Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 8 - Dress Robes
Harry arrived home just in time to see the house elves serving dinner. As he walked into the dining room all movement stopped and many pairs of eyes turned to look at him. Sirius and Julie were there with Sirius Jr. as well as Remus and Tonks. Harry briefly wondered what the occasion was before he noticed the large banner at the other end of the room.
"WELCOME BACK WORMTAIL"
Wormtail was Uncle Peter Petirgrew, one of his father's friends from Hogwarts. The wizard had been travelling the world searching for something. What, Harry didn't know. The young wizard's fondest memories of Petigrew were all the gifts that he brought back whenever he visited. Harry wondered what he might have brought for him this time. Hopefully it was something he could pass on to Cho.
"Harry darling, please come and sit with us." Lilly said kindly to her son. She had heard all about the incident at the Auror office and she was extremely upset that James had chosen to leave her son behind.
Harry glanced at the table and realised that there was a vacant seat next to a very upset Cho Chang. He carefully took a seat before the toasts started and he realised with horror that Wormtail was the man whom Draco had stun earlier in the Auror office. Harry wasn't able to concentrate on this revelation as a sweet smell drifted his way and he focused on the delicious meal in the centre of the table. His stomach was grumbling and as soon as the toasts finished, Harry wasted no time in loading his plate. As his empty stomach started filling up he paused long enough to glance at Cho. She wasn't looking at him and she had angled her self to face away from him. He needed to apologize to her but after his stomach was full. When his appetite waned he attempted to get Cho's attention.
"Cho," he tried gently.
She continued to ignore him by talking with her chaperone, Lord Terry Boot.
"Cho, I'm Sorry." Harry said as he touched her arm gently causing her to turn to face him.
"You didn't meet me for lunch today." She said primly.
"Cho, I'm really sorry but I was at Auror training. If it makes you feel better, this is my lunch and dinner." He said trying to form a puppy dog face but he was never really good at pouting.
"You could have owled," The exotic witch pointed out as she arranged her cutlery on her plate to signify that she had finished eating.
"I wanted to but I was in a cave with hundreds of giants chasing after me." Harry exaggerated.
"Oh," Cho replied. "Are you ok?" She placed her hand on his forearm and moved closer to him.
"I'm fine." Harry replied with a cocky grin.
Silence fell between them and Harry was anxiously trying to figure out what to say to her. He heard his brother next to him talking about the upcoming ball at the Hufflepuff Manor and an idea struck Harry.
"Would you like to go to the Diggory ball with me?" He asked nervously.
"Of course," Cho said with a glowing smile as her grip on his forearm tightened and she again reduced the distance between them.
"Great, I'll meet you at Ravenclaw Manor then." Harry said charmingly as he wondered how rude it would be to move his chair slightly away from her. She was starting to invade his space. If they were alone, he would be fine with her advances but in front of his family he felt a bit uncomfortable.
"I can't wait." Cho replied flashing Harry one of her irresistible smiles and pouting her lips a bit so he would take the hint.
Harry was saved from his ordeal by Wormtail.
"So Harry, tell your uncle Peter what you've been up to?" He said loudly garnering everyone's attention on Harry and himself.
"I've been in Auror Training sir." Harry replied enthusiastically as he took the opportunity to edge slightly towards his uncle and away from Cho.
"When do you finish?" Peter asked curiously.
Harry threw a cautious glance at his father before responding that he was hoping to graduate in three weeks.
"Don't worry about that little mix up today." Peter said as he slapped James on the back. "He's proud of you." James grunted in response.
"So I heard there was a lovely lady in your life. I asked Lilly to invite her to dinner tonight." Peter said coyly.
"Yes Uncle, meet Ms. Cho Chang, daughter of Mr. Lee Chang,
Head of Ravenclaw Manor." Harry said introducing Cho formerly to his uncle.
"Oh," Peter said a bit taken back as Cho blushed under his heavy scrutiny. "This is the lovely lady that's taken your heart?"
"Peter, there's no need to discuss this at the dinner table." Lilly said saving her son the embarrassment of having to answer the question.
