Chapter Thirty-Four: Confrontation
Later that day, Ginny went home to the Burrow with Hermione only to find Fleur standing there at the door with a smile on her face that was best described as the smile of someone who has plotted something.
"Don't come in here. We are leaving." Fleur told them. Hermione stared confusedly at her.
"I beg your pardon? We were just out." Hermione told her.
"I know zat! But you're going out again! No arguments!" Fleur said with a flourish of her dainty hand. Angelina, Katie and Luna walked outside too, in their winter attire. Hermione's eyes narrowed. Angelina and Katie looked sheepishly down at their feet as though they were trying not to say anything to Fleur deliberately and Luna just looked exuberant, as per usual. So did Fleur.
"…Where are we going?" Hermione asked curiously. Fleur beamed.
"We are going to za spa!" Fleur said brightly. Hermione stared blankly at her.
"…The spa?" Hermione questioned with a raised eyebrow. Luna and Fleur nodded while Angelina and Katie stared at Ginny with pleading eyes. They obviously didn't want to go as much as Hermione didn't. Hermione looked around for any kind of joke in Fleur's eyes and when she realized there was none, she raised a brown eyebrow at her. "I am not going to a spa! I've never been to one in my life!" Hermione said hotly.
"Zen eet makes eet zat much more special!" Fleur said excitedly. Hermione sighed and tried to move past her but she blocked the way, her hands on her hips. Hermione started to get kind of annoyed. Her in a spa? Pfft! That would never happen.
"Fleur, I am not going to a spa, okay?" Hermione said firmly.
"Yes, you are." Fleur said back, just as forcefully. Hermione gritted her teeth.
"You…can't make me!" Hermione crossed her arms. Fleur did too.
"Oh, but I can!" she fired back.
"Oh? And how are you going to do that, may I ask?" Hermione said sourly. Fleur smiled at her slyly.
"Like zis." Without a warning of any kind, Fleur's hand whipped out and grabbed Hermione's forearm and suddenly, they were gone.
After many seconds of extremely uncomfortable lack of breath, Hermione and Fleur stood outside a spa in Diagon Alley. Hermione turned sharply to glare at Fleur, who was smiling brightly at her. Just then, two sharp cracking sounds erupted in the silence and Ginny, Angelina, Katie and Luna appeared. Angelina and Katie looked as glum as ever, Ginny looked uncomfortable and Luna was just beaming.
"Fleur! I told you, I don't want to go in a spa-!" Hermione started.
"It's no use, Hermione." Angelina mumbled glumly.
"Yeah. Don't fight the power." Katie muttered, her arms crossed. Hermione huffed angrily and Fleur led her inside, Luna pushing the others in too.
The spa was beautiful. Hermione couldn't deny that. There were rows upon rows of large white chairs where you would presumably sit to get manicures and pedicures done. There were long tables in the middle of the room where lamps were. They were stations for nail-painting. The thing that shocked Hermione the most was that the back wall was a huge shelf full of just nail polish. Hermione's nose wrinkled at the strong smell of nail polish remover and then the smell of huge potted plants that were in the corners of the room. She was terrified. You didn't put someone like her in a room like this.
A woman came prancing out in red heals, skinny jeans, a blouse and a sequined apron that sparkled brightly against the lights. Hermione squinted as she looked at her. She was definitely part Veela. Her teeth were perfectly straight and white, her skin pale but radiating beauty. She was thin and curvy with very long golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She squealed with joy when she saw Fleur and Fleur returned the high-pitched sound. The two woman scampered over to one another, their heals clicking against the linoleum, and they embraced, kissing both cheeks, French-style.
"Oh, Elizabeth! Eet 'as been too long!" Fleur exclaimed as she hugged her friend.
"Oui, mademoiselle! 'Ow 'ave you been? Expecting a little one, I see!" Elizabeth patted the bump on Fleur's stomach as Fleur smiled dazzlingly.
"I'm doing great! I've actually come to give my friends 'ere a relaxing day at ze spa." Fleur said, gesturing to the girls standing behind her. Elizabeth looked at them and there was suddenly a slight hint of panic in her eyes.
