Closed A step too far

[Hortensia Abernathy]

Hortensia Abernathy had managed to get hold of her mums grooming kit; the one with the little gold bows on it, and after forty-two minutes was now staring at herself in her en suite bathroom's mirror, tilting her head in various lights to see the masterpiece she'd created. Just one more she said, sticking out her tongue as she went in with the tweezers once more, plucking at the tiny hair of her right eyebrow. She took another step back, rubbing her watering eyes, although now something just didn't look quite right. How long would it be until she would be able to stop balancing out each eyebrow and call it finished?​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

Millicent raced up the stairs, an empty chocolate bar wrapper clutched in her fist. If Hortensia had been in her secret stash, she would... she would... well, she'd do something. Grass her up to their parents. Yes. That would show her. She'd probably have to give Millicent her chocolate allowance for the rest of the week. Millicent marched into her sister's bedroom and stopped in the doorway of the en-suite. She lowered her fist. "What are you doing?"

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

Bunny hadn't heard her sister coming into the room, nor into the bathroom where she was meticulously working. She got back in to try and correct another stray now on the left side, but a voice shocked her and she ended up ripping out four little hairs at once. "ARGH! CAN YOU NOT," she yelled, turning to see Missy standing in the doorway. "What does it look like I'm doing? All the other girls have really nice eyebrows, so I'm just getting rid of my bushy little caterpillars," she explained crossly, not aware that they were now lop sided again.​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

"You've got no eyebrows left!" Millicent said, the stolen chocolate completely forgotten. "You look awful. They were fine how they were! Is that Mum's makeup bag? Does she know you're using it?"

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

Bunny's cheeks flushed as she turned back to the mirror and realised in horror that she'd left a nice dent in one of the lines now. That's all there were after all. "Oh god." she dropped the tweezers, rummaging around in the bag instead for anything that could fill them in. "Mum won't even notice," she said, pulling out a brown pencil. Although, maybe she would, and maybe she would be in trouble, but then again, maybe her mum would appreciate the effort she'd put in. ​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

"Yes she will," said Millicent. Their mother always knew when something had moved, and she wasn't going to be pleased with Hortensia for this. Advancing into the bathroom, Millicent tried to take the eyebrow pencil from her. "Let me do it, you'll probably draw them on all wonky."

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

The brunette did her best eye roll, "She won't if you don't tell her" she knew her sister was likely to tattle on her anyway so there was no point trying to keep it a secret. Bunny let the blonde take the pencil, sighing and turning to face her, not meeting her eyes. "I'll eat your chocolate if you do it badly," she threatened, crossing her arms over her chest, although she did think Millicent had a better hope of getting a clean sweep than she ever did.​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

Millicent hadn't decided yet if she was going to tell on Hortensia or not. Maybe she would save up her sister's transgressions until she had enough to get her into really big trouble. She sat down on a fluffy stool and assessed Hortensia's eyebrow situation. "You already did!" she said, exasperated. "Please stop going in my secret stash. I was saving that. I was really looking forward to it. Now be still." Very carefully she began to draw over Hortensia's eyebrows. Her hands were shaky with experience, but it didn't look too bad - until she sat back to look at them both at once. She tried to hide her grimace. "It's okaaay..."

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

Bunny thought she was going to do an excellent job of not moving until her sister accused her of going into her stash, whereby she frowned and she could feel the pencil go in places it was not supposed to. "I didn't.." she said half heartedly, doing her best what-on-earth-makes-you-think-it-was-me face. She went quiet after that, letting Missy do what she needed to do and hopefully she'd come out of this semi decent. Things were peaceful for a few seconds before Bunny piped up again, "..Do you think the students at Hogwarts will think I'm pretty?" she asked, voice not much more than a whisper as she considered the new school they'd start at soon, for which everything had to be perfect.​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

Millicent knew better than to argue with her sister - especially with an eyebrow pencil in her hand. Not that it made much difference. The caterpillars had turned into hamsters. "Not looking like that," she said, before she realised Hortensia was being serious. "Of course they will! You're so pretty. Is that why you're plucking your eyebrows?"

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

Hortensia at this point wasn't holding out much hope when she realised Millicent looked more horrified while working, "They'll all be really pretty. I don't want to go to some magical school and look like I've just stepped out of a homeless shelter." She had dreams about Hogwarts ever since they'd received their letters. The girls had only been to Disneyland twice before too and Bunny had felt very out of place against all the other girls her age that seemed to have the better outfits than she did, so she had to do what she could. ​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

"Why are you so worried about it?" Millicent asked, frowning. She added a few more strokes to even up the left eyebrow and then decided to quit before she made it even worse. "OK, it's done."

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

"Duh! I don't want to be ugly!" she said, starting to get annoyed now. Wasn't it obvious? Once she was told she was done, Bunny turned to look in the mirror and her heart sank. Sure it didn't look as though she had mere lines, but they just looked so.. unnatural. "These will grow back, right?" she asked, heart hammering in her chest as she nervously wiped at them as though they could magical be better.​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

"You're not ugly!" said Millicent, shaking her head. Where did her sister get these sorts of ideas from? "Don't rub them, you'll make them worse. Honestly, I think it looks OK." She didn't sound certain, but she was trying her hardest. "I think so. All hair grows back, doesn't it?"

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

"You have to say that, you're my sister," she mumbled, dropping her hands back down at her waist. Hortensia just hoped she was right and they'd grow back, at least in the bits she needed them too. then again if Milly hadn't made her jump in the first place, they'd probably still be perfect. "Aren't you excited?" she asked the girl, wondering how she didn't react to the idea of all her new school friends.​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

"Oh, you're just being silly," said Millicent, putting the eyebrow pencil carefully back in her mother's makeup bag and zipping it shut. "Of course I am. Really excited," she said, though there was a lump in her throat. She had been away from home before, but not for months on end. And she'd always known who she was going with. Hortensia was the only person Millicent would know at Hogwarts, and there was no guarantee they'd be sorted into the same house. "You're definitely going to be in Gryffindor," she mused.

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

Silly or not, it was still true. Bunny was half aware that her sister was putting the make up away, and she guessed she’d have to wait for now to practise with the rest of the items until Missy wasn’t looking. “You don’t look excited,” she said bluntly. Ever since they’d found out they were attending, Hortensia had thought Missy had seemed a bit distant. “I don’t even care what house I’m in. We’re going to a magic school! It will be like Disneyland but better!” And that was an almost impossible feat.​

 

[Millicent Abernathy]

"I am!" said Millicent, laughing. "I don't really care either, as long as we're together."

 

[Hortensia Abernathy]

“Of course we’ll be together! No one will separate twins, and if they try to, I’ll tell them off!” She said confidently with a large smile and a nod of her head, clearly oblivious to how this school was actually going to work.​