Chapter twenty nine: Shopping and shocking discoveries

The next day, Hermione and Ginny, along with Mrs. Weasley, Luna, Angelina, Katie and Fleur went to the vintage bridal shop where Mrs. Weasley got her wedding dress. They all decided that they were going to look at bridesmaids dresses first and save the wedding dresses for another day.

The bell tinkered overhead as the group of gabbing girls made their way into the dress shop. It was very small and the rooms were angular. It reminded Hermione of Olivander's wand shop in a way, because there were many dresses hung up on hangers all over the room. It was in no way unorganized or cluttered, but there was definitely a vast variety of different dresses. The girls looked around as Mrs. Weasley peaked behind the counter, which was at the very front of the shop.

"Hello?" she called out, craning her neck to see whether she could see anyone in the shop. Only silence answered her. Ginny decided to just start looking around anyway. She immediately saw a gorgeous purple dress with silver flowers along the front of it. Ginny went over, her hand reaching out to touch it. As soon as her fingers touched the fine fabric, a loud gasp came from in the shadows of the room. Ginny immediately snatched her hand back and, as she did so, it knocked over a podium and glass case, in which an expensive-looking tiara was being held in. Hermione leaped forward and caught the tiara but the glass case fell and shattered on hardwood floor, sending shards of sharp glass everywhere. Hermione felt as though her heart stopped in her chest. She turned to look around for what made the gasping sound and felt the tiara being snatched away from her roughly. She looked down and a very tiny, very wrinkly old lady with thick spectacles, short tufty white hair, a tiny mouth and big, harsh blue eyes yanked the tiara away from Hermione. She was wearing a very loosely-fitted brown dress with a number of ugly shalls and clunky bracelets. She looked as though she could drop dead of a heart attack at any moment and her face was so ravaged and filled with rage that she looked like her wrinkly face was convulsing. Hermione looked at the lady with apologetic eyes.

"We're so sorry-,"

"Do you know, young wench, how much this tiara costs?" the old lady snarled. Her voice was grumbly and very annoying to listen to. It was so annoying that Hermione felt the hairs on her arms stand up in surprise. It took her a moment to recover and she was glad to see Ginny was reacting the same way to this woman.

"Um, n-no, I don't, but-,"

"It costs more than you're life's savings and your family's life savings put together. Only the highest of individuals pay for this type of merchandise." The lady hissed, stroking the tiara with her knobby, arthritic-filled fingers. "And do you know how much I would have made you pay for it if you had broken it?" She asked Hermione, looking at her through her big, thick spectacles.

"Uh, well, I expect-,"

"The same amount that I would any other buyer." The old lady told her. Hermione looked at them awkwardly and then down at her hands. The lady looked around the shop. "Everything in this shop is exquisitely unique and has a reason for every galleon you spend," she traveled over to a beautiful dark green dress slip that looked rough in texture. "This cover is made from the finest dragon skin in the history of Romanian Swedish short-snouts," she stroked the fabric and then moved her thick fingers along a stunning pair of crystal heals. "These shoes are made from the finest clear crystal in all the world," she came to a halt in the middle of the room and touched the tiara in her hands. "And this tiara was worn by the founder of the Beuxbattons academy of Magic herself. It was perched on top of her very head and worn by her for years. No one has touched it for centuries and now, in one single slip, I am now holding an antique that is worth twice as more as your wretched soul would cost." The lady snarled at Hermione. Hermione gulped nervously as Ginny looked at the crazy lady with fiery eyes.

"Then you should be thanking her." Ginny said, her tone hostile. The lady turned to look at Ginny with wild eyes.

"Why should I thank her for putting me in such a horrible situation?" The lady sneered.

"How is it horrible? You're holding an old tiara. The only horrible factor I see in this situation is that you might die of the inhalation of dust that's collected on it." Ginny said sharply. The lady's eye twitched dangerously.

"You don't know the half of it, you soulless girl!" She shot back.

"Excuse me, but you cannot talk to my daughter in such a rude manner!" Mrs. Weasley stepped in. The lady looked at the plumpness of Mrs. Weasley's body before answering.

"You dare talk to me in such a manner in my own shop?!" the lady asked shrilly. Ginny stepped forward, her shoes crunching on the glass she was stepping on. She stared wildly at the woman.

"Do you know who we are, lady?" Ginny asked loudly.

"A treacherous young lot who've come to destroy my hard endowed labour!" she spat back. Hermione quickly stepped in between them, not liking the unhealthy grey color that the lady was turning.

"Everyone just calm down, alright?! We don't need to fight. We came here to buy bridesmaids dresses." Hermione told the old lady. Her jowls quivered as she set her eyes on her once again.

