She wanted to launch herself into his arms once again, but the time had passed. Taking a deep breath, she gave a small hiccup as she dabbed at her eyes once more. “I don’t know about courageous, Papa,” she replied, surprising herself as the last words slipped from her lips with such ease. “I always thought there was a reason I was not placed in Gryffindor.”

Perhaps it was because she wasn’t foolhardy like some of them could be: which she didn’t voice aloud to the Gryffindor alumni in front of her, despite her confidence in his capability. After today, there was no one she would trust more than Ari and her father. She was sure of that much. “But perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps I’m finding my courage from you.”

And it was that assuredness that bolstered her, made her sure she would be able to enter the next phase of her life with as much grace as she could.

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