"Uh…all of zem?" she asked.
"Yes. I'll pay full price." Fleur said quickly. Elizabeth's eyes quickly unclouded.
"Oh, don't you worry about zat, my dear! Save your money for clothing for the little one! Zis spa day is on the house!" Elizabeth clapped her well-manicured hands and, just like that, a hoard of Veelas came out of the back room. "Ladies! We are 'ere to make zees ladies beautiful! Vous allez loin, vous allez loin!" Elizabeth snapped her fingers. The Veelas that were carrying wands, and each as beautiful as Elizabeth and Fleur, swooped in on Angelina, Katie, Ginny, Luna and Hermione, grabbing them and talking to them in broken English as they sat them down in the white chairs.
The next two hours were…well, painful. They did a full manicure, pedicure with a facial, a full hair do-over and a full-body moisturizing. They also waxed their eyebrows and legs, which was…well, interesting to watch. By the end of it, the girls looked stunning but they were exhausted.
Katie looked better than she ever had in her life. Her brown hair hung straight down her back and she now had straight across bangs, which lined precisely with her now perfectly waxed eyebrows. She was getting her makeup done now, waiting for her nails to dry. The Veela was trying to explain to her how wearing eye liner would help bring out the brown in her eyes. She didn't quite understand and struggled to let the Veela come at her with a pointy pencil of eyeliner.
Angelina was fighting with a Veela who was trying to comb through her frizzy black hair with a brush that looked about as dainty and fragile as the Veela did. She looked gorgeous but she was terrified of all of the different instruments they were using on her, such as a nail file and lip liner.
Ginny had pretty much given up fighting the Veela when she started working on her. Her hair was now curled in perfect large ringlets and they cut her bangs to make them sweep to the side. She looked amazing. She was sitting at the table, getting her nails done.
Luna was having the time of her life. She'd never done a day to the spa before, like Hermione. She was enjoying every last minute of it. Her normally wavy hair was now perfectly straight and it was up in an intricate bun. Hermione felt somewhat sorry for the Veela that was working on Luna because she hadn't stopped talking since they started. At the moment, Luna was chatting away about some Snuffila plant that cures Blibblepox.
Fleur was blabbing away in fluent French with Elizabeth as she filed her own nails. She'd gotten her hair done nicely. It was cut shorter, but just an inch shorter and it fell in waves down her back. Her skin glowed with renewed beauty and she had gorgeous nails to match the color of the heals she was wearing.
Hermione had fought with the Veela for quite a while. She tried to explain that she didn't want a facial or a pedicure or a manicure but the Veela wouldn't have any of that. She did her job perfectly and made Hermione look absolutely amazing. By the time they got to the manicure, Hermione let go all control and just decided to enjoy the experience. It was actually calming her down greatly. She was relaxing for the first time in a long time. She chose a kind of nail polish that, when you put it on, it lasts for months at a time. This nail polish changes color with your mood. Hermione thought this was the coolest thing ever so she put some on and bought a bottle for herself, which, surprisingly, wasn't a lot of money.
Now all that was left was Hermione's hair. The Veela washed it and combed it out.
"Ah, sa magnifique! Sa beau!" The Veela chimed, looking at Hermione's hair with fascinated eyes. Hermione looked up at her, confused.
"What is?" from the little French she understood, she could translate what she said.
"Your 'air! Eet's beautiful, Madame! But, uh, can I give you my personal opinion?" The Veela asked her. Hermione nodded.
"Sure." She said lightly.
"Your facial structure ees perfect for short 'air! 'Ave you ever thought of cutting eet?" The Veela inquired. Hermione blinked. She'd always had long hair. Her mother never allowed her to cut it short ever.
"Uh…no, I haven't." Hermione admitted truthfully. The Veela smiled and handed her a magazine with short hairstyles for woman.
