A/N: Yes…I know it has been a while. To be exact, a year. To anyone who is still following this story from last year, well, I'm sorry. I've had so much school work and major writer's block. So yes, about my writer's block, it still exists. This chapter just kind of...appeared. So, any help whatsoever with this story would be greatly appreciated! Ideas, thoughts, how you want the story to turn out, any way I can improve it...anything at all. Well, without further ado, chapter 5!

Chapter 5: The Change

Complete makeover. What would that imply? That Hermione would be…made over. Completely.

Hermione shuddered at the thought. She didn't want to be made over. She didn't want to help Fred and George utterly humiliate Malfoy anymore. She didn't want to be under this stupid obedience…curse. Because that is exactly what it was, a curse!

Hermione sighed. She couldn't get out of it though, she had been forbidden to. How she hated Fred and George.

To everyone else in the Muggle Studies class, it looked as if Hermione Granger was furiously taking notes, as always. Her quill was taking notes, but her mind was actually fretting over her lunch meeting with Lavender and Parvati. What would they do to her? What would she tell them when they asked her who she liked?

Hermione was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that her class had been dismissed until she heard Professor Gellum clear his throat for what must have been the third time.

Looking up, Hermione saw the professor's eye's crinkle in mirth as he noticed Hermione's look of utter confusion as she looked around the empty classroom.

"Sorry professor, I'll just be on my way," said Hermione as she quickly got up and shoved her notes in her bag.

"Wait a moment Hermione." Hermione whirled around to face the professor.

"Yes sir," she said obediently.

"You seem distracted lately. Whatever it may be, I just want to let you know that I'm here if you need any help," said Professor Gellum kindly. Hermione smiled in acknowledgment. She was about to turn and leave when she heard the professor call out again. "And Hermione," he added, dropping his voice a bit lower, "don't worry about the rules. I still have some spunk left in me!"

Hermione giggled. "Thank you professor."

Walking out the door, Hermione instantly forgot Professor Gellum's offer of help. How would he be able to help her break Draco Malfoy's heart? Have Draco fall in love with him? Hermione giggled once again. The thought of Draco swooning over Professor Gellum was just hilarious!

Walking down the hall, Hermione accidentally bumped into Hannah Abbot.

"Oh, sorry Hannah," said Hermione with a slight smile, handing her the book she had dropped.

"N-n-n-no problem Hermione," Hannah stammered, turning a bright red. Taking the book, she whirred around to catch up with her friends.

Hermione forgot about the incident in an instant as she spotted Harry and Ron in the crowd. She waved at them and ran to catch up.

"…and you know what else that bloody owl did to me? It spilled my orange juice all over my pancakes! My pancakes!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, Ron, I was there. What did you ever do to the owl?"

"Nothing! I swear it!" cried Ron. He then turned to Hermione. "Hermione! Now you help me out, what do you think the Hogwarts owls have against me?"

"Maybe you should be nice to them?"

"Nice to them! Are they nice to me? They RUINED a perfectly wonderful plate of pancakes!"

Hermione tried to look sincere as Ron ranted on, but the look on Harry's face made it quite hard! So, with Ron cursing every single owl in the Hogwarts owlery, the three headed for their next class.

Then would come lunch…oh dear.

"Well, Hermione, before we can start to fix seventeen years worth of self-neglect, we need to know…who is it?"

Lavender and Parvati sat on Hermione's bed expectantly, their eyes wide in anticipation.

Oh bother, now what was Hermione to do?

"Well…it's ummm…" she said tentatively. Lavender rolled her eyes.

"We want to know a name," said Parvati, "spit it out already."

Hermione closed her eyes and counted to ten, taking in deep breaths as she did. 'The sooner the better. The sooner the better. Just tell them. Do it Hermione, do it. DO IT NOW.'

Hermione had just unintentionally given herself a direct command.

"Draco Malfoy!"

Silence echoed in the room. One second. Two seconds. Two and a half…

'Hey, who turned off the lights?' thought a very befuddled Hermione. Then she realized that she had her eyes clenched shut. Slowly she forced herself to relax and look down at Lavender and Parvati.

Both had looks of utter shock on their faces. Hermione was surprised. She hadn't expected this reaction from them. No…she had more expected them to squeal in glee and go on and on about how handsome and dreamy Draco Malfoy was and how hot he looked in his Quidditch uniform. Not that Hermione Granger had ever thought these thoughts.

"But…but…he's a boy!" exclaimed Lavender. She exchanged a confused look with Parvati.

"Well, of course he's a…HEY! What is that suppose to mean!"

"Nothing!" said Lavender and Parvati, trying desperately to avoid Hermione's gaze.

"Poor Hannah," whispered Lavender to Parvati.

"What does Hannah have to do with this?" Hermione was fuming. What was going on?

Parvati shot Lavender a dirty look before quickly grabbing Hermione by the arm and propelled her towards the bed.

"Oh, nothing. Just sit down and never mind that…let's start your makeover!"

