G.I.R.L.S. just wanna have fun, || Persephone ||

[Amelia Coote]

Moaning Myrtles Bathroom. That was the story that was told to scare the first years from coming into this bathroom and using it. All the older students wanted to save it for themselves. Don't get me wrong, it was haunted and Myrtle liked to flood the bathroom routinely, but the older students liked to come into this bathroom to do illegal things. Smoke, drink, make out. Things like that.

Not that Amelia was ever into doing things like that. Goodness no. She hadn't even been kissed. Didn't have the time. Didn't care either, though lately her thoughts turned to a pale skinned, dark haired boy whenever she saw kids snogging in the hallways. Or when her dorm mates were talking about their latest crushes or boyfriends while they got ready for bed.

So, Amelia snuck into Moaning Myrtles bathroom, not because she was itching for a snog, but because it was that time of the day when most of the students were in class or in the common rooms. It was too noisy, too crowded. Amelia wanted some little peace and quiet to read her book. The only thing she had to deal with in this bathroom were Myrtles sometime not so quiet sobbing. But Amelia could easily drown it all out.

She quickly dried off an area where she knew it was highly unlikely for a flood to reach her unannounced and she sat down on the floor, and began to read her personal copy of Hogwarts, A History. It was one of her favorites, and it was well dog-eared. She hoped to get at least a few hours of peace and quiet before heading off to dinner.

[Persephone Jones]

"Donnavan."

The boy with his lips firmly attached to Persephone's neck made a noise of acknowledgement, but didn't cease nibbling at her skin. Persephone sighed loudly and placed her hands squarely on his shoulders, pushing the handsome and slow-witted Hufflepuff away from her. "Donnavan, sweetheart. I said no hickies, darling. Now you have to get to class," she said, adjusting her skirt and stepping out of the bathroom stall.

The baffled boy began to protest, but Persephone was already ushering him out. "You've just got to keep your grade up, sugar, or you're never going to make Quiddich captain," she said, shoving him lightly toward the door. "Now go on. Maybe if you're lucky you'll see me after dinner."

She watched the door close behind him and sighed, rolling her eyes, turning her attention to the mirror and tossing her hair with her fingers. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but his family had excellent connections in the Quiddich world and he was a fairly excellent kisser.

Persephone leaned in close to the mirror, checking her lipstick and dabbing at her mouth with her fingers to clean up the edges. After a moment someone in the corner of the mirror caught her attention and she paused, narrowing her eyes. She turned, looking over her shoulder at the girl who was there reading, glancing back at the mirror, then back at the girl.

It was like looking in a horribly unflattering looking glass. Something had to be done about that.

She straightened her blouse and tossed her hair again, putting on a cheerful smile. "Why! What are you doing all alone in here, reading?" she asked, coming over and taking a seat next to the girl. She offered a hand, sticking it in front of the text of the book. "I'm Persephone Jones. You are?"

[Amelia Coote]

Amelia was, well, more than surprised to notice a girl and a guy exiting one of the stalls of the bathroom. Obviously, she had not done a very good job checking to make sure that the stalls were empty. She had just been so excited to, dear Merlin, read a book she's read at least ten other times straight through. Lukas was right. She was pathetic. But, she loved to read. So as the redhead ushered the male out of the restroom, Amelia stuck her nose back in the book. If she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her, right?

No dice. After the plonker had left the room the female went over to the mirrors and was checking her make-up. Oh, wasn't that just endearing. Amelia hoped the female wouldn't notice her but instead this loud voice pierced her ears. A greeting. Oh goody. And, listen, by the sound of the footsteps getting louder, she must be headed this way! Oh joyous day! NOT.

Biting back a frown, Amelia took the pro offered hand, shaking it before placing her hand on her book once more. "Hi. I'm Amelia Coote." she returned the introduction. "Sorry if I, um, inturrupted anything..." she waved a hand towards the door after the numpty. Amelia bit her lip. What did she have to say this this girl, whom she was meeting for the first time who had just finished snogging some guy. Well.

"I love the shade of your hair..." Amelia did. It was a pretty red, like Amelia's but a different shade. It had the tossed look of having just rolled out of bed, but Amelia was willing to bet a galleon that this Persephone had styled it for a while to get it to look like that. But it still looked good. And Amelia was a bit jealous. Did Lukas like this look? What did it matter? Lukas was a friend. That was all. He liked her for her mind. Didn't care about her looks a bit...

[Persephone Jones]

Persephone laughed, waving a hand in dismissal. "Oh no, not at all. He had overstayed his welcome, anyway. He's getting a little possessive. Little too grabby, yanno? If I let him stay any longer he might have asked me out and that would be an unmitigated disaster."

At the compliment Persephone's smile brightened and she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Thanks," she said. "You know, with a little work yours could be really pretty. I mean it's got more of a brassy look than mine, you know? But it works with your eyes. Which are gorgeous, by the way. Bet boys just fall over themselves to stare deeply into them. Oh," She got up quickly, "Here, just a second."

