DISTANT GAME ━ charlie weasley

ix. fall to a romantic death

Gladrags Wizardwear always seems to be bigger than everyone's initial thoughts, when they come across the quaint, well-decorated display that faces the shoppers at first sight. It was seen as quite a quirky store... they sell the most lurid, vivid items of clothing, yet there's also a more discrete section with formal wear for both men and women. As the formal section isn't frequented quite as much as the everyday-wear, the racks of dress robes and ball gowns are the finest, most exclusive section, basking in the shine of polished jewels adorning the pristine fabric of the gowns.

(It was the beginning of October, so Avery thought it compulsory to notify the shopkeepers, an eccentric brother and sister partnership, named Enzo and Mabel, that within that month their customers would become more abundant in the formalwear. Enzo seemed more than ecstatic, whipping the measuring tape around his neck in excitement, while Mabel began to frantically grope for a parchment and quill behind their cluttered desk, desperate to write to the dressmakers to be more productive and send a wider selection of dresses in lieu of the Halloween Ball.)

And now, the unconventional Enzo made a plea that made Avery and her friends Dominique, Hannah, Rowan and Juliet wait among the racks of bedazzling ball gowns, as Enzo took it upon himself to pick out the gowns for the five girls. They were in a room consisting of all the female formalwear which happened to be situated next to three curtain shielding dressing rooms, all large enough to fit one person each.

     "What do you guys think of this one?" Avery grins, holding a hanger up to her chest. The gown attached to it was exuberant, consisting of a range of vibrant, boisterous colours, easily outdoing a rainbow. It was ridiculous. "Imagine me rocking up to the Ball wearing this!"

     "Oh, you'd look stunning," says Dominique, sniggering. "You'd easily stand out."

     "You'd fall," says Hannah. "It's twice the length of your legs."

     "Or turn into a werewolf and rip the dress to shreds," says Juliet, "Then it'll be a waste of what — seventy galleons?"

     Rowan frowns. "A werewolf? I didn't know Avery was a werewolf?" She looks at the strawberry blonde Ravenclaw, "Are you a werew— oh, Juliet was joking."

     Juliet grins.

     With an tumultuous chuckle, Avery goes to put the flamboyant gown back on the rack, having to pause halfway when—

     "Stop what you're doing! Drop that hanger!"

     Avery freezes, just like the rest of her friends at this intrusive, offhand yell. Lucky for her, when she dropped the hanger, it was already halfway on the rack, so fell against it with a light clash. She holds her hands up in an alarmed surrender, swivelling around slowly. Dominique's eyes had widened. Rowan's had narrowed. Juliet was grinning, and Hannah bit down on her lower lip. They all look at the bizarre man at the outset of the room, his face straight, serious and horrified. It was Enzo, the co-shopkeeper of Gladrags, probably finally able to start helping the girls in picking out their gowns.

Enzo confuses the five Ravenclaws when he begins to... meditate? They weren't exactly sure what the man was doing. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing in a composed manner, and two of his fingers were rubbing the tip of the measuring tape (laced around his neck) rigorously.

     "What is he doing—"

     "Quiet, dear," snaps Enzo, cutting off Hannah's bewildered expression, opening his eyes momentarily and frowns, "I'm channelling the spirits of all the previous designers inhabited in this place. You do, of course, want the best possible outfit for your Halloween Ball?"