Chapter 3: River
A/N: Just so you know, I made some changes to the last chapter. It was obvious that I wrote it while exhausted, so I made it less confusing. I suggest re-reading it if you haven't read it since about eight o'clock on October 18, although I guess you don't really have to do so.
"Last night, I came across a girl. We met eyes, and for the first time, I finally felt alive,"
-Summer Love, We The Kings
The next morning, I could honestly say I thought running into "River" (a.k.a. hottie numero uno a.k.a. Jessie Daugherty, 6th year Slytherin) had been a dream. However, judging by the size of the grin that was on Elizabella's face when she woke me up at too-early-in-the-morning o'clock, my dream obviously wasn't a dream.
"Lizibell…" I whispered so as not to wake our dorm mates.
"Yes, Addie?" she asked in a normal voice, so I assumed she had put a sound barrier around the six other girls in there.
"Why am I awake at too-early in the morning?" I half-shouted, just in case she hadn't actually put up a sound barrier.
"Oh. Right. That. I guess you really don't know the basics to being a girl." She said.
"And what in Merlin's name is that supposed to mean?" I asked, exasperated that I had to talk so much while tired just to get a simple answer.
"It means that you don't realize that once you have a boy's attention, which you caught last night, you need to present yourself as perfectly and gorgeously as possible for the next few days, so as to make him want to chase after you. It's basic girl instinct, but I forgot you don't have that." She explained, walking over to the wardrobe she and I shared. I hated it when she played the "girl instinct" card.
"Could you explain why we have to follow through on this basic girl instinct before the sun has even risen?" I asked as I removed myself from my amazingly warm and comfortable bed.
"This is the time most girls wake up to get ready, love. I can understand your grumpiness because you normally just take ten minutes to get ready, but we need to make you prettier than you already are. And yes, that means make-up and skirts." I gulped at this last sentence, as she gave me a look that said to not even argue with her.
I slowly made my way into the bathroom to take a shower in one of the five stalls we have in the fifth year dormitory. Sometimes, I was grateful to have seven other girls in my year. We got so many perks.
"Adelia! You've been in there for ten minutes! Get your butt out of there!"
Other times I'm not so grateful.
"There are four other showers that you can use!" I shouted back to Lizi over the sound of the pounding water.
"But they don't have my things in them, now do they?" She asked. I groaned. At the beginning of first year, the rest of the girls and I all decided to assign showers, with close friends using the same stalls. I wish I was one of the girls who didn't have to share, but when my best and only friend asked to share, I couldn't say no.
"But it's so warm in here…" I said, going for the sympathy card.
"Oh! Wait!" Elizabella said, as if coming upon a sudden revelation, "I need you to rewash your hair with my shampoo and conditioner. And use my soap. I almost forgot we were giving you a makeover."
"What does the shampoo I use have to do with anything?" I asked, somewhat curious.
"It's a potion that makes your hair smooth and sleek. And the soap smells like heaven. Now hurry up so I can shower before everyone else wakes up." I heard the door open and close again, and then groaned. I didn't know being a girl took so much work.
Although, I had to agree, Elizabella's soap does indeed smell like heaven in a bottle.
"Alright, so what do I do now? I feel awkward standing around in a towel waiting for further instruction." I said to Elizabella as she walked out all done up after about twenty minutes in the bathroom.
"Oh! Well, first, let's decide on your outfit," she said, walking over to my bed where she had laid out many outfits, mostly including skirts.
"How about we ease you into these…" Liz said after noticing the apprehensive look on my face when I saw the skirts, and picking up three outfits with differently-patterned shorts. Each outfit seemed to be a bit of a different style. I looked questioningly at Elizabella.
"Okay, well, I figured you wouldn't have the same style as me- My style is described as slightly preppy punk. As in, I wear blouses and skirts in a fashionable way. Normally with a headband and/or ponytail. Yes, I have more than just boys down to a science. Now, I think you would be more attracted to the "hipster" style than anything else. You're such an eccentric person. You know, when you're not too shy to show it."
She picked up a pair of bright blue waist-high denim shorts and a red and white striped flowy three-quarter sleeved shirt. I took them apprehensively and got dressed quickly, tucking the shirt loosely into my shorts as instructed by my best friend.
"Nuh-uh-uh," Elizabella said when I tried to look in the mirror, "You have to wait for the full look." I sat down on the chair in front of the vanity, resigning myself to the worst.
