Life choices (Remus Lupin Marauders era)

Chapter 19

I sit peacefully on my bed as the girls suddenly come screaming through the bedroom door.

Stop for a second. What happened? Who died? I ask suddenly.

"How can you not realise? It's the ball tonight! You get to meet Mr Mysterious." Mary grins and wiggles her eyebrows at me.

Normally this is where the girl exclaims that they've only got three hours to get the four of them ready. We've got three hours and I'm sitting on my bed in my pyjamas, my hair looking like an owl has just slept in it. It doesn't take us that long to get changed and sort out our hair and makeup. When you go to boarding school, you learn how to do things quickly so that you can have a lie in.

I lean back on my headboard and flick through my book as Ali comes and sits next to me.

"Do you need any help getting ready, Im?"

I should be ok, and anyway if this guy really likes me for me then it shouldn't matter what I look like.

"Yeah, you should be right. It sounds like you've got a keeper there." She smiles wistfully.

Thanks. I smile. But you're the one with the long lasting boyfriend. Now he really is a keeper. Anyway, I can't wait to meet him and find out who he is.

After a few minutes of chatting she pulls me up off the mattress and towards the wardrobe where I've kept my dress. I carefully pull it out, making sure I don't crease it or damage the fine fabric in any way. I slip out of my clothes and shimmy into the dress, Alice helps me zip it up at the back and hands over my shoes.

"How do you want your hair?" She says, sitting me down in the chair.

Whatever you think would work.

She starts messing about with my blonde locks, occasionally asking the other girls what they think. She then progresses to doing my makeup. Me being me, I'm absolutely hopeless at doing anything makeup-related.

She finishes with a swipe of mascara along my eyelashes and then steps back to admire her work.

"Thank god for magic." She sighs, giving my face a poke with her wand before calling out for the other girls to see.

They pile on the complements and gush about what Alice has done to make me look so pretty. It's only when they hand over the mirror that I realise what the fuss is about. I still look like me, but I look completely different at the same time. My eyes pop out and I actually have cheekbones.

Thank you so much! I write quickly and hug her.

"Woah, careful woman! Don't ruin my masterpiece!" She hugs me lightly back and then moves away to sort out her own makeup.

We laugh and joke around while finishing our makeup and hair. Once we're all ready we decide to parade downstairs and find our dates. The marauders wait at the bottom of the stairs and watch as we descend the stone steps.

"Can I say you all look absolutely stunning, girls." Sirius smiles wolfishly.

None of us reply and we walk off down the corridor. I reach the doors and turn to the others.

"Good luck. I can't wait to see who this guy is." Lily smiles and pats me comfortingly on the arm.

We part ways and I slip outside towards the greenhouse. The door sits open and I slip into the big glass building. I wait among the flowerpots and look out at the door for any sign of the guy from the letter.

I'm waiting for around five to ten minutes before something happens. The door flies shut and makes me jump away. I try to turn the handle but it refuses to budge. I turn to the door at the opposite end of the greenhouse and run towards the door there. It closes with a bang before I can get too close and I'm stuck there. The windows don't move and the glass can't break.

I start panicking and trying to look for a way to get out. My heart is crushed as I realise this was all just a plot. No one really liked me, no one wanted to take me to the dance. A couple of traitor tears threaten to spill out for my eyes but I think of my makeup and tilt my head back to try and stop them.

The sun. If I'm stuck here until the morning, I'll have to bare the sunrise. Being a vampire, I'm sensitive to sunlight. I don't sparkle or suddenly combust, but I get really bad headaches if I'm in direct sunlight and if it gets unbearable then I'll slip into unconsciousness.

I scream and smash my fists against the glass, hoping that someone will notice or hear me and I'll get out of here. No one appears and so I let the tears flow, sinking to the floor and sitting among the soil.

No one appears for the whole of the night and I wonder what my friends are doing without me. I wonder how everyone's night is going and if anyone at all will miss me.

I curl up into a ball and bury my face into the soft lace covering my knees. I can't get to sleep while I know that someone might just come by and find me. As the night ends and the sun slowly starts to rise, I try to find a shaded spot to stay.

One of the really bad but clever things about greenhouses is that everything gets sunlight. There is no shaded spot for flowers, or people, to hide away in. I'm completely exposed to the blinding white light.

My head starts to ache and I can't concentrate on my surroundings.

I feel myself
slipping
away
into
the
d a r k n e s s.

***

Hey y'all, I bet you hate lupin now, I kinda do. I changed my user name, sorry if it causes complications. Please follow, vote and comment. Xxx