June 27: Kaleidoscope Heart: Hog's Head: Professor Prince

[Willa Robbins]

▶︎ hearts have colors
don't we all know?
red runs through our veins
feel the fire burning up
inspire me with blood
of blue and green...

What will they think if you go away again?

    It's not like I'm running off right away! And I've been back two years - and this wouldn't be until after graduation, if anything comes of it. And that's a big if.

You thought the same about Castelobruxo!

    Well, if it goes well today, I'll tell them it's a possibility...

Willa, just a week seventeen, fixed her skirt and hair by their reflections in the windows of Honeydukes after apparating to the village. She already felt on her way towards success today with navigating travel on her own, and hoped that the conversation she was on her way to would go well. While it was only a year out, graduating and leaving Hogwarts for good felt like an incredibly far off reality. So the girl was especially grateful for her Head of House today, and the little pushes she gave her when needed. Professor Sprout had alerted her to the exchange program and encouraged her to apply, made her a prefect, promised she'd have a spot assisting next term, and had helped her arrange today's meeting too. Sprout had a way of seeing the potential in her students that Willa so appreciated - without Sprout's belief in her, she knew that many opportunities would have simply passed her by unawares. She wasn't the most exceptional student, but Sprout knew that academics weren't everything when it came to someone's value.

Professor Ophelia Prince...

From what she knew so far, Willa was thrilled just to have gotten this far with the Beauxbatons professor. Prince was a Hogwarts graduate and had traveled extensively, earning her degree in Herbology abroad, and had been at the French academy for quite some time now. To meet someone who had...dared to bet on herself, have her own adventures, learn from the world and pass on her knowledge, skill, and passion - the girl was inspired already! Prince was on the lookout for future apprentices, and while Willa didn't know exactly the path she wanted her future to take, if there was one that would allow her to continue in Herbology - it was positively worth exploring. 

And her family, her friends...the Hufflepuff felt properly guilty for not yet confiding in anyone. But what was the use in getting anyone else's worries or hopes up, when she didn't even know if she'd have this opportunity as an option after today! Surely it's not because you're worried for their reactions. If it went poorly, and they knew - would she be met with their relief? That she wouldn't be going off on her own again, somewhere far away? That she'd stay closer to home, do something less risky? And if it went well, and they knew - would they be disappointed, or happy for her? Her future was hers, Willa knew that...but was it selfish to think that way, when her parents had done so much for her? You'll talk with them. Danny too. Had her brother felt conflicted like this before taking up his post at Gringott's? Curse Breaking could take him far and wide, and she already missed his presence at the house. If both of them were away from the family...

See how this goes. And share.

    You are excited about traveling and studying abroad again. That's why you're here!

She did her best to shake worries and doubts from her mind, to lean into the thrill, and entered the Hog's Head. It was her first time to the pub, the first time visiting Hogsmeade in the summer, and her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the dimness she found inside. "Excuse me," she approached the barman, hoping for help she knew she'd receive from Madam Rosmerta or Tom, even if this fellow felt slightly less personable at first look. "I'm looking for Professor Ophelia Prince, do you know if she is here?"