Staying Alive // D.M *On Hold*

1.5 - A Few Days Till the Yule Ball

"There is a jewelry store, Hermione." She pointed out excitedly. "We should go inside!"

"How do you have the money to buy real jewelry?" The brunette asked suspiciously. She knew how much Mia liked buying expensive things and was genuinely worried that she was spending the money carelessly. She was sure a few pieces of gold wouldn't affect her vault much but wanted to know how she currently had that much money on her. There weren't Gringotts she could get it.

"Remus has my bank key so I asked him to send me some money for my ball dress but as expected neither Sirius nor Remus has any idea how much a dress robe costs. They have sent me way more than I need and since I made Harry promise to pay for my shoes after I helped him with the first task, I can spend as much as I want." Her eyes were shining in a rare way. It wasn't every day you could see Euphemia Potter fangirling over something.

Hermione sighed at this. She supposed it was only fair for Mia to have some jewelry for the ball. "Okay, let's check it out, but..." She looked around. "Don't you think we should wait for Susan and Lisa?" 

"Oh, no. Susan told me to go ahead, she would try some dresses on while Lisa has hers fitted." She waved her hand dismissively as she walked to the store. She went inside knowing that Hermione was following her.

"Welcome young misses, here for the Yule ball?" The man inside smiled at them kindly. He frowned when he noticed who it was. "Wait, I know you. I've seen you both on the Daily Prophet. You're Euphemia Potter, Harry Potter's twin and you're his girlfriend." Hermione blushed to a deep red, she seemed extremely bothered while Mia enjoyed Gryffindor's reaction. "Rita Skeeter wrote about you."

"Yes, I'm indeed Harry's twin but Hermione here is just a friend to him. That annoying bug wrote it to stay in the spotlight." Mia rolled her eyes, coming closer to the glass boxes to see the jewelry on display. The man let out a laugh.

"When have we seen her write the truth, right?" He came closer to them. "Is there anything particular you're looking for, Miss Potter?"

"Yes, I need a gold necklace, earrings, and a bracelet. Some hairpiece would also be nice." And with that, they have spent the last half an hour deciding what to buy. The girls fussed over the options as the man held a kind smile, amused by their playful banter and youth. He wished he could return to his schooling days as he observed them.

"Is that all?" The man finished putting their things in a bag. Mia had gotten everything she needed and even Hermione had bought a pair of silver earrings. Mia was about to say yes when her eyes caught a glimpse of a necklace. It was a silver swan. On one side there were embedded diamonds and in the middle, it held a single pearl. It was a delicate piece. It reminded Mia of the swan wallpaper in the guest room of Malfoy Manor. She hadn't given it much thought back then but she assumed Narcissa must've chosen all the decorations. It meant she liked swans. An idea popped up in her mind.

"How much for that?" Mia asked, pointing to the necklace. The shopkeeper took a look at it.

"75 galleons 10 sickles." He said, making Hermione gasp at the price. It was surely overpriced. The man gave them a gentle smile. "It's not silver, ladies. That is white gold. it's why the necklace is pricey."

"Oh," Mia nodded, doing a quick math in her head. "I'll buy it. Can you please wrap it as a gift?"

"Of course, Miss Potter." The man quickly got to work as Hermione yanked Mia's arm getting her away from the shopkeeper to talk.

"A gift? Whom might you buy such an expensive gift?" She had a frown on her beautiful face. Mia gave her a toothy grin.

"I want to make you frustrated by not telling you but since you're going to help me cover up this purchase to my brother I'll have to give up my fun." She leaned in closer. "It's for Narcissa Malfoy." Hermione gasped audibly, her eyes doubling in size. "Don't give me that look. They took me in and Malfoy saved my life when he had no responsibility to do so. This way I'll thank her and we'll be even."

Hermione thought a bit about it before nodding. "That's fair I suppose."

***

On the first day after a very tiring weekend of shopping with her friends, Mia was sat with Susan on the grass with a letter in her hand. It was the warmest day of the season yet and if you kept your robes on you wouldn't be cold at all. Susan's head was buried in her Divination homework. A complaint was falling from her lips every few seconds as she turned the cup in her hands in every direction possible, trying to see a piece of the future in it. Mia elbowed her gently to gain her attention, showing the letter to her hands when she finally looked up after the third poke.