Chapter 16: Blathering about Nothing

"This is perfect." Theia twisted around to glance at the back of the dress again. "Exactly what I was envisioning. I can't believe how well you read my mind, Magda."

The woman smiled gently at Theia, the lines around her bright blue eyes were deep but were filled with pride and determination as she flitted back down to the dress. She fiddled with the skirt and flicked her wand for a pair of scissors floating nearby to trim a thread that was poking through at the spot she was touching. She seemed to nod in satisfaction at her work once she'd deemed it complete.

"Bardzo ładnie," She muttered at her, "Very pretty. You are the most beautiful girl." Her English might be broken but her sentiment was genuine, and Theia blushed and smiled without making eye contact.

"Thank you, Magda. I feel beautiful."

He's going to die when he sees this, a victorious smile creeping over her features as the thought flooded her mind.

The gown was a shade of crimson red and made of silk so shiny it almost looked wet. Magda had tailored it to hug her waist tightly, with a hidden corset in the bodice to give it the slightest whisper of structure without being outwardly sexy, as was unfitting an underaged client. The neckline draped beautifully across her chest, not showing an overt amount of cleavage, but merely hinting at it. The sleeves, she had insisted, had to be thicker, but Theia had pleaded her way into just using multiple spaghetti straps to create the same effect so as not to overbalance the top of the dress. Magda had tried to insist that with the bodice as tailored as it was, it wasn't appropriate for a young girl to have so little covering her shoulders as well. But Theia had worn her down in time, knowing the dress really was served better with thinner straps at the top. The skirt flowed down beneath the bodice in a biased cut until about her mid to lower thigh and then fell straight down to the ground. It was slightly puddled at her feet, which Magda had purposely done to play off the wet silk look and had enchanted the fabric to avoid being underfoot. It literally moved itself out of the way so she didn't step on her own skirt, nor could others step on it and trip her. She was brilliant!

She looked like she had been dipped in red silk, it was practically dripping off her. But she didn't feel like if McGonagall saw her at the ball, she would send her straight back up to her dorm. She just had to be cautious about not being heavy-handed with her make-up so as not to look too mature.

"Bloody hell, Tay." Harper walked up silently behind her at the mirror in the small shop in Hogsmeade. "He is going to choke when he sees you."

Magda laughed along with the girls and rolled her eyes but looked a little like she wanted to take a victory lap at the same time.

"Your date?" She asked kindly.

"Not hers, but should've been," Harper replied bluntly.

"That's right! Make him think twice!" Magda wagged her finger like she was scolding a small child for breaking into the cookie jar before dinner.

"More like drool," Harper chuckled. Theia shot her a warning look and stuck her tongue out.

"I still can't believe you're not going, Harp. Magda, tell her, she only has one adolescence and she has to go to these embarrassing dances with me!"

The three of them laughed again and Magda shook her head good-naturedly.

"You don't want to go and dance with your girlfriends?"

Theia raised her eyebrows at Harper's reflection in the mirror as she stepped down to change out of the gown. Harper sputtered mildly before shaking her head violently in response to the woman.

"No, I already told you, Lily asked me to do rounds with her to catch people sneaking around outside the dance while all the professors are chaperoning."

"Yes, I heard about that," Theia replied from behind the curtain of the changing room. She laid her gown out on the chair in the room and let Magda enchant it into a garment bag when she came in after she was dressed back into her street clothes. "She weaseled out of going too by taking that duty!"

"Ha, doody."

Theia raised an unamused brow at her friend for the pathetic, childish joke.

"Speaking of Lily, we'd better go check on her." Theia's face took on a familiar downcast when she thought of her darling friend who was still so heartbroken over the betrayal by he-who-does-not-bathe but was refusing to admit it. It was why she was avoiding the dance because the aforementioned greaseball had taken to sleeping outside her common room entrance for the entire week after the incident. And had only relented when she had sicked the other prefects on him and made him leave the place alone or else be reported to the professors for creeping everyone out. She knew to avoid him more completely, she had to avoid public places. Hopefully, he would get the hint soon though, so Lily could go back to being her bright and bubbly self out in public instead of scurrying from one classroom to another and then back to her dorm at night.

Theia settled her final payment with Magda, giving her a hefty tip in several galleons that she refused to take back when Magda had tried to insist it was too much, and the girls walked out of the shop into the chilly November air. They hugged their coats around themselves tighter, Theia tucked her scarf in around her neck so she could nuzzle her face into it, and they started to make their way back up to the castle. They had been granted an extra Hogsmeade weekend by Dumbledore to do some final shopping before the dance and the end-of-semester exams that were fast approaching in December. The streets of the little village were sprinkled with groups of students, most huddled together against the cold wind.

When the girls made it back up to the castle, up through the winding and changing staircases that lead to Gryffindor Tower, they had peeled off their outer layers and their faces were pink with warmth.

Theia flipped open the bracelet on her wrist and sent a message to Lily.

