Harriet was very tired and fell asleep right after she closed the window.
She needed her rest, she had had a busy day. The next morning, she awoke
to the sound of the very merry Rani calling her name.
"Harriet! Harriet! Today is the day. Wake up. We are going to Hordigern's Mall* today!"
"I thought that was only for third-year students."
"That was the old rule, they changed it like three years ago. They always go to give the kids a chance to look around and buy accessories before the dance. Come on! I hear there's a great dress shop there and we can find dresses for the dance. We have to look good for our dates."
"Ron, I'm sorry to break it to you but you don't have a date."
"Yeah I do. Clint Rodgers asked me."
"Clint? Who's that?"
"My brother's friend. He's the seeker on the Gryffindor team. He asked me to go to the dance with him today. So I said yes. I've always had a little crush on him. I have to look good too!"
'I bet your brother wasn't too happy to hear his friend hitting on his sister."
"He doesn't really care. We are so close in age that it doesn't really matter. Besides he's had his mind on other things lately."
"Oh. Where we going today again?"
"Hordigern's Mall. Don't you listen?" Rani asked.
"Sorry, I'm still tired. My senses aren't awake yet," Harriet said.
Come on let's hurry up and get ready!" Rani exclaimed.
"Why are you so excited?"
"I've never been there but I hear it's great. They even have a rollercoaster I heard. You ride on broomsticks and there's a bunch of drops. It sounds like so much fun." Rani answered.
Harriet got up. She was looking forward to this day. It would be fun to find a dress that would impress Robin. She wanted her first date to make a long lasting impression. What should she wear? She finally decided on a pair of blue jeans and her pink ty died shirt. Within ten minutes she was ready and ran to the common room where Rani was beckoning her to hurry up. They were taking trains to this mall. It was an hour away after all. When they were all there, Professor McGonagall did a headcount and led them out of the dorm room. Patti was going and decided to sit with her friends. There was few empty cars left (it was a small train) but they did manage to find one and claimed it as soon as possible. Dill arrived and sat with them. Soon Harriet saw Robin wandering around.
"Robin! Over here, come sit with us!" Harriet called.
"Would you excuse me, I just saw one of my friends," Dill said excusing himself.
Just then a tall handsome guy walked in.
"Hey Dill, we saw you over here. Hey Rani. Is their extra room in here?" He asked.
"Yeah Clint, sit down," Rani answered.
Harriet could see why Rani liked him. He seemed to be the more outgoing type and that was what Rani was looking for. She wanted the dangerous mysterious type and that was what Harriet's first impression of Clint had been like. Harriet preferred the nicer sentimental guys.
"So, Dill who are you asking to the dance?" Harriet asked.
"I don't think I'm going. The idea of a dance seems silly. Most of you first years don't know people well enough yet to get a date and all the other people who aren't considered to be the "in crowd" can't get dates because of all the shallow people out there. I've decided to protest the dance so therefore, I'm not going," He replied scornfully.
It was obvious he was mad about something, but what? He had been acting that way ever since school started. Harriet looked over at Rani who just shrugged, looking as confused as Harriet. Harriet didn't like Dill much, he was always very mean to her. But she was a little concerned about him because of his sudden mood swings. They may not get along well, but he was almost like family and she worried.
"Dill, my man. You're part of the "in crowd" you could easily get a date if you wanted to. Why not ask someone and go just for fun?" Clint asked.
"You're missing the point. Sure, I could get a date but what about those who can't? I'm protesting the dance for all of those people. I feel bad for them so I'm joining their side."
"That's not like you, Dill. Sure, you've always cared about other people but you've never missed a school function like this? What's up?" Clint asked.
"I already explained myself, ok?"
Dill knew Clint was right. He would never have done this before. He could tell no one believed him and that they were all suspicious. What could he say? That was just a cover up story to hide the real reason he wasn't going. This was that the girl he wanted to ask was going with someone else, and he wouldn't be able to see her dancing with someone else the entire night.