"Eef you like any styles in here, I'd be 'appy to cut eet in the style you like. Short 'air is my specialty." She said excitedly. Hermione gave her a smile, kind of excited as well. As the Veela walked away to grab her equipment for cutting hair, Hermione flipped through the magazine. She quickly found a hairstyle she loved. It was a pixie cut, which was very common with Muggle Hairstyles. She decided to try something new. She felt a little bit of a rebel, actually. She was so excited.
The Veela walked over to her and smiled, putting the instruments down on the table.
"'Ave you found an 'airstyle you like?" she asked. Hermione nodded, beaming.
"Yes, I have." She showed her the hairstyle she wanted. The Veela beamed back at her.
"Ah, a wonderful choice, Madame! Let's get to work!" The Veela waved her wand and made the book stand up in front of her in mid-air. She grabbed her scissors and started cutting Hermione's hair.
About twenty minutes later, the Veela finished her work and turned Hermione around to face the mirror. Hermione stared at her new haircut, totally shocked for a moment before a smile lit her face. All of her bushy hair was gone. It was now cropped short and it looked absolutely amazing. It brought out the shape of her face and the length of her neck. It made her look elegant. Her hair was shorter than ear length, but not boyishly short and her bangs swept along her forehead perfectly. She looked so gorgeous with her makeup done and eyebrows waxed and her hair done like that. She thought about how much this new do would impress Ron and then she remembered that she and Ron weren't even talking. She touched her short hair, dazed.
"Do you like eet?" the Veela asked. Hermione heard her voice and quickly nodded, snapping out of her façade.
"Yes, I love it." Hermione said, giving her a stunning smile. She got up and the Veela smiled at her.
"Oh, girls, come look! You 'ave to see 'ow this one turned out!" she said. All the girls looked over and saw Hermione. The amount of squealing was almost too much for Hermione's ears to handle and suddenly every Veela and human girl was over there, touching her hair, giving her compliment after compliment. Hermione beamed at them all, not sure what to say. That's when it happened. The bell on the door tinkled.
"Yoo-hoo! Elizabeth! Make me beautiful, darling!" a voice sounded in the shop. Hermione froze, her smile melting from her face. She'd heard that voice before…it couldn't be…
The circle of girls opened and Hermione's stomach dropped from her body. There she stood in her designer traveling cloak and dragon-skin boots: Adalie.
As soon as Adalie saw Hermione, her whole face changed. Hermione stared at Adalie, not sure what to do. An indescribable loath-filled silence filled the room. It felt as though it was pressing in on Hermione's chest. The air was heavy and people didn't know what to do.
Adalie moved first. Her face transformed into a sly smirk.
"Oh, isn't this cute? The losers came to attempt to make themselves look beautiful." She said in the sickly sweet way that made Hermione want to slit her throat.
"At least we don't have to make ourselves look beautiful on the inside, like some people I know." Ginny spit at her harshly. Adalie smirked at her but soon returned her attention to Hermione, who stood in the middle of all of them, ridged as a board. Adalie's eyes danced with satisfaction.
"I see you got your hair cut, Mudblood. But I think they took a little too much off your bangs. It's not enough to hide your ugly face." Adalie snarled wittily. Hermione felt fire rise up in her gut but was soon distracted by Angelina and Katie, who leapt at Adalie, screaming at her at the top of their lungs. Luna and a couple Veelas restrained them.
"How dare you!" Katie hollered.
"You BITCH! You can't come in here and say that to her!" Angelina roared.
"She's twice as pretty as you'll ever be, you skanky Munter!" Ginny shouted, clenching her fists. The Veelas gasped. Munter was a very derogatory word that was only used in extreme situations. It meant the person was "ugly as sin." Adalie's face twitched and she stepped towards Ginny, taking her wand out. Hermione stepped in front of Ginny protectively, glaring at Adalie, who froze on the spot.
"You need to leave." Hermione said through clenched teeth. Adalie quickly recovered and got that stubborn look in her eyes.
"No. Why should I? You're the one who should leave, Mudblood. You don't deserve to be here." Adalie spit at her. Hermione stood there, trying to remain calm. She sighed and grabbed her coat.
