Worthy of a Second Chance Solo

The smell of ancient pages, wood, dust and ink filled Ashley’s nose as she stepped into Flourish and Blotts. Tall, stuffed, wooden shelves filled her vision, along with customers bustling around looking for school supplies or calmly picking up something to read for the upcoming year.
To Ashley’s surprise, it was almost completely silent, the only noise being the turning of pages, the rustle of books being removed and put back on shelves and the quiet chatting at the counter. It was lit dimly, creating a cozy atmosphere for readers.
When Ashley walked in, she scanned the room as usual, on guard for anything interesting, dangerous, important or secret. It was a habit of hers—one that her parents weren’t particularly thrilled with. Watch for danger. Anything could happen.
She wasn’t paranoid, just cautious.
Toward the nearest book shelf on the right, a witch who looked like she was around sixty years of age smiled towards Ashley’s family, the Stone family, as most people knew them. Their family had been in Hufflepuff for generations, and it was crucial to Ashley’s mom, Grace Stone, that the family legacy continue. Ashley was never particularly content with this, hating the feeling of being contained into a box of expectations. The witch, however, seemed to think their family of five, with the same green, piercing eyes, the same dark brown, curly hair and the same freckles, was wonderful. The witch couldn’t take the grin off her face even as she walked to a different aisle.
Ashley tried not to let it bother her.
“Analyzing again?” said a particularly monotone voice in Ashley’s ear.
Ashley jumped around in surprise to see Wyatt, her brother, who was two years older than her, standing directly behind her. Ashley almost scowled in his direction, but tried not to show her annoyance. She knew he meant well…
“Don’t scare me like that!” Wyatt furrowed his brow, clearly questioning whether he had done something wrong. Ashley quickly backtracked. “No—I mean—never mind. You’re good. Just please don’t sneak up behind me,” Ashley said quickly. Wyatt didn’t always understand social cues, probably because he almost never left his room and spent his time alone, reading textbooks.
Wyatt nodded slowly, then awkwardly turned around and walked over to their mom to talk about the maximum amount of extra books he was allowed to get.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley noticed Ethan and Isabella Stone, her dad and sister, talking near a shelf on the right side of the store.
Isabella was perfect.
It wasn’t an overstatement, and Ashley wasn’t just ‘jealous.’ Ashley could never be jealous of her sister. But Isabella was everything that Ashley’s mom had ever wanted for the Stone family Legacy. She was incredibly social at the dinner parties their parents often hosted and she knew everyone their parents knew. She acted like a princess and was often treated like one by their parents.
And Isabella was beautiful. She looked similar to Ashley with curly dark brown hair, but it went all the way to her waist. Her eyes were soft and not as piercing as Ashley’s. She looked good in every outfit she put on. So Ashley always heard people (even Ashley’s friends) gushing about how amazing Isabella was.
Ashley wasn’t envious. She didn’t want to be in the same position as Isabella. In fact, she despised the way that Isabella’s existence encouraged their mom to keep trying to make Wyatt and Ashley perfect too. It meant more textbooks, more socializing, more conversations about the importance of the ‘Stone Family Legacy.’
But Ashley could appreciate her sister. She was kind, and cared a lot about her family. Ashley could respect that.
“Honey?” Ashley’s mom called. Ashley looked over to see her heading in the direction of the shelves on the left of the store. “I’m going to go check the shelves for Magical Drafts and Potions, okay? Go with Isabella to find the books for Defence Against the Dark Arts.”
Ashley tried not to groan. Looking for textbooks was the most boring thing she could think of. Of course she had expected it—it was the reason for coming into the store. But Ashley had hoped she could just look for interesting fiction books while her family got her books for school. However, she saw Isabella waiting patiently for her off to the right side of the store and decided to just get it over with.
As soon as Ashley reached Isabella, they started making their way down the different aisles. Looking through row after row, they eventually found the one that Isabella was looking for. They stopped to look through the books.
“Maybe it’s this one?” Isabella narrowed her eyes at one of the books. “Why is the font so difficult to read?”
“Here, let me see that,” Ashley said, taking the book from her sister. Along the spine in a bold green font, it read: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Ashley snickered.
“You need glasses badly, don’t you?”
“Oh, shush,” Isabella elbowed Ashley’s shoulder, a hint of a true smile on her face.
They settled into a comfortable silence, with Isabella squinting at every single title on every book. Ashley started looking for anything that was not a textbook, not expecting there to be any, but getting her hopes up anyway. Once Ashley gave up, she moved over a few sections to look for The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, while Isabella followed, looking for Defensive Magical Theory. Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley watched Isabella’s graceful fingers slide over the spines of the books, searching for the one she needed.
It was at times like these that Ashley wondered—how was Isabella exactly what every girl wanted to be? How was she so much better than Ashley? The more Ashley tried to tell herself she wasn’t jealous, the stronger it got. Isabella was perfect in every way, even getting the right house at school.
What did the Sorting Hat see? Sure, Isabella was Hufflepuff. But Ashley knew her sister well enough that there was more to her than the person she often pretended to be. She belonged in a different place. Maybe she liked the attention and the glory of being perfect. But could the place where she felt understood actually be somewhere else?
“Isa?” Ashley asked hesitantly. Isabella’s hand paused on the book she was looking at.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“What happened at your Sorting Ceremony?”
Isabella immediately tensed up and snapped back, “Why?”
“I’m nervous about mine,” Ashley blurted out.
Isabella’s expression softened. “I get it. I was too.” She took a deep breath, pushing a book back onto the shelf. To Ashley’s surprise, Isabella lowered her voice, and muttered, “Promise you won’t tell?”
Ashley nodded instantly.
“When I was Sorted, the Sorting Hat told me that he could see me in two places, Hufflepuff or… Slytherin,” she said reluctantly.
“What?”
“Ashy, let me finish.”
Ashley closed her mouth instantly, listening intently.
“I was just chanting in my head, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff. I guess the Sorting Hat thought that was interesting, so it told me I could choose. Hufflepuff or Slytherin? I knew mom would never forgive me if I chose Slytherin.”
Isabella fidgeted with the pages on one of the books. “Of course I chose Hufflepuff. But the Sorting Hat almost seemed… disappointed in me.” Isabella averted her gaze. “After five years of being at Hogwarts, I’m still wondering if Slytherin was the right choice.”
She sighed, and then locked eyes with Ashley.
“Never tell mom I said this. But when your ceremony comes, go with your heart. Let it put you where you’ll feel seen, not where other people want you to be.”
Then Isabella’s expression changed completely.
In an instant, it was like the true Isabella vanished and the fake one came back. The perfect one. Her voice went slightly higher and her posture straightened.
“Anyway!” she said, grabbing a book off the shelf and smiling sweetly, “This is the one I was looking for and I’ve got to head to a different section. Go find mom; she might already have some of your books.”
“Wait, Isa—”
But Isabella had already turned in the other direction, and was walking down the aisle with her small collection of books.
Ashley looked at the book she had just picked off the shelf.
It wasn’t even the right book.