For the remaining ten minutes the car feel silent. Rani was very worried about her brother. He knew of his affection for Harriet, but he's never liked a girl this much. She knew her brother and she didn't buy his story about being sympathetic to those not in the "in crowd." Something was definitely up. What was it though? This she wasn't sure of.
Pulling up to Hordigern's Mall, Harriet stepped out to see the most spectacular building she had ever seen. It was so big. She could hardly wait to go shopping to find that one dress that Robin would like. Rani was hurrying along with her. As they ran inside, they stopped breathing. They were so amazed at this mall, they had never seen anything like it! There were two rides: Flight of Terror, and Hordigern's Tours. Flight of Terror was just as Rani had described it. It was a rollercoaster consisting of two brooms side by side and a bunch of turns and drops in the air so that you were never sure what was coming. Hordigern's Tours was a flying bus convertible that went around the whole mall showing you which stores were which. They decided to ride both rides but got in line for Flight of Terror first. Flight of Terror cost then ten Knuts but it was well worth it. The ride was awesome, lasting twenty minutes. When they got off, they were very thrilled. Next they rode Hordigern's Tours which only lasted ten minutes and cost 1 Knut. By the time that was over with, they were ready to find dresses.
"I want to go to Rowena's Dress Shop first. I saw the cutest dress there and I want to check it out," Rani said as she started to run there.
Harriet hurried to keep up with her. When they got there, Rani pointed out the dress. It was shimmery purple, had no sleeves, and it would look great with Rani's fiery red hair. When they stepped inside the shop, Rani ran over to look at them, found one her size and went to try it on. Harriet looked at all the dresses as well, and saw one that she really liked. It was a shimmery turquoise, had two spaghetti strap sleeves, and the only one left. Luckily, it was just her size. Grabbing it, she tried it on as well. When both girls came out of the fitting rooms, they were ecstatic. The dresses fit perfectly.
"Oh my gosh Ron! That is the best dress! I love it on you. You look great!" Harriet said.
"So do you!" Rani answered.
They both knew that they had found the dress of their dreams and bought it right then and there. The dresses were pretty expensive, both costing 55 Galleons. Still, they didn't mind because they knew this was a once in a lifetime deal and they both wanted these dresses do badly. Next, it was off to buy shoes.
"Hey, Ron, will you help me do my hair for this dance?"
"Sure, Harriet. What are best friends for?"
"Thank you."
They walked around until they reached Burgan's Shoes. Walking in, they saw shoes of all kinds of colors. There were white ones, purple ones, rainbow ones, teal ones. Harriet was particulary interested in the custom design shoes. She didn't quite understand what they do.
"Hello Miss. I'm Mr. Burgan, manager here at Burgan's Shoes. Can I interest you in anything?"
"Yes, you can. What do these shoes do?" Harriet asked the man.
"Why it's simple. These shoes come with this small computer and a scanner box. These shoes change at your choosing. You put these shoes in the scanner when you want to change them, and then you log on to the computer and play around with it designing your own shoes. They are the latest model." Mr. Burgan explained.
"Sounds really neat. How much are they?" She asked.
"100 Galleons."
"Oh, I don't have enough money. Darn, they are really nice shoes too. They would have looked great with my dress for the dance."
"Dance did you say? What kind of dance?" Mr. Burgin asked.
"The annual Hogwarts opening of the year dance."
"Hogwarts, are you a student there?"
"Why, yes" Harriet said.
"How about this, you show your shoes off for me. I'll let you have them for 50 Galleons. If any one asks where you got them, explain all about them and who sold them to you. Since you'll be showing them off to all your friends, they'll think they are cool too and come buy a pair. If you agree to this you'll get them half off."
Harriet decided to go for it. It would be saving a lot of money too considering she would never have to buy new shoes for awhile. So she bought them and paid the man. She was just walking away from the cashier when Rani came up to buy a pair of silver dress shoes.
