Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue...I'm donating it all to the 40-hour famine anyway, so there's no point...
On with the Story:
Chapter 11: Dresses and Dates
Inside the fitting room, Ginny picked the dress up with careful hands. It was a tight-fitting top with a delicately flaring skirt, blue-green satin with vines embroidered on the top and skirt. The front tapered into a triangular waist, and the sleeves were long and loose, draping off the wearer's arm. The ruffles on the edges were supposed to cover all but the fingertips, she assumed. Or maybe just to the wrist, if you wanted to dance in it. A piece of fluttery material—blue-green chiffon—fell out of the dress.
She picked it up. There was a note attached to it in what she assumed was Mrs. Chapman's handwriting.
This veil should be sold with the dress, especially in the event of the dress being sold for Elizabeth's annual Christmas ball. Can be easily fixed to hair with pins.
Ginny's eyebrows raised ever so slightly. She fled into the dress (which fit her perfectly, in her opinion), and then picked up the veil and folded it.
She left the fitting room holding the veil. She handed it to Mrs. Chapman, who looked at it with sudden recognition.
"This would look lovely in your hair, Ginny was it?" Ginny nodded. Mrs. Chapman stretched it out in front of the redhead to confirm. She nodded with a smile on her face.
Eileen spoke up. "I don't think there's anything to be done. It looks like it was made for you, Ginny."
"And every dress that perfectly compliments a person's figure has been made for them," Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Chapman chorused.
"You know my mannerisms too well, Liz," Mrs. Chapman laughed. "However, I need to take Miss Ginny's bodice in. It's a little too large. And the skirt needs to be a bit longer. The sleeves seem to be in order. Hold that, they need to be let out. So, I'll have that for you later, Ginny. Liz's is the only one I don't need to adjust. You can take it today, or pick it up when everyone else gets theirs, whichever you'd prefer to do."
"Later," Mrs. Potter decided. "If you don't mind?"
"Of course not, Liz," Mrs. Chapman said courteously. Ginny changed back into her clothes. The girls, one by one, paid for the dresses they'd pick up "on Christmas Eve—the morning, you know, not that night!"
"So we're all set?" Eileen asked. The girls and her mother nodded, stowing their moneybags back in their pockets.
"Let's go, then. See you soon, Lou," Mrs. Potter waved as they left the shop. Mrs. Chapman waved back at her friend.
"There," Eileen said. "That was fun, wasn't it?"
"You know," Elizabeth speculated, "I think it would be fun to make this year's ball a masque." She smiled at the looks on the three teenagers' faces. "That just means you'd have to devise a mask. It'd work out, because both Hermione's and Lily's gowns look somewhat medieval—masques were common in those days. It's a fun custom, actually. You'll probably recognize a lot of them even with their masks—and of course it will be optional, do I look like I'd force someone to wear a mask? Does that sound like fun?" Mrs. Potter looked at the four others expectantly.
"Yes," the four others chorused.
"Good. I'm sending out invitations today. You can come with or without a date," Eileen finalized. "So don't be surprised if one of the boys comes to ask you to go to the ball with him— it's nothing new or serious."
"Okay," the girls agreed.
It was the day before Christmas Eve. Lily, Hermione, and Ginny were all sitting on Ginny's bed. Ginny had shown the Time Traveler's Guide to Hermione. Hermione had been fascinated with the tome and had later given it to Lily. Now they were discussing what would happen to their other selves.
"Well, I'll obviously stay alive now," Lily said. "I'll be able to raise Harry—but no, Harry's already my age."
"Who knows? You could have girls this time around!" Hermione exclaimed. Ginny shook her head with a laugh.
"No, I have a feeling Harry's clone will be born," Ginny smiled. "Maybe he'll have little sisters after that, but I know he will be born."
"Who're you, Professor Oracle?" Ilisinia Oracle taught Divination.
"No, I was thinking more along the lines of a true Seer," Lily said seriously. "Oracle is totally oblivious. Cassandra Trelawney, for instance, was a true Seer. You know, she would be so much a better teacher then Oracle. Too bad she's dead," she added.
