Disclaimer: You know the drill.
Chapter 12
Harry woke up the next morning very early as the sun started pouring in the window. He squinted in the sunlight, barely able to open his eyes. His glasses had fallen off during the night, and now lay on the bed between him and Ginny. Their foreheads were inches apart. Harry went to pick up his glasses, when he realized that both of his hands lay tangled in front of him with both of Ginny's hands. Harry decided to just lie still until Ginny woke up. He was very content where he was, with or without his sight.
Harry was brought to his senses by a knock on the door. Ginny didn't even stir at the sound, but Harry realized he had to hide or risk coming face to face with Signore Garibaldi's pistol. Harry slid his hands out of Ginny's grip, and ran to hide in the closet, forgetting his glasses. The knocking at the door continued and he heard a woman's voice.
"Lucia! Wake up!" The doorknob turned and the door cracked open. At this, Ginny finally opened her eyes.
"Oh my gosh, Harry, Lucia's parents are going to kill you!" Ginny hissed remembering that they had fallen asleep together. She looked around bewildered, noticing his glasses and throwing them behind her back as Maria walked into the room.
"Um...er...morning, mum!" Ginny stuttered.
"Honestly Lucia, how many times have I told you, call me by my given name." Maria snapped.
"Right, sorry, Maria." Ginny said still flustered. She continued attempting to scan the room for Harry as covertly as possible.
"Hurry up and get ready for breakfast, and dress nicely we have a guest." Said Maria sternly.
"Alright, I'll be down in a minute." Ginny said to Maria's back as she left the room. She listened to the clicking of Maria's shoes down the hallway until the sound disappeared before shouting out.
"Harry?" Cried Ginny. She began to wonder if he had gotten up and left in the middle of the night. She couldn't believe he would have gone without his glasses though.
Ginny got out of bed and walked over to the closet. Just as she reached for the doorknob, the closet door sprang open in front of her. Ginny gasped in shock, and then realized it was Harry standing in front of her. He was laughing at her state of shock.
"Harry, don't ever do that again!" She said giving him a little shove.
"Don't do what? Hide to get out of being killed?" Harry joked.
"Oh you know what I mean, you insufferable git!" Ginny said frustratedly, trying to sound genuinely angry, but it was obvious she was only joking.
"Okay, I can take a hint, I'm going back to my room." Said Harry glumly.
"I'll bring you some breakfast in about an hour." Said Ginny to his back as he turned on his heel and left.
Ginny went back to looking through the closet for a suitable outfit. She soon picked an emerald green, floor-length dress, with long sleeves, and a high neckline. She assumed this guest that Maria spoke of was a man Lucia's parents wished her to marry. Ginny decided to cover herself up as much as possible, not wanting to be put on display.
Upon entering the dining room, Ginny noticed immediately who the guest was, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not a suitor. Instead, Ginny was seated across from a middle-aged blonde woman with a strict demeanor that reminded her of professor McGonagall.
"Lucia, this is Signora Josefina Malone." Said Maria, beaming at Ginny. "Signora Malone, this is my daughter, Lucia."
"Oh, please, call me Josefina, we may be around each other for quite some time. Well, she is quite a beauty. With a little work, I shall have no trouble finding her a proper husband." The woman said rather coldly considering that she was, if one paid attention, delivering a compliment. Ginny couldn't stop the look of shock that took over her face.
"Sorry, what?" She asked incredulously.
"Josefina is the most distinguished matchmaker in the city." Maria said still smiling broadly at Ginny. "You do want to find a husband, don't you?" Maria's expression changed and Ginny turned to her right where Alessio was sitting and exchanged a 'what do I do?' look with him.
Alessio gave her a nod and turned his eyes in the direction of Maria. Ginny took this as, 'just answer the way she wants you to.'
"Yes, of course I do." Ginny lied through her teeth, hoping Maria wouldn't see through her.
The meal went on with animated conversation between Maria and Josefina. Soon everyone had left, leaving Ginny and Alessio alone in the dining room.
"What am I going to do?" Ginny asked desperately, throwing some food onto a clean plate to take up to Harry.
"Just play along so my mum doesn't suspect anything." Said Alessio.
"But what if that matchmaker woman finds the 'perfect mate' for me? What do I do then?" Ginny raised her voice irritably.
"Tell her that you don't think he's right. Even she can't force you to marry, she's just here to find you someone that you'll want to marry." Alessio informed her.
"I suppose, but what if I go through twenty suitors this woman comes up with, and keep saying no to all of them, what if Maria suspects something?" Ginny hissed.
