Chamber of Love

Chapter 48

*unedited*

▬ ▬ ▬۩▬ ▬ ▬

The next day turned out to be interesting.

Juliette was the first to wake up. Early morning light was illuminating the cozy room while birds left their nests singing. She blinked, turning her head around to check the time. 07:00. It wasn't intentional, but she was glad her eyes were the first to open. She spent at least ten minutes yawning and aimlessly looking around before she finally found the motivation to get up and get ready.

She quickly, but quietly, stepped out from her comfortable nightgown and slipped into her school uniforms.

Elvis was awake as well and lazily stretching on Juliette's bed as she put her hair in a bun. It looked like it was going to fall off any minute.

"Alright." She sighed quietly, looking at herself in the tall mirror. Naturally, she looked like she just woke up and was very eager to go back to bed.

Since she didn't know her schedule yet, she left the room without her bag. Her hands tried to find something to play with as she walked down the stairs into the common room. Very few students were present. An older boy who looked like he fell asleep was occupying an armchair as two first years chat with each other, probably getting to know one another.

"So what's your favourite food?" One of the boys asked as Juliette walked towards the exit.

"I don't know. I like every food, really. I'm not picky." The other answered. "You?"

"Same. But I really like fishes though. Like, any type of fish. My dad loves fishing, he brings home these..."

Their voices faded away as Juliette left the room and walked into the quiet corridor. Her lips twitched into a very faint smile. It seemed really weird how easy it was to make friends during the first year. Yet she couldn't make any, because she forced herself into a closed, locked box and felt scared people would reject her. Now in her fifth year, she was back to square one. But this time she wasn't sure if she really wanted to be bothered with making new friends at all.

Her feet carried her to the great hall. It seemed like the breakfast has just begun. A few students were occupying the tables, most of them sitting alone and eating quietly. She drew in a relieved breath, feeling glad that she could eat by herself in peace without any glances from anyone.

Juliette sat down at the end of the Hufflepuff table, checking the food as her stomach came alive with a hungry growl. She put scrambled eggs and some bacon on her plate as well as two buttered, warm breads before filling her cup with tea.

As she ate her food, she absentmindedly looked around. A couple owls were flying around, delivering mails while the heads of each houses walked around to hand out the schedules to students who were currently there. At the staff table, two teachers were having breakfast. One of them being Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher. The other being the latest addition to the staff, Professor Umbridge. She was showing off yet another pink suit while checking her surroundings with a content smile. Juliette was intrigued by her behaviour so far and she couldn't wait to be in her class to observe her better. She couldn't decide if she liked the new professor or not.

"Avery, good to see you." A chipper voice interrupted Juliette's intense staring. Startled, she looked up to see Professor Sprout clad in her usual attire.

"Good morning, Professor. It's good to see you too." She replied politely with a sincere smile.

"How was summer?" The professor asked as she pulled out a paper from the stack she was carrying around.