We made conversation as Elizabella brushed out my long hair, drying and straightening it carefully with her wand.
"I'm so glad we don't have uniforms," Lizi said, "It lets us show our originality. Although the robes are a bit of a downer, since they cover up my style genius, we can be ourselves."
"I dunno, sometimes I just wish I could have a uniform so I didn't have to pick out an outfit every morning," I replied.
"How could you say that?" Elizabella asked, jokingly offended, "That's the best part of my morning!"
"Well then you can pick out my outfits from now on," I said, "They're going to end up always being your clothes anyway. Speaking of which, how did you end up with all of these clothes? Especially if you have a style so different from mine, how would you have clothes for me?"
"My Aunt Taylor has too much money and a great sense of style. I end up getting most of the things she buys after her shopping trips," was her answer.
"Well that makes sense. Now, how are you doing my hair? I want to be able to do it myself in the future," I said, getting into the idea of not wearing a loose ponytail every day.
"First, I dry it with that spell we learned from Flitwick a couple years back," My best friend explained, "And then I straighten it by using a heating spell while brushing it at the same time. Then I use some Muggle hairspray- miracle stuff, it is- to make it look casually messy and to add a bit of volume. This is the most basic way to do your hair, by the way, I'll be teaching you other things later. Now, on to your makeup."
For some reason, I seemed to get really into the girly things of hair, makeup, and clothing. I listened to her lectures and actually couldn't wait to do all this myself. I always thought Elizabella was just really girly, but now I understood the difference between being girly and just wanting to look good. Oh Merlin, what was happening to me?
"Alright, that should be it," Elizabella said, stepping away so that I could stand up to look in the full-length mirror.
"Oh, wow."
The first thing I noticed was my hair. I almost never wore it down, and it looked so shiny and pretty the way it was, I was surprised I hadn't done that before. My bangs were swept back and my hair went down to the point where I was sure I could sit on it if I wasn't careful. The red in my top brought out all of the different colours in my skin tone and hair. Elizabella actually found something to compliment the freckles all across the tops of my cheeks. The shorts I wore made my legs look long and tan.
What was most surprising about my appearance was my makeup. I seldom ever wore any, except on special occasions. I had on minimal eye shadow, but dark black eyeliner that made my eyes look big as a puppy's and mascara that made my eyelashes nearly brush the tops of my cheek bones. It was very dramatic, but not so much so that it was too much for daytime. The blush I wore complimented my skin tone so well I barely even noticed it. The biggest statement my makeup made was the crimson-coloured lipstick that matched the red in my shirt. It was so bold, and so not me, but I actually really liked it.
I stood up straighter, feeling a bit more confident in the clothes I was wearing.
"Addie, you are absolutely gorgeous, darling," Elizabella said, throwing me some converse shoes with the British flag painted on them and my Ravenclaw robes. I wasn't even surprised to see that the colour of my denim shorts matched the dark blue of the Ravenclaw crest perfectly and that the hoop earrings dangling from my ears and the long matching necklace with a pendant in the shape of an eagle also matched the Ravenclaw bronze.
"Whoa, Adelia, is that you?" I heard the voice of Stacy, a fellow Ravenclaw, ask. The rest of the girls had all just gotten dressed as well, coming out of the bathroom with damp hair.
"Yep," I said, grinning.
"I like your new look. I think it suits you," Ali said from next to her best friend, Rachel, after towel-drying her hair.
"Well, thanks, I guess." I said, remembering the shyness I had forgotten when it was just Elizabella and me.
"You look gorgeous, I don't see why you seem so uncomfortable," Alysa said.
"Thank you; I just feel a bit weird is all," I replied.
"Because you're so shy and now are bound to attract the attention of everyone in the school? I can see that," Lea said from next to her wardrobe. She was also shy a few years back, but she got over it fairly quickly compared to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, laughing.
"Well, you became super-model gorgeous over the summer and your new look shows it off, don't tell me no one is going to notice, even if you are hidden under those robes." Nikki said, fixing her twin sister, Alanna's, eyeliner.
"Oh, guys, you're making her blush," Elizabella cooed. She was right; I could feel the blood rising to my face.
"Alright! Let's go to breakfast, I'm starving." I said, having enough with everyone staring at me and turning around to walk down the stairs to make my way to the Great Hall.
