AN: Thank you all for the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
"Have you ever envisioned Ms. Granger with straight hair?"
"I cannot say that I have." Lucius lowered his crystal high ball glass onto a nearby lamp stand as he raised an elegant eyebrow. "Then again, I cannot say my thoughts turn to Granger all that often."
"Unfortunately, I do not have that luxury. I am trapped in a castle with her enduring her inane chatter. I am also privy to her straight hair, much more than I would have like to hav been." Severus crossed his legs and leaned back into his leather chair.
"She did need a way to tame it. Straightening it could work," Lucius mused aloud.
"Her hair was bushy, but not unkempt. There was a certain softness to it which wasn't entirely repulsive."
"So you preferred it as it previously was."
"That is a strong way of putting it."
"But is it accurate?"
"I am not entirely sure. Before, she looked like herself. Now, I have no idea what she is going for."
"You almost seem offended by her new hairstyle."
"Offended is a strong word, but," Severus smirked. "She now looks absolutely ridiculous. That I can say with certainty."
Lucius kept his eyes on the other man. The image of Granger with straight hair was intriguing, but odd. Was there more to this story than a simple desire for change? Perhaps if he gave Severus enough Basil Hayden Caribbean Rye Reserve he could view it through a memory. If he was really lucky, he could persuade Hermione to join them for drinks sometime. Something told Lucius he may want to speak to her sooner rather than later.
"I know that a person is more than their hair, but certain people have a distinctive look. If they change too much of their most notable features, they appear more ridiculous than intended," Severus continued.
"I can relate. If I were to ever dye or cut my hair, I would mar my beauty, and rob the world of a most pleasant appearance." He ran his fingers through his hair as a small grin graced his face. "And I would never be so cruel as to allow that."
"Unfortunately, very few of us are blessed with hair as gorgeous as yours, nor were we blessed with as many admirers as you have conjured in your mind." Severus frowned.
"It is difficult to be as desirable as I am."
"I'm surprised Narcissa doesn't run out of magic hexing all the witches who must be pounding upon your door."
"She knows I only have eyes for her." There was no playful gleam in his eye or sarcasm in his voice.
"You are fortunate she cares so deeply for you," Severus continued.
"I am well aware of how fortunate I am." He picked up his glass.
"Love of your wife aside, Ms. Granger's hair was absolutely ridiculous."
"Did she give any indication as to why she would straighten her hair?" Lucius took a sip of his bourbon.
"I suppose she wanted to alter her appearance, perhaps to see if she can look more professional before her students."
"But it failed to impress you."
"That is putting it mildly." He huffed. "Even her makeup was out of sorts."
"Ms. Granger wears makeup?"
"Don't all women wear makeup?" Severus picked up his glass of bourbon.
"Ms. Granger usually doesn't, or if she does it's minimal."
"And you would know this because…?"
"Because I pay attention to people at those Ministry Balls you do everything in your power to avoid. If she wouldn't wear makeup to a Ministry Ball it's unlikely she'd wear it on an average Tuesday evening.".
"The only thing more ridiculous than Ms. Granger's too heavily applied makeover is a Ministry Ball."
"They are ridiculous, but not a terrible place to netowrk," Lucius mused aloud. "Speaking of which, I should probably schedule another charity dinner for the Wizarding Orphans Society. A little good publicity wouldn't hurt."
"You may have one if you wish, but there is no need to send me an invitation. I have little interest in joining one of those soirées." He took a sip of his drink.
"Even if I invited a few academics from some big name universities?"
"You couldn't invite anyone I don't already know."
"True," Lucius replied. "And knowing you, you would be so surly about the event that any good opinion they had of you would evaporate after spending ten minutes listening to you whine about how much you hate social gatherings."
"And here I thought you did not know me at all." Severus' lips curled up.
"I know you better than you think." Lucius returned his glass back to its place on the lamp stand.
"Doubtful," Severus' dour expression returned.
