A/N: Terribly sorry, but what with my cross-pacific move and all, i haven't had a whole lot of time! my august gift to you from DOWN UNDER!
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize I obviously do not own, unless you've somehow sneaked onto my computer and read this already.
Chapter 10: Potters Galore and Dress Shopping--What a Break!
They reached Godric's Hollow without any further mishaps. James had not been joking when he described his house as a mansion. It was bigger than any house Ginny had ever seen. James laughed at the expression on the petite girl's face. He pointed to a large red G on the front doors (they were taller than Hagrid and as wide as he was tall).
"See, this mansion's been handed down from Godric Gryffindor himself. That would account for its size."
"Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
"The Potters are the last surviving heirs of Godric Gryffindor," James said. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that?"
Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry. "In a roundabout way," Harry said truthfully.
"Mum!" James exclaimed as he pushed open one of the double doors and ushered his friends inside, "I'm home!"
"Coming, James!" a cheerful female voice answered. "Eileen, your brother's here!" the voice called.
"Coming, Mum!" a harassed-sounding younger woman replied. "Katie is acting her age again. Though I can't say I didn't expect it."
A tall woman with curly dark hair that was beginning to gray and big blue eyes entered the huge hall with a wide smile on her welcoming face.
"So, James, start with the introductions," she commanded as soon as a younger copy of her with hazel eyes entered the room with a little girl in tow.
"Right," James said. He pointed to Sirius. "This is Sirius Orion Black, he's my best friend, I've known him since the cradle—" he said with a straight face. The two older women frowned at him.
"James," his mother warned.
"Sorry, couldn't resist. Very well, you know Padfoot and Moony of course, this is Lily Evans, the Head Girl and top of our year—no, that's Hermione, isn't it?"
"Joint," Hermione said with a blush.
"This is Hermione Granger," he said grandly, pointing to the curly-haired brunette. "But to really introduce her, I have to introduce the next person. This is Harry James Potter, and he happens to be—well, my son," he finished lamely. "Sort of."
"You have got to be kidding me," Eileen said flatly. "That boy's the same age as you are. It's impossible."
"My point exactly," James said. "This is my future son—he's my twin, all right? Just say we were separated at birth or something on accident and we just happened to run into each other or something like that. He hasn't really seen me since he was one year old, so this is a new experience for him as well. Hermione's one of his best friends, as is Ronald Weasley." He pointed to each person in turn. "And this is Ron's little sister, Ginny, who is the smartest sixteen-year-old I've ever met—she's in our year." Ginny poked him viciously. He just smiled crookedly at her, as if to say, Well, it's true!
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Arthurson," Ginny said politely with a small incline of her head.
"The same, dear," Mrs. Potter said kindly.
"Eileen," the other woman corrected.
"Well, Mum, the girls have elected that they need to go shopping in light of the ball you told me you were still planning to hold on Christmas Eve."
"Good," Mrs. Potter said decidedly. "Eileen and I were planning to go tomorrow. It'll be a lot of fun, girls. Really, we love shopping, even this late in years."
"Maybe for you, Mother," Eileen laughed. "I'm only twenty-six. Plenty of girls my age still enjoy shopping."
"Sure, Eileen," Mrs. Potter waved her off. "So, let's get you all situated, in rooms and everything. I've put you three girls in adjoining bedrooms. Is that all right with you?" she asked kindly of the three girls.
"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Potter," Ginny spoke up.
"Good, follow me, please." The girls followed obediently.
Up the stairs, through multiple hallways, many right and left turns later, Mrs. Potter found a polished oak door that she pushed open. She pointed her wand at each of the three doors leading off from the huge sitting room they were currently in.
"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," the three girls chorused as their names appeared on the doors to their respective bedrooms. The Potter matriarch smiled and muttered another spell.
"Since I know you'd get lost trying to get here, I've arranged it so that it will appear if you concentrate hard enough. Remus is going to be nearby—he'll show you the dining room, all right?"
"Yes, thank you," Lily spoke for the group. Mrs. Potter smiled and left.
Hermione ventured into her room. She opened the door to find a four-poster bed much like hers at Hogwarts. She liked the familiar furnishings. However, this bed's curtains, spread, and various accessories were a soft shade of blue, like a clear, shining lake. The entire room was the same blue, the blue that Hermione had always loved. She relaxed immediately.
