DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything that looks like it's from somewhere else. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling and all of the other entities that own it.
seven. beauty.
On Thursday morning, Draco took his new spot across from Ginny at the dining table. It seemed that part of their truce meant eating meals together, as they had the past several days. Meals had been relatively peaceful with no disruptions from the other girls in the class, probably because Narcissa would randomly join the class for meals, unannounced.
They fell into an easy rhythm, finding a myriad of things to talk about and participating in playful banter rather than mean-spirited bickering. It was a refreshing change from conversing with his mates. Ginny had an opinion on everything, and it was often different than his, but it was fascinating to hear her impassioned tirades and rants, depending on the topic. She actually listened to what he had to say as well, whether it was during their new study sessions or over a meal. It was incredibly new to Draco to openly converse about such loaded topics such as politics with a woman who could hold her own in nearly any subject. While they spent a lot of their time at the Conservatory together during classes, they now they interacted without the obligation of an exercise.
Part of Draco was still surprised that Ginny brave enough to call a truce between them. While he wasn't surprised by the courageousness, as it was a typical Gryffindor trademark, he was surprised that she admitted to her faults. From his experience, many a Gryffindor refuse to acknowledge their own wrongdoings. It mildly impressed him, he had to admit to himself, though he would never dare tell her, even under Veritaserum.
He noticed this morning as he was mulling over his Belgian waffles about their strange relationship that Ginny was talking animatedly to Lena, who was sitting next to her. Her face was lit up and her brown eyes were shimmering with excitement. She was not modelesque, but she was definitely attractive. The dust of sprinkles across her face highlighted her large eyes and nose. The dark circles were beginning to disappear from under her eyes and she looked much more pleasant sans scowl. Ginny looked much more at ease and relaxed as it seemed she was beginning to come into her own, as if she was in her element. What was most striking about her was her hair, Draco decided. That hue of red looked so much better on a female Weasley as opposed to the male species. He briefly wondered if it was as soft and silky as it looked. Snap out of it, Malfoy! Malfoys do not openly drool over women, especially completely confusing women like Ginny Weasley. Except when there were those moments when he was a little too close for her. Draco could almost feel some kind of magnetic pull between them. Even during the waltz the other day, he couldn't help but notice how easily they fit together.
"Draco? Draco?" Blaise called out. "Malfoy?"
"Huh?" Draco said, snapping out of his thoughts, quickly turning to his friend.
"I've been asking you to pass me the syrup for about three minutes now," Blaise said with a lopsided grin. "But, you were clearly too busy thinking about something… or someone." With a flit of his eyes, he gestured towards Ginny.
"I was not," Draco muttered, quickly shoving the syrup into Blaise's hands.
He reluctantly came back to reality, rejoining the conversation once again. Ginny was speaking so fast, he could barely keep up with what she was saying. "...Cotillion is going to be so much fun!" Draco overheard Ginny saying to Lena as they kept babbling about the weekend's upcoming function.
"I know! We finally get to do something for once. And it'll be interesting to see little kids doing what we have to do," Lena replied, her eyes alight with mirth.
"You know why we're forced to go to Cotillion, right?" Draco solemnly asked the girls. Both of them shook their heads.
"Because we're basically chaperoning the little morons. I'm pretty sure half of the things my mother and her group has made us do is an excuse for us to babysit the younger children so they mothers are free of them," Draco explained nonchalantly. "Just ask Blaise."
Blaise gasped but then shuddered, as if suddenly remembering some repressed memory. "See?" Draco gestured toward his mate. "It's completely traumatizing."
"Don't let those smiling faces deceive you. I have the scars from chaperoning at Quidditch boot camp to prove it," Blaise warned them, wagging a finger.
"You left out a key detail, Blaise," Draco said to his friend. He put his hand up against his mouth, as if blocking his words out from Blaise, whispering loudly. "A couple of six year old girls got the best of him." The girls laughed at Blaise's misery. If only were they there to witness the incident would they truly understand the gravity of Blaise's trauma.