"What kind did u buy?" Rani asked.
"You are just gonna have to wait and see till tonight when I try them out," Harriet said with a mischievous grin.
Rani laughed out loud and the two of them walked away with their purchases. There was really only one more place to go and that was Accessorize It! This was the store to go to when you needed all the extra items. They had jewelry, makeup, perfume etc. Harriet looked around and about a half an hour later, had a bottle of Fairy Dust (her favorite perfume), some makeup, and a cute necklace and earrings. This store had good prices because all of that only cost her 10 Sickles. When she was walking out of the mall that day, she only had ten Sickles left in her pocket, but she didn't mind it one bit. For the first time in her life, she felt like a girl, no longer a tomboy. She felt like everybody else. She felt like Rani.
On the way home, she and Rani slept. They were tired and needed the nap. They had hidden their purchases in the above compartment and had locked the door to their car so that only the two of them were in it. It had been a busy day, but well worth it. Harriet thought of all of this with a smile as she slowly drifted into dreamland.
Dill looked in the car at his sister and her friend Harriet sleeping there on the chairs. He wished he could tell Harriet how he felt about her, but he couldn't. She hated him because of how mean he was to her. He never meant it personally towards her. He just wanted her to notice him and this was really the only way for her to do it He'd been nice once and she just barely talked to him. It was a weird thing, and couldn't be explained, but guys always picked on the ones they liked. This was the case between Harriet and him. Plus, she looked really cute when she got worked up. However, this furthered complications because if he did stop being mean to her and told her how he felt, she would reject him and hate him even more.
There was also the whole issue with this Robinion fellow. Dill was a pretty good judge of character and there was something about Robin that he didn't trust nor like but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Every time he was around him, he got this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to tell Rani of these feelings. She knew how he felt towards Harriet and told him he was only feeling the hurt of jealousy because Robin liked Harriet and Harriet liked Robin. Dill didn't believe that was it though. He knew there was more than what met the eye and he would figure out what that was. He didn't know how, but he would.
*Hordigern's Mall is a made up name for a mall.
"Harriet! Harriet! Today is the day. Wake up. We are going to Hordigern's Mall* today!"
"I thought that was only for third-year students."
"That was the old rule, they changed it like three years ago. They always go to give the kids a chance to look around and buy accessories before the dance. Come on! I hear there's a great dress shop there and we can find dresses for the dance. We have to look good for our dates."
"Ron, I'm sorry to break it to you but you don't have a date."
"Yeah I do. Clint Rodgers asked me."
"Clint? Who's that?"
"My brother's friend. He's the seeker on the Gryffindor team. He asked me to go to the dance with him today. So I said yes. I've always had a little crush on him. I have to look good too!"
'I bet your brother wasn't too happy to hear his friend hitting on his sister."
"He doesn't really care. We are so close in age that it doesn't really matter. Besides he's had his mind on other things lately."
"Oh. Where we going today again?"
"Hordigern's Mall. Don't you listen?" Rani asked.
"Sorry, I'm still tired. My senses aren't awake yet," Harriet said.
Come on let's hurry up and get ready!" Rani exclaimed.
"Why are you so excited?"
"I've never been there but I hear it's great. They even have a rollercoaster I heard. You ride on broomsticks and there's a bunch of drops. It sounds like so much fun." Rani answered.
Harriet got up. She was looking forward to this day. It would be fun to find a dress that would impress Robin. She wanted her first date to make a long lasting impression. What should she wear? She finally decided on a pair of blue jeans and her pink ty died shirt. Within ten minutes she was ready and ran to the common room where Rani was beckoning her to hurry up. They were taking trains to this mall. It was an hour away after all. When they were all there, Professor McGonagall did a headcount and led them out of the dorm room. Patti was going and decided to sit with her friends. There was few empty cars left (it was a small train) but they did manage to find one and claimed it as soon as possible. Dill arrived and sat with them. Soon Harriet saw Robin wandering around.