Little pig little pig, let us in!

A minute or so later after she and Harper had caught their breath and were leaning up against the railing listening to the Fat Lady sing her newest song, Theia felt the bracelet heat and vibrate.

Huff and puff and blow the door down then!

Theia was chuckling while she showed Harper the reply when Lily pushed open the portrait and she was smiling with laughter in her eyes at the childhood rhymes they had exchanged.

"Thought you'd never show!" She said as the two Ravenclaws climbed through the portrait hole into the warm common room that was sparsely filled with students. "Did your dress come out all right, Thay?"

"Did it ever," Harper replied while Theia scoffed at the response.

"No, it really is gorgeous. You just have to have Magda make yours when you go next year. If I didn't already know she was a witch, I wouldn't understand how she makes such intensely magical garments."

"Good, I hope he chokes!" Lily said with a glitter of mischief in her eyes.

"Oh, the two of you! Honestly! You're both so bloody violent!" Theia whacked her two friends playfully as they made their way up the stairs to Lily's dorm. Lily paused before she opened the door and turned back to them with a timid and pained sort of look.

"Ren and Mary's dresses also arrived in the mail this morning. I'm not sure they've taken them off yet today. Just a fair warning." Her look of slight sympathy lingered on Theia's face, which she chose to ignore as they steeled themselves to walk in.

"Goodie," Harper said under her breath when Lily opened the door and walked in first.

Mary and Ren were indeed inside the dorm, although the former had apparently changed out of her formal attire and was sitting on her bed lounging in regular clothes watching her best friend prance around the room in her dress. Ren was decked out in a black ball gown. Under the right circumstances, it was a very pretty dress, if a little plain for Theia's taste. It was modeled after a ballerina tutu with a fitted black bodice wrapped in black tulle, and then a large black tulle skirt that went down to just above her ankles. She looked petite and chic in it, the style fitting with her classic look. As she twirled, the skirt fanned out slightly and swished back and forth in synch with her black bobbed hair. Paired with a red lip and a French twist, Ren could stun in that look, but Theia wasn't sure if she was in the mood to offer her pointers yet.

"Oh, Lily! Look how it moves when I twirl!" Ren was gleefully giggling along with Mary before she noticed the other visitors enter the room. "Oh, Theia! Harper! Hi! Our dresses came! Did you get yours?" She looked at Theia expectantly who was holding her garment bag draped over one arm.

"Mhmm," She raised the bag gently, "Just picked it up. Magda finished it beautifully. I still have to decide what shoes I'm wearing though." Theia changed the subject subtly to avoid having to don her own gown in front of the girls. She wanted everyone to be surprised when they saw it at the dance. She wanted everyone's unadulterated reactions all at once. And she certainly didn't want anyone's big mouth to ruin any of the surprise before the time came for her entrance.

"What are your options?" Ren asked Theia's reflection in the mirror she was still standing in front of. "I only have one set of heels, and they're over there with Mary. She said she had a charm to make them more comfortable if you want to try it out!"

"I read it in Witch Weekly!" Mary replied, "I already tried it out on mine and Ren's shoes, it really seems to work!"

Theia chuckled at the two girls' animated reactions. Their energy levels were a stark contrast to the one she was used to living with in her dorm, and she was starting to wonder how Lily ever got any rest in Gryffindor Tower.

"That's alright, I've practiced quite a lot in my heels, once you get the right walk down, they're not as uncomfortable."

"Yet another reason I'm glad we aren't going," Harper murmured to Lily who was seated with her on her bed watching the scene unfold. Theia narrowed her eyes at the pair of them as Lily stifled a laugh and nodded along with the sentiment.

"Lame ducks, the both of you!"

"So, what do you think Dexter is going to say when he sees you, Theia?" Mary asked innocently.

Despite all the speculation that Reggie Atwater would ask Theia for the third time to the dance and finally be successful, he had found a girlfriend he seemed quite smitten with in his own year. So, when Sally Chang had been asked out by another seventh-year, Dexter had asked Theia if she would go with him as friends. The boy didn't fail his house certainly, he was far cleverer and more perceptive than any other teenage boy his age. He knew Theia didn't get to go with who she wanted to, although she suspected he thought it was Reggie, and he didn't get to go with Sally, so he had orchestrated this compromise so they could both go without any of the awkwardness of a first date at a dance. They were friends from the quidditch pitch, so it was bound to be a fun night. It made Theia slightly squeamish that she was using such a killer dress on a fake date, but she didn't think Dexter would get the wrong idea when she showed up looking the way she would. She was also planning on acting outwardly like it was a real date, and she had warned Dexter she only had one dress to wear, whether it was a friend-date or a real one. He had laughed that off and reassured her he only had one set of dress robes so he'd be dressed to match and by the end of the night maybe their should-have-been-dates would be jealous of all the fun they had.

"I imagine not much for the first thirty seconds or so," Theia smirked.

