Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions

Madam Malkin's is a clothing shop next to the bookstore, Flourish & Blotts. It sells robes and other clothing, including the standard Hogwarts-required plain black work robes, and dress robes. Madam Malkin, a squat witch who wears mauve robes, and her assistants will tailor the robes to fit right in her shop. Malkin is an archaic term for a crotchety old woman.

Perpetua walks in to get her robes and sees the store is unusually empty.

"Where is Mdme. Malkin?" She asks the assistant.

"She is taking inventory, but I can help you" the assistant replies.

"No, only Mdme. Malkin can help me, I know she is of pure blood. I don't know your background and I dont want any dirty half bloods touching me." Perpetua sneers.

"Um, ok then I will go get her." the assistant happily leaves and Mdme. Malkin comes in.

"peretua you cannot come in here and abuse my assistant."

"i can do whatever i want, i am the customer" She replies

"Well, lets get you measured and fitted. I will have your robes finished by end of day and I will have them sent to your home."

Perpetua stays for the fitting then leaves.

Gilgamesh and his family enter the shop. His father walks up to the counter and rings the bell. A woman who Gilgamesh and Phaedra presume to be Madame Malkin appears from behind a bunf of hanging garments after a minute of fighting her way through them.

<Mr. Crandall> We're going to need a few sets of first year wizarding robes for my boy.

<Madame Malkin> And the girl?

Mr. Crandall looks at his daughter with a look of worry. He wanted to avoid having her see the reactions to people when they found out she was a squib, but he thinks that she might as well get used to it.

<Mr. Crandall> She's not a witch.

Madam Malkin looks the girl over in a way that makes her lool 12-feet taller than she did a moment ago before she turns to Gilgamesh and pulls a measuring tape seemingly out of thin air. She let's go of the measuring tape, and Gilgamesh and Phaedra both jumped to grab it before it drops. They stop in their tracks and gasp in harmony as, to their surprise, the tape opens on its own and starts taking Gilgamesh's measurements. Gilgamesh looks a little worried about the tape measure that taps him annoyingly whenever it wants him to change his body's position while Phaedra claps and giggles at the show. After the measurements are taken, Madam Malkin looks writes on a notepad for a moment before disappearing behind her wall of garments once again.

She returns a few moments later with a bunch of plain, black robes and rings the Crandall's out. As they leave, Mr. Crandall thinks that he hears Madam Malkin mumble something about leaving the non-magical one at home instead of making everyone else feel uncomfortable.

Emily walked into Madame Malkin's by herself, Ophelia having gone home to look after the boys. She was annoyed and angry at her mother for finding her half-brothers more important than herself. Emily wouldn't have cared if Ophelia had brought the boys along as long as her mother had had the time to do her school shopping with her. A tear streaked its way down her cheek and she wiped it away just as she heard footsteps in the other room.

<Shop Assistant> 'Hello dear. Another one for Hogwarts? Just come in through here and we'll get you all kitted out.'

Emily barely had time to nod before the shop assistant was leading her into an adjoining room. Another girl about her age was getting robes fitted by a plump little witch. Emily saw the name tag pinned to the shop assistant's robes. Her name was Hannah Longbottom. Hannah gestured for Emily to stand on the stool and she pulled a measuring tape out of her pocket. She let it hang in the air and it began to take Emily's measurements, tapping her shoulder when it wanted her to turn around.

<Hannah Longbottom> 'I'm just going to grab you some robes. Do you want any extra robes? Dress robes? Or will your standard Hogwarts robes be fine?'

Emily suddenly realised the benefits of not having her mother with her. She decided that Ophelia needed to be taught a lesson.

<Emily Black> 'I would like some dress robes please.'

<Hannah Longbottom> 'Colour preference?'

<Emily Black> 'I don't know.'

<Hannah Longbottom> 'You might look quite nice in the silver. Or perhaps the red?'

<Emily Black> 'May I please try both?'

<Hannah Longbottom> 'Of course, my dear. That's no problem.'

She waddled out of the room to collect the robes. Madame Malkin finished hemming the other girl's robes and pulled them over her head. The girl hopped off the stool and tripped over her own foot. Both the seamstress and the student giggled.

<Madame Malkin> 'Watch out, little Miss Cudgeon.'

<Annie Cudgeon> 'I'm so clumsy. I even trip over my own broom and that's when it's on the ground!!!'

Emily couldn't help herself. She burst out in fits of giggles and the other girl looked up. Her eyes were bright and cheerful, her cheeks rosy red. Madame Malkin left the room.

<Annie Cudgeon> 'Hey, I'm Annie. First year at Hogwarts as of the first of September and incredibly clumsy. Mummy is a Muggle and Daddy went to Hogwarts ages ago. Both my parents are so old! Daddy didn't come today because he had to work and Mummy always feels really uncomfortable around witches and wizards.'

Emily smiled at the friendly little girl. She had only had two good friends at her Muggle primary school which her grandmother had insisted she attend. Most of the students had been scared of her because she was different. Maybe, she thought, it'll be nice to have a friend.

<Emily Black> 'Hi. I'm Emily Black. I am going into first year at Hogwarts and I am really excited. I don't know my Dad but my stepdad is a Squib. He didn't want to come because he thought it should be something Mum and I did together. Mum is a witch but she isn't here because she went home to look after my little brothers just before.'

<Annie Cudgeon> 'Well, we're both here alone. Do you want to do the rest of our shopping together?'

Emily was very please with this offer and nodded her head vigourously. At that moment Hannah Longbottom came back into the room. Her arms were full of robes.

<Annie Cudgeon> 'Hey Mrs Longbottom. How's business at the Leaky Cauldron? And how is Mr Longbottom?'

<Hannah Longbottom> 'Hello sweetheart. Please call me Hannah and Neville, Neville. The Leaky Cauldron is great. You guys haven't been in for a while though. And I heard that Carey got engaged. Isn't that nice? I hope she'll be in here soon for her dress fittings.'

<Annie Cudgeon> 'It isn't nice!!! Carey is 'Bridezilla'. And she wants me to wear pink. You know how terrible that'll look with my hair!'

While this conversation was going on, Hannah had begun to hem Emily's robes. When her school robes were finished she folded them into a pile and handed Emily the dress robes. Emily put on the red pair first and was shocked at how terrible they looked against her complexion. She was almost too scared to try the next pair. But the silver softened her complexion and she nodded at Hannah Longbottom.

<Emily Black> 'Yes. I think I'll take these.'

Hannah began to hem the last set of robes chatting merrily to Annie. From what Emily could gather the little red-head and the Longbottoms were family friends. Hannah's husband seemed to be a teacher at Hogwarts and Carey was Annie's sister who was getting married the next summer.

<Hannah Longbottom> 'Five Galleons and four Sickles for the black pairs and three Galleons and seven Sickles for the dress robes. So eight Galleons and eleven sickles please hon.'

Emily handed over the money, thanked Mrs Longbottom and walked out of the shop with Annie, pleased to know that she had gained a friend.

Cara enters the shop.
<Cara> Can I have the standard first-year hogwarts all occasions robe kit please?
<Shopkeeper> Sure.
Shopkeeper measures Cara then picks out the correct size robes.
<Shopkeeper> 200 sickles please.
Cara hands over the money and leaves with the robe kit.

Caroline giggled as the tape measures zipped around her, they tickled. She beamed as Madam Malkin handed her the bundle that contained her very own witch's robes. She couldn't wait to get home to try them on. She would make sharp turns and twirl and watch them billow out around her. Oh wouldn't mother hurry up paying!