"Please!" Ginny brushed them off. "It can't be that bad, even if we are babysitting a bunch of kids. Besides, at least we get to go shopping!" Her enthusiastic smile made her look younger than her years.
"Just you wait until what my mother has in store for you," Draco warned. "You'll be regretting your excitement in a couple of hours."
Just as Ginny opened her mouth to inquire, the gong clanged, signaling that the morning's lessons were about to begin. The foursome gathered their things and made their way to the classroom together, the girls continually questioning just what on earth could be happening today that could be that excruciating.
After lunch, Ginny, along with the other girls, anxiously grabbed onto a part of the large curtain rod that was the Portkey into Diagon Alley. She felt the familiar pull at her navel as the Manor disappeared in front of her. Everyone congregated into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. It appeared that Narcissa had rented out the entire store for the class, as Madam Malkin had been anticipating the arrival of the group. The squat witch greeted all of them warmly, dressed in her shimmering mauve robes.
The shop had been cleared to make room for the class to sit. Lined up along with Mrs. Malfoy was her trusty assistant Kendra, Madam Malkin, and several sales associates. Narcissa led the introduction to the class. "Today we will be preparing you all to look your best for this weekend's event. You will all be receiving advice in regards to fashion and beauty. I will be assisting the women while Kendra will assist the men. We will also be heading over to the hair salon in Hogsmeade after this, so prepare for a long day."
An hour and a half later, Ginny began to realize what Draco had meant about the women getting the shorter end of the stick. Her head was supported by her hand while her elbow rested on her knee. She nearly teetered over in her drowsiness when she noticed Draco and Blaise coming out of the curtain on their side of the store. The boys gave Ginny knowing smirks, while she returned them a very irritated scowl.
As they excited the store, she sighed, looking longingly at the door. Lena had gone in, and there were a couple of witches still before her. Curse my last name, once again, Ginny thought to herself. One would assume that she should have gotten used to being last due to her last name as well as being the youngest sibling, but Ginny was quite the impatient person. And she was getting hungry to boot. Just as she made up her mind to head over to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour to grab herself an ice cream sundae, she heard Narcissa call out, "Weasley, Ginevra."
Ginny shot up from her seat, stretching her stiff joints. Warily, she walked beyond the curtain, unsure of what was to come. Before her was a three way mirror, her image reflecting back to her. One of the assistants that wasn't flitting about the room motioned for her to step onto the podium in front of the mirror. Narcissa stood to the right of her with a big rack of clothes along with Madam Malkin. The store owner walked over and began to take her measurements. The measurement tape floated in the air and wrapped around Ginny numerous times taking in her various measurements. She promptly handed the sizes off to her assistants who ran off in different directions to compile the proper fitting clothing. The two were quietly going through the dresses, apparently trying to decide what would be the best fit for Ginny. Narcissa and Madam Malkin immediately started sorting through the clothes, dissecting the clothing rack by throwing out different garments. The assistants quickly grabbed the garments that kept flying up in the air, quickly Banishing them back to their proper storage spaces.
Ginny chose to steal a glance at herself in the mirror during the commotion. What Ginny saw before her made her sigh. Her borrowed dress from Hermione made her look slightly boxy as the other woman was taller and had a different body shape. Ginny's heels from the waltz session were worn and a little rough around the edges. Her skin, though fair, lacked the healthy glow it had before, having spent so many hours indoors between studying for Healer exams and long training shifts.
There was a time when Ginny used to be more stylish, making do with what she could afford and combining it with hand me downs. Though in the last year or so, she had forgone that in exchange for the pursuit of her career. She figured it'd be better to save her money to move out into her own place along with any other unforeseen fees that she would have to pay. She spent more time studying and learning every single detail that other components of her life had gone to the backburner; another reason why she also hadn't had a date in a long time. She groaned. She was beginning to resemble Hermione, except only retaining her worst qualities.
