When Sophie had come over in the holiday she had won their little drawing contest. It was funny and it made Sophie and Elly closer together.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

A part of Sophie felt disappointed that Geo didn't ask her more about Isaac. She figured her friend might be able to give good advice, but she really wasn't sure what to say on the subject herself. Her mood darkened when she heard Geo say that she wanted to learn Legilimency and Occlumency. "You're way too young for that." She said with a scoff. "Who are you asking?" That was very difficult magic, and while it was Geo-like to want to attempt it, Sophie couldn't help but scoff at the notion a little bit. But then Elly dropped another bomb, and Sophie looked at her in shock. Then in frustration. "Wow, way to keep us informed." She snapped, taking a step back. This felt like a betrayal to her. Sophie liked Transfiguration a lot too, maybe if Elly had told her they could have started training together. But apparently her friend hadn't wanted to share that information. Sophie was starting to feel very... normal. Insignificant. Something that was worsened by Elly's question. Elly talked about 'doing something extra' like Sophie was supposed to be doing something difficult and life changing too. She couldn't even get a boy to go to the ball with her, let alone anything really important. Her frustration caused her anger to boil over. Elly's words about her being the most awesome artist in the universe sounded hollow and empty. LiIke it was a consolation prize for not being good enough at other things. She wasn't even that good an artist, and even if she was, it was nothing like being an animagus. "You know what? I'll leave you two alone to talk about how special you both are. Have fun." She said coldly, turning to go down the stairs again. A part of her wanted to hide out in her dormitory, but Elly could get to her there. She'd have to find some other spot to hide out.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo looked up and stared at her friend in disbelief when she heard Elly was training to become an Animagus. She'd thought they spent most of their time at the school together, but that piece of information had seem to have slipped her mind until she'd already started her training. The Hufflepuff stood up from her position, no longer worried about whether she looked the part for the meeting as much as she did about how Elly was talking to her other best friend. Geo assumed she hadn't done it intentionally, but Geo was angry that Elly considered their abilities to be something extra. After struggling enough with her own ability last year, Elly had no idea what lay ahead, no idea just what type of challenges she was going to face. Noticing that Sophie was about to walk away, and that she'd actually wanted her advice on something herself, she called out before she'd hit the staircase. "Sophie wait." The Hufflepuff continued to walk across the room with every intention of following her should she choose to disappear, but before she did so she turned back to Elizabeth. It even surprised herself at how suddenly she'd been overcome by emotion, but holding back wasn't exactly something she was good at. "You have, no idea, just how hard that is going to be." Geo began through deep breaths, trying to control the anger that had suddenly been sprung on her. "I mean I'm happy for you. I'm glad that you've decided to learn it. But that does not and will never, make you more important than anyone else," Geo said the words before she could even have a moment to process what it was she was thinking. All she knew was that she was fuming that Elizabeth would ever consider that it was something that would place her higher than others, even those she called her friends. She'd always told herself that being a Metamorphmagus didn't make her special, and after finding out there were more in the school that thought differently to her, it only confirmed her feelings for what she'd inherited. It was no secret that Geo's friends were the most important thing to her, and there was no way the third year was going to back down from something like this.
​

 

[Elizabeth Chatwin]

Elly hadn't shared it before, because it had scared her to bits. She had only recently heard what it entailed and it still scared her. What she hadn't expected was the backlash she got from her two best friends. ''If you two wanted to gang up on me that's fine, I just wish you would have told me sooner'' Elly said in rage. ''I didn't say it because I want to be special, I am just Elly, and I am scared as hell'' Elly said while watching Sophie leave. She didn't even know what to say. Elly loved her friends and would kill herself if that was needed to save the two. Elly looked at Geo and broke out in tears. She had expected that at least she would understood it, but she had way to big hopes for her friends. Maybe she was never meant to have friends, it hadn't worked out before so why would it work out now. Elly grabbed her bag and stormed out of the IC headquarters tears streaming over her face. They had hurt her and jumped to conclusions that weren't true. What had Elly ever done to them, nothing she just listened and supported them. Now they seemed to think she was a horrible monster and maybe they were right. Elly fell twice in the corridor, not seeing were she was going. She was in complete shock and tears and didn't know were to go. It was bad enough that Sophie would be sleeping in a dorm with her. She didn't want to see the girl anytime soon.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

This wasn't the first time Sophie acted out in anger or jealousy, and it wouldn't be the last. She hadn't expected either of her friends to stop her, as she figured they would be happy to talk to each other about the special abilities they were developing. The way Elly had asked her if she had anything special too had really rubbed her the wrong way, as if she needed it to be a part of the group or their friend. Maybe she wasn't special. That was bad enough when compared to Amber, let alone people that could transform and change themselves. It also hurt that she hadn't known this was even an option this early on. And if Elly had shared that with her maybe she could have tried it too. A part of her couldn't help but think that Elly had kept that information from her on purpose, just so she would be the only one.