At the mention of the name "Trelawney," Hermione and Ginny fell into a bout of helpless laughter. "Trelawney!" Hermione choked out. "That idiot!"
"Not Cassandra," Ginny assured her friend. "Her great-great-granddaughter Sybill. She's as much of a fake as Oracle is. More, actually."
"Oh," Lily said, understanding. "Isn't she the one who made the prophecy Sirius, James and I were killed over?"
"Yes, but she was a fake pretty much otherwise. I think she made about one other true prediction in her entire life. She enjoyed telling Harry that he would die a horrible, gruesome death—when he was young. Except when Harry put out what really happened when Tom— Voldemort—came back to life. Then she said that Harry would live to a ripe old age, become Minister of Magic, and have twelve children," Ginny explained.
"Positively lovely," Lily deadpanned. That set Hermione off again. Her squeaking laugh made Lily and Ginny cringe a little. "Hermione!" Lily exclaimed.
"You know, you laugh like a mouse," Harry commented as he entered the room. "Want to come with us? We're looking for a Christmas tree—and we're allowed to use magic to bring it back, even Ginny because they won't know whose wand did it."
"Well, with the size of Christmas tree we want, it's going to take a strong Wingardium Leviosa to lift it," Sirius drawled from the doorway.
"Ron's your man," Hermione smiled dryly. "He's the one who knocked a fully-grown troll out with its own club."
"You suggested it," Ron muttered, his ears turning bright red at the mention of the way the first-year Ron had taken out a mountain troll. Successfully, however. Harry snickered slightly in the background. "Shut up, Harry."
"So I did," Hermione said brightly, smiling at Sirius. "Are we going to find Sirius's colossal Christmas tree, or would you prefer to stay here?"
The Christmas tree, in all honesty, had to be about twenty feet tall. However, it fit perfectly in the entrance hall. It took numerous charms to decorate the whole thing—Hermione and Lily did most of the decorating, Ginny taking second. James, Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Harry were told firmly to "step back and don't get in the way". Lily successfully planted the star on the top of the tree, with the use of a levitation charm on the ornament.
"Think we're done," James said with delight as the last decorations were conjured and levitated onto the tree.
"So do I," Lily said with a sigh. "It looks nice, doesn't it? At least, it's not hideous. Especially Hermione's angel over there."
"Well, you did the decorations, practically, because you didn't want anything to clash. It looks very nice," James conceded.
"Did James Potter just compliment me without asking me out?" Lily asked in mock-astonishment. "Someone fetch a doctor! Preferably one from the mental hospital! I think we need to get James here checked over for insanity."
"Hey!" James exclaimed. "All I said was that the tree looked nice. Especially your star on the top," he said a little shyly.
"Speaking of asking people out," Sirius picked up with a devil-may-care smile. "Hermione, would you like to go to the ball with me? Just for fun and all," he hastened to add. He looked at her, anticipating her answer.
"Sure, Sirius," Hermione said, blushing furiously.
She likes him, Ginny realized, taken aback. Although she should have seen it before, them being so close. A hand touched her shoulder lightly. She spun around abruptly. "Oh, hello, Remus," she said with a brighter blush than Hermione's. She was sure her entire face was on fire. Lily coughed—it sounded suspiciously like "Major crush!" Hermione responded, "Both of them," in another ill-concealed cough. Ginny glared very fiercely at both of them, daring them to say that aloud. They didn't.
"Would you go to the ball with me, Ginny?" he asked awkwardly. Then he smiled, and Ginny couldn't help but smile back.
"Of course I will," she consented. "Sounds like fun."
"I wonder if Miss Lily has a date," James asked the ceiling. Or the tree, depending on how you looked at it.
"James, are you expecting the ceiling to answer you?" Ginny asked. "I would suggest asking Lily instead."
"Oh, right," James said hastily. "Look, Lily, I'm not asking you to go out with me. But…Do you want to go to the ball with me?"
"I'd love to, James," Lily giggled. James looked astonished. Did she just giggle? He was confused.
"You said yes, then?"
