Mad World Mods (madworldmods) wrote in madworldrp, @ 2007-10-14 16:32:00 |
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Current mood: | determined |
RP Thread: Bev Malkin and Severus Snape
LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY disrobed)
WHO Bev Malkin and Severus Snape
WHEN Sunday after lunch
WHERE An empty Charms classroom
WHAT Getting Sev's measurements and brainstorming for his dress robes.
RATING Unfinished.
Armed with pins, measuring tape, yards of fabric and basting charms, Beverly waited in the the Charms classroom for Severus. She didn't exactly know why she'd volunteered to help with his dress robes, as it was almsot akin to going back to the shop in Diagon Alley, someplace she would rather never be again if she could help it. The sewing, the measuring...none of it was among her favorite things to do, but she felt a little badly for Severus, knowing that he couldn't afford her mother's dress robes. He wasn't exactly the most popular of students, and, well, she just wanted to do something nice for someone.
So she waited in the Charms classroom, running her fingers lightly over the different colored fabrics she'd been owled in the same parcel as her butterfly gown. She hoped that she could make something fairly nice and already had a handful of ideas, but decided against doing anything until Severus arrived.
Severus arrived at the Charms classroom rather promptly at three o'clock. When he made an appointment he tried his best to keep it knowing that although there were certain things about his personality and his person he couldn't change, being where he said he would be when he said he would be was something entirely within his control. He had his robes folded up in his book bag, they'd be wrinkled probably, but he wasn't certain he wanted anyone knowing he couldn't just buy robes like most of the students would do.
Earlier this had seemed like such a good idea. Now, of course, he was utterly horrified that what Beverly would do wouldn't be good enough for escorting Narcissa to the masquerade. Not that she'd said yes yet mind you. He had to ask her first, Oh Merlin, he had to ask her!
He pulled the door to the charms classroom open a bit more forcefully than he had intended and was surprised when the door slammed against the wall. "Ah, sorry," he muttered quickly pulling the door to a bit more gently.
If Narcissa did say yes, and that was a large 'if' so far as Severus was concerned whatever Lucius might say to him, then he needed to look nice. He needed to look more than nice, he needed to look appropriate to escorting someone of Narcissa Black's caliber to the ball.
"Um, I have some galleons, if it'll help," he stammered, as he came to a halt in front of Beverly. "I need them to really look nice," he said with a bit more desperation in his voice than he would have approved of under normal circumstances. But somehow he didn't feel stupid telling Beverly he needed something. She'd been friendly enough and had so far kept her word about not mentioning their arrangement to anyone.
Beverly nearly jumped out of her skin when the door slammed open, but managed a quick smile after that. She had her own share of clumsy moments, after all. "Come in, please. Don't let's talk about price until after I'm done...I got the materials for free, so it really all depends on how much time I put into the entire thing," she explained, hurrying to close the door behind Severus. Merlin's beard, if anyone else found out about this, she'd never have time for anything but measuring and cutting and stitching and sewing and her academic career would be ruined.
"My mum sent me several yards of several lovely fabrics, and also an extra mask, so we have a lot to work with, at the very least," she continued, trying not to let her nervousness show as she pulled out several measuring tapes and a notepad. "Could I see the robes you want updated, please? And then if you could just stand in the middle of the room so I can get your measurements...I forgot to ask for them from my mother."
Severus nodded and immediately opened his bag to pull out his robes. "Um, sorry, I think they're a bit crumpled," he apologized as he pulled the robes out. A 'bit' crumpled was being fairly generous as the robes, much too large to fit into his school bag with ease, were fairly heavily wrinkled.
Severus had spent a bit of time trying to figure which of his robes to take to Beverly. It wasn't as if he had many options and he hadn't heard back from his mother - which figured - so he was stuck with the three or four that he actually knew he had. He hadn't wanted to use his best pair, but clearly his work robes wouldn't work either. Ultimately he'd gone for his second best pair. A basic black made of a sturdy, if not particularly rich looking, material. They were a bit short as he'd grown some since last year, but he was hoping that some additional fabric could be used to repair that problem.
He handed them over. "They're very basic," he stammered. "And I've grown a bit, I'm afraid. If they won't work, I can bring a different set."
Beverly managed to keep her reaction to a simple, "Hm," as she took the robes. Truth be told, they were more than very basic. These are downright drab! she thought, a thought which was immediately followed with, Merlin's beard, I sound like my mother. "Well, I have a lot of fabric, as you can see," she said outloud, gesturing to the fabric she'd laid out around the room, "so the length shouldn't be a problem. I can just take out the hem and add fabric. In the meantime, though, I'm just going to lay them out while I get your measurements and we talk about ideas, try to let some of the wrinkles fall out and all."
Of course she knew that the wrinkles wouldn't fall out. The robes needed to be pressed very badly, before she could start working on them, but once they were pressed and the length added, it wouldn't be too difficult to turn them into something nice. Nothing too flashy of course, she mentally noted, just something to uniquely flatter his...bloody hell, I'm being my mother again.
