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If it were up to Calanthe, she would have stayed locked in her room for the entire Easter holidays. She hadn’t even wanted to come home. Staying up at Hogwarts during the Christmas vacation was like a dream. The halls were bare and free for her to wander. She could cry and curse across her dorm in peace. It was the best she had felt all year.

She was looking forward to the continuing her solo adventures for Easter, but something drew her home. Perhaps it was the pang she felt in her chest for her mother, whose long nights at the hospital worsened as did the pandemic ravaging the muggle world. Or maybe it was the hope that her father had returned home. The small family of three did have an Easter tradition of watching bad movies themed around the holiday and Calanthe would be lying if she said she hoped they were not repeating the tradition this year.

Of course, the young witch found her home deserted. Only her mother, who barely had time to eat, frequented the house. However, Calanthe still could not stand to look the woman in the face. As soon as she arrived back from Hogwarts, she barricaded herself in her room, only leaving for food and to occasionally reset the wifi modem. This is how she planned to remain for her entire holiday, but then came the familiar scene of Amos barging into her bedroom, wand in hand after casting Alohomora.

And so, the witch found herself in Diagon Alley. It seemed to be the only place Amos felt he could take her. Had she been more invested in their relationship, Calanthe would have suggested a muggle activity like going to the theatre or spending a day at the Brighton Palace Pier. She did not care that much, though. And like clockwork, Amos abandoned her at the ice cream parlour. So much for father-daughter bonding.

Bored of observing the happiness of young and older wizards alike as they tasted their interesting ice cream flavours, Calanthe decided to ditch the shop and wander around the alley on her own. She had been into most of the shops on her first visit, acting rudely towards shopkeepers and fighting the urge to apologise. Passing by Madam Malkin’s, Calanthe was immediately reminded of the rumours of a secret Blossom Ball going around. She was uninterested in going – wait, that’s a lie. Calanthe fought hard to hide her excitement at the prospects of attending the Ball. Though, her demons won out and she had already made the decision to skip the event. Still, it couldn’t hurt to look at some dresses.

Walking a little too quickly into the clothing shop, Calanthe noted the shopkeeper who was busy helping other customers. The older person regarded her with a smile which Calanthe ignored and waltzed further into the shop. She spotted may gorgeous dresses that she would have begged her parents to buy if this were a year in the past. Instead, she rolled her eyes at their superfluousness and dug around for some outfits that were a bit toned down. Yet she still could not stop her eyes from trailing over to the big, bright and colourful.

-=❋=-

There was never a dull moment whenever Seul visited Diagon Alley. Perhaps being secluded in the manor for most of her life contributed to that aspect. Her father was so unreasonably draconian when it came to who Seul interacted with, although, from a young age she understood why. Never had she uttered a single objection or protest against her father’s decisions, but the girl dreamt everyday of exploring the world from an insignificant window in the manor atop Llamadoc Hill. Leaving the property became a treat that Seul ever so slightly cherished, so when the day came to purchase supplies at Diagon Valley, the girl was simply awestruck. That was the moment where her eyes met with the majestic outside world filled with all manors of beauty. Granted, the poor girl could only hide her excitement to inhibit any unwanted attention from her father.

This time however, after a somewhat metamorphic year at Hogwarts, Seul was unafraid to show her emotions. The girl could not resist beaming at the sight of the most convivial place she knew. The colors and commotion of Diagon Alley was no doubt captivating. It seemed as if though her father had gone through a change of heart as well, as he returned a smile back at his daughter. She didn’t understand why her father became like this, but why would she complain? Perhaps he realized that she no longer needed to be protected, after all, she did manage to survive in Hogwarts so far.

Her father had some business to take care of at Gringotts and her mother brought her brother to god knows where, leaving the home empty. The family’s muggle caretakers all recently resigned due to some unforeseen circumstances… a pandemic of some kind? They all kept yelling social distancing whilst panicking to pack their belongings. Her father had no choice but to let them go. What ever the reason was, Seul couldn’t be bothered to care about what went on in the muggle world. What was important was that no one was home meaning that her father had to take her with him. Though she obediently followed her father, inside she celebrated.

The incredible displays in the shops this time of year continually caught Seul’s attention. So much so that her father dumped a sack of galleons on her before telling her to go have some fun. The girl may have been isolated for many years, but there were perks to being from an elite family. As her father made his way to Gringotts, Seul began wandering the streets not knowing what to do given this much freedom and money. That was before a particular store caught her eye. Madam Malkins, which she purchased her plain robes from, had transformed into a beguiling dress store. Without a second thought, the girl entered the store.

This was the perfect opportunity to find a dress to wear at the Blossom Ball. Of course she was reluctant to go at first, but as the date nears, the curiosity and elation of youth convinced her otherwise. She didn’t have a date… yet, but she still wanted to attend anyways (for the food and music of course). The girl never liked extravagant dresses, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off one particular dress. It was large, bright, and colorful one that seemed to lure people to it, considering the large crowd surrounding it. This dress was definitely the spotlight of the store. Curious, the girl made her way towards the dress.

-=❋=-

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Practically forcing herself away from the colourful displays at the central chamber, Calanthe began to stalk around the back of the shop. There was nothing there besides plain work robes and other school supplies. Anything resembling formal wear was closer to the front where Calanthe was trying to keep herself away from. She spent a total of five minutes milling about the back, looking like she was interested in the protective gloves and walking sticks before deciding that she was being an idiot.

