Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any other related works that is owned by JK Rowling and Warner Bros Studios. This piece of work is a spin-off and my own work; I do not own the characters or anything to do with the World of Harry Potter, only the story line is mine.
((This is my first piece of Fan-fiction, I apologise sincerely if it is bad))
Chapter 1 - The Problem
Hermione sighed; she honestly didn't know what the big deal with dressing up was. Why was it so important? She emerged from the bathroom and presented herself to the 2 ladies waiting inside her room.
"Hermione, what in Merlin's name are you wearing?"
Now, Hermione had never really cared for fashion and being overly materialistic had no interest to her, but at the very least she liked to think she knew what suited her and what looked good, however her best-friend Ginevra Weasley disagreed. Hermione suppressed a wince and schooled her expression, trying to take in what Ginny was telling her.
"… skirt is disgusting, and 'Mione you're trying to use a belt but quite simply it's atrocious." Ginny finished her judgement, exhaling in frustration between her lips and running a hand through her hair. She knew Hermione had missed the first half of her rant and pursed her lips in frustration, not feeling in the mood to repeat herself.
The fact was that Hermione's tastes were different than Ginny's in the sense that she was more conservative, although in Ginny's opinion this translated as boring and ever so slightly prudish. Ginny, always being very comfortable in her skin always wore an array of bright colours (providing they didn't clash with her hair, any sometimes even if they did) and wasn't above experimenting with bold and daring styles even if they did make her look more trashy than classy, as was often the case.
Lavender had been nodding throughout Ginny's rant and made her way over to Hermione's closet, trying to find something. She fished out a brown skirt and white tank top.
"Here, put these on." She handed the clothes over to Hermione, but not before spelling the skirt to a revolting Pinky Purple colour and simultaneously shortening and tightening it. Hermione nodded and slipped back into the bathroom, squirming uncomfortably in the skirt which looked to be more appropriate for a Barbie doll than her. She pasted a grimace onto her face and presented herself to her friends, spinning around so they could judge her again.
"I guess that'll have to do." Ginny exhaled, eyeing Hermione's hair and make-up free face. "Come on now, we need to go or otherwise we'll be late." She stood up and exited Hermione's bedroom with Lavender on her tail.
Hermione sighed; most times they went out as a group this happened, her fashion taste and appearance were mocked by fellow females of the group, leaving her feeling disjointed from them. Was it really a problem that her appearance wasn't her utmost concern? For Circe's sake, it hadn't mattered at all when she was growing up - while other girls had been learning how to do make up and everything else teenage girls did, she'd instead been learning spells and perfecting her wand work so that when came the time to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters she could kick some serious ass and she had.
Lavender and Ron had restarted dating about a year ago and they seemed to be going strong. After the war (which was nearly 2 years ago), both had matured and their relationship appeared more serious now, with silly nicknames and clingy behaviour a thing of the past. Well, not completely but nearly.
She collapsed onto her bed, not enjoying the way that she could feel her duvet cover underneath her thighs but knowing that an argument would be fruitless and would end up putting Ginny in a worse mood. She tried to run her fingers through her hair but gave up when they got caught half way down the back of her head. A gasp escaped her lips as a ring on her finger got tangled on a sizable chunk of hair, frustration bubbled inside her, wondering -not for the first time- why genetics had given her such an unmanageable mass of bushy hair, and not something more like Ginny's straight locks.
She untangled the ring from her hair and exited her apartment, reapplying the wards and locking the door. She apparated away to the bar they usually hang out and tried to keep a smile on her face for the evening.
The next morning Hermione rolled out of her bed clutching her head, trying to ignore the brightness of the sunlight or the loudness of the owl knocking on her head however unsuccessfully. She trudged over to the window, letting the owl come through and then deposit Daily Prophet on her bed before screeching and flying away. She grabbed the paper and stumbled down the stairs, regretting her alcohol consumption of the night before; if she were being completely honest the final round(s) of shots weren't really necessary. Through bleary eyes she eventually found her way to the medicine cabinet and took out a Hangover Potion and made her way to the kitchen.
The tea that had 3 sugars too many warmed her hands and contained the Hangover Potion that after a few sips was clearing away her headache and leaving behind a string of horrible, cringe worthy memories. In truth she had drunk so much because she was still feeling shitty after what the girls had said and done at her apartment and had wanted distraction from it. Really, nobody liked to be told they had bad fashion taste, what made her so different. Again, wanting distraction, she opened the newspaper, skimming through the pages until she saw it. A little, brightly coloured advertisement in the corner of one of the pages, not out of place considering that this was the beauty page of advertisements, but to Hermione none of the rest mattered. This was it, the answer to her problem. Because really, if her situation was making her feel this shit and caused her to drink so heavily, it definitely was a problem.
So, this was the first Chapter, any thoughts? If so, would you pretty please leave it in the comments. Reviews help me to get better and improve my work, thank you. :)
