A/N: Thanks so, so much jesska-14 for your review. I'm really glad you liked it. I'll try my best to make this chapter longer!
Disclaimer: RECOGNIZED CHARACTERS ARE NOT MINE. They, fortunately for her, belong to that ridiculously, yet justifiably, wealthy woman in England.
Chapter 2: Hermione's New Look
Hermione rested her head on the back of the plush, first-class armchair and sighed. They had taken off and were on their way to New Guinea, where their cruise ship was to leave port in forty-eight hours. It was the first time all day Hermione really had a moment to relax. She turned her head to look at Ron who was sitting next to her.
The red head was staring, in awe, at the mini television screen in front of him, enthralled in a re-run of the American show Friends. Hermione laughed as she watch Ron put the earphones into his ears, and then, slowly took them out again, as if experimenting with the volume of the sound as it left his ears. Harry glanced over from Ron's right side to see what had caused Hermione's giggles and grinned. Ron, of course, remained oblivious to them both.
"So," Hermione looked over at Harry, "will you come scuba diving with me on the cruise?"
"Definitely-I've been thinking of trying that since we decided to go on this trip."
"Great! You think Einstein here will join us?" Hermione motioned towards, the incredibly captivated, Ron.
"I'd wager he will," Harry smirked, "we'll just have to make sure he doesn't fiddle with any of the equipment. That could turn out rather-err… unpleasantly."
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Hermione felt her mouth twitch at Harry's response. Knowing what he said was, in fact, true simply made it all the more amusing. She decided to get some sleep and dozed off for the remainder of the ride.
Upon exiting the plane into the gate Hermione, being—well—Hermione, immediately went into her "shot the gap mode", following signs towards baggage claim. Hermione didn't remember Harry and Ron until she reached the conveyer belt marked with their flight number.
Maybe Mum and Dad are right; maybe I do walk a tad to swiftly, Hermione thought to herself as Harry and Ron jogged up to her both of them red in the face.
"Merlin Hermione!" Ron exclaimed. "Is there a fire I should know about?"
Hermione blushed but couldn't resist shooting back. "We have somewhere we need to be Ron. If you want to be late, that's just one of your many problems."
Ron glared at her but had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.
"Come on children, we've got bags to claim and a bus to catch. Try to stop bickering."
"Absolutely right Harry," Hermione sent a glower in Ron's direction as Harry turned his back.
Ron in turn stuck his tongue out at her causing the girl to mutter something like "Oh how mature of you", under her breath.
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Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped from the bus, luggage in tow, looking up at the massive vessel in front of them. It was gorgeous; white and elegant with black tinted windows for privacy. The three had only a moment to stare in admiration at the ship before being jostled towards it by the crowd.
"We aren't scheduled to leave port until tomorrow morning." Hermione informed her friends as they walked below deck to their quarters, "That should give us plenty of time to settle in."
Hermione came to a stop at the door with 412 in gold plated letters nailed to the front. Ron and Harry, however, came to a halt at the room marked 413.
"Er…Mione, isn't this our room?" Harry motioned towards the door he and Ron were standing in front of.
Hermione sighed and realized, with pleasure that she could smell the sea even below deck. "Unfortunately, it's only two bedrooms to a suite, so I am staying in a separate room. I figured that would be best seeing as how if Ron and I stayed together, one of us might not survive the trip, and if Harry and I left Ron to room alone, he might do something stupid and incredibly unmuggleish."
Ron snorted, "Unmuggleish isn't even a word."
Hermione shot him a glance, "It gets my point across!"
"I'm sure you would've been really careful Ron, but it probably is better that you have one of your muggle experienced friends with you." Harry mediated.
Ron let out a grunt in reply.
"Right…" said Hermione, "let's unpack and meet back here in fifteen minutes. Oh, and just a thought, wear you swim suits under your clothes."
"Sure."
"Okay."
Hermione watched the boys enter their rooms and turned around to face her own room. She turned the knob, opening the door and gasped. It was gorgeous! Different shades of white and gold made up the room's décor. Hermione had expected it to be incredibly small and cramped, but it wasn't in the least.
To her left was a white kitchenette with a detailed golden design etched into each of the cabinets. A gold colored mini-fridge could be see beneath the microwave and when opened she found it contained liquor and soda, among other things. Farther into the room, also on the left, was a small, glass toped, gold colored kitchen table with four white chairs encompassing it.
The entire right side of the room included a deep golden couch with white cushions boasting an embroidered design the same shade as the couch. Next to the sofa, on both sides, were two white leather armchairs. Stationed directly in front of a couch was a coffee table, smaller, but identical to, the kitchen table. And, against the wall lay a big-screen television.
Grinning, Hermione poked her head into the first bedroom she saw. The first thing she noticed about the room was that it was not the same colors as the main living area. The bedspread had an elegant silver trim and was a deep green with an elaborate silver pattern worked in. The pillows were predominantly silver and had on them the same design as the bedspread though in green thread. The walls were a deep green and the furniture was white. There was a door towards the back, probably leading to a bathroom. Hermione noticed a set of luggage stored neatly in the corner and realized she probably had a roommate. When she bought her ticket she had been told this might happen.
After discreetly shutting the door to the bedroom claimed by her roommate she strode over to the other bedroom door. Stepping in she couldn't avoid beaming in spite of herself. This room, as elegant as the other had been, was much more to her taste.
