"Hold still!" Farah Tourneaux commanded severely, wielding the hairbrush in a threatening manner. "This is the most delicate part!"

"Sorry," Rose apologized quickly, straightening her neck and fighting down a smile, for fear of appearing not sorry at all.

"Keep your eyes shut," Farah instructed. "We can't have you getting glitter in your eyes and tearing up and ruining your makeup!"

"Um, but you said — "

"That makeup was unnecessary? Of course it is, dear," she explained patiently. "But of course I put some around your eyes, just for definition, you know."'

Rose honestly didn't know, but chose to keep this information to herself. Makeup and the like had always seemed awfully trivial to her — a waste of time and energy. So naturally, allowing this delicate matter to be handled by Rose herself was completely out of the question, or so Cynthia had decreed. No, only the most talented hands could be given the job of dressing Rose up for the Yule Ball, as she was going — to quote Cynthia directly — "with her future husband".

Lily had volunteered, but in the end Farah Tourneaux, diva of all divas, sister to the Ethan Tourneaux, got wind of the plot and wasted no time in offering up her wholehearted services — free of charge, satisfaction guaranteed.

That was how Rose had ended up here, half an hour before the big event, enduring Farah Tourneaux the Snorer's endless fiddling and gossip, while Cynthia took charge of her own makeover at a nearby mirror. Cynthia was going stag, by choice; she allegedly would have nothing to do with the boys who had made plays for her hand.

Rose heard the gentle swishing sound of the glitter near her ear and kept her eyes shut tight. Presently the sound of a bottle being set down on the vanity reached her ears, and she opened her eyes.

After a few more minutes of chattery touch-up, Farah came around to the front of Rose and stood back, surveying her with an air of distinct satisfaction.

"Gorgeous, that's what you are," she informed Rose cheerily. "Well, take a look at yourself, dear!"

Rose gulped and turned hesitantly towards the mirror, having no idea what to expect — Farah had kept her in the dark for the duration of the experience.

When she finally caught sight of herself, Rose had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Then she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When neither attempts offered any altering results, Rose was forced to conclude that the stranger in the mirror really was her.

Farah had somehow managed to reign in the copper mess that was Rose's hair. It had been pulled up and back, and, craning around, Rose saw where the glitter had gone to work — curls tumbled from a fancy knot in perfect sequence, and could've been lightly dusted with sparkling, silver, unmeltable snow. A large dark green ribbon had been masterfully incorporated. Purposely stray curls framed her face too, in an I don't even have to try to be stunning sort of way.

But it was her eyes that really made the difference — what was up wth all Farah's "you don't need makeup" gab? Clearly, that catchphrase had been employed solely in order to suppress a rebellion. She's done something subtle with eyeshadow that gave off a smoky yet pretty look. Here glitter had been applied in tiny amounts, so it seemed as though Rose's very eyes sparkled if she positioned her head just so. Mascara had been dealt generously. Looking closer, Rose noticed a faint shimmer about her lips, too. All in all, she looked pretty awesome.

"Well?" Farah queried proudly.

"It's... I'm... I'm..." Rose scrambled for the right words. "...sparkly," she finished lamely. In truth, she did think Farah had really outdone herself, but there were no words currently available in her vocabulary useful for expressing the feeling. She'd probably gone into shock, or something.

"Well, the eyeliner pencil was a glittery grey, yes," Farah agreed, as if she hadn't spent ten minutes glittering Rose's hair. "But you look lovely, dear, doesn't she, Cynthia?"

Cynthia, finally catching on, rushed over, grabbed Rose's shoulders and spun her towards her, scrutinized her, and gasped. "Gee, Rose... I don't even know what to say! Wow. Just wow."

Their other dorm mates crowded over too, all half done up, ooh-ing and ah-ing at Farah's work. Rose felt momentarily like a zoo animal on display.

"Thank you, thank you!" Farah beamed. "Well, let's see about that dress then, shall we?"

Recently, Rose's parents had sent her a letter inquiring after the kind of dress they ought to purchase for her. Farah, who had chanced to discover Rose as she was reading the letter to Cynthia by the fire, had instantly pounced upon it and assured Rose that she could be trusted with the matter and not to worry, everything was under control.

Apparently, Farah had given Rose's parents specific instructions and they had followed them accordingly, because Farah had recently received a suspicious looking package borne by seven exhausted owls and had refused to let Rose even touch it.

