A/N: New chapter for you all, hope you enjoy! Trying to write ahead once again so I can catch up on updates but it's not easy, forgive the sporadic-ness of my writing. Please rate and review :)


I woke early that Saturday morning, taking some time to do my hair and put on a little in the way of cosmetics. It was something I rarely did – usually only for special events such as the balls and galas that my friends seemed to attend frequently. Recently however, I had been feeling particularly plain. Both Daphne and Pansy always had their hair styled to perfection, and makeup on to enhance their features. I figured today would be a good day to experiment a little bit, especially if I was going to be trying on beautiful dresses. After fixing up my appearance, I fished out the length of bandage Professor Snape had supplied for me for one party once, where keeping my jacket on was dubious. In hindsight, I should have grabbed it the other night… although I didn't really have time to run back up to the dormitory to grab it between the birth and execution of the party plan. I figured using it today couldn't hurt, in case the girls pulled out sleeveless dresses for me to try on. I would figure something else out if it came to it for Christmas.

Finishing tying off my arm, I slipped on my clothes before slipping out of the dormitory. Everyone else was still asleep, enjoying the rest that came with a weekend.

I was the first of the three of us downstairs, snatching a few pieces of fruit from the breakfast-laden tables to nibble on while I waited. The October chill was in the air, with the leaves beginning to show their colours while still clinging to the trees. It was a beautiful clear day and I leaned back on my arms, sitting on the rim of the fountain, looking up towards the clear blue sky.

"Oh, hi." I heard a familiar voice nearby. "You're up early."

I turned my head in surprise, looking over at Fred who was hovering nearby. George was behind him, a small scowl on his face. A small frown formed on my own in response.

"Yeah. We're headed down for an early start in Hogsmeade today." I replied quietly, looking back towards the Entrance hall. No sign of the Slytherin girls yet.

"We?" George asked with a bite of venom in his voice. "You and your little Slytherin pals?"

Slowly I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"George," Fred said reproachfully.

George ignored him. "You snakes stick together, huh? Almost never see you without your little death-eater posse." He stalked off towards the village. Fred looked upset, looking after his twin.

"Don't listen to him, Amy." He said, seeing my crumbling resolve. "He's just hurt and confused."

"Does he think that I… that I wanted this?" I asked him, trying to keep the trembling from my voice.

"No, no." He assured me quickly. "It was just a bit of a shock for him – for us." I noticed his eyes straying towards my sleeve. "Harry explained a bit, but there was a lot he didn't know, or wouldn't say. D'you think, later maybe, we could clear some of it up? I know I'm a good listener, and maybe I can bring him around a bit."

Wordlessly, I nodded. Fred smiled brightly at me. "Brilliant. Not today, I think." He said, looking again after George. "Next week sometime perhaps." Silence grew between us for a few moments before he nodded at me. "Well, I'd better go find him before he insults anyone else in his bad mood. I'll see you around, Amy. By the way, you look really nice today." With another smile the second Weasley twin disappeared.

The small smile on my face and the suspicious brightness of tears still lingered when Pansy and Daphne appeared from the Entrance hall shortly after. Ever observant, they both noticed immediately.

"What's the matter, Amy?" Daphne queried.

"Was it Potter and his flunkies again?" Pansy asked threateningly. "Don't even listen to their tripe, Amy."

I shook my head, blinking away the wetness in my eyes. "No, it was just the twins. George is a bit mad with me at the moment." I said by way of explanation.

"The Weasley twins?"

"Oh, I totally noticed that." Daphne nodded. "One of them, George – right? – was all over you the other night, but hasn't even glanced at you since."
"Not since you two went off into the woods together." Pansy waggled her brows suggestively. "Is he mad you wouldn't put out for him?"

My face immediately flamed, and I looked at her in shock. "No!" I squeaked. "Uh, the woods went… fine… we just had a, uh, disagreement." I explained lamely.

Sensing my discomfort, Daphne quickly changed the subject. "His loss." She shrugged. "Anyway, let's head down for breakfast, before all the good seats are taken."

I laughed lightly. "I don't think many other people are even awake this early." I told her.

"Well, the early bird gets the worm. Or in this case, the dress." She said, linking her arm through Pansy's and mine, directing us in the direction of the village.

Literally squealing in delight, Pansy ran her hand over the racks of dresses in Gladrags, admiring the feel of the multitude of fabrics. I smiled at her enthusiasm, looking at the myriad of colours and textures before me.

"Do you know what colours you're looking for?" Daphne asked me.

Mutely, I shook my head with a rueful smile to the girl beside me. "I'm really out of my depth here." I laughed. "I've never done much shopping for myself, especially not for such beautiful dresses like these."

She stepped back, appraising me for a second. Her scrutiny was intense, but she smiled before leading me over to the rack.

