Chapter 2
Later that night Hermione recalled the events that occurred after her and Ron's tiff. The way he looked when he reached his family, sitting on the beach in the sun, broke her heart. Wishing she could be with him, how smiling, composed he was. All the members of his family would expect nothing between either of them. Especially not Gabriel, the French flirt of a sister that his brothers fiancé had with her on their vacation. Ron looked in Hermione's direction. She still hadn't moved since he stormed away from her, but saw a glint of surprise in his expression. He only reached around Gabriel with his arm and tried to begin speaking French. She could seem him mimicking a mustache and a snooty French attitude. Gabriel laughed and batted her eyes.
Along with these images, she recalled a surprising jealous rage in her chest going off like a cannon in war. Debating how to handle the situation, she finally decided a note would be easiest. She grabbed a piece of parchment and her quill and scrawled out:
Ron,
Meet in me in the Riviera Hotel Lobby in one hour. Alone.
She grabber her owl from the cage and double knotted the note to it's talon. "This goes to Ronald Weasley, red haired, tall, freckled. Oh, you know who he is." Talking stupidly to her bird. The barn owl's head swiveled to the side understanding, and it sailed out the open window into the navy blue night. She walked past the mirror and judged her appearance. Pride falling, she got out a forgotten makeup bag and a dress for just the occasion. Hermione thought a moment and began to plan out her night look. She'd never really dressed up since the Yule Ball with Krum, she felt embarrassed at the thought. She decided on a simple, yet girly look. Blushing pink cheeks with popping eyes. Finishing it off with a swipe of lip gloss, she looked at her face. Smiling, she felt a confidence that had seemed to vanish ever time she was near Ron. Her teeth were pearls of white, thanks to her parents being dentists. Since they were in France on vacation, her mother insisted that she bring a simple sundress, "just in case", lucky for Hermione, this was just her case. The dress hung limply in the closet of her bedroom in the flat. It was a pale yellow with white flowering trim at the bottom with thin tank top sleeves. She tugged it on over her head and took another look in the mirror, "It just keeps getting better and better," she said to herself with a grin. But she thought again, "I don't look sexy enough…" Making an awkward face, in silence, she decided that her sex appeal would come from her hair. She grabbed a tube of gel and scrunched her curls to thick bouncing ringlets. Her hair flowed down to her back and onto her skin. As she was admiring her subtle irresistibility, the clock stuck 9 and she had to rush next door to the hotel lobby.