The Raven's Call

Glittara

Saturday, 24th December 1994

Today's the day. And I'm nervous. I'm nervous as hell. I received a suit in the mail from, well. I don't know who from. But it's my exact measurements, so it fits perfectly. The only thing is.. it's such a boring suit. Just dark blue. No flair, no little Atticus quirks anywhere. So I have to make adjustments. But, how?

Back to the library I go. My second home. Next to Hogwarts itself, of course. I carry the box with my suit under my arm, as I spend a good few hours searching for what I need, but to no avail. Was this something I needed to come up with myself? I don't have years to come up with the perfect spell.. Although.. I think I know what to do.

On my way to the room of requirement, I bump into Alex, carrying his own suit up the stairs. Perfect. "Hiya, Atti. What's up?" He greets me. Not saying a word, I begin dragging him by the arm, up the staircase. "Where are you taking me?" I don't answer. "I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!!" He wails. I just roll my eyes and lead him into the hidden room. The room is full of adjustable mannequins, with yarn and thread sprawled about. Rolls of fabric line the walls as a large sewing wheel resides in the middle of the room, a chair either side. Exactly what I need. "I love this room." I murmur, walking into the room, dragging Alex along.

Finally, I let go of his arm, tuning to face him, putting my suit box down on the floor. I pull out my wand, aiming at his uniform's tie. "Mate, have you gone off the deep end?!" Alex shrieks, wide-eyed. "Glittara." I mumble, flicking the wand ever so gently to the left. A silver light exits the tip of my wand, splashing onto his tie. A sliver of his tie now covered in glitter. "Huh." I mumble, pulling my wand back to look at the tip of it. Alright, a tiny sliver is better than nothing. "What in the hells was that?" He asks, bewildered. Did he really think I was about to do something to him? I shrug the thoughts off and look at him. "Glittara. The Bedazzling Charm." I announce. "My own invention." I tell him, scratching my head with the tip of my wand. "Your own invention? You mean to tell me you invented a spell? In fourth year?" He asks bewildered. "Five minutes ago, yeah." I respond. "Mate, you need to show that to Flitwick ASAP." He tells me, though I shake my head. "It's nowhere near perfect. I only got a tiny bit. It needs work. And you're gonna help me."
"What do you need?"

I grin, those are the words I wanted to hear. It's 12PM when we start. And 7PM when we get a promising result. "I've got it!" I exclaim, startling Alex in the process. "Wot!?" He exclaims back, looking over to me. "Alright, stand still." I demand, pointing my wand at him again. "Glittara." I utter, flicking my wand ever so slightly to the left. The entire tie turns glittery. Not just a patch, not just a sliver. The whole thing! "WAHHOOO!" I whoop excitedly, jumping around. "Shit yeah!" Alex grins wildly. "All I have to do in envision the amount of fabric I want to have covered in glitter, then that's what I get! Oh, it's so simple!" I exhale the last word, doing a small victory dance. "I hate to break up your party, mate. But we do have a ball to get to." Oh, crap. I'd been so distracted, I forgot about all of my nerves. But now.. I'm nervous again.

***

We make our way to the Gryffindor common room, carrying our suits. I smile to myself, proud of my previous accomplishments. But there's no time to celebrate, we must get ready for the dance tonight. And that is what we are on our way to do. "Password?" The fat lady asks, looking down at us. "Banana Fritters." Alex replies in his thick Scottish accent. The lady nods as the portrait swings open, revealing the common room. Alex leads me inside, it's less crowded than I expected it to be, but I am totally okay with that. There's a few boys hanging on the couches, but we pay them no mind as Alex leads me to his shared dorm. I take a seat on his bed, placing my suit box next to me, before turning my attention back to Alex, who now has begun to pace the room. "What if I mess it up? What if I stand on her toes? No, you won't do that, you're a fantastic dancer. Idiot. Idiot." He mumbles to himself as he paces. "Uh, Al? You good?" I ask, kicking my legs out in front of me as I start to remove my uniform. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just nervous, you know?" He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "You're probably onto something there, though." He continues as he too starts undressing. I open my box, revealing the rather dull dark blue suit. Smiling, I take out my wand, aim it at the suit and flick it ever so slightly to the left. "Glittara." I utter as the full blue suit turned into an array of sparkles, reflecting the dim lights of the dorm room. "Bedazzled suit. I respect a man who knows what he can pull off." Alex says with a grin. I chuckle in response before getting my glitter on.

