The next morning, I come down stairs for breakfast, wearing a skirt one again. I love skirts, and have missed wearing them. The top couple of buttons of my short sleeved blouse are undone, showing the line where the burns stopped. I have my hair in a pony tail, and my quidditch bag slung over my shoulder.
Today is the start. The start of my new normal.
I am Hazel Taylor. I am nineteen years old. I am not defined by my scars.
"Good morning." I greet the Weasley parents, pouring myself some coffee. I hear Arthur choke on his beverage behind me.
"Are you alright?" He asks, showing fatherly concern.
"I am, thank you. Fiendfyre sure leaves its mark though." I shrug, adding the perfect amount of cream and sugar.
"Well, I'm glad that it seemed to heal well enough. Are you still in any pain, my dear?" Molly asks, handing me a plate of pancakes.
"No. The skin is a bit sensitive, but other than that, I'm fine." I assure her, sitting down to eat.
"How are things at the ministry?" I ask as I dig in to the food.
"Not great." Arthur shakes his head sadly. "You-know-who has managed to corrupt far too much of the Ministry. I worry where things are headed."
"Me too."
We finish our breakfasts, and Arthur and I head off to our jobs. It's a nice spring day, meaning that there's no snow, and the wind isn't too strong. It's still pretty chilly though. I hurry into the locker room, wishing I had grabbed a coat. I drop my bag on one of the benches and start pulling out my uniform.
"Merlin, girl!" Vivian whistles, startling me. I hadn't noticed her in the corner.
"What?" I pull off my shirt, reaching for my quidditch robes.
"With those scars, you look tougher than Martin!"
"I do?" I grin, glancing down at them without completely hating them for once.
"Come look in the mirror."
I come over and stand beside her at the mirror. She reaches back, releasing my pony tail, my hair falling to my shoulders.
"Hold this." She hands me my broom. "Tilt your chin up... There."
She's right. I look fearsome. I narrow my eyes slightly, adding to it. I look like the kind of quidditch player who would knock you off your broom for fun.
"This is cool and all, but my uniform covers all of it." I turn away, walking back to my locker.
"But you know." She comments, passing me as she leaves the locker room, broom in hand.
"But I know." I whisper to myself as I change into my robes.
During practice, Vivian's words echo in my mind. Tough. Not ugly, not marred. Tough. I quite like that. When I change after practice, if anyone notices the scars, they don't say anything. The normal chatter continues as normal.
"Are you still staying at the Weasleys'?" Alex asks as we pull on our normal clothes.
"Yeah. I'm staying in Ginny's room. I can't find a place of my own." I fold my robes and place them in my duffle. I'm going to need to wash them tonight.
"I'm glad to hear you're being taken care of."
"Alex," I laugh, "I'm not a child to be taken care of."
YOU ARE READING
Weasley Twins - A Fate You Can't Escape
FanfictionHazel Taylor is in her seventh year at Hogwarts. Things with Voldemort are escalating, and Umbridge is not helping anything. She's just trying to survive the year and make it through her Newts. But things don't exactly go as planned for this Huff...
