"Are you done yet?" Zacharias moaned for the umpteenth time, crumpled against the wall.
He and Draco were lounging on cushiony powder puff-shaped benches that were pushed up near the wall of the ladies' dress robes section. The room was pink and smelled like cherry blossoms, with rack after rack of beautiful, floor-length gowns. It was every girl's heaven.
Ginny and Hermione were in changing rooms next to each other on the opposite wall of where the boys were situated. "I think these ones are the ones!" Ginny squealed, ignoring Zacharias yet again. Draco sat up straighter, ready to judge the latest selection. Zacharias had long lost interest in giving his opinions when it hit noon.
"Maybe…" Hermione murmured. She knew these dresses were perfect in terms of color, pattern, and style, but she could not help but worry about the price. After all, both gowns were floor-length and just looked sophisticated… way too much for a school party.
But Draco had insisted that they try on every dress that caught their eye, much to Ginny's delight and Zacharias's chagrin. So now Hermione was gazing at herself in the mirror, biting on her lip in worry as the door of Ginny's changing stall swung open.
"Ta-da!" she sang, twirling around for Draco and Zacharias to critique. "I think you're right, Gin." said Draco appreciatively, and even Zacharias gave a grunt of acknowledgement. "This dress really complements all of your features."
"What are you, quoting Witch Weekly?" Zacharias said snidely. For a moment, Draco was giving him one of those chilling glares again, but then he thought better, and instead rummaged through the Honeydukes bag. As Zacharias caught a Chocolate Cauldron, he grinned, and said, "That dress is so you, Ginny." He bit into the delightful confection as Ginny raised an eyebrow at Draco, who smirked and shrugged.
"Too bad Potter isn't here. I'm sure he'd love to see this." Draco said hurriedly, changing the subject as Zacharias worshipped that Chocolate Cauldron, cradling it like a baby. Ginny looked stunning, no doubt. The dress was a shimmering sea green with a deep v-neck, and accentuated with a pattern of emerald-like crystals in a wave formation at the waist. Ginny's forearms were bare as the shoulder straps were made of fine silk that looped over her shoulders. The back of the dress plunged into a v as well, and as Ginny flipped her long red hair to the front, her freckled back was shown, contrasting with the shimmering green.
"Come on, Hermione." Ginny called. "Zach is going to finish that Chocolate Cauldron at any moment, and then he won't be able to say nice things until he's chewing again."
Like I care. Hermione thought. But she took a deep breath anyways, and then stepped out. Her eyes met with those of Draco's, and then his jaw literally dropped. Ginny squealed again, and even Zacharias stopped mid-bite as she stepped forward.
The dress had two layers, with the inside being a simple cream-colored, long-sleeved, and v-necked shift that hugged her curves and accentuated her flat stomach. The outer layer was black lace woven in the most intricate designs and shapes, and floated around the inside layer, giving her a look of pure glamour.
"You look…" Ginny began. "…absolutely beautiful. Perfect." Draco finished, gaping at her in awe. Hermione blushed furiously, hating to be the center of attention when it wasn't in the field of academics. Zacharias, possibly sensing her distress, joked, "Who would've known? It didn't look anything like this on the rack. Good pick."
Even though he had finished his food, Zacharias was good-humored, knowing that these would be the dresses to be purchased very soon, and in a short amount of time, they would be eating again. "Better than these socks Draco got me." he attempted again to lighten the mood.
In the beginning, as Hermione and Ginny were just browsing through dresses and not actually picking anything out yet, (the "wam-up stage," as Draco called it), Zacharias had dragged Draco over to the sock section, which Gladrags was famous for. Jokingly, he had selected for Draco a pair of socks that would shock you awake if you fell asleep in them.
Surprisingly, Draco had pretended he loved them and gushed out that it was so kind, so thoughtful, of Zacharias to make sure he wouldn't fall asleep during class. Zacharias had been momentarily confused as to the unexpected kindness until Draco revealed his ulterior motive: now he had to pick out something for his new friend.
So here Zacharias was sitting in his vibrating socks, designed to give him a perpetual foot massage, feeling slightly nauseous. Draco really did know how to get revenge, and Zacharias had learned to never initiate a joke first in the future.