"You've got quite a cool based tone to you, so the bright jewel colours would suit you wonderfully. You'd also suit greys and white." She pulled a small face. "I'm the opposite, I'm quite warm based. I'd love to be able to pull off pure white." She told me regretfully. "Cream is the best I'll get." She began pulling dresses from the racks, holding them up to me. She handed me some, putting back others.

"You wore green to the Yule ball last year, didn't you?" She asked, fiddling with a forest green dress. I nodded simply, and she brushed past it, pulling out a range of colours that weren't green.

"Why not green?"

"No green because you wore green last Christmas. Some other students will likely be in attendance, and it's bad form to wear the same or similar dresses to more than one function in a row. To stand out you must have a varying wardrobe." She informed me promptly. "Plus green matches your eyes, and going for such an obvious association such as that is just overdone."

"So what colours should I be aiming for this time?" I asked amazed at the whirlwind of fabric I'd been swept into.

"I'm undecided yet, though I have a few directions I want to try. Being a Christmas party, everything will be quite wintery, so a blue or white dress would be appropriate, both going well with your complexion. However, I'm thinking that might also be overdone, which is why I'm pulling out ones like this," she held up a brilliant ruby red dress. "This sort of colour would ensure you stand out amongst the crowd, as well as contrasting with your eyes."

Eyes wide, I shook my head. "I'm not so sure I want to be standing out!" I laughed. "I don't exactly fit into your balls and fancy events."

"Nonsense." Daphne told me with a small smile.

"Yeah, with our help you'll fit in just fine." Pansy re-joined us with an armload of dresses. "I mean, they start us all early in the etiquette training, but I reckon you'll do just fine without it. You're a natural."

"Etiquette training?" I asked faintly.

"Just the usual. How to sit, stand, act, and generally be a lady." Pansy scrunched up her nose. "More than a few nannies quit trying to teach me that nonsense. Never did like it."

At my confused look, Daphne elaborated further. "From a young age, pureblood girls are taught about society. How to act to catch a man, who all the eligible young men are, how to run a manor house, little social cues like that. Have you never watched Mrs Malfoy in action? I thought you lived with Draco."

I felt my cheeks heat a bit at that. It seemed to be the assumption of the school. "Ah – no." I told her. "I just visit his place for the summer, sometimes."

Thankfully, the other girls dropped the subject there, Daphne sending a curious look in my direction before shoving me into the changing room with an armload of dresses.

"Make sure you show me each one!" She instructed firmly.

As it happened, none of the dresses she had picked out worked out. Gleefully, it seemed, we went back to browsing the racks. Pansy joined us, having already found a dress in a deep rose pink. Soon enough I was back in the changing room in another whirlwind of fabric. Every colour dress imaginable was hanging in front of me – except a deep green of course – and I sighed at the prospect of trying more of them on. Sliding yet another on, I looked into the mirror and my jaw dropped. I hadn't even seen Daphne slip this dress in with all the rest of them, but surely it was the most beautiful of the lot. It was a glamorous full-length gown, with a plunging V-neck and cinched in waistline. Encompassing the bodice and cascading down the skirt in the occasional tendril was a pure white lace pattern of vines and flowers. The skirt itself was tulle, flaring out into the traditional bell-shape, and a multitude of whites, light greys, pale pinks and lilacs with the slightest hint of a train.

"Well?" I heard Pansy ask from outside the changing room. Slowly I opened the door, walking out to show them this one. Even the way it moved as I walked…

"This one." I said, a smile tugging at my lips as I watched both Daphne and Pansy's jaws drop.

Eventually, Daphne sighed wistfully. "I so wish I could pull off white like that."

A giggle broke from my lips, as I spun in front of the floor length mirror, seeing a hint of a silver shimmer among the pale colours in the skirt. I could not wait to see the look on Draco's face when he saw this.

"By the way, what happened to your arm?" Pansy asked, eyeing the bandage. Like a bubble, my good mood popped.

"Oh, that. I – I accidentally burnt it in potions." I said.

She languidly raised one brow. "Really? I didn't notice."

I shrugged, rubbing at it self-consciously. "I'll just go take this off." I gestured down at the beautiful dress smiling again a little.

Shortly afterwards we exited the shop, dressed again in our regular clothes and grins on our faces. The dresses were being couriered up to the castle, complimentary of the store, so they weren't damaged in any way. Still reeling slightly at the price of the dress I was glad the storeowner had taken that into consideration. It was mind boggling to me, that Daphne and Pansy attended events like this all the time – with a new dress every time. I wondered wistfully if I'd ever truly fit in with them, before shaking off the feeling. I certainly fit better here than with the Gryffindors, I thought resolutely. Forcing a smile to me face I turned back to the conversation, laughing lightly with Daphne as we three walked down the main street, linked arm in arm.