Disguises May Be Needed

[Lucrezia Balcescu]

It was rather annoying, having to wait around for to be dark enough to go out, and Lucrezia was bored of it. What she really wanted, what she longed for, was to be able to go for a walk in the sun. Of course, if she did that, she would probably burst into flames or something similar, but it would be nice to show her face. People were fast guessing what it was that she was, and she really didn't want that. She knew the prejudices that people had against her kind, and, although she had faced some of them when she was a half-vampire, she dreaded to think of the way she would be treated now, should they know.

The other thing that rather annoyed her was the fact that she needed new clothes. The sunlight issue made it extremely difficult for her to be able to make her usual rounds of the high street, and she would have very much liked to have gone to Twilfit and Tattings. It was one of her favourite shops in Hogsmeade, hers not included, and it had been a while since she had really treated herself. Resolving to step foot out of her house, Lucrezia had to work out what she had, clothing-wise, that would allow her to make a visit to the shop. Unfortunately, there was nothing, save for a long scarf that Mazonnia had given her. This meant she would have to wind it around her head, to keep from burning. Lucrezia decided that she would rather be stuck indoors all day than step foot outside with a scarf around her face. This made her extremely sad, as she would like, just for an hour or so, to forget that she was a vampire. It was only then, as she looked at the clock in her room, that she realised that the sun would likely be coming down shortly, and she would, most likely, be able to simply wear a cloak, provided she kept her skin covered at all times. She rummaged around for her leather gloves, located her thickest hooded cloak, and resolved to leave immediately.


It all seemed to be going well. Lucrezia kept her head down, to avoid any rays falling on her face, and she made it almost all the way to Twilfit and Tattings without any problems. It was only as she reached the shop that a gust of wind blew her hood back, and she screamed as she pulled it back up. The damage was done, and she could feel the skin crack as it burned. She pushed open the door, and rushed through. She reached up to touch her face, which she could feel that it was already healing. That had been highly embarrassing, and painful. She now took in her surroundings, and noticed that there was no-one else around, save for one woman, whom Lucrezia thought was one of the owners of the shop. "Good afternoon," she said with a nod.