"My favorite color," she smiled, stowing her cloak and Muggle parka in the wardrobe.
Lily opened the door of her room to find a green-and-cream collection that was exactly her idea of a perfect room. She, too, pulled off her cloak and parka, flopping down on the bed in her green turtleneck sweater and jeans. She was at peace with her world—in James Potter's house, of all places.
Ginny's room was, meanwhile, fully outfitted in sleek blue-green, making for Ginny's favorite color scheme. The girl was currently sitting on her bed with a book she'd found on her shelf in her lap: A Time-Traveler's Guide to the Sands of Time: Present, Past, and Future. She was focusing completely on the section labeled "Time-Traps."
Unfortunately, there is no way to return from a Time-Trap jump. Time-Traps immediately disintegrate and cannot be found once more. In this case, a copy of the time-traveler(s) will slide into the future/past. Their past/future selves will remain untouched, unless they alter the course of events. However, they will not disappear from the time they are in. They are a separate part of their person.
Well, at least she wouldn't disintegrate in front of her friends. Small comforts, weren't there? Of course, it would have been a lot easier to stay at Hogwarts—in 1997 where she knew exactly whom she was, what to do, who to fear, what the problem was. In short, to stay in her world.
"Ginny?" Hermione knocked on the door. "Remus is here to show us how to get to supper." Ginny smiled and marked her place in the book.
"Hey, Ginny," the brown-haired boy said quietly as Ginny came out of her room. "We can only pray that I do not also get lost," he joked. "In any case, follow me—even if we get lost. Sirius and James taught me how to get to the kitchens when I first came here. Couldn't bear the thought of me starving, I suppose," he said with a roll of his eyes.
The next day, the girls woke up rather late—they'd spent the night talking to each other until midnight—at a knock on their respective doors. Ginny, Hermione, and Lily sat bolt upright in bed at the sound of the precise pounding. Hermione picked a discarded book off her lap and ran her fingers through the ends of her hair. Ginny yawned. Lily rubbed her eyes.
"Girls? We are due to go shopping today," Eileen said as she heard the three girls clamber out of bed.
"Give me twenty minutes!" Ginny called.
"Same!" Lily and Hermione chorused.
"Okay—see you in the entrance hall!"
"See you then!"
Ginny took the quickest shower in her life, thankful that this wizarding house, at least, had a shower and working plumbing—and one bathroom each for the girls' rooms, too! She fled into clean clothes, braided her curly hair into two braids, and pinned the long braids into an arrangement on the back of her head. She grabbed her parka, her money, her scarf, and her hat, which she immediately jammed onto her head, careful to keep her braided knot intact.
Lily fought with her curly hair for about five minutes before she came to the conclusion that she would have to wet it a little. That calmed it into loose curls that she could work with. She pulled the top portion of her hair back with a barrette. Then she, too, rushed through the halls to the entrance of the Potter mansion.
Hermione looked at herself in the mirror for a minute and smiled—for once in her life, length had actually tamed out her hair. It now fell in wild curls to her elbows. She pulled a few strands away from her face in a bow and hurried to the hall that Eileen had designated, her shoes clattering on the stone floors.
Mrs. Potter and Eileen were already there, suitably dressed for the weather. Ginny was shrugging into her parka, and each of the three girls was checking her pocket to make sure her moneybag was still there. Lily looked excited, and Hermione smiled at her intellectual equal and current friend (even if they didn't always (or even often) agree about the conditions and restrictions on time travel).
"Ready?" Mrs. Potter asked unnecessarily.
"Of course!" the three girls chorused. They hurried outside and into the charming town of Godric's Hollow. Mrs. Potter flung out her arm when they reached the dress shop, effectively stopping the three girls in their tracks.
"Come on in," she beckoned. "My best childhood friend owns this place. It's very private." A bell chimed as she pushed the door open.
Ginny just smiled at Mrs. Potter and entered the elegant little shop behind Harry's grandmother. Hermione looked interested as she entered behind Ginny. Lily smiled at the homey, rather rustic interior. It reminded her of the small costume shop back home in London, where she had gone to get all her acting costumes.
"Louise! Louise, it's that time of the year again!" Mrs. Potter called out as soon as she entered the shop. A tall, slender, graying-brown-haired middle-aged woman wandered toward them. "And I brought a crowd this time, did you see?" She swept her hand out to indicate the three Hogwarts girls and Eileen, the latter of whom smiled cheerfully and stepped forward to hug the woman.
