A/N: Hullo:)
So, this is a story that I have written before. I started it almost two years ago after getting my very own laptop (which I now know is not as nice a laptop as I was hoping for, but it's my own, and that's all that matters). It's been over a year since I even looked at this thing. After a couple of cases of writer's block and some technical issues and school starting, I couldn't keep up. This was what I ended up cutting out of my life and I definitely regret that. There was so much I wanted to do with this fic and the story I wanted to tell means a lot to me, as I have a friend that is quite possibly battling anorexia. It is not extreme, but I want to dedicate this story to her.
I have revamped this entire story and hopefully it is much better than before, as well as changed her surname to Arrington, which is an actual British surname, instead of Anderson, which is American that I picked up because as an American, it was common to me. I also want to come back and fix some possible inconsistencies. I don't often reread what I have written which can end up being a problem, I know. I'm not much of one to edit what I write, and it's something that needs to become a habit as I have also started working on some of my own short stories. If they're ever ready for someone other than myself to read, I'll find somewhere to post them because I would love to have you guys read those as well.
I want to apologise to everyone that followed and favorited this story. You guys mean a lot to me, and I love you all so much. I want to partially dedicate this to xXAuroraShadowsXx as well because she had commented something that really stuck with me, whether she remembers it or not. She told me about her own story. And it struck a chord with me. You are at least half of the reason why I came back. I never forgot about what you told me and I want this story to mean something to you like it does to me. I also want to partially dedicate this to Tahira. She read this story a while after I had begun my break from it and must have commented on every chapter, each time asking me to update. It has taken me forever, and I have no idea if you will ever see this, but thanks for getting my butt into gear, albeit a bit late.
Thank you so much to anyone that comes back and reads this all over again, I hope the edits make it a worthy reread, and for those of you who are new, welcome.
I know, it's a long note, but I feel like I have a lot to say in this case.
Please review:)
Harry Potter and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Ms. JK Rowling.
Music recommendation: Christina Perry, I Believe and The Words.
XOXORose
-DdLM-
My name is Dia Arrington. I'm a sixth year Gryffindor from a pureblood, mainly Ravenclaw, but also Slytherin family. Needless to say, I am the odd one out, although I am not alone. My aunt was a Gryffindor that married a Hufflepuff and my cousins belong to both houses. I have not talked to any of them since Christmas, and the only reason I get to see any of them on Christmas is because it is proper.
As an Arrington, I have the characteristic curly brown hair and large, slightly-creepy, clear coloured eyes. Long, thick lashes, high cheekbones, somehow perfect eyebrows, and blood tinted lips give me that perfect pureblood look my parents were going for, but I think it's a bit creepy. I look like a doll when I let my mother dress me up. I can't stand it. So, to spite them, I never wear any makeup, keep my hair in a messy braid, and have put on a bit of weight. I'm not obese, not even a little, but I don't look like a stick, which means my mother can't put me in those slinky dresses she likes to stuff me so she can marry me off to the richest pureblood she can find.
Lily Evans, my best friend, says I shouldn't mind my mother so much and dress to make myself feel good about my look. I told her, in no uncertain terms, to shove it, I'm not an object, and I won't let anyone base me off of my looks. The topic has not been brought up since then other than me agreeing to let her dress me up if she ever decides to drag me to a party.
Lily Evans gets invited to parties a lot. She is arguably the prettiest girl at Hogwarts and has an even prettier personality.
Which is exactly why she has had James Potter falling at her feet since we were first years being sorted. Or rather, since the train ride, where we met. It was the last open compartment on the train, and Lily Evans, Severus Snape, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and I were all stuffed inside. Poor Lily was stuck between James and Severus, who were making dove eyes at her and glaring at each other. She has been fiercely denying both of them for many years now, although she was once friends with Severus. But I won't talk about that. It's a tetchy subject.
James Potter is one-fourth of the Marauders, and a git like the rest of the bloody lot of them. He has a new girl on his arm every other week and uses his blasted intelligence for pranks, most of them targeted at me. He thinks he can use me to get to Lily, but hasn't yet realised that we are simply best friends, and not in fact the same person. He is brilliant, incredibly good-looking, the captain of the Quidditch team, and the most evil, conniving little bugger on the planet.
