After I was squeaky clean, I jumped out, dried myself, and got dressed. I looked in the mirror and shrugged. That was as good as it was going to get; I barely wear make-up.
I was about to turn and leave, when I noticed something shiny in the mirror. I squinted. Was that a necklace? I looked down and touched my neck to see what was there. It was a locket! How in the world did I get a locket on my neck? There was a small, folded up piece of parchment taped to the back, I unfolded it and found out it was a letter.
Blair,
Happy Birthday. I thought I should give you this.
It had no name on it. Who could it be from? It looked expensive and old; it could have been an antique. I thought to myself while heading out the door and down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
The Great Hall was covered in orange and black, hundreds of pumpkins and every other type of Halloween decorations imaginable. I took a seat at the Gryffindor table, between Jade and another friend of ours, Marth McAdams.
"Hey!" I said brightly, grabbing a hash brown and shoving it in my mouth.
"Oh hi!" said Jade. She poked Marth. He smiled.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" they both said, waving their wands in the air. Green and pink sparkles shot out like fireworks, spelling a giant 'Happy Birthday Blair!' in the air above the four tables.
"Thanks guys!" I said, giving them a big hug. The school gasped at the beautiful show, and Lola came running up to us, dragging Malfoy along.
"Oh my gosh! It's your birthday! Happy birthday!" she said, grasping me in a giant preppy-girly hug. I said thanks and she smiled, flashing her perfect teeth.
"I can't believe I'm even over at this side of the hall," complained Malfoy. "Let's go, Lola."
"What, no happy birthday from you, Malfoy?" I teased. "This is what I mean. I get no love." I pretended to frown.
"Why should I show love to the Slytherin mistake?" he said. "It doesn't matter if your dad's a Death Eater. You'll never be as great as him!"
"Now, now, Draco! Don't say that!" said Lola. As if being the opposite of my father was a bad thing. I laughed.
"Was that supposed to offend me?" I said. "I don't want to be as... 'great' as my father is, thanks,"
"And that's precisely why you'll fail in life, Reynolds," he said, sticking his nose up in the air and walking back to the Slytherin table. Marth rolled his eyes.
"What a prick," he said. Jade and I giggled.
"What's that! It's so pretty!" she said, gasping, and pointing to my locket.
"A locket, I guess. Someone gave it to me for my birthday... while I was sleeping," I took a moment to realize how strange that sounded.
"That could be full of dark magic!" someone said. We turned around. It was Hermione Granger, who was reading a book - duh.
"Looks fine to me," I said, shrugging. She gave me a worried look.
"If anything weird happens, tell me," she said sternly. I smirked and nodded. Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and, of course, Harry Potter, were always looking to get themselves into trouble. I admired them for that.
Jade, Marth, and I went outside to visit Hagrid, who was a good friend of ours. He wished me a happy birthday as well, and told me a gift was waiting for me up in my dorm. Oh God... Who knows what kind of creature Hagrid could have gotten me? Still I thanked him, and we left. It was getting late and we had better get up to our common rooms before people started to complain.
It was a small package, poorly wrapped in brown wrapping paper, with a small blue bow at the top. I giggled as I began to open it slowly, causing all the other Slytherin girls to shudder in fear. Hagrid's package shook a bit, and I heard Pansy gasp.
It was an awkward-looking creature, brown in colour, very fuzzy, with little beady black eyes. It blinked and gave everyone a witty grin, displaying extremely sharp teeth. It reminded me of a piranha, except furry. It was kinda cute!
"What the bloody hell is that?" asked Lola, staring at it with a worried look on her face. I shrugged.
"Dunno. But it's kinda cute!" I said. It started scampering across the room, causing havoc to everything it touched. It jumped on Millicent Bulstrode's bed and messed up the covers, then jumped on one of the poles and slid down it as if it was a fireman's pole. It started gargling, making rude noises and drooling everywhere.
"Get it out of here!" screeched Pansy. I ran after it, but it opened the door and quickly closed it, causing me to smash my face into the door. Nice.
"It's getting away! It should be in the common room by now!" yelled another girl. I sighed. Of course, I would have to clean up this thing's mess. I ran downstairs and heard a yelp. Perhaps it was too late and I should just turn back upstairs and pretend I have nothing to do with this...
"Reynolds!"
Shit. Nevermind.
"Is this contraption yours?" said Malfoy, picking it up by its foot and waving it upside down in the air.
"I suppose so. He was a birthday present," I said, grinning. The whatchamabob hissed at Malfoy.
"Well nice going, you stupid git, he just knocked over my ink and now my Potions paper is completely destroyed!" he said. I giggled.
"Aw, poor baby. Give 'em a break, he's only a little... uh... whatever the hell he is,"
"I was working forever on that paper! That little prat just ruined it!"
"You know, I didn't even know you did your work. I just figured you had one of your worshippers to do it for you..."
"That's beyond the point!" he said. He shoved the whatchamabob into my stomach. "Take it. Keep it out of my sight. That's an order,"
"And you expect me to take orders from YOU?" I said, snorting.
"Yeah, I do, do you know who I am!" he said, puffing his chest out like some macho man.
"Draco Malfoy, the cocky, sissy, little daddy's boy?" I said, smiling brightly. He came closer to me.
"Never call me that again," he said. He looked like he was going to hit me.
"Or what?" I said. Now I was in the mood to piss him off.
"Or I can make sure you fail potions... and possibly not graduate," he said, smirking. He knew that that was important to me.
"You can't do that!" I said.
"What are you gonna do, tell your mommy?" he said, smirking. I shot him a cold look.
I had nothing further to say, no witty comebacks.
For he knew perfectly well I had no mother...
