sew much to do [open]

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Antonia walked out of Gringotts with a spring in her step and galleons in her wallet - an excellent set of circumstances. Free hours, and she was in need of a new dress. Well, no, she was in need of nothing. She wanted a new dress. It had been a long week - she deserved a new dress.

She entered Madam Malkin's and confirmed that they could be ready for a fitting in fifteen minutes, so she riffled through the fabric on the hangars, looking for... something. She would know it when she saw it.

And she did. She just saw someone else's hand on it. "Excuse me, but were you done with that?"

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Ginny Potter wasn't the type to be so frivolous as to spend Galleons upon Galleons of her husband's money on new robes, but that didn't mean that she could go without the magical wardrobe staple, either. That was what had brought her to Madam Malkin's, though she felt like a fish out of water in the store. Most of the other customers came there with some knowledge of what they wanted, but having the freedom to buy something other than Hogwarts uniform robes was always a bit overwhelming. Her wardrobe was mostly made up of clothing that she had already had at the time of the accident, so going back into the robe shop tended to feel like something of a novelty.

She was browsing the selection available to her as readymade garments, not wanting to go to the trouble of ordering anything bespoke. Still, it wasn't going to hurt anyone to look at the fabrics that could be customized into something specific to her tastes. It seemed wasteful, with so many bolts of fabrics that she couldn't even imagine that someone would allow to see the light of day. There was one fabric, however, that caught her eye, and she thought that she saw a dress made from it that was hanging not far away.

In the hope that she could get a better look at it, Ginny walked over, about to pull the hanger from the rack, when she heard another person's voice from behind her. “Excuse me, but were you done with that?”

Turning around to see who had addressed her, Ginny nodded. She wasn't going to stop someone who would get more out of the dress than she ever would, and she didn't think that the fabric itself would be too comfortable. “Here,” she said, stepping out of the way of the other woman, a younger and very put-together-looking blonde. “It's not really my style.” (Too pretentious, maybe, although she didn't say that aloud.)

@antonia

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"Thank you," Antonia replied, reaching across to lift the royal blue dress from the rack. It was a stunning colour that she knew would make her eyes pop brilliantly, so she held it up against herself, and frowned.

"Oh, that's longer than I was hoping for. Unless..." She pursed her lips, and asked the red-haired woman who'd given her the chance to take a closer look, "do you think a skirt that long would make me look dowdy and old-fashioned? Because I have no desire to look like either of those things." Or she could just get it hemmed, she supposed.

@ginevra

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“Oh,” remarked the woman after she had begun to inspect the dress. At first, Ginny wondered if there might have been a tear in the fabric, but that wasn't the case. The dress was longer, apparently, than the woman had believed it to be. “Unless…”

The woman looked to her for her input. “Do you think a skirt that long would make me look dowdy and old-fashioned?” she asked.

Luckily, Ginny didn't think that the woman was asking because she thought that she looked “dowdy and old-fashioned”. Rather, she actually seemed to care about her opinion.

Ginny took another look at the garment to make sure that she hadn't missed anything glaringly obvious. “No,” she shook her head honestly. She didn't think that it would look bad on the woman at all. “I don't think so.” Maybe it was a little bit on the longer side, but most robes weren't exactly short. “Why not try it on?” she suggested; it could be altered, after all.

@antonia

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At the other woman's indication that it didn't look too dowdy, Antonia held it out consideringly. The cut at the collar was nice. Yes, as the other woman - who she had a sneaking suspicion might well be Ginevra Weasley, on account of that red hair - suggested, trying it on would work be a good step.

"Yes, I think I will." She tucked into a dressing room, changing quickly. There were no mirrors in the room, so she stepped back into the main room in the blue dress to look in the mirror.

She spun back and forth, watching her reflection in the mirror. "Hem it a bit, maybe cinch it in at the waist a little," she said, absent-mindedly. She glanced back to the other woman and said "Good call - I think it suits me."

@ginevra

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The woman agreed that she should go back into the fitting room with the dress, after all. Ginny nodded in response, happy to see that the other woman hadn't decided against it so quickly. It wouldn't be much trouble to alter it, she thought, though hand-me-downs had always been common for her and her brothers when they were growing up.

She waited while the other woman changed, idly browsing the selection again and hoping that she hadn't been wrong about the dress. If it ended up looking horrible, she would feel bad for making the wrong judgment about it.

Not long after she had gone behind the curtain, the woman stepped out again, wearing the dress. The blonde approached the mirror, and Ginny smiled, walking over to her as she listened to her musings.

“Hem it a bit, maybe cinch it in at the waist a little…” It looked nice as it was, thought Ginny, but she agreed that it would be perfect then.

“Good call—I think it suits me.”

Ginny smiled again at the compliment. “It really does look beautiful on you,” she told the woman, complimenting her in return.

@antonia

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The woman complimented her, and the dress, and Antonia smiled broadly, spinning a little so the skirt flared elegantly. Yes, it was excellent, and it wouldn't take much to be perfect. "Thank you for your help! Were you looking for something for yourself? Can I return the favour?" It was only polite, of course. And if she happened to end up in the good graces of one of the Weasleys, well, she was sure that would be something she could use later.

@ginevra