Hermione's decided not to worry about it anymore and sat down instantly. 'Stupid obedience curse…'

"So, Draco Malfoy, eh?" said Lavender, "When Hermione breaks the rules, she breaks them all!"

"What do you mean by 'breaking the rules'? What rules!" Hermione fretted.

"Oh never mind her," said Parvati with a wave of her hand, "she's just talking about the whole 'Gryffindor and Slytherin circle of hate' and how Gryffindors and Slytherins don't usually date. Then there is the pure blood thing he has going for him…but ignore that. You should like who you like."

Malfoy was a Slytherin…and a pure blood…everything that made Fred and George's revenge so perfect.

"So, where should we start?" Parvati asked Lavender.

"Erm, actually…" said Hermione as she frantically rummaged through her bag for her schedule. "I only have fifteen minutes until my next class starts, can we meet after school?"

"Sure," said Lavender and Parvati nodded in agreement.

"Great! See you both later."

Hermione ran out of the room and started to mentally prepare herself for her Herbology lesson. A flicker of guilt ran through her because she knew why she had run out. She was avoiding what had to be done. Hermione sighed, but she knew that soon she would have to go through the 'change.'

Wait, that just reminded her about something. Hermione felt through her bag and felt a small vial in its side pocket. Yes, the potion George had given her was still with her. Suddenly, she felt somewhat relieved. The potion meant that she wouldn't have to deal with Parvati and Lavender's "total makeover." Certainly this potion would be less painful…

"Wait, wait. Explain it again. It does what?" School had ended for the day anda very excited Lavender was examining the vial Hermione had handed her.

"It changes your appearance to whatever you want it to be," said Hermione simply as Lavender passed the vial to Parvati to look at.

"That's amazing Hermione! How do you want to change yourself?" Parvati asked. Hermione hadn't thought about that.

"Well," she said, sitting down on her bed, "you both have to understand something. Draco Malfoy doesn't like me too much. But that's only because of Harry and Ron. I think that if I looked different, it would give him the chance to get to know my personality and me as a person."

Parvati nodded in agreement as she thought it over. "You do realize that you'll need a new name," she said slowly, "and to start out with you can say that you're in Ravenclaw."

"But he knows everyone in our year," said Lavender, "how will that work?"

"She can say she's a Fifth year," said Parvati, chewing her lip in concentration, "and…you can't look too different. You have to look somewhat like yourself. Because you plan eventually telling him who you really are, right?" Parvati looked up at Hermione for confirmation. Hermione nodded.

"Then you can't go for the supermodel look," said Lavender thoughtfully, "Oh! No offense Hermione," she added quickly.

Hermione grinned. 'Thank goodness!' "None taken"

"Ok, then let's get started. How should we change Hermione Granger?" Parvati conjured up a large mirror that floated up in front of Hermione.

"Well," Lavender started off, "The first thing that comes to my mind are your horrible front teeth, no offence again Hermione! But you already have that taken care of in the 4th year at that Yule Ball…"

"That's why I think that we should start with the hair…"

"Oh please not the hair! And I like my chin…and this is my mom's nose and…"

Lavender and Parvati cut her off with a menacing glare.

"Do you want him to know it's you?" Parvati questioned.

"No…but…"

"Then SHUT. UP." Both girls said in unison.

Hermione's mouth clamped shut. 'Oh no! Now I can't say a word!'

Lavender had taken out a notebook and started to examine her carefully, "Okay Hermione, that hairdo, has got to go. For the new you, let's try shoulder length hair! And maybe a nose ring…"

Hermione watched in horror as her reflection in the mirror changed to suit Lavender's wild imagination.

'I think I'm going to cry.'

Half an hour of body piercing Hermione's reflection and increasingly making it skinnier, Hermione had had enough. She looked like some strange teen model with an eating disorder who decided to rebel against society.

"Blond highlights!"

"Red highlights!"

"Blond!"

"Red!"

Hermione sat speechless. Lavender and Parvati turned to her at the same time.

"What do you think?" asked Lavender. Hermione still sat silent.

"Come on, tell us," said Parvati.

"I think you both are insane!" Hermione cried out. 'Yes! I can speak again!'

"You both have to realize this can't be drastic!"

It was Hermione's turn change her reflection. She scrutinized herself and decided she needed to start from ground up. With a wave of her wand she cleared her reflection so that it looked like the normal Hermione.

"I refuse to have shoulder length hair! A couple inches past my shoulder should be short enough…" Hermione watched in satisfaction as her long locks shortened in the mirror.

"Then I think I could add a couple of inches to myself…" The reflection grew taller.

"Then…" Hermione studied herself. 'Is there anything I ever wanted to change about myself?' Looking down she spotted her stubby bitten fingernails.

"My nails!" Hermione watched (in glee, she must admit) as her reflection's fingernails grew into perfectly manicured long ovals.

"Ok, I think I'm done. What do the two of you think?"

