Adelia was the last person Aurora expected to see outside of school, let alone at this specific tattoo place.
And the same went for Aurora too. At Hogwarts, she wasn't the most rebellious type. And Adelia knew that considering the family she came from, they would probably never allow her to come to these areas. So Adelia was also quite surprised to see Aurora in the waiting area of where she worked.
"Aurora?"
"Adelia?"
They both spoke up at the same time so their voices overlapped. Veronica just sat there in confusion.
"Well this is awkward." Veronica quietly interjected.
"So what brings you here?" Adelia asked her.
"This is a tattoo shop, right?" Aurora said.
"Oh right! Uhm, yeah. You can just follow me." Adelia told the two.
They went to a room in the back with a seat and all the materials needed for piercings and tattoos.
"I'll be right back." Adelia left the room, leaving Veronica to question her friend.
"That was the most awkward encounter I have ever witnessed in my life." Veronica deadpanned. "So, who is she?"
"A friend from school. But I didn't know she worked here." Aurora answered.
"What's her name?" Veronica questioned.
"Adelia Archer." A different voice answered her this time.
"Oh hello. We're not in any classes together, are you a Hufflepuff? I barely have classes with the Hufflepuffs." Veronica asked, curious to know more about her.
"Yeah, I am, that's probably why." Adelia replied. "So what brings you two here."
"Well I'm planning on getting a tattoo. And Veronica here wants a piercing." Aurora spoke up, gesturing to her friend.
"Veronica Rosier? See I knew you seemed familiar!" Adelia exclaimed.
"Have we met before? Despite you going to Hogwarts, I don't think we've ever talked." Veronica was confused as to how she knew her. Although maybe not that much, considering her last name.
"No we haven't, but I knew your brother quite well." Adelia pondered on the topic.
"Oh merlin, were you two together or something? If that's the case, then I really apologize because he can be a real pain in the—"
"No, I used to tutor him actually. How else do you think he managed to pass his OWL's in fifth year?" Adelia questioned, then set out a few tools on the table.
"Tutor? Oh this is amazing, next time that little shit tries to blackmail me, I can use this against him. Our parents won't be happy to hear that their perfect son barely managed to keep up his good grades." Veronica smirked, and the girls laughed.
"So, who's going first?" Adelia asked the two girls.
Veronica volunteered to go first since hers wasn't as time consuming. Only a simple nose piercing.
"Are you nervous?" Aurora asked her.
"Why would I be? I'm Veronica fucking Rosier." She smirked back at her, taking a seat on the chair.
"Okay, this'll only sting for a bit, other than that it's quick." Adelia explained to her. Then she took her needle and before Veronica knew it, there was a hole with a gem on her nose. "All done."
Adelia gave Veronica a mirror to look at the piercing and to see how it looked on her. "It's absolutely stunning. I feel like a bad bitch now."
"You are a bad bitch, Ronnie." Aurora told her, complimenting her new piercing. "I'm guessing It's my turn."
"Have a seat." Adelia motioned to the chair as she set up her tools. "Now, what would like for me to tattoo?"
"Well I'm not quite sure to be honest. But I also don't want it to be anywhere too revealing." Aurora explained to her, and Adelia started sketching in a little journal. "Perhaps something to do with...being free."
After a few minutes of sketching, Adelia was done with the sketch and showed it to Aurora.
"So, something like this?" She asked her.
"It's perfect."
*****
Aurora had decided to get the tattoo around her rib cage area and after it was done, it all felt sore.
"I'm probably going to regret this tomorrow, but it is what it is I guess." Aurora told Veronica as they grabbed a cake from a nearby bakery and headed back to her house.
When they apparated back to the Rosier Manor, it was already dark, and the house was quiet and appeared to be empty. Strange.
"Mum? Dad? We're home!" Veronica called out to see if anyone was there. "Evan? Reg? Where the hell is everyone?!"
