Dan shook his head as they left the back. "Vicious, those goblins. I heard they were nasty bankers, but I didn't expect them to be such pushy salesmen as well. Where to next?"
"Um, it was walking distance from the Leaky Cauldron, if I remember correctly. I can't recall the name of the store, but I can find my way there."
"It's not a jewellery store, is it?" Dan asked.
"No, why?"
"Well, we were thinking Hermione needed a necklace to complete her outfit. You already got her earrings that she's determined to wear, so I'll be buying her a necklace today. You had better not be getting one for her, too..."
"No, I'm getting her dress for her," Harry answered.
"I thought you couldn't find one yesterday?" Dan was perplexed.
"I figured a way around that," Harry answered. They walked together for about fifteen minutes before Harry found himself outside the same shop window he was at yesterday. Walking up to the manager, he asked her for the same dress, which was back on display in the front window.
Recognizing Harry, she asked, "Weren't you here yesterday? I thought the dress didn't fit your sister properly?"
Harry laughed. Well, it certainly wasn't usual for a young boy to be dress shopping with his girlfriend's mother. He didn't bother trying to correct her. "Um, I just found someone else who could do alterations quickly. I'd like to buy it now, please."
"Well, that's good news then. I've had so much trouble selling that dress. People come to look at it so often, but nobody's ended up buying it yet." She rang up the dress, neatly folding it and placing it in a large box. Harry paid for it with the money he had withdrawn before, and quickly made their way out.
"So that's it?" Dan asked, waiting for him outside.
"No, we've another stop to make. We have to head back to Diagon Alley." Another fifteen minute walk and they were back in the Leaky Cauldron. Borrowing some Floo powder from Tom, Harry explained to Dan how the Floo worked.
"Mistress Malkin's!" Harry said clearly, throwing the powder into the fireplace. As he stepped through, he tumbled out the other end. He was immensely relieved that he hadn't accidentally crushed Hermione's dress in his fall. Dan stepped out of the fireplace after him, almost tripping over Harry as he arrived.
"Why are you on the floor? Didn't you take a tumble like this last time? Am I really supposed to believe that you're the star athlete at your school?" Dan's eyes narrowed.
"I am! The fireplaces just hate me, that's all." Harry stood up, dusting himself off. They found themselves in a small shop with very unusual clothing- it was almost as if he was in the dressing room for a circus. There were feathery costumes, scaly vests, multicoloured robes not unlike the kind Dumbledore liked to wear, some pyjama-like set that was so thin it could only fit a skeleton, and other bizarre-looking things scattered about.
"Why hello, there. What can I do for you?" came a voice from behind the counter. The woman was shorter than Madam Malkin, but had a confident air about her that made her see much larger than she really was. She was busy sewing something- or, at least, directing half a dozen needles and thread to move themselves across some fabric. Harry was amazed at how much she could concentrate on at once.
"We were told to come here to have some clothes enchanted. I'll need a permanent colouring change on this dress, to a midnight blue. I'll also need the Fabulous Fit, Stain-Stopper, Lintless, and Self-Repair charms on it."
The woman looked at the dress in Harry's hands for a few moments muttering something to herself. "I haven't seen a dress like this in my lifetime. Is that all you want? I can have it done in an hour," Ms. Malkin said. "It'll cost you eight Sickles."
"What other charms can you do?" Harry asked.
"Well, I can put in a slimming charm so the lady will look a few sizes smaller than she actually is..." Harry shook his head. Hermione was plenty beautiful already, and she certainly kept herself in good health after reading all about proper nutrition, diet, and exercise.
"Hm? No? Well, I'd suggest a comfort charm. It'll feel smooth as silk whenever she puts it on, no matter what it's made of. It'll even feel the perfect temperature, even if the room's too hot or cold. That has its limits, though," she explained. "The Envy charm is one of my specialties. Every other dress in the room will seem to be shabby in comparison if you've got this charm on. It doesn't work very well if two dresses both have it. I can also do a Gliding Gown charm. The dress will never drag along the ground, or even up a flight of stairs. She'll never have her foot caught on the hem."
"Uh, I think I'll go for the comfort charm and the Gliding Gown. She can do without the others," Harry said, imagining how Hermione would look on the day of the ball.
"Oh, you've got a beautiful one, don't you? Well, with those two it'll cost you twelve Sickles, and it'll take an extra fifteen minutes." Harry paid and took a note of the time. He and Dan stepped out of the shop and into Unifer's Alley.
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