"Back to Ms. Granger," Lucius rapped his fingers on the armrest. "Why were you in close enough proximity to her to notice she was wearing makeup? I thought you avoided her as best you were able."
"If I could afford to avoid her I would."
"Yet…"
"Yet if I do." Severus exhaled. "I would lose out on my best chance of escaping Hogwarts once and for all."
"Oh?"
"Currently, we are working on creating some potions which mimic muggle medications for illnesses such as scarlet fever."
"That is quite necessary work." Lucius made no attempt to hide his interest.
"Yes, but I need access to muggle, university libraries, which Ms. Granger has as a Muggle Studies professor. Sadly, I do not have such a luxury."
"So you have to pretend to be friendly with her."
"More or less."
"I would imagine that is hard for you." The blond folded his hands.
"You have no idea." Severus shook his head.
Lucius knew better than to utter another word. Something wasn't right about this Granger thing. He only needed Severus to tell him exactly what was wrong.
"She flirts with me sometimes," Severus continued. "Or at least makes overtures of friendship."
"You've rejected her advances, haven't you?" His voice was far more controlled than he felt.
"She is not tempting to me in the least." Severus seemed confident enough in his position. So far there was no reason to panic.
"Especially with straight hair."
"Exactly which," Severus tapped his chin. "If I am being serious, is quite sad. She appeared quite adequate without giving herself any kind of makeover."
"I thought she was the most unattractive witch in existence."
"I would never accuse her of being attractive, but she does not need to alter her looks so radically to be taken seriously."
"And you are convinced she is only appearing as she does in order to be taken seriously."
"Lucius, what are you getting at?"
The blond's face betrayed no emotion.
"You seem overly interested in my relationship with Ms. Granger," Severus continued. "Why does any of this matter?"
"Ms. Granger with straight hair interests me, that's all," Lucius replied. "She is known for her wild curls. To change them so radically would capture anyone's attention. It captured yours anyway, hence the reason we're discussing her."
"You're right." Severus furrowed his eyebrows. "We should discuss something else, something which does not give me such a headache."
"Not a migraine?"
"Excuse me?"
"Usually you say she gives you a migraine," Lucius noted. "Now it's just a headache."
"You are giving me a headache which is quickly becoming a migraine," the potions master lowered his voice.
"Then tell me," Lucius forced himself to smile. "Have you found an adequate textbook for the first years, or will it be another year of you drawing up each lesson plan?"
"Sadly, it appears as if I am once again on my own. I swear the people who write those textbooks know little about potions. One tried to assert that a newt's tongue could be used in the cure for gout, a preposterous assertion if I ever heard one…."
Lucius nodded, feigning as much interest as he could. The longer Severus spoke, the more Lucius wondered if Ms. Granger was becoming a complication. If so, how soon she would need to be dealt with?
Hermione wiped the last of her makeup off and sighed. Was it necessary that Ginny select the itchiest cosmetics possible? Her appearance looked nice enough, but the makeup felt so heavy. The fact that she'd applied so much did nothing to ease her poor skin's suffering.
She glanced in the mirror again. Her straight hair was ridiculous. She knew it was ridiculous, Severus probably knew it was ridiculous, yet she planned to apply to potions to her scalp in the morning. Why was she doing all this again?
Because Ron salivated over every straight haired blond who came his way.
She groaned and shook her head. If Ginny told her to dye her hair blond, servitude to the goblins would become far more attractive.
"Mrow?"
She glanced down at her half-kneazle. "Do you think I'm overdoing things? Would I be saner if I kept my hair as it was?"
He flicked his tail.
"Helpful as always." Hermione yawned.
Best get to bed soon. Tomorrow was a long day of researching, which she found comforting. Researching facts was a concrete enterprise. She wasn't guessing how she appeared to others, or if Severus was laughing his arse off at her expense. It would be just her, hard data, and the surly potions master who would undoubtedly have an opinion about it all.
Put in that context, tomorrow didn't seem so bad after all.