Marcus thought that his idea of a lake-themed dress was a marvelous one, so he didn't expect Miss Zabini to voice any hesitations. Then again, Miss Zabini was talkative and opinionated, she wasn't the sort to simply sit passively and wear whatever others picked for her.

"The simplest designs are sometimes the most elegant," Marcus replied. He would have quoted Christobal Balenciaga and said 'Elegance is elimination' if that was possible. However, Marcus had lived years before Balenciaga's birth and lifetime, so he didn't even know who he was, unlike his writer, who wanted to include this quote.

Marcus had not followed Balenciaga's principle at the beginning of his career. It was tempting to go overboard when you combined fashion with magic. While Marcus still enjoyed his creative designs, he now knew that it wasn't prudent to make clothes too elaborate and magical, otherwise people noticed them and not the one who wore them. Miss Zabini wasn't the sort of woman who needed to be worn by a dress. She was pretty, in Marcus' opinion at least.

"We want you to be memorable, not your dress," he added. "Or do you think otherwise, Miss Zabini?" The scandal about her blood status might have made her self-conscious about being seen.

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