If Emilia Hatherley did nothing else during a Hogsmeade weekend, she had to make sure that she picked up owl treats. It had been a tradition that began on her very first outing, when the overwhelming freedom of exploring every shop in town on her own had made her shy – her parents hadn't often let her loose with her own spending money before, and she'd been anxious about spending too much of it. Thus, she'd returned from her very first shopping weekend with little more than a tiny brown paper sack of owl treats. She did not own an owl, not had she ever owned an owl. She just thought that if she was going to spend her parents' hard earned money on something frivolous, it should probably be for somebody else. Pampering the school post owls was a treat for both parties, so she never left Hogsmeade without that little paper sack.

Which was why, as Mimi and her dearest friend skipped through the streets toward the Charity Shop during their afternoon of freedom, her voice rang out with an insistent, “Now, don't let me forget!” She knew they had more important things to think about today – at least according to Isadora, who was far better at all things costume-related than Mimi was. Emilia's secret resentment of the Halloween dance was not actually a secret. She always attended, and she always enjoyed herself, but getting her into a costume (and then out the door) was an annual herculean task. Costumes made her feel silly and self conscious. Granted, Mimi was, in fact, both silly and self conscious, but she didn't always want to advertise!

“Or,” she said, walking quickly in an attempt to keep up with her long-legged dancer friend, her ponytail flying behind her, “Or perhaps we should stop first? For the treats? I'm sure the costumes can wait just a few more minutes!” She was stalling, and she was bad at it. With a pout, she paused in the middle of the walkway, digging her heels into the ground and waiting for Dizzy to notice that she wasn't on her heels... but she didn't notice in enough time (according to Emilia), which meant she had to jog a bit to catch up again, and by the time she was back at her side she was doubly grumpy.

“Please, do you absolutely promise I won't have to wear anything ridiculous this year?” she pleaded, looking her friend in her eyes as she bit down lightly on her lower lip. “I'd like to be a someone, not a something. A pretty, sensible someone, if you please.”

Now, don't let me forget!

It could have been the theme song to their friendship, it hung in the air between them all the time even when one of them wasn't actually saying it. Dizzy rolled her eyes (lovingly of course), because the fact was one of them always remembered. It was just how things worked. She hadn't let Mimi forget owl treats since their first trip to the village which had been so strange and wonderful. Dizzy had hardly been able to contain herself, wanting to run from shop to shop, buying a million Wizarding treats, Mimi had acted as the sort of "brake" of the day, forcing Isadora to slow down and really look. It was the first time she had realized Mimi was the other half of her coin, the one who had all the qualities she knew she sorely lacked. There was a reason they were the best of friends.

Part of that reason was she didn't just cave when Mimi got fidgety. She knew exactly what the other girl was doing, dragging her feet. Dizzy's own steps growing ever so slightly as she refused to stop. She had all the faith Mimi would catch up, and right on schedule she did. Even after four Halloweens together it still sort of blew Dizzy's mind that the other girl didn't like dressing up in costume. It was more in the face of Dizzy's own love of the holiday really, because if someone stopped to consider the sort of person Emilia was they would probably not even question her lack of interest in dressing up in dorky costumes. Last year she thought they had been very clever though! She dress up like a fawn and carried around a glittering letter "O", because going as Oh Deer! had seemed really clever, and also like one of the few ideas that didn't have "naughty" or "sexy" involved. Mimi had made an adorable Holy Cow! Of course, maybe Dizzy's perception had been colored a bit, after all she got to be a deer not a cow.

Still! This year they were like practically proper grown ups. They might even end up with dates, of course considering Mims' reaction to breasts coming up in girly time gossip a few weeks ago that might have bee a stretch of an idea. "Have I ever made you wear anything ridiculous"? For a moment her finely bone'd face twisted in indignation, bottom lip protruding, which she promptly stuck in at a glance from Mimi when she remembered making her dress up like a cow the previous year but she was a cute cow! "Okay, I solemnly swear I will not make you wear anything ridiculous or embarrassing," she paused outside the charity shop's doors and turned to face Emilia fully, "I know Indi is going as a Pegasus! Maybe you could do something from Mythology too? A Goddess maybe"? She paused again and shook her head, no Mimi probably wouldn't like that. Sighing she pulled the door open and tugged the other girl in after her, "Who do you want to be then? Muggle or Magical"?

Mimi would never forgive Dizzy for the cow thing. Never. Granted, when Emilia had finished tweaking her costume, you'd have to be brilliant to know that she was supposed to be a cow at all – but in her own mind she'd been a walking monstrosity, fit to be stared at and mocked. She'd sported a never ending blush all night, and she'd answered every inquiry regarding what she was supposed to be with a glare in Dizzy's direction (or the closest thing to a glare that she could actually manage – the girl was literally wearing a halo!), leaving her friend to explain. It didn't matter to her that the students around them were dressed in increasingly ridiculous get ups. She'd felt like a fool. She wished they'd just have a tournament ball again, like last year – a reason to dress up and look pretty rather than absurd. Did you need to host a tournament to throw a tournament ball? Couldn't it just be... symbolic? She sighed profoundly through her nose, her fringe blowing  a bit with the sudden breeze. It was a month away and it was already giving her grief!

”Have I ever made you wear anything ridiculous?” her friend asked, and she was answered with  a snort. “Absolutely!” Mimi retorted, barely missing a beat, “You will not see me in an animal suit ever again! Not for as long as I live!” Dressing up like a person was silly enough! Emilia just knew that one day Dizzy was going to suggest something so ridiculous that she'd ultimately refuse to leave the dorm and spend the entire evening hiding from people, mirrors, and her own shame. Mimi Hatherley liked to wear what she liked to wear and that was all she liked to wear, so help her! She knew Dizzy knew that, and she responded to her promise with a nod. “Thank you,” she spoke, “And I won't make you regret the decision. I'm so very glad we're in agreement.”

