Corrin twirled a strand of her hair absentmindedly, just like her sister told her to, careful not to reveal the horrific burn just behind her ear. Sometimes, when Corrin is really tired, she could still feel the charred hair back there. She didn't like to waste her minuscule energy twirling hair, in fact she'd prefer it to be up in a ponytail, but that would just reveal that terrible burn. The burn that everyone would much rather forget about. But alas, that wasn't how things were done during dinners.
Dinners with other families were always the dread of her life. It wasn't even dinner! It all felt like a game of 'who can eat the most without looking like they ate at all?' to her. The only thing Corrin could do was twirl a strand of her auburn hair while avoiding eye contact with anyone else at dinner. Her mother didn't seem to mind all that much, but apparently the Potters couldn't take a hint.
"So Corrin! What do you do in your spare time?" Mrs. Potter asked. Corrin immediately snapped out of her daydreams of a nice family dinner with loud, obnoxious chatter and put on a bright smile. Such a usual question for adults to ask at dinners. Corrin could practically recite her answers by memory.
"Well, there are many things to do," Corrin smiled smugly and flipped her hair once. Twice, it'd be strange and thrice would just seem petty. "Mostly, I prefer to read, practice the piano, and a healthy dose of embroidery never hurt anyone either,". Mrs. Potter seemed satisfied. Her son James and his friend Sirius Black seemed less than interested. She could have sworn they rolled their eyes at her response. Then again, she would gag at her own response if she was outside of her shoes.
Although I'd much rather prefer to practice healing, play the harmonica instead of a big old piano, and just throw some paint and hope it looks good! Corrin wanted to say, but that wasn't in her script.
"Such a proper lady!" Mrs. Potter beamed.
"Yes, she's quite the gem at home," Corrin's mother nodded. She and Corrin both knew that was the biggest lie of them all, but they both just smiled and went back to acting like queens. Her eyes wandered to Sirius and James. They seemed to whisper something to each other. Corrin raised an eyebrow slightly. Can't make it seem like she's staring, or else who knows what may happen?
"So Corrin! Tell me, what do you think of mud?" James asked nonchalantly.
"Disgusting." I'd rather stay away, but I really don't care.
"House Elves?"
"For serving purposes only. Nothing to befriend." I wish they could be my friends too. What is up with these unorthodox questions? Do all normal families ask each other this?
"Bugs?"
"Gross." Who cares?
"Magic?"
"A necessity." A favorite pastime of mine! You wouldn't believe how much better I've gotten at healing. I'm halfway onto a real Animagus too! Isn't that just swell!
"James! Enough!" his mother scolded. Corrin sneaked a look and saw James and Sirius sharing a look of disgust before shaking their heads, glaring at her, and going back to their food. Corrin sighed internally and looked down at her soup, which has long since gone cold. I'd hate me if I was really like this too. She quickly shrugged off the feeling. She got that reaction a lot from the average families. She was pretty sure even poorer families would kick her out of their home, but what did she know? She's never even been allowed to see one of those homes.
Corrin's older sister Carol gave Corrin a look of sympathy before engaging in another conversation with the adults. Corrin used to wish she could be like Carol, who actually liked doing all of this fancy stuff, until she realized that who she was was just fine. Thank goodness for free literature in the house, which raised Corrin better than her mother and father ever could. Her type was always the enemy in books. The rich snob, the mean popular girl, the riches who got one-upped by the rags. She wanted to be the girl-next-door, the clever friend, the expert healer.
Just another year, and I'll finally be in Hogwarts. I can make a fresh new start there and act however I want. I can go outdoors, practice my harmonica, and throw all the paint I want, and no one would even care! Corrin dreamed. Sirius and James had better stay out of my hair. Honestly, they could at least have the decency to talk about me when I'm not here instead of right in my face! At least I won't ever see them again anytime soon... Unless mother drags me to more dinners, and everyone knows who I am not before they even know what I am.
It was of much relief to James Potter and Sirius Black when the Emberlys finally left the house. No doubt Sirius had to leave soon as well, or else his mother would have suspected something.
"Carol and Corrin have to be the most uptight witches in all of England!" James groaned in disgust as he flopped down on his bed. His friend Sirius sat on a chair not two steps away.
"Besides my mother. Honestly, it's nerve-wracking how much they're alike. I now dread the day we go to Hogwarts. At least at home we don't have to deal with that every day!" Sirius complained. "Besides mother of course," Sirius muttered.
"I hope Corrin gets sorted somewhere else. Hopefully she doesn't even know magic! I mean, her sister Carol is alright I guess. Too old to bother us about anything. She'll be graduated before we're even fourteen! But Corrin just seems like the worst. And we're stuck with her the entire year! " James complained. "At least you're not like her, Sirius. Glad you saw the right side up!"
"Ha! Me too, James. Next time we see her, we'll make sure she gets mud and bugs all over her fancy shoes," Sirius laughed along. "Hopefully she'll hate it enough to just leave Hogwarts!"
"Or better yet, leave the country and float around all day on the ocean in a golden and silver raft!" James joked.
They're all the same. Corrin has to be the worst and most obnoxious of them all. At least the other girls are humble. This one can't even do that right. Ugh! I hope she rots in whatever jewel-studded prison her parents keep her in. Sirius thought to himself. At least in Hogwarts, we can ignore each other all we want. I can break all the rules I want, wear clothes that I can get dirty in, say whatever, eat whenever, and not have a single high society demon to tell me otherwise. Just one more year...