When Fate Has A Say

"Great," Alicia moaned as she glared at the sign that stated the Quality Quidditch Supplies was closed, almost as though glaring at it would cause it to re-open. "I told you this was too early! Why couldn't we have slept in a little?"

Katie laughed and rolled her eyes, the answer obvious. "You've never gone shopping with me, girl," she giggled. "I'm already thinking of what I can do with your hair... Maybe put it up and let a little bit hang down? What do you think?"

Turning back down Diagon Alley, Alicia looked around the busy marketplace for an area where she could hide. "I think that you're crazy and obsessing way too much over this little thing. Look, let's stop at the Leaky Cauldron and grab a drink. I could really go for something with a lot of alcohol before I go and have to look at myself in nice dresses." Scowling, she headed towards the pub, Katie grabbing her arm. "Let go!"

"Ah, no, because we're going to get robes this morning, and fix your hair and makeup in the afternoon so that you can look nice whenever Harry comes around. And no, letting it out of a ponytail does not count as nice," Katie reprimanded as Alicia reached up and tentatively touched the rubber band that pulled her hair back. "Come on, I think that a nice blue would look good on you. Bring out your eyes, y'know. Eyes are supposed to be the first thing a guy notices on a girl--"

"Other than her arse," Alicia concluded. "Of which I have none."

"And neither does Mandy Brocklehurst," Katie muttered as they passed by a stand where a man was yelling about 'erotic perfumes guaranteed to ensnare your lover and spur them on to greater passion'. "Honestly, the stuff that they sell in public nowadays."

Alicia snorted loudly. "You're just embarrassed because you use the stuff on Oliver, but don't want everyone to know."

Defeated, Katie shrugged, glancing back over her shoulder at the vendor in an attempt to hide the red flush that was quickly creeping up her neck and cheeks. "Hey, now I don't have to go and buy it in the middle of the night, now that my secret is out. Come on, move it, Madam Malkin's is right here."

Glancing at the windows, all of which held an array of brightly patterned and colored dress robes, Alicia fought the urge to retch. "Maybe you can go in and pick something out for me," she suggested tentatively, knowing that if she sent Katie in there by herself, she would end up with something bright. And, more than likely, something pink.

"Ah, hello," a pretty, curvy young woman said, stepping up to them almost as soon as the bell over the door finished ringing. "Can I help you?"

Katie stepped forward, Alicia still glancing around at the neatly ordered rainbow of fabrics that was lined up against the left wall. Silks, velvet, cotton--it seemed like they had them all, and the young woman felt rather taken aback by the situation. However, it was obvious that Katie Bell was in her prime.

"Yes, I need something classy and elegant that isn't overly dressy for a dinner party, preferably a blue or silver shade." Casting a look over at Alicia, who was still shifting from foot to foot in her standard black robes, a bright orange "CC" on the left chest, she added, "in any color other than orange or black. Something eye-catching. No price limit."

The young woman's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed slightly. "Oh, well, our finest is a silk that we don't carry often, and it's quite expensive..." A look of feigned worry crossed over her face. "Are you sure you can afford it?"

"Positive." Alicia gaped as Katie began to converse with the woman, who did not stop to even greet another customer as they entered the door. How expensive was this robe going to be? It wasn't as if she had enough money to purchase it.

After staring at the floor for a few minutes, Alicia found herself grabbed and forced into a side room by Katie, followed quickly by the woman. "Now, dear, we were thinking of doing something like this..." She pulled a robe off of its hanger and displayed it to Alicia. "What do you think?"

The young woman gaped for a moment before finally managing to stutter out a few words. "That is... without a doubt, the ugliest thing that I have ever--" She attempted to take in the whole ensemble, from the flaring sleeves that were supposedly "in style" to the low v-neck cut, and the long slit up the side of the dress. "How on earth am I supposed to wear that?"

"Oh, come off it, Alicia, you know you like it," Katie said chidingly, giving her a slight glare. "And if I'm buying this, then I get to pick what it is."

"You're not paying for it."

Katie laughed. "Oh, you can bet that I am, because if you were buying it, it would look exactly like every other piece of clothing that you own. Unfashionable and baggy. You can't hide yourself forever."

"I'm damned determined to try," Alicia growled. "I'm not wearing anything that is tight or revealing, because I fully respect the fact that no sane member of the male population wants to see me in anything tighter than what I'm wearing right now. Especially Harry." God, what would Harry think if he saw her in this outfit? That she was attempting to be an attractive witch, no doubt, who couldn't pull it off due to a simple thing called "overall largeness". How she hated not being skinny like Katie.

The blonde rolled her eyes, and then turned to the woman. "We'll take it," she said, with a smile and a wink.