The weeks passed slowly, and Odile spent a majority of time staring out of the window. Well, that and crying, but that was neither here nor there. She'd met up with Angelina at a pub a couple times, though she could only take the pity eyes for so long. Still, she had appreciated the girl's company more than she'd liked to admit. She'd never had many female friends, never many friends to begin with; with Angelina, things came so easily. There was never any doubt in her intentions, never any suspicions about whether she talked about Odile behind her back. When Odile had first started at Hogwarts, she had come in later than most of the other kids and had stuck out like a sore thumb. It probably hadn't helped that she'd had a bit of a sore attitude, but she had no outlet. She missed Illevermony more than words could express, she missed her Thunderbird house. Everything came from home, she could even remember Shikoba Wolfe's words as she handed her the wand that would choose her on the first try- pine wand, thunderbird tail feather, 13", quite rigid. "This wand is destined for greatness my dear." At the time she'd had her head filled with what future could be awaiting her, now she couldn't help but think of what a kid of rubbish it was.
Odile had grown so used to the gossiping when she'd first started that she'd completely withdrawn into the background by her next year. She became quiet and angry, isolated in the giant castle overflowing with strangers. Until she'd met… well, HIM, as she tried to identify her something in her thoughts. Saying his name, even thinking it, felt like a blow to the stomach. She tried to fill up her days with little things; helping clean the rooms Sirius had never gotten to, filing forms that Tonks needed desperately to organise, anything to take her mind off of the situation at hand. When she'd finally requested Angelina to pack up her bags, Odile had expected some weight to lift off her shoulders. Instead, all she felt was a constant apprehension that her whole last year of life had been for nothing. Everything, from the scent his aftershave to the silky feel of his supple lips, replayed in her head like a broken record. One fight was that all it took? One row and her entire life had changed in an instant. She didn't know what she was waiting for, but there was something that was holding her back.
She had distracted herself by growing closer with the two residents who'd gladly opened their home to her. Remus was far more funny and devious than she'd originally thought, helping her with devising potions and pranks for the shop. Focusing on that side of work was helpful in the way of giving her a purpose, a reason to stay connected to her life, even if it was by owl only. They spent many a late night talking out different inventions before finally devolving into some conversation about Hogwarts and the Marauders. Although it was painful for Remus to reminisce about his fallen friends at first, it soon became a healthy part of his grieving process. There seemed no end to the number of stories that he had, most involving Sirius and James trying to one up each other while Peter and Remus rolled their eyes. The anger he held for Peter seemed to melt when he talked about their childhood, replaced by a bittersweet disappointment.
Tonks and Odile became fast friends as well, if only held back by the fact they were complete polar opposites. Tonks was high energy, friendly, and not afraid to make a complete fool out of herself. Odile was far more reserved, sarcastic to a point that bordered on mean, and generally had to push herself to match the energy Tonks was giving off. Despite all that, the women bonded over coming from a pureblood background, crappy family members, and a shared love for shots of Firewhiskey. While Remus and Odile spent nights pouring over books and planning spells, Odile and Tonks spent nights getting rather sloppy and ranting about how the men they loved were complete idiots. Although Tonks never let the identity of the man she loved slip, Odile thought it fairly obvious.
"Ready?" She was knocked out of her thoughts by Tonks soft voice, turning to see her standing by the entrance to the living room, coat over her arm. She smiled tightly, nodding before following her to the door. The day after tomorrow would be the ball, and she needed a dress. Tonks offered to take her to Madame Malkins for alterations once they found the dress, knowing the magical modifications would be faster than muggle ones. They were going to a rather expensive boutique in London, a stone's throw from Grimmauld Place. Thankfully Odile had saved her wages from the store and had enough to afford a nice enough dress to impress her father, at least to fit in with the rest of the crowd. Odile inhaled deeply when she got outside, the crisp morning air clearing her head, chilling her nose and flushing her cheeks with colour. The two held hands as the crack of apparition filled the silence in the streets. Tonks had been sure to scope out an appropriate place to apparate to yesterday, the last thing she wanted to deal with was the wandering eyes of Muggles. Odile glanced the store over, the smiles of the women leaving, giddy with excitement as their dress bags draped over their arms. In the windows were mannequins posed in awkward positions, gowns of long flowing lace and silk. As she stood in front of the shop windows, she found her form aligning with the mannequins. Her face reflected back to her, causing the billowing wedding dress of silver and ivory to appear as if she was wearing it.
"Alright then, after you." Odile jumped as she felt Tonks shove her upper back, giving the woman a glare as she giggled. After me, she mused before pushing open the shop doors.
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"You know we can't be here all day, right?" Odile forced herself to take a deep breath as she turned around to see Tonks splayed over one of the elegant chairs, earning dirty looks from workers and customers alike. She had at least stopped tossing cheese into the air and catching it in her mouth.
"I promise you, we will leave soon… if you manage not to get us kicked out." She replied briskly, and she hurried over to a new rack.