"I think that has been established, Prongs," Sirius deadpanned. The group of friends started laughing as if there were no tomorrow. After all, Ginny thought, why waste the time you've got? Especially with Voldemort on the loose.
It was Christmas Eve. Ginny, Hermione, and Lily had offered to get the two older women's dresses for them. They had accepted, and now the three teenagers had ventured out into Godric's Hollow, hoping desperately that they wouldn't get lost, trying to find Mrs. Chapman's little but elegant establishment.
Their fears were unfounded. They found the little shop without too much difficulty. Mrs. Chapman looked up from what appeared to be accounts as the door opened, the little bell informing her that she had visitors.
"Hello, ladies!" she said gaily, putting down her pen. She disappeared behind the counter for a moment, emerging with five hangers, the dresses themselves covered with canvas to protect the fabric.
"I'll just need one of you to sign this," she explained as she pushed a clipboard toward them. "The line that starts with Elizabeth." Ginny found the correct line and signed her name on the line labeled 'Signature'. The woman handed them the dresses.
"Am I right in assuming that you are all Hogwarts students?" she asked.
The girls nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, this is an all-wizarding village, practically. I went there as well—I was in the Ravenclaw house. Tell me, is that annoying Bilius Binns still there? He taught in my years, and no one could stay awake through his lectures—even the best students like Elizabeth fell asleep."
"Yes," Ginny and Lily chorused. "He's a ghost now, actually. Still teaches, though." Ginny winked at the dressmaker.
"Do his lectures still put people to sleep?"
"Yes," Ginny answered. "But Lily and Hermione can take notes in the bloody class." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, you'll have to tell me your secret someday. I'll be seeing you tonight, girls! Later, at the ball, don't forget to say hello!"
"We won't, Mrs. Chapman," they chorused as they left the shop, each carrying two dresses except for Lily, who was carrying only one.
"So when do you suggest we start getting ready?" Ginny asked as Lily discreetly levitated the dresses back to the mansion.
"Four," Hermione said as Lily said, "Three."
"Why don't we ask Eileen what she's planning to do, and do the same as her?" Ginny suggested sensibly.
"Good idea," Hermione agreed. Lily nodded.
"So, we'll ask Eileen what her plans are. Agreed?" Ginny asked.
"Agreed," the other two girls said. They walked along in silence for a few moments before Hermione blurted out, "Do you think Sirius will like my dress?"
Ginny laughed. Lily couldn't help but join in. "And to think, he's about twenty-one years older than you," Ginny said in a whisper as she sighed, shaking her head. "Hermione, I never thought you went for older men…it's a bit of a surprise, I must say."
"Ginny! Like Remus isn't more than two decades older than you," Hermione began heatedly. Just admit we both have crazy crushes and stick with it."
"Well, you want to see someone with a really crazy crush, look at Lily over there," Ginny countered, effectively halting the redhead's full-throated laughter.
"Hey!"
Eileen had suggested they start at five, seeing as the ball didn't begin until eight o'clock. The girls readily agreed. They returned to debating the advantages to introducing the Wolfsbane Potion early.
"Well," Lily said, "you should wait, considering that it's someone else's invention."
"What if we made it—but just for Remus until Mr. Belby invented it?" Ginny asked.
"That's still infringement on a patent."
"But we can't just let him think there's no hope, can we?" Ginny persisted.
"What makes you so sure we'll be able to make it?" Hermione countered. "It's one of the most complex potions there is—and we don't have directions, do we, Ginny!" She knew she had a copy of the directions in the pocket of the robes she'd been wearing during their time jump, but Ginny didn't—right?
"We can, and do, because I know you have the directions in the pocket of the robes I—er— borrowed."
"You stole my clothes with no reason," Hermione said flatly. It was not a question. "Are you sure this is really Ginny Weasley speaking? Because I'm starting to have doubts, however much you may look like Miss Weasley."
"It's me," she blushed. "Who else is going to the ball with their major crush…and favorite werewolf," she added, bright red to the roots of her hair. "I think I'm probably the only girl in the wizarding world doing that."
