Til Sunrise

[Margo Ellis]

After surreptitiously filling a small bag with snacks from the party, Margo sneaked out into the entrance hall and waited near the front doors for Odette to return with jackets and a blanket. She was shivering with excitement, the idea of staying up all night on the cliffs (and thus flouting at least school rules) perhaps the wildest she'd ever had. But it wasn't just staying up all night to see the sunrise that thrilled her so much - it was spending time with Odette, alone, just Margo and her best friend and all the stars in the sky for company. After being without Odette for so long, Margo wanted to make up for the lost time, and she couldn't see any better way to do it than this.

Odette seemed to take forever and ever to come back - or maybe time was just dragging because Margo was looking forward to the night so much. When at last the Slytherin returned Margo jogged over to greet her. "I thought you were going to stand me up!" she said. She held up her bag. "I've got loads of food - we can have, like, a midnight feast!"

All the way to the cliffs Margo glanced nervously over her shoulder, braced to be yelled at by a professor or a prefect. They weren't even technically breaking any rules until they made it to the cliffs, which were technically out of bounds. Curfew wasn't far away, though. "You can pick a spot," she said. "As long as it's not too near the edge." She nudged Odette, grinning.

Godmod approved

 

[Odette Madison]

As soon as Margo had gotten the idea of spending the night at the cliffs in her head, Odette knew she was going to go along with it eventually. The girl usually managed to talk Odette into things, and she was glad the Ravenclaw's idea of doing something 'crazy' was staying up all night one time. She had returned quickly to the Slytherin common room to grab a blanket, two jackets, and a Slytherin scarf at the last minute. She had the feeling it would be getting a lot colder during the night. She carried the supplies up to the entrance hall, grimacing as she realized too late that perhaps she should have switched her shoes to something more comfortable. It was too late now.

She rolled her eyes when Margo said she thought she was going to stand her up. "I was away for maybe ten minutes tops." She said with a small huff of breath. "I hurried for you, too. So don't complain." She handed over one of the jackets. "A midnight feast doesn't sound bad. But let's get out of here before some professor wonders what we're doing." There was something magical about the night air, especially because they weren't supposed to be outside. Odette silently cursed her heels as they made their way to the cliffs, and halfway through simply took them off and carried them in her hand. Odette pointed out a spot. "This seems like a good spot. Not even you can fall off the edge here." She said, nudging her back. "We both know you're the clumsier of the two of us." With that, she put the blanket down and dropped her heels next to it before sitting down.

 

[Margo Ellis]

"True," Margo conceded. Her clumsiness just wasn't worth trying to argue. "It's so unfair," she said as she sat down on the blanket. "Cynthia and Brogan inherited all the good stuff about my mum. Long legs, shiny hair, poise and elegance. Ugh. My hair isn't even the pretty kind of blonde - like yours. It's like old straw. And I'm short, and frumpy, and clumsy. I mean, where do I do even get it from? Everyone in my family is perfect except me." She sighed a long sigh and slipped off her own shoes, leaning back on her elbows to gaze up at the darkening sky. "You inherited the nice things about your mum," she added. "I'm so jealous of you. Like, not in a bad way. You're just so pretty and elegant and good at things. I've always wanted to be more like you - did you know?"

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette raised her eyebrows when Margo started to complain about her sisters. Was that really what she wanted to do on this weird adventure they were having? Odette made herself comfortable on the blanket and listened, deciding to at least try to be interested even though to her, it sounded like Margo was exaggerating things. Her sisters hadn't left much of an impression on Odette the one time she had been there, and she figured anyone with half a brain would prefer Margo to them. "Your sisters didn't seem that poised or elegant to me." She said with a shrug. "I think anyone who appears to be perfect is probably the least perfect person of all. They're just trying too hard to hide all their flaws, and forget to actually live like a normal person." She tucked some hair behind her ear and looked over at the lake. She wanted to say 'I would know', but Margo's words about her mother made her lose the words. Odette pulled her knees to her, wrapping her arms around them. "There are no nice things about my mum." She said sharply, then immediately regretted it. That wasn't true, was it? The words had simply burst out of her. But there was a strange panic rising inside her at the thought of being like her mother, even if her words hadn't been quite true. She looked over at Margo, her eyes slightly wide as she shook her head. "Look, you don't want to be like me. Okay? You just want my hair." She said, gesturing to it. "I was awful, and you know I was. That's still inside me. That is what I inherited from my mum- well, if Matthew is to be believed both my parents really. You may be clumsy and have curly hair, but at least you have a good heart." With that, Odette broke her gaze away from Margo. This conversation had grown way too real way too quickly, and she clenched her fists as she gazed over the edge of the cliff. "Perfection is fake. Always." She said softly, determinedly not looking at Margo anymore.

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo shrugged. Odette didn't know her sisters very well if she didn't think they were elegant. They were elegant compared to Margo, at any rate - even if they liked to let down their hair when their mother wasn't watching. But Odette's next comment derailed her train of thought. She tilted her head, wondering if there was any truth to it. She had always supposed that perfect people were naturally perfect - that they didn't have any flaws to hide. The idea that they weren't actually perfect baffled her. The Ravenclaw listened quietly as Odette talked about her family, and about the awfulness she had inherited and that was still supposedly inside her. She was quite for some time, even after Odette gave her a rare, sincere compliment. Then she said, "I don't think you're awful." Suddenly she felt something click into place. "Is that why you used to be mean sometimes? Because you wanted to be perfect?" Out loud, it didn't make as much sense as it had in her head, but now that she'd started she had to see it through. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Odette. I don't like you because you're perfect... well, okay, maybe I want your hair, but that's not what I really like about you. I like you because you're funny, and clever, and kind - like, even if you don't think you are. You've always been there for me - even when I was an idiot. And... I'm not perfect, but you like me, right? You've never asked me to change or be someone and I'm not - and even though you're, like, way cooler and prettier than me, you never made me feel like I couldn't hang around with you. Lots of girls would. There was this one girl at my old school, Charlotte - ugh - she said I wasn't pretty or clever enough to hang out in her group, and I would make her and her friends looks bad. Then she locked me in the art cupboard and told everybody I had lice so that nobody would talk to me. So you did a few bad things. That doesn't make you a bad person. Maybe if you didn't feel bad about it... but you do, right?"

