Dominique/Louis

Prompt: Beautiful

Beautiful

May 12, 2017

After having raining days for the most part of two weeks, Louis took full advantage of the blistering sun. He and Joshua Thomas lay on their backs in the middle of the Transfiguration courtyard, their ties undone and their hands behind their heads as they sunned themselves.

"Who do you reckon's the prettiest girl in Hogwarts?" he mused as he stretched his long limbs. Josh smirked and turned to face his best mate.

"Daisy, of course."

Louis scoffed. He had already predicted that answer. Josh and Daisy Wood had been childhood friends before they came to Hogwarts, and even Louis had to admit, she had certainly gotten prettier over the last year.

"What about you?"

He opened his mouth to answer when he heard a familiar voice call his name. He sat up, to see Abigail Fawley hurtling towards him. As she approached him and bent a little to catch her breath, Louis noticed her expression of panic and he frowned in concern.

"Abi? What's wrong."

Her green eyes widened and he realised how distressed she looked. "Oh, Louis, you have to come quick. It's Dominique!"

Without any further explanation, she gripped his hand and pulled him after her. He looked over his shoulder and made an apologetic face at Josh, he seemed a little confused, and followed Abigail down the corridor towards the girl's bathroom. When Abi paused outside and gestured for him to enter, he put his foot down.

"Abi... this is the girl's bathroom. I can't go in there!" he told her.

She bit her lip and wiped the tears that had leaked from her eyes. "No one's in there but her," she told him thickly. "I don't know what she was thinking, but I thought perhaps you could talk to her. She's..." he voice broke off and she began to sob. "She's not well, Louis."

He suddenly grew extremely concerned. What had Dominique done? Giving Abigail a reassuring smile, he swallowed and entered the bathroom. Nothing prepared him for what he saw.

The first thing he noticed was the blood. It was everywhere; bright red streaks of it on the mirror, over the sink, and pooling on the floor. The next thing his noticed was his sister, lying, he realised in utter horror, semi-conscious in her own blood. Her face was completely distorted by large, deep gashes and her hair was extremely thin and a strange, white colour. Louis was horrified and stayed rooted to the spot as he took it all in.

Dominique turned her head to face him and fixed him with watery, blue eyes. "Lou..." she muttered weakly. He rushed to her side and lifted her head to rest in his lap.

"Dom! What happened? Dom, are you alright?" he demanded fiercely, wiping the blood from her face with the hem of his robes. She gave him a watery grimace and blinked her eyes rapidly. He noticed how dry her mouth was and how pale her skin was underneath her scars.

"C'mon," he said shakily. "Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey."

He gingerly lifted her to her feet and slung her arm around his shoulder. She was taller than him, so it made it difficult, but they eventually made it to the Hospital Wing. The matron took one look at Dominique and hurriedly laid her down upon a cot. She flicked her eyes to Louis, her face a mask of concern.

"Do you know what happened?" she asked solemnly.

Louis recounted the story of how he had found her in the girl's bathroom, lying in a pool of her own blood with gashes all over her face. The matron listened attentively, her eyes trained on the poor girl. She reached out and stroked some of the strange, white hair, shaking her head miserably as she noted the wiry texture.

"She's tried to curse away her freckles," she informed him sadly. "And dye her hair too, by the look of it."

Louis sat beside his sister, grasping her hand and not taking his eyes off her face. "Why?" he asked, his voice deathly quiet.

Madam Pomfrey sighed and rolled up the sleeve of Dominique's shirt, revealing a series of lashes across her wrist. Louis gasped in horror at the sight of them. Some of the scars were white, but there were newer ones; thin, pink lines latticed along her fair skin. Louis gripped his sister's hand tighter, choking back the tears that formed in his eyes.

"Dom... what have you done?" he whispered.

"Do you know if Miss Weasley was depressed at any stage in her life?"

He shook his head. Dominique told him everything, but he hadn't known about her self-harming.

"Look after her, while I write a letter to her parents. I think your sister needs some help."

As Madam Pomfrey left the room, Louis stroked his sister's hair gently, letting his tears fall freely down his cheeks and spilling onto his robes. Dominique stirred and opened her eyes, giving him a weak smile.

"Thank you, Lou," she told him.

He couldn't bear to see her like that, and threw his arms around her neck, sobbing into her shoulder. "Oh, Dom! Why? Why did you do that?"

Dominique patted his back gently and ran her hands through his soft, blonde hair. "I wanted to be beautiful," she told him simply. "Like Victoire." The sound of her voice made his heart break. "I thought that, if I got rid of my freckles, and went blonde, then maybe, I would be beautiful like her."

Louis shook his head and burrowed into the crook of her neck. "You are beautiful, Dom," he told her earnestly. "Why would you want to look like Victoire, when you look like you?"

He pushed him off her and smiled at him. "She's beautiful, Lou. Everyone sees that. I'm plain."

"No you're not!" Louis retorted stubbornly. Why couldn't she see what he saw? His sister was beautiful and had such a pure heart. How could she possibly do that to herself? "You're just as beautiful as Vic, you just don't know it!"

Dominique reached out and stroked his cheek, collecting the tears that pooled under his chin. "Thank you, Lou," she said softly. "You are the best little brother in the world."

She drew him into her arms again and Louis curled into her, wanting to shield her from the horrible demons that had corrupted her mind.

"I don't want to lose you," he muttered. "I love you, Dom."

She kissed his forehead. "I love you too."

The two of them lay wrapped up in each other for a long time, until Bill and Fleur arrived and took their daughter home. As Louis walked back to the Common Room, his eyes scanned every girl that he saw, and he came to the same conclusion. Despite was Josh, or anyone else said, Louis knew that his sister, Dominique Weasley, was the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts.

A/N: This was probably the saddest thing I have ever written. I'm sorry that this is so sad and angsty. But it just fitted so perfectly with the prompt and what I had in mind for my head cannon. Dominique is my favourite next gen character, but she had a bit of a troubled adolescence. Basically, she feels as though she useless, and constantly compares herself to Victoire. She isn't as pretty as Victoire nor as smart, and becomes depressed, thinking that Victoire takes away everything that she wants. She begins to self-harm, and then tries to curse away her freckles and dye her hair blonde to look like her sister. And, obviously, it goes horribly wrong. Madam Pomfrey is able to heal her, but in the light, you can see the faint, white scars along her face and her wrists which never go away.

Bill and Fleur are concerned for her, so they send her over to France for the summer to stay with Gabrielle. It works and Dominique becomes a lot healthier. She loves France so much, that she ends up staying there and attending Beauxbatons.

The previous chapter is a follow on for this one, where Victoire is blaming herself for what Dominique did. She thinks it is her fault. But the two of them write to each other with Dom is in France, and mend their relationship, and Dom becomes Victoire's bridesmaid.

Louis and Dom have a cute relationship. His reaction to seeing his sister so hurt was so sad and adorable.

Sorry... that was a really long author's note... I just thought you should know all that. It could help explain some things. Please... no hate. This is just my imagination :) The next generation can't be perfect. It has to have it's own drama, since Voldie's not in the picture anymore :)

Ages: Dominique (15), Louis (13). Review pretty please :)