"Umm—can I get back to you on that?" Lily joked.
"Not funny. I know you two are going with your crushes—don't even try to deny it, Hermione, I saw the way you looked at him! And guess what? I got Mrs. Potter to invite Amelia, Lynn, Frank, and Alice! I didn't think Amelia would be in favor the idea, but suggested her anyway—it's no fun without Amelia."
"Sure, good idea, Gin!" Lily exclaimed. "Let's get back to our rooms now—I'm into the Time-Turners section of the time travel book now."
"You're reading it again?" Ginny asked.
"Naturally," she said offhandedly. "It's always better the second time." Ginny rolled her eyes as she opened the door and each girl retreated to their respective rooms, for some down time before preparation for the ball. Ginny, for her part, was busy daydreaming about…well, a certain werewolf. Hermione was wrapped up in a book—what a surprise. Lily was going over her dress one last time, determined not to look like an idiot in front of James. Ginny could hear her arguing with herself through the door, and chuckled at the words Lily was using.
The girls soon learned that preparing for a Potter Christmas Eve ball with Eileen Arthurson was actually quite fun.
"The idea here is to look like you're perfectly at ease. Even though I know some of us magical folk aren't accustomed to Muggle formal attire. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember, so I'm used to it," she began when they had all congregated on her bed in the room, ready to prepare for the celebration.
Each girl took a warm shower—for the second time that day—and then washed their hair separately. Then they put on a slip—what Eileen called an "under-dress—clever, actually!" Eileen then looked over each of them to confirm what to do with their hair. She had to think a bit for each girl before reaching a decision—either to act now or not.
"Ginny, definitely something like those braids at Aunt Louise's—only a little more elaborate, of course—Lily, I reserve judgement until you get yourself dressed, and Hermione, I think I've got just the thing for you, although it looks great down. You just need a little bit more, maybe something that frames your face; you've got a nice chin—
"Now, Ginny, I'm going to braid your hair—I'm not an expert, so it might pull, but Muggle braids hold up better than magical ones, so this is the best way to this." Whatever Eileen said to the contrary, she was the expert hairstylist of the group. She wove lengths of glittering silver cord into Ginny's long roan-colored braids easily. She pinned the braids up in a very intricate pattern with a wave of her wand and a few Muggle bobby pins just for good measure. She pronounced Ginny "perfect" after a little scrutiny and shooed her off to go get her dress—since she'd forgotten it—"Accident, I swear!" she insisted. Eileen cocked an eyebrow at that story, as if to say, "And you expect me to believe that? Likely story!" Ginny just smiled, presumably innocently and left the room.
Lily had already changed into her dress—well, the green part at least—and Eileen circled her thoughtfully. "You know, Lily, you're a tricky girl. We can't find the right dress for twenty minutes straight, I don't have the faintest idea what I'm going to do with your hair, and Merlin help us when we get to makeup!"
Lily blushed. "Not my fault," she muttered. "Did I ask for red hair? Whoever does must be out of their mind."
"I agree," Ginny said as she entered the room, carrying the dress with a little difficulty. "I'll just go change now," she added unnecessarily when the other three young women turned to look admonishingly at her.
"You had better, Ginny Weasley!" Eileen exclaimed, hands on her hips. "Get in there now and put that dress on!"
"Yes, ma'am!" she said meekly, walking quickly into the dressing room of the huge suite. They could hear her talking snippily to the dress behind the door. Lily and Hermione exchanged exasperated but knowing looks. Eileen just looked a little disconcerted.
"Hmm, I think…Yes," Eileen said with finality. "Lily dear, come here, if you would. I've got an idea, but it would take upside of an hour to do all the work. I'll give you a magic for the foundation of the style, but the rest I'll do by hand—forgive me if I pull. I'm not the gentlest person in the world."
She waved her wand in a complex motion and Lily's curly red hair flew back from her face, caught up in dozens of tiny ponytails and straightened. The long, red mane seemed to be parted right inside the scalp; right from where it originated. Lily looked a little surprised at her reflection in the mirror she was holding. Eileen sat her down on the floor, sat herself in a chair, and began to interlock the miniscule bunches of hair in an intricate and remarkably difficult design.
