Burned Into Glory

Devastatingly Beautiful

"Right, so, we need Vinda to look like a complete knockout," Queenie informed Madame Trousseau, who seemed a little confused. Vinda embarrassedly clarified,

"I would like to look a little more provocative than usual this time, Madame."

"A little sexier," Queenie grinned, and Vinda rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why you are making me do this, Queenie. Showing off my chest is not going to help me win the right sort of man."

"No, but it might get you lots of dances for the night, and my goal for you is a fun party." Queenie was stout and serious as she said this, and she curled a pillow up against her stomach where she sat on Vinda's bed. "I want you to have more fun at this party than anyone's ever had at a political event, Vinda."

"Well. That shouldn't be difficult." Both witches laughed then, and Madame Trousseau reached into her Expanded trunk of dress robes. She pulled out a red silk gown, a halter cut with a low cut-out neckline. She held it up and said,

"I think I have just the thing. Let's try it on, shall we?"

"Oooh. Red." Queenie smirked. "Now that is provocative, coming from you, Vinda. Let's see it on."

Vinda shamelessly stripped down to her slip, and then took that off due to the cut of the gown. She let Madame Trousseau help her into the red silk, which fit her just so. It revealed her lovely back and her arms, and the curves of her breasts. Queenie gasped at how revealing a dress it was. The skirts of it moved easily as Vinda turned away from the mirror and insisted,

"I can not wear this!" Her cheeks were pink, but Queenie demanded,

"Why not? You look gorgeous!"

"I look like a harlot," Vinda bemoaned. Queenie hopped off the bed and headed for the door, and Vinda called,

"Where are you going?"

"To ask Gellert what he thinks of it."

"What?" Vinda sounded shocked. "Why would we ask him?"

"Because I happen to know he thinks you're very pretty, and he'll tell you so." Queenie hopped out of the room and skeddadled downstairs to Grindelwald's office. She knocked hard on the door, and when he opened it for her, she hurried inside and said breathlessly,

"Please, will you come tell Vinda she looks sexy in this gown for the party?"

Grindelwald narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why would you want me to do that?"

"She needs validation," Queenie said. "I can read in her mind that she appreciates that I think she looks pretty, but she wonders what men will think. So can you tell her how good it looks?"

Grindelwald smirked. "How good does it look?"

"Pretty good." Queenie smiled and reached for Grindelwald's hand, and as he rose and took her fingers in his, he murmured,

"You know, you really are a good friend to her."

"And she's a good friend to me," Queenie shrugged. "I've never had a good friend before. Not really. Not at school, that's for sure. Tina and I had each other, but only because we didn't have anybody else. Nobody wanted to be friends with a Legilimens; nobody wanted their thoughts read all the time. I was the mind-reading freak."

"Things change," Grindelwald noted as they approached Vinda's rooms. Queenie knocked gently on the door and then pushed it open, and when they walked in, Vinda was still standing there in the gorgeous red gown. Grindelwald's eyes went up, and he said smoothly to the humiliated-looking Vinda,