A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Word count: 466
"I don't see how you managed to talk me into this, Lily."
"I talked you into because you're curious and lonely and you know there's better people out there an Vernon," Lily answered, wrinkling her nose at his name. "Besides, you like shopping, Alice likes shopping, and I don't like listening to you spend an hour comparing two identical dresses,"she added. Petunia couldn't argue with that. Lily was one of those people who made a list and stuck to it. Petunia liked the experience of shopping, of searching for the perfect thing, and sometimes finding something you didn't even know you needed. That was the reason she and Lily were meeting Lily's friend Alice at the mall.
"Has she ever shopped at a, you know, store?"
"Muggle? Yes, she has, and she's very good at fitting in. Be nice," Lily hissed. "There she is!"
Petunia followed Lily's gaze and her mouth nearly dropped open. The woman standing there was beautiful. Her blond hair was tucked into a pink and black plaid hat, her skirt was the latest style from Paris, Petunia didn't even have one like that yet, and when Alice looked up at them, Petunia swore she could hear music playing in the background.
"Alice, this is my sister, Petunia."
"Petunia, this is Alice. You two have fun looking at dresses or deciding which jacket is better. I'm going to hit the food court," Lily said, bouncing away from them.
"She is something else."
"She is, so Lily said you like shopping?"
"Love it,and I love your skirt!
"Thank you! No one seems to notice things like fashion at school, then again most of them, well, you know," Alice said with a shrug. Petunia knew exactly what Alice meant. Lily talked about nothing but magic when she was home, that and how different everything was. Apparently fashion wasn't nearly as important at her school.
"Let's hit Nix's, I heard a rumor they got some imported scarves," Petunia suggested, wondering why she was picturing Alice in a pale green scarf, about it would look with her hair, about how it would look sliding down her bare shoulders. No, she was definitely not going to think about that. Her wandering eyes, looking at girls, had been one of the main reasons she and Vernon had broken up.
"Sure, I need to get some earrings too, something large and dangly," Alice answered. They started walking, their hands swaying by their sides. Every once in awhile their fingers would brush against one another. After the fifth time, Petunia's fingers curled around Alice's. Alice didn't pause, didn't say anything, but the smile on her face widened. Petunia couldn't help but think she'd have to thank Lily after this, after all, this was apparently exactly what she needed and exactly who.