true loves poison • james potter

32

September 1, 1977

"Don't you feel pretty, Lorelei?"

Glancing unfavorably at her mother, Lorelei answered as neutral as possible, "As long as you think so mother."

Her mother moved to stand in front of her. Straightening the collar on Lorelei's dark blue skirt suit, Etta whispered, "Looks are important, Lorelei. If you want to snag a good husband, looks are the most important asset you can have." Brushing her shoulder, her mother looked her in the eye, "And you do have that asset."

Flattening her lips, Lorelei nodded, "Okay."

Caressing her cheek, her mother looked over her face one more time before stepping to the side, "Have fun, honey."

Giving a flat smile, Lorelei walked away from her mother as quickly as she could get away with. Glad to finally be out of her mother's clutches, Lorelei rushed to the train and hopped on. Finding an empty train car, she slid in and put her bag in the above compartment.

Finally sitting down, Lorelei watched out the window for her friends to arrive.

First to arrive was Melissa, predictably. Standing up, she hugged the brunette and said, "Your hair looks longer than when I last saw you."

Subconsciously, Melissa grabbed a strand of her hair, "Is it?" She shrugged and they both sat down, "How have you been?"

Lorelei scrunched up her nose and gestured to her outfit, "I feel like a dress up toy."

Smiling, Melissa grabbed a book from her bag, "Well, at least you're a cute toy."

Shaking her head, Lorelei missed Elizabeth's entrance. "I'm so glad to see you both," She said, shoving her bag above Melissa, "this past week has been so boring without either of you visiting me."

Lorelei smiled, "You can't spend a week without us, huh?"

Popping next to her, Liz smiled, "No, I'm quite attached."

"Lily!" Melissa said, standing as the redhead opened the door.

Greetings showered all around as Lily hugged each girl, "How have you been?" Lorelei asked her.

"I've been good." Lily said, smiling widely. Holding out a badge she announced, "I've been chosen as the gryffindor head girl!"

"Wow Lily, I knew you were an overachiever but prefect and head girl?" Liz teased.

Lorelei shook her head, "Congratulations, Lily. Obviously you're the best choice."

"You don't really have much competition." Said Melissa.

Lily shook her head, "I've got to go, but it's so nice to see you all." Waving, the redhead exited the train car leaving the three ravenclaws alone as the train took off from the station, shaking the train car a bit.

"Anything new happen while we were away?" Lorelei asked Liz after the train settled into a rhythm.

Liz rolled her eyes, "You practically loved at my house half of summer, Lori. What new thing would have happened that you wouldn't have seen?"

Shrugging, Lorelei put her feet up on the seat across from her, "I would have been there all summer if I could have gotten away with it."

"Was Donna home for the summer?" Melissa asked.

Shaking her head, Lorelei answered, "No, she's officially started at St Mungo's so she doesn't have time for anything anymore."

"Ouch," Melissa said, cringing, "So your mother..."

"Was obsessive? As always." Lorelei rolled her eyes, "She has this notion that I need to find a good husband who will take care of me. Which is not only barbaric and demeaning, but also, why would I want to get married while there's a war going on?"

Shaking her head, Liz chimed in, "I think a war is a perfect time to get married, if ever. Then at least you're not alone during scary times, and you know you have someone who's legally obligated to care about you."

Lorelei scoffed. "You will absolutely not find me marrying anyone before the age of thirty, war or not."

Liz sat up in her seat, "Oh I'm willing to bet on that. Ten galleons says you're full of shit."

"Fifteen galleons. Lori is going to be the first one of us married." Melissa said.

Smiling, Lorelei dropped her jaw, "You think so low of me? That I would marry so young?"

Pushing her arm, Liz rolled her eyes, "No, you just attract men. Plus, you're secretly a romantic. I bet some guy, or girl, will sweep you off your feet and when they propose in a year or two you won't hesitate to say yes."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Lorelei looked out of the window, "We'll see, and when I'm twenty five galleons richer, you'll both be sorry."

"Or when you're twenty five galleons poorer, you'll be sorry." Liz retorted.

The trolly lady knocked on the door, "Anything from the trolly dears?" A round of refusals led to her leaving with the door still open.

Standing up, Liz walked out and a few minutes later returned with a copy of the Daily Prophet. "I knew Alice would have one." She explained, "By the way, when I asked her for it, she was with Frank, Longbottom that is, and they were cuddled pretty closely."

Lorelei grabbed the paper from Liz, smiling wide, "Not surprising. Now those two, I wouldn't be surprised if they got married within the next year."

Reading the headline: Muggle Family Murdered, Lorelei's smile dropping as she read the passage, "Oh my Godric." She whispered, passing the paper to Melissa.

"And the ministry hasn't caught this psychopath yet?" Melissa questioned.

"Clearly not if he murdered a whole muggle family." Lorelei said softly.

Liz shook her head slowly, "He's one sick bastard."

"That's for sure." Melissa whispered as she finished reading. Setting the paper down in her lap, she stared down at it. "I'm getting worried that this won't be over by this year." Looking up, she met both Lorelei and Elizabeth's gaze, "And that we'll have to actually fight in this war."

Looking between Melissa and the paper, Lorelei answered softly, "We probably will."

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Coming from a visual person:
If you want a visual representation on what I imagined Lorelei to be wearing - look up 'Vintage Chanel Skirt Suit'
Or if you want a close rendition by our main lady, OSW: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQg5Y6OrV-0/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=