May 31st, 1891 — Gryffindor Common Room

At long last the year had drawn to a close and all that was left to do was finish packing their trunks. The beginning of summer was always bittersweet for Alice, for while she relished the chance to breathe after months of tutoring and studying she also had grown to resent returning to the farm. The days moved at a snail's pace, each one taking longer than the last. Sometimes, it felt as though summer would never end.

However, unlike every summer for the past fourteen years, this was to be her last summer as a child. (Had she ever been a child? Alice wasn't sure, so much of her childhood was spent caring for her siblings.) When Hogwart's drew to a close next May Alice would return home and immediately begin her search for a job. It would take time for her OWL scores to return, of course, but with any luck someone would hire her provisionally. Perhaps a potioneer, that would be something challenging enough.

Alice knelt besides her trunk with a stack of textbooks to her left. She was attempting to rearrange the contents of her trunk so that the glass potion vials would stand the best chance of not being crushed. "Have you any plans for summer?" She asked Sisse, the only other remaining Gryffindor in the fourth year dormitory.

  

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Amazing set by Bee!

Was Sisse the only one who disliked the end of the school year? Sisse had oftened thought she might be. At home she felt stifled, smothered by her mother to be the perfect young lady, annoyed by her brothers, and generally forgotten by her father. It was better now that she could see Calla and Sloane over breaks, but she rather enjoyed the freedom that Hogwarts allotted her. Not to mention her mother was still pressing on her the possibility of leaving Hogwarts after her OWLS to attend Pendergast - something Sisse was quite certain she did not want to do.

Sisse had been arranging her books yet again (she actually loved to organize and pack things) and looked up at Alice's words. "Sadly no." She never did though. "Do you?" She pursed her lips and looked down at the neat stack of books. She should be able to fit a few things around them to even them into a nice neat cube, she thought idly and began to place her robes around them. Happy with the result she wandered over to Alice's trunk. "Would you like some help?" She asked with a smile, inspecting the bottles below. Surely they knew a charm or two between them that could help.

  

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Thank you Bee <3 Your magic has made Sisse bloom

"Nothing, sadly. Sloane mentioned visiting her one day soon, but that'll depend if my father can spare me for the day." There wasn't much to be done on the farm in June, but there was definitely always something. Her mum mentioned purchasing some chickens this year (with what money, Alice didn't know) so there would be much to get done with establishing the new coop.

She smiled at Sisse as her friend came over to help. "Yes, please. I think I'm just too distracted to come up with a working solution." She gestured towards the vials and chuckled. "Obviously those should be on top."

  

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Amazing set by Bee!

"If your father could spare you, you should come stay with me for a few days. I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind." Sisse had found that while her mother loved apperances she did seem to have a tender spot for Alice and for those with an occupations. "And perhaps I could visit you on the farm?" She suggested, not entirely sure how Alice's family might take it. But she hated that Alice would be alone with just her siblings for the summer, she knew all too well how that could be.

Sisse surveyed the contents of the trunk before starting to lift the vials out. "Let's try to get your books piled in first for a base. Then we can use your robes to secure them and put the vials on top of the books." She suggested thoughtfully.

  

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Thank you Bee <3 Your magic has made Sisse bloom

"Maybe," Alice agreed hesitantly. What her parents allowed for one they would soon have to allow for all. Bridget would ensure such a deal was in place. "I'm sure they would be willing to host you, though, if your mother would allow it." That Mrs. Thompsett would allow her daughter to visit a dirty farm was something of a stretch to Alice. Edison and Anne, sure, for they lived in similar circumstances. Sloane, maybe, for she rejected society enough. Sisse didn't fit that bill much.

She nodded and began gathering the vials so that they could rearrange her trunk. "That would work."

  

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Amazing set by Bee!

"My mother rather likes you, I think I might be able to convince her." Sisse probably didn't know what she was getting into, but doing anything to see Alice in the summer seemed like a plan worth trying. "It will be a long summer if I don't find a way to see you." Sisse admitted with a kind smile.

Sisse turned from the vials and began to sort Alice's books by size, placing the largest on the bottom and lining up their spines, creating steps on the other side - they could place soft items there to fill the gaps.

  

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Thank you Bee <3 Your magic has made Sisse bloom

All summers were long for Alice, for she was rarely afforded an escape from the farm. "Perhaps if it would make your Mother more comfortable your visit could coincide with our annual trip to my Gram's. She could hardly complain about you staying with a professor." Alice suggested, convinced in that moment that Mrs. Thompsett would never allow her daughter to visit the filthy farm.

With Sisse's ideas they made quick work of repacking her trunk. "Thank you for the help. It would've been awful to have lost all those vials."

  

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Amazing set by Bee!

It was a brillant idea. Even Sisse knew that while her mom might like Alice her mom also was... tactiturn about such things. But a professor was something of a different sort altogether. "She could hardly say no!" Sisse gushed, her smile getting wider. "Oh, Alice, it will be wonderful!" She flopped to lay back on Alice's bed after the last of the vials had been safely tucked in. "And until then we can write! And we shall have to endeavor to find some way for you to visit." She continued on brightly, looking at her friend as if all the frustrations of traveling home had evaporated. They might not have, not really, but for a moment they did.

  

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Thank you Bee <3 Your magic has made Sisse bloom

She grinned and promised, "countless letters. Daily if there's a need for it." Duplicating parchment wasn't that difficult. Her letters would at least last long enough for the recipient to receive them. "It's only a few months anyway, we'll be together again soon."

  

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Amazing set by Bee!