7:30 AM

Happiness did not bode well with Vienna Pascal. It did not please her to see other people happy when she herself was down in the dumps. Callous it may be, she would gladly drag them down to her level if she could. And for the most part, she has been successful in these endeavours. It was an art making other people miserable and Vienna understood all too well what it took to attain perfection in such a field.

On the morning of September 14, Vienna awoke to the most wretched headache. They were becoming annoyingly frequent ever since her return to Hogwarts. Although the potion prescribed by her Healer ably lessened the pain, it did little to improve her mood. Picking up the neatly-pressed uniform by her bed, Vienna kicked off her slippers and changed. Beauty was the daughter of time. It would be a lie for anyone to say that he or she woke up every morning looking gorgeous and refreshed. Maintaining an impeccable appearance was hard work, most Slytherins and maybe the occasional Ravenclaw could attest to that. After checking herself out for the millionth time in front of the mirror, Vienna gave a satisfied little sigh and finally left the dorm.

She proceeded to the Great Hall for breakfast. The stony scowl on her face was enough to deter anyone from stopping her on the way. It was still early in the morning when Vienna made her entrance and she counted no more than fifty people in the room. She took a seat at the Slytherin Table with her back turned to the other three Houses. Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors did not make pretty breakfast scenery. Although the food before her looked scrumptious enough, Vienna felt no appetite. She surveyed her surroundings sulkily and pursed her lips.

“This is absurd,” She remarked crossly to no one in particular, “Some people should never smile. They just don’t have the cheekbones to pull it off.”

Thankfully it was Sunday, Morrigan's day to do as she pleased.  She had no specific plans for the day.  Her papers were graded, correspondences were sent, and the week's lessons were planned.  She wasn't quite sure what she was doing up at 7:30 in the morning, however it would only aide her in her quest to spend an entire day truly relaxing.  She hadn't really been able to accomplish that since the start of the school year.

There were very few people in the Great Hall when she entered.  She thought perhaps it was usually this empty on a Sunday, usually she too was the type to sleep in a bit.  However, she was hoping for an early escape from students with questions and staff looking for company so she might be able to take some time to herself to clear her head and ponder the direction her life seemed to be heading.

Walking down the row she wasn't really paying attention to the students at the tables until she happened to hear a comment from the Slytherin table.  “Some people should never smile. They just don’t have the cheekbones to pull it off.” She raised an eyebrow slightly as she looked towards the speaker.  It was a seventh year student, Vienna Pascal.  The girl's constant perfect appearance always left Morrigan wondering just how early she rose to maintain the image she always presented.

She smirked as she remembered a famous quote she had heard once and said, "Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles."

Vienna turned around to give a pointed glare at whoever spoke up behind her. What a terrible cliché, she thought, and a very bad one too. Sebastian always smiled, and his friends were all losers. Who would want that, seriously? A biting remark already on the tip of her tongue, Vienna threw her head back and let out a scornful laugh, “You couldn’t be more wrong—”

She never finished her sentence.

Her eyes settled on the source of the voice and widened slightly. Vienna cleared her throat and bit back the insult. Professor Ramsay, of all people, was standing behind her with an unholy smirk plastered across her face. Vienna winced inwardly to herself and forced on a thin smile. The Transfiguration professor had a fearsome reputation known to all of the students at Hogwarts. In fact, her tough-love approach was enough to give some students recurring nightmares about being transformed into Turkish Delights and given to Professor Gunnar during one of his midnight binges. Despite her current misgivings, Vienna held Ramsay in high regards. She wasn’t an idiot, like Gunnar, and she knew how to keep her class in line, unlike Gunnar. What was that Muggle saying her father was so fond of quoting, oh yes, “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.” Vienna had always thought the quote was particularly true of Professor Ramsay. Although Vienna no longer took Transfigurations, she had no doubt that Ramsay could make her life a living nightmare if she really wanted to do. Staring up at the older woman, Vienna swallowed her words and simpered innocently.

“Good morning, Professor Ramsay,” She smiled, “As I was saying, you couldn’t be wrong to be right.” Vienna conceded the older woman’s point gracefully as if her previous blunder had never happened, “It’s amazing what a smile can get you these days. “ There was an unmistakable tinge of bitterness in her voice. She laughed a little to herself, “You must admit though, a hideous smile completely defeats the purpose of smiling at all. But of course, to each her own. I hear the Muggles have developed a wonderful new treatment for wrinkles. Something called Beautox, I believe, absolutely mindboggeling.”

Morrigan let the fact that she was quite sure Vienna was going to say she was wrong slide as if she hadn't realized the girl had made a false start to her statement.  They weren't in the classroom, and she doubted she had been expected.  However, it was a lesson that perhaps one should always try to be on their best behavior and not assume someone is a safe target for an insult.

Vienna was a bright girl, but a bit sour in Morrigan's opinion.  There was a definite bitterness in her tone, and how one so young could be so full of negativity always amazed her.  She was sure though she would never forget the obvious signs of surprise when the girl turned to find her standing there.  Apparently her reputation was firmly in place for the new school year, which meant less disruptions by in the classroom.

"Indeed," she quipped at the mention of botox.  "Although I hear it's made from the same bacteria that causes botulism.  I do believe I'll take my chances with the wrinkles."

Honestly she wasn't sure how Muggles could inject themselves with that poison.  Morrigan had never been a particularly vain woman, even if she had started taking more time with her appearance since her former nemesis began teaching at Hogwarts.

"I just can not understand why someone would take the risk."

Vienna tried desperately to mask her confusion but the slight frown that tugged at her brows made a mockery of the performance. Having dropped Muggle Studies at her earliest opportunity, she had no idea what Professor Ramsay meant by “bacteria” and “beautulism”. “Beautulism”, Vienna assumed, was probably the process by which Muggles beautified themselves through the mysterious process of “Beautox”. However, the word “bacteria” did not ring a bell at all. Judging by the tone of Ramsay’s voice, it didn’t sound too pleasant.

Despite her liberal upbringing, Vienna never cared much for those stupid dinner conversations during which her father and Sebastian gushed about the Muggles’ ingenuity and inventiveness. The only reason why “Beautox” had caught her attention was because it appealed to her sense of vanity. If Vienna had any idea about how it entailed the injection of highly toxic substance into her face by means of a syringe, she would not be having this conversation with Ramsay right now, much less, endorsing the virtues of such an invention.

Vienna looked at Professor Ramsay and gave a small, bewildered smile. This was where their opinions differed. To Vienna, people were like products. They could be purchased and sold and marketed almost as easily as a bottle of St. Genevieve perfume. Sure, personal merits mattered, but equally so, appearance as well. It was unfortunate that oftentimes packaging spoke louder than functions, but this was life and there was nothing she could change. All Vienna could do was to make sure that she would not end up in one of those sad, pathetic reject bins.

“With all due respect, Professor, I think you’d be surprised at what people would do when it comes to these things,” Vienna shrugged. She thought about her mother and the rows upon rows of beauty products in their house. “I, for one, would not object to such a treatment,” She continued wistfully, “Surely you can admit, Professor Ramsay, that there is a certain appeal to eternal youth and beauty. If given the chance to be like that, forever, would you really say no?”