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"GO ON THEN," Cece prompted, her arm loosely wrapped around Aisling's as they headed towards the Great Hall for the morning meal. The low grumble of their hungry stomachs was the soundtrack to their walk as they could only envision the delightful food awaiting them. It was often said nothing could beat a home-cooked meal, but those that attested this clearly never attended Hogwarts.
"What?" Aisling asked in confusion. Her tie was loose around her neck, skirt perhaps a little shorter than regulatory but Professor Flitwick had long given up on scolding the blonde for it. As long as she continued to keep her grades high, he confessed he'd allow her to take a little liberty with their uniforms.
"Just how mental did your dad go when you came downstairs with pink in your hair?" Cece elaborated, already chuckling at her own imagination. Sean Burke was... a character. There were fathers that could be strict, and fathers that weren't. Sean happened to be a father that was near-permanently stressed because he tried to be strict and failed miserably.
"Oh god," her companion laughed loudly, shaking her head at the memory of her father's reaction to her new hairstyle. "He went that mental he now blames me for the wrinkles on his forehead. I swear I watched his own hair turn grey before my very eyes while he was shouting at me."
They shared a giggle as the conversation ran through Aisling's mind once more, as terrifying as he might have looked to anyone else at that moment in time, she couldn't possibly take him serious. Her dad was all bark no bite, and as loveable as a teddy bear even if he didn't show it.
"'Pink hair? What's next? Pink eye?!'" Aisling continued, deepening her voice in an attempt to imitate him. "Why did you only do half your hair? I assume it's because you realised how fucking stupid it was half way through!"
"Oh Merlin!" Cece cackled, "if anyone else heard that they'd think your dad was an arsehole!"
"Ah, he's just Irish," Aisling brushed off, the corners of her lips still lifted in an amused smile that began to fade when she noticed a group of Slytherins that were seated on a bench beginning to eye them.
Immediately her relaxed demeanour vanished, replaced with tense shoulders and wary eyes. The boys continued to snicker among themselves as they got closer and closer to passing by them. Aisling mentally prepared herself for a comment, but it surprisingly wasn't aimed at her for once.
"Is this your new girlfriend, Laghari?" One called out obnoxiously. He wasn't recognisable, meaning he was likely in one of the years below the two girls and had been feeling brave that day. "McKinnon will be heartbroken! You didn't last a minute did 'ya?"
"And you wouldn't last a minute inside a woman, you nosy prick," Aisling hit back in defence of her friend, aiming her middle fingers upward in his direction for added effect. Cece smiled thankfully at her defensiveness over her, but it didn't meet her eyes as she used her grip on the blonde's elbow to hurry her along before more words could be shared. The boy in question recoiled at the comeback, sputtering with offence but too surprised to come up with something in return before they disappeared around a corner.
