DISTANT GAME ━ charlie weasley

o. out of the hair

     Avery unseals the envelope, and plucks out the letter within, and her eyes traverse through the cursive handwriting entailing what books she would require for the following year like it always did, but, when she'd reached the final two paragraphs she felt like she was either about to scream or faint. In this case, she did neither, and as soon as she picked up her dropped letter (out of disbelief of course; her hands were shaking), she ran out of her untidy bedroom with her even more untidy bunch of strawberry blonde hair falling out of its ponytail, and her feet patters along the cold floorboards into the kitchen, where Valerie Carmichael was busy making pancakes on the stove.

The older woman turned away from the burning fire, slowing it down so that her marvellous pancakes would not be ruined and looked to face her daughter, whose face looked panicked if not shocked amidst her frantic running.

"Aves?" Valerie enquires, looking at the crumpled letter open in Avery's trembling hand. "Is everything alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost–"

"Mum." Avery says, inhaling through her nostrils. "I got Head Girl."

Valerie's mouth drops open, interrupting the wide smile that was progressing. Her daughter got Head Girl? That was amazing - Outstanding, even! Either way, Valerie could not fathom what would make Avery look so paled at the news, though. She was Head Girl!

"Aves, that's fantastic!" Valerie exclaims, enfolding her daughter into a gut-crushing hug. "We have a Head Girl in our house! And a Ravenclaw one, at that! You're really doing our family proud, Aves!"

Once Avery managed to wriggle herself out of her mother's strangling grasp, she looks at her mother's smiling face with the same bewildered expression she wore before.

"Is Jem up yet? We need to tell him! Jeremiah!" Valerie looks back to Avery after having beckoned her son, and frowns at the sheer panic in Avery's face. "Aves - what's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

     "Mum..." Avery starts, taking the closest seat at the kitchen table, "I don't know why I'm Head Girl. I shouldn't be Head Girl. I'm not fit enough to be one, I–"

     "—You're Head Girl?" Drowsily entering the kitchen was Jeremiah Carmichael, fair-haired, muscly-armed and clad in nothing but his pyjama joggers. He stopped midway rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as his eyes widened massively, before breaking out into a large grin. Ignoring the look his younger sister was giving him, Jeremiah went forward and lifted her out of her seat, hugging her close to his bare chest. "Well done, Aves!"

Being able to no longer bear these congratulations for something Avery didn't even want, she went to pry herself away from her brother's strong arms, sinking back into her chair.

"Don't congratulate me, Jem." She huffs, slouching. The corners of Jeremiah's mouth sunk. "I don't want to be Head Girl."

     "Why not?" Jeremiah frets, taking the seat adjacent to Avery's at the table. "I would have loved to be Head Boy. I only ever got to be a Prefect, though."

    "That's the thing - I wasn't even a Prefect! I have no idea why I was made Head Girl. I shouldn't be Head Girl - I'm not made to be one! They're all perfect and flawless, and I'm not perfect and flawless - I can't be Head Girl."