"Come on, Em!" Lily knocked on the bathroom door. "You can't stay in there forever! Shopping is FUN!"
Emily sighed. She unlocked the door and peeked out. "Do I have to wear a dress?"
Alana interrupted her two friends, pushing her way through the mass of Hogsmeade potential outfits. "Yes. Absolutely. Dress is a must."
Alana grabbed Emily's arm firmly and pulled her out from behind the door. "You're going." And so it was final.
Emily sighed as she pushed through the racks and racks of seemingly endless dresses. They all looked the same to her, slutty, stupid, and expensive. She sighed. She didn't do the dress thing. "Emily! This dress is perfect!" Lily shoved her way past a poor terrified 3'rd year, carrying a tomato red V-neck that Emily already hated with a deep passion just by looking at it.
"Emily, you just have to try this!" Alana ran towards her from the opposite direction. The dress in Alana's arm was nicer, and decidedly more tasteful, but the yellow knee length bundle was already, from what Emily could tell, the wrong color. It would be horrible for her hair.
Just before Emily had time to worry if she was going to be crushed by her two friends barreling towards her, both red heads skidded to a stop on either side of their friend, they immediately started shouting at eachother that they had each found the perfect dress.
"No, I did." Alana argued with Lily.
"No, you didn't. Idid." Lily protested. Emily covered her face with her hands in frustration as her friends shouted at eachother. When the bickering finally quieted, Emily looked up, The two girls stood fuming, locked in a staring contest, neither willing to back down. Seeing Emily was again paying attention, they each began shouting for Emily to tell the other that their dress was better.
Emily held up a finger, signalling them that she was ready to make her declaration. She grimaced, though pleased with the silence. It was better that she could hear herself think. "Alana, that dress is very nice." Alana smirked at Lily. "BUT, it's yellow," Emily waved her hair at Alana. Alana made an "o" shape with her mouth, understanding crossing her face.
"Lils," Lily stuck her tongue out at Alana while Emily fingered the siren-reed fabric. "That dress is pretty, but it's too skanky. No offense." Lily pouted as Alana laughed.
As Alana and Lily walked off to find dresses for themselves, Emily turned towards the dress rack. As if by magic, the perfect dress caught her eye.
Discreetly pulling the hanger towards her and heading towards the dressing room, Emily rolled her eyes at the thought of her getting any dress. And wearing it. In public. Eww. No way. Merlin, what were they thinking?
She turned quickly, but before she could turn and face the mirror, Alana, Lily, and Hannah's loud voices rushed over her like a bucket of ice(which thanks to Peeves, she unfortunately had experienced).
"Where'd Emily go?" Hannah's question came from the next changing room to her right, and Alana and Lily's speculative answers came from the changing rooms across from her. She threw on her thankfully very long jacket and stepped out. Her jacket had covered her shorts that she'd worn, too, so as long as her jacket was on, they wouldn't be able to tell she'd changed.
"I'm right here."
Her three friends stepped out.
Hannah wore a deep blue dress, Ravenclaw's traditional, yet several shades darker. It was the sky just a half hour or so after the sun went down, when there wasn't stars yet, but all the yellows and pinks from sunset had vanished. It went just above her knees and floated around her when she spun in a circle for everyone to see.
Alana's was white, pale and clear. The dress tied behind her neck, and came down to her ankles. It looked Greek to Emily, or some Mediterranean style. She half expected Alana to be carrying some olive branch or a harp or something else along those lines. It would have been all wrong on Emily, but the style suited Alana.
Hannah, much to Emily's disappointment, noticed Emily's clothes laying on the floor of the changing room through the open door. "Em? Anything you want to show us?" Hannah fought back a smile as she held out her hand for Emily's jacket. Shrugging off her coat, Emily turned to show her friends her choice.
If Hannah's dress had been the sky, than Emily was the sand beneath it, the desert under the sun. It was a peachy, sandy color that went with her tan skin and dark hair wonderfully. Emily smiled shyly as her friends took in the details of it, the body-hugging halter dress. As they had for Hannah and Alana, her friends nodded their approval with happy grins.
Lily was last, but her dress was definitely the best for her. It was forest green, semi-earth mother-ish. Considering her friend's fiery temper, Emily considered, the dress was well suited. Lily bit her lip nervously. "Is it okay? Not to. . . boring?" The dress was sleeveless, and came down to mid-thigh. It went perfectly with Lily's hair, despite her earlier worries. It mad her look like a wood nymph, or some other mythological forest creature.
"Lils, you look amazing."
"My cousin is going to fall over his own feet when he sees you." Emily agreed.
Hannah was the one who spoke her definite "Yes" last, only to also point out, "Though since your family tends to have two left feet anyway, so. . . ." while ducking the hanger that Emily then threw at her.