"Ronnie, look." Aurora pointed to the letter that sat on the dining room table.
"We had some business to attend to. Everything will be explained when we return. Love, mum and dad." Veronica read out the letter and had a confused look on her face. "Where the fuck are they?"
But Aurora had a strong feeling as to where they were. The Rosiers were gone, along with Evan and Regulus. And that only meant one thing.
"You know what? I don't care. At least we have the house all to ourselves." Veronica said, dragging Aurora upstairs. When they were upstairs, they decided to change into more comfortable clothes.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Aurora asked her best friend as they sat outside on her balcony and ate the cake they had bought.
"Let's talk." Veronica replied, staring out into the starry sky. "We haven't had that much of a moment to catch up. What did you do over the summer?"
Aurora gave her a look that read 'are you seriously asking that?' before answering her. "I literally did nothing besides stay home and go out like a couple of times. You and Cissy were both away and I don't really have any other friends."
"That sucks." Veronica said while patting her friend on the shoulder and chuckling.
"Oh shut up." Aurora rolled her eyes. "Well then, how was France?"
"Oh don't get me started on that. It was absolutely horrid." Veronica groaned, remembering her time in France. "This time we stayed at the Rosier Manor, the original Rosier Manor, instead of our lake side house. And I guess you can imagine how that was like. Every breakfast, lunch, and dinner I had to act like a proper young lady in front of my grandmother."
"Speaking of dreadful dinners, guess who had to sit through one with the Avery's." Aurora told her about her horrible dinner with the Avery's, making a face of disgust as she did so.
"You did not!" Veronica gasped.
"Oh but I did. Apparently my parents invited them over in order for us to get closer before we officially got married." Aurora groaned, thinking back to that night. "It was plain awful. I had to sit next to him and Reg was sitting across from me. It all seemed very amusing to Avery. Thank Merlin I spilled that hot cup of tea on him-"
"You what?!" Veronica stared at her with wide eyes.
"Well he was practically all over me, and i felt very uncomfortable. Especially since I couldn't really get up or say anything."
"He did deserve it though." Veronica added on. "But uhm speaking of Reg, he seems a bit off don't you think? Just unmotivated and kind of down."
Aurora gulped, trying not to show her true reaction. "I guess so, I never really noticed. Maybe he's just tired, especially since school's going to start soon." She had no choice but to lie to her best friend.
"I don't know, it all seems very weird. Same with Evan too. And i don't think it's because of that mark. Again, I'm sorry for what he said earlier. I honestly don't know what the fuck is up with him these days." Veronica sighed. "It's just— everything seems so fucked up these days. I miss the days when we were younger."
"Remember when your parents would take us to the beach every other week?" Aurora smiled, thinking about their childhood. "those were the good days."
"Oooh remember how Regulus was always scared of the water, so Evan once push him in and he pretended to drown?" Veronica and Aurora laughed. "Evan was so scared that he'd killed him."
"I miss those days. Everything and everyone is so different now." Aurora sighed. She was right. Things were much more complicated now. "Back then we didn't have to worry about stupid marriages or getting disowned."
"How are you holding up? With the whole Avery situation." Veronica asked Aurora, turning to look at her.
"I'm not quite sure to be honest. But I still stand by my words; I'd rather die than marry him." Aurora answered truthfully. "You know, those couple of months in Hogwarts, with Marlene, was the closest I've gotten to being happy in a while."
"You deserve it, happiness. We all do."
And so, the two girls sat there. Just them and the sky that was sprinkled with sparkling stars. And of course, the glistening moonlight radiating off of the pool.
*****
Hello my lovelies!
At this point, late updates are regular updates😭🤚
I literally haven't had the time to sit down and write in so long so I've just been jotting down some stuff and today I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I kind of feel like my chapters are flopping by each update lol but it is what it is.
Also, what do y'all think about the tattoo?? I didn't know what else for it to be, so that'll do for now.
Anyways, have a nice day/night, ily <3