A/N: This fic was written for two competitions/challenges.
The first one being ladyoftheknightley's The Bechdel Test Competition, in which I had two female characters (mine were Lily Luna and Dominique) and I had to write a fic about the two of them conversing about something other than a man.
The second one being Ralinde's Pairing Diversity Bootcamp Challenge, in which I have to write 50 different fics about 50 different pairings (don't have to be romantic) with 50 different prompts. The prompt that I used this time was denial.
Enjoy!
She's beautiful. She's gorgeous. She's wonderful. She's amazing. She's perfect. Victoire's perfect.
Perfect.
Dominique blinked her eyes rapidly, rubbing them roughly with her bare, frostbitten hands.
It took awhile for her to take in her surroundings and remember just where it was that she was standing, although eventually, she was jolted back into reality as she remembered at once that she was still inside of Honeydukes along with a massive amount of other students purchasing sweets, trying to get warm, or both.
Although she wasn't- what could she call it? –daydreaming, anymore, that one word still echoed throughout her head, ringing in her ears.
Perfect.
Repeating over and over again, the one simple word wouldn't get out of her head, like a song stuck on repeat in the depths of her mind.
She clutched the Cauldron Cake she had forgotten she was holding tightly in her hand, although it was no use. The sleek, plastic wrapper that encased the cake had slipped through her fingers.
She didn't bother to catch it; so instead, she watched it fall rapidly towards the ground. That is, until someone had reacted quickly to the fallen cake, and had reached a hand out to grab it. A hand with very nimble, slim fingers. And very familiar ones, at that.
Dominique sighed and turned on the spot, weaving her way through the mob of students that stood all throughout Honeydukes. She did not feel like talking to her. In fact, she didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment.
Ignoring the crinkling sound of plastic, no doubt meaning that the nearly-dropped cake had been set back on the shelf where it belonged, she quickened her pace, hoping to escape the store before she had to talk to anyone.
But of course, that wouldn't have happened.
Just as she had exited the store without any confrontation, she felt a hand clasp down lightly upon her shoulder. The same hand that had previously picked up the almost-dropped cake. The hand of Lily Luna Potter.
"Dom—"
Dominique spun around, turning to face Lily. "If I haven't made it clear already, Lily, I don't really feel like talking to anyone right now."
"But Dom—"
"No, Lily, I told you, I don't care, and I don't want to talk. So just leave me alone."
Dominique couldn't say that she didn't mean those words, but she hadn't meant for them to come out as foul as they had sounded. And upon seeing the look of hurt on Lily's face, she instantly regretted saying them in the first place.
"Lily, I…"
Lily shook her head mutely, brown eyes wide in shock and confusion and hurt all in one.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks…" Lily trailed off, looking up at Dominique cautiously, but buoyant all the same.
Dominique thought for a moment. True, she didn't want to talk to anyone right now, but maybe talking would be good for her. And while it was true that Lily wouldn't understand what was going on, she would be as good to talk to as anyone, so why shouldn't it be her? It was obvious that she meant well and that she just wanted to help, after all.
Sighing and crossing her arms over her chest, Dominique nodded, and Lily's face brightened up automatically as she flashed a smile in response; a smile that looked almost identical to one that she knew all too well. It was Victoire's perfect smile.
So. Goddamn. Perfect.
She bit her lip, but she didn't say anything, for Lily had already begun walking in the direction of the small pub.
Dominique hurried to catch up with her, but kept her pace easily once she had. And then her mind began to trail off again, and before she knew it, they had arrived at their destination, the Three Broomsticks.
Shivering and brushing a few fluffy snowflakes out of her fiery-red hair, Lily pulled open the door and stepped inside, Dominique at her heels.
While Lily began to head up to the counter to order their Butterbeers, Dominique headed over to an empty booth and sat down, glancing around the busy pub. None of her close friends were in the Three Broomsticks, and neither was her sister, for which she was thankful. But the place certainly was packed full; there was only a couple more booths open; other frozen students had already claimed the rest of them.
Rubbing her hands together, Dominique tilted her head back slightly, sighing in relief. Before she could do anything else, though, Lily had returned with the two glass bottles of Butterbeer and had set them down with a plunk upon the tabletop, sliding into the booth and brushing a few more flakes of snow out of her hair.
Dominique reached over and snatched up one of the bottles, clutching it tightly in her hand and sipping the drink before setting it back down again.
"Lily, what's it like being the favorite?"
Lily eyed Dominique. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, I just mean that you're the favorite sibling in the family. And, well, I wanted to know what that's like. I mean—"
"I don't know why you'd think so, but I'm not." Lily said sharply, in a tone that sounded rather final. So Dominique didn't push it. Instead, she leaned back again and this time, closed her eyes with a sigh. But she felt that something was different, almost as if someone was watching her. Lo and behold, when she opened one eye a bit, she found none other than Lily, staring at her cautiously with a questioning look in her eye.
