𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

three

I looked at my dress robes. They were bland and definitely used multiple times before.

This was something I couldn't fix, but I knew someone who could.

"Courtney!" I yelled, walking out into the common room to find my friend. I was holding my dress robes in one hand.

"Hi, Y/n, what's u--WHAT ARE THOSE?" she shrieked.

"They are the dress robes my dad sent me. We . . . we need to fix this."

"Bloody hell, of course, we do! This is an emergency!"

I rolled my eyes but nodded anyway. "It's not that bad, but we still need to do something about it."

Courtney shot up, startling me. "Not that bad?" she repeated, screeching. "Those things are dreadful! Trash! We have to get rid of them! Burn them!"

"Courtney, wait--"

"We're getting Fawn and we are going to do something about this!"

"Our next Hogsmeade trip isn't until the week before the Yule Ball. What much can we do?"

"We can--no, we will make a new one entirely! I got a bunch of fabrics, so we can use those to sew new dress robes," Courtney answered, dragging me up the stairs to our dorm.

As usual, Fawn was in there, drawing in her journal.

"Hey, guys," she said, looking up at us and putting her pencil down.

"Fawn! We have a disaster!" Courtney grabbed my dress robes and held them up to Fawn. "Do you see this? They're horrible!"

"They . . . are."

"The next Hogsmeade trip isn't for another month, and Y/n needs something to wear! With my sewing ability and your artistic talent, we can create new dress robes for our friend. It won't be that hard, plus Y/n will look amazing!"

"Tempting . . . . I'm in."

~~~

After our classes, for the next three weeks, we were cooped up in our dorm room, trying to sew and put together my dress robes.

Let's just say that it was very complicated.

Honestly, I don't know how Courtney and Fawn did it, but I do know that they both have my highest respect.

After getting my sizes, we chose the fabrics and cut them. Fawn made sure that they were the right length while Courtney started sewing. It was hard to stand around for hours and do nothing while my two best friends worked on my outfit, but I got the chance to do homework and practise spells.

Two weeks before the Yule Ball, my robes were finished.

They were beautiful. The fabric was silky on the inside and flowy on the outside. It moved like water and was a beautiful shade of grey. There were fake butterflies and mini flowers sewn onto the skirt. The sleeves were ruffled ever so slightly at the ends, enough to be pretty.

I sighed. The dress was beautiful . . . if only it enhanced my looks too.

I noticed that Courtney and Fawn had gone silent. They were admiring their work.

Suddenly, they squealed.

"Bloody hell, Y/n!" Courtney gushed. "You look amazing! And the dress--it's so beautiful!"

I smiled. "Yeah, the dress is great. I can't agree with me, though."

"Oh, shush. You are beautiful. You just see yourself every day, so you don't see it anymore," Fawn countered.

I looked down at my hands. "You two are the best. I don't know what I would do without you."

~~~

With the Yule Ball approaching quickly, everyone was frantically trying to find a date. The crazy fifth- and sixth-years were trying to ask the girls from Beauxbatons, while a few Ravenclaw girls were asking the Durmstrang guys.

Of course, with me being the too-sweet Hufflepuff, nobody wanted to take me. I didn't ask anyone because I didn't want to be rejected. So far, I was fine with no one asking me.

The blond Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, walked up to me on my way to the Great Hall for dinner. I was surprised that he wasn't mad this time, and he looked at me with a face of sincerity.

"L/n, I know we didn't get off on the right foot, but I need a date to the Yule Ball. Pansy Parkinson wants to go with me, but I absolutely refuse to go with her. She's so clingy. Also, I noticed that you don't have a date either, so we could go together to save our reputations."

"You mean your reputation," I countered.

"Same difference. So, L/n, what do you say? This benefits both of us socially. You would be going with me, the Draco Malfoy, or, to some, the Slytherin Prince, and I would be going with a . . . very talented and pretty Hufflepuff." His so-called famous smirk was back.

"I thought you hated Hufflepuffs."

"I do, but my reputation comes first. I cannot be seen without a date."

"So, you're just using me to save your popularity?"

"Let's just say we are helping each other."

I thought for a moment before saying, "Fine. I'll do it."

Malfoy stuck out his hand, and we shook on it.