This was strictly a practice round so it's not listed in a category on my profile but PLEASE let me know what you think. I'm not listing the prompts this time because it was never judged.

In Her Own Head

Word Count: 930

There wasn't a person that ever liked sitting next to Dorea Black. She was teased quite a bit for being completely out of her head at times but then there were moments where she acted like a normal witch. It wasn't until her sixth year at Hogwarts that people started to notice even more strange things about her. For example, she would talk to herself in the mirror and no one knew who she was talking to. However, Dorea knew exactly who she was talking to.

She stood in front of the tall mirror a lot longer than she usually did. She studied the dress she had on for her trip to Hogsmeade. She was constantly smoothing it down and trying her best to look like the proper young lady that she had always been taught to be. Her mind, however, wouldn't let her do that.

"That dress looks positively horrid on you," the mirror would say.

She could never ignore him when he talked to her. He voice was quite thunderous but she had taught herself not to be so afraid of the volume.

"It's in green. You always liked this color," Dorea stated, starting to hate the dress that she had on.

"I've never liked that color on you. I think it makes you look nauseous," he argued.

"That's not what you said last night,"

She remembered the 'almost' compliment about her wearing a Slytherin scarf. She had attempted to go an entire evening without looking at the mirror but she had failed.

"What can I say? I lied,"

The mirror, her reflection, had gone quiet for a moment. She had moved on to study more things about herself that wasn't the emerald dress that she began to hate with every passing second. She hated that there were dark rings encircling her ever dull brown eyes. She knew the reasoning behind them and she hated it more than the dress.

"You look exhausted. Why don't you just forgo Hogsmeade today? It's not like you're going to have friends waiting for you to show up," the mirror spoke again.

"That's not very nice," she scolded.

"It was just a joke," the mirror answered, unconvincingly.

"How is that a joke?" Dorea questioned, her shoulders slumped forward.

"I guess I lied,"

The mirror had gone quiet again. As time passed, Dorea wondered if the mirror was right. She didn't really have friends because she talked to herself and a trip to Hogsmeade would be nothing but a big disappointment. She pushed her hair to the side and tried to straighten up her matching bow that sat pristinely upon her head. The mirror couldn't hold it any longer.

"Oh, that bow is disgusting. Throw that out!" He shouted at her.

Dorea sadly removed the bow from her head and noticed just how tired she really did look. If possible, the rings were getting darker and darker until she felt she couldn't separate them from her own eye color. She wanted to throw the dress in the trashcan, put on her gown, and crawl right back into bed. She couldn't imagine why she was so tired since she had skipped several classes just to do what she was thinking of doing now. This was supposed to be her day out of the castle but she couldn't get past the mirror. That evil mirror that used her own mind to insult her.

"I think I should pop down to the hall for something to eat. You're right, mirror, I think I should just forget about Hogsmeade," Dorea sighed.

Before she could turn away, he spoke once more.

"You, my dear, should also forget about the food in the Great Hall. You don't need to gain any more weight than you already have. I think it's best if you just laid down and tried to sleep," he insulted.

At this, tears began to stream freely down her cheeks but she didn't make a sound. She never did. She never argued with him and she wouldn't dare to think about the possibility. There was no way that she could ignore him.

"I haven't gained that much weight," Dorea defended, looking down at her thin belly.

"Oh yeah? Your breakfast this morning could have fed kings!" he shouted at her.

"It was only a piece of toast," she whispered, crying.

"That was one piece too many. Now you look as if the engorgio spell backfired on your stomach. You just need to grab your gown and lie down," he repeated.

He was right, after all, in Dorea's mind. She removed her dress and tossed it the side of the room that her bow had landed in. She felt like her own reflection was judging her as she placed the gown over her body. She knew that he was watching as she cried into the sleeve of her gown. The sun streaming in from the window seemed to dampen her spirits as she crawled into her bed. She shut her bed drapes to hide the sun but she wished she could use it on the mirror. No, the mirror was there to talk from within her.

"There. Now you should feel better,"

Like Dorea, he had gone completely silent for the rest of the day until it was time for her to wake up again. She went through this ridicule every time she wanted to go somewhere or when she wanted some form of nutrients. He was always there to remind her that no matter what she did, it was never good enough.

They all called her crazy and said that she was always in her head. They had no idea how much of a slave she was to her thoughts and how she always will be.