Fiebre | Severus Snape

u - me veo cara? (rewritten)

chapter one - do i look expensive?

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Focus.

Compose yourself.

Pick up your posture.

That's it.

Keep your head up high.

Alba inhaled and exhaled, controlled and slow as she stood in front of her full length mirror, examining her body language. She wanted it to be believable, needed it to be believable. She had been at this for hours, even using the hallway her room was in as a catwalk. Figuring out how to walk properly with a variety of heels, attempting to mimic the confidence her mother had when she was dripping in luxury.

Alba was exhausted to say the least. Designer clothes, handbags, jewelry, accessories and shoes were scattered amongst the floors of her room as if it had been struck by a natural disaster. She was frantic to get it right before tomorrow. She needed to embody the opposite of what she was.

Tomorrow was the day she was to leave to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Alba had been homeschooled all her life. Her parents, who were successful entrepreneurs, had the resources to aid this decision. But now everything had changed. She no longer had living parents.

She would only have to endure two years of schooling she had left and then she was free. She'd be able to pursue her dreams. A singer. Or a potions mistress. She had an odd interest in music and potions ever since she could remember. The perfect mix of muggle and witch characteristics.

Groaning in frustration, she closed her eyes and shook her head to snap out of the sentiments that consumed her. Suddenly, it came naturally to her. As if it was a switch she pulled, she disregarded any emotion that controlled her. It was as if they never existed, completely emptying her mind from the fact that she lost the only people in life she cared about.

Opening her eyes, she met her own face in the mirror, a look of confidence and determination smiling back at her. She turned to the side, posing and admiring the Chanel outfit she had chosen for her first day tomorrow.

She could no longer get distracted. There mustn't be a lingering of depressive emotions to feed off of. It would be detrimental to the journey ahead of her. That was the past. Her focus was on what was ahead of her now.

A new start. New school. New beginnings.

———

Alba let out a small gasp, opening her eyes as she was awakened by a comforting voice that seemed to get louder by the second.

"Hello? Dear, sorry to wake you. Would you like anything off the trolley?" The nice lady smiled, waiting for a response. Alba's eyes skimmed over the tempting cart of sugar filled snacks, but she had no appetite for it.

"No thank you. I'll pass," Alba answered groggily, shaking her head. How long was she asleep for? The trolley lady nodded and went off to question others.

Alba watched through the window of her compartment, seeing students of her own age talking to one another. They laughed, smiled, seeming genuinely full of joy. Witnessing this was like a stab in the heart to her. It was a reminder of her loneliness, how utterly full of despair she was. She let out a defeated sigh, turning her head to look out the window.

She admired the scenery for a second before she felt her mind shift. She wouldn't be here if her parents were still alive. She wouldn't have to put on this face of 'I'm fine' to avoid questions as to why she is ready to end it all. She wouldn't have to endure the anxiety of being in the unfamiliar and having to do the rest of her life alone. She wouldn't have to embody the life of what she tried to run away from all her life. A stuck-up rich child.