"Hopefully it won't come to that. For now just play along, it's the only plan we've got." He said.
"Alright. I've got to go and take this food up to Harry." Ginny said, indicating the plate in her hand.
"Oh good, I was wondering if he'd been getting anything to eat, I was thinking of sneaking something up to him myself." Said Alessio, looking relieved.
"Don't worry, he's well taken care of. Thanks for all your help!" Ginny said gratefully.
"It's no trouble. Besides, in the end if you're forced to marry, it's really my sister who ends up with the problem." Said Alessio, sounding sad at the mention of Lucia.
"I'm sure Lucia's alright. She'll be back." Ginny comforted Alessio.
"Have you and Harry figured out what's going on? Are you sure about that?" Alessio asked excitedly.
"Well, not exactly—"Ginny started
"Then how can you be sure?" Alessio snapped.
"I can't be, but I hope things right themselves just as much as you do, remember I've lost my family as well!" Ginny snapped right back at him.
"You're right, I'm sorry...er, you better get that food up to Harry." Alessio said, starting out the door.
"Why don't you come with me?" Ginny asked invitingly. "I'm sure he'd like some company other than me."
"I'm not so sure about that." Alessio smirked, "But I'll come."
The pair headed up a winding staircase to the corridor where Harry's bedroom was.
Ginny handed the plate of food to Alessio, and walked into Harry's room without knocking. Harry lay asleep on the bed. Alessio followed Ginny into the room, setting the plate down on the bedside table.
"Harry, get up, time for a spot of breakfast." Said Ginny while ruffling Harry's hair, which couldn't actually get any untidier than it already was.
"I'm sleeping." Harry grunted in response.
"Not anymore." Ginny snickered. "Besides, I've brought some company."
"Good morning, Harry." Said Alessio.
"Morning." Harry grunted again.
"Oh get up already or I'll eat your breakfast myself!" Ginny exclaimed, pushing Harry gently. He ended up rolling off the bed in his sleepy state. He landed with a resounding thud on the rug.
"Ouch! Why'd you have to go and do that?" Harry whined.
"You wouldn't get up! Imagine the world's shock, I can see it on the front page of the Daily Prophet, Boy-Who-Lived Whines About Falling Out of Bed." Ginny joked.
"You mean being shoved out of bed." Said Harry sarcastically, reaching for his breakfast and beginning to eat.
"Not the way I'll tell it." Said Ginny.
Harry was about to retort when Alessio piped in. "What's this business about the Boy-Who-Lived? And what's the Daily Prophet?" Harry gave Ginny a glare, which plainly meant, look what you've done; you'd better fix it.
"Well, how much exactly do you know about the school Zachariah went to?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing really." Alessio shrugged.
"Yes, well we attend the same school in the future, it's a school for magical learning. Zachariah's a wizard and so are we." Ginny explained.
"The Daily Prophet is the Wizarding World's newspaper." Said Harry quickly, getting the easy part out of the way. He and Ginny went on to explain how Harry had been the only person in history to survive the Avada Kedavra curse. Alessio grew wide-eyed as they continued.
"So that's why they're hiding the engagement. My parents don't like anything that could be put in the category of funny business, and magic definitely qualifies." Alessio said.
"Exactly." Ginny stated.
"Wait, then you can really do magic, like in fairy tales?" Alessio asked in awe.
"Well, something like that." Said Harry, taking out Zachariah's wand and levitating the desk across the room. Alessio continued to stare in wonder for a while before he came to his senses.
"So, you've had the weight of an entire world on your shoulders since before you were born then?" Alessio asked clearly astonished.
"More or less. I'd rather not talk about it though." Said Harry.
"I can understand that. So being wizards, you must know more about the current situation than I do? Can we get my sister back?" Alessio asked.
"I'm afraid we don't know anymore than you do." Ginny said reluctantly. "We may know more about time travel, but I'm pretty sure no wizard has ever gone back in time this far before."
"That's right, time turners are meant to go back a few hours at most." Harry added.
Before Alessio could ask any more questions, there was a knock at the door. The heads of two identical nineteen year-old girls popped in the room.
"Lucia, mum's looking for you, she'll be furious if she finds you with him." Rosalia said indicating Harry.
"You two know about us?" Harry asked unable to hide his shock.
"Of course we do, we're pranksters and spies, we know everything that goes on around here." Theresa said proudly.
"You'd better hurry up and get out of here though!" Rosalia added.
