Maybe All This Is the Party (Cassia; Redux)

[samira ali warsame]

January 5, 2025

It was difficult to have to go back to school. Hogwarts was under even heavier security because of what had happened to Azkaban, and the thought of everything that she had to do before she would be free from school for good hit Sami as soon as she reached the castle. She had had some of the most fun that she had had in a long time while she had been at home, and then at the Fontaines' party in New York, but it was so strange to her that life had seemingly changed so much in only a few weeks. If anyone had said that she would have been walking through Hogsmeade the morning after the dragons had come, she would have thought that they were insane.

Being back at Hogwarts just felt different, and Sami couldn't exactly describe the way that it made her feel. Even as she greeted people whom she had known for years, there was something… unsettling. It wouldn't be long before she would have to figure out what she was doing with her life and what path she would take with a career or… something. Hopefully her family wouldn't totally disown her for whatever she did, though her comments about that were typically more light-hearted than rooted in reality.

As social and drawn to the Gryffindor Common Room as she usually was, Sami remained in the Great Hall after dinner had finished, watching the ceiling overhead as most of the rest of the school cleared out of the room. She couldn't decide if she had already made the most of Hogwarts or if she had taken it for granted. She wondered, too, if what she was experiencing was what it felt like to peak at seventeen: all of the late nights and excitement and drama, the rush that she got every time she snuck out or did something that she knew she wasn't supposed to be doing…

As the Great Hall emptied and most were getting up to leave, though, someone who hadn't been seated beside Sami at dinner sat down next to her. They were probably wondering what she was still doing there, twirling her used fork between her fingers while she was in thought.

@cassiopeia

[Deleted]

05 Jan 2025

Cassiopeia Blishwick was exhausted. Her favorite type of exhaustion, as it’d been weeks since she last had a day for herself. Due to Holidays, Christmas and - of course - the New Year, students constantly asked for a hand or two with making them beautiful for dates and celebrations. Her parents had never seen their house so busy, except for parties and events, to the point she had to create a scheme to avoid students from bumping into each other if they hoped to keep it hidden (that she’d helped them, though Cassia herself saw no trouble in it, and did take some offense even if it went forgotten by the end of the day). She did make sure to have certain days entirely to her parents and family, such as the 25th, but aside from these, the sweet Ravenclaw girl was happy to welcome her friends into her house and to her expertise.

This is why she hadn’t left the Great Hall with her friends once they asked her about leaving. She meant to spend many hours with the girls she most adored, of course, but at the time she needed to take a step back and breathe, even if for a little bit. They understood how she felt, if only because they were just as busy with studying and other hobbies, so Cassia was left there without resentment. All she meant to do was take fifteen to twenty minutes, observe her dear school and its decoration, and listen to her thoughts without them wandering to makeup, clothes and combination; even a girl like her had to take some time from passions, short as it was and terribly painful.

Finally, Cassiopeia left her state of silent, mental distance. Her movements were precise, slow, so as not to tire herself any further and keep her thoughts from jumping into the next subject without the required energy for it. In fact, she was this close to getting up and leaving to her common room if it weren’t for the presence of another person; somebody who left her curious, questioning. Tiptoeing, then walking normally, her actions gradually showed intent. Why keep from going closer? She most probably wouldn’t sleep imagining the many reasons Samira, of all people, was lonely and seemingly bothered at a place nobody was meant to be alone.

This is why Cassiopeia sat next to her without pushing her thoughts any further, or giving any excuses. Instead, she had that sincere stare so characteristic of herself, that said she wasn’t there to judge but instead to help. “You don’t seem so happy tonight.” A second or two, she stared at the girl and… got the confirmation she needed that Samira hadn’t been crying. That was good. So maybe it wasn’t so bad. “Are you alright?”

samira ali warsame

[samira ali warsame]

January 5, 2025

Samira had barely heard the sound of footsteps approaching where she sat, but they hadn't been loud enough to distract her. Even the sound of someone else speaking sounded distant to her, as though she was being spoken to from the other side of the room—minus the echoing. "You don't seem so happy tonight." And then came a long pause, in which Sami wondered if she was only hearing things, like that little voice inside of her head had been personified. "Are you alright?"

