Pink in the Night.

Chapter Eighteen.

There was a definite end-of-the-summer gloom in the air when morning came. Heavy rain was still splattering against the window as (Y/n) got dressed into her school uniform: a blue blazer with the Ravenclaw House emblem embroidered into her breast pocket, a black silk button-up beneath the blazer, a plaid mainly black with blue skirt, and a bronze and blue tie. Having robes or cloaks was a requirement but, depending on the professor, they weren't needed to be worn all the time.
(Y/n) rolled down her sleeves and buttoned the cuffs with some struggle. She slid out of her pyjama pants and into her stockings followed by her skirt. Over her stockings, she put on two below-the-knee socks that were the same colour as her skirt. (Y/n) threw her tie around her neck, still having no clue how to tie it, and assuming it was far too late to be asking. Then she put on her shoes and grabbed her blazer.

(Y/n)'s eyes flickered to Ginny and Hermione before she opened the door. "Percy, where do I put the badge?" she shouted. There was a distant thud that came from multiple stories up. "Oh, dear..." Ginny snorted, slipping past (Y/n) with the last of her suitcases and bringing it downstairs. (Y/n) slipped back into the room as Bill and Charlie skipped down the steps. She was rather embarrassed by them.

"Here—" Percy said, appearing from behind them. "Should always be seen—" And then Percy broke into a ramble about how disorderly (Y/n)'s uniform currently was. (Y/n), who liked Percy and often chose to ignore his need for order, couldn't help herself as she flipped off her back.

"How dare he!" (Y/n) exclaimed. "Buttoning up my blazer takes away any figure I have, Hermione! And if I wear my robes, I'll be dressing like a nun!"

"That's expected for a prefect," Hermione mused, buttoning up her red blazer. Hermione's uniform was identical to (Y/n)'s, only where there was blue, bronze, and an eagle for her, there was red, gold, and a lion for Hermione. Hermione never liked getting dressed on the train and was often dressed beforehand. (Y/n) tied her tie into a bow, much to Hermione's amusement, and wound up buttoning the centre button of her blazer, still giving her a shape.

"Ready?" (Y/n) asked, putting her carry-on bag on her shoulder along with picking up her raincoat-clad cat, Effie. The ragdoll cat, who had eight kittens (four of which were (Y/n)'s and the other four of which were Cho's due to Cho's cat being the father), had a purple raincoat with matching boots and a hood. (Y/n) very much liked dressing her cat up. Her owl, Hoshi, who was partially blind in one eye and was very attached to his owner, already had his cage downstairs.

"Mhm," Hermione said, picking up Crookshanks, her cat. The girls skipped downstairs. Ginny, who couldn't keep a straight face around Effie, burst into laughter once again. The twins, who adored Effie, cooed. (Y/n), ignoring practically everyone, went straight to the mantle mirror to survey herself. (Y/n) was the only one the talking mirror seemed to at least tolerate due to her having a good fashion sense.

"Lame!"

"Your insults are lame. I mean, I honestly haven't heard anything original come from you during all the times I've stayed here!" (Y/n) said coolly back to the mirror, standing on the stool to get a better look at herself. She hummed to herself. She did feel very plain and she was unsure of what to do about it.
Molly had strolled in front of (Y/n) and untied her bow before properly retying it. When Molly stepped back to survey the girl, (Y/n) peered into her reflection.
"I feel plain," she told Molly. "What do I do?"

"Headband? Hair up? Bow?" Hermione suggested back to back.

"Ah, so it's the hair," (Y/n) said. She set Effie down. The cat instantly started shaking off her rain boots. "Headband's my only safe last-minute choice," she said. And taking the headband out of her bag, she put it on her head, framing her face with her (bangs/baby hairs/hair). "That'll have to do," she sighed, hopping off the stool. "Well, no going back."