Open Pressure and Expectations

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie hadn't believed she was really head girl, not really. She had received the badge during the break, had shown Amber and her parents with confusion, and had assumed it was a mistake. But, as her sister pointed out, the letter was unmistakably addressed to her. Still, when she came to Hogwarts Sophie had still assumed it was a mistake. Any moment during the first night, the feast and the sorting and the house meeting, Sophie had half expected to feel a tap on her shoulder from an apologetic professor to tell her there had been some sort of mix up. But that hadn't happened. Sophie couldn't wrap her mind around it, and honestly didn't know what to do. Who in their right mind would make her head girl? She didn't do much of note, only the paper really came to mind. Was it because Amber was her sister and she had done well? Sophie feared that was the case, but she hoped not.

She knew there were certain things she had to do now, she had to organize a meeting for all the prefects with Kauri Tipene, and at the end of the year she would have to give a speech. It was far away, but that part was already the thing she dreaded the most. So in order to ease her anxiety and give her some ideas, Sophie had gone to the library on this quiet afternoon and grabbed a few old yearbooks to look at what sort of speeches former head boys and girls had given. She was sitting at a table near the back, flipping through them. With each speech that she read, she was starting to feel more and more like this was a mistake. Most, if not all, of them seemed so much better than anything Sophie could hope to say out loud. She opened the yearbook from two years ago, the most recent one she had grabbed, and looked at Amber's picture on the page. Sophie felt an echo of her old resentment of her sister as she looked down at the smiling photo. She used to feel like she had to be just like her sister, and had rebelled against that idea firmly. Now, she had finally started to feel like she was becoming her own person, only to get this badge. Anything she said would be compared to what Amber had said two years ago, and it wouldn't measure up. Sophie suddenly felt an almost physical pressure on herself and she closed the book quickly before burying her face in her hands. She wasn't good at this, and she knew she would reveal this to everyone sooner or later.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

If the year in Scotland had told Geo anything, it was that family and friends came before her career. She'd loved the work experience and the opportunity to get to know more about the country she once lived in from her adult eyes, but Geo had been reconsidering the decision to work there once she'd graduated, for it was much too far from everyone she'd grown to love. She had always been an outgoing student, and being pulled away from those she cared about most had taken it's toll on her personality. She'd become a little more reserved, hesitant to involve herself too deeply in new relationships in Scotland for the fear of breaking those should she return to New Zealand. Three months later she'd done just that.

Leaving New Zealand had been a tough choice, and she'd given up many things in order to pursue her career there. Of course the Hufflepuff wouldn't have told anyone it was a mistake to have taken it up, but now that was back she was no longer a prefect, and had lost her chance at ever becoming Head Girl. She was no longer on the Quidditch team with her friends nor did she run the Student Defence Association. But those things, she had come to realise, didn't matter when it meant that with her return, she was given a second chance to support those around her. Whether or not she had any titles didn't matter, and Geo was still going to do everything she did before, only this time her priorities were a little different. Studying of course was important in her seventh year, but the blonde wanted to ensure it was also a year to remember.

Entering the library, still adjusting to life back in this school, her eyes darted around the room for somewhere to sit. She'd had so many memories in this place it would be strange to leave in less than 12 months time. Before she could, she spotted a familiar girl sat by herself, head in her hands. The Hufflepuff quickened her pace, before laying down her book beside Sophie and wrapping her arms round her shoulders in an awkwardly positioned but hopefully comforting hug. She'd not seen the Ravenclaw for so long, and she could only hope the girl she once called her best friend, would still be able to once again.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie felt pressure behind her eyes and knew she should probably keep her hands where they were for now. Imagine, the head girl crying in the library in the first week back at school. People would probably talk, and it would be clear that she wasn't fit for the job. It was strange, having to think about what others thought of her. She had been fairly well known for running the paper, but only to those that paid attention to the name at the bottom of the issue. A surprising amount of people had no idea who wrote for Hogwarts Monthly, and the relative anonymity had always been a comfort to Sophie. But the head girl badge felt like a spotlight being turned on her, one that she hadn't been prepared for.

As Sophie suddenly felt arms wrap around her, she thought for half a second that it was, somehow, her sister. But Sophie was nothing if not logical, and she knew that couldn't be the case. She pulled her face away from her hands to see what was going on, and at the sight of blond hair, she knew who it was. She pushed Geo away. "That's a bit of an overreaction." She said, trying for a dry tone but instead sounding uncertain. "Don't tell me you actually missed me." Sophie didn't quite look at Geo, who had once been one of her closest friends. She had felt betrayed when she left, and didn't know what to feel now. On top of that, there was the knowledge that Geo would have her badge if she hadn't left. Somehow, it both made her feel defensive and guilty. Would Geo feel like she had stolen her place? Would that be fair? Sophie didn't know.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Even though it hurt a little when Sophie pushed her away, she had to remember her friend wasn’t always as receptive to physical affection as she was and that she shouldn’t have tried to push it. To Geo it wasn’t an overreaction at all, but she quickly slid into a chair opposite the Head Girl, feeling as though it had been years since they’d had a chance to talk properly. “Of course it isn’t. Sophie you’re one if my best friends,” Geo hoped she didn’t think that just because she had to leave, didn’t mean that they weren’t still going to look out for one another, at least, that’s what the Hufflepuff was planning to do. “I did miss you. I missed you and your.. humour quite a lot actually,” she replied, waving one hand around in front of her as she tried to figure out the best words to use. Shed come to realise that any job would from now on always come second to her friends. She didn’t know anyone else remotely like the Ravenclaw. A small part of the metamorphmagus wondered for a moment whether Sophie was saying these things because she believed them, and that Geo was over stepping the boundaries of what their friendship once more. She cleared her throat, maintaining a slightly colder expression. Even when they met it hadn’t been an easy journey as it had been with others like Jess Leila and Elly. “Congratulations on Head Girl,” she added, nodding towards the badge, “And, before you say anything, it’s perfectly well deserved and I don’t think they could have picked a more suitable student,” she had a feeling Sophie would have tried to act as though it didn’t mean anything to her, but even as far back as their third year, she recalled that Sophie was looking for something that would make her special. Of course she was special in her own way, but after Geo was a Met and Elly was an Animagus, here was their best friend with the biggest recognition of them all. “You’ve worked hard for that. You should be proud,” she added, sitting back in her chair as she spoke.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie looked at Geo, taking her in for a quiet moment. She sighed softly. "You're one of my best friends too, but it's not like I'm dying or anything." She said, using sarcasm to cover up her uncertain feelings. Somehow, she hadn't really expected Geo to return. Nor had she expected the Hufflepuff to remember her if she did. But here she was, and Sophie softened a bit at her words. "Well. I missed you too." She said after a pause. "I'm not going to hug you, but I did miss you." She smiled a little, though the smile dropped immediately when Geo brought up the head girl thing. She had the ridiculous urge to cover up the badge with her hand, like it was something shameful she was trying to cover up. It was strange to have Geo comment on it, as Sophie knew deep in her heart that it would've gone to her if she hadn't left for a year. "There's a more suitable student literally at this table." She said with a small frown. "But she wasn't here to receive it, so I got it instead." She hadn't meant to sound as bitter as she did with those words, but it couldn't be helped. She looked away. "Geo, I'm not cut out for this. I have half a mind to just give it back. I'm not going to be great at it like Amber was, or you would have been. I was never even a prefect, I don't know what I'm doing. Why would anyone listen to me?" She hadn't meant to spill quite so many of her thoughts, but Geo was still one of her best friends and it was easy to talk to her, even after her absence.