"Bridesmaids dresses?" she asked again, as though she hadn't heard her correctly. When Hermione nodded, the old lady burst out laughing, her wheezy cackles filling the room. As much as it scared Hermione to even listen to such a sound, she was glad the lady had calmed down a little. "Pfft! You can't afford my dresses!" the lady told them.

"Now just wait one minute!" Ginny said. "How do you know she can't afford your dresses?"

The lady looked at Ginny as though she was the thickest person she'd ever seen. The lady grabbed a fistful of Hermione's shirt. Hermione gasped as she yanked her towards her. She pointed to the fabric of her shirt.

"This shirt cost less than my toothbrush does: A horrible bout of material. Muggles use it. They think it's the best thing in the world when really, it's the most useless fabric ever created! Thin cotton!" The lady dropped her shirt and slapped Hermione's thigh. It stung painfully and she quickly recoiled, shocked at her ferocity. "Another Muggle material! Blue jeans! Why wear jeans when you can wear stunning robes or luxurious dresses? And, oh, the worst!" she knelt down and pointed to Hermione's shoes, which were a comfortable, stretchy black flats. "What horrendous footwear! What a monstrosity! Such horribly comfortable material! Shoes weren't made to be comfortable! They were made to hurt and look good while you suffer!" the lady jeered. Hermione recoiled again as she stood up. "If you were of a higher class, you would wear something nicer than this to my shop." The lady explained. Mrs. Weasley had had enough of this.

"Where's Pricilla? I called her two months ago to book time to pick out dresses." Mrs. Weasley told the old lady. The lady took out her wand and swooshed it to clean up the glass, and the glass case fixed itself. The podium stood upright and she pushed past Ginny and placed the tiara on it, then the glass case placed itself over top of the tiara.

"Pricilla was taken." The lady said.

"Taken?" Ginny said.

"Yes. Taken. By the Ministry." The lady told them starkly. Hermione's face drained of color.

"She was a Muggle-Born?" Luna asked, making the presence of the four girls known for the first time. The lady looked back at them with her shifty eyes.

"Yes. She was a Muggle-Born," The lady scorned. "a good riddance at that. But now I have to take over this business for her forever."

"Why forever?" Ginny asked as if she was pressuring her to go any further. The lady gave her a look.

"I think you know why. Only the naïve say that Muggle-Borns come back from a trial at the Ministry." She said quickly.

"But anything is possible." Ginny countered.

"You're ignorant of this situation, little girl. You know not of what Muggle-Borns go through in there." The lady snarled. Hermione stepped forward and quickly touched Ginny's arm to remind her where she was. She saw Ginny's eye color shift into a darker shade and Hermione immediately grabbed her arm to make sure she didn't do anything drastic. Ginny noticed Hermione and stepped back a bit. Hermione looked at the woman with cold eyes.

"Believe me when I say that the situation you speak of has effected all of us." Hermione said. The lady immediately glanced down at Hermione's hand and saw the words carved into her skin. Hermione saw her throat swallow hard before she looked at Hermione again.

"…Why have you come here?" she asked Hermione, looking very scared. She'd recognized Hermione from the papers. She recognized that carving on her forearm and hand. She knew exactly who this was. She was known now as the Girl who Escaped. The one girl who managed to escape the Ministry.

"I told you already. We've come to pick out bridesmaids dresses for me and my friend's wedding," Hermione said, gesturing to Ginny. "Is that a problem?"

"…No, not at all," the lady was slowly backed up, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Hermione. "I'm Edna. If you have any requests, just ask." The lady, Edna, quickly backed up and turned into the shadows of another room. There was a moment where everyone just listened to the silence of the room.

"…So, are we going to choose dresses or not?" Hermione said quickly, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone gave a tiny sigh of relief and they began choosing bridesmaids dresses.

It took a while for everyone to get into the swing of things. Everyone picked a dress that they liked in the color schemes that they'd chosen and tried them on. By the time everyone had gotten into their dresses, everything seemed to be going downhill. Angelina had picked a horrendous yellow dress that she said was "the only thing she could find in gold", Katie was standing there, asking whether the blue dress she was trying on seemed too big on her while Fleur was having a different problem. She tried fitting into a zero-sized dress and she realized that being four months pregnant was making her bigger than she'd expected. She tried her best to squeeze into the dress but just ended up cursing rapidly in fluid French. Luna was the only one who seemed to be having a good time trying on dresses and she definitely had the best dress on. It was a gorgeous light shade of red, almost a light rosy color with a gorgeous blue sash around the waist. The skirt was a light, flowing material that just screamed "springtime" and it had little dainty straps that looked like roses holding the dress up. It was perfect, except for one thing.