Narcissa walked over to the mirror, stopping to stand in front of Ginny to give her a good look once over. Ginny felt even more shabby next to Narcissa, who in contrast looked very put together and was the personification of sophistication in her glossy golden robes and styled hair. The older woman took out her wand, gently tapping it into her other manicured hand, waiting for the right moment to give it a wave.
"Miss Weasley, may I ask where you got this dress from?" Narcissa asked calmly.
"Oh… I borrowed it from my brother's girlfriend," Ginny replied hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she was about to be chastised for her unfortunate article of clothing. "I don't really own semi-formal clothing since I just wear Healer's robes most days."
"Those robes are rather garish," Narcissa remarked, with a wrinkle of her nose. Ginny had to agree; the lime green robes clashed horribly with her red hair.
Narcissa waved her wand several times, and Ginny's dress transformed. She had altered it, shortening the length a little so it cut her at the right spot. The dress was brought in a little from the back, flattering her curvier figure. She looked slightly pleased as she came around to Ginny's side, allowing her student to look in the mirror.
"Miss Weasley, do yourself a favor and find clothes that flatter your shape. They'll do wonders for you," Mrs. Malfoy said as she walked back over to the rack. Ginny had to admit the dress looked way better now that it was suited for her, even if it was just a simple sleeveless navy dress.
One of the assistants moved the now finalized rack over to Ginny, and Narcissa handed her a dress to try on. The redhead disappeared behind the changing screen, quickly switching dresses. When she came out, neither Narcissa nor Madam Malkin looked content.
"The dress cuts her at a strange length; it makes her look even shorter," Narcissa criticized, gesturing with a twirl of her finger to spin around, which Ginny happily obliged.
"And it's bunching up in the most awkward of places," Madam Malkin agreed squinting her eyes, her arms folded.
Ginny came to the mirror and saw she looked a couple of inches shorter and the dress strangely bunched up under her arms and near her bust. The color was also the wrong shade of yellow. It made her look sickly rather than making her look sprightly. Narcissa shoved another dress into Ginny's arms, and so it continued. She tried on several more dresses, each of them looking off in some way or another.
After the sixth dress, she came back to the podium to examine what the damage was. It fit well, perhaps too well. In Ginny's opinion, it left very little to the imagination. The straps were almost non-existent they were so thin, and her cleavage was daring to burst out of the dress. The length of the garment was also far too short for Ginny's liking, shorter than some of her pairs of shorts. Her face lightly flushed at the risqué outfit.
As if taking a cue from Ginny's expression, Narcissa lightly sighed and said, "While this silhouette is much more pleasing, it is not appropriate for this occasion." Ginny thanked the Gods silently; at least it seemed like she and Narcissa could agree on some things.
Eventually, they settled on a burgundy pleated dress that fell just below her knees. Ginny liked the way it moved when she spin around, the material moving to and fro. She was quite pleased with the dress; it wasn't homely nor was it too flashy; just her style. It was probably one of the most expensive dresses she owned. One of the benefits of the Conservatory was that they were paying for all of the students' outfits and necessities, leaving Ginny guilt-free for once about buying something so frivolous. Narcissa didn't seem incredibly pleased by the choice but they had tried on over ten dresses in total until they compromised on this one. Once Ginny had changed back into her newly altered old dress, she was whisked away to the hair salon via Portkey.
Upon arriving to the hair salon, Ginny saw they were right across from Honeydukes, meaning they were in Hogsmeade. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of grabbing a scrumptious chocolate bar or heading over to the Three Broomsticks for an early dinner. The salon, again was filled with her female peers, each sitting in a salon chair at a station. Hair was being magically cut, colored, and altered in length, depending on the situation. Others were busy getting manicures and pedicures along with any other beauty treatments that were needed. She felt a tug on her arm, and was guided to the last seat that was empty. The hairstylist, a man with blue-tinted glasses and a goatee, unraveled her braid and gently massaged out her hair. Her crimson wavy locks cascaded down halfway down her back as they fanned out down her crown.