It dawned on Samira that it wasn't just in her head. It was Cassiopeia Blishwick, a Ravenclaw girl two years below her.

"Oh, um… Hi, Cassia," she responded once it fully kicked in that she was the one who was being spoken to. "I'm alright, thanks," she assured the younger girl, forcing a closed-lipped smile. She was sure that she didn't seem like herself; she knew that it wasn't her usual behavior. She wasn't particularly contemplative, most of the time. She would get distracted by various things, but it wasn't as though she really sat and thought them over. Not until it was late at night and things got deep and she felt the need to pour her heart out.

@cassiopeia

[Deleted]

Cassiopeia couldn't stand the thought that her friend might be in need of help, even more when she was so close to offering her shoulder. There was nothing quite like seeing others unhappy to make her feel down, and for that reason she wouldn't stand for not interfering. Her friend's wellbeing should be put first and foremost, but that didn't mean going away if Samira said things were alright; not without being absolutely sure. "It's okay if you aren't. I know that's prying of my part, but sometimes, when you're not feeling so hot, the best thing is to remain aware of these feelings and let them be. Ignoring them just... make them last a lot longer." She offered a sympathetic smile, then looked around to see if there was food or drink. They always cheered her up.

samira ali warsame

[samira ali warsame]

January 5, 2025

“It's okay if you aren't,” Cassia reassured her about not being alright, although she had said she was. The younger girl readily acknowledged that that was prying on her part, but she mentioned that sometimes the best thing to do was to let those feelings be; ignoring them just made them last longer.
 
“It’s fine,” Sami said plainly, with a little shrug. It wasn’t anything earthshattering that she had to talk about. “It’s just…” A lot of philosophical stuff, she supposed, was what it was. “I think I’ve realized that these are the last months that I’m ever going to be here at Hogwarts, you know?” She knew that Cassia had another two years to go before she would be in that same position, but maybe she was already starting to feel it. “It’s weird.”

@cassiopeia

[Deleted]

The pink-haired girl nodded after hearing her friend's words, taking some seconds to think. She had imagined once how this felt, obviously, given there weren't many years before she would be going through the same thing, but she'd never come so close. Samira on the other hand... in not so many months, she would be out of Hogwarts and maybe forever. It was a scary thing, how the school welcomed them for years, only to never receive them again. She supposed it would be much better if there was some way to revisit it, because for some people - like herself - it'd turned into a safe spot.

"I bet it is. And maybe a little bit scary? But... out there, the world is so big, there's so much to do. I'm sure you'll be so overwhelmed, in the best way, you won't even have time to think about Hogwarts." She hoped these words would comfort her friend. Maybe not, but it was the best she could do right then.
samira ali warsame

[samira ali warsame]

January 5, 2025

“I bet it is,” Cassia agreed with her about the weirdness of it all. “And maybe a little bit scary?” There was that, too, even if Sami didn’t want to admit to it. As many bad things had happened at and around Hogwarts over the last handful of years, especially, it was scary to leave. What other place in the world was just as scary to be at as it was to leave? She didn’t know of one, but Hogwarts fit the bill. Hogwarts was and wasn’t predictable; things changed as often as they stayed the same. She was ready to leave and to make something of herself, but she didn’t want to go, either.
 
“But… out there, the world is so big, there's so much to do. I'm sure you'll be so overwhelmed, in the best way, you won't even have time to think about Hogwarts.”
 
Sami knew that Cassiopeia meant the words as advice—or at least some sort of reassurance—but they almost didn’t feel that way. Even when being given to her by a girl with pink hair, there was something less cheerful about the thought. She was already overwhelmed. Finishing her life at school, charting some unknown path into adulthood…
 
“My brother is going to start here in two years,” Sami smiled. “I can’t forget about this place forever.” She meant it in more ways than one, too. If things didn’t improve somehow, of course she was going to be on edge all the while that Aaden was attending Hogwarts without her there to ensure his safety.

@cassiopeia