[Chapter Thirty-One: Wristbands]
It was two days before winter break, and four days before the winter ball. All the girls had dates—well at least Aspen, Wendy, Lily, and Marlene did. Wendy and Lily, of course, accepted to be the dates of their boyfriends Remus and James. Aspen asked Sirius, and Marlene, in her words, 'grew some balls' and asked out a Hufflepuff by the name of Kat Jones.
Seeing as they all had dates now, they actually needed dresses to wear. However, Marlene being the oddball she was, bought a suit for herself—in which her date would wear one the opposite color, white. The girls had nothing against it, it was just a surprise when Marlene told them seeing as ever since the ball was announced—Marlene was raving about getting a beautiful gown.
"Guys, what if he doesn't like my dress?" Wendy asked, biting her unpainted left-hand nails as Marlene painted the right hand. "No . . . no, Remmy isn't like that, he'll like me in any dress, and if he doesn't then— boohoo for him!"
"You go, Wendy!" Aspen heard Lily cheer from the washroom of her dorm. They were all painting their nails a similar black color before they went dress shopping. It was the only color each of them had, surprisingly. Plus, black went with everything.
"Do you think that Coraline's Dress Shop will have tuxedos for women?" Marlene asked no one specifically. "Or will it just be dresses? Wait, will anywhere have tuxedoes for women?"
"They might have it," Aspen spoke, her voice low as she blew on her drying fingernails. "If not, you could just wear a men's tuxedo but in an extra small or something. Peter might know of a perfect size for you."
"You're right!" Marlene said with a bright smile. "Peter is great with fashion! Plus, he's small and pudgy like me. Maybe I can just take one of his tuxedos."
"You probably want to get a new one," Lily said, popping her head out of the bathroom. She held a hair curler in her hand and had a scrunchie wrapped around her wrist like a wristband. "No offense to Peter, but he smells like an actual sewer rat. Even with his clothes washed with the finest soaps, they always smell the same—sometimes even worse. Trust me, I've tried."
Aspen scrunched up her nose as she stood up, going to grab a hair brush, the sun was shrining brightly that morning which layered Hogwarts with a sense of warmth, however, if you went in the shade—you'd freeze every hair off your body. Aspen decided to wear a thin pair of jeans that day, as well as a long-sleeved turtle neck. She wore an assortment of wristbands on her arms, despite the tight turtle neck around her arms.
"How are you wearing that?" Wendy asked once Aspen sat beside them again. Wendy was wearing high-waisted denim shorts with a crop-top that wasn't permitted on Hogwarts grounds. Once the girl felt heat— also known as a degree out of the negatives —she had pulled out her summer wardrobe
"Well, first I looked for a shirt inside my drawer," Aspen said, holding her finger up as if she were talking to a child. "Then when I found this, I placed my arms through. Once they were through, I used my hands to pull my head through like a child popping out of their mothers—"
"There it is again!" Wendy shouted, pointing at Aspen. "That stupid sarcasm! You know it hurts me, Penny, why must you constantly do it?"
"Sarcasm is my only defense,"
"I wasn't even assaulting you!" Wendy shouted dramatically with wide eyes. Marlene rolled her eyes and smacked Wendy's hand, trying to make Wendy give it to her so she could continue to paint her nails. Lily was out of the bathroom by then, sitting on her bed as she watched Wendy with amusement. "I simply asked a question." Wendy continued defensively.
"Questions make me defensive," Aspen shrugged. She then looked at her friend, "Why are you always still so jumpy with sarcasm? Everything Remus says is with sarcasm, and I don't see you constantly yelling at him for it."
"He doesn't use sarcasm!" Wendy defended. Everyone's giggles went silent; Marlene stopped painting as she looked up at Wendy dumbfounded. At the silence, Wendy looked up at everyone, observing their bewildered expressions. "He doesn't—right?"
"Sweetheart," Marlene coed, placing a hand on Wendy's shoulder. "Everything that boy says is sarcastic. How have you not noticed?"
"I-I don't know."
"You guys are acting as if sarcasm is some crime." Aspen scoffed with a smile, she was amused with Wendy's oblivious behavior. "It isn't, it's a part of the English vocabulary and since it is—I fully intend on using it. Now, can we please go shopping now? You guys are taking forever."
"Hey, I've been ready for nearly ten minutes now!" Lily said from her spot on the bed. Aspen looked over to see that she was actually ready. She wore dark blue denim-ripped jeans and a black tank top. She also wore a black and red flannel which Aspen believed she'd seen James wear before. Her hair was tied in a messy red-curly bun. Lily looked as if she was going out to a Beatles concert rather than going to a store to buy her winter ball dress.
