CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It was Ralee. She came into the room, her black robes swishing. She was holding a strange black box. She smiled at everyone. "Hello. Let's get right to business. Who's first?" She set the box down on the floor.

"What's in the box?" Missy asked curiously.

"Don't be nosy!" Said Lizzy.

Ralee only laughed. "You shall see, you shall see. Now who's first?"

The girls looked at each other and shrugged. "Here's what I picked out." Mandy offered.

Ralee walked from bed to bed looking at the clothes laid out and made such noises as: "Hmm." And: "Uh uh." Or, "ooh, that's interesting." She shook her head at some, smiled at others and eventually looked up.

"Well girls, this certainly is interesting. First of all this." She picked up Lizzy's sweater.

Lizzy frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

Ralee only shook her head. She went over to her black box and opened it. Inside was large array of cosmetics, jewelry and more accessories than any of the girls had ever seen.

"Wow! An expanding charm I suppose?" Hermione nodded. "Well done."

Lizzy stared at her.

Ralee took out a pair of scissors and right before Lizzy's eyes, started cutting away at Lizzy's sweater. Lizzy's mouth dropped open. "Hey! That's my favorite sweater!"

Ralee took out her wand, waved it at the uneven cutting and said: "Sechits eseht wes."

The strands of sweater repaired themselves, and Ralee held up Lizzy's sweater for her to see. She had cut away the whole bottom part of the sweater, now it would only cover Lizzy's chest and arms. It was cute, and Lizzy couldn't help but like it. She took it from Ralee, and held it up against her.

"Wow." She said.

Ralee looked at Lizzy's pants. She went over to Lizzy's dresser and pulled out a pair of black bell-bottoms.

"These are much better. Now that I'm done with you." Her voice trailed off and she looked at Mandy's clothes next. She studied Mandy's shirt.

"Hmm. Well this is all right, except this." She ripped the lace off of the bottom of the shirt and tied it in a knot. She magicked the knot on the side of the shirt. She took her scissors out again, and Mandy groaned. She'd already ruined her shirt. Then to Mandy's amazement. Ralee proceeded to rip holes into Mandy's jeans.

"There all done." Ralee looked proudly at her work before moving on.

She looked at Hermione's clothes next. She cut up Hermione's sleeves and the bottom of her blouse and left them ragged. Hermione stared on in shock. Ralee gave Hermione a thumbs up. "Great pants Herm, just make sure you do a tightening charm on them before we go onstage.

She moved onto Elorra, where she took her black t-shirt, and cut little holes all in the midriff part so Elorra's skin showed. Then she frayed the bottoms of her jeans to make them look older.

"Nice huh?" She asked Elorra.

Elorra smiled weakly. "Nice."

Next was Missy. Ralee didn't do anything to her clothes, except rip a hole in one knee of her jeans.

"Now." Said Ralee. "Time for accessories."

She gave Lizzy a pair of big hoop earrings, Elorra, a couple of bangle bracelets, Hermione, a white ribbon for her hair, Missy, a black choker and armband, and Mandy, a black beaded choker.

"So." Ralee grinned at them. "What do you think?"

Nobody knew what to say. They all secretly liked the clothes but were torn between liking the new ones and wishing nothing had changed. All except Lizzy, that is. She couldn't stop looking at her clothes.

"What are you wearing Ralee?" Missy asked.

Ralee bit back a giant smile. She pulled out of her black box, a black halter-top and black jeans, which were covered with glittering chains. "Great huh?"

Hermione laughed. "They're weird."

"But very neat." Added Elorra.

"Neat?" Exclaimed Lizzy. "They're bloody brilliant!"

Ralee grinned. "Thanks. Hey listen I have to go, before Filch catches me and I get put into detention. We'll practice tomorrow, Transfiguration classroom, after dinner. Be there, or not at all. Ciao!" And she left, leaving the room with a flutter.