Delicate - eng version

I'm Not You

Lily's looking at me, waiting for some brilliant advice that will help her get through her crush. I suppose she thinks of me as a kind of older sister. And up until recently I considered myself that way too. I mean, Lily and I even look alike. Many people do mistake us for sisters. We both have brown eyes and red hair, though Lily seems to have inherited the Evans' dark red hair while mine is more of a ripe-tomato colour. We're equal in height and although Lily is three years my junior, we look around the same age. She always comes to me when she has problems, particularly boy problems, but I sincerely think that this time she has come to the wrong person.

"Rose, what should I do?" she asks.

I'm not sure what to tell her. I can't exactly tell her that Scorpius is ugly – that would be hypocritical and a downright lie. Scorpius Malfoy is easily one of the best looking sixth year boys in Hogwarts. And most younger sisters have crushes on their older brother's friends. I suppose it's to be expected that Lily would like Scorpius. I just wish Al's other friends could be better looking.

"I...erm...why do you like him?" I ask, because I have absolutely no idea what else to say. Lily looks at me incredulously as if to say 'do you really have to ask?'

"I don't know," she cries, "he's...funny!"

Really?

"And handsome!"

Well, obviously.

"And he's really kind – did you know he gives five galleons a month to the starving kids in Africa?"

Let's hope he decides to donate to his own kid here in England.

"And he's such a good Quidditch player."

Then how come we've beaten Slytherin in the Quidditch cup for the last three years?

"And even though he's a Malfoy, he doesn't care about blood status. He's different, Rose."

My stomach lurches. I clasp a hand over my mouth and run across to the bathroom. I fall to my knees and throw up into the toilet – this is becoming quite a habit. The horrible sensation and revolting taste is becoming second nature to me these days. Lily rushes in after me, holds my hair back and asks me if I'm okay. Well, there's one way to get her to stop thinking about Scorpius – throw your guts up.

"Rose, are you okay?" she asks, a note of panic in her voice.

"Yeah," I say. I run the tap and stick my head under it to wash my mouth out. I wipe the tears away from my cheeks and turn back to Lily. "It's just a tummy bug."

Who ever said that morning sickness is just confined to the morning? Lily looks as if she believes my "tummy bug" cover up and brings me back across to the bedroom.

"Sit down," she says, "you look really pale."

"I'm fine," I insist. Lily still looks really scared as if I'm about to run across to the bathroom and throw up again.

A small knock on the door takes Lily's attentions away from me and she nearly trips over her own feet when she sees who the knocker is – Scorpius. In fact, I nearly trip over my own feet too and I'm sitting down. He looks really uncomfortable and it's quite obvious that he's not up here out of choice. He ruffles his blonde hair and clears his throat in a way that clearly says "I'm so uncomfortable that I wish I were dead".

"Erm, Lily your Nana is looking for you," he says. Lily goes red, but acts cool and leaves the room. I get up off the bed, feel a little dizzy and fall back down again. I probably look like a complete weirdo.