Her room motif also differed from the living area. Her bedspread was a rustic rose color streaked with lavender and the bed itself a light gold. Her furniture all matched her bed. The walls were lavender and the ceiling rose. Hermione's room also had a desk and a bedside table complete with a lamp for reading in the dark. She had a small closet, complete with drawers, as there was no room for a bureau. The bathroom was simple, white porcelain and gold with a shower curtain identical to her coverlet.
Once finished with admiring her home of the next two weeks, Hermione began to unpack. Sleeveless tops, bathing suits, skirts, shorts, and a white evening dress; it was a cruise after all! She picked out her new bikini; her mother had talked her into buying it. Gazing into the mirror after putting it on Hermione had to admit it did look good on her. It was white; a silver square brought the top together between her breasts and the on the bottoms two smaller silver squares brought the suit together at both her hips. She slipped on a blue striped halter-top and jean skirt and then giving herself a once-over in the mirror. Hermione found herself remembering what had happened at the very beginning of summer.
She and her mother had gone to Paris to visit her fashion designer aunt, Amy. Hermione didn't know her mother's sister very well but her mum told her that Amy reminded her of Hermione. Dr. Granger told her daughter that her aunt had graduated from school top of her class and was quite the bookworm. Hermione immediately loved her aunt and Amy soon became Hermione's role model. Amy bought Hermione a whole new wardrobe in Paris and Hermione figured that if her aunt could be both exceedingly smart and a fashionista, so could she.
Hermione put on some make-up and put a straightening charm on her hair. Glimpsing at the clock on her bedside table, Hermione realized she had to go to meet Ron and Harry outside.
Hermione was surprised to find her two friends already waiting for her. She noticed Harry and Ron both had odd looks on their faces and realized how different she must look to them.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
The two nodded still unable to mask their surprise at Hermione's appearance.
Walking out onto one of the ship's many decks Hermione couldn't help but notice some of the appreciative glances she was receiving from young men. Ron couldn't either. Every man so much as glancing at Hermione received a death glare via Ron whose complexion now matched the color of his hair making him look quite frightening. Harry, of course, remained ignorant of this entire exchange.
"What do you guys want to do?" Harry asked, looking around.
"Swim!" Ron replied excitedly with a look of anticipation similar to that of a child on Christmas.
"Sure," consented Hermione, "sounds fun to me!"
After taking off her clothes Hermione saw, once again, that Harry and Ron were gaping at her. She blushed, "What, you've never seen a bikini before?"
"N-no," stuttered Harry, "We've just never seen a bikini on you before."
Ron, who had been unable to regain him composure, was pointing at Hermione and muttering something like, "Bah, bah, bah, bah."
The bikini-wearing girl turned a deeper shade of crimson and slapped Ron lightly across the face and Ron finally appeared as if he were in the land of the living once again, "Your parents let you wear that?"
"Why, yes, Ron, they do." Hermione shot him a fierce look; "My mother picked this out for me!" With that Hermione walked past the two boys and jumped into the pool, looking at them expectantly. "Well, are you coming?"
The trio spent much of the afternoon in the pool, playing volleyball and racing one another. It was Hermione, naturally, who noticed that it was around three and they should probably go shower and get ready for the night's "upscale casual" dinner.
It took some time to get Ron and Harry out of the pool, but they listened to her eventually.
"The idea is to look nice," Hermione informed Ron and Harry as they walked below deck. "Tonight's dinner is all about getting acquainted with the other passengers aboard the ship." As an afterthought she added, " Harry, I'm entrusting you with Ron's muggle outfit. We want him to blend in."
"Hey, I'm standing right here you know!" Ron cried indignantly.
"Of course you are Ron." Said Hermione in a clipped tone, opening the door to her quarters. "I'll see you in about an hour and a half; dinner's at five."
"See you then Mione." Harry told her. Ron seemed to be giving her the silent treatment, so she shut the door.
Walking through the suit, Hermione realized her roommate must not be back yet and got in the shower. After doing hair and make-up Hermione opened her closet. She chose a simple black skirt and a layered sky-blue sleeveless blouse, complete with open-toed black kitten heels. It fit her new look but was still very, well, Hermione.
Entering the shared living quarters, Hermione heard someone in the other bedroom. I'd better not disturb them, she thought to herself, they're probably getting ready for dinner. With that she quietly slipped out into the hallway.
Harry and Ron, as she had known they would be, were surprised at her appearance but this time they were much better at hiding it. They'll get used to it eventually, Hermione told herself.
"Okay Mione," Harry frowned as they began walking towards the dining room, "Would you please just tell us why you look so… different?"
Hermione opened her mouth to answer but Ron cut her off, "And don't tell us you don't know what we're talking about."
"I wasn't going to," Hermione lied, "But thanks for interrupting. I went to Paris over the summer to visit my aunt." With that she launched into the story of her time in France, finishing just as they reached the doors to the dining area. "You two ready to eat?"
The boys nodded, grinning. They had taken her story quite well, she thought.
The first thing they noticed as they entered was a table on which folded place cards, with names and table numbers written on them, were laid out. After finding the three cards on which their names were written, they set out in search of table 9.
A/N: Sorry about the little Os I can't figure this formatting thing out, it's quite confuzeling. Anyway...please please please REVIEW. Thanks sooo much. Oh and I made this chapter almost twice as long as the last. I'm new at this but thanks for being so patient!
:)Brie