"I heard that!" Tonks called after her.
"You were meant to." She shot back, eyes scanning over the rack. She let out a frustrated huff, wanting to bang her head into a wall. Everything was gorgeous, gold, black, silver, and red floor-length gowns everywhere. There were puffy blue fairy-like ones, the tulle decorated with floral patterns. Everything a girl could want, yet nothing could catch her eye. She tried on a few evening gowns, all gorgeous in their own right, but nothing truly stood out. Perhaps Tonks was right, she should just come back another day, or maybe just not go at all. Perhaps another store, or maybe-
"Excuse me, dear, may I be of assistance?" She glanced back to see an older woman giving her a kind smile, one that made her feel warm just by setting eyes on it.
"I'm not sure if anyone can be at the moment." She replied dejectedly, a downtrodden look on her face. The woman tutted, before placing an arm on the girl's shoulder and leading her away from her frenzied thoughts.
"Now don't say that, pet. Tell me what you need. A party outfit, wedding dress? We've got them all." Odile scoffed,
"I wish it were that easy. Try an elegant gown for a midnight ball in a mansion with hundreds of ridiculously rich aristocrats who will all be undoubtedly judging me for every move I make."
"Ah, one of those nights, of course." She chuckled at the woman's response allowing herself to be led to the dressing rooms.
"The real question, my dear, is do you want to simply blend in with the others, or are you going to make a statement? Would you rather be another face in the crowd, or unforgettable? The choice is yours." Odile gave the older woman a glance over, almost mystified. She was about a foot shorter than her, making Odile feel like a giantess in comparison. Her face had sagged slightly with age, but her smile still held the glimmer of youth. She was dressed quite sharply, a matching pantsuit of lustrous floral-patterned silk. Her hair was closely cropped, a suave silver that was styled rather fashionably. Her facial features gleamed to an East Asian descent, eyes of cinnamon brown filled with warmth.
"Well, who wouldn't want to be unforgettable?" Odile finally replied, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. The woman grinned at that and nodded as if pleased by her answer. She pulled open the curtain and indicated for her to enter.
"I have the perfect dress for you then, Ms Reisinger." She snapped her head over to the woman in shock, realising that she hadn't given the woman her name.
"How-"
"I may be a Squib, but my grandson has taken me to your store more times than I can count. It will be my pleasure to bring you joy like you've brought my boy." Odile's brow unfurrowed at that, and a grin split her face apart. Circumstances be damned, she was just pleased her earlier questions had been answered. It hadn't all been for nothing, she had helped others and made people happy.
"Thank you." She said earnestly, clasping the woman's forearm gently. The woman beamed, before gesturing once more to the dressing room.
"I'll bring you the dress then. We'd better hurry before your bodyguard scares all the Muggles away." Odile looked over her shoulder to see Tonks had moved from her spot on the settee to scour through the dresses, hair steadily shifting from pink to green. Odile had to resist the urge to smack the Auror upside the head. She carefully folded her clothes once inside the dressing room, placing them on the spare stool. There was a soft knock on the door and it opened slightly ajar so that the dress bag could enter. Odile took the bag from the woman's hand and placed it upon the hook, carefully pulling down the zipper. She couldn't control the gasp that fell from her lips at the sight of the gown in front of her.
Trembling fingers grazed over the delicate fabric of deep forest green. The crystals that trickled over the floral patterns of the bodice caught the light in fantastic ways, reflecting prisms of rainbows over the walls of the dressing room. Carefully, she pulled the dress from it's hanger, the silken feel of chiffon brushing against the calluses of her fingertips. She gripped the dress carefully as she stepped into it, pulling her arms through their indicated slots. She zipped it up only to realise the dress fit her like a glove. There would be no need for alterations and as she turned to look in the mirror, her breath caught in her throat. The neck of the dress dipped in a deep v, modest enough but still eye catching. The A-line of the dress fit her thin frame perfectly, given her lack of curve. The sleeves of the dress fell to her waist, covering the tops of her arms in a cape-like fashion. She looked stunning, exactly what she wanted.
"Odile, are you done yet?" She rolled her eyes at the whinge, but even Tonks couldn't remove the smile from her face. As she opened the door the Aurors jaw dropped, and she couldn't help but laugh at the reaction.
"Blimey Odile, you look incredible!"
"Do you think?" She murmured, turning to the wall of mirrors at the presentation area, capturing the dress from every single angle possible. She was searching for anything, a single flaw, but there was nothing. Everything about the dress fit her perfectly,
"You look perfect dear, absolutely unforgettable." She turned to the woman, with the warmest smile she could muster.
"Thank you. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this." The woman laughed brightly, but squeezed the young girl's shoulder.
"Now don't thank me just yet, you've yet to see the price tag." Odile watched her face blanch, much to the amusement of the Auror that sat in the chair.
A/N: Thank y'all for your patience, sorry the update took so bloody long.
A special thank you to m-chanchen for your incredibly insightful review, jessyr and bowling101 for following this story!