Snakes and Sanguine

Summer: The Burrows II- Orion's Belt

August was scorching. I felt as though I could see the heat right in front of me. I felt as though I could touch it.

"It's the hottest August I have ever experienced." Ginny Potter told us.

Lily-Luna and I had grown to be quite good friends over the months considering I shared a bedroom with her. I didn't have many friends to start with, let alone friends who were girls. I guess I had Annabeth and Sasha but I was not close to her the way Lils and I became.

Her vibrant ginger hair matched her personality. She was outgoing, ambitious, and loved to cause trouble. Towards the end of July, she had started to rope me into her and Shira's pranks that they would play on the rest of their family.

My favorite one in particular had to be the one we played on Rose. We spent a whole week researching hexes and jinxes until we finally settled on indigito slugs. A hex that turned a person's finger into slugs.

Shira, who was a master at charms, was the one who actually hexed her, but was ridiculed by her mother for using underage magic and scared her into thinking that the ministry was going to send her to Azkaban for it. Her father on the other hand, thought that it was particularly funny.

The Burrows had no air conditioning so we had to result in putting fans by our beds so we did not overheat as we slept under knitted blankets.

I woke up one August morning to the sound of metal hangers sliding up against the wooden bar in Lils' closet as she looked for something to wear.

"What time is it?" I groaned, rubbing my morning crusted eyes. 

"Six." she replied, then giggled at the groan I let out as I took the pillow out from under me and placed it over my face. "I'm going for a run. Would you like to come?"

"No. You ask me this every morning. My answer will always be no." I replied.

"Suit yourself." she said with a smile as I removed the pillow from my face. "Oh, I forgot to ask you last night, mother wanted me to ask you if you have your own savings account at Gringotts."

"I do, but I'm not sure if there is actually any money in there." I replied.

"Great. So next week after the trials we will go to Gringotts, check if you have any money in there, and then you can finally wear your own clothes and you don't have to keep washing that one bra of yours." she giggled lightheartedly.

"Oh shut up." I said jokingly.

She smiled brightly and shook her as she bent down to tie the laces of her trainers. She tied her bright red hair into a messy bun and gave me a wave before she started out the door.

She peaked back in once more to say something. "Oh, and one last thing, today is James' birthday so be ready by eight."

I stared at the ceiling for a moment before getting up to check the calendar on Lils' cork board. There were red x's on all the boxes before the box with the date August twentieth. In the blank space underneath the large "20", it said "Jamsey's 15th birthday!!!" in black pen.

I slipped on a red jumper with the Gryffindor emblem on the right corner that Lils had cropped (of course) and a pair of blue washed denim shorts.

I looked at myself in her full length mirror and prayed that there was money in my vault at Gringotts so I could buy clothes a little more my style and a little less...cropped.

Lils looked amazing in cropped clothing, I on the other hand, did not. Although over the month I had grown curvier, my waist did not go inward as much as Lils' did, making me look completely awkward. I could not believe that James had to see me look so...unappealing all summer.