"Um, excuse me Ms. Edna?" Hermione called, looking at Luna's dress with interest, going over. Edna poked her head out of the curtain she seemed to be hiding behind, which separated the room they were standing in from another room of the shop. She walked forwards, keeping her eyes on Hermione the whole time as though she might strike or turn and kill her.

"Yes, miss?" she said quickly. Hermione gently touched the material on Luna's dress, her eyes following her fingers.

"Do you have this dress with a different colored sash around the middle?" Hermione asked, looking over at the woman as she touched Luna's waist where the blue material was. The lady nodded.

"Yes I do. What color material were you thinking?" she asked.

"Gold." Hermione answered promptly. Edna thought for a moment and then turned and vanished behind the curtain again. A few moments later, she came back with exactly what Hermione was looking for: the same red dress but with a beautiful light golden color sash that went across the waist. Hermione's spirits immediately lifted when she saw the dress. It was beautiful.

"…That's it." Mrs. Weasley and Hermione said at the exact same time. They looked at one another and smiled brightly.

"This is what you're looking for?" Edna asked as the other girls crowded around the dress for a better look.

"Yes. This is exactly what we're looking for," Hermione said excitedly. "How much is it?"

Edna hesitated, pushing her thick glasses up her narrow nose. "200 Galleons." She told Hermione. Hermione's heart sunk into her feet.

"…Two hundred Galleons?" Hermione repeated, hoping she didn't hear her right. Edna nodded cautiously.

"Yes. Each." She added. Hermione swallowed. She was only ready to pay 100 Galleons for the dresses. She didn't know what to do, really. That's when Ginny stepped forward.

"Alright. We'll pay for them now." Ginny said, taking out her wallet, which was in the purse she bought. Edna looked at her wallet with her big eyes. She went over to the cash register and quickly opened the till. Ginny started taking out Galleon after Galleon. Hermione quickly stepped forward and took her hand, stopping her.

"Ginny, you can't do this. It's too much." Hermione told her. Ginny pulled her hand away.

"It's my wedding too, Hermione. I should have to pay for these dresses just as much as you do." Ginny said. Hermione shook her head.

"This is your house fund." Hermione reminded Ginny. They stood there in weighted silence for a moment, staring each other down before Edna cleared her throat loudly.

"Er, what if I offer you a deal?" she said. Both girls turned to look at her with curious eyes. "What if I pull the price down to 100 Galleons for the lot of 'em? Knowing your…circumstance, I understand that you must be low on money at the present time." Edna said. Hermione felt surprise leak onto her face but she quickly recovered as Ginny looked at her.

"That…that would be amazing, thank you Ms. Edna." Hermione said, extremely shocked. Edna nodded quietly in recognition as she reopened the till with their new amount owed. Hermione turned to Ginny.

"I got it." She opened her wallet. Ginny slapped her hand.

"No way. I'll pay." Ginny said, reopening her own wallet. Hermione quickly glared her down.

"Alright, fine. How about we each pay 50 Galleons: Compromise." Hermione offered. Ginny weighed that and nodded.

"Deal." Both girls took out 50 Galleons and paid for the four dresses. Edna closed the register and looked at the girls as they came back, fully dressed and stood behind Ginny and Hermione with Mrs. Weasley right behind them.

"Well, I'll have the dresses sent to you within the next couple weeks," Edna said quickly. The girls smiled brightly and thanked her once again. They all left but Edna called out to Hermione one more time. "Oh, miss!" Hermione turned back with a smile on her face. Edna extracted a piece of parchment from a drawer and took the quill out of an ink bottle that laid on her desk. "Would you like to sign a returning contract? Just in case you'd like to return your dresses in the near future?" Edna asked her. Hermione looked at her curiously.

"No, I'm okay, thank you. We've made the decision." She turned to leave again but Edna kept on speaking.

"Well, that's not what I was worrying about." Edna said. Hermione turned around slowly.

"Then what are you worrying about?" she asked. Edna hesitated for a moment but continued in a hushed tone.

"…Ever since you walked in here today, I've noticed something. There's a fire in the back of your eyes, a fire that I've only seen on one type of woman's face." Edna told her. Hermione suddenly felt naked, as though all of her layers were being peeled off by this woman standing in front of her.

"What kind of woman would that be?" Hermione asked her. Edna looked directly into her eyes.

"…A scared woman. A scared woman who is losing something or, should I say, someone that she desperately wants to keep. You have the eyes of a woman who's rushing into things because she's afraid-,"

"Afraid of what?" Hermione asked sharply. That last statement hit a nerve.

