InsaneJournal

Who: Vicky Frobisher & Angelina Johnson
What: Fireproofing dresses
Where: Vicky’s flat
When: Sunday, March 29, 1998
Rating: Low.
Status: Log. Complete.



Though they had shared a dorm room for seven years at Hogwarts, Angelina wasn't as close with Vicky as she was with Alicia and Katie. That was mostly due to the bonds she'd forged with the latter two over quidditch- and, even though quidditch was a past-tense thing for her now, the bonds remained close. Still, Vicky was about even more- with her dating Percy and all- and Angelina didn't mind it one bit. (It was never a bad thing to have another girl about, to combat the twins' craziness. And Lee's, for that matter.)

Coming up close to the twins' birthday- and with their plans yet to be announced, just heavily hinted at and not really as secret as they likely wanted them to be- Angelina was… more nervous than she ought to have been, really. (Maybe that was part of growing up? Bah!) But when Vicky had suggested extending her fireproofing charms to the dresses they planned to wear for the occasion, well, Angelina would have been a right fool to turn that offer down.

Her dress wasn't anything fancy- no loose ruffles or flowing skirts (they were fire hazards, after all)- but it was a typical red for the occasion (Angelina still loved her former House colors, and made no apologies for that). At the moment, it hung on a simple hanger, slung over Ang's shoulder as she toed off her shoes just inside the door to Vickie's flat. "Thanks for the invitation, love. This was a brilliant idea."


Vicky greeted Angelina warmly at the door, taking the dress from her and lying it over the back of the couch next to hers. She was glad Angelina had agreed to come over; it was nice to get some girl time, and a tiny part of her regretted that she’d prioritized charms over quidditch in school and had never gotten as close with her dorm-mates as she might have. “Absolutely! You know how much I love doing charms, and… well. George said we didn’t have to worry, but come on. It’s the twins. There will be fire of some sort, and there’s always the potential for something to go wrong.”

She scooped her pygmy puffs off the couch and put them into their nest, hoping they’d stay out of the way while Angelina was over. They were sweet creatures, but at times they could be very demanding, especially for such small animals. “Have a seat. You want something to drink? Dinner will be ready in a sec, if you’re hungry.” Vicky had forgotten to mention dinner when she’d invited Ang over, but she hadn’t eaten yet and it was only polite to offer some food to her guest.


Even if she hadn't been hungry before she'd stepped through the door, the offer of food and drink quickly swayed Ang's mind. "I thought something smelled fantastic! And- pumpkin juice, please, if you have it."

The idea that she wouldn't be worried about the twins, though- she just shook her head. "I don't know who the twins think they're fooling, telling us not to worry. As if we haven't known them both for ten years?" (Merlin, ten years already?!) "It's not that I don't trust them, but… well, like you said. I'd rather be safe than on fire."


“One pumpkin juice coming right up. The curry will be just a couple more minutes.” Vicky poured two glasses of pumpkin juice and gave one to Angelina. “I’m sure George is convinced everything will be perfectly safe. They wouldn’t deliberately put people in danger. But you’re right. They should know we know them better than that by now.”

She went back into the kitchen to finish making the curry. “Have they given you any idea of what they’re planning? I know they don’t expect anyone to believe that nothing at all will be going on at the shop. It’s April Fools’ Day! Even if it wasn’t their birthday, they’d be doing something.”


Angelina took the offered glass of juice, then followed Vicky into the kitchen to watch as she finished preparing their dinner. "Their perception of safety is… somewhat different from normal. Which I don't mind, generally," she added, quickly. "I'm not as stodgy as all that! But- precautions, such that we can have them-" Angelina shrugged, then took a drink of her juice.

"Not a bloody clue," she shook her head. "Which I'm sure is how they wanted it, but- it's a bit maddening, yeah." If she wanted to, she likely could have coerced a hint or two out of Lee- but it was getting close to time already, and it was likely too late.


Vicky actually had some idea, but she’d promised George not to reveal more than she absolutely had to in order to get Percy to agree to his part, so she just nodded. “They are being secretive. I know I shouldn’t, because they certainly pull off surprises often enough, but I’m always amazed when they manage to keep things secret.” She dished up the chicken curry and rice and set both plates on the table, then grabbed the plate of naan and sat down.

