If there was one thing Amelia F. Jones could say for certain, it was that she absolutely and unequivocally hated Alice Kirkland. The Slytherin was practically her opposite in almost every way. Amelia wasn't good at herbology? Alice was. Amelia was a night owl? Alice was an early riser. Amelia excelled in practical applications? Alice was a bookworm.
Amelia couldn't even say she hated the other girl because of her House. That would've been the easy way out. From the beginning of first year, long before they'd even been sorted, Alice and Amelia had clashed. Amelia could even vividly remember standing outside of the Great Hall, a young, bright-eyed outsider in black, unmarked robes taking in the grand scale of the castle around her when she had accidentally run into a young Alice Kirkland. Who had then, rather snobbishly, snapped at her in front of their entire class about how "empty-headed Americans" should have never been allowed inside of Hogwarts. Thoroughly embarrassed and seeking vengeance, Amelia had clapped back about what a shame it was that "snobby pricks like her" couldn't keep their mouths shut and that hopefully sometime soon they would "learn how to fix her eyebrow problem" in one of their classes.
The two had been at odds ever since.
The frustrating part about their rivalry was that, while the two couldn't stand one another, they also couldn't seem to avoid one another. When Amelia made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Chaser, Alice had simultaneously made the Slytherin team as a Seeker. When Amelia excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts, she found herself constantly being paired with the Dueling Club's best member. It was some twisted cycle Amelia couldn't seem to figure out. She had even ventured to ask their Dark Arts professor if it was some sort of curse, but the man had simply looked at her in amusement and shook his head. She didn't know what to make of that.
Irregardless, it was practically an unspoken rule amongst the students that there was always something going on between the two, whether it be quidditch or grades or even their Prefect duties. The two were always competing in some way. By the end of their third year, even Amelia's sister, Madeline, had come to terms with the fact that the two witches would never get along. And that seemed like a pretty final conclusion when it came from a Hufflepuff.
It should've been no surprise to her at all that their rivalry caught the attention of the Headmistress. There weren't many things that escaped her attention in the first place, but she couldn't very well have two of her Prefects arguing at every turn. So that's exactly how Amelia Jones and Alice Kirkland found themselves in the Headmistress' office right before the Welcoming Feast began.
"I've chosen you because you are both very accomplished, capable witches," the Headmistress had said, eyes boring into both of them sternly, "Do not disappoint me."
Amelia wasn't sure how Alice had felt about the conversation, but she - for one - was going to try her absolute best.
No one wanted to disappoint Headmistress McGonagall after all.
The two had been allowed to attend the feast after that, Amelia immediately booking it for the table of crimson and slipping into the empty seat saved for her by her friend, Maria.
"Hey," she greeted breathlessly, shifting in her seat as her eyes scanned the sea of faces around her.
"Well, well, well," Maria said, brushing the white strands of her hair out of her face to look at Amelia. "Look who finally decided to join my awesome self. What took you so long?"
"Nothing much," Amelia nearly yelled back, trying to talk over the hum of the room. "McGonagall wanted to talk to me and Kirkland."
"Already stirring up trouble?"
Amelia watched as McGonagall approached the podium, ready to give her Welcoming Speech for the year and simply shot her friend a dazzling smile. As the Headmistress began her speech, Amelia felt her eyes drift to the Slytherin table. There, amongst the emerald green, she saw Alice Kirkland, who's green eyes were already burning into her with some form of acidic determination. Amelia tried her best to ignore the heat that rose in her face underneath the stare and gave her best glare in retaliation.
Beside her, Maria gave a chuckle and a shake of her head.
It was going to be a long year.
The first class on Amelia's schedule for the year was - thankfully - Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was one of Amelia's favorite classes, despite having to take it with the Slytherins, and it was one that she genuinely enjoyed and excelled at. The lesson ended up being genuinely interesting and Amelia considered it a great way to start off the year. That was until she was cornered by an extremely upset first year babbling on about some sort of giant spider in one of the empty rooms she'd accidently entered while trying to find the Transfiguration classroom.
Then, while she'd been trying to calm the poor girl, Alice Kirkland had come out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, "What is the problem here?"
"I think," Amelia began, patting the girl's shoulder comfortingly, "that she ran into a boggart. Either that, or there's an acromantula running the halls."
Alice simply hummed, eyes narrowing, "I'll take care of it."
Amelia could feel her heart flutter at the pure confidence the Slytherin girl spoke with, but she simply stifled the feeling, gave her a hum, and watched as the Slytherin disappeared down the hallway, trying to convince herself that she hadn't stared at the retreating figure for far too long. By the time Amelia had successfully assured the first year that there was nothing to worry about and sent her on her way, the halls had cleared and the second period was quickly approaching. Which meant that Amelia had to nearly sprint her way to the Potions classroom to avoid being counted late.
What she found peculiar throughout class was Alice's absence. It was hard to miss. Alice rarely missed a class without some sort of excuse and Amelia nearly always knew about it. Ten minutes into the lesson, Amelia couldn't help but excuse herself to the bathroom with the full intention of finding out exactly where her wayward rival had gone. It most certainly wasn't because she found herself worried over her absence. If Kirkland had been eaten by the possible acromantula, she needed to know.
The Gryffindor made her way down the same hallway she had watched Alice disappear down not fifteen minutes before. Luckily, Amelia didn't find any trace of Alice's brutal and bloody death, but what she did find was far worse.