"Robin! Over here, come sit with us!" Harriet called.
"Would you excuse me, I just saw one of my friends," Dill said excusing himself.
Just then a tall handsome guy walked in.
"Hey Dill, we saw you over here. Hey Rani. Is their extra room in here?" He asked.
"Yeah Clint, sit down," Rani answered.
Harriet could see why Rani liked him. He seemed to be the more outgoing type and that was what Rani was looking for. She wanted the dangerous mysterious type and that was what Harriet's first impression of Clint had been like. Harriet preferred the nicer sentimental guys.
"So, Dill who are you asking to the dance?" Harriet asked.
"I don't think I'm going. The idea of a dance seems silly. Most of you first years don't know people well enough yet to get a date and all the other people who aren't considered to be the "in crowd" can't get dates because of all the shallow people out there. I've decided to protest the dance so therefore, I'm not going," He replied scornfully.
It was obvious he was mad about something, but what? He had been acting that way ever since school started. Harriet looked over at Rani who just shrugged, looking as confused as Harriet. Harriet didn't like Dill much, he was always very mean to her. But she was a little concerned about him because of his sudden mood swings. They may not get along well, but he was almost like family and she worried.
"Dill, my man. You're part of the "in crowd" you could easily get a date if you wanted to. Why not ask someone and go just for fun?" Clint asked.
"You're missing the point. Sure, I could get a date but what about those who can't? I'm protesting the dance for all of those people. I feel bad for them so I'm joining their side."
"That's not like you, Dill. Sure, you've always cared about other people but you've never missed a school function like this? What's up?" Clint asked.
"I already explained myself, ok?"
Dill knew Clint was right. He would never have done this before. He could tell no one believed him and that they were all suspicious. What could he say? That was just a cover up story to hide the real reason he wasn't going. This was that the girl he wanted to ask was going with someone else, and he wouldn't be able to see her dancing with someone else the entire night.
For the remaining ten minutes the car feel silent. Rani was very worried about her brother. He knew of his affection for Harriet, but he's never liked a girl this much. She knew her brother and she didn't buy his story about being sympathetic to those not in the "in crowd." Something was definitely up. What was it though? This she wasn't sure of.
Pulling up to Hordigern's Mall, Harriet stepped out to see the most spectacular building she had ever seen. It was so big. She could hardly wait to go shopping to find that one dress that Robin would like. Rani was hurrying along with her. As they ran inside, they stopped breathing. They were so amazed at this mall, they had never seen anything like it! There were two rides: Flight of Terror, and Hordigern's Tours. Flight of Terror was just as Rani had described it. It was a rollercoaster consisting of two brooms side by side and a bunch of turns and drops in the air so that you were never sure what was coming. Hordigern's Tours was a flying bus convertible that went around the whole mall showing you which stores were which. They decided to ride both rides but got in line for Flight of Terror first. Flight of Terror cost then ten Knuts but it was well worth it. The ride was awesome, lasting twenty minutes. When they got off, they were very thrilled. Next they rode Hordigern's Tours which only lasted ten minutes and cost 1 Knut. By the time that was over with, they were ready to find dresses.
"I want to go to Rowena's Dress Shop first. I saw the cutest dress there and I want to check it out," Rani said as she started to run there.
Harriet hurried to keep up with her. When they got there, Rani pointed out the dress. It was shimmery purple, had no sleeves, and it would look great with Rani's fiery red hair. When they stepped inside the shop, Rani ran over to look at them, found one her size and went to try it on. Harriet looked at all the dresses as well, and saw one that she really liked. It was a shimmery turquoise, had two spaghetti strap sleeves, and the only one left. Luckily, it was just her size. Grabbing it, she tried it on as well. When both girls came out of the fitting rooms, they were ecstatic. The dresses fit perfectly.
"Oh my gosh Ron! That is the best dress! I love it on you. You look great!" Harriet said.
"So do you!" Rani answered.
