Perfect World

Chapter 9

Walking into the great hall with Isobel had been very much an occasion. A lot of kids were already seated at their tables and turned to see who stepped in late. Of course, most eyes fell on Isobel as she was a beauty, but many had been surprised by Lula's appearance. They'd not seen her put that much effort into her appearance before. The outfit itself was chic, but with her hair done and a touch of mascara and lip gloss, Lula was beautiful.

"Let's go take a seat!" Isobel steered them to the end of the Slytherin table that Lula usually sat at and where Isobel had been getting used to sitting at so that Daffy and Lula could be close still. Isobel's eyes quickly fell to Muriel, who was sitting with some other pureblood fanatics and eyeing them distastefully. She was wise not to say anything out loud as Isobel turned away from her, not giving her the time of day.

"Good morning, Lula. That's a good look for you." Daffy greeted her as she sat.

"Thanks, Daffy. I'm not sure I'll be doing it again anytime soon."

"Oh, you will be!" Isobel chirped from beside her. Lula turned with apprehension to Isobel.

"I don't normally wear make-up, Isobel."

"We'll change that."

"What if I don't want to?"

"You don't get a say." Lula let out an exasperated huff, but couldn't entirely keep the smile off her face. Isobel was a force to be reckoned with at times, and when she got this way, Lula learned that she'd never beat her.

"I have a good shade for you. Mum will also happily send things when I tell her you're starting to wear make-up." Daffy told her thoughtfully.

"Anyways, today is the first Hogsmeade trip," Lula quickly changed the subject. "Why don't we all walk around? I know it was supposed to just-"

"I would be fine with that," Daffy replied. While Isobel and herself weren't on the best of terms, it came down to Lula today. She was sure that Muriel would try and pull something, and she wasn't going to leave Lula unprepared.

"Sounds good to me as well. The four of us can," Isobel gestured to herself, Frannie, Lula, and Daffy. "take the time to enjoy ourselves. I hear that McGonagall and Snape are preparing for pop exams. We can even take some time to study later."

'I'll need help with studying then." Francine groaned. They all agreed. So the rest of breakfast was spent chatting amongst themselves, Daffy had swapped tables to sit across from Lula as well. When breakfast finally ended, the four girls headed towards the great hall where they had to wait to hand in their permission slips and do the headcount with Professor McGonagall and Mr. Filch.

Lula quietly greeted Mrs. Norris and gave her a small treat that she was accustomed to carrying around for the other cats she knew roamed the castle. She set the cat treat down in a corner and walked away, so Mrs. Norris would take it. While she'd grown to tolerate the exchanges between them, Mrs. Norris wouldn't approach Lula or any student. It never discouraged Lula, however, but Francine scoffed at the exchange.

"That cat is just evil." She grumbled under her breath. She'd been given more than one detention due to that pesky, little thing.

"She's not that bad," Lula defended her. "She's used to Filch and Filch hates kids. Pets temperaments tend to match their owners."

"Filch is bad."

"As long as you're behaving, he isn't," Lula chuckles.

"Exactly." Francine laughs with her. "Who wants to behave all the time?"

"No one." Daffy chimes in, a glint of mischief in her eyes. They all laughed at that. It didn't take too long before the headcount was finished, and the students began their trek to Hogsmeade.