"So you did, Elizabeth, so you did," 'Louise' said with a warm smile. "Come on back, I'm sure we can find you all something."
"I was so glad to hear that James's friends from school might be coming…And Ginny, Hermione, and Lily had to come shopping, it's nearly Christmas Eve," Mrs. Potter commented.
"I know, that it is. I've been wondering when I would see you all, it's been so long. Hmm, Liz and Eileen, a brunette, and two redheads. This might be a stretch—but you know I can do it, Elizabeth," she admonished the woman who had just opened her mouth worriedly.
They picked their way around racks of clothing with some difficulty, but "Louise" kept striding determinedly forward. "I know I've got the perfect for our little brunette back here—saw it just yesterday, and I thought of someone just like you, Miss—?"
"Granger. Hermione Granger," Hermione said with a quiet smile.
"Tell me, Hermione, what do you think of this?" Louise asked, pulling out a rustling dress. Hermione took one look and gasped.
It was a sapphire silk gown with a skirt that barely flared out. The top was embroidered with a design of an eight-pointed star in white. It tapered into a small waist, and the neckline was scooped high enough to appease Hermione's high standards. The star really jumped out at you (just like Hermione's personality).
"It's special for Christmas," Louise explained. "The design is mine, so what do you think?" She sounded slightly anxious.
"It's perfect," Hermione breathed. "I love it. Are you sure it's my size?" she asked nervously. Ginny giggled.
"Well, go try it on, then," Louise shooed her. She smiled tentatively as she took the sapphire gown and retreated into a fitting room. Louise took up guard outside the door. "Tell me when you're ready, dearie, and I'll come fit it for you."
Something caught Mrs. Potter's eye. She wandered over to a pale blue dress with a simple skirt and bodice with draping sleeves that reached to the wearer's knees.
"See something, Elizabeth?" asked Louise. "Just a minute, here's Hermione." She opened the door and beckoned the girl out. She stepped out of the little room with an unsure smile on her face.
"Oh, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "It's just right for you!" The gown fit her perfectly to Ginny's—well, untrained eye, but Louise scrutinized it carefully.
"We can take this waist-line in a bit," she muttered through a mouthful of pins as she knelt on the floor in front of Ginny and Lily's best friend, "and the skirt needs a little more hemming if you don't want to trip on it, I'd say. About half an inch up, wouldn't you say, Eileen?" She pointed toward the long skirt.
"Yes," the woman replied, "I can see where she might trip and fall with that. But I think a quarter inch might work better. The sleeves?"
"You're right, they are a bit short," Louise observed. "But I think they might look better that way. You have nice hands, my dear," she addressed Hermione. "The sleeves compliment her hands, don't they, Elizabeth?" Mrs. Potter had been walking slowly around Hermione.
"Yes, the little tapering that usually fits over between the fingers looks very nice in the middle of her hand like that. Leave it, Lou, I like it. You might pull up the waist—Hermione, you're a tad short-waisted, you know? Other than that, she looks very nice." Mrs. Potter smiled at the brunette, who looked up at her anxiously.
"Easy customer," Louise shrugged. "All the pretty young women usually are."
"Thank you, Ms.—?"
"Louise, dear, Mrs. Louise Chapman. But just call me Louise," the woman laughed. "I outgrew titles a while back." Hermione smiled uncertainly at the woman.
"Who's next? Hermione, dear, you can go change back. Hand me your dress and I'll have it fixed as soon as possible, all right?"
"Yes, thank you," Hermione said politely.
"Oh, right, Elizabeth. Were you looking at that one over there?"
"Yes, but somehow I'm not sure it's very good for me."
"Yes, pale blue tends to make you sallow," Mrs. Chapman said heartlessly. "Anything else? That red one you saw last week? I still hold that it would make you eyes stand out." She hurried behind the counter of the shop and pulled out a flame-red gown. Mrs. Potter frowned at her friend, who smiled innocently.
"Louise, you know I hate red with a vengeance," Mrs. Potter said. "I haven't worn it more than twice in my life."
"Out with the old, in with the new," Mrs. Chapman teased. "I'm just kidding, Elizabeth. No, I was thinking more along the lines of blue or purple, maybe white," she smiled.