─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───


As Ashley walked around the aisle looking for her mom, her mind was, for once, not on her surroundings.
Isabella might not have been in Hufflepuff if she had chosen differently. Ashley’s perfect sister, who was everything their mom wanted, might not be as perfect as they’d all thought.
Of course Ashley wouldn’t ever tell her mom.
Ashley had never had a very strong relationship with her sister, but she knew that perspective was an important thing. And if Isabella was a lot more than what she pretended to be, then Ashley had to accept that. She had to find out who her sister was, because even after the eleven years she had lived with her, she still apparently had no idea.
And that brought Ashley to her biggest question. When did Isabella change? Maybe in her first year at Hogwarts, after she was sorted. Or maybe it was before that, when she realised who she had to be for the family. Either way, she had changed herself to fit in.
Ashley was surprisingly determined to help her sister.
But first, she had to find her mom.
She searched the store, turned more corners than she could count and even ran into Wyatt.
Eventually, Ashley found her mom in the history section.
“Oh, Ashy! I got Magical Drafts and Potions for you!” Grace called to Ashley, who quickly took the book from her mom, adding it to her small stack.
Don’t think about Isabella. Ashley instantly thought, then tried to ignore it.
“Yeah, I still need the Book of Spells, A History of Magic, Magical Theory and Hogwarts, A History,” Ashley told her mom. “So we still need the history books and the ‘general magic’ ones.”
Ashley’s mom nodded and started searching the shelves.
“Does Hogwarts, A History have information about the four houses?” Ashley asked. Maybe she could find a reason why the Sorting Hat might have put Isabella in Slytherin. But her expression didn’t show anything except for curiosity as she asked.
“I don’t know, Honey,” her mom said. “But you already know everything that you have to—we’ve gone over Hufflepuff history a few times.”
A hint of something that Ashley couldn’t quite place came into her voice. Was she… bitter?
Ashley tried not to think about Isabella when her mom said ‘Hufflepuff’. She took a careful deep breath and pushed the thought away.
“Yes, but I should know a bit about the other houses, just in case I have any friends in another house,” Ashley said simply.
“Oh! Yes, of course,” her mom said sheepishly. “It should have something on them—mainly about the founders. They started the house system.”
Ashley nodded. She then spotted Hogwarts, A History on the shelves and added it to the small pile in her arms. Crouching down, she began to look for A History of Magic on the lower shelves. Her mom glanced over, then bent down as well to help her look.
“Honey…” her mom started hesitantly.
“Yeah?”
“I’ll love you no matter which house you’re in.” Ashley’s mom looked over and locked eyes with her. “I know it may not always seem that way, but you’re my daughter. You mean everything to me.”
Ashley was speechless.
All her life, her mother had been the person pushing her to be like the rest of them. Her mom had always wanted her to fit in and not be different. She was the reason that Ashley always felt so wrong. It was always ‘family legacy’ this, ‘Hufflepuff’ that. Ashley couldn’t think for herself.
But now, it was like Ashley’s views of her family had just turned upside down. Her mom really did want her to be more than a copy of her. Her sister was less perfect than Ashley had thought. Where did Wyatt and her dad fit into this?
“I…” Ashley didn’t know what to say. The only thing that came out was a quiet “thank you.” Ashley wasn’t quite sure why, but it felt right.
Her mom nodded before picking up A History of Magic and grinning. She handed it to Ashley, who readjusted her hold on her five books.
At that moment, Ashley’s dad, Ethan Stone, came into the same aisle.
“How are you guys coming along over here?” he asked. Ashley and her mom stood.
“Great.” Grace smiled softly in Ethan’s direction. “We were just talking a bit about houses. She shouldn’t have to worry if she gets a different house than us.”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Oh—uh, yeah, of course. Just… hope for Hufflepuff, y’know?”
Ashley nodded.
She suddenly wondered—was this something that they had talked about before, or was this something that her mom had mentioned just now? Because it was quite a change from her usual attitude, and Ashley’s dad seemed surprised as well.
But Ashley didn’t have much time to think through it, because her dad suddenly handed her two books. “I found the Book of Spells and Magical Theory for you, Ashy,” he said, and Ashley took the books from him.
“Why don’t you go find your brother so we can pay for the books, Honey?” her mom said, smiling. “We’ll probably have to drag him out of here.”
“I’ll see you at the counter!” Ashley said.
A sudden excitement filled her as she started her search for her brother. She felt seen. She wasn’t worried about the Sorting Ceremony, and Isabella’s secret didn’t seem so big anymore.
But now, she had something bigger ahead of her—a search for an introverted book nerd in a bookstore.


