Chapter 9 – the mysterious figure
5 days left till the ball....
"Page 142 paragraph 3" Snape said dully.
It was actually "care of magical creatures" lesson. Whatever happened to their teacher, she was not able to make it to the lesson and horrible Snape always seemed to be there as reserve 24/7.
Although she had already read the topic over and over again for more than 10 times in the past month or so, Hermione flipped to the page eagerly. It was on "demiguise".
"Demiguise, a mysterious creature that roamed the earth before humans were formed, and rarely seen." Snape droned on and on, effortlessly.
Well, you must have a crazy eyesight to see them 'cause they're invisible whenever they like. Hermione thought.
"However, Demiguises can be deadly when offended or threatened. They kill. The most tricky part about their attacks," he paused, and stared at the class, waiting to get everyone's attention, "is that, you will never know where they are, and they make no sound at all. With a snap of the finger," snap "and you're gone."
Whispers filled the room, but it was not anything new to Hermione. What's the big deal, they don't kill you for nothing. Only people like Malfoy has a high possibility of getting attacked, counting on the number of ill deeds he has done since he was born. Ok, so maybe it's un-countable.
"Quiet!" Snape waited until it was complete silence, before continuing. "I want an essay on Demiguises by the next lesson. Minimum 10 pages. Class dismissed." Snape rushed out of the class with his cloak flying behind him.
"Snape makes a good sprinter." Ron commented after that as the trio walked to the Great Hall.
"why?" Hermione asked.
"He's always making his entrance and exit so quickly." Ron reasoned.
Hermione rolled her eyes and gave Ron a forced smile, to show him that his joke was very VERY not funny.
Ron shrugged, "what are your plans after this?"
Harry gave the question some thought and replied, "I think I've got no more lessons after this, maybe I'll just go practice quidditch."
"I'm... going out." Hermione hesitated.
"With?" Harry and Ron inquired.
"You-know-who, I'm going to get a new gown to appear more presentable when Renaissance school arrives." Hermione answered indirectly.
"Hey FOUR-EYED-TOAD!" someone shouted across the alley.
Ahead, a group of Slytherin boys crowded around a timid girl who seemed to have dropped her books. Her black shiny hair was tied up in plaits and the spectacles that rested on her nose appeared too huge for her eyes. She struggled to balance her books which were just too heavy and huge for the small-sized her. The boys kicked her books around and played monkey with her, throwing her books to each other, teasing her as she jumped up and down desperately, trying hard to reach out. She looked almost in tears.
"Wow, I never knew there could be two Hermiones in Hogwarts. That girl looks just like you, Herm." Ron stared at the girl unbelievingly.
"Freaking slytherins, why can't they find something else to do." Hermione trudged up towards the group.
"Hey!" Ron and Harry tried to call her back but realized that it was too late and the only way to help was to go along with her.
Hermione pushed one of the boys away and caught the book in mid-air. She handed the book to the girl who was frozen to the ground. Hermione picked up the remaining books lying on the floor and swiftly before pulling the girl away from the group, who were all looking at the guy that was pushed, as he seemed seriously in pain.
"That's what I call cowards." Hermione said once she reached Harry and Ron. She passed the books to the girl and asked, "Are you ok?" The girl nodded. She actually had very beautiful eyes that seemed to be shining naturally. She was about Hermione's height and it was obvious she was from Gryffindor too. Weird enough, they never seemed to have noticed her before in Hogwarts.
"What's your name?" Hermione asked.
"Sydney." She replied, her voice crisp and cute.
"Oh, Sydney, hi! I'm Hermione and they are Ron and Harry." Ron and Harry gave her a small smile. "Well, since you're ok, then, bye!" Hermione gave her a pat on the shoulder and walked away with Harry and Ron by her side.
Sydney stood there, with her books in her hands, staring at the trio with an innocent expressionless look. Then, a tiny smile crept across her face and she rushed off.
"Pink? Yellow? Blue? Black? White?" Hermione thought, once she reached the shop.
"Red." Malfoy, walking in front of her, suggested dully.
Hermione rolled her eyes and followed him to the counter.
"Now where's the person in charge here???!!!" Malfoy crossed his arms and stood in front of the counter.
"May I help you?" a voice said.
