22nd December 1995
"Hey Otto, you seen this?" Victoria asked, eyes skimming over the article on the front page.
"Hm?" Hermione hummed around a piece of toast, not quite listening to the witch. Victoria pushed the day's Daily Prophet into her face. "What am I reading?"
"This" Victoria tapped the article on the front page.
"Oh" Brown eyes trailing over the front page article, Hermione felt her face slacken the further she read on.
REPORTER FOUND DEAD AT MUGGLE ZOO
—Marlowe Wiggins, Special Correspondent
Beloved writer and reporter of the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter was a witch of many talents. On her most recent escapade in reporting on the events of the Triwizard Tournament held this year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rita Skeeter went missing for several days. Not unheard of for a witch on a mission; however when her employer did not receive her latest article, worry began to brew.
…It wasn't until news from the Muggle community reached the ears of this reporter, that certain things came to light. On the evening of Saturday 15 December, the remains of one Rita Skeeter was found floating in the small pool of the tiger enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo; what she was doing there, we may never know.
The Muggle law-keepers (Policemen) suggested theories of suicide and accidental death, but no solid proof was ever discovered…
"Wasn't that where you went for you date?" Victoria asked, pushing the food around her plate since she had lost her appetite from reading the article. The firelight from the hearth licked up against the two witches, basing them in the warm glow. Usually, the fire wouldn't be lit this early in the day, even in winter. But the Yule Log—which had been lit earlier in the month— was an exception to this rule.
"Yeah" Hermione replied absentmindedly, enjoying the warmth of the fire "But I didn't see her there. I wonder what happened?"
Witnesses to the crime described Ms Skeeter suddenly appearing out of thin air, screaming and kicking as she tried to flee the beast who had captured her. Some said she appeared to be heavily wounded already, accounting to some other horrible incident.
"Yuck, that's horrible" Hermione scrunched her nose up in disgust.
"What does it say? I couldn't get passed the picture" Victoria asked.
"Eurgh!" Hermione's face soured further when she saw that the photo presented showed the Aurors levitating her remains out of the sanctuary. Thankfully, they had been covered with a sheet, but the sheet was stained in her blood and a single torn arm had dropped out from underneath it, hanging off of the side like a puppet.
With no reports of magic performed in the presence of Muggles, the only other option is the use of the transformation, specifically an animagi transformation. But with no registration showing any reference to Ms Skeeter, could it be possible that the witch had knowingly refused to register? This reporter refuses to speak ill of the dead, but it does make one wonder…
"Uh, they think she was an illegal animagus who got into a sticky situation" Hermione summarised, refusing to go into greater detail.
" 'Sticky situation' she says," Victoria huffed a laugh, "Yeah, I think that's a bit more than a 'sticky situation!' "
"What? Would you rather I'd have said, 'mauled to death by a tiger?"
"Eurgh! Yeah, no, 'sticky situation' is better"
…Several Aurors were dispatched to the scene to collect the remains and found their hands full with not only the Policemen, but the workers at the sanctuary and several of the Muggle children who had watched incident unfold. After collecting the remains of Ms Skeeter, several memories had to be modified, allowing the Aurors to finally retreat as darkness fell.
Suddenly a memory came to mind, one of a rather interesting event at the zoo. Hermione and Viktor had been walking through the monkey section of the sanctuary, when one of the emperor tamarin monkies had leapt from the trees onto her shoulder and began to shift through her frizzy hair, grooming her much like it would do for another monkey.
She had jumped in surprise at the time, Viktor had stifled a chuckle and taken a picture of the witch before moving to help unentangle the primate from her locks. However, the monkey hadn't hung around long.
Apparently there had been a rather shiny beetle sitting on her head that had caught the monkey's attention, and as soon as it was in his tiny fist, he was off into the trees once more. She assumed that the monkey hadn't been able to keep ahold of squirming insect as she watched the little primate swing through the trees after its prize, until it reached the end of its enclosure. She and Viktor had laughed it off, and that was the last she ever thought of it. Until now.
The Ministry has refused to answer any further questions from the Daily Prophet concerning Ms Skeeter's death; but be rest assured, we will not stop until justice has been served!
"Hey, so are you coming to Hogsmeade today?" Hermione asked the witch across from her who had pushed her bowl of porridge aside in exchange for a plate of berries.
"Yeah, we're going dress shopping, right?" Victoria replied "For the Ball?"
"Yeah. Hey, you never said, who you were going with"
"Neither did you"
"Can't I get a hint?"
"Now where's the fun in that?"
"Grr! I'd ask for more if I knew I wouldn't say the same"
"See? Hey did ya hear about Hopper?"
"No? What's going on with her?"
"She got one of the Veela lads to ask her; one of the younger brothers of one of the girls—uh, Francois something"
"Really?"
"Yeah, apparently she started up some conversation about Seelies and Veela with him, and it kinda just spiralled from there"
"Well, good for her. She was really wanting to go, wasn't she?"
"Yeah. But that lad'll have his hands full with her!"