"Alright thanks for warning me." Said Ginny following them down the corridor.
There was a long silence while Ginny followed the twins until she asked them something that had been bothering her.
"What exactly do you know about us?" Ginny asked.
"That you're secretly engaged to Zachariah and you've been hiding it from mum and dad." Said Theresa, winking at Ginny.
"It's quite romantic really, though I don't know why you didn't tell us." Rosalia said sounding slightly offended.
"Sorry, we just didn't think about it much." Said Ginny giving the most vague answer she could come up with.
Before she knew it, Ginny had followed the twins into a small study, matching the purple color scheme of the library, where Maria sat with the matchmaker, Josefina.
"Lucia, you will have your first meeting with Josefina right now. I don't want to hear any bad reports about your behavior." Maria said sharply, leaving the room to give the matchmaker and her client some peace.
"Alright Lucia?" Josefina asked, seeming less stern every minute.
"Alright." Ginny replied. "Sorry, but I've never been to a matchmaker before. I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to do."
"Well, this first meeting is about me getting to know you. If I don't know you, I can't find you a husband." Josefina said matter-of- factly. This seemed reasonable to Ginny, though she was surprised at the woman's kindness, and couldn't stop her face from showing it.
"The stern outside is just a cover around the parents, it makes them happy, but I find young girls don't respond to it." Josefina said warmly. "Your mother has said that your family is hosting a ball for the city's noble and wealthy families, I thought I'd take you shopping to get some fabric for your gown." Said Josefina.
"That sounds lovely." Said Ginny, thinking that this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Josefina and Ginny took a horse drawn carriage into a busy street full of shops. This street reminded Ginny of Diagon Alley with its hustle and bustle. There were no magic shops to be found on this road. There were butchers, bakers, and bookshops. Fabric stores and groceries, carpenters' shops and blacksmiths. All sorts of stores Ginny had never seen before having been raised in the magic world. She was in awe.
"Welcome to the Roman Market." Josefina said having noticed Ginny's wide eyes.
Josefina led Ginny into a store called Fine Fabrics of the World. As they browsed through racks of various fabrics, Josefina asked Ginny various questions about her hobbies, to which she'd been forced to make up answers. Josefina soon moved on to asking questions about Ginny's taste in men. Without even realizing she was doing it, Ginny answered every question as though she were attempting to describe Harry perfectly, down to the smallest detail. She even outright mentioned that she wanted to be married to her best friend. Ginny soon realized that she had been talking about Harry, whether she'd mentioned his name or not, she knew that he was the one she was talking about when she spoke of her perfect match. For the first time since she was eleven years old, Ginny opened up about everything she loved about Harry, and it felt good despite the fact that the one she was speaking to didn't know she had someone specific in mind.
Josefina was already holding some tulle for the skirt of the gown, as well as some cream colored silk for the underneath layer. Now all they needed was the perfect fabric for the top layer of the dress. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted a shimmering, pale, champagne gold brocade. She recalled Harry saying that the color of her bedding looked good on her and smiled. This fabric was almost identical in color. She immediately grabbed it and showed it to Josefina.
"Oh that's just beautiful, and the color is perfect for you." Josefina exclaimed.
"I can get it then?" Ginny asked excitedly.
"Of course, you have excellent taste, Lucia." Josefina complimented.
"Thank you." Ginny replied as they walked forward to pay for their fabrics.
"Now, we'll just take these to your manor and I'll fit you for the gown." Josefina said smiling at Ginny.
"You're making my dress, shouldn't a seamstress do that?" Ginny asked.
"I am an expert seamstress, as well as a designer. It's part of being a matchmaker, I find the perfect clothes for my clients."
"Oh." Ginny said simply as she got into the carriage that was waiting for them outside the shop. She sat back, having decided for now that having a matchmaker really wasn't going to be bad at all.
AN: This chapter took me longer than usual, I kept not liking it and having to redo it. Originally there was this whole plot twist with Ginny's great grandfather showing up and is somehow related to Lucia's mom and she recognizes him from pictures she's seen. Then I realized that it was stupid. I had a few other things that weren't going anywhere, and I went back to what I'd been planning to have happen since I started the story, which turned out to be the best solution. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out after all the rewrites.
Don't forget to check out my (when I say my I mean done in collaboration with my friend Annika) new not-quite-finished-but-still-cool Harry Potter website called Witches and Wizards and Weasleys...Oh my! The link is in my profile.
Thanks so much for reading, please make my day and review, even if all you say is two words, it makes my day!