"Afraid of being alone." Edna finished. Hermione couldn't help but glare at this old woman.

"Well, that's not your problem to deal with. And what does that have to do with signing a returning policy?" Hermione snapped.

"I've seen it many times, Miss, where people have spent large sums of money on dresses, rings and other valuables that they intend to try and tie down a man with and then something happens. I just want to ensure that, if need be, you get your money back and I get my dresses back safe and sound." Edna said quickly, looking at her. Hermione felt that fire in her chest again. As Edna offered the contract and quill out to her once again, Hermione backed away, as though she was holding a venomous snake. She looked at the quill and paper with harsh, burning eyes.

"I will respectfully decline your request, Ms. Edna. Thank you for your time." Hermione said, trying to control her voice as it wavered with anger. Edna gave her one sad look before putting the quill and paper down. Hermione looked at her one last time before she turned and walked swiftly out of the shop.

The girls were waiting outside, standing on the snow-covered pavement. It had snowed once again while they were inside. Hermione didn't realize it but it was already 3:00. In five minutes, Ron would be on his break. As Hermione joined the girl's conversation, she realized they were talking to her.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmead and get a Butterbeer? We want to go celebrate the findings of our beautiful dresses!" Angelina said excitedly. Hermione looked at them all and forced a smile.

"I'd love to but I have to go see Ron for a minute. How about I meet you there in a couple of minutes?" Hermione asked. The girls looked confused but nodded. They each bid Hermione goodbye and headed down the street towards the little café. Hermione looked down at her coat, which she had put on and reached in her pocket. She pulled out her wand. She stared at it for a moment before she stowed it back in her pocket and made up her mind. She was just going to see Ron at work. That was all. If she didn't, she wouldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. She had to see that he was 100% committed to this and that Adalie was keeping a fair distance from him. This would be a one-time deal. Seeing as Hermione hadn't Apperated or tried Apperating anywhere since she was captured, she prayed she wouldn't get splinched. She took a deep breath and quickly turned on the spot, Disapperating, leaving the only trace she was there the swirling snow she'd disrupted from under her feet.

With a whoosh, Hermione was standing outside of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She stared at the brightly-colored shop and heard the sounds of laughter and large firecrackers whizzing around the place. She saw little kids ran out with a bag full of goodies, giggling. Their mother came out a second later and called for them to slow down and watch where they were running. Hermione went up swiftly to the doors and opened them. It was as crowded as she remembered since she was last there. People were everywhere, trying out new tricks and looking around for their old favorites. Hermione even saw the basin of the little bottles of Love Potions in one corner, which the young teenage girls were eyeing with interest. Hermione smiled as she pushed past people, saying excuse me as she did so. She looked around for any sign of red hair but was unsuccessful for a while she made her way through the store. She finally found who she was looking for. She craned her neck to see George standing on a very tall ladder, stalking a shelf full of the little Decoy machines.

"Hey George!" Hermione called, smiling up at him. George quickly looked down at her and grinned brightly.

"Hey Hermione! How'd the dress shopping go?" George called down.

"It went well, thank you," Hermione beamed. "I just came to see Ron. Is he on his break yet?"

"He should be getting on it right now if I'm not mistaken, yeah." George answered.

"Any idea where he might be?" Hermione inquired. George nodded.

"I sent him to get me a mop from the broom cupboard downstairs about fifteen minutes ago. He still hasn't come back up yet. I'm getting kind of worried he might've tripped over his own feet and fallen or something." George said with mock anxiety. Hermione, although the circumstances were unlikely, couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. And then it hit her. She hadn't seen Adalie at all since she entered the shop. Maybe her brain was playing tricks on her but she really hoped her logical mind was going to be wrong.

Hermione quickly gave George another smile. "Thanks George! I'll see you at home then." George waved goodbye and turned back to his work. Hermione turned and made her way downstairs, through the bustling crowd of people. She looked at the registers to see if Adalie was there but she wasn't. Hermione felt immediately more rushed. She looked around for the cupboard that George told her about and, after a couple minutes, she found it. As she started walking towards the door of the cupboard, she felt her heart start to race. Maybe she was right. Maybe something was happening in there. Hermione braced herself as she went up to the closed door. She put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. Hermione gasped. Her biggest fear had been made into flesh, and a lot of flesh there was. The picture before her was something that Hermione knew that she would never forget for as long as she lived.

Adalie was shirtless. She was only wearing her bra and black tights. There was a table in the cupboard that held a whole bunch of cleaning equipment on it. That equipment was now scattered on the floor, probably because someone had swiped it off the table to make more room for bodies.