Petigrew relented but the last look he gave Harry implied that there would be more questions to come later. Dessert was served and shortly afterwards his father and uncles retired to the study. Cho indicated that she had to leave and Harry escorted her outside. He was now willing to kiss her goodbye but her chaperone stopped him and Harry briefly wondered what Boot was doing earlier when Cho practically threw herself at him.
"I'll see you on Saturday." The witch said after she had mounted her horse.
"Yes, I can't wait to see you again." Harry said hoping that Cho was no longer angry with him. From his limited experience with witches, he knew that they could be angry for quite a while.
"We should go now." Lord Boot said seriously as he tugged on Cho's reins to guide her out of Godric's Hollow and towards Ravenclaw Manor.
Harry watched her leave before heading back into the manor. His mother and his aunts were busily talking in the den and he decided to join his brothers upstairs.
"You're lucky to still be alive." William said as Harry entered his brother's room.
Harry glared at him.
"You would be dead if you weren't mum's son as well." Charles said.
"Father was really angry." William expounded. "It's kind of ironic though. He had been boasting to Uncle Peter right before the incident that you were going to be the best Auror Hogwarts had ever seen. Guess that title will fall to me now."
"I'll wait and see if you survive Auror training before I worry about you taking my title away from me." Harry replied sarcastically.
"I'll finish." William said in a determined voice.
Harry ignored him and left his brothers alone. He suspected tomorrow would be a long day and decided to get a good night's rest.
-*-
Hermione was the first to arrive at breakfast and she was hoping that her father would arrive next as she was anxious to talk to him about Mr. Krum. She didn't approve of the business proposition that Mr. Krum had offered the night before and she was hoping that her father had turned him down. She had been hoping to approach her father last night but he had retired early and Hermione was left talking with the Krum girls last night. They were very different from her and the amount of time they wasted talking about boys annoyed her extremely. There was so much else in the world to talk about; why waste your time on boys?
Unfortunately for Hermione, Mr. Krum's son, Viktor, was the next person to join her at the breakfast table and she was forced to delay her pre-rehearsed speech for her father. The Bulgarian wizard politely bowed and seated himself next to Hermione.
"Ms. Granger, you're up early." He commented.
"I like to make an early start and please call me Hermione." She politely replied.
"That's good, Herminny." He said charmingly as she quietly bristled at the mispronunciation of her name.
"So what do you do in Bulgaria?" she asked him trying to make a decent conversation.
"My father is grooming me to take over the business but I enjoy playing Quidditch." Victor replied honestly.
Hermione inwardly cringed at the thought of Quidditch, she had read about the game but never seen an actually match. She knew she wouldn't like it very much.
"Do you have any suitors, my lady?" Victor asked her with a piercing gaze.
Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Thoughts of what his sisters had said about finding British husbands ran through her head and she wondered if Mr. Krum was also looking for a British bride for Victor. His son marrying her would certainly help Mr. Krum's businesses in England.
"I have a few." Hermione lied.
"Well, it is expected for a lady as beautiful as you to have more than one suitor." Victor replied charmingly.
Hermione blushed. It was the first time a man had complimented her like that.
"I took an early morning run and I found this." He said presenting her with a beautiful red rose. "It reminded me of your beauty and I thought it would look lovely on your dress today." He said as he handed it to her.
Hermione graciously accepted the red rose and pinned it to her cream dress.
"I understand that you enjoy riding. Would you like to go for a ride later?" He asked her.
"Yes I would." Hermione said wondering if her father would allow it.
"Good, I shall arrange it." Victor said proudly.
The maids appeared with breakfast and the two started eating. Hermione wondered what the day had in store of her. This was her first suitor and she had no idea how to handle the situation. She thought of the healer lessons that her Godmother had offered her and she thought that perhaps she could ask her for some advice as well as getting started on her new lessons. With that decided, Hermione quickly finished her lessons in hopes of heading out to Godric's Hollow before her father appeared for breakfast. She politely excused herself and left Victor helping himself to seconds. She wrote a quick note to her father and told him not to expect her back until after lunch.