I lied. That title belongs to Sirius Black. Potter is the leader, but that's only because if he shared the power with his best friend the school most definitely would've gone up in flames by now. Sirius Black is even more handsome than James Potter is, although slightly less clever. He is a pureblood as well, belonging to a family similar to mine, but he is the first and only Gryffindor Black ever, and his bloodline is much older than mine. I'm not quite sure how they've had enough sons to accomplish this, but they have. He has dated, or at least shagged, nearly every girl he has ever deemed pretty enough, in every house, barring relation and my dorm mates and myself.
Remus Lupin is better, and to me, the most likeable of the group. He's the brains of the operation, and a wonderful student. None of the teachers seem to understand why he spends his time with his no good best friends, but I'm glad he does, because as awful as the Marauders are already, without him they would be incredibly cruel. Remus Lupin has reigned them in and made their pranks better, more clever, but also much kinder on a whole. If he weren't friends with Lucifer incarnate one and two, I think I might be friends with him. He dates plenty, like the others, but is very possibly a virgin. He's a romantic, and I think he's waiting for the right one. I think it's honourable. I sit next to him in Ancient Runes.
Peter Pettigrew is a small boy, a little awkward, but kind of adorable in that sense. He doesn't have quite the same connection with the other boys, but he's made other friends. He's quiet and a little bit strange with blond hair and watery blue eyes, and has merely half the intelligence of the others. I think he's only there for the hero worship, but he's there none the less. He's never really had a girlfriend, and not by choice, but he's got enough girls cooing over little Peter Pettigrew that he doesn't seem to mind.
The Marauders are not my favourite people in the world. They constantly pranks us and do whatever they can to get on our nerves. I wish there were more Gryffindors in our year so that they would leave us alone, but alas, there are only so many of us. There's my dorm, and one other for sixth year girls, and two for the boys as well. Somehow we managed to get on their radar right from the very start, and that means we have been tortured more than anyone else, second only to Severus Snape. I hate their guts.
You could say I'm bitter at all the pain they've caused me. I prefer to say vengeful.
It's true.
I am.
-DdLM-
It's the first day back and Lily, Marlene, Tracey, Jay, and I are in a compartment towards the rear end of the train, hoping to avoid the boys. Lucky us, they were running late and ours' was the only compartment left with any room. I would make a sarcastic remark, but I think I've made my point.
"Hey is there any – oh no, it's you guys." Sirius groaned and immediately turned back around. So he remembered me. Or at least, he remembered what I did to his hair.
"Pads, I'm tired of walking up and down the entire length of the train. Let's just go wherever there's room." We all spread out.
"There was room. But…" Tracey Hall. One Sirius's many flings. He got bored and we were left to pick up the pieces. And again with Marlene. And again with Jay.
"See?"
Remus came and promptly sat between my legs which I had stretched across the seat.
"There's plenty of room." I didn't bother to move my legs. Now there was no room for anyone else. I was waiting for at least Sirius to sit down, and hopefully as far away as possible, before I made any attempt at letting one of the other boys sit down. Probably Peter.
"But Proooongs!" When that didn't work he turned to Remus.
"Please Moony?" Again, it didn't work.
"Wormtail?" They all shook their heads and sat where they liked. Sirius was the last man standing. None of us moved. Finally, he came and sat down in my lap.
"OOF! Get off me! You are so much heavier than you look!"
"There's nowhere else!"
"I'm sure your many adoring fans would love to make some room in one of their compartments!"
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of!"
"Oh, you love it, don't even try!"
"It's not my fault I was born this perfect." He ran his fingers through his hair and shifted. The Marauders laughed. The girls stayed silent in silent respect for my plight.
"Perfect? Hardly. You're too heavy to be perfect." The girls snickered. The boys' eyes went wide. Sirius went red. "Although, it is a perfect opportunity to finish what I started last year." I tugged on his hair. "I see it's still growing back." The compartment was quiet. His hands instinctively flew up to protect his precious locks.
"You wouldn't."
"Get off me, Sirius Black, or you might start to reconsider that statement."