Blinking, Dominique opened both of her eyes and looked back at Lily, cocking her head to the side. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lily sighed and set down her bottle of Butterbeer before bringing her gaze back up to meet Dominique's. "Dominique, what's wrong?"
Gritting her teeth, Dominique shook her head back and forth. "There is nothing wrong, Lily."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't deny it, you and I both know that it's true."
"I'm not denying it, Lil—" But Lily had already cut her off.
"You're sure?"
Dominique nodded.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong, then."
She nodded again, though a little hesitantly, this time.
Lily raised an eyebrow, and it was clear that she wasn't buying it. But instead of speaking, Dominique just pursed her lips and turned away. No matter how much she wanted to, no matter how much she wanted to let everything off of her chest and spill it all to Lily, she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to say it.
They sat in silence for awhile, sipping their Butterbeers, until finally, Dominique slipped a hand inside of her cloak and plucked something out of it, flinging it angrily across the table for Lily to see.
"Read it."
Lily just nodded, picking it up gently and beginning to read through the letter until she finished. Once she had, Lily set it back down and narrowed her eyes, watching Dominique curiously.
"So? What about it?"
Dominique clenched her jaw even tighter. "Read the last sentence again."
Nodding again, Lily re read the last line, and as she did, Dominique could almost hear it inside of her head. Say 'ello to Dominique and Louis for us. Much love, Muzzer.
Dominique looked up expectantly at Lily, but nothing had changed, she looked unaffected, just how she was before she re read it.
"So? What's wrong with that?"
Dominique took a deep breath before launching into explanation. "It's just that… Mum didn't write to Louis, or me, she just wrote to Victoire and just threw in that last part! It's obvious that they favor her over me, seeing that she's just perfect and all."
Lily gaped. "That's what's wrong? You're jealous of Victoire?"
Dominique spoke through gritted teeth. "I am not jealous of—" But she caught herself before she could finish. There was no denying it. With a sigh, she continued.
"Well… yes, I guess I am. It's just that, Victoire's always so perfect! She's the oldest, she's beautiful, she's smart, she's funny, she's popular, and she has the perfect boyfriend, Teddy. I mean, it's always just Victoire this and Victoire that, everyone seems to forget about me…" Dominique trailed off and looked away, sipping her Butterbeer once more, but turned back as soon as she had heard the unmistakable sound of a scoff coming from Lily.
"What?" Dominique asked sharply, narrowing her eyebrows.
"You shouldn't be jealous of Victoire, she's your sister! You're two separate people, so you shouldn't worry about if someone likes you or her more. Honestly, Dom. You're pretty too. And besides, you're a great person. It shouldn't really matter what other people think."
Dominique thought for a moment, and they sat in silence, before she spoke again. "Thanks, Lily."
Lily slid out of the booth and gulped down the last few sips of her Butterbeer before smiling warmly at Dominique. "No problem, Dom. I better go, I think Al wants something." Lily rolled her eyes and motioned towards the doorway where Albus Potter was standing, glaring that the two of them.
Dominique laughed softly before waving at Lily as she headed over to the door to meet up with Albus.
She then watched Lily head out onto the frozen street with Al at her side. She could almost hear the two of them bickering in her head.
Laughing again, she began to put the letter back inside of the envelope and seal it, thinking things over. Was what Lily said true? Was she really just as good as Victoire?
Smiling to herself, Dominique set the re-sealed letter back on the tabletop and took another sip of Butterbeer, but was distracted by a pair of two people, one of them being Teddy and the other… her sister.
Dominique kept her expression neutral as she watched Victoire say something to Teddy, who then proceeded to order the drinks, before she headed over to the table. She slid into the booth where Lily had previously been sitting, smiling at her sister and pulling a piece of blonde hair behind her ear.
"Hey Dom."
Dominique smiled back at her, shocked to find herself feeling something other than jealousy, for once. "Hey."
"Is this a letter for me?" Victoire motioned towards the envelope.
"Oh… Oh yeah, it is, I forgot to tell you. It's from mum." Dominique picked up the letter and slid it across the table to Victoire, who caught it and tucked it into the pocket of her cloak before standing up.
"Well, Teddy's waiting with the drinks, so, I'll see you later then?"
Dominique nodded, and with a smile, Victoire turned to leave, but stopped herself before turning back around again.
"Oh yeah, Dom, I forgot to ask, how've you been doing? I haven't talked to you in ages." Victoire laughed softly, waiting for Dominique's answer.
Dominique thought for a moment, before replying with one simple word. "Perfect."
FIN.