Smelling scrambled eggs and fried bacon, Hermione woke up early next morning. It was a struggle opening up her eyes, but she finally managed. After a while, she was able to get up and remember parts of last night. She sat up on the bed and looked at the man sound asleep in the other bed.
"Sirius", she said to herself. Then she remembered how she had flirted with him, and she immediately looked down to check if she was dressed. Luckily she was; actually she was fully dressed and had been sleeping the whole night under the soft blanket that Sirius apparently had put around her. That made her smile and feel a bit relieved, too. If he had been a bad man, he could have hurt her really bad, but he had not.
Turning her head, she looked at her nightstand. She got up and picked up a bottle she did not recognize.
"Viva Las Vegas", she read aloud and realised it was hair colour. The model on the cover had the very hair colour she wanted to have. It was shiny and thick too. Hermione smiled again and went into the bathroom with the bottle. What a nice gesture, she thought.
Less than an hour later, she opened up the bathroom door again and stepped out a different person. She was dressed in a sleeveless, knee-long dress, high wedges and a denim bolero, but the main attraction was the hair. Admittedly not as thick and shiny as the girl on the cover, but as blond as her, Hermione found herself overly fond of her new hair. She put on red lipstick and the dark sunglasses, and then she felt like a million bucks. She felt the need to look in the mirror over and over again while giggling and smiling, trying not to wake up Sirius. Then she used her Polaroid-camera, took a picture of herself and put it on Sirius' nightstand. She signed it "Lots of love, "Marilyn" – see you in Vegas". Then she closed the door behind her, grabbed some eggs and bacon to go and went on her way. She put her bag and the bottle of hair colour that reminded her of her destination on the front seat next to her and drove towards the fabulous Las Vegas.
It was a long road through Arizona, but Hermione did not mind. She kept trying to empty her mind and forget all her sorrow, but it kept coming sneaking back. For the first time ever, she had no major plans about anything, and that made her happy and frightened at the same time. Every once in a while she cast a glance at the hair colour bottle and thought of Sirius. In her ideal version, she would already have forgotten him by now, but reality was a dish that tasted a bit different. There had been something about him that she was unable to put her finger on, and even out of sight, he kept popping into her mind. Taking one more glance at the bottle, she turned the car around and headed back to Dusty Home. She had no idea what she was going to say to him, and it made her feel disappointed in herself that she was unable to stick to her original plan.
"Life keeps changing your plans", she then said to herself, which of course made her think of Ron. The relationship with him had not turned out the way she had thought or ever imagined.
The time was not even noon yet when she parked her car in front of Dusty Home again. She felt the eagerness inside her build up and she did not know whether or not she liked it, but she sure felt a bit excited. First she went into the bar, but Sirius was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe he sleeps in", Hermione said to herself, climbing the stairs. The cleaning lady was busy cleaning up their room, so the door was open. Quickly, she went to the open door, but it was too late. The room was all tidy now, leaving no traces of him or her – not even the picture she had left for him. Disappointed, she went downstairs to the bar. Cautiously, she approached the bar counter. The bartender was cleaning some glasses, and two or three regulars were enjoying the day's first beer.
"Hey there, miss. Anything I can do for ya?", the bartender asked and looked at her from underneath his chunky and round glasses. He was wearing jeans and a coloured shirt like everyone else here in the Southwest.
"Uhm…", Hermione nervously started, "I was here with a guy last night. I left, but I went back for him", she said, aware of the attention from the whole crowd. That made her uncomfortable, since she knew how it sounded.
"He had something of mine, and well, he doesn't seem to be here anymore", she continued.
"Was it the funny-looking business-guy in the suit?", he asked her.
"Well, I don't know if he was wearing a suit, but he is definitely funny-looking", she said, almost laughing to herself while saying the last part.
"From room 6?", the bartender asked.
"Yes, that is him. You know where he went?", Hermione eagerly asked him. Unaware of it, her eyes were now smiling and hopeful.
"Yeah, he went towards LA", the bartender said and put down the last glass. Then he opened up a can of beer and placed it in front of her.
"It's on the house", he said.
"LA", she said to herself and took a sip of the beer. She did not want to admit it, but she felt saddened, "I am not going to LA just yet". Grabbing the can, she left the bar and continued her planned journey. Nothing was going to come between her and Las Vegas now. No trouble, no conscience, no men.
The heat kept on rising on her way through the desert, and the relentless sun kept trying to burn her and her fragile scalp. She put on her hat while twirling her long hair between her fingers. Every time she looked into the rear-view mirror, her new look took her by surprise, but it was the good kind. She really liked the change and felt excited for the next change as well: It was going to happen in Las Vegas, where one of the big cabarets was hiring Marilyn Monroe look-alikes for a new show. She smiled and felt amused at the same time. Who would have thought that she of all people was going to perform as a high-class show-dancer in Vegas?
