A Not-So-Grand Entrance PV Closed

PV @Cecily Quinn

April 15th, 2020
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𝒜madea had been dreading this moment from the second that she had begun entertaining the idea of returning to Hogwarts to finish her third year. She knew that this moment was inevitable; she couldn't just run away and hide forever. She had to come back eventually. But that didn't make this moment any easier. Last night she had been able to sneak into the Hufflepuff Common Room and unpack her things while all of her bunkmates slept soundly. Unable to sleep, Amadea had gotten up before the crack of dawn to sit in the Common Room. As soon as it was light out, she had wandered into the halls, walking around and looking at the place she had once considered her home.

It felt weird to be back. Weird...and different. It felt like something had changed. Amadea knew that it wasn't the school. that had changed, though. It was her. She wondered if she'd ever go back to being the happy, carefree Hufflepuff she used to be. Hogwarts had been the source of so much positive growth for her in her first two years but then that had ripped it all away from her. As she stood at the entrance to the Great Hall, she wondered how she could possibly face anyone after this. It was almost ironic. Only a few months ago, she had been gawking at the idea of not immediately returning to Hogwarts. But then her sister had convinced her to stay at least until the holidays were over to help out their mother and do some quality family bonding time. During those months, Amadea had done a lot of thinking and attended a lot of therapy sessions. As she continued to go to them, she began uncovering a lot of hidden feelings and thoughts that she hadn't realized were there before. As more time passed and she didn't return to Hogwarts, the more she felt the pull to just stay in Camberley where it was safe and she was protected. She didn't want to leave her mother or Kat; what if they needed her? Although they had both reassured Amadea that they would be perfectly fine on their own, Amadea still tried to make excuses not to go back. Eventually, they stopped listening to her complaints and sent her along.

Amadea looked into the Great Hall, seeing all of the happy students laughing, talking, and eating. She felt like a first year again as she looked around. She had been gone less than 6 months but felt like she had missed out on a lifetime of events. She couldn't spot any familiar faces in the crowd of people; they were all probably younger than her but she hadn't been at Hogwarts long enough in the beginning of the year to remember who any of them were. Another thought struck the young witch as she looked around at the happy friend groups. What if my friends have forgotten about me? she wondered. She had basically cut off all communication for the past 6 months and went completely incognito as she and her family processed the tragedy. It was a bit of a stretch to think that they had completely forgotten about her, but they had the whole year to bond and make memories. Would it be awkward when Amadea tried to reenter the friend group? What if she had changed too much when she was gone and they didn't want to hang out with her anymore? As the thoughts swirled around in Amadea's head, she tried to muster the courage to enter the Great Hall and find a place to sit.