"Fine." He got up, picked my legs up, and sat down near the door. He put my legs back down. I kicked sideways into his stomach.
"Took you long enough." He tried to respond, but was still wheezing.
An hour later I was fast asleep, my head having long since lolled back onto Tracey's shoulder. I don't remember much of the trip, but when I woke up Sirius and Remus had fallen asleep too. Remus was in my lap and Sirius was hugging one of my feet. Lily raised an eyebrow at me.
"What?"
"If you didn't hate each other's guts I would say you looked cute all snuggled up together." I glared at her. James whispered something to Peter. They both grinned in my direction.
"What…?" I was wary and knew something was up, but I also wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer to my question.
"Nothing!" They spoke at the same time, hastily trying to cover up what they had nearly let slip. It was creepy. I had heard that they were all practically joined at the hip, but speaking in unison was new territory. I turned back to Lily.
"How much longer?"
She checked her watch and gasped.
"Only twenty minutes!"
"We need to change!" I tugged my feet away from Sirius, who sleepily protested, and gently slid my feet out from under Remus. I decided to let him sleep. He always looked so tired, and I had started to suspect he was hiding something. Lily, Tracey, Marlene, Jay, and I all grabbed our robes, dashed to the small bathroom, changed, and made it back only five minutes to spare.
Sirius was still asleep so I decided to get back at him for sitting on me earlier. I plopped down on his lap and wriggled around until he woke up.
"Sweetheart, you might want to stop wiggling like that." He had been jolted awake and as soon as he recovered from the initial shock he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. I stopped.
"I thought I wasn't pretty enough to be worth your time?"
"I'm only human." I stood up.
"You have three minutes to get your robes on and be ready to get out of here. I suggest you get started." None of the boys were dressed.
"Merlin's beard! Why didn't any of you warn us?"
"You all looked so comfortable, I didn't have the heart to wake you."
When the train stopped and we all got off, we didn't say a word to one another for the next few weeks, not even in our classes, aside from when I asked Remus what they Ancient Runes homework was. It was nice, those strangely Marauder-free weeks.
Of course, what none of us seemed to realize was what it could only mean - we were about to be pranked harder than ever. They couldn't possibly go an entire school year without pranking at least one of us, and I was hoping they would just get it over and done with. The longer it takes the more spectacular it will be.
Although, the more spectacular it is, the more ruthless our retaliation.
So maybe I could wait.
Their self-control finally burst at the seams and a month into the year we were pranked. And pranked again. And again. And again. And again.
I wasn't happy.
I have all my classes with them on Wednesdays and something was set up for the girls and me in every single one of them. It started at breakfast. When I woke up I had no idea that my personal day of hell was about to begin, so I left my hair down and didn't bring a hair tie with me.
Whoops.
-DdLM-
Breakfast, October 8th, 1975, 8:16 a.m.: Goblet charmed to never fill; instead, drink is transported to above head and dropped.
Potions, October 8th, 1975, 9:39 a.m.: Exploding dungbombs placed underneath seat and desk and placed inside of cauldron.
Charms, October 8th, 1975, 10:47 a.m.: Notes start writing themselves, but they are not notes on Charms.
Herbology, October 8th, 1975, 11:24 a.m.: Small Devil's Snare wraps around legs and starts singing opera.
Lunch, October 8th, 1975, 12:02 p.m.: Soup bowl flies into air and dumps itself on skirt.
Muggle Studies, October 8th, 1975, 1:53 p.m.: Clothes brought in for show fly at head and wrap until breathing is impossible.
Defence Against the Dark Arts, October 8th, 1975, 2:38 p.m.: Boggart released. 'Nuff said.
Care of Magical Creatures, October 8th, 1975, 3:06 p.m.: Will never look at another unicorn the same way again. Ever.
Free Period, October 8th, 1975, 4:45 p.m.: Books attacked. Madam Pince very unhappy.
Dinner, October 8th, 1975, 6:03 p.m.: Hair turned red and gold, veritaserum slipped into goblet, embarrassing questions asked.
-DdLM-
That night we all sat in our dorm and planned our revenge. Not to be arrogant, but it's going to be spectacular.
