Thanks to Cally88 for the great friggin idea…you rock! Also thanks for the reviews that I've gotten, much appreciated, really.

Chapter 8

Putting the Damage On

Lllllll

Since then I never feel helpless, recess, this mess if you do
And I find that even time well spent gets bent if you need it to
And we do
Well by now I've showed you

How much I believe in the here and now

And I wish that you knew

Saturday had arrived much too early for Hermione, who lay in bed staring at the roof. Ron had let her down, and even though she had prepared herself for it, she still couldn't help but feel anger intertwined with sorrow. She really wanted to stay on good terms with Ron, especially with Hogsmead quickly approaching. Hermione let out a silent cry and then decided that she should be getting up to finish Snape's paper.

Throwing on her sweater, a pair of blue jeans and her robe over top she headed downstairs to breakfast, a quill, parchment and ink clutched in her hands. She had spotted Ron and Harry, who seemed to be having a grand conversation, which made Hermione flair inside. She completely ignored the pair and continued past to sit beside Seamus.

'Good morning Seamus.' She said indulgently, and Seamus returned the kind words. Lavender and Parvati giggled childishly behind a copy of the Witch Weekly magazine at the two but Hermione ignored them. Seamus, however, didn't and blushed ever so slightly.

'How did you get along with your essay?' She asked while spreading jam on her toast. Dean, who was sitting beside Seamus, sighed and Hermione gave him an inquisitive look.

'Nothing… I just don't like Snape and his stupid essay.' Dean whispered to her, leaning over Seamus a little.

Seamus shrugged and said, 'Well, it's basically as good as it's going to get.'

'Do you still want to get to know me better, Seamus?' Hermione asked audibly, noticing that Ron was listening intently. 'You know because play practice is soon and we'd better get to know each other before that, shouldn't we?' Hermione took a bite of her toast looking knowingly at Seamus who, looked like he was at a loss of words.

'Doing anything after breakfast?' He asked her. There was another applause of giggles from behind the magazine, eliciting yet another soft blush across Seamus' face.

'No' Hermione replied quietly.

'A walk?' He said, nothing short of a whisper. Hermione nodded and then finished her toast. They stood up and left the hall, Hermione casting a sidelong glare at Ron who was glowering at the pair. Hermione sighed angrily and then looked towards Seamus, who didn't know just what was going on.

Lay all you want on me
Lay all you want on me
Lay all you want on me
I'll be your whipping boy

'I'll be 17 soon.' Seamus said randomly. 'February.' Hermione nodded, thinking that five months was not in the least soon.

'So who is the magical one in your family' Hermione asked, still clutching her homework. The grass was wet with dew, and the sun was well on its way, but there was a dark overcast making everything look gray and gloomy.

'My mother.' He replied. 'You're the only one right, your parents are muggles?'

Hermione smiled politely, trying to see if he was disgusted with her, but she couldn't find any hint of loathing. Maybe he really did like her.

'What did Lavender and Parvati tell you?' Seamus pried curiously.

'What? They didn't-er tell me anything.' Hermione covered up, wonder what he exactly wanted to hear.

'I saw them talking to you last night when I came back.' He said simply.

'Just what parts we got, basically that's it.' Hermione looked at Seamus out of the corner of her eye and noticed that he looked slightly hurt. She realized he must have heard that they were talking about him last night and he wanted to see if she would tell the truth.

'So,' Hermione added imprudently, trying to change the topic. 'What ever happened with you and Lavender?' Seamus seemed to be thinking of the right words, as if not to offend anyone.

'Well, we didn't really date…well we did…but it wasn't long. I guess it was mutual separation. Didn't last too long into the summer before fifth year.' He said carelessly.

'Oh.' Hermione looked up the blackened sky. The overcast was now covering the sky for miles now. The sun was no longer apparent and it could have easily appeared dusk if they had not just eaten breakfast.