-*-
Luna and Ginny were settling down to have tea while Mrs. Weasley rambled on about the upcoming ball at Hufflepuff manor. The girls had met in town earlier and both picked out dresses for the ball. Ginny revealed that her mother had arranged for Oliver Wood to escort her to the ball while Luna indicated that she had no escort. Her father was the grounds keeper for Ravenclaw estate and he wasn't invited to any of the grand balls, hence, Luna had never attended a ball. Ginny subtly mentioned it to her mother who assured Luna that she could attend the ball with Ron. Luna told Mrs. Weasley that she didn't have to go out of her way to convince Ron to escort her but the Weasley matriarch reminded her that her last son was still single and it was her job to help him find a wife. Luna's cheeks turned pink at the implication that she could possibly be the future Mrs. Ronald Weasley. Luna did however have one other problem, convincing her father to let her go. She decided she would handle that on her own.
After an hour in Madame Malkins, both girls had found satisfactory robes. Ginny had opted for a pale yellow while Luna chose a dark orange colour that strangely enough complimented her beautifully. The robes weren't the most modern or glamorous as neither could afford to spend too much money but the robes they chose did enhance their features.
"Ginny, did you send the owl to Oliver?" Molly Weasley asked her daughter.
"Yes mom. I sent the owl." A disgruntled Ginny replied for what seemed like the thousandth time. Her mother wanted to ensure that Olive knew what colour Ginny was wearing so he could match appropriately. Ginny knew yellow would be a difficult colour for a man to match and purposely chose it to avoid looking like a couple with Oliver.
"Aren't you happy to be going with Oliver?" Luna asked.
"Not particularly. I'm not too fond of being married off. Fortunately, my dad is on my side. He doesn't want me to be married off so quickly. He thinks I should wait a while but mum says if I don't get married off soon I'll be too old to marry and no one would want me." Ginny explained to Luna.
"I never really gave it any thought." The blonde witch replied.
"That's because since I've know you, you've only had your eye on one man." Ginny teased her causing her face to match the red head.
"It's not a bad thing Luna. I think it's great that you know what you want. I don't have a clue." The Weasley female replied. "For the longest time I had a crush on Harry but I've grown out of it. I don't think we'll make a good couple."
"You'll find someone." Luna reassured her.
"You mean my mother will find me someone!" Ginny laughed.
-*-
Ron was busy at work when he received an owl from his mother. He tossed it aside and continued stocking the shelves with the twin's latest product, vanishing teeth. It was quiet popular among married couples. Fred soon arrived and inspected the letter on the table.
"Ickle Ronnekins, there's a letter here for you." Fred called out to him.
"Don't call me that." Ron shouted down the aisle to him.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Fred asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Later." Ron grunted as he bent down to pick up a box he had accidentally dropped because of Fred.
"George, George" Fred called out.
"What?" George replied from the store room in the back.
"Our little brother has a date for the Diggory ball." Fred yelled.
Ron's head snapped up and he looked down the aisle at the table. He could see half of Fred and he appeared to be holding a letter. The youngest male could barely make out his name on the back of the letter. He bolted down the aisle and tried to grab the letter from Fred but his brother quickly moved the letter out of his reach and by this time George had appeared and deftly took the letter from his twin.
"Dear Ron," George read in a voice that was supposed to be their mothers.
"I've arranged for you to escort Ms. Luna Lovegood to the Diggory Ball." George continued. He skipped through the details of where and when Ron would meet her and skipped straight through to the colour of her robes.
"Orange!" Fred roared in laughter.
"Good luck getting robes that to match that!" George said.
"Ronny and"
"Luna"
"flying on"
"a broom."
"Enough you two," Ron bellowed loudly as he was finally able to snatch the letter away.
"Oh little Ronny is upset," Fred and George both mocked.
"I think it's time for a break." The youngest Weasley said as he stormed out the shop while his twin brothers roared with laughter.
He walked down the street and instantly recognized his best friend directing a group of horses.
"I thought you were at training today?" Ron asked casually.
"This is training. We were assigned to help the MLE's with traffic." Harry explained sourly.
"What traffic?" Ron said as he looked around. Hogwarts wasn't a particularly crowded town.
