A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters!!! Sorry my chapters are so short. Like I said earlier, I wrote them on paper and they seemed longer than this…
After dinner, when Harry and Ron were busy trying to finish their potions homework, Hermione quietly slipped out of the common room and down to the library, her book bag filled with "Teen Witch" magazines that she had borrowed from Ginny. As she passed a mirror, she looked at her reflection, pausing briefly. "Don't worry," the mirror whispered, "No one will notice those eyebrows if you keep frowning like that." Hermione frowned even more and turned on her heel, practically running to the library to look up a spell for eyebrow waxing.
Hermione slipped into an empty chair at a table in the back of the library. She pulled out the pageant rules and read:
HogwartsSchool Beauty Pageant
-Rules and Regulations-
The pageant will be held December 15th in the Great Hall.
Round 1 will be an evening robe competition where the field will be narrowed from 80 to 15.
Round 2 will be a charms presentation where the field will be narrowed to 5.
Round 3 will be a final question and the winner will be named.
See attached sheets for specific rules for each round.
'A charms presentation?' Hermione smiled thoughtfully. She had recently achieved a 104% on the first test in her NEWT level charms class. Professor Flitwick had happily announced that it was the highest test grade he had ever had in his NEWT classes. 'The question won't be much,' she thought to herself, 'so all that's left is getting past the first round. I guess it's time to get some outside assistance.'
Since the weekend was a Hogsmede weekend, allowing the girls to get new robes for the pageant, Hermione owled the hair salon in Hogsmede to schedule a consultation with a stylist. She also picked out several styles of robes that she thought would be flattering to her petite figure. She told no one of her desires to win, not even Ginny.
Ron had finally figured out that Hermione was acting differently toward him, but he stupidly blurted out, "Must be her time of the month," just has she had walked up beside him. Understandably, she didn't speak to him for the rest of the day, even after he stumbled his way through an apology at lunch on Friday. Hermione ignored him altogether and buried her face in her transfiguration book, trying to finish her homework that wouldn't be assigned until Monday. Harry and Ginny were starting to become concerned about her, but explained her mood change away as stress over schoolwork; they knew that Hermione had already been studying for the NEWTs.
After NEWT potions, Hermione climbed the stairs up to the Gryffindor common room and then up to the 7th year girls' dormitories. She had been named Head Girl, but had chosen to stay in the dormitory over getting her own room. She still had her own bathroom, but she told Professor Dumbledore that she enjoyed being with the other girls. The truth was, Hermione was afraid to be alone in her room at night. Any time she stayed for the holidays, she invited Ginny to stay in her dormitory so she wouldn't have to be alone in the dark. Professor Dumbledore didn't comment on her choice, but she got the feeling that somehow, he knew the real reason she stayed in the dormitory. She didn't mind though; she was brave enough when she had to be, like while facing Voldemort with Harry, so she figured that she could be allowed one tiny fear such as sleeping in a dark, empty bedroom.
Lying on her bed, Hermione gathered the magazine pages that contained her favorite hair styles and make up styles and tapped them with her wand, shrinking them to the size of a chocolate frog card so that she could put them in her purse to show to the stylist tomorrow at Madame Chic's Salon. After her consultation, she would be heading to the shops to buy robes for the evening rode competition. 'Who knows,' she thought to herself, walking across the dormitory to grab a magazine from her dresser, 'You might love the new Hermione so much, you'll never want to go back!'
Around 9 pm, Parvati came into the room alone, quietly walking over to Hermione's bed. "Hermione?" she asked, sitting down on Hermione's bed. "Are you feeling okay?" she continued. "I'm fine, why?" Hermione asked, suddenly looking confused. "Oh, I don't know. Ron and Ginny say you've been acting different since Ginny asked you to be in the pageant with her. They're pretty concerned that they've upset you. Is that true?" Parvati asked, causing Hermione to set her magazine down. "Ginny hasn't done anything," Hermione said, changing her position on the bed slightly. "But Ron has?" Parvati continued. Hermione remained silent for a moment and then said, "Ron has done nothing but be his usual self." Parvati regarded Hermione thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "I saw the pictures you had taped up to the wall. You have really good taste." Taken aback, Hermione said, "Thanks" as Parvati stood up and left the room. 'Maybe someday I can be more than a stupid know-it-all,' Hermione thought before re-opening the magazine to the article that she had been reading, "Stupid crush or true love?"
To be continued…