She couldn't do this anymore. She was only 2 weeks in with her unclee aidan, and she hated it. As soon as she got there, she was stripped of her muggle items and placed into a large room with tall ceilings. The bed was far to large for such a small girl, with fluffy pink sheets and a faint yellow comforter with small sunflowers stitched across. She had scoffed when she first saw it. Sunflowers, they brought back so many memories. Back to her first year at Hogwarts. She had tried to think about what year she would be in now, third maybe. But she would have to retake her first year of hogwarts due to her leaving mid 2021 and not returning until 2024. Suddenly she felt a lump in her throat. She didn't want to go back. She didn't want to be here. She ran her hands through her hair and paced the room. She debated breaking things. She could kick and scream, but she knew she would be ignored. She was too high up to climb out the window and escape, possibly to a much better life. But she had no where to go, she was in England now.. far from her home.

Reluctantely, she laid on the bed not bothering to get under the covers. She ran her hand against the comforter, circling her fingers over the stitched flowers. The feeling of the thread underneath her skin reminded her of her father's patches her wore on his uniform. She remembered laying in his arms and running her fingers over his badges, taking in his scent before he had to leave for months. She remembered the last time she saw him. Suddenly the large room felt tight, and she squeezed her eyes shut allowing herself the first sleep she's had in days.

When she woke up, her door was open and she heard the sound of running water. She pushed herself up and noticed the doors to her bathroom were open with the lights on. Slowly she got up and peeked into the room, noticing a small house elf preparing a bath in a rather large and fancy tub. "Ever heard of knocking?" The house elf winced at her tone, but did not reply. June tapped on her shoulder but got no response. She laughed bitterly. "Oh, what- my uncle told you to ignore me? Cool! I love my family!" The house elf backed away from the tub and guided Juniper towards it. Tired, she allowed it. She stared at the elf and raised her eyebrows. "I'm not getting undressed in front of you. At least turn around." She waited until the elf was turned around until she decided to take off the clothes she's been wearing for days. She was too upset to change, too tired to even bother before now.

She slid into the tub and closed her eyes, sliding under the water for as long as she could hold her breath. She scrubbed at the bruises on her body and at the dirt under her nails. She soaked her hair until it smelled of citrus. After bathing for about half an hour, she pulled herself out of the tub and headed back into her room to find the ugliest outfit she's ever seen on her bed. "Yeah, no. Where the hell are my clothes? Yup there they are thank you." She pulled on jeans and a pierce the veil shirt. Out of pity for the poor elf, she allowed her to do her hair and minimal makeup before heading downstairs.

Unfortunately, her uncle was waiting for her. When he saw her raggedy outfit, he pressed his lips into a thin line. "That's not what I had picked out for you." She raised her eyebrows in an amused manner and pointed to her face. "I need you to let me know if it looks like I give a single fuck." Her uncle frowned, but did not argue. "We;re getting you fitted for dress robes so I can be seen with you at events without being embarrassed. Merlin forbid you dress presentable for once."
Madam Malkins,, present time
She grumbled as she stood on a stool, feeling stupid in the T-pose the dresser had left her in. She glanced up and noticed a girl who looked a bit younger than her, possibly a Hogwarts student. Her face flushed with angry embarassment. "Hey, d'you go to Hogwarts?"

Renelle had no idea what she was doing here.

Christmas had come and gone, and with it the holiday spirit that seemed to be all that held everyone together enough for them to go through the maniacal preparations and constant stress, without breaking down. And now that it had slipped away like a moment in time, the emotions of the Dalton family were all running rather high.

In the three months the girl had spent at boarding school, she appeared to have conveniently forgotten how taxing it could be, to spend every waking moment in the company of three other very familiar people in overly close proximity.

Don’t get her wrong; she loved her family and all, but sometimes, there was only so much of them she could take. Sure, she had had been around endless crowds of students a lot of time back at Hogwarts, but it was different: with strangers, there was no pressure to get along with them, or just generally be pleasant to them at all.

Which was why she had decided this day, she simply had to get out of the house, escape the constant nagging of her dad and whining of her beloved brother. She’d opted to walk along the streets of Diagon Alley, wandering around aimlessly. Whatever the case, she did not intend on going back for a very long time.

Peering through the display cases of various shops and stores, Renelle had vaguely wondered if she would happen to run into anyone she knew here. Statistically likely, since it wasvacation time, and it was like one couldn’t turn a corner without running into some Hogwarts student at the moment. On the other hand, she’d made an effort to avoid social gatherings most of the time at school, so….. It all came down to luck, she supposed.

An unreliable variant. The Ravenclaw did not like that.

She’d came to a stop in front of one of the buildings, a very familiar one. Madam Malkin, basically the clothing shop of the magical London. She peeked hesitantly through the open doorway, then sighed, squaring her shoulders. What the hell. She’d check it out. What’s the worst that could happen?

The place was just as she remembered. Taking in her surroundings, Renelle could see several people were being fitted for clothing, most looking undeniably awkward, standing in weird and rather stupid-looking poses.

She was just leaning in to closer study the buttons on a particular set of aquamarine robes (button-design did seem like a very interesting process), when a voice surfaced from beside her. A bit of an angry, edgy voice. She turned to see a girl with red hair and a face that matched, looking at her. The girl was possibly older than Renelle, though probably not by a lot.

“Er, yes?” She replied hesitantly. What, did this girl have a personal grudge with Hogwarts students or something?

There was something familiar about the redhead, though, something the first year couldn’t quite place her finger on. It was like a switch had been turned on in her brain, so any memories of who the girl was rushing out like water. Now, where had she seen her before…?

