Chapter Four- My Gorgeous Best Friend
"What do you mean she's your girlfriend now?" Ron asked when Harry got back from his walk with Hermione.
"I meant what I said… She's my girlfriend now… Well, pretend girlfriend. Just for show. I didn't want to bring Katie Alaina in the wedding you know." Ron understood what Harry meant. The memory of Katie chasing Harry throughout Hogwarts was funny, but when she started stalking him, she just got plain creepy.
"You do know that there are risks here, right?" Ron asked as he tossed a football to Harry.
"Risks? What risks?" Harry asked, catching the ball.
"Uh let's see, you might fall in love with her, then that wrecks the whole friendship."
"You've got to be kidding me mate. This is Hermione we're talking about. I may have just met her last year, but I know she's just my best friend."
"Your call mate. I'm just stating facts."
"Wow. I never believe I would ever see the day that Ronald Weasley started stating facts."
Ron rolled his eyes at his friend and tossed the football again. Harry caught it easily then grinned.
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"I can't believe you would do that for him Hermione," Alaysha said.
"Well Harry's my best friend, I would do anything for him," Hermione said nonchalantly. Alaysha rolled her eyes at Hermione's statement and said, "Well you two won't find it hard to act all love-y dove-y."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hermione ask, lifting her gaze from the book she was reading.
"I mean, you two actually act like a couple. You know with all the kisses on the cheek and the hugs," Alaysha said animatedly.
"Whatever Alaysha. But I need you to help me pick a dress in the mall for tomorrow night's dinner."
"Sure. I want to get out of here anyway."
The next day, Hermione got up early and prepared for the trip to the mall. She took a bath, dressed up in a simple blue shirt and jeans. They were about to leave for the mall at around 10, and since Alaysha was still trying to wake up, she left the dorm to have some breakfast. As she ate her bagel, Harry took a seat beside her.
"Hey," he said, grinning.
"Hey yourself," Hermione said, flashing him a smile.
Harry felt the world stopped when Hermione smiled at him… Her smile was just so….pretty. He thought that he could actually die if he sees the smile again.
"Hey Harry… You alright?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah… Just nervous for tonight. Hope we can really pull it off," Harry muttered.
"Trust me… I'll help you… When did I ever let you down huh?"
"Never," Harry grinned. IT was true. Hermione never let him down. Not even once.
"That reminds me, you still owe me… BIG TIME!" Hermione replied, emphasizing the words 'Big Time'.
"Yeah… Someday I'll return the favor. Don't worry Hermione."
"I'll hold on to that promise Potter."
Harry grinned cheekily before saying, "So, Luke called. He told me that he'd take us to dinner in that Italian restaurant we went to yesterday."
"Perfect. I was planning on getting a dress anyway," Hermione said, then added, "Maybe you and Ron wanna come? Though you probably won't enjoy dress shopping."
Harry chuckled at this and said, "Yeah we probably won't. Besides, Ron and I have football practice."
"Oh yeah… Well good luck with Coach Beiste. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression, huh new quarterback?" Hermione joked.
"That coach scares the living daylights out of me," Harry said. Hermione patted him as she stood up. "Well, as I said, good luck. I better go now. I need to meet Alaysha at the dorms. See you later Harry."
She kissed Harry's cheek, before walking away. She was about to get out of the canteen, when Harry called, "Hey Hermione!"
She turned, tilting her head to say What?
Harry thought for a moment before speaking, "Try a dress in blue or lavender. I think it will suit you."
Hermione felt heat rushing in her cheeks as she said, "Thanks Harry. I'll take that into consideration."
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"So, tell me exactly what dress are you looking for?Pretty and girly? Chic and polished… or maybe sexy and seductive," Alaysha said, shaking different dresses in front of Hermione's face. They were currently at the mall in a dress shop, searching through the racks of clothes.
"Quit it Alaysha!" Hermione said, grabbing the dresses and hanging them on their racks.
"Then tell me what you want!"
"I want something… blue," Hermione smiled as she remembered Harry's suggestion, "Something simple… But not too boring."
"Wow… It's going to take us forever to find something like that," Alaysha retorted. Hermione chuckled, "Come on Alaysha. I thought you liked shopping."
As it turned out, Alaysha was right. They went to almost every dress shop in the mall, yet Hermione can't find the right dress. "Come on Hermione… It's almost 1:30… And we haven't eaten lunch yet," Alaysha complained. "Please Alayasha… Just this one more shop. Then we can eat," Hermione pleaded. For some odd reason, she wanted to look good when Harry and his brother saw her.
Alaysha huffed but she agreed, "Just this one last shop. If you can't find one, I'm going to cram your body in that orange dress of yours."
Hermione shuddered at the thought of Alaysha 'cramming' her body in that bloody orange dress. She hated that dress. It has a tube top, and Hermione hates tube tops. She always felt that the top was dropping, plus the dress was two sizes too small and makes her super uncomfortable.
They went inside this little dress shop. It was almost like every other dress shop—girly with lots of racks.
The shopkeeper smiled at them as they entered the shop. They immediately raided the racks but after 30 minutes of fruitless searching, even Hermione wanted to give up.