The wind was starting to pick up as the two continued their walk around the school area and down to the black, vacant and opaque lake where they sat and talked for a little more.

Hermione sat on the damp ground and put her arms around her knees. She had to admit that she was starting to get a little chilly, especially when a light sprinkle started coming down upon them.

'Do you want to go back?' Asked Seamus who noticed that she looked cold but Hermione defiantly shook her head. She wanted to make Ron keep guessing where she was and what they were talking about. She knew by the look that Ron gave her when she left with Seamus, that he was angry, but she wanted him to apologize to her, without being told to make things work. She wanted him to mean it.

'Hermione?' Seamus asked.

'Hm?'

'Have you always known you could do magic?' Hermione shrugged. She came from a muggle family and she didn't really remember doing anything extraordinary while she was young.

'I guess I always felt it. But I was never able to do magic without a wand.' She said thoughtfully.

'Then how do you know so much?'

'Well, when I first found out I was a witch; I went and got all my supplies. I read every book that I bought for first year. Since I was muggle born I didn't know anything about Hogwarts or you-know-who, or Harry for that matter. I thought everyone knew about Hogwarts so I read Hogwarts A History…many times before first year started. I didn't want to feel out of place. I suppose my shrewdness did put me out of place though.'

A loud crack of thunder in the distance signaled that it may be time to go and Hermione and Seamus made their way back to the castle, but not before getting drenched. Seamus was a gentleman and offered his robe, but she kindly refused saying that she had her own.

'Hermione?' Seamus asked after the two got inside from the pouring rain.

'Yes?' Hermione was ringing out her dripping wet hair and it splashed lightly on the floor by her feet.

'Do you think that you'd like to…well…what I mean to say is…' Seamus stopped talking and was staring fixedly at the puddle collecting around Hermione's feet. 'Do you wanna go to Hogsmade with me in a couple of weeks?' Hermione was taken aback at the question that for once in her life, she was speechless.

'I- I don't know' she said, with nothing better to say. She knew that she hurt Seamus, but she didn't say 'no'. However, she didn't say 'yes' either.

'I have to go Seamus. I have to re-write this paper, you know for Snape. I had a really good time though.' She said, walking backwards slowly.

'Alri- Hermione!' he shouted as she slipped on the puddle and fell backwards.

'Hermione, are you ok?' Seamus asked, kneeling down beside her. Before she could answer everything went black and Hermione's eyes closed.

lllllll

You spilled your purse onto my bed
Searching for something for your head
Since then you never come clean I mean
You wish you only could

The light was really bright and the only thing that Hermione wanted to do was shut them all off. She mumbled 'nox' but nothing happened except invite Madam Pomfrey over to her.

'You had yourself a nasty tumble, Ms. Granger.' She said. Hermione felt the back of her head and there was a large bump on the back.

'Ow.' She said as she touched is a little too hard.

'Well, bigger the better.'

'What?' Hermione said, clueless.

'The bump' she said simply. 'Bigger the bump means that there is less blood on the inside.'

'I need to go.' Hermione said. 'I have an essay to finish.' Madam Pomfrey started to fret all over again saying that Hermione couldn't leave but Hermione said that she was.

'You'd better thank Mr. Finnigan, he's the one who brought you up here after your fall.' She said after being defeated by Hermione's workload and prefect duties that she was lacking behind in. 'Here, someone brought these flowers for you, dear.' She said, handing Hermione a bouquet of for-get-me-not flowers. 'Seamus' she sighed and then left for the Gryffindor tower to thank him for the flowers.

On her way up to the Gryffindor tower Hermione ran into Ron and Harry, who said that they were headed down to Great Hall. Supper was apparently about to start but Hermione wasn't all that hungry.

'What happened to you?' Ron asked concerned and then brushed it off by saying 'study to hard,' quite coolly. Harry looked at him questioningly.

'No, for your information I fell! Why do you have to be such a jerk!' She said and stormed off, on the verge of crying.

