Closed We Drew Our Own Constellations

[Harper Alston]

After seven years spent sharing a dorm with Em, Harper liked to think she knew her friend pretty well, and she knew her friend probably needed a break. A real break. As much as Harper wanted to believe that Em was spending the summer holidays relaxing and actually enjoying herself, she had a feeling that the girl was already fretting about the next term. After all, she'd seen Em work herself to the bone during her time at Hogwarts, and she assumed things hadn't changed much during uni.

So Harper had decided to drag Em out on an adventure tonight. She'd kept their destination a secret, though she had assured Em that she wouldn't need to dress up for the event. (Part of her kind of hoped that Em would assume they were going to a party or club since that would make the reveal that much more of a surprise, and really, where else would they be going this late at night?) Harper had also let the rest of their friend group know about her plans in case they wanted to meet her and Em at their destination.

After double-checking the address, Harper knocked on the door to the place where Em was staying. In one hand, she was clutching a soup ladle — a portkey that she had bought earlier that day. She really hoped Em wasn't running late because the portkey was set to activate in five minutes, with or without them.

 

[Professor Emmaline Hopkins]

Emmaline still felt a bit out of sorts to be honest. Ever since graduation, everything seemed different. She missed Hogwarts more than she could admit. Although, she was enjoying the muggle university, it still was not the same. She missed the magical aspect of it. She missed her friends. She had made a few friends in classes, but mostly just for studying. She didn't feel like she quite fit in, having a secret that she could never tell a soul. Even breaks felt odd now. She was not staying at home anymore, the only positive thing was being able to stay clear of her mother who was more than disappointed that Emmaline had not gone into a magical field right after school. Em always knew how to deal with her mother's disappointment though. This was certainly nothing knew.

Another positive outcome of this break, however, was hearing from Harper. Harper had always been the friend that tried to get Emmaline out of her comfort zone. Even though, at times, Emmaline worried it was too much of a distraction, she always enjoyed this needed push. Emmaline was certainly curious about the 'night out' that Harper had planned. A secret that kept Emmaline in front of her mirror for hours trying to find the right outfit. Eventually, she had settled on something simple, a pair of jeans, a lace top, and a light jean jacket. It looked like something from the old times, but things always seemed to come back into style eventually.

Emmaline was packing up her purse when she heard the knock on the door. She could not help a smile creeping over her face. She definitely needed this. Emmaline headed downstairs to open up the door, the sight of her friend instantly filling her with comfort. "Harper!" she said openly showing her excitement. She had missed her, more than she even realized before this moment. "It's so good to see you" She said honestly. For a moment, she had forgotten her slight hesitation towards the secret outing, only to be brought back when she noticed a soup ladle in her friend's hand. A slightly look of confusion flickered in her eyes.

 

[Harper Alston]

The door flung open, and Harper realised she should have known better than to worry that Em might be late. Her friend was the epitome of responsibility, after all. "Em!" she nearly shouted, grinning widely as she moved to hug her friend. Harper stepped back, still beaming. "It's good to see you too," she said with a little laugh. "It's been way too long." That was one aspect of adulthood Harper had not been prepared for. Trying to find a mutually convenient time to meet up with her friends was near impossible, thanks to all their conflicting schedules. She was glad she'd managed to squeeze in this visit before she left for her big around-the-world trip.

In her elation at seeing her friend, Harper had momentarily forgotten why she was there. She followed Em's confused gaze to the soup ladle. Her eyes widened as she tried to calculate how much time they had left before it activated. "Is there somewhere private nearby?" Harper asked quickly. She wasn't sure what Em's roommate or neighbor situation was like, but the last thing she needed was for a muggle to accidentally spot them vanishing into thin air. "It's a," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "portkey. Here." She practically shoved the ladle towards Em. "It's supposed to go off any second now and it's going to be dark when we get there, but don't worry. I know where we're going," she said in a rush. That last part wasn't entirely true, but she had looked up directions online, and Harper was reasonably sure she could lead them to their actual destination from the portkey drop off point.