Author's note: So I hope you liked that last chapter. That one introduced a lot of characters, so over the next few chapters I'm gonna focus more on individual characters and their development. This one is about Dominique, the rebel of the Weasley clan. Please please please review!

Disclaimer: JKR owns Hogwarts and the Wizarding World and (most of) these characters, not me.

Dominique Weasley's Early Morning Chat

or

The Start of Something New

Things never went right for Dominique Weasley. As far as she was concerned, her entire life was defined by series of unfortunate circumstances that were beyond her control. The first, and perhaps most vexing of these circumstances, was her family.

Dominique didn't want to be a part of one of the biggest, most famous wizarding families in the world. She wanted to be her own person, not a collection of ideas that people had of her because of her family and her sister.

But, unfortunately for Dominique, she carried the evidence of her family line with her everywhere she went. The hair, the freckles, and the red and gold tie she wore were all evidence of who she was. What she was. A Weasley.

That's why Dominique dyed her hair dark brown (well, one of the reasons why). It wasn't because it looked good, which, by the way, it really didn't due to her fair complexion and all her freckles. It was because she didn't want to be defined by the Weasley-red hair she naturally had. She'd first started dying it in her third year, and now that she was a sixth year, people were used to how it looked on her. No one questioned it anymore.

And then, as if the hair and the name weren't enough- Dominique was Victoire's sister. Victoire Weasley, her beautiful, blonde, popular, confident, adored older sister, who wore her 1/8 of Veela blood around like it made her the ruler of the world. Dominique couldn't stand how freaking perfect people thought her sister was, almost as much as she couldn't stand being compared to her.

In fact, the first thing Dominique did at Hogwarts to distinguish herself as an individual was shout at the librarian, "I'm my own person, you know!" for reasons that are still being debated, getting herself banned from the library for a full month. That was the first story that spread about her that made people notice her as something other than Perfect-Victoire's sister, or Prankster-James Potter's cousin.

This gave Dominique a reputation as a troublemaker, and not the endearing "little rascal" prankster/jokester kind, like James or Roxanne- the rebellious kind who was not to be trifled with. And she hadn't minded at all. At least she had a reputation. So she kept up the show. She got herself thrown out of classes, she snogged other girl's boyfriends in public so she could start fights, she screamed at first years to get out of her way, she was always out after curfew, and she never showed up on time.

Dominique had pierced her nose over summer break, and there was a rumor going around that she had also gotten a large tattoo of a Hebridean Black Dragon on her left shoulder blade, even though she hadn't. There was also a rumor that she smoked and was on all kinds of drugs, which she didn't, and she wasn't. What she did do was wear too much dark eye makeup, streak her dyed-brown hair with bright blue and pink and purple and green (not all at once, but a different color for different days), and often wear hoop earring the size of bracelets.

There was also a rumor going around that Dominique had a lot of sex, which wasn't true at all. She actually was still a virgin. She'd never had a real boyfriend, and no boy had ever asked her on a proper date. There were a lot of things to be said about Dominique, and a lot of things that people did say about her, whether they were true or not, but if Dominique Weasley was anything, she was interesting. She was the kind of girl who scared first years, hated her family, and had only one friend. She was the kind of girl most people tend to avoid, and she was the kind of girl who not only didn't mind this, but encouraged it.

On this day, the first day of school her sixth year, Dominique awoke long before the first light of day, as she was often prone to do, and marched straight past all of her sleeping roommates and into their shared bathroom. She had started waking up this early a long time ago, when she developed a daily morning routine that required time and she couldn't very well do if she was being bothered by girls begging to use the bathroom. There was also something she very much liked about the sleeping castle of the pre-dawn hours. It was peaceful, and some had some sort of poetic quality that she really enjoyed but would never admit to enjoying.

She started her mornings with a shower, washing her hair with her color-stay shampoo. When she was done, she wrapped herself up in a towel and then went about applying her makeup, starting first with foundation to cover up her freckles as much as she possibly could- to the point where you could only see them if you looked very very closely at her (which hardly anyone ever did, as they were mostly too afraid to make eye contact). She then moved on to lining her eyes with a dark pencil, not bothering to touch it up with her wand like her sister had taught her- preferring the smudged look. She then added dark charcoal eyeshadow and 3 layers of mascara. When she finished that, she shook her hair out and dried it with her wand, not bothering to make it look neat and tidy, preferring the mussed look.