"Fine. I'll leave," Hermione said simply. She refused to look at anyone. "I knew this was a horrible idea." She muttered. She strode right past Adalie and towards the door. Before she could leave, Adalie turned around, absolutely furious that she wasn't taking her bate.
"Oh yeah, just walk away, you cowardly ponce! Why don't you stand here and fight?" Adalie yelled, holding her wand out at her. Hermione didn't even turn around.
"Because I don't want to fight you, Adalie. I want you to leave me and my family alone." Hermione said calmly.
"HA! What family?" Adalie sniggered. Hermione took a deep breath, feeling hatred bubble inside her. She quickly left out the door, not bother putting her coat on. She heard someone walk out after her. "Hey! Get back here, Mudblood. Stand and fight!" Adalie yelled at her. Hermione quickly went to Disapperate but she felt a hand grab onto her arm. Hermione's mind quickly became jumbled and her destination part of the Disappearation was slightly askew.
A few seconds later, the two of them landed in a field of grass on the outskirts of what seemed to be the Burrow. Hermione recognized it as the field that separated Luna's house from the Weasley's house. Hermione turned around and saw Adalie standing a few feet away, holding her wand out at her. Hermione began to slowly back away as Adalie advanced. Adalie laughed at her, smiling evilly at Hermione.
"You pompous idiot," Adalie started. "Did you actually think you could avoid a fight with me?" she asked. Hermione continued to back away.
"No, of course not. I knew this fight would come eventually." Hermione said carefully as she sidestepped Adalie.
"Then take out your wand, Mudblood! Let us duel! The best woman wins the man!" Adalie pressed, grinning. Hermione shook her head.
"I don't want to fight anymore." She said as she continued to back away, staring at her. Adalie's smile melted. She raised her wand.
"Stupefy!" she yelled. A red jet of light shot out of the tip of her wand. Hermione jumped out of the way, her eyes widening.
"No. Stop it. I don't want to fight." Hermione said firmly. But Adalie kept coming closer.
"You retarded skank! Incarcerous!" Thick ropes flew out of Adalie's wand and towards Hermione. Hermione ducked again. "Fight me! Let's settle this once and for all!"
"No." Hermione continued to say, her heart beating fast in her chest. She couldn't fight. She wasn't a witch. She couldn't use spells anymore.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Adalie kept firing spell after spell at Hermione. Hermione was starting to become very angry. All the hatred and frustration and loathing that she'd been holding in for so long was building up inside her. She couldn't take it anymore. Hermione whipped out her wand and pointed it at Adalie. Adalie froze, branching her wand as Hermione continued to back away.
"You kissed him…" Hermione growled. "You tried to seduce him into sleeping with you-,"
"And if you hadn't interrupted, I would have succeeded." Adalie sneered. Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"You are not to go near him ever again." Hermione snarled. Adalie laughed at her heartily.
"Oh please! No amount of threatening will work on me, Granger!" Adalie jeered. Hermione glared her down.
"I was afraid this might happen," Hermione said quietly. She felt the hatred pulsating in her brain. "But I guess it was going to happen anyways."
"So," Adalie said quietly. "…shall we duel?" she asked. Hermione looked at Adalie and held up her wand, showing the beginning of the bow to begin the duel.
"We shall duel." Hermione said. Adalie grinned and held her wand up as well. They bowed to one another and then they pointed their wands at each other…and the battle began.
Jets of light in every color you could imagine shot out of Adalie and Hermione's wands. They swirled around one another. Sounds of snaps and crackles filled the open air of the field as they dueled to the death. Adalie was more vicious with the spell-casting while Hermione was more precise. She caught Adalie many times. All those days at Hogwarts, learning different defensive spells from textbooks and classes and all those days in DA were rushing into Hermione's head. Hermione felt alive for the first time in a very long time. She could feel this power building up inside her, a power that she knew couldn't be controlled. That power was the restraint of all she had been holding back. She felt an immeasurable amount of strength build up inside her body. The power pulsated through her veins like blood. She saw Adalie stumble back and suddenly everything was clear. She felt the strength, the restrained emotions, the real and raw power that was radiating from her body. Hermione's body arched inwards as though she was crunching into a ball and then suddenly, Hermione let everything go.
