Wow! The amount of angry emails I recieved for killing off Neville was crazy! But I thank you for not putting the flames with my reviews. Anyways, now that you know what Ginny is up to (or was up to, which ever way you look at it), you can watch for it. I can't garuntee anything, but pay close attention! xoxo
Chapter 13
When morning rolled around, I found myself struggling to leave my bed. It was so warm, and we didn't have to leave until six o'clock that evening. I rolled over and went back to sleep—or so I thought I would.
The door slammed open and Ginny bustled in. I looked at her differently. Had she really thought that I would have killed Harry if I had died? I didn't understand why it bothered me so much. If I had died, I would have never known. But that wasn't the point. I was very much alive, and this girl thought I could've been a murderer. I shook my head. I wasn't going to treat her differently I decided. Just proceed with caution.
"My robe has gold on it! I asked her for silver! They came this morning and there's gold on the red!"
I sat up and threw my feet over the side of the bed. "So? It's probably still gorgeous."
"But I bought silver jewelry!" She sighed exasperatedly. "Now I either wear clashing jewelry, or we return the silver and go back to the store this morning."
I didn't answer. "Where's Hermione?"
"Fawning over her robe. It is gorgeous, but she's afraid it might be wrinkled," she wiggled her nose as if her problem was mountainous compared to that.
"Can't you charm it silver?" I asked, walking over to my closet. I pulled out a pair of trousers and a sweater. I walked back to the bed and changed while Ginny paced my room. "You're going to make a hole in my floor."
She stopped and looked at me. "Why aren't you upset? Oh right, because your robe is perfect." She snorted. "Come with me to Diagon Alley this morning! Please!"
"Fine," I sighed. Why wasn't she making Hermione come too? She seemed to know what I was thinking.
"Hermione's robe is crème right? Well Ron's robe is a dark red. Almost black, but not quite. And it clashes. So they're trying to charm it darker so that it is black and then Mum offered to put some stuff on it so it ties in with Hermione's."
"Did mine turn out alright?" I asked. I had managed to brush my hair into a messy bun before Ginny grabbed my arm.
"Oh! You haven't seen it! It's so pretty…" At that moment I realized how badly I wanted to try it on, no matter what it looked like. "I have an idea!" said Ginny. "You can't see it!"
I looked at her outraged. "What? Why?"
"It should be a surprise." She grinned mischievously, and bolted out of the room and down the stairs. I raced after her to the best of my ability before realizing there was no way I'd catch up. When I got into the kitchen Molly and Ginny were laughing.
"Oh come on Ginny!" I said. "Let me see it!"
"You have to come to Diagon Alley with me first, and then I want to dress you up! You won't see yourself until it's done!"
I put on a pout. This was just another example of being looked after as the youngest person in the house. "Fine. But Hermione has to be apart of this too. And I get to do your hair without you seeing."
Ginny smiled and gave me a mock salute. "Aye aye, sir."
That's Ma'am to you," I joked.
"We'll take the floo. Is that alright Mum?"
Molly sighed. Her hair was in curlers underneath a large net, and she was wearing her robe. "Fine," she said. "I really don't see the big deal Ginny, it's going to sparkle all the same."
"You'd never understand!" said Ginny. I downed a glass of pumpkin juice before Ginny grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the fireplace room. She grabbed some powder out of the jar and tossed it into the fireplace. The flames turned green and she stepped in.
"Cornelia's Crystal!" she shouted. In a small 'swoosh' she was gone. I repeated her actions, and landed in the hearth of the sparkling shop. Small examples of jewelry that could be bought were framed on the walls. Jewelry could be rented and so pictures of famous witches and wizards were beside the samples. I looked shortly at a wizard with golden locks and a gorgeous smile. He was waving in his baby blue robes and holding up a picture of himself on a magazine cover. Ginny grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the front corner—the fireplace was in the small entrance room.
"I bought this about a week ago, and I haven't worn it, but I got my robes today and it doesn't match! Can I trade it in? I need gold, not silver!" Ginny pushed her container onto the desk the lady was standing behind. The little lady covered in jewels at the front desk gave her a toothy smile.
"Of course, of course. This is for the big dinner is it not? Of course…" After grabbing the silver, she disappeared from behind the desk, and opened the door into the show part of the shop. My eyes were struck by the sheer reflection of light. I had been in here before of course, but never actually bought anything other than a set of white pearl drop earrings for my robes.
Ginny rushed over to the counter on the far side and examined the section labeled gold.
"What color are your robes?" asked the sparkly lady I presumed to be Cornelia.
"Red. But not an orange red, it's a blue red. And it comes down like this," said Ginny. She made a motion around her neck to where the heart shaped neckline sat. "But it has long sleeves. It's like they were sewn onto a strapless dress."
"I see…" Cornelia made a humming noise before saying "Aha!" She reached through the glass (literally; her hand went right through it), and withdrew a rather large pink box, which had not been on display, but closed. She opened it up and I gasped. The necklace was gorgeous.
The gold necklace was not on a chain, but rather connected by thick links. It sat it in a fixed position on the velvet cushion, and although it was an inanimate object, it seemed to have a life of it's own. A large ruby sat in the direct center of the necklace and was surrounded by little black flecks of onyx stone.
"It's perfect," whispered Ginny.