Once she deemed herself "ready", she looked at herself in the mirror and contemplated. It was early, and her mind was working on autopilot, mostly void of any thoughts, as she didn't realise until this one thought started to ring out clear in her mind: "I don't recognise myself."

She didn't see why this should be true, though. She had looked this way every day for years now. Or course she recognised herself! She just didn't see... her. And that wasn't a bad thing, she thought. Who wanted to see her?

And so she smiled her usual unhappy smile, and went back into the dark room full of sleeping girls. The clock told her that it was a little after 5:00, and she knew her roommates didn't wake up until around 6 or 7 on school days, so she still had some time for herself. She would normally put her pajamas back on if it was still this early when she was done getting ready, but on this day she was feeling a bit of those first-day jitters that a person gets no matter how old (or dangerous, or cool) they are, that were making her want to put on her uniform. She haphazardly threw on her shirt and robes, layering some necklaces over her loose red and gold tie, and some chunky bracelets on her wrists. She wanted to look dangerous, and like she didn't care.

She headed down to the common room next, not wanting to bother herself with being quiet amidst her sleeping roommates- not that she was particularly planning on making much noise. She took a book with her; another one about the events of the Second Wizarding War, which was one of her favorite subjects because she wanted to understand why her family was so famous, so well known. She wanted to know why people looked at her in awe when they heard she was a Weasley, and why they were so interested in her relationship with her Uncle Harry.

She was only alone for about 5-10 minutes in the Common Room, however, when the portrait hole opened up- scaring her half to death- and Eli Davies (her cousins James and Roxanne's best friend and partner in crime) stepped through. He was wearing jogging clothes and carrying a weird round waffle in his hand that crunched noisily when he took a bite out of it.

"Grumplestiltskin!" he exclaimed when he saw her there, flashing his "oh-so-charming" smile at her. She just scowled back.

"Original," she said, returning back to her book, happy to leave it at that. Davies, however, was not so easily deterred. He crossed the common room and sat in the chair directly across from her. She only glanced up for a second, but that was all the encouragement to continue that Eli needed.

"What are you doing up this early?" he asked. She didn't answer. "Or have you even slept? Are you an insomniac? Or maybe you're just nocturnal. Is it because you're afraid of the sun? Because unless you're a vampire, it's really not that scary, I promise." He smiled some more, obviously finding himself very amusing, and Dominique paid him no heed. Maybe coming down to the Common Room was a mistake. "Because even though you look like a vampire, what with being so pale and all, I didn't think you actually were one. I mean, shouldn't you be, like, trying to eat me or suck my blood or something right about now?"

Didn't you pay any attention in Defense? Vampires can be out in the sunlight- that's just a common misconception. And they don't sparkle either, despite what you may have read in the Twilight Saga. "Is there a reason you're here, Davies?" She winced as he crunched down on his waffle again. "And what are you eating?"

He looked pleased that she'd finally acknowledged him, and then he gestured incredulously to the waffle in his hand. "It's an Eggo Waffle!" he exclaimed, taking another bite of it for emphasis. That title obviously didn't mean as much to Dominique as it did to him, for she just continued to stare.

"Good for you?" she guessed, and he shook his head disbelievingly.

"I forget that you Weasleys are a wizard-only family." You Weasleys. She hated that. "It's a muggle breakfast food. Kept frozen in the freezer and then toasted to perfection! Mmmm. My mum's a muggle, you see." She ignored this random insight into his life that she hadn't needed or wanted to hear, and stuck to the matter at hand.

"Where did you get it?" She knew they didn't serve Muggle food in the kitchens.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He smiled mischievously at her. She just sighed and turned back to her book. Eli also turned to her book, as if noticing it for the first time.

"You read?" he asked, as she looked up at him again, obviously annoyed.

"You're still here?" she retorted, and he ignored this.

"I mean, obviously I know you can read. I just meant... I didn't peg you as the kind of person who reads, like, recreationally." She scowled again.

"And what kind of person did you peg me as, Davies?" His gaze turned contemplative, and she realised then that they had been holding eye contact ever since she had looked up from her book. She quickly looked away, trying to ignore that he was still staring at her.

"I don't know," he admitted finally, shrugging, "just not the kind who reads books."