 

[Odette Madison]

There was a moment of silence after her words which Odette used to take a few deep breaths and keep her tears at bay. She hated crying, and had mastered the art of pushing her tears back at a young age. Margo's question made her glance at her friend. In a way, it was true. Odette shrugged. "That's... not entirely inaccurate." She said hesitantly. "But it was more than sometimes." She wondered if Margo remembered the time she had spilled punch on her dress on purpose because she had been talking to Hayden, or what she had done to Harley in her first year. Surely, she couldn't have forgotten about that? But Margo continued to talk and Odette felt her cheeks heat up. She had to look away. Did Margo really think that nicely of her? Odette found it hard to comprehend. But lately, despite what happened with Harley, she was feeling like she was less alone than she had thought. With letters from both Asaiah and Charlotte Owens coming in, she felt like she had friends outside of school too. And with Hayley things had been okay as well lately, for the most part. And of course Margo was always there. When Margo told her about this girl at her old school and what she had done, Odette felt anger flare up. She couldn't help thinking of her own sister, who shared that girl's name. If it wasn't for Charlotte Owens, her old Quidditch Captain, she would think the name was cursed. "Thank you." She said softly. "I wasn't always a good friend to you, but you were a good friend to me even when I was awful. I know you remember, but you don't ever remind me of what I did. I don't know if I could do that." She said honestly. Then she grabbed her wand and twirled it in her hand. "So... do you know where this Charlotte lives?" She asked with a slight smirk. "Maybe I should pay her a visit." She was joking, mostly hoping it would make Margo smile. She wanted to thank her for the warm feeling she had given Odette by telling her she was funny and clever and kind, but didn't know how to address that directly. "Look, people are only mean to you because they can tell you're a genuine person, and it intimidates them. I know it intimidated me. You've always just been nice. That isn't easy for everyone." She said with a small sigh. "But if anyone else is ever mean to you, let me know. I have a beater's bat."

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo had meant for this night on the cliffs to be fun, but the mood had turned solemn, fast, and didn't show any sign of lifting soon. It was nice, though - talking openly with Odette. No masks. No falseness. Margo remembered one or two occasions Odette had been mean to her (the Yule Ball punch incident sprung first to mind), but she didn't understand what was so hard about not bringing it up. She didn't want to make Odette feel bad about something she probably already regretted. It was in the past. Something to look back upon and laugh over how silly it was. She grinned now at the memory, then laughed as Odette asked where Charlotte lived. Like Odette, Margo had mostly forgiven Charlotte for the mean things she'd done. She might always have a faint bruise, but she was over it. "Really?" Margo said, shaking her head and laughing. "I intimidated you?" Once the initial shock of the comment had worn off, Margo realised just how touched she was by Odette's sweet words. And they even seemed genuine. Margo reached over and put her hand on Odette's - then felt weird about it and pulled it away again, turning pink. "I don't think violence is the answer," she said quickly. "I mean - I bet Charlotte had a reason for being mean to me. I always thought she was perfect, but maybe she, like, really hated herself, or something. It's not that hard to be nice to people, anyway. Like, it feels better than being unkind, and it's way less stressful. Oh! Did you see that? There was a shooting star! You should wish for something."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette couldn’t deny that it was nice to talk openly with someone she trusted, and she did trust Margo. But it was also difficult for her to be genuine at the best of times. While a part of her was happy to talk to Margo like this, another part of her wanted to hide and escape. She settled for looking through the bag of snacks as if it was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. At least it would keep her face hidden from Margo. “Of course you intimidated me.” She said with a small glance her way before looking back at the snacks. And when Margo said violence wasn’t the answer and that Charlotte must have a reason for being mean, Odette gestured to her. “There! That’s what I mean! How can you think like that about someone who tormented you?” She shook her head, her mouth twisting into a slight smile. "I still don't understand how you do it."But before she could say more about the subject, Margo called her attention to a shooting star. Odette hadn’t seen it. She had been too busy both hiding her expression from her friend and glancing her way. “You saw it, you should wish for something.” She told her, handing her one of the snacks and taking one herself. But even though she said she wasn’t going to wish for anything, deep inside she couldn’t help it. Odette quietly wished that she could become more like Margo. Nicer and less distrustful of other people. She had no idea how she was ever going to do that, but maybe the shooting star would help in some way. It was a silly and childish thing to think, but at least no one could hear her thoughts. She wondered if Margo had wished for something too.

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo wasn't sure where she'd learned to empathise with the people who had hurt her. Certainly she hadn't learned it from anyone in her family. Truth be told, the answer was probably selfish: she did it to make herself feel better. If she believed all the nasty things her bullies had said about her, she would have felt awful, so instead she tried to convince herself they didn't mean it - that there was some other reason they felt the need to lash out and put others down. And over time, she'd learned that she was usually right. Happily she took the snack from Odette, then looked back up at the sky. "Okay," she said, and she didn't have to think very hard about what she wanted to wish for. I wish Odette falls in love with me. She frowned. No - I wish Odette can always be happy. Because that was what Margo wanted, really - more than to be noticed or recognised or fallen in love with. If Margo's love could one day be responsible for Odette's happiness, then that would just be an added bonus.