Two months had gone by. Two months of daily owls and weekly presents from Lonely Soul. The chocolates had been followed by flowers, then a pair of gloves, then chocolates again, then a pair of sparkling earrings, and so much more...
Dolores had to admit to herself that she was in love with Lonely Soul. They hadn't seen each other yet, but she didn't mind. What could be the worst thing that happened? That he would be ugly? Well, she didn't care about his appearance in the least. The important thing was that this wizard was a sensitive man who enjoyed courting her and sending her little presents now and then. Who could resist such flattering?
But that morning, Dolores had received the best present she could ever get -besides the Potterboy's head in a silver tray, that is: yes, Lonely Soul had proposed a meeting. They would finally see each other for the first time. Dolores couldn't wait until Saturday, although, on second thought, she was glad Lonely Soul couldn't meet her until then, because it was already Thursday and she needed to buy something special for the occasion.
That evening, after leaving her office, she went straight to Madam Malkin's. The old witch was a bit disturbed, but her robes were the best ones, and she wanted to impress Lonely Soul. She had told him that she would be wearing a red robe, and she wanted to buy the most expensive one she could find.
Dolores entered the shop and went straight to Madam Malkin, who was bowed over an old robe, sewing some parches into it. Without even saying 'Good evening', she ordered:
"I need a red robe, and I want a good one."
Madam Malkin didn't even blink, her small wrinkled hand suspended over the old robe.
"Make haste, woman, I don't have all day!" Dolores almost shouted.
That seemed to wake Madam Malkin up, who let the robe she was sewing on the counter and walked to a pile of hung robes. She took seven, all in different hues of red, and threw them carelessly on the counter.
"The price is on the label hanging from the sleeve," she grunted, and went on sewing as if there was nobody in the shop.
Dolores rolled her eyes. This old woman... when would she finally retire and leave the shop to a younger person? But Madam Malkin's age was not the reason Dolores was in her shop, so she turned her attention to the robes. To her eyes, they were all beautiful. Dolores didn't know much about robes quality, so she simply looked at the prices and chose the most expensive.
"I'll try this one on," she said.
Madam Malkin shook her head in the direction of the changing room and went on with her work.
The robe was too long, but Madam Malkin could probably shorten it in a minute. The cloth was a bit rough on her skin, but Dolores had never seen anything like it before, so she guessed it must be something really new and fashionable. She stepped outside the changing room, tripped on the robe, and fell headfirst onto the floor, only to be stopped barely an inch from the marble surface by a pair of very strong arms that lifted her effortlessly.
"Did you hurt yourself?" A very manly voice asked.
Dolores raised her eyes to the face of the man and couldn't help but stare. Sandy hair flecked with grey, intelligent eyes and soft thin lips. If only Lonely Soul would look like that! Though Dolores certainly didn't care about Lonely Soul's appearance. But still... dreaming was not forbidden, was it?
"Did you hurt yourself?" The man repeated.
"No. No. No, no." Dolores stuttered.
"Pity."
That word, not spoken by the man but by Madam Malkin herself, made Dolores wake up from her daydreaming and focus again. She stared menacingly at the old woman and immediately started planning how to have her closed up in St. Mungo's in less than a week, her reputation ruined.
Madam Malkin cleared her throat. "Pity... that you couldn't come sooner, Mr. Lupin," she said addressing the man who had saved Dolores' nose from a definitely fatal encounter with the floor of the shop, "the woman I told you about, Ms. Crystal, left just a few minutes ago, I could have introduced you. She said she would contact you soon by owl, she was very interested when I told her you had been teaching at Hogwarts. And she is an excellent person, I'm sure you two will reach an agreement."
"That would be wonderful," Remus Lupin answered pleasantly, "I really hate..."
"Excuse me," Dolores interrupted him, forgetting that she owed him a very big 'thank you' to say the least, "I'm afraid I was here first."
"Yes, how can I help you, Madam?" Madam Malkin asked gritting her teeth.
"I like this robe, but it's a bit too long, I want you to shorten it."