"Then we're just waiting on you to finish, Marls," Aspen said, turning to the blonde-haired girl. Marlene waved them off as she continued to slowly place on Wendy's nail polish, the girl wanted them to look absolutely perfect. After about twenty more minutes of Marlene painting and the girls complaining, they were finally on their way to Hogsmeade. Students watched them admiringly as they passed, Marlene smirked at the attention while the other three didn't even notice. Well, two, Aspen tried to act as if she didn't see the stares—not wanting to embarrass herself by overthinking it too much. Of course, on the way, Wendy was drenched head-to-toe by a few fourth years who were having an indoor water-throwing fight (using magic.) Lily gave them detention and Aspen couldn't help but blush when one of them, Emma Stark, loudly greeted the girl with excitement as she was being scolded.
"People ask me why I hate children," Wendy started as they walked towards the store. Being soaked a fourth year triggered her small rant, "It's because they're all little rugrats who know no manners. All they do is scream and make messes that they never even clean, I am over this. We need to get rid of all children sixteen and under—stat."
"Are you hinting towards a mass genocide against children?" Lily asked the girl, her face contorted with shock. Wendy always seemed to be the nicest, especially when she tutored students who needed help. Seeing her turn on them and call them rugrats was something she's never expected to happen. Everyday she learned new things about her newest friends.
"Maybe, maybe not." The girl shrugged, Aspen rolled her eyes and chuckled quietly. Her friend was always like this, one minute she would brag about how she wanted six hundred children, and then the next she's praying beside her bed for a new plague to take all the 'menacing little rugrat brats' out of this world. If you didn't know who Wendy truly was, you'd be concerned. Than again, Aspen still got concerned somethings—despite being Wendy's best friend since second year.
"Well if you are, I'm with you." Marlene said, patting Wendy's back causing Lily's jaw to drop. Aspen grinned and watched Lily stomp over to her friend, and scold her for minutes on end. She also scolded Wendy, leaving Aspen all alone—free to do whatever she wanted as the grown ups were busy. Aspen took that time to go into the dress shop they were previously standing outside of. She had been inside it before, but she never bought something from there. Coraline's Dress Shop had varieties of beautiful dresses, even ones with long-sleeves—Aspen loved that. She was just never a dress-wearing type of person, they made her insecure. And not many shops sold long-sleeved dresses, it was a common belief that a woman should show her skin rather than hide it . . . mostly men believed that.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Greeted a women who looked to be in her mid-thirties. She wore a flowery sundress and bright green lipstick that somehow surprisingly pulled off. "Comin' from Hogwarts, are ya?"
"Yes, I am, actually." Aspen shyly nodded, "I was actually coming here with my friends to look for a dress for the winter ball that's this Saturday. Do you have anything for fancy-type occasions?" She asked unsurely, looking around she could only see summer-wear. Odd.
"Oh yes, yes! Of course, I do!" The women said, pulling out her wand. "Allow me to just . . ." After a small spell that Aspen had never even heard of during her years at Hogwarts, the whole store changed. It's summery-theme quickly turned into a winter-theme, all the dresses went from sundresses to beautifully-flowing gowns. Aspen was in shock as the women clapped.
"Ah, I always love doing that spell." The women said with a deep Scottish accent, Aspen turned to her to see that she no longer wore the flower dress or the bright green lipstick. Instead, she wore a blue sparkly dress with baby-blue lipstick. "I made it up myself, you know."
"T-That was one impressive spell." Aspen managed to stutter, after that, the women smiled with accomplishment and began walking towards the dresses—beckoning for Aspen to follow. Aspen followed her to the back of the store where stood a man. He was about the same height as Remus, he had dark skin and wore the same type of wacky clothing as the women did. His hair was pink and he wore a full dark and bright blue tuxedo. Upon realizing he was no longer alone, he turned to the women and smiled.
"Ahh, Coraline!" He greeted with a bright smile, his accent French. "What brings you to my section of the store?"
"This little one came in looking for a dress to her winter ball!" Coraline smiled, holding Aspens shoulder and Aspen waved like a small, shy child. Not too far off . . . "And since I know how much you love the winter, I thought you'd know how to help the lass."
"How considerate of you, Coraline!" The man smiled. He turned to Aspen and held out his hand, his fingers painted red and he introduced himself. "Bonjour little witch, my name is Timothée. Do you have a preference as to what type of dress you would like?"
"Er, my names Aspen." Aspen introduced, shaking his hand. "And as for the dress . . . winter themed?"
"Ah, so you have no preference?" He asked. He noticed the panicked expression on his face. "This will only make this more fun. Come along little witch, let's get you a dress!"
Aspen nodded and shyly looked to the ground as she walked passed Coraline and followed Timothée. He directed her to an area of the store with mannequins wearing long single-colored gowns. She couldn't even say anything as he said, "Hm . . . No, these aren't your type. Follow me,"
Aspen did as he told, he was right, too. The dresses weren't bad looking but they didn't seem to fit her. They seemed like something that Lily would wear, perhaps once they arrive Aspen will show her those gowns. They stopped once more but in front of another kind of dress design, Aspen liked these ones much more—there was only one little problem.
