Change - James F. Potter

Chapter 20: Lightning

Cassie's POV:

The rest of the week passed quickly and uneventfully. Well, mostly uneventfully. There was the incident where James managed to put gum in Nearly-headless Nick's nose which resulted in the five of us (the boys and I) being chased around the entire ground level. It was only put to an end when Filch threatened to have the ghost locked up with someone named Murtle. The threat caused him to quickly abandon the chase.

Saturday was warmly welcomed by many of the students, myself included. The sun has shown quite pleasantly and the collective student body seemed to be at peace.

"Ugh, why did I have to wear my cloak today?? It's a million degrees out here!" Marlene exclaimed, trying to bunch up the thick black fabric.

The girls and I had decided to spend the afternoon down by the lake. "I warned you, Marley," lily had in fact warned her multiple times, "and you refused to believe me. It's your fault that you're so warm in this weather."

Marlene stuck her tongue out at lily who just rolled her eyes. If there was one thing that I had learned about Marlene, it's that she was as stubborn as Merlin is old. For instance, this morning, she put on two different pairs of shoes and when Alice questioned it, she said she had meant to do it and kept them both on.

Alice and I were sitting on the dock with our feet dangling in the water while the other two girls argued.

"What's that you've got there Alice?" Alice had a tiny glass bottle in her hands. It was the color of lighting right as it struck the ground and shimmered when the sun hit it just right. "Oh, this?" Alice held up the bottle and shook it, "this is nail polish. Have you never painted your nails before??" The look on Alice's face almost scared me. She looked taken aback as well as disappointed. Have I done something wrong again? Merlin, I hope not.

Alice's question had been asked loud enough that both Lily and Marlene ran over with similar looks on their faces.

"How have you gone so long without painting your nails??" Marley was flabbergasted. Is painting your nails really that important? 

"Of course I have painted my nails," I roll my eyes to emphasize how dumb they were being, "just never anything bright and colorful. Mother-" My voice cut out. I've never mentioned my mother around them, at least not by choice. I take a deep breath before continuing, "My mother only ever permitted me to have a french manicure. She says that young ladies should not go making fools of themselves with such childish things as colored nail polish." 

Almost as soon as the words come out of my mouth, I know I have said the wrong thing. Alice's ears turn a deep shade of red and she points her gaze anywhere that is not at me. The other two girls find their gazes elsewhere too. 

'Did I offend them? I was merely telling them what mother told me...'

My gaze shifts to the water at my feet. In the minutes the conversation took place, it seemed to have grown colder and now made me uncomfortable. 

"Of course," I begin, trying to fix the conversation, "I don't agree with her. If you knew my mother, you would know that we are polar opposites. It seems that everything she likes, I dislike. Or everything she finds unsuitable, I enjoy beyond belief." I focus my gaze on the gentle lapping of water against my feet. There is something very calming about water. "She has often told me of the things that I cannot do, but that only makes me want to do them more. For instance, I cannot dye my hair or cut it any shorter than it is now, and when I think about it too much, those are the only things I want to do. I wish I could run around with half blue hair and a nose ring for the sole purpose of knowing that she disapproves." 

By this point, I feel as if I am sitting alone on the dock with only the sweet song of the wind as a companion. The wind whistles her song while I sing mine. Together, they create a beautiful harmony that can only be heard by me.