Mrs. Malfoy stopped by her station and instructed, "Giovanni, please show Miss Weasley here how to do something else with her hair besides a bun or plait," The man nodded and gathered his tools to begin his demonstration.
"You look like Professor McGonagall with that tight bun of yours," Narcissa chastised Ginny. She was about to reply back with a quick retort but wasn't given the opportunity as the older woman strolled away, checking on the progress of the other students. Ginny huffed. Her hair required a lot of maintenance and sometimes it was just easier to put it away for safe keeping.
With extravagant flourishes of his wand, her hair started to transform into different hairstyles. She felt her hair being pulled and teased in various directions, her head jerking along with the movements. As much as she wanted to slap the wand out of his hand to stop the torture, Ginny remained steadfast in trying to remain calm. First he pinned her hair up into a large voluminous beehive, which looked utterly ridiculous, not to mention heavy. Ginny could already feel it straining her neck. She scowled and he quickly transformed her locks into a fancy updo with an exorbitant amount of hairpins. Giovanni then flicked his wand and her hair transformed into very complicated looking curls.
When Mrs. Malfoy came back to check up on their task, her hair was transformed into a strange nest of curls and braids, flowers weaved through and sparkling lights that changed colors every several seconds. Ginny wondered how a man with no hair atop his own crown was considered such an expert on hair; she looked ridiculous.
"Giovanni! She looks like a Christmas tree!" Mrs. Malfoy nearly scowled as she reprimanded the hairstylist. Thank Merlin, Ginny thought to herself in relief. She was afraid Narcissa would agree that this was the IT hairstyle of the week and that she just had to go looking like this to the dance.
"But Signora, this is all the rage in Milan!" Giovanni explained eagerly in his Italian accent.
Narcissa huffed in reply. "We are in England, are we not?"
"Technically Scotland at the moment, Signora," Giovanni said quietly.
"Bad move, Giovanni," Ginny muttered to no one in particular. Even stubborn Ginny Weasley had eventually learned that one should not cross Narcissa Malfoy.
Mrs. Malfoy gave the hairstylist a murderous look that made the grown man cower. Rather than hexing the goatee off of Giovanni, Narcissa instead moved onto the next station. "Instead of wasting time with these gaudy hairstyles, please help Miss Weasley select an appropriate hairstyle for the Cotillion tomorrow," Narcissa said stiffly before sauntering off to check on the others. Giovanni and Ginny eventually settled on a partial updo, combining the best of both worlds.
"What do you think Signorina Weasley?" Giovanni asked after twirling her chair back in the direction of the mirror.
"I love it!" Ginny exclaimed happily. It didn't make her look too old or dowdy like some of his earlier hairdos, and it didn't make her look like a little girl either.
"However," Giovanni started grimly. "We must do something about this red hair. I do not think Signora Malfoy would find this color suitable."
Juts when she was beginning to warm up the guy he had to muck it all up with that comment. Ginny gave him a glare and started in an angry tone, "There is no way in hell that yo-"
"Don't. Touch. A. Thing," Narcissa cut in. "This style is suitable. No further changes are needed as far as color or length goes."
Ginny blinked in surprise. A few weeks ago, Narcissa hated her the hue of her hair. Now, it seemed like she treasured it like no other. What was happening? Before she could continue to ponder this strange change of heart, she was being led around to several other stations around the salon to continue her primping and preening for tomorrow's event. Ginny eventually gave into the moment, enjoying the lavish treatments the students were receiving.
It was finally the day of the Cotillion, and after lunch, many of the students decided to use the day to get prepared for the night's festivities, especially since it accounted for part of their exam they had sat through the previous day. Ginny herself had mentally prepared herself in order to use all of the spells the beauty salon had taught her and had generously allowed her to copy down on several rolls of parchment. While browsing through her lecture's notes for the proper attire, she came across a little point that Narcissa had mentioned. She supposed they ought to squeeze out every point they could while they still had the chance.
