Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no profit from the writing of this story. The characters that are not OFC or OMC belong to J.K. Rowling. The movies are the property of Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films.

Harriet Potter: What it is like to be a witch

Chapter Twenty-Three: Bridesmaid Dress Fitting in France

Within half an hour of finishing breakfast, Harry along with everyone else changed into smarter yet still casual clothing. Entering the luxury bridal boutique dressed in jeans and a jumper was not something you did.

Since the weather was supposed to be clear and a mild summers day in Paris, Harry opted for a subtle amount of makeup, black dress pants and a silk cream blouse with a pussy bow tie. She decided against a jacket and finished the assemble with black patent leather ballet flats and her Chinese fireball purse.

Once everyone was ready saw the group of five, consisting of Fleur, Harry, Ginny, Remus, and Tonks, flooing to an international halfway point to receive their international portkey to take them to the wizarding area of Paris.

Bill had been kind enough to call in a favour and had arranged for the two-way portkey. It would take them there and bring them back to the current halfway point.

They were informed by the wizard who had the portkey that they had a total of four hours before the portkey would reactivate, and if those returning were not touching said portkey they would be left behind in Paris.

The wizard handed the portkey to Remus and said they had forty seconds to all be touching the portkey before it activated. Remus quickly held out the portkey and the others quickly moved in close and made sure they had a firm grip.

It was fifteen seconds later they all felt the telltale tug behind their navels, before they were gone. A few minutes later they landed in an alleyway in Paris that was a five-minute walk from the bridal salon.

Harry grumbled in annoyance as she righted herself and cast a quick cleaning charm. The last thing at this point she wanted was to turn up at some luxury bridal boutique covered in soot. It was hardly the impression she wished to make during her second visit and in front of Fleur's family.

Ginny and Fleur exchanged a knowing glance with Tonks as they heard the annoyed grumbling coming from Harry. Remus shot Harry an amused glance, as at this point if she was not emptying the contents of her stomach, then it was best not to comment. Still his clear amusement earned him a stink eye.

The group of five soon made it to the boutique and could clearly see inside that the Delacour's had arrived along with the cousins and were waiting for their arrival.

They looked up when Fleur opened the door. The group of women beamed and made their way over to Fleur and started embracing and chatting with her and exchanging the typical air kisses to the cheek that the French were known for.

Gabrielle separated from Fleur and the rest of her family to come over and greet everyone else. She remembers vividly the first appointment Harry attended for the wedding, and everyone saw her for the first time as a female.

Gabrielle had honestly surprised herself with how quickly she accepted and got over Harry now being female. As for her crush since the Triwizard tournament, well it was safe to say her crush was served a very quick death, it being all to easy to get over a girlhood crush when the object of your affection was another female, particularly when you yourself like boys. Oh yes, an extremely quick death indeed.

Apolline Delacour was also very accepting and sympathised with James and Lily Potter when explained to her the reason for concealing their daughter's true self, and Fleur reminded her of the rumours of that wizard four years ago. Apolline considered the British old fashioned for holding onto such ridiculous and sexist notions of a woman being weaker and incapable compared to a man.

This was Harry, Ginny and the other bridesmaids final fitting and they would be taking their dresses home that same day. Fleur had already had her final fitting and was due to collect the final product three days before the wedding.

As Ginny was led away to a nearby dressing room, Harry quietly told Fleur her concerns about the earlier appointment. She explained how she thought the seamstress had taken in the waist and bodice too much, and she feared for her circulation, and that her cleavage was too on display for her comfort.

She said, "I am seventeen Fleur, and the amount of cleavage I am showing would not look out of place on someone Tonks age. Plus, I figured the guests were coming to the wedding to see you and Bill wed and not my breasts."

Fleur said apologetically. "I am sorry Harry; I did not realise you felt that way. And of course, my parents did not approve or allow me to show a certain amount of skin until I was eighteen regardless of already being of age. I imagine your parents would have not approved either."

Remus who had overheard the question cleared his throat getting their attention. He said quietly, "Indeed, they would not have approved, and if Lily did not say anything then you can bet on James or Sirius saying something without a doubt."

Fleur nodded and said, "Ok, I am glad you said something now, so we have time to correct the issue. I will have my maman talk with the seamstress and tell her to take the bodice out more. No use Harry being uncomfortable during the wedding."