They both knew that they had found the dress of their dreams and bought it right then and there. The dresses were pretty expensive, both costing 55 Galleons. Still, they didn't mind because they knew this was a once in a lifetime deal and they both wanted these dresses do badly. Next, it was off to buy shoes.
"Hey, Ron, will you help me do my hair for this dance?"
"Sure, Harriet. What are best friends for?"
"Thank you."
They walked around until they reached Burgan's Shoes. Walking in, they saw shoes of all kinds of colors. There were white ones, purple ones, rainbow ones, teal ones. Harriet was particulary interested in the custom design shoes. She didn't quite understand what they do.
"Hello Miss. I'm Mr. Burgan, manager here at Burgan's Shoes. Can I interest you in anything?"
"Yes, you can. What do these shoes do?" Harriet asked the man.
"Why it's simple. These shoes come with this small computer and a scanner box. These shoes change at your choosing. You put these shoes in the scanner when you want to change them, and then you log on to the computer and play around with it designing your own shoes. They are the latest model." Mr. Burgan explained.
"Sounds really neat. How much are they?" She asked.
"100 Galleons."
"Oh, I don't have enough money. Darn, they are really nice shoes too. They would have looked great with my dress for the dance."
"Dance did you say? What kind of dance?" Mr. Burgin asked.
"The annual Hogwarts opening of the year dance."
"Hogwarts, are you a student there?"
"Why, yes" Harriet said.
"How about this, you show your shoes off for me. I'll let you have them for 50 Galleons. If any one asks where you got them, explain all about them and who sold them to you. Since you'll be showing them off to all your friends, they'll think they are cool too and come buy a pair. If you agree to this you'll get them half off."
Harriet decided to go for it. It would be saving a lot of money too considering she would never have to buy new shoes for awhile. So she bought them and paid the man. She was just walking away from the cashier when Rani came up to buy a pair of silver dress shoes.
"What kind did u buy?" Rani asked.
"You are just gonna have to wait and see till tonight when I try them out," Harriet said with a mischievous grin.
Rani laughed out loud and the two of them walked away with their purchases. There was really only one more place to go and that was Accessorize It! This was the store to go to when you needed all the extra items. They had jewelry, makeup, perfume etc. Harriet looked around and about a half an hour later, had a bottle of Fairy Dust (her favorite perfume), some makeup, and a cute necklace and earrings. This store had good prices because all of that only cost her 10 Sickles. When she was walking out of the mall that day, she only had ten Sickles left in her pocket, but she didn't mind it one bit. For the first time in her life, she felt like a girl, no longer a tomboy. She felt like everybody else. She felt like Rani.
On the way home, she and Rani slept. They were tired and needed the nap. They had hidden their purchases in the above compartment and had locked the door to their car so that only the two of them were in it. It had been a busy day, but well worth it. Harriet thought of all of this with a smile as she slowly drifted into dreamland.
Dill looked in the car at his sister and her friend Harriet sleeping there on the chairs. He wished he could tell Harriet how he felt about her, but he couldn't. She hated him because of how mean he was to her. He never meant it personally towards her. He just wanted her to notice him and this was really the only way for her to do it He'd been nice once and she just barely talked to him. It was a weird thing, and couldn't be explained, but guys always picked on the ones they liked. This was the case between Harriet and him. Plus, she looked really cute when she got worked up. However, this furthered complications because if he did stop being mean to her and told her how he felt, she would reject him and hate him even more.
There was also the whole issue with this Robinion fellow. Dill was a pretty good judge of character and there was something about Robin that he didn't trust nor like but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Every time he was around him, he got this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to tell Rani of these feelings. She knew how he felt towards Harriet and told him he was only feeling the hurt of jealousy because Robin liked Harriet and Harriet liked Robin. Dill didn't believe that was it though. He knew there was more than what met the eye and he would figure out what that was. He didn't know how, but he would.
*Hordigern's Mall is a made up name for a mall.