Ron was shirtless. He was half laying, half propped up against the shelf of the cupboard. Adalie was straddling him with her perfectly long, thin, pale legs and her torso was rubbing against his quickly. Adalie's lips were on Ron's lips, working in ways that not even Hermione herself knew how to maneuver. She had her hands tangled in Ron's ginger hair and she was moaning quietly.

Hermione didn't know what to do when both Adalie and Ron heard her gasp from the door and turned to look at her. Hermione stared at the two of them, at a total loss for words, her mouth hanging open slightly. After a few moments of silence, Adalie's lips twitched up in satisfaction, her eyes glistening with triumph. Ron's face was horrified. He didn't know what to say. He sat up straight, making Adalie's body bend back a little so she was sitting on his legs, trapping him there. Hermione's eyes filled with agony as she stared at them. She felt somewhat dizzy and like she was about to faint. Hermione didn't move. Ron tried to get up but Adalie refused to move.

"Hermione," Ron tried, struggling to get Adalie off of him. She clung to his shoulders like an annoyingly perfect leech and stayed with her legs straddled overtop of his. Hermione shook her head, her eyes and nose stinging with oncoming tears, her chin trembling. She felt like her ribcage was being crushed in on itself. "Hermione, please, it's not what it looks like. I-I can explain!" Ron said unconvincingly. He managed to stand up and Adalie still clung to his bare chest as he pushed her away. "Get off me." Ron snarled forcefully. Hermione felt another stab of pain when she realized that Ron's belt was undone and his pants were partially down. She immediately and without her knowing, started to back away from them. Ron advanced.

"Hermione, please. I promise you this isn't what you think it is-,"

"It's better." Adalie interjected. Tears overlapped in her eyes, pouring down her cheeks. She stared only at Ron, her heart breaking. Ron reached out for her but Hermione immediately backed away again, shaking her head.

"…H…H-How could you?" Hermione sobbed quietly. Ron tried to say something more but Hermione was gone, all that was left was the open door.

Hermione ran. She pushed her way through the people crowding inside the store, fighting her way to an exit. She burst out of the door and ran down the street, leaving Diagon Alley far behind. When she got out of there, she turned on the spot and Apperated. She didn't know where she was going. She only knew that she needed to get away from that, from everything. She knew that this was over. She knew that this was done. Hermione couldn't handle it any longer. She couldn't take it. Adalie had finally won the fight. She'd never have Ron back ever again and she wasn't getting married.

Hermione ended up in a heavily wooded area just off the coast of Scotland. Hermione stood there for a moment, listening to the birds singing in the trees, feeling the cold wind on her face. It stung her cheeks, which were wet with tears. More tears warmed her eyes as she stood there in the forest, seeing only Adalie and Ron in her mind's eye.

Without warning, Hermione was screaming. Hermione was screaming and grabbing anything her hands could touch: rocks, sticks, snow, dried leaves, and she was throwing them. She turned around, half sobbing, half crying out and she started punching a tree. Every blow to the hard bark made her anger intensify. She screamed as she threw punches at the tree until she could not hit it anymore. She slowed down her punches when she saw her knuckles: bruised, bleeding and split open. Her screams died down in her chest and she slowly backed away from the tree only to bump into another. She gasped as she sobbed and slid down the tree into a sitting position. She curled up, inexpressible pain coming from her body. She looked at her hands, which were now covered in her own blood and dirt. She felt something cold trickle down her arm and turned to see a good chunk of her upper arm was sliced off. She'd gotten splinched. When she saw how deep the wound was, she also began to feel it. The stinging pain started in her shoulder and made its way all the way through her arm. More tears gushed down her cheeks. She shook as she watched the blood run heavily down her arm in a long river of crimson against her coat, which was ripped and torn. Hermione slowly shut her eyes, feeling both the physical and emotion pain run through her shaking body. She cried in the deserted forest, waiting for something to take her away from this pain. She wanted to be numb again. She wanted to feel no pain. She wanted to die. Many people would say that that would be an exaggerated, dramatic thing to say but, in truth, Hermione was broken. How could she live when the man she loved was not hers any longer? How could she live when she had nothing and no one else to live for? How could she? How could he? How could they?

All these questions filled Hermione's mind as it drifted into a more blissful unconsciousness. She fainted, slumping over in the snow, her body and mind not able to take it anymore. As Hermione's vision blacked out and she became invisible to the world, the clouds began to form overhead, showing that there would be a very intense snowstorm in just a few minutes, leaving Hermione hopeless to save herself but giving her the opportunity to grant her wish for instantaneous death.