The Abuser

The Room Where I Live

Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days, when our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out.

- Stressed Out by Twenty-one Pilots

.........

"This isn't a fashion show, you know." I laugh softly as Luna and Ginny crowd around me, brushing my hair and washing my face.

"I know- here, take off your shirt, will you?" Ginny tugs at my dark turtleneck with a grin.

"Wha- no way!" I protest a bit weakly as the two girls pull my shirt over my head, leaving me feeling distinctly exposed.

"Oh, come on! You're wearing an undershirt. Don't be such a wimp, Hazel." Ginny tosses my turtleneck to the side, looking me up and down. "Now, a change of hair color, I think..."

"Is that really-" I protest, looking lovingly at my black locks.

"Yes!" Ginny and Luna chorus, pulling into a huddle to discuss the changes that they wish to make to me, while I stare languidly into the mirror. My long hair covers the scars on my back and shoulders, so my two younger friends have not yet seen the worst.

The Weasley girl pops up beside me, a grin splitting her pretty face into a virtual sunbeam of happiness. "Can you speak with an accent?" She fusses with my tresses, having seemingly decided on the appropriate shade with Luna. "Colovaria!" She says, pointing her wand at my head. I wince at the sight of my new reflection, missing my raven hair already. The new girl staring back at me has blond hair with bubble-gum pink strips, causing her to look significantly younger.

"Really? Couldn't you have picked brown?" I say, the least bit annoyed, spinning to get a better look over my shoulder. "And yes, I can speak with an excellent Italian accent."

The two younger girls clink their wand tips with a victorious giggle. "You look nicer than you did before." Luna says dreamily as Ginny uses glamor charm after glamor charm in a vain attempt to cover the scars on my lips.

Sighing, she gives up and pockets her wand, pulling a torturous looking device from her beauty bag. "Now for some curls." She smiles a bit maniacally. "But first, a trim."

"No!" I squeak, backing up against the door of the Hogwarts Express bathroom. I fumble at the latch in a panic, but the girls have clearly locked it with a charm, so my efforts are wasted. "I love my hair! You- you can't just-"

"We can." Luna says coolly, pulling some deadly scissors from her own pack and attacking me with a furious determination. Within five minutes my hair has been reduced to a cheek-bone grazing bob, and my scars are fully exposed to the eyes of the two younger girls.

"Oh...Merlin..." Ginny gasps, delicately covering her mouth and sending me a sympathetic look.

"Nargles got you too?" Luna asks cheerfully, patting my gnawed shoulder absently.

"Erm... yeah Luna... Nargles have got me." I crack a grin, winking at Ginny to show her that I'd rather laugh the situation off. She catches on quickly, showing Luna the "Nagle bite" on her thumb. After a few moments of giggling, Ginny uses her medieval looking device to curl my hair into tight golden ringlets.

"I don't know how to change eye color... which is unfortunate because yours are extremely distinctive." Ginny muses, while Luna applies her signature pastel makeup and sweeping eyeliner to me. "Hmmm. Put on my sweater, then we'll be done." She tosses me a knee-length white sweater-dress which I pull quickly over my head. "You look great. Let's get back to the D.A.'s, they'll be wondering about us." We pull the bathroom door open, slipping out. I fumble with my altered hair, pouting a bit as we take our seats with the Neville, Colin Creevy, Susan Bones, and Justin Finch-Fletchly. They all do a double-take at the sight of me, which I decide is a positive reaction considering my goal.