Fate Set Right

Chapter 4

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December 23, 1974

Dearest Hermione,

I'm sorry to hear that you won't be spending the holidays with us, but I'm glad it's for such a good reason. I always found it hard adjusting to home after being at school for some time, and it was always wonderful when a friend chose to stay with me. I've included a second bag of candy for your friend in hopes that this one will last until you come for Christmas Eve dinner.

She told me about the Yule Ball, and I'm sorry I didn't prepare you before you left. It slipped my mind until your letter.

I hope this dress will do. I had to go to Kiera, and since the matter was of some urgency, she didn't have time to find a more fitting piece.

I look forward to seeing you again, Hermione. Christmas Eve cannot come fast enough.

Yours,

Delia

Hermione pulled the black dress from the box. There were no frills to it, no embroidery. There were no sleeves, and the sweetheart neckline wasn't too revealing. It was lovely for such a last-minute find.

Lily had eagerly regaled to a barely-interested Hermione and Severus about how the Yule Ball was a tradition at Hogwarts. As if quoting Hogwarts: A History , Lily recited how it had once been part of the Triwizard Tournament, held on Christmas by whichever school was hosting. Once the tournament was cancelled, the ball was moved to December 23rd as a holiday send-off.

Hermione wondered what she would have done for the Yule Ball in 1994. Would she have desperately wanted to go with Ron? Would she have gone with Neville because he would be the one to ask, instead of Ron? Would she have bothered or spent the night in the library?

With a shake of her head, Hermione stood from her bed and gently laid the dress out.

"Oh, that's nice," Marlene said, eyeing the garment. Her hair was pinned in magically-heated rollers, and she and the other girls had been walking around in their dressing gowns since classes had finished. "If you start now, you can get your hair pinned up."

"Start what now?" Hermione asked.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Getting ready?" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Honestly, you have such potential, Hermione, but your hair .... Well, it needs the full two and a half hours to be tamed into anything appropriate enough for the ball."

Lily walked into the room then. Her hair was also up in curlers, and she had clearly finished doing her makeup before dashing over to her bed where she'd left a book open. She plucked up her wand and tapped it against her lips, furrowing her brow in concentration. "Should I charm my nails pink or silver?" she asked the room at large, and this started a debate between Alice and Marlene.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stripped off her uniform and pulled on her borrowed dress. It fit nicely, since Keira McGonagall was of a similar build to Hermione, only slightly taller. Accio ing her wand from the bed, Hermione did a quick spell to make the dress a little shorter.

Her hair was atrocious, though it could have been worse if she had had Potions during the day. Wrangling the sides back, she tied them back away from her face while having the added bonus of looking somewhat nice. She had no jewelry to go with the dress, but if she were being honest with herself, she didn't really care. She was only going because Lily had begged and Severus had outright refused, and somehow Hermione got dragged into going in order to keep the peace. She imagined the peace was silence, as opposed to Lily's incessant nagging.