Fleur took her maman to one side and quietly explained what Harry had told her. Apolline instantly agreed and went to speak with one of the seamstresses, though silently she was thinking to herself glad that the younger witch mentioning this issue meant she did not want to take the attention from Fleur and Bill.

So, when it was Harry's turn, she was taken to a dressing room and zipped up into the soft gold coloured dress. Sure, enough when another seamstress took over the fitting, she realised the younger witch was correct, the other seamstress who had originally worked on the dress had taken the bodice in too much and there was an over abundance of cleavage on display. She was not present that day due to being ill, so it was down to her to correct her mistake.

In heavily accented English the seamstress apologised and explained because the prior witch the dress was meant for was older than Harry the other seamstress assumed she was of similar age, plus the other witch had asked for form fitting, which is why the dress was taken in so tightly.

Harry accepted this and asked how long it would take to fix as she did not want there to be a delay as the wedding was next Saturday. Harry was relieved when told it could be fixed that day, as unlike with Muggles they had magic and could work faster and more efficiently.

So, after two hand movements of her wand the seamstress altered the measurements on the bodice and Harry let out a relieved breath when she discovered not only was it easier to breathe but the amount of cleavage on display had been halved.

Harry held up the hem of the dress from the floor as she was currently in flats and the dressed was hemmed to be wore with heels. She was led out to the front of the store where everyone else was.

Ginny, Gabrielle, and Fleur's cousins were already present and, in their dresses, and seeking the approval of Fleur and her maman. When they saw Harry Fleur beamed and said, "Oh that is so much better, I am glad they managed to fix it."

Harry said, "Apparently because your cousin was older than me and because she had requested form fitting this led the other seamstress to assuming I was of similar age and had similar tastes."

Fleur could not help but glower at hearing this, and said sourly, "Ha and she accused me of being vain and wanting to be the center of attention all the time, how dare she."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and muttered, "Typical of her, she is always wanting to be the center of attention even at someone else's wedding. Harry is famous where you are having your wedding, but you do not see her trying to steal all the attention."

Apolline pursed her lips and said coolly, "Indeed, just as well she has been replaced, I will not have the attention taken from my Fleur on her special day." She added glancing at Fleur, "It would seem your replacement choice was a good decision. She mentioned the issue, which means she is not trying to take the attention from you."

Harry flushed and said, "It is not my wedding day, the attention should be on the bride and not the bridesmaid. Plus, I know Fleur will grant me the same in return next July when it is my wedding."

She added coldly, "No offense, but deliberately going out of your way to take the attention from someone else speaks of jealousy and some serious self confidence issues. If you feel the need to take the attention and put someone else down, then you are only reflecting your own feelings onto another."

Apolline raised a brow, and nods firmly saying, "Well said, and that only proves your emotional intelligence is far more developed than hers is and she is older than you. Says an awful lot about her and how she has been raised."

Remus remained silent, though he could honestly not agree more. And was beyond glad that regardless of how the Dursley's had raised her, Harry was emotionally more developed and intelligent than anyone would have normally been in her place. Certainly, more so than both hers and Fleur's own cousins showed themselves to be.

Fleur beamed and clapped her hands together and said delightedly, "I was right when I said that shade and style would look not only beautiful on my sister and cousins but on yourself and Ginny also. I am also glad I decided against the strapless design for not only myself but for my bridesmaids to. The finished product only proves this."

Harry exchanged a glance with Ginny, and both silently agreed that they were also glad she had not chosen the strapless dresses as well. Ginny could only imagine the fit her mum would have had with so much skin on display. Oh yes, major meltdown crisis most definitely averted.

Apolline beamed and said, 'Well one more step left before we are officially done with the bridesmaids." She moved over to a nearby table and gestured to several shoe boxes stacked together.

Harry cringed and inwardly moaned, knowing all too well what was in those boxes. Black coloured high heeled shoes. Oh no this was not going to go well, as she was still learning how to properly walk in them. She was more confident than she had been, however the stairs still made her nervous.

She saw the smirk on Ginny's face and scowled as she said sourly, "Knock that smirk off your face Gin, it's alright for you and Gabrielle, you are both only wearing two-inch heels."

Ginny rolled her eyes and replied, "Only because mum moaned that four inches was too high and annoyingly demanded that I was to have two inches if not flats." She shook her head at Harry and said, "Some of us can actually walk in heels Harry."

