Hosie - Hogwarts Au (Harry Potter / Legacies)

Chapter 19

The school mail doesn't get delivered until Monday, which has Hope turning into an anxious wreck the entire weekend.

She finishes almost none of her homework on Sunday, and when she plays Exploding Snap with Ethan that night, she nearly singes off her eyebrows in her distraction.

Monday morning, she waits with bated breath as the students collect into the great hall. She catches Josette sitting with Gryffindor once again, sandwiched in between her sister and Jade. She picks almost shyly at her food, her gaze clearly distracted as it settles off into the distance.

She's not hungry herself, but Hope also doesn't touch her own food in fear of the Gryffindors striking back. It had been a long couple of days and the brazen lions had not even retaliated yet, which was strange for something as fast-paced as a prank war. It made Hope nervous.

What made her absolutely crazy, though, was watching Josette knowing that Marbles would deliver the package any second. She regretted buying the girl the scarf with all her heart now, especially since she knew Josette would just throw it back in her face or show her friends and laugh about it.

If she did that, Hope would have no choice but to pretend that she hadn't sent it, and the initials HM would immediately mean nothing to her. She might have to change her last name, she was already so humiliated.

Hope blinks back to reality as a magnificent black owl with white spots—Marbles—soars through the hall. He's so eye-catching and enormous that some students draw their heads up and stare for a long moment. Hope herself almost looks away, like she can't bear to witness her inevitable embarrassment.

"Hey, H, isn't that your owl?" Rose bumps into her side with a pointy elbow, around a mouthful of waffles.

"No," she answers, and the girl raises her eyebrows before going back to eating.

Josette seems incredibly surprised as the owl lands in front of her, and her friends around her bend their heads in odd angles to get a better look. She quickly unties the string binding the package around the owl's neck, and strokes his immaculate fur almost absentmindedly as she opens the brown wrapping paper.

Hope swallows as Josette pauses, her eyes squinting slightly like she's reading something before her gaze shoots up and right onto Hope. The pureblood's blood jolts beneath her skin, and her breath tangles violently in her vocal cords. She forces herself to look away, eyes glued to her empty plate.

When she looks back up, Josette is storming out of the great hall. She reaches all the way passed the entrance before Hope pulls herself up and swings over the bench.

"Where are you going?!" Rose yells after her, but she doesn't respond.

Her feet carry her swiftly out of the great hall to the corridor outside, her eyes immediately catching the back of the muggleborn's robes.

"Saltzman!" she calls, not quite knowing why she's running after her like a lovesick imbecile.

The girl stops, and Hope can see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes deeply before turning around.

"Am I just a game to all of you?" There are tears in her eyes. Hope shakes her head almost desperately.

"What?" she asks, not exactly in charge of her own voice. She steps forward, and Josette only steps back.

"Play with the muggleborn, first one to get her to cry wins?"

"No, I—" Hope doesn't get a word in edgewise.

"I bet you can't wait to get back to your friends and tell them all about it."

"That's not—"