She had made a veritable maze of half of Lily's hair when she exclaimed, "Ah! Finished!" She then removed the straightening charm on the rest of her hair, leaving it to cascade in gentle curls to her elbows.
"Lily!" Hermione breathed. "You look wonderful—I don't think even Harry's photo album has such a wonderful picture of you! Of course, this probably never happened in that time," she mused.
"What would you be willing to bet that it didn't?" Lily said dryly. "I'm sure if you so much as dropped as much as a matchstick—and landed in a secluded part of the Sahara Desert—that you would have irrevocably changed history."
"Yes, that's why Time-Travel is so illegal!" Hermione exclaimed. "There's a big chance of changing absolutely everything that happened! Like we did," she thought belatedly. "We've broken so many rules! We've done wrong on so many levels! Lily, I think the penalty for something like we've done is a damned Memory-wipe—of everything, not just specific memories! Or even Azkaban!"
"Language, Hermione," Lily teased. "So what? They don't have to know you spilled the entire future to those it would most affect!" she said brightly. "They don't even have to know you're from the future!"
"How will that look on our résumé? We don't even have parents in this world," she fretted uselessly. Lily put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Hermione, decide your work future later. Let Eileen do your hair now," Lily interceded on Eileen's behalf.
"Sorry," Hermione blushed, levering herself off her seat on the bed. "Getting worked up over nothing."
"Such a common trait in our Hermione," Ginny said as she exited the dressing room, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips. Hermione sat down abruptly.
"Ginny!" Lily exclaimed. "You look great!" Ginny smiled nervously. The sleeves, true to Mrs. Chapman's word, had been lengthened, and now covered all but her fingertips. The bodice had been taken in until it looked like it had been molded onto Ginny. The skirt also touched the floor all around the barefooted girl.
"You do have tall white heels, right?" Eileen asked. Ginny pulled the bag that had contained her dress over to her, reached in, and pulled out a pair of tan, heeled shoes. She smiled deviously, tapped them with her wand, and said clearly, "Colore Blanc!" The shoes immediately turned a pale cream. Ginny's shoulders dropped and she tapped them insistently with her wand. They obediently turned snowy white. She rolled her eyes and slipped them on her feet. Eileen inspected the petite redhead carefully.
"Good," Eileen said finally, looking away and toward Hermione before she said sharply to the brunette, "Hermione, get yourself over here immediately." Hermione, startled, jumped off the bed and sat meekly before the older woman, who fretted for a moment longer before having an immediate epiphany.
"Okay. Hermione, this may tickle a bit. It's a little charm I'm going to use." With a muttered incantation that none of the girls could make out, Hermione's hair relaxed even more, into longer, loose curls. "There," she said with satisfaction. She waved her wand haphazardly and caught deftly the white-gold-colored star barrette (well, sort of, it looked more like a cookie cutter) she had just conjured. She waved the wand one more time and half Hermione's hair swept up into Eileen's beckoning hand. She fastened the barrette (/cookie cutter-type-thing) in Hermione's hair and watched in satisfaction as the curls tumbled out of the barrette (/cookie cutter-type-thing) in a star shape.
"Now you go change while I start finding Lily's makeup," she commanded—"Well, don't change—you know what I mean."
"Of course," Hermione's eyes danced as she picked her dress up off the bed and walked into the dressing room.
Eileen, meanwhile, pulled out every drawer of her vanity table in the corner and unloaded every possible makeup kit she could.
"I keep it especially for Mum's dances," she said with a blush. "I got tired of having the wrong color every time I got a new dress."
"Eileen, you haven't done your hair or put your dress on yet!" Lily exclaimed. "Are you going to be ready in time?"
"That's why I said five," she giggled, quite odd in a woman her age—and nothing like the Eileen Arthurson they were used to. "Really, with magic, we could have waited until six. And as for that, you three are going to have to help me."
"Okay," Ginny agreed readily. Lily nodded in consent, and a muffled, "Of course, Eileen," came from Hermione in the dressing room.
