A/N: QLFC. Captain of the Wimbourne Wasps. Write about a Weasley Wizarding Wheezes product - Captain's prompt, comb-a-chameleon.
6:04
It was 6:04 in the evening, and Hermione had twenty-six minutes to look absolutely incredible for this date she had been planning for a couple of days. Ever since she had decided to take a break from her relationship with Ron, she had buried herself completely in her work. When she had found out that Ron was going to go out with another woman tonight, Hermione pushed up the date time with an American auror she had met some time ago. He wasn't going to be in the UK for long; besides, he wasn't the reason why she wanted to look irresistible.
She threw dress after dress on the floor before realizing that she had nothing she felt gorgeous in. There was no little black dress, no sexy red dress, and there definitely wasn't anything skimpy in her wardrobe. She had never dressed that way before, and she didn't know why she'd expected anything of the kind to appear in her closet out of nowhere.
6:14
She had finally decided on a ruby red sweater that covered an even more conservative top. She had gone through the motions in the past ten minutes to make sure her makeup was flawless as well, which left only her hair. Hermione was staring at herself in this mirror. There was a moderately pretty face there, but it was nearly covered by a puffy mane. Curls were flying in every direction, and the tangles in her hair caused it to look like a colony of mice nests. Her hair had always been unmanageable, but it had never been this bad. Nor had it ever bothered her so much.
"What a load of crap!" She shouted at her reflection rather uncharacteristically before knocking her makeup bag to the floor.
That was when she saw it: the Comb-A-Chameleon. The lime green comb was sprawled out on her floor, surrounded by her makeup. George had given it to her as a joke, but considering the pickle she was in right now, she didn't have any other options. She had to use it.
She remembered reading the description in the shop before George had decided to give it to her with a laugh. It was supposed to transform your hair once you brush it, so it shouldn't take long to attain the desired look.
6:26
She only had a few minutes to get ready, so she could go as soon as her date arrived. Knowing Roger, her companion for the evening, that would be right on the clock, considering he was never late nor early. She tried to get the comb through the knots in her hair as quick as possible, working the curls that were giving her such a fit with the speed of lightning.
The comb made her hair straight and a little darker brown than she was used to. With a smile on her face, she turned back towards the mirror after throwing the brush in the trash can, but as soon as the brush hit the bottom of the bin, her hair poofed back; this time, there were more knots than ever before.
The nests in her hair had grown larger, and the curls were flapping in every direction. However, this wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that her hair had turned into this mix of burnt orange and yellowish green color that resembled vomit. She didn't have time to cry or even cancel the date since at that exact moment, she heard a knock at the door.
There was no way she would get Ron back this way. Not while she looked like this. She walked down the stairs, head hanging in shame, and pulled the door open.
"Are you ready to- Oh my…." Roger said, stunned by the furry halo surrounding her head.
"I, uh… I had a little mixup," she said quietly, not able to look at his expression any longer.
"Well, that's okay, I guess… You're still hungry, right?" he wondered, offering his arm to walk her down the front path.
She was too depressed to really smile at him, but she grabbed her purse and his hand just the same. They decided to walk to the restaurant, which was against what Hermione had wanted to do. It was a humid evening, and the last thing her hairdo needed was moisture. If it was possible, the puff grew three times while the duo approached the restaurant. It took two people to pull her through the door because of how large her hair had become.
She was stared at by everyone in the restaurant. Then, she saw him. Ron was sitting there with a blonde girl with perfect hair, a perfect red dress, and an absolutely perfect body. She had never imagined that Ron could land such a girl, but there he was. Not surprisingly, he was staring at Hermione as well. How could anyone miss the extravagant ball of hair? She even saw him laugh to himself,though not loud enough to draw attention.
Hermione tried to keep the hair out of her eyes and her bottom lip from trembling. She wanted to cry. This was not her plan at all.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else?" Hermione asked Roger, tearing her eyes away from Ron.
"We're already here! Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think," Roger consoled her.
"I just don't think that I can take it," Hermione said, standing up from the table and hurrying to the front.
She didn't even look to see if Ron was watching her leave, but she was more than embarrassed. She was horrified. This time, it took three people to push her out the door, and she tried to catch a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding.
"This looks like the work of a Weasley," she heard him say behind her.
"I realize that they gave me this comb a while back, but I didn't think it would do this to me," she said, turning to see Ron looking at her with a smile on his face.
"It does say 'hair transformation,' but it never said that it would be a good one," he informed her.
"Well, I'll never listen to your brother again," she huffed.
She turned to walk away from him, but he gently grabbed her arm to get her to face him.
"Are you hungry?" Ron questioned.
"What about the girl you were with?" Hermione asked, nodding towards the restaurant.
"I hope you don't mind, but I introduced her to your date. Needless to say, we're invisible to them now."
"I wish I were invisible," she said, pointing to her head.
"I don't," he said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "What do you say we grab something quick before we hose down the hairball on your head?" he asked.
She nodded and gave him a swift kiss on the lips.
In the end, her plan had worked; she had managed to get Ron back.