She searched high and low for Draco, eventually finding him with his partner in crime, Blaise, in the common room. While several students comfortably lounging about in arm chairs, they were both standing facing the window, apparently enjoying the view. She rolled her eyes. Of course they had little to worry about in terms of getting dressed. It's not like they had to remember how to perform complicated hair, cosmetics, and other glamour charms.
Ginny started to make her way towards them, several pieces of parchment in her hand. "Draco," she began, as she was shuffling through the sheets. "I wanted to…" Her voice faded, however, as Draco turned around to look at her, all of her previous thoughts forgotten.
Draco looked annoyingly put together as usual. His hair was artfully styled, a casual shirt paired up with his khaki Quidditch pants, shin guards still attached to his footwear. Except, there on Draco's perfect, pale skin was a glaring black eye on his left side. Newly minted, it was turning ugly shades of blue and purple as the seconds ticked by.
"Blimey, Draco! What the hell did you do?" she demanded dropping her pieces of parchment, all thoughts forgotten.
"I got a bruise," he said simply.
"No shit you got a bruise! What'd you bloody go do that for? You know your mother expects us to look our best tonight!"
"Yes, because I went out and wished for this to happen to me," Draco countered sarcastically, wincing at the slow throbbing pain in his socket. Blaise sniggered in the background.
She quickly picked up the pieces of parchment, carelessly bunching them up in her palm. "I'm sure it didn't just magically happen to you. What exactly happened?" She put her hands on her hips, giving a fair impression of Molly Weasley.
"S'nothing. Just a pick-up game of Quidditch got rough," he tried to placate her inquiries, unwilling to meet her eyes.
"Did you decide to run into a Beater's bat? I know you weren't Hogwarts' top Seeker, but you can't be that daft."
"Second best," he corrected, now looking at her.
"No, I was second best. I even beat Cho Chang to the snitch," Ginny replied smugly.
"That was just beginner's luck," Draco reasoned.
"Just settle for third best! I could've gone pro you know..." She shook her head realizing what he was doing. "Gods, Draco, you're derailing the conversation!"
"Quite surprisingly really, seeing as how he's been whinging about the shiner to anyone within earshot and getting on everyone's last nerves," Blaise quipped, entering the conversation.
Now Ginny was getting very irritated. There was no time for Draco to be his usual sneaky, difficult self when she had to start getting ready soon. "Alright Malfoy, you better tell me what's going on right now or you'll be looking like you're wearing rose colored glasses to the Cotillion tonight."
"So long as they're the right shade of pink to match my fair skin," Draco responded with a smirk.
"It was after the game," Blaise quipped. "What?" He looked blankly at Draco, who simultaneously hissed, "Shut up!"
He ignored his friend's empty threats and continued, "It was after the game. We were sitting by the pond past the pitch."
"Malfoy, you want to continue?" Ginny asked, expectantly tapping her foot.
"No," He grunted.
"It was a peacock." Blaise supplied.
Ginny gawked. "What?"
"It beaked me," Draco muttered, almost inaudibly.
"It beaked you? What do you mean 'it beaked' you?" She was utterly bewildered.
It was Draco's turn to roll his eyes. "Exactly like how it sounds. You ever interacted with one of those arseholes? They're quite the irritating prats."
"They must have learned it from their Master," Ginny shot back, absently feeling her robe pocket for her wand.
There was another snigger from Blaise. Ginny sighed, and pulled out her wand from the inside of her robe. "Indigo is not very becoming on you," she said as she inched closer to Draco to get a better look at his eye in order to fix the damage.
"Oi! What are you doing?" Draco asked uncertainly, unsure of what was happening.
"Will you quit whinging like a third year? You sound as bad as when that bloody bird pecked your arm off," Blaise cut in.
"Serves him right for insulting Buckbeak like that," Ginny added, her lips twitching upward.