"What have you got in white?" Mrs. Potter asked. "I'm leaning toward white this year." Mrs. Chapman smiled excitedly and hurried into a storage room.
"Hold on," she called over her shoulder. She reentered the room holding a white satin dress with blue and purple accents.
"A little bird told me you might be wanting white," she giggled. "So, what do you think, Liz?"
"How many times have I told you not to call me that," Mrs. Potter said absently as she accepted the gown from her friend. "It's lovely, Lou."
"It's your size too," she smiled. "I knew you'd like it." She shooed her into the fitting room. "Go, try it on."
"Going, going," Mrs. Potter said in surrender. She closed the door quietly.
"Now, how many left? Three, that's good. Two redheads. Uh-oh. No offense, but red hair goes with almost nothing. I've learned that in past years. I could find something with your eyes," she said to Lily. "They're my favorite green—don't you like them?"
"Only thing good about me," Lily muttered, but said clearly to the woman, "Oh, yes!"
"Eileen, I had something for you too," the dressmaker tossed back as she riffled through racks of dresses. "I know it was here somewhere, it was red—Aha! Found it. Try it on and tell me what you think," she ordered, pointing to an empty room.
"Going, Aunt Louise," the twenty-six-year-old said meekly as she closed the door.
"Elizabeth, are you ready yet?"
"Coming, Louise, coming. Now I know why you asked for my size last month," Mrs. Potter's voice came, she opened the door and stepped out.
"Mrs. Potter!" Ginny exclaimed. "You look wonderful!"
"She's right, Lizzy, you look twenty years younger. You look great!"
"Implying that I looked bad before?" Mrs. Potter demanded.
"Well," Mrs. Chapman stuttered.
"Aunt Louise, you just cornered yourself!" Eileen called from behind her door, a laugh in her quiet voice.
"But Mrs. Chapman is right, Mrs. Potter," Lily said cheerfully. "It makes you look much younger, you know."
"Thank you, Lily dear," Mrs. Potter said gratefully. "So, Lou, will this work?"
"Definitely. It was made for you, literally. Eileen! Get out here, young lady!"
"Coming, Aunt Louise," Eileen called, pushing open the door and emerging in a slightly-too-large crimson red gown with gold accents.
"Well, it's a bit large," Mrs. Chapman said practically. "We'll have to take it in—hem up the bottom an inch or so, shorten the sleeves, I'll play around with the neckline—it's not really your style, the neckline," she commented, plucking at the ruffled collar-like neckline in question. "I'll take in the seams on the bodice, move up the waist—is there anything else you can see, Elizabeth?"
"Not really, come to think of it. It really brings attention to your face, Eileen, the red does. You look good, dearie. Go change back and give your dress to Louise."
"You know, Mum, I'm not three years old anymore," Eileen commented. "Thank you, Aunt Louise. Lily, you next," she encouraged the tall redhead.
"Come on, Lily, be brave," Ginny joked. "Famous Gryffindor courage! You aren't going to be the mother of Gryffindor's next heir for nothing," she added in an undertone. "You have the courage to do this. It's only a dress!"
"Mm-hmm, easy for you to say," she muttered. "I've never gone dress-shopping in my life." She looked toward Mrs. Chapman with a worried sort of smile on her face. "What do you suggest?" The aging brunette studied the redhead intently for a few minutes. She seemed to be muttering to herself.
"Let's try pink," she said finally. Mrs. Potter considered it for a moment. Eileen was already shaking her head. Lily just looked apprehensive as Mrs. Chapman flipped through racks of long, elegant dresses again. She pulled out a long rose-pink satin dress and shoved the dress and Lily into the nearest fitting room.
She changed in record time, emerging in time with Eileen. Eileen took one look and shook her head more vehemently than before.
"I agree," Mrs. Chapman said with finality. "Pink is not your color, my dear," she informed the teenager. "How about blue?" She tossed a new dress at Lily, who hurried to change. She stepped out again a few minutes later.
"We're getting there," said Mrs. Potter encouragingly. "Light purple." Mrs. Chapman found the correct dress and shoved it at Lily, who caught it deftly. Lily was starting to look scared as she retreated to the fitting room. The third dress was even worse than the first. Mrs. Chapman shook her head vehemently.
