Chapter 36

Well, Araminta was wrong. She didn't really feel better in the morning. If anything, she felt worse. It was going to be a fight for her life.

In the meantime, though, she had to get to class. She sat up in her bed and tried to untangle her hair. "Bollocksy, bring me a brush," she commanded before she remembered that Bollocksy hadn't come back in time with her. On the other hand, she was part-elf--maybe that would have some magical advantages?

Araminta squeezed her eyes shut tight and thought so hard that she made orange juice from concentrate (A/N hee hee!). After she drank her orange juice, she Summoned a pair of scissors and enchanted them to cut her hair. Then, she Vanished all the clippings. She bounded out of bed and over to the mirror.

Her head felt so much lighter! Instead of having long, platinum blond hair down to her knees, she had platinum blond hair which fell in soft layers at her shoulders. She sort of missed her lowlights, but decided that she had more important things to do today than fiddle with her hair. She waved her wand to apply her makeup, put on a fresh set of green and gold robes, and headed downstairs to breakfast.

Araminta stopped at the door and sniffed. Belgian waffles for breakfast! She hoped this was a good omen. She walked toward the Slytherin table, but Harry snagged her sleeve and pulled her down beside him. "Come sit with us, Araminta."

Araminta shot a glance over to Draco. "It's okay," she mouthed.

Harry saw this. "Don't tell me you've got a crush on Draco Malfoy too?" He rolled his eyes. "Half the school does." He looked like he was going to say something else, and Araminta knew he was thinking about the prophecy. However, Harry just shook his head and spooned up more Cream of Wheat.

"You should have some of this, Araminta," he said. "It will warm you right up and keep you warm while you watch Quidditch tryouts. It's kind of cold out today."

"Quidditch tryouts?" asked Araminta. "Today?"

"Yes," Harry laughed. "Hey, why don't you try out too? Or did you not have Quidditch in Japan?"

"Oh yeah, we did," replied Araminta, suddenly glad that Harry and Draco had taught her so much about Quidditch growing up. "I was following the Tengu for a while."

"Then come on out and give it a try!" Harry said, looking pleased. "We need some new blood."

Araminta noticed Hermione's scowl. "Oh, I forgot. I don't have a broom."

"Oh, Hermione will loan you hers," Harry said airily. "She never uses it. I got it for her last year, and you guys have the same body type, so it should fit you perfectly."

"Um, okay," said Araminta. Hermione just scowled into her Cheerios. "What time are the tryouts?"

"11:30," said Harry. "Wear something comfortable to play in. Did you cut your hair?"

"Yes," said Araminta, pleased. She put a hand to her head self-consciously. "I'm surprised anybody noticed."

"He might be blind, but anyone would notice that you cut about four feet right off!" Hermione slammed her spoon down on the table. "I can't stand to watch this. Going to cut a swath right through every house, or isn't one enough for you?"

Araminta shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Can we talk about his somewhere else?"

"No," said Hermione coldly. "We don't need to talk about this at all."

Hermione got up from her seat and picked up her big stack of books. "I'll see you later Harry, Ron." She sneered at Araminta one more time and stomped out of the Great Hall.

"That went well," Araminta said, to no one in particular.