A plump lady walked over, wearing robes of an outrageously bright orange. "What will you be needing, dears?" Her voice was jolly, and a smile seemed to be permanently plastered onto her face.
"Two pair of dress robes, miss," Victoria said humbly, not forgetting for one minute that she was practically taking charity from Albert.
"Hogwarts?" Victoria nodded. "I've been getting a lot of you in here today. All week in fact. Curious, dress robes have never been on the lists before. Well, I suppose that's not for me to deal with. I'm quite happy for the business. My name is Sarah, for further reference." She pointed to two platforms in the far corner of the store. Each of you go stand on one of those, and Henry will take your measurements."
Victoria began walking, but Albert stayed behind to speak quietly with Sarah. "Find her something beautiful. Price is no issue. She doesn't have all that many nice things and..."
Sarah nodded and winked. "I understand completely, young sir. No need to worry, I will take care of everything."
"Thank you," Albert said graciously, and hurried to get to the platform at the same time as Victoria, lest she get suspicious, which she tended to do often. He stepped up onto his platform, standing up straight and waiting for his measurements to be taken. Henry, a very young man, probably a recent graduate of Hogwarts, took both of their measurements. Or rather, the measuring tape took them. Henry simply wrote them down. The process was very quick, and within moments they were stepping off the platforms and Henry handed the parchment with the measurements on it to Sarah, and after a minute or two she bustled back, a large selection of dress robes over each arm. One set she handed to Albert, the other to Victoria.
"Now then," Sarah began, "stand up on the platforms again." Both obeyed, and with a flick of her wand and a word mumbled very softly from Sarah, they each had a set of curtains around them, seeming to hang from the air. "Try on the robes one by one, and each time I'd like you to come out and show me and each other. There are mirrors out here as well, but it's always good to get an opinion from at least one other person."
Victoria first tried on lavender robes that hung rather loosely with large sleeves. Albert threw on a
floor-length robe of a rather brownish color. The two of them pulled back the curtains, stepping down off of the platforms. The minute they looked at each other, Albert frowned, something he rarely did, and Victoria's face contorted into an expression of disgust. "Oh, that's most horrible!" she exclaimed.
"Likewise. It's too baggy for a figure like yours. Looks a bit like a sack Back inside the curtains." Victoria laughed at the idea of wearing a sack to whatever social function these robes were needed for, and re-entered her dressing room. This time she pulled on burgundy robes, ones which fit her a bit more snugly around the waist, but were still very baggy in the sleeve area and much too long. She hopped down to find that Albert was already waiting for her, in robes of deep blue, coming up almost to his knees and with short sleeves. This time he spoke first, shaking his head. "No, not that one either, for obvious reasons." Victoria opened her mouth to speak but Albert seized the opportunity to insult his own robe. "Yes, I have looked in the mirror. It's wretched, I know." He smiled, showing a hint of sarcasm.
Fifteen minutes, and what seemed like a hundred robes later, with doubts forming about whether Sarah knew what she was doing, Victoria and Albert pulled back the curtains at the same time, coming down off the platforms to examine each other. Sarah smiled at the expressions of shock and wonder on their faces. She had deliberately put these two robes at the bottom of their piles. They were by far the most wonderful and excusite, and would flatter each of their figures. They would look even more appealing after trying on many unflattering robes.
Victoria looked at Albert carefully, blinking furiously to make sure she was seeing straight. It seemed that Sarah had a tidbit of fashion sense after all. Albert was wearing robes of a deep green color with a high neckline. It fell exactly to his ankles, and the sleeves weren't too large or too snug, coming in to fit around the wrist. He looked almost regal dressed so elegantly, his height adding to the effect.
If Albert was a picture in his robes of forest green, Victoria was the embodiment of beauty, if ever it could be portrayed. Albert, staring openly with wide eyes, fought the urge to let his jaw drop. He had never seen his friend look so confident in herself, nor so gorgeous. Victoria turned to look at herself in the mirror, her blue eyes lighting up in fascination as she did so, lips spreading into a delicate smile. Her robes were a very deep rose color, made of the finest cotton she had ever felt, and something else she could not quite put her finger on. The neck was shaped in a wide V, the sleeves not beginning until the very edge of her shoulders, exposing her delicate collarbones and more of her creamy complexion than she had ever shown in public in her life. The robes laced up the back in a corsette-like fashion, making the robes fit perfectly. The sleeves were shaped such as bells nearing the ends, and were a little longer than usual, covering a part of her hands. The skirt flared out at the bottom, reaching to the floor. As a final touch, the seamstress had added dark blue ribbons that encircled the bottom of the dress, the ends of the sleeves, and outlined the V neckline.
"Well then," started Albert, "I think we're finished here." Sarah thought he sounded quite calm for a young man who looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head. "I'd like to purchase these two."
"Of course, sir. Go change back into your everyday clothes, and then head over to the counter to pay. Take your time."
After a few more minutes of admiring themselves in their mirrors, Victoria and Albert changed back into their everyday clothes. Looking into the mirror once before following Albert, who was carrying their robes, Victoria thought her pink dress was pale in comparison. She sighed, her lips forming a lopsided smile. She would undoubtedly have a chance to wear the robes again. So caught up in her thoughts of how wonderful her dress robes were and how much fun she was having, she completely forgot that she would have to pay Albert back. She didn't even notice how expensive her new robes were. All she could do was smile. She finally had something magnificent to put in her closet.