"Who's speaking?" Malfoy looked around frantically.
"Me." The voice said again.
Malfoy turned around. There was only a measuring tape on the table, just that it was not a normal measuring tape. It had eyes, nose and mouth! Malfoy smirked, "We want to get a tuxedo and a gown."
Hermione looked around the shop, it was quite spacious and fashionable. Pieces of cloth lay here and there but there's no gown anywhere, nor tuxedo, other than the cloth and the few pieces of furniture, the shop would have seemed very empty.
"Stand on the platform to your right and your measurements will be taken."
After their measurements were taken, the shopkeeper took out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Ladies first" the measuring tape said matter-of-factly. "Come here" it beckoned at Hermione with the end of the tape. Hermione turned to look at Malfoy, who yawned and turned away. She strode over to the measuring tape and waited for something to happen. She was totally clueless.
The measuring tape curled around the pencil and started drawing out a figure on the piece of paper. Within seconds, a picture of a girl appeared on the paper. She looked so familiar....
"Hey, that's me!" except that it's naked.
Malfoy turned to look at the measuring tape at work. He smirked, "Is that what you want to wear to the ball Granger? Nothing?"
Hermione gave him a stare and turned to question the measuring tape, "What are you doing?"
"Shh." It observed Hermione and did nothing else for the next few minutes.
Hermione felt totally uncomfortable. She cleared her throat, "So?"
"What design do you want for your gown?"
"I'm.. I'm not sure."
"Knee length or longer?"
"longer."
The measuring tape scribbled something on the paper.
"Do you want it to be low cut at the back?"
"I –"
"Turn around."
"Good." scribble scribble
"Good what?"
"Sleeveless I presume?"
"Well—"
"Colour?"
"Most preferably –"
"Red" Malfoy chipped in.
"No, white." Hermione shot Malfoy a glare.
"Granger, you're not getting married on that day."
"But white signifies pure and simplicity!"
"yeah yeah yeah. Hermione Granger, the purest mudblood in the whole Magical universe."
"White gowns get dirty easily I have to say." The measuring tape reminded her.
"Then... what?"
-silence-
"Black." The measuring tape announced to them after a long pause.
Malfoy smirked, he walked away and started fiddling with the few objects in the shop.
The measuring tape started drawing something on the picture. A few minutes later, the picture was complete. The girl was wearing a black gown that showed off her perfect figure. The measuring tape wrapped around the paper and curled around a wand, it gestured towards the platform at the far end of the room and Hermione stood on top the platform. The measuring tape dropped the paper on the ground and with a wave of the wand, the casual wear that Hermione had on immediately became a majestic looking gown.
The top section of the gown was made of smooth silk ending with a horizontal line reaching the waist. Not suspended by any string or piece of cloth, it appears very low cut. The top section is connected to a lower section which is of a less shiny texture and broader in width, resulting in a good overall impression of Hermione's small waist and good figure. The last piece of the gown is a stole made of polished satin, draped around both her arms.
"Satisified?" the measuring tape asked.
"Definitely." Hermione replied, still turning around and checking out her gown.
Malfoy stood looking at Hermione's gown and sneered, "That matches your request for simplicity doesn't it."
"Very well, Mr . "the measuring tape floated over to the table yet again and took out a new piece paper and busied himself. "It's your turn."
Malfoy strutted up to the table and crossed his arms across his chest, waiting for instructions of any sort. He went through the same process that Hermione went through.
"Colour, Mr?"
"Purple" Hermione suggested.
"Yuck, purple is the international gay colour." Malfoy spat.
"Suits you."
"No, give me black, all other colours look totally gross."
"Very well then, that would match the miss there very nicely...."
"Whatever."
After Malfoy tried on his tuxedo, and found that it fit perfectly, they bought their gown and tuxedo.
As they made their way silently back to Hogwarts, a silent figure watched them from behind, in deep thought...
hey... sorry for the ultra late update! D just wanna ask for some suggestions from you guys, what do you guys want that mysterious figure to be? Bad or good? Lolx, feel free to tell me! D signing off for now, hope you guys enjoyed the story so far... I'm aiming for erm…bout 68-70 reviews? Haha. High goal? I'm not sure. Right, I'll try and make the story better still! Bye!