“Come on, let’s eat. Then we can charm our dresses so no matter what Fred and George have in store, we’ll be safe.” She set the naan between them and waited for Angelina to take a piece before taking any herself.


True to expectations, the food tasted incredible. Angelina had reached for the naan nearly as quickly as the plate was set down in front of her, and it was a minute more (and several bites later) before she finally spoke up again. "This is amazing, Vicky." A glance down to her plate. "As if you couldn't tell, by my devouring of it, anyway." An almost apologetic sort of grin, then, "You'll have to come by the flat sometime so I can return the favor. Or so I can make Katie or Alicia cook for you in return for the favor, anyway."


"It was a tad obvious, yeah," Vicky teased. She appreciated the compliment, though. She didn't get to cook for other people very often. "And I'd be happy to come by sometime." It sounded great, actually. A nice evening with friends who didn't require constant vigilance.

She ate her food quickly, finding she was hinges than she'd thought, and before long her plate was empty. "Are you gonna want any more?" she asked as she put her plate in the sink. "There's plenty if you want some, or we can get started on our dresses."


Angelina followed suit, clearing her plate easily enough and setting her dishes away as Vicky did. "I'll pretend I don't want any more, for now, and just beg you for takeaway later," she replied, grinning still. "We have more important things to attend to now, anyway."

Returning to where Vicky had left their dresses, Angelina set hers to levitate up- such that she could walk around it in a circle, as would (she assumed) be needed. "I remember a few charms in this vein, but I figure you're better at pulling off the more complex or complicated ones, so I'll follow your lead."


Vicky followed suit and levitated her dress a few feet away from Angelina’s. “I was trying to decide what charms to put on it, but it’s the twins. I think every protective charm I can think of is appropriate.” Anything went when it came to Fred and George and parties. “Let’s start with fireproofing, though, since they actually mentioned that.”

She led the way through the charms, starting with the basic one that would protect the fabric of the dress from flames and then moving on to ones that would extend the protection to the wearer. Vicky especially didn’t want her hair to catch fire, and she was willing to bet Angelina felt the same. “What else? Waterproofing? That’ll work against any beverages that might spill.”


Though Angelina recognized most of the charms as things she'd learned in school, Vicky's obvious proficiency with them was still impressive- and she was relieved to have her assistance in this. "Ah, yes. I think I remember that one, anyway!" Raising her wand with the proper motion, Angelina cast the waterproofing spell- tentative, at first, but more confidently after a moment and it seemed that she hadn't yet accidentally destroyed her dress in the process.


Vicky watched as Angelina applied the charm to her dress and then started on her own. She cast the charms faster than Angelina did, but there was no difference in technique. “I don’t think you actually needed me for this,” Vicky teased once she was done. “Your work is great.”

To demonstrate, she flicked a quick incindio at Angelina’s dress. The burst of flame failed to catch on the dress and disappeared quickly, leaving a completely undamaged dress behind. “See? Perfect!”


Angelina winced very briefly when Vicky tested the charms, but exhaled heavily just as easily once the test had been passed. "All's fair, then," she countered, casting a short aguamenti at Vicky's dress in turn. The short burst of water hit the dress, but didn't seem to do any damage or even dampen the fabric at all. "Not that there was any doubt, of course," Angelina added, with a follow-up charm to dry up any residual water that had landed beyond the dress.


“Of course.” Vicky grinned. They, at least, would be safe no matter what Fred and George threw at them. Well. As safe as possible. There was no way to predict what they might end up doing. “Anything else you think we should add? Fire and water should cover most things they’ll throw at us, but… Merlin, I can’t even try to get into their heads.”

She flicked her wand at a cabinet in the corner of the room, opening the doors. “If we’re done, I’ve got gobstones, exploding snap, and chess--both Muggle and Wizard.”


"Don't try," Angelina insisted, "you'll just end up hurting yourself." (She was kidding… mostly.) "But I think we're set, yeah- and I'll take you on in gobstones." A quick charm had set her own dress to hang somewhere more out of the way, and Angelina offered Vicky a smile before their next game started.