Interacting with @Juniper Kelly

Out of all the plans she had for today, not a single one of them was to run into someone around her age. She had become used to hanging out with kids older than her back in Ireland, and now that she would be returning to Hogwarts everything would have to be back to normal. She glanced behind her didn't see the lady who had been measuring her. No longer caring to wait, she dropped her arms to her side and forced what she hoped was a kind smile.

The young girl's hesitant response was a check for June, she needed to watch her tone. She could imagine her uncle scolding her. Strength through discipline and through community. Sighing, she pressed her fingers to her forehead and collected herself. "Sorry if that came off in a rude tone." The apology was bitter on her tongue, she never liked apologizing. She looked the girl up and down, she certainly was better off than June was. Juniper's hair was all frizzy with split ends. The darkness under her eyes could rival the night itself, her under eyes a sour shade of purple. Her lips were cracked and her nails were all bitten and uneven. Her messy appearance was a polar opposite to the clean girl in front of her, who's hair was in place, her skin smooth and her clothes fitting nicely. She walked like she knew she belonged here. Suddenly June realized she herself did not. She belonged with the muggles, that's where she knew her way around. She was suddenly being thrown back into magic, it felt like everyone was in on a secret but her.

Swallowing the angry pit in her throat, she stuck out her hand to the girl. "I'm Juniper Kelly, I was- no- I'm in ravneclaw." Right. She looked around the shop again, laying her eyes on her uncle just outside. She lowered her head and made a face, jerking her chin in his direction. "See that loser over there? That's my uncle. Rich blood purist and yet not a single woman wants him." She smirked at the girl as if they shared a secret. "He's the reason I'm here. He needs me to look good at fancy parties so he can say 'look, I'm not a total loser. I can raise someone'" She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "He's a bitch." She added, as if it was a second thought.

She fell silent and picked at her nails. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she knew that there was a little chance this girl would be able to answer them. She wanted to ask about Draven, Kim, all of her friends. She wanted to know if Hogwarts was still dangerous. She wanted to know if there were any new professors, she wanted to know if the quidditch team was any good. She wanted to know everything, but most of all what happened to her friends.

Was this a normal social interaction? Renelle was not certain by any means, though she had a feeling the situation she had found herself in was not a normal day at Madam Malkin.

The girl’s mini-rant had come as a bit of a surprise - one moment, the redhead had been aggressively digging into Renelle’s education history; the next, irritably confiding about what a jerk her uncle apparently was.

The whole thing was rather reminiscent to a therapy session, the thought suddenly crossed her mind, causing her to bite down a smirk. Except the patient was going on about random things to a very befuddled therapist. On second thought, maybe the two scenarios were not that different after all.

Upon closer inspection, it was easy to see that her acquaintance was not in the best place at the moment. Her auburn hair was frizzy and unkempt, azure eyes decorated with dark circles to rival even the beloved animals known as pandas; and her cracked lips did not do anything for her overall image either. Next to her, Renelle felt like one of those pretty angels with wings. Ironic, really.

And though the whole thing confused her, it did seem a bit interesting. Far more than the buttons, at any rate, even if they were very nice ones. An angry and disheveled - looking girl gripping about a relative? Oh, she was intrigued, all right. The first year herself did not think she had any awkward relationships with relatives (unless one counted the cold distance with her mother), but she had heard no shortage of those, particularly in pureblood families.

“Was in Ravenclaw?” Raising an eyebrow skeptically, she titled her head to stare at the redhead. “What’s the story there? Sorting Hat change its mind or something?” The girl did almost immediately change her wording, but the slip-up had not gone unnoticed.

Following her gaze, Renelle turned her gaze toward the window, where a man appeared to be waiting - the pre-mentioned uncle, she assumed. Her companion’s description of him was less than complimentary, though she chose not to judge, just yet. For all she knew, the girl was the unhinged one.

For now, she opted for a sympathetic yet somewhat curious look, like she felt her, yet wanted to know more on the whole 'family situation' as well. “Damn, he sounds like a drag. If you want,” She added, voice a confidential whisper, “I could arrange a little accident for him, leave you alone for a while. Nothing too serious, of course.” Depended on how one saw it, really. “Just act shocked when he suddenly starts busting a move.”

Interacting with @Juniper Kelly

The young girl caught her slip up, and June raised her eyebrows. She glanced down and fingered the robes on her shoulders. "Yeah, was." She spoke as if it was nomral, nothing interesting, something casual. "I mean, yeah I guess im still in Ravenclaw."
She shrugged. "There's not really a story to it." Suddenly, she had become closed off. She was slowly shutting down.

She looked behind her. "When is that stupid dresser coming back?" She huffed and turned back to the girl, who had just made a joke. A joke. Its been a while since shes heard an actual joke, weirdly. Her family was a mess right now, quite like her. And she hadn't cracked a joke in a while to. When she thought back to her younger self, who had just started Hogwarts, it felt like she was watching another person. A stranger.

"Nah, i just dropped out for like a year or two. Nothing cool." She spotted the dresser coming back. The girl seemed to understand family problems as well. Suddenly, June looked at the girl in a new light. She knew there was an understanding. The girl even offered her a solution.

And there she was, her angel. Her fairy god mother.
June couldn't tell if she was on a trip or if there was an actual golden ray of sunshine on the girl. "Oh trust me, I'm very good at acting surprised."

She stepped off the stool, to the dresser's annoyance. "One more thing, though." She turned to the dresser with a grin. "I would like to add a nice tie to these robes. The manliest tie you could find. " Her uncle was very old school. Maybe a little sexist, if you will. And this would drive him mad. The thought of her uncles reaction was enough to make her smile.