Hermione turned around to face Lavender and Parvati.

"Well," said Parvati hesitantly, "it still looks like…you!"

"How about you give your hair waves, and make it a shade lighter," suggested Lavender. Hermione watched as her reflection changed. She was surprised by the result of the change. Her face looked so different when it wasn't surrounded by a puff ball.

"And make your skin a shade darker," added Parvati. Hermione watched as her reflection gained a light tan.

"And maybe a different eye color? Pick one, which one have you always wanted?" Hermione thought. She never had time for such trivial matters…she had always liked her eyes.

"How about gray?" Hermione asked. Parvati shook her head at the reflection.

"No, you need an exotic look. Maybe with a tint of blue, and a dark ring..." Hermione watched as her reflection's eye's changed.

"Those look like wild eyes! I look half-insane!"

"Hun, you're in love with the Slytherin Prince…you are half-insane!" laughed Lavender.

Hermione winced. In love? With Malfoy? Ouch.

"And besides, they definitely make a statement! I've always wanted blue-gray eyes!" said Parvati dreamily.

"Come on Hermione, take a risk! And trust us. We promise no more piercing!" reassured Lavender. Hermione felt a zing go through her body and surrendered to her curse.

"Just do whatever," said Hermione, as she plopped down on her bed.

"Well, this reflection needs just a bit more work. Let's give your nose a little upturn and…"

"Oh! Let's give you a dimple!"

"There," exclaimed Parvati, "now you look nothing like you. But enough like you so that it works."

Hermione had to admit that it did work.

"Thank you both so much! But now the real problem…how do I get Mal…erm, Draco to like me?"

Lavender and Parvati exchanged an excited look.

"Don't worry about that," said Lavender, "We've been thinking about how to get you two together since lunch! Just take the potion and we can get you started."

Fishing around in her pockets, Hermione found the potion the twins had given her. Hermione studied the 'new Hermione' in the mirror for a bit as she fiddled with the cork on the vial. Then, resolutely, she closed her eyes and uncorked the vial and drank its entire contents in one breath.

When she opened her eyes a moment later, Hermione looked down to see perfectly manicured nails. She sighed. 'If only this was the only thing that changed!'

"Now, here is the plan," said Parvati in a bossy voice, "You're a Fifth year Ravenclaw named…" she stopped in mid-sentence.

"Any ideas," Parvati asked, turning to the other two.

"Herm, Hermy, Mio, Mine, Oney, Nee, My, Erm…" Lavender trailed off.

"How about Nia? It's what my aunt calls me for short," suggested Hermione.

Parvati thought about it for a moment. "That'll do. Now, how long does this potion last?"

"About four hours"

"Ok, come on Hermione…the Slytherins only have an hour left of practice," and with that Lavender and Parvati steered Hermione out of the room.

A very nervous Hermione walked outside with Lavender and Parvati as they headed towards the lake. Hermione began to notice that quite a few students were giving her odd looks. Of course she would get strange looks…she was technically a stranger to them. Taking out her wand, Hermione muttered a spell under her breath. The spell was a slight twist of a memory charm. Whenever someone saw her as 'Nia' they would see her as the girl who has always been at Hogwarts, but who they never talked to or knew much about. It helped her blend in better with the crowd.

Now at the lake, Parvati and Lavender turned to Hermione.

"Now Hermione, don't be nervous," said Lavender. Hermione felt a familiar zing go through her body.

"We want you to stay right here. We'll both be behind that tree over there…so just remember that you have us as back up," instructed Parvati.

"Back up for what?" asked Hermione.

"Well," said Lavender hesitantly, "like if you began to cry or you say something wrong or he's about to kill you or if your hair is out of place…we just want you to know that we'll be nearby to help you out."

Hermione hoped nothing would happen. "Thanks you guys, I really appreciate it."

Parvati grinned, "Anytime. Now, give us five seconds to go hide and then take out your wand and summon the snitch, ok?"

Hermione nodded, the plan clicking in her head and starting to make sense.

Lavender and Parvati ran a couple feet away behind a big tree and gave her the 'thumbs-up.' Taking in a deep breath, Hermione took out her wand and held up her hand. "Accio snitch!" she summoned.

A split second later, Hermione's hand closed over a little gold ball. Its wings fluttered in vain to escape from Hermione's grasp. Almost as an afterthought, she quickly hid her wand in her pocket.

Suddenly, she felt something fly past her. A moment later, it flew behind her…as if in search of something.

"Looking for this?" Hermione asked, holding up the snitch.

The blur stopped and a pair of cold steel gray eyes looked down on her. Hermione gulped.

'and so it begins...'

A/N: I know this is a horrible place to stop...but I've already started chapter six so it will be out soon, I promise! I don't plan on taking a year to update. hehehe. Well, speaking about updates...reviews really help. More reviews, the faster I'll write! And if you have ideas, it'll be even better!

Thank you once again to everyone who has reviewed this story, your reviews really make my day!