Ron looked at Harry, who looked between Hermione's back slowly disappearing and Ron's distorted facial expression between sympathy and defeat. Harry knew that Ron didn't want to apologize to Hermione because he had honestly forgotten.

'I know how Hermione felt when we had the fight in fourth year.' Harry said simply before they headed downstairs again. 'You should-'

'Apologize! I know' Ron said bitterly. 'I shouldn't have to.'

'Why?' Asked Harry, surprised.

'Because…it was a stupid idea, the first play practice is tomorrow, not yesterday.'

'Yeah, but-'

'Harry, please just drop it.' And that was the end of the conversation on Hermione. Neither Ron nor Harry spoke of her. Still, Ron thought about her all though lunch.

lllllll

Lay all you want on me
Lay all you want on me
Lay all you want on me
I'll be your whipping boy

'Seamus? Thanks for bringing me to the medical ward.' Hermione sat down on an empty seat beside Seamus who was working on some of his homework.

'Well, what was I going to do? Leave you there?'

'No, I guess not.' She laughed lightly.

'Anyway, here's Snape's paper that you were working on, I picked it up for you.' Seamus handed her the dried parchment that was her paper, along with her quill and ink.

'Thanks for the flowers too.' She said.

'Oh. I didn't give you those.' He looked slightly embarrassed.

'What? Who did then?' Hermione was gazing down at the little blue flowers.

'Either Ron or Harry did. I told them what had happened and they went to see you right after.'

'But I thought…it couldn't have been Ron.' She said scathingly. 'He's to bolshie.'

'I think it was!' Parvati squealed, leaning over the chair and pulling on Hermione's shoulders so that she fell backwards into the chair. Hermione rubbed the back of her head where the bump was.

'I saw him.' Lavender added benevolently to Hermione. 'He picked them himself. Seamus, you saw him didn't you?' she then said malevolently and Seamus grumbled something.

'Hermione, we need to talk.' Parvati was lifting up a drab curl in Hermione's hair that had dried in that position after the rain.

'Yeah, its really important. Just between us girls.' Lavender joined in on Parvati's attack on Hermione.

'Um…right now? I've work to do.' Hermione stated showing them the crumpled piece of parchment.

'Really Hermione, learn to live a little.' Lavender yelled girlishly and then the two picked her up and dragged her to the girls' dormitory. Hermione looked back at Seamus as if pleading with him to help her.

'Sit.' Lavender said. Hermione sat down on her bed and looked skeptically at the two girls who were looming over her.

'Listen, Hermione, I'm not stupid. I know you have a- thing- for Ron. But this little fight you're having, however fascinating as it is, is ruing my chance at getting Seamus back.' Lavender explained. 'I mean, if you weren't using Seamus to get back at Ron, it wouldn't be too bad-'

'I'm not using Seamus!' Hermione exclaimed, lying a little.

'Hermione… we've done it!' Parvati said in the same explanatory tone as Lavender. 'You just don't exceed in this topic.'

'You need to show him what he's missing, make yourself gorgeous and make him jealous.' Lavender absently mindedly said.

'That doesn't work.' Hermione said defiantly.

'We know what we're talking about' Lavender said.

'We're experts!' Parvati butted in.

'We do it all the time' Lavender giggled.

'And you're going to do the same thing. It's in our nature.'

'Not mine!' Hermione said, standing up to go back down to the common room.

'HERMIONE!' Lavender shrieked. 'I know what I'm doing, you'll love your new look.'

'New look?' Hermione repeated, backing away from the eager eyes of Lavender and Parvati. 'No.' Hermione said sternly. 'No' frightfully. 'NO!'

'Hermione. You're not going back out there looking like this.' Lavender said, rather darkly. 'You're going to go out there, looking hot, and getting Ron's attention. Not Seamus.'

'I don't like Seamus, Lavender. He likes me.'