Madam Malkin stared at the robe for a moment, she hadn't really paid attention to which one had the Umbridge woman picked. Without a word, the old witch came around the counter, kneeled, marked the right length of the robe with her wand and straightened up again. "I'll sew it better if you take it off. My hands are getting infirm with age, and I might cut your legs in the process. Accidentally, of course."
Dolores lifted her head high in the air, turned her back on the old daring woman and, fuming, walked into the changing room with as much dignity as she could. Pity that she tripped again and the man, Mr. Lupin, had to hold her once more.
"Thanks," she spat, and closed the curtain of the changing room. While her brain boiled with new sadistic ideas to harm Madam Malkin, on the other side of the curtain, the interrupted conversation went on.
"As I was saying," Remus Lupin said, looking sternly at the old woman in mock reproach for daring insult a Ministry employee, "I hate being unemployed. Whether this works out or not, I'm really in debt with you, Madam Malkin. Thank you very much."
The old witch, who was still smiling to herself, sobered a bit and said: "If you are so thankful, you know how to help me," and she shook her head to the right, indicating the back room of the shop.
"Straight to business, I see," Lupin laughed. "Very well, where is it exactly?"
"In the big box with golden letters, they all love it. I don't know what am I going to do when you start working again."
"If I start working again, I'll find the time to come whenever you need me. You know it never takes me more than five minutes to finish a boggart."
"Yes, I know, I know, Merlin bless you."
Remus Lupin disappeared into the back room and Madam Malkin stood waiting for the Umbridge woman to come out of the changing room, she had been there for too long already.
Dolores had been listening to the conversation going on outside and suddenly her brain had made the connection. Lupin! There couldn't be many people with that silly name, could there? No, this must be none other than a certain R. J. Lupin, ex-Hogwarts Professor, friend of an escaped convict and, what was worse, registered werewolf! And he was going to get a job? Where? Who would dare offer him a position against the Ministry rules? She would find out. Oh, yes.
Realising she had been inside the changing room for too long, Dolores stepped out of it and handed the dress to Madam Malkin with a sweet smile which Madam Malkin didn't like at all. Could it be that the Umbridge woman had hexed the robe?
But nothing happened when Madam Malkin took the cloth and started cutting it. Dolores tried it on once more, was satisfied with the length, and paid the extravagant amount of five hundred galleons for it, cash, before leaving the shop without a 'goodbye'.
Madam Malkin was counting the cash again when Remus Lupin came out of the back room.
"Ready, your shop is boggart-free once more, Madam Malkin," he said with a smile.
"Wonderful!" The woman said smiling. "I haven't finished parching the second-hand robes I got this week, there are three or four ready if you want to take them with you now, I think they are your size. I'll have some more ready next week if you want to come by."
"Thanks!" Remus Lupin replied cheerfully, and started inspecting the parched robes on the counter. Since he had reached an agreement with Madam Malkin to rid her of the boggarts that often lurked in her shop and be paid with parched second-hand robes, he didn't need to worry about robes anymore. Madam Malkin's hands, contrary to what she had said to Umbridge, were not infirm at all, and the robes looked as good as new after she had repaired them. He had never been good at it.
"Here," the woman told him, and placed a magnificent aquamarine robe in front of him. Lupin reached to touch it without thinking, mesmerised by the delicate appearance of the cloth. He raised inquiring eyes to the old woman.
"You'll need to wear something special for the interview. I told Ms. Crystal you have a lot of job offers at the moment and she'd better offer you good conditions if she wanted you to work for her. You can't go to see her wearing a patched robe."
Lupin opened his mouth to protest, but Madam Malkin didn't give him a chance.
"Consider it's a present from the Umbridge woman for saving her ugly nose, although I'm not sure you made her a favour."
Lupin raised his eyebrows in question.
"The stupid witch just paid five hundred galleons for a sack to cover robes. I buy them at 5 knuts the dozen and give them for free to good customers. They are very handy to keep the robes from wrinkling while travelling around."
There was a moment of silence, and then Madam Malkin and Remus Lupin burst out laughing so hard that they had to hold on to the counter. They laughed so hard and for so long, that the people who passed the shop stared at them for a moment before going on walking, wondering what could make an old respectable witch and a young handsome wizard laugh like that.