Disclaimer: Why do I even bother? You know I'm not amazing enough to own this.

A/N: Thanks to all you lovely chapter one reviewers! You make me happy! :)

sarah-mason19 – Yeah, I thought Parvati and Lavender would be good at makeovers – they're very girly. ;)

Miercon – Not sure if there will be an invisibility cloak in this one... but you never know. :)

bookishknowitall – Sorry, I'm Ron/Hermione all the way!

suicide-greeting – Thanks!

TeenTypist – Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of quite a few terrifying makeovers... but luckily Hermione got a good one. ;)

Cara – Glad you liked it!

hottie – I hurried just for you! Here it is!

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"Checkmate!" Ron declared triumphantly. "That's three games in a row, mate!"

Harry grinned. "I still think you're cheating. Either that or my chess pieces are plotting against me."

Ron laughed as they went about setting up the pieces for another match. He was already planning his strategy when he looked up and saw Harry's face – he was staring, open-mouthed, at something behind Ron.

"Harry? What..." Ron turned around to see what Harry was looking at, and he was shocked by the sight that awaited him.

"Hermione?"

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It can't be her. No way can that be Hermione.

Ron's braing was frozen, his limbs immobile. What on earth had she done to herself? She looked like a completely different person.

His mind finally registered that she was speaking. "Just thought it was time for a change, that's all."

Harry looked about as surprised as Ron felt, but he recovered quickly. "Well, er... you look nice."

She smiled, knocking the breath from Ron's chest. "Thanks, Harry," she said.

She was coming closer. Oh, bloody hell, Ron, get a grip.  He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. Hermione looked at him expectantly, and he could feel the eyes of every Gryffindor upon him. "Yeah, er, you look... um... you... er... ready for lunch?" Brilliant. Just brilliant.

The smile slid off her face and disappointment shadowed her eyes. She pursed her lips and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready."

Ron watched in dismay as she climbed through the portrait hole and disappeared without so much as a backward glance.

"Oh, well done, Ron." He looked around and saw his sister glaring at him. "Would it have killed you to tell her she looked nice?"

Ron frowned as he felt his ears redden. "Shut up, Ginny. She knows I think she looked nice."

"Don't be such a prat, Ron. She was obviously waiting for you to say something, and you humiliated her! In front of the whole common room, no less!"

Ron sighed in frustration. As infuriating as his sister was, she was still right. "So, what do I do about it?"

Ginny shook her head and headed toward the portrait hole. "No way. You've got to figure this one out on your own." She left him with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Ginny! Come on..." He groaned. "What are you looking at?" he demanded of a group of fourth year girls who were glaring at him. They quickly went back to their conversaton, but kept shooting angry looks in his direction every few seconds.

He turned to Harry, expecting sympathy, but instead he got laughter. "Oh, come on, Harry1 You know I didn't mean to hurt her feelings! I just panicked!"

Harry grinned and rolled his eyes. "All I know is you're going to have a lot of explaining to do."

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Ron didn't bother to go down to the Great Hall for lunch. Until he could figure out how to make things right with Hermione, he was going to stay out of her way.

How could I have been so stupid? She obviously changed her look for a reason. Why didn't I just tell her she looked nice?

But he knew why. Because she didn't just look nice. She looked beautiful, amazing, breathtaking.

He closed his eyes, remembering how she'd looked when she had entered the room, the lights reflecting off her shining hair. It had definitely made him reconsider his decision to ask out... what was her name again? Oh, man, you're in trouble.

How was he going to make it through each day now that he was starting to see his best friend in a completely different light? Sure, he knew Hermione was a girl, and a good-looking one at that, but it had been simpler just to keep her at arm's length, to keep her in the "friends only" category.

And now... now she wasn't just Hermione-his-best-friend, she was Hermione-who-he-would-actually-want-to-date. And that complicated things.

A lot.

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A/N: Woohoo! Another chapter! Hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are always welcome, but please keep the rotten tomatoes to a minimum. ;)

I'm going to see PoA TOMORROW!!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Sorry. :)