Now, Rose followed Farah over to the latter's bed, with Cynthia bouncing excitedly in tow, hair half done, hairbrush in hand.

"Here we go!" Farah exclaimed, bending down to pry up the lid of her trunk. "It's the big reveal! Drumroll, please!"

Cynthia complied instantly, drumming her fingers at lighting speed on the end of Farah's bed. Rose felt a surge of excitement, her previous stunnedness melting away to make room for the anticipation.

Farah's efficient hands tugged the suspicious parcel from the top layer of misc in her trunk and laid it on the bed. Carefully, she peeled away the wrapping layer by layer. Cynthia stopped drumrolling and leaned over the bed to get a better look. After what felt like a million years of waiting, the dress was revealed in all its glory.

Farah fell back with a happy sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin, I'll admit I was a little worried about their choice! — but this, this definitely exceeds my expectations. Rose, your mother has excellent taste, I didn't even really..."

But Rose was no longer listening, so occupied was she with gazing, speechless, at this new and even more extreme wonder.

She gathered it up hesitantly. It was made of some sort of soft flowing silvery-grey material speckled with little dark green shinies. A shimmering dark green sash topped it all off.

"OMYGOD!!! PUT IT ON!!!!" Cynthia gasped/squealed/screamed.

Rose didn't need to be told twice. She bounded down to her bed, yanked the curtains around it and dressed as fast as is possible when you're trying not to tear anything. It fit perfectly, clinging yet floating, just barely reaching past her knees in the front and midway down her calves at the back. The sleeves, or lack thereof, fell lightly around her shoulders. The sash rested just on her ribs.

"Wow," she said aloud. She heard Cynthia make a strangled squeaky noise.

"I'm coming in to tie the sash for you," Farah called. "And then you can see her," she added warningly to Cynthia.

"Fine," Cynthia agreed grudgingly.

Moments later Farah slipped around the curtain, beaming as soon as her blue eyes found Rose and launching into another bout of praise for Mrs. Weasleys miraculous taste. She took a long time tying the sash, fussing incorrigibly over the position and tightness before tying a bow with painstaking care. When she finally announced it satisfactory, Farah produced a cute little pair of bowed dark green flats and a delicate silver bead bracelet. "Your Mum sent these, too."

Rose slipped them on carefully and twirled on the the spot, admiring the way the dress billowed out at the bottom. "How do I look?"

"Simply stunning, honey," Farah assured her affectionately. "Now go wow your friend!"

Rose obeyed, but only gave Cynthia a few moments to fangirl over her before she proceeded to the mirror and examined her unrecognizable self once again.

All the grey, surprisingly enough, complimented her hair and eyes perfectly. And the green left no room for improvement.

Unable to hide the sudden rush of affection for Farah that exploded inside her, Rose flung her arms around the taller blonde. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Any time. My pleasure!" Farah laughed her tinkling laugh, pulling away. "Careful, you'll wrinkle your dress!" She glanced up at clock. "Oh, it's almost time. Go on down now, dear, you can repay me by having the time of your life tonight!"

"But... what about you?" Rose asked uncertainly.

"Don't you worry about me," Farah said with a wink. "I've got it all under control. Go on," she urged. "I'll be right behind you." And she bustled off back to the vanity, snatching up one of her many instruments of beautification and getting to work with a practiced speed.

"Wait for me!" Cynthia called, disappearing behind her own bed curtains. "Let me get my dress on!"

Rose waited impatiently. Presently Cynthia emerged, gorgeous in a cute little teal dress with a pleated skirt and fluttery sleeves, and matching heels. She'd freed her hair from its pigtails for the occasion and curled it to perfection, putting it up with a teal ribbon in a half-up-half-down style. The overall effect was extremely pretty.

"You look great," Rose marvelled.

"So do you," Cynthia beamed, linking her arms through Rose's. "Come on, let's get going — we don't want to keep Scorpy waiting, now, do we? He'll have a nervous breakdown when he sees you anyway."

Rose shook her head but allowed herself to be towed down into the rapidly emptying common room, into the corridor, and up the stairs, at the top of which waited someone who caused Rose's heart to begin thumpity-thumping way too violently.

"Hey, Rose," Scorpius greeted her, grinning, holding out a hand. "Well, don't you look amazing."
~
A/N: HAH!!! I lied. That wasn't the last chapter. That was just a cute little filler! The NEXT one will be the last. (I'm, like, 89% sure it will be, at least). Lol Thia is such a fangirl. Cute. Like you. Stay tuned.