Disclaimer in 1st chapter
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Sitting on my bed, I tossed the package beside the window and took a deep breath. Severus was intolerable, one minute being horrid to me and the next being… well, not entirely horrid. And I didn't know what I was feeling, and he wasn't making it any better, and so a few deep breaths seemed in order.
I eventually pulled out a book I had brought along, and spent the rest of that long, sunny afternoon curled in an armchair in the living room. Finally, long after Molly and Arthur had come home, and the sun had sunk behind the line of trees in the distance, I wandered back into the kitchen. Molly recruited my help preparing Christmas dinner, and I finally excused myself at almost half past seven to hurry and dress.
Walking into my room, I looked at the box on the floor by the window, and remembered that Severus had told me not to open it until just before dinner.
Strange request, I thought to myself, but anyway.
I dressed in an old gown I had from my school days, and pinned up my hair and applied a touch of makeup. When I was done, I turned once again to that box.
Sitting down on my bed with it, I carefully dispensed with the blue paper and bow. A large, sumptuously grey box greeted my curious eyes, embossed with an intricate and expensive-looking gold seal. I was even more puzzled than I had been before. Gently removing the lid, I dug through layers and layers of thin grey tissue paper. A soft, almost velvety material met my fingertips, and I quickly removed the rest of the paper and tossed the box aside.
I was holding in my hands one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen. Fashioned from a pale green fabric so soft it felt almost like suede, the modest neckline was accentuated by fluttery cap sleeves of a darker, transparent fabric, and the skirt fell in three long tiers to my knees. It was so simple, and elegant, and I was absurdly startled at the sight of it.
Where had Severus gotten it? And it was far too expensive for someone of Severus' means.
But still, the giddiness at having received such a present, especially from Severus, overwhelmed all my thoughts. With shaking hands, I pulled off my old dress and carefully stepped into the new one. I zipped up the back, and turned toward the mirror, and my breath caught in my throat-
It fit perfectly, gracing my skinny frame and making me seem better proportioned than I truly was. Pulling my old dress over my head had caused curly bit of my hair to pop out from where they were pinned, and they curled down around my face, grazing my shoulders. The woman looking back at me in the mirror was more beautiful, more entrancing, and more elegant than I had ever thought I was.
I was suddenly reminded of feeling similarly back in my fourth year before the Yule Ball; but there was something different. Then, I had spent weeks looking for a dress, hours on my appearance, and now I had just slipped into this persona instantaneously.
Still feeling as thought my feet weren't quite touching the ground, I gathered a sweater in case the dining room was chilly, and fairly floated downstairs to dinner.