"I think I'll just wear the orange dress," she said flatly. They were about to leave the shop when the shopkeeper called, "Excuse me miss, but I think you've overlook that rack over there."
She and Alaysha looked over and saw a dress rack that they didn't notice when they were searching. "Thanks," Hermione told the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper smiled and gestured for them to look through the rack. Hermione sighed deeply before approaching the rack. The rack consists of dresses in different shades of purple, pink and blue. Hermione gasped when she saw the last dress hanging on the rack. It was a midnight blue pleated dress with a tank top. "It's perfect…" Hermione said softly, fingering the dress. "May I try it on?" Hermione asked. The shopkeeper nodded. Hermione went in the dressing room and put the dress on. She surveyed how she looked in the dress. She can't believe that blue DID look good on her, just like Harry said. "Hermione! Get outta here and lemme see!" Alaysha said. Hermione laughed but pulled the curtain open.
"WOW…" Alaysha said.
"I know… Harry was right when he told me that blue is my color," Hermione said.
"We'll take it. How much is it?" Alaysha asked the shopkeeper. "It's originally 150 Dollars, but for her, I'll take a hundred," the shopkeeper said kindly. Hermione was glad to save 50 dollars off the dress. "Thanks," she told the shopkeeper.
"No problem. Come again miss."
They left the shop and went to eat something. After eating, Alaysha helped Hermione picked out a pair of silver sandals with 2 inch heels (Hermione would've went with an inch, but Alaysha won't allow it.). After shoe shopping, they hung around the mall for a bit more. It was around 4:20 when they got back to their dorms. Hermione hung the dress up, before setting her alarm clock to 5:30 and collapsing on her bed. She had a good hour to sleep and good two hours to prepare for the dinner.
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Harry groaned as he got out of the shower. Practice was killing him, especially now that he was the team's quarterback. Coach Beiste was paying much more attention to him than usual. He got into a pair of jeans and a university shirt. He met Ron, who was also exhausted from practice, outside the locker room. "Hey mate," Harry said wearily.
"Coach Beiste is killing us… My body aches like hell," Ron groaned. "You and me both," Harry muttered then added loudly, "Then I have to go through that bloody dinner."
"Good luck about that mate… What time will Luke and Cassie pick you and Hermione up?" Ron asked as he opened the door to their dorm.
"Seven. Which reminds me, I still have to pick Hermione up in her dorm."
"Well, you better start getting ready, then. It's almost 6:30."
Harry nodded and took out his clothes from the closet. Since he had showered in the locker rooms, he just put on his white polo shirt, a stripped blue tie and a blue v-neck sweater. He wore a pair of loafers that his father gave him last Christmas. He dabbed on some cologne then checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He groaned as he tried to tame his unruly black hair. He tried combing it, but it just keeps sticking up. He admitted defeat after a few minutes then he got out of the bathroom. Ron was too busy updating his Facebook status to notice Harry.
"So, what's you think?" Harry asked. Ron looked up and surveyed his friend's look.
"You look like you're going to a formal date. Good job mate!" Ron said, then went back to his computer. Harry laughed at this and said, "I'm going to Hermione's dorm."
When he reached their dorm, he knocked on the door. "Coming," a voice said. The door was opened by Alaysha. "Hey Alaysha," Harry greeted.
"Hey Harry! Wait a sec. Hermione's just about done. You don't mind waiting outside do you?"
"No. Not at all."
Alaysha grinned at him and shut the door. He waited patiently for Hermione. After about a few minutes, he heard the door opened, and Hermione stepped out.
He almost felt his heart stopped when he saw his best friend. She was… beautiful. No scratch that… Gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous.
Harry was pleased that she went by his suggestion and bought a blue dress. Her long brown hair wasn't that bushy anymore. It fell into soft waves that reached past her shoulders. There was a simple blue headband on her hair too. She had makeup on, though not too fancy. Just simple blush, lipstick, and eye shadow that highlighted her face. She was wearing a silver necklace with a heart shaped pendant. He remembered that it was his birthday gift to her. She was also wearing silver sandals that made her legs even look longer.
"Hey," Harry breathed. It was the only thing that he could say at the moment. Hermione laughed and said, "Harry, you look like a fish out of water…"
Harry shook his self out of his reverie and blurted, "You look gorgeous."
Hermione blushed furiously and said, "You don't look too bad yourself Mr. Potter."
"Don't look too bad?' That hurts my ego Hermione. I spent hours perfecting this look," Harry said groaning.
"Oh come on Harry. Hours? More like minutes! I'll bet my whole book collection that you just finished practice at around 6:30, then went back to your dorm, change, put on some cologne and try to flatten your unruly black hair."
Harry grinned at her and said, "Bingo. You do know me Ms. Granger…"
"Of course… You're my best friend. It may not have been too long, but still I pay attention."
He grinned again and offered his arm. "Shall we?" he asked cheekily.
"We shall," Hermione replied cheekily then burst into fits of giggles. She hooks her arm around Harry's and they walked outside the dorm building, where Luke Potter and Cassie Lovegood were waiting for them.