By all appearances, it seemed Amelia had been right and that the giant spider that had traumatized the young first year had been a boggart. What stopped her at the door, however, wasn't the fear of what shape the boggart would take, but the voices that were coming inside the classroom.
"It's inevitable," she heard a voice hiss, "and there's nothing you can do to avoid it. No matter how much you resist or deny it, the path that had been laid before you is absolute and unchangeable. And eventually, she'll see it too -"
An agitated growl interrupted the speech, one that she'd certainly heard before.
Amelia - in a split second decision - pushed the door to the room open, mind racing at the possibilities of what she would see. And nothing could've truly prepared her for what she was met with.
Two Alices looked back at her. One was dressed in traditional Hogwarts robes, highlighted by the emerald green of Slytherin, with her hair pinned up in pigtails. The other was wrapped in more form fitting robes, devoid of color at all, with her hair pinned in a ponytail. As soon as the fake-Alice's eyes met hers, Amelia felt a chill run through her - they were cold and unyielding, not Alice's normal fiery determination and warmth. Fake-Alice shot her a predatory smirk before the boggart blurred and snapped into the translucent figure of a bloodied woman. Before she could think about it for too long, Amelia whipped out her wand.
"Riddikulus!"
With the tale-tell whip crack, the bloodied woman inflated into a bubble and popped. It wasn't the end of the boggart, Amelia knew, but it was good enough for the time being.
All that remained now was Alice.
"Do -" the words seemed to get caught in Amelia's throat as she spoke. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Alice's eyes snapped to her, and Amelia could practically see her bristling. "Fuck off, Jones."
Yeah, she should've guessed that would happen.
"Fine," the other girl said, throwing up her hands. "Just trying to help."
Amelia turned to leave. To think she'd left her lesson for this.
"Why?"
The question stopped her in her tracks and caused her to turn and face the Slytherin, who now sat in a windowsill. There was a moment, a single moment, that Amelia considered being petty and simply leaving or, even worse, beating Alice down further than she already was. But there was another feeling that seemed to take precedent. Because the sunlight streaming through the window was shining on Alice's golden hair and there was a brief glimpse of something vulnerable underneath those green eyes of hers. And Amelia found herself feeling absolutely weak.
"You didn't show up for potions and I -" wanted to make sure you were okay "- came to see what happened."
There was an awkward silence before Amelia decided to continue. "The boggart…"
Alice studied her for a moment, her features schooled in contemplation. Amelia couldn't help but wonder what she was looking for. And what she saw. She took a deep breath. "My parents are…'reformed' Death Eaters. They worked for Voldemort during the war and managed to convince the Ministry that they had been under the influence of the Imperius Curse. I could never decide whether they were lying or not."
Amelia took a seat next to Alice, willing her to continue rather than interrupting.
"But growing up I started to think that maybe...maybe they hadn't been. The things they said and did behind closed doors in front of us," Alice trailed off, trying to put her experience into words. "When I came to Hogwarts, there was this...expectation that I was going to follow in my family's footsteps. Be in Slytherin, live up to the Kirkland name, but I already knew I didn't want that. I wanted, so badly, not to be in Slytherin. To be a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff or, yes, even a Gryffindor because I didn't want that expectation to follow me around. I don't want to be my parents. Ever. Because I've seen the things they've done and what it has twisted them into and I can't do that to myself. I don't want that to be me.
"I don't fear myself. I fear what I'm going to become. That, no matter how hard I try, I'll end up in the same place as them and lose myself."
"Alice…"
"It's stupid, I know."
"No," Amelia immediately said, her mind swirling with everything that she'd just been told. "Absolutely not. No. Alice, I - we may have not always gotten along, but trust me when I say that fearing something like that is...well, it's completely valid. You're an amazing witch. You're talented and smart and powerful and just because your parents are shit and your House has a tendency toward the Dark Arts doesn't mean you're going to be evil. You decide who you become. No one else. And knowing your stubborn ass, I pity the poor soul who tries to convince you otherwise."
The two fell into silence again, a small smile on Alice's face.
"Thank you," Alice said eventually. "For coming after me."
"Of course."
The two girls stood and Amelia found herself, for the second time, walking away from Alice. But this time...this time was far different.
"Amelia?"
The other girl felt Alice grip the sleeve of her robe tightly. She turned back to Alice, a question on her lips, before she felt a tug on her tie and Alice's lips on her own.
Alice Kirkland was kissing her. Actually, properly kissing her and how could Amelia have been so blind for so long about her feelings? All the hate and anger and pining.
So Amelia did the only thing she could think of. She closed her eyes, relaxed, and simply pulled Alice in closer to deepen the kiss. Who knew that Alice Kirkland was such a good kisser because dear god Amelia was practically melting.
When the two broke apart, they were breathless and blushing and Amelia's mind was trying its best to keep up with the sudden turn of events.
But Alice Kirkland - lovely, confident, beautiful Alice Kirkland - simply smiled at her, "I've wanted to do that for a while now."
"I - I - wow," was all Amelia's mind could manage to come up with. "Does...does this mean…"
"We've been dancing around it for a while, don't you think?"
"Ummm, yeah, yeah I think so too."
Alice's eyes glittered. Not with determination or anger, but this time with fondness.
Perhaps it wouldn't be that long of a year after all.
Hello everyone! This was my piece for the usukustwiceperyear prompt event (which was opposites). I hope you all like it!