Chapter 12
Harry woke up the next morning very early as the sun started pouring in the window. He squinted in the sunlight, barely able to open his eyes. His glasses had fallen off during the night, and now lay on the bed between him and Ginny. Their foreheads were inches apart. Harry went to pick up his glasses, when he realized that both of his hands lay tangled in front of him with both of Ginny's hands. Harry decided to just lie still until Ginny woke up. He was very content where he was, with or without his sight.
Harry was brought to his senses by a knock on the door. Ginny didn't even stir at the sound, but Harry realized he had to hide or risk coming face to face with Signore Garibaldi's pistol. Harry slid his hands out of Ginny's grip, and ran to hide in the closet, forgetting his glasses. The knocking at the door continued and he heard a woman's voice.
"Lucia! Wake up!" The doorknob turned and the door cracked open. At this, Ginny finally opened her eyes.
"Oh my gosh, Harry, Lucia's parents are going to kill you!" Ginny hissed remembering that they had fallen asleep together. She looked around bewildered, noticing his glasses and throwing them behind her back as Maria walked into the room.
"Um...er...morning, mum!" Ginny stuttered.
"Honestly Lucia, how many times have I told you, call me by my given name." Maria snapped.
"Right, sorry, Maria." Ginny said still flustered. She continued attempting to scan the room for Harry as covertly as possible.
"Hurry up and get ready for breakfast, and dress nicely we have a guest." Said Maria sternly.
"Alright, I'll be down in a minute." Ginny said to Maria's back as she left the room. She listened to the clicking of Maria's shoes down the hallway until the sound disappeared before shouting out.
"Harry?" Cried Ginny. She began to wonder if he had gotten up and left in the middle of the night. She couldn't believe he would have gone without his glasses though.
Ginny got out of bed and walked over to the closet. Just as she reached for the doorknob, the closet door sprang open in front of her. Ginny gasped in shock, and then realized it was Harry standing in front of her. He was laughing at her state of shock.
"Harry, don't ever do that again!" She said giving him a little shove.
"Don't do what? Hide to get out of being killed?" Harry joked.
"Oh you know what I mean, you insufferable git!" Ginny said frustratedly, trying to sound genuinely angry, but it was obvious she was only joking.
"Okay, I can take a hint, I'm going back to my room." Said Harry glumly.
"I'll bring you some breakfast in about an hour." Said Ginny to his back as he turned on his heel and left.
Ginny went back to looking through the closet for a suitable outfit. She soon picked an emerald green, floor-length dress, with long sleeves, and a high neckline. She assumed this guest that Maria spoke of was a man Lucia's parents wished her to marry. Ginny decided to cover herself up as much as possible, not wanting to be put on display.
Upon entering the dining room, Ginny noticed immediately who the guest was, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not a suitor. Instead, Ginny was seated across from a middle-aged blonde woman with a strict demeanor that reminded her of professor McGonagall.
"Lucia, this is Signora Josefina Malone." Said Maria, beaming at Ginny. "Signora Malone, this is my daughter, Lucia."
"Oh, please, call me Josefina, we may be around each other for quite some time. Well, she is quite a beauty. With a little work, I shall have no trouble finding her a proper husband." The woman said rather coldly considering that she was, if one paid attention, delivering a compliment. Ginny couldn't stop the look of shock that took over her face.
"Sorry, what?" She asked incredulously.
"Josefina is the most distinguished matchmaker in the city." Maria said still smiling broadly at Ginny. "You do want to find a husband, don't you?" Maria's expression changed and Ginny turned to her right where Alessio was sitting and exchanged a 'what do I do?' look with him.
Alessio gave her a nod and turned his eyes in the direction of Maria. Ginny took this as, 'just answer the way she wants you to.'
"Yes, of course I do." Ginny lied through her teeth, hoping Maria wouldn't see through her.
The meal went on with animated conversation between Maria and Josefina. Soon everyone had left, leaving Ginny and Alessio alone in the dining room.
"What am I going to do?" Ginny asked desperately, throwing some food onto a clean plate to take up to Harry.
"Just play along so my mum doesn't suspect anything." Said Alessio.
"But what if that matchmaker woman finds the 'perfect mate' for me? What do I do then?" Ginny raised her voice irritably.
"Tell her that you don't think he's right. Even she can't force you to marry, she's just here to find you someone that you'll want to marry." Alessio informed her.
"I suppose, but what if I go through twenty suitors this woman comes up with, and keep saying no to all of them, what if Maria suspects something?" Ginny hissed.