Once the two of us get dressed, we admire how well the two of us scrub up to be. "Luna got 'erself a catch, mate. Be careful." Alex says with a giggle, placing a hand on my shoulder. "After tonight, the girls will all want a piece of Atticus Grey." He teases, causing me to let out a stifled snort, just as Ron walks into the room, legging it for the mirror in his horrid dress robes. He check out his appearance, looking from all angles. "Bloody..." his words trail off. "Oh bloody-" he trails again as Harry enters from the bathroom with his toothbrush. "What are those?" Ron asks Harry, seeing him in the mirrors' reflection before turning, spotting mine and Alex's get ups. "What are those!?" He reiterates. "My dress robes?" Harry answers timidly. "Well, they're alright!" Ron squeaks. "No lace, no dodgy little collar." He complains. "Well, I expect yours are more traditional." I speak up, trying to reassure the redhead. "Traditional?! They're ancient!" Ron scoffs. "I look like my Great Aunt Tessie!" He whines, before lifting an arm, smelling his pit. "I smell like my Great Aunt Tessie." He wails in defeat as he turns back to look in the mirror. "Murder me Harry.." 

***

We exit the dorms, heading back down the short staircase to the common area. There we spot Asteria pacing the room in a lovely green dress.. "That is COMPLETELY overshadowed by the GHASTLY bow tied around your waist!" I exclaim, my thoughts exiting from my mouth. She stops her pacing and looks back at us. "Huh?" She looks frustrated, stressed. "Astra? What's going on?" I ask as Alex nudges me. "Is the bow really that bad?" He whispers as we walk closer to Asteria. I simply nod as she turns towards us, covering her chest with her arms. "This scar.. I don't like it.." She whimpers. Oh right, the scar Lupin had left on her from that night.. of course, she'd be self-conscious about it. "It stands out. It's ugly.. I hate it!" She expresses in frustration. My eyes wander down to the terrible bow. "It healed up pretty good. Trust me, it was much worse last time we saw it." I hear Alex speak up. "Thanks, I guess.." She responds. "Asteria? How much do you like that bow?" I ask, my eyes wanting to burn holes through the damned thing. "I don't. Why?" She asks me. That's the motivation I need. I walk over, pulling at one of the ends of the bow as the fabric releases from her body, the opposite end floating to the floor. I take a step back, admiring the dress now. "Much better." I mumble before looking back down at the matching green fabric. "Don't worry, Astra. He's been doing this all day." I hear Alex again as I throw the thick ribbon around her shoulders, turning the terrible bow into a much nicer shawl. "Hmm." I mumble, taking out my wand before pointing it at her. "Glittara." I sing out, flicking my wand ever so slightly to the left. The entire length of fabric now glittery like my entire suit. "There." I grin, taking a step back. Astra smiles, looking back at Alex. "He looks like he needs some glitter." She teases as I look towards him. "Ya want some, I'll give it ya." I respond with a smirk. Alex smiles back at me. That's not a no. I raise my wand, flicking it ever so slightly to the left. "Glittara." His tie turns from a boring red into a wonderfully bedazzled red. "What do you think, Astra? Good enough to hide the scar for tonight?" I ask, turning my attention back to her as I stick my wand back in my inner coat pocket. "Yeah, thanks Atti, you're the best." She beams. "Time to go, though, Atti." Alex says, suddenly panicked. "Our ladies await."