"Well, if he can't handle her, then he's just a raging dick"
"And you know what happens with raging dicks?" Victoria grinned around a strawberry.
"Snip snip!" Hermione laughed, motioning scissors with her fingers. A little ways down, a group of younger boys turned pale at the insinuation.
"…We should get a move on, you know…ask someone. He's right" Ron was saying to Harry when Hermione emerged from her dormitory, dressed and ready for the day. "We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls"
"A pair of…what, excuse me?" Hermione spluttered indignantly as she rounded on her ginger-haired friend. Harry, wisely, kept his mouth shut.
"Well—y'know" Ron shrugged, "I'd rather go alone than with—Eloise Midgen, say"
"Her acne's loads better lately—and she's really nice!" Hermione defended.
"Her nose is off-center"
"Oh, I see" Hermione bristled, "So basically you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"
"Er—yeah sounds about right"
"Urgh! Seriously!" Hermione stormed out of the common room, curls swinging behind her as she left the thick-headed boy behind her.
"What's her deal?"
"Hurry up, witches!" Charlotte called, wildly waving her hand in the air where she stood next to the other coven members.
"Hold your horses!" Hermione called as she, Victoria and Luna made their way over to the gaggle of witches gathered at Hogwarts' gates. By this point, her anger at Ron had dissipated into anticipation and excitement for the day's shopping trip. "We're coming!"
"C'me on! All the good dresses will be gone!" Lila added, weaving her arm through Charlotte's.
"All right! All right! So impatient!" Victoria huffed, crossing her arms against the cold morning.
"So where are we going first?" Hermione asked as the witches began to trudge through the snow towards the village.
"Well, I reckon we should hit up Gladrags first" Emilia replied, trying her best not to slip over an icy patch "It'll be hell later on today, when everyone comes down for lunch and stuff. So maybe there first, and then hit up some of the smaller boutiques?"
"Ooh! Like Spider Spun! Or Sky High Heels!" Sophie spun around, walking backwards as she talked excitedly.
"What about Kneazle Knickerbockers?" Hermione suggested.
"Ooh! Planning a little something for your date, Otto?" Charlotte wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Oh shove off!" Hermione joking pushed the 'Puffs shoulder, "Nah, I've been needing to get a new bikini. I just figured while we're here. Although, depending on what style I go for, I might need a new bra…"
"And everyone knows, how great you feel when your knickers match your bra!" Emilia piped up.
"Yeah, that is true" Hermione nodded. For some reason no woman could explain, wearing a matching set made you feel like you could rule the world.
"Oof! Bit of a crowd" Luna murmured, "Looks like we weren't the only ones with the same idea" Upon reaching the village, Hermione was able to see that all manner of school age witches had made a beeline for Gladrags. Several of the witches gathered, held mugs of tea or coffee; some even held a pitcher or two of butterbeer as they waited outside for the store to open. Large brightly coloured posters were plaster to the glass promoting ball-season sales, and last minute Yule deals.
"Whelp, we better get in line then" Victoria clapped her hands, looking ready to elbow her way through the crowds if necessary.
No sooner had the doors opened, did the gathered witches stormed inside with several rampaging towards the brightly coloured racks at the front of the room. Like witches on a mission, the coven entered the store and elbowed their way through the throngs of witches already arguing over dress robes. Ducking beneath the wildly flailing limbs of a squabbling witch, Hermione made her way to the back of the store where many of the discount dresses lay.
Unlike the dress robes at the front of the store which were more or less styled in complicated Edwardian and Victorian styles that were popular within the magical community; the discounted ones at the back were styled more towards those found in the Muggle community. Although not hugely popular with Pureblooded witches (usually those who could afford more than one dress per event), they were quite popular with the Muggleborn and some of the Halfblood witches hence why they were kept in the back; out of sight and out of mind.
Perusing the racks of colourful material, Hermione let her hands trail over the various textures as she tried to find the one for her. Silk, tulle, lace, velvet; so many options, so little time! Pulling little blue number with a sweetheart neckline from the rack, she placed it over her arm and continued to search for other options. A sleek black dress joined the blue one, then a pink ruffled number, and green mermaid dress. Soon enough the collection hanging over her arm was becoming to hard to hold onto.
Weaving her way around some mannequins Hermione eventually found herself waiting in line for one of the changing rooms tucked in the back corner of the store. She didn't have to wait for long, most of the other witches had chosen to use the ones closest to the front where all their friends were gathered giggling like mad.
After pulling off her many layers of clothes and folding them into a pile which she placed in a corner with her shoes, Hermione went about putting on the first dress. It was the blue cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline she had first pulled. Well, it's pretty, but it's not really Ball material. Hermione mused as she twirled back and forth, trying to a get of the whole thing.
That one was soon exchanged for nude and black polka dot gown that looked like it had stepped straight out of the 50s. Mm, not this one either. And so dress after dress was tossed aside, never quite meeting the right criteria. Too sheer, too tight, too short, too long, too nude, too dark, too prude, too slutty, and so on. Until she finally reached the end of her pile.
