Desperate Times Call For

Lysandra asked everyone she knew, and even students she didn't know, if they had some suitable robes she could borrow for the big night. No one had any robes they could loan her.

February Fortescue
Writer, Slytherin

Lysandra had had a crush on Tobias ever since she could remember, but no matter what she did, he never seemed to notice her. She had purchased cute Valentines professing her feelings, did her best to join in his conversations and laugh at his jokes, and even went so far as to get her best friend to ask him how he felt about her. Tobias had said he just wasn't interested, and Lysandra had cried for days.

The Yule Ball was fast approaching, and all Lysandra could think about was how happy she would be if Tobias would ask her to attend the ball with her. She knew he had had a girlfriend but the two had broken up and he didn't have a date. Lysandra would have gone to the ball alone in order to be near him, but she was only a third year and could not attend without a date, and no one had asked her. She wasn't sure if she would accept, anyway. It wouldn't be fair to her date.

Two days before the Yule Ball, Tobias approached her in the hallway on her way to Potions class and asked her to be his date to the ball. She accepted on the spot. This had to be the happiest day of her life! But then it hit her: the Yule Ball was in two days. There was no way she'd have time to purchase dress robes.

Lysandra asked everyone she knew, and even students she didn't know, if they had some suitable robes she could borrow for the big night. No one had any robes they could loan her. Although she was extremely disappointed, she had no intention of missing out on her date with Tobias. But what could she do? She needed a dress!

Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the saying goes. She went back to the students who had stated they did not have dress robes for her to borrow, and instead asked for their copies of the Daily Prophet. Those they gave her without hesitation. She was going to make her dress from the newspapers!

The night of the Yule Ball, she took her measurements. Next, she took several pieces of newspaper, opened them up and laid them down side by side, making sure they overlapped. She waved her wand and glued them together. Over the bottom of those newspapers, she added another layer, and then a third layer, until the newspapers reached her ankles. Next, she opened up more newspapers, laid them side by side, and once again made sure they overlapped. She glued those together and wrapped them around her bust and waist. She added some black ribbons as trim around each layer of the skirt, and a black bow on the top. Finally, she cast a charm which added a protective coating around her gown so it would not tear. Voila! She had her dress for the Yule Ball.

To say that Lysandra's dress was the most noticed and commented upon would be an understatement. As a result of her choice of garments, Tobias never asked her for a date again, but she met several guys who were drawn to her quirky personality, and she quickly discovered that perhaps she wasn't meant to date Tobias after all.