Little did I know, people would be staring at me in the Great Hall as well. I strode down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Tables to the middle of the table where I normally sit surrounded by the other Ravenclaw girls, but I didn't notice that I was alone until I reached my usual spot. Unicorn turds; they weren't finished getting ready when I stormed out. So I looked like a loner. Well at least I held my head high when I walked in, so I didn't look as socially awkward as I was. Good posture is what my mum forced into me from a young age.
I went to sit down in my usual seat, which was surrounded by seven other empty ones for the other girls, but stopped myself as I was pulling my leg over. I had noticed my hair waving all the way down toward my bum out of the corner of my eye. So, I pulled my hair in front of my shoulders, sat down, and pushed my hair behind me again so I could eat. That would take some getting used to; I wasn't used to my hair always being in my way when it was always tied up in a hair tie.
Suddenly, I noticed a presence beside me. And then another. And then another.
"Why, hello there," I heard a voice say as the owner sat backwards on the bench beside me.
"I don't believe we've met," Another one said.
"But I'm Lee," said a new voice behind me.
"And I'm George," said the first voice.
"And I'm Fred," said the second one.
I turned to see Fred and George Weasley accompanied, as always, by Lee Jordan.
"What," I said in a teasing voice, "You don't recognize the girl you spent half the ride to Hogwarts with yesterday?"
"Blimey!" Lee said, "Adelia?"
"Oh, but it is you!" George said, leaning in comically close to get a look at my face.
"You've changed a bit," Fred informed me matter-of-factly.
"Really?" I said slightly sarcastically, turning back to the table in order to prepare my toast.
"Yep," George said.
"You didn't tell us you were a model," Lee agreed.
"Probably because I'm not," I laughed. "I don't look that different, do I?" I then asked, a bit self-consciously.
"You do," Fred said. And then, noticing my expression, added, "But in a good way."
"A very good way," George and Lee both said, nodding their heads in agreement.
At this moment, Elizabella and the rest of the sixth year Ravenclaw girls appeared in the doorway to the Great Hall. Noticing this, I nodded to them and told the boys, "If you plan on ignoring my best mate, I suggest you leave now."
They each nodded their thanks and left without another word.
"Was that Fred, George, and Lee?" Rachel asked me when they had all seated themselves. I assumed they all knew about Lizi's situation with them, as she was close with them as well.
"Yep." I replied, keeping it short and simple like I was used to doing.
"What did they want?" Alanna asked.
"They were introducing themselves to me…" I said slowly.
"AHA!" Elizabella said, standing up in her excitement, "I told you you're gorgeous!"
"How does introducing themselves translate into me being gorgeous?" I asked sceptically.
"Trust me, knowing them, they were trying to flirt. Did they mention anything about you looking different?"
"Well, yeah.." I said.
"And..?" Ali and Rachel said.
"They said I had changed… in a good way. And then Lee accused me of not telling them I was a model, but I think he was joking." I replied, blushing and feeling even more self-conscious than I already was.
"No, they weren't joking, sweetie," Lizibell said, and the rest of the girls nodded, "You really are that gorgeous. How have you not noticed this before?" she practically shouted to the entire hall after standing up.
"Elizabella, sit down!" I hissed at her, as many people were starting to stare at her, and, by association, me.
"Not until you see how pretty you are!" Elizabella said, again quite loudly.
"Lizi…" I groaned, pulling on her robes.
"Oi! You!" Elizabella said, gesturing to a random passer-by on our side of the table just to maximize my embarrassment. What was even worse was that it happened to be Jessie on his way to a group of his Ravenclaw friends.
"Yeah?" he asked, looking at her warily.
"Is my best friend here gorgeous or what?" Elizabella asked him, winking at me when she looked down so that he couldn't see. I glared back at her.
I buried my face in my hands before he had the chance to take a good enough look at me.
"Well, maybe she should look up so I can see," he said smoothly, and I felt a hand gently lift my chin up.
"Your eyes are pretty," he observed.
"Yours are, too," I said breathlessly, looking at his differently-coloured eyes and then blushing immediately after realizing what I had said. I really needed to learn how to control what I say around him.
Thankfully, he chuckled.
"Wait, aren't you the girl that ran into me last night?" he asked.
"Quite literally," I said, nodding. He laughed again.
"Well, I suppose I'll see you later," He said, standing up straight again before smirking and walking away to talk to Brandon Tilpin, another Sixth Year and a Ravenclaw.
I turned back to the other girls, red as a tomato. We all started speaking at once.
"Did that just happen?"
"Did you see that?"
"-so cute!"
"I wish I were y-"
"I didn't know that was poss-"
"- numero uno!"
