A minute to catch my breath solo finished

A good mood is too good to last.

Dora ducks into a bathroom stall, the only place nearby she can think to get some privacy. The Common Room is too populated, and she doesn't want Tesla or any of her other dormmates to catch her like this.

It's just a letter, after all.

Dora sits on the toilet seat, parchment and envelope gripped in her hand. Her grandmother had written back about her marks... and had not been happy. Dora chides herself for thinking she had actually done well. It's likely this kind of lack of ambition that prevented her from being sorted into Slytherin. That and other factors.

She breathes deeply, trying not to cry. Tears will do her no good. She needs to be strong, to perform better. She'll memorize all her texts if it means pleasing her grandmother. She'll read ahead, check and double check all her homework, practice wand movements until her wrist is sore. She has to, or else, she'll always be behind her peers. Worse, she'll disgrace her family's name.

Dora brings her legs up and hugs her knees, a position that can offer her some comfort. Her mind drifts to her mother, wondering where she might be now. The last letter she got, she was in Prague, but that was months ago. 'I wonder what her marks were like.' Dora thinks, 'I wonder if I'm anything like her.'

What's the alternative? Resembling a muggle father she never knew?

Dora sighs. Missing mothers won't help anything either. She just needs to study harder. Be the right kind of granddaughter and daughter. Be a good witch. She tucks away the letter and straightens her robes, then exits the stall. As she leaves, she makes a mental note of all the texts she'll need to check out from the library.

It's going to be a long week of studying.