I Know
Molly and Ginny
Ginny was very, very careful not to get caught stealing the lipstick.
She waited until her mother was busy with the breakfast dishes and her dad was off to work before slipping into her parents' bedroom. There, on her mother's bedside table, sat the glorious silver tube of red makeup. Ginny licked her dry lips and smiled. No longer would she be plain. No longer would she go unnoticed. From this day forward, she would be beautiful.
She smuggled the lipstick back up to her room, hiding it in the pocket of her jumper so nobody would see. It would be hours before her mother went back into the bedroom; hours before anyone noticed the lipstick was missing, and at that point the trail would have run cold. Nobody would link it back to her. And when she came downstairs with her fabulous new look, they would just think she'd finally begun growing up.
It was flawless.
Ginny closed her bedroom door and sat down at her vanity. She pulled the cap off the lipstick and twisted it gently until the red tip was showing. Stretching her mouth into a closed-lipped smile, she began to trace.
She went slowly, the way she'd always seen Mum do it, and worked her way from the outer rims to the inner rims. The makeup felt heavy and sticky on her lips (and though she'd never admit it, Ginny preferred them dry), but she kept going, guiding the tube carefully until her smile was bright red. When it was done, she leaned forward and kissed her reflection in the mirror, leaving behind a bright red smudge.
She was just searching for a place to hide it when her door was flung open. "Ginevra Weasley," her mother said, storming into her bedroom. "Is that lipstick on your face?"
Ginny jumped and hurriedly folded her lips in. "No," she said as clearly as she could. "I ate a cranberry."
Molly looked pointedly at the open lipstick applicator on Ginny's worn vanity.
Ginny sighed. "It's lipstick," she said, moving to wipe it off on the back of her hand.
Molly sat on the bed beside her daughter. "What on Earth possessed you to put on lipstick?"
She shrugged uncomfortably. "You wear lipstick."
"I'm not six years old."
Ginny's eyes were welling up with tears. "It's just - Charlie's got a girlfriend now, and - "
"Charlie's got a what?"
"A girlfriend. He didn't tell you?"
"No." Molly couldn't decide whether to feel hurt or furious. "He's too young for a girlfriend. He's what, fourteen?"
Ginny nodded. "He's liked her for ages, Mum. Don't get mad at him. She's really nice."
"You've met her?"
"No, but Charlie wrote me about her. He sent me her picture." She pointed at her vanity, where the moving photo was propped up against the mirror. It was the two of them, Charlie and the girlfriend, laughing and chasing each other while autumn leaves swirled all around them. Charlie's breath hung in a fog in front of him as he said something to her, and she threw back her head and laughed. Ginny couldn't help shivering when she looked at them, all clad in scarves and gloves. It made her feel sad, watching nature fade from summer to autumn. It always felt like the end of something marvelous. "They took it last week, when the leaves started changing."
Molly picked up the photograph and examined the girl carefully. Her hair was blonde, and her eyes were hazel, and her hair was red - except a moment ago it had been blonde, so that didn't make any sense - and now her eyes were blue, and her nose was growing longer and freckles dotted her nose and - was that Fred?
"What happened?" Molly asked, holding the photo out for Ginny to see. "Where's she gone?"
"She's a metamorphagus," Ginny said glumly. "She can change what she looks like without even thinking about it. And Mum, no matter what she does - except when she's being Fred, I suppose - she's always beautiful."
Molly heard the bitterness in the word. "You're always beautiful too, Ginny."
"I just want to be as beautiful as she is. I don't want Charlie to forget all about me. I don't want him to stop writing me."
"He won't." Molly pulled her daughter into a hug. "He would never."
Ginny sniffled. "I feel so ugly," she confessed quietly.
"I know you do, love, I know. I've been there, too." Without breaking the hug, she reached around to pluck the lipstick tube off the vanity. "But makeup is not the answer."
"Then what is?"
"Being as beautiful as you can on the inside."
Ginny pulled away, scrubbing at her nose. "I suppose." She took a deep breath. "Don't tell the others I was crying," she said. "Especially Ron."
Molly kissed the top of her head. "Of course not." She stood to leave, dropping the lipstick into her pocket as she went.
"Mum?"
She turned. "Yes?"
Ginny bit her still-faintly-red lip. "I love you."
Molly smiled. "I know. I love you too." And she closed the door behind her.
[Connect The Weasleys Challenge: Ginny/Molly, "I Know."]
[Duct Tape Challenge: Bows - Write about someone secretly insecure with their appearance (too much make up, too many accessories, too tight clothing, ect).]
[Interesting Words Challenge: Rudenėja - the way nature and/or the weather begins to feel like autumn]
[Disney Character Competition: Character - Dopey; Prompt - Swirls]
[Oh The Thinks You Can Think Challenge: Sneeches - write about someone who perceives him/herself as ugly.]