She drove the entire day, witnessing one natural wonder after the other. It was wonderful scenery, and she took it all in. She eagerly used the Polaroid-camera to capture everything she wanted to remember forever, and whenever possible, she tried to be present in the frame too. It was mostly to be able to see more of her new look. Out of nowhere, right as the evening started catching up with her, she drove past a diner. Immediately she stopped the car. The diner looked exactly like the American diners from the 1950s that she had seen in movies. The white and soft pink colours, the sculptures of Elvis Presley and pictures of black and white movies. She parked the car in front of it and went inside. The Real American Diner, a sign said.
"You're right about that", Hermione said to herself, smiling. It did not seem to be a busy night, but a couple of families and a group of friendly-looking bikers were sitting in small booths, enjoying their huge burgers. Hermione checked her makeup in her mirror to make sure she looked her best, and then she sat down at a table next to a booth where a family was eating. It made her feel less alone.
"What can I get you, miss?", a waitress suddenly said. She had appeared out of nowhere and was wearing a lovely white 50s dress and an apron in a mild shade of pink. Her hairdo was tight and her makeup old-fashioned.
"Ah... What they are eating", Hermione answered and pointed towards the family next to her. They were all eating delicious-looking burgers with juicy fries and big cups of Coca Cola. They noticed it, the waitress took the order, and Hermione smiled embarrassedly at them.
"I am sorry for disturbing you. Your meals just looked so tasty", she said, smiling her best smile.
"That is no inconvenience at all", the mother said. She was chubby with a round face and friendly eyes. Her husband was bigger than her, looking like a factory-worker with almost no hair and a wristwatch so tight it seemed to stop the blood circulation. He looked nice too, though. So did their two well-behaved children, who were eating their burgers in silence. The youngest was a girl around 10 with pretty curls and a girly dress. The boy was a couple of years older. He had thick glasses and was reading a geeky comic book while eating. "Nerd", Hermione thought and a faint smile appeared on her lips; he seemed cute to her.
"Oh, good", Hermione replied to the mother.
"Where are you from, sweetheart?", the mother then asked. Hermione answered and found out that the family were Americans, living on a farm. Before Hermione's food arrived, the family had invited her to join their table. This young creature seemed to interest them.
"Well, Ron here, my husband, he is too cheap to take us to the Canyon more than once a year", Cindy the mother then said in a thick American accent. She grinned and gave her husband a sweet slap across his chest. The name Ron made Hermione shiver.
"You know, the Canyon – that is culture. It's great for the kids", Cindy continued, smiling and laughing. Hermione nodded. They were so American, and she loved spending time with them.
"Mom, can I have extra fries?", the boy then suddenly said, looking up from his comic book.
"Better watch out that you don't end up looking like your parents", Hermione thought to herself, watching the boy who was normal-sized for now.
"Of course you can, honey. As many as you like. We are on vacation", Cindy said, caressing the boy's hair. Of course that made him turn away, but she didn't notice.
"Where are you heading?", Ron the husband then asked Hermione.
"Las Vegas. I really want to experience it. You know, see what all the fuzz is about. I have an aunt in LA, and after Vegas I am moving out to see her. She is an actress", Hermione then found herself lying. This could be a different part of her.
"Really? An actress? Do we know her?", Cindy asked, too enthusiastically.
"Well, yeah. She has been in some movies. Her name is Lena Olin. Maybe you have seen Chocolat?"
"I simply love that movie", Cindy said, clapping her hands. Hermione ate the last part of her burger and sat back.
"Yes, she is quite famous. She has promised to take me to some castings. You know, to try out acting. Normally, I am a singer. Not so big here in America yet, only in Europe".
"Are you Rihanna?", the girl then asked. It was the first time she had spoken at all. Hermione chuckled.
"No, I am not Rihanna. My name is Robyn. I make dance music these days. But maybe I will try out something different, I don't know". She tried to be as relaxed and cool as possible, and it seemed to work. The entire family seemed to be in awe, and then the boy woke up and played an actual Robyn song on his phone. It sent shivers down Hermione's spine.
"So you do know me!", she said, trying to stay cool instead of crumbling.
"This is so awesome, can I have your autograph?", the boy asked. Hermione nodded and handed out her very first autograph ever – and probably the last too!
"This is so out of the ordinary, meeting someone like you out here in the middle of nowhere", Cindy then said while offering to pay for Hermione's meal.
"That is kind of you. Thank you. But money is not a problem. I inherited a fortune after my husband killed himself", Hermione then said casually. That made them silent and attentive.
"Yeah, he was a tortured artist. A writer. He died for his art. When the inspiration did not come to him anymore, he decided it happened for a reason, you know. He believed that his art wanted him to die too, and then he hung himself. Jumped out of the window from the 5th floor with a rope around his neck", Hermione calmly told the astonished family.
"Thank you again for the meal", Hermione then said, got up and went to her car. It felt great leaving people with a strong impression.