Perfect World

Chapter 7

Lula was a bit of a mess when Muriel hadn't talked to her by the end of the week. Their dorm room had become awkward as well. Muriel sat across the room in potions instead of her usual seat next to Lula. The only time she sat and acted civil towards Lula was when she sat next to her at supper when Isobel MacDougal was there. This reinforced her position that Muriel owed her an apology, and the longer one wasn't given, the more upset Lula became.

Was Muriel only her friend because of popularity? Lula had never been well-liked, so why was it such an issue now? Muriel was her friend even though she was a muggle-born in a house that looked down on such things. They had been friends since Lula stood up for her. Muriel helped look out for her too.... or did she? Lula sat on the window seal next to the Owlery in deep thought.

Had Muriel ever stood up to her? To Fred and George, she had, but only that once. Usually, it was Daffi who told the twins off when she felt they were being too nasty to her friend. Muriel always had her head down. She had been bullied before, but so had Lula, and she stood up against it. Muriel held her head down, hoping not to be the next victim. Wasn't that just as bad as being part of the problem? Her father always told her that she couldn't use the standards she put on herself to judge others. Some people would always be weaker than her. He had said that love and friendship were a lot alike. Someone was always stronger, but that didn't mean the weaker one liked them any less.

Lula's head went back and hit the stone wall. It was at times like this she missed her father the most. He always knew what to say and how to word something so that it gave Lula the correct answer. His no longer being here meant that Lula had to work a lot harder to figure these things out, but it didn't mean there wasn't anyone she could write to. Lula quickly drew two scrolls and a pen from her bag and wrote about this to her mother and grandmother. Each would get a separate letter and be willing to send individual replies. Lula would see where they stood with where she stood. She would allow the rift between her and Muriel to pause for a little longer as she sought advice from those closest to her. She would also bring it up to Daffi, who so far said nothing but had no doubt noticed the rift and waited for one of them to talk to her about it.

Lula quickly wrote out the problems she had been facing in two identical letters with only a slight difference in the address line before slipping them onto a barn owl's leg.

"These are going to the same place, but two different people." The Owl nodded, and Lula passed him a treat before scratching the top of its head. "Thank you." And then it was gone. Lula could see kids on their brooms from the Owlery, zooming around the Quidditch pitch. Daffi would be there for another hour at least, so should she wait or head out to the pitch and wait?

Lula had no reason to be around the Quidditch Pitch without her camera. She also didn't want to distract Daffi at practice, so she decided to wait for Daffi between the castle and the locker rooms. Lula stood and made her way there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without her camera, Lula felt out of sorts. She was used to looking at the rest of the world from behind a lens. It was her safe place, her comfort zone. Even when she went to a regular school, while the other students bullied her, she looked at the entire situation as if it were happening through a lens. She was the wicked witch of the tale, and the others were trying to stop her, but as the director of her story, she was invincible. Others had no power over her.

She chuckled at that thought. Life outside her father and herself seemed to always be behind a lens. They were in their perfect world.

She shut that line of thinking down quickly, recalling the first time she had made that wish. They had learned that emotions often controlled their powers and that sometimes while growing up, they could accidentally use them if they got overly emotional. While the Ministry often overlooked such cases of underage practice amongst the youth, the older they got, the less likely they would be to forgive them. As teens and young adults, they should be able to control their emotions and were practicing magic when they weren't allowed.