"Ahh! I love it!" Ren squealed again with glee.

"I never would have pictured you two together, but I guess it makes sense since you both like quidditch."

"They both play quidditch, you mean." Harper corrected Mary who blushed and giggled at her blunder.

"Yeah, well I think he's as good of a date as any I guess," Theia shrugged nonchalantly.

"So, you don't like him like him?" Ren's face was slightly crestfallen.

Before Theia could answer, Lily interrupted them.

"Oh Theia, you'll be wanting to drop that dress off at Ravenclaw before dinner I'd guess?"

"Oh um, yeah, preferably."

"Let's go then, shall we? We'll meet you down there!"

Lily extricated the three of them from the dorm quickly, leaving Harper and Theia confused since Lily rarely left Gryffindor lately, and usually only in larger groups.

"M'sorry, I just couldn't with the third-degree questioning anymore!" Lily shook her head as they descended the staircase back into the main common room. As they made their way across the common room, Theia glanced around and spotted the boys. Sirius looked up from his spot in the corner with James and Peter who were both bent over the map they were finalizing, and his classic smirk lit up his face. He stood up, causing James and Peter to glance up at him and when they spotted Theia with Lily and Harper, James quickly looked abashed and darted his eyes back down to the paper on the table.

Peter waved and shouted, "Hey Ethee!" But he stayed seated as Sirius made his way across the room quickly. Lily and Harper kept walking since Lily wasn't ready to talk to any of the boys other than Remus yet.

"Hello love," he said as he stopped in front of her.

"Love?" Theia quirked an eyebrow at him, challenging this new pet name. He was dabbling in using it with increasing frequency but had yet to use it on her. She was still mostly Ethee or Nyx.

"Just trying it on," he said as another devious little smirk blossomed on his face. "Just wanted to say thank you for the birthday present."

"Oh, did you like it?"

"Haven't broken into it yet, but I'm sure I will. Wanted to save it for an occasion we could share it. Maybe after the dance? If you're not otherwise busy…"

"Mmm, I'm not sure what my afterparty plans are yet actually, I was going to check with Lils to see how late her hall monitoring has to go on for after the dance finishes, and if Harper and I could sneak up."

"Well, if you're not going to a party in Ravenclaw Tower, you're always welcome here with us," he said casually. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of him inviting her to an after-party when they had different dates. Even though her date wasn't a romantic one, Sirius didn't know that and she didn't want to outright ditch Dexter without checking with him first, though she was sure he wouldn't actually mind.

"Are you sure? I seem to recall your date is terribly excited to spend the evening with you," Her voice was low and just the slightest bit taunting. Sirius paled ever so slightly. He hadn't brought up what happened in the Great Hall with James, Ren, and her since it had happened. Theia had resisted sifting through the ether to see the scene that she imagined had unfolded back in Gryffindor Tower that night when James would have had to explain his actions.

After letting Sirius squirm for a heartbeat or two, she shook her head causing her hair to ripple around her and frame her face. "I guess we'll see how the night goes." She winked at Sirius as she waved goodbye to Peter and James, who both waved back. Sirius stood there and watched her exit the common room, unsure where exactly he stood at the end of that conversation. His frustration with his best friend blossomed anew as he made his way back to his seat.

"What'd Ethee want?" James asked without looking up.

"She got her dress," Peter remarked. Sirius hadn't thought about the garment bag she'd been holding. It wasn't as big as the one Ren had received in the mail that morning, something he didn't really want to think about honestly. He sat there blankly for a second and then thumped James hard in the arm next to him.

"Ow! Bloody hell, what was that for?"

"You and your stupid fucking plans, mate. You've gone and cocked it all up. Or I have because you just bloody had to call spades." Sirius pointed his finger at James' face who was looking put out and rubbing his sore arm. "You bloody owe me."

"I know, I know." James groaned. "If Snivellus hadn't gone and—well you know. It might've worked. But now she's not even going."

"You still need to ask someone, ya'know," Peter remarked. James scowled and looked away.

"Damn right, you don't get to cock up my date and then not go. Just pick a random bird and get it over with. You're putting entirely too much thought into it."

"Eh. What's the point?" James sighed. "I'll just go stag. It'll be more fun not having to worry about stepping on someone's dress all night anyway."

"I'll go stag with you!" Peter replied excitedly, he had put off asking anyone due to the fact most people overlooked him when he walked around with James, Sirius, and Remus all day. He didn't feel like he measured up, he wasn't as boisterous and funny as James, nor as handsome and charming as Sirius, nor as witty and clever as Remus. He was just Peter.

"Going stag together is a date, Petey!" Sirius barked out a sharp laugh. James joined in and Peter reluctantly did after a couple of seconds though he felt a bit like he was laughing at himself.

"That's alright, Petey. We'll have more fun, I'll bring the firewhiskey!" James winked as he loudly fake-whispered behind one hand and pushed a laughing Sirius away with the other.