A/N: Another random, spur of the moment fic, which consequently started out as some random flashback, then turned angst, then finished on friendship. Oh, the wonders of my mind. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

The first time that I'd ever touched make-up was when I was 4. I'd seen my mum put it on a few times for her big dentist conferences and I was fascinated with it from the start. So, one night when I was in the bath, I devised a plan to get my hands on it. I slipped out of the warm water, almost silently and wrapped the nearest towel around me. Then, I slid open the bathroom door very slowly and snuck through the gap.

I knew exactly where my mum kept it, so I headed straight down the hall to my parents bedroom and had the make up out almost instantly. I had fun unscrewing all the lids and feeling the gooey textures on my fingers before I actually started to put it on my face.

I popped the lid on a cherry red lipstick and held it up to my lips, sliding it around the sides of my mouth and to the tip of my chin. I wasn't entirely sure how to use it at the time but I remembered my mum having pink cheek stuff too. So, I lifted the creamy stick up to my face and drew two perfect circles in the middle of my cheeks.

What I didn't count on though, was my mum walking in the room. My parents had been happily watching TV you see, but she must have come up for something, I can't quite remember what. All I remember is her walking in to the room and finding me sitting on the soft, cream carpet in nothing but a loose towel with red lipstick all over my face. There were some small, black puddles on the carpet from various mascaras that I had neglected to put the lids back on, too.

That was also the first time that I ever got a major punishment.

So, here I am, in the 6th year Gryffindor girl's dormitory bathroom, staring down at a hot pink make-up bag. It's not mine either. I must have this thing about stealing make-up, although lavenders was pretty easy to get at and I knew that I wouldn't have any unwanted interruptions because the owner of this make-up case was currently sucking the face off Ron. Ron. He's the reason for all of this.

I got the idea from watching Lavender put on her make-up. Everyday I would spend the mornings watching Lavender apply what appeared to be a 3 inch thick coat of make-up. All the while talking about Ron and how much of a great kisser he was. Never, I noticed how much of a great person he was.

Anyway, once morning, I made the decision, because I was so sick of sitting back and watching what I couldn't have. If this was the type of girl that Ron was into, then that was the type of girl that I would be. I was going to reinvent myself, change myself for him.

What better way to do that then a bag full of designer make-up and a bottle of blonde hair dye? Granted, it was a wash out one, but only because it was a lot harder to get my hands on Lavender's more secretive (natural blonde my arse) stash. So, I settled for a more temporary find from under Pavarty's bed.

I slipped into the nearest shower and started the warm water running. I followed the instruction on the back of the colourful packet and was finished in a few minutes. Then I moved onto the make-up, starting by covering my face in foundation powder.

I pulled out a long, thin silver container and unscrewed the lid. The black wand slid effortlessly through my lashes, dramatically darkening them. I then dusted some blue powder across my eyelids and thickly coated the edges of my brown orbs with black eyeliner.

I took a few steps back and looked at myself in the mirror. I could hardly recognise myself, except for my still bushy hair. Reality suddenly caught up with me as I thought 'what have I done?'

I collapsed in tears in the middle of the bathroom floor, my body sprawled across the tiles. I lay like that for ages until my body got to weak to keep crying. Then, I heard someone calling my name. Ginny. Damn, I'd forgotten that I'd promised to go to the library with her before dinner.

I heard her footsteps get louder and louder, until the door in front of me creaked open. I heard a quiet gasp and saw a flash of red before realising that Ginny was now holding me up on the bathroom floor. She lifted my limp body into the standing position and I leaned against the sink, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I looked like hell.

There were visible tear tracks down my cheeks, where the hot tears had washed away the make-up as they fell. My eye make-up was smudged all around my eyes from where I had been rubbing the tears away and some mascara had even dripped down onto my cheeks. Not to mention the fact that my eyes were bloodshot form all the crying.

Ginny was by my side again now and was scrubbing away at the make-up with some damp tissues. I watched in the mirror as Ginny wiped it off my face easily. Next, she pushed me into the shower, still fully clothed and started the hot water running on my hair. It took a few handful of shampoo, but eventually all the colour ran out and my hair was returned to it regular chocolate brown.

I stepped out of the shower and felt myself weaken again, so I slid back down onto the cold tile floor. This time though, Ginny was kneeling beside me.

"Hermione, he's not worth it! I mean, my brother is a prat at the best of times, but if he's too stupid to realise how great you are, then it's his loss. I know that he loves you Hermione, he's just taking a lot longer than most people to work it out. Just give him time. But, in the meantime, I want you to promise me that you'll try to forget about him and try some other guys. You're really pretty and I'm sure that there are a heap of guys out there who would love to go to Slughorn's Christmas party with you."

I nodded weakly and caught Ginny in a bone crushing hug that would almost rival that of Mrs. Weasley. For some reason though, I felt like I'd heard those words before.

"Thanks a heap Ginny; I don't know what I'd do without you. Where'd you learn to be such a good advice giver, though?"

"Oh, just repeating something that a friend of mine told me not that long ago, something that really helped me in a similar situation." We both looked at each other and burst out laughing.

And that was the last time that I'd ever touched make-up.

A/N: The end. Sorry if it doesn't seem likely that that was the last time she ever touched make-up, but I thought it made a nice ending. Anyway, hated it? Let me know. Loved it? Also let me know. Know how to make it better? For the 3rd time, let me know. Buh-bye!

-love- Volante296