after my blood turns into alcohol // OPEN

Silver steel slipped across ivory, causing a vivid red to seep and stain her glasslike skin. The smell of salt and rust reached her, which should have made her sick. Lily was so used to the scent, however, that it caused her to smile involuntarily. Again and again she dragged the cool razor across her arms, the metal warming after a a few uses. Her nerve endings prickled and she shivered, a current running up her spine. After she applied a couple more cuts, this time to her hips and upper thighs, she grabbed a cloth, cleaning the blade and muttering a charm prevent it from rusting. Opening a little pack at her side, she dropped the razor in, before beginning the process of cleaning herself up.

Studying herself in the mirror, Lily noticed that her cuts were deeper than usual, a side affect of grief, no doubt. Gingerly she traced one of them, biting her lip worriedly. She hadn't realized how deeply her father's death had affected her. Obviously she knew it would, but these were almost deep enough to kill. Running a hand through her hair, she winced- damn, they stung, and fuck, the cuts were starting to bleed again. Lily grasped her wand, cleaning the white rag that was almost died scarlet. With a feather light touch she pressed the cotton to her skin, allowing the fabric to soak up the crimson rust.

After a while she was all cleaned up, the cloth disposed of and the pouch safe in her pocket. The youngest Potter tucked her wand into the leather holster on her hip, a purchase which she had wisely made in her second year. A wondrous design was embroidered in the rough skin, a silver phoenix, with gold tipped feathers. Handcrafted beads served as the backdrop, nightime over still water with the harvest moon setting, dawn just hinting at breaking. It had cost a fair chunk of her savings, but it had been worth every galleon, in her opinion. Shaking her head, the brunette made sure her wand was secure, before exiting the room and watching as the door melted into the wall. The Room of Requirement always provided a private place for her to mutilate her flesh, along with providing for her needs. Unfortunately, it couldn't prepare food, so she was headed to the great hall for dinner. She would arrive half an hour early, sure, but the house elves usually provided a snack for those who arrived in advance. Plus, there would be very few people in there, which would give her time to find a new glamour to hide her scars.

Taking a set at the end of her house bench table, she adjusted her sleeves to make sure they were covering all of her arms. Lily had stopped by Gryffindor tower to grab her book on glamours, but still arrived earlier than she had thought. It was an hour until supper, and the Great Hall was completely empty. It was odd to see a room so large so....empty. Frankly, it was unnerving, so she reached into on of her pockets, and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Biting her lip indecisively, she unfolded the paper, drawing patterns on the sheet with graceful fingers.

This parchment was actually an enchanted map of Hogwarts, given to her by her father. Well, technically James had owned it first, but he had always preferred their dad's prized snitch, so she received the map in her fourth year. Albus possessed Harry's old cloak, for which she envied him. Sure, she could find out where everyone was in the school at any given time, and could see all the hidden passages, but she couldn't turn invisible. Charms only lasted for so long- the cloak would work forever. So really, her envy was justified.

Lily pulled out her wand, and after some deliberation, activated the map. From what she could tell, a few students were mulling about, with some in their respective common rooms. One name tag stuck out to her, as though it was in bold text. That tag was one that was making it's way into the Great Hall, and towards her. With a curse muttered under her breath, she deactivated the map, folding it up and stuffing it into a pocket. Looking down at her book, she greeted the person who had just reached her.

"Hello," She huffed, "why are you here?"