RIDDLE ME THIS

33

Mrs Hailer wasn't in when we went to pick up our dresses.

instead, we were served by her daughter, Rosie.

"she worked on them all night and into the early hours." Rosie told us as we admired the two dresses. "i wouldn't be surprised if she was still asleep!"

"we brought these for her," i held up the bouquet of flowers and nodded to Pansy who held a large box of chocolates.

"oh, she'll love them! and i know she loved making these dresses for you." the young woman took the gifts from us and put them behind the counter.

she grabbed a couple of boxes and got to work undressing the mannequins and folding the dresses into the boxes, then tying them with ribbons and sliding them into bags.

"i almost forgot," Rosie turned to me. "my Mother left you a package, it's in the back." she gestured at a door. "go on through."

Pansy followed me into a dimly lit room that looked like some sort of kitchen-cross-living-room.

"there," Pans pointed to the table where a fat package sat wrapped in brown paper.

"what do you think it is?" i picked it up and shook it.

"no idea, you can open it back at mine."

"alright," i tucked the parcel under my arm and walked back into the shop.

Draco and Matteo looked very smug.

"what is it?" Pansy and i asked simultaneously.

"nothing!" they chorused.

"that's all taken care of." Rosie printed off a receipt.

"keep the change," Matteo stage-whispered.

"you paid for the dresses?" i figured out, staring at Draco accusingly.

"don't look at me," he raised his hands. "i didn't pay for shit!"

"Matteo!" i groaned.

"be grateful, Lolita." he raised his eyebrows.

i hit him in the chest before grabbing the bag off the counter.

"thank your Mother for us, Rosie." i smiled at the girl.

"i will," she grinned back.

"come on," i called to the boys. "seeing as you're so ready to buy me things, let's go shopping."

*

we didn't go shopping.

instead, Pansy took us to a cafe and led us into an empty booth, sitting down heavily and dropping her bag on the seat.

"come on then," she waved her hand around. "open the mystery package."

i sat next to Matteo, leaving Draco to slide in beside Pansy.

i ripped into the brown paper to find a stack of papers.

i sifted through them, finding letters and drawings and photographs of a girl stood on the stool at Mrs Hailer's shop.

Matteo picked one of the pictures up. "she has your nose."

i looked over the image he held. "and your eyes... and Tom's jaw."

"so either someone time travelled and took Lola's nose and Matt's eyes and Tom's jaw..." Pansy grabbed another photo. "or that's your mother."

"or it's just... our cousin." i scanned through a letter. 

"or our sister who died?" Matteo added helplessly.

"look," Draco pushed a photograph across the table. "that's Mother and Bella with her."

sure enough, the three girls stood beaming outside Mrs Hailer's shop, bags in hand and arms wrapped around each other in tight embraces.

"Merlin," Pansy looked at Draco. "did you know about this?"

"of course i didn't," he scoffed. "we'll have to ask them about it."

i nodded, wondering how forthcoming the sisters would be with their information.

they looked so close in the photo, it was strange they'd never mentioned anything.

i picked up a letter from the pile, scanning through the contents.

Merlin, even our handwriting was similar.

parts of the letter stood out to me so i read the whole thing slowly, not wanting to miss anything.

Dearest Mrs Hailer,

thank you for the advice, and please give my love to little baby Rosie too!
Bell and i leave for Italy in a few days, and unfortunately i will not be able to collect my birthday gown in time. i would find it extremely helpful if you were able to send it to my parents' house either by owl or muggle postage. please address it to Isaurelia Nightlock of Woodperry House.
i really don't think my Mother and Father will ever move houses—they're so in love with the place!
i will be back in London next month and will stop by to get some new measurements.

thank you for such a beautiful dress for the Yule Ball, all eyes were on me!
and thank you for making this dress for me too, i can't wait to wear it.

love, Aura

i handed the letter to Matteo who read it in half the time i did, before looking up at me.

"Nightlock?" he looked up at me. "as in Flo Nightlock?"

i imagined the head girl in my mind—they did share some of the same features.

"i haven't seen her at all since the day we joined," i frowned.

"didn't you hear?" Pansy asked. "she left. she's in Italy now."

"Italy?" i frowned at the letter. "as in, Aura was Italian? she says here she was going there... with 'Bell...' could that be Bellatrix."

Draco nodded slowly.

"how strange," Pansy mused. "maybe Isaurelia's parents still live at Woodperry House."

"our grandparents." the word felt odd to say.

"it says here they'd never move," Matteo pointed to the line.

"we could... stop by on our way back to school?" Draco suggested.

i nodded, picking up more papers.

there were bills for dresses, each of them had received little discounts.

all of the pictures were of Isaurelia stood on the same stool i'd stood on in Mrs Hailer's shop, wearing fancy dresses and hats.

the drawings matched up with the dresses she wore in the photographs.

"i don't have the slightest idea where we would even start looking for the place." i smoothed the letter out.

"i know a way," Draco said. "flue powder."

"you're a genius, Malfoy!" Matteo grinned.

Draco only shrugged.

"i've probably got some at home," Pansy put the papers she'd taken onto the pile.

"great," i wrapped everything back in the brown paper and tied it up. "then let's go to Woodperry House."