Dressing In Magic
November passed with exams lingering on everyone's mind as they studied and studied. Finally, the holidays neared, and the students who were staying, which was every fifth year, and up, and all of their dates, began to talk about the yule tide ball.
It barely dawned on her that she didn't have anything to wear. She was one of few first years going to the yuletide. There was at least one other from each of the houses, Peter Patil from Hufflepuff, Angelina Wood from Ravenclaw, and Sandra Simpson from Slytherin, and one or two others she didn't know.
One night Penny had gone to the library to finish a parchment for Professor Snape, when Hermione joined her at the table, with a stack of books, among which were the topics of Herbology, History, and Runes. She smirked, and asked if Hermione ever stopped reading.
Hermione grinned "Of course not, but that's why I'm a prefect, right? Say, what are you wearing to the ball?" Suddenly the look on her face had turned to somewhat uneasy.
Penny's eyes widened with the realization that she hadn't thought about it, nor did she own a single nice dress. She only owned two simple outfits of dull colors from the orphanage, and her school uniform. "uh..I..uh..I don't know." She blushed softly with the realization that Malfoy would be taking her to the ball, and she still had no gown...but there was a Hogsmeade weekend before the ball! She'd just have to find some way to buy a gown then! With a weak smile she told Hermione her theory.
Her red haired friend shook her head as Crookshanks, Hermione's cat familiar, pounced on little Farewell, and nearly frightened the poor kitten to death with his overly large playfulness. Penny sighed and Hermione laughed "I've got the perfect spell!"
With a blink, Penny turned from the cat's play to Hermione, and her head tipped anxiously to the side "For what?"
Hermione laughed again, 'For your dress, of course. I'll need your sizes but I think I'll have the perfect dress for you. Do you know what color dress robes your date will be wearing?"
Penny shook her head again, realizing she hadn't seen nor heard from Draco since he'd asked her to the ball. Was he only joking then? Would he stand her up at the ball? She pushed away her doubts, and looked at Hermione who was still looking at her expectantly. "Aren't you going to tell me who you're going with, Penny?"
When she shook her head again, Hermione sighed. "Oh, Alright. How's dark red for you? It will accent your lips nicely, and bring out the tones of your eyes too. I suppose he'll probably be wearing a nice dark green or black anyway, and red will go nicely with that."
A/N: This chapter was originally stated to be a continuation, and noted that the chapter following was the part two. However, this has changed. Please keep an eye out for notes regarding edited chapters and changing pieces of story.)