"It's punishment for hexing my dad yesterday." Harry informed him.
"You hexed your father?" Ron asked in astonishment.
"Yeah and Malfoy hexed Uncle Peter." Harry told him.
"I saw Uncle Peter yesterday. He stopped by the store to see how things were going." Ron told him
"Really, he didn't mention it." Harry replied.
"Mum arranged for me to escort Luna Lovegood to the ball!" Ron told Harry angrily.
"Come on, mate. It's not that bad. She seems like a nice girl." Harry told him honestly.
"Well then why don't you go with her?" the redhead offered his best friend.
"Sorry, I'm going with Cho." Harry said proudly.
"Got any dress robes yet or did you plan on re-wearing the ones you wore to the last four balls." Ron commented.
"You think I should get new robes?" Harry asked horrified.
"I was on my way to Madame Malkins." Ron told him.
Harry did a quick double take up and down the empty street before joining Ron on the short walk to the store.
-*-
Draco was assisting his father with a new investment that Mr. Riddle was interested in. It was a gold locket that supposedly belonged to Salzaar Slytherin, the first owner of Slytherin estate. They had located the item at a local shop and his father was currently bidding for the item. The owner, Mr. Borgin, was very reluctant to part with the object. After nearly tripling their original offer, Mr. Borgin agreed to the purchase.
They exited the building and his father asked him to wait there while he went to the vault in Gringott's. From where he was standing Draco had a terrific view Madame Malkins and he instantly recognized Luna. He smiled as he saw her in the orange dress. He thought it matched her unusual personality but his heart nearly fell out of his chest when Ginny appeared next to her dressed in a soft yellow gown. Both girls seemed happy with their outfits and Draco watched as they went to the back of the store to change. He glanced at the entrance to Gringott's before returning his attention to the Madame Malkins.
He watched with delight as Ginny held on to the yellow robes and her mother paid the store clerk. He wasn't too surprised to see that Luna kept the orange robes. He wondered who had the honour of taking Ginny to the ball this weekend. His father had arranged from him to accompany Pansy and he wasn't too pleased about it. Pansy's family also lived on the Manor grounds and he had to tolerate her presence at meals. She was always sending him looks and making comments during dinner about him. He was getting tired of her annoying behaviour towards him.
"What are you looking at?" his father sneered at him.
"I was just wondering if I should get some new robes for the ball this weekend." Draco replied smoothly. He had learned to hide his true thoughts from his father long ago.
"That might be a good idea. I believe you mother will be wearing green and silver." Lucius said thoughtfully as he mentally reviewed his robes. Narcissa always insisted that they looked superior to other couples in Hogwarts.
Draco watched as Luna and Ginny left with Mrs. Weasley. His chances of encountering them in the store had just hit zero. His father indicated that they had other business to attend to in town and Draco reluctantly followed him to the Leaky Cauldron. On entering the establishment, Draco quickly hid himself behind his father's robes. He was supposed to be cleaning Mad Eye Moody's instruments but the wizard was out for the day and Draco knew that the instruments looked no different after a cleaning. He dared not tell his father what had happened the day before.
They quickly found their table at the back and his father introduced him to Mr. Krum and his son Victor. Draco barely paid attention to the conversation as he was more concerned with someone discovering his little excursion from the Auror office. After much talk, his father and Mr. Krum came to an agreement and Draco only caught the end of the conversation where Mr. Krum indicated that he would be staying at the Grangers. Draco made a mental note to contact Hermione later that night.
As they left, his father reconsidered the purchase of new robes and Draco soon found himself at Madame Malkins though this time he wasn't as keen to visit the store as before. Draco carefully looked through the various options for wizards and immediately took a liking for a cream coloured robe that was trimmed with yellow. What really appealed to Draco was the fact that yellow trimming was the same colour as Ginny's robes. He didn't even bother to try them on. He could have one of the elves at the Manor alter it for him if it didn't fit.
His father was still choosing his robes and Draco decided to sit patiently in the waiting room. His father could be quite picky when it came to robes. Lucius wanted his robes to reflect his wealth and power and always insisted on robes made from only the finest materials.