"No," Mrs. Potter said. "Dark purple." That went with a no vote as well. Light green satin. "Hmm, I don't really think so, dear." Beige silk. "Close, but no cigar." Dark green velvet. "We're almost there—that'll work if there isn't anything else." Green satin with brown silk trim. "Never for a dance, but it looks nice for a costume party." Lily began to despair that there was a dress for her anywhere in the shop.
Finally, Mrs. Chapman decided she'd have to go back in the storage room. "Wait here, Lily," she commanded.
"Yes, ma'am," she said smartly. Eileen scrutinized the girl in front of her. She had changed back into the dark green velvet dress. There were tiny gold stars embroidered all over it. She looked like a medieval princess in the high-waisted dress.
"This is nice, but it doesn't fit your personality," she explained. "You need something light and maybe doubled. Velvet's just too heavy for you now."
Mrs. Chapman came back in, holding a dress in her arms. "Try this one—it's a double. The green first."
"Thanks, Mrs. Chapman," Lily said slowly, retreating into the fitting room. The five other women listened to the rustle of fabric as Lily fled into the dress.
Inside the fitting room, Lily was having some minor difficulties. It was green first, right? Okay—the green first. It was satin, light and cool. She smiled at the feel of the dress. It was almost like she was ten again, dressing up for a Christmas pageant at her primary school or something like that. She picked up the soft cream silk chiffon over-gown next. She slid it over her arms with cautious hands. Checking herself carefully, she boldly opened the door (with only a slight feeling of apprehension, she admitted).
Her teenage friends sighed with delight when they saw Lily. She wondered what she looked like, exactly.
"This white over-gown needs taking in—it's not nearly as clingy as it should be," Mrs. Chapman said through a mouthful of pins. "The dress underneath—it's too loose as well, the top anyway. I will fix that skirt too, it's gone a bit limp, but other than that, you look like an angel, Miss Lily. Tricky customer, eh?"
"Thanks, Mrs. Chapman," Lily said again. She hurried to change back into her own clothes, afraid she would mess up the gown if she wore it any longer than necessary.
"Lily, James will die," Hermione said with a giggle as Ginny walked up to Mrs. Chapman.
"I know, Hermione, you told me," she joked.
"Lily, that wasn't even funny," Hermione said. "I have got to be there!"
"You will be," Lily teased.
Ginny was watching Mrs. Chapman with a slightly scared look on her face.
"The other redhead," she smiled at the petite girl. "Let me see, you're pale—but not nearly as freckled as one would expect. Your eyes—very lovely deep aqua, aren't they? Let's try a— ruby." Ginny knew this wasn't going to go over, having tried to wear ruby herself. Nevertheless, she accepted the dress and retreated into the fitting room.
She carefully changed into the ruby velvet gown. She took one look at the dress and knew she'd never wear it, but she emerged from the fitting room with her elegant knot of braids starting to fall apart. She reached up and shoved a bobby pin back into the knot to keep the hair out of her face.
"No. Try yellow." Ginny tried the lemon-yellow satin. "No." Ginny tried pale blue velvet. "Definitely not." Ginny tried peach silk. "Hurry, go change." Ginny tried pale pink satin. "That hair clashes." Ginny tried emerald-green velvet with gold trimming. "Too heavy and that isn't your color, dearie."
"Lou, go check in back," Mrs. Potter ordered. "Preferably something blue-green. Green worked for Lily." Louise threw up her hands and went into the storeroom.
Not five minutes later, she reentered the room with an armful of sleek blue-green satin. "This will be perfect," Mrs. Chapman said with finality.
Ginny accepted the dress and hurried into the fitting room. Lily watched her carefully. "Ginny's going to hook Remus soon enough, especially if she wears that," she told Hermione matter-of-factly. "Opinion?"
"I know she will," Hermione smiled.
"So, how are you, Hermione? Besides overworked?" Lily asked, attempting to make conversation.
"That sums me up," Hermione said wryly. "You could look up overworked in the dictionary and find my picture next to it, I swear. I'm going to murder Binns the next time he gives us an essay."
"Hermione?"
"What?"
"He's already dead."
"Oh, right."
A/N: End it on a happy note, right? All you people who know i'm a hypocrite, plz review anyway!
I promise to give at least one good review on the next story I read if you do...
LysPotter
P.S. Do not spare the flames, I need them to burn my bacon!