Make Me Fall

36. Hogwarts Isn't Home

I wake up early and have a shower. As I'm doing my hair I decide to play around with it a bit. I start by straightening out my natural curls. My hair is a lot longer than I realised. I measure out a section in the front and cut it, giving myself bangs that fall just below my eyebrows.

I wonder how I'd look if I had dark hair, like my family. I gradually turn my hair raven black. I look a lot like my mother with dark hair. I wonder if we could actually be related.

Next I change my hair white-blonde, like the Malfoys. If I didn't have freckles and my eyes were grey I could be Draco's sister.

That's weird.

I change my hair back to its normal colour. I wonder what I'd look like without freckles. Being super careful, so I don't erase my nose, I start to remove them. Once I'm done I step back and look at myself. I look more... Rich? I don't know, more like I'd fit in with my family. Less like a Weasley. I change my hair to black again. It makes me look tired, so I lighten it to a dark chocolate brown. Now I really look like I'd fit into my family.

I put on some make-up, some dark brown eye shadow, black eye liner and mascara and dark red lip stick. Oh yes, now I look like a Turner. I pull on my robes and look in the mirror. I don't look like me at all, I look evil.

My heart starts racing and I quickly wash my face and fix my hair, turning it back to red, getting rid of my bangs and making it curly again. Then I put my freckles back.

I look in the mirror again and smile. I might not look like I belong to my family, but I don't look like I'm going to kill anyone either.

I walk downstairs and find the six new Gryffindors. Small year group for one house.

“Into two lines,” I tell them, “follow me.”

As we walk I tell them about the castle, how the staircases move and about the ghosts. Since they're all from magical families they all have a basic idea of Hogwarts, which is... Well, it is how it is.

“Professor McGonagall will bring your timetables around during breakfast,” I tell them as we arrive in the entrance hall, “remember to stay together. If you get lost don't be afraid to ask an older student.”

I drop them at the Gryffindor table and go to sit in my spot at the end of the staff table. Draco isn't here yet. McGonagall hands me my timetable. Charms, free, Potions, Muggle Studies (comp.) and Dark Arts.

“Where were you?” Draco sits down next to me and raises his eyebrows.

“Uh...”

“The meeting with the new prefects,” he says, “you were meant to be there.”

“I thought we were doing that today,” I say. Draco rolls his eyes.

“We did it this morning,” he says, “before breakfast, remember?”

“No!”

He rolls his eyes again and takes my timetable, comparing it with his.

“We've got all our classes together,” he says, “who's the other seventh year prefect?”

“I don't know, who was it last year?” I ask.

“How do you not know this?” he demands, “why are you Head Girl?”

“I don't know, I didn't want to be,” I say, “but it was going to be Pansy or me, so...”

Draco pinches the top of his nose.

“Last year it was Weasley,” he says, “evidently, it's not Weasley this year.”

“The only other boy in my year is Seamus,” I say. Draco's lip curls.