Golden Butterfly
The houses competition:
House: Slytherin
Position: Herbology
Category: Standard (Hurt/comfort)
Prompt 1: butterfly (Animal)
Prompt 2: Happiness (Word)
Word count: 1530
Betas: Glowstar826, VanillaAshes, Aya Diefair, CupCakeyyy, and thank you for your end remark Emma!
Might be AU because I am not sure if Amelia is dead by this point. Would fit into canon otherwise. Though herbology being part of wand making is just a guess on my behalf: I figured it made sense since they do things with wood.
Susan Bones leant back against the tree she was seated beneath, staring off into the distance. She vaguely noticed the butterflies dancing around her on that fine summer's day. If she had noticed them, she may have felt a slither of happiness, but no more.
Susan's expression showed anything but a smile; it was more like a grimace or frown. She felt as if an invisible weight sat on her shoulders, pushing her down. No matter how much she tried to be happy and no matter how much she tried to smile, it didn't work. Susan's sadness lingered.
In her left hand, she held a somewhat crumpled piece of parchment. It contained her O.W.L. results, the source of her unhappiness. While the actual marks didn't bother her, she was still upset because she had failed in an important subject for becoming a wandmaker.
She wanted to become a wandmaker, Susan wanted to so much. Her aunt always said do what makes you happy, to be happy, but how could the Hufflepuff be that when she had no chance of becoming what she wanted to be?
A tear dropped onto the parchment, making Susan realise she was crying. She viewed the droplet soak into the parchment with little interest; it left an ugly mark. Susan sighed, finding herself choking out a sob. It was so unfair! She had worked so hard coming up to the exams, studying tirelessly, and reading every book known to witch or wizard on the subjects. In the end, she still failed. Worst of all, she failed Herbology.
Not only did it sink her chances of becoming a wandmaker, but it was also embarrassing. Susan, being a Hufflepuff, had Professor Sprout as her Head of House, who also happened to be the Herbology Professor. In Susan's mind, she somehow had an advantage in that class over the other Houses, and yet, she still failed.
Susan didn't know what to do now. How would she tell her aunt, who always mentioned how proud she was of her niece's results?
How could Susan admit it to Hannah? Hannah, who no doubt passed everything she wanted to and would be happy with her results. Not that Susan knew what her friend wished to be. Susan groaned miserably, wondering what her future would be like now.
'I suppose I could become a barmaid,' Susan thought dully. 'Might as well now; I can't become a wandmaker, and since I wouldn't want to be anything else...'
She let out another sob, rocking back and forward, and burying her head in her knees with her arms wrapped around them.
Susan didn't know how long she cried for, but eventually, the tears seized and she leant back against the tree again. That was when a butterfly with gold wings landed on her knee. A ghost of a smile washed over her tear-stained face as a tiny bit of joy flicked in her heart briefly. An unhelpful and overly correct voice in the back of her head said the butterfly was merely yellow, but she expelled those thoughts.
"Aren't you beautiful?" Susan whispered, though sadly. "I wish I could be a butterfly; it would make life so much easier."
The Hufflepuff sighed, sitting in a glum silence. She didn't know why she was talking to the butterfly, but it felt good. So did she need a reason for it?
"If I were a butterfly," said Susan to the tiny creature that was still perched on her knee, "I wouldn't have to worry about my career." She was starting to get tearful again. "I wouldn't have to worry about what I'm going to do now that my dream has been snatched away. If I were one of you, I could simply fly around, fluttering from flower to flower." The fifth-year gave a weak smile. "That does sound nice."
"Susan? Who are you talking to?" her aunt, Amelia, asked worriedly. Susan became aware her voice had gotten to normal volume, rather than a whisper.
"Just a butterfly, Auntie," Susan said, turning as her aunt's approaching footsteps got louder. She saw her worried aunt come into view then. Amelia approached her, scaring off the butterfly and making it flutter away. Amelia, however, looked relieved.
