Skin Deep

It wasn't like I didn't want to be beautiful, I mean, who wouldn't want a supermodel's body? Never the less, I'd keep my books instead of beauty any day.

Or, at least that's what I told everyone.

Truly, I wished for a more alluring figure just like every teenage girl does. The whispered words in the corridors of my school seemed to haunt me perpetually.

"Have you seen Hermione's hair?"

"Does she even know what make-up is?"

"Why can't she even attempt to look less troll-ish?"

Oh yes, I had heard them all and I hated them for saying it. Did they really think reminding me of my lack of femininity would magically help me produce some, or that saying how much more Ron would fancy me if I'd just change this or that would actually persuade me to change?

And what was with everyone's obsession over me and RONALD anyway? I mean, its not like I want him to fancy me or anything…at least, I hope I don't. Merlin, wouldn't that be embarrassing. Draco probably has a rhyme all ready for the Slytherins to chant when we go walking down the halls hand-in-hand…that is, if we ever go walking down the halls hand in hand.

"Hermione…" Ginny called from the door to the girls dormitory "Hermione, what are you doing up here? Everyone's already down eating dinner."

"You go, Gin." I replied, pulling a large, old, beautiful book from under my bed. "I'm not really in a great mood right now." Instead of leaving like I had hoped, Ginny came to sit beside me on my bed.

"Knut for your thoughts?" she asked while she gently pried my precious book from my hands. Deciding to be difficult, I stayed silent and let Ginny guess at my troubles.

"It's about what Lavender has been saying, isn't it?" My breath caught in my throat, I had completely forgotten about the rumor Brown had started about me on the train ride to Hogwarts yesterday.

"My hair isn't that bad is it?" I whimpered, over the summer I had used a muggle home straightening kit and instead of straightening my hair it had just fried it. Now instead of being bushy haired Granger I was almost afro-head Granger. Lavender had said that Malfoy had hexed my hair to look like a dead animal pelt and now most of Hogwarts was casting me apologetic glances when I walked through the halls.

"Well—"

"Oi," a distinctly male voice hollered from the bottom of the stairs "Ginny! 'Mione! Get down to the Great Hall, Dumbledore has a special announcement."

"We'll be right down!" I yelled while I tried to fix my hair and make myself look less like a troll.

"You know…" Ginny drawled, her voice carrying a hint of mischief. "I could give you a make over, to get Ron to notice you a bit more. Who knows, maybe we can even do something about that hair of yours." Inwardly I flinched. Was that all anyone cared about? Beauty was something that everyone had a little bit of, whether it is inside or out. My gaze steeled as my mind went into hyper drive with my new observations.

"No…" I replied with an easy grin "I rather like my hair the way it is now." Ginny gave me an odd look but said nothing as we trudged down the stairs to meet Ron. Our footsteps echoed in the empty corridors as we rushed to the Great Hall. Ron and Ginny made pleasant chatter as my mind zoomed at 100 mph.

Hypothesis: If I can be hideous and attract a man who will love me, I can prove to the general population of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that beauty is not just skin deep.

But who would I want to fall in love with me? Would I really be able to do it? A warm hand on my shoulder shook me from my reverie. Ron smiled warmly down at me and began a (surprisingly) fairly entertaining conversation on a topic other than Quiditch. I smiled as my stomach tightened painfully. Suddenly I knew the one and only boy I could ever test my thesis on.

Ronald Weasely.

I didn't fancy him much, but he was my best mate and that meant that we already loved each other in a platonic way, and that was a good start. But…how did he feel about me, would he let our friendship grow into something more?

The bigger question was could our camaraderie become something more without him judging me by what was only skin deep?

A/N: First attempt at any Harry Potter story ever, and also my first Ron/Hermione. This chapter pretty much sucks, but its just a prologue to a much better story, honest. -
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