QLFC - S3 - Round 2
Lucy Weasley. Little Lucy Weasley. Dear, sweet, Lucy Weasley with no problems, no worries. None at all.
"Mum," that girl says one day, sitting with her legs primly crossed and her perfect, perfect hair coiled into curls. "I don't fit in."
Audrey Weasley tilts her head at her and smiles a little smile. "My dear," she says, "Why ever would you want to fit in?"
Lucy eyes her mother critically, and, with the firm confidence that children have, states: "You don't understand."
Audrey's smile changes, becomes gentler as she reaches over and smoothes back Lucy's bangs from her face. "Enlighten me, then."
Lucy purses her lips and shakes her head slowly. She heads for the garden and doesn't come back in for the rest of the day.
...
Little Lucy Weasley, so perfect, so sweet.
That girl cuts off her hair, throws out her dolls, and rips all of her pastel dresses into tiny, tiny pieces.
Audrey and Percy find her there in her room in the morning, surrounded by the remains of her perfect life. There's an unbalanced sort of silence surrounding her.
"Let's take you to mum," Percy says, after a shocked pause.
"Percy," Audrey cuts in as Lucy glares rebelliously at the two of them. "You have work. I'll take care of this."
He frowns, before nodding in agreement. Still looking concerned, he sweeps out of the room and to the Ministry, sending one last unreadable look back at them. Audrey waits until he's gone to say, "Shall we go, then?"
"I'm not going to grandma's," she scowls.
"We're not going to grandma's," Audrey laughs. "We're going somewhere different."
Lucy's tense shoulders slump down in surprise. "But you said—"
"I said I'd take care of it, and I am."
Audrey holds out her hand, and Lucy hesitates before taking it.
They go out of the Wizarding World and into the bustle of the Muggle World. Lucy clings to Audrey's hand tight as strangers in even stranger clothing push past her without a second thought.
"Where are we going?" she asks, a little curious, a little nervous, as she's ushered into a moving vehicle.
Audrey smiles down at her, as free-spirited as ever. "You'll see," she replies in a sing-song voice.
They end up in front of a sharp looking black and white building. The door is wide open, and Lucy can feel cold air blasting her from the inside. There are people inside, sitting on fancy chairs and reading magazines as something is being done to their hair. It's quite possibly the strangest thing she's seen in her short ten years of life, aside from that time she caught Molly bathing frogs in the toilet.
Audrey leads her in, and they're greeted by a sharp looking man with spikes for hair.
"How can I help you two ladies today?" he asks.
Audrey looks over at Lucy. Lucy tilts her head to the right, points, and says, "I want to look like that."
She comes home that day with short, bright blue hair and a load of shopping bags on her right arm. Her left hand is safely tucked in Audrey's.
...
And little Lucy Weasley changes, becomes free. Summer comes and goes and then finally, finally, finally, she's at Hogwarts.
Molly clings tight to her hand as she drags the two of them through the station, dodging stray owls and carts of all sizes."The train, the train!" she hums, in that same cheery tone she always has. In that respect, she was always more like Audrey than Lucy was.
"Molly, slow down!" Percy splutters from a ways behind them. Audrey is at his side, laughing while keeping up with a light jog.
They end up near a train entrance, and their parents catch up with them soon after with their luggage.
"Not... as young as I used to be," Percy pants, face red and looking out of breath. Audrey pats him sympathetically on the back before turning to them.
"Now then," she says. "I want you both to have fun, okay? And remember Lucy, it doesn't matter what House you get into, alright?"
"Be good, you two," Percy adds.
"We know," Molly groans. She skips onto the train ledge. "Bye mum, bye dad!"
"We'll be fine," Lucy says, smiling, as she disappears after her older sister. They find an empty compartment near the back of the train because 'Its bouncier- trust me, Lucy', before Molly runs off to find all her Hogwarts friends and leaves Lucy to man the deck. Occasionally, a familiar head will pop in, but other than that, she's alone. It's lonely in here, she thinks.
Just as the thought appears, the door slams open. A head of brown hair peeks in, smiles, and asks, "Is there any room in here?"
The train toots once, twice, and they're off.
"Of course!" Lucy says. "Come in!"
The girl grins toothily and slides into the seat opposite Lucy. Dawny, her name is. She comes from a muggle family and they click right away once Lucy sees her piercings.
"What happened to you?" Lucy asks in wonder, stating at the large, dangling earrings and the pierced lip.
"Nothing," the other girl laughs. "I wanted piercings and so I did. Isn't that why you dyed your hair too? It's simple."
"Simple," Lucy repeats to herself.
They get to Hogwarts and end up in different houses, but Lucy doesn't mind. She's in Gryffindor and Dawny was in Slytherin so they'll end up having all their classes together anyways.
Lucy troops up the stairs to her dorm room, feeling exhausted. She runs a hand through her hair, noting the dulled colour and length. She'll have to dye it again, and she needs a haircut too. But first, a shower.
Lucy pulls the door open, peering in. It's empty – she's the first one in. She hurries over to her trunk so she can grab the showers while it's still empty as well.
Reaching in, her hand touches soft fabric and she pulls the garment out. It's a pale, ruffled skirt. She stares; she definitely didn't pack this because it had been years since she wore anything remotely feminine. And then, Lucy remembers seeing Audrey smile knowingly at her before she left, and a small smile graces her own face.
She decides right then that dying her hair could wait. Maybe next time she could try purple, or even green, but she wants her natural colour for now.
…
"The owl's back," Percy remarks, while the two of them are sitting at breakfast. "There was something for you."
He hands over the small letter, and Audrey flips it open curiously.
Mum, it reads. Thank you.
Audrey laughs and, brushing off Percy's curious expression, reaches for her own pen and paper.
She writes: For you, the stars