"Hopefully it won't come to that. For now just play along, it's the only plan we've got." He said.
"Alright. I've got to go and take this food up to Harry." Ginny said, indicating the plate in her hand.
"Oh good, I was wondering if he'd been getting anything to eat, I was thinking of sneaking something up to him myself." Said Alessio, looking relieved.
"Don't worry, he's well taken care of. Thanks for all your help!" Ginny said gratefully.
"It's no trouble. Besides, in the end if you're forced to marry, it's really my sister who ends up with the problem." Said Alessio, sounding sad at the mention of Lucia.
"I'm sure Lucia's alright. She'll be back." Ginny comforted Alessio.
"Have you and Harry figured out what's going on? Are you sure about that?" Alessio asked excitedly.
"Well, not exactly—"Ginny started
"Then how can you be sure?" Alessio snapped.
"I can't be, but I hope things right themselves just as much as you do, remember I've lost my family as well!" Ginny snapped right back at him.
"You're right, I'm sorry...er, you better get that food up to Harry." Alessio said, starting out the door.
"Why don't you come with me?" Ginny asked invitingly. "I'm sure he'd like some company other than me."
"I'm not so sure about that." Alessio smirked, "But I'll come."
The pair headed up a winding staircase to the corridor where Harry's bedroom was.
Ginny handed the plate of food to Alessio, and walked into Harry's room without knocking. Harry lay asleep on the bed. Alessio followed Ginny into the room, setting the plate down on the bedside table.
"Harry, get up, time for a spot of breakfast." Said Ginny while ruffling Harry's hair, which couldn't actually get any untidier than it already was.
"I'm sleeping." Harry grunted in response.
"Not anymore." Ginny snickered. "Besides, I've brought some company."
"Good morning, Harry." Said Alessio.
"Morning." Harry grunted again.
"Oh get up already or I'll eat your breakfast myself!" Ginny exclaimed, pushing Harry gently. He ended up rolling off the bed in his sleepy state. He landed with a resounding thud on the rug.
"Ouch! Why'd you have to go and do that?" Harry whined.
"You wouldn't get up! Imagine the world's shock, I can see it on the front page of the Daily Prophet, Boy-Who-Lived Whines About Falling Out of Bed." Ginny joked.
"You mean being shoved out of bed." Said Harry sarcastically, reaching for his breakfast and beginning to eat.
"Not the way I'll tell it." Said Ginny.
Harry was about to retort when Alessio piped in. "What's this business about the Boy-Who-Lived? And what's the Daily Prophet?" Harry gave Ginny a glare, which plainly meant, look what you've done; you'd better fix it.
"Well, how much exactly do you know about the school Zachariah went to?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing really." Alessio shrugged.
"Yes, well we attend the same school in the future, it's a school for magical learning. Zachariah's a wizard and so are we." Ginny explained.
"The Daily Prophet is the Wizarding World's newspaper." Said Harry quickly, getting the easy part out of the way. He and Ginny went on to explain how Harry had been the only person in history to survive the Avada Kedavra curse. Alessio grew wide-eyed as they continued.
"So that's why they're hiding the engagement. My parents don't like anything that could be put in the category of funny business, and magic definitely qualifies." Alessio said.
"Exactly." Ginny stated.
"Wait, then you can really do magic, like in fairy tales?" Alessio asked in awe.
"Well, something like that." Said Harry, taking out Zachariah's wand and levitating the desk across the room. Alessio continued to stare in wonder for a while before he came to his senses.
"So, you've had the weight of an entire world on your shoulders since before you were born then?" Alessio asked clearly astonished.
"More or less. I'd rather not talk about it though." Said Harry.
"I can understand that. So being wizards, you must know more about the current situation than I do? Can we get my sister back?" Alessio asked.
"I'm afraid we don't know anymore than you do." Ginny said reluctantly. "We may know more about time travel, but I'm pretty sure no wizard has ever gone back in time this far before."
"That's right, time turners are meant to go back a few hours at most." Harry added.
Before Alessio could ask any more questions, there was a knock at the door. The heads of two identical nineteen year-old girls popped in the room.
"Lucia, mum's looking for you, she'll be furious if she finds you with him." Rosalia said indicating Harry.
"You two know about us?" Harry asked unable to hide his shock.
"Of course we do, we're pranksters and spies, we know everything that goes on around here." Theresa said proudly.
"You'd better hurry up and get out of here though!" Rosalia added.