FLASHBACK TIME:)
It was a bright summers day, not a cloud in sight. I was a happy, immature little seven-year-old with what I thought was a great life.
Unfortunately this day would change that.
I was riding around on our front porch with my broom, swaying this way and that. I was still learning. William, better known as Billy, my brother, was teaching me. He must have been about sixteen years old at that point. He held the back of my broom with his right hand, and held my hand with his left.
"Okay, now all you have to do is kick off a bit and steer," he told me. "The broom will do most of the work. Once you get a hang of it, it's easy," he smiled. "Do you want to try again, or give it a break for a while and go get some lemonade and cookies?" Billy had short brown hair and grey eyes, just like me. Unlike me, he was tall and fairly muscular. I always made fun of him for being so beefy and macho. None the less he had a kind, welcoming face. He was a great brother, my favourite person, and my idol.
"I wanna get back on!" I exclaimed, mounting my broom and trying again. He laughed and helped me get on the broom properly. My dad, Anthony, opened the front door and gave us that stern look of his with those cold, grey eyes.
"Come inside. I have to show you something," he said. Billy and I went in with concerned faces and wondering thoughts.
"Your mother's gone," he said simply, as if it had no effect on him. "She wrote you guys a letter," Billy took the letter with a horrified look upon his face. He sat down to read it, so I could read it too.
Dearest children,
You are both growing, and with every step you take,
I hope you realize what a fabulous life you both have,
and value every minute of it. You may be too young to
understand why I'm doing this, but I couldn't take any more
of it. My life has been nothing but sorrow, which is why I
had to end it. I know it may have seemed like I was happy,
but inside I felt hurt and pain with every step I was forced
to take. Children, don't take the path that I chose. It is indeed
the wrong one. But there was no other way end of this woeful
thing some call my life. Blair Elizabeth, you are still very young,
keep your chin up and stay close to your brother. William,
take good care of your sister for me. I'm so very proud
of you both. I love you.
Mom
Billy's face went pale as he was reading it. I, on the other hand, didn't understand. Perhaps at that time I didn't understand the concept of death. I looked at Billy with an ambiguous look upon my face. His eyes looked shiny, as if he was about to cry.
"Get to bed, you two," our father growled at us. He shoved us out of the kitchen without another word. We walked up the dark spiral steps in our house, Billy being a bit more sluggish than usual.
"I can't believe he doesn't even care," he hissed. I knew of whom he was talking about - our father. We both had noticed the letter had no effect on him. But that was just our dad for you. He was more involved with his work with You-Know-Who than his family. If he was forced to choose, he'd choose the 'Dark Lord'.
Billy went into his room with a quick 'Goodnight', and shut his door. This meant to leave him alone. He usually kept his door open for me, just in case I had a nightmare, so I could wake him up and he'd tell me a story or talk to me to get my mind of things. But with his door closed, I knew not to bother him this time. He was having troubles of his own.
I went into my room as well, still a tad confused. What did that letter mean? Was she really gone? ... Of course she wasn't. She'd be here for me in the morning, like usual, waking me up with strawberry pancakes. It's just a matter of me falling asleep, and then she'll be back. I hopped into my bed and shut my eyes.
But what if she really was gone?
What if she really did hate her life... and did this to herself?
I sat back up. I couldn't sleep. How could I possibly sleep knowing my mother was gone? I glanced across the hall at Billy's room. The door was still shut, and the lights were on, which meant that he was up too. I didn't want to bother him, so I went outside, onto my balcony.
I can't believe it. I won't believe it. She can't be gone.
I sat down on the balcony, and when reality finally sunk in, I felt tears sting my eyes.
This can't be happening. She isn't gone!
But in a matter of seconds, my dry cheeks became stained with tears. I sat there, weeping, with no one to hold me, and no mother to turn to. How would I continue life? Every girl must have a mother. Who will tell me about boys? Who will I share my girly secrets to once I'm older? Who will tell me about the birds and the bees?
"Reynolds," came a voice from above.
JESUS?
I looked up to see none other than Draco Malfoy, riding on his broom. I groaned.
"I don't have time for this, Malfoy... please..." I said, sniffling and crying all the more. The very last thing I needed right now was Draco Malfoy making fun of me.
"What's wrong?" he said. He looked at me as if... he actually cared. But still, I remained silent and hung my head low. "Blair... what is it?"
I looked up at him again with a shocked face. That was the first time he's ever used my first name. He's known me, tormented me, and teased me ever since we both could talk... and he's finally calling me Blair...
I told him everything. The broom flying, the letter, Billy's reaction, my memories of my mother, all of my thoughts...
He hovered over my balcony and got off his broom while I continued to talk.
"Do you think she's really gone?" I said finally. By this time my face was so drenched in tears I was surprised it wasn't pruney. He walked a bit closer to me.
"Is she on your mind?" he said.
"Yes,"
"And is she in your heart?"
"Yes,"
"Then she will never be gone..." he said, smirking. I was surprised that words of such wisdom would come out of the mouth of Draco Malfoy. I was also surprised that he was even talking to me. I suppose it was because he understood what it's like to have family problems, and to feel lonely and worthless. I knew of the kinds of things his father did to him...
Without another word, he mounted his broom and flew away, back to his house across the street. I went back into my room with new, optimistic thoughts to ponder. I went over to my dresser and looked in the mirror. I wiped away my tears, deciding to stay strong. I looked down at the last things I had of my mother - her journal, and her musical jewellery box. The jewellery box was small, with a large design of a rose on it. When you opened it, it played a song - an ancient lullaby my mom used to sing to me. Her journal was leather bound, with a small lock on it and key. I picked up my mother's music box and journal, and put them under my pillow.
Draco was right.
She would never be gone.