"Excuse me?" Draco cried incredulously. "That beast dug its talons into me! Please stop making me relive painful memories." He closed his eyes for dramatic effect, as if they were truly causing him distress.
"You were whinging then and you're whinging now," Ginny said, moving over slightly so that she was now face to face with Draco. Who knew Draco Malfoy couldn't take pain like a man?
Delicately taking a hold of his chin with her hand before he could back away, she placed her wand up against his cheekbone near the bruise. "You ALWAYS seem to forget I'm actually an adept Healer." Murmuring a few words, the pain eventually subsided.
"There, now isn't that better?" She said smiling as she stepped back.
"I guess," Draco said gruffly.
"Not even a thank you?"
"Well it's still this awful shade of indigo," He stated, pointing to the unusual color on his face.
"Oh! I have just the thing for that!" Ginny said eagerly. She quickly muttered Accio and a little round tin came floating over to her. Draco saw the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes logo and started to back away.
"Don't you dare put anything from your brothers' shop on my face! Are you trying to permanently scar me?!"
"Crikey, Draco! It's from their WonderWitch line; it's actually a very useful bruise cream. They've gotten into so many accidents they needed to invent one. Now do you want your face back or not?" Ginny asked, opening the tin and rubbing a generous amount between her fingers.
She tried not to laugh as it seemed that Draco was fighting an internal battle with himself. His expressions shifted from doubt to panic to acceptance as he briefly considered whether or not he should trust any Weasley brothers' product, but it was clear that his face was more valuable. He gave a reluctant nod and Ginny gently applied it to his face. She softly blew on it to let it dry faster.
"Now see? That wasn't so bad," She said softly with a smirk. They blue circle around his eyes began to fade, his skin returning to its normal pale self. Draco said nothing, seemingly startled by the interaction.
"Now, stay away from those damn peacocks! You better be looking perfect tonight. I will not have your mother dock any more points from me in her evaluations." Before her partner could get another word in, she turned on her heel and headed upstairs to get ready for the evening.
As she got back up into her room, Ginny noticed two figures walking by the small pond near the Quidditch Pitch from her expansive terrace window. She laughed and shook her head as she noticed the blond figure push the dark haired figure seamlessly into the body of water during their walk. He continued to stroll on as if nothing had happened.
Ginny turned away when she noticed a box with a red bow sitting on the table. Seeing that the tag with her name on it, she quickly realized that her dress for the night had finally arrived.
"Hey Lena," Ginny called out to her roommate, who was in the bathroom. "When did these get here?"
"I suppose ten minutes before you came in," Lena called back. "Did you open it yet? Mine looks even better than I remember!"
Ginny considered opening the dress but quickly eyed the time. She needed to hop into the shower quickly so she would have enough time to get properly ready. As she soaked in the tub, the redhead briefly wondered what tonight would be like. It seemed bizarre to be going to a dance with her former arch enemy. Life was strange, Ginny had concluded with a deep sigh. They went from nearly destroying each other to kind of, sort of, being friends. As much as she wanted to continue to soak in the soothing bathtub and explore what else came out of the many taps of the large bath, Ginny hoisted herself out of the tub and into her bathrobe.
Sauntering back into the room clad in her robe and a wrapped towel atop her head, she pulled apart the bow and opened the box. Ginny was confused. As she lifted the dress out of the package, it was nothing like the one she had chosen yesterday. She looked back into the box; perhaps the actual dress was underneath this garment. However, the box was completely empty sans the wrong dress in her hands.
"I think they sent me the wrong dress!" Ginny cried. Would nothing ever go smoothly for her at Malfoy Manor?
Lena quickly scuttled into the room, her pale yellow dress still unzipped and hair half curled. Maybe Narcissa changed it?" She supplied hopefully. "Looks like she made a few adjustments to my dress as well."
"At least yours are just hems and stitches," Ginny pointed out with a frown. "This is not what I wanted to wear at all. It's totally the wrong color."