"Guys!" Elizabella shouted, ever the leader.
"What!" We all shouted at the same time, irritated a bit.
"Firstly, our code name for him is River," everyone nodded, "And secondly, yes, that actually happened." Cue the large group of girls shriek-giggling and scaring the already-nervous first years.
Further down the table, Jessie looked up, a smirk on his face. It turned into a smile when he saw me looking, blushing bright red because of my roommates' behaviour. I quickly looked away again to get into conversation with Elizabella.
"So why did you feel the need to embarrass me?" I asked her once everyone had calmed down and the First Years had stopped nearly wetting themselves.
"I saw him at the doors when our conversation started," she said, as if that made any sense.
"And your point is..?" I asked, not quite getting it.
"I wanted his attention on you, so he could see how gorgeous you are. Is that so wrong?"
"No… I guess not…" I said softly, like I always do.
"That's another thing we have to tweak a bit," Elizabella said, casually taking note of something.
"What do we have to tweak a bit?" I asked curiously.
"You're so soft spoken and shy," she said, "I mean the soft spoken bit would be perfectly fine if you weren't so shy. If you're going to be going after River, you're going to have to reach out to him a bit. You can't expect him to do all the work."
"I've done enough work this morning, thank you very much," I replied huffily, frustrated that she brought up my ridiculous shyness factor.
"Oh, come on, Addie. You have to admit you've never seen someone dressed so confidently and yet as shy as you." Elizabella argued. Realizing she was right, I shrugged and continued trying to eat my toast for the rest of breakfast until we all received our Fifth Year schedules. I was having trouble getting accustomed to the feel of lipstick and didn't want to smudge it while eating.
"YES!" Elizabella shouted after comparing my schedule with hers.
"Merlin, are you trying to make me go deaf with all this screaming?" I asked, irritated with my best friend.
"We have the exact same schedule!" she said in her defence, "And about half of our classes are with Slytherins!"
"How is that a good thing?" I asked grumpily.
"We can get closer to the blokes in River's House. He tends to be close with a lot of people. If they notice you as well during classes, there's a possibility you could be brought up in their conversations!" she said excitedly.
"I see your point," I replied, "but they're still Slytherins."
"Oh, shut it. Now hurry yourself up; we have to get our bags before going all the way to Herbology with the Gryffindors. We should have left hours ago." Elizabella said, standing up and ushering us toward the doors.
I followed her, brushing my bangs back with my fingers as they fell into my eyes.
On my way out of the door of the Great Hall, I was busy brushing my bangs out of the way again and bumped into someone.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!" I said, looking up right into Jessie's eyes. What are the odds?
"I could see that," he replied, smirking.
"This seems to be happening much too often, doesn't it?" I said aloud- I really need to find an off switch.
"What does?" he asked.
"Me embarrassing myself in front of you," I said honestly, deciding to go with it. This was the most I would probably speak with him in a while; I might as well take advantage of it.
Merlin, Elizabella rubbed off on me more than I thought she had. But back to the conversation.
"I wouldn't say 'embarrassing,'" he said.
"I would." I said. He chuckled.
"You're Adelia, am I correct?" Jessie asked me.
"That is my name," I agreed.
"Well, Adelia, I rather enjoy talking to you. Would you like to meet up sometime?" He asked. Wow, that was quick. Maybe it was the lipstick.
Before I could answer him, Elizabella cut in for me, "She'd love to; tonight at dinner good for you? Good. Thanks. We have to run to class now. Bye."
She dragged me away toward the marble staircase, and I barely got to wave to Jessie before we turned a corner on our way to Ravenclaw Tower.
A/N: Um yeah. So it's been awhile.
And don't yell at me for Adelia sounding mary-sue-esque. I actually did that on purpose, believe it or not.
As always, please leave a review with some good songs and lyrics!
Thanks to all who have read, and especially to those who have also gone out of their way to review!
PrettyInConverse: Firstly, I love your name. Converse are my loves. Secondly, thank you so much for those ideas! Sorry I didn't use them for this chapter, but those lyrics are too deep to use for the first couple of chapters. However, I do believe I will be dedicating the next chapter to you for one of your ideas, so thank you so much!
iBelonginoz: I do enjoy your use of punctuation.
wildpath: To answer your question, I do believe I will be using your suggestion in the future as well, although probably not for quite a few chapters. But don't be discouraged, you gave me a good idea! Again, thanks for reviewing!