Harry drawl sarcastically, "Good for you Gin, though some of us only recently discovered what it was like to wear heels and walk in them without gravity turning bloody traitorous. In fact, I am still not happy with me, high heels and the stairs at the same time."

This caused a series of stifled giggles from Fleur and her cousins. Gabrielle shot Harry a look of sympathy, while Apolline said, "Oh dear, hopefully over the next week before the wedding you will have someone to help you overcome this."

Tonks smiled and said, "She has me and Angelina, so far, we have her walking upright in four inch heels, and plan to tackle the stairs leading up to next Saturday. Trust me, regardless of her complaints she has improved, as unlike a few weeks ago she could not balance without aid."

With that said Fleur and Apolline handed everyone the correct box and had them slip into the shoes. Harry visibly winced and held her hands out in front of her as she adjusted to the extra four inches she had suddenly gained.

She shuffled from side to side and said, "The only saving grace these shoes have is the fact they look pretty but mainly they have comfort charms casted on them."

Remus chuckled and made his way over to Harry and said jokingly, "At least you are taller no matter how temporarily." Harry gave him the second stink eye of the day and replied, "No matter how many inches I have gained does not make up for this."

Remus replied amused, "I imagine as soon as you get over the strangeness you will change your mind about that." Tonks snorted and said, "Oh I am betting on it, no matter how she moans right now."

Remus stayed beside Harry in case she took a tumble as she took a few steps forward without aid. He instantly noted that she did seem to be rather stable. He said, "You appeared to be doing fine Harry."

Harry replied, "Walking in a straight line one foot in front of the other I have mastered that, however running and climbing up and down the stairs is a different story altogether."

Fleur said, "True, however Tonks is right that this is amazing progress. I mean think about it when we visited that dragon hide store, you had to have both Tonks and Angelina on either side of you in order just to still be upright."

Ginny laughed and asked , "What seriously?" Tonks and Fleur were grinning as they nodded, which in turn had Harry let loose a sound of annoyed disgust. They would get theirs eventually she would make sure of that.

Remus and Apolline seemed to be the only ones to see the expression on Harry's face, everyone else was far to amused to notice. Remus grimaced, knowing all too well what the expression on her face meant. It was the same one James would wear when he was plotting, usually something not good.

Half an hour later saw everyone taken care of, each bridesmaid carried a shrunken down dress bag and a shoe box as they left the boutique. From there they made their way to an outdoor café less than five minutes from the boutique.

Harry ordered two croissants, one with dark chocolate inside while the other had ham and cheese inside, which she paired with a vanilla flavoured latte.

She flushed slightly and said, "Forgive the amount, however due to my magic my metabolism works rather fast." Fleur grumbled, "Yes and the unfair fact about that means she can practically eat and drink whatever she likes and still fit in a size ten."

Apolline's expression appeared pinched at hearing this, clearly envying the younger witch. Gabrielle appeared no better, and the cousins gasped indignantly as they eyed Harry's stunningly slim hourglass figure.

Ginny scowled and nodded in full agreement at the indignant gasps. Tonks grimaced and said, "Trust me I know the annoyed feeling all too well, as do all of Harry's female friends."

Remus raised a brow and said, "However ladies, what is by no means enviable is the fact her fast working metabolism works through pain potions in half the time. Most of you have six hours free of pain, Harry on the other hand is granted only three."

The looks of envy suddenly turned rightfully into grimaces of sympathy, particularly as they realised it must make that time of the month worse than normal. No Remus was correct there definitely was nothing enviable about that.

An hour later saw Harry and the others preparing to leave for England again. Fleur said her goodbyes to her family and promised her maman that she would see her on Thursday next week in order to go and collect her wedding gown.

The group then parted ways going in the opposite direction. Harry and the other four made their way back to the alleyway they had arrived earlier on. Within twenty seconds of gathering around the portkey, it activated, and they disappeared from the alley.

As soon as they landed at the halfway point again, they made their way to the floo in order to floo back to headquarters. Once home Harry cast a cleaning charm and insisted, there was no way in hell that she was apperating nor was she using the floo until she strictly had to.

She left the others in amusement as she grumbled underneath her breath as she climbed upstairs to her room to store her bridesmaid dress and shoes ready for next Saturday.