"Alright thanks for warning me." Said Ginny following them down the corridor.
There was a long silence while Ginny followed the twins until she asked them something that had been bothering her.
"What exactly do you know about us?" Ginny asked.
"That you're secretly engaged to Zachariah and you've been hiding it from mum and dad." Said Theresa, winking at Ginny.
"It's quite romantic really, though I don't know why you didn't tell us." Rosalia said sounding slightly offended.
"Sorry, we just didn't think about it much." Said Ginny giving the most vague answer she could come up with.
Before she knew it, Ginny had followed the twins into a small study, matching the purple color scheme of the library, where Maria sat with the matchmaker, Josefina.
"Lucia, you will have your first meeting with Josefina right now. I don't want to hear any bad reports about your behavior." Maria said sharply, leaving the room to give the matchmaker and her client some peace.
"Alright Lucia?" Josefina asked, seeming less stern every minute.
"Alright." Ginny replied. "Sorry, but I've never been to a matchmaker before. I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to do."
"Well, this first meeting is about me getting to know you. If I don't know you, I can't find you a husband." Josefina said matter-of- factly. This seemed reasonable to Ginny, though she was surprised at the woman's kindness, and couldn't stop her face from showing it.
"The stern outside is just a cover around the parents, it makes them happy, but I find young girls don't respond to it." Josefina said warmly. "Your mother has said that your family is hosting a ball for the city's noble and wealthy families, I thought I'd take you shopping to get some fabric for your gown." Said Josefina.
"That sounds lovely." Said Ginny, thinking that this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Josefina and Ginny took a horse drawn carriage into a busy street full of shops. This street reminded Ginny of Diagon Alley with its hustle and bustle. There were no magic shops to be found on this road. There were butchers, bakers, and bookshops. Fabric stores and groceries, carpenters' shops and blacksmiths. All sorts of stores Ginny had never seen before having been raised in the magic world. She was in awe.
"Welcome to the Roman Market." Josefina said having noticed Ginny's wide eyes.
Josefina led Ginny into a store called Fine Fabrics of the World. As they browsed through racks of various fabrics, Josefina asked Ginny various questions about her hobbies, to which she'd been forced to make up answers. Josefina soon moved on to asking questions about Ginny's taste in men. Without even realizing she was doing it, Ginny answered every question as though she were attempting to describe Harry perfectly, down to the smallest detail. She even outright mentioned that she wanted to be married to her best friend. Ginny soon realized that she had been talking about Harry, whether she'd mentioned his name or not, she knew that he was the one she was talking about when she spoke of her perfect match. For the first time since she was eleven years old, Ginny opened up about everything she loved about Harry, and it felt good despite the fact that the one she was speaking to didn't know she had someone specific in mind.
Josefina was already holding some tulle for the skirt of the gown, as well as some cream colored silk for the underneath layer. Now all they needed was the perfect fabric for the top layer of the dress. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted a shimmering, pale, champagne gold brocade. She recalled Harry saying that the color of her bedding looked good on her and smiled. This fabric was almost identical in color. She immediately grabbed it and showed it to Josefina.
"Oh that's just beautiful, and the color is perfect for you." Josefina exclaimed.
"I can get it then?" Ginny asked excitedly.
"Of course, you have excellent taste, Lucia." Josefina complimented.
"Thank you." Ginny replied as they walked forward to pay for their fabrics.
"Now, we'll just take these to your manor and I'll fit you for the gown." Josefina said smiling at Ginny.
"You're making my dress, shouldn't a seamstress do that?" Ginny asked.
"I am an expert seamstress, as well as a designer. It's part of being a matchmaker, I find the perfect clothes for my clients."
"Oh." Ginny said simply as she got into the carriage that was waiting for them outside the shop. She sat back, having decided for now that having a matchmaker really wasn't going to be bad at all.
AN: This chapter took me longer than usual, I kept not liking it and having to redo it. Originally there was this whole plot twist with Ginny's great grandfather showing up and is somehow related to Lucia's mom and she recognizes him from pictures she's seen. Then I realized that it was stupid. I had a few other things that weren't going anywhere, and I went back to what I'd been planning to have happen since I started the story, which turned out to be the best solution. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out after all the rewrites.
Don't forget to check out my (when I say my I mean done in collaboration with my friend Annika) new not-quite-finished-but-still-cool Harry Potter website called Witches and Wizards and Weasleys...Oh my! The link is in my profile.
Thanks so much for reading, please make my day and review, even if all you say is two words, it makes my day!