Outwardly, Beverly maintained enough of a smile to be convincing, she hoped. "Now, why don't you stand right there, we'll get some measurements for you, and while we're doing that, you can give me some insight into what you'd like," she stated, tapping her measuring tapes with her wand to ensure that they would take the right measurements--waist, chest, hips and inseam.
Severus nodded and stood still while Beverly's measuring tapes did their work. "Right, um, well," Severus suddenly realized that he had no idea what Narcissa would be wearing. He glanced over the fabrics feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Not only did he have no idea what Narcissa would be wearing - if you even go with her Severus, you're presuming quite a bit there - he was uncomfortable with robes in general.
"Well, you probably know more about this than I do," he admitted. "I just would like something classy, but simple. I don't really want to try for a costume like some people are doing. I suppose if we could give the idea of a famous wizard, that'd be all right. Might be nice even. Someone well known, but I don't really look like anyone well known." He frowned.
"I don't really need it to be glitzy or glamourous, or anything like that. It's not me. So, these are too plain, they're not even really dress robes, so something simple, but classy." He fingered a piece of the fabric absently. It felt really nice, nicer than anything he'd ever worn.
"And I'm not really into bright colours, so something muted maybe." That should go with whatever Narcissa might be wearing. And really, Narcissa was the butterfly, the beautiful one, he shouldn't try to upstage her - particularly when there was no way he would ever be able to do that. He didn't even want to.
He realized he might be sounding a bit demanding. "But whatever you have time to do," he added quickly. "I appreciate you helping me with this."
"That all makes sense," Beverly stated, jotting down notes as the measuring tapes returned. Merlin, he's even skinnier than he looks! "Simple, classic, muted colors." That would be easy enough. She hadn't even asked her mother for brighter colors, figuring that most boys preferred not to be flashy and sparkly as girls did. The fabrics around the room were mostly blacks, greys, deep blues and deep greens, plus a few yards of a brilliant purple silk that her mother, apparently, couldn't resist sending despite Beverly's requests.
She smiled a bit at Severus' gratitude, still looking at her notepad and jotting down his measurements and a few ideas. "It's nothing, really," she brushed it off, though it was clear from her smile that she was glad for the appreciation. "A lot of my mum's stuff is overpriced anyway. Have you thought of what you wanted for the mask?"
"I'm not really certain," Severus said. Maybe he should wait until he asked Narcissa to decide that. Presuming, of course, that Narcissa was interested in him, which was a very large presumption.
"I suppose the mask would be sort of the costume element wouldn't it?" He shifted awkwardly. He hated this sort of thing and he hated trying to figure out something creative like this. Possibly if he'd been a different person or been born with lots of money these sorts of events would have been more enjoyable - certainly that seemed to be the case with other students.
"I haven't really thought about the costume, maybe a famous alchemist?" He liked potions and he was good at them - although going as a famous alchemist would probably be yet another opportunity for Potter or Black to rub his face in the potion incident. He sighed almost imperceptibly and stuck his hands in his pockets so his shoulders drooped a bit. "I don't really know."
"Tell you what, then," Beverly said matter-of-factly, closing her notepad with a snap. She had some good ideas and his measurements down, and all she really needed was to know his fabric and color preference. "Why don't you think about what you want in a mask and get back to me, say, Wednesday? I'll need to pin the robes when they're on you before I can start sewing anyway, so you can just think about it over a couple of nights...oh! And before you get going...we're almost done...if you could just look at these fabrics adn tell me which one you prefer?"
She was rambling horribly, but it was mostly in an effort not to be like her mother, Beverly realized. Her mother had a tendency to talk slowly with her customers, and sometimes spent hours sitting with them, discussing dress robes for whatever fancy occasion. It wasn't that Beverly didn't want to be around Severus, as she found him quite endearing at the moment, but she simply didn't have hours to spend chatting about robes, and she doubted Severus would've been interested if she had.
"Oh, right," Severus turned his attention to the fabrics on the table. What did he want? The truth was, that his brain was so scattered trying to think about what he was going to do that night, that he really couldn't focus on the fabrics in front of him. Pull yourself together, Severus, he scolded himself.
"This one, please," he pointed towards a dark green that looked rather rich even though he couldn't tell for certain whether it actually was. Surely not, he thought to himself. She isn't asking me for galleons on these. "And maybe this one, he noted a darker grey that looked almost black." He looked over the fabrics again. "Do you have any silver? I mean, not actual silver, of course, or maybe just something that could be charmed with a bit of silver. It wouldn't need to be a lot - that'd be too much." Severus realized he was sort of going on.
"Really, you've probably got a better idea than I do. The green I do think would be nice," he said, stepping back and feeling horribly awkward about the entire thing. Narcissa certainly couldn't disapprove of that green - it was very classy looking and very Slytherin at the same time. Oh, Merlin's beard, you're back to thinking she's going to say yes! Don't get your hopes up.