A New Dress

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Lorraine went to sleep that night thinking about what her dad said: "Think about your happy memories. Don't let the bad ones in. You're learning to fight them, remember?" 

That was a lot easier said than done. Every time a happy memory came to her, the depressing, shadowy lonely thoughts crept up. It made falling asleep quite difficult. The next morning, Grace was gone before Lorraine woke up. Lorraine got dressed in comfortable clothes and headed to the Great Hall. She hesitated for a split second as Annie McFly sat with the group. Grace was in the middle of her and Spaniel. They were laughing, Annie's red hair flying behind her as she tossed it playfully. Lorraine forced herself to snap out of it. She headed to the Hufflepuffs. 

"Hey guys." Lorraine said a little too sadly. Cody stopped rolling the rubber ball and Alice tried smiling.

"What's wrong, Lorraine?" Cody asked. She shrugged it off and dug into some buttered toast and egg. 

"Are you two going to Hogsmede today?" She asked. Both of them nodded. Alice grabbed a note out of her bag.

"I have a list of things my younger sister wants me to send her. She won't come to Hogwarts for another year." Alice listed off some of the items, most of which would be found at Zonkos. 

"I'm going with her," Cody said. "God knows she'll need help. Are you going?" He asked Lorraine. 

"I need a dress for the Muggle Studies Dance in a couple weeks. I'm going to Madame Abrielle's to look for one." She felt her face go hot. She admitted inwardly that she was excited to be able to go on a shopping trip just for herself. She didn't have to worry about not having enough money for a change. It was probably a petty, selfish thought, but Lorraine needed to be a bit selfish in that moment. Alice clapped gleefully.

"Forget my sister!" She nearly screamed. "You have to let us come shopping with you! We can have a full fashion show and really help you pick the best dress!" Alice was squealing like a little girl. Cody laughed along. 

"I mean," Lorraine started. "If you really want to... come along! It might take all day, though. I don't exactly know what I'm looking for." She put down her fork. Cody said, "Psh!" and slammed his fist on the table.

"You're looking at a fashion expert!" He proudly announced. A couple other students turned their heads at him. Lorraine blushed at the gesture. She gave him a side hug.

"Then I will gladly have you join me." She then side hugged Alice. The three of them finished up breakfast and headed out. Lorraine had her bag of galleons in tow. For a brief moment, before they officially left the Great Hall, she looked back at the Slytherin table. Specifically at Grace's blue in the sea of green. She looked incredibly out of place, yet just like them with a wicked sense of humor playing across her face. 

"Are we going?" Alice nudged Lorraine's arm. 

"We are!" The weather was getting colder. They were wrapped in scarves (Cody and Alice sporting yellow while Lorraine was in the usual blue), thick jackets, and boots. The wind was icy against their faces. It seemed like the whole school wanted to go to Hogsmede, it being the first weekend to do so. Most of them were headed to Honeydukes or Zonkos, but Lorraine was looking for Madame Abrielle's Boutique. 

"It's across from the Hog's Head Inn." Alice pointed them in the right direction. They trudged along, fighting the stinging wind. They arrived outside the shop. It was beautifully decorated. The exterior was outlined with white fairy lights, the sign a light purple cursive, and the bay windows showing off a couple elegant gowns. Cody, still bouncing his ball on the road, opened the door for the girls. When they entered, Lorraine was almost overwhelmed by the sight. 

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There must have been hundreds of unique dresses lining the walls in color coded racks. In the middle of the room was the largest mirror Lorraine had ever seen! She gaped at how tall it was: nearly twice her height and thrice her width. Couches encircled the mirror, obviously for the guests Lorraine had with her. To the left was a glass case that doubled as a desk. It held dozens of sparkling jewelry. An elderly witch wearing a sapphire witch's hat and emerald robes glided out from the counter when she saw them.

"Welcome to Madame Abrielle's!" She held her arms out in a grand gesture. Cody snickered at the fanciness of it all. "How may I help you today?" Lorraine was still looking around at the beautiful gowns instead of listening. 

"She's here for a dress. Muggle Studies is hosting a dance and she needs one." Cody spoke for her. Lorraine cleared her mind to focus on Madame Abrielle.  

"Ah," Madame sighed. "The Muggle Studies Dance. One of my favorite annuals." She nearly swooned. "Well then," She got straight to work, pulling out a tape measure and measuring every inch of Lorraine. "Let's see what we got." The fairy lights twinkled over head as the three of them took in the different styles. "What sort of preferences do you have?" Lorraine's throat went dry. She had only one dress before and it was as plain as it could be. She had no idea what she was looking for.

"Probably something no longer than mid calf, preferably knees. I'd say sleeveless and a higher neckline. If we must, a little past the collarbone but she doesn't need to be showing off that much. She's already got a man for this thing." Cody spit out. Alice laughed at how forward he was being. This was enough for Madame Abrielle, though. She flew to the racks and started pulling dresses off one by one. 

"Color?" She called from behind. Lorraine sat on a couch and looked at herself in the mirror. Purple hair. She still had her purple hair. 

"I think we should stay away from any purple tones." Cody responded. "She has enough of that going on in her hair. Any more and it will clutter the ensemble." He and Alice reclined on another couch while Madame levitated a couple options off the rack. 

"Let's try some of these." The first one Madame Abrielle handed Lorraine was a simplistic baby blue halter with a choker like neckline. It fell a little above her knees. Lorraine glided merrily to a dressing room in the corner and put it on. It felt like a warm summer day against her skin. She dramatically opened the curtain to Awes from her peers. Lorraine twirled around, the skirt flaring out nicely. She checked herself in the big mirror, a little nervous about the length. Cody seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"It's too short. Not enough pizazz!" He was right. She would be dancing all night and didn't want to have a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of a song. They did away with the dress. The next one was a bit longer and more flowy. It fell in a deep V against her chest with no sleeves or straps at all! It was tied around the waist. 

"I don't like the color." Lorraine said. The dress was emerald green. So, they changed dresses again. This went on for almost an hour. Madame Abrielle pulled dress after dress from the racks, everyone gave their critiques, and adjustments were made. They weren't going to run out of gowns, but Lorraine was slowly losing hope in finding the perfect one. That was until Madame Abrielle handed her this last dress. She tried it on wholeheartedly and stepped in front of the mirror. 

This dress seemed mostly made of a pristine white tulle. It fell right below her knees and wasn't too puffy to make dancing hard. It was sleeveless with the neckline right around the base of her neck, mostly sheer on the bodice, but embroidered flower appliques covered it. The indigo and lilac flowers spilled from the chest down the chest and cascaded against the skirt. She felt cloaked in magic. 

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