Well what’s the sense of waltzing in here, then? Didn’t you come to watch dresses?

It was a conflicted feeling. She wanted so badly to try on the charming outfits she caught glimpses of on her way into the shop, but the thought of Amos catching her and buying a dress for her kept Calanthe rooted to the spot. He would obviously tell her mother, who would be ecstatic that her daughter was integrating well into the wizarding world. But she did not want to see her mother happy. She wanted Jin-hee to atone for her abhorrent sin and until then, the sight of the woman’s smile sickened Calanthe.

Then again, the last time Amos abandoned Calanthe at the Leaky Cauldron, he was gone for hours. This time could not be any different, could it? And the population of the wizarding world was probably booming. There was no way anyone from Hogwarts could be here to witness how out of character she would be if she got a closer look at some of the dresses, right?

With her mind made up, Calanthe circled back to the front of the shop and noticed a crowd growing before a large dress that she had not gotten a good look at. The crowd was too thick to peek through, even at her stature, so she began to back up on tiptoes, as if that would work. Unable to see and refusing to get any closer – baby steps – Calanthe backed up even further, right into another body.

It was her first instinct to apologize and a sorry almost came flying out of her mouth, but she bit back the word. Don’t go all polite on me. Whipping around, she hoped to scowl at the person behind her, but it only took a few moments to recognize the face before her. Maybe Calanthe had caught sight of this girl in classes or on her way to and from the dorms. She was unmistakably a Hogwarts student.

“Sor – … oh!” was all Calanthe could muster out before backing up again, now in the opposite direction. Of course, she hadn’t learned. A rogue rack foot stood in her path and it took two steps for her to trip over it, landing hard on her side, bringing down the rack of clothes with her.

“Ouch…” she grimaced, eyes squeezed shut and body unmoving. Maybe if she stayed still, the girl would not notice her.

-=❋=-

Luminous sheets of chiffon instilled with vivacious stars glowed over the dark satin gown, imitating a celestial ring orbiting a planet only made possible by skillfully placed charms. A gradient of obsidian to midnight blue from top to bottom resembled an easeful night sky, with occasional constellations appearing throughout. There was no doubt that this dress was created with masterful hands; only a proficient wizard or witch could achieve the level of quality this dress held. It was indeed a very entrancing sight, luring in even reporters and men. However, this wasn’t the dress Seul was interested in; it was way too ostentatious for her taste, though she was sure many of her peers would wear something along its lines to the ball. Seul preferred much simpler styles, but that still couldn’t stop her from staring at the spotlight. Her gaze was so fixed that the girl did not notice the person in front of her stepping backwards.

It happened spontaneously, with a few rows of clothes racks toppling over like dominoes and the clothes piling up over the perpetrator, an Asian girl just like Seul. Thankfully, Seul had already became quite immune to these types of situations as she stood over the fallen girl and released a sigh. Compared to having a dungbomb dropped on you, this small fiasco was nothing she agitated over. Of course the bystanders wouldn’t react the way she did. Reporters shuffled over to the scene and the other customers scrambled about, either screaming for help or just leaving discreetly.

Although the attention was vexing and uncomfortable, Seul knelt down and removed the layers of clothing that almost seemed to be suffocating. Underneath laid a familiar face; not someone she could put a name to, but perhaps another first year she had seen in her classes. To be frank, Seul didn’t know what to do afterwards. Should she scold the girl and demand an apology? or should she hide away her ego and help the girl up. Considering that people were watching, Seul held out her hand, gesturing to assist the girl up. “Hurry up and get up, people are watching.” She whispered pressingly.

-=❋=-

In trying her best to stay away from the Hogwarts girl, Calanthe did not assume that her commotion would cause this much fuss. She could hear the owner of the shop fuming and other people scrambling, but a slip of fabric covering her face kept her from facing the music. The darkness was comfortable, though the vibrations of the ground around her caused the anxiety to surface in her stomach. She tried clawing the fabric away from her face, but a bout of dizziness saw her hand fall back to the side, propping her body up on the floor.

Unprepared for the sudden infiltration of light, Calanthe brought her arm back up to shield her eyes. Peeking through her fingers, she could see the person who removed the fabric. It was the same girl Calanthe was trying to stay away from, kneeling next to her like a Seelie from the Feywild. Her sharp features were difficult to interpret as she extended her hand down to Calanthe. With whispers urging her to get up and a gaggle of onlookers eyeing the pair, the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach surged.

She thought about slapping the girl’s hand away and bolting from the shop, but there was no way she could make it far enough without having a mental breakdown. Instead, she gently pushed the girl’s extended palm aside, not meeting her eyes. Pulling herself up, Calanthe gave a onceover to the people looking on and if it were a year ago, she would have assisted in setting the racks back up and returning order, but today, all she did was meet the shopkeeper’s fury with a look of indignation and moved further into the shop where she had been.

Looking back, Calanthe was surprised to see that the shopkeeper had begun to clean up, not rushing after her to kick her out of the shop. Thank Pelor. After returning to the spot where she was pretending to look through, she peered around the corner to make sure no one was around before bending over with her hands on her knees and letting the apprehension she had been keeping hidden out of her body in rugged breaths.