Heart & Soul (The Untold Harry Potter story)

Chapter 41

"Can I come too?" Hermione asked from across the table.

"Of course!" Castor beamed at her, when she suddenly had a thought. "Have you been asked to the dance?" She wiggled her eyebrows at the bushy haired witch. Hermione blushed and tried to restrain the grin on her face, but Castor had seen right through her shy silence. "Hermione Jean Granger, who asked you?"

"I can't tell you!" She smiled widely. "It's meant to be a surprise."

"Okay. Keep your secret. I'll get it out of you somehow." Castor laughed as 'Mione's blush deepened.

The following Hogsmeade weekend, they bundled up in their winter coats and made their way down to the village. Gladrag's Wizard Wear was a little busier than it usually was, the extra students visiting from Beauxbatons had made it so that they had to squeeze their way through the line near the front entrance to make their way towards the back of the shop.

Hermione had moved towards the magical clothing, looking through the dresses with contemplative gazes before she moved on to the next one. Eliza had pulled Ginny along to the dresses in her size, holding up every garment she thought would suit the young Weasley. Which left Castor to shop on her own. Not that she minded, it meant that she could take her time looking for the perfect outfit.

"Ohh! What about this one?" Eliza held up another dress, the emerald green would have complimented Ginny's complexion beautifully, had it not been for the Weasley's scrunched nose and gentle shake of her head. They moved away to look at some other ones.

"Castor," Hermione called her over. "Can you help me look?"

"Of course, love." Castor moved to stand at the rack opposite her, each of the swiping through dress after dress after dress. "What color do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want a long dress, or a short dress?"

"I don't know."

"How are you doing your hair and makeup?" Castor stopped her movements, watching Hermione's expression morph into one of frustration. "Hey, it's okay. We can figure this out." She reached for the younger girl's hand. "Let's start with the color. What do you normally wear outside of school?"

"Neutral colors, mostly." She sighed. "I like pinks and reds. But I don't want to be the typical Gryffindor who shows up in a red dress..."

"Okay. That's a good place to start." Castor pulled Hermione to stand in front of a mirror. "No yellows because of the brass tones in your hair. I would avoid black, because we want you to stand out..." Hermione still looked a bit nervous as Castor turned and quickly grabbed a few dresses that stood out to her. She turned and handed them back to her female friend and pushed her towards the dressing rooms. "Go try those on, and we'll see what you like and go from there."

It was then that she moved to find Ginny and Eliza again. When she located her other friends, Eliza was standing on the fitting platform, wearing a sheer black dress with embordered flowers sewn into the tulle overlay. The flowers and their matching vines had been charmed to bloom, grow, and fade as they moved across the dress. The brunette kept twisting and twirling around on the pedestal to watch the way the dress moved with her body.

"Eliza!" Castor gasped in awe. "That dress is beautiful!"

"I know!" Eliza flipped her hair twice and grinned at her roommate. "Ginny chose her dress too!"

"Go put it on, I want to see it!" Ginny rushed to the dressing room as well, coming out a few minutes later in the sweetest dress Castor had ever seen. The blush pink slip underneath contrasted with the ruffled layers of seafoam green tulle. The collar had matching lace stitched into it, as well as a bright pink ribbon sash. "Oh, Gin, it beautiful!"