CHAPTER 4
'I have a date,' Tia exclaimed, twirling Hermione around to face her, excitement showing in her face. Hermione stared at her.
'Really? Is it Tia's date or Harry's?' she asked, knowingly.
'Well, it's sort of both, I guess,' Tia said quietly, her excitement ebbing slightly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
'Well? Who is it?' she asked, leading Tia over to sit on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. They still came here to hang out sometimes, instead of the isolation of Tia's private dorm. 'Spill everything.'
'Uh, well, you're not going to believe who asked me out, really,' she started, a bit reluctant to let the name slip in the middle of a bunch of Gryffindors. They had been, after all, sworn enemies before he had become Tia.
'Oh, you know you can tell me anything! I'll be thrilled for you no matter who you like,' Hermione pressured, giving her a puppy dog pout that she knew Harry had never been able to resist, guessing that Tia couldn't either.
'Okay, fine! Malfoy,' she mumbled, almost inaudibly. Hermione squealed. A few people turned to stare at her before shuffling away. Hermione lowered her voice and leaned in closer to Tia.
'Really?' she asked incredulously, gaping at the prospect. 'I would have never guessed that someone like Malfoy…wait. You said it was Tia and Harry's date,' she pointed out, slowly. 'But that would mean…Harry! You were gay and never told me?!' she hissed, outraged that she hadn't caught the signs. Looking back now, it seemed so obvious. The sidelong glances, the lack of insults, all of it! She couldn't believe how unobservant she had been.
Tia blushed and shushed Hermione, looking around frantically to make sure that no one heard. 'Hermione! Keep it quiet, will you? Yes, I was, and I apologize for keeping you out of the loop. No one knew, not even Ron. It would completely ruin my reputation. Especially if someone found out I liked Malfoy, of all people,' she whispered. 'I'll fill you in in my room.'
Ten minutes later, the girls were settled in Tia's common room, Tia readying herself to spill her innermost secrets at last.
'Okay. I realized I was gay in the middle of last year,' she confessed. 'I noticed that I liked Malfoy about a month after that but tried as hard as I could not to show it. I didn't tell anyone I was gay because I heard Ron say something along the lines of: 'Hey, I think that guy's gay. Isn't that weird, kind of creepy?' I decided that I wouldn't tell him because, one, he thought it was creepy and, two, it would weird our friendship.
'Then I got turned into Tia. Now, I guess I would be considered straight. I think. Cause I'm still Harry on the inside, a gay guy that likes other guys, and Tia on the outside, a girl who's supposed to like guys! Perfect, right? But then, since Malfoy was in the room when my potion exploded, I thought he would be really creeped out by all this and that I would have absolutely no chance at all with him. Makes sense, right?
'But today on the way to the library, he pulled me into an alcove and asked if I was a girl on the inside or just the outside. I asked why and he said that some of the other guys were wondering and that he was a bit curious. So I said I was a bit of both and asked why they wanted to know. Then he said that some of the guys were thinking of asking me out but were afraid of being thought of as gay. So I said it depended on the person asking and asked who it was and he said him.
'So he finally asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him next Saturday and I said yes so we're going to the Dragonhead Pub to have dinner!' Tia said quickly. Hermione stared at her for a moment. She had remained impassively silent throughout the entire one-sided conversation.
'Wow…that was quite a speech,' Hermione said simply. Then she pulled Tia into a tight hug. 'Oh, I'm so happy for you! I don't care if you're gay or not! But now that I know that the Harry inside of you is gay, I can talk to you about guys without thinking I was freaking you out,' she said happily, pulling away. 'And you don't have to tell anyone else that you were gay. We can just tell them that your femininity has taken over and that you're a full girl,' she suggested.
'That's perfect. Thanks for accepting me, Hermione,' she said sincerely. 'Will you help me get ready for my date?' she said jokingly.
Tia pulled the top over her head and stepped into her shoes, wobbling a bit before gaining her balance. It was Saturday morning, the day of both the Hogsmeade visit and Tia's date with Malfoy. Draco.
Tia looked in the mirror. She had to admit, she looked amazing. She was wearing tight black slacks under a striped emerald and black top, long enough to stretch to her mid-thigh comfortably, with a chunky black belt at her waist, cinching the shirt and accentuating her curves. She wore black platform sandals, strappy on top and about three inches tall.
Tia's makeup consisted of dark green and grey shadow spread over her eyelids and dramatic use of blush and lipstick. It had a stunning effect, making her eyes seem more piercing than usual, deep and profound.
'You look absolutely wonderful!' Hermione exclaimed, looking at Tia from every angle. 'That is the most flattering outfit I could find, not that you need to be flattered. You look wonderful in anything you wear. Malfoy will be begging at your feet by the end of the day!' she predicted.