─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───


Ashley looked in every corner, every aisle, and every hiding spot in the bookstore. Wyatt was either avoiding her or just didn’t realise she was chasing him around the store.
“Wy?” She poked her head around another corner, beginning to check the whole store again. What she saw made her hesitate.
Wyatt was frozen, standing at the end of the row near the shelf on the left side of the aisle. A girl who looked like she was around Wyatt’s age was right next to him, gesturing and talking excitedly in a shrill voice. She had soft blue eyes and straight, waist-length blond hair. She was wearing a long black robe that travelled all the way to the floor and a pointed black hat. Her gold, dangling feather earrings shone even in the darkest corner of the bookstore. Ashley could tell that Wyatt wasn’t registering a thing—he was looking at the girl like she had just sprouted three heads.
Ashley felt a sudden pang of pity for her introverted and shy brother. Wyatt was never one for conversations, and didn’t quite seem to understand the concept of a crush. The girl clearly thought he was cute. Ashley could almost see her heart eyes. Wyatt was obviously panicking over a social interaction with a stranger so much that his freeze response had kicked in.
Ashley walked around the corner and the girl instantly stopped to look in her direction.
“Hey, Wyatt?” Ashley called. He turned his head and sent her a pleading look.
“Wyatt?” the girl parroted, looking back towards him. “That’s such a cute name!”
Wyatt looked horrified.
“We’re going now, Wy,” Ashley said firmly, hoping the girl would get the hint and leave.
She didn’t.
“That’s an adorable nickname!” She smiled in Wyatt’s direction.
“Look,” Ashley said, walking closer to the girl, “we’ve got to go, really. Maybe you could catch up with him at a different time?”
The girl’s smile dropped. “U-Uh… okay.” She looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on. “I’ll see you around, I guess. Call me sometime!” Then she skipped off down the aisle before turning the corner.
As soon as the girl left, Wyatt visibly relaxed. The aisle was suddenly silent. Ashley looked over at her brother, who looked back at her and grimaced.
“So…” Ashley said awkwardly.
“So.” Wyatt straightened his posture and adjusted his hold on the collection of books he had in his arms. He averted his eyes. “Th-Thank you…”
Ashley smiled at her brother. “You’re welcome. What was her name?”
“I don’t remember…”
“Good. I didn’t like her. Too talkative.”
Wyatt snorted quietly.
They both made their way towards the counter, Wyatt with ten books more than necessary for school, Ashley with all the ones on the list.
While her family checked out, Ashley thought about everything again. Her family suddenly felt so much more alive. Isabella was more than just ‘perfect,’ and her mom really did care about her. Her dad and brother were still awkward as always.
She never really thought that she liked them. She had given up on them a while ago. But now, she was questioning that decision.
As they walked out of the store, Ashley felt hope that she hadn’t felt all summer—or even most of her life.
Hope for her future, for her connection to her family.
Maybe… just maybe, she could give them a chance.