A sound equivalent to a thunder burst sounded in the open field and a blazing white light blinded Adalie, who was far away from Hermione. The grass flattened into the ground and the air whooshed around the open field as though they were in a cyclone. Adalie was knocked clear off her feet as she screamed in utter terror. The power that radiated from Hermione was so strong that she couldn't even sit up. Adalie laid flat on her stomach, not able to move.
A light shone brightly from Hermione's entire body as her hair whipped around her face. The suppressed magic that was inside her was coming out of her in huge title waves of incredible power that glued Adalie to the ground. Hermione stood there, strong, holding her arms out as though directing a storm right at Adalie. The wind howled in their ears, whipping leaves and grass everywhere. It was so deafening that people would hear it for miles around. And then suddenly, with one last burst of blinding white light, everything fell completely and utterly silent.
Hermione Granger stood in the open field. The grass had all uprooted, laying on the ground. Dirt was strewn everywhere. A massive circular shape of the field was torn up where Hermione had cast the powerful magic. Adalie sat in the shambles of the field, far away from where Hermione stood. Leaves fell softly from the air and landed on the ground and the last bit of wind died down.
After a moment of taking in what just happened, Hermione started to make her way towards Adalie slowly. She felt a new side to herself had been opened. She felt amazing. She felt well. She felt whole. Hermione was unstoppable and she knew that. She was Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her age.
A trembling Adalie laid in the field, frightened for her life as Hermione came to stand beside her, looking down at her. Adalie peeked up at Hermione, her face looking as frightened as she felt. Adalie couldn't move or speak. Hermione simply peered down at her with a calm but strong expression on her face. Hermione pointed her wand at Adalie and Adalie started to inch away from her.
"P-please…please don't kill me." Adalie pleaded, her voice shaking with fear. Hermione stared down at her.
"I'm not going to kill you," Hermione said, her voice clear and strong. Adalie gazed up at her, shaking violently. Hermione continued to point her wand at Adalie. She took a deep breath. "Turpiculus Transfiguro." She said. A silver light washed over Adalie's face. It suddenly began transforming into a new face. Hermione watched as Adalie's face transformed into her own.
Seconds past and suddenly, there were two Hermione Grangers in that field. The real Hermione summoned a mirror and held it out so Adalie, who had turned into Hermione, could see her reflection. It was the old Hermione, with crooked teeth, bushy hair and an overall plain appearance. Adalie let out a screech of horror, her eyes wide, horrified.
"Now you know how it feels to be like me…to be ugly," Hermione said. Adalie stared at her, shocked. Hermione knelt down. "You kissed my fiancée, you threatened my life and the life of my family, and you endangered your own family." Hermione said.
"How did I do that? Oh!" Adalie slapped her hand over her mouth as Hermione's voice sounded from her lips. She was horrified. Hermione felt a tiny ounce of satisfaction leak onto her face.
"You set Draco on me. That night at the Engagement party. You had him under the Imperius curse," Hermione said plainly. Adalie's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. "I can't believe you were that thick. I know a curse when I see one. Plus, I know that he'd never ever come onto me." Hermione told her. Adalie looked furious. Hermione looked around the field and sighed. "I don't have much time, actually. Some people are going to come and get you." She said.
"W-W-What?! What do you mean?!" Adalie exclaimed, her eyes wide with terror. Hermione smirked.
"Well, you see, the Ministry has had this spell on Hermione Granger. It's kind of like the Trace that breaks at seventeen that shows when you use magic outside of a wizardry school establishment. And since Hermione Granger-," Hermione gestured to Adalie. "-used magic, they're going to come and get her, since Hermione Granger is on the top of the list to be captured and sent to Azkaban." Hermione explained. Adalie's eyes widened even more, her mouth hanging open.
"Y-Y-You WOULDN'T!" Adalie shrieked. A smile lit Hermione's face.
