In The Shadow of Our Choices

Chapter 20 - Two to Tango

"Where are you off to?" Andrew asked.

He was sitting at his usual table in the common room, working on some homework. Elizabeth, bag slung over her shoulder, paused.

"I'm meeting Poppy and Natty to get ready for tonight," she said.

Andrew frowned and checked his watch.

"We've got three hours before the feast starts, it won't take that long will it?"

Elizabeth shrugged.

"This is when they told me to meet them. Maybe they want to do something else first. I don't know."

Andrew stood, straightening his robes. He took both her hands.

"Well, I'll meet you in the entrance hall before the feast then," he said, "I can't wait to see what they picked out for you to wear."

He smiled impishly - she'd complained to him multiple times since Wednesday about getting dragged shopping. Though, per Poppy's request, she hadn't shown him the dress yet. Andrew had found the whole thing highly amusing. When she didn't smile back, he swung her hands a little and caught her eyes with his.

"Hey, we'll have fun tonight," he said, "And if you don't - we'll leave. We can go find a cave to explore or something."

This did bring a small smile to her lips. Andrew had been trying very hard to make her smile this week, ever since the letter and their run through London. He could tell it was weighing on her. Her own safety was one thing, but she'd never wanted Mary - sweet, kind, non-magic Mary - dragged into her mess. Andrew kissed her hand as he always did, and she waved to him as she left the common room.

She met Natty in the fourth floor girl's bathroom. Poppy had yet to arrive. Natty had already changed into her dress robes, which were a deep burgundy with gold trim and cream lace ruffles.

"Elizabeth!" Natty said, "You look like you're about to attend a funeral. What's wrong?"

Elizabeth shrugged off her bag.

"I just don't feel much like celebrating, I suppose."

Natty's smile didn't falter.

"Ah, but you, of all people, deserve to celebrate! Especially after last year. For one night, you should put your worries aside."

Elizabeth didn't deserve to celebrate anything. Murderer. All the same though, she foisted a smile onto her face.

"You're right, Natty. My apologies - I'll try to have fun tonight."

The door swung open as Poppy entered, beaming. She gasped when she saw Natty.

"Oh, Natty! I just knew those robes would look wonderful on you."

Elizabeth let them run away with the conversation. She chewed her lip as she dug her own dress out of her bag, where she'd stowed it carefully. It was odd - here in the wizarding world, she wasn't short on money. She even owned some very fine dress robes. And yet, it felt so weird to own a dress like this. Growing up, she never would have dreamt she'd buy something like this. Something she only saw the wealthiest women wearing on their way to evening parties. She held it gingerly, even though it'd cost half of what her dress robes had - Mr. Hill hadn't charged nearly as much as the dress was worth in the muggle world.

The dress itself was a lovely pastel pink with silver trim. Poppy insisted that the pink looked good with her hair. A small part of her was glad that Natty and Poppy had insisted on this dress because it had loose, short sleeves that wouldn't restrict her if there was trouble. Likewise, there was no long train that could affect her movement. It also had a pair of silvery, long evening gloves that would cover the ancient magic scars that lashed across her arms. Ominis was still the singular person who knew about those. So, all around it seemed like a decent enough choice.