Elegy//Harry Potter [3]

28

Autumn heard a set of chimes wake her up. They rang in a beautiful melody; as if the sunrise itself could sing.

Autumn sat up and and kicked her legs off of her bed. She looked around. Everyone else wasn't there.

"They're taking a shopping day, today."

Vanessa's voice made Autumn jump.

"We're shopping tomorrow. We need to get you a wardrobe."

"Why are you being so nice to me, all of a sudden?" Autumn asked as she stood up.

"Because now I know how you felt when I spoke to you in that manner. Cassandra's the new me and I'm the new you."

Autumn sighed. "What do I have to learn about etiquette?"

"To put it simply: everything." 

Autumn stared wide-eyed as Vanessa walked over towards a closet and pulled out a giant trunk. "Now, what's your waist size?"

"Erm, I dunno."

Vanessa pursed her lips as she grabbed a skirt. "Try this on. It should be snug and comfortable, but you should be able to jump without it moving."

Autumn slid the skirt under her nightgown and jumped around. It didn't fall.

"It fits." Autumn said, feeling the material. "This is really soft."

"It should be; it's silk."

"Silk!?" Autumn shouted. "Why am I wearing silk?"

"Because it protects your skin from everything else you're about to put on."

Autumn nodded, confused about what was happening.

"Now, try these on. It goes over the skirt, so don't tuck it in. But take our gown off first."

Autumn nodded and grabbed the bra and shirt and went to the standing curtain. She took the nightgown off and clipped the bra on, then tossed the shirt over her head and slid it down.

"This look alright?"

Vanessa nodded and grabbed the next thing.

Autumn felt the strange skirt go over her head and find its way to her waist.

"This is a crinoline. It goes under your dress to make it poof out more. Understand?"

Autumn nodded.

"You will mainly wear that for events."

"Events? What events?"

"Adoption events, Sunday tea parties, or when Miss Clementine and Mr. Ingram take you somewhere public."

Autumn nodded slowly, trying to take everything in.

Vanessa grabbed a corset from another trunk. "This is a corset. It holds your stomach and chest in place so that you look skinnier in your dress."

Autumn nodded again. 

"Here, put this on around your stomach and hook it like a bra."

Autumn did as she was told. 

"Now what?" Autumn asked when she was done. "And you wear this when?"

"Again, the corset is only for events. But now, you put your shoes on. What size are you?"

"Four." (6.5 for a female's shoe for all you Americans reading this. For reference, its average shoe size for a 13-14 year old girl.)

"Same as me. You can borrow one of mine for the day." Vanessa handed Autumn a pair of heels. "Four to six inch heels are for events only. One to three inch heels are for regular day activities only."

Autumn nodded as she sat down, slipping the five inch heels on her feet. 

"Now, it may be hard to stand, so you'll be working on that today while I go over some other basic rules."

Autumn stood, holding the end of the bed for support.

"Now for the dress." 

Autumn turned to look at the dress. It was a light lilac color and went all the way to the floor.

"Gowns like this are meant for events. The dress that I'm wearing is everyday attire."

Autumn looked at Vanessa's dress. It ended just above the knee and had a very 'classic' look to it. It had a high V neck and was a very pretty sky blue color.

"So, go ahead and slip this on. I'll be right back with stuff for your hair and face." Vanessa walked towards the bathroom out of sight.

Autumn sighed and looked around, hoping this was all some dream. She even thought to pinch herself, but didn't when she knew it wasn't a dream. She slipped the dress over her head and waited.

Vanessa came back in moments later, carrying a large bag.

"Now the fun part." Vanessa said sarcastically.

***

"And, voila." Vanessa handed Autumn a mirror to look at herself.

Autumn carefully raised it to her face. She looked. . .different. She definitely looked different. Her face was clearer and more picture-like. Her cheeks had a slight pink to them, and her lips had a slight red to them. Her eyes were surrounded by black eyeliner and her eyelids had an ombre look to them with pink and black. Her hair was no longer wavy: it now had light curls framing her face.

"I'll teach you how to do the daily makeup tomorrow morning. We'll go over eating and sitting etiquette downstairs." Vanessa walked out of the doorframe and down the stairs.

Autumn stared at herself in the mirror a bit longer. Did she still look like her mother now?