"I hate to break it to you but we've got little time to do anything else," Lena said solemnly. Ginny wanted to continue to pout like an immature child, but she knew her friend was right. She should have checked the box before hopping into the bath, but it was too late now.
"Why don't you at least try it on? It may just look better than the original," Lena proposed. "Besides, it really is a gorgeous dress."
She reluctantly agreed, dragging her feet as she headed into the dressing room. Lena went back to getting ready, and just as she began to adjust her eyelashes with her wand, she heard a moan come from behind.
Ginny returned from the dressing room looking unpleased. "I know they say less is more but this is bordering on being lingerie. Lena, this is sacrilege!" She covered the upper part of her body with her arms while trying to pull the dress lower to extend its length.
"A little melodramatic, aren't we?" Lena said with a raised eyebrow, smirking. "I never pegged you to be such a prude, Ginny."
"I'm not! It's just that I would wear this on a date with a hot bloke not with a sort of acquaintance-partner-friend!" Ginny protested. She eyed herself in the mirror. While the dress fit her like a glove, almost as if it was just made for her, she felt wildly uncomfortable wearing this in the company of Draco.
"You mean a very handsome male acquaintance-partner-friend…?" Lena corrected, continuing to give her that same smug smirk. "Those are a lot of words to describe someone you don't have feelings for."
"Ugh!" Ginny exhaled, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat. "I have no time to worry about this anymore! I have to apply all of those damn charms still."
Ginny swiftly dried her hair with her wand and began to go through her scrolls, looking for the proper spell for her hair, except she could barely make out her hasty handwriting. "Say Lena do you remember that charm for your hair?" she asked. "I can't for the life of me read it on my parchment," she said, scanning her notes.
"Yeah, sure," Lena replied once she finished her lips. "Here, I'll do it for you." With several flourishes, Ginny's hair was in elegant, loose waves. A couple more jabs with Lena's wand, and her hair looked just like it had in the hair salon yesterday.
"Also, Ginny, you need to relax!" Lena said from behind, putting her hands on her friend's arms. Her head peeked over, allowing Ginny to see her friend in the reflection of the mirror. "Let down your hair, so to speak! Tonight will be fun!"
She was right. She supposed she looked ridiculous pouring over class notes while dressed in a dazzling, expensive dress and even more so now that her hair was all done. It was time to loosen up and bring back some of the fun and spunky Ginny. She hadn't had a fun night out in months, and it would be nice just to enjoy the experience of being at a ridiculously extravagant affair. With a small smile, Ginny began to apply the rest of her cosmetics charms onto her face.
She slipped on her shoes and placed the backings behind her earrings. Taking one last look at the mirror, she blanched at her appearance. Though her eyebrows were usually groomed, they were elegantly arched to suit her face. Her hands looked more feminine with her newly manicured nails. While she had to admit she looked pretty damn good, Ginny felt like an impostor in her complete get up. "I can't go out looking like this," Ginny said nervously. "Especially with Draco as my escort, he'll think he's won."
"Won what?" Lena asked, a puzzled expression on her face as she slipped on her own dark, metallic heels.
"That's not the point!" Ginny replied exasperatedly. "Somehow he'll feel like he's won!"
"It's not even that bad, you look fantastic, Gin!" Lena complimented. She looked at the clock on her bedside table, indicating that it was nearly seven thirty. "We better get going, or we're going to be late!"
A/N: The peacock scene was borrowed from a Gilmore Girls' episode "Swan Song." I just felt like it would fit so well here! And it's one of my favorite moments in the series. I'll try not to take too long with the next chapter! I've also officially decided to enter NaNoWriMo, which means I have another long fic on the way. :) Not sure if I'll reach 50K words in a month, but it's been a bucket list thing for over a decade. I also have several one-shots in mind, so stay tuned! Love if you would leave a review – it would be a treat. ;) Happy Halloween!