RP: Dressing the part
Date: 23 November 1999 (BACKDATED) Characters: Harry Potter Summary: Harry gets a bit of a makeover Status: Complete Open/Closed: Closed
Harry knew that he was going to have to pass off as a Muggle and so he decided that he would do it right. He had no problem using his own money to catch the bastards who had killed his surrogate mother and he wanted to show Kingsley that he could be counted on after this fiasco with the potion.
So after his run he went home and changed feeling tired but lighter. He went to Gringotts and set up what they called a mirrored Muggle account. Basically he had a Muggle credit card which actually drew the money directly from his vault.
Then he slipped out of Diagon Alley into Muggle London and found the nearest department store. There was nothing else for it he would have to ask for help. He had been wearing shrunken Dudley castoffs under his robes, but he needed to look about 110 times better.
He walked up to the saleswoman who looked to be about in hear late 60's and said, "Excuse me ma'am, I'm starting a new job tomorrow and I need a full work wardrobe, but I need someone to help me as I know nothing about that sort of thing."
The woman studied him for a moment and her eyes took in his scar, but she said nothing. She seemed to believe his sincerity and Harry let out breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. She talked to him briefly about what he was going to be doing--a government contracting job where he needed to look sharp, but didn't need suits all the time and had to be comfortable as he would be on his feet a lot.
She smiled at him and then shooed him away to pick out undershirts and things while she gathered some clothes. When he returned he almost dropped what he had been holding. The pile of shirts was largest with every color from silver to purple to burgundy. The were only three pairs of dress slacks in Khaki, black, and grey; sports coats in black, grey, brown, and tweed, and one belt.
"Go on dear try on these sets and the rest should fit if they do. If you're anything like my grandson you don't know what goes with what so I'm going to write you out a list of combinations."
Overwhelmed Harry could only smile and do as he was told. After she pronounced him satisfactory she handed him 5 ties and made sure he knew how to tie them. Assuring her that he had tied his school tie, he went and tried on two pairs of shoes (Oxfords in brown and black) and picked out socks to go as well.
His final tally was 6 pairs of slacks, 12 different colored collard shirts,4 sports coats 5 ties, 2 belts, 12 pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes.
"Now son," the woman spoke up as she folded his clothes into bags, "about your hair..."
Harry groaned, "It's genetic Ma'am, it never lies flat. I don't even think magic could tame it," he smiled slightly.
"Nonsense dear, you just need the right product," she led him down another of the endless isles. "Here, this is what my grandson uses. Guaranteed to make it stick up or stick down as you prefer."
She rang him up, and after Harry promised to return should he need anything else, he left the store. He stopped briefly in another store to stock up on notebooks, pens, and a planner and found a tan cloth messenger bag that would do instead of his ink stained Hogwarts bag.
Back in Diagon Alley, his purchases shrunk and in his pockets, he stepped inside a final store to have the prescription on his glasses checked, and on a whim to chose a new set of frames. He ducked into Gringotts to fill his new Muggle billfold. When he finally returned to Grimauld Place he had just enough time to drop off his packages and scan the waiting owl from Kingsley before he apparated to the Burrow.