As Draco sat there he watched Potter and Weasley enter the store.
"Malfoy aren't you supposed to be cleaning?" Harry taunted the Slytherin.
"Aren't you supposed to be directing horses?" He countered.
"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.
"I suppose the same thing you're doing, looking for a robe for Saturday." Draco answered sarcastically eliciting a glare from the redhead.
"I assume you're going with Parkinson." Harry said
Draco gave him a disgusted look.
"Serves you right," Ron pointed out.
"I'm sure it's better than whoever you're going with." Draco replied.
"You just insulted your own friend." Ron laughed.
"What?" Draco asked confused mentally reviewing his list of friends who would be going to the ball. He couldn't imagine any Slytherins going with a Weasely.
"He's going with Luna Lovegood." Harry said relishing the fact that he knew something Draco didn't.
"That's not possible. Luna's father isn't invited to the ball." Draco replied knowingly.
"But Ron is and he's going with Luna." The green eyed wizard pointed out.
"Her father will never allow that." Draco stated firmly.
Ron pulled out his letter and stated that he was to meet Luna at the Ravenclaw side gate at 7pm. He even showed it to the blonde in front of him.
"That just proves it. She uses the side gate when she's sneaking out. She doesn't plan on telling her father." Draco informed them. He was a bit uncomfortable with Luna going with Ron. She had liked him for ages and he was afraid that the redhead would sorely disappoint his friend.
"Oh," Ron said, for some odd reason he felt a bit disappointed.
Draco got up from his seat and went to a rack of robes. He pulled out a black robe that had orange trimming. "This would match her robe perfectly and I believe it's in your price range." Draco said as he handed it to Ron.
"Why are you doing this?" Ron asked.
"Because if Luna thinks you're worth the risk to sneak out for, I'm going to make sure you're worth the risk!" Draco stated firmly.
"You know I kind of like this robe." Ron said as he looked the robe up and down. Orange was his favourite colour and he was quite happy to hear that Luna had chosen orange robes.
"Found anything yet Harry?" Ron asked.
"No, I just realised that I don't know what colour Cho is wearing." Harry said fearfully.
"That's easy Potter. Go with black." Draco advised him.
Lucius reappeared. He grunted a greeting at Harry and Ron and promptly left with his son in tow.
-*-
Hermione arrived at Godric's Hollow and was happy to find her Godmother and Ana on the porch. Lilly greeted her enthusiastically and led her Goddaughter inside. Charles was busy studying away on a table and Lilly offered her some scones and tea. The young witch graciously accepted and brought up the topic of the lessons that had been offered her earlier. Lilly indicated that she would be happy to start right away.
She lead her Goddaughter through the large house to the library. Hermione was instantly impressed with the amount of books and tomes in the large room. A few of the books looked ancient and she made a mental note to be careful when handling those books.
"Have you read them all?" Hermione asked in amazement.
"Oh no, when I married James, I decided I would read while he was at work but the minute I had Harry all my reading time got devoted to him. I thought once he was old enough I would be able to start back but then came William, Charles and Ana." Lilly said lightly.
Hermione reached for the nearest book and pulled it out. She flipped through it greedily.
"The section on healing is over here." Lilly stated as she brought her over to a shelf near a window.
"I believe the previous Mrs. Potter's placed it here so you have a good view while you read." She informed her.
"Your mother in law could perform advanced spells?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Quite well, she told me all the Potter women could do more magic than societies rules allowed. The main reason was that the Potter men had a knack for trouble and not only were we required to heal but to keep them out of trouble as well. I'm sure Sirius has filled your mind with stories." Lilly said fondly.
Hermione absently nodded as she pulled a book from the shelf, Anatomy of the Wizard.
"That's a good book. I suggest you read that first before I teach you anything else. You can take it home." Lilly offered her kindly.
"I can?" Hermione asked happily.
"Of course." Lilly smiled at her.
"Aunty, I have a question." Hermione said hesitantly as she bit her bottom lip
"Yes?" Lilly encouraged.
"I think I'm being courted." Hermione said as her face turned crimson.
