Forced Love

Chapter 4

Hermione reluctantly dragged herself over to the aisle of lingerie, where her mother was waiting for her expectantly.  Ginny was tapping on an empty shelf, awkwardly waiting for the endeavor to be over.

"I have the dresses!" Domenique's shrill voice came hurling towards them.

Thank God, Hermione thought.  She had just narrowly escaped a very awkward situation.

Hermione didn't wait; she hurried over to Domenique and Vannessa, who were waiting for her with an armful of dresses.

"We have a collection of these beautiful dresses that we haven't gotten a chance to put in the shop, so you're the first one to try these on!  Lucky You!" Domenique said, hopping up and down slightly.

Jean, Narcissa, Hermione and Ginny walked over to the large stack of gorgeous dresses.  Narcissa immediately began searching for the perfect dress, and Jean was right behind her.  Ginny looked interested as she picked up an elegant white dress.  Hermione started looking though the dresses, too.  It was her wedding, after all.

"I like this one!" Narcissa said, holding up a dress with an extremely long train.  It was classy, Hermione had to admit.  But the train was just too long.  Hermione would trip.

"No, the train is too long to be even the slightest bit practical." Hermione said, gently pushing Narcissa away from the idea of the dress.  Narcissa agreed, and put the dress down in the pile of rejected dresses.

But out of the corner of her eye, Hermione spotted a dress a few feet away from the others.  It was a beautiful white tube topped floor length gown with a long train.  The entire bodice was filled with stunning light blue diamonds that sparkled like mad. The skirt was very free flowing and the diamonds were shaped like little triangles starting at the waist and then going down. Once the triangle stopped, the diamonds continued in a line al the way down. It WAS a little over the top for Hermione's taste but still gorgeous and she still loved it.

"This one! I love it!"  Hermione cried, picking up the dress.  It was perfect.

"Let's get you into it!" Vannessa said, opening a changing room door for Hermione.  Hermione quickly changed into the wonderful dress.  It fit her like a second skin.  The dress was surprisingly comfortable, and when Hermione looked into the mirror, she couldn't believe her eyes.

She looked absolutely stunning in the dress, and Hermione looked like the epitome of elegance, grace, and beauty.  Even a veela would have been jealous of Hermione's looks.

As Hermione stepped out of the dressing room, everyone gasped, and ran up to Hermione.

"Hermione...you look beautiful!" Narcissa cried.

"That's perfect!" Jean said, tears running down her face.

"Hermione...," Ginny whispered.  "It's just the thing that you need."

Hermione blushed.  She wasn't used to so many compliments.  "Thank you!" Hermione said softly.  Jean wiped away her tears.

"AHHHH!  NEVER IN MY YEARS OF WORKING HERE HAVE I SEEN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PERSON WEAR SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GARMENT!   YOU ARE LEGENDARY!"  Hermione heard a cry.  Of couse.  Domenique.

Domenique wiped her nose hastily on a tissue, which she handed to Vannessa.  Vannessa looked at the tissue in her hand in disgust, her nose wrinkling and her lips forming a thin line.

"Thank you?" Hermione asked questioningly, not knowing whether it was a compliment or something else.

"Change out of your dress, sweetie.  Then we can finish up your shopping experience here."