3

"Come on, Mandy," George laughed at the tired little girl. "We haven't even bought your books yet!" They had been in Diagon Alley most of the day, window shopping, and poor Mandy was starting to get weary.

"I can't walk anymore!" she whined. Fred smiled as he lifted her onto his back for a good old fashioned piggy-back ride.

"Well, I guess you need to be bought a broom," George chuckled, "And if I'm not mistaken, tomorrow is someone's birthday!" A wide grin spread across Mandy's face. Moira was glad that she had warned everybody, because Mandy had obviously not told anyone. Fred and George had a good cash flow coming from their new joke shop and a simple broom wouldn't be much of a problem.

"On my birthday, you only got me a sugar quill!" Ron complained before Fred smacked him upside the head.

When the twins walked out of the shop with a Cleansweep 2004, Mandy went wild.

"Now I never have to ride in a car again!" she exclaimed as she mounted the broom. Though most girls her age were not very skilled on a broom stick, Mandy had learned a lot from playing backyard Quidditch with Moira and Neil.

When they reached the bookstore, Mandy was forced to leave her new broom outside. It took a lot of convincing to get her to leave it. Finally, Mr. Weasley agreed to wait outside so nothing would happen to it.

When all books were bought, Moira looked to see what was next on the list.

"Mandy, Neil, and I need robes," Mandy said to no one in particular. Mrs. Weasley immediately turned on Ron.

"You've grown at least an inch!" she cried, leading them all into a little shop. "The robes you have now will never do!"

As a skittish shop woman took Ron's measurements, Neil was looking curiously at his list.

"Why do we need dress robes?" he wondered aloud. Ron's face went pale; Ginny's, on the other hand, lit up.

"Is there a dance this year?" she squealed, opening her own list. Moira looked back at hers to and, sure enough, there on the list were two sets of dress robes. Hermione began to read aloud:

"Two sets of formal dress robes will be required for 4th through 7th years. Due to popular request by the students, two dances will be held. A Christmas formal and an End of Term formal. These are formal events and casual robes will not be permitted." Hermione looked up, grinning.

The three girls shot to the back of the store, leaving the boys and Mandy behind to get fitted, and began looking through catalogs.

It was like watching a fashion show. The models in the catalogs were actually walking up and down runways, twirling and posing, showing off the gorgeous dresses.

"Oh! Look at this one, Ginny! It would look amazing on you!" Hermione was pointing to an emerald green halter that fell just below the knees. Ginny smiled modestly.

"You really think so?" she asked, looking for a reassurance.

"Yes, definitely. It would look great with your hair!" Ginny turned red, but obviously loved the compliment.

"Well, how much is it?" she wondered, checking the catalog number. "Oh no! Two hundred fifty gallons? That's a fortune! I could never afford that." Her eyes seemed to dim with disappointment.

"I'll buy it for you," said a kind voice behind them. Everybody turned around to see a handsome boy with messy brown hair.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, hugging him. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Mrs. Weasley thought it would be fun to surprise you." He looked at Ginny. "That is a very lovely dress." Ginny smiled in reply.

"Let me buy it for you," Harry insisted, grinning. "It's the least I can do. After all, without you filling in for me as Seeker, we would have lost the House Cup last year."

Ginny started to protest, but he brushed her off and took down the catalog number. He then called over the shopkeeper, who began to take measurements.

"You really didn't have to," Ginny insisted, as she raised her arm so the tape measure could measure the length of her arm. Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and grinned.

"I wanted to," he replied. "I'm sure you'll look amazing in it."

Hermione glanced quickly at Ginny and noticed her cheeks were burning up.

"Uh, Mandy, let's go check on Moira and the boys," she said, pulling Mandy to the front of the store again. She gave Ginny a quick wink before she left.

"Harry, really," tried Ginny again. "It's too much money."

"If you say that one more time," Harry started, stepping forward.

"You'll what?" teased Ginny, smiling.

"I'll -"

"Ginny!"

Ginny and Harry both turned to see Dean Thomas walking toward them.

"Dean!" said Ginny, her eyes growing wide. "Hi!"

She glanced at Harry before turning her eyes toward the floor.

"Hey, Gin," replied Dean. He nodded in Harry's direction. "Harry, how are you?"

"Good," said Harry, nodding. He nervously readjusted his glasses on his nose. "And you?"

"Couldn't be better," said Dean, smiling. He turned back to Ginny. "What're you getting fitted for?"

"Dress robes," said Ginny. Dean grinned.

"Oh, yeah? Which ones?"

Ginny pointed toward the catalog.

"The green one," she said. Dean walked over and took a good look at it. Harry shot Ginny a look before looking back at Dean. The back of his head was nodding in approval.

"Nice," he commented. He turned to Ginny. "I look forward to seeing you in it."

Ginny smiled, noticing the way Harry's eyes had glued themselves to the ceiling. She looked back at Dean, who was examining the dress in the catalog a little closer.

"How much is it?" he asked, looking up at Ginny curiously. Ginny cleared her throat before answering.

"Uh, two hundred and fifty galleons."

" i What /i ? For a dress?" he asked, his eyebrows lifting. "Do you have that much money to spend?"

"Well, no," admitted Ginny, looking down.

"Then how are you paying for it?" asked Dean, and he pulled out a bag of money from his pocket. "I'll pay for it."

"Oh, you don't have to," said Ginny quickly, her eyes darting from Harry to Dean. "Someone else has already offered."

"Oh?" said Dean, surprised. "Who?"

"Er, Harry."

"Harry?" Dean looked at Harry, his eyebrows raised. Harry shrugged.

"She got us the House Cup last year. It was the least I could do," he replied, giving Dean the best grin he could manage. Dean nodded, his eyebrows furrowed.

"It's a lot of money," he muttered. "Maybe I should pitch in?"

Harry brushed it off. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I've got it covered." Harry looked to Ginny. "I'm going to go meet up with Ron. Let me know when it's time to pay for the dress."

Ginny nodded and smiled; Harry smiled as well before he gave a quick nod to Dean and walked back toward the front of the store.

The tape measure had stopped whatever it was doing, and it now lay crumpled near Ginny's feet. Dean looked up at her.

"Coming down from that pedestal?" he asked her. Ginny nodded and was about to step down when Dean's hand shot out from nowhere to help her down.

"Dean, I can get down by myself," she said. Dean didn't withdraw his hand.

"But I want to help you."

"Fine," said Ginny. She took his hand and was just stepping down when Moira entered the backroom.

"Hey, Ginny, I heard you're buying a dress?" she asked. Ginny promptly fell down with a dull thud.

"Dean!" she exclaimed angrily, picking herself up from the ground and fixing her clothes. "I thought you were helping me down!"

"Sorry!" apologized Dean. "I just…my hand slipped."

Ginny noticed he was staring at Moira.

"Dean, this is Moira. Moira this is Dean," she said, introducing them. Moira smiled and shook his hand; she noticed Dean's handshake was firm, and as she looked up to study his face, she noticed he was looking straight into her eyes.

"Hello, Dean," she said, letting go and stepping back. Dean smiled.

"Hey," he said. "How come I've never seen you?"