"Think?" Lilly cocked an eyebrow at her Goddaughter.
"Uhm, yes." She replied shyly.
"Tell me about it." Lilly said as she took a seat near the window and encouraged Hermione to take the one opposite her.
Hermione gave Lilly a detailed explanation about the encounter with Viktor at breakfast. Lilly asked if Hermione ever discussed marriage with her father and as Lilly had expected, Edward avoided the topic like the plaque. Lilly explained the courting procedure and the rules of society regarding courting in detail to her best friend's daughter. She decided to tell her how her father had courted her mother and Hermione avidly listened. She had never heard the story before and she was intrigued to discover this side to her parents. Before long it was lunch time and Lilly invited Hermione to stay and dine with them.
After lunch Hermione retired to the library again and Lilly left her there to spend time with Ana and Charles. As the sun slowly started to set Hermione indicated that she would start to head home. Lilly asked her to wait for James or Harry to arrive at Godric's Hollow so that she could get an escort back but Hermione told her she would be fine and she would take the shortcut through the forest so she would be home before dark. Lilly reluctantly let her go.
-*-
Lucius Malfoy bowed at the foot of the elaborate throne shaped like a serpent. The figure on the throne indicated for him to speak and he did as commanded.
"Master, I have obtained the object and placed it in the vault with the others." Lucius said in a respectful voice as he remained in a crouched position.
"Well done my subject. Any word from the rat?" He asked
"He's infiltrated the manor but he hasn't been able to identify the girl." Lucius stated calmly.
"You indicated to me that the boy was courting a lady from the Ravenclaw estate." The chilling voice said.
"Yes but that girl is not the same girl from the portrait." The senior Malfoy explained.
"Is it his sister?" the menacing voice asked.
"The birth date from the portrait indicated that this girl was older than his sister. The rat got the impression that she was his wife."
"Hogwart's is a small town. Instruct him to meet every female living here. It should be easy for him to convince his friends to assist him in finding a witch. As a matter of fact, I remember receiving an invitation to the Diggory ball this weekend. Order him to attend. That would be a perfect opportunity to identify the girl."
"Yes my lord." Malfoy said crouching even lower to the floor.
"What about Quirrell?" he asked leaning forward sensing his subject was hiding something from him.
Lucius froze as fear coursed through him. His master did not take bad news very well.
"My Lord, he has not arrived yet." He said as he again crouched lower to the ground.
"He was supposed to be here two hours ago." He reminded his subject.
"Yes my lord." Lucius agreed wondering if he could form a hole in the floor that he could disappear into.
"Don't agree with me I want to know why he isn't here yet." his lord hissed at him.
"My lord, he had a bit of difficulty with the troll." Lucius explained fearfully. His lord had a tendency to punish anyone in sight when he was angry.
"Difficulty?" he questioned in a threatening voice.
"Yes it escaped in the forest. He's trying to apprehend it now." Malfoy said as he tried to prepare for his masters' temper but was surprised when it didn't come.
"I shall retire to my chambers now. Bring Quirrell to me when he has arrived." The figure said as he rose and headed to two large serpent statues on the wall.
The figure spoke in a series of hisses and the two serpents parted. Lucius Malfoy closed his eyes as the chamber opened and didn't move until he heard the doors close firmly behind his master. He felt something slither past him and his heart increased in pace. He braced himself for the worse but after nothing painful happened he cautiously opened his eyes. There, on the throne, was his master's pet snake, Nagini. He would have kicked the stupid snake but he knew all too well about his master's gift to speak parsletongue and he knew Nagini would willingly tell about his abuse.
No he would not harm Nagini. For now he would be thankful that it wasn't the other snake that had come. He had seen many people enter that chamber with his master and never return. He knew the other snake had a ferocious appetite. For now he needed to concentrate on finding Quirrell and that troll before the Aurors were alerted to it.
He entered the ground floor of Slytherin Manor and called for MacNair and Snape. The sun was setting and they needed to find the troll fast before the night arrived so they quickly set off into the forest. Unbeknownst to him, his son had been watching from behind a suit of armour and decided to follow them.
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