"Hm, from what I can tell," Timothée thought aloud, looking at Aspen as he tapped his chin. "You would look magnificent in a strapless, sleeveless, dress. Black would look nice, but no, no, this is a winter ball. Maybe baby-blue? Hmm—No, white! I will be right back, little witch!"
With a blink, the man was gone, he didn't even apparate—he was just very fast. Aspen was in a panic, she couldn't wear a sleeveless dress! But at the same time she couldn't tell the man no, she felt as if it would hurt his feelings. He seemed very excited to pick a dress out for her, from what he described the dress sounded very pretty. Aspen did want to try it on, but she could only imagine the disappointment she'll feel when she sees her ugly scars.
After a few minutes of waiting, and Aspen forcing herself not to run out of the store, the man arrived back again with a box in his hands. He smiled at her as he placed it down on a pink-cushioned chair and opened it. He continued to pull out a dress, exactly the height of Aspen. It was how he described, except it stopped a few inches above her knees. But then at the waist, it had a blanket-type cloth that went down to her calves. She really needed to learn fashion, if Wendy were here and could read her mind the girl would be crying in laughter and disappointment in her friends fashion knowledge.
"Yes, yes," Timothée said, holding it up to where he imagined it on Aspen. "Magnificent choice, would you like to try it on, little witch?"
She wanted to say yes, but she couldn't. Aspen bit her lip as she looked at the dress, Timothée seemed to notice her distress. He also seemed to notice that she kept tugging at her sleeves and rubbing her wrists.
"Ah, I see . . ." Timothée nodded, placing the dress down. Aspen grew even more nervous, was he angry at her? Disappointed? "You were looking more for something with sleeves, I'm guessing?"
"I, erm, yeah?"
"But at the same time, you love ze' dress I have chosen?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. She bit her lip and nodded. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, little witch." He then said with a smile, looking at her and then glancing at her arms. "Everyone has their battle scars, and accepting them for what they are makes them only more beautiful than they already were."
Aspens mind raced with thoughts. She knew what the man meant, that she should take pride in her scars—but in that moment, she could only feel anguish and embarrassment. She tugged at her wristbands harder than before, a complete stranger knew of her secret . . . the one she had been harboring since the crisp age of fourteen. Not wanting to upset him, she smiled, "Thanks."
"No need to thank me, little witch." He said with a happy grin. "It's only true. No one has any right to judge what you've gone through. In my opinion, you should wear those battle scars like how I wear my bright pink hair—visible and confident for everyone to see!"
"Not to be rude, Timothée," Aspen said, cringing as she spoke to the man. "But I, er . . . no one really knows of my old habits. I don't really want anyone finding out on one of the best days of my life, either."
"Hm, then don't parade them around like how I parade my pink hair around." He stated, she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Simply wear the dress, and pay no mind to your scars. You paying no mind to them won't draw any attention to them. Easy as that."
"People are bound to notice." Aspen said with a sad smile. "They're not as easy to hide as you think, sir, they're actually very hard to hide. People will notice them within seconds, even with me paying no mind to them."
"Whatever you think, little witch." Timothée said, he then handed her the dress and suggested, "At least try it on? See how you like it? And if you don't like it, we could just find you a new one—we have plenty to choose from."
Aspen hesitantly nodded as she walked over to the dressing room. She placed her hair back in the scrunchie as she did so; maybe her hair could distract her from her scars. After undressing herself, she observed the dress— afraid to put it on. She looked to her wrist and drug her fingers along her scars, cringing as she did so. Her skin felt jagged where her scars were, rather then feeling smooth pale skin . . . the scar-covered skin felled raggedy as if there were something stuck beneath it. If only Dumbledore could remove them like how he removed Evelyn from the school.
She sighed as she grabbed the dress and began putting it on. After putting it on, she observed herself in the mirror. She gasped when she saw herself, she didn't even look like herself. The person in the mirror looked like a princess, did Timothée mess with the mirror?
After idiotically knocking on the mirror a few times, she realized that it was actually her reflection. She smiled as she twirled, her dress spinning as she spun. She felt, and looked, like Cinderella. The dress and everything. Maybe Timothée was her fairy godmother— fairy godfather?
"Are you doing alright in there, little witch?" Timothée called from outside the dressing room. Aspen called back a gleeful 'yes!' and continued observing herself in the mirror. She smiled and excitedly, but calmly, took the dress off, making sure she didn't rip it, and dressed back into her other clothes. She left the dressing room and found Timothée— she grinned.
"Is that a yes to the dress?" Timothée asked, noticing the genuine grin on the girls face. It was refreshing to see the girl smile, for a girl her age she sure did frown a lot.
"Yes." Aspen nodded, Timothèe cheered and folded the dress—placing it back into the box. He brought her to the cash register to pay, her friends were there and began bombarding the happy girl with questions.
Timothée shook his head, smiling in amusement. Aspen didn't even notice her scars when she wore the dress, proving the man's points. Timothée smiled at that.
AUTHORS NOTE:
DONT BE ASHAMED OF SCARS, THEY ARE AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU!!
posted: June 1, 2018
word count: 3,064