"Hello sir
"Hello sir! Can I do anything for you?" the small man asked from the counter.
"No," Harry replied as fast as possible, "but thank you. I'll just be leaving now." As he moved towards the door however, the thunder of high heels and sneakers pounded from outside. With the hysteria of teen voices gathering closer and closer, he jumped behind the curtains again. Praying to all the deities and aliens in the realm above that the mass of girls would not find him, he attempted to curl into a miniscule ball and ducked his head.
While he covered his head with his arms, he heard calm shuffling towards the door. In horror, he began to silently chant his last rights; but instead of rancorous tearing and groping, he listened to the quiet click of a lock paired with the whisper of cloth sweeping the ground. Lifting his head, he found the room isolated from the cries outside.
"And what may I do for you?" the man now asked as he stood above Harry. Finally focusing on him, Harry wondered if he had somehow injured himself as he dove into hiding. The man, who he had only glanced at beforehand, was quite the antithesis of what he had expected. While Harry had already seen his short stature, he had not expected the wide set belly nor the salt and pepper hair with thin streaks of pink.
"Um, thank you for helping me, but I really must be going," he edged towards the door, wondering which fate was worse: being mobbed by the girls or forced into some strange act by this… midget. Judging the length between him and door, there was no way he could be stopped by him but then the fate of having his pants shredded seemed much worse.
"I insist, my name is Twiddleywinks," he gave a sweeping bow, "and for you, my services are free. You did come in here to sign up, correct?"
Harry, not wanting to risk offending him, gave a weak smile and nodded, "But seeing as how I'm disrupting your business, I'll just sneak out the back and come back later."
"No, no, no! This is no problem, in fact I was thinking about closing up early. Take a seat right here," grabbing his hand, Twiddleywinks gestured for Harry to sit in a hideously ornate chair and desk set. Shuffling around to the back, he rustled around the files until he pulled out several lightly scented blue forms. "Now just sit right there and fill these out, I'll tell you the details of the service."
Sighing, Harry picked up a quill from the desk; beginning with the words "Name, Weight and Height" he scribbled his information in.
"All the dates begin at 7 pm in our back parlor," Twiddleywinks waved behind him towards a small doorway, "You will be matched with a partner, with the gender based on your preference. The dates don't have any time limits, you can stay for as little or as long as you like." He began to preen, as he continued on, "We are London's most sought after dating service, because we are discreet and quite frankly, the best. The key to our success is our one-of-a-kind dating method – when you first enter, you will have a spell cast upon you that will cause your vision to be temporarily removed."
Harry's head shot up, alarmed, "How long will that last?"
"Well, as I was about to say," Twiddleywinks gave him a long stare, "the spell will last until you leave your date. After, our attendants will remove the charm and you may make a decision on whether or not you would like to continue your date. We have a five-month guarantee in finding a lasting partner, if we have not been able to match you with a partner there is a full refund in addition to a voucher for other dating services. But, we have never had to use our guarantee." Once again, he began to preen his thinning locks, "Take your time with the questionnaire because this really determines the success of your experience with us."
Staring at the long list of question, Harry exhaled and began to fill in the rows of personality ratings.
PP
"Is there any need for me to really do this?" Pansy was trying to think of any excuse she could give that could save her from the hell dimension that she was about to enter.
"Well, considering the heavy fee that you would be fined if you failed to show up, I was would say yes," rolling her eyes again, Daphne pulled Pansy through the door. Since she had collected Pansy all Daphne had heard was the constant rambling of a delusional woman that was content being a spinster. And the good friend that she was, Daphne could simply not allow her friend to be pulled into such a horrid life nor tarnish her own image as one of her close confidants.
Walking into the front foyer of Mrs. Twiddleywinks Legally Blind and Binding Dating Services felt as though Daphne was pulling her to the guillotine; complete dread and utter confusion as to why she was being punished rushed through Pansy's mind. Glancing down, she found herself moving at a frightfully fast pace, not realizing that she had gained far too much momentum when she had entered. As her mind, overloaded with panic, attempted to stop herself, Pansy tumbled into a man standing next to a curtained doorway.
Sprawled out, Pansy mumbled, "I'm so sorry. I'm not sure what came over me." She raised her head but before she could take in the man's face, a small woman hurried over and pulled her away from him.
"Excuse me ma'am, but it was clear in the rules that you have to avoid contact with other clients until the appointments begin," her disapproving tone causing Pansy to blush, "My name is Prudence, and I'll be helping you through your experience with Mrs. Twiddleywinks Blind and Binding Services. Name?"
"Um, Pansy Parkinson."
Marking a pad of paper in her hand, Prudence proceeded with her introduction, "Tonight, you have been assigned as Couple #6. After I have temporarily removed your vision, I will lead you to a table where you partner will be waiting. From there we hope that you have a satisfactory time with the partner we paired you with. Are you ready?"
"Sure," Pansy sent a silent prayer into the fates to strike her with lightening, hanging her head when she found herself still alive and burning with embarrassment. "I'm ready," she nodded and followed the woman.