"Well, you obviously don't know me, then," she said, realizing, perhaps a little regretfully, that hardly anyone did.

"Yeah, I guess not. Why is that?" This was the first thing he had said that had made her actually stop to think. It wasn't that the answer was hard, it was just that he'd caught her off guard. He didn't know her because she didn't want him to know her. She wanted to stay clear of him and his little group of "populars," that included both of her most obnoxious cousins, James and Roxanne. Also, she couldn't stand how highly he thought of himself and how charming he thought he was and his stupid little flirtatious smile that he thought could win him whatever he wanted. But what part of this could she say to him?

"Because," she settled on, not wishing to elaborate.

"Yeah, but because why, though? I mean, we're in the same house, same year. You cousins are my best mates, and I'm pretty sure you were there when I spent Christmas with your family that one year, not that I ever saw you. I mean... why don't we know each other better?"

"So you're saying you think we have to associate with each other just because circumstances beyond our control have forced us into the same vicinity?" He looked a little surprised at this answer, but considered it seriously before replying.

"I mean... yeah. Isn't that how all people start associating?" She chose not to answer this. Eventually, he pressed on with his original question. "So why? Why don't we know each other?"

She waited some more before giving him a response, until he started wondering if she was planning on answering this either. "... because I don't like you," she finally said, not worrying about hurting his feelings because obviously this kind of comment had absolutely no effect on Eli Davies' ego. As far as he was concerned, nobody could hate him. Even when they acted like they hated him, they secretly liked him.

"Why not?" he asked, smiling despite how rude she was being. Why was he always smiling?

"Because you're obnoxious and full of yourself and you think you can get whatever you want with just a smile and a wink."

"Can't I?" He retorted jokingly. That was it right there! So full of himself!

"No," she said curtly, glancing up from her book again to let him know that she was serious. However, when she looked up at him she felt herself suddenly quite stunned by the full-fledged grin he was giving her, happy little crinkles appearing around his very very blue eyes. Oh god.

"Oh," was his reply, and his grin never faltered, even when she gave him a withering glare and returned back to her book, determined not to look up again. She tried to read but found it extremely hard to concentrate with him sitting there, smiling at her. Go away.

Eventually she gave up trying to get him to go away with silence, so she asked "Why are you still here, Davies?"

"Because you haven't answered my question."

"What question?" she sighed.

"The 'why are you up this early' question."

"Because I like to wake up early," she answered simply, which was basically the gist of it. "Why are you up? Had to pop back to Muggle-town to get your frozen breakfast or something?" He chuckled at this, and she pretended like she was still trying to read.

"Not exactly. I went for a run and then I got the Eggo's from my secret stash."

There was a pause before she responded, "Okay," because she felt like he was waiting for a response. She could tell he wanted her to ask about the details of this "secret stash," as he called it, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"So you always wake up this early?" he pressed on, and she gave another exasperated sigh. Just let it die, Davies.

"Yes. And you're always this annoying?"

"Yes. Always," he agreed, grinning some more. A silence hung in the air after that, because she was absolutely done trying to make conversation with him. She had pretty much given up on him leaving her alone, too, when he stood up and started stretching.

"I guess I'll leave you to it, then," he said, and she gave some sort of noise in agreement. He was almost at the stairs up to the dormitories when he turned and addressed her again, "Hey, Dominique?" It was the first time he ever called her by her first name. For some reason, she was oddly surprised that he knew what it was.

"Yeah?"

"Will you be here again tomorrow?" She blushed a little bit, but he didn't see, because her back was to him. Why would he ask her that?

"Probably not, if you're gonna be here," she told him, mostly serious, a little bit joking. He seemed to think it was funny, however, and he chuckled.

"I guess I'll see you later then," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"I guess so," she answered, and then he was gone.

Dominique felt weird about it for the rest of the morning. The more she thought about it though, the more she was sure it was just a one-time thing. She'd never really spoken to Eli Davies before, and, let's face it, she probably never would again. They weren't friends. It wasn't even that they ran in different circles (because Dominique didn't really have a circle, she just had Alice), it was that his friends- mostly James and Roxanne- were some of the only people that she actively avoided. They just didn't make sense.