'I wouldn't say 'begging',' Tia said playfully. 'Just drooling and gibbering. Besides, begging wouldn't have much effect. I'm not one to give it all upfront. I like to make them work for it,' she said, being entirely sincere. 'It was the same way for Harry, with girls, of course. You remember how long I pretended I didn't know that Ginny liked me? We got together, didn't we? Yeah, I was doing that for about a month. It works really well.'
'That is devious and manipulative!' Hermione cry. 'And pure genius! I've got to try that,' she said, beginning to think over a list of boys that she should try it out on.
'What are you talking about, Hermione?' Tia asked, surprised that she didn't know. 'You've been doing it subconsciously for years! You're so focused on your studies that no guys think they can reach you. You have that forbidden fruit appeal, you know? Guys love what they can't, or think they can't, have,' Tia informed her. Hermione looked very surprised at this.
'So guys like me?' she asked. 'A lot? Really?' Tia nodded. 'Wow. How come I never noticed that?'
'Like I said, you've been so focused on your homework that you never noticed how the guys look at you. You have a figure, you know, so why don't you show it off once and awhile? I could get you together a tactfully sexy outfit for the this afternoon that will have plenty of guys drooling at your feet,' Tia offered, her eyes lighting up.
Hermione fiddled hesitantly with the hem of her robes. She had never been comfortable showing much skin. She didn't even like swimming at public pools, much less purposely inviting guys with revealing outfits.
'I don't know, Tia, I'm not sure I would be comfor-' she began, but Tia cut her off.
'Oh, come on, you'll be fine! But you need to learn to loosen up. You won't be innocent forever. Come out of your shell! You need a boyfriend,' she said determinedly. 'And I'm going to help you get one. I was a guy once, I know how their minds work,' she added, grinning impishly.
'Well…alright, let's do it,' Hermione agreed. Tia squealed and pulled Hermione over to the closet excitedly.
'Okay, we need something to let everyone know that you have a figure. You've been hiding it under those bulky robes for so long, people are sure to have forgotten that you even have a waist,' she said, pulling things out and flinging them on the bed. 'Something with a tiny bit of cleavage but not enough to look smutty. And a skirt, a short skirt but not really, really short. Enough to show a little thigh to keep the boys wanting but not enough so that you'll accidentally flash them; I don't think they want that much,' she said, leading Hermione over to the bed piled high with options.
'I think you're an autumn,' Tia said, absently walking around and examining Hermione. 'You need brighter, earthy colors. Brown, red, orange, that sort of thing. Try this,' she said, pulling out a few items and thrusting them into Hermione's hands. Then she gave her a push toward the bathroom to change.
Hermione returned wearing a mid-thigh length brown skirt, corduroy with a built-in tan belt, a snug red tube-top, and brown two-inch wedges slip-ons made to look like penny loafers on top. Hermione looked wonderful in it, but she appeared very uncomfortable in such a showy outfit. She was fidgeting and constantly pulling up the tube-top. Tia smacked her hands away.
'Don't fidget. It'll detract from the confident image we're going for,' she said. She straightened the top and went to choose accessories and makeup. 'Your hair should be down, maybe with the front inch or so pulled back to look like a headband, that's always cute. Brown makeup, really simple, with pale pink lips and blush. Really accentuate your eyes, guys love a girl's eyes. You have pretty brown eyes, that's a plus. Maybe a simple gold chain for a necklace, long earrings, and a few gold bangles.'
Hermione just stood there awkwardly, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She had never been out of the house this exposed before. Tia seemed so sure and confident, but Hermione had never had the confidence in her looks that Harry seemed to automatically possess. She had always been the modest, conservative girl in the corner with her nose in a book. She had never even considered being as brash and bold as this outfit made her appear.
Tia brought over a delicate gold chain and draped it around her neck twice so that it reached to just above the edge of the tube top, handed her thin gold, chain earrings for her to put in, about an inch long, and a bag full of makeup.
'Come on, we need to hurry if I'm going to help you before I have to meet up with Draco,' Tia said, sitting Hermione down on a stool in front of the mirror.
She took the first inch of hair on the sides of her face and pulled them loosely back and secured them, giving it the appearance of a headband made of hair. Then she applied dark brown and tan eye shadow, thick brown eyeliner, and dark mascara. Blush and lip gloss of the same shade finished off the look.
The look fitted Hermione very well. It looked earthy and innocent, but with a godly appeal to it. She looked strong and confident, but naïve and pure. It was exquisite. 'Thanks, Tia, you're a miracle worker,' Hermione breathed, hugging her tightly. 'I never would have been able to do this without your help.'
'No problem,' Tia said, hugging her back. 'Now, we have to get to Hogsmeade if I'm going to get to my date on time and you're going to have enough time to snag yourself a man before we have to be back,' she said, glancing at the clock and smiling teasingly.
'Right,' Hermione said, following her out the door.