For now, she thought. It was always For now with Isadora. It kept things interesting, generally.

“A pegasus?” she repeated when her friend revealed Indi's costume idea, her eyes growing wide. “Never, never! Not in a million years! Never! There isn't a single sum I'd accept!” She was humiliated on Indi's behalf! If Dizzy had lead with 'goddess' and mentioned the pegasus costume later then there was a possibility that she may have taken the bait... but the thought of dressing up like a winged horse had colored her perceptions of everything that came after, and she couldn't bear to be associated. She scurried in after her friend  as she  was shoved in through the door of the shop and the bells tinkled above them. It smelled musty. She wasn't sure if she liked it or if she wanted to vomit.

”Who do you want to be then? Muggle or Magical?”

“Neither,” she responded at once. “Can't I just wear a dress?” she asked, brow crumpling, knowing full well that she'd answered the question incorrectly. “I'd settle for a skirt,” she offered – her idea of a compromise. Isadora should have known that if she wanted more from Mimi, she'd have to work for it a bit. “If we dig enough, we may find something vintage and lovely!” she suggested, optimistic despite the pungent pong and the sight of the discount rack in front of them, which certainly evoked scary thoughts – if not the Halloween sort of scary. Even so, she took a step deeper into the store. “This shop must be a treasure trove of period pieces, but finding them may be a project,” she nodded, hands on her hips, surveying the racks. She was up for a project!

Dizzy had decided it was her job early on in the friendship, to make sure that Mimi had fun in spite of herself. Left to her own devices, Isa was absolutely positive Mimi wouldn't do anything remotely outside her routine. Of course Dizzy and Mimi also had different ideas about just exactly what fun was. For all the issues she may or may not have had about her body (and how it was stacking up to the other girls in their year), Isadora Elphick didn't think being silly was something to avoid. It was something to be reveled in! They only had a few more years before they had to go out into the world and be extremely serious (in Mimi's case neurotic) people! She didn't want to sign over to being a humorless lump in 5th year, she had the rest of her life to look forward to that!

Luckily Dizzy had the uncanny ability to just tune out whatever Mimi was saying when it didn't fit into her grand scheme of things, or at least when she felt what she wanted was better for Mimi than what Mimi wanted. In this particular case, rather than fighting about how cute Indi may or may not have been as a majestic wing'd horse, she simply held her hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. No mythology. Sheesh," to her credit she didn't actually roll her eyes, but she wanted to. The idea of something vintage, a period piece, now that she could work with. Mostly she just wanted Mimi to enjoy Halloween this year and not feel the need to glower and hide, but also she had to do something more inspired than a pretty dress.

She could see the project glint in Mimi's eyes and resigned herself to the fact this would be a thing today. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, "I don't know about all that," her eyes moved over the discount rack and she tried not to visibly shudder, "But even if we don't find anything, I think Mum still has a trunk of Mama Mawdesley's things. She was a cigarette girl in the 20's. There could be lots of interesting things in there"! When Dizzy had been very little, after they'd left London, her favorite thing had been to carefully go through the trunk, playing dress up and looking at old family pictures.   Maybe today's adventure in rack scavenging would be like that, a girl could hope!

Mimi Hatherley loved having fun! She loved joining clubs and participating in activities! She loved quaint sleepovers with lots of chit-chat! She loved shopping (usually) and singing and looking after animals  - she could even be convinced to dance if she was alone with Dizzy and the door was shut! She was fun! She was so much fun, and resented the idea that she wasn't! She'd never be a humorless lump! That would require her to be a lump first and foremost, and the bird-like redhead just didn't fit the description! She would concede, however, that Isadora had wonderful ideas sometimes. Holy Cows, however, had not been one of them. Would she swim to the ends of the earth for her very favorite witch? Absolutely. No question. Would she dress up like a barnyard animal for a second time? Not a chance. Fun was subjective. Looking foolish was not fun, and she could not understand the appeal.

Dressing up, however, she could get behind, and she was excited to go treasure hunting. She would have preferred to do it somewhere else, of course... and she could see in her friend's eyes that there was a good chance that she agreed. Mimi still may have gone diving head first into the depths of the saturated racks of old things had Dizzy not offered something even more tempting. “The twenties!” Emilia gushed, immediately imagining gorgeous details like beads and feathers – the sorts of things she would love to dress up in, assuming they weren't accompanied by cow hide. “Was she very glamorous?” she asked, begging for details with wide eyes and a hungry smile. “My grandmummy has some very lovely pieces, but she doesn't like me touching them. They're not quite so old – only from when she was younger. She used to wear gowns to functions when granddaddy was an officer.” She was smiling, even if she didn't have quite the same relationship to the old things that Dizzy did. Mum once had some pretty things in her closet, too, she remembered, but they'd all been sold into consignment in recent years. Mum wasn't an officer's wife anymore, after all, and didn't have particularly fond memories of a time when she was.

“Maybe...” Emilia offered tentatively, a sneaky little self conscious smile on her lips as she twisted her body gently from side to side, “Maybe we can look through those things and save this treasure hunt for, ah... another day, perhaps?” she suggested. “It smells a bit, ah...a bit like I could use some fresh air.” She eyed the door of the shop. “Might be best to head out and enjoy the day! Can we have a cup of tea and something nice from the little bakeshop?”