"Oh, but I would." Hermione stood up from her crouched position as Adalie began to freak out.
"You can't do this! You can't! They'll figure it out! They aren't stupid!" Adalie yelled at her frantically, trying to get up. Hermione pointed her wand at her, which made her freeze immediately.
"They won't though. I've set the spell to break until after the trial and imprisonment. Well, actually, now that I think about it, there will be no trial. They'll just send Hermione Granger to Azkaban…so, I guess you won't have to be in this horrendous body for very long." Hermione smiled down sweetly at her.
"NO! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME! ONCE THEY SEE I'M NOT YOU, THEY'LL COME AFTER YOU AND SEND ME BACK!" Adalie hollered. Hermione laughed, the sound shocking her, but truthfully, she was so incredibly happy.
"Do you honestly think they'll check on you after they send you to Azkaban? They won't. And knowing what I've done, it'll be an incredibly long life-sentence for you." Hermione told her. Adalie growled, wanting to attack her. Hermione simply continued to point her wand at her. "Well, Adalie, I hope this goes to show you that messing with me was the wrong thing to do. I'm sorry you had to learn this way but you picked the wrong person to steal a boyfriend from," Hermione said, stepping over Adalie, keeping her wand at the ready. "It just goes to show you that I may be ugly and I may be a bookworm, but I am still a member of the House of Godric Gryffindor," Hermione said proudly. "I'm Hermione Granger, Adalie. And no one messes with Hermione Granger." Hermione gave her one last smile that only Hermione could do and Disapperated into the Burrow, in her bedroom.
Hermione looked out the window as Adalie, who still looked like her, stood up, looking around for her wildly. Suddenly, there was a crack and a ton of Ministry guards, including Adolf and Umbridge suddenly appeared in a circle around her, pointing their wands at her. Hermione could hear them shouting at her to get on the ground and Hermione listened closely to the voices as Adalie screamed in fear.
"Stop! I'm not Hermione Granger! This is a spell! The real Hermione put a spell on me to make me look like this!" Adalie shrieked. The guard pushed her down.
"Oh please!" a guard said. "The last trace of magic from your wand came from right here!" he said.
"No! I don't have her wand! See, look!" Adalie held out her own wand. A guard snatched it from her hands.
"Very convincing, Granger," Adolf sneered sarcastically. "You threw it away because you knew we were coming and that's just an extra."
"NO! You don't understand! Search the ground! It's not there!" Adalie pleaded.
"I'm not going to search for something that you could have destroyed! This is payback! No one can escape the Minister and get away with it!" Adolf said proudly. He snapped at the guard. "Get her up."
"NO! PLEASE! MINISTER! I'M NOT HERMIONE GRANGER!" Adalie screamed, struggling as the two guards grabbed her and pulled her to her feet.
"Oh, just shut up!" Adolf hollered. Everyone fell quiet in anticipation. He pulled out his wand and Adalie screamed.
"DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE!" She pleaded. Adolf glared at her and she shut up.
"I'm not going to kill you. I'm simply taking of the Trace on you." Adolf said. He swished his wand and at the Burrow, Hermione felt a tingly sensation come over her body and then a certain heaviness in her brain disappeared. Hermione grinned as Adalie struggled.
"THAT'S IT?! NO TRIAL?! I DON'T GET A SAY?!" Adalie yelled in dismay. Adolf stowed his wand in his robes.
"Nope. No trial, no say. You, Hermione Granger, are hereby sentenced to a life-sentence in Azkaban prison for a Muggle-Born status and the attempted murder of the Minister of Magic and his secretary." Adolf finished. Adalie's eyes widened as the guards turned her around, getting ready to Disapperate. Adalie and Hermione's eyes met one last time. Hermione, from the window, smiled at Adalie and waved goodbye to her. Hermione saw Adalie's mouth open to scream at her and then Adalie, along with the guards, Umbridge and Adolf disappeared, never to be seen again, leaving the real and a very satisfied Hermione Granger safe and sound in the walls of the Burrow.