"Was that the butterfly?" her aunt asked, sitting down next to her with a groan. Susan winced; she hoped that she would be able to avoid that part of getting old once she was her aunt's age.
"Yes." Susan nodded sadly.
"What's the matter?" Amelia asked, turning serious. "You're very upset, and I fail to believe it was just because of a butterfly." Susan almost laughed. Almost.
Susan didn't deny her aunt's claim. Instead, she burst into tears yet again, sobbing uncontrollably. "I-I failed Herbology! I won't be able to get into the N.E.W.T. class now, and I won't get to become a wandmaker!"
Amelia hugged the young girl without a second thought. Despite the fact she was only Susan's aunt, Amelia had raised Susan for as long as the latter could remember, and in many ways, Susan saw her as her mother. Amelia was her niece's mother in more ways than met the eye.
"It's not fair! I don't know what to do now!" Susan wailed, leaning into the older woman.
"Shhh... there, there, Susie," Amelia said soothingly. "It's not the end-all, be-all that you failed. It's not the end of the world."
"That's easy for you to say!" Susan snapped angrily, pulling away. "You got to be what you wanted to be."
"That's not what I meant." Amelia looked slightly affronted, perhaps because Susan had made that thought about her? Susan winced out of guilt this time, feeling a pit form in her stomach. "I meant passing all the correct N.E.W.T. exams is just one way to become a wandmaker. There are other ways."
She paused, making sure her niece was listening. Susan was, and she was doing so very attentively. "If you work hard, Susan, keep up the study and learn as much as possible. You can approach a wandmaker, such as Garrick Ollivander, and ask him if he will accept you as an apprentice. From what I have heard, most people will take you on in that instance, as long as you are passionate," Amelia explained. "There are other ways, too. The Ministry runs courses to help people get their dream jobs."
"Really?" Susan felt and looked surprised. "I had no idea." It was true.
"It's not widely well known; people don't tend to bother advertising it because a lot of people simply change career aspirations if they don't get the correct marks," Amelia said, smiling sadly.
"I see," Susan whispered softly. She felt better already, knowing now that she didn't need to give up on her dreams. She would even say that she was happy to an extent. Now she simply felt like scheming, a confident and determined expression blooming on her face. "I will become a wandmaker or perish in the attempt!"
"That's the spirit!" Amelia chuckled. "To think the Sorting Hat said you were not a Slytherin. With that admission..."
"Boy, was it wrong!" Susan laughed, remembering her Sorting Ceremony.
"Just remember not to lose yourself, Susan," reminded Amelia. The Hufflepuff found herself looking at her aunt, confused. "Don't lose sight of what's important, and don't be so set on that goal you forget how to be happy or to find happiness."
Susan understood and smiled, giving Amelia a nod. "I won't."
They chatted a bit more before eventually going inside. Susan tried to spot the butterfly from earlier, but she knew that she would not find it again. It had flown away for good. Slowly, she followed her aunt inside.
Amelia, when they got inside, presented her with another one, though, one that couldn't fly away; a beautiful gold broach in the form of a butterfly. Susan was so overwhelmed with emotion that she cried all over again. This time, however, it was out of pure joy.
…
Years later, Susan stopped to recall and reflect upon that day, silently thanking her departed aunt. She missed Amelia terribly, but Susan knew her mother figure would be proud; Susan had worked hard and ended up getting her dream job. The idea of Amelia being proud filled Susan with joy, making her feel light and fluffy.
She was happy with her life and had found constant happiness within it. After many years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, she was finally what she wanted to be: a wandmaker. Susan briefly touched the butterfly brooch she had received that day. It was pinned to the top part of her black robes. The only thing missing was her aunt.
As Susan locked up her shop for the day, she looked to a nearby pot plant and smiled as she saw a golden butterfly flutter around it. Even though she knew it wasn't the same one, she said gratefully, "Thank you."
Like her aunt, that butterfly that had come to her on that day had helped inspire her to get to where she was today. Hence the shop's name:
'Amelia's Golden Butterfly Wands.'