Delicate // Poppy Sweeting

6

The sunlight coming through our window woke me, it's warm rays blinding me as I opened my eyes.

I heard my roommates shuffling around, two of them fighting about a hairbrush. I stretched my sore limbs and sat up, running my fingers through my hair. A shower would probably do me good this morning.

I ignored the arguments happening by the mirror and took a towel with me before leaving. The bathrooms were just a few doors down and there was only a couple of people inside. I avoided eye contact with others and with myself in the mirror. The scar on my cheek from the dragon was still hard to look at, and I doubt there wasn't an ugly purple bruise on top of it.

I found an empty shower stall and practically salivated at the thought of some hot water. I threw my pajamas on the hook on the wall and turned the knob in front of me. After the temperature rose, I stood under the water for a while, leaning my head against the tile. I was so exhausted and the thought of the amount of work I had to do only made it worse.

I didn't want to stay too long in here, so I washed my hair quickly and made my way back to my room as soon as I could. My stomach began to make it known to me that I was hungry, the loud rumblings making me laugh under my breath. I got dressed in a pair of lose trousers and a new white button up shirt. My roommates were all getting ready to go to breakfast, when one of them glanced over at me.

She had red hair and freckles lined her rosy cheeks. The girl gave me a tight lipped smile, walking over to me much to my surprise. Her green eyes were full of admiration as she spoke to me.

"I know we haven't spoken much at all, but I want to say thank you." She wrung her hands in front of her nervously.

"What for?" I wrapped my green and silver tie around my neck.

"For what you did in Hogsmeade. My mother...she was there and she would've died if you hadn't drawn that troll away." Her eyes began filling up with tears but she quickly shook them off.

I gave her a small smile in return. "It's no problem."

The ginger girl nodded her head and joined up with her friends, leaving to go to the great hall. I finished getting ready and held my robe in my hands as I exited, throwing my bag over my shoulder. My hair was still a little wet and it dripped on the floor as I walked. In the common room there was a big group of younger students in front of the windows, and from what I could hear they were talking about mermaids.

I wonder if they actually believe those are real, although I can't say I would be surprised if they were.

It was only a short walk from the Slytherin common room to the great hall, and once I entered the large wooden doors, I was met with the smell of delicious breakfast food. Floating candles hung in the air and the ceiling was as bright as the sky outside. The Slytherin table was mostly empty, and I noticed the boy Ominis from last night sitting by himself.

I decided to go sit across from him, and he looked up as I sat down. "Dylan?"

"How did you know it was me?" I ask as I began to set some food on my plate.

"I may be blind but I can still tell who's who, and I recognized your limp from last night. What happened anyways? I heard something about a troll?"

I'm a little shocked that he noticed my slight limp from me hurting my ankle. "There were two trolls actually, I was there with Natty."

"Is that how you got hurt?"

"Unfortunately," I say as I pop a piece of a biscuit into my mouth. Ominis shakes his head in disbelief.

"You'll have to tell me-" He was cut off by someone clearing their throat in annoyance near us. I looked to my left to see Sebastian glaring down at his friend.