Persephone walked quickly back to the stall she had been in and grabbed her bag off the floor, rummaging through the quills and books as she walked back. "Here," she said, finding what she was looking for and dropping the bag on the floor before taking her place beside Amelia again. In her hand she had two silver hair pins decorated with delicate, small white flowers. "May I?" she asked, but didn't actually wait for an answer before taking Amelia's hair and twisting it gently so it was pulled away from her face on one side, pinning it behind her ear. She brushed the girls hair a little with her fingers, admiring her handy work. It really needed a proper combing, and some smoothing potion, but it wasn't terrible. "I mean, it's not much. But it's always better if you can keep your hair out of your face, you know? So everyone can see your pretty eyes."

[Amelia Coote]

Amelia was not at all surprised by Persephone's flippant response to the male. Girls who made out with any ole guy in the out of order bathroom probably wouldn't mind being interrupted . Though, Amelia hadn't even interrupted. She'd been very quiet when she came into the bathroom. However, this vivacious redhead beside her was just about the total opposite of Amelia. Bright, welcoming, social. Everything Amelia was not.

Her eyes? Amelia had never thought much about her eyes. Except for the fact that they were, well, great at reading. She had perfect 20/20 vision. As for boys falling over one another to get a gander at hers? That gave Amelia quite the laugh. "Um, no, I'd have to say not. I've never had anyone compliment them before..." she said, a little embarrassed. But then she quickly decided to not be. Amelia was here to look good for guys. She was in school to learn. Not flirt with guys...

Quite the spontaneous one... Amelia thought to herself as Persephone jumped up and ran back to her stall. Coming back out with a purse, Amelia was bewildered. Where had that been? She trusted it to stay dry on the floor? Before she could ask about it, Persephone pulled out a couple of hair pins and before Amelia could say Alohamora, Persephone had pulled the front of her hair back and tucked it near her ear.

Speechless, Amelia could do nothing but sit still and allow the girl to muss with her hair until she appeared satisfied. Amelia sat, blinking at the suddenness of everything. She moved her head a bit and could feel the hair stay where it had been pinned. It was indeed nice to have it out of her face. It would make reading easier, that was for sure. Tucking it back behind her ear constantly was always a bother.

"Thank you, I guess. It will at least make it easier to read..." Amelia mumbled, at a loss for words. What could she say? She didn't know how to react to a situation like this.

[Persephone Jones]

Persephone laughed at Amelia's words. Make reading easier? Was she serious? "Oh my god," she said, shaking her head and standing. "Come on. Up, up," she said, grabbing the girl's wrists and hoisting her to her feet. She prodded her over to the mirrors, placing her hands on Amelia's shoulders to force her to see her reflection."How's anyone supposed to see your pretty face if you've always got your nose buried in a book?"

There really was quite a lot to work with there. Persephone looked at their reflections side by side, putting on a bright smile while she calculated what she could do. There were some similarities, so she'd have to depart from her own beauty routine. She didn't want to create a clone. Persephone was one of a kind, she wasn't going to have that compromised by her own hand. However there was definitely room for some bookish charm here.

"See?" she said. "Quite lovely. Diamond in the rough. I simply cannot believe you havn't got men wrapped around your fingers." She squeezed Amelia's shoulders, stepping away and leaning against the sinks. "Would you like to? Have men wrapped around your fingers, that is? Or..." She leaned in a little, raising her eyebrows, "Or maybe just one boy?"

Every nerdy bookish girl had one boy they pined over from afar. That was the trope, wasn't it? And every nerdy bookish girl certainly could be useful in Persephone's debt.

[Amelia Coote]

Before Amelia knew it, she was being lifted to her feet and dragged over to the stained mirrors above the old sinks. When she looked into the reflection of the mirror before her, she was surprised and a little alarmed by the sight. First of all, she was surprised at how the sweep of the hair to the side made her look a little older. A little more sophisticated. She was, however, alarmed at how, for lack of better word, dull, she looked standing next to Persephone. The girl beside and behind a bit had such an overwhelming presence that even though Amelia was in the foreground of the mirror, her eyes were continually drawn to Persephone.

"Maybe that's the point..." Amelia mumbled when Persephone asked how anyone could see her with her nose in a book. It wasn't the point but, well that wasn't the point right now. Amelia didn't have time for any boys at the moment. She was busy with all her school work. Six classes prepping her for her N.E.W.T.S. the coming year. Plus she was helping tutor Lukas on the side in History of Magic and Arithmacy. Two of her favorite classes, but still hard none the less.

Lukas on her mind, she couldn't help but blush when Persephone asked if there were any special guys she had her eye on. Hellfire and damnation. Amelia adverted her eyes, trying to keep from meeting Persephone's gaze in the mirror. It was nothing. An involuntary reaction to the warmth. Amelia was definitely not blushing over a guy. She didn't have a guy. And that was just fine by her. Guys were bothersome, demanding, overwhelming, handsome, funny... Oh gosh.