We were up planning until a little after midnight, so I was worried I would miss the first phase, but it wasn't a problem. I was up long before I had to be.
The first thing I did when I woke up was claim the shower. I knew that Jay and Lily would be waking up soon, so I had to get in quick. It was a constant battle between the five of us, but since Tracey and Marlene were never up early enough it was really only between Lily, Jay, and I, which was just fine by me. Just two less girls to have to fight for the shower.
I heard Lily start to wake up as I finished brushing out my hair, charming it dry. She came in the bathroom and fixed my hair for me. When she was done my hair was perfectly curled and slightly messy, but in a good way.
Note to self: Ask Lily how she did that!
"Now what do I do? You know make-up isn't my strong point. I don't even know what colors look good on me!" She studied my face for a minute before teaching me to do a smokey-eye with a thin line of eyeliner and a light coating of mascara.
"There! Done!" I looked in the mirror. It was still me, but I looked so different. Pretty, kind of. Unfortunately, I still had bags and my cheeks lacked any color.
"Is that really it?"
"Well, no, use a little under-eye concealer, blush, and lip gloss, but that's it. You have such great skin, you don't need anything else. You look like a china doll!" We grinned at each other. Lily had often complained that my skin was too good to be true and that she wished she had it. I finished up and left the bathroom and she took a shower.
We'd picked out our outfits at about ten last night and I was told how to wear mine, but I still wasn't sure I wanted to.
Marlene said that she was jealous of my cup size, but I had always seen it as a problem. It was so much harder to play Quidditch. But when I stood next to the girls Sirius and James went out with, DD doesn't seem so big. Tracey said they doubled up their bras. I tried it, and then put on my shirt, leaving two more buttons than usual unbuttoned. It felt weird, but not as uncomfortable as I thought it would. If I wasn't paying attention to it I wouldn't notice. The other three woke up as I stared hopelessly at my skirt. We had all agreed to shorten them but I had no idea how short I was supposed to go!
"Put it on, I'll tell you how short." Tracey and Jay hid their giggles behind their hands.
"Marlene, you read my mind. Thank you!" I tugged it on and Marlene muttered a spell under her breath, shortening my skirt to just the right length.
"There!"
"Thanks again…" I blushed and looked down. Even if it was the perfect length, that didn't mean I was used to it. At all. I had always scoffed at the girls that wore skirts this short and now I was one of them.
I slipped on the pair of boots she had somehow corralled me into wearing. Black leather that melted to the form of my legs like butter.
I was still a little uncertain, but as I loosely put my tie on and looked in the mirror I realized that I liked how I looked. I looked good.
By the time I was done we were all wearing matching outfits, just with different shoes, and Marlene and Tracey were wearing earrings.
Lily looked like she always did, but today she was practically glowing. Her face glittered gold and bronze and her uniform fit her like a second skin. She had brushed her out to its full length and it blew back with every step she took in her gold wedges. She looked like something out of a muggle magazine.
Marlene's sharp features were even more dramatic with dark colors and the accentuation of her already ridiculously high cheekbones. She looked like a dark queen, mysterious and haughty. Her shoes had been transfigured into elegant heels. It suits her.
Tracey was exceptionally girly, but unapproachable. Her long, curly blond hair was in two low ponytails and her make-up was pink, purple, and sparkly. She was wearing a pair of Lily's trainers. Amos Diggory, who was quite smitten, would definitely appreciate this.
Jay had on a lot of pale colors giving her a dewy, shimmering look. I don't know how to describe it. Her short brown hair fell slightly into her face. She's quiet, shy and unassuming, and her ballet flats were silent making her perfect to sneak up behind the boys for the grand finale. Our story was that we had let Lily give us makeovers.
What we wanted was to show them that they couldn't mess with us and get away with it. We wanted our lives to only be getting better while theirs slowly worsened. The ultimate revenge: being untouchable. Of course, what that took was getting us all boyfriends and amazing grades and having to go to some of those parties Lily was constantly invited to.
"Ready, girls?" My voice was a lot steadier than my hands.
"Ready." Lily sounded confident and it showed on her face as well. The other three murmured their agreement.
"Here we go."