"Hurry up!" Eileen said absently as she picked up a case that held contrasting pale and bright colors. "Lily, move, I need you front and center, pronto!" Lily shook her head in exasperation and trotted obediently over to Eileen. She had never been really interested makeup—she preferred her natural appearance to an altered one, and she knew that people liked her anyway, so she never really worried about it.
The next half-hour was spent on makeup. Eileen was skilled with this too—"As I said, I've been doing this for as long as I can remember!"—and knew exactly how to accentuate their best features (and make their worst features look good).
"Eileen, go get dressed and then we can help with your hair," Ginny ordered. Eileen saluted her with a giggle and went to change into her dress.
Eileen had long, long black hair—meaning it wasn't very easy to style. Ginny, Hermione, and Lily pulled it this way and that for the better part of an hour. Eileen finally sighed gustily. "I think I'm going to do something similar to what Ginny's done with hers. Is there anyone who'd be any great shakes at braiding my hair?"
"Hermione, you do that side and I'll do this one," Lily said decisively. She gathered Eileen's hair into two bunches.
"I can't braid to save my life," Hermione confessed.
"Let me instead," Ginny jumped in. "Hermione, go have a bite to eat." She seized the bunch of hair Lily handed her and divided it into three parts. She began to braid the long, heavy hair in with some red and gold cord she found on the table in front of her, to emphasize both the raven-haired woman's dress and her illustrious Gryffindor heritage.
"Give me some of that!" Lily ordered.
"Look, this is only going to last my braid."
"There's no more," Lily floundered.
"Are you mad? Are you a witch or not!" Ginny screeched, pointing to Lily's wand, which lay on the vanity table. Lily picked it up, a little abashed.
"Oh, right," Lily said, embarrassed. "Duplicado," she said clearly. She then began braiding the cord into her braid as well.
"Eileen, I think we'd need extensive amounts of Muggle bobby pins to pin your hair up, so I've got a better idea—it was how Lavender wore her hair at the Yule ball—no, it was Katie Bell, it was." Ginny casually flicked her wand and the braids pinned themselves to either side of her head in a coiled knot. Lily clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Hermione, don't you agree? Oh, Eileen, it works perfectly with the dress!"
She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "Good one, Ginny." She picked up her personal makeup kit and popped the lid open. "Now let Hermione do the makeup," she ordered. "I don't want to know what Ginny's tastes are, and Lily's already helped out." Lily shrugged, and Ginny smiled, pointing to the food that Hermione had been picking at earlier. "Okay," Hermione said dubiously. Whatever she said to the contrary, Hermione obviously was no stranger to cosmetics. When she had finished (about fifteen hesitant minutes later), Eileen's red dress caused her pale skin to stand out. She looked like an ethereal princess, with her alabaster complexion emphasized and her long hair carefully arranged around the pale skin to give it an extra flair. Ginny and Lily, who had been having a small supper before the ball, smiled at her as she arose. She picked up her mask and red veil. She somehow fixed the veil to her head and then put the mask to her face, where it molded to fit her features.
"What was that?" Hermione asked interestedly.
"It's charmed," Lily supplied. "I think I know it, we could—" Lily stopped suddenly, a calculating look on her face.
"Relax, I charmed them all," Eileen placated. "Now, Ginny, bring me your veil and I'll put it on for you."
Ginny held out the fluttery piece of silk. Eileen leaned over her vanity and pulled a few pins out of her drawer.
She jabbed them through the veil and into Ginny's hair. When Ginny looked again, the veil looked rather like a loose and open snood over her deep red hair. It extended past her hair to brush her bare neck and blue-green-satin-cloaked shoulders. "Thanks, Eileen!" she said excitedly to the twenty-six-year-old. Ginny picked up her white mask, waited as it molded to her flesh, and fled out the door to take her old stuff to her room.
A/N: Sorry about all that, but I'm a sucker for nice clothes.
ANOTHER CHAPPIE!
YAY. Okay, I'm a little strange...next chappie has more RLGW action!
LysPotter