That's why at breakfast that morning, Dominique was firmly convinced that Eli Davies would not acknowledge her, same as always, and she wouldn't acknowledge him, same as always. And that's why it caught her by surprise when, as she made her way into the Great Hall with Alice Longbottom, he called her name and waved, smiling broadly. She waved back, and even gave him a tiny smile, as she tried to ignore her friend's incredulous stare.

"What was that about?" Alice asked as they sat down at their usual spot, and Dominique just shrugged.

"No idea," she lied, hoping Alice would just drop it. As she settled into her seat next to her one and only friend, she thought a little bit about the perhaps only interesting part of her conversation with Davies:

So you're saying you think we have to associate with each other just because circumstances beyond our control have forced us into the same vicinity?

I mean... yeah. Isn't that how all people start associating with one another?

And he had been right, really. I mean, Dominique had known it for a long time, but the only reason she was even friends with Alice Pomona Longbottom was because of circumstances that really had nothing to do with either of them.

Alice was sweet and studious and rule-abiding, almost Dominique's polar opposite. They became friends back when they were very young, however, back before Dominique had thought to be rebellious and before she and Alice had become so different. Back when they were just... little girls who liked to play dolls and fly trainer-broomsticks together. Back when Dominique hadn't hated her family, and she'd actually liked James and Roxanne, because she was just happy to be around people her age.

It was around age 10 that Dominique started to want to be her own person, to break free from her stupid family. When they all came to Hogwarts, James was immediately cool, and he took Roxanne along with him. He could have taken Dominique too, but she didn't want to be associated with him, or any of her family, any longer. And he didn't take Alice with him (into popularity, that is) because Alice liked rules, and she didn't like to break them, so she and James- whose whole identity centered around breaking rules- started disliking each other.

It was then that Alice and Dominique had really become friends. When they both realised that they didn't really like James Potter, though everyone else seemed to.

And when Dominique started breaking the rules to get attention, and being bitchy and wearing too much eye makeup and all of that, Alice stuck by her because she (Alice) was a good friend. She would have made a decent Hufflepuff, Dominique always said. Besides, rebellious Dominique really didn't come into full bloom until mid-second year, and by then they were already best friends. And you don't just dump your best friend when she's going through stuff like that.

Of course, Alice had hoped it was just a phase. But when it became clear that it wasn't- that new Dominique was most likely here to stay- she had just come to accept it. Being Dominique Weasley's best friend gave you a certain amount of second-hand street cred, which sweet little Alice could never have on her own. And she knew what Dominique was really like, so she put up with the "scary bitch" thing as best she could. Besides, her best friend mostly didn't act that way around her. She just acted like herself.

"But why would Eli Davies wave at you? Did you guys hang out over break or something?" Alice asked, determined to get to the bottom of this strange happening. They sat some ways down from where Potter and his mates sat, and Alice craned her neck to get another glimpse at Davies. Dominique pushed her back into her seat with an expression on her face that read "Please, Alice."

"No, I only saw him once or twice over break," Dominique assured her, though this wasn't altogether true- it was just an estimate. Dominique had actually seen him 5 times over the summer holidays, as he had stayed with the Potters for almost a month in July, but she couldn't remember any specific instance, or really having run into him at all. There was always family and friends around, she had just learned to block them out.

"But then why-"

"I don't know, Al! Can we just drop it!" Alice hardly seemed phased by this outburst. This kind of thing was normal for them.

"Fine. We did see him a couple of times though, didn't we? He was there when we all went to the Quidditch World Cup, and he was there that other time we went for dinner at the Potter's. And those were just the times I was there! You must have seen him more times than that..." she trailed off when she caught her friend's death-glare (Dominique was very good at those).

"I'm done talking about it," the angry witch declared, and Alice sighed.

"Fine," she said again, "But I don't see why you're getting so defensive. It's a perfectly innocent quest-"

"Alice!"

"Fine. Fine, I'm done, fine..."

"Thank you."

"So sensitive! Almost like you've got something to hide..."

"Alice, please."

"Whatever, Dom, it's none of my business."

"You're right, it isn't."

"I just don't see why-"

"Alice!"

"Fine! Fine, I'm done, fine."

The Dominique that I've imagined is a really misunderstood girl- she acts hard and cold but inside she's sad. I liked the idea of she and Alice being best friends even though they're so different, and introducing a new character who isn't afraid of Dominique and wants to take time to get to know her (aka, Eli Davies). Anyway, review if you enjoyed, and read on! -Maddie