'Apparently so does Ron.' Hermione blushed and then silently yelled at herself because she was mad at Ron. 'But he did bring me flowers' she thought, and then harshly reminded herself that he was being a stubborn ass.

'I'm sorry Lavender, Parvati, but I do not want to take part in your little charade.' Hermione once more stood to leave.

'I'm sorry too Hermione. Immobulus!' Hermione froze in mid stride, blinking stupidly.

'If you want us to do it the hard way, Hermione, we'll do it the hard way.' Lavender was now standing in front of Hermione, tapping her wand slightly in her hand. Hermione rolled her eyes, signifying that she was going to do it the easy way.

'Sit down on the bed, we'll start with your makeup, then hair and then something other then jeans.'

'No…I'm going to be comfortable.' Hermione put her foot down on this argument and Lavender and Parvati just decided to give in to save them the fight.

'Whatever' Lavender drawled.

'What do you think? A light pink? Or fall colors?' Parvati was looking at Hermione's face hesitantly, wondering what shade of eye color to use on her.

'I think the browns would clash with her hair…' Lavender said thoughtfully.

'But, it would bring out her eyes.' Hermione looked between the two, wondering what exactly would bring out her eyes.

'Smoldering eyes looks good on anyway.' Lavender said going into their make-up bin and pulling out some darker shades.

'Not today, Lavender… I think I'll go with the naturals.'

It was a long painful process, what with all the plucking, poking, and pulling. Hermione couldn't imagine doing this every day. Lavender softened the curls in her hair so that they were magnificent loops.

Parvati put browns for her eye shadow, not too much but enough for it to stand out. She added, to Hermione's dismay and discomfort, mascara and eyeliner. After about an hour of working on Hermione's hair and face Lavender and Parvati were quite pleased with themselves and handed Hermione the mirror.

'Well, I'll certainly say you did a good job…better then I did for the Yule Ball. But then again, I was fourteen.'

'Is this all you two do? Don't you ever do any work?'

'We both got outstanding in Divination.' Lavender said. Hermione gave a snort.

'You need to relax a little Hermione, live!'

'I live quite enough hanging around with Ron and Harry. The trouble that those two get into.' Hermione shook her head disapprovingly.

'What are you waiting for?' Parvati inquired.

'What d'you mean?'

'Ron, are you waiting for him to apologize?' Hermione scoffed at this question. Well, are you?'

'Of course I am… why shouldn't I?'

'You should apologize to him.' Parvati said, without a hint of contempt.

'Why?'

'Not today, tomorrow! You do have a right to be mad at him, but guys have this sort of manliness about them that they don't want to lose and apologizing too many times to a girl can turn them into sissies!'

'Where do you get your information?'

'Years of practice, almost finished,' added Parvati as she added a light pink lipstick to Hermione's lips. 'There, that's what you were missing.'

'Now what?' Hermione asked, not knowing what she was going to do.

'We'll go down to the Great Hall and show your stuff.' Lavender said. 'To Ron I mean… Keep Seamus away.'

'I don't like Seamus!' Hermione yelled angrily at Lavender, who rolled her eyes. 'I'm sorry that things didn't last longer then a few months for you but that has nothing to do with me.'

'I know, but I really like him!' Lavender said sadly.

'I'm sorry.' Hermione honestly told her.

'Well, lets get going. Supper isn't going to wait for us!' Parvati said, breaking the silence.

And I find that even time well spent

Gets bent if you need it to
And we do
Lay all you want on me
Lay all you want on me
Lay all you want on me
I'll be your whipping boy

llllllll

Anyway, the whole Lavender, Parvati extreme makeover thingy is so Cally88's idea… Usually I don't use other people ideas, but that sounded cool and would actually fit perfectly into the story! Besides, I had half the chapter written and got writers block, so thanks for the tip.

Please leave me a review it would be much appreciated.

BTW, Whipping Boy belongs to Train, whom I'm obsessed with at the moment.

Yours truly,

Sweet Roses