Hermione could hear the witches outside getting antsy for their turn there were only so many changing rooms in the store, and more witches were flooding in every other hour. It was a surprise that anyone could move, for all the elbows-in-the-ribs and heels-on-the-toes. And so it was that she turned to the last dress in her pile.
She had picked the burgundy dress as nothing more than a flight of fancy. It wasn't usually the type of style she would go for, but she had liked the colour and the neckline. Slipping it on, Hermione was able to appreciate the simplicity of the style. The length of the satin gown reached all the way to the floor and would need some tailoring to shorten it a little, but that was nothing a little magic or a sewing machine couldn't fix.
The sweetheart neckline cut off into off-the-shoulder sleeves that sat snug against her forearms, and was matched by the cut-out on the back of the dress, which rested just below her collarbones, showing off her tattoo. Hermione particularly liked the subtle boning which lined the bodice of the dress, and kept everything packed in nice and tight. All-in-all, the dress had a slightly medieval feel to it, and Hermione loved it even more; like it was walking the line between magical and muggle.
I might not have to wear a bra with this. Hermione mused as she jumped up and down to see if the dress would slide down when she moved around. Maybe just some pasties?
The burgundy colour suited her well, complimenting her skin tone and—with a little note of pride—she knew that it would match well with what Viktor was going to wear, (he had told her that all of the Durmstrang lads would be wearing their most formal school robes—ones that were usually saved for big events, such as graduation).
Oh yes! This one! I like this one! Ooh! And I've got that wreath headband from Luna, that I can wear—they'll go well with my earrings. Hermione thought of the dangly earrings she had inherited from her mother. Now I just need to worry about shoes…and maybe underwear…
Dressing once more in her mufti clothes, Hermione headed for the counter where she paid for her dress, and then outside into the quiet village where she waited for the other girls to be done with their shopping. There was no way she was going to be able to find them in that chaos; not even if she had a bloodhound or a tracking spell! Time seemed to fly by, and before she knew it lunchtime had rolled around and the coven had found themselves squeezed around a table at The Three Broomsticks with their purchases tucked away at their feet.
After picking apart several baskets of chips and downing a mug of two of butterbeer, the girls split apart to finish up their shopping. Some went off towards little boutiques to find a clutch or some jewellery, whilst others turned to look for the right lingerie that would fit beneath their gowns, and others just returned to the castle, intent on relaxing behind warm walls.
The rest of Hermione's afternoon was filled with laughter and joking flirtations passed back and forth as she and Luna scanned the aisles of Kneazle Knickerbockers for the right lingerie to match their dresses. Sometimes, she'd find something that just seemed too ridiculous, that she couldn't help but show the blonde, who in turn would find something even more outrageous and the two would dissolve into fits of giggles as they tried to figure out how you would even operate them.
In the end, Hermione had walked away with a new high-waisted bikini that was black in colour, but printed with bright floral patterns; and a new lacy bra and panties set, plus the set of pasties. For jewellery she planned to use the silver wreath headband that had been a birthday gift from Luna, and a pair of dangly earrings she'd inherited from her mother.
Instead of a clutch purse, she had decided she would use her little drawstring pouch, which she could string through the belt loops at her hips—a little bit of colour transfiguration would be necessary, however. And finally, a pair of silver three inch heels topped off the whole ensemble. Although they wouldn't be seen due to the length of the skirt, it gave her a bit of much needed height so that—even with the altered hemline—she wouldn't be in danger of constantly tripping over it.
When Hermione eventually returned to Gryffindor tower, she came across Ron who sat ashen-faced in the corner of the common room where he was surrounded by his siblings and anyone who had come to gawk at him. Both he and Harry had been laughing jovially at something previously said. "Why weren't you two at dinner?" Hermione asked coming over to join them.
"Because—oh shut up, you two!—because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!" Ginny replied, quickly snuffing out the laughter form the two boys.
"Thanks a bunch, Ginny" Said Ron sourly.
"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" Hermione sassed, "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you"
"Hermione, Neville's right—you are a girl…" Ron was looking at the witch in a whole new light, as if had just dawned on him.
"Oh well spotted" Hermione replied acidly.
"Well—you can come with one of us!"
"No, I can't" She snapped.
"Oh come on" He said impatiently, "we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any and everyone else has…"
"I can't come with you" Hermione was now fighting the blush that was crawling across her cheeks, "because I'm already going with someone else"
"No, you're not! You just said that to get rid of Neville!"
"Oh did I?" Her eyes flashed dangerously as she glared down at the redhead, "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ronald, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"
"…Okay, okay, we know you're a girl" Ron stared at her for a moment before grinning. "That do? Will you come now?"
"How are you so thick-headed? I'm not going with you! I'm going with someone else!"
"Ooh! Is it this secret snogger we've heard nothing about?" Ginny asked, leaning forward. Hermione blushed scarlet.
"I-I'm going to bed!"