"Get it Ginny. You'll never find another one like it," I said into her ear.
"Right, Cornelia, I'll take it! I just need a set of earrings, but they should be small you know…" she trailed off into conversation with Cornelia explaining the way her robes were styled and how she was going to do her hair. I wandered off, looking at all the jewelry, but discreetly looking for the toilets.
I saw a sign at the back of the store and took a last look a Ginny who hadn't noticed me not being there. I used the washroom and when I came out, Ginny was carrying a small, brown paper bag, obviously containing her jewelry. I approached her and saw her wink at Cornelia and let out a little laugh.
"Wonderful! I love it thank you so much!"
"No problem my dear, no problem at all. Just make sure to mention where you got it now," said Cornelia.
"Will do," said Ginny. "We must be going now. Thanks again!" I gave Cornelia a smile before following Ginny into the entrance and flooing back home.
§
The house was a bustle of activity. Arthur had home early from work to prepare for the occasion. The twins and the rest of the Weasley family were in the house getting ready. Remus had been pacing the house dangerously quick, and I made him sit down.
"Are you nervous?" I asked him.
He gulped. "A little bit. You see, I couldn't get a date, and…" he seemed stressed.
"Remus, it'll be fine."
Quite frankly, I had my own problems to deal with. I hadn't seen my robes yet, and had a feeling I wouldn't until Ginny and Hermione let me. We were all walking around in our house robes, prepping for the big night. I didn't have a date, much less a plan for that evening, and the truth was I had never been to a dinner as fancy and populated as this would be… that I recalled anyways.
About three hours prior to our leaving, Hermione, Ginny and I took over the bathroom on our floor. We locked the door from the inside, and if there was a knock, we never heard it.
Music was coming from a small radio I had hung on the doorknob, and Hermione and I attacked Ginny first. After blacking out the mirror, Hermione and I styled Ginny's hair and did her make-up. Although I had not seen the dress, Hermione had and directed the facial part while I the hair.
I straightened Ginny's little bob, and used a shining serum to get rid of the frizz. When Hermione approved, I added a small glittering clip to the right side of her head. A real rose had been glossed for this purpose and it was pinned there and held quite well. Her bangs were side swept and angled a little bit over her eye for a mysterious effect. Her eyelids had been darkened and her cheeks lightened. Happy with the result I urged her to get up and we worked on Hermione.
This time, I did the makeup, making sure to highlight her beautiful eyes. A delicate shade of rose was placed over her lids while Ginny swept her hair up into a delicate bun atop her head. Stray pieces of hair were curled and styled, and a white rose was pinned into the knot. She flushed with delight when we told her we were done and urged me to sit down in the designer chair.
For almost a half hour I sat there, as they worked mostly on my hair. Different goop was applied and I felt its weight as it was released around my face. Ginny giggled at one point and I was afraid they might've done something dangerously close to magical to my head. When Hermione assured me I looked fine I let them continue. When they did my face Hermione requested to try out a new powder on the scarred side of my face. I let her, and sat patiently as she brushed and powdered my face.
"You can't even tell can you Ginny?" she asked finally.
"Wow. I'm impressed. Where did you get that stuff? I want it the next time I get a zit!" Ginny exclaimed. I got up and they grabbed me by the shoulders. You can't look yet!" said Ginny.
A knock at the door knocked my radio to the ground.
"Twenty minutes girls!" came Mrs. Weasley's voice from the other side.
"Mum? Can you bring our robes?"
A few footsteps later a set of dresses was being handed through the door. Ginny grabbed the dark bag containing mine before I could.
"We're dressing you!" she said.
"I don't know how I feel about that…" I said uncertainly.
"Oh, please!" said Hermione. Fully aware of the joke, she proceeded to take the bag from Ginny and hang it on the shower bar.
"Fine." I was almost grouchy, but was having too much fun to get that way.
I helped Hermione slip into her dress. It was a beautiful crème color and accented her brown hair wonderfully. It slipped off her shoulders slightly in a modern robe fashion, but had a round neckline, which showed off her tiny upper body. It sparkled when she moved and she wondered about un-blacking the mirror.
Ginny's dress was quite opposite from Hermione's sophisticate one. Although it had a Spanish twinge, it was outgoing and fiery. The heart shaped neckline revealed a bit much, and I was sure her brothers would object. From her waist down it was styled more after a muggle dress with a bit of a poof. She grinned and allowed me to put on her gold necklace, which glistened even in the pale light of the bathroom, and although none of her other jewelry was amazingly glittery, it balanced nicely.
I turned around and undressed as ordered and waited for the gasps of shock. Most of the bruises on my body were gone, but the gashes remained and I needed to re-bandage them.
Ginny and Hermione didn't say a word and helped me wrap the bandages skintight so the wouldn't be seen through my robes. I wanted to object, but was to embarrassed to do so. I didn't want to be the one to break the silence. After that was done they started to chatter again, helping me slip on my robes blind folded. The fuss for this was rather extreme I thought, but I didn't object. With a final zipper it was done. I went to remove my blindfold and found the girls objecting.
A cool string weaved it's way around my neck.
"What is that?" I asked.
"You'll see," said Ginny. The guided me over to the black mirror and removed my blindfold.
"Ginny?"
"I'd be my honor. Scourgify!"