RUN - James Potter

Chapter 6

Antonella was never a morning person, she was either woken up by her brother or by the smell of her mother's pastries, but when she was at Hogwarts, something always forced her awake at five in the morning. Opening her eyes to see a small ray of sunlight reflect off her cat, who made made himself cosy between Asterin's chest and arms. Wiping the lose ginger strands out of her face, she could only admire how at peace Asterin was... Matilda agrees that Asterin should become a sleeping model, as everything looked perfect.

Quietly, Antonella swung her legs out from other the dark blue quits and onto the cold marble flooring. With only the light stumbling through a crack in the curtains, she stumbled her way towards her shared wardrobe with Asterin, collecting her bathroom necessaries, her uniform and wand. With much concentration, Antonella was able to walk down the 32 tall steps with no lights at all. Letting go of her breath, which she didn't even realise she was holding, she opened the sitting room door to the round corridor with all the sixth grade dorms. There was no noises.

Making her way to the bathroom, which was the opposite way to not only the sixth grade shared common room but the stairwell to the Ravenclaw common room. Once on entry, she used a simple locking charm... to at least alert her when someone was about to enter the bathroom.

Turning the taps on, each having an engraved 'R' on them, she splashed water to her face, in hopes it would freshen it up. Antonella did not look in the mirror, as she did not want to look at who would look right back at her. Instead... she unzipped her purse filled with her hairbrush, hair ties, toothpaste and brushes, and countless creams and serums to attempt to get rid of the pesky ache and dark under-eye bags.

Brushing her hair, she knew that she wanted a shower - as she had forgotten to take one the day before. Turning the shower taps on, she stripped to nothing. A series of vulnerabilities overcame her. She was not like Lily Evans... perfect in every way.

With shampoo and conditioner supplementary with the shower, she only needed to ask and the lathering bubble mess appeared in her hands. Washing her hair was a pastime that she quite enjoyed, with her fingers pressing deeply into her scalp, the front of her nails sending shivers down her spine, and the blazing hot water turning her skin from pale to red. But what she loved most was how her skin and bone melted with the water, it was like one big hug.

After spending too many minutes in the shower, she tried herself down and used a charm she learnt the year before to dry her hair. Pulling on her undergarments, pleated skirt and blouse, she couldn't but help glance in the mirror. She tried a smile, and yet, she did not look any longer than a few minutes. Grabbing the black hairbrush once more, she dragged it against her scalp sending chills across her neck, and pulled her red hair into a tight ponytail, leaving some hair to shape her face.

In routine, she picked up her toothbrush and brushed her teeth ferociously, until she deemed them to be clean. Rinsing her mouth by brining the water to her mouth by cupping her hands, she let the water keep running as she rinsed her hands after.

Over the years, Antonella slowly added more items to her never ending morning list, with moisturniser, oil and gel cleansers all apart of it now. And she spent her time cleaning her face, only to attack it with mascara on her lashes and a toner that supposably would remove wrinkles after two weeks. Once finished, she packed all her belongs back and begun the descendent back to her dormitory.

When she returned, more sun rays flooded the room, but not nearly enough to wake any of the girls in the room. Just as quietly as before, her silent feet and hands placed all her items back into their places as she pulled a small compartment where all her shoes were placed. Deciding to wear the same black heels and black stockings, she knew better than to put them on in the room of sleeping girls. Carrying them, and her wand in hand, the short distance to sitting room below, she sunk into the blue velvet couch, where she slipped the stockings over her legs and then her heels over her feet.