"No. There isn't any guy. Guys are distracting. They're good for nothing" Amelia forced herself to say. She couldn't very well tell this girl that she had a guy friend. She needed nothing but her books and her brain. That was what was important in the world. Right?

[Persephone Jones]

Persphone watched as Amelia's face cycled through a range of emotions, the most notable one being fierce embarrassment, which meant Persephone had hit the nail right on the head. She made a small, high pitched noised of glee and clapped her hands. "Oh there is a boy isn't there?" she asked. "Lemmie guess, you think he'll never look at you that way in a hundred years?"

She took Amelia by the shoulders again, turning her to face Persephone. "Listen, Amelia, sweetheart, if you will allow it, I'd like to make you my new project," she said, her face briefly very serious. "If you let me, I promise you'll have this boy tripping over himself in the hallways. Possibly literally- a good lipstick can cause boys to fall over. I've seen it happen." At this her face broke into another smile, although it was not entirely clear if she was joking.

"What do you say?"\

[Amelia Coote]

Amelia was no sooner looking at her own reflection, when she was once again whirled around quickly and was looking Persephone in the eye. Oh dear, she had managed to tell that she did have someone she kinda sort of maybe liked. And Amelia had tried so hard to cover it up too.

She tilted her head a bit at Persephone's offer. Make Amelia her new project? What did that even mean? A makeover or something? Amelia didn't know if she liked the sound of that. She liked how she looked, just the way she was. But... Did he? Amelia was unsure and that was one of the reasons why she was even remotely considering the possibility.

"Well," she started out, but somewhere in her mind, Amelia had an absurd thought. It sounded like the beginning of an odd book. She, the heroine, had a crush on a guy. Didn't think the guy noticed her so she did a make over. Turned out the guy had liked her better before the makeover.

But this wasn't some made up story. This was Amelia's life. And life was anything if predictable. "What's in it for you?" Amelia asked, having just thought of it. Sure, she was getting a makeover, but what was Persephone getting out of all of this?

[Persephone Jones]

Oh Persphone did hate that question. It was a very tricky one to answer- either she had to admit that she expected some sort of recompense eventually, or she had to forfeit her right to claim favors. If she admitted to expecting something in return it always made people wary- like she was going to use one little favor as leverage to make them join a cult.

She schooled her face into a look of hurt, pouting slightly."Why would there need to be something in it for me?" she asked. "I should feel a bit insulted. Why, you don't even know me and here you are accusing me of being anything less than selfless." She let go of the other girl's shoulders, heaving a sigh. She crossed back to her bag, picking it up off the floor and brushing some of the water off- it was enchanted to be waterproof but that really only kept the water from seeping into it.

"Well keep the hair clips, anyway," she said, making a great show of slinging the bag over her shoulder and preparing to leave. "You really do look very pretty with your hair pinned back."

[Amelia Coote]

Amelia instantly felt bad about her phrasing of the words and wished she could pull them right out of the air and back into her mouth. She hadn't meant it like that. What a horrible thing for her to say. She stood, fumbling for words as she watched Persephone gather her back. "Wait. No. That, it came out wrong..." Amelia fumbled over her sentence, not wanting Persephone to leave.

"What I meant was, you may be able to help me, but what can I do for you? I'm not good at much..." Amelia bit her lip, unsure if she was getting her point across. "Don't go. I'm sorry," Amelia apologized. Sometimes she could be a complete arse, and apparently this was one of the times.

"I just," Amelia didn't really have time to think. She didn't want to offend her. Amelia did all she could to keep the peace. "I accept. But please, if there is anything I can do for you, let me know, okay?" Amelia held out a hand to shake on the deal.

[Persephone Jones]

Persephone barely kept the sly smile from her face. Oh that had worked out far too perfectly. She made a new line in her mental ledger- one Amelia Coote, in red. If she got the guy, then this was certainly worth a few homework assignments. That was a history book she had been reading- Persephone never fancies History of Magic.

She covered her own smug pleasure with one of her terribly bright grins, taking Amelia's hand and shaking it once. "Brilliant! It's a deal," she chirped. "Now, how about you meet me in the library after dinner. It's going to take more than just a little make up and deep conditioning to make you the head turning maven I know you can be."

Donnavan would just have to wait- he wasn't a good enough kisser that Persephone was going to pass up this opportunity. One rarely got the chance to do a proper makeover.

"Oh," she said, holding up a finger. "First. Here." She dug in her bag for a moment until she found a tube of lipstick. It was a a medium shade of peachy-pink, just dark enough to enhance the lip without being too bold. She leaned in close and grabbed Amelia's chin, carefully applying the lipstick to her face and then leaning back to admire her handiwork, capping the tube with a click.

"Very pretty," she proclaimed, stashing the tube. "Now I've got to jet. People to do, places to see, and only so much time left of my free period. I'll see you after dinner, okay?" She winked and turned, waggling her fingers at the other girl as she strode from the bathroom.