Chapter 1
Author note: My first FanFic, please review, if no one likes it I won't continue. Just an idea I had while I was cleaning my room.
I woke up in the morning to the sound of birds singing. The high-pitched sound hurt my head, sore from staying up so late cleaning. I had no idea how it came to be that I spent all of my time cleaning and yet there was always more to clean.
But I kept my chin up and got ready for the day. In other words, I pulled my hair into a sloppy bun and pulled on the only dress I owned. I used to have a blue one, but my step mother gave me this brown one when I stained the other one beyond repair. I hurried to the kitchen and started making breakfast: porridge for me and poached eggs on toast for my step-mother and two ugly step-sisters; Pansy and Daphne. I also made a pot of tea and put a teacup on each tray. After finishing my porridge, I carried their trays to their rooms, woke them up, and left them with their breakfast, ignoring the insults that followed me out the door.
The last room in the hall was Stepmother's. I sighed and rolled my eyes quickly before putting on the mask of shame and fear that I had become accustomed to using in front of her. Her face was thin and pointed, and she had ugly pale green eyes, which made me wonder how her two daughters acquired such bulbous features and muddy brown eyes. I had beautiful chocolate brown eyes and dark hair. Daphne had black hair and Pansy had red hair. I couldn't imagine Stepmother with red hair, but I couldn't imagine her marrying a ginger either.
"Stepmother," I called quietly into the curtains around her bed.
"You're late," came her cold, aged voice.
"I . . . had a sleepy start," I explained.
"I didn't ask for excuses!" I scowled while she still couldn't see me, then pulled back the curtains and set her tray up for her. I hurried out of there before she could say anything else, and began my chores.
Somewhere between sweeping the kitchen and brushing the carpet, someone came to the door.
"Hermione, get the door!" Daphne yelled.
"You get it! It might be a man looking for an ugly little pig to be his wife!" I yelled back.
"I'm telling mother!" But I got up and answered the door, muttering to myself that at 16, she seemed a little old to be tattling.
A well-dressed man was standing there, a fancy carriage parked behind him. He said something along the lines of "by royal decree every eligible young lady must go to the ball," but I wasn't really listening. He handed me a letter in a fancy envelope and told me to give it to the lady of the house. Smiled a little and shut the door.
"EVERY eligible young lady?" I muttered to myself. "Why, that's ME!" I opened the envelope and sure enough, there was an invite for Daphne, Pansy, and Hermione. Now, I could show this to Stepmother and announce that I get to go, too, OR I could be smart and hide it. It was a masquerade, anyway, so I could sneak in and my stupid stepsisters would never recognize me. I just need a dress.
I walked up stairs and handed the envelope to Stepmother, lost in my silent plans. I had a sewing machine, some patterns, and a stash of money I had been saving up by stealing just a little bit from Stepmother every time I was sent shopping. Did I really want to spend all my money on this? . . . Yes!
That evening I snuck out with some excuse like needing bread or something, and made my purchases at the fabric store. I had tons of black thread, black and red fabric, and black lace to sneak back into the house, not to mention the simple black mask they had sold as a base and some embellishments to decorate it with.
"Awfully short notice," I whispered to myself as I frantically put the finishing touches on the dress I'd been working on every night for the past week and a half. Stepmother called down from the base of the stairs to the attic; my room.
I opened the door and she told me they were leaving. I smiled a little and said "Have a good time." She scowled at me.
"Don't be upset that you weren't invited," she said, her voice sickeningly sweet. Then it turned cold. "The prince is looking for a wife, but I'll let you know if he's ever in need of a scullery maid." I looked hurt and shut the door before rolling my eyes. Like she could still scare me.
I smiled at the finished dress in front of me, remembering Daphne's ugly green one and Pansy's identical magenta one. I put the dress on, grabbed my 4-inch black heels (which I had stolen from Pansy's room) and walked to town. Carriages started approaching and I put my mask on. As I had planned, one of the carriages stopped by me. A masked gentleman poked his head out of the window.
"Planning on walking to the castle?" he said.
"Actually, I was hoping some nice gentleman would give me a ride," I said sweetly. He smirked and opened the carriage door, offering a hand. I smiled and took it. The carriage was small and dark, and another man was waiting inside.
"Trying to pick up the 'eligible young ladies' the price doesn't want?" I asked, keeping my tone light. The men laughed.
"That's the plan. So far we don't seem to be doing too bad, eh?" said the other man.
"You seem to be doing quite well to me." I chuckled with them. The man who had helped me in had striking red hair and freckles. The other had black hair and impressive green eyes. "My name is Hermione," I told them.
"Harry," said the black-haired one.
"I'm Ron," said the other.
"Well, Harry and Ron, I don't believe I've seen you around town," I said.
"We don't live around here . . ." Harry said vaguely. Ron rolled his eyes.
"So, what, you're nobles?" I teased. "Don't worry, you can't scare me off that easily." They smiled.
Through the window, we could see the castle approaching. It was beautifully decorated with lights and flowers. I took time to admire the garden as we made our way to the door. Ron and Harry both jumped out of the carriage and offered me their hands as I climbed out, so I took hold of both.