Geo getting angry at Elly wasn't what Sophie had expected to happen, and she stopped before going down the stairs as she listened in shock. She supposed Elly's flippant attitude about her ability hadn't just rubbed her the wrong way, though she did feel a little bad seeing tears on Elly's face soon after. But it wasn't like they could have known she was scared. She hadn't seemed scared at all, not even that excited. She'd seemed very casual about it, like it was normal. "Well, it was your own choice." She muttered as Elly left, frowning at the back of her head. Then she glanced at Geo. "So, why did that piss you off? If anyone is special, its you." She said, still a challenge in her voice.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo was still angrily staring at one of her friends as she was telling them she was scared. That wasn't how it had come across to her at all, and she let the Ravenclaw fly past her and down the stairs, not wanting to have what was turning into an argument at the moment. She was in no mood now to do what she'd planned to that afternoon, and walking back to her original position she slumped down against the wall, assuming Sophie would continue leaving too. She looked up to meet her frown though at her question, noticing she hadn't moved. The tone in Sophie's voice made Geo feel as though she was in the wrong, despite thinking she'd done the right thing in making her point. She'd not even been aware of why she felt so strongly about the topic until she considered her response, but instead of managing to put together some form of coherent sentence, the Hufflepuff suddenly burst into tears. Memories of her previous year, trying to navigate through the the connotations that her ability had brought, and why it had been important to her to present herself in the right way. Hearing that one of her closest friends refer to what she had as "special" only made things worse. Geo had pushed down most of the facts from her childhood, believing that Hogwarts had been a fresh leaf for her, and unaware of how many of the details Sophie knew of, the Hufflepuff was finding it difficult to stop a few of the aspects resurfacing.
​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie hadn't meant her comment to be as mean as it had sounded, which was a common problem for her. In her eyes, Geo was special. What else would you call someone who could change their appearance at will? Not only that, but she was one of the best students in their year, and she was apparently going to learn Occlumency and Legilimency too. She had perhaps expected the girl to be a bit defensive, or even get angry. But what she hadn't expected was for Geo to burst into tears. Just like Elly before her. Sophie felt her stomach sink. Everything she said was just wrong today, and she had managed to make her two best friends cry within a few minutes. She didn't want this, and wished she could reverse time to fix things. But of course she couldn't. Sophie couldn't do anything special, she was just ordinary and boring. It wasn't always easy to be the friend of Elly and Geo, both of which were brilliant and funny and social. Now that they were both going to be practicing magic Sophie would probably only ever be able to dream of, she couldn't help but feel like a grey mouse next to them both. Geo's tears were unexpected to say the least. Here Sophie was, brimming with jealousy about her friend's powers, and the mere mention fo them apparently made her cry. Sophie had no clue what had caused it, and a tiny part of her wished Geo would also run out of the room. At least she wouldn't have to deal with a crying girl then, especially since it was someone she'd never seen cry before. "I... I didn't mean it in a bad way. Don't cry." Sophie said awkwardly, stepping closer to her. "What's wrong?"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo continued to wipe at her eyes, trying to stop the tears flowing down her face. She was half aware of Sophie walking across the room towards her, and she felt guilty for creating a scene, and no doubt she would start asking questions she couldn't necessarily give her. Trying to contain herself, she didn't respond for a moment, instead trying to catch her breath. Sophie almost looked shocked that Geo had taken her comment the way she had, and she tried to consider whether or not she was actually trying to be sincere. "What do you see, when you look at me?" she asked her friend eventually, looking up through her red stained eyes. She tried to convince herself that she was becoming more than just her abilities, that she wasn't just viewed as someone who had it easier than others because of a genetic she'd inherited from her parents. Her parents that she'd never know. Elly wanted to be special, and who didn't, but after seeing that she'd kept it from her friends it looked more as though Elly was trying to compete with them, and her words had stung her worse than she'd thought they could. Geo babbled through these words to her friend that stood a short distance away, half expecting her to leave once she was done. Geo knew Sophie wasn't one for empathy, and she was probably making her uncomfortable anyway. "Being special isn't about what you have." Geo finished, hoping that she'd been making some sort of sense. "There's no way I'm going to Styx like this," she added, a fresh wave of tears forming in her eyes.
​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie found it hard to watch Geo cry, and she was starting to feel like some sort of monster that just made everyone around her cry. Awkwardly she patted Geo's arm from a distance. Geo's question made her frown, unsure what she meant."I see you. Geo." She said after a while. "My friend. Though now I also see red eyes and kind of a runny nose," she added. Humor was what she used to avoid situations that were too emotional. A part of her hoped it could make her laugh a little too, or at least help her stop crying. She listened as Geo told her about her abilities and how she wanted to be seen as more than them, and about what Elly had said that upset her. Sophie sighed deeply. "You are way more than just your ability to change your appearance. That just seems like it doesn't even have to be said," she said with a small shrug. "it's just an interesting fact about you, not something that defines you. But that doesn't change the fact that it's a rare ability and makes you 'special' in a way. Just doesn't mean you can't be special in other ways too." She said, shrugging again. "I don't know if Elly is doing this because she wants to be special, but she will be if she goes through with this. The both of you will have these cool magical powers and I'll... just be me. And she didn't even tell me." It was hard for her to put into words, and she hoped Geo wouldn't say anything bad. But then the girl said something that made Sophie's eyebrows rise up slightly. "You were fixing your hair to go see Styx?" She asked, confused. "Which Styx?" Sophie honestly wasn't sure which answer she'd prefer.