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( the trip )
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━━ The Hogsmeade trip had finally arrived. Mila was dressed in a jacket, and securely hid the locket in one of the pockets.
She had decided she'd get Hermione to try on a load of dresses, and sneak out as she did so. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was the only one she had.
Hermione and Mila split up from the boys once they reached Hogsmeade. It was assumed that Harry and Ron would rather do anything else than watch girls try on dresses. They mentioned something about the joke shop, and Mila gladly waved them off, thankful her plan meant she only had to fool one person.
She'd already told Malfoy she would meet him at the antique shop, and though she didn't want to make him wait long, she couldn't exactly shove Hermione into a dressing room.
The shop they decided on was Melody's Materials, a boutique of sorts where most Hogwarts girls went to get their dresses. It was a nice place: it had a vanilla aroma and, in Mila's opinion, looked like any normal muggle boutique would.
Mila immediately started going through a rack of dresses, sliding the hangers firmly. "We're choosing yours first."
Hermione startled at Mila's insistence, "Why me?"
"Because you'll take the longest. Say what you will, Hermione. You may not admit that you like shopping, but you were awfully picky with your Yule Ball dress. We were here for hours last time."
Hermione shrugged, "I don't get to dress up much."
She wouldn't have said so in front of Harry and Ron, but it was just Mila here, and Mila never judged her for being the girl she was. Sometimes, Harry and Ron forget that she was a girl at all.
Mila smiled at her, "Well then, we better find something good."
Mila began pulling out all sorts of dresses and loading them into Hermione's arms. While she really wanted Hermione to be happy in a dress, she was also tactfully trying to increase her time in the changing room. She still only picked up stuff she thought Hermione would like. Even if she was sneaking away, she could still try to be a good friend.
Once she